First, the wedding:

Despite Maureen’s contraction of a bug that I got in (I think) Mexico, the week before the wedding went off hitch-less.  The amazing amount of time and energy that Mo and her family put into preparation was evident in the final product — We [almost] didn’t forget at thing.  Centerpieces, favors, decorations, place cards, boutonnieres, bouquets and special touches were headed up by Sandy, Steve, Mo, Jerry and Meaghan — You’d never guess that our wedding was a “budget wedding” by any stretch of the imagination.

Mo arrived the Tuesday before the shindig and I got in early Friday morning — Both of us had our requisite bachelor/bachelorette parties that night.  Nothing too wild.  For me…  Many thanks go to Priest for heading up my night and to Cass for Mo’s.  The two parties eventually merged in the wee hours of the morning (much to a few ladies disdain) but very little damage was done because we had…

The rehearsal luncheon the next day: Noon found us at Twin Lakes to go through the emotions.  This turned out to be quite the college reunion since Amy & Billy, Meaghan & Jerry, Mike Thompson, Cassandra and us two hadn’t all been in the same place in over seven years.  It was hard to get much done with the laughing, hugging and catching up but we eventually found ourselves at Kruse & Muer in Rochester for lunch which, I must say, was an unabashed success.  Witness: Mike’s return love affair with their ‘sperm bread’, my niece Mina’s crush on Mike and Jerry and inappropriate pictures drawn on their paper tablecloths.  My parents were mortified.

The wedding took place outside was early next morning and, aside from memorizing the vows, I didn’t have any butterflies.  My groomsmen, er, groomspeople were exemplary — They took care of business in so many different ways.  The bridesmaids were beautiful (and, fine, they were smart too) and helped Maureen look ethereal.  She was a vision coming down the staircase.  The weather was perfect for Michigan at the end of September so we took a bunch of pictures outside and then the wedding party took golf carts to the course for some fun shots – We’ll be getting those back in the next couple of weeks and will share the best of them.

The reception was everything we wanted it to be — Friends from college, high school and other parts of life, family and waitstaff all rejoicing in our ‘not-living-in-sin-anymoredness’.  Our great friend, Billy, played MC and DJ; someone said that we couldn’t pull off an iTunes wedding but, with a couple of hours of careful playlist construction, the music turned out perfect.  Brunch instead of lunch or dinner, pie instead of cake and a wedding afterparty at Mo’s ‘rents place because we couldn’t get enough of our friends and family. 

Simply perfect.  A humongous thank you to everyone involved, everyone who shared in drinking, dancing & being merry and especially to Sandy & Steve for the amazing amount of time they committed to the PhilMo project.

After a brief jaunt back to Los Angeles (with a kidnapped Thom in tow) and LA reception at Tangier we headed to…

BRAZIL

Landed in Rio de Janeiro and jumped in a car to Paraty; a coastal village that used to be a larger port in the early 20th century but is now a vacation spot.  Cobblestone streets, sailboats on the dock and shops and restaurants on every block.  It was charming and serene.  We took a boat around some of the islands and beaches up the coast and a bike ride up a mountain to find some waterfalls but only found pouring rain that made us turn around.  Overall, a peaceful, relaxing few days.

We had to catch a plane from Rio to Manaus (north and inland — on the Amazon River) and spent a night in a hotel on the Copacabana beach.  Nice but brief.  Once in Manaus we boarded a ferry and took a three and a half hour trip up the Amazon to the Ariau Amazon Tower hotel and were greeted with monkeys.  The little bastards were all over the place with their cuteness, little hand-feet and awesome tails.

Absolutely our favorite part of the trip; the stay at the hotel included hiking through the rainforest, swimming with pink dolphins (Botos), visiting a native village, fishing for pirahna , buffets, drinking caipirinhas (made from cachaça) and lounging in hammocks.  Check out the pictures for examples of all of the above.  Highly recommended.

Alas, we had to leave after four days and found ourselves back in Rio.  Very nice but isn’t too much more impressive than the beaches here in California…  Los Angelenos and Floridians might find it less compelling than those of you who are a bit more landlocked and less tropical.  We met up with Tiago Iorc for lunch on Saturday — A rising pop musician in Brazil and JOT fan.  You can check out some videos of him covering Bad For Business and How Much It Hurts.  He and his manager and friend, Bruno, were gracious and talkative with great senses of humor.  We talked about being a musician in South America and spoke of collaborations and giving each other a helping hand in our respective countries.

The rest of the day we spent lounging on the beach, sipping coconut water from coconuts, losing my sunglasses, dining out and having our last round of delicious caipirinhas.  Sunday saw us stretching our legs  and wandering around town; off the beaten path a bit until we had to leave for the airport. 

Nearly twenty hours of traveling in one form or another takes it toll but we were rewarded with Thom’s smile to pick us up from the airport and Isabel shaking her butt uncontrollably when we walked in the door.  Our sleep schedules still aren’t right and we have to keep taking Malaria pills until Halloween to ensure we don’t harbor the parasite (lovely image, huh?) but it’s a small price to pay for an extraordinary couple of weeks.

