i'm not one much for the noise/improv scene, although i have great respect for the people who engage in it. i'm not sure what it is, but sometimes when i see someone or a group who is performing "noise," i flee for fear that if i continue to listen to it, the men in the white jackets will come for me. it's not that i dislike it...for a person who relies on music to keep her sane, i need some structure most of the time.

most of the time.

pictured is simone weisenfel, a classically trained pianist from germany, who came to the states to collaborate with adam smith aka smitty from deadsea. some of you may not know this, but i am a classically trained pianist. i began training when i was five, and was actually a piano performance major for a solid year in college. upon reading about this show at the shelf down at skylab, it piqued my interest. i didn't think i had actually seen such a thing that involved a pianist.

one word i can say is "meditation," and that included the openers whose names unfortunately escape me at this time. i was the meditator and they were the mantra.

some more shots...

i had the pleasure of shooting the fleet foxes show at the wexner center last week.
here's the full set.

i thought this miiiiiiight be the best way to get the word out, so here goes...

BRIAN AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!

brian asked me this morning, and i said 'yes.' there's not many details at this point or an exact date. many conversations ensued at breakfast this morning afternoon, including...

where and when?
inside or outside?
do we have bridesmaids and groomsmen and all that stuff?
who's gonna marry us?
honeymoon in europe?!?!?!?!?!?

the only thing we've come up with so far is the wedding will most likely be next year, and it's going to be something simple and not too expensive. we're gonna think on it for a bit before anything is set in stone, OR we will just say fuck it and go to vegas. ha.


things i do know for sure:
i am keeping my name.
i don't want to wear white, how about this?



i will probably continually post more thoughts on this later, as most of you probably know i swore i would never get married. ;)

COMFEST 2008:

brainbow does their thing with the strings.



muscle puzzle




colossus at red white & doom @ carabar. best friends, thunderlip!, and deerhead played too.




columbus music co-op's third annual parking lot blowout

i was the official volunteer photographer for this event, and i took a bazillion photos. click on the photo of el jesus de magico for the whole set.



the photos of church of the red museum were graciously taken by tom schmidt as i am playing guitar with them now and haven't quite perfected being in two places at once. i'm still working on it tho.

main street gospel were wanting some live shots for their show @ the basement with dead meadow, so they were kind enough to get me into this show, feed me, and drunken me.

dead meadow is 10,000x better live than the recordings i have heard, but i will have to listen again now.

main street gospel







dead meadow







as always, click the pics for the whole set.

deerhead's very first show at carabar...as usual, carabar is tough to get good shots, but i thought they might like a few for their very first show ever.





deadsea brought their own lights and smoke machine to carabar, so these turned out kinda cool.





click the pics for allllllll...



also, a photo diary for the rosehips minitour is up on my livejournal.

photographed for the wexner center.
click the pics for the whole set.



man man



yeasayer

second attempt at chicken masala, turned out much tastier.

ingredients
-------------------------
1 pound chickie
-------------------------
1 cup brown basmati or jasmine rice
1 onion, finely chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 green pepper
1 med-large potato
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 can or 1 cup garbanzo beans
1 can coconut milk
1/2 small can tomato paste
2 tsp garam masala

begin steaming rice as basmati or jasmine takes a while.

saute chopped onions, garlic and ginger on medium low heat in olive oil or other good oil.
slice green pepper and add, then slice the potato into cubes and add. i leave the skin on.

add water, curry powder, and cumin. stir. when water boils off, add everything else except the garam masala. put the lid on and simmer on med-low to med heat for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. the longer you simmer, the thicker your sauce will be.

fry chickie in good oil then add to the pot when done.

add garam masala just before serving, mix well.
serve over rice.

this was much more successful then the first attempt at making this as the sauce in that one was water based, not coconut-tomato. i would still up the spices a little, as this was good but still not entirely as flavorful as indian food should be.

i had the pleasure of being asked by the wexner center to take photos of the jens lekman show. click the pic for the flickr set.






i also took some photos at the most recent "house of jank" show. pictured is winter makes sailors.

sin nombre at bourbon street





evil queens at ravari room. i missed the razers and you’re so bossy because i was show hopping





the tough shits from philly with the jellyhearts at carabar. i have yet to get a good shot of the jellies. :(





hotchacha with sinkane and rage against the cage, click the pic for all those shots.





the paperchase at carabar with muscle puzzle and the slide machine.

ingredients:

tofu:
1 block extra firm tofu
steak sauce
4 cloves garlic
green onions
paprika
oregano
basil
black pepper
cloves

potatoes:
two med-large potatoes
1 tablespoon of butter
water or milk
cayenne pepper
black pepper
salt

greens
1 bunch collard greens
good cooking oil

for a more meat-like consistency, freeze the tofu. thaw before cooking and squeeze all the water out.
then cut the block in half and marinate in the steak sauce in the frig for a bit.

preheat the oven to 400, and then start on the potatoes. i make steamed mashed potatoes as steaming removes the least amount of nutrients, so i cut the potatoes (with skins) into chunks and place into the steaming pot once the water is boiling. you could boil them in water if steaming is not an option.

add a little water to the bottom of the baking dish for the tofu. add garlic, green onions, and spices. only use a small pinch of cloves. bake 10-15 minutes on each side.

while tofu is baking and potatoes are steaming or cooking, heat up the oil and begin to sauté the collard greens. cook on med-low heat just until they start to get soft. i usually cook my greens in soy sauce, and sometimes garlic and onions, but i was out so i just mixed them in with my steak sauce while eating.



by this time, potatoes should be done steaming. place in a bowl and mash with water or milk. add the butter, spices, and just a few dashes of salt. i have a hand mixer with a whisk, so i usually whip my potatoes until they are fluffy. i also grated some cheddar cheese on top.



i served this with red wine.