leftovers

It's July, and it's been far too long since I've updated here, due to my procrastination and writers' block. Now it's so hot here in LA, it drains the life out of me. I don't do well with things like heat and bright sunlight. The past few months have been eventful, as usual. My mom and sister came out to visit in May, during the last week of boot camp (they even came with us one morning for our hike up Runyon Canyon). While they were here, the California Supreme Court announced that they would not be overturning Prop 8, and that they found it to be valid, although they did also find that the 18,000+ same-gender couples married before Prop 8 would still be legally married. Hearing the news at the breakfast table with my mom was slightly more comforting than if she hadn't been there, but it also felt worse in some ways because I know that it would mean more to my mom than myself if I ever were to get married. It was a sad day, and driving through Hollywo...

Today was the third morning that Dylan and I woke up shortly after 6am and proceeded to Boot Camp where we worked our heinies off! The camp is a 4 week exercise program designed and facilitated by my friend Robin, singer in my band Invisible Material and a personal fitness guru. On Mondays and Wednesdays we meet at the park for about 50 minutes of training with weight bands and various exercises. Tuesday and Thursday we go hiking in Runyon Canyon and do intervals up the steep hills. Friday is a "fun day" where we do sports and games together. It's really fun despite the difficulty, and there is already a sense of camraderie forming within the group. For me, waking up that early was my first challenge. I'm a true night owl - always have been - and I usually don't like going to sleep before midnight, and often hit the hay much later. But for Boot Camp, I've been getting in bed around 10pm and trying to be asleep by 11. I think the third day of training i...

Did you hear the news about Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Senator who today left the Republican Party to become a Democratic? That alone is pretty awesome, but the best part is that Specter was raised in Russell, Kansas, where I was born. Russell was the nearest big town to our farm, and I even ended up living and working there for a few years while I went to college at nearby Fort Hays State University. Before today, I didn't know too much about Specter other than that he was from Russell and was a republican senator in Pennsylvania. But today I have hope that this is a sign of something bigger, of more people realizing that the "old way" of thinking and doing things does not work anymore in this country. That the religious right does not have the best ideas for nor the best interests of this country. Now, as soon as Coleman finally concedes to Franken in Minnesota (please just do it already!) then the democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senat...

I just do NOT understand some people. These tea parties, which seem to only exist in the vacuum of Faux News and it's blind followers, are supposedly taking place all over the country today as a protest by people who are "outraged" over Obama's tax policies. Now, unless you're some conservative right wing nutjob, it's so easy to see the rediculousness of all this and it's frankly in that realm of "so funny it's almost scary." But the thing about all this that really gets to me are the people who really do think they are being taxed too much and are under the false assumption that they deserve to pay less taxes. Ironically, most of those who are complaining are the same people who believe that the USA is the "greatest nation in the world" and suffer from a severe case of patriotism/confusion over "separation of church and state." They do honestly believe that this is the best nation in the world, mostly because they have...

It's no secret, I love to travel! Since my first solitary, international trip back during my freshman year in college, I have always loved an adventure or a journey, whether near or far. So far this year has already gotten off to a good start with two trips right back-to-back. First, as I've already written about, Dylan and I took a vacation to Boston, MA which also included a side-trip to New Haven, CT. We landed in Boston on a Friday night and my friend Courtney and her husband Tyler were there to pick us up, something Dylan and I aren't accustomed too. Usually when we land somewhere, it's up to us to make our way to the hotel or wherever we're staying (unless we're going to my parent's place in Kansas City, of course). Courtney and Tyler turned out to be great hosts, and the first order of business was taking us out to eat with my friend Bethany, who they had never met, but went ahead and made all the arrangements with regardless! It was so fun to go...

As my blog readers (aka my mom) already know, my partner and I recently returned from our first trip to New England, where we stayed with friends and Boston and had a romantic getaway in New Haven, Connecticut. I intend to blog about the trip itself, but I wanted to do something fun this time and first write a blog about the amazing meals we had on the trip. Right when we got off the plane, my very good friend Courtney (Paulsen) Martin and her husband, Ty, were there to pick us up and we were whisked away to Waltham, MA, to pick up my friend Bethany who I hadn't seen in even more years than Courtney. We went to Solea, a restaurant and tapas bar on this cute little street lined with snow that looked like something out of a movie. The service and food were incredible, and this coming from the guy who normally HATES tapas bars with a passion. But the sangria was yummy and all the tapas were so delicious... we had shrimp, calamari, pork, stuffed peppers, salmon, stuffed dates... I...

I'm back from Boston!!! It was so much fun and I plan to blog all about it, and even do a separate blog reviewing all the wonderful meals we had on the trip, but first there is something else I wanted to get off my chest, which was a realization I had while on the trip. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, gay marriage is legal, and that was the impetus for this whole getaway. In my anger after Prop 8 passing here in California, which I had spent so much of my time and energy trying to defeat, I wanted to support the two states in this entire country that treat people like my partner and I equally. I wanted to see what this fairytale land was like where my committed relationship with my partner would actually be recognized by the government just like any other couple's. Also, I wanted to see my really good friend Courtney who had gotten married herself since the last time I saw her. Anyway while on the trip I finally just realized that I am done fighting and being angry. I fou...

