Union Square Show

In the midst of all the action and chaos lately, I neglected to talk about the show at Union Square last week. We were supposed to go on at 3. Me, Jibrail, Chris Hall and Stacy we're there pretty early setting up. They spoke to Parks Dept staff about getting electricity from the poles. They told us the power was on. We performed there the last two summers and had always got power from the lamp posts. Everybody got there around 2:30, 2:45. A crowd had gathered already when we realized we had no power. The Parks staff couldnt be found. Jibrail called and emailed them repeatedly. We had 3 choices: cancel the show with the crowd already there, wait who knows how long for the Parks people to help us (on a Sunday at that), or get power ourselves. Not to waste time, we went down 14th to Radio Shack and Guitar Center to see if we could rent a generator. Neither had one. Jibrail and Chris took a cab to Home Depot on 23rd. I stayed at the Park and just held it down in general. They came back with a generator but they had to buy it. They dont rent. Chris worked with a couple other guys to get it started. I poured gas at one point but mainly I mingled w people to keep em around. My wife's cousin was visiting w his girlfriend. He's an engineer so he knows how to operate generators. He got in there and helped out to get it started quickly. Then we started the show. Aside from some minor sound problems that got corrected, the show went real smooth. Some b-boys showed up and started bustin it down. That helped attract more people. We made more than enough money to cover the generator and pay everybody so in the end it was all good. Also I found out later that we had to get a generator for a show we have coming up in June and now we have it. In hindsight even though it was a little frustrating, everything worked out well in the end. We did end up starting about a hour and a half- 2 hrs late but it's Union Square, there's always people there. After we broke down all the equipment and loaded the cars, some of us went to a Hibachi steak house and did it up a little to celebrate. It came to mind that we're fortunate to be surrounded by all the right people that help us out with a variety of skills and knowledge that we may not have. Good lookin out everybody, last week we did 4 shows in a week. I cant speak for the rest of the band but thats a record for me. Im tired as hell but I like it.

We got on the news

We got on the news for a second last week at the Disney Streetgames at Thomas Jefferson Park. Channel 7 ABC Eyewitness News covered it. Now we just do that again, over and over and we're good. In all seriousness, thank you to all our supporters. If your reading this, you probly are one. We appreciate everything and all I can promise is we're not letting it be in vain. The ends will justify the means. - BR

great meetings, expectations, scots, etc.

BR and I had a great meeting this afternoon with our friend Paul re: the International Music Festival we're putting on in July. Paul has tons of ideas that will helps us put on a better show, and he's more than willing to help. I consider us lucky to be involved with people who see the value in what we're doing, and we've been fortunate in this way since the beginning. Paul is gonna follow up with a couple folks, and BR and our team are gonna follow up with some folks and it's on like Megatron this July 11. Look out for another great annual extravaganza from BR and Timebomb! I really like saying "extravaganza."
-Jibrail

Photos from the weekend

Thanks to our friends and family for coming out this weekend (and taking pictures) and to Parks and Recreation for putting us on this show.

whatever I like

First off, I certainly hope I won't be the only one from Timebomb to post on here. BR does, too, but he's crazy busy right now. And one of my favorite drummers, Questlove, does quite a bit of blogging. Which brings me to my point. BR and I were always concerned about blogging for a few reasons. The funniest blogs are the ones where people talk trash, like Lily Allen or Kanye West. But we are not as famous as them, and probably couldn't handle the backlash as well as them. (I think Lily Allen had to chill out for awhile due to her mouth getting her in trouble.) I was even concerned about saying in my last post that Vampire Weekend wasn't very original. Other than talking smack about people, why would anyone care about what we have to say? You might be going to youtube right now to watch babies fall off of kitchen counters or cats singing the National Anthem or something.

But Stacy (our bass player) has been an example for me of how people do care about what you have to say. He is great at giving folks "the personal touch," staying in touch with fans and responding to their questions and concerns, even when he doesn't agree.

I will change the subject for a second, to get back to the title of the post. I feel bad that I can't go out and see all of my friends who put on shows. But I do my best. Sometimes I'm busy, sometimes I'm broke and sometimes I just can't get it together. But I've been able to see some great music and comedy lately, like the Sound Frontier show. I also saw our friend Christina Lee back up a singer from the Netherlands last Saturday. A couple other guys we know were also in the band (Phil Smith, Miguel, etc.). We all like to go support other bands when we can, as long as they're not wack! (I kid, because I love.)
Peace out, Jibrail

innovation

I went to check out an old friend's band, Urban Weasel, on Tuesday since we'd canceled Timebomb rehearsal. It was good to see them, and I realized my friend, the singer and lyricist, really had a David Byrne thing going on. His lyrics were a little out there and he really made the best use of his voice. This got me talking to another person in the crowd after the show. We agreed on the David Byrne comparison, and got talking about the lack of innovative groups like the Talking Heads these days. Talking Heads took some influences from African music and combined them with their own weirdness and punk to make something new. Then you get a band like Vampire Weekend currently (who isn't bad) but doesn't seem to have that same originality. The only band, at least in rock music, these days who really seems to be original while still making their influences known is TV on the Radio. They're definitely a band I look up to when I think about how BR and Timebomb can continue in this business and not repeat ourselves.
-Jibrail