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I think I’m finally getting the hang of this blogging thing. I’ve been at it for 7 months or so, and I feel I have something of a rhythm going. The hardest part has been fine-tuning the balance between “what I did today” entries and “here is something that interests me” entries. I’ve also noticed that as I’ve grown more familiar with the medium, I’ve become more comfortable with sharing personal information here. I’m slowly warming up to the fact that the internet is not the scary, stalker-laden labyrinth I once feared it to be. In the spirit of divulging information about my personal life, and because more than a few people have asked me to elaborate on my job, today I shall explain how I came to do what it is I do for a living.

So when I was a kid, like maybe 4 or 5 years old, I’d sometimes poke around my brother’s room when he wasn’t around. He had this gigantic collection of jazz records, and while I didn’t know the first thing about jazz, or music, really, I’d sift through his records, and soon decided to start my own collection. I think it was for my 8th birthday that I got a plastic, self-contained Fisher Price turntable as a gift. “Well,” I thought, “it’s about time,” and promptly began collecting records. By the time I was 10 I had a boom box too, and I was making tapes of my “radio shows.” Around that time I read about DJs in New York scratching and mixing and so forth, and started trying to figure out what they were doing. Of course, I had no one to show me what “scratching and mixing” meant, so I kind of made up what I thought such things might be, and slowly taught myself how to be a DJ.

Fast forward to high school. On the first day each freshman was assigned a senior to help him get acclimated. Mine was one of the cool seniors. He said “hi” and talked for a few minutes about his exploits on the baseball diamond, and then left me, no more informed about high school than I had been prior to his arrival. I must have mentioned DJ’ing to him, though, because around Halloween time he found me and said “my buddy’s parents are leaving town this weekend…can you DJ a Halloween party?” Now, at that point I’d never performed for a crowd, I had only messed around at home, but I figured it would be fun, so I said “sure.” Then he offered to pay me $50. I hadn’t even thought about getting paid, but I recall that I sort of played it off and said something to the effect of, “well, I usually charge more, but I’ll give you my friend discount.” On the inside I was like “Wow! $50!!” which to a 14 year-old kid from a really poor family was a fortune– I’d honestly never even seen $50 in one place before.

When the big night came, I snuck out and brought my mismatched turntables, crossfader-less mixer, and borrowed home sound system and played music for a bunch of upperclassmen. Inexplicably, they loved me, and I started doing random parties here and there– usually just house parties and such– but it was way fun, and I learned to read crowds and select music. Along the way I put together a rap band, and we performed at shows and fairs and such, and won some prizes and had fun. Too much fun, I suppose. My parents sent me away to Santa Barbara, to a low-income boarding school for Mexican-American immigrants. But even down there I’d sneak out after bed check and eventually scored a gig spinning at a night club a few blocks from the beach on State Street. I don’t think the owner knew I was 16. I told him I went to U.C. Santa Barbara. I was getting $150 a night and free drinks to spin there once a week. So much for putting a stop to my excessive fun. We even had half-days on Wednesday, so I’d ride my skateboard to the beach and surf.

Eventually I came to U.C. Berkeley. I still didn’t think of DJ’ing as much more then a fun hobby that occasionally netted me some cash. But my roommates all joined fraternities, and they started calling me to DJ their parties. It was the same thing all over. “Wanna’ DJ a frat party?” “Sure!” “Is $250 okay?” “Ummmmm…..well, normally I charge more then that, but for you…”

*puff puff* my fingers are getting tired…I’m going to finish this later…

Okay, I’m back. Where was I? Oh yes, I was in college, where it seems I was the only DJ who played more than one style of music. I mixed in a little bit of everything, which kept fans of all genres happy. One by one, fraternities and sororities started to hear about me, and within 2 years I was doing just about every single fraternity and sorority event at Cal. The dorms and co-ops were hiring me too, as were various student groups and grad schools. Even the houses at Stanford, U.C. Santa Cruz, Sonoma State, and S.F. State were calling. I had to hire 5 more DJs to cover the work. It was intense and time-consuming, but also one of the most fun periods in my life. It was also when I branched into event planning.

Before I came along, in addition to hiring a DJ, each organization’s social chair arranged the rental of a restaurant or club for the party, hired security, chartered buses to bring the guests to and from the party, and hired a photographer. I came up with the idea of doing all the work for them. They’d call me and give me a date, and I’d call back the next day with 5 or 6 options. I’d handle the buses, security, bartenders, venue rentals, photographers– all of it. The money was better, and it gave me and even stronger lock on those clients.

