exercise: adjectives and nouns and verbs

adj. noun

frantic attraction

breathtaking arrangement

fortunate fool

troublesome luck

trashy tourist

noun verb

train tracks whistle

pavilion settled

old gate moans

Ford lurched

clouds painting

I'm so tired of telephones...

I'm a patient man,

but I've filled a page or two,

with thoughts on how impatient I get,

waiting to see you.

(in the works...)

The Budapest Sessions - EP Available Now, Free!

The Budapest Sessions will be released on January 10th, 2011 for “pay what you want download” at johnstatz.bandcamp.com.

In the early months of 2009, singer-songwriter John Statz embarked on his first European tour, playing shows in five European cities, including Budapest, Hungary. He was fortunate there to meet Adam Szabo, a local producer (Budabeat Studios), and during the few days in town they recorded some new songs, hoping to use them on a future album release. In November of that year, tracking started back in Wisconsin for Ghost Towns, John’s first full-band album. Though that project was already underway, another recording session was undertaken at Budabeat with Adam, from which two tracks made it on to Ghost Towns: “Julija” and “Night Train to Sarajevo”. After that album’s release, there remained six unreleased tracks from the “Budapest Sessions”, comprised of two new songs, unheard on any other recordings, and four alternate, acoustic versions of released tracks.

Though the recordings are sparse in production, a couple of them feature some local Hungarian musicians on electric guitar and percussion, and even a child’s harmonies on one tune. Budapest is an amazingly resilient and beautiful city, having been utterly destroyed in World War II, yet rebuilt, lovely on the banks of the Danube, and fascinating in its differences to most other places in Europe. Those influences were constantly internalized during the two visits, and projected outwardly during The Budapest Sessions.

Track Listing:

1.Call Me Last (new song) – 2010 session
2.Jackson Hole (Budapest version) – 2009 session
3.Our Love Was Made For Canada (Budapest version) – 2010 session
4.Dear Friend (new song) – 2009 session
5.Disclaimer (Budapest version) – 2009 session
6.Everything To Me (Budapest version) – 2009 session

*cover artwork by Heidi Keyes (www.heidikeyesart.com)

Rome (superrambleshouldhavehadmycoffeethismorning)

The church bells seem constant, that is one of the first things you notice. This is a very "Catholic" town. Duh. It does not seem constrained by conservative thought, though. Everywhere couples engage in public displays of affection, the faint smell of marijuana on the street is not a rarity (though not a constant as in Amsterdam or San Francisco), and fashion and excess are the rule. When I am there, I simply walk for hours. Walk past the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Coliseum, etc. Sightseeing is always free when all you need to do is walk. I've been there three times, now. The first was a 3-week study abroad trip in college, the other two times were short visits. Still, I walked my ass all over that town, even during the short visits. Walked to pizza, to gelato, to grappa and wine and beer. I walked while holding hands with a date, walked by my lonesome, taking in sights, walked with my family, acting as tour guide. Rome is eternal, Rome is for walking.

mountains

skiing; sky; bears; John Denver; overlook; dry air

Skiing down a mountain brings you closer to the sky than flying.

The sun must stay longer in the sky before the bears will come out of hibernation.

Bears should have eaten John Denver, he deserved a mountain death.

John Denver's over-the-top songs never fail to come to mind at every mountain overlook.

At the overlook, I paused, and breathed deep the dry air.

cup of coffee

It has finally cooled down, though at first it was burning my tongue. It tastes rich and strong, as it always does here at the Gypsy Cafe. What a weird mish-mash of cultures this place is. Reggae dub beats are playing from the speakers... a Buddha-like figure is painted on one wall, an Egyptian carpet hangs from another. The old gypsy woman running the place has a thick eastern European accent. I would guess that she is Romanian, or perhaps Hungarian. She does palm readings and tarot card readings in back. I just noticed oriental lamps hanging from the ceiling. This place is crazy. I like it, though I am getting a little sick of the reggae. My coffee is delicious.

Resurrecting This Blog - Writing Style

This blog is once again open for business. It is on of my 2011 resolutions to become more disciplined at writing (music specifically, but in all facets as well). Yes, some travel stuff will still get posted as it happens, but for now, I'm going to use this to keep myself honest and writing. Mostly, you will get to read my exercises, thoughts, and rambles, rather than complete works.

Enjoy!

my apartment -

hardwood floors, pretty, but I wish my desk chair wouldn't have scuffed and scratched that section. the futon, tiny and uncomfortable (so my brother claims), it was, nonetheless, cheap. on it sit a bunched-up pair of blue jeans that I just removed before bedtime, my cell-phone charger (which my girlfriend annoyingly :) likes to leave plugged in when she is here), some folded-up comfy blankets, and a small pillow. My guitar sits upright in its case, next to the futon. Earlier today, apartment smelled of sour milk after Heidi poured it down the drain, but either my nose has gotten used to it, or the combination of febreze and disinfectant spray which I hit the sink with actually worked. If the heat were on at this moment, I would hear the steam-like chugging from the pipe in the bathroom, which is often as loud as a high-pressure stream of water, even with the door shut. The windows have a small amount of moisture in the corners, which I am sure is from the humidifier (Denver is very dry). I sit cross-legged on my bed (in its cave), back hunched over this notebook. My small, studio apartment.