I'm a Believer

Jenni was right, the house is totally haunted! Last night I tried to open the door to upstairs creepy closet #2 and somehow the door was mysteriously locked. There is no way to lock the door without a key, yet we don't have a key and the landloards don't have a key either. The landloards' son eventually had to come over and slam his hulking teenage body against the door until he shattered the glass window and broke the lock. Problem solved, at least temporarily. I did not ask him if he knew anything about a ghost.

One of the first nights that Jenni slept in the house she swears that she saw a ghost hovering above her bed, staring her down. That same week she held a séance and even made her own ouija board and chocolate chunk cookies for the occassion. I respectfully did not attend the séance, but from what i can gather, it seems not to have had the desired effect. Since then Jenni has had a black paper raven hanging in the hall outside her bedroom... I don't really know what that's about.

Here is the pro-ghost evidence so far:
1. An actual ghost sighting
2. Persistent flooding
3. Demonic refrigerator tried to set itself on fire
4. General nightmares about the house
5. Old lady neighbor yells like a witch
6. An excess of secret closets/rooms
7. Mix-matched faux wood paneling
8. Frankenstein-like vibrating chair in the living room
9. Rickety basement stairs (like in a horror movie)
10. Light switches are not in the same rooms as their corresponding fixtures

My friend Rachel is moving to New York from Louisiana next week. Apparently her family's house used to have its own ghost until her father had it professionally exorcized. She says that there are lots of ghosts in the south, so maybe she can help us out with this one.

Details of séance II forthcoming.

Housewarming Recap

Gooey heaps of love to everyone who came to warm our house on Saturday. It got so hot the fridge almost exploded! (No, really!) Here are some early photos, courtesy of Julie Cirelli.

Thanks for the pineapple, Phil!

Maddie VHS, Jenni "I hate fun" Wu, Happy Julie

School Boys!

Acconci Studios closed out the party.

Ah, good morning.

On Sunday, the world was not kind. Japan lost the Little League World Series championship game and, as I mentioned, our fridge died. Nevermind. It was still a great weekend.

Smartytail Fashion

Camera Lucida, 1

Last night, as I was drifting towards sleep, I kept laughing myself awake at the thought of this photo.

The Chair is My Enemy

Last week, Ponytail Junction received a very unwelcome addition to the house. It was not, as some of you must surely be thinking, a werewolf baby born out of wedlock, but rather a very large massage chair of a singularly sinister nature. It came in the middle of the night, with no note attached, and has remained in our living room ever since.

When I mentioned my anxiety over its arrival to my favorite mssr., he smirked slightly and said, "How can it be bad if it gives massages?" I tried hard to emulate his confidence, but the chair's horrific appearance and brooding, oppressive presence soon sunk my spirits anew.

Let me take a minute to describe this monstrosity. Its upholstery is stitched together, patchwork-style, out of jagged strips of a dark brown leatherish material. It has two button-like protrusions that resemble unblinking yet sightless eyes. Its midsection is comprised of a series of rollers that might adequately be compared to the abdominal musculation of a mummified bodybuilder.

Taken as a whole, it gives the living room an eerie "Silence of the Lambs" vibe. Also, Maddie claims that it smells (Lauren and I have yet to notice an odor). For fear of waking whatever demon lies dormant inside, I've taken to tiptoeing around the house. If you or someone you know is qualified to perform exorcisms on inanimate objects, please do not hesitate to contact us so that we may, as quickly as possible, restore a sense of normalcy to 22 Diamond.

catharsis

The party's not over until you vacuum twice and mop thrice, which i finally got around to doing this morning. I made a pot of coffee and started off listening to NPR, which got boring pretty quickly. Mecca Normal at a high volume was a much better choice. I worked up a sweat mopping and scrubbing and singing along with Jean Smith all alone in my big house. While i wouldn't describe mopping up the party's mess as fun, it was very satisfying. Dirt is a sign of a show done right.

That feeling made me start thinking about the conversation i had last night with my friend Chris, who was trying to convince me that he should stop making music because he's never gonna make any money doing it, and he's never gonna get famous. I made the mistake of arguing that it's still worth doing if it's still fun, but I should have chosen my words more carefully because Chris gets hung up on semantics. He tried to explain that writing a good song is fun in the same way climbing Mt. Everest is fun: it's hard, and not really fun AT ALL, but worth it. It was a pretty terrible analogy but i guess that's kinda how I'm feeling about mopping right now.

But mostly I just can't wait to set up a Mecca Normal show here!!!!!!!!

Anyway, took some pictures of Wednesday's festivities...