Business boomed. I decided that I’d found my career, so when it came time to choose a major I went with what I enjoy: English; I like to read, I like to write. I knew that my career options with that major would be limited to teaching, continuing on to more school, or panhandling, but it didn’t matter, as I had my job all lined up. I was pretty sure my boss wasn’t going to fire me, after all.

DJ’ing college parties was very good to me– it paid my way through school, and provided me with some fun times, but all good things come to an end. I graduated and had less time to devote to the Berkeley clientele. Besides, the connections I’d made with all the venues in San Francisco led me into the world of corporate event management and wedding planning, which not only involves far less work, it pays significantly more. That was a trade-off I had to take. In a way, I miss the reckless, overworked days of college when everyone knew who I was, but fame like that is fleeting, and sort of overrated. I much prefer well-paid, secure anonymity. And okay, maybe I miss late night phone calls from infatuated, anonymous Kappa Kappa Gamma girls, but only just a teensy bit.

So now that you know what I do for a living, let me ask Today’s (Two-Part) Question: What did you think you would be when you grew up? Are you one?

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Music plays a fairly dominant role in my life. Not only is it my primary source of both inspiration and solace, it’s also my livelihood; for most of my life I have earned my keep working primarily as a DJ. As such, I think it may offer helpful insight into my personality if today I share with you the music that is most important to me.

More than anything else in the world, I believe, art has the capacity to shape and change people, and music can do so perhaps more than any other art-form. I am inarguably a different person for having experienced some of the albums listed below. Had I listened to something other than Joy Division, The Smiths, David Bowie, Run-D.M.C., Suede, PiL, or Pulp during my formative years, I’d be a different person, and not just in subtle ways. My world view, my ideas about love, even my life’s goals, were all shaped, at least in part, by the songs and albums to which I listened over and over, as both a youth and now as a fledgling adult.

The list below is self-explanatory. The only liberty I’ve taken is lumping Belle and Sebastian’s three 1997 EPs together as one album, which seems fair as they came out nearly simultaneously, and their 12 songs are the rough equivalent of an LP.

With the caveat that I make no case that these are the best albums of all time, merely my personal favorites, I present to you my favorite albums of life, organized by era. A handful are highlighted in green; those are my must-have-on-a-desert-island best of the best.

Handful from the Jurassic Era

Erroll Garner – Penthouse Serenade (1949)
Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah Um (1959)
Dave Brubeck – Time Out (1959)
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959)
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Velvet Underground – Andy Warhol (1967)
James Brown – Live at the Apollo, Vo. 2 (1968)
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (1968)

Baker’s Dozen +1 from the Beginning of Recorded History

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)
Can – Soundtracks (1970)
David Bowie – Hunky Dory (1971)
Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)
Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1972)
The J.B.’s – Food For Thought (1972)
The Stooges – Raw Power (1973)
Neu! – Neu! 2 (1973)
Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)
The Jam – This is the Modern World (1977)
David Bowie – Low (1977)
Public Image Ltd. – Public Image (1978)
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Blondie – Eat to the Beat (1979)

Lucky 13 from the ’80s (+1 E.P.)

Joy Division – Closer (1980)
Bauhaus – In the Flat Field (1980)
Wham! – Make It Big (1984)
Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984)
The Smiths – Meat is Murder (1985)
Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill (1986)
Run-D.M.C. – Raising Hell (1986)
Slayer – Reign in Blood (1986)
Cowboy Junkies – Whites Off Earth Now!! (1986)
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead (1986)
Operation Ivy – Hectic (1987)
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
Pixies – Doolittle (1989)
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique (1989)

A Bunch from the Dawn of the Modern Era

Happy Mondays – Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)
George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice (1990)
Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead (1991)
The Lucksmiths – First Tape (1993)
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (1993)
Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)
Weezer – Weezer (1994)
Pulp – His ‘N’ Hers (1994)
Portishead – Dummy (1994)
Suede – Dog Man Star (1994)
Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
Pulp – Different Class (1995)
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Methodrone (1995)
Radiohead – The Bends (1995)
Suede – Coming Up (1996)
George Michael – Older (1996)
Ash – 1977 (1996)
Morcheeba – Who Can You Trust? (1996)
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
Babybird – Ugly Beautiful (1997)
Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
Belle & Sebastian – 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light /Lazy Line Painter Jane/ Dog On Wheels EPs (1997)
Air – Moon Safari (1998)
The Aislers Set – Terrible Things Happen (1998)
Jack Drag – Dope Box (1998)
Pulp – This is Hardcore (1998)
Death Cab for Cutie – Something About Airplanes (1998)
Kent – Isola (1998)
Bernard Butler – People Move On (1998)
Moby – Play (1999)
Muse – Showbiz (1999)
Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999)
Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)

