Stephen Mejias

Eric Swanson, the man who makes our covers look so awesome, is visiting from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He’s in NYC to attend the PhotoPlus Expo at the Javits Center, but was able to drop by our office today and treat me to lunch. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Eric for about four years, but had never met him in person. We’d only communicated via e-mail and over the phone. I always thought, by the sound of his voice, that he’d be a kind and thoughtful person. I was right.

Towards the end of the meal, Eric offered me a present: a book called With a Measure of Grace—The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant. Eric and his friends published it themselves, and Eric took all the photos. It’s a beautiful idea, and an equally beautiful work of art. I can’t wait to read it, admire it, and try out some of the recipes.

I wandered to page 49 of the book, and found something I thought you might like. They’ve listed the restaurant’s “top twenty-ish playlist.” It opens with a quote from Shakespeare:

If music be the food of love, play on.

Mmm. Yeah, I’m down with that.
Their playlist includes Jack Johnson’s “Brushfire Fairytales,” (I heard a lot of Jack Johnson’s music at our HE ’05 Show this past April, and was easily charmed.), David Gray’s “White Ladder,” and Lyle Lovett (“Any and all. Lyle, if you’re reading this, please report to the kitchen.”).

Last night, instead of listening to music, I picked up Wes’ vintage Tele and went over the setlist for tonight’s show. Our band, the multi-purpose solution, will be playing at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, along with All Rattle & Dust and Overlord. I’ve been a fan of All Rattle & Dust for a couple of years now. The singer, Ben Driscoll, has a Tom Waits-ish soulfulness and sadness, as well as that whole drunken piano thing. I don’t know much about Overlord, except that they’re not a metal band. My friend, Tris, plays with them, and I’m thrilled to be a part of anything that Tris is a part of.

It’s been about two years since we last played at Maxwell’s. It’s my favorite place to play, partly because they give the bands a free dinner.

Play on.