Our Mother the Mountain

Seeing as I'm such a lover of Townes Van Zandt, I can't believe it took me this long to hear "Our Mother the Mountain." Good thing really, cuz it's like the best Christmas gift ever. Riches of imagery and beauty and me getting the chills. So good.

I just bought the 180 gram vinyl re-issue from Fat Possum. It sounds very good.


"Kathleen" (with some weird video accompaniment).




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"she came and she touched me" ( my favorite ) -- live at the old quarter version (i like the album version better but can't find it).




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"Our Mother the Mountain" -- Sinister.

today's running journal entry

I normally keep my running journals strictly on my running blog, Cold Cold Feet. It is my ongoing documentation of my training for a marathon on November 15th.

But I liked today's entry, and am reprinting it here that others might read it.
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Today ended a several day drought during which I conjured every possible excuse to avoid lacing up my running shoes and dipping my toes back into that reservoir of pain I call my running schedule. Oh, I had handfuls of excuses and plenty to justify my absence from the trail, but most of it apocryphal or delusional. The honest truth is that I could've easily pushed through the pain and sweat out the hangover, but I just didn't.

Well, that came to an end today. I felt the beer and whiskey of the previous several days coming back to haunt me. But I fought through it and bounced back all the stronger. Had to start the day with a triple-espresso, though. I find that coffee gives courage. I knew I would be in pain, but somehow that bitter black caffeinated bit of joy made me buck up and stiffened my spine. I wonder if soldiers in battle drink espresso before jumping out of the trenches.

Which reminds me of something. I recall only a few years ago never even having run a full mile without stopping. My attitude then seemed fairly simple; why in the hell would I ever want to run? I'll run if somebody's chasing after me.

But later I learned the joy of endorphins. Ah yes, the sweet sweet biochemistry of our human form. We put ourselves through pain that our bodies might tap into their innate pain-relief reservoirs. You feel the sweet numb rush, the release of all stress and worry and desire. You push through the pain that inevitably wells up, and the body has its mechanisms to push back.

But I return to the soldier in his trench. His is an involuntary release and a constant one. Whatever pain relief might be won through a hard run between trenches is inevitably counteracted by the stress chemicals flooding the brain due to constant fear of death and bombardment. I have no such worries, thankfully. I wonder if such chemicals might be useful in achieving heretofore unknown speeds and stride. I did once run by a vicious dog, and he growled, and my pace did pick up a bit. No pun intended. But the dog was not explosive, nor holding a grenade or improvised explosive device, or even a rough bludgeoning tool. He did have knives though, the kind we find attached to the ends of a dog's incisors. I wonder if there might be a correlation between the size of a dog's teeth, and the increase in speed by a passing-by runner. I imagine there is a very direct relationship.

Today while running I did see some curious life forms along the trail, but certainly nothing threatening. Near the Congress avenue bridge, the trails juts a bit south and runs along Riverside, all because a few apartment complexes and businesses bought the lakeside land along a quite scenic bluff. One of these businesses happens to be Joe's Crab Shack.

Joe's Crab Shack always seemed to me like the waiting area for a roller coaster at a theme park. You know, the fake wood, the scrawled handwritten signs, the weathered siding on the building, all carefully placed just so, providing the feel of an old "crab shack," presumably owned by a guy named Joe. It is a soulless affair and fully worth ignoring. Today, though, I ran by and saw a flock of about 20 or so ducks marching across the parking lot, plodding their way towards the lake from a nearby creek. And the juxtaposition struck me and filled me with joy. It was an incongruity that resonated with the string of my heart and reminded me that, in nature, shit lives alongside beauty, and it's all fleeting anyway. And that's the dance of life. Imagine --> possibly the most soulless place in Austin - the oil-stained stretch of cracked concrete fronting a fabricated, soul-less corporate sham of a restaurant. And an image of simple beauty dances across this barren landscape.

Perhaps life is like this. The beauty and the shit are inseparable, and to receive life's glory, we have to sort through its refuse.

Just make sure to wash your hands.

old goriot / cold cold feet

This is an amazing book. Highly recommended.

