The New World
I really want to write more about what my life is like now, here in New York City, but it's not very easy a I have no computer/laptop, and work is so manic that I cannot really devote much time or attention to it..................but let's try it anyways.
I hate to think that my brief spell of unemployment here was the most fun thus far- but that is nearly the truth. I got a little spoiled just exploring and applying at random places. But here I am, at another hotel and feeling about the same about this one as 21c- which is to say I am rather over it. But the people here are incredibly kind and it's just not in me to work at a job and not care; so I bust my ass and am pretty stressed while I am here.
BUT.........some exciting things have popped up.
First, I called an old friend and documentary director, Steven. I let him know that I had relocated up here and was just saying "hi" and added that I always remembered how much he encouraged me to make this move some-odd years ago. He seemed sorta' fascinated/surprised that I had made the move and said to come by and see him. I said I would and he said "How about 4pm?"
I didn't plan to that day but I got out of work at 3pm and took the train uptown to find his offices. He is located in a sorta' off-Broadway district with all of these cool little theaters and offices.
I came in and sat down, announcing that I had an appointment with him. It was a busy and somewhat cluttered place. On the walls were posters of some of the films he had done and assorted awards, nominations....Emmys, Oscar nods....pretty crazy. At least three people came by and drilled me on whether or not I was reeeally there as an appointment.
Eventually I was taken to his office and he gave me a hearty handshake and asked "So have you talked to your mother lately?", a reference to his successful campaign to get me to reconnect with my mother.
We had a good visit. He is a pretty ideal documentarian int he sense that he is not super-talkative nor is he quiet- but he asks some pivotal questions and gets a lot of information. I talked a bit about everything, as I can do sometimes. I think we talked for less than 10 minutes before he said that he wanted me to work for him.
He gave a few details of what would be required of me and it all sounded fine. Great, even. I was stunned and, without thinking much, I asked "Why do you want to do this for me?"
And he proceeded to say intensely kind things about me. He said I was genuine, that he liked me, that he liked my music, and that he thought that I should be doing something better than working at hotels. I agreed with most of that..........
He said that they could work around band obligations, too.
SO, yeah. In a month or two I am going to start at the notoriously thankless position as a production assistant for....something. I don't care. I am just excited and honored to be asked.
He took me out into the office and stopped a couple of people and announced "This is my friend, William, from Louisville. I want to make him a production assistant."
You could tell that this had not been discussed with anybody thus far. But it wasn't weird or dramatic. I visited with some folks and they all seemed very nice. I began to loosen up enough to exercise some of my weird humor. I was still in a suit from working at the hotel and was sweating a bit, which I rarely do.
I left very excited, calling Kelli and Mai to tell them.
A few days later, I got a call to do some extra/background work on an HBO show "How To Make It In America". It was a day off and a few hours of work for $140. I played a tattoo artist. It was fun and was easy money. While I was there I was watching the production assistants and...man...chaos! It make me thankful to know that I would/will be on either a documentary or "reality" sorta' gig. Dealing with all of the typical TV shit looked like a mess. BUT, as Steven pointed out, it is not any worse than what I have to deal with at luxury/boutique hotels.
My birthday was spent on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building for a concierge event. It ended up being fun and I got lots of free food and booze. My coworker and I met two girls and hung out with them. We were each given a bottle of champagne- which I never drink- and that, on top of all of the other free booze being poured into us- made for an interesting adventure to the observation deck, swigging these bottles on the elevator with the tourists and "Leave It to Beaver"-esque families on vacation.
The evening ended with me carrying one of them and depositing her on a train but not before I got video of her singing me "Happy Birthday" in Arabic.
The new EP has been very well-received and I have yet to read a single bad review. Amazing. However, Pitchfork is set to review it and I find myself quietly WANTING a bad review from them. Is that wrong?
Funny story: I stayed with a friend early on here that Will had introduced me to in Louisville. His name is Shahzad and he and his girlfriend are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. It was a complete joy to stay at their place while he went overseas to play some gigs.
As part of my stay, I washed the linens I used before I left. No problem.
A couple of weeks later I receive a text from Shahzad that says: "Important question: what kind of detergent do you use?"
