This photo from July (which I first posted on Facebook after the Boston Globe used it a few weeks ago) represents me as I’ve always wanted to be at shows – front and center, in the thick of it. Alas, that may not be the case for awhile. I’ve been dealing with increasing leg pain for a few weeks now, and in my doctor’s opinion (subject to confirmation by orthopedic specialists) I’ve developed bursitis in my hip. It’s not fun.
I’ve been learning to cope, but until this is fixed I’m going to have to spend a lot less time on my feet. Naproxen (basically a prescription-strength version of Aleve) seems to be helping a bit, but there are still a lot of changes to adjust to. I can’t go on long walks anymore. I have to be very quick and know exactly what aisles to hit if I do a supermarket run. The worst of it is the effect on my life as a music fan. There’ll be venues I simply can’t go to – too long a walk from the T and/or not enough comfortable seating. So many of my friends are musicians and I won’t be able to support them as much as I’m used to doing. And when I do go I won’t be spending much time in my favorite place – front and center.
Rest assured, my next (and last for 2015) show (on FRI, NOV 6 at STORE 54 in Allston, featuring WHEN PARTICLES COLLIDE and ENDATION) is on and I will definitely be there, but if you see me somewhere besides my usual place, don’t think it’s because I’m not excited by the music I still have the honor of presenting to you. Hopefully this will be behind me when I get back to doing shows next March.

If you’re long-term unemployed like me, your days have to have a focus or you’ll go a little nuts. A few years ago, my focus was on shooting and uploading as much live-music footage as I possibly could (which is why I have over 900 clips on my YouTube channel). Then starting in late 2012 my focus began to shift to the promotion of my monthly (with some breaks) shows (first at the Rosebud, then at the Cantab, and now at Store 54), which is one reason I’ve only put up 20 clips so far this year.

Now there’s something new, which is why I was actually relieved when my current venue proposed I cut back to four shows a year in 2016 and beyond. I put a lot of time and thought into these shows, and don’t want their quality to suffer just because I have less time to work on them.

What’s this new thing that will require more and more time going forward? Essentially, it’s a project to massively downsize some 40+ years of random accumulation (books, music, magazines, comics, mementos) into the much smaller space I will have available when I move (projected date Sept of 2017).

At the same time, I have to learn everything I can about my intended destination (Durham, NC), make some connections, eventually go down to scout out various apartment buildings, etc., so combined with the amount of stuff I have to sell (if I can), give away, toss and eventually pack, it actually is going to keep me busy for the next 686 days (the time between now and Aug 31, 2017). There’s still a lot of stuff up in that attic.

So, that’s how my time goes these days. Every week there’s the Sunday visit to the attic, the Tuesday trip to Harvard Bookstore (with the most salable books), followed by the library donations and the attempt to fit the books I just can’t part with into the space available. In the meantime I’m cataloging my huge comics collection (and finding out just how little it’s worth now). I’m trying to figure out what price to ask for my vintage rock/punk zines. Soon it will be time to find out if anyone still buys CDs.

Eventually that attic full of books will empty out and there will still be way too much (of everything) to take with me. Then the *hard* questions get asked – which memories are most precious?