Vomitorium- Diabetes Dumpling (2006)

A few months after we made "The Acid Demos" I moved the New York. I was doing a solo noveltype tour and picked up Ariel while I was driving through Tennessee on my way to Pensacola,FL to meet friends.

Since I knew we were doing a Vomitorium show in Miami later, I was traveling with a bunch of bell and whistles (literally). When we arrived we met Dany who was moving into a townhouse. His kitchen was all tile and not furnished yet, so we decided to make a new Vomitorium album then and there.

The only original members of Vomitorium on this album are Ariel and myself, but that's never been the point of this stuff. Being that we were in someone's home and without drums this record sounds a bit like a folk album.

This is easily some of the most fun I've ever had making something. We just sat in the middle of the kitchen with some of friends from Pensacola, who could all actually play instruments and were enthusiastic and in the right mood to make something happen. Thom Ulmer is playing guitar throughout the whole album and had some of the chord progressions written out prior while the rest of us just improvised over it. "Empanada Violenta 1-3" was a 10 minute duet between myself on Banjo and Thom on Guitar that I cut into 3 parts to give the record a flow of sorts.

DIABETES DUMPLING

1. Dany's Townhouse
2. Diabetic Romances
3. Empanada Violenta 1 de 3
4. Fun With Racism
5. Cheddar Cheese Girl
6. Empanada Violenta 2 de 3
7. Pinstriped Banjo
8. Lots of Bells
9. Empanada Violenta 3 de 3
10. Mr. Malcolm's Snake

RSA- Vocals, Banjo, Melodica, Glockenspiel, Kazoo, Percussion
Ariel Almeida- Vocals,Ukulele, Melodica, Percussion
Thom Ulmer- Guitar
Audrey Attardo- Vocals, Flute, Melodica, Glockenspiel, Percussion
Sharron Kirby- Vocals, Flute, Percussion
Lydia Kirby- Vocals, Spoons, Percussion

Vomitorium- Acid Demos (2006)

For about 4 years, the only project I've been involved with that I would be able to listen to for pleasure was "Vomitorium". Vomitorium is, as described on the myspace page, "a bunch of kids from Hialeah making music together that's not always together". This statement I think sums up exactly what this first album is all about. Clattering, obnoxious, hard to listen to, but depending on the person hilarious and enjoyable.

Right before I moved to New York I was working making sandwiches with, by chance, a lot of my friends from high school. All of us were artists in one way, some of us where musicians and all of us wanted to do something together. Alex Diaz had come up with the name Vomitorium (a fitting name since we all worked at a gross sandwich shop) and everyone agreed we'd get together to record "demos". We had one almost sort of rehearsal where the first half of the second track on this record was written vaguely. A few nights later we all went out to my rehearsal studio which was an old trailer home off of Okeechobee Rd in Hialeah. I had my laptop, Mbox, an SM57 and a cheap small diaphragm condenser mic. I place each mic on opposite ends of the room, hit record and with all of the gear scattered about the room made an album.

I debated whether I should post this specific album first (we made 3 and an EP) even though it is our first. It's very... well it sort of feels like an inside joke. One that maybe people who don't know us, or aren't from Hialeah may not find very funny. However, I think it's weirdness can be enjoyable no matter what. So, being the shit show that it is, I give you The Acid Demos

1. Cigar
2. What Are You Havin' ?
3. CAG
4. Mornin'
5. God God Damnit Damnit
6. CAG 2
7. Community Canvas
8. Polka March
9. Alex's Cuntry Song
10. Becky

All of these songs were improvised except for the first half of Track 2 & Track 9

Vomitorium is (from what I remember of people who were there and playing):
Alex Diaz (melodica, guitar, cymbals, stomping)
Jon Collazo (accordion, bongo/pakapaka, vocals, stomping, drums)
Andrew (guitar, fucking awesome drums from hell, stomping, insane laughter)
Ariel Almeida (vocals, bass drum,percussion, snare drum, stomping)
Los 13 (guitar, drums, vocals)
Tony Espinosa (guitar, vocals)
Ruben (guitar, drums, cymbals, vocals, melodica, accordion, stomping, tambourine,)
Becky (maracas, tambourine)


With Love & Prog (but not so much prog here...),

Ruben Sindo Acosta

noveltype "Clementine & Perfume"

For people who know what noveltype was and just want to listen to the album and not have to scroll through my babblings, here's the link : "Clementine & Perfume"

For those who are curious as to the nature of this album, where it came from, why I waited 3 years to put it out, why I spent 2 years making it etc.. read on.

