paradise rock club // boston, ma // 07.11.08
9:30 club // washington, d.c. // 07.13.08
vinyl // atlanta, ga // 07.18.08
the loft // dallas, tx // 07.20.08
el rey // los angeles, ca // 07.22.08
bottom of the hill // san francisco, ca // 07.24.08
the triple door // seattle, wa // 07.26.08
lakeshore theatre // chicago, il // 07.28.08
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
making my marq
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31 comments:
i'm jealous. i wish my name were jay brannan, so i could be famous too.
name was? name were? was. now i've got myself all confused. haha
I work out near the El Rey in L.A., so for a while I would always see your poster there when I passed by on my walk to lunch. Then when the marquee went up, even I snapped a pic on my cell phone, too. :)
Congrats again on your first tour! I'm glad I was able to see and meet you. :) Can't wait til you return!
AWESOME! very cool that you took all those photos, you must be so proud, we all are and it's great to follow you on your way to international stardom!! Your music is beautiful! Hopefully you share some stories with us on your travels and more photos!!!
Looking forward to see you in London!
Have you planned to do the same in Paris ? Cos' last time it was too private... and short...
So friggin' cool!
I wish I lived out west, all we get here in Ohio are old mullet rock bands, with new members.
Good luck!
I love the CD!
when you come to Brazil?
luv r songs
:*
I´m so excited!!! The concert will be great!!!
I talk about you in my personal blog: www.cosasquehacenpop.com
see you in London!
:)
“Hello Jay Brannan,…” I write down the words, but hesitantly, since I have been contemplating writing and complimenting you and your work for a couple of days now, but with an awkward feeling. I don’t want to be the kind of ‘I love what you do!’ ‘You’re the best!!’ ‘We love you here!!!’ (exclamation marks added – the ‘we’ to avoid an ‘I’) commentator, and if I were to say something I wanted it to be meaningful, heartfelt and substantial in some way. What use would such sound-bites be to you, would you even read them, would they in any way make you happier (or me). And then I realised how awkward actually writing to a stranger is, even a somewhat public stranger lik you, realising I probably wouldn’t like just receiving letters, mails, comments, expressing admiration, that I may be infringing on your (personal) life and I don’t know what would give me the right to do so. If you’d hate it or not. You don’t know me, I don’t know you except from your songs and the movie screen, Holding Trevor which drew me to your music some short time ago. How to avoid the teenage type fanmail or idolatry even, and how to tell you without offending nor making myself more special by deciding that I ought to have the right to write to you. How to write fanmail without being a fan, or without wanting to be one?
Does that suit for a semi-philosophical or ethical introduction? Would you mind my writing, just a few things, or is this thing I am doing, or trying like writing into thin air. “Here lies one whose name was writ in water” is what it says on John Keats’ gravestone, which probably means that he knew he would be forgotten one day. But now to your songs, I have been listening to them for a few weeks, and I’ve never done anything like this before, writing, I want to tell you I am deeply touched and impressed by your songs and the way I have seen you presenting yourself. Stop, immediataly I have to tell you it feels especially important to respect you, to write to you in a way you wouldn’t hate, because, if I understand what you write about Wikipedia or insouciant disrespectful Mario Brother airplane kids. Why would you want me to have an opinion about you, anyway?
Can I start again, then, telling you I’d want to know what makes me so fond of what you do and make and what you’re trying? Going your own way, setting up your own independent record label, investing your savings in your music and career, which in a way is logical and unavoidable (your ‘fate, destiny’?), but I also find it brave and courageous. Believing, trying to believe in your work so much, trying so hard that you did that. I had such a laugh watching the type you play in finding Trevor, and of course I don’t know this, I think for a stranger it’s necessarily difficult not to think you are that character, so I will not accept my thinking that. I watched some of your videos and comments, but strang enough I find them equally funny, and honest and outspoken. Like you’re someone who can make fun of things, himself, or using humor, irony to put things in perspective, to live a better live laughing about things, problems yourself, so as not to ‘hate yourself’ or want to ‘die’ as some of your songs say. The lyrics keep attracting me, and I think it’s that I fell quasi in love with your voice (please forgive me, it must be harmless), with the I’d call it honest, un-swaggering, way of just fingering your guitar and using your voice, without pretence, just doing it because you love it so much, because you can’t refrain from doing it, because it’s an outlet for and form of exrpessing your thoughts and feelings, I guess that must be what that keeps me listening, clinging on to your songs. They’re funny and sad and dreamlike, and then, for instance in your (second, wasn’t it?) song ‘I want to be a housewife’ at the end you make it clear that the entire song was a fantasy, a dream, which at first is very sad, but alsof I guess justifies the song: it seems to make one (you? me?) cope with not being a ‘girlfriend’. I can’t be one literally, not being a girl, like you. It made me want to be one, because in the end it’s just about loving and being loved, I suppose.
