By now many of you know that Toyboat received it's second nomination for a Pegasus in the Best Performer category. This really means a lot to every one of us...as a band we are still relatively new on the filk scene, and to be nominated two years in a row means more than I can say.

Thank you again.

Haven't posted much here because, well, at the moment there isn't much to post. There have been two biopsies in the last week, and the doctors are still puzzling over inconclusive results from the last biopsy. It's been pushed up the food chain, there is talk of sending her home and doing an out-patient biopsy, to another biopsy immediately in the hospital, to starting another round of chemo immediately. The good news is that she's headed in the right direction, the bad news is that *where* she is on that path is unclear at the moment, and the doctors want more certainty before they move forward.

Is there anyone available who can volunteer a couple of hours on Saturday morning for housecleaning? We need to clean the Roman's house so it's clean for her when she gets out of the hospital.

I've got 2-3 volunteers at the moment, and could use 3 more. Please email me at packergundo at gmail dot com if can throw in a couple of hours.

Our good friend Leah Roman has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, subtype 2. She had been fatigued for the past few weeks, and recently developed breathing issues, which culminated in a trip to acute care. Acute care ran a blood test which returned a hemoglobin of 4, resulting in an ambulance trip to Condell Medical Center's ER and then ICU. The doctors very quickly suspected leukemia, which over the next two days progressed to a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, culminating in the final diagnosis today of the subtype.

She is currently in Northwestern's Oncology Ward, where she was transported Saturday afternoon. Her prognosis is good, and the doctors believe that they will achieve complete remission. The possibility of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant is on the table, but she is not there yet.

We have received many offers of blood and willingness to donate bone marrow...if you wish to donate blood please do so into the general pool. If you want to donate bone marrow, please get on the national registry. Any donations to the pool helps her out.

Other things you can do to help...she will need DVDs and other forms of electronic entertainment over the next several weeks. If you have a library that you'd be willing to loan from, please let me know. She does have internet access, so online diversions are an option as well. We'll be arranging for a virtual presence for her next music night, and any other ideas of that sort will be appreciated.

Given her illness, their house could use some cleaning, so volunteers to do this April 9-10 would be appreciated. When she gets closer to getting out of the hospital we will also need to organize food for her and her family, and two people have already volunteered to help coordinate that. Miriam is currently at her grandmother's, but making sure that her grandmother gets breaks will also be important.

Please in all of this don't forget that her husband Randy will need assistance and support as well...I'm not sure of the state of their fridge, nor am I sure how much time and energy he will have for shopping, let alone cooking.

There are certain rules that must be observed regarding gifts...she cannot receive live plants, flowers, or latex balloons. Any food which enters the room must stay in the room, which means that any dishes that will need to be portioned out, like pizza, need to go to the nurses station first.

Northwestern has fairly liberal visitation policies, but please check in with Randy or myself before visiting just so that she isn't overwhelmed. If you are sick, please visit electronically. Also, please follow all signs and rules posted...there are quite a few so I won't go into detail here.

I have all of her contact information, but will only be passing it out on request. Please understand that my giving the contact information to you does not authorize you to spread it to others beyond a spouse/SO/OSO....there will come a time during the chemo where I will need to contact everyone and ask them to give the family some space. My email address for all of this is packergundo at gmail dot com.

*sigh* it is with great regret that I announce that I won't be at FKO this year. I tried every way to make it work with the budget, but while I could "afford" it, it would be neither wise nor prudent. This is not an easy decision, nor one I'm thrilled to have to make, but unfortunately it's the right decision. I delayed making it as long as I could in hopes that I could find a way to go, but in the end I would regret it too much financially. I was looking forward to this FKO *so* much. Karen, Talis, Wild Mercy, and Dad, Barry, and me all with double-necks...it was going to be *too* much fun, but I can't find a way to do it that I can live with afterwards.

*grumble*whine*bitch*moan*

Ok, I know Windycon was two weeks ago, but things got crazy when I got back to work and I've finally found a moment to catch up. I also know there are a lot of LJ names for people that I'm mentioning, but I'm not gonna look them up.

