"Tuesday Redemption"

Almost as annoying as “Case of the Mondays” or “T.G.I.F.” is Wednesday being referred to as “Hump Day”. I will readily admit that I often fall prey to each of these different idioms, especially when interacting with people that I don’t really know. I hate myself for this.
I have mixed feelings about Tuesdays. Growing up, piano lessons were always on Tuesdays and that was such an ordeal I often resented the day because of it. Yesterday could fall into the category of “Tuesday Redemption”.
I started off the day with a quick mile run. I clocked at 6:51. I try to keep my miles under 7 minutes. If I achieve this, I am happy. If not, I have very odd urges to wake up Stuart by putting cat food on his face and letting Huxley feed.
Work was pretty standard. Michael Rogers stopped by for lunch and we ate outside in what he likes to refer to as “The Garden of Eden”. He had stopped at Green Papaya (the best pad Thai in the city by the way) while I feasted on my midday tuna with banana peppers.
We talked about all sorts of stuff, which makes two days in a row where I have had very meaningful conversations with good friends.
I ended up leaving the shop around 4:30 and was toying around with the idea of heading up to West Chester and doing some writing. What actually happened was I laid down on the couch, Huxley joined and I took what Luke and I refer to as a “coma nap”. I was out cold.
I awoke at 5:48, and drove to Luke’s place to pick him up. We then headed east to hang with Joe at The Bongo Tree.
Our good friends Emily & the Complexes were heading out to do some more mixing on their new record. They arrived around 8, and dove into the first song of the night “Would You”.
This album is sounding so good, I cannot wait to hear the final product.
After working through Would You, we grilled out some brats and dogs. I shouldn’t have, but I ate two brats. They were so good in the moment, and I immediately regretted eating them. Bad call Mikhail. However, the stomach ache I drove home with could never take away from how good it always is to see Joe, Tyler, Tom, Jordan, and Brett.

Luke and I left around 10:30, and had a classic “drive home from the studio conversation”. I love these so much. After dropping him off, I headed over to Brian Beyke’s (I had yet to be at his new pad) and we made coffee and talked till 12:30. Good conversation yet again.
I had realized while at the studio, that I needed to get food for the rest of the week, so before going home I stopped at the grocery store to pick up the staples for my daily eating. Greek yogurt, bananas, tuna, natural peanut butter, banana peppers, and granola bars.
I finally was in bed around 1:30 which is just awful, but things needed to be done.
One final thought. Yesterday’s weather was not unlike that of a late September day. Warm in the sun, with a cool breeze. I could get used to that, but sadly it is supposed to be over 100 tomorrow.

Magic Beans

Some mornings you just don’t have it. Yesterday morning was one of those.
Over the past 3 weeks I have started a schedule and have been sticking to it for the most part.
I try to go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 6am. This allows me 7 hours of good sleep and the ability to work out, eat breakfast and shower before work.
Yesterday that just wasn’t happening.
After staying out until after midnight Sunday night, I didn’t get out of bed until 6:55 at which time I threw on clothes and headed to work. While I wasn’t necessarily tired or sleepy at work, I was just in a funk. Derek and Rachel, two of my regulars came into the shop around 8:30. Derek ordered an iced pour over and Rachel an iced latte. I definitely made Rachel an iced americano and started to make Derek’s pour over hot before I realized what I was doing. I had told them about my weekend and we laughed at how discombobulated I was.
The day was not over though and after a cup of magic (aka coffee), I took a turn and started doing two things I love: buying new music and networking on the computer. Around 1:30, my friend Brian Muddamin stopped in and we drank more coffee and talked about almost everything. It was one of those conversations that when it is over you feel like your life is better because of it.
Due to not taking a lunch break, Mel let me close up shop early and I headed out around 4:30. I had a skype date with my friend Austin Livingood where we discussed all sorts of stuff, mostly pertaining to band. We are going to be working with him to get some out of town shows booked this fall. What a guy, I can’t speak highly enough about him.
Since I had neglected my workout in the morning, after I was done with skyping, I forced myself to bust it out. I was glad I did. Stuart and I ordered Thai and after consuming that we watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother until Luke finally woke up and texted me back.
I picked him up at his apartment and we headed to S***bucks where we sipped coffee and talked shop.
We concluded with the fact that people are often not willing to get outside themselves to find out how other people work. And that often, people will look to bring others to their level, whether this is high or low, happy or miserable, hungry or complacent. I find myself doing the same sometimes so I love conversations that help keep me in check.
Stuart was asleep when I arrived home and I headed to bed right away.
I don’t know why I included that Stuart was asleep. That seems a little creepy in hindsight. I didn’t go in and shine a light in his face, or knock on the door and whisper “Stuart, are you asleep?”. So I actually I don’t know that he was really asleep. He could have been awake. But he was home and in his room, the fan was on and Huxley had pooped on the floor.

