The deep dead cold of the winter and suddenly we’re back in the rehearsal space.  It seems to me that rehearsal spaces only have two temperature settings:  Freezing and Sweltering.  This is February and the space is very cold.  I remember rehearsing above the Metronome in New Center–or maybe it was not so much rehearsing as just having a place to go and make noise.  Anyway, that was the same deal:  hot or cold.  The owner of the place let me keep the space long after I could no longer keep up with rent.

Anyway, we are back at it.  And the space is really cold.  Just a couple more months and we’ll be out of there–the irony being that we’ll vacate the space right as the weather turns.  Surprising?  Not at all.

The new material is sounding good with the new lineup.  It’s heavier than anything I have ever written.  These sessions should be something special.

Snow again tonight.  Nothing drastic but still cold and windy.  A good reminder that spring is a long ways off–provoking strange memories in a rare moment of solitude.  The last few days have been this way:  amalgamations of third-degree history lessons, periodic bouts of nostalgia, and the overwhelming re-realization that you cannot please everyone.  Now is a good time for listening and watching.  Even if what you see and hear is borderline crazy.

Since my last post on this page–or on any page, for that matter.  Here’s a little update:  Where it Began is finished and ready to go.  It’s a long record and it was a long time coming.  So it’s probably of little use for me to try and explain why I am on a war-path to record another album before I start spreading any of the music around.  But whatever–here goes:

The music sounds different live.  Much more aggressive and electric.  So much so that I am going to record the record live to tape.  And we’re going to film it.  I don’t know where I left off, really, but there is a band now.  And while the group is in a bit of a flux, it’s still a group.  Maybe I should start there as my last post was on May 28, 2009.  I built a band, finally.  And then we rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.  The band is a three piece.  We had a couple shows and then a couple days of rehearsal in LA.  Then more shows and a trip out to New York.  And then more shows…this is how it happened.  We just kept rehearsing and playing.  And we made some videos.  Random recordings, too.  By September, we were knee-deep in plans for a live-ish record.  Our idea was to run into a studio and play the songs live.  That’s all there is to it.  A few more gigs and another trip or two and suddenly we had to dig for another drummer.  It was a difficult situation but I do believe we have pulled ahead of it.  I pulled the plug on live shows for now so that we can focus on prepping to record.  We’ll play out again in Detroit on Friday, March 12th.  Details in the near future.

A lot has happened:  building and rebuilding a band, traveling, shows, writing, getting mugged a couple of times, moving from rehearsal space to rehearsal space, from apartment to apartment.  A great escape and a great return.  Friends leaving town.  A couple new guitars.  Maybe a few too many parties.

But the vitals are still good so this thing moves forwards.  Here’s a little bit of it…

At The Filmore Detroit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjyLWaOVLyE

At Smalls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bsO_vBLdF8

At PJ’s Lager House http://www.youtube.com/patrickdavy#p/u/3/ZJL2-ITPvTA

My page http://www.facebook.com/bravethewalk#/pages/Patrick-Davy/56467044843

And some random stuff on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickdavy/

More on the way.  Happy 2010.