Lessons from my School of Rock

I’m keenly aware of my own talents as a musician. I don’t always sing on key, I can’t always perform without a cheat sheet, and I get stage jitters. This isn’t false modestly, I’ve heard myself recorded without post processing.  I’m an okay musician. I have decent timing, I can deal with complicated chord progressions …


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New Story in the SF Chronicle

To convert the cargo pod – the penthouse – into a bedroom, you push a button. The lid tilts open like a giant clamshell. In the San Leandro lot, I eyed the ladder and the tent suspiciously, then crab-legged my way up. It was surprisingly comfortable and well ventilated, but the entry and exit scared me. …


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No More Ramones

Chuck Ts are made in China Dee Dee is long gone Hippie’s kids have trust funds I’m drinking coffee at dawn When I learn that there are No more Ramones.   College friends with cancer Trying to survive They have a fighting chance now But it ate Johnny alive And then we learn that there …


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In Praise of Drive-Ins

Here’s the thing about using Yelp (or any other food finding app): You have to be willing to throw away the advice if you come across something more interesting or compelling. That’s how I came to be standing in the parking lot of the Frisko Freeze with two of my band mates. We were on …


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Solstice in West Seattle

There were 75, maybe 100 people in the Solstice Park waiting to see the sun set. I’ve never seen this many people here, but also, I can’t remember the last time the sky was cloud free on the solstice. The day had been perfect so it wasn’t surprising that the neighborhood — and some folks …


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Accomodation Review: Pete Harris’ Suburban Retreat

The greater Puget Sound region makes all of us take a side at some point — we declare ourselves of Seattle and deride the East Side, or we take up residency on the East Side and declare those city kids cute, but really, grow up. Plus, no, we are not doing that commute, no way …


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