whew.

i've always had a policy of never throwing away lyrics. i always save them, even if i don't use them, just in case i can salvage a line or two for something else later on. today, though, i started leafing through the folder of discarded lyrics and realized an awful lot of them just aren't salvageable. so i'm cleaning out the worst of it, and only hanging onto things if i think i'll use them, i have some sentimental attachment to them... or if they're so hilariously bad i can't bear to part with them.

like this, for instance:

i feel it eat away at me
the holes are all inside
the tears that never fall
become an acid rain of pride

my god i was an angst-ridden teenager.

kickass!

so i went to see Ron and the new incarnation of the Boddingtons tonight, and it was most excellent, despite the incredibly bad sound system in the bar. Ron was more 'on' than i've ever seen him. for some mysterious reason he introduced the band as "The Hoyt Wilhelm Quintet". they did a bunch of songs i hadn't heard in years, including some obscure Beatles stuff that pleased me immensely. i especially liked the parts where he bellowed, "SHUT UP!" at the audience. we love our Ron. not quite enough to invite him to use our bathtub, but still. we love our Ron.

(long story.)

but the best part was after the show, when we hung out and chatted and he introduced me to some other friends of his, who asked to be notified when i do gigs and/or open mics and were generally really nifty. i promised to invite them to my Peter O'Toole film festival, which i'll be throwing any day now. they asked what kind of music i do, and i said "acoustic," and Ron chimed in, "but she's not like all, 'la la la la'. she's aggro. sort of aggro-acoustic."

i like the sound of that. aggro-acoustic.

also, since it appears they're booking acoustic opening acts for Thursday nights these days, i asked for the name of the person who does the booking, and will be giving her a call sometime soon to find out how many songs she wants on a demo and how much they pay and all that sort of thing.

i was feeling very brave tonight. perhaps it was being treated as a professional and an equal by Ron, who's been a professional musician since before i got kicked out of high school. or maybe it's just that i practiced for four hours today and my voice felt really good for the first time in years -- not just passable, but good, strong, clear, and powerful.

either way, it feels good.