I started a blog documenting my training for a marathon. It's crude and humorous.
czech it here --->
Cold Cold Feet

the clock ticks, albeit rather slowly

Just finished a new album.

Now only 94 more to go.

Let it be known. Before I pass from this earth I will record 100 albums.

The countdown begins.

silver tongued fork, or random thoughts as they occur

Currently holed up in a hotel room in Jacksonville, way off in east Texas. The drive out here revealed east Texas has some sort of intense dislike of our president Obama. Many angry men yelling on the radio and even a few ladies voicing their displeasure in soft cadences. On the drive into town I saw a hair salon called "Texas Hair-itage."

Here is a photo from the badlands, taken by John this summer:



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I've been holed up for quite some time at my new studio, called Baby Blue, and been mixing tracks for upcoming releases.

The first release is a straight up drone record, with some parts arranged for strings and brass. It's music that doesn't much have a point, and isn't really looking for one. The music seems to be doing o.k. right where it sits, and not even I can convince it to become something more. But I think it does fairly well within its own limitations.

The next album is shaping to be somewhat folky, with a heavy dose of absurdity, nihilism, and some hope sprinkled on top. I think on previous Sunset releases it was perhaps pushed back a bit, but here it will be less produced, more noticeable. The songs explore different places, smaller places, sadder places, and could even feel like something of a hangover from the creative explosion of 2008. Not the case, though. It's more like a rebirth of sorts, a pressing of the "RESET" button, a chance to sever old ties and close old chapters, burn old books, digest the thing I've been chewing on for years. I return to folk music before heading off into even farther out directions. It's like a reminder of sorts, a returning to base, a firming up of the foundation.

A little farther along, more albums percolate, growing from roots set forth in our live shows. Piano based, weird chord changes, recurring imagery. I hope it all comes together as well I imagine.

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Josh Duke lives in the studio and we split rent and bills. Josh is helping my friend Red make his next album at the space. Josh has also set up a darkroom and has developed some excellent photos. During a marathon recording session, Josh provided invaluable advice while I recorded a dub reggae version of Cindy Lauper's "Time After Time." Look for that to be released.... never. Actually, o.k., if you mail me a SASE to here:

Bill Baird
2906 Westhill, #A
Austin, TX
78704

then I will send you a special tape album filled with cool random junk on it, like my dub version of "Time After Time." It's actually not really dub music. I like aiming for music that I can't possibly actually make, and seeing how far off the mark I go. The "lost in translation" aspect is what really appeals to me. There's no way in hell I could make Jamaican music. But the failure is itself kind of interesting. It fails in the traditional sense, but comes through as personal and unique and successful in its complete wrongness.

News Update

So we returned from a triumphant tour and have returned to the grind of our normal lives. I (Bill) have been prepping a couple of new albums for release. Bought a 1/4" 2track tape machine for mixing and I really like how it sounds. So putting the final touches on a number of songs. Look for a new release in the fall of 2009.

We have a few shows coming up, playing at The Parish on August 14th with Balmoreah and Ume, a studio party at Baby Blue on July 31st, September 4th at Emo's with Mothfight, and probably some more surprises. Working on a quiet show with Bosque Brown, Jesse Woods and Dana Falconberry.

Been sharing the Baby Blue studio with Josh Duke, who has been "producing" / recording the new album by Red Hunter, a.k.a. Peter and the Wolf. Their album is going to be fantastic. Josh is also a great photographer and has set up a darkroom in the studio. He made prints of some tour photos and he also did a blow-up for our next album cover.

The next release will be on cassette - "Decay," our long lost drone album, mastered by the esteemed James Plotkin.. Our friend Tommy scored us a free tape duplicator from the UT A/V library. It's beautiful. So look for that soon. There will only be around 20 copies made, perhaps with a digital release as well, who knows.

For more info, please check our myspace page. Yes, I know, myspace is soooo over, and everyone and their mom is now doing facebook. Now we look on Myspace as "the good old days." Yikes.

Lou's Views (w t f)

Lou Reed was once my idol.

He recently started a glasses company called "Lou's Views."

The glass part apparently flips up. The press release describes them as "ironic and sophisticated."

