Farmer Baseball 2010.

Wheat Ridge Baseball is back and we've got high expectations this season... In my second season as an assistant coach with the club, I am looking forward to making a run with these guys well into the end of May. And, with seniors Eric Shannon and Charlie Land anchoring our pitching staff, I feel pretty confident we'll do just that.

We had a rough start on Tuesday, dropping Opening Day to visiting Douglas County 2-1. But, after a full week of work, we bounced back with high energy and big bats against Valor Christian Saturday. We had the breakout game we'd been looking for, ten-running Valor 14-4 in an abbreviated five-inning game. Matt Zarlengo exploded for seven RBIs including two three-run bombs and the walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.

We play Monarch at Coors Field this Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day at 3:00pm. It's always a thrill playing on the big stage and we seem to fair pretty well there too... hopefully we can keep the intensity up and tack on another win before we head to Arizona for four games over Spring Break.

Michael Bies: Composition Extraordinaire.

Longtime friend, former bandmate, and seasoned composer, Michael Bies is among the growing list of artists to be showcased in Southern Florida this coming week. Bies will be performing in Palm Beach on Sunday, 27 December. I know I'll be there... can't wait to support my incredibly talented pal!

I just got this blurb from the Palm Beach ArtsPaper about the gig...

A local composer offers a fresh collection of art songs set to texts by the great American poet William Carlos Williams in a concert Sunday afternoon at the Lighthouse Center of the Arts in Tequesta. Michael Bies, who teaches at the Jupiter Academy of Music, also is a composer with a sizeable body of work to his credit, as his website shows. Baritone David L'Hommedieu will sing the Williams songs in its world premiere performance. Soprano Roberta Rehner also will be perform in the concert, which is dedicated to the art song and aria repertoire; music by Bernstein, Britten, Mozart, Schubert and Wolf is scheduled. The recital begins at 3 p.m. in the museum at the Lighthouse Center. Tickets: $10 adults, $5 children. Call 746-3101 or visit www.lighthousearts.org.

Mock Show: EPIC NYE (Miami, FL).

I will be exhibiting my recent prints in Miami as part of a group show coinciding with Phish's four-night run at the American Airlines Arena. The exhibition is Wednesday, 30 December from 10am-3pm...

EPIC HOTEL
270 Biscayne Blvd. Way
Miami, Florida 33131
14th Floor
Metropolis Ballrooms

EPIC NYE welcomes exhibitors from around the world including official Phish artists Jim Pollock, David Welker, Jeff Wood, Justin Helton and Sei Rey Ho. Additionally, Headcount will be sponsoring an opportunity for patrons to engage themselves in the democratic process of voting by helping stage a juried art event wherein patrons will receive ballots upon entry (and previously online) to “vote” for the their artists spanning various categories including “Best of Show”, “Best New Artist”, “Best Mock Show Poster" among others. These votes will be tallied and awards will be presented during a catered VIP banquet ceremony Thursday, December 31st, 2009 from Noon-4pm. The awards ceremony will feature an additional surprise roster of artists exhibiting in a currently undisclosed location.

More information about the show can be found at the Mock Show webpage...

Haakon Musser Gruenhagen.

This is my littlest friend and my best one-year old friend, Haakon. We've been shredding on his new ramp a bunch lately... this kid's gonna go pro someday! Uncle Fwanky's trying to set a good example by donning the pads (plus, I'll break myself, again, if I don't). Check out Haakon's gear (junior elbow pads are full-arm protection). Amazing little dude... son of two of my best friends in the world, Shawn and Jeanette. Happy Birthday Haakon!

Festival 8: Totally worth it!

Phish reinvents themselves... again. After another spectacular weekend, full of installation art, 93 degree weather, microbrews galore, ridiculous costumes, and top-notch jams, it'd be hard to ever miss a Phish festival again. The Empire Polo Club in Indio proved to be even more impressive than the last time I was there for Coachella... and Phish's musical costume: The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street... what a party!

As far as my octopus-themed Halloween identity... things went well. I am extremely thankful that my incredible students helped me build this elaborate octopus costume, and equally as thankful that I was able to stuff it into my pack and carry it on the plane with me (luckily, I didn't need much else with my California friends bringing the camping gear).

And, thanks to all the kind support in Cali, the OctoFest prints sold out of the festival allotment on Saturday morning (before I even got in costume, unfortunately); I have a limited number left here at my studio in Denver (less than twenty, plus about eight artist proofs)...

I saw a lot of great artwork out there this weekend and wanted to send my appreciation to Isadora, Jerzy, and so many other fantastic artists for doing what they do. I look forward to seeing you all in Miami and hope to have some new art to spread around.

The AL isn't Real Baseball.

For what it's worth, I was just thinking about the incredible game of baseball and why it has always been my favourite sport... I imagine that much of my attraction for baseball comes from my family and the rich tradition it holds in our unity. My parents tell me that my first word was ball... I believe it. As long as I can remember, I have loved playing hardball and loved following the family team, the New York Mets.

Well, the Mets can certainly be embarrassing and difficult to stand behind (most seasons of my life), but at least we've got one thing we can be proud of... we play in the National League. Baseball is a game of strategy, a game of skill and craft, a game of athletes... it is unlike any other sport in that it takes nine players out on the diamond, playing offense and defense. It is not made of offensive teams and defensive units, like football. The National League is the only model of true professional baseball we have in the States. The designated hitter takes the complexity out of the game... I believe in small ball, manufacturing runs, double switches, pitchers bunting, strategy... and I believe in the NL.

Don't get me wrong, there are teams in the AL that I like... teams that play NL-style ball like the Twins, but by and large, it's hard for me to pull for the American League in the Series. Now, I can't think of a time in recent history that I've cared less about the World Series than today, but as much as I resent the Phils... I'll never stop rooting against the most disgusting franchise in all of professional sports, the New York Yankees (that's a rant for another day).

OctoFest.

In anticipation of Festival 8, the epic three-day Halloween party, I have created a new print. The screenprints are available for pre-sale now and will be available in the festival campgrounds and parking lots next weekend.

OctoFest is a limited edition three-colour screenprint run of 150, all signed and numbered. Please contact me if you would like to purchase a print (shoot me an email at paisleyblue(at)gmail(dot)com. Price is $25, plus $10 shipping/handling in mailing tube to anywhere in the US/Canada. Please also add $2 if paying by PayPal to cover their fees.

In case you're not hip on Festival 8, here's a little more about the spot and the magic that lies ahead. With lush green fields and palm trees, and surrounded by vistas of California's majestic Santa Rosa mountains, the Empire Polo Club (home of Coachella) is simply breathtaking (just trust me). So, keeping the tradition of past Halloween shows, Phish will don a musical costume on Halloween night and cover another band's album. The tradition began on Halloween 1994 with Phish covering The Beatles' The White Album. In subsequent years, they covered The Who's Quadrophenia, Talking Heads' Remain in Light and the Velvet Underground's Loaded.

The band will play eight sets over the course of three days, and as with all past Phish festivals, fans will enjoy on-site camping, numerous attractions and art installations throughout the weekend. And, on Sunday morning, Phish will perform it's first full-length acoustic set with complimentary coffee and donuts! There will be dozens of microbreweries around the site, MLB World Series coverage (as long as the Yankees aren't in it) at an Olympic peak overlook tent, light installations all over the palm trees and grounds, and well, I'll be walking around in an octopus costume selling my prints on Halloween!