Downward, Forward, On and On

I'll try to be brief but there are a lot of things that have happened in a little over a week...

Andrea was supposed to come and visit starting last Saturday but obviously things are different now, so I really tried to keep busy to keep my mind off of...well...her. Our friend Matt came up from Golden last Saturday. I hadn't seen him since the Muddy Buddy my first weekend in Boulder. We went climbing, I showed him the town, we made delicious cookies for Trish (who couldn't hang out cause she had to work), and the 3 of us went on a midnight hike up Flagstaff Mountain to watch the meteor shower. We saw almost 3o meteors in a little over an hour. It was sooo nice. I spent Sunday at the 2009 Denver TubaChristmas (pictures forthcoming). Over 250 tubas, euphoniums, baritones, and sousaphones gathered to play Christmas carols for free in a park. Trish and Colin came to watch and we went to the Tilted Kilt for football afterward. Later that night, Colin and I went to Meg and Marissa's holiday party. It was supposed to be a mono-chrome theme (only wear one color), but no one told me (cause I don't have the Facebook). Colin and I had lots (and I mean lots) of red wine. It was great.

I had catering work lined up for every day last week which was good. I worked with some great people and had a lot of funny times giving people food. Trish, Colin, Christine, Carllee, and I played some Settler's Monday night and that was probably the highest point in a while.

I found out Tuesday my dad's mom died Monday night. We had kind of been expecting it, but it didn't make it any easier. I immediately had to take off work Thursday and Friday just in case I had to run home and everything seemed really frantic. However, my dad and uncle decided to have my grandma cremated and hold a small service for her in spring.

Trish and I took Friday off to head up to the mountains. We went to Frisco in an attempt to see our friend Julie's photo gallery. However, the place was closed all 3 separate times we stopped by. It was sad. Making Trish climb mountains and cross (mostly) frozen creeks was great though.

I started driving home Sunday with the goal of making it to Mankato, MN to stay with good ol' Ruskus. Let me tell you, Nebraska is a bitch. I drove for almost 14 hours. It was ridiculous.

Yesterday the plunge continued as I saw Andrea for the first time since the split. She looked so gorgeous and it hurt alot to talk to her like a friend. However, that's the only role we can be in for a while, so I have to get used to it. I know I did a great job being her boyfriend and I would do a great job again, but everything is out of my hands and in the future, which I just have to accept.

Tyler beat me at racquetball (surprise, surprise), but it was an EPIC game at the end. My whole right side is beat up (knee, elbow, and hip) from diving all over the place. I played alot of the game on the floor.

I FINALLY made it home about 4:30 tonight and crashed like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is a tomorrow and it will be spent making rubber mats at my father's work all day. So, bedtime it is folks!

If you have any questions or comments, leave them or get a hold of me! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Autumn Honorable Mentions

For those of you who sent me something in November or were great to me while I was in the Midwest over Thanksgiving or "follow" me on my blog, you will be receiving the special 35-song, 2-disc spectacular that is Autumn Honorable Mentions! These are the songs that were cut from September, October, and November with a tear in my eye. The first disc is entitled "Familiarity" because it is filled with artists you may have heard of (either on other Months or even the radio) and covers. Here are the tracks:

1. Julian Casablancas - 4 Chords of the Apocalypse
2. Tegan and Sara - The Ocean
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Clap Song
4. Emmy the Great - Where is my Mind? (Pixies Cover)
5. Freelance Whales - Generator^Second Floor
6. The Flaming Lips - I Can Be A Frog
7. Taken By Trees - My Boys (Animal Collective Cover)
8. Death Cab for Cutie - Meet Me at the Equinox
9. Minus the Bear - Into the Mirror
10. Kings of Leon Vs. Lykke Li - Knocked Up (Rodeo Mash Up)
11. Bluejuice - Little Emperor
12. A Broken Robot - This City Scares Me
13. Mika - We Are Golden
14. Lacrosse - My Stop
15. The Da Vincis - Paper Planes (Cover)
16. Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Slow Doomsday
17. Frank Turner - Sunday Nights
18. Bon Iver & St. Vincent - Roslyn

Zach's Notes
1. The lead singer of the Strokes with his debut solo album.
2. These twins are indie darlings these days. I've even heard them on MTV!
6. In case you were curious, the girl's voice is Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. Made for the new Twilight movie soundtrack... :S
10. The song is from Kings of Leon's previous album, Because of the Times
15. Easily my favorite cover of this infinitely covered song!
18. Also made for the new Twilight movie, but Bon Iver resides in Northern Wisconsin so it is hard to not like him.

The next CD is "Alienation" for those artists who nobody has probably heard of before.

1. Phantogram - When I'm Small
2. The Heavy - How Do You Like Me Now?
3. Jamie T - Chaka Demus
4. Papermoon - People Are Talking But Now They Are Forgetting
5. I Heart Hiroshima - Shakeytown
6. Red Wire Black Wire - Compass
7. Bird Automatic - What Should Be Told
8. Penpal - Plains, Trains, Places & People
9. McGowan - Into the Mystery
10. Old Canes - Little Bird Courage
11. Colourmusic - Put In A Little Gas
12. Animal Kingdom - Signs and Wonders
13. Golden Kanine - Scissors
14. Sainthood Reps - Condor
15. Collapse Under the Empire - The Taste of Last Summer
16. Lixian Hantover - Rachel's New Apartment
17. Paper Bird - Milk

Zach's Notes
2. Nice horn and rhythm section reminds me of the good ol' days.
8. Yes, it is Plains and NOT Planes...don't ask ME why...
17. Local Boulder band!

