Winter blogging

Well since The Band is on hiatus for the winter (as defined by me to be November through March here in NY) I have a little more time to do other stuff, like re-design AndyT13! There's plenty more updates to come but I'm pleased with this start. Go ahead and poke around some if you're new or just coming back. We're much less graphically challenged around here now and hopefully a little snazzier lookin. Just CLICKY!
Cheers!

Benefit @ Triad NYC

I had the honor and privledge of performing at Retrofest 69 www.myspace.com/retro1969 at the Triad Theater NYC last night June 19th and it was a great show with a great cast of bands, all to benefit http://www.saveoneperson.org/ This is a great organization so if you can please go visit them and offer whatever support you can. Thanks!

Mirror Girlz

My friends from the group Mirror! Lovely ladies, both talented singers and dancers! Apologies I've been so lax at posting and moderating comments. I'm out of the habit. As usual lots of new photos and such at www.andyt13.com and www.flickr.com/andyt13

Wah Wah Wah Wah Fashion!

Hi friends and neighbors. Click HERE for this lovely beauty and many other shots I took over at The 2008 International Beauty Show! Hope you are all well! God bless!

April Fool

Here I am, your April Fool. I sat for two batches of portraits recently for my friend Curt. I liked this one pretty well. I hope you're all having a lovely April 1st. It's rainy but WARM! Yay! Spring!!!!!

You Are NOT what you CONSUME!

I was shopping at Amazon and they have a word cloud style thing describing my interests by way of what I've looked at and bought. Larger words mean I have a larger interest. I find this interesting because, although in one way it's accurate in that I AM interested in these things the relative levels of interest are totally skewed. Also, it defines me incredibly narrowly. Here's who they say I am:
Alternative Metal Animation Arena Rock Blues Rock Boating Britain Comedy Contemporary Blues Grunge Guitar Hard Bop Instruction & Study International Metal Modern Blues Modern Postbebop Music Video & Concerts New Wave Punk R&B Rap & Hip-Hop Rock Guitarists Science Fiction & Fantasy Singer-Songwriters Songbooks
I notice they left out languages entirely though I bought several books on learning Chinese and martial art. Perhaps that's considered "international"? These guys need me on their payroll. So? What does yours say?

Silent in the morning

Cool speaker cab grill dyes by Hard Truckers. I found these by searching for 'Silent in the morning' which is a song by Phish which I had in my head because it was a quiet morning.

LOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN and roads closed, etc... My studio session got cancelled because the engineer didn't want to have to swim there. Big pansy! And of course I had to point them out to our dear friend Lime who I've been giving online guitar lessons to. She made me some tie dyed shirts in exchange for CDs I haven't yet sent her. Bad AndyT13! No puddy! I finally got around to putting up a MySpace page for The Gearjammers because the audio plays so much faster from there. I dunno why but anyway... Lots more shows booked. I'm playing very well for some reason. Certainly not from practicing! I've been watching some great players lately though and getting inspired. Everything is a competition with me so I start thinking "I can be that good! Hell, I can do BETTER than that!" and the next thing you know I'm playing with my teeth and behind my back and over my head. I've yet to light a guitar on fire and smash it to bits but before I die you can bet I'ma do dat shit in spades!

