Post the First

I’m in the midst of illness, and am bored enough to begin a blog. Perhaps typing paragraph after paragraph about life in South Bend will alleviate my swollen sinuses.

Jon’s got it too- we think it came from spending a weekend playing with our nephew- and every day he says that he’s getting better… until a large sneeze expels the hope from him.

The first day I came down with it was the day my bandmate, Doug, and I had set to record our songs and then to film a few of them for the South Bend Tribune’s “Press Play” series. I lay miserably on Doug’s couch as he made me tea and we analyzed song after song. I love the words he uses to describe sounds.

“Is this too muddy and sponge-y?” He asked as he alternated my track- played on his slightly out-of-tune living room piano- between fuzzy and slightly less fuzzy. I can’t really hear a difference. As usual, I just let him decide as I sip my tea.

Later, we met at the South Bend Tribune headquarters to film. They took us on a questionable elevator (this isn’t saying much; all elevators are questionable to me) and led us through rows of cubicles into the belly of the beast, the printing room. Gigantic machinery and a powerful scent of ink greeted us, as did wall-length windows, showing a depressingly snowy scene of the downtown Burger King. It took awhile to set up the mics and cameras, so Doug and I ran through a few verses to warm up. My sinuses were already blocked, and I hesitantly held back my voice, hoping it wouldn’t crack. It did. I tried singing as loudly as I could, and this gave me much more control, though I’m not sure why.

I think the set went well, but I won’t know for sure until the songs are posted on the newspaper’s website. I’m afraid I wasn’t very polite- as soon as the filming was over, I packed up to leave while Doug chatted up the producers with smiles and laughs.

I love that South Bend is transforming their music scene with things like The Pool, SxSB, the new busking law, and Press Play. This town has so much potential- not just for music, but for tech innovation, artists, small businesses, and a sustainable future. It almost makes the winter worth it.