My W.E.I.R.D. Daily Goals for the Next Year

I created an acronym to describe my daily goals: W.E.I.R.D.  It stands for Write, Exercise, Instrument, Read and Dinner.

Write: I have a writing thing I occasionally do where, with pen in hand, I start at the top of the page of a paper notebook and don't stop writing until I get to the bottom of the page. Kind of like a free-flowing, non-sensical diary entry. The only thing that's pre-meditated might be the first "sentence" or opening words. After that it's whatever my hand marks onto the page. It only takes about ten minutes to fill up the page with hand-written words, but it checks a creative box. It's something I've been doing off and on for over twenty years. 

Exercise: I've been working out on an almost daily basis for going on three years now. In its current form I do 25 to 30 minutes in the morning six days a week. Cardio on Mon/Wed/Fri (jog/run, slide board, mini-trampoline rebounder, exercise bike or row-n-ride), and more strength-training focused on Tues/Thurs/Sat (Y-Bells, dumbbells, steel mace, kettlebell, Lebert Fitness dip bars, shena board, wooden Karlakattai clubs). This doesn't include any walking I do such as dog-walking or hiking on a nearby trail.

Instrument: Instrument stands for musical instrument. I'm trying to get back into playing a musical instrument daily, whether it be a stringed instrument tuned in 5ths GDAE (mandolin or tenor banjo) or in all 4ths EADGCF like how I tune a guitar. I have an ongoing interest in gathering old melodies from the Caribbean/West Indies region, such as folk tunes from Haiti, the Virgin Islands, Martinique, and so on. That's usually what I would be playing, but I have nothing against scales either. I hope to get a left-handed tiple doliente from Puerto Rico this year. 

Read: Reading 30 to 50 pages a day is easy when you have a good book, like one of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller books, or a classic horror paperback by Ramsey Campbell. It's more difficult when you can't find something good to read but I'm usually pretty good about finding something. Novels over 400 pages tend to be too wordy for me. If I keep them in the 200 to 400 page range then it's pretty easy to finish a book a week.  

Dinner: I've gotten into the habit of cooking dinner most nights of the week. I have certain rules or limitations: I try to keep it vegan and, if possible, keto. It's not as hard as you might think to make plant-forward yet low carb meals. Simply replace your rice, pasta and beans with lower net carb alternatives...black soy beans, edamame pasta and riced cauliflower are good places to start. Most of the things I make tend to be one pot meals loosely based on recipes I have found. Not quite "ital is vital" but it feels healthy. And there's usually enough left over for lunch the next day. Favorite spices: Jamaican curry, garam masala, creole seasoning, and berbere. Most versatile and dependable ingredient: red cabbage.

I rarely accomplish all five of these goals in any given day. If I hit three of the five then I consider it sufficient. Good enough.

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The Best Albums of 2022

Here are some of my favorite studio albums from the year 2022, forced into contrived categories!

Best for former No Depression magazine readers: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief

Best for dudes that grew up listening to Sonic Youth or Pavement: Versions of Modern Performance by Horsegirl

Best lo-fi/DIY that's not Horsegirl: Music Box by post office winter

Best for the chill-out tent: Come Around by Carla dal Forno

Best up-tempo, feel-good instrumental: Let the Festivities Begin! by Los Bitchos

Best mid-tempo, introspective instrumental: Still, Here by Marisa Anderson

Best studio album by a jamband in the year 2022: Dripfield by Goose

Best folk/blues/traditional: Get on Board by Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder

Best in what you might call "free jazz": Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef by Bennie Maupin and Adam Rudolph

Best in what you might call "soul jazz": Scary Goldings IV by Scary Goldings

Best in what you might call "world music": Ali by Vieux Farka Toure with Khruangbin

A favorite not mentioned so far: Good and Green Again by Jake Xerxes Fussell

Best from 2021 that I didn't hear until 2022: Psalms by Nathan Salsburg

Favorite re-issue/archival release of the year: Door Harp by Michael Houser

Bonus: Best new Nugs.net live band discovery (non-studio album): Eggy

BEST OVERALL - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief

that just about covers it.

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Goose and Trey with special guest Billy Strings - 11/17/22 Fairfax, VA

I'm feeling the need to write something about the Goose and Trey Anastasio Band concert that I went to last month in Fairfax, VA. It was one of the best nights of music I have ever witnessed, and I've been going to concerts for 30 years now. This was a pretty historic one.

