Happy New Year! I shamefacedly admit that I almost forgot to write this, even though once again me and the other ggdc’s spent another lovely New Year’s at Iota with our extended family of ‘music friends’. The line up was Sweetie Pie Jones and Last Train Home again. Both had nice tight shows-a nice way to welcome 2005. I don’t know if you agree, but I think 2004 was a bitter pill for more than just me. I have continued to keep up with my favorite artists and keep an eye on new stuff in DC, but it has gotten increasingly difficult to keep up the pace I was keeping up the past two years.

I have been doing a thankful lists the past few new years on this blog. It is a good thing there is a precedent, because I really need to do it this year as I fear I am harboring more resentfulness than usual about my tripartite life-go be an executive assistant from 6 AM to 4 PM, 5 PM to 8 PM go to my wonderful art studio make art and pursue the heartbreaking, poverty inducing artists career I was trained for, then 9 PM to 5 AM go to see live music, meet new people and then write about it - a passion that I stumbled into that is one of the most fulfilling parts of my life that I would like to parlay into something more tangible and lasting. Of course, if I were really achieving all this, notice I would never sleep. The fact that I can’t do all this makes me sad.

So what makes me happy?

Iota turned 10, and although I was not there at the beginning I still feel like it’s an amazing thing. It is so cool to share love for live music with such a cool group of people, musicians and patrons.

This year I really hooked into two bands not form this area, but from where I hail from. 4 Way Street from Philly, PA - my birthplace. Their 4 part harmony and song writing knocked my socks off. From the outside they seemed to have a golden year, opening tour stops for The Proclaimers and Glen Tilbrook, a decent amount of gigs in our area and touring up north. Then they went their separate ways. Dudes, that sucks but I am happy to have known you. The other band from New Jersey/New York is Joss. Joss opened for Exit Clov in September and I broke my local rule and fully posted about Joss, well ‘cause I think they rocked and want them to play here more and I know the lead singer from art school. It was totally cool.

Art-O-Matic made a nice showing in the music department from what I can tell. They produced a CD that I am totally enjoying after the fact. Unfortunately I saw almost no live performance due to my own undoing of participating in Art-O-Matic as a visual artist at the same time that I was starting a new job. 2004’s run was only about 3 weeks too which did not leave much wiggle room for me. I think there was music scheduled everyday, which is the way to be! What really needed to be was a timely posting of the music calendar. I realize Art-O-matic is far from a perfect venue, but the first week the show was open I could not get a schedule or calendar or anything online. The only schedule I got was 3rd hand from a ggdc reader that emailed a schedule to me that seemed like it was from one specific organizer/promoter because it was for such a limited range of days. I thought the 2002 music calendar kicked ass, I don’t know if it was the coding or the data entry, but I know it stopped me from seeing things I wanted to.

Arlington Music Scene (AMS) made a showing at Art-O-Matic, which was good for broadening their influence I think. They have a once a month happy hour at Iota now, too, before the open mike which I’ll have to check out sometime.


DC9 is a new club that opened on 9th Street in the spring that I finally popped into the 3rd Sunday in December to buy my Art-O-Matic CD’s. I always enjoy seeing live music at bars on Sunday, there is usually a really good vibe because the place is full of “The Regulars” and I’m pretty sure that the bartender chit chatting to me about some grocery store in Dulles VA that sells radial tires was an owner. Like now that is down to earth owner talk, my favorite thing in a club-like talking to lice Despard at Galaxy Hut. Anyway, at this Art-O-Matic CD Re-Release, due to the fact that I had to get up at 5 AM for my dumb job the next day I only heard sound check, and mostly hearing it from the downstairs bar at that. But faith & begoragh for a new place I am guessing this club laid down some green on the sound system, the sound is HOT. I look forward to seeing a show there as soon as I can. Unfortunately I think most of the live music is confined to week nites which sucks for me. The neighborhood location of the place triangulates Velvet Lounge and 9:30 Club, which pretty much completely describes the vibe. A dark no frills bar on the ground floor, many of the bands it features local like Velvet, but it’s bigger than Velvet and the and sound systems better. Definitely check it out, I hope they manage to hang in there.

For all my complaining about my job and my hectic life, on a world scale too many disasters, natural and manmade, scarred the year and will continue to rest heavy on my mind, as I know they do on yours. It is really, really important to make time in your life for practicing and sharing your passions with others. The communicatory potential of art, music and theater is as sheltering as it is expressive. I know that a few of you in my ‘music friend’ family (ie. recognize the visages of Jenn & Debbie and I) have also experienced births and deaths very close to you this year. I feel like being an artist I am always remaking myself but when confronted with a life altering events like the above, I don’t know that if as an artist I am better or worse at dealing with them because of this tendency. At my young years, I still think I can say that if you are doing it right, the ‘artistic remaking’ is first and foremost about exploration and self-critical honesty. When it’s real life remaking itself around you we often tend to focus on the the pain and the fear part instead of the growing, learning and changing part. For the past decade while we may be just acquaintances, the frightening truth is that because of proximity, I see you, the music friends, much more than I see my blood relatives who live hundreds of miles away. You are like a surrogate family and I am thankful that you have chosen to share some of your depths with me. The whole point of this rambling? Groupiegirl loves you and believes in you and knows that it’s possible to become a stronger and better person than you already are. Love and Luck in 2005. ggdc