I am literally feeling sick to my stomach, and head, after the CA Supreme Court hearings on Prop 8 today. The outlook does not seem good from what I heard/saw/read... it worries me and I hate being worried. Especially considering how long this has been drawn out. I did not move to California almost a decade ago to be faced with ignorance, religious persecution and intolerance but that's exactly what I've been up against for the past year or so now. Obviously those small-minded assholes have been here the whole time but never were their opinions and their religious preferences thrust on me in such a personal and demeaning way as they have been with Proposition 8. I hate that I have to blog about this shit all the time but this is what I live with. I live with people that I don't know making decisions about my future based on their backwards religious "beliefs" and their ignorance. Dealing with assholes in Kansas was one thing because I was young, placated by...

The time has almost come for Dylan and I to fly to Boston! It seems like this mini-vacation really crept up on me. We came up with the idea back in November when Prop 8 unfortunately passed here in California, and we wanted to take our tourist dollars to the two states that actually allow same-gender marriage - Massachusetts and Connecticut. Back then, March seemed so far off, but here we are already! I had put off making many of the arrangement, including booking the flights, because I wasn't completely sure we were going. But one day while cruising Facebook I saw an ad for cheap flights on Virgin America and I just had to do it. Dylan had just flown Virgin up to Seattle and couldn't say enough great things about the flight, so I wanted to try it for myself. We chose the dates to sort of coincide with my friend Courtney's spring break. She works at Boston University. I haven't seen Courtney for many, many years, but in March of 2000, she, my brother and I, went...

I find it fascinating that in this country, with all there is in this universe to discuss, explore, and ponder - and in the midst of what many are calling the worst economic crisis this country has seen since the great depression - that many people still find the time to bitch about gay rights and abortion. These two topics just seem to perpetuate divisiveness and intolerance and frankly I'm just sick of it. Really, it is nobody's business what one person wants to put in or take out of their own body aside from those close friends or family members whose advice has specifically been sought out. Yet so many people claim they are compelled to involve themselves because of their belief in a supernatural deity who they believe inspired a book to be written thousands of years ago when things were very different than they are now. To be perfectly honest, I don't feel like I really should have any right to even talk about abortion, and neither does any male, with the possible ...

It's so difficult for me to believe that it's almost March, 2009, and that my little brother is about to turn 30. I better stop talking about what I'm going to do when I'm old and retired, because that day is going to come before I know it! It's time to live in the present. And what a time the present is. Crazy days lately, I spent the entire last week without my significant other, who was off visiting old friends and fighting Prop 8 on a whirlwind trip that included stops in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Seattle. He left me on Valentine's day, but we had a nice celebration the night before and the afternoon before he left. I thought having a week by myself would be a peaceful, relaxing experience full of plenty of free time with which to work on projects, but of course in reality it was just business as usual with me rushing around to this bar and that club, getting ready for my band's night at The Palms on Saturday, as well as cooking and cleaning. J...

This video is so good I just have to share it.

My other band, Invisible Material, recorded our first EP last night at Freedom Studio in Granada Hills. In this band, I play live drums, which is a new and fun thing for me. Now you may be thinking, how can Devin be in another band when he already does so much? Ha ha. Well I have to make time for everything in my life but I've always done that so it's nothing new. The thing is, my brother Brandon has been in every band I've ever been in. I love writing and performing with Brandon better than anyone else. He has such a natural sense of music and he's not at all egotistical or possessive of music, and he has worked so hard at it. He taught himself guitar and production and live sound tech type stuff that I have no clue about. Brandon was the brave one who decided we needed to form our first band back when I was in college, and had it not been for him, I don't know if I would have ever made the leap from wanting to be in a band to actually doing it. So, Brando...

In keeping with (a new) tradition, here is my 2 nd annual top 10 songs of the year chart! 2008 was a weird year for me, musically. I focused a lot on old music, what with the reissues of all the Thompson Twins albums (including the little-known first two) being released, and mining the catalogues of Boy George and Deborah Harry on some whim. Also, the dramatic changes happening within my own band lead to a lot of friction with our new album which we have been recording since December of 2006. Add to that the arrival of the first new studio album from The B-52's in sixteen years, and my being open to listening to some new, current bands this year, and you'll see that the result is an eclectic and varied list. Honorable Mention: Panic at the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon I had to cut out a few songs off my initial list to get it down to 10, and while this one ended up being cut, I had to give it honorable mention, not so much on it's own merits, but because of the alb...

I can't say I'm going to miss 2008. Not to be a bummer, but it was a really difficult year. Lots of crappy things happened. Some really cool, great things happened too, but often they were overshadowed or marred by the bad. I don't let it get me down, though; I keep moving on. Some years are amazing, and those years wouldn't be as special if it weren't for the years that are bummers. It's funny too, because "8" is my favorite number. Anyway, between my brother and I, we have pretty much blogged about all the highs and lows of 2008 already, so I'm not going to go into detail here. What I do want to do is write about how I spent the holidays, with my family back home in Kansas. Dylan and I flew out on the evening of Dec. 23rd and we stayed through New Year's Day, returning to LA on Jan. 2. So, it was a nice long trip and a great vacation. Christmas Eve was spent with my entire family, enjoying our time together and watching a video I had...