Piano [ 2006-10-14, 9:55 p.m. ]

I had sent Marcia a message through myspace about possibly going out tonight. But I didn't hear from her by last night, so when Michael called me on my cell while I was in the office at work and invited me to come over for margaritas, I figured I had no other plans. So I'm going over there at about 11pm because he's stage managing a play and won't be home till then.

Then I got home and checked myspace and saw that Marcia had left me a message about when she was going to this club. I just messaged back saying to have fun but I got invited over for drinks. I do plan on going out for a little bit on Wednesday night (not for too long since I open the next day) because she turns 21 at midnight that night and that'll be fun. Also, she's invited a ton of people to meet up at the dance club on Thursday night so we can all buy her legal drinks.

Anyway, work was fine today. I'm feeling like a woman without a country but I'm starting to get my music dept. staffed with people, thank God. A couple of them are pretty cute guys. You can't blame a girl for wanting that around.

I called my sister,Christy,tonight after I finished writing my cd review. We talked for about a half hour. We would've talked longer but she's got a bad cough, poor thing. We plan on talking again in a couple weeks. I felt like it'd been forever since we chatted and caught up.

Here's the cd review for anyone interested:

Dexter Romweber is known to me because of his days in the Flat Duo Jets, a regional rockabilly band that tore up the local scene back in the late eighties. I think I still have one of the LP�s in the house somewhere. Dexter�s style of guitar was rough and rollicking. So therefore, when I heard there was a new release by Romweber out, I volunteered to review it. This was before I realized that it was something the complete opposite of rockabilly�classical piano. Don�t get me wrong. I love to listen to classical piano. I even know who Rachmaninoff was. However, it isn�t something that I can go on and on about.

While it is unusual to have a rocker get into classical, it isn�t without precedent. Billy Joel and Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello have all written classical pieces. It almost seems like a natural progression. I�ve rocked my ass off for over thirty years now I�m going to settle down. But is it really settling? This is some serious music that these people are making. Inspiring, thought provoking and emotional. All the things that rock n� roll can do. It�s just that classical has that air of intellectualism. With rock, you can either think or not. Nevertheless, I found that while listening to most classical music, that I can turn my brain off and let it wash over me.

Dexter has written 13 original piano compositions. None of them top out at 3 minutes but they still engage you. The first track on Piano, Turbulent, fills your body with a thundering ferocity. He bangs at the piano like a frustrated lover and doesn�t let up. The boogie-woogie style of piano does come into play with the intensity but it�s all honest classical, to my untrained ear. According to the press release, the classical piano pieces are similar to certain Chopin, Dvorak and Rachmaninoff compositions but have been �dextrafied�. An apt word for it.

This album was produced by Chris Stamey, of db�s fame but he has also worked with Whiskeytown, Le Tigre and Yo La Tengo. Romweber definitely likes to keep the North Carolina connection going as he recorded in Durham and mixed it in Chapel Hill. Even two of the songs are named after Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Dexter Romweber�s Piano. You don�t have to know much about classical piano to love it. Just open your mind.

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