The new plan, Stan

OK, so it's June 1, 2009. Time is fucking flying.

I've decided on a plan for the summer. First and foremost, I gotta get some exercise. I'm at Jack Black status right now and I'd like to get to the new and improved Seth Rogen by summer's end. So running starts NOW ... or, well ... tomorrow.

Gotta start eating better, too. The wife makes healthy, hearty foods every week, but I keep succumbing to my vices ... fast food, sweets, midnight snacks ... OK, midnight MEALS, etc. Gotta start eating better, dammit.

In addition to getting healthier, I really need to finish these two albums I'm working on. I'd like to have November Sessions done by month's end. After that, I'm going to work on an EP called More Sessions, which are tracks that I wrote while writing November Sessions that won't quite make it on the record, but I want to share them with you all anyway, hence the upcoming EP More Sessions. I hope to finish that by mid- to late-July.

My next album 12, made up of the 12 songs I wrote in 12 days in January, will hopefully be finished by the fall ... September or October, methinks.

All these albums will be released on the newly-founded Family Tree Records, a record company my friends at Family Tree Collective and I are starting up. Should be fun fun fun.

And all this while I work on another project: a series of demos that will comprised of songs I'm writing for other people. I'm gonna try and sell out ... I mean, sell some songs to record producers for performers that don't write their own songs. I've been told that I should do it and that I'd be really good at it. So I'm gonna go for it ... and I'm kinda scared/excited/something ... stay tuned.

Just thinking out loud here.

Also, two albums I've been listening to non-stop for the past couple of weeks ... I really think you should give them a try if you haven't already:

• Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
• Elizabeth & The Catapult - Taller Children

And I've been throwing in some Bell Biv DeVoe in between that. Try it out! You won't be sorry!

That's all I got. Happy June!

Incidentally

OK ... I wanna talk about LOST's Season 5 finale, aka "The Incident".

WOW. One of the best finales this amazing show has had ... maybe second- or third-best to Season 3's finale that flash-forwarded to Jack & Kate off the island.

First and foremost, JACOB. A face to the name, a story to the myth. What a reward that was to us viewers that have been watching since the beginning (or since the middle of Season 2), wondering, pondering, speculating, theorizing on who - or what - Jacob is. And even after a 2-hour season finale devoted to his story via flashbacks, we still don't know who - or what - exactly he is, but we have a much better idea, don't we?


I love, love, love the story about him and his "nemesis" - obviously the war that Widmore and Bram refer to, that's been going on for a "very long time". There are so many biblical and literary references that can be pulled from this plot line and I'm very anxious to see what the sixth and final season will reveal about this thousand-year feud.


LOCKE IS REALLY DEAD. Wow. What an incredible reveal. He had us all fooled, didn't he? Not just the viewers, but he fooled Sun, Ben and even Richard! And to think - he's probably been in and around the island since Season 1 (Christian appearing to Jack in Episode 5, "White Rabbit")!! I really do hope he keeps the appearance of John Locke, though, because Terry O'Quinn is such a great actor.


JULIET DIED! A very, very sad moment. Whether or not Sawyer really was settled down to a one-woman guy, this was a very tough scene to watch. As the actual incident was pulling Juliet down to her death, Sawyer held onto her with all he had, trying his damnedest not to let her go, with the help of Kate, no less (talk about a literary list of symbolism and irony in that scene alone). And as she finally fell to the bottom of the pit, she had enough life in her to finally set that bomb off, presumably helping her friends get to where they "needed" to be. I gotta be honest with you, I preferred Juliet over Kate - for either Sawyer or Jack. I just don't think Kate is a good person. Cute as hell, but not a good person. And yeah, I kinda think Juliet was hotter.


CUT TO WHITE (instead of black)!!! I thought I was watching Arrested Development for a second! A perfect ending to this time-skipping, plot-twisting juggernaut of a season. And now we get to wait nine months until the final season of this amazing, amazing show. We can only hope it'll be worth it, but I'm sure we all know it will ...

Later.

Ketchup

So my reason for not blogging for over a month was that I was really, really busy during the month of April. I'd like to tell you what I was up to ...

