I hope you have been enjoying the holidays. I have. A lot. I have finally achieved a goal of my as I have now had dinner at a Michelin rated restaurant, Providence (two star at that). I have never had such food. 18 courses of pure decadence and glory all paired with wine. It seems a bit like a dream, a very very tasty dream. It was also a very long dream since the dinner was 5 and a half hours. A couple course I had:
Sea Urchin with puréed cauliflower
Squid pad thai
Fois Gras with Eel (and lots o truffles)
Halibut with some sort of tasty foam and sake
The best cheese platter of my life
Barley ice cream with north star cherries
Burnt Carmel Ice cream with chocolate truffles
Lots of tasty wine

Ok, I have had just about enough of this rubbish that is called winter.  I know I am not alone in this sentiment.  In fact many of my friends have commented about the cold and the dreariness.  The short days and long nights have driven many to the brink of tears.  Pansies.  Weak, non Norse pansies.  I have had enough of this rubbish winter because we have had no accumulation of snow.  We have had no sub zero temperatures.  MY LAVENDER PLANT IS STILL GROWING!!! This is not winter.  This is weathers version of purgatory.  Its neither heaven nor hell.  It is common knowledge that in Wisconsin (the blessed state) the natives pray for snow.  I must be alone in my prayers here because all we have to show for it is an ice storm and a lavender plant that won’t die.
Lamentable, simply lamentable.

Things I am pondering:
What’s it going to take to get some snow in Indiana????
Is the iPod touch a fidgeters dream?
Fresh squeezed Orange Juice vs. Tangerine juice?
Ice cream and pie or Fresh whipped cream and pie?
How can Oboma justify a stimulus check for everyone when we have NO money ($10,639,199,996,056,567.78 at the time of writing this – I checked on my National Debt app for my ipod touch!!)
Warren Buffet for President!  

Again it has been to long since I last wrote. I am trying to have the habit of blogging every day, sort of like a pre new years resolution. Of course I do not always feel as if I have much to say but then again maybe I do. It has been a trying year musically as we have worked to the 11th hour to finish our cd and put on our cd release show. The album is fantastic and I won't lie when I say I am glad it is done. You should buy it because its, well, really really good www.cdbaby.com). The cd release show also went well and lot of people showed up and partook in the glory of rock n roll.
Other notable events that have happened since I last blogged
Snow
Going on 2 week music vacation to a beach house
Snow
Tasting the top 12 Napa Valley Reds (2005 "Poetry" by Stags Leap)
Putting up the Christmas tree
Drinking the first eggnog of the season (with fresh nutmeg on top!!!)
Snow
New President (Not Ron Paul, unfortunately)
Easting my weight in steamed blue Crabs
Putting in a new car battery
Throwing the seasons first snow ball
Yes, life is always full of little yet monumental events (like snow). I hope that you are not want for adventure.
Things I am pondering:
What's it going to take to legalize Raw Milk cheese
What is best way to cook Dover sole?
What would happen to us if online social networking was deemed illegal

Tour Diary: 10/16/08

I suppose there is always at least one little snag when one is on tour. Tonight we were lined up to play Boston and when we arrived . . . Nada. I will forgo the details because i am very crabby and tired as I write this and no one needs to read my rants on human incompetents. I will say that the scenery (outside the cities) is marvelous and I will also say that this has been a grand tour. I need to remind myself of this right now since there are a few people that I would like to . . . well you get the picture. Tomorrow is off to Maryland. That looks to be a very good show (assuming we make it through Boston, NY, and D.C traffic. Stay tuned).

Things I am pondering.
How on earth do so many incompetent persons get into positions of influence?

I need a new cheese to try. Any ideas (and no I will not try American cheese!)

Hey this is Matt attempting my first tour blog.  I figure I'd try to sneak one in while everyone else is sleeping.  We had talked about all of us adding a paragraph to the blogs, but with Josh and I being sick the last few days our free time has been spent in bed.  Thankfully we're both feeling much better, but we're afraid that Wolfy might have finally caught our sickness. 

Tour has been great so far minus the illness.  Our van is driving well and climbed up some nasty hills in Pittsburgh without a problem.  The weather has been very enjoyable too.  No rain, mostly sunny skies, and the temperature is just right. 

We've played 2 shows so far and both of those went well.  Xenia was a great time because after the show we got to go camping in the venue owner's pop up camper in his back yard.

Sunday we spent the day driving out to New Jersey where we're staying with Josh's aunt and uncle.  Monday we got up early, well early for me anyway 8am, and took the train into New York City.  We walked up 7th Ave to Central Park and had lunch in the park.  It was weird to go from busy, noisy, crowded New York streets into a park where it was quiet and peaceful.  We had a meeting in the afternoon and after that we caught the train back to New Jersey.  We all had a great time walking around the city and seeing the sites.  We'll be heading back tomorrow, but this time we'll be in our van so we'll have to fight traffic and hope that we find a parking space outside the venue.  We got lucky last time we played New York City so we're not sure if we'll be that lucky again.