Liz Isenberg and our warm living room


Deer Tick in the "Library"


Thanks to Alaina for working the door!!!


A Women's Wear Daily Photographer showed up! And ate cookies!


Thank you! Come again!

so fun!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the show on Wednesday night. We had a blast, and we're pretty sure all of you did too.

We've got a good thing going...

We'll be posting photos of the night shortly. Stay tuned for upcoming events! tips! tricks! advice?? all guaranteed, all infused with love.

live tonight in our livingroom...

Wednesday August 15th @ PONYTAIL JUNCTION

|| John McCauley as DEER TICK ----> Providence
|||| Sal Feathers and the Birdcage --> Bklyn via West Springfield, MA
|||||| Liz Isenberg ---------------------> Northampton, MA
|||||||| Diego Perez -------------------> Providence
|||||||||| more tba

[ PONYTAIL JUNCTION HOUSE ]
22 Diamond St @ Driggs Ave | Greenpoint, Brooklyn
G-Nassau, L-Graham | 8pm | all ages | $5 donation for touring bands

{ It's a real live house, so be good! }

[ curated & organized by Mike 3000 & Ponytail Junction ]

[ DEER TICK ]
"Deer Tick began as the songwriting project of John McCauley, a singer/songwriter based out of Providence, Rhode Island. Thanks to the help of Brendon "Viking Moses" Massei, McCauley has been ferociously zig-zagging across the United States, hitting all the sparsely attended basement shows, smoky bars, upscale joints, small to medium size festivals, and everything in between, since April of 2005. At 21 years of age, McCauley has worked very hard to get his homemade CD's in players across the country, and has no plans to stop any time soon." - Deer Tick HQ . Indiefolkdiypartycountryrockwhateverthefuck, Deer Tick will make you want to have yourself a drink, grab your closest friend or stranger and sing/dance/party the night away. This ultra-proud Rhode Islander (as if there was ever an ashamed one) is writing some of the raddest and most fun tunes in any scene today. New album out super-soon, but CD-Rs are usually available at shows, you won't stop listening to it.
-- SITE --> http://deertickmusic.com
-- MYSPACE / MP3s --> http://myspace.com/deertick

[ SAL FEATHERS & THE BIRDCAGE ]
Technically two separate musical endeavors, but increasingly becoming one band, Sal Feathers and The Birdcage is four BFFs/roommates/drinking partners/and inside joke sharers, and it all shows live. Musically and socially influenced by giants such as Bob Dylan, the White Stripes, The Beach Boys and The Beatles (the rock stuff, not the hippie shit), and more recently, traditional Blues acts, Hamden County Massachusians Ian, Pat, Tom and Julian carry a 1940s/50s/60s whatever classy vibe. It's the closest thing to Americana music you'll ever see live, especially outta four kids under 21, recently re-located, about 3 blocks from this very show, from the WMass burbs. Secretly, and probably publicly, they wish it was '67 and they had a two bedroom in The Village.
-- MYSPACE / MP3s --> http://myspace.com/salfeathers

[ LIZ ISENBERG ]
"Liz Isenberg's Seeport Seaport Seeport (newest, and first full length release) deserves more than the usual huzzahs you read around. It's a fantastic album, especially for anyone who wished folks like Elliott Smith and Cat Power stuck to the sound of their early records, to transporting room noise and close-in confessionals. I use names like that not just because they and Liz share an aesthetic sensibility; Liz's voice, songwriting and creative arrangements are textured and distinctive, and set off all sorts of future-star alarms." - Indiefolkforever . Liz's quiet and introspective tunes make you think of super-emo-shit, but in a really good way. Like the time you had all that drama with your bf/gf but then it got all better. She's way genuine and if her music doesn't make you feel good/smile, double check, you might not have a soul. Plus she has already been included in Fat Cat Records' (Sigur Ros, Animal Collective) Demo Archives - a list of artists that the label would be interested in signing - time and money permitting - so you know she's good.
-- LABEL SITE --> http://leisureclassrecords.com/
-- MYSPACE / MP3s --> http://myspace.com/lizisenberg

[ DIEGO PEREZ ]
Another forever Providencer, Diego usually sings and plucks his electric guitar alone. Jams like "country ass motherfucker" induce sing alongs from friends in the audience and new fans alike. Everyone and anyone will related to his tunes. Way straight forward and honest, Diego is a blast live and his tunes can leave one contemplating their existence, or just continuing the sing-alongs.
-- LABEL SITE --> http://leisureclassrecords.com/
-- MYSPACE / MP3s --> http://myspace.com/diegoperezmusic