Baking with Balz... the cooking show

Mexican Potluck Fiesta and Game Social 12/11/10
Great night of fun & silliness, the wine was flowing and you know the food is good when there is nothing left. When you eat, do it with real Balz!

the food...   We ate chicken-fried rice, chorizo, pan-fried taquitos, soft tacos with all the fixings, Layered bean, cheese & guacamole dip with buffalo meat, breaded cauliflower baked with cheddar cheese, chili con queso, tortillas. Dessert included crumb cake, cookies and other mexican pastries.

the games...  Scategories, Sorry, Spit, Bullshit, Reel Clues and Asshole

we drank...   Water, Ginger ale, Red Wine (Riojo, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Merlot), champagne, beer (tall boys, 40's, Sam Adams), Jose Quervo Tequila, and Puerto Rican Rum.

Shot by Worm Canevale
Food by Dan Victor and Catie Taylor
Booze by everyone!

A cooking show that is getting baked, coming up with ideas to cook, themed nights, arguing about ingredients, picking up food from local spots to eventually having the food with either a few people or a lot, but every time having musical guests. Different locations can make the show exciting, like cooking in crazy places

lots of humor, tongue in cheek, drinking, chilling, games, possibly gambling. all in all, a celebration of life.

My friend Paul is the the real Balz. He originated the idea with me years ago when I lived in San Diego. We would get very into the details of making the food and arguing like brothers with being under the influence. We acted as though there was a camera on us the whole time, from when we came up with what to make, to going shopping for ingredients, then making the food and then everyone enjoying the food... and also get drunk and stoned. The joke was when we came back from commercial, we would be passed out on the floor. We also had the intention of having a live band featured on the show.

It isn't just about how to make the food, it is how to enjoy it and appreciating the fun that surrounds food. New traditions are made every day.

Another friend of mine, Sam, she and I liked to come up with themed nights, parties, etc. the more ridiculous the nature of the party, the more fun it was. making a snappy name for a night of food.

TROUBLE: After July 4th Blues Video-Cast

I like to over indulge in things. Sometimes uncontrollably. Things do even out. I was worrying about what I was saying in this video-cast you are about to watch because I am vexed. Oh yes folks, got a thought or two on the old brain and if you know me well, isn't such a good thing necessarily. 

The inclination to write something witty is slipping me up. am I hungry or am I needing to heal up more from the debauchery that occurred in the house of Cedric's up across the GW, where 2 girls each, broke one their toes. Plus I ate so much rich food, like Baked Mac and cheese, sausauge, meatballs, pork shoulder, buttermilk pancakes (with blue berries)..... oh yeah bottle of wild turkey, sack of buddah, lots of light beer in the hot tub. and other assorted frech cheese, wine, booze and other stuff I won't go into further detail. you get the idea.

But.. the good news is this. I am on the mend and excited to record some more tomorrow. I mumble alot in this 2 part video-cast about getting Ductape Halo up and running. We have 6 songs almost in the bag. Started recording a few of the songs. Should have some music out soon. Also doing hand-painted T-shirts.

by the way, how do you like my chops? medium well?
enjoy my meanderings.

Insomnia, Bellvue & Blues

Do you ever get it? i have it now, maybe because i smoked a couple fatties with some friends and now am wired. or was looking at the sites i have been working on. listening to the new tracks i put on the blog. i was cleaning my room earlier. looking much more organized. seems like it is going well, but there can always be more to do. Always. if i think about it too much i can't sleep and have to "distract my mind" to fall asleep. these 42 tricks may help insomnia.  see video at the end. tapping.com

by distract my mind, i don't mean drugs or booze (although it can help, it can also work against me). i mean, listening to a book on tape, or watching a movie i have seen many times, or read. i never get online, for obvious reasons... the internet doesn't want you to sleep. EVER! :)

reading can put me out something fierce, which is good, but can also frustrating. for instance, when i really like the book and can't put it down. then it doesn't do it's job. but if i read a book i don't like, i can't get into it enough to "distract my mind". it's an in-just world. sort of reminds me of some of my past relationships.