Another day, another meme

Another day, another meme stolen from Lime and Myutopia.
Regarding books:
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Yes please.
Amazon or brick and mortar?
Either. I'll book shop anywhere.
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Yep.
Bookmark or dog ear?
Lime's gonna hurt me but I dog ear.
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
Hahaha! Alphabewhatnow? Grouped by genre if at all.
Keep, throw away, or sell?
Keep but mostly loan out never to be seen again.
Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep by default
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
With by default
Short story or novel?
Yes please.
Collection or anthology?
No preference.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Niether but Lemony Snicket if pushed
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When tired. I dog ear so who cares?
"It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Yes please
Buy or Borrow?
Steal, I mean borrow but I buy A LOT.
New or used?
Either.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Recommendation or browse. Reviewers and critics have a special room in hell.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Gah! Tidy ending please.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Anytime is good but I tend to read at night when everyone is asleep.
Stand-alone or series?
Either. Has to be a good series to hold my interest.
Favorite series?
This is more about author. Tolkien, Anne Rice, Anne McCaffery to name a few.
Favorite children's books?
Seuss & Silverstein
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
My own of course. 'Dangerous Dreams' available through www.andyt13.com
Favorite books read last year?
I can't remember yesterday so who knows?
Favorite books of all time?
Too many to list
Least favorite book you finished last year?
I can't remember yesterday so who knows?
What are you reading right now?
Just finished 'Whores' about Jane's Addicition and 'Underneath it all' Traci Lords autobiography.
What are you reading next?
Who knows? Whatever I beg, borrow or buy next.
Plus there's always a pile of "I'm in the middle of these" I may or may not finish.
Labels: books, meme, music

I will Not Cry

"I will Not Cry" by Valery Milovic @ www.fluxfire.com

Victim Of Love

170/36 The show is tonight at The Striped Bass @ 9PM See you there!

What kind of love have you got?
You should be home, but you’re not
A room full of noise and dangerous boys
Still makes you thirsty and hot
I heard about you and that man
There’s just one thing I don’t understand
You say he’s a liar and he put outYour fire
How come you still got his gun in your hand?
Victim of love , I see a broken heart
You got your stories to tell
Victim of love, it’s such an easy part
And you know how to play it so well
Some people never come clean
I think you know what I mean
You’re walkin’ the wire, pain and desire
Looking for love in between
Tell me your secrets, I’ll tell you mine
This ain’t no time to be cool
And tell all your girlfriends,You ’been around the world’ friends
That talk is for losers and fools
Victim of love, I see a broken heart
I could be wrong, but I’m not (no I'm not)
Victim of love, we’re not so far apart
Show me, what kind of love have you got?
Victim of love, you’re just a victim of love
I could be wrong , but I’m not
Victim of love, now you’re a victim of love
What kind of love have you got?
What kind of love have you got?
What kind of love have you got?

Heartbreak Hotel

Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
Its down at the end of lonely street
At heartbreak hotel.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

And although its always crowded,
You still can find some room.
Where broken hearted lovers
Do cry away their gloom.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Well, the bell hops tears keep flowin,
And the desk clerks dressed in black.
Well they been so long on lonely street
They aint ever gonna look back.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
And you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
To heartbreak hotel.

The show is tonight at The Striped Bass @ 9PM See you there!

Empathy

After everything I've done I hate myself for what I've become. Fucking stupid empath. Bad! God! Fuckin' shoot me now! Gah!

Hey Diddle Diddle

Some of you may or may not know this but I have a real thing for Nursery Rhymes. Perhaps my penchant for poetry and my ability to write and remember lyrics comes from that. I dunno. I've certainly always had an affinity for words and phrases in meter and rhyme. HERE is a nifty site that has every nursery rhyme you ever heard of (and many you never did) in complete form. Amazingly comprehensive and amusing as well, especially for those of you with kids. Enjoy.
-Your friendly neighborhood raving psycho and sociopath

Followed

Bunny, Being Followed By Fear, Regret And Demons Of The Past, Hangs His Head And Cries, 3/2004, 12x16, mixed media on cardboard. Life beats down and crushes the soul. By Valery Milovic @ www.fluxfire.com Used by permission. "We will not regret the past, nor wish t shut the door on it..." Bullshit. Hell hounds on my trail...