I left work a little early on Thursday to get to the con. Met Raven in Union Station and we boarded the train together, and then as the train was pulling out got a phone call from Teresa that our room had been screwed up by the hotel. Phoenix (Windycon hotel liason) got it all sorted out, and Eric and Teresa started to unload. We got there and finished up the unloading and started to set up for the Tomboat concert. We managed to get a good practice under our belt, and then crashed early for the night. Amy spent Thursday night with us, and we polished off a bottle of wine as we all started to unwind and get in con mode.

Friday morning Teresa and I had to get up and evacuate the hotel...Gabriel's parent-teacher conference was back in Joliet, and Amy agreed to watch Gabriel while we went back for the conference. We made it back in time, and got a very enthusiastic report from his teacher. From there we went back to the house to grab the acoustic guitars and my tech kit (broke a string in Friday's practice, and then returned to the hotel.

We were very blessed...being able to set up completely on Thursday meant that we could actually relax a bit on Friday. We had one more practice Friday afternoon, and then started to really shift into that pre-gig energy that always kicks in after a major gig. I managed to make it back for Opening Ceremonies...one of the few Opening Ceremonies that I've actually attended, but when you're a track head it's kind of important. Sooj followed Opening Ceremonies, and through no fault of her own things ran late. It felt strange, because the energy was ready to go at 9, and then due to no fault of her own she ran long. Mananged to maintain the energy, though, and was ready when we finally took the stage.

Could not have done the show without the guitar techs. Dave Stagner, Lizzie Gross, Debbie Gates, and Josh Esler kept us in tune even through multiple guitar swaps on my part. I could really feel the crowd's energy, and when we finished Dervish and later when we launched into Rocket Ride...wow. It was worth all the work that we had put into it in the months leading up to Windycon.

What comes up must come down, and this meant for a fairly massive teardown after the concert. Jason and I took 4 full carts of musical gear up to the room, and one half-cart to finish it off. The scary thing is that even after that long teardown, I was still buzzing from the adrenaline rush. I was exhausted, but still completely full of energy, which made for a very fitful night of sleep. However, I awoke still flying on that energy which carried me through the next day.

Saturday was a very full day of music. We were privileged to have Dr. Mary Crowell as well as Heather Dale and Ben Deschampes. Alexander James Adams' solo set was fantastic, and later on Amy McNally graced us with a set accompanied by Mary, and she and Eric finished up with an excellent version of "Hides". It was such a terrible burden to have to run sound for them. Tricky Pixie took the stage for a two-hour set, after which we all had a much needed break for dinner, and then I ran sound again for Beth Kinderman and the Player Characters, Feng Shui Ninjas, and David Perry. I think my highlights there was an entire audience headbanging to the Feng Shui Ninja's version of Greensleeves, and Dave Perry's performance of Warren Zevon's "Hit Somebody".

After the concerts were done we setup for open filk, although I had to leave around 1am. There were more concerts to run sound for the next day, as well as a panel that I had to put up with Eric on. After Closing Ceremonies we took over a corner of the Consuite (concom sanctioned, so don't worry) for Dead Dog filk.

Given the gear that we had in our room, we weren't even going to try to make a noon checkout on Sunday while running the filk track, so we had the hotel for one more night. Sunday night we went out with a lot of the concom to Famous Dave's for dinner. A lot of people hit the hot tub afterward, but I didn't have the energy for it so we ent up to the room and watched movies before crashing early. Monday morning I went and grabbed breakfast, then began the Great Tetris Challenge of getting all the gear into the van for the return trip. I had sent guitars with Jason, drums with Eric, mandolin and djembe with Dave and Ange, and then went back for 2 guitars. And it was all going to fit in for the return trip, right? Actually, right, amazingly. I'm just glad I grew up on a farm and am used to driving truck without the benefit of any rear-view visibility. Got it all loaded in, then had one last soak in the wonderful tub in our suite. Got home around two, unloaded, and crashed hard. Just vegged on the couch and watched American Choppers.

I have a lot of people to thank for the success of the filk track this year. First of all, the support of the Windycon concom, and their faith in me even as I wangled comps out of them for filkers. To Dr. Mary Crowell and Heather and Ben for wanting to come to the filk track, and being willing to perform. To Amy, Dave, Art, Luke, Beth Kinderman and the PC, Feng Shui Ninjas, and Tricky Pixie for accepting the invitations and helping us put on such a great track. To my wife Teresa for putting up with me as things got closer and closer to the con, and for her support at the con. To the members of Toyboat and Tom Smith for creating the wonderfulness that was Tomboat. To the members of the tech crew, especially Dave and Ron, for their wonderful sound support. To Bill for the original invite to run filk and for his support throughout the year. And finally to Lizzie for stepping up only 3 weeks before Windycon when my original filk second had to bow out for personal reasons, and agreeing to take over as my filk second. I couldn't have pulled this off without her wonderful help. I'm looking forward to 2011, and hope that with your help we can make it an even better filk track.

