B. brianonbass @ 2007-06-20T04:05:00

2007-11-26T05:08:09Z

just got back from europe.

my sister and i.

prague

cake time.

2007-11-26T05:05:21Z

my uncle mike sent me a message about my mom and this crazy/hilarious fit she threw this morning. people who know my mom through all of my very unique and specific "my mom" jokes will enjoy this one. (halan, phil, brian, sean etc.)

she had a arabic song on a loop on 11 and the bedroom tv on @ the same time..also on 11,paced the floor for over an hour and mumbling "oh angelina"..over and over ..she finally asked me if i had heard..and i said heard what?
she proceded to tell me about how angelina was losing weight..and that she probably caught something
while third world globetrotting all over the place
i said big fucking deal..fuck her..and she flipped on me and said she Loved her and that she was a alien angel and that she was sent here to heal the world..(Angelina Joli dude!)

brianonbass @ 2007-05-14T00:03:00

2007-11-26T05:03:43Z

That empty feeling lingers within me hasnt gone away since I last left you..

brianonbass @ 2007-04-15T03:52:00

2007-11-26T04:56:15Z

Colombia Journal 3: Pereira/Bogota

2007-11-26T04:48:47Z

i'm home safe and sound, but figured i should wrap up this puppy. i think i left off the night before we left for pereira. some very paranoid folks at the american embassy expressed some concern about us travelling by bus from manizales to pereira, so they hired an escort to tail us on motorcycle in case any sneaky guerillas tried to kidnap yours truly. i've actually felt incredibly safe on this trip. i finally got used to the cops here, who are dressed and armed as if they're going to war. we hadn't gotten much sleep the past couple days, so i spent my time in pereira feeling like a zombie. we did a clinic in the morning, then went back to the hotel for some sleep. i found a vegetarian restaurant in the phone book and ventured out to find it. i wandered the streets, a stranger in a strange land, that's for sure. i found the place and had a delightful lunch. a meal without meat....what a concept! did a concert at the same university as the clinic. had a fun show, met alot of nice people, sold cds, signed autographs. we only had a day in pereira, so we woke our asses up bright and early for our flight to bogota.

victor's from bogota, so his dad picked us up and we went back to their house for breakfast and some much needed laundry work. later that day, we went up to victor's sister's house. she lives on a small farm in the mountains outside of bogota. really nice place, far from the things of man. they had a big family bbq with 30 or so friendly folks eating, drinking and dancing. some friends of the family showed up with different kinds of drums and wood flutes and played colombian folk music. very cool stuff, it sounded like music of the earth. got drunk on beer and aguardiente, and smoked a few joints with the band. we talked about life, the universe, music and nature. really deep cats. had a really great time that night.

we spent the next few days going around, checking out different parts of the city. we popped in at a jam session, the only jazz gig in bogota i think. it was pretty lame, though. cats with big egos playing long, unmusical solos. trying to be hip, calling it "free jazz." the bass player, drummer and piano player were nice guys. even lent us some equpiment for our shows. we sat in for a few tunes, but had to make our escape shortly after.

we had two gigs in bogota, the first of which was in a big concert hall for the mazda foundation. the second show was at this club called voila. kind of a trendy, south beach vibe, but had alot of fun that night. before the gig we got dinner at this crepes restaurant that blew my mind. met these girls after the show, some old friends of victor and went out to a salsa club with them a couple nights later. drank rum and cokes the whole night, danced until we left at about 6am.

sunday was our last day in the city, and the other guys were preoccupied with things i won't get into now, so i headed out by myself to check out this big street market they do every sunday. walked around, got some lunch. pretty chill day. walked back to the hotel. it was dark by then, and had a run-in with a rather unsavory character. a guy came up to me and started speaking in spanish, a little aggressive. i wasn't sure what he was saying and i didn't want to speak english, so just said "lo siento" and kept walking. i could tell he was following me for a few minutes. didn't look back, just started walking faster. he approached again and started talking more aggressive than before. wasn't sure what to do, just kept moving, hoping we would pass by one of those cops with a rifle. but no such luck. he pulled out a glass bottle, smashed it against the wall and held it towards me. i shoved my hand in my pocket, pulled out whatever pesos i could and held it out. he grabbed the money and took off. i had my camera, a watch and more pesos on me, but he was just looking for a few bucks, i guess. kind of a sacary experience, but an experience, nonetheless. and i can't get enough of those. went back to the hotel, and shared my little story. we stayed in that night, brought some food and beer back to hotel and hung out until we had to get ready at 4 for our flight home.

so the trip is over, i'm back home and couldn't be happier about the people i met and the things i got to do there. really amazing experience. i learned alot in colombia. i could go down the list, but it's best you get out there and find out for yourself. dig it. adios.