You can actually listen to us play our show live at Arlene's Grocery by going to this website.  www.musikville.com  Look for Wolfy at Arlene's Grocery and when 10pm rolls around they should start streaming our show live.  From what I've seen of the site you can only listen to the set live and it won't be saved on the site to listen to later.  So if you aren't doing anything at 10 tuesday night give us a listen and let us know if it worked and what it sounded like.

Tour Diary: 10/13/08
Today I have been reminded the importance of peace and the beauty of simplicity. You must forgive me but I am exhausted as I write this. It has been a wonderfully long day in New York City. I will let Josh and Matt (hopefully they will post their blogs) write more in detail. We had a meeting with a publishing company that went extremely well. However the highlight for me was walking back to the train station we impulsively stopped into a church (I enjoy the architecture of old churches). Never have I seen or heard such a contrast. Outside was typical New York Manhattan with lots of noise and flash. Yet inside it was quiet. Very quiet. A few people were sitting in the pews praying and I was struck by the amazing presence of peace and prayer. To me it was the most beautiful thing I have seen on this tour. A monk spoke to us as we left and his words were so comforting and filled with genuine compassion. I hope to experience more of this peace as life continues to become more and more crazy busy.

Things I am pondering:
Were do others find peace in a crazy world?

Is there good pizza in NY because I have yet to find it?

Tour Diary: 10/11/08

I am surrounded by plague. I realize that plague is a medieval term these days but I feel it is a much more interesting way of saying Josh and Matt are sick and oh crumbs, I'm next. I have resorted to sitting as far back in the van as I can all the while reminding the two that they are in fact carriers of plague and should burn all there clothes and artifacts as to get rid of the plague.
I must say that this Saturday has been a most lovely one. Let me emphasize again that fall is indeed the best time of the year (followed by winter of course). We had a most wonderful drive through the hills of Pennsylvania. Of course I was asleep most of the time but I'm sure the whole drive was filled with burst of colorful trees and other lovely fall type sights (like pumpkins and corn maize's).
As I type this we have just finished our set and are waiting for another band to start which describes their music as being akin to "Sex in a graveyard." I'm not sure what this means and it is a bit puzzling for me as I would not attributes many good characteristics to "sex in a graveyard." What does sound good at the moment is a glorious cheese tray. In fact I am hoping they end soon so I can have a slice of St. Andre and some sharp cheddar. If I only had a nice white Grave (that's a wine from France . . . not grave as in "sex in a graveyard"), that would be brilliant. Alas cheese alone will have to do.

Tomorrow we head north to New Jersey (I think).

Things I am pondering:
Is Godzilla vs King Kong really a great match up? I mean, doesn't Godzilla breath fire and isn't King Kong merely a big hairy ape?

Are Passive aggressive people the largest people group in the world?

New world vs Old world showdown that I would like to see: Chateau Margaux (00) vs. Dominus (03).

Will I ever get this cheese making bit down???

Tour Diary: Day 1 10/10/08

I'm not one for omens. Though I do love to see them come up in literature and theater I have never been one to have them walk up beside me and say "Cheers Mate, I'm your omen . . . you should worry"
So about this omen. Well, basically Matt and Josh both have come down with various illnesses. This at the beginning of the tour. Actually it was a little interesting to see Josh become progressively worse during our set tonight. I do not take heart in the fact that I am more than likely going to be quite ill once we hit New York City. While Josh and Matt are out and about having a grand old time, I will be in the hotel in a miserable state. Well, that's how it plays out in my head.
So we are on tour. Always a fun time. One starts to take bets as to A. How long till be are involved in a traffic altercation and B. Will Matt try one of my new tour food concoctions. So far we have no winner in either. I must say that this is a fantastic time to go out on the road. It's fall, which of course is my favorite season (followed closely by Winter). There is nothing better seeing the north east explode into color. If one has ever had a chance to walk through the woods filled with maples and oaks, you will agree with me when I say its nature's version of a Cathedral (Gothic style). The air is crisp, apples are in season, which means more pie, and most importantly I can start wearing scarves. Tomorrow we head to Pittsburg. I hope it's cold and glorious.

Things I am pondering:
Why does the lead singer of the band playing right now think we are a true democracy? We are a republic with a representative form of government! He is a political science major for crying out loud (according to him).

I can't take much more politics. Please let the madness end. We need a despot.

Will matt eat my goat cheese and vegetables dish?

Why do people talk .. phones DURING a concert. That cannot be good for your ears or communication. Plus I think it's a bit rude (of course maybe the fact that I am typing this blog during another bands set is?).

