The Ghostwrite

#116 - Burlington, VT

Sometimes I am asked, do you make any money doing this. So… for this little tour, I will give the breakout.

No pissing and moaning about how I’m an evil capitalist either. I didn’t wake up in the magic land of communal, currency-free, pleasant living today. And I doubt we’ll find it before I find my grave. Maybe this will help some ambitious acoustic punk rocker with his or her dreams of touring the globe. My bones are growing old from this, so someone will, hopefully, pick up the torch. Kudos if you can keep it lit.

DAY ONE. BURLINGTON, VT

DAILY EXPENSES
$01.48 coffee
$01.58 coffee
$31.75 fuel
$62.50 hotel
$02.00 tip for the bartender
$07.95 cigarettes
__________
$109.26

SHOW PAY
$50.00

TOTAL PROFIT (LOSS)
-59.26 || That’s right, negative fifty-nine dollars and twenty-six cents. And you thought that minimum wage job paid like shit. Isn’t the life of a vagrant musician glamorous?!

Fucking hotel killed me. Alas, I don’t have any friends in Burlington, and I didn’t much feel like making any new ones. Plus, I was under the impression that the performance pay would be $150. I wasn’t aware that I would have to play for three hours. I am not Springsteen. Take that, wallet!

# 115 - Braddock, PA

Mace Ballard (acoustic), Jon Creeden, Endless Mike. Such a grand night at the FFD House. No more shows here until winter. I’m inviting you in advance to the next one. Can you say CD release party? Stay tuned.

#109 - #114

A house show (FFD House) was had sometime in May, I believe, with Anthony (Run Forever) and Mace Ballard. This was a last minute, spur-of-the-moment endeavor, and it was awesome. This was #109.

#110 - #113 were, quite possibly, the best string of shows I have played. Quebec City, Trio Rivera, Ottawa, Montreal. All these shows were with my good buddy, Jon Creeden. I think we drank most of our tour earnings, but not even severe intoxication could steal the memories of this trip. Sorry, States, but Canada gets dibs now. And I can hear the grumblings of “fucking socialist and their free health care!” Still need to get back to Lubbock, TX and parts of California for shows. Maybe that trip will swing the favor back to the States. Too early to take a guess?

#114 was at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern in Pittsburgh in late July. It was Hultman’s birthday. Mace Ballard (such good dudes) and The Seas We Fear to Sail played.

I printed up 50 copies of Submarine Subversion. I have a few left. If you want one, email me. ghostwrite84@gmail.com

Since my Canada tour, I have wrote a fistful of songs that I will turn into an EP (hopefully before winter). You’ll be able to snag these from the internet, or anytime you see me at a show.

Saturday, August 14th, 2010 @ the FFD House. 1704 Murdough St. North Braddock, PA. 7 p.m. w/ Jon Creeden, Mace Ballard, Endless Mike (without the Beagle Club). Be there or miss out on sweetness. I don’t think Mike has played an Endless Mike and the Beagle Club show in quite some time. It’s sure to be a real treat. Jon is back in the States. Come catch him before he heads to his northern home. Mace Ballard is feeling frisky after winning $2500 to record an album. It should be a night of music bliss.

Grand times in Canada.

My tour with Jon Creeden has been bad ass. Definitely one of the best tours I have ever been a part of. I will try to write more about the trip later this week.

p.s. It’s brutually hot and humid here in Ottawa, Ontario. Boo to that. Someone bring me a squirt gun, cool?

#108 - Pittsburgh, PA

May 1st, 2010

May Day. A day to remember and celebrate all the hard work of all the labor unions and labor anarchists that have helps push the wheels of labor revolution. We still have a lot of work to do, as many places and companies exploit labor (sweat shops) so a few greedy pigs can make an extra buck.

I played a show at the OTB Bike Cafe in Pittsburgh (South Side) tonight. It was fun. Mallory, Diane, Danielle, Josh, Jared and Joe (showed up late, but he was shredding it up in a hockey match) showed up to hang and support my flailing efforts. That was awesome.

Mace Ballard performed after me. Thank you, TJ, for inviting me to be a part of this somewhat enjoyable show. I say somewhat, because 21+ crowds still suck, especially when said venue lands smack dab in the middle of one of Pittsburgh’s largest tourist attractions. “First-world frat boys and prairie skinheads who will never walk a mile.“

Submarine Subversion demos

Hey there,

I hope everyone is keeping their head above water in this every changing chaos of life.

Yesterday, I recorded the demos for my new album, “Submarine Subversion.” I put one of the demos up over at this evil machine. If you have a few free minutes, maybe you’ll take a listen? The song is called “Stick to the Minors, Son.”

I hope to get into Magpie Cage in Baltimore, MD sometime soon to record the actual album. When this happens, the album will be posted at this pleasant site for free download. A double novella (one non-fiction, one fiction) + physical CD will be available sometime later in the year.

– Robby.

#106, 107 - Pittsburgh, PA

March 27th, 2010

Jim, Paul, Jess, Curt, Mallory and I piled into Mallory’s car. We are not clowns, but on this particular night we tried. Dinner was entertaining. Our waitress was fired, and then re-hired, somehow. Something about the owner or manager being an asshole. It took about an hour and a half for our food to arrive to the table. This restaurant was not busy, and we didn’t order anything fancy - salads, pasta and pizzas. Definitely an interesting place, and surprisingly, the food was delicious.

Played at Josh and Robby K’s pre-hitching and hopping party. It was fun. Twos was loud, as usual. Josh, surprisingly, wasn’t. Turney owned the party. He must have ate a pound or two of ice and drooled on anyone he could get close to.

Post show report: Apparently pot is a major problem for one of my friends who attended this party, as in he doesn’t like to be around it, not even a little bit. I hope he didn’t catch a contact high.