Oh Lou, where hast thou gone?

my chickens

I have three chickens. Had to sell Frida though because she turned out to be a rooster and that is illegal in my neighborhood.




They do not produce eggs yet but hopefully soon I will be eating some fresh omelettes. I will make you one if you ask nicely. Don't worry if a feather accidentally makes its way into your delicious omelette. The feather only indicates freshness.

sexual healing

I sat down in the computer lab at work, and shortly thereafter the school's head maintenence man sat down next to me. Letting out a deep sigh, he kicked his feet up on the computer table (with shoes still on, and a little muddy), stretched his hands back and cradled his head, and put on a set of headphones. Within a few seconds, I could hear Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" being cranked. And by cranked, I mean very very loud. Either the man already has hearing loss, or he is well on his way.

He hummed along, trying to sing, but in a way that came out more as mumbling. The only lyrics he really knew,

"More than a feeling, it's Sexual Healing,"

came out loud and clear. So clear, in fact, that the librarian poked her head inthe door. Perhaps she's a bit shy, though, because she didn't question his behavior. I always thought loud singing about intercourse and muddy shoes on tables were against library rules. Maybe the official library rules don't deal with this specific a situation, but I imagine this must've been in violation of at least a rule or two.

quick India thoughts

I was just standing above a sewage dump, watching a man burn plastic bags for no apparent reason.

Other things I have seen:

a cow eating a shoe, pig eating cow shit, cows everywhere, cows in the middle of the freeway, dogs with two legs, camels pulling tractors, tractors pulling trees, naked people by the roadside, people shitting by the roadside, a truck frame (no panels of any kind) with engine attached and a man suspended by rope, driving the truck; flaming piles of garbage in the middle of the road, insane washes of color and beauty, deformed people of every type, lepers begging for money, piles of rubble with tents set up all around, degraded landscapes, tshirt designs in very bad taste, massive statues to the Hindu elephant god and monkey god and vishnu the destroyer (his statue was 5 or so stories tall, next to the freeway, bright blue, holding a sword and a snake).

I really love India, far more than any other place I've ever been. It's the insane wash of humanity, the crosscut of 4,000 years of culture, that floors me -- the temples, the buildings, the food (which, despite nagging stomach twitches and pains, blows away any Indian food ever previously sampled), the rich odors (both good and bad), the vibrant colors, and the massive piles of garbage everywhere.

gone to India

I am attending a friend's wedding and visiting several ashrams in the Uttar Pradesh region. I will attempt to write updates on here if I get the chance.

The trip promises great things.

Moving into the new studio, part 1

A crazy crackhead walked into Baby Blue and told me for twenty minutes about a prostitute who stole 400 of his dollars by shoving it "up there." So he told me about his plans to cut her apart with a box cutter, put her in a garbage bag, and bleach the carpet of the hotel room so nobody would ever know. After telling me this, the man asked me for a beer or food. I said no beer, but you can have an apple. Man, fuck that, he said. Buy me some chips. I need nutrition. At least chips got potato in it.

I still said no, so he told me about a murderer who is wandering the neighborhood who looks "exactly like me." I guess he meant that he was the murderer? Then he pulled up his shirt and showed me his murder weapon, a large screwdriver. Just drive that shit in somebody's skull, he said. They gone, they dead.

He lamented the fact that the free clinic was closed. I was supposed to see my brain doctor, he said. I ain't right in the head. I feelin weird, man. Fuck. I a crazy man, I ain't right. Can I have a beer? Come on man, I give you fifty cents for a beer. I need me a goddamn beer. One fucking beer, man. I starting to get angry. We getting off on the wrong foot. When I get mad, I start hurting people. But I can get you some quarters for a beer, man.

He fished 2 damp quarters from his jeans pocket. I gave him the beer but didn't take the money. His scare tactics worked, I guess.

I later saw him walking through the yard holding half an apple pie. I'm trying to eat right and get healthy, he said. Well dude, I said, you're gonna wann stop eating half an apple pie for lunch then, probably. Doesn't seem too healthy.

He told me he's an angel and sprinkles good luck on people. I an angel, man, he said. I used to go by that place, the Mohawk. You know that music place, The Mohawk? I sprinkled the good luck on that place like fucking fairy dust, man. Now they pretend like the don't even know me.

