Quote of the day, from my supervisor: �Don�t mention in your email why you�re going to be out of the office. Especially when it involves a �gig�.�

Ah, the implicit disdain of quotation marks.

Why can�t I just be a rock star?

Why do I have to have a day job? It�s like that one Tenacious D episode: �Quit yer day job.� Are health insurance and a living wage really so important?

Well, yes. Yes they are.

But see, sometimes I think those �gigs� are all that stand between me and a slow corporate death.

I have no illusions. I know that being in band isn't easy, or lucrative, or glamorous. I have plenty of experience to back that up. But it doesn't matter when all I want to do is bash away at my drums for a while instead of staring at a computer screen for seven hours.

To wit: last night we played this show in Evanston. The crowd was thin, and the band before us sucked. The other band was excellent, except instead of being excellent they were stupid. But we still had a good time. I think we sounded good, considering we haven�t practiced in over six months. I feel like I played pretty well, certainly better than any other recent shows. After nights like last night, all I want to do with the rest of my days is play the drums, and I feel like I�m being dishonest with myself by doing anything else.

To thine own self, and so on.

And on the way home, I took Lake Shore Drive, enjoying the view, rolling down the windows to clear my head, meandering home the long way.

Tomorrow we�re in Champaign, and it�s also the official street date of the album. Then Wednesday at Gabe�s with the Long Winters.

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