Parenthetically Yours

Favorite Things Friday

This has been an unusually difficult past few weeks for many friends of ours--deaths, tragedies, job losses, etc--so today I'm just going to lighten the mood for everyone. 

If you are/were a fan of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre (and really, who wasn't?), then you'll be excited to know about this upcoming movie called Gentlemen Broncos. It was written and directed by Jared Hess, the writer/director of those two movies. Plus, it stars Jemaine Clement, the better half (in my opinion) of Flight of the Conchords. If you're into ridiculous parodies of ridiculous self-help gurus, then check out Clement's character, Dr. Ronald Chevalier's own website. 

If you can make it through the 30 commercial, the trailer follows immediately:

I'm going to get in line now for tickets. Unfortunately, there's no release date set...yet.

Have a great weekend...next week: Regular blog posts resume! 

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday

So, let's see. It's been a month. I honestly never meant to go this long without writing. But, alas, no one is paying me to do this so you can all get over it. All ten of you out there. See? You're already over it.

There has to be a great spiritual metaphor in here somewhere about best intentions vs. quantifiable actions...but today isn't the day for that.  It's Friday (again) and it's time to kick the weekend off right. Or left.

AMOS LEE

I realize that Mr. Lee is not new news, but here in the Williams house, Katie has inexplicably become obsessed with his song, "Arms of a Woman." I've always been impressed with his voice, but I always filed him away as the male Norah Jones. Plus, who knows how someone actually sings anymore with all the computer-aided correction that happens on 99% of records made these days. I hate to burst your bubble, but Taylor Swift can't sing very well. She can write a good song and wear a dress well...but sing? Not on your life. So, when Katie and I discovered these homemade videos on YouTube, we were transfixed. The guy has deep soul. 

The first video is laid back, like the recording, but delicate. The second video is the same song, but greasy and with attitude--a totally different vibe, but similarly mesmerizing. Notice how his notes are effortless, coming from somewhere other than simply breath and vocal chords, beyond thought. His talent is a genuine, real gift that only comes along every so often and, unfortunately, rarely shows up on pop charts. Think Stevie Wonder, Alecia Keys, Al Green, Jeff Buckley, and Merle Haggard. Old soul, brewing up from hidden places. They all have (had) it. So does Amos Lee.

SURPRISE WEDDING ENTRANCES 

I love this kind of stuff. Try not to enjoy it. Try not to actually feel like those in attendence. Go on. Try. 

MOVING

Ok. That one is sort of a joke. I don't like moving. We're moving this week from our cute downtown cottage to a nicer, newer condo a mile away. Yes, we're leaving the creaky old house (and requisite spiders and poor insulation) for new digs. I love the process of going through our stuff and throwing and giving away things that take up space. It's incredibly therapeutic to simplify and streamline your possessions. Anybody want 10 years of old SPIN magazines?

PUNS

If you know me, you know I love puns. This morning I asked Katie what would happen if such-and-such happened. She said, "I'd have a cow." I said, "Don't do that because then our first child would be a cow." With zero delay she said, "But we could name her Moo-lissa." AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

Yessssss! 

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday

It's been a few weeks since the previous FTF and I've come across some great things in that time...but I won't bore you with all the mindless details. Let me, however, let you know about one of my LEAST favorite things these days: Aer Lingus. What is that, you say? Sounds like some airborne fungus doesn't it? Well, it sort of is. Aer Lingus (or Air Fungus to the Brits) is an Ireland-based airline that lost six (SIX!) of our guitars last week while we were in Europe. Not only did they lose them, but they did nothing to find them. Thankfully a kind employee at British Airways did some legwork for us at London Heathrow airport and found them in Aer Lingus' possession with no destination tags anywhere to be found on them. So...a big YAY to British Airways and a big BOO to Aer Lingus.

Now, on to the favorites.