Several years ago I began recording what was meant to be the follow up to my first proper solo album under the name "noveltype". The album prior had come out of necessity. The rock version of the band had fallen apart and I was left alone to record the batch of new songs I had in mind. I spend a few months fleshing out what became "Me, You, Zach & How I've Been" a record I have trouble listening to to this day. When it was done, like a lot of things I make, I hated it and knew I could make something better. Whether I have achieved that or not is a matter of taste.

As an engineer, musician, songwriter and even listener I was evolving. I had started to record some songs in Hialeah,FL and then made the move to Brooklyn,NY after a few months of recording. Upon moving here I basically holed up in my apartment, ate through my savings and would do very little besides play, write and record music in between eating ramen and watching the Beatles Anthology DVD's. I probably recorded over 30 songs in this period. At the same time, I would grow restless and angry when things weren't working out so a lot of those recordings were permanently deleted from my laptop and gone forever. When I sank deeper into depression I decided I should try to play with other musicians.

As I met a few other musicians and got turned on to different music I started other projects and would come to view noveltype as a side project. This is how it fell into the back round for quite sometime and eventually when I took a good look at what noveltype meant to me, where it was coming from and why it existed I took it out to the middle of a field (Churchill's) and shot it dead (played one final show).

That was in December of 2007. I had just finished tracking a song before that happened and started recording in December of 2005. In those 2 years of work I had about 15 somewhat finished songs and countless hours of ideas that I got upset and completely deleted. Out of the 15 there were only 10 that had decent enough mixes and were good enough to be on an album, upon revisiting them just a few days ago.

It took me this long to put it out partly because I couldn't stand to listen to it for personal reasons and upon releasing the Legitimate Sons album I suddenly was able to listen to some of my music objectively.

SO HERE IT IS!!!

Disclaimer: all of the pops, and clicks and erroneous sounds are intentional or just left in because I liked it. I recommend listening to it at a relatively loud level on headphones first.


TRACKLISTING:

1. Does Every Song Have To Be So Long?
Recorded in April 2006 in my living room in about 20 minutes.
RSA: Acoustic Guiatrs & Vocals

2. Hallmark Wonder Mope & The Miami Museum of Science
Recorded in my apartment in both Hialeah & Brooklyn as well as Jeff & Max's by the beach.
RSA: Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Auto Harp, Theremin, Vocals
Jeff Rollason- Basses
Max Dance- Glockenspiel, Pitch Pipe

3. Pincher's Eel
Recorded on my bed in Brooklyn & at Dany's Townhouse in Pensacola,FL
RSA: Pitched Down Acoustic Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Alex Cordovi- Feedback
Audrey Attardo- Flute
Sharon Kirby- Flute

4. Sidney Sax
Recorded in my apartment in Hialeah & Brooklyn
RSA: Electronic Piano, Farfisa, Slide Guitar, Octave Guitar, Glockenspiel, Percussion
Mike (I don't remember his last name, sorry!): Cello

5. Meant To Be Played At My Funeral
Recorded in my apartment in Brooklyn & Amado's House in Hialeah
RSA: Electronic Pianos, Organ, Electric Guitars
Amado Ventura: Acoustic & Electric Bass

6. Song Of Murder
Recorded in my apartment in Brooklyn
RSA: Piano, Accordion, Cymbals, Vocals

7. Sugar Plum
Recorded on my bed in Brooklyn & The Shack North in Hialeah
RSA: Ukulele, Glockenspiel, Melodica, Vocals
Rimsky Pons- Bass, Drums, Keys, Vocal Harmonies
Ferny Coipel- Laughing
Jeff Rollason- Talking

8. Ojos Carmelita
Recorded in my living room in Hialeah
RSA: Keyboard, Effects, Percussion, Drum Machine "Programming" , Nose Flute, Vocal

9. Uke Love Song
Recorded in my apartment in Brooklyn
RSA: Ukulele, Drums, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Vocals
Audrey Attardo: Backing Vocals
Joshua Lawrence: Trumpets

10. Every Song
Improvised in a trailer home outside of Hialeah
RSA: Acoustic Guitar, Vocal (lyrics inspired by the musings of Hildemar Cruz)
Los 13: Accordion


I would like to thank all of the beautiful and talented people who helped me make this record. Most of them now being completely unaware that I am "releasing" it or that what were recording was even for this album.

I earnestly hope you can enjoy this music.

With Love & Prog,

Ruben Sindo Acosta

Legitimate Sons- Legitimate Songs

After about a year of having finished these recordings Zach and I have decided to release them to the public. This is the very first batch of recordings that we made as Legitimate Sons. They were made in the basement of my apartment, "Psych Dungeon Studios", using my laptop, an Mbox, and Zach's 4 Track.

Most of these are first takes. The only sounds on this album are guitar and drums, with some live tape manipulations done by Zach on my drums.

We are working on our next record "Son of Legitimate Songs" now and look forward to giving it to all who care to have it. Thanks a lot to the people who support us doing this. We're having a lot of fun and look forward to seeing you all at The Woods on June 23rd when we play with Para Medics & Stark and Nimo!!

Here's the link to the album: Legitimate Sons- Legitimate Songs

With Love & Prog,

Ruben Sindo Acosta

q`

We left San Antonio after a lovely dip in the pool. We listened to some of Ornette Coleman's "Science Fiction" and then Sly & The Family Stone's "There's A Riot Goin On". We arrived to Mohawk early and loaded in. Then we realized how early we still were regardless of taking our time. We walked around Austin and realized what a not so cool place it can be in downtown.

We stepped into a coffee shop and I ordered a Cranberry/Strawberry Smoothie and had an orange as well. Nehemiah and I discussed Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower". Mainly talking about him being 12 years old and having an old hippie tell him "You like the Dylan version better because you've never done LSD and listened to the Hendrix version". This idea made me laugh and the smoothie was delicious. We got done and headed back to the venue.

Mohawk is probably the nicest spot I've seen in Austin. We played indoors as opposed to the very large and awkward looking outdoor stage. We hung out in the outdoor, upstairs patio area for a bit and I walked down to watch the first band which was sort of just a bad and plain version of Ween to me. I clapped politely during their set and was excited to play tonight more so than usual. Since before the set we discussed one song having dragged more than usual and I felt a bit threatened to be honest. Being the pulse keeper of a very pulse intensive band makes you question a whole lot about your sense of feel.

We went on and had what I personally believe to be the best set we've done all tour. We played the 2 songs that had been cut from the past few shows and they worked way better after having some time off. I probably bruised my thighs and knees pretty bad but I felt great about my playing and our set. It was the first time since Boise a few days ago that I felt like the audience was really feeling the band more so than just Arrington and his thing. Both things I feel are worth attention but I think Nehemiah and myself were really on point tonight and were worth just as much attention.

We finished and I hung out upstairs in the patio again. Unfortunately, I missed Yellow Fever's set but I bet they were great. We spoke briefly but earnestly after the show and they really enjoyed our set as much as I imagine I would have enjoyed their's. I spoke to them about hanging out in Brooklyn and how much it has to do with the people you are with more so than the situation you're in.

Now were are staying with a very nice woman who sat on Arrington's lap on the way here and let me use her laptop. I put on Can's "Future Days" and life feel gorgeous. Lafayette,LA tomorrow and the Tallahassee,FL!!

With Love & Prog,
Ruben Sindo Acosta

Arrington Tour Days 8-10

So, I awoke in Kansas City to the sound of moving kitchen wear and was wondering who would be up at 10am? Being that I went to bed around 2am and there was still a living room full of kids playing acoustic guitars, banjos, and banging on tables along to Rolling Stones songs. I walk over to the kitchen and find our hosts, wide awake and having just finished making us coffee and food. I walked into the kitchen right as they were pulling the muffins and biscuits out of the oven. I was shocked and delighted. I munched away and Nehemiah, the roommates and I all played Apples to Apples until it was time to head to Norman,OK.

We arrived in Norman sort of early and were able to set up our gear and soundcheck before the other band arrived. They were described to me as an "Afro Beat" band by the owner of the club but he said he had never heard them really. I have one of the free Miller High Life's and talk to the bartender/owner about Neil Hamburger coming through town. She mentions she knows the opening band well having toured with them. I ask what band she's in and she says The Starlight Mints. Knowing several people who are big fans of theirs I expressed how loved they are among them and she is flattered.

There are quite a bit of college bro dudes at the venue by the time we go on and we really freaked them the fuck out. I was pretty happy with our set and how quickly I have been able to tear down my gear after playing. I get a phone call from Dany right after we play and he and I discuss his new Art Gallery endeavor and I am really proud of and excited for him and what could potentially happen to Hialeah because of it. I then have a nice talk with my beautiful Arminda and walk in once the band after us is done. Apparently Arrington and Nehemiah were dying for me to come in and see the "Frat Funk" they were doing which was supposed to be horrid and I imagine it was.

Nehemiah had some friends who were on a road trip come through and they had some camping grounds booked for that night. We drove out there and stayed with them. They were kind enough to lend me a sleeping bag and I slept outside for the first time in my life. We were outside of Norman,OK and the stars were absolutely stunning. I spent some time working on my tossing and turning technique in a sleeping bag (another new experience for me). I was awaken by the sound of a weed whacker and Nehemiah's friend placing a red plastic cup by me and asking "Coffee?". I was very happy to say yes and I joined them at the picnic table for some coffee and oranges. They took off for their journey over to the Tennessee, West Virginia border and we headed south to Denton,TX.

We get to Denton pretty early and have some Mexican food that Arrington suggests. I order a shrimp quesadilla and it was a bad move. Just shrimp and a whole ton of cheddar cheese. Not my scene but I enjoyed what I could and was glad to be out of the Texas sun for a bit. We start to walk off the meal and go into a record store. I get a copy of Mustafa Ozkent's album on B Music for $8 and Sade's Lovers Rock for $5 as well. We head to the venue and load in.

Rubber Gloves is supposedly the best place to play in Denton and it seemed alright to me. The opening band was called Drug Mountain and had T-Shirts with huge dicks on them or upside down crosses. I got one with the crosses. We play our set and I happy with it. Afterwards I re-meet Natalie whom I had met when she was on tour with Daniel Francis Doyle! Apparently she speaks Indonesian and came to see Arrington. The owner of the bar buys Nehemiah and myslef a shot of Tequila and we go stay at a strangers house with several nice couches, a pull out bed and 2 extremely cute cats.

We head down to San Antonio in the morning and the hot Texas air is pretty brutal. I have a very enjoyable experience in traffic listening to Terry Riley's "In C" something I had never really listened to and the last time I tried to listen to it I was in traffic as well. We get Arrington's parents house and his father is standing in the lawn watering it down in flip flops and swimming trunks. I have a good handshake with him and Arrington's mom gives me a hug.

We jump in the pool for a few minutes and it's extremely refreshing. After a bit we get dried off and head to a mexican restaurant with Arrington's parents. The food was just OK but the conversation was great. I really love meeting and talking to parents and Arrington's parents are fascinating. We walk around the river walk for a bit and grab coffee before heading to the venue.

The Ten Eleven is directly next door to Rock Bottom, where I had played with Afuche in San Antonio and apparently it's roof caved in just a few weeks ago. Every beer at this bar is $2. Sierra Nevada, Real Ale, and 16oz Lone Stars all $2. It was really nice. The opening bands were... diverse. The first band was a death metal band that looked just out of high school. Then a sort of weird uncle band went on that sounded just like Living Colour and I'm pretty sure they know that. Then we played. The room was full of people who were dazed, confused and entertained. A girl had her eyes closed and seemed in a trance for a bit before dropping her bottle which broke on the ground and she swept it up. The singer of Living Colour told us our set was good... it was weird but good... "and good and weird is wood"... I didn't think that was funny either. We pack up and head back to Arrington's parents house and watch half of "Some Kind Of Monster" before knocking out.

I slpet extremely well and we had a nice lunch with Arrington's dad. We finished the movie and are now about to dip back in the pool before heading to Austin. I am having a great time, but I greatly miss my Brooklyn, my friends and my lovely lovely Arminda.

With Love & Prog,
Ruben Sindo Acosta

Arrington Tour Days 5-7

So, after finishing my last blog we started out set and it went incredibly well! Nothing went wrong with the drum set and I was happy about my playing. The band actually sounded amazing in the coffee place. It was a huge warehouse with glass windows lining the walls, a few feet of bricks and then the ceiling was made of wood.

After the set I met Ryan, a friend of James Cunningham (he lives in NY... works at trader joe's... you know him). I mentioned we'd be interested in possibly doing a basement show that night as well, seeing as how our set was done just before 9pm. He said he could get the wheels rolling on it and I said "the night is young and I'm not tired".

We loaded up and headed to this house. It was a nice place and we hung out for a bit. I was playing in the music room and a larger man asked his friend, clearly in my face, "Who's this pussy?". I laugh and introduced myself. He didn't laugh and I felt a bit strange. We end up realizing that people are not going to show up and we're more tired than we thought. Later the previously mentioned Larger Man said while walking by with one of his female friends "why do I get to hang out with hot chicks? Because I'm AWESOME!". I laugh a little bit harder and realize what a pathetic attention seeking loser this person is.

We head over to stay in the nice house owned by the nice people who set up the show. Nehemiah chooses the floor and Arrington and I share the futon. I awoke to something touching my leg... This is the first time I end up sleeping next to Arrington... I look strangely over to find a very cute and friendly orange cat.

We all wake up and Lisa, the lovely woman who hosted us, makes us and her daughter, Fern, breakfast. He husband, Steve, had to take off for work but before leaving he mentioned "your drumming sounded like a machine that was made out of Iron"... that really made me very very happy. Then we had amazing scrambled eggs, asparagus and a delicious desert. We start the drive to Denver, and it is absolutely gorgeous.

The drive was easier and more entertaining than I thought it would be. Being that Arrington had told me that the drive though Wyoming was going to be "mind numbingly boring", I was surprised at how spellbound I was the whole time. I had a chance to feel mountain style cold in May and spoke to my lovely girlfriend. Then we got to Denver.

Denver was... well... it was the Denver Noise Festival! It was kind of a teenage version of INC in Miami. I was earnestly not impressed...but we set up and ended up doing a set of the most raw, just bass and drums with vocals and the occasional bass clarinet. The audience responded well and we sold a shit ton of merch. Then we immediately loaded up and started the drive to Kansas City,MO. We were in Denver from 7:30pm to 11:30pm. So Denver was so brief I have no idea what the hell Denver is like.

I had the fortune of getting the backseat and took a serious powernap. I was awoken by Nehemiah kindly asking me if I wanted anything from the "Travel Shoppe" in Lucas,KS. I aggressively said "no!" and went back to sleep. I awoke again upon both he and Arrington driving in and I apologized for my prior tone. He laughed and I mentioned "I'm mid-power nap, I must do everything powerful" I really thought was hilarious at the time. We drive into Lucas and sleep in a park.

I have no sleeping bag or blanket in tow so I slept in the car and had an awful nightmare that all the bartenders at Ontario were absolutely horridly mean to me. The night was freezing and the morning sun cooked me in the tiny car facing east. I wake up and decide to sleep outside on the grass and my shutting the door awakens Arrington who decides it's time to see The Garden of Eden... I could write pages and pages about the Garden of Eden in Lucas,KS. There is a Skeletons album named Lucas after it. I will leave it at google search "Garden of Eden Lucas,KS". We check out Eric Abraham's gallery, a New York born but Kansas raised, interesting fellow who spoke to us about his art and anything else that would come up. The we ate food at the only restaurant that was open on Sunday's and we just beat the "post-church rush".

A few eggs and hashbrowns later we hit the road for Kansas City,MO. We got into town around 5pm and Just hang at the venue, which is in a shopping center, for a bit before hitting up the Book/Record store near by. I get a copy of RAM by Paul McCartney and, Martin Denny's "Exotica" on vinyl and Rush's "Fly By Night" on CD. Then the Kansas City show starts. "This is my Condition" opened and it was amazing! Check him out! The Conquerers play as well. Great kids.

Of course during our set my bass drum beater flies off but I covered the floor tom while taking care of the bass drum beater with only my left hand. I was happy with our set and got some very nice compliments. The Conquerers are hosting us now and I am using one of their roommate's laptop. He mentioned he had never seen the ocean until he went to Hawaii for his honey moon. He also asked that I please put his laptop away when I'm done because it has all the photos he has on his daughter on it. Shortly after, the drummer of The Conquerers asked if I've ever hung upside down and then the whole household excluding myself start jamming on instruments and it's a crazy mess.

Now, I am off to bed and preparing for a drive to Norman,OK tomorrow.

With Love & Prog,

Ruben Sindo Acosta

Arrington Tour Days 3-5ish

SO! The tour has actually begun. I am sitting in a coffee shop in Salt Lake City, Utah using a very nice lady's computer!

I awoke the morning of our first show about 2 hours earlier than everyone else, as usual. However instead of having a laptop to keep me company I decided to go for a jog. I put on my "cheerleader" shorts and his the Olympia Road. I jog along The Puget Sound for a bit and went through a nature trail and realized that the hills in this town are mad steep and a good work out! I wasn't absolutely dead when I was done so I felt good about not having jogged for a few days prior.

I arrived back on the porch of the house and it instantly started pouring rain. I sat back on the lovely red velvet couch on the porch and listened to the seagulls and rain for a bit. It really did sound like I was on a beach. The dark clouds above had patches of sunlight that would arrive and really cook the ground... it was magical.

We headed over to the venue and met with Tatsuya who was playing a solo percussion set. The opening band was called Glow Tips. I rather enjoyed their set actually. They had an Kraut vibe to them but it wasn't derivative at all. The Tatsuya played his set and it was a pleasure to see particularly in such a small space (the living room of the house). I saw he had made a record with Mary Halverson and I got a copy of it. We listened to it the next morning it I'm excited to blast the clear LP when I get home!

I played my first show with Arrington and though I was crazy sloppy had a really great time. Pretty much everyone in the room had seen Malaikat before and seemed to be open to my version of what we do. Someone told Nehemiah that we were the Metal Version. I also received what I think is my favorite compliment to my drumming "I'm not sure if that was murder or rape, but I loved it!" Then I mentioned it was probably murder due to my history in the family business.

We sat in the usual drummer of Malaikat's room and listened to some great music. The funniest being Sleng Teng. Sleng Teng is a strange pocket of Dancehall music centered around one Casio beat that doesn't ever change tempo or key. One beat, one studio, one producer and countless people coming in and singing their own song over it... in any key... it's kind of great.

I crashed and awoke the next morning thinking about how much I need to focus and save my energy so I don't burn out mid set. It was a quick drive to Portland and we drove around for a bit before parking and going to a much needed drum store. I now have my own stool! I had true Stumptown coffee and it was delicious. We loaded into the venue and the opening act Million Brazilians was set up. I order a vegetarian Pasty from the bar and it was delicious. I got to see Brendan from Late Night Curly and it was awesome catching up with him.

We went on to a pretty full club and with the first snare hit my stick shattered in my hand. This set felt was better that the night before. I got sweatier there was a more solid connection between the band too. Someone asked Arrington "where the fuck did you find that drummer?!" it was flattering. We were hosted by a gracious women who's name escapes me but she had a killer apartment and Arminda's same Owl Teapot!

We woke up and grabbed more Stumptown (MMM!) and started the 8 hour drive to Boise,ID. We arrived in one piece and they had Lagunitas Pils on tap! As well as Stone IPA. I was a happy man (4 drink tickets!!). This was more of a rock club type setting and I was worried at first. The opening act was With Child, it was extremely well done O'Rourke style pop. The La Knots played next, younger kids... like couldn't stay at the bar after their set young. Apparently the rhythm section was comprised of the son and daughter of the drummer of Built To Spill. They were a trashy blues rock band and it was enjoyable.

I tuned my snare drum higher and we tore into our set finally with an audience wanting to be blasted with sound and all about dancing their asses off. This show would have been absolutely flawless had my pedal not torn right through the kick drum. I tried not to be a queen but I threw my drum sticks at the drums after trying to compensate with the floor tom. Then we jammed on a riff Arrington randomly played... it was total Velvet Underground shit!

After tons of compliments and nice people we stayed with some very nice people to whom I suggested Cave, Can, Neu! & Afuche(duh). We just got into Salt Lake City and I have to return this laptop.

I love & miss my Brooklyn

With love & prog,
Ruben Sindo Acosta

Arrington Tour Day 2

I seem to still be on Eastern Time. I'm getting up about an hour or so before everyone and going to bed earlier as well. Realistically we're going to be bouncing Time Zones come tomorrow anyway so it's not really a huge deal.

Yesterday was very chill and fantastic. Started off the day by grabbing some coffee from Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. with Nehemiah at the suggestion of Arrington's roommate. I was really happy to have someone else who just NEEDED coffee.

We grabbed a cup and decided to walk down this nature trail that lead to Puget Sound. We talked about funk, horrid jam bands, Wayne Shorter and eventually The Band. We sat on a bench in front of Puget Sound and it smelled a lot like the Jaws ride at Universal Studios in Orlando. So much so that I couldn't help but mention it several times during our chat. We walked back through the trail which looked a lot like the ET ride... mixed with a little Star Wars (the Ewok part). Obviously I grew up in a place where breath taking nature could only be man made in a theme park.

Upon walking back we both wanted more coffee (fiends we are). In true hippie fashion we asked the barista to just reuse our previous cup and the nice lady obliged. We walk back to Arrington's house (which is called The Garden of Sweden) and sit out in the back yard talk about Pho and Grilled Nectarines (MMMM!!!).

Arrington heads out to pick up his daughter so she can take some press photos of us. We set the gear up in the basement/garage (it's actually the ground floor, but the house is on a hill and you need to walk downstairs... what do I call it?). He gets back and we meet Lucinda. We start to do some shots of us just playing through the material and inevitably there are some photos where my hair is standing straight up mid "head bang". We do some more in the basement with a picture frame and for a few of them I wear Arrington's glasses (it was funny ha ha). Then we head up stairs and do some posed shots with Arrington's drawings projected onto us. We have some funny moments. We do an energy exchange then that I can actually feel... weird hippie shit man! We get done with that and head down to rehearse.

We sound 50% better than yesterday and I thought we sounded good yesterday. We've rearranged one song and the 3 newer songs and have really taken shape. I am so happy I can actually play like myself! I introduce a few odd meter ideas and a lot of linear drumming techniques that I've been all about recently (total L Sons shit). I feel welcome to do all of this and Arrington and Nehemiah seem to be all about it as well.

We get done rehearsing and head to downtown for some food at Old School Pizza... it was OK. There were some awesome Dio posters and Larry Bird posters as well. We walk by a record store and I remember that I really NEED a copy of "Time and a Word" by Yes on vinyl. Then we head back to the house and just hang on the porch and listen to music for a bit. I play Mitchell and Nehemiah some cuban music and Legitimate Sons. I couldn't help showing Nehemiah Afuche as well. I am so fucking happy Afuche is what it is right now. I played him the recording of our show at Zebulon and some of the newer 4 track stuff and couldn't be prouder to be a part of it! It turns out that the Cake Shop show on May 22nd is going to be an Old Time Relijun show now! FUN FUN!!

We head to downtown to grab some food at Le Voyeur and I order a Sloppy Hippie with a Dogfish Head...that cost $4!!! The sloppy sandwich is quite a challenge but I got through most if had a Green Flash IPA that was awesome! and $4 as well?!! We walk back in the rain and it smells like Jaws again. The roommates are watching Ring of Fire. A great documentary about Indonesia and it's culture as studied by 2 british dudes. There are 5? parts I think. We watched the end of part 3 and started watching part 1 but I knocked out and realized in my head it was 1am and I had stayed up until 4am(est) the night before.

I awake realizing the dream I had that I broke my mallets was just a nightmare and I am excited to go jogging today along the water. Trust me, these posts will get shorter and shorter when I am not staying in the same place every day.

With love and Prog,

Ruben Sindo Acosta

Arrington Tour Day 1 (and change)

Holy shit, Olympia is beautiful! So much green!!

Got dropped off by Zach at JFK airport and was in total awe of the JetBlue terminal. It awesome! Had food and boarded my plane which was practically empty, making my 5 and a half hour flight feel like I was hanging out on someone's couch with Direct TV and a tiny television. I land at PDX at 10:30pm PST which is 1:30am in my head. Upon walking out of the plane I felt like I had landed in the nice part of Demolition Man. Everyone was very nice, everything was very clean and it was sort of creepy.

I get picked up by Arrington in the back of a CDR colored 1997 Ford Escort with Nehemiah in the front seat. This is going to be my crew for the next few weeks. It's really tight in the back seat because this is before my moving expertise will arrange all the gear (and no real thought had been given to it just yet).

We start driving straight to Olympia (about an hour and a half) and the highway in the dark reminds me of Miami. We get pulled over by a cop because the tape Arrington has over his broken tail lights has faded from Light Pink to Clear. While scanning the car a bit the officer (who had a funny Canadian Accent as I recall) asked if I was wearing my seat belt while shinning his flashlight at me, then he proclaimed "whoops" and asked for my ID. Kudos to Arrington for trying to tell the officer I'm from Florida and I don't know any better. That didn't stop the cop from issuing me a $100 ticket for not wearing my seat belt in the backseat. Apparently, that is a Washington State law. We laugh it off and keep on trucking. Somehow I wasn't really upset at all by this. Half of it was being hella tired (I'm not really saying hella, don't worry) and half was not wanting to let something small ruin my day/night. We arrive at Arrington's house and I crash on the couch with a Little Mermaid sleeping bag.

The next morning Arrington and I drive over to pick up the cymbal and hi hat stand I will be using for the tour and it's in his friend's house... who lives in a fucking log cabin... I was tripped the fuck out! Then we drive down to the K Records building so Arrington can print out some insurance stuff for his car and I get a general tour of the warehouse, office and the Dub Narcotic Recording Studio. We listen to some lave cuts of Malaikat he had made recently and they sound like direct broadcasts of indonesian pop music from hell. I really liked it.

Nehemiah wakes up and we set up in the garage to start rehearsing. The drum kit I'm using sound amazing. It's an old Pearl that belongs to Germaine, the drummer of Old Time Relijun and the person who's playing the other half of the Malaikat Tour. However, the bass drum has no legs and a cinderblock and 2 milk crates of books are no match for my right foot apparently.

Rehearsal goes extremely well. It felt more like playing through songs we already knew. I am locking in well with Nehemiah and I feel relieved that the whole vibe is really welcoming and fun. We get some food at a Co Op up the street and listen to demos of newer songs while we eat. There's one mathy song (7/8!) and I ask if we can play it (by ask I mean as soon as I got down stairs I played the drum beat). We play through 2 newer songs and I start playing a drum beat I've been working on. Arrington and Nehemiah start playing along and it looks like we've written a short new song as an intro to the set. I am really happy about this. If there's time we're going to cut a lave of it at Dub Narcotic today.

We get done rehearsing and I couldn't be happier! Now we head to out to try to install and CD player in Arrington's car. It turns out that since there is not dashboard unit at all they can't install the player. Nehemiah mentions he can figure it out and we buy a CD player and drive over to the K Records building to use their tools. Nehemiah installs the player with just electrical tape, wire strippers and a lot of patience. He's already earned himself first dibs on a bed if we encounter one on tour, in my book anyway.

I met Calvin Johnson while Lake was rehearsing at the studio.

We head back and there's a show going on at Arrington's house (I think the venue is called Sweden). There were 2 Olympia bands and Power Animal from Philly. I sit outside for quite a while Progging out with Nehemiah and Mitchell, a roomate, walks into to the conversation when Fred Frith is mentioned. He asks if we know each other and we both agree and are content with the fact that, no, we're just sizing each other up. Spouting obscure Kraut rock band names and mentioning facts about Yes and King Crimson. We're drinking Alaskan Beer and it's delicious. I am handed a Veggie Burger by Mitchell and I now could not be happier (good food, good company, good beer and Geeking Out!). Someone over hears the words New York and yells "Man, FUCK NEW YORK, that place sucks" we laugh and i ask why and how old he was when he was there. Obviously he was there before he was 21 and probably with his family in Times Square. When I say I live there he asks what it's like with glowing eyes and says "I bet it's awesome" I laugh and concur.

We go down to the basement to watch Power Animal, who were great actually! They know the Armchairs and mention that The Ox is the spot to play in philly now. I buy a T Shirt from them (one more clean article of clothes!) and we talk Randy Newman and Lady Gaga vs Britney Spears for a bit.

Happy, slightly drunk and very tired I go to sleep with the Little Mermaid Sleeping Bag and awake now at 9am to decide to have tour blog I can use to Prog Out later, hence the name.

Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikat dan Singa

http://www.myspace.com/arringtondedionyso

Power Animal

http://www.myspace.com/poweranimalpa