OVFF was wonderful this year...Toyboat didn't have any obligations this time, due to the unfortunate fact that we couldn't get anything ready for the Pegasus Concert due to time constraints. That was very strange...it's been a while since I've been to a con and wasn't a performer or staff. And it was *very* wonderful to realize that I probably spent more time socializing than in circles...seeing people and saying "Hi" and then realizing that you've been talking for an hour or so...

Came home from OVFF to discover that I had picked up concrud...which I've been fighting since.
And along with that was the fun of juggling personnel moves at work as well as the last of the Windycon and Tomboat prep. Usually I pack for a local con Friday morning...this time I need to have the van loaded Wednesday night since I'll be going to the hotel directly from work on Thursday. I am *really* looking forward to both Windycon's filk track in general, and Tomboat in particular. We've got some arrangements that will blow you all away, even if you think you know Tom's stuff. In order to get through the entire track I've brought 7 guitars this time--a new record for me. But by the time the dead dog rolls around I may be one fried gundo. If I don't socialize much during the con, it's not you, it's me, since I've got both Tomboat and the general filk track on my brain. I will probably be trying to soak up most my con socialization during the dead dog itself, and maybe some during the circles.

If you haven't thought about it yet, think about the dead dog this year at Windycon. We've got enough traction in the filk track this year that we figured we needed to hold a dead dog. We'll be in a corner of the consuite, and will have it for quite a while and be encouraged to finish off any remaining beverages that the consuite may need to dispose of.

Trying to decide which guitar I'm going to bring to OVFF. Since Toyboat isn't playing, I actually don't have a guitar full of gear and can actually contemplate *which* axe to bring to the con. So I'll throw this open to the unwashed masses, otherwise known as "my friends". Beast, btw, is the guitar in the LJ icon.

Thanks to billroper for reminding me about LJ...my workplace moved and abandoned several desks at the old location. We need to get them out of there *tonight*...the place we had arranged to pick them up could only get 80 percent of them.

You'll need a truck, and the pickup would have to take place after 6pm. If you want them, they're yours.

I know I haven't posted in a while, so posting now feels, well, strange. After Duckon was over I had to bury myself getting ready for my sister's wedding and Musecon. Both went really well...lots of music at both events. I was especially pleased by the harmonica workshop and the blues workshop. We had 20 people for the harmonica workshop, some of whom played their harmonicas later on in the music circle that evening. And people used what they picked up in the blues workshop both in the music circle Saturday night and in the folk jam Sunday morning.

After Muse, I spent the next two weekends moving my office. Moving traders is much more stressful than moving researchers, since *any* outage is money lost. I'm just beginning to feel like I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, after the move I get to pour myself into making sure Windycon rocks just as much as Muse did, as well as getting ready for Tomboat and...

GETTING READY FOR OVFF! Yeah, I'm absolutely *thrilled* that Toyboat got nominated for a Pegasus for Best Performer this year. The last 3 and a half years with the rest of the band has just been a total blast, and getting this nomination, well, means the world to me. Really validates everything we've put into it. As much as I give Eric crap, and will continue to give him crap, I'm really disappointed that he won't be able to be there with the rest of us, but Sally Childs-Helton has bravely agreed to fill in for him.

So in the meantime I'm just trying to recover from the total exhaustion that I've created due to the last six months, while still moving forward. Some serious changes at work that I need to talk about at some point, but I think for now I need to just let people know I'm still alive and treading water. Trying to get some things to a point where they are more maintenance oriented rather than fire-fighting, and trying to put out some smoldering fires that have been there for a long time and are finally getting extinguished. So an extremely productive year so far, but also a very exhausting year.