so i don't know what to do now, so i am writing about what i am currently writing... right now. like i am not thinking about it, just writing. love, man.

got some cool ideas about ductape halo. was listening to the Scratch Music page and found myself liking quite a few i forgot about. i was thinking, "what cool stoner tunes". not that i ever thought about it that way, but as a result of it being a common practice, it makes sense.

thing is, i have these great songs i am ready to record for ductape halo new album. now ductape halo doe not put out crap. it is going to be a well done thing. aggressive acoustic blues. possibly with some beats from a casio keyboard. by the way, casio is the only brand keyboard i use. love the casiotone 405.

was thinking of trying to bring in some ideas i had in the past to fuel the new songs, but realized it needed to all be fresh. this will be the most fun ductape halo album yet entitled:
  "Get Lit, Get Laid, 
    Get Stoned, Get Paid"
i realize you must go out on limbs, so i have lost my mind and what a great thing it is when we finally do. i am actually not afraid of being tossed in a mental hospital any more after i tried to have myself committed to Bellvue. I went through the intake, but they wouldn't take me because i wasn't a "threat" to myself or anyone else. i begged to differ, but what do doctors know?

that was the reason i was cleaning my room, in order to get all my gear in order to have a nice recording environment set to my liking. got to get the planets aligned, ya know? a clear living space is a reflection of a clear mind. i'll leave you with this last thought.....

 i believe in the healing power of crystals, but i'm not a fucking hippy!

New Hair Cut in Bushwick

got myself a new hair cut. yeeeeeah... i needed it something fierce. did it myself with some help from Derrick. totally inspired by the moment. haven't loved a haircut this much since i used to have side burns. granted it isn't a hair cut. but it is a hair treatment. 

lots been going on. got the cast off and feeling great. hand is still on the mend, but haven't lost any of the speed or righteous rhythm. now that the album is done, we are on all sorts of business. stay tuned.


so check this out... 
went out on friday night in bushwick. my room mate and i walked down the street to Market Hotel to see some bands. it was really sub-par. the first dud i saw was playing some with some modulators and twisting knobs on a delay pedal. it was music i would make in my bedroom if i was really stoned. this is not fit for public consumption. the next band was cool. poppy and they moved. still not all that memorable. they may have been better if the sound wasn't so bad. the bass volume would go up and the guitar was drowned out. then the bass would get louder than the rest of the band. not to mention i paid $10 to get in, the place was filled with smoke (not the good kind), cans of bud were $3 which is some people's crib. i wanted to see another band, but i was getting ill. maybe due to the combo of whiskey, not enough food, and cig smoke. why can't there be some super cool underground aggressive rock movement? it is the suburban sprall.

now you first have to understand that when i moved here, no one wanted to visit me. people were pretty sketched out. i didn't think it was bad at all compared to where i lived in Jersey City. just not gentrified and commercialized. set back a bit from the action, but quiet and cheap. it was hard to get any decent delivery, or the hummus i liked, but i embraced the environment. i reveled in the escape from the city that has lost its soul to safe and sterile restrictions. i wanted to live in an area that has a pulse.


bushwick was and still is primarily latin and black, which i like. families. less bullshit and lower cost of living. but not that many white cats strolling in with the vacant, bohemian stares, reciting snobbery, all claiming to have unique incite, obliviously consuming and telling you why they are too cool for mother fucking school.... it was perfect. and close to williamsburg.
now because the burg is getting more pricey, people are moving out here. i have seen lots of great changes. better food, laundromat got cleaned up, houses fixed up. a few more places for me to chill, get delivery, etc. and there are artists lofts and more artsy kids and masses of hipsters, importing whole foods, getting off on my stop now. i have no problem with the group. i am a fan of being on the fringe, so i am not opposed to a scene. but i can't stand that some of these kids moving in don't have respect for the surroundings and the people who were living here before they landed. i am over generalizing, but what happened to celebrating originality and having a little respect for the things that matter while fucking off the fuckers?

i am here in brooklyn because i want to be competitive with the best artists and musicians. i am an extremely passionate person. sometimes i crave a little danger and perhaps some good natured violence. aren't people too nice for it to be new york? every old head talks about shit being better back in the day. well in some way i think it was. hopefully it will again. keep the city a city, not Disney Land. unpredictable and vital for this time and place. 