First off, I liked the venue. Sure, on one hand it's just another college basketball arena. But parking was super easy and no additional cost, bars and restaurants are a short walk away, and the general admission policy for this event meant that if you got in early enough you could grab a good spot, which we did. This all contributed to being a in a very receptive, eager mood for Goose's set. 

Goose opened with Arrow and took it big, stretching well over 20 minutes. If there was any question about this band's ability to play arenas that was certainly quelled on this night at least. The song and jam went over well with the eager crowd and this didn't feel like an "opening" band kind of vibe. This was a co-headliner performing and making a bold statement. Arrow was followed by Seeker on the Ridge Parts 1 and 2. I like the slow build of Part 1 and the release when it merges into Part 2. I was focusing on being "in-the-moment" during this part of the set. A new Goose song called Thatch came next, in its 2nd performance ever, having debuted earlier on this TABoose tour.

My ability to stay present fled a bit during Arcadia, as my mind started to dwell on the hunch that Trey would be coming out next to play a couple songs with Goose. Sure enough, that is what happened. Trey sat in for two of Goose's original songs - Hungersite and Tumble. 

As I was watching it go down, I wasn't sure if this much hyped sit-in was living up to its potential. Did the twin guitars of Trey and Rick from Goose contribute to a sparkling jam, or did it devolve into just a guitar duel? Hard to say. It sounds good on re-listen, but I would have preferred it if Rick had backed off and given Trey space to let the music breathe and include the rest of the band in more of a collaborative, rather than supportive, role. Before I knew it the set was done. Now it was time for Trey's band.

The original plan was to maybe leave at some point during Trey's set. I'm a big Phish fan, but (before this night) never really considered myself a fan of the Trey Anastasio Band, having seen TAB only a handful of times since its incarnation over 20 years ago. This night would prove to be different. My friend sent me a text tipping me to the rumor that Billy Strings was in the house. The plan now was to stay 'til the end. 

The rumor was right - Billy did come out to play - but even before Billy came out Trey's set was incredible. Even though I had been in attendance to TAB shows before, I almost feel like this was my first time actually seeing the Trey Anastasio Band. Seeing everything about it in a new light, getting the sophistication and message of the music for perhaps the first time ever. When Billy finally did come out, what had already been a 10 out of 10 went up to eleven! This is where the night turned the corner from being not just a great night of music, but a peak musical experience. Billy added so much in such a humbling, non-ego way.

I feel like I learned something over the course of this set and the encore. Or re-learned something I had forgotten. Here on stage with Trey and his band was Billy Strings and members of Goose. There's no reason to judge or be negative or to compare or criticize. This younger generation of bands (and their fans) is doing a great job of cultivating a community of not just positivity, but positivity plus a level of professionalism and inclusion that transcends the previous norm. It's inspiring and makes me want to be the best listener I can be.

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Notes from me now to my future self - ten things to keep in mind

It's OK to spend $$$ on books and music.

Eat like a bird, and a rabbit.

Exercise 30+ minutes a day, six days a week.

Read at least 40 pages a day (always be reading a book).

Avoid or limit alcohol and coffee.

Avoid meat and limit processed food.

Drink water and herbal tea.

Always have something you are into - a healthy obsession.

Keep playing music and keep a journal.

This feeling is wonderful. Don't you ever turn it off.

Ital and Livity

There's a concept, originating in Jamaica, called Livity - that there's an energy flowing through all people and living things. Practitioners strive to live harmoniously with the environment by eating Ital.

Ital means natural, organic, from the earth, food in its original state. It's similar to a vegan diet but more encompassing, like a code of conduct or style of living. The idea is that eating pure and natural food increases one's bond with earth and nature and therefore increases Livity. 

In addition to avoiding meat and most, if not all, animal products (cow's milk, butter, cheese, eggs), those eating Ital avoid processed food, additives, preservatives, flavorings, canned foods, even salt, believing that salt intake reduces one's ability to feel the spirit because salt repels the spirt. 

Italists also abstain from alcohol, knowing that alcohol clouds the mind and has destructive effects on the body. They also limit or exclude caffeinated beverages such as coffee and soda, preferring herbal tea and natural liquids/juices.

In Ital, emphasis is placed on food in its original state. Plants, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils. One pot meals. Common ingredients include all spice, thyme, scallion, spicy peppers, coconut milk, garlic, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, mango, avocado, pineapple, beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, yams, curry and nuts.

