I wanted to quickly send out my thoughts and best wishes to my old neighbour Beth, better known to most of you as Bif Naked, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Beth’s a tough lady, and I’m sure that she’ll face this with the same fortitude that she has displayed throughout her career. Again, my very best wishes go out to her and her husband Ian during this trying time. More »

3:16 AM, raining again, maybe a gunshot in the distance, sirens a few blocks away. The sound of shopping-cart wheels click on the sidewalk below my window, stopping every twenty feet or so probably so that a garbage bin can be rummaged through. The ironic sound of a street cleaner hums below the din of the sirens, its brushes spinning against the concrete, new polish for the same old streets. Life is death. She goes in for surgery tomorrow to see if they can remove it. ...More »

I’ve been asked in countless interviews if it catches up with me every night, singing these songs, having to relive their meaning. I commonly answer that they don’t impact me in a negative way, and that’s true for the most part. Consciously, anyway. Subconsciously I’m not so sure. I have Daniel Johnston’s Funeral Home stuck in my head. I woke up this morning, as I often do, having had a night terror. All of them are about the same thing, though the setting in each is ...More »

My thoughts today are with my best friend Rod, whose father, Ray, seems to have taken a turn for the worse last night. As I am updated as to what’s happening I will pass along information, but please feel free to contact Rod and send him and his family your best wishes. This year has been incredibly difficult for his family as not only is his father in a bad way, but his mother was also diagnosed with cancer several months ago. Furthermore, our website’s chief ...More »

I wanted to thank everyone for the outpouring of well wishes for my family. I was overwhelmed by the amount of you who took the time to send your regards and well wishes to my Dad. I spent the better part of the day reading each and every email, and I cannot begin to tell you how greatly it lifted my spirits and my Dad's. I will be bringing my laptop to the hospital so I can further share your generous wishes with him as ...More »

I’ll be on a plane most of the day and then will hopefully spend the rest of the night getting licked to death by a couple of notorious trouble makers. That said, I wanted to direct readers to my del.icio.us page, where there are bookmarked a few new rather important articles. If you are unfamiliar with del.icio.us, links are listed in order of the most recent saved, so start from the top and work your way down if you’d like. And please feel free to ...More »

A very close friend of mine, Matt Russell, has been playing in a band called "Ruth" for something like 11 years. The members are Matt Russell (drums), Todd Russell (Matt's brother -- guitar), and Ruth Peterson (vocals). Ruth was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. From the band's website: Please know that Ruth is surrounded by family and friends and that she’s in very good spirits despite all that she is going through, both physically and emotionally. She will continue working on the new cd and ...More »