one thing... leads to another

Vieta, thanks for the Prison Pete link. Folks, here it is.

So I started to read it but very quickly got curious about "Pete's Blogroll" and it's what it sounds like, a listing of blogs picked by Pete. I don't even remember which one got me to this site, Similar Minds, but it was a pretty cool find. All kinds of personality tests and a few just for fun.

For example, I started with the "What Classic Movie Are You?" And it turns out I am "Hollywood Boulevard". I haven't seen it but guess I will now! And the results of my "Famous Leader" test turned out with me being Che Guevara. Oh my! I didn't even know much about Che but found a little site and turns out he was instrumental in Castro's guerilla campaign in Cuba. Well, I don't know what that says about me, except that I am perhaps a secret revolutionary. Not that I'm planning to pick up weapons of war or anything! It was pretty fun. And all from a random choice. Hooray for random! If you take some of the tests, that will make even more sense.

The other moral of this story is that I am spending too much time online. I am still able to surf via my unknown neighbor's cable connection, using my wireless dealy on this Mac. I tend to get caught up online for a few hours each night. I am avoiding some things, though getting the most important stuff done.

But right now, for example -- I need to figure out what to wear (indeed) for the show in Winfield tomorrow night. (Ah, finally Wilders content!) We are potentially going to be on camera during this show. A National Media Group (that's all I'm allowed to say for now) will be filming the O'Brien Family Band, who invited us to come play the show with them. Nate will be playing bass with them, so he's definitely getting camera time! We have known the O'Brien's for many years now. I think the year we actually met them was at the Winfield fest ca. 1996? I think it was the first year Ike came down with me & Phil. Dan (the dad) was playing guitar outside his camper on Sunday morning and his little girl, Maura, who was about 3, was dreamily running and dancing in circles in front of him. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. And besides being sweet to watch, they turned out to be one of the nicest families ever. So, anyway, tomorrow we'll see them for this show and oh how I dislike being on camera. I've never been comfortable being photographed, even. Hmm, guess I'd better start getting used to it, if our road to success is as paved as we hope!

I guess the real moral of this story here is that I have some things to consider when it comes to being comfortable with myself. Isn't it ironic -- I am most of the time quite confident and happy onstage, and actually enjoy performing so much, and yet I feel a little trapped in the physical body and personal limitations that I have to live with... well, there's no better place to let it out lately than here... it feels like a private journal when I'm writing, though I know it's not. It does seem more like a family place right now, though, with comments limited to a few dedicated, loving, sweet souls such as yourselves. That translates to a thank you to you sweet souls. And to all a good night.

And if you like old photos....

Check out Snapatorium on blogger! I found it while browsing one night and spent about an hour looking at every single photo. There are some great finds. And funny titles to go with the images -- in some cases the picture you see will surprise you compared to the caption.

check it out here!

Recent Photo(s) #3

Here is a quick capture of Nate's bass' neck... that was such a shocker. This bass was given to Nate by his great uncle, and the real shocker was that his Uncle passed away about one hour before the neck of the bass broke off. Nate didn't find out about this until after the festival -- his folks didn't want him to be too upset with all the shows we had to play. His uncle passed very quickly and is now at peace and I'm sure is very glad that his nephew makes such great music on this old instrument.

Recent Photo(s) #2

Here's another one -- I liked this a lot for two main reasons... first, Phil is actually smiling, which is awesome! And second, you can actually see all 4 of us, which is rare!

Recent Photo(s) #1

Thought I'd post a few photos from this year's Walnut Valley Festival (aka Winfield)... taken by our pal Mike Beauchamp.

HEY -- if anyone out there has photos of us performing, or hanging out even, please send them to be@wilderscountry.com -- I love collecting them and will post some of them here or eventually on wilderscountry (once we get set up for that).

Thanks!

Help Wanted: Must have audio/visual experience...

Ok, it took our traditionally silent partner, Ike, who wrote a whopping 25th comment on Betse's last blog to finally get me to write something new. Why? I guess I've had a serious case of writer's block. While the leaves are quickly dropping from the trees, I find myself in a complete flux. Here I am, suddenly at home with all my old responsibilities, put-off projects, overdue library books, and so on to deal with. On the plus side, I'm taking of advantage of precious time at home with my patient wife, smelly black lab and geriatric cat. Unfortunately, this joyful time is interrupted all too often by an annoying thing called work. With absolutely no adjustment period, I climbed out of The Chief in August and plopped right back into my old mediocre world of pushy teachers, aloof administrators, and needy students. And I wasn't ready.

Although touring this summer was often very difficult, I grew used to the rhythms of the road life. Each day was a new set of circumstances, an open road map, a new crowd to play for. When I finally turned in for the night, I was able to go to sleep in my bunk knowing that the next day would surely be the same- but completely different. I also got used to living with these three eccentric partners of mine. After a few weeks in The Chief, we all learned to anticipate and look out for each other's mood swings, how to share a very tight space, how to laugh off the small annoyances and how to sit down and talk about the bad stuff before it overheated to boiling and burned us all.

So here I am back at my stupid job and I'm bummed out. I miss it. Yes, I know my summer blogs were the ones most likely to get comments like, "hang in there, Phil. You're almost done!" and, "You'll look back someday and laugh!". But I never really meant to be a complainer. I was more interested in documenting the "real" story for everybody who was keeping tabs on us. Now that I look back at it, I guess I can see why people thought I was unhappy. But I'd trade endless meals at Subway and endless miles in The Chief for pointless committee meetings and passive/ aggressive emails any dang old day.

So, I am happy to report that I have decided to take the ultimate plunge. Our booking agent magnifico, Mary, has a full slate of shows for us in 2005. Prior to our summer tour, I had been holding out for assurance that the band can really do this full time. I found out that even under the worst circumstances, we can live and even thrive on the road. I've also been holding out for self assurance that I, personally, can really do this full time. Well I did it, and lived to tell the tale. Plus I did it, and now that I'm not doing it, I miss it. That's assurance enough for me right now. So, without disclosing too much in the way of detail, I can report that my seemingly endless 9-5 desk-job days are quickly falling off the calendar like so many leaves from the trees. Soon enough, I will be bare and cold and exposed to the elements. But spring is just around the corner. And I will welcome the warmth as I begin to embrace my new life as a full time Wilder. Keep reading. There's gonna be a lot more stories to come.