bowing out...

howdy folks. it has been a long time since a post to this blog, and i think it's time to call it quits. i'm tipping my hat, walking off into the blogosphere sunset, and all those other old cliches. my life is so full offline - my beautiful wife, a regularly gigging band, and a hardcore flyfishing addiction - that i just don't have time to come up with creative posts anymore. you people deserve creative/amusing/ruminative posts, and i'm afraid i'm fresh out for now.

it's been three years this fall since i started this thing. my life has undergone some changes - almost all good - and this blog allowed me to track that journey and share it with you all. the fact that friends and family (and a few strangers) actually read this thing is humbling, and i want to thank all of you for your kind words and comments over the years.

so, what to leave you with? for starters, check out my band site every now and then. we have some audio demos on there of original songs, and a couple of video performances from this summer and last fall as well. we have a regular apres-ski gig at the ski area this season, and we're already working on lining up shows (and a few festivals!) for next summer.

also, if you do not know paul, you should. the blog he and his lovely bride to be maintain is pretty dang entertaining, all about living in the wilds of the wind river country of wyoming. and he was my original inspiration for blogging in the first place.

and, if you don't know timmy, you should. the blog he maintains - while light on textual content - is chock full of awesome images that are a result of tim's burgeoning interest in photography. my friend has a great eye, and it gets better with every picture he takes.

and with that, i'll leave you with some pictures of my life. thanks for reading, and be well!


3 beautiful ladies: mom-in-law, jenn, sis-in-law. SLC, 9/2007.


Shoeing on Rabbit Ears, Marley can barely stay still. Early season, winter 05/06.


All my cousins. Though I don't see them enough, I love 'em. 11/2006.


Me and the drunk chihuaha. Rizzle's going away party, 10/2006 (i think).


Dad with a gorgeous 21 inch rainbow on the White. 7/2007.


A Jebus flier done by a CMC student for one of our shows this summer.


Mom & Dad from waaaaaaaay back.

Jebus at Dos Amigos, 08.21.2007

from left to right that's russell, brett, bob & me. puv's curse continues - our keyboardist never seems to make it into photos.

this was run in the local, steamboat's local alternative biweekly paper.

more news and ruminations

ruminations:

* why do people continue to buy chevy suburbans and tahoes, ford expeditions, or - god forbid - hummers?! in steamboat's summer months, an invasion takes place of families who make a pilgrimage here to have their sons and daughters play in these tournaments. every single one of them drives an enormous gas-guzzling SUV. they ought to visit this site before they make their next car purchase.

* why do i love flyfishing so much? etymology, conservation, the pure science of it all - absolutely. but, ultimately, "the tug is the drug," as they say.

* is this the year of the harry potter zeitgeist? i think so. jenn and i are going to see movie #5 this week, and we'll buy the new and final book of the series this saturday (we'll probably have to buy two copies because neither of us wants to wait for the other to finish). if you wanna rock, go here.

news:

* fantastic news, folks! these two wonderful people are engaged! congrats to paul and kathryn! we love you both!

* the colorado DOW has asked anglers to not fish the yampa river, thus instituting the first "voluntary ban" on fishing the yampa since 2002. major bummer - read about it here.

* it's looking like jebus will get to play this event in september, where we will open for this band. we are very excited!

es todo, amigos. hasta la vez!

midsummer update

well folks, it's been over a month since i last posted. it's officially the hottest summer since i've been here, and it really shows no sign of letting up. i'm looking out at a the valley through a forest fire haze, with smoke drifting in from the rifle fire and points farther west. it is scorching, it is dry, and it's been very hard on our beloved yampa river.

but i'm still fishing - in the mornings when it's cooler - and dad and mom are in town through the month. just yesterday dad and i caught a couple nice ones apiece, and he landed the fish of the day - a beautifully spotted, football sized brown trout that went 18 inches or so. he played him perfectly, we got him in and got the hook out quickly, snapped a pic, and revived him in time for him to swim off after being spooked by a bunch of tubers.

damn tubers.

anyway, here are some bullets for those of you still checking in from time to time:

• my foot hurts! often. haven't hiked as much this summer as i'd like; think i pulled something that just won't heal.
• my sister-in-law is moving to salt lake city. in her late twenties, she wants to go back to school for a masters but she's just not sure what for. salt lake will be a cheaper place for her to figure that out. she has friends there, and (perhaps most importantly) will be under 45 minutes away from world-class skiing. we're moving her this coming weekend.
• dad is fully retired and no longer working on the textbooks. i'm proud of him - now he can fish and goof off as much as he wants!
• jenn just completed another art in the park. it's a heck of an event that she pulls together with patience and endurance, and i'm proud of her. she took today off to relax and go up to steamboat lake with my mom and the dogs.
• helped our lander friends move into their new house a few weeks ago; dug their little town, and met some great people, too; got to fish the middle fork of this river, a mere 5 minutes from their front door; bought this beautiful photograph that is now on our fireplace mantle.
• pooper scooped for the public library's book cart drill team again this year, making the parade route an acceptably sanitary place to do book cart maneuvers for all involved. check out fellow library geeks from des plaines for an idea of how dorky this stuff can get.

that's it folks. well, most of it. i'll try and post a little sooner next time.

we rocked 12 people

folks, in the very unglamorous world of bar gigs, sometimes you just wind up playing an empty room. there's no need to beat yourself up about it, no need to question why. sometimes folks just don't want to leave the comfort of their homes for a rock n' roll band, no matter how good said rock n' roll band might be. and playing clark, co (pop. 872) - 25 miles north of steamboat near the wyoming border - doesn't help your turnout much either.

but we had fun, we were tight, it was cool to be a 4-piece again, and we got paid. can't complain one bit.

jebus is a temporary 4-piece

howdy folks. due to puv's absence over the next couple weeks, jebus will be a quartet tonight when we play the white bison pub in clark. just like the old days. and, now that he's gone, we finally got a staff pick in our local paper's weekend section. figures. we'll be good tonight, but we sound fuller with puv and his vintage fender rhodes.

anyway, thought you might find our setlist of interest.

clark show 05.25.2007

Set.1

Rodeo Clowns/J.Johnson
Cure for Pain/Morphine
Shamble On/Jebus
Mad Creek/Jebus
California Stars/Wilco
Black Water/Mofro
Empire Builder/M.Jennings
Invective Directives/Jebus
Rails and Rust/Jebus
What I Got...I Know You Rider/Sublime...G.Dead
Pagan Panda Bear/Jebus
Drug Buddy/Lemonheads

Set.2

Big Dipper/Built to Spill
BadFish/Sublime
Roses are Free/Ween
Ain’t no Sunshine/B.Withers
Waiting for Signs/Jebus
Rescue Blues...Get Whatcha Want/R.Adams...R.Stones
Portfolio/Jebus
Clean Escape/Jebus
I Never Learn/Jebus
Stop Blinking/Jebus
Don't Forge the Taint/Jebus
Golden Age...Black Napkins/Beck...F.Zappa

deron, dee, ugly pike, and 10,000 visits...

folks,

for those of you who are illini basketball fans, pardon the backstory:

during the 2004/2005 season, the university of illinois mens basketball team made it to the national championship game, only to lose to an overpowering north carolina team. illinois finished that season 37-2, and in spite of their loss in the national championship many college hoops pundits consider that team to be one of the best in the history of NCAA basketball.

the heart and soul of that team were deron williams and dee brown (for those james and luther fans out there, i love 'em too). deron left his junior year and was picked third by the utah jazz. dee played his senior year and went in the second round to the jazz. the two most electric players every to hit the hardwood at the university of illinois are now teammates on the jazz. deron is in his second season, dee is in his first.

after a 41-41 season in 2005/2006, the jazz really put it together this year and are in the playoffs. as a matter of fact, they're doing very well in the playoffs, and last night clinched their second round series against the golden state warriors. why am i telling you all this?

well, deron has had a breakout season this year, and it's been a joy to see. but last night i was even more thrilled because dee played significant minutes as a rookie - in the playoffs - subbing for deron (who was in foul trouble early). and you know what? dee did a damn good job. he played 9 minutes, ran the point effectively, made a basket, dished out 2 assists and no turnovers, and did all the little things dee has always done to influence the game away from the ball. at one point he was fouled hard, and on getting up from the floor did some pushups.

i will shout it from the rooftops: i love dee brown. he's a scrapper, a winner, and a smart player. watching him and deron play last night was almost like watching the illini from 3 years ago. almost.

on another note, here's an ugly ass pike i caught from a local secret reservoir:



and finally, this blog is 50 clicks away from 10,000 visits. thanks to all my friends and family who have remained loyal readers. there will be a few more posts this summer, and then this blog will go away. but fret not - i will continue to have a web presence. i just don't know how yet.

thanks for reading.