Jul 2008
Updates & Downgrades // Chin-ups & Let-downs
I'm playing a show this Friday night; I'm excited,
because it's the début of my personal works for a
non-partisan audience. I've done originals in church
settings before, but this is a coffee house gig, and
my church stuff is a bit unfitting. In fact, I'm
doing my only song with semi-racy lyrics, "Appendage
Girl", as my penultimate piece. I'm excited to be me,
even if some of the crowd is comprised of comrades
and coworkers (I'm awfully alliterative tonight,
aren't I?).
Mycal Randolph, my regular keys player, will be accompanying me with his traditionally spectacular blend of notation and audible enhancements to the overall sound, and I'm excited for that. He's used to playing with me at church, but this is his first real gig, as well. Accordingly, he is nervous. I'm overly confident in his abilities, though, and I'm positive he'll do exceptionally well, as he always does.
Reggie Jose is scheduled to appear and accompany me with acoustic guitar and vocals, and I'm excited for that opportunity as well. The man who turned me on to Thrice is the same boy I met our sophomore year of high school in All-State Choir and got along with spectacularly. To revisit those memories and create new bonds by working together again is an awesome opportunity.
Adam McHenry, with no offense to Mycal or Reggie, is the man I'm most excited to work with for this show. Adam was my drummer back in the days of my first band, Fluke. My experience with Alex Skidmore (bass guitar) and Adam as a part of the Fluke project (pun intended) was invaluable to me in developing an ear for musical balance and toned guitar sections. It is an honor and a joy to work with Adam again for any reason, and now that Alex is off in Tennessee for school and Mycal is leaving next month to join him, I've felt that some of my closest friends have drifted off or closed the door recently, and knowing that Adam is still around is a small comfort in changing times. We both look forward to becoming closer friends, but for now, working together for a small nine-song show is honor enough.
As far as my personal life goes (and why on heaven or earth I haven't updated lately), I've hit a rough spot and been through a few trials. Since my last update, I have gained and lost a fiancée, moved into a full-time position at the church, come to realize that my life has very little true direction in it, and found myself to be an entirely different person than I was acquainted with even a month ago. How long have I been like this? Is it that I've changed for the worse and become more bitter in my daily routine, or have I been hiding a critical nature for a while and am now coming to surface?
One thing's for certain; I've never been more content with my life. Something's to be said for being apathetic towards people's opinions of you. I've tried to please for so long, and it's been a pleasurable journey for me most of the time. Now, though, making a decision to end an engagement is bound to garner some negative response, and I have to set my mind in a position to know that I did what I needed to do for the sake of our individual and gathered futures. I have to be content with my decision (after all, I can't take it back) and be confident that things will be okay. Dealing with the pain, the frustration, the regret, the confusion, and the general angst of such a steep decision brings a lot to the surface, and I'm at the place where I simply deal with it and dismiss it. I think that's it, more than anything; I'm very dismissive these days, even though I take a thousand more things into consideration than I would have before. Pain has a way of sharpening immediate reality.
I've written a few new songs out of the grab bag of emotions, though. They're not up for download yet, because I'm being meticulous about my recordings these days. I really want to do the best I can with the equipment I have to work with, and I don't yet feel that I've done my best work with my new tracks. Accordingly, I've removed all of the old tracks from the Media section of the site, because they deserve to be re-recorded.
If you're local, I hope to see you Friday night at 9:00 p.m. EST for an entertaining thought, some free food, and a small show by none other than yours truly.
Yours truly,
Joe Barnosky
Mycal Randolph, my regular keys player, will be accompanying me with his traditionally spectacular blend of notation and audible enhancements to the overall sound, and I'm excited for that. He's used to playing with me at church, but this is his first real gig, as well. Accordingly, he is nervous. I'm overly confident in his abilities, though, and I'm positive he'll do exceptionally well, as he always does.
Reggie Jose is scheduled to appear and accompany me with acoustic guitar and vocals, and I'm excited for that opportunity as well. The man who turned me on to Thrice is the same boy I met our sophomore year of high school in All-State Choir and got along with spectacularly. To revisit those memories and create new bonds by working together again is an awesome opportunity.
Adam McHenry, with no offense to Mycal or Reggie, is the man I'm most excited to work with for this show. Adam was my drummer back in the days of my first band, Fluke. My experience with Alex Skidmore (bass guitar) and Adam as a part of the Fluke project (pun intended) was invaluable to me in developing an ear for musical balance and toned guitar sections. It is an honor and a joy to work with Adam again for any reason, and now that Alex is off in Tennessee for school and Mycal is leaving next month to join him, I've felt that some of my closest friends have drifted off or closed the door recently, and knowing that Adam is still around is a small comfort in changing times. We both look forward to becoming closer friends, but for now, working together for a small nine-song show is honor enough.
As far as my personal life goes (and why on heaven or earth I haven't updated lately), I've hit a rough spot and been through a few trials. Since my last update, I have gained and lost a fiancée, moved into a full-time position at the church, come to realize that my life has very little true direction in it, and found myself to be an entirely different person than I was acquainted with even a month ago. How long have I been like this? Is it that I've changed for the worse and become more bitter in my daily routine, or have I been hiding a critical nature for a while and am now coming to surface?
One thing's for certain; I've never been more content with my life. Something's to be said for being apathetic towards people's opinions of you. I've tried to please for so long, and it's been a pleasurable journey for me most of the time. Now, though, making a decision to end an engagement is bound to garner some negative response, and I have to set my mind in a position to know that I did what I needed to do for the sake of our individual and gathered futures. I have to be content with my decision (after all, I can't take it back) and be confident that things will be okay. Dealing with the pain, the frustration, the regret, the confusion, and the general angst of such a steep decision brings a lot to the surface, and I'm at the place where I simply deal with it and dismiss it. I think that's it, more than anything; I'm very dismissive these days, even though I take a thousand more things into consideration than I would have before. Pain has a way of sharpening immediate reality.
I've written a few new songs out of the grab bag of emotions, though. They're not up for download yet, because I'm being meticulous about my recordings these days. I really want to do the best I can with the equipment I have to work with, and I don't yet feel that I've done my best work with my new tracks. Accordingly, I've removed all of the old tracks from the Media section of the site, because they deserve to be re-recorded.
If you're local, I hope to see you Friday night at 9:00 p.m. EST for an entertaining thought, some free food, and a small show by none other than yours truly.
Yours truly,
Joe Barnosky
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