Dependency

"Dependency" by Valery Milovic @ http://www.fluxfire.com/ I absolutely love her work. It speaks volumes about how I feel. Go check it out. I've been noticing more and more the gap between what I think and how I feel. I THINK that my life is great and I'm better off than I've ever been. I'm healthier, safer, more financially secure, more in control of myself and my life. Unfortunately I FEEL terrible. I mistakenly gave my heart, my life and my love to a very poor custodian thereof. I got them back when she no longer wanted them, but now they're all broken. I don't know how to fix them. I'm sad and I'm scared that everyone is going to get tired of my whining and leave me even more alone than I already feel. NEW TOPIC: Someone I love very much is also very sad; so sad they carved their arm up bad enough to have to go to the doctor. They made me promise not to tell anyone so I'm not naming any names but I have a message for them. That message is I LOVE YOU. Please don't hurt yourself anymore. I don't want you to die. OK? Please? Call me instead. Thanks. 155/21

Tag

No time this AM to blog. I makin' pancakes!
Tag brought to you by Dallas Meow:

Three resolutions I’ve made more than once:
Quit drinking, quit smoking, quit getting my heart broken. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
Three things I wish someone would buy or do for me:
Come back to me, love me, never leave me
Three places I am dying to visit:
Greece, Trinidad/Tobago & N'awlins
Three words I can never spell correctly:
Eye Nevah Miss Spell Wirdz.
Three secrets I have never told anyone:
Well DUH. I have 3 and you can't know.
Three things I would do if I won a big lottery:
Buy big boat. Sail away. Never return.
Three things I’ve lost that I can’t seem to get over:
My heart, my love, my life
Three favorite places to be a tourist:
I'm never a tourist;always a traveller.
Too many to list but Paris, San Sebastien, anywhere Caribbean
Three movies I’ve never seen, that I would like to see:
Can't think of any. If I wanna see 'em I see 'em.
Three things I like to do alone.
Sail, drink and think.

Big Freakin Snowstorm

Big freakin snowstorm in the Northeast today. I wanted to blow off work and stay home but I figured "Fuck it. I'll go in late, leave early, and not lose a precious day off." So that's my plan. I really want to do some longer sailing trips this year. My boat and I are in good shape physically though I wonder about that boat's sanity sometimes. She seems to fall in love the hardest with boats that don't love her back. She has abandonment issues too. She's attracted to flaky boats who abandon her and then she says "See? No one really loves me. They all go away. I think I'll go sink myself." Silly boat! She used to drink and smoke all the time too, that boat, but she isn't doing that anymore. She told me yesterday that she wanted a shot of 151 Rumplemintz to celebrate 151 days alcohol free but I talked her out of it. She really misses her Marlboro reds too but I told her they were bad for her. She told me to go fuck myself but she doesn't mean it really. She's awfully talkative for a boat don't you think? The boat I mean. Boat.

How come doing doesn't rhyme with boing? Boat.

Misery Loves Company

I got this image HERE. Pretty cool site. A bunch of you contacted me by various means to offer your support and otherwise try to keep me from getting drunk and or killing myself. I thank you. That's one of the reasons I keep blogging. It reminds me that people I hardly know halfway across the world give a shit if I live or die. Moreso than I do even. Thanks.

Surrender

perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most
forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same
open my eyes wake up in flames
it took you to make me realize
it took you to make me realize
it took you to make me realize
it took you to make me see the light
smashed up my sanity
smashed up integrity
smashed up what i believed in
smashed up what's left of me
smashed up my everything
smashed up all that was true
gonna smash myself to pieces
i don't know what else to do
covered in hope and vaseline
still cannot fix this broken machine
watching the hole it used to be mine
just watching it burn in my steady systematic decline
of the trust i will betray
give it to me i throw it away
after everything i've done i hate myself for what i've become
i tried
i gave up
throw it away
Gave Up -NIN

A friend's son off to war

All right you lot (whoever you are) whether you comment here or not now is the time to make your voices heard. My very dear bloggy friend G'night Girl is having a hard time right now. Her son Brian got on a plane this morning at 2AM to fly to Kuwait and thence to Bahgdad for the next 18 to 24 months as part of the US Army. Whoever you are please do me this favor and go leave Gnight Girl a comment. Tell her you love her and her son and that everything's going to be fine, OK? Please? I'll consider it a personal favor. Thank you. Be Thou Blessed.