Esther Rose

Our best friends Paris and Mandy welcomed their first baby into the world today.  Internet, meet Esther Rose:

Add comment June 28th, 2009

Destiny Unbound

Let’s start at the beginning. I left home for a hitchhiking adventure when I was 15 years old.  Me and a couple of friends were headed up to Vermont from Buffalo to catch a Grateful Dead show.  It took us a few days, but we made it up together, and I fell in love with America.

Fast forward a year.  Jerry’s gone, and I decide to head out west to see some old friends and catch a few Furthur shows.  After a crazy day at Fiddler’s Green, I make the call to hang out in Colorado for a while.  There’s mountains.  I like it here. Boulder, Colorado is one of those cities that just attracts traveling/homeless/adventuresome kids.  I met some amazing people who took me in there, friendly and understanding.  They also schooled me, taught me some things that I needed to know.  As the summer was winding down, I began to hear talk of an upcoming Phish show at Red Rocks.  Almost everyone I knew there was going, and I figured I’d tag along.  I had heard some Phish before, and was intrigued.  They reminded me of nuevo-Zappa, seasoned with Dr. Demento along with a side of some good ‘ol rock and roll.   Some interesting things happened at that run, and I made some new friends.  Ones with cars, and tickets.  I was on the bus before I knew what was happening.

I saw just under one hundred shows (my count is now 101) from summer ’96 to summer ’98.  I became the man I am today for the most part.  I learned to thrive in parking lots, hotels and campgrounds.  And I fucking LOVED every minute of it.  Phish was my life for a few years.  Then, as these things usually go, I fell in love with a girl and decided to slow down.  I would catch a show here and there, and actively traded tapes, but Phish was changing too and I had no desire to follow them down the road they had chosen.   I immersed myself in bluegrass and jazz for a while.  I knew that they were on “hiatus” for a while.  And I listened to their “last” concert, Coventry, live on XM radio at work.  It was so bad, I sheepishly shut it off. I was completely embarrassed after having told so many co workers how great the band was.  Coventry may have been emotional, but there’s a damn good reason you don’t see it  on too many fans iPods.

Then came the arrest.  And the resurrection I witnessed at ROTHBURY.

Now it’s 2009, and after playing together at a friends wedding they announce a 3 night run at the Hampton Coliseum with a tour to follow.  We were on the edge of our seats…could they do it?  Would it be the same?  Better?  Different?  Hampton turned out to be a barnburner, and I knew the tour would be steaming.

And so it has been.  A few flubs here and there, but that’s only expected after so long apart from each other.  They’re playing a handful of songs a LOT, but introducing new tunes and busting out some old goodies too.  As a spectator, the biggest change has been the ability to watch the shows as they’re happening. I’m watching and listening to tonights set at Bonnaroo as I type.  Cell phones have come a looooong way.  When I was on tour, I had a pager.

Tori, Tiny E and I are heading to our old stomping grounds in the cornfields next week.  This may very well be the last show I see at Deer Creek, and will certainly be the last time I see Phish before were a family of three.  It’s gonna be a blast taking our unborn child to see so many friends, and four very special ones indeed.

Add comment June 14th, 2009

Shower The People You Love With Love

Today is our first baby shower!  This is the fun one, thrown by friends, without any weird goo-goo gah-gah talk.  Super excited to see some old friends, drink some drinks and listen to some God Damn Grateful Dead.  Pictures later……

Add comment May 30th, 2009

Clintonville Market Kick Off

Woke up early and headed to the first Clintonville Farmer’s Market with a friend this morning.  Loaded up on goodies!  

Add comment May 23rd, 2009

Meep’s Shower

Tori and I threw a baby shower for two of our favorite people this weekend.  We had a lot of fun planning and executing, and the whole thing went off without a hitch!  Well, I guess that’s not entirely true…the daddy-to-be caught a bug and couldn’t make it at the last minute.  But everything in our control went well.  It was a really windy day at Blendon Woods, cool but not cold.  We kept the food simple, dogs and burgers on the grill with a few salads on the side.  Long picnic tables were covered in kraft paper and topped with small glass bowls with tulips tucked into them.  It was heartwarming to see so many people come out to support the couple, and I think it’s safe to say even the guys had fun.  

They made the same choice as us and have not found out the baby’s sex.  ”Meep” was at first the onomatopoeia for their baby’s communications, but has become it’s nickname.  In case you were wondering what the hell I was talking about.

And check out these unbelievable cookies that one of Tori’s friends from pottery class made! Little tags and everything.

Add comment May 11th, 2009

Who’s Ear?

I’m up early after spending the evening with friends getting real time setlist updates from last nights epic Phish “reunion”.  Now it’s time to pack up and head to the Hoosier State to see some old friends and celebrate life once again.  We love Indiana for all the right reasons: trees, terrain, NCAA basketball, blue laws…but what makes it so special for us are the people.  We left Indiana at the height of our glory days; still spending nights at bars, lots of friends crashing on couches and an amazing network of friends that could be relied on for anything.  It was not an easy transition to Dayton, then Cincinnati and now Columbus.  Everytime we move, we realize what we left behind in IN.  So get ready, Hoosiers, ’cause we’re comin’ home…

Add comment March 7th, 2009