MuseCon is proud to be a Chicago-area venue for Filk. Join us for Musecon 0, Aug 6th, 7th, and 8th at the Westin Chicago Northwest hotel in Itasca, Illinois. Participating musicians include Toyboat (Eric Coleman, gundo, Mike Nixon, and Jason Neerenberg), Bill Roper, Michael Pereckas, Betsey Langan, Teresa Gunderson, Alyse Middleton, and Duryea Edwards. We have a weekend of fun planned with a dedicated stage with sound and lighting manned by the ever-capable Dave Ifversen.

Additionally gundo is hosting a harmonica class and Tech master Dave Ifversen is hosting a sound engineering panel, as part of the weekend full of classes and panels touching on all things art and science. Sign up on-line at http://www.musecon.org/index0.html by July 25 2010 using the promo code "WeLoveFilk" to receive some special MuseCon gift to show our appreciation.

For 2011, we have S.J. Tucker as our guest of Honor for MuseCon 1, which will be held August 5th, 6th, and 7th of 2011.

We've managed to extend the room block as well, so go ahead and book your room and join us for this year.

We've got a really great music track shaping up for Musecon 0...if you were thinking of attending, be warned that the room block closes on the 7th.

Hotel information is here: http://www.musecon.org/hotel0.html

Any questions on the con in general or the music track specifically, please let me know.

Ok, I've created wiigeeksfit for those of us who have been squeeing over and using the Wii for fitness. It's for software reviews, fitness and equipment tips, sharing goals, that kind of thing. I've got a couple of reviews to post, as well as observations about fitness in general and geekish integration. Hope to see y'all over there.

A lot of my friends have obtained Wiis for exercise, and a *lot* more got them over this holiday season. And it does seem that a common thread among those who got them recently is using them for exercise.

Seems we need a Geeks who exercise with Wiis community to spare the rest of LJ from our Wii geeking.

Will definitely be playing my Les Paul in his honor tonight. Modern music wouldn't have been the same without multi-tracking and the guitar that bears his name.

In our last episode, sexybass, hsifyppah, and I had gone to Guitar Center to track down an elusive and rare Gibson Gothic Flying V,( Read more...Collapse )

Eric wrote the official band conrep, so I'm going to just kick in with my observations and musings...
( Way too long not to cut...Collapse )

Found out about John Caspell had died shortly we took the stage Saturday afternoon. In my mind, going up there and playing our hearts out was the best tribute we could give him.

ericcoleman summed up the trip very well, so I think for me it's more highlights and general observations.

I felt very welcome at FKO, both as an individual and as a member of Toyboat. Going into it I knew that a rock band wasn't everyone's cup of tea, nor *should* it be...but looking out and seeing people up and dancing (especially Cat Faber) really drove my energy level up. Which I needed, given that I was playing on about 2 hours of sleep at that point. Watching the "Oh s**t!" that hit people when they realized that we were doing "Banned from Argo" was also great...that's turning into another "gotcha" like "Close Your Eyes" must be for Daniel Glasser.

I'd say that the stripped-down version of Toyboat worked pretty well. Usually we do some vocal processing, more guitar effects on all of the guitars, things like that. It's not something I'd want to say we should do consistently, but it worked very well. Having the wireless for the bass also worked out very well, especially given how we were set up on stage. It's funny...you'd think that it would only be for large stages but it's also nice for smalls stages where wiring can become more of a rat's nest. Many thanks to deborah_c, sexybass, and Ken Lalonde (whose LJ name I do not have) for running sound for us.

Circles were a lot of fun both nights. I really have to agree with Eric...finishing "Uplift" and hearing that pause and then hearing the room explode was definitely one of my high points. It was also great joining in on various songs on both evenings. And "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was very...emotional for me. I usually don't pull that one out since I sang it at my dad's funeral...and being able to share that energy with others at FKO was really meaningful and healing.

The usual swimsuit rule applied to FKO...if I don't pack a swimsuit, I'll have the opportunity to hit the hot tub. If I do pack it, I'll be so busy that I won't get near the pool. Although in this case busy was a very good thing.

Going out for Afghan food Saturday was awesome...I haven't had kabuli in 28 years and miss it like crazy. The naan...IMO naan should be whole-wheat, not made out of refined flour, but I'm biased.

While it sucked having to leave when we did, when we hit Lansing I knew we had made the right decision. And it was wonderful to get home and see born_to_me waiting for me with her cast-iron pan as usual.

A huge thanks again to the concomm at FKO for taking a chance on us. I hope that we fulfilled their expectations, and I'd love to do it again.