February 2012
1 post
November 2011
2 posts
“Man, drinking [whiskey] was a good idea. I’m so much looser with this...”
– Bryan, TA of the year
2 tags
October 2011
1 post
I don't think I'd recommend any of these places →
Never trust someone who recommends the Nickels Arcade and Palio but neglects Old Town and Jerusalem Garden.
September 2011
1 post
1 tag
What time is it?
Me: What up, dawg? I'm bringing that back, by the way.
Wilson: Nice. For many years I was trying to bring back "It's clobberin' time," but it never caught on.
Me: hhhhhhhhhhh. Could you give me an example of use?
Wilson: Yeah I mean, just use it before the next Bengals game, say or really anytime. You could say it before the start of a company meeting. Before dinner?
August 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Craigslist Gold
Craigslist is the wild west of the internet. It’s the last frontier for buying and selling literally anything without taking guff from the lawmen of meatspace who would otherwise shut you down. I had a rare (hopefully) opportunity to dive into the weird world of Craigslist for a week, and these are some of the treasures I dug up…also, sorry about the mixed wild west and deep sea...
4 tags
All Right, so You’ve Been Burglarized: A Tutorial
As you might already know, Bryan and I had our home invaded on Wednesday, July 27th. The thieves left with about $5,000 worth of our property, including some of our our beloved instruments, professional music gear and digital cameras. Our story has a mostly happy ending though, in part due to luck, an attentive detective and our own vigilance. We learned a lot throughout the process that I...
July 2011
4 posts
Steve is becoming an extremist
Bryan: Steve, I bet extremist groups are a great place to meet chicks.
Steve: Yeah, and I bet extremist sex is amazing.
“Austin Powers: best trilogy of all time. Better than Star Wars.”
– Nathan
June 2011
2 posts
I'm helping!
Christianna: Erin, you're not helping at all.
Bryan: Welcome to Erin.
May 2011
3 posts
It's Just Eh.
I’ve been waiting allllll year for Gaga’s new album, and it came out TODAY. My initial thought is that The Fame it isn’t. It’s much more generic pop and really very samey. Edge of Glory, Fashion of his Love and The Queen are all essentially the same song with the added bonus that Fashion of his Love is also a blatant Whitney rip-off of I Wanna Dance With Somebody. I...
2 tags
Exotic Places in Ann Arbor
I would have slept until 2 today if Christianna hadn’t come by at 11 and yelled into my window. But thank goodness she did because we went over to the elusive and oft-closed Ann Arbor Kiwanis Club to see if we couldn’t scare up some phat deals. The Kiwanis consignment shop is only open on Saturdays from 9am to noon, so obviously I’d never been. Like most consignment shops it...
3 tags
Waterhill Music Festival is tomorrow! →
Jennifer Guerra sat down with me and Eric to talk about jamming, eating and building communi-ties. See what I did there? Commune and ties?
April 2011
5 posts
3 tags
“I speak the language of love and the language of Cranstonia, so you’re in...”
– J.R.
Welcome to 2011
Woo! New website. erinshellman.com has never been sexxier.
December 2010
4 posts
Finally!
I had a bit of a catharsis today. I’ve been trying to write a song to address my feelings about my father’s death for almost two years, but when I try I feel like I become overwhelmed with feelings that I don’t have the neurons to process and I usually stop. But in about 15 minutes of clarity just now, I sat down and wrote all this out. It’s a draft so it’s all...
I can't see romcoms because they're too painful
Christianna: Any interest in "Love and Other Drugs?"
Me: Oh my god, I just threw up in my mouth.
Christianna: So, that's a yes?
Me: Wait, Jake Gyllenhaal isn't a gay cowboy? Bogus.
Christianna: He's so pretty.
Me: I can't do romantic comedies. They are literally unwatchable for me. You see, my father was a romcom screen writer and he went insane perfecting "Spawn with the Wind," a Spawn/Jennifer Aniston romcom crossover movie. He killed himself by watching the entire discography of "Friends" and...and I found his body.
Christianna: You're on the drugz.
Charge it!
Did I mention SquareUp? It’s one of my new favorite things. When Lake Folk went up to Traverse City we had several people ask us if we take credit cards, and we of course didn’t. So we lost sales because people didn’t have cash, and that sucks. I did a little researching online and found lots of services that let you charge cards for insane monthly fees and a per purchase...
November 2010
1 post
Merchandiiiiiise
Two weekends ago Bryan and I went to the Pig to see My Dear Disco, an up and coming band based out of Ann Arbor. Besides being super badass, they also have an amaaazing merchandise set-up. I found myself there buying a t-shirt after the show (I already have their records) mostly because I wanted to look at their merchandise display. It got me thinking that maybe merchandise display is more...
October 2010
2 posts
Unbalanced Lyrics
Last week’s lesson in lyric writing was about unbalancing. Unbalanced phrases give a sense of being unsettled in a passage so it’s a good way to set up a chorus or a bridge. This is the bit I submitted on Friday. I was pretty uninspired, but I like the way it came out.
Outside the ground is frozen Hard like a stone I can see it through the ice crystals on my window Outside the...
September 2010
2 posts
Object Writing
So, I started a program through Berklee’s extension school in music production and technology so that I could be a better rounded musician, and hopefully also a producer. For my electives I’m actually taking songwriting courses because it is the one thing I really want to improve. The course so far is really, really fun. We have to do daily “object writing” which is...
My Top 10 That All Songwriters Should Know
Musicians in the hood have been posting 10 songs that comprise a list of influential and essential songs that every songwriter should know. I’m nothing if not a conformist, so here’s my list!
America - Paul Simon
One More Dollar - Gillian Welch
The Great Pretender - Buck Ram
Coat of Many Colors - Dolly Parton
God Bless the Child - Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.
Someone to...
August 2010
2 posts
Lake Folk: Operation Caffeine Crusade, etc.
Since Lake Folk doesn’t have a label, or a manager, or a publicist we often have to take marketing into our own hands. This week I’ve begun what I like to call “Operation Caffeine Crusade.” OCC involves bringing all my work into a local cafe, (not internet-radio-elitist Starbucks) buying a very expensive drink and then mentioning off-handedly that I’m in a local...
July 2010
2 posts
WatchLake Folk, Feel Like I’m Home Promo! Share our joy.
June 2010
6 posts
Here’s the last sample of our upcoming...
Neuroscience students are sluuuts!
I thought I’d share this amazing (and timely!) email that was sent around to all the students in the Program for Biomedical Sciences. It comes from a faculty member who saw a problem and had the guts the midriff to address it.
It is summertime in Michigan and sometimes in our excitement over the warm temperatures we forget that when we are at work in the laboratory we need to be...
Here’s a sample of the studio mixes on...
A stuffed jackalope?
Me: Well, what kind of stuff does she like?
Steve: I don't know, she likes stuff that most people wouldn't like.
Me: So, what, like a stuffed jackalope?
Steve: Well...actually, that's something I would like.
Bonnaroo. Eh.
For those of you who have seen the Wire, I would say that the easiest way to describe Bonnaroo is to say that it is Hamsterdam. You can drink and do drugs openly and you get to listen to awesome live music all day. Seems like a no-brainer. My own Bonnaroo experience was mixed. The gates were supposed to open on Thursday morning at 7am so we made sure to get there around 6am to get a good...
Here is one more for y’all. I hope it...
May 2010
3 posts
Here is another sample of what we’ve been...
This weekend ruled!
I spent sooo much time outside this weekend and it ruled. Friday was John’s birfday, so we got margaritas early and then played some serious disk golf, which is where I received my first sun burn of the year. The next day, me and Eric and Douggles took a long bike ride out to Dexter to buy beef jerky. I’m sort of kidding, it wasn’t just to buy beef jerky. We took a more...
April 2010
5 posts
There are genes inside me
So, evidently last Friday was DNA day (who knew?), and to celebrate 23andme, a company that specializes in SNP sequencing, sold their $500 sequence package for $99. Obviously I bought one. I’m really excited to see if it confirms all the work my mom has done researching the genealogy of our family. I expect that it won’t contain a ton of surprises, I mean, have you seen what my skin...
Ok, friends! Here is a sample of the fruits of...
Well, I must be sick, because I haven’t been completely consumed with my typical level of self-love, and for that I am sorry. But I’m back, and here’s the scoop. Lake Folk is going to be in the studio this Thursday and Friday!! OMG WOOOO!!!! I am at maximum excitability which means that I couldn’t be more excited. The best part is that we have a NEW drummer who is...
February 2010
1 post
Knoxville and bust.
A month or so ago we [Lake Folk] started planning a trip to Knoxville, TN to see Abigail Washburn host a potluck and informal show. We wanted to go because the format was such that we could maybe rub elbows a little and, you know, maybe mention Lake Folk. Anyway, we did go last weekend only to find that the show had been canceled on account of the quarter inch of snow Knoxville got. Are you...
January 2010
3 posts
