building demolition

Building being torn down in Fall River, MA.

sappy stump

Tree murder.

burn & rip, pt. seven

See more "burn & rip" pieces here.

glow squagel

Thanks, David Cross, for telling me that squagels exist.

This Car Up

This Car Up at a house on Franklin St. in Allston.

blue house white house

Shot from the train, somewhere between Georgia and Virginia.

Stockpiler - Swim For Cinders

Listen to Swim For Cinders by Stockpiler.

dwarf trees

You're out of luck if you're just regular pregnant. Come back at 10 months.

sculpted Indian

At Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA, where you can learn more about Native Americans - and yourself - than is necessary.

clothesline pt. two

I think this clothesline might make for a good series.

the brook pt. two

Companion to this one. Mounted on black board.

The Clearing - Spellbinder

Listen to Spellbinder by The Clearing.

Patriots' Day

Have you heard that America rocks? TOOOOOOOOOOT!!

Triangle hat.

1921 bridge

Looking its age.

Annie

Annie at Great Scott, 2006.

The Woods - Cowcatcher

Listen to Cowcatcher by The Woods.

Domenico & Marcella Mucciante

Another cemetery shot from Italy.

burn & rip, pt. six

See more "burn & rip" pieces here.

nightstand paintjob

When I was little I used to get so frustrated when I couldn't color in a coloring book without going outside the lines.

Many years later I am able to slop some paint on a piece of furniture without caring even a little bit about whether or not it looks good. That's what I call personal growth.

Squirrel Nut Zippers

Katharine and Chris from the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Check out Paz's excellent account of this day over at Ukulala.

The Clearing - The Last Time I'll See You

Listen to The Last Time I'll See You by The Clearing.

icy snow

Winter at night, almost Christmas.

Stockpiler - You're Writing A Book

Listen to You're Writing A Book by Stockpiler.

laser scorpion

Do not mess with it.

Happy Easter

Worship the rabbit god.

Holocaust memorial

New England Holocaust Memorial, in Boston.

spring duck

Quackaboing.

The Woods - A Bear's Head In A Lion's Mouth

Listen to A Bear's Head In A Lion's Mouth by The Woods.

danger box

They really want you to stay out of whatever this thing is. Considering the X's and the fact that it's near the ocean, I think we can assume there are four treasures inside.

The Clearing - Rays Of The Winter Sun

Listen to Rays Of The Winter Sun by The Clearing.

bird shmutz

Time to clean those windows, it's blocking the beautiful view.

Stockpiler - Total Repair

Listen to Total Repair by Stockpiler.

swoopy face

Photo of a magnified reflection.

The Woods - God Ring

Listen to God Ring by The Woods.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk at Great Scott, June '08.

It's not a very good picture, but it captures the same sort of lurching, tortured feeling that the band's music has. Like it's physically painful to make the sounds they make.

The Clearing - King Tyrant

Listen to King Tyrant by The Clearing.

burn & rip, pt. five

See more "burn & rip" pieces here.

Stockpiler - Gaza Rocks

Listen to Gaza Rocks by Stockpiler.

pond flower reflection

Sometimes I just like things better upside-down.

The Woods - Taking Turns And Keeping Score

Listen to Taking Turns And Keeping Score by The Woods.

drive-by pt. two

Taken out the car window, Medford.

The Clearing - Dead Sea Siren

Listen to Dead Sea Siren by The Clearing.

Pretty & Nice pt. two

Pretty & Nice somewhere beneath Allston, Aug. 13, 2008.

Stockpiler - Assassin's Dream

Listen to Assassin's Dream by Stockpiler.

Stockpiler is music I make by myself.

Apt. 5 shower

Bathroom in a temporarily uninhabited apartment.

The Woods - Drink Black Ink

Listen to Drink Black Ink by The Woods.

Timeline of The Woods/The Clearing:

The Woods
March 2007:
- James (guitar) and Luke (drums/production) look to form a band, and ask me to play bass for some reason. I had never played bass before, but I decided "the heck with it!" and began my quest to wield that axe like a champion.

March to September or so, 2007:
- We begin jamming in Luke's recording studio.
- We record everything we play. For the first few months it sounds like anemic kittens sighing on guitar strings two rooms over. Really wimpy.
- Jams of failure, with brief flashes of catchiness and technical skill, although this is almost always accidental.
- As time goes on, the audio quality of our recordings improves.
- Sometime during the summer I acquire a better bass, a huge amp, and an overdrive pedal. I start to sound like Mt. Everest punching the Sun in the face with a tank.

September 2007 to March 2008:
- Jams are still full of failure, but we start to bust out some really good, heavy rock-ish songs on a much more consistent basis.

March 2008:
- Luke moves to the west coast, effectively ending The Woods after one year and over 400 songs recorded, although many of these are re-takes and aimless jams. Which brings us to...

The Clearing
March 2008 - March 2009:
- James and I doing the same exact thing, but without drums. Until...

The Clearing (v. 2)
March 2009 - likely March 2010, if history is any indication?:
- We finally found a new drummer named Kenny, who has played with us a few times thus far. We've already come up with a couple decent tunes. Any additional progress will be posted at The Clearing website. Thanks for listening.