December 2009 Playlist!

That's right ladies and gentlemen! The last playlist of the year went out in the mail today! I apologize for the lateness as my life has been rather hectic lately. I hope to update tomorrow with actual things that have been happening in my life, but for now I want to focus on the music. Here is what you are listening to this December:

1. Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today
2. Hold Fire - Emma Louise
3. Johnny Foreigner - Dark Harbourzz
4. Vampire Weekend - Cousins
5. Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes
6. Oberhofer - Away FRM U
7. Sia - You've Changed
8. Apanhador So - Damas
9. Savoir Adore - We Talk Like Machines
10. The Shiny Brights - Not Too Old
11. I Was Totally Destroying It - Teeth
12. Tim & Jean - Come Around
13. Letting Up Despite Great Faults - In Steps
14. Georgia Fair - Picture Frames
15. Annie Brooks - June
16. Swimming in Speakers - Serve Them Well
17. Two Door Cinema Club - Cigarettes in the Theatre
18. Darwin Deez - Radar Detector
19. Pixie Carnation - When Did the Lights Go Out
20. Strange Days - We Stand
21. Sleigh Bells - Ring Ring
22. Spoon - Anything You Want
23. The Snake The Cross The Crown - Coming Down the Hill
24. Chris Bathgate - A Flash of Light Followed By

Zach's Notes!
1. The SNL favorite by the former lead singer of The Strokes. A new holiday classic? YES!
2. One of my favorites on here. I love songs about girls.
4. Vampire Weekend gets back on track with this single after the awful, "Horchata"
5. Love the feel of this song
6. This one too. The guitar riffs get me.
7. Nick and I fell in love with "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" and "Little Black Sandals" off of her first album. I think this song isn't as good as those 2, but it still a solid single from her sophomore album.
8. Token foreign song!
12. Token dance number!
15. I'm pretty sure the only reason this song is on here is because it makes me think of Andrea.
16. I love the voice and the lo-fi sounds.
18. Probably my favorite track. I'm going to start calling girls radar detectors and see what reaction I get.
21. Do NOT expect a Christmas song here! Just make sure you listen to this on speakers with good bass!
22. Spoon!!!!!! New album in JANUARY! Check out the sweet thumb piano action!
24. Lovely acoustic finish...always goes down smooth...

My Life As 6 Flags

That's me trying to be more creative than simply saying things have been roller-coasteresque lately. Allow me to explain:

On November 16th, smoke began pouring out of the hood of my car. What I was hoping would be only a few hundred in repairs turned into $1200 to get it "road ready" and $1800 for all BASIC repairs the shop felt I needed. Needless to say, it took a few days and I can no longer put anything on my credit card for a good while.

On November 19th, after introducing myself to a second-grade music class, a little boy raised his hand and stated for everyone, "I like you. I want to be just like you when I grow up!" Thanks little boy! Also, I took a flight from Denver to Milwaukee to start my holiday excursion with my baby! I was thrilled. Sam Hill picked me up at the airport and we had a very nice time catching up that night.

On November 21st, in the wee hours of the morning, I arrived in Marquette to see Andrea for the first time since Tony's wedding. It was awesome! By the time the sun was up, she had broken up with me. That part was not so awesome. We laid in bed for about 5 hours talking and trying to figure stuff out, but the fact-of-the-matter is that the distance had become too much for her and was beginning to affect her negatively. I stayed in the MQT till Tuesday so as to not back out on plans I had made to see other friends, but it was very hard. Blu and Tim were amazing. Thanks guys!

On November 22nd, while at the hockey game, the NMU pep band played my arrangement of Smash Mouth's "All Star", we scored 6 goals (all in the 2 periods I was at the game), and tuba players I had never met had heard of me. Man is it great to leave a legacy!

On November 26th, I was the surprise at our family's Thanksgiving (as I was planning on attending Andrea's family's dinner). So, that was cool. It was great to see my grandparents and aunt and uncle again.

On November 27th, the 8th annual "Great Day After Thanksgiving Burn-Off" was a success. I can't thank my brother enough for keeping this thing going! This year came the closest to actual rugby yet, but it was still a blast! I even took my brother down a few times!

Throughout break I kept busy catching up with people like Tony & Jess, Ted, Angela, Rose, Katelyn, etc... These were all great distractions. I also worked a few days for my dad and made a little cash.

On November 30th, I saw my first professional basketball game as the Bucks beat the Bulls 99-97 with Sam and Chad. It was more exciting than I thought, though dealing with the scalpers was a bit sketchy for a while.

I am back in Boulder as of yesterday and although I was frustrated with not working today, I have work already laid out for Thursday and Friday. My emotions still vary between sad, mad, and complacent, but time will help. I've got great friends (like you reading this) which always helps. Trish drew "Welcome Home"s and "Merry Christmas"es all over my windows and mirrors. That was fun.

Also, thank you so much for the music Tim and Jackie and ChelC. I can't wait to really listen to it all!

Music is being collected for the December mix as we speak so I hope you're excited! I know I am!