I had an Apple Fritter for the first time in a while this morning. And if there is one thing I’ve learned over the past couple of decades, it is that people love things that are deep fried (and that doughnuts are the single most ridiculous breakfast food ever created.) And why not? Frying something is delicious!!! And you know why? Because fat just simply tastes delicious. No other one universal process makes pretty much any food instantly taste better than deep fat frying it. It’s like… well I wanted to think of a good analogy of making something better, but I think deep frying tops them all.

So I’ve been planning a performance on the LMU campus and I knew just a standard performance wouldn’t fly. It’s just really hard to get people interested in coming out to events. I was really worried about what it was I was going to do for my performance. I needed a idea that was deep fried and glazed with sugar.

I’ve come up with an idea that rivals Krispy Kreme’s most disgustingly delicious treat.

Get excited.

MORE TO COME………..

Canyon’s are forming though Los Angeles.  I played at Genghis Cohen’s last Friday, Feb. 15th, which is a Jewish-Chineese restaurant on the west edge of Hollywood.  Canyons vocalist Jenna Cunningham flew in the day before the show from Galway, Ireland and Saxphonist Reid Watkins drove in from Flagstaff.   The three of us hadn’t rehearsed together in almost a year and unfortunately, we were faced with very few hours for practice before the show.   We decided though that our time would be better spent playing craps with the local hoodlums.

This Genghis show marked the first time Canyons played with backing tracks.  I have been producing beats for my various new songs in anticipation of the EP I plan to produce this summer and these were our backing tracks.  And they sounded GREAT!!!  Makes me yearn for bigger and better things and even more so for a band.  I tend to do great work when I start to feel this way.  The question for me right now is “what is the next step?” I honestly don’t know, but this fire I have burning in me will lead me somewhere .  I think the EP this summer will prove to be very fullfilling.

Go see “There Will Be Blood”.  It is an incredible movie.

SHAQ!!! Shaq is debuting with the Suns today vs.  the Lakers.  SO SUNS!

I should probably explain what the dealio is with “Canyons.” “Why?,” you might be asking. “How come Canyons?! Where are my sweatpants?” The only answer I can give really is that I liked the name more than I liked the others. Not to say that there was no hard working, sweat-inducing, snarl-provoking mental strain involved. You see, for those of you who have never had to name their band (fake bands count too…and so do club names), you may not realize just how terribly difficult it really is to create a good band name.

Most importantly, you must choose a band name that speaks for the music the band is creating. My friend Gina told me tonight about a band named “Vampire Weekend” because she thought I would really like it. I trust her musical judgments, and yet the name “Vampire Weekend” suggests a style of music that I normally wouldn’t listen to. Had it been “Apple Sauce Weekend,” maybe it would’ve been a different story…

To date, the best band name I’ve come up with is “Ebonic Plague”. It was the name of a band I played bass in. It was a Bagpipe, bass, sax, percussion, Kazoo, free jazz quartet. We played one gig, and cleared a full house out with in 5 minutes.

The worst? “Allah’s yo Mamma”

So anyways, I decided “Canyons” really encapsulated my sound and myself. I’m happy with it and now, I can be Canyons no matter who I play with. I like you and I hope you like Canyons too.

It was either that or “Apple Sauce Weekend.”