Colombia Journal 2: Manizales

2007-11-26T04:47:25Z

we got to the airport in medellin at 5am, but due to bad weather in manizales, we had to wait a few hours, and after no changes in the weather, they put us on a tiny propeller plane bound for pereira, where we would have to take a bus into manizales. i was actually shaking waiting for takeoff, i had never been on a plane like that before, and the fact that the pilot was cross-eyed didn`t exactly put me at ease, either. i got nothing against cross-eyed people, you understand. i just heard it fucks up your depth perception. anywho, we made it to pereira in one piece and took a very scenic bus ride up a giant mountain into manizales. the driver drove so fast, it was like something out of mr. toad's wild ride. the cab drivers here are pretty crazy, too. not as bad as in medellin, though. had a good concert that night. after the show i met a fine young thing that said the phrase "super cool" alot. she spoke english, so it was nice to have a long conversation with someone. clarita, the director of the school took us out to dinner afterwards. really nice lady, just like everybody else here. oh, and it`s friggin`cold here, too.

the next day we had to wake up early for breakfast and clinics at the university. i had a translator, this girl from indiana named catherine that teaches english. really cool person. then lunch and back to the school for a jam session with the students. this is the coffee region, so it`s been helping me push through the busy schedule. after the jam session i met fernando, one of those most intense people i`ve ever known. we got a group together and went to this cafe/bar for drinks, then to fernando and catherine`s apartment. got high, drank rum, then went out for pizza. nice hang, i really dig fernando. he`s crazy, but has this bizarre all-knowing, god-like vibe. very strange, indeed.

we taught a masterclass at the school in the morning. i met a kid who told me about a vegetarian resaurant, so i went there for lunch. it was beautiful, just beautiful. there i was in colombia, and not a dead animal in sight. did another concert that night, then shot over to fernando`s for a quick smoke, then to a salsa club for rum and dancing. we went to a strip club, which isn`t quite my bag, so i had a few drinks, an akward conversation with a stripper and split for the hotel.

today was a good way to end this leg of the trip. they took us to this resort type place with natural hot spring baths. it`s outside the city, in the middle of nowhere, so you`re surrounded by mountains. it was hardcore, very surreal. i could write more, but the words would fall short. had a great lunch there, as well. we did our last concert in manizales that night. the crowds have been receptive, ranging from 200-500 people. not bad for acoustic music. after the show we went out for drinks and wound up at a salsa bar. i have no idea why, but as we walk around it seems like a vast majority of the colombian population are in high school. it`s like that age group is trying to take over the country or something. i don`t know, maybe they already have. so anyway, i split with fernando and catherine to go smoke at their place. we took one last photo, said our goodbyes, then i hopped in a cab for the hotel. i had such a great time in medellin, i thought it would be hard to top it in manizales, but my experiences and the people i meet just keep getting better. fernando and i agreed i need to come back soon and then "we`ll really party." well, it`s late and i have to wake up in a few hours to push it along to pereira. peace and love from south of the equator. buenas noches.

Colombia Journal 1: Medellin

2007-11-26T04:45:50Z

¡hola, mi amigos! this is none other than b. comin' atcha live and direct from medellin, colombia. i'm currently in the midst of a tour with d.p. project. we flew into medellin last thursday. this city is in a valley surrounded by huge, green mountains, really beautiful. we arrived and entered the front lobby to find our ride and were greeted by a loud band and women giving out free beer. greatest welcome ever! we got picked up in a small bus by two very excellent gentlemen, nicholas and dario (dario would later be called daddy yankee). they dropped us off at our hotel and took us out to lunch. colombia isn't exactly a vegetarian-friendly country, but i´ve been getting by on a strict diet of arepas, coffee and beer. we spent our first night checking out a huge outdoor concert featuring an african dude that sang and played djembe. the people here are great. they get up and dance and sing with no reservations, really beautiful.

on friday we woke up early for breakfast and left for a local university where we were going to teach a clinic. we split up and i took 4 bass students and nicholas as my translator into a room. i had been working on my spanish, but i really only can say basic stuff and hold short, akward conversations wth people. the clinic went well, it felt good teaching classical students a little about jazz. now they know 2 styles of music that don't pay anything. we played later that night at the same university to what seemed be a few hundred people. after the show we went out for some beers.

the next day was pretty similar. got up early, then went back to the university for another clinic. this time a masterclass with everybody. really nice kids with alot of potential. i really had a good time doing these clinics. we played at a small hall later that night. had to play on a bass with the highest action i've ever played, it was obscene. somehow i made it through the set. we met some girls after the show who invited us to a club later that night. so we met up at this small, dark bar that played old school salsa and ordered some beers. by the 4th or 5th beer, i decided it was time to salsa. kept drinking and dancing the whole night and hopped to another bar. this one was even smaller with more people. but a really cool vibe. very surreal. i don't know, hard to explain. had a great time getting drunk and dancing with all these great people. mauricio called me the mambo king. damn right! took a cab back to the hotel and passed out around 4. woke up a few hours later for breakfast, then went back to bed till noon.

sunday was a day off, but it was feria de las flores. a huge parade, i think the 50th anniversary. it started near our hotel, so we got some beer on the front porch of a restaurant and watched. one of the coolest moments was when the people that clean all the garbage in the city walked in the parade and the whole crowd started screaming and chanting "gracias! gracias!" i think that's a good example of how great the people here are. chilled out the rest of the day, read alot from a book of bob dylan interviews, watched a richard pryor concert and called it an early night.

today, monday, is our last day in medellin. we got dropped off at the university to have lunch with the faculty we've met there. they made me a huge, delicious salad and i nearly cried. salad never looked so beautiful in my life. we ate, drank wine and had a great time. after lunch, we went to a different universtiy for a short clinic and concert. afterwards, we took pictures and said our goodbyes to all the wonderful people we've met so far. i have to wake up in a couple hours to fly to the next city, manizales. i really did have a great time here. especially all the great people i saw and met. i noticed that in this city, there are no egos, no hangups about stupid shit. alot of these people don't have alot of money, but they're happy. they love life and celebrate it every day. i'll always look back at my time spent in this city with a smile on face. but it's time to move on, it's time to get going.