PORTLAND BREW's Ethiopian High Priest Blend - My favorite coffee. Yeah, I know I talk about coffee quite a bit from time to time here. But, this is the mack daddy, the smoothest, the ultimate cup o' joe. Portland Brew is my favorite coffee joint in Nashville (but we desperately need one in Franklin!). In fact, if you look up and to the left at the photo under the ABOUT section of this blog, that picture was taken at PB of one of their more masterful latte creations. They do coffee/espresso right and the Ethiopian High Priest is a blend of African, South American, and Indonesian beans that is smooth as silk, and dark as an African night. It's also their best seller. I'm sipping some at this very moment.

The PALM PRE - Yeah, yeah. I know. The new iPhones are out. I love 'em and I want one. But it just doesn't make sense for me to get one for several reasons. I got the next best thing. And you know what? I LOVE it! The only thing it's lacking compared to the iPhone is Apple's App Store. The Pre only has a few dozen apps available at the moment, but there are hundreds in the pipeline. The Pre is sleek, fast, small, and is incredibly intuitive when it comes to syncing with your calendar, iTunes, mail, etc. Believe it or not, there are a few things it does better than the iPhone. First, it's with Sprint, not AT&T. Second, it has a real keyboard, not a sketchy at best software-based keyboard. Third, it's smaller. Fourth, your $7/month insurance covers it. Fifth, no need for a separate, proprietary phone plan for it. My $94/month (unlimited everything) is all I need. Sixth, you can leave multiple programs open and switch between them...while on a phone call. Plus it has all the other goodies: GPS, WiFi, full web browsing, universal search, cut/paste, multi-touch screen, etc. Phones are NOT just phones anymore.

PROGUITARSHOP.COM - I'm not really expecting many of you to care about this, but whenever I'm looking for a new piece of guitar equipment, this is my first stop. They have a YouTube channel with over 400 video demos of guitars, amps, and effects. The videos are bare-bones simple but do an amazing job showing the products without falling into hyperbole or over-promotion (which is what I'm doing here). If you're looking for gear, begin your search here. Here's one of their videos demonstrating my favorite new pedal, the Electro-Harmonix Micro POG. (that's a birthday hint)

That's all this week. It feels good to be back. Now...y'all come back.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday - MONO CASE!

I'm not usually one for blatant promotion. Oh, wait. I totally am. That's what Favorite Things Friday is all about. 

From time to time I like to mention a cool piece of gear that I've run across...like this week. For those of you who aren't musicians, don't tune out. I'm sure there's a musician lurking around your family or friends...and don't they have a birthday coming up? 

This week, I'm all about MONO CASE. If any of you have ever travelled with a guitar in a gig bag, then you understand why I get so nervous when I fly. I have literally $1,000s of dollars invested in my guitars so that's reason enough to get skittish. Now, put those expensive guitars in a case that has no hard edges and no bracing to protect the neck. It's not that big of a deal, as long as I have control over my bag. Back in the day, I could check up to three things, but now I have to simplify and carry-on as much as possible. Even then, half the time I have to hand my darlings over to a a burly bag handler who would like nothing more than to set them gently under a 500 lb steamer trunk. It's enough to make me want to take up a cheaper profession. And Kung Fu.

About two months ago, my buddy Barry Graul showed up on tour with his new Mono Case. It looked like something out of Star Trek and I knew instantly I needed one, but one that carried two guitars. He said the company was working on a new double gig bag and it would be out soon. Well...SOON is here!

Gorgeous! 

Even if you're not a musician, you have to appreciate the design. It just looks awesome and say, "I do this for a living." Is that a little smug? Maybe.

The best feature, however, to me is definitely the neck brace. Now, I won't have to be scared to check it. As long as the neck isn't moving around, I can hand the case to the burly baggage beast with confidence.

Like I said earlier, you don't have to be a musician to love the cases. In fact, they have a pretty awesome line of messenger bags/cases if you travel with a laptop, headphones, books, etc. It will definitely make you stand out in the coffee shop or airport. And let's be honest, isn't it kinda cool to be the guy/gal with the coolest looking bag? Is that just me?