My head exploded with paranoid, fearful thoughts. I thought about allergic reactions. I thought about somebody swollen like tick, barely breathing in a hospital bed. I messaged back that I was at work and I wasn't sure....but it was all natural...eco-friendly...with lavender....ugh. I asked if everybody was OK and got no response.
I barely slept. I messaged the info of the detergent. I told him I was worried and to let me know.
The next morning I got a response: "You're so adorable!"
He explained: he was with Will. Before I left Louisville I had given Will this t-shirt from Singapore as I was lightening my load and he really, really liked how it smelled. So he asked Shahzad to ask me what detergent I use. Goddammit.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago: Will comes here to do a reading and he greets me "Hello, New Yorker. Still using the same detergent?" and inhales deeply on my chest and sleeve. (Of course, I have been mostly homeless so I couldn't have smelled THAT good...)
Another oddity from that day: was visiting with Will and, a few times now, he has mentioned how much better/younger/healthier I am looking since right before I left Louisville. I ended up explaining the drama(s) surrounding the affair with Lindsay...how blindsided I was by it all...deeply, tragically in love...and then heartbroken...and somewhat self-destructive. But, I explained that I am well and have some perspective and things are good now. I told him that I even maintained civil contact with her for the most part.
Within ten minutes of that I received a Facebook message from her husband. Despite knowing of our relationship while it was going on and actually facing him in person on more than occasion, he never once messaged me in any way or spoke of it. I messaged HIM, actually, while it was going on and near the end but I never received any response.
His message to me: "Stop e-mailing my wife."
Needless to say, I was stunned. And a bit bothered. So I texted her. And I said "That's all he ever had to say. Take care and goodbye."
And I haven't heard a word in three weeks or better. I do worry about the climate of that household; her and their child. I worry about them. But I really, really tried. I was ready to turn it all over to them and it wasn't to be. I don't understand why only now, when I am 1,000 miles away, that I am seen as some brand of threat but..........all he had to do was talk to me.
Past that, I am OK. Busy. We have a show Friday with Times New Viking at the Knitting Factory. Plans for a short tour are on the table. Record label folks are arranging the recording of our new record which will likely occur in Louisville at the end of the summer. They are budgeting for three weeks. Wow.
We are also negotiating a deal to play Boomslang with Will. We would headline the night before SWANS play. Wow again.
I am in the right place.
I hate to think that my brief spell of unemployment here was the most fun thus far- but that is nearly the truth. I got a little spoiled just exploring and applying at random places. But here I am, at another hotel and feeling about the same about this one as 21c- which is to say I am rather over it. But the people here are incredibly kind and it's just not in me to work at a job and not care; so I bust my ass and am pretty stressed while I am here.
BUT.........some exciting things have popped up.
First, I called an old friend and documentary director, Steven. I let him know that I had relocated up here and was just saying "hi" and added that I always remembered how much he encouraged me to make this move some-odd years ago. He seemed sorta' fascinated/surprised that I had made the move and said to come by and see him. I said I would and he said "How about 4pm?"
I didn't plan to that day but I got out of work at 3pm and took the train uptown to find his offices. He is located in a sorta' off-Broadway district with all of these cool little theaters and offices.
I came in and sat down, announcing that I had an appointment with him. It was a busy and somewhat cluttered place. On the walls were posters of some of the films he had done and assorted awards, nominations....Emmys, Oscar nods....pretty crazy. At least three people came by and drilled me on whether or not I was reeeally there as an appointment.
Eventually I was taken to his office and he gave me a hearty handshake and asked "So have you talked to your mother lately?", a reference to his successful campaign to get me to reconnect with my mother.
We had a good visit. He is a pretty ideal documentarian int he sense that he is not super-talkative nor is he quiet- but he asks some pivotal questions and gets a lot of information. I talked a bit about everything, as I can do sometimes. I think we talked for less than 10 minutes before he said that he wanted me to work for him.
He gave a few details of what would be required of me and it all sounded fine. Great, even. I was stunned and, without thinking much, I asked "Why do you want to do this for me?"
And he proceeded to say intensely kind things about me. He said I was genuine, that he liked me, that he liked my music, and that he thought that I should be doing something better than working at hotels. I agreed with most of that..........
He said that they could work around band obligations, too.
SO, yeah. In a month or two I am going to start at the notoriously thankless position as a production assistant for....something. I don't care. I am just excited and honored to be asked.
