Secret Agent Audio Services is on vacation! I’m taking off the entire month of August. I’m helping Shannon move to L.A., and then spending as much time there with her as possible. I’ll also be producing some tracks for my dear friend Laura’s band. And of course I’ll be going to Burning Man, wih my awesome theme camp.

In other news, Shannon and I had this chat this morning, which made me laugh and laugh:

me: haha!
lol!!!11111oneoneone
shannon: what? (oneoneone????)
me: hahaha!
that’s l33tspeak.
(“elite speak”)
shannon: oh, you have to translate. i’m so not elite
me: hacker shorthand
“lol” = laughing out loud
shannon: i know! but i don’t understand it…
me: you know that, probably
shannon: yes, i know “lol”
me: ok.
then there are exclamation points.
!!!!!
shannon: yes…
me: but sometimes, your finger lets go of the shift key too early, and it makes a 1
shannon: yeah, i did that earlier today in fact
me: you actually did this at the beginning of our chat, above.
[smile] shannon: haha!
me: a “1” can also be written as “one”
shannon: yes……..
me: so then you get the perfectly logical progression LOL!!!!11111oneoneone
shannon: um, i hate to say it, but….. how is ‘oneoneone’ SHORT for any of the above?
seems longer to me…….
me: well, that’s not the point.
it’s code
the point is to obfuscate, not to make easier [smile] shannon: oh. code. -elite- code.
me: now do u f33l l!k3 m0re of a l33t h@x0r?
shannon: oh, heck yes. i am definitely more of an elite hacker.
me: sweet.

Last week we played at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Julie heard a patron say on the way out, “Never have I heard someone play three instruments so badly.”

Thanks, museum patron!

Hi! I’m currently in the midddle of a seven-week North American tour with Jolie Holland. It’s a great experience so far. Our touring party couldn’t be nicer people. Jolie’s mom is on the road with us, selling merch! This is a first for me, and a very positive one at that.

The tour itinerary is at Jolie’s mySpace page.

So after three-plus continuous months of touring, I have reached the end of my current round of commitments! I’ve been across the Atlantic once, around the entire US twice, around the East four times, around the Midwest twice, through the South half a time, and I’ve lived in Austin, Texas for a week.

And now I’m in Vermont, taking a few days’ relaxation time with my family. On Tuesday I fly to Brooklyn to hang out for a night, and then on Wednesday I head to Vieques, Puerto Rico for Alexei and Amy’s wedding(!!).

I’ve rented myself a private villa on the ocean, and I’ve rented a bicycle, and I’m bringing a wireless router and a stack of books. Oh, and my best friend is getting married. So I should have plenty to do.

I fully intend to take the next month off, with a couple of notable exceptions. I’ll be mixing Nada Surf at a private show in New Jersey (am I allowed even to mention that? Hm. Well, fuck it – I’m honored they asked, and I’m going to brag about it unless and until they ask that I not). And, I’ll be mixing Every Move A Picture on the main stage at Shoreline, for BFD, on June 10th. Definitely my first time mixing in a venue that big – it’s going to be a blast!

And then the summer touring season begins … :-)

The first time in months that I manage to find time to post something, and I’m at SxSW. Ironic!

I just finished the Rogue Wave / Nada Surf tour, which was amazing. Nada Surf are such a great band, and you couldn’t hope to meet three nicer human beings. The shows were mostly sold out, and mostly in good venues, and the whole experience was really wonderful.

Here’s where we were:

FEBRUARY
Tue 7 New York City, NY The Mercury Lounge
Wed 8 Baltimore, MD 8 x 10 Club
Thur 9 Charlottesville, Virgina Starr Hill Music Hall
Fri 10 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Sat 11 Atlanta, GA The Loft
Sun 12 Nasville, TN Exit / In
Mon 13 Maryland Heights, MO Voodoo Lounge @ Harrah’s Casino
Tue 14 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
Wed 15 Lawrence, KS Granada Theatre
Thur 16 Travel / Off –
Fri 17 Dallas, TX Gypsy Ballroom
Sat 18 Austin, TX Emo’s Alternative Lounging
Sun 19 Travel / Off –
Mon 20 Tempe, AZ Clubhouse Music Venue
Tue 21 San Diego, CA House of Blues
Wed 22 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
Thur 23 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Fri 24 Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre
Sat 25 Vancouver, BC Richards on Richards
Sun 26 Seattle, WA The Showbox
Mon 27 Travel / Off –
Tue 28 Travel / Off –
MARCH
Wed 1 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
Thur 2 Omaha, NE Sokol Underground
Fri 3 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café
Sat 4 Madison, WI The Annex
Sun 5 Chicago, IL The Metro
Mon 6 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Tue 7 Travel / Off –
Wed 8 New York City, NY Webster Hall
Thur 9 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Fri 10 Montreal, QC Cabaret Music Hall
Sat 11 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace

Then Rogue Wave split off and picked up a couple random shows through the Midwest en route to Austin. We got into Austin at 5:30 this morning, direct from last night’s gig, slept in the van for a couple of hours, and loaded into the Parish at 8:30. In the morning! I was done soundcheck and having breakfast by 10:30. Ridiculous. I’m SO tired.

I’m doing two or three bands over the next few days at SxSW (Rogue Wave, Film School, and maybe Two Gallants) – I think I’m mixing something like 8 sets over three days. Then on Sunday, I fly to New York to do a quick 8-day tour with Annie (yay!). This will be great fun. Here’s that itinerary:

MARCH
Mon 20 New York City, NY The Mercury Lounge
Tue 21 Toronto, ON Mod Club
Wed 22 Montreal, QC Club Lambi
Thu 23 Boston, MA Jane / Fenway Sessions
Fri 24 New York City, NY DJ set
Sat 25 Brooklyn, NY Northsix
Sun 26 Washington, DC Black Cat

Then I get to go home for a few days! I’m mixing a few sets at Noise Pop:

MARCH
Tue 28 Every Move A Picture Bottom of the Hill
Thu 30 Rogue Wave Bimbo’s
Fri 31 Two Gallants Bimbo’s

Then I head back out April 2 for another six weeks with Matt Nathanson. This should be great fun as well! Here’s the itinerary for the first leg:

04.03.06
Jammin Java
Vienna, VA

04.04.06
World Cafe Live
Philadelphia, PA

04.06.06
Paradise Rock Club
Boston, MA

04.09.06
Joe’s Pub
New York, NY

04.10.06
Acoustic Cafe
Bridgeport, CT

I get two days off to hang out in Vermont with my sister, and then I’m back out for another three or four weeks with Matt again. I’ll post more details as I get them! — .j.