rockstar

I'm experimenting with posting videos. I thought I'd try this one of my 3 year old son playing Christmas songs on his new guitar. This video was taken right after he opened the box. He had been sick for about a week up to this point which makes his voice higher and scratchier than it normally is. This all of course leads into his screamo version of Jingle Bells. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.

2008 Favorites

I've put together my annual mix of my favorite songs from the last year (2007, 2006, 2005 can be found here). It's an imperfect process. I try to get a group of songs together that make a good mix and that I like a lot. I only did one song from each album so there may be a song that's my second favorite song of the year but it didn't make the cut because my first favorite song is on the same album.

I feel like there aren't many new artists on my mix this year or rather artists making their first appearance on one of my yearly compilations. I'm not sure if that's due to the fact that I've been very busy (new baby, renovating old building, starting a business) or if I've missed some good stuff that came out. I hate when I discover music that I love only to find out that it came out in the previous year and I just missed it. If you want a copy let me know. I have a distribution list and I'm only about 1/3 of the way through printing them up and sending them out.

Ray LaMontagne - Meg White
Tilly and the Wall - Pot Kettle Black
She and Him - Why do you let me stay here?
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Hayes Carll - Girl Downtown
Dr. Dog - 100 Years
The Dutchess and the Duke - Out of Time
Gentleman Auction House - ABCDEFGraveyard
Gnarls Barkley - Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)
Langhorne Slim - Colette
Love as Laughter - Bonnie and Clyde
Theodore - One Good Fall
Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

siblings

stools

Instead of barstools for Foam I have picked up a collection of shop stools over time. The bulk of them came from the surplus department at a local University. The great thing about them is that they are dated 1986 on the bottom but have never been used. Some of them came from thriftstores. I sprayed painted them a range of colors. I could have had them powder coated for a more durable finish but the cost would have been astronomical. Instead I just painted them myself. Over time they'll scratch up but I think it'll be more of a nice patina rather than look shoddy.

bathroom

We just completed a little art/decor project on the outside of the bathroom walls at Foam. This shot was snapped moments after the last board went up.

cafe culture

The first of 3 articles about Foam in local magazines has hit the stands.

Café Culture

Foam promises to resurrect something St. Louis hasn't really had since Gaslight Square: an ultrahip coffeehouse music venue

By Elizabeth Wolfson

Photograph by Rachel Brandt

Let's get one thing straight about Foam before we begin, shall we? According to owner Mike Glodeck, there are two kinds of coffee joints: coffee shops and coffeehouses, and Foam is definitely the latter.

"There are a lot of coffee shops in St. Louis and very few coffeehouses," says Glodeck. "Everybody wants to be in a place where people come and hang out all day long—to provide an inviting atmosphere. I'm very much a host. When I throw parties, I'm meticulous about the lighting, the music." Indeed, Glodeck has been making mix CDs to play in the coffeehouse for more than a year, and the space isn't even wired for a stereo system yet.

You might ask: How could anyone hang out at a coffeehouse all day long? Here's the thing: The "foam" here refers not only to the poof of dairy atop your latte, but also to the froth that crowns a good pour of beer. The basement of Foam will house a microbrewery run by a mysterious gentleman from O'Fallon, Ill., who has been putting on an Oktoberfest for many years now, featuring all his own concoctions. "We'll be doing a lot of unique and seasonal beers," says Glodeck, "which will be available only on tap at Foam."

And Glodeck intends for Foam to function as a music venue, too. "There are some pretty cool bands in St. Louis right now," he says. "I'd love to foster and see more of that and give them an opportunity. If somebody wants to come in and play on a Tuesday and do a solo deal and come back with a full band on Saturday, I'd let them work out their material." He's quick to dissipate the stereotype of the angsty, guitar-strumming coffeehouse staple (will any of us ever forget the Phoebe Buffay classic "Smelly Cat"?), emphasizing that bands of all stripes will be welcome at Foam. Glodeck is, as it turns out, quite the music fan. A native of the Detroit area (home of Motown Records, the MC5 and the garage rock scene that birthed the White Stripes, among others), Glodeck says it's "painful" for him to read about bands he loves being on tour and watching them completely bypass St. Louis.