He took me out into the office and stopped a couple of people and announced "This is my friend, William, from Louisville. I want to make him a production assistant."
You could tell that this had not been discussed with anybody thus far. But it wasn't weird or dramatic. I visited with some folks and they all seemed very nice. I began to loosen up enough to exercise some of my weird humor. I was still in a suit from working at the hotel and was sweating a bit, which I rarely do.
I left very excited, calling Kelli and Mai to tell them.
A few days later, I got a call to do some extra/background work on an HBO show "How To Make It In America". It was a day off and a few hours of work for $140. I played a tattoo artist. It was fun and was easy money. While I was there I was watching the production assistants and...man...chaos! It make me thankful to know that I would/will be on either a documentary or "reality" sorta' gig. Dealing with all of the typical TV shit looked like a mess. BUT, as Steven pointed out, it is not any worse than what I have to deal with at luxury/boutique hotels.
My birthday was spent on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building for a concierge event. It ended up being fun and I got lots of free food and booze. My coworker and I met two girls and hung out with them. We were each given a bottle of champagne- which I never drink- and that, on top of all of the other free booze being poured into us- made for an interesting adventure to the observation deck, swigging these bottles on the elevator with the tourists and "Leave It to Beaver"-esque families on vacation.
The evening ended with me carrying one of them and depositing her on a train but not before I got video of her singing me "Happy Birthday" in Arabic.
The new EP has been very well-received and I have yet to read a single bad review. Amazing. However, Pitchfork is set to review it and I find myself quietly WANTING a bad review from them. Is that wrong?
Funny story: I stayed with a friend early on here that Will had introduced me to in Louisville. His name is Shahzad and he and his girlfriend are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. It was a complete joy to stay at their place while he went overseas to play some gigs.
As part of my stay, I washed the linens I used before I left. No problem.
A couple of weeks later I receive a text from Shahzad that says: "Important question: what kind of detergent do you use?"
My head exploded with paranoid, fearful thoughts. I thought about allergic reactions. I thought about somebody swollen like tick, barely breathing in a hospital bed. I messaged back that I was at work and I wasn't sure....but it was all natural...eco-friendly...with lavender....ugh. I asked if everybody was OK and got no response.
I barely slept. I messaged the info of the detergent. I told him I was worried and to let me know.
The next morning I got a response: "You're so adorable!"
He explained: he was with Will. Before I left Louisville I had given Will this t-shirt from Singapore as I was lightening my load and he really, really liked how it smelled. So he asked Shahzad to ask me what detergent I use. Goddammit.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago: Will comes here to do a reading and he greets me "Hello, New Yorker. Still using the same detergent?" and inhales deeply on my chest and sleeve. (Of course, I have been mostly homeless so I couldn't have smelled THAT good...)
Another oddity from that day: was visiting with Will and, a few times now, he has mentioned how much better/younger/healthier I am looking since right before I left Louisville. I ended up explaining the drama(s) surrounding the affair with Lindsay...how blindsided I was by it all...deeply, tragically in love...and then heartbroken...and somewhat self-destructive. But, I explained that I am well and have some perspective and things are good now. I told him that I even maintained civil contact with her for the most part.
Within ten minutes of that I received a Facebook message from her husband. Despite knowing of our relationship while it was going on and actually facing him in person on more than occasion, he never once messaged me in any way or spoke of it. I messaged HIM, actually, while it was going on and near the end but I never received any response.
His message to me: "Stop e-mailing my wife."
Needless to say, I was stunned. And a bit bothered. So I texted her. And I said "That's all he ever had to say. Take care and goodbye."
And I haven't heard a word in three weeks or better. I do worry about the climate of that household; her and their child. I worry about them. But I really, really tried. I was ready to turn it all over to them and it wasn't to be. I don't understand why only now, when I am 1,000 miles away, that I am seen as some brand of threat but..........all he had to do was talk to me.
Past that, I am OK. Busy. We have a show Friday with Times New Viking at the Knitting Factory. Plans for a short tour are on the table. Record label folks are arranging the recording of our new record which will likely occur in Louisville at the end of the summer. They are budgeting for three weeks. Wow.
We are also negotiating a deal to play Boomslang with Will. We would headline the night before SWANS play. Wow again.
I am in the right place.