When we got back from Texas, my bass player Zack Foley and I decided to put a band together here in New York (since most of the players I played with consistently were based in Texas). So we batted around ideas for a few days and decided on the additions of Jesse Elder on piano and Sam Knight on drums.

We started rehearsing in late March and since have put a really fresh, new sound to all my songs - old and new. Our debut gig was scheduled for May 9 at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Also during April, I was working on my buddy Mike Swift's new play The Sinner, which opened on April 23rd at the Nuyorican for a two-week Thursday-Friday run. Zack and I composed the music for it and I was there every night running sound.


The play is about a priest who begins to realize that he's far too disconnected from society and he finds it hard to help the people who seek guidance from him when he has never experienced the troubles that these people go through. So he decides to go out and get lost in the nightlife of New York City to "experience" the good, the bad and mostly the ugly that today's society has to offer.

Zack and I opted to go for a concoction of church/choral/organ music, as well as some funky jazz, alla Miles Davis' In a Silent Way. I think it worked out beautifully.

The week after The Sinner was through with its run was the week I played twice at the Nuyorican. On Thursday May 7, I played a couple of acoustic sets - the first set was me alone, playing my songs. The second set featured duets with my sister, Lisa Vidas, and my buddy Zack. The show was great, we had a good turnout for a Thursday, and I felt pretty good about the way the sets turned out. Here's a set list:

JASON'S SOLO SET

• Now
• Rely on Fate/The Crime
• Not Guilty
• Untitled
• Rich with Red
• Take the Helm
• Alone Again
• Sad Infatuation
• Wondering If I Belong

FEATURING LISA VIDAS

• Avalanche
• Tonight You Belong To Me
• Come Home
• Valerie

ZACK & JC

• Punky's Dilemma
• The Dangling Conversation
• Homeward Bound
• Two of Us
• America
• The Boxer
• The Only Living Boy in New York
• Old Friends/Bookends

Then on Saturday, May 9, I debuted my new Citizens for Boysenberry Jam Band. The set was intense, funky, mesmerizing, and surreal ... and that was just for me. I have no idea how everyone else felt about it. Zack did his vocal bass thing, which in and of itself is both amazing to watch and very cool to hear; Sam was ridiculous on the drums, playing with and "easy intensity" if that's even possible; and Jesse is such an incredible talent, it was an honor having him play my songs.

Here's a set list:

• Deeper
• Not Guilty
• On the Cusp
• Untitled (The Man That I Am)
• Bittersweet
• My Song
• Heckle & Hide
• 1000000 Miles

OK kids. That's all I got for now. Again, I promise to blog more often from now on. Or until I get busy again. Perhaps a LOST season finale review?!?!?! Umm, yeah ... I think so.

Bye.

All Apologies

So I didn't blog the whole month of April. Terribly sorry. I know all 0 of you are disappointed.

April was incredibly busy. Plus, Twitter and Facebook statuses took up most of my thoughts. But May is on. I will try to blog as often as possible.

First of all, I promised you a blog about my Austin gig. So here you go ...


Austin was awesome. Not only did I play with Richard Cholakian (drums) for the first time in years, but I got to play my first gig with Zack Foley (vocal bass) and my best friends came in from L.A. to come and support me. Awesome time.

The gig itself was great. It was a bit early (12pm), which made getting high and driving in from Houston in the middle of the night a poor decision, but as soon as we hit the stage, tightness ensued. Richard's such a great pop drummer. He really feels what the songwriter feels and I love playing with him. For those of you that haven't heard or seen Zack play yet, I'm gonna leave the explanation of "vocal bass" as just that ... you have to come see for yourself.

Lots of people came out as Saturday South by Southwest festivities unravelled. I sold quite a few CDs, even signed a couple of autographs. Great experience. Here's my set list:

• Now
• Heckle & Hide
• On the Cusp
• Untitled (The Man That I Am)
• Mary
• Stare (Yeah, Yeah)

Short set, but it was awesome. Then we went off to Salt Lick for the best barbecue on the planet. I love Austin, man. Can't wait to go back.

Cheers.