And Glodeck's clearly passionate about his adopted hometown and the neighborhood in which he's chosen to open his endeavor. People from Detroit are famously loyal to that capital of the Rust Belt, but Glodeck has enough room in his heart for pride in both towns. When his wife, a native St. Louisan, wanted to move home in 2001, he acquiesced without knowing much about the city. When they came down for a visit, he fell in love with it. He sees many similarities between the two towns, from the style of the street signs to the way both cities are "reinventing themselves," after years of decline. "One thing I love about St. Louis: Property values are reasonable enough that someone like me can come in and do a project like this," he says.

Glodeck envisions Foam as a "third place," meaning a place in addition to home and work that people frequent as the center of their social community.

"I don't think anyone in St. Louis is doing what I'm doing with Foam," he continues. "It's going to be unique." No doubt, no matter what your foamy beverage preference is, there will be something worthwhile to bring you down to Foam, whether it's a band, a home-brewed beer or just a cup of joe to drink while you work on that novel. And undoubtedly the soundtrack, over a year in the making, will rock your socks off.


Foam is located at 3359 S. Jefferson, in the Benton Park neighborhood; find it at myspace.com/foamstl.

mural

Thankfully things are always moving forward with Foam. The building is coming along nicely even if it is a little slow at times. We are hitting the point where infrastructure is complete and the design and decoration aspect begins. This is a rewarding stage to say the least. One of the most exciting things is that I have a new mural in the building. An artist and nearby resident painted my logo on one of the walls inside the space. Several people have exclaimed that it looks old and assumed that I discovered it when in fact it's less than a week old. Success!

photoshoot

I participated in a photoshoot for an upcoming magazine article on Foam and the good things happening on Cherokee. It gets published in February. I wore makeup. It felt like halloween but afterwards and throughout the day nobody even noticed.

Here's a super secret shot I snapped at the shoot.

Frances!

Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the family. Our baby girl Frances Ellen Willa G.

toddler photo's

My brother and his wife along with their 2 young boys stayed with us for a couple of days. There were plenty of events to keep them busy but one of the most memorable was a photo project we did. We bought 3 disposable cameras and gave them to the 3 boys. Two of them are 3 years old and one is 5 and a half. We dropped the cameras off to get developed the day before they left so they were able to take home a mini photo album of their work.

A couple of things you notice while looking at the pictures. 1) Their perspective is so low. You forget that they see the world from a much lower vantage point than adults. 2) People behave differently to a 3 year old photographer. Many people, myself included, run from a camera. However, when a toddler is snapping shots you feel comfortable acting goofy thereby providing images that wouldn't otherwise be captured. 3) I love digital cameras. They are so convenient, but film is much more magical. The cheap disposables actually leak a lot of light giving you wonderfully unpredictable shots.

I'm not posting any pictures containing faces in order to protect the innocent, but trust me when I say that there are some special shots that really capture some people I love. Here are the best of the rest.

baby

I realized that I have neglected to mention on the site that we here at "making of a parent" HQ are expecting another child. It's a girl and is due to arrive at the end of September. I forgot to mention it because as you with children may know there are multiple dates at which time you roll out the news. First the couple finds out and has to keep it to themselves until it is confirmed. Then there are the calls to close friends and family. Later on people like co-workers find out. They are the people you see regularly but that you don't want to tell too soon. At that point you've known for months and the freshness of the news has worn off. You've moved on to things like names and color schemes for the nursery. Both of which have been chosen at this point!

It's going to be a busy September and won't be slowing down much afterwards either.

Petition

I have a severe bias against those that go door-to-door soliciting things. It usually happens that they ring my doorbell when my son is napping. He's a light sleeper. A ringing doorbell can certainly ruin a day by ruining a nap.

Given this preference I wasn't all that excited about going door-to-door soliciting signatures for my liquor license petition. Knocking on the doors of strangers isn't my idea of fun. And while it may not have been fun it sure was interesting.

It's possible to hire a company that solicits signatures for you. Primarily through a mailing campaign which seems really impersonal. It was suggested by my alderman that I beat the street for my own signatures. It turned out to be a great experience.