I want to return, for a moment, to the exclusion of alcohol. In our language we already have a word for a person that does not eat any food derived from animals: vegan. However, we seem to be lacking a cool word for someone that does not consume alcohol. The best terms we have are "teetotaler" or "non-drinker". This doesn't do it for me.

That's why I like Ital as something you can hang your hat on. Not only is it a variation on vegan, like a vegan+ (rejection of consumerist society, rejection of the Standard American Diet, a borderline spiritual practice), but it also provides a foundation or platform for those that want to fill in this blank: meat is to a vegan as alcohol is to a ____________. It takes two separate practices - abstinence from animal products and abstinence from alcohol - and blends them into one belief system has no interest in acts or behavior that curtails Livity. 

A Week in New Orleans Without Drinking...Not!

I had ambitions of being able to write a post titled "A Week in New Orleans Without Drinking". That ended up not being the case. There was also a remote chance of being able to title it "A Week in New Orleans Eating Vegan". That definitely didn't happen. I think that's OK though, for my first time visiting The Big Easy, to get to experience it more fully as Jah intended.

Day One involved catching some drumming in Congo Square, preceded by a drink at Hotel Monteleone's revolving bar, and seeing music at Kermit's Treme Mother In Law Lounge, including an appearance by Mr. Kermit Ruffins himself. Finishing with a cheesy piano man at the hotel.

Day Two started with a long walk to a delicious breakfast at Elizabeth's in the Bywater (9th Ward) followed by more footsteps over the Rusty Rainbow bridge and a stroll through Crescent Park. A light lunch was had at Alma Cafe before seeking out Banksy's "Umbrella Girl". This led to a fortuitous side jaunt into Priestess Miriam's Voodoo Spiritual Temple. After a mid-day nap, a classy dinner was experience at the esteemed Commander's Palace, with a post dinner come down at Joey K's over on Magazine Street. But before any of that we snuck in a glimpse of the ghost table at Muriel's. The evening was completed with attendance at the weekly Super Jam back over on Frenchmen Street led by drummer Gene Harding, and getting to know Josephine - a 75 year old life-long N'awlins resident who we met outside Cafe Negril. A chance meetup with a well-dressed elderly reefer man on the walk home and a Deadhead named Ellen and her little dog too caused things to take a late night New Orleansy turn. 

Day Three's eating began tentatively with a curry burrito consumed before the church bells struck noon. I believe Dr. Bob's Folk Art was next, where the man himself gave us some Crescent City insider tips. A walk through the French Market led to an impromptu trip to Algiers via the ferry. The Bywater Brown ale at the Crown and Anchor pub tasted to me, in that moment, like the best beer I have had in years. After returning to the city proper, dinner got a little spicy at Silk Road in the Marigny. We briefly saw some music in the Spotted Cat before taking a long walk and leap of faith up to Sweet Lorraine's which resulted in randomly meeting a couple famous - and I do mean famous - musicians, and actually hanging out with one of them who proved how "not sober" he was! 

Day Four started with a poignant walk through Treme to view the Tomb of the Unknown Slave and a tour of the recently relocated Backstreet Cultural Museum. An early lunch at Dooky Chase's was probably the best meal of the week! Finished off with peach cobbler, of course. The rest of the day included stops at the Jazz Museum, a local brewery, and a risky yet remarkably good spur-of-the-moment for-lack-of-a-better-option meal at a Mexican/Honduran(?) restaurant somewhere in the French Quarter that I'll never be able to find again.

Day Five started with a checkbox: beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde! Then another quintessential NOLA requirement: riding a streetcar. This one led to City Park which afforded us the opportunity to see nearby Holt Cemetery before communing with nature in the park's lush botanical garden. Lunch was had at the world renowned Willie Mae's Scotch House and it was worth the wait. After lunch, we returned to the French Quarter for an afternoon cocktail at Hermes Bar (Antoine's). Another afternoon cocktail or two was enjoyed at May Baily's Place. The not-so-secret restaurant/bar Coop's hit the spot for dinner. The remainder of the evening included encounters with old-time street musicians, music at the Spotted Cat, and meeting a local named Randy who helped continue the good-vibe streak.

