SKIP ALLUMS

2010 is off to a pleasant and eventful (if not rainy) start.

Crazy busy at work… which I’ll go into more detail at a later time. Also I’ve narrowed down what my graduate thesis is going to be. All I can say now is that it relates to both mobile devices and music, and unites some of my passions: technology, DIY music, and intuitive organization.

The Shants have been quite busy as well: the little EP that we recorded in November ’09 has been released on High Scores And Records and has been getting lots of warm reviews, we played a handful of shows in Northern California (recap can be found here), and we were named FILTER Magazine’s Undiscovered Artist of the Month. Since school starts for me next week, things will likely quiet down… but I expect we’ll go on a West Coast tour this summer. Stay tuned.

Here’s a few pictures & video from my holiday visit to Louisiana, as well as some shots from the road:

Summer is going along rather swimmingly. I’ve certainly tried to adhere to my goals for these few months: take more photos, ride my bike more often, return to music making, and read more.

I’ve tried to take a camera wherever I go these days, whether its the shambolic serenity of the Albany Bulb (above, a nearby wetland/landfill that juts into the Bay), the summit of Mount Diablo, the abandoned 16th Street train station in West Oakland:

…or even to rehearsal with Maggie Morris, for whom I’ve been playing bass for these days:

It’s been nice returning to music in way where so much of the focus isn’t on me, and I can contribute instead to a songwriter I respect and think should get more recognition… helping them acheive their goals and reach more people. Maggie has a brilliant sense of melody and lamentation, with just a touch of California sunshine. We’ll be on tour throughout the West Coast in mid-August, as a part of the Boy Gorilla Records tour.

All this has in turn rekindled my own musical expression. Here’s a new recording that Maggie and I worked on together for a yet-to-be-named new project.

As fall quickly approaches, I’ve been thinking more and more about what to work on for my master’s thesis. Lately I’ve been obsessed with directional signage, and how different symbols translate across cultures. Lately I’ve taken to logging interesting, effective, awkward or otherwise amusing signage over on Which Way?

Other projects on deck:

• some pro bono web work in the elder care field
• prepping for my week-long visit to Yosemite in September
• wrapping a documentary of recording with The Stragglers