Click on MONO CASE to see everything I'm talking about. Tell 'em Randy sent ya.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday - Northwest Edition - Pt 2

Well...this is gonna be a quickie, but I wanted to get something up before I'm detained by the Canadian authorities. Ok. That's a joke. I'm sitting at a coffee shop in Seattle waiting to leave for Vancouver, British Columbia to do a show there tonight...so let's jump in.

TULLY'S COFFEE - There's a running joke in Seattle that if you want to find a Tully's, go to a Starbucks and turn around. This is my favorite chain coffee in Seattle, beating Starbucks' burnt bean juice by a mile. I'm enjoying a piping hot Red Eye (coffee with an added shot of espresso) and there's nary a hint of bitterness. Mmmmmm.

VANCOUVER, BC - If you're dying to go to Europe but don't want to bother with all the travel expense, hassle, and language issues, you have to visit Canada. I know, I know. Canada evokes images of snow, bad fashion, Bob and Doug McKenzie, and progressive rock music. Well, at least it does for me. But...three of the most amazing cities in the world are up here in the great white North: Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto. But for my money, Vancouver is where it's at. I really wish I had more time to dedicate to this paragraph, but just take my word for it. Good memories in Vancouver.

THIS VIDEO - Ok, this has nothing to do with the Pacific Northwest, but it's awesome. Below is an excerpt of a hilarious interview on Conan with the comedien Louis CK. I saw this the night it aired and loved every word of this interview. I finally found it on NBC.com (an amazing site). By the way, if you get irritated by the 12 second Lowe's commercial at the beginning of this, you may be one of the people Louis is talking about. Just a thought. 

Ok...the weekend is your. Do something great or hilarious with it.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday - Good Friday Edition

In honor of Good Friday, this week's edition of Favorite Things Friday will all be Easter/Resurrection themed. Well, except one, but we'll get to that in a bit.

CARNEY "Resurrection"  There's a undiscovered genius in Los Angeles named Reeve Carney. He and his brother Zane (a ridiculous guitarist) have a bandly aptly named Carney. I happened to catch one of their famed shows at L.A. Molly Malone's on Melrose Ave a few years back and was shell-shocked and speechless...and that's putting it mildly. It was kind of a big deal. What's even better is that they're all sold-out, crazy Christians. They're making unbelievably passionate and genius art that is dripping with the Gospel, but it sounds NOTHING like what you would hear on Christian radio stations. Thankfully. Fall in love with Carney. Please. In keeping with this week's theme, here's a video of them performing their song "Resurrection." Be forwarned, it's an epic 9 minute musical free-for-all. The editing is lame and the audio is even worse. But the tag of the chorus is "It don't mean a thing without the Resurrection." The band has other better-produced videos available to watch, but search out my personal favorite "Think of You."

THIS COMMERCIAL FROM THE 80s:

 

TO BE ANNOUNCED  Ok, so this is not Resurrection themed, but it's a favorite thing this week. I'm out on a tour right now and the opening band, Addison Road, had to bail on the tour because the singer had a baby last week. We've had a few bands substitute and fill in the opening slot but tomorrow we don't have anyone to fill in. To cure this, several guys in the crew formed their own band called To Be Announced and they're opening the show. It may not sound very interesting to you guys, but it is AWESOME! These are the guys who work the hardest (first up, last to bed) and get none of the attention. A couple of guys have even made a fake documentary about this. None of what you see and hear in the documentary is true, except that they really are playing tomorrow to open the show. I give you, TO BE ANNOUNCED!!

It don't mean a thing without the Resurrection

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday - Northwest Edition

Today's Favorites come from the most beautiful part of these United States, the Pacific Northwest. I'm in all of my favorite cities this week (Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco), so it's only fitting to trump up these towns. If you're into the best culture and coffee the US has to offer, you have to come up this way at least once in your life. 