For the most part people were happy to see me and sign my petition. People seemed to fall into 2 categories. Longtime residents who are happy to see new things going in or new residents who moved in because of the potential on Cherokee. There were a handful, and certainly a minority of people and businesses, who refused to sign. Some people said they'd be happy to come to my place but that they were concerned with the gentrification of the area. That one was difficult to fully digest. One business owner admitted a history with alcohol that prevented them from signing. It wasn't clear if it was this particular person or maybe a family member with the history. I can't really disparage them for not signing.

Most people were excited. They'd seen work happening on the building and were anxious to find out what is going in there. I was invited into some houses and introduced around. A couple of people went out of their way to get me in contact with some of the others on my list who didn't happen to be around when I showed up. One property owner in particular who doesn't live in the building they own asked me to leave a petition with a neighbor so she could come down and pick it up. She brought it to her husband who, I later found out, is very ill. She mailed it back to me with the signatures and a little note wishing me good luck on my new adventure.

Some of the doors I knocked on were answered by people who obviously weren't expecting a stranger. Doors were answered by women in tears. One woman was nursing a baby. One man was in a towel. All of these people, while they were being inconvenienced, agreed to sign.

All in all it forced me to meet people I otherwise may not have met and I think it'll make my business and hopefully in turn the neighborhood stronger.

windows

New windows were installed this week. It really makes a difference. For the most part it makes the rest of the building look shabby. Hopefully that will change soon.



Foam is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. Things are falling into place the way I hoped it would and as the space is built out I realize there is less I have to explain to people as I take them through the building. I used to say "and imagine a wall here and this will be the bathroom". Now I just say "this is the bathroom".

Willa

Willa Fischer
July 5, 2004 - June 25, 2008

Hamtramck Disneyland

There's a famous found art project in Detroit called the Heidelberg Project. While in Detroit I learned about another art project referred to as the "Hamtramck Disneyland". I knew it was going to be worth it to seek it out right off the bat. It's not easy to find. You have to go down an alley to see it since it's perched atop a garage. It was interesting to say the least. It's difficult to really imagine what the owner is thinking. Does he really think it's like Disneyland? Is it his proudest achievement in life. Luckily I was there on a breezy day so I got the full impact with the fans blowing and windmills spinning.

detroit

I made a quick trip up to Detroit for a friend's surprise birthday party last weekend. I tried to take advantage of the fact that I was by myself and do a little exploring. I stayed in Greektown at the Atheneum which was walking distance from where the party was at Pulse. It was also across the street from Mosaic where I had dinner with some old friend's before the party. The streets of Greektown were full of people. The restaurants looked full and there were buses full of Japanese tourists pulling up in front of my hotel. Not what you would expect given the current state of the Michigan economy.



The new Greektown Casino under construction.


Street performers and artists kept the street feeling lively.


The stylish new spaces combined with the historic old places make the area feel really interesting.

Next up a review of my Sunday morning trip to Hamtramck.

under construction

My building is now officially under construction. Foam is becoming a reality. Here are a few pics of the building before and during demolition.

Automoblox

My sister, a new Mom!, bought my son a couple of these mini Automoblox cars. They are cars with wooden parts and windshields and wheels that you can take a part and rearrange and combine with other Automoblox. I'm really glad these didn't exist when I worked in a cubicle. I'd be killing large chunks of time playing with these. Great design. Super stylish. On the "Making of a Parent" scale I give them a thumbs up/A+/5 star rating. I think Nate might like playing with them too.

Once

Last night we finally got around to watching the Academy Award winning film Once. It's been sitting on top of the tv for 3 months. Netflix probably already wrote it off as lost forever. I knew I was going to like it which may have lead to my procrastinating. It was a lovely little peak into some other people's lives. The thing that struck me the most is that I wanted to explore all of those shops in what I assume was Dublin.


As soon as the movie ended my wife said "What are they gonna call the sequel? Twice?" She's funny.

Pachinko!

I just picked up these 2 vintage Pachinko machines that are going to be used as decor in my coffeehouse when it opens. These things are so cool. They are futuristic and retro at the same time. Pachinko is a Japanese gaming system that is a combination of pinball and slot machines. They have built in ashtrays. How convenient! The graphics are cool and unfamiliar to me and add to the futuristic look while the mechanical equipment is antique looking and pretty rudimentary.