And a Dozen from the Current Century

The White Stripes – De Stijl (2000)
Bright Eyes – Fever and Mirrors (2000)
Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)
Jack Johnson – Brushfire Fairytales (2000)
The Strokes – Is This It? (2001)
The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It in People (2002)
Libertines – Up the Bracket (2002)
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Postal Service – Give Up (2003)

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Peasprout isn’t a very descriptive moniker, so I’m going to say a bit about myself. This introduction seems long overdue already, as I’ve put up a few blogs without saying a proper hello.

I’m Peasprout; everyone asks me, “why Peasprout?” I don’t have a very good answer. It isn’t a childhood nickname, nor is it my favorite food, although I do enjoy eating peasprouts. It’s my nickname here, and nearly everywhere online, for a few reasons. First, it’s kind of cute, and I like cute and silly things. Second, I happened to be eating peasprouts when I had to choose a nickname somewhere, and it seemed like a good choice. And finally, the nickname is always available. No one else ever seems to choose peasprout, so I can be Peasprout nearly everywhere.

Now then, what else is worth knowing about me? I live in Berkeley, CA with my girlfriend Fizzy. Her name is actually Sue, but we all call her Fizzy. I’ll likely use the names interchangeably here, so get used to both. We’re best friends as well as bf/gf, so I imagine she’ll figure prominently into most blogs I write. I’m trying to convince her to start a blog of her own, but so far no interest. Details concerning future Fizzy blogs as events warrant.

I earn my board and keep as an event planner. I sometimes work as a DJ, but less often these days as the event planning business grows.

In my spare time I read a lot, play Scrabble, and enjoy playing cards. I like movies and old theaters, play basketball, and am hugely inspired by music. My favorite band is Pulp. Suede, The Smiths, Joy Division and David Bowie are also favorites of mine. Lately I have been listening to the White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Flaming Lips. I am going to force myself to stop now, for once I get started on music, it can be difficult to get me to shut up.

If that last paragraph made me sound at all trendy or hip or plugged in, don’t be fooled. I am usually the last to know about anything. But once I find something I like, I am likely to immerse myself into it.

That’s about all I can think to share right now. Glad to meetya.

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I suppose I’m overdue for an entry in this journal. I’ve been doing my research, namely reading other friends’ blogs and talking about the concept with them. A surprising (to me, at least) number of my friends have one of these online journals. I learned all kinds of neat stuff from them! For example, I’m supposed to be clever and have code-names for everyone; keeps things anonymous and all. If friends of friends read this, I don’t want to get said friends into trouble if I accidentally reveal some wicked deed. So, henceforth, only cute and clever code names will be used. So instead of “last night Nick cheated on Randy with Tom” I’ll have to come up with a less decipherable way to reveal that sordid affair to the world.

Now then, on to the events of my life since my first post. Because I’m sure people reallllly care. Let’s see… Friday was the card game my girlfriend and I set up via www.mixermixer.com. That’s a new social networking website some friends of mine have created. The card game turned out well. Elgiff came, whom we’ve only known from the site, so we all met her for the first time. She brought baked goods! Pessimista made pot roast, again, and Boy with Lisa Simpson Hair gave her a hard time about it. Sexy Singer was a no-show. My darling girlfriend Fizzy was there, of course, as it was at her and Pessi’s place. Who am I forgetting? Oh, umm…these darn codenames. How about A and K? That’s not terribly clever, but will suffice for now. They were there as well. They’re an awfully cute couple. Anyway, the mixer mixed well, except hardly any cards were played. We mostly talked, but it was fun.

Saturday– we dashed out of our apartment at noon and headed to dance lessons. Fizzy and I are taking a social dance class. We’re going to be really cool soon! Soon the day will come when we can go to clubs and waltz, cha cha, swing and rhumba, and by golly then people are going to like us, and we’ll make lots of new friends. But for now, we’re only learning.

After the lesson, Fizzy tagged along for my event that night. For those that care, it was a fiscal year end party for a corporate client. The party went really well– I was booked until 11:00, but they kept dancing until the hotel had to shut down at 12:30. In all, it was a 6-hour stint of DJing, which is kinda a lot, but the overtime money is a nice thing. :)

So that brings me pretty much up-to-date. I see that a couple people added comments to my journal. I imagine at this point few people read this. I think I’m going to need to come up with a better schtick than “what I did today” if I am to increase my readership.