Some keys to traveling in Brazil: 

• Learn key Portuguese phrases before landing in South America — Very few people speak much English.  Even in tourist spots they might not be able to relate to you
• Drink water when you can and keep a bottle with you to fill when it’s available.  Most of the tap water is filtered but my contain bacteria that us northern hemisphere folks can’t handle
• While we didn’t encounter any situations that made us feel unsafe, keep an eye on your stuff and your surroundings.  Also, know where your passport is at all times — You’ll have a hard time replacing it if it’s stolen or misplaced.  Make photocopies and, if possible, scan it and email to yourself.
• Partake in as much of the culture as you can.  We encountered a lot of Italian restaurants and, as good as they were, we would’ve liked to have more of a genuine, Brazilian cuisine

Check out about 100 Brazil photos on flickr.com here:  Phil & Mo’s Brazilian Adventure.  Wedding photos will be posted when available.

Rehearsal/Wedding photos courtesy of Mike, Cass, Amy and others — Thanks for grabbing ‘em.  I had my hands full.

An Amy Petty song is like [to embrace a cliché] a fine wine – With notes of tenderness, betrayal, hopefulness, aching, rebellion and passion in every sip.  Each drink brings a different nuance to the table and new revelation when paired with another food of life.  Wine analogies out of the way, ‘Mystery Keeps You’ will take you on a journey  – One with elaborate and delicate harmonies, melancholy hooks and a fire that can’t be denied.  Thank you, Ms. Smith.

I was saving this post until the album was available on iTunes or another digital download medium — and now it is.  And it’s everything that I hoped it would be; though, my only regret is that I couldn’t be a part of recording it [this time].  I’m terribly proud of her and hope that y’all like it as much as I do.

Everyone’s Had at Least One Crazy Wednesday One-Liner

College girl to her boyfriend: Yeah, but you always make sexual advances on my roommates.

–Lincoln Center

Serious student: Yeah, well, I really don’t want to talk about my roommate’s penis anymore.

–LaGuardia & Washington Square South

Chick to friend: It’s not about the toilet paper, his roommate only used baby wipes.

–Spring St & Mott St

Overheard by: Nick Caylor

NYU kid ..: I’m still hoping to live in housing next year unless my roommates find out that I got arrested.

–Mercer & Waverly

Young suit into cell: You pissed on my toothbrush!? What the fuck? Fine, I’ll get you a new pouffe… Fuck you! Pink or purple? Just get me a new toothbrush! You know what kind! Always, right? The blue ones or the yellow ones? Well, did you get your period or no? Okay… Okay… fine… fine… fine! Look, I’ll be home around seven, okay? (yelling) I don’t care who you’re fucking, it’s your turn to cook! Right, fine, talk later, okay? (hangs up, to very attractive female companion) She’s really just my roommate…

–82nd & Lexington

Ten Bucks Says He’s Making Water Balloons

Hipster passing large, bald man blocking doorway: Excuse me.
Large, bald man: What are you in a hurry for?
(hipster points to condoms and goes to the counter to pay for them)
Large, bald man: You’re totally on a condom run!
(hipster smiles and glances back to the man)
Large, bald man: Did you pull out of that shit?
Hipster: Nope, just having marathon sex.
Large, bald man: I’d high-five you, but I know where those hands have been.
(hipster leaves, laughing)

–Deli, 7th Ave & Christopher St

Overheard by: a

The rest are a few tunes that’ve caught my ear recently:

Robyn (featuring Teddybears) – Cobrastyle

The Submarines – You Me and the Bourgeoise

Earlimart – Song For

Nina Kinert – Through Your Eyes

Santogold – L.E.S.Artistes

Brendan Canning – Hit The Wall

Grizzly Bear – Knife

Astra Heights – Don’t Bring Me Down [ELO cover]

The Format – Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) [Billy Joel cover]

MP3whateverday – Odds ‘n’ Ends edition.ZIP (47MB)

Songs are for evaluation only.  Please, if you like what you hear, buy it and support good music.

I’m either getting older and much, much crotchetier [roll with it, linguists] or the sonic and scenic assault on my senses is broiling into a fevered pitch.  Maybe it’s screeching of the troll living in the office next to me that wears down my aural tolerance for the rest of my day but I feel like, no matter where I go, there’s something or someone screaming at me to buy, listen, look or lick.

I can’t stomach radio commercials anymore.  Feeling like they have to compete with the rock music they play to keep your attention, jagged shards of nonsense spill forth from my speakers like a flood of scissors. [ed. note - You're really getting into these overwrought, analogy-driven descriptors, aren't you, Phil?] Seems like mattress store commercials are adopting a Monster Truck Rally type delivery – SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!  ONE DAY ONLY!  SEALY POSTUREPEDIC AND SIMMONS MATTRESSES ON SALE!!!  LIE DOWN OR DIIIIIIEEEEE!!!

Especially here in LA, with billboards, handbills and posters adorning every flat surface…  Obviously, if you want to compete, you’ve got play the game, right?  Just Off Turner at Hotel Cafe?  Hard to make that out when Bloodless Sex Vixens are playing up the street at King King – Complete with half nude, mostly dead, Goth chicks licking guitars on the flyers pasted up and down Hollywood Boulevard.  I know which one I’d shell $10.00 out to go see if I were touristing.

Part of my annoyance is that I’m a pretty informed consumer – Before most any major purchase, I’ll do a good amount of research on the good old internet (mostly on websites that don’t blind me with flash video and make you feel like you’ve stumbled into an online dance party) before taking the plunge.  I really don’t need to be constantly reminded about movies coming out, new albums dropping or the amazing, once-a-year Guitar Center sale (that happens once-a-month, for reals).  A couple of sites that are good for honest, un-biased opinion:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com
http://www.cnet.com
http://www.epinions.com

I guess I’d like to live in a James Taylor world more than a Kanye West world…  I really need to spend some time on the ‘rent’s farm for a week or two – My ears are tired of hearing and my eyes are tired of seeing.

Christopher Cross – Sailing

George Benson – Breezin’

Hall & Oates – I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)

Journey – Any Way You Want It

Kenny Loggins – This Is It

Michael McDonald – I Keep Forgettin

Michael McDonald & James Ingram – Ya Mo Be There

Robbie Dupree – Steal Away

Starbuck – Moonlight Feels Right

Steely Dan – Hey Nineteen

The Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes

Toto – Africa

MP3hursday – Yacht Rock edition.zip (63.04 MB)

Don’t just listen…  Buy music!

- Mo and I are still getting married.  The date will definitely be September 21st in Michigan – It’ll be a brunch wedding.  Our announcement website will be up and running soon so you can get all the dirt.

- I got my oil changed yesterday and bided my wait time by reading this Vanity Fair article about Furries and Plushies.  Fascinating and disturbing…  And if anyone is interested in experimenting, I’m down.

- In revisiting older posts, both Yacht Rock and You Suck At Photoshop have new installments.  Go ahead.  Go watch.  I’ll still be here when you get back.

- I’m looking forward to this weekend’s birthday bash for Eric in Palm Springs.  Maybe I’ll have some photos to put up after the weekend.

- Also looking forward to Christine moving *quite a bit* closer than Chicago later this month.  Monthly trips between LA, Vegas and Phoenix for all of us…

- Movies that I’ve dug recently: ’Gone Baby Gone’, ’Wristcutters: A Love Story’, ’Hollywoodland’, ’The Last King Of Scotland’, the part of ’Sicko’ that I watched and ’The Darjeeling Limited’.

- Has anyone seen ’Sunshine’, ’Michael Clayton’, ’The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’, ’Death At A Funeral’, ’Southland Tales’ or ’Into The Wild’ and had a strong opinion either way about them?  (I’m looking in your direction, Mr. Powell)

- Things that I hate:  The car commercial with the guy setting of the car alarm to freak out the couple looking at his recent purchase at the dealership.  As if I don’t hear enough car alarms…

- I think that I’ve retired MP3hursday…  The download ratio dwindled to a trickle each week.  Either the quality of the posts went down or y’all ran out of room on your iPods.  Either way, unless I get an overwhelming (or just plain whelming) response otherwise, I’ll be shopping for a headstone for the “feature”.

- And for all you JOT junkies out there:
- We’re heading to South Carolina two weeks from today to perform for USC Upstate and the six-college College Town celebration.  They’re flying us out, putting us up and letting us jam out for a few hours – Not too shabby.  Does anybody know anything about Spartanburg, SC?
- We’ll soon have new t-shirts, buttons and keychain bottle openers as swag.  Does anyone have any other, nifty ideas for promotional items?
- Every time we get in the rehearsal studio, it seems like we’re working on yet another new song.  We’ve got about a dozen really good starts – We’ll probably be recording this summer.

That’s about it.  Your participation in this Phlog would be greatly appreciated.  Between then and now, I’ll leave you with this thought:

http://www.musicconnection.com/issues/2008/issue5/clubreviews/clubreviews.lcgi

The Kooks – All That She Wants (Ace Of Base)

Beastie Boys – Bennie and the Jets (feat. Biz Markie) (Elton John )

Hot Chip – Graceland (Paul Simon)

Radiohead – Unravel (Bjork)

The Flaming Lips – Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Andrew Bird – Oh Sister (Bob Dylan)

Counting Crows – Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead)

Thao – You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robison)

Nikka Costa – The Denial Twist (White Stripes)

Aimee Mann – The Scientist (Coldplay)

Vampire Weekend – Exit Music For A Film (Radiohead)

Yoav – Where Is My Mind (Pixies)

Josh Ritter – Blame It On the Tetons (Modest Mouse)

MP3hursday – Under The Covers.zip (65.63MB)