The Weekend Recap 6.23.12

Let’s dive right in. Thursday night was our first night back to mandate in two weeks, and due to not many people going we decided to just go to Starbucks at Union Center and chill outside. Wendy was working and we had a glorious reunion. Luke, Tytus, and I talked until about 10:45 and then headed home.
Friday started off with deliveries usual. I gave my notice about a week ago, so this coming Friday will be my last day delivering for Tazza Mia. I am actually very excited about this.
After I dropped off the last load, I went and got my haircut, followed by a washing of my car.
For the readers that don’t know, I recently moved up in the car world. I sold Madison, my 1991 Toyota Camry with 312,000 miles on it for. I then bought a 1998 Honda Civic with 257,000. It is amazing. I have yet to name her, but most certainly will update when I do. I am thinking Shadynasty (pronounced Sha-dynasty)
Ok so after the car washing, I stopped by Mike and Brenda’s where I dropped off some Canoes merch and we talked for a bit. From there I stopped back by the parents house before heading up to Columbus.
I arrived at about 9:15 and Brett and I hung out at the house for a while, catching up on stuff. We decided to go out and get coffee (I really wanted iced coffee) and then go to the grocery store to get stuff for the bus trip in the morning.
Most coffee places were closed and we ended up stopping at a place called Cup O Joe, where I go the biggest iced coffee they had. We stopped at two Krogers and where we purchased food and beverages for the trip in the morning. We then picked up Tom in short north and headed back to the house where we went to sleep relatively soon.
Saturday started about 6:45 as Brett and I had decided we wanted to start our day off with First Watch. Once we completed a textbook breakfast, we headed to the Crew Stadium where the bus was waiting.  There is a certain level of excitement at the beginning of these bus trips. It is hard to explain. This was my fourth away trip, second to Chicago. Wes and Savannah has saved us the two seats right in front of them. Wes had been up late cleaning the bar, so after a bit, he and a few others took a nap.*
We arrived in Chicago at about 2:30 ish I believe. We tailgated until 6:30. Let me tell you that is a long time to tailgate. *
We ended up losing the game 2-1. Losing in Chicago may be the worse thing that can happen to a Crew fan. It sucks.*
According  to the regulations of the bus company, the driver must have a hotel room for 8 hours in between drives. This put us not leaving for a bit, so we stayed in the parking lot by the bus and started our post game tailgate.*
Once on the bus headed home, everyone passed out. The bus was freezing and sleep was difficult.* We arrived back at the stadium at 7:15. Brett and I headed back to his place, showered, and went directly to bed.
After sleeping for four or five hours we woke up and went to pick Tom up from his night of fun (sensing a theme) and we all went to First Watch again.
We followed this up with hanging out at the house and watching the England vs. Italy game and I took a nap. I left Columbus and headed home around 6:00.
Before going home I stopped at Caitlin’s house and we went for a walk on the farm. We hung out with the barn cats who seemed particularly fond of our company. They even followed us back to the house. I had not eaten since our late breakfast, so we went out and I got a sandwich and also a movie. We didn’t finish the movie and I headed home to crash.

*Additional details left out for the sake of space etc.

Kile's Wednesday Night Adventure.

I did something I have never done last night. I went to a comedy club and watched stand up.
A friend of mine is in the Funniest Person in Cincinnati competition at Go Bananas in Montgomery. Last night was round 1 (I think). While there were some very funny people (my friend included), a few just didn't click with the audience.
I had always wondered "What happens when you are watching a comic live, and they just aren't funny?" Well I found out. Basically you just sit there and let them transition into what you hope will be a better joke. It is uncomfortable to say the least. While a couple of these dudes were up there struggling, I just kept thinking "These guys are putting in their time.Not everyone gets it on their first try, but that doesn't mean you should quit." I love to see people doing what they love, no matter what it is. (By the way, my friend did advance. Way to go Karl)
Perfect segway into Kile's Wednesday Night Pt. II
I dropped Stuart off back at our apartment and headed to FB's, a bar on 6th St in downtown Cincinnati  where my very dear friends in Emily & the Complexes were playing. Have I told you about them yet? E&TC at its core is Tyler Verhagen, whom I had the pleasure of meeting through my friends Brett Gregory and Tom Konitzer. They both now play with Tyler along with Jordan Finke. They are the best group of dudes I know, and we had the pleasure of sharing the stage with them at Canoes cd release show.
So they played 5 or 6 songs last night and of course, they were on it. Really tight, and the sound at the bar was actually solid as well. But the thing I love so much about these dudes (besides the amazing music) is the passion. They all have jobs at places other than the band but that doesn't matter, they drove 2 hours to play a bar in Cincinnati at 11pm despite having to work early in the morning today. That is passion lived out. It is encouraging. It is inspiring. After watching them last night I emailed Luke this morning and just told him that I want to play out more just for the sake of playing. I love it so much.
So now it is Thursday morning. I am sitting at work sipping on my Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee I made via pour over. I am talking to Brett on Facebook chat while he is at work, trying to get through the day after living the life of a rock star last night and then driving home. I can complain about a lot of things, but right now what’s the point? Life is good.