April 2nd, 2010

A birthday party for a friend we threw at our house. Hultman and I were writing sweet jams earlier in the day, and towards the end of the night we decided to go outside and practice; the alcohol was revolting by this point. Mallory quickly put the kibosh to this, and we were forced upstairs. Emily and Devon were already in the room we were using as our practice area, talking shit on a pretty sunset or something. Anyway, we ran through the songs, and of course, Devon has to start running his mouth. Obviously, this led to the inevitable “Devon is a Douche Bag” smash hit. Most of the party piled into the room, and most of us sang an extremely long (at least 15 minutes) version of “Devon is a Douche Bag.” Jeff added some additional guitars. He plays in the Pittsburgh symphony (cello, I believe). Yeah, he classed it up a bit. Joe added extra hilariousness. Maybe next time you’ll join in on the fun?

Music during travels

I’ve acquired some excellent music recently. Here’s what I’ve been listening to as I’ve been traveling to and fro Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, Stroudsburg, Baltimore, DC, etc.

1. The New Dress - “Where Our Failures Are”
I absolutely love this album. I will probably wear this disc out before summer arrives. If you enjoy folk-punk guy/girl duos, this should be at the forefront of music to obtain.

2. Trunks & Tales - “Year One”
This is packed full. 27 songs! More often than not, these two punk rockers from Harrisburg, PA churn out instant sing-a-long awesomeness. Ghosts is my favorite, as of today. Tomorrow, it could shift to another.

3. Wifebeater - “Demo 2010”
Three-piece folk-punk (stand-up acoustic bass, acoustic guitar, vocals, banjo, an assortment of other shakers and such). If Rising Sun and Water in the Sea don’t hook you instantly, I doubt your ears are able to enjoy rough-and-tumble folk punk.

4. The Thin Heir - “Demo”
The production of this is almost a little too rough, but the songs are so, so good. So good, in fact, that the basement quality recording gets trumped by their remarkable song-writing ability.

5. New York Taxi - “the Calm Before…”
This isn’t new music, to me, but I simply cannot get enough. Probably my favorite west-coast music in the current age.

** I would be listening to the Homeless Gospel Choir disc, but I left that in Pittsburgh.

Listening to a fistful of other bands, too, such as: Converge, Strike Anywhere, Propagandhi, Rage Against the Machine, the Get Up Kids, Jawbreaker, Anti-Flag, Endless Mike and the Beagle Club, A Wilhelm Scream.

#105 - Pittsburgh, PA

March 18, 2010

I am losing track of days. The spring season is definitely here.

The show at 222 Ormsby was enjoyable. Homeless Gospel Choir ruled. I hope we get to play many more shows together. I missed Wifebeater, but I did pick up a copy of their new EP (which I have been enjoying quite frequently the past few days). Saint Seneca canceled. That was a bummer.

Before this show I went to see Drought play down the street from our home. This show was at a vegan/straight edge home, I believe. I’m absolutely in support of a living a healthy, forward-thinking, humane life. However, I have a problem with absolutist/fascist attitudes. Unfortunately, I felt a little of both here. Educating is all anyone can hope to accomplish with ideals. Be understanding (in the fact that not everyone is going to be on-board) is the one thing I would would like to teach. I guess I should start with myself, as being in an environment such as this made me realise that I can be absolutist and a little fascist myself (especially when the conversation shifts to USA and war). Regardless, Drought destroyed. Their new songs are so, so good.

Eighteen hours of hanging with Mal and Rocky wasn’t quite enough. The morning came way too early, and I was, once again, off to NYC for another round of building up and knocking down. Alas, it’s nearly impossible to complain, as I enjoy the work I do. I guess that’s about all we can hope for right now, eh? Having an honest job, loved ones, a roof to sleep under, food and water, and passions to soak up all that idle time.

Stay positive.

In defense of service labor and DIY ethos

So this blog post seems to be fairly popular at the moment. Could it have something to do with being featured on this site?

You might want to read that before going any further. Otherwise, my perspective could leak into your thoughts (if you read it after reading this). I’d like you to make your own conclusion. You have been warned.

I honestly did not appreciate how this particular person made it seem like playing “basement” shows was a horrible life for a musician, and he effectively implied that musicians should use this particular scene as a springboard to bigger and brighter things. Interesting.

Personally, I love playing basements/houses/community centers/info shops. This is where performing doesn’t feel like I’m a part of a music-money-machine. I don’t like feeling as if I am a cog for the money machine, so these places are positive outlets for my frustration and disgust. I love writing music, recording music, touring, and performing. However, I don’t want to sell my essence to the evil music machine. That would defeat the purpose, personally, of writing and playing music.

I have a set of hands, a pair of legs and a functioning brain. If I cannot figure out a way to support my music and my desires to tour, then I do not deserve to do either. And you know what? I do, in fact, solely support these particular endeavors. I have an excellent union carpentry job, and when I’m not doing that (if I’m not at home hanging with Mallory, Rocky and my awesome friends) I am out on the road, playing music, usually in a room that cannot fit more than a small handful of people. I would not want it any other way.

This sort of absolutist perspective (shown in that blog post I linked) really does bother me. I can’t stand hearing bands/musicians complain about how they don’t have enough money to tour or record (or about how they weren’t paid enough to make the journey worth the effort). Yeah, sure, the money-machine sucks. Worrying about currency is one of the primary reasons of anxiety and stress (in the western world). Our system is set up in such a fashion that most people will constantly be at war with currency. However, if any particular band/musician uses money as the excuse to not try, then I doubt they had anything meaningful, enlightening or inspiring to add to this mad world.

Sure, in a perfect world, musicians (and people, in general) wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough money to do what they want. However, this world is far from perfect. If you really want it, DIY.