WEIRD PEOPLE - The strangest and oddest people live up here. I think it's because they didn't really fit in anywhere else, so they made their way west and when they went as far as they could without falling into the ocean, they called it a day. There also seems to be an abundance of homeless people in these cities. I don't know about you, but if I were a homeless person, I'd figure out some way to get to the NW and settle down. It's gorgeous, really liberal (lots of handouts), great bookstores (see below), with lots of free things available to the public. Make your way over to the grungy artist/musician parts of town and you'll feel that you stepped back in time, as if you just walked into a metal/goth/grunge documentary circa 1991 (completely void of hairspray). Do you like to people watch? Your eyes will be full all day in any of these cities. 

 

POWELL'S BOOKS - I have a fascination with bookstores. I'm not sure why, but somewhere in college I developed a slight obsession with them. When I'm away from home, my favorite way to pass the time is to sit in a bookstore (preferably an independent one, but I'm not picky) for a few hours reading the most random assortment of books and magazines. My favorite bookstore in all of America (and I've been to more than a few) is the crown jewel of Portland. Spanning an entire city block, Powell's is the largest independent bookstore in the world. Plus, let's say you'd like to own Jack Kerouac's personal copy of The Collected Poems of John Keats (and you have an extra $11,000), they have it in their rare books room. I've spent literal hours in this place and feel like I've only scratched the surface. 

QUEEN ANNE DISTRICT - In Seattle, most visitors head straight to Pike Place Market to see the guys throw fish, or buy fresh produce and flowers, or get a glimpse of the very first Starbucks. Or they head to Capital Hill for some funky food and people watching. Nothing wrong with any of that, but for my money (or lack thereof), I like the Queen Anne district. It's more of a neighborhood and not really a tourist destination, although it's dangerously close to the Key Arena and Space Needle, so I'm sure there are plenty of vacationers who happen to make a wrong turn, as I did when I first found this spot. Many of the condos and apartments here were originally hotels built for the 1962 World's Fair (which unveiled the Space Needle). Most have been updated, but they still have some of that retro-modern feel. My favorite places here are Caffe Ladro (best coffee in Seattle, period) and Easy Street Records, a great indie music store that has an unbelievable selection of foreign music magazines and pretentious alt-literature (which I secretly love). Hours of geeky fun on these streets.

Enjoy the weekend.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday

It’s good to be back on the blog and to be sharing all my opinions with anyone who will listen (er…read?). Turns out, that’s about 100 people. Not enough to swing an election…but more than enough to, say, help me move. A good number. (note: no. I’m not moving. Just a figure of speech.)

It’s Friday. It’s time to let you in on my little secrets this week.

KONA COFFEE  So yeah, I went to Hawaii last week and got back this past Monday. Before I even boarded the plane in Nashville, I knew what I would be bringing back home: a tan and some Kona coffee. Only coffee grown in the Kona region of the Big Island can be labeled “kona,” therefore it’s a very limited (and expensive) coffee. On the mainland, it’s generally only available once a year (late spring) and usually fetches $30-$50/lb. I thought it would be much cheaper in Hawaii. Ha. Nothing is cheaper in Hawaii. Even sunburns have a consumption tax. I bought two 8 oz. bags (one for me, one for a friend) at $19 a pop and am a third of the way through mine. You really can tell a difference. It’s mild and mellow, like Hawaii. Even this dark roast I’m sipping this very moment has zero bitterness, but strong flavor. I’m more than a little tempted to drink this other bag and not tell my buddy I got any for him. Is that wrong?

