Dear Friends,
I was thinking yesterday morning about doing beer runs back in the 80s. I don’t know why it popped into my head, but it occurred to me that I used to really enjoy doing them. It gave me a thrill.
It’s not like I did them all the time. I always had a sense that there was only so much I could get away with and most of the time, that sense was pretty spot on in my youth. I never ended up in a cop car and only once when I did a beer run did anyone even chase me. Most of the time, I just slipped out the door with a case of canned beer in each hand and I was an instant (and temporary) hero of the night.
The next thought that occurred to me, though, was this: I played fast and loose with my future.
I think most teenagers do that. Children do that. When you are immature, you don’t think about the ramifications of your actions. You think you are invincible. You don’t think about what is looming around the corner for you if you take one bad step.
One bad step for me would have meant jail and possibly prison for the things I got up to between 1985 and 1991. It’s a sobering thought. Today I am faced with another sobering thought: What did I learn from it?
*****
Speaking of ‘sober,’ I have not had a drink of alcohol since NYE. Technically, I do think I had some booze, at least in my system, in 2024. I may have had a beer or some scotch after midnight on NYE, but since waking up on January 1, nothing, so today is day 350. I did continue to smoke weed for another three weeks or so, but I didn’t enjoy it.
That’s the truth. I don’t remember the last time I really enjoyed weed. If you are going to do something like that, shouldn’t you enjoy it? I think so. I mean, I inhale the occasional helium, so my voice sounds funny. I enjoy that. If you are going to engage in a substance that will alter your ability to think, talk, drive, laugh, play music, whatever, you should enjoy it.
*****
So, what have I learned? I’ll save that for another day.
*****
Donnie’s memorial yesterday was really nice. It was good to see friends, of course, and it was good to say goodbye in a way that felt good. It never feels good to say goodbye to a good person, but if you have to, yesterday was lovely. South Mountain is beautiful. I can’t believe I have lived here my whole life and haven’t been up in that park since I was young child.
*****
I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with another new record this year. When I first heard No Volcano’s The Last Drop, though, I knew instantly it was going to be a record I had to include in this year’s list. This is the only ‘list,’ actually. I won’t be doing this again.
The Last Drop is No Volcano’s final record. I’ve been lucky enough to be a little bit involved in their records over the years. Either telling their story in the New Times or helping Jim Andreas make decisions on what the order of the songs should be. I’ve even helped them find a new guitarist in my brother from another mother, Bill Goethe.
This may be their finest hour, though. As much as I have loved each of their previous efforts, I am definitely in love with The Last Drop. It is tuneful and fresh sounding with hints of the river of influences that I have come to expect from their recordings. There is truly a little something for everyone here.
Two of my favorite parts of this record are the contributions of Jim and Chris Kennedy’s old bandmate from Trunk Federation, Bob Smith, and the backing vocals of Jim’s partner, Jenny Tamura. They both added this little bit of extra sauce to The Last Drop that just does it for me.
There is a good chance that these contributions would go overlooked by more casual fans, and that’s part of what makes them so great. The bells and whistles on The Last Drop are fucking fabulous. You know, those little extra things that a band can add to songs to help put that final bow on them and make them gorgeous.
And The Last Drop is a gorgeous record. The songs that Jim and Chris have come up with and nurtured for the last four years are devastatingly beautiful. The beg to be played at that perfect volume.
If I had to choose a favorite on this record, today it would be “The Garden.” It has these little parts, a keyboard thing here and there or the backing vocals, or just the way Jim turns the phrases over that I love. It reminds me, too, of the Peter Sellers’ movie, Being There. Sellers’ character was a gardener, you know, and some of the words remind me of things that were said in the movie.
I also love “Like the Dead,” “Way Star,” and “When the Lights Go Out.” All three of those songs are fucking perfect, but the whole thing is great. All killer and no filler, as they say. The four that I have mentioned, though, are special to me right now.
Fuck, “There Is No Rope” is great, too. The bass line on “Everybody, Anybody, Anyone” is fucking rad, too. James Karnes gets funky as fuck on it and keeps the party going on the last song, “I Needed.”
All ten tracks just shine in their own way. I do have my favorites, but as I have been listening for the last few weeks at a steady clip, they are all necessary to my own sense of feeling better about the world right now.
For that I say thank you to my friends for making this great record. I am sad that there won’t be any more No Volcano music in the future, but I also know that whatever they all decide to do moving forward will be great. Each of the four members, as well as the two previous members of the band, Jake Sevier and Jeremy Randall, are all such gifted musicians.
Phoenix was lucky to have you guys.
*****
See you tomorrow.
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