Day Six involved breakfast at Cafe Envie. Next on the list was a daytime walk along Magazine Street in the Garden District. A little bit of shopping, a check-in at Simon's art gallery and seeing some famous homes before ultimately landing in a too comfy neighborhood bar called Tracey's to watch a baseball game. Dinner was back in the Quarter at the only place we could find agreeable: Hermes Bar. As the dinner hour turned to evening we secured balcony seating at a nearby bar/restaurant at the intersection of St. Louis and Royal to people watch and bend an ear to listen to violinist Tanya Huang down on the corner below. Eventually, after some requisite Voodoo Juice, we made it back down to street level to get a closer look/listen to Tanya and met a nice fellow named Larry. 

Day Seven. The last day. A slow start. Six days of being a tourist in New Orleans had started to leave its mark. For breakfast, which was actually an early lunch, we returned to Coop's which didn't let us down. They don't fuck around at Coop's. Then it was off to Loretta's in search of pralines. The best in the world? Yes, maybe. An early unexpected dinner at Nonna's made sure our bellies were full for the evening's final act: a couple three sets of music by the incredibly talented Aurora Nealand!

This write-up has mostly been for my reminiscence. In Summary:

Restaurants: Commander's Palace, Elizabeth's, Dooky Chase's, Willie Mae's Scotch House, Coop's, Nonna's, Alma Cafe, Silk Road, Cafe Envie. 

Pubs/Bars: The Crown and Anchor (Algiers), Tracey's, Hermes Bar, May Baily's, Muriel's.

Clubs: Kermit's Treme Mother in Law Lounge, Cafe Negril, The Spotted Cat, d.b.a., 30/90, Sweet Lorraine's.

Musicians (to name a few): Charlie Halloran, Aurora Nealand, Kermit Ruffins, Yoshitaka "Z2" Tsuji, Jason Neville, Meschiya Lake, Russell Batiste Jr., George Porter Jr., Tanya Huang. 

Local personalities: Dr. Bob, Simon of New Orleans, Priestess Miriam. And salt of the earth locals by the names of Ellen, Josephine, Randy and Larry.

Furthermore: Banksy art, Holt Cemetery, Rusty Rainbow Bridge, Algiers Ferry, Tomb of the Unknown Slave, Backstreet Cultural Museum, Congo Square drumming, balcony table at Royal House Oyster bar, ghost table at Muriel's.

The main things that I had on my list that I didn't do or see: a steamboat cruise on the Mississippi, the Tree of Life (Etienne de Boray Oak) and Labyrinth in Audubon park, street musician Doreen Ketchens on Royal Street, a really good po' boy, a muffaletta, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Folk Art Zone in Algiers, Vaughan's Lounge, and Snake and Jake's Christmas Club Lounge. Next time. 

Next time.

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A List of 2022 Albums

To prove that I've been listening to more than just live Goose shows recently, here's a list of 20 new or newish albums that have been my favorites from January 'til now. My taste in music is always in flux, especially this year. I'm tired of hearing what I'm hearing and I'm tired of liking what I like. What that in mind, here's where where my search has temporarily touched down.

Scary Goldings featuring John Scofield - IV
As good or at least almost as good as A Go Go.

Nathan Salsburg - Psalms
Hebrew psalms set to music that is highly listenable, singable and playable.

Jake Xerxes Fussell - Good and Green Again

The song-catcher is back with perhaps his best collection to date.

Los Bitchos - Let the Festivities Begin

An all female band bringing back memories of Laika and the Cosmonauts - totally in my wheelhouse.

Black Flower - Magma

The Belgian ensemble continues to work within and expand upon Ethio-jazz.

Ilhan Ersahin, Dave Harrington, Kenny Wollesen - Invite Your Eye

Post-buzz, late night, Nublu music.

Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder - Get on Board

The best blues album I've heard in a long, long time.

The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention

Radiohead for poseurs like me.

Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef - Bennie Maupin and Adam Rudolph

Just listen, just slow down.

Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance

Strong contender for album of the year.

Jasmine Myra - Horizons

England is a hot-bed of jazz right now.

Shabaka Hutchings - Afrikan Culture

England is a hot-bed of jazz right now.

The Magic Beans - Unzipped

These cats are beating other cats at their own game.

Michael Houser - Door Harp

Some of the prettiest melodies I've ever heard are on this reissue.

The London Odense Ensemble - Jaiyede Sessions Volume 1

London jazz meets Danish jams.

Felbm - Elements of Nature
I have a soft spot for DIY music.

Amir Bresler - House of Arches
Talk about a planet of drums.

Vieux Farka Toure & Khruangbin - Ali
Appointment listening.

Marisa Anderson - Still, Here
This is what I call Americana.

Flock - Flock

London is a hot-bed of jazz right now? Ha!