Well, dudes - The first week is in the bag!!! I was able to start working at 8am every day, and HOLY SHIT at the rate of productivity. I can't believe what I've gotten done... However, I'm so consumed by 6:00pm that I have this inability to stop working on what I'm doing... So, I've got to work on that next week.

  One thing I've realized over the past few years is that I'm willing to do insane amounts of work for this project that I would've never ever done for any other human at any other job... It's bizarre... But, beautiful... And, every time that I dive relentlessly in to a project, a beautiful gem eventually pops out of the other side... And, that gem always leads to another amazing opportunity - and when that opportunity shows it's face, you forget the amount of hard work it took to get there.

... The universe can be a fucking awesome friend.

It's back to the musical drawing board this weekend. I have three goals:

1. Arrange "Peace" Tunes for Liveness

2. Write Something New

3. Record a new Video

I've been trying to play the Peace tunes for an extremely long time, but I just haven't been able to find the right dudes to play the parts... It's not that the musicians we've jammed with have been bad - They've actually been incredibly talented - It's just that Lucas Parker put this element of soul into the recordings that no one has been able to match - If you get a chance, please please please go watch that guy play guitar live. It is an absolute blast, and he totally brings you straight into his world... One day, I'm hoping we can snag him full time... Then, we'd have no problem playing the new stuff. It would be magical.

Also, we're working on something that I believe is truly amazing... I hate telling you about these things, because I just cannot tell you what it is... But, I've felt this pull to design this thing for years, and now is just the right time to do it... So, stay tuned for absolute magic, my friends... Because the entire musical is about to be flipped upside down.

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH

M@

STRESS STRESS STRESS STRESS

I've been in this kick, guys. Where I feel as though I'm stumbling over myself in a race against me... I keep having these ideas of what to do next, which project to start, or who to begin harassing for the next ET collaboration and my brain's starting to spin in circles, and I feel like I'm constantly running behind...I' becoming so stressed that the sound of most music only pushes my bitchass nerves further... I gotta get out of this!!!

So, I'm going to stop, breathe in for a second, and start fresh...

First, I'm going to start holding myself to a more structured schedule... I've been sort of waking up in the morning and working on and off throughout the day, and not really allowing myself any down time, or time away from noises... So, I'm going to start pumping it out at 8am, and calling it quits by 6pm.

I'm going to block out specific tasks throughout the week... Maybe even write out some goals for each week.. We'll see. I'm hoping that this will sort of straighten out my terrible sleeping habits as well... But, we'll see... I'll probably still experience the late night creativity burst every now and then...

Secondly, I'm going to start eating better - Like, actually having meals throughout the day instead of just nibbling on garbage every time I'm hungry. If I stick to my schedule, this should be easy.

Third, I'm going back to a creation a day. I've never felt more productive than when I went on creative stints... I pump out a lot of garbage during those periods, but in the end, you come out with one or two beautiful gems... And, you can never practice enough... So, there's that.

I'll keep you all updated here with the progress... I just feel that it's totally time to kick an entirely new kind of ass, and it's going to take structure and great planning to make that happen.

LIVE THE DREAM, SHARE THE PASSION

M@

Just finished up an amazing run with Opposite Box in Knoxville and Asheville, and holy shitballs I'm exhausted ---

Wednesday at Preservation Pub was SICK - Finally got to hear Downtown Brown live... If you get a chance, catch them while they're on the road. I promise you've never laughed harder at a rock show.

Thursday in Asheville with our boys "The Main Squeeze" was rocking as well! I LOVE THE ASHEVILLE CROWD!!!! This show involved a slight misunderstanding... You see..... The Main Squeeze was planning on playing Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" ........ However....... We totally played it first... I'm not sure if it was an asshole move or not, but we definitely lost some friends in the process - So, to the Main Squeeze guys - WE LOVE YOU AND WE'RE SO SORRY!!!!

And, while we're in Asheville, we had to stop at the MOOG factory, right? - It seems like we're starting to do this more and more often, and I couldn't be less angry about it... I'm literally so not mad about it that I can't handle myself right now, guys. SERIOUSLY.... My "Thingamagoop" (my insane acid-in-a-box noise machine) has been having some troubles, so we took it in to see what they could do about repairs. Without hesitation, the dudes were on it like Donkey Kong. I was able to exchange mine in for a brand ass new one. HOWEVER....... These things are very limited edition... So, during the exchange, the guy informed me that the green Thingamagoop that I was returning was the VERY. LAST. ONE. IN EXISTENCE...... But, I had to let it go................... Because this new one has freaking rainbow LEDs inside of it that get twisted with the sound..... Time to take some folks to freaking SPACE!!!!!!

And, while we were there, they hooked Ryan up with a sweetass new backing for his MOOG Little Phatty, which is BEAUTIFUL, and totally the shit.

So, if you're looking around for a synth, I say drop the bones on a MOOG, because after you buy their stuff, they treat you like family!

Here we go again!!! Shit's getting crazy in the van as we speak!!!!! We've got two Opposite Box shows coming up tonight and tomorrow, and we fully intend to do everything we can to blow the mother fucking roof off of these places!!!!!!

Hit me up if you're coming out to party! We'll throw down!

LIVE THE DREAM, SHARE THE PASSION!!!

M@

Decided to play a little guitar on a track for this first time ever - It only took about 64,567 takes, but I think it's close to sounding decent!!!

After a long weekend with my Opposite Box friends, I have finally forced myself to sit down and build this new website! I've pulled out all of my tricks on this one.

One of my most favorite of the new features is the store - You now have the ability to buy eclectic tuba merch straight from the freaking website!!!!!!! And, I have to say, the checkout and cart are looking FRESH!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, I'm totally falling behind on the "About" and "Videos" section, but I'm hoping to have those up later this evening.

You can also check out the tour schedule which is provided by Bands In Town --- Follow us to receive notifications when we're close to you!!! Thank you all for checking it out!!!!!!!!

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH!!!!

M@