It was rowdy. It was hot. Here’s “Lay You Down” from the cd release party.

I’ve been a fan of the Onion since black-and-white copies started popping up in Milwaukee back in the early 90′s.  (We would read the articles aloud waiting in line to see the Dead Alewives.) So when my friend Chris Karwowski asked me to record a cameo for an Onion Radio News piece, I jumped at the chance. 

It’s official!  My writing partner, Jason Winer, just signed a new overall deal at 20th Century Fox, and together he and I will be developing original single-camera comedies at the studio.  The annoucement is here– it even made the front page of Variety’s print edition.  Very cool.  As my dad says, that’s some “good ink.”

That’s me on stage with the Indigo Girls and Common Rotation, soloing on Salty South, just before jumping in on Closer to Fine.  7/11/9 San Luis Obispo, California.

The night was everything I’d daydreamed it could be:  Amy, Emily, and their entire touring staff were unbelievably kind and generous.  The Common Rotation set was a blast.  The audience was supportive.  Julie Wolf, the Girls’ keyboardist, is the coolest.  I watched the Girls’ set from the wings and got to admire the work of Sully, the Girls’ guitar tech of 13 years.  And to cap it all off I was invited to play mandolin on the two encores, Salty South and Closer to Fine.  After twenty years playing their songs alone in my bedroom and with my friends at campfires, it was incredible to join them on stage.

You can cross this off my “If I Had A Holdeck” list.

Photo via kareninSF.

On July 11th I’ll be joining Common Rotation when we open for Indigo Girls in San Luis Obispo.  I’ve seen Indigo Girls many, many times over the years, and I’m incredibly excited to be sharing a stage with them.  Tickets and info here.

Have you heard their new album?  It’s called Poseidon and the Bitter Bug and it’s awesome.  The iTunes deluxe version comes with a bonus album with all the studio tunes performed acoustically.  Worth it.

At the San Luis Obispo show I’ll be on mandolin and possibly piano.  Plus we’ll be selling our new CD, Common Rotation vs. The Dust Bowl Cavaliers, at the show.  Stay tuned for the ComRo/DBC CD release show here in LA…

My top Indigo Girls memory: In the summer of 1994 Lori, Jason and I borrowed a car in Cimmaron, New Mexico, and drove 8 hours to Denver in the hopes of catching their sold-out show at Red Rocks.  We snagged some scalped tickets under a freeway overpass just before showtime.  Amazing seats.  Magic night.  Amy Ray covered Romeo and Juliet solo on electric.  After the show we had no place to stay, so Jason opened the phone book and called a kid he hadn’t seen since 5th grade.  The guy was home, remembered Jason, and happened to be throwing a party that night.  We raged, crashed, and drove back to New Mexico in the morning, arriving at the ranch just in time to hike back to camp.  Perfect.

photo via ellenbea @ flickr

Moving!

My wife and I left our apartment in Studio City for a lovely little house in Burbank.  A few weeks and 800 CRV trips later, we’re all set up in the new place.  I’ve become a master with an allen wrench–  no un-assembled piece of semi-disposable Sweedish furniture is safe.

On the work front, I continue to have a blast writing for WordGirl and providing voices for the series.  Big, ridiculous, exciting writing projects are in various stages of development, and I’m days away from being able to publicly announce a series of music gigs that are, well, kinda unbelievable.  Stay tuned!

Listening to: Wilco bootlegs from the Jay Bennett era. (Via aquariumdrunkard.com)

1. Heading in, the view of Denali out of the plane’s window.  Insane.

2. The sold out Chronic Town screenings. It seemed like everyone in town came out to support and enjoy the film.

3. Meeting the locals, the students, and the professors who helped make the film.  It was truly a community effort.

4. Talking with Adam, the owner of the Blue Loon.  He told me stories about shopping at pawn shops with Bo Diddley, hosting Wilco’s pre-Lollapalooza rehearsals, and the Indigo Girls rocking the venue with just two voices and two guitars. (More on IG soon.  Awesome rumors!)

5. Riding around town with Tom, Lauri, Brady, Mike and Carol.  Five great and wildly one-of-a-kind rockers.

Our crazy visit made the local paper, twice!  Articles here and here.

THINGS I DIDN’T DO:

1. Take enough photos.

2. Go into the wild.

Next time.

File this under “Awesome completed projects that pop up unexpectedly years later.”

Chronic Town, my first feature as a composer, is being screened way, way up in Fairbanks, Alaska in early May, and I’ve been invited to attend the screenings along with director Tom Hines and producer Lauri LaBeau.  While I’m visiting the University I’ll be leading some workshops on writing and composing for television and film.  Rad!

Chronic Town was shot on location in Fairbanks in 2007, and couldn’t have been made without the support of the students, faculty, and staff from the University of Alaska.  Since my work as composer began well after filming was completed, (and took place in the comfort of my warm LA recording studio) I missed the chance to meet the cast and crew that gave the film its unique charm.  This will be my first visit to Alaska.  I’m imagining the solitude and beauty of New Mexico, mixed with… cold.  Can’t wait!

Here’s the trailer:

Coming in May: Wendy’s kids meals will feature WordGirl toys.  Collect all five!  Go here and then click on “Coming Soon” to check out the awesomeness.  I’m looking forward to the card game.  And the magnetic spinner.  (It’s magic!)  No action figure of Scoops or Mr. Botsford, but my dream of being immortalized in plastic lives on.

In other awesome WordGirl news, Scholastic has hired Briarpatch to develop a series of WordGirl board games and card games, due out in 2010.  I AM NOW OFFICIALLY JEALOUS.  Writing cartoons is a complate blast, but how much fun would it be to design board games?!  Seriously.  I want that job.  How do I get that job?

Saw this article in Wired magazine about the best boardgame ever: Settlers of Catan.  Play it, if you haven’t already.  It’s far and away my favorite indie German boardgame from the 90′s.  More fun than a Halo LAN party, and never the same game twice.