New Look, Same Great Taste

Updated the blog a bit. I often find that doing this gives me a renewed desire to update the blog. Like "hey everyone, come see how I changed the font and picture!". Then you realize no one cares. But I do. So I updated it. I changed the name of the blog from Tales of a patriot to kylekile which is what I have been going as online for a bit now (twitter, tumblr, etc). I think this is more of the direction I want to head. So what is up you might ask? (I am the one asking) Well, my band Canoes, just released our debut album "No More Waiting Around" on June 5 and then had a release show for it June 8 at Rohs St. Cafe in Clifton. It was an amazing night. We had about 130 people show up and the opening bands were our best friends. Emily & the Complexes, Joe Dunlap, and Joe Plante. What a night.

So much of my life was leading up to that night, so once it was over it felt a little weird. Like "what is next?". I am ok with not knowing though. That is half the excitement.

Sherwood

It was the summer of 2005. I was hanging out with my best friend Dustin at his house as we did almost every day that summer. I do not remember how it came about, but we were on his computer and he told me to take a quick listen to a band called Sherwood. He pulled up the first song from their first (and at the time, only) full length, Sing, But Keep Going. It opened with a sustained organ swells into lush, sunny, California india pop for the rest of the album. I knew right then and there this was going to be one of my favorite bands.
I don't even think I listened to all of two tracks before I had to leave and I went straight to Best Buy and bought the album on my way to my siblings swim meet. I remember telling my sister that this was going to be the soundtrack to our summer. Little did I know, Sherwood would be so much more than that. They were the soundtrack of my life for the next 6 years.
Through the rest of that summer, I listened to those songs more than any album I owned. I can still close my eyes and remember very specific moments when I was listening to a song and going through a certain emotions.
My first Sherwood concert was in February of 2006 at The Mad Hatter in Covington, KY with Jordan and Tyler Elam. I still regard it as probably the best club level show I have ever attended. They played almost every song off Sing, But Keep Going, and hit every harmony I had heard on the album. I was floored. After the show I bought a poster that I have all of them sign for a girl that I liked at the time. After they played, Jordan, Tyler, and I went on a walk with Dan, the guitarist and background vocalist, through the streets of Covington. I don't remember specifically what we talked about, I just remember thinking how down to earth and normal he was.Later on, at a show over a year later, I talked with Dan and mentioned that, and he totally remembered. I have seen them 6 times and even had the privilege of opening a show for them.

On the last day of last month, Sherwood decided to call it quits. I was at my apartment at the time and immediately made a playlist of every Sherwood song I owned and listened through non stop. It was amazing going through and remembering specific moments in my life when I had been listening to their songs. It was/is hard  to describe the feeling I have regarding their breakup. While I know that all good things must come to an end eventually, I never thought it would happen this soon. I am sad but at the same time so happy and thankful for all the amazing songs they have written and shared through the years. They will remain my overall favorite band of all time, and will take some amazing work to change this.
I wish all the guys, Nate, Dan, Mikey, Joe, and David the best of luck and will hold on to the hope that one day, like so many bands eventually do, they will reconvene for a show or another album.
Cheers - A Sherwood Fanboy

A Blast To The Past

Finding out that someone new reads your blog is pretty sweet. It is definitely motivation to continue writing, maybe even to a greater extent.
On that note I am sore, oh so sore. Last night, for the first time in closer to two years, I dusted of the sneakers and played basketball.
For those of you that were not aware, I played basketball in high school (sophmore through senior year) for the Cincinnati Trailblazers. This was a team comprised of homeschool kids from across the greater Cincinnati area and competed at a divison III and sometimes division II level. I was never the greatest player, but on top of working hard, I really did enjoy the game. Recently I have been working out and running, as I have written, but that was not enough to prepare for the up and down, stop and go game that is basketball.
We played at my church, Journey, at 6:30 and we had 16 guys total. Kirtis, Kaleb, Bish, and Pops all came out, but Bish left early in the night. I haven't really played a legit game with Kirt and Bub since they have grown into very tall experienced players. Kirtis plays for Miami Hamilton while Kaleb is still in highschool playing for the newer version of the trailblazers, the Landmark Eagles.
We played 5v5 with subs and pretty much didn't stop until about 8:30. The floor there is not ideal and it was extremely slick, which did not aid dribble drives and quick slashes. I was pleased overall with how I played. It was never said I made it look good, but I can score and dish. It was funny because a lot of the guys from the church have ever only seen me play the keyboard on Sunday morning, and a few comments were made like about not realizing I played or could keep up. Yes. By the end, my jumper was on and I had this ugly hook shot in the lane that kept falling. It was great to play again, and I am already looking forward to the next time I play, whenever that is.

Besides basketball, yesterday was pretty straight forward. I worked both jobs and worked out in between.
It was amazing out yesterday. Sunny and in the 60's. We are getting spoiled and I am nervous for what mother nature might have in store as some sort of karma type payback. -You like the warm weather? How about 6 inches of snow in the middle of March?- We shall see.
Following the basketball game, Joe Mayerik, one of the pastors at Journey, invited Kevin and I over to his house to hang in the hot tub. This. was. glorious. I need to get one of these. I was so relaxed and I know that it aided in a great night sleep.
I have been wearing shorts for the past two days and it is getting me even more excited for when it is officially spring. And then summer.
All of this writing and I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet! But don't worry I completely intend to. Maybe even before 9 this morning.