On December 13th 2009, we at the Q invite friends to come to the Palin Perez Memorial. We will be displaying his artwork, and there will be performances in the form of a tribute by Dave Magario, and former Pharmaceutically Gifted members "Cowboy" Matt Hopewell, Nick Davis and Joe Chaves.

There will also be time for anyone who would like to say a few words to eulogize him or else just celebrate the life of a man who touched all of our hearts.

So I've been ignoring a certain number every time it shows up on my cell's caller ID for months now. Figured it was a debt collector.


Turns out it was the Social Security office with questions about my disability claim.


So annoyed right now.

On the mournful eve
of Thanksgiving '09
we all can find
reasons to give thanks
We count our blessings
We mourn our loss
We carry on yet
I find myself
a poet
with no words to speak
with impetus enough to write
my pen hand halts
Only tears stain the page

like the tears that stained
his face; the tattoos that
told of a troubled soul,
one who had witnessed true
tragedy, strife and torment.
I had wished and prayed
that he'd find his peace,
that one day he'd be free.
I only hope now that he is.

I walk the streets with
my chosen brothers, we
wander through Worcester,
wondering how to properly
send him off; as the smoke
signals reached the Heavens
As sirens blare and cops
order donuts, as the city
carries on, teeming with life
We exhale into the skyline
our shock, our dismay
as visible as the neon lights
of dive bars,
our pain as palpable as a
cold November wind.

We remember him as a hero,
a friend, a counsel.
A sagacious spirit who changed
our lives as well as those
of countless others; We remember
our chosen brother who has
fallen from this world and
into the next and all we want
is mayhem. We want fire and
destruction, our sadness manifests
as rage, but with Jun looking
down on us we burn only our
blunts, our heartbreak needing
outlet, we continue to wander.

Whatever may lie
on the other side of mortality
Whatever plane he's on now
His sagacious spirit surely
carries on like the images
he created, images that will
undoubtedly carry his memory
on for generations to come.

We had planned to meet
in Brooklyn this month, a
few hundred miles away.
Now the distance is much
greater, time is much longer
We are apart more now
than ever before, I can no
longer instant message him
I cannot call or email, I
cannot really say goodbye.

There are some actions I can
take. There are some things I
can do. So this Thanksgiving,
this tearful holiday of '09,
I give thanks for having known
him, I hold his memory in my
heart,

Lots of stuff happening soon...

December 10th (Thursday)

So that album I've been working on for the past year is done. Mastering is happening as we speak, getting the sleeve and back cover situated, and on December 10th at the Q we're having a listening party for the EP. You can have a cup of joe and hear the finished product. If you like it, you'll be able to pre-order one and be the first kid on yer block to own a Cowboy Matt CD. Something like that.

December 27th

I'll be hitting the Raven again, with Shane Hall and Ticklebomb AND Adam Trudel backing me up once again, with Shane on the bill also. Greg McKillop will do an acoustic set, and Dezrah the Strange will do feats of magic.

Mid-January

Shane and Greg and I are hittin' the road for a short 4 day minitour. Not sure where we're playing just yet... if anyone knows of a place outside of MA that would book us somewhere in there let me know.

February 19 (Friday)

A ways off, I know, but I'm excited about it. Me and Jeff Siegrist are doing a double feature at the D'Alzon Library of Assumption College!


Oops, gotta go, laptop battery is dying!

What a crazy weekend that was.

Friday night I catered the Unified Youth/Clark Slam at the Grind. It was a good night of poetry, got a chance to do "Coyote's Lament" for some folks who hadn't heard it. Jamaica was great, congratulations to the slammers who won - Especially Tak, I'm really enjoying her newer work.

Saturday we held a marathon slam at the Q. I worked through part of it, sacrificed twice, and ended up hosting most of the last half of the whole deal. I must say, hosting a slam is more difficult than it appears, although I started really enjoying it after a round or two. The one hundred dollar cash prize went to Nick Davis. Congrats to him and also a big thank you for the donation to the Q.

I got home to find almost immediately that Octavian's fever had gone past 104. The resulting trip to the ER provided me my first big scare as a dad and Octavian's first hospital trip. The doctor says he's got an ear infection; he's pretty much already back to his laughing happy self after only a day or two of antibiotics and baby ibuprofen. Kid needs to start complaining more; he often refuses to express pain or discomfort, which is terribly worrisome...

Back to the Q Sunday morning, for the Homemade Instrument Workshop run by Rich "Amazing Dick" Leufstedt. He had everything; a washtub bass, diddley bos, canjos, cigar box guitars, cigar box ukes, really cool stuff. For those of you interested, we're holding the Second Annual Homemade Instrument Challenge here at the Q January 3rd.

And the week ahead looks no less crazy: Jon Wolf featuring tonight at the Little "a", after which I have some romantic plans with Emilie, Tuesday is the Musician's Open Stage at the Q, maybe I can breathe Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which is Octavian's actual birthday...

So I reached my goal of writing 13 new poems before the Surrealist Open Mic I'm hosting at the Little "a" Poetry Series tomorrow. Not gonna read them all I don't think, but it'll be nice to have some to choose from. Maybe a new book? It's called "13 Overheard Conversations in Dada Cafe".

Writing these was mildly painful, I think I dug in a little too deep at some points. Got the wheels turnin' though, I started thinking about the import of surrealism as it applies to psychoanalysis... reading some of the lines makes me realize things about myself that I didn't acknowledge, or refused to recognize maybe... Oh well, I'm sure the good will outweigh the bad here.

Anxious to share some of the work. Nervous about some of it.

A stanza from Poem 12

The trout swim about
Schroedinger's cat out of the bag; I've been
thinking outside the box for some time now,
now time seems short as though I only have
a 50/50 chance of seeing tomorrow...

Hope to see some of you tomorrow!

 But just how
will you steal that volcano's smile
without your beloved jet pack?

Awesome. Just plain awesome.

There weren't a ton of people there when I finally took the stage, but it was the tightest, best sounding set I've ever played... definitely working more in the future with the Ticklebomb Orchestra and Adam Trudel.

Also, can you say "Live Album"... several people recorded last night, both video and audio, once we work out the details there will probably be a live album of last night's shenanigans!

We're doing it again next month - December 27th, same place... 

www.myspace.com/mmkhmusic 


One new track up, entitled "The New Old School". 


The name is subject to change, its a rough cut of a loose jam, but check it out. It's pretty cool.

I'M MOVING TO AMISH COUNTRY!