It’s all happening…

Even though its a day late, I thought I’d share some good advice from my dad Pops Boogie:

“Never chase after a bus or a woman.  There’s always another one coming in ten minutes.”

Over the years, I’ve gotten some great advice from friends, artists, family, and random railroad hobos down at the train depots.  And what is good advice if not to share?  So I’ve decided to do a new feature on the site called “Good Advice Wednesdays.”  Every Wednesday (or until I get sick of this premise), I’ll feature a piece of advice that has shaped your boy Brendo.

The first piece comes from the wisdom of my friend Madden:

“You know, Brendo – I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I thought I would really regret.  And then I wake up the next morning and it turns out I’m fine.”

Well said, Madden.  Well said.  Feel free to share your own good advice in the comments section.

Time for a recap of this past weekend’s show at the Somerville Armory:

-  Despite driving by several times, I had actually never been inside the Armory.  It turned out to be a really cool venue.  We played in the Cafe room which was absolutely perfect for an acoustic show.  Great sound system, a nice front section with tables for the people who wanted to pay attention, room in the back for the chatters to drink beer and wine – overall a really great set-up.  Not nearly as many bazookas as I was hoping for, but I suppose that’s ultimately a good thing.

-  Upon arrival at the venue, Nate Rogers was finishing his soundcheck.  We quickly ran through an early Brendan Boogie Band tune that I hadn’t played in years, setting the tone for an evening of musical adventure and collaboration.  Then, we made out, setting the tone for an evening of regret and self-loathing.

-  When my drummer Justin arrived at the venue, he apparently had some trouble negotiating the Armory’s walls, as I got a text “Can someone come out and lower the drawbridge?”

-  As the venue started to fill up, one of my guest artists Jillian Santella was getting a wee bit nervous.  See, this was her return to music after several years off and she was getting a little, what’s the word, edgy.  Jillian and I have been writing some music together recently and this seemed like a good time to debut a few of the songs.  After a few minutes of taking the full brunt of Jillian’s anxiety, I pointed her to the wine bar and got ready for the show.  Thank you, wine bar.  You have my eternal gratitude.

-  The show began with Nate  regaling the crowd with some of his finest sad songs.  Here’s a sample video, courtesy of Mike “Big Flapi” Mirabella.  Check out the sexy mood lighting:

-  After Nate brought the house down, it was my turn to play my little songs with a few special guests.  Jillian had no reason to be nervous, as she knocked everyones socks on their asses.  If she’s going to be that good, she should take another several years off.  We were also joined by the always delightful Beth Holub on viola for “February” and a cover of Dire Straits’ “So Far Away,” one of my favorite songs of all time.  Here’s a video of Ken, Justin, and I doing “Primary Love Object” from the first record:

-  Most inappropriate thing I said from stage:  “We have CDs and t-shirts available.  I have the ability to take credit cards now.  I just bend over and you run your card right up my ass.  Somehow, it charges your card.”  I spent the next song and a half giggling while the audience looked on in unamused silence.

-  Golden Bloom took the stage, featuring the multi-talented Shawn Fogel.  If you haven’t had the chance, I strongly recommend checking out a live show if you can.  Definitely buy his record.  The Golden Bloom set featured Armando the drum machine and a pineapple shaker.  Also, a bunch of killer songs.

-  After the first round of sets, Nate and I joined Mike Mirabella and a triumphantly returning Keith Michel for an impromptu Scamper reunion.  It’s always a magical moment to lure Keith out of retirement to sing a few harmonies.  Sadly, there is no video of our version of “Wait Wait,” but just close your eyes and imagine it being really awesomely sexy.

-  To close out the night, Nate led Shawn and I in a version of the Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy.”  Nate is always looking for an excuse to play that song, so he didn’t need much prompting.  Before we played, Shawn asked “Do you want to play drums or should I?” to which I responded “Drums?  I could barely handle keeping time with the pineapple shaker.”

-  After the show, we spent the evening closing out the Highland Kitchen with friends old and new.  I learned that you shouldn’t say to Nate, Mike, and Justin, “Hey, hold my beer while I go to the bathroom, will you?”  Those guys are a bunch of assholes.

All in all, a tremendous night.  The Somerville Armory is a great space and I can’t wait to get back there again soon.  Hooray for rock and roll awesomeness!

The Jesus Fish Tambourine

This fish shaped tambourine combines a comfortable handle, 16 pairs of stainless steel jingles, and a body constructed of heavy-duty ABS plastic; fun instrument for children in the elementary classroom.

After reading that description, of the 140 tambourine choices available on the site, I knew this was the instrument for me…  Second choice was the Rhythm Dove.

The Rhythm Dove

I have now decided that the central selling point for the January 23rd show at the Lizard Lounge will be the world debut of the Jesus Fish Tambourine.  Prepare for it.

Hey all,

Thanks so much for a terrific show at the Somerville Armory this past Friday.  It’s now officially my favorite new room in town.  And I don’t just mean “room” as in “music venue” – it’s actually my favorite four walls in which to be encased.  Sorry, bathroom at the Harvard Coop with “I LOVE TO POOP!” graffiti on the walls.

When I have a little more time to wax poetic, I’ll give you a full recap of the evening’s festivities.  Just as an appetizer, the night included a pineapple, a Gin Blossoms cover, and an impromptu Scamper reunion.  Fa fa indeed, Brendo.  Fa fa, indeed.

