Monday morning, Glassell Park, 7:40AM. The bright sunlight is sending a very forthright call for me to get my ass in gear for a busy new week. I dress, eat, plan, and begin. Fire the gun, dive in headfirst.

Well, I am on a supposed break from tour, yet somehow these breaks never seem to deftly avoid staying true to their namesake. There was, thankfully, a great Christmas to share with my family, and my wife and daughter's back-to-back birthdays. Good times, busy as they were. Yet duties seem to naggingly call. I have no aversion to being busy, don't get me wrong. But I had thought that this two-month break was going to afford me the opportunity to actually disappear a bit, play with sound-making machines, write tunes, sit on a mountaintop, wax philosophical, look at some trees, walk on some sand, etc. Not quite. So, what have I been up to?

Nine Inch Nails: Study, study, prepare, prepare. NIN is forging ahead as a four-piece band, which means that there are more duties for each of us since the departure of Alessandro Cortini. Likewise, we are training new drummer Ilan Rubin. And learning new (old) material that will be introduced into the repertoire. Oh - and rebuilding our gear setups. This has been a very demanding time for myself and my band mates. Regardless, we're excited. We leave for New Zealand on Feb 13.

Dangerbird Records: I continue to work with the band Dappled Cities, helping them put the finishing touches on their upcoming record. I promise you, it's a great one.

Grace Woodroofe: I am resuming work on production of her debut record, which is a challenge since she lives in Perth, Australia. But I have her here in LA for a short time, so we're going to take advantage of that.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Working on some musical aspects of that film, including training one of the actors to replicate my bass playing that I pre-recorded for the movie.

Informers: Not sure about a US release date for the film, but I do know that I've been finishing up the logistics for the soundtrack album, on which a few of my compositions for the film will likely appear.

Other: Various recording sessions including a bunch for Macy Gray, writing sessions, meetings, and working with my tech Mike on tightening up my studio, adding acoustic treatments, fine-tuning computers, etc.

Wow. Now that I wrote it all down, a realization washes over me. A constant refrain, returning again. I'm busy, happy, moving fast, getting things done, paying the mortgage, and staying creative. Hmm! In other words: I'm a person who has made a living in music for many years, doing things I actually enjoy. Well, how about that? Nothing to complain about after all. In fact, I am eternally grateful.

Happy 2009 everybody.

Best,
JMJ