Music Business

I have been listening to music even before i was born. my father played in a surf rock/blues band when my parents were first married. they were both 24. i was born in 1975, so i was named for the song "Daniel" by Elton John. kind of telling, a name like Daniel Victor almost predestined me to be a larger than life entertainer.

i may be a normal person in life, having the same difficulties anyone has. but when i get on stage, especially with tight white jeans, i become something greater than myself. it takes over and i give into it, feeling every person in the room though the exchange. sort of magical.

Live music has become such an important way for musicians to make money. because of the fall of the record companies, we have been responsible for our own success determined by one main factor, in addition to all the traditional factors (talent, songwriting, marketable, etc.).    The internet.

the web allows a tool greater than any that has existed, but yet untamed. it is somewhat of a race to predict the next big thing. there is so much happening, it is important to know the main sites and follow them. manipulating traffic and gaining momentum off the coat tails of other sites. following trends has become easier, but because there are so many portals people use besides the major ones (google, yahoo, fb, myspace, pitchfork), we must find the niches that people are just becoming obsessed with, like pandora.

Pandora is going to get even bigger. Along with vinyl and back-patches on jean jackets. trends end as fast as they begin because someone is always coming up with a portal that functions better. facebook used to be just for students and myspace was the big hitter. now myspace has fallen off the radar, being used for the arts, especially taking over the need to make a website, as an accepted standard. and facebook has risen to incredible heights. but it will fall, so what is the next big thing? still workin it out. til next time....

scare is over... dan will play guitar again!

after this weekend, which left this superstar feeling exhausted, even tho i spent the time watching torrent  downloaded movies & ordering chinese takeout. really sort of sad. but i did get some inspiration and rock out a few songs on acoustic guitar. recorded it and is not great because my pinky being out runs into my strings, while i use the pick to strum. maybe i can be like wesley willis.

new years resolution.... get more pain pills

at the risk of sounding like an addict, i need something to kills the pain! got new cast on new years eve. they shot novocaine directly into bone. pinky bone, that is. no hotties at all. the doc was real nice. said i wouldn't need surgery. so what he did was pushed the bones together at a 45 degree angle. while he made my cast (actually splint -cast). i held it as it dried.    ...even numb, feeling the broken bones in my hand being realigned (like fishing the end of your tie string out of your hoodie), was fucking awesome! i am lying. alot.

this is killing me to write, but its distracting me from being conscious of the constant throbbing beneath the cast. it is plaster strips surround the undercast consisting of soft cotton bandages. then a pretty sweet, hollywood movie grade ace bandage. now that i feel my body healing itself, i have new appreciation for this process.  i will need to develop patience, and learn to use my left hand for almost everything. interesting experience.

but i want more meds damn it!!! feels like its burning,welding the broken bits together.
2 good things. first, TWJ is still working on the new album, o the hand will be healed before the tour. so the enormo-dome tour is still on. the second is, once i get a handle on this pain thing, this cast is gonna help me slay the ladies, even harder. why they sweat it? not sure. but i may leave it on even after it heals. what a conversation starter. they always ask if it hurts. think the ladies like it the more painful it is, the better.   oooooh you girls have such sas.

my hand does look sort of like a club.

now send me your pills!!!

oh shit... got myself a boxing fracture

sooooooooo...... went to the emergency room this morning. it is christmas eve and it seems kind of dead. one guy before me had stole oue parking space, but no big. he works at a bank & got the tip of his finger in the vault door. doc said he chipped the tip of his bone.  eagh! it makes my skin crawl just thinking about disfiguring my perfect body and possibly ruin my music career.

so  i get soe x-rays done by these really cute asian & indian girls. the asisn girl is weasring elf scrubs with a santa hat with ears. umm, i am stoked that is simply the most adorably sexy woