It's Been A While...

See that picture over there? That's me playing the last bit of noise at the last show Econo will play...unless we find a new bassist. The final shows were great, I must say, if we don't find another bassist and don't play another note as a band, we went out the right way. We played the finest set we could.

It was pretty exciting, to be honest. We were a mess in Beaumont since we didn't practice before the show, but Houston was where it all came together and we brought it down. I was proud of us and in that moment Tom and I REALLY wanted to keep it going at that moment, so I hope we do.

A lot of friends actually came out to the show, which was also a reward. It's nice to see some familiar faces in the audience and then see them look pretty into it. Casey and I discussed after the last Houston show whether people came out because they enjoyed the band or to be good friends. We decided it was most likely to be good friends, but on this night a few of the people looked to be genuinely into what we were doing, so I was proud.
We also sold some CDs to strangers. We made a live CD for the weekend and sold out of them and all of the CDs we repressed of our first release. While we were selling them dirt cheap ($3 a piece), it was nice to have people buy them and then come up to give us some compliments. I'd do what I'm doing regardless of public opinion, but having some people dig it is more rewarding than anything.

Also, last month was mine and Rayanna's 8th wedding Anniversary. Since we didn't have the children the weekend before, we made it the honorary celebration. I'm not sure how great it was for her travelling all over southeast Texas, being in clubs til all hours and sleeping maybe 3 hours a night, but I think she had a lot of fun and it showed me why I love her so much. We do everything together and have a lot of fun doing it.

Hell, I never had a girlfriend more than a few months before I met Rayanna and now we've been married for 8 years. It has had its rough moments, being on welfare, having no money, etc. But it's gotten to the best point ever in the past year. I've never been more proud of my wife and felt more lucky to be married to her. That may sound all mushy to some of you...8.5 year ago me would have read this and went "fag!" but it makes more sense in the moment, you know?

Sorry I've neglected writing at this local. I've been really busy with life. In the past year, I've played 12 shows, put out 2 CDs for my band, release 4 more on our label, recorded a couple albums with Tom, recorded an album on my own, done some work as a porn photographer, covered concerts, kept the law center up and running, visited with friends and tried to do the best I could with my time. I think no one can say I don't live my life as fully as I can...and I've kept my wife and kids there the whole time. That's what I'm most proud of.