AMERICAN IDOL  Yeah. It’s that time of the year (we’re about five or six weeks deep at this point) and I have to admit, I’m completely hooked…again. For the most part, there’s a ridiculous amount of talent on that show, year after year and my picks have won the past three years running. The top 12 was just rounded out last night (I picked 10 out of the 12 so far, thank you) and now we get into the popularity contest of it all. My picks for the final two? Lil Rounds and Danny Gokey. They both have great stories, humility, charm, and talent for days. I used to be totally ANTI-IDOL…but with my growning appreciation for David Cook, Carrie Underwood, Eliott Yamin, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, etc…well, you can’t argue with genuine talent. I’ll admit a few big disappointments so far this year (which I won’t mention for risk of sounding too much like a super-geeky-fanboy), but all in all, once again, Katie and I are glued to the TV every Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW. My friend Tony Lucido gave this groundbreaking book by Philip Yancey to me a little over a year ago. I’m just now picking it up to read. Why did I wait? I recommend this book to anyone who grew up going to church.

Thank you, and good night!

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday

It's Friday. It's Freezing (I'm in Minnesota). I'm ready for Spring. Yeah, it brings on pollen and ragweed and such--but I'm OVER winter. I don't know if it's just me or what, but it seems this has been the most frigid three months that I can remember. Granted, I don't remember very well...but still. 

It's old news, but I really love the music section of Myspace. I'm not one for social networking (I dropped my personal Myspace page two years ago and have never done Facebook) but I finally updated my Myspace music page a couple of weeks ago and have spent more time listening to new music than I have in long time. I can easily lose two hours clicking around there and not even realize it. To be sure, there's some absolute horrid and delusional artists on there. There's also flashes of brilliance, genius even, to be found among the throng. Got an hour? Start here and click around from page to page. See where it takes you. The Myspace social network is losing ground every minute to Facebook, and for good reason. But for music (and comedy and film and TV), they're really the only game in town.

We just got a new coffee machine on the tour bus and I'm a little obsessed with it. It's the Capresso CoffeeTEAM. It is a coffee maker and burr grinder in one. You just push a button and it grinds your beans then brews a near perfect cup of coffee. I've had more coffee than usual this week, simply because I love using this machine. It's a little pricey, but by Starbucks standards, it pays for itself by the 15th pot of brewed coffee, a number we've already managed to reach since Tuesday night. Is that too much?

So...yeah. It's cold outside, so sit down with a warm cup of coffee, pull up a blanket and a laptop, and lose yourself in some good (and some bad) music.

I just did.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday!

First of all, let me start out by telling you that it's 6 outside. No, that's not a typo and I am not exaggerating for comedic effect. It's 6 degrees. So, when you live in a house that was built in 1924, well...let's just say that insulation technology has come a L-O-N-G way since the roaring 20s. Our thermostat is reading...well, it's not reading anything. It's totally pegged all the way to the left, resting somewhere below 55. My guess is that it's high-40s, low-50s in our house right now. I'm wearing snow boots, thermal underwear, lined pants, a sweater, a scarf and a winter hat. This is an intro for my favorite thing today: Drew's Brews Coffee. Drew Park roasted coffee for years at Nashville's first artisan coffee house, Bongo Java, and started roasting his own beans in 2007. He's slowly built a following around his own hand-made recipes, roasted daily in small batches. Today I'm having a cup of his Gravel Springs roast. Dark and smoky...sooooo good on this frigid morning. Mmmm...hands warming.

#2 on the list is Fred Armisan and Kristin Wiig.  The time I saw Fred Armisan on SNL several years ago, his humor and delivery was so subtle that I thought, "This guy is either an idiot or a genius." Turns out, it's the latter. He can be Adam Sandler ridiculous or Andy Kaufman awkward--either one cracks me up. Kristin Wiig is the funniest girl on Saturday Night Live since Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Her characters and accents are uncanny and she's not at all afraid to look ugly for a laugh...and that makes me laugh. Suffer though the ads for a couple of my favorite sketches featuring these two.

Finally...this photo by my friend Jeremy Cowart. It's an older photo of his, but one of his most enduring. Go to his website and freak out. For this one, from his book Hope in the Dark, I'll let the picture speak it's thousand words.

(rw)