You said somewhere, in an interview, that these songs took you years to write (apart from the technical troubles recording them professionaly), that they are so personal, about you. That’s intrigueing, brave again, putting yourself in the picture like that, is that you? is singing a way of distancing from those feelings, coping with them, or just ‘recording’, remembering, not-forgetting they were, are. Is that you? Are you happy enough, or is it just the songs that have this sad touch. I noticed something strange, to me at last, the photograph on your new album struck me as very strict, self-aware and confident, more manly, daring, aggressive even.But the songs still seem so soft, touching and sad, not aggressive at all? Am I just having a hard time grasping with this ‘discrepancy’? It seemed so different from the image of your’s I saw elsewhere, like a picture without your funny and giggling laugh (if I may say so). Of course there’s also the pun/fun about being fat also in Holding Trevor, which makes it look like your work (and maybe life) are being mixed with fiction, selfrepresentation (You’re not! Why do you feel fat, if you do?). In literature this cross-breeding between fact and fiction is sometimes called a mise-en-abîme, kind of a mirror effect, anyway, this is way too much text, and I apologize, and thank you for being so inspiring. I haven’t said how much I like the video for ‘Body’s a Temple’, and more things about your texts and lyrics, like the irony and play with role models in other songs, in say ‘Ever After Happily’, the lines about the half boyfriend seeing another boy and not ‘you’, I would actually really like to think and write more about your lyrics, they are funny (‘the smell of sweat and leather’) and emotional (‘fucked up pasts’) and to the point, but it’s really late, I stopped studying literature to go to art school, in Amsterdam, and I’ll think them over first, they’re worth it even if things don’t have to make says, as you say somewhere. Music is about sound, not sense primarily. Still, I don’t know: would you like me to? Am I being in-, obtrusive? Did you get till here? – Good luck on your tour, for now, whatever class you fly, without being disturbed in your bedrooms. I can’t come to England, but I wish you’d come and play in Amsterdam too. There’s not really many windmills here, actually (one at the outskirts of Amsterdam if I am not mistaken). I just like your music and voice and what you’re trying to do enormously, I hope you are and will be doing well, and wish you all the best, in life, love, music, acting and so on, making your marks, your naming popping up on billboards and in charts hopefully. And I just want to say thank you, in this awkward fashion, a total stranger liking your sound, and your acting performance also, your cool artistic concept of filming yourself with hotel window views behind you.-- Thank you, Jay Brannan, in probably the strangest letter I ever wrote, thank you very much. “… wrote Robin.” (Please forgive my (formal) English, I am not as precise writing English as I’d actually like to be. Being a robin myself I only just realize jay is a bird’s name also, you sing though, and I don’t know how to, I just listen.)
ik-denk-aan-je (robin).....
That's the biggest crock of fucking bullshit I've had to wade through in years. Careful, Jay. I think this one could be a freaky-deeky stalker. I don't like his passive-aggressive overtones.
Congratulations you gorgeous singer you!
Now if only we can get your name in lights Down Under...
Jay, jay, jay, jay... ;) En number of photos, and only you on all of them. You egotist :P ;)
Lots of love
lucas
(Thank you very much Phoenix for the blatant insult. I would just say so and admit if I were a stalker. Everyone has his own way of expressing his or her admiration, inspration, thankfulness etc, however clumsily and strangely put. Erik Satie is dead, Ian Curtis is, and so is Alfred Hitchcock, so I wrote a letter of thanks to a living artist, so what? Where's the passive aggressivity, anyway? I apologize for using this medium to comment on a comment, but there are far better thing to do for me (or anyone) than stalk anyone, ever.)
Sorry, Robin. I tend to agree with Phoenix (also a bird....hummm, that's strange). Your "letter" of admiration or whatever just kept going on and on like a bad case of the runs. Give us (and Jay) a break, for god's sake. Excessive posting on someone else's blog is just rude. Leave the filibustering to the politicians, sweetie.
I love that you are right on the heels of the Brazilian Girls. Work!
Great to see your name on a build board in my home town of CHICAGO......
Builds the anticipation to come home!
what is it like seeing your photo somewhere in public like that? I bet that is still very weird to you isn't it?
Moisturizing is not a crime! yay Jay! Prooost & Cheers & love!
is vancouver happening again? i missed it last time. it must be cool to actually see your name on posters, etc.
http://saltan-vinegar.blogspot.com/
update your blog bee-otch! hope the show went well tonight! let's internet make-out! xoxo
Please jay!! Pleeease come sing to south of France. In my nicy Town "toulouse". I wish i could see you one day.
it's a reaaly plesure to hear you.
see you (i hope so! riviereya@hotmail.com)
Another pic for your collection, this is in Dublin:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Bornagirl76/JayBrannanonCorkStreetDublin.jpg
I pass it every day on the way to work, so yesterday I took a snap on my phone. Looking forward to the gig here next week - take care!
J xx
ciao,
think u should have the captions corrected
http://www.daylife.com/photo/00hE4nU3ura1M/John_Cameron_Mitchell
http://www.daylife.com/photo/03nI2fle6VfH2/John_Cameron_Mitchell
federico from rome,italy
Hi Jay! I talk about your London Show in my personal blog. I have a lot of pictures!!!
See it in: www.cosasquehacenpop.com
:)
would love to see you come to denver colorado dont let anyone tell you you can't do some thing cause when god closes a door he opens a window its up to you to find it
I hope that you can come to my city, some day, it´s my dreams
:=)
Hi from Russaia! I'd like 2 c u 2!
I just found out who you were, and now I realize I missed you here in Dallas in July...I cant wait for you to come back. I am completely amazed by your sound and your talent. Keep playing on!
luculent
web-justice.blogspot.com
Me again: just wanted to tell you how HAPPY I am that everything works so well for you. You truely deserve it, your music helped me through a very difficult time in my personal life (boys, you know ...) and still helps me through the tough moments - and amplifies the joyous ones.
After having been unable to catch your last stop in London I felt absolutely ecstatic to see you're coming to Hamburg, my pretty hometown. I can't wait till the 19th. Bringing my ex, but hey :-)
You rock!
Yours truely.
@pr8: Are you amazingly beautiful or what :-) *wink*
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