Texas Texas Texas (Part 1 of 2)

Hey kids. Been back from my Texas mini-Tour for a few days now. Sorry I didn't blog much while I was down there, but my my my, did I have a good time.

My first gig on March 14 was pretty good. I played this (fairly) new pub called Firkin & Phoenix, opening for local staple Petesimple. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous since it was my first gig back in H-Town, but I got over that pretty quick. My good friend Abby Seible (who helped me write "Everything's OK") came up and sang BGVs on some tunes and we played another song we wrote together.

The crowd was pretty good - a lot of familiar faces there. It's a nice place. However, I wasn't sure if they were watching me or the Rockets game being projected on the large screen behind me. ;)

Here's my set list:

• Now
• Light of Day
• Alone Again
• Untitled (The Man That I Am)
• May I
• Avalanche
• Rely On Fate/The Crime
• Sad Infatuation
• Not Guilty
• All That Is Beautiful
• Rich With Red
• The Way You Make Me Feel

My next gig was on March 16 at another new joint called The Corkscrew. AMAZING place. It's a wine bar on Washington Street (between Studemont and Downtown) that has a room draped off on the right, mildy lit with couches all around, for live music. Such an AWESOME place to play. I was invited by the Julian Samuel, one of the hosts for that night, to play. I was honored. I'd love to play there again.

On the drive up there, a song came on my iPod that actually got me a little choked up. I've only lived in New York for a little over three years, but it's been long enough for me to adjust to the inevitable changes that go along with moving from a city like Houston to a city like New York. And being back in Houston made me realize how much I've actually changed - not in my personality, but just how I go about my day-to-day. The way I "deal" with people, the way I get from one place to another ... the pace is so different in the City and coming back to Houston, doing things the way I used to ... I got very, you know ...

So when Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" started playing on the drive up there, I got really emotional - at a level I haven't really experienced before. For the first time, I began to really appreciate different things about the way I live my life now and the way I used to live my life. It sounds kind of silly, but I was so inspired to add the song to my set list. I've always loved the song and Elton's recording is so beautiful, but I had never played it before. So on the way to the gig, I started working out the changes in my head and when I got to the end of my set list, I went for it. Turned out pretty good ... I think. I was afraid I'd get choked up again while singing it, but not so much. I guess I was too worried about getting the changes right.

Here's my set list:

• Now
• Avalanche
• Rely On Fate/The Crime
• On the Cusp
• Alone Again/Wildwood Flower
• All That Is Beautiful
• Not Guilty
• Untitled (The Man That I Am)
• Stare (Yeah, Yeah)
• Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Austin was just fucking incredible. I'm gonna have to blog about it later. I've got some exciting news too! Stay tuned ...

Live in Texas

Howdy. So I'm in Houston seeing old friends, booking shows and rehearsing. It's a lot of fun. I miss the wife and the cat, and I miss New York a lot, but it's always nice to come back "home".

Have a last-minute booking for a show tonight at Firkin & Phoenix, opening for local band Petesimple. I used to play with Pete a lot while I was living here and it was nice of him to invite me to open for his band. Should be fun.

I have another show in Houston on Monday - playing at The Corkscrew, opening for Austin singer-songwriter Bob Barney. I may have some surprise guests at that show, too.

And finally, I'm playing in Austin during South By Southwest at Guero's annual "South By South Congress" festival. I'm going to have the full band (mostly full, anyway) for that one. I rehearsed with my old drummer Richard yesterday. I haven't played with him in years, but even after showing him some new tunes, it was like we haven't spent a day apart. So good to play with him again.

My bassist Zack will be coming down from New York to play with us in Austin. SHOULD. BE. AWESOME.

In a way, I feel like I haven't left NY. It's been COLD here in Houston. Not "NY cold" but it feels like it because it's not usually this cold down here. So in a way it's been nice, but dammit - I didn't pack for this. I brought two hoodies, so I'm alternating between the two. It's supposed to warm up by Monday!

OK kids. I'll blog about the gigs later. Take care.

Homeward Bound

Leaving for Houston on Wednesday afternoon. I'll be in Texas for two weeks, splitting time between Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Can't wait to see old faces and play old places.

Take care!