In more attempts to liven up history by putting myself in it, here’s how page 89 of Miles:  The Autobiography of Miles Davis would read with a little more Boogie in it:

This was my second recording date with Bird but I don’t know why I didn’t play as well as I could have.  Maybe I was nervous.  It’s not that I played terrible.  I just could have played better.  Brendan Boogie – a jive motherfucker who I never did get along with because he was nothing but a leech, who didn’t do nothing but suck off Bird like he was a vampire – said something about my playing was flawed.  Fuck that jive white boy.  He wasn’t no musician, so what did he know what Bird liked!  I told Brendan Boogie he could kiss my ass.

All you Somervillians need to brave the elements tonight to hit the Somerville Armory tonight .  Doors at 7, music starts at 8pm sharp.  It’s a really cool venue, but the room is small, so be sure to get there on time or you may be shut out.  I’m just saying.

Sets from Golden Bloom and old Scamper-mate Nate Rogers (now helming The Future Everybody).  There will be collaborations, guests, new songs, old songs, covers, shenanigans.  Its going to be a fun night.  So be there.

Not content with simply letting the magic happen, Tim “The Chef” Delaney gives us another report from Disney World:

Review of the Disney Meal Plan:

Let me be clear – We had a terrific time at Disney World.  The place is great – clean, friendly and a lot of fun.  But their meal plan was a pain in my ass. 
 
So we had the following dining plan during our recent trip to Disney World:  1 Table Service Meal, 1 Counter Service Meal, and 2 Snacks per day.
 
First off, I don’t know what the fuck any of that means.  So that put me at a disadvantage to start.  Its like Disney designed an alternative food currency for the sole purpose of screwing me, just a little, everytime I went to order something to eat. 
 
Here is a scene that played out several times during our trip:
 
It comes time to pay for some food.  The Disney Person presents me the bill and we have the following conversation:
 
DP:  Do you have a meal plan?
 
ME:  Yes.
 
DP:  How would you like to pay for this then?
 
ME:  Umm.  With the meal plan I guess.  Right?  Shouldn’t I use that?
 
DP:  Well certainly sir.  Would you like to put it through as 6 snacks?  or 1 and 1/2 Counter Service Meals?
 
ME:  How the fuck should I know?
 
DP:  Or, actually, you could use a Table Service and 3 snacks.  Do you know how many Snacks you have left?
 
ME:  Absolutely not.
 
DP:  Oh ok.  Well it might depend on what you have left.
 
ME:  Ok.
 
DP:   Would you like me to check to see what you have left?
 
ME:  Are you serious?  How the hell else do you expect me to perform the alt math necessary to arrive at my method of payment unless you tell me what the fuck I have left?
 
DP:  Sir that sounds magical.  Let me just pull up your account.
 
(Meanwhile, several people with a combined 211 extra and decidely needless pounds packed onto their asses start to get needlessly restless in line behind me.)
 
DP:  Oh no…sir I am sorry but you only have 2 snacks and 2 counter service meals left.
 
ME:  OK.  Why is that bad?
 
DP:  Well you need at least 3 Snacks and 3….
 
ME:  Ok I get it.  Just use what I have and put the rest on my room.
 
(Meanwhile, the fat line behind me starts commenting to themselves about which Meal Plan I SHOULD have getten.)
 
DP:  Absolutely sir.  So I will put that through as two charges if that’s ok?
 
ME:  Holy fuck.  You know what?  Fuck the meal plan – I will just pay for the food with American style dollars.  You win again, Disney.
 
Honestly it wasn’t that bad.  But it was tough to keep a running total in your head of “meal units remaining” while you tried to keep your 10 month old son from eating lincoln logs in the Whispering Canyon Cafe’s waiting area.  If I had to do it again, I would save up extra money before the trip so we could get some sort of “get whatever you want and don’t think about it plan” or I would just buy things like I normally do – I mean I gave up keeping a running total of actual dollars in my life a long time ago.  In the end I am more comfortable screwing myself than I am getting screwed by Disney.  Hey oh!  Look out!

The bad news is that our esteemed lead guitarist Tim “The Chef” Delaney is not going to be able to make the big Somerville Armory show this Friday.  The good news is that he is enjoying a relaxing week in motherfucking Disney World with the family.  The Chef took some time from his busy schedule interacting with felons in giant character heads to file this report: 

Disney World is great.  It is incredibly clean.  Everyone who works there is nice and generally capable.  But add a couple of young humans into the mix and things start to get weird. 

Disney World with children under three is a hallucinogenic experience.  Interrupted sleep makes you delirious to start.  Our daughter would blurt out random things in her sleep, usually something that had happened that day.  But she couldn’t quite match up her tone of voice with the sentiment of her words.  For example, she would blurt out, “Mama, I want a snacky” in her sleep but she would apply the tone usually reserved for something like “I’m on fucking fire – get some water you douchebag!!” 

Add to this lack of sleep some larger than life walking stuffed animals that don’t talk and lots of humans that do talk saying things like “Have a magical day” and “Hey, I hope you make magic happen today!” and you definitely start to lose your shit a little bit.

Make magic happen?  I look like a huge magic bird crapped magic all over me:

The Chef and his latest creation

But you know what?  Despite the lack of sleep and 30 degree weather (classic Orlando), we really did get a bunch of magic dumped all over us and it was great.

Sincerely, The Magic Chef