I have always been of the opinion if you are not having an adventure you should go find some. In fact, one (in my opinion) should never be want of adventure. However due to recent events over the weekend I might perhaps be ready to adapt that phrase to "if your not having an adventure, just go eat some cheese."
This weekend was quite full, seeing as we (the band) had photo shoots all weekend and wound up trying to look cool whilst standing in poison ivy and letting are bodies be the biggest all you could eat buffet for the local population of mosquitoes. Photo shoots in the woods are brilliant and our photographer Jen is one of the best so I do know that in spite of my incessant itching, the photos will be brilliant. I will say that even though I have never had so much makeup applied to my face nor so much wax put in my hair, I believe that as long as photo shoots take place in air conditioning (which is were our other photo shoot took place, in an nice Victorian home) its quite a fun experience . . . unless you can't get your facial expressions right, which was a continuing problem for myself. Alas, if only to have the gift of modeling. Anyway, so how this ties in to adventure. On Sunday after the photo shoots the band plus our dear friend and band assistant Erin decided to take a bike ride up to a shaved ice stand that we know about. The Monon Trail, as it is aptly known, is an old rail line that has been converted into a very nice bike trail. It runs north and south and covers a large swath of Indianapolis's topography. Now those who have biked the monon (myself included) will tell you that certain parts of the trail which are . . . well lets just say you won't stop and smell the roses. Let it be known, however, that in all my rides (and I do ride my bike a considerable amount) I have never had any issues on the trail. I usually have more problems downtown with cars trying to run me over. Well, as we were eating our shaved ice (actually I have no great love of the stuff but Matt and Josh have a passion for all things sweet and cold) we noticed the sun setting and decided that perhaps we should get riding before the trail turned into one black shadow (the trail is not lit). As we were racing home we came to a bridge just south of the fairgrounds. Now I have known for some time that the area is not the greatest but truth be told the scarier areas are farther south. As we were biking across the bridge (single file: Matt in front, Erin, Josh, and then myself bringing up the rear) four very large men appeared out of the shadows. Keep in mind that we were biking at a good clip and had no intention of stopping to chit chat. It all played out so fast yet it seemed like the world was in slow motion. One of the vagrants lunged at Matt, slamming him into the side of the bridge. How Matt stayed upright is still a mystery to me, but no one is complaining. Erin somehow whizzed through unscathed but as Josh and I were plowing through the fray of bodies and bikes a ruffian jumped at Josh and punched him in the face sending his glasses flying off his head and his bike into the side of the bridge as well. Again, how he stayed upright I have no idea. Needless to say I was in a bit of a panic seeing as I had already witnessed all the action unfurl in front of me and realized that I had yet to zip through the gang of thugs. I will never claim to be the biggest kid on the block (though I am fairly tall). However, I am quite these four guys could lay claim that. As Josh was miraculously pedaling out of the fray I was forced to jump in, took a punch to my bike helmet, careened off the side of the bridge, had a man grab my bike but only just, and then sprinted like I have never sprinted on a bike and raced to safety . . . sort of. The sad thing was that we were still in what many would claim is the ghetto, bruised, battered, blind (well only Josh, since he can't see a thing without his glasses), rattled, and scared to death. Plus it didn't help that one of the many emergency call boxes along the trail that I tried to use was not working. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen. We had no choice but to ride through a rough part of town, at night, with little streetlight to guide us. Its funny to think on this now because so many times one hears "don't go to this part of town at night" and well, we were in that part of town. Lucky for us we had a dear friend who lived close to the area and we raced to his house and thanked our lucky stars that we were all in one piece (and also thanked our stars that he was actually home!).
I think the most tragic part of this story is that for so long I had talked about how wonderful the Monon trail is and this was Josh, Erin, and Matt's first ride on the trail. It also, more than likely, will be their last.

Things I am pondering:
How was I not beat to a bloody pulp?
Should I take Karate again?
Is it wrong that I thought the whole experience was exhilarating?
Whom will I bike with now?
What would dinosaur meat have tasted like?
Could you barbeque it?

Yet again I must apologize for my long delay in writing. It is not that I don't enjoy writing but I have, alas, put it at the lower end of my list of responsibilities for the band. Its been a absolutely crazy month with the record FINALLY finished and now all the planning and administrative tasks that are presented. It seems that one day we are a band and the next day we turn into our own record lable/promotion company. Needless to say life is crazy busy. But that's life I suppose. As long as there is a well ripened cheese waiting for me at the end of the day, I'm okay.
So I am now learning to do a new task: straightening my hair. I can't say that I am excited about this but per the suggestion of my stylist I have delved were I never have delved before. Needless to say I have no idea what I am doing. Whilst preparing for our show this evening I have produced no less than 3 burns on my neck. My hope is that I can master this new fangled thing so I will not have burn marks up and down my neck for our upcoming photo shoots!
I don't know if you saw the opening ceremonies but I must say it has to have been the best one ever. It was absolutely brilliant. I think I will award the best opening athletes attire (men's) to Norway and for the women, Poland. I usually am not a fan of the US attire but I thought it was okay. The worst perhaps was Hungary. The women's attire looked like they had just finished butchering some animal. Yes, I know that is a bit graphic but that's all I could think of when watching. I look forward to watching what I can of the games. I think I look forward most to watching diving and volleyball (indoor).

Things I am pondering:
Is it a tragedy if I don't watch the most recent Batman installment?
Can any State fair be better than Wisconsin's?
Is it possible to eat to many peaches?
Do athletes at the Olympics really eat McDonald's food like is advertised?