He paused.

God comes in all forms, man. He takes all forms. I could be God, you know? What if God be asking you for some-teeng?

I had always assumed that if I met God, he wouldn't be asking me for a beer, but who knows?

two sides of funky

Not exactly a news flash, but I just spent the morning having my mind blown by Stevie Wonder. Man. Thing is, he records all the instruments on his seminal albums -- drums, keys, guitar, bass, everything. Some footage from back in the day:



I like the way he plays the clavinet.

And now, to even out this overdose of funkiness,



I really like Colin Blunstone's slow motion dancing and his almost disdainful demeanor.

Charlie Rose, by Samuel Beckett

Half Marathon

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potrero chico

I just went rock climbing here, near Monterrey, Mexico. I was really high above the ground. It was a "multi-pitch" climb, which means you go to the end of your rope, then set up another anchor system while clipped into the side of the cliff. I was climbing with my brother-in-law-in-law, Jesse McGahey, who is the climbing ranger at Yosemite. And Maia, a friend from Yosemite.

$1 IOU towards McDonald's purchase, written on the back of a Taco Bell receipt, found inside Dan Quayle's autobiography.

I was in Goodwill the other day, looking through their used books.

I found the autobiography of Dan Quayle (see cover below):

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While flipping through the photos in the middle of Dan's childhood, I found this:

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It's an IOU for $1 to make a purchase at McDonald's, and it's written on the back of a Taco Bell receipt.

In sum, a $1 IOU towards McDonald's purchase, written on the back of a Taco Bell receipt, found inside Dan Quayle's autobiography.

2008, great ... 2009, fine

2008, great:


-- Found gainful employment at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, an amazing school full of great teachers and inspiring kids.

-- Toured in my veggie oil car with Willis and Will in a glorious, disastrous tour up and down the West coast... played on KEXP in Seattle, smoked the medicine in Humboldt, played in Chris' backyard, tested the limits of my endurance and sanity.

-- Put out 2 albums and 2 tapes with SUNSET to some alright reviews and some good play on college radio; put out a covers album / book containing my poetry and photography... under my own name... on Tired Trails.

-- Made video for every song on "Bright Blue Dream," initiating my own version of the "video album," to be hopefully expanded in the future.

-- Re-started the S.W.A.K. zine, putting out #2 : "The Exquisite Corpse Issue."

-- Started an excellent compost pile and laid out plans for a chicken coop. Fresh eggs from the farmer's market every Saturday morning will be hard to beat, but I'll try.

-- Brewed my own successful batch of Kombucha tea. No more getting ripped off by G.T.

-- Visited Mike in Germany, went to Verdun (site of the deadliest single battle in recorded human history), the Hermann Hesse museum / home in Calw... also Strasbourg and Swabia.

-- Went to New Orleans for 3 days and went out to the barrier islands and Lake Pontchatrain and finally grasped what a fucked situation New Orleans is in...

-- Moved out of Big Orange, closing the chapter on a turbulent, creative, joyous, and painful period of my life.

-- Toured the East Coast with SUNSET: hung with Elizabeth in Brooklyn, played a Quaker school in North Carolina, stayed on the beach at Cape Cod for 2 glorious days.

-- Lots of awesome local shows, especially with the Weird Weeds at the Cactus, playing the skate video opening at the Broken Neck, and the stripped down set at Progress Coffee with Brazos.

-- All-night recording sessions at Wire Recorders... elation and group dynamics... more recording at Premium and some at Big Orange too, before I moved out. Some really amazing productive days with my bestest friends.

-- Camped 10 days with John in Mexico, writing nearly 60 pages on my typewriter, most of which is crap and unusable... my hesitant first step towards the book I've always carried inside.

-- Read and/or re-read many great books, including amazing works by Aldo Leopold, Howard Zinn, Jack London, Andre Gide, George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut, John Cage, Walt Whitman, Arthur Rimbaud, Knut Hamsun, Henry David Thoreau, and Jim Woodring. Amazing books hit me hard this year.

-- Scored music for two short films and contributed songs to 2 other films.

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2009, fine:


-- More working with the awesome kids at the School for the Blind.

-- Lots more amazing books to read... I have them piled up. Looking forward to some Balzac... that's next on my list.

-- Recording my Dad's song that's a tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and making a video of the footage I shot when we visited.

-- 34 minute long drone album... finally finishing the piece initially commissioned for Sam Sanford's "Long Distance Relationship" art show.

-- SUNSET's 1st 7" record and lots more rock shows, and hopefully getting back to the craziness and theatricality and quiet lush rocking-ness. If the 7" does well, maybe another.

-- East Coast tour with Oh Be Joyful.

-- Running the half-marathon on February 15th.

-- More paintings and collages and photography.

-- Another album under my own name, and hopefully some solo shows doing folk songs and stranger stuff and maybe some drone shows too.

-- Finishing the pile of SUNSET songs now staring me in the face and finding a label to put them out.

-- Ballroom dancing lessons. Yes, for real, I'm doing this.

-- Travelling to India and visiting some ashrams in the foothills. Maybe some volunteer work if I can line it up.

-- Full U.S. tour in the veggie oil wagon, with the full band !

-- More poetry to fill out the first volume of self-published poetry to come out 2009 or 2010 or maybe never.

-- S.W.A.K. #3

-- Another edition of "Candle-lit Television Eyes," my ongoing DVD-r series.

-- Sort through these 30 or so un-transferred mini-DV tapes. Something good might be in there.

-- More procrastinating thoughts on further education. Who needs school anyhow?

Here are some of my favorite photos of the year:








Hope your year was as fantastic as mine. See you next time.

Cirque de Soleil; Dave Bryant

Cirque de Soleil recently contacted me, searching for musicians to perform in their newest musical based on the life and music of Elvis Presley. This is my audition tape:

I am fairly certain I won't be getting in.

I also made a video for Dave Bryant (on a song I produced and recorded):

Not sure if he'll like it or not. Hi Dave!

SWAK is back. Some updates.

I took a long break for no real reason. Just wanted to disappear for awhile. But I've got lots of good things coming up, so I wanted to start this blog back up and share everything that's going on.

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First off, I wrote and recorded a song called "Christmas in Jail" for an Irish record label's Christmas album called "An Indiecater Christmas."

Purchasing info here.

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Secondly, I have just released a new album through NYC's Tired Trails. It's an album of cover songs, stitched together in a beautiful book printed on recycled paper with banana leaf covers. It contains extensive track notes, black and white photography, and 2 poems. You can order them by emailing Jess, here : tiredtrails@gmail.com. They cost $12.50, postage paid with the U.S. Overseas I suppose you will have to pay an extra few bucks.

Here is my cover of Neil Young's "Expecting to Fly":
Expecting to Fly (Neil Young cover)

Full Tracklisting:

The Dirt (Mark David Ashworth)
Sea Song (Robert Wyatt)
Last Fall (Jared Van Fleet)
Shady Grove (Traditional)
The Ballad of Sammy Mudd (Sam Sanford)
I'll Be Here In the Morning (Townes Van Zandt)
Rake and Rambling Boy (Traditional)
Hot Burrito 2 Digit (Flying Burrito Brothers)
Expecting to Fly (Neil Young)
Walking After Midnight (Searching for Me) [Alan Block and Don Hecht c/o Patsy Cline]
Be Not So Fearful (Bill Fay)
Diamond Deserts (Bill Baird)
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)

Here are some photos of the beautiful new books.

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Lastly, Sunset is putting out a 45 rpm 7" record -- "Loveshines II" // "Not a Perfect Person (Looks Like I Fucked Up Again)" ! It looks awesome and sounds pretty good too. Something about vinyl makes me want to take a big bite out of it. Tactile joy.

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"Loveshines II" was recorded live as a band, then we did a full band live overdub. So it's essentially 2 stacked live performances. This was part of a really great all-night session at Wire Recorders.

"Looks Like I Fucked Up Again" was written and recorded at 5am, later that night.

The record is set to be released February 9th ! And it only costs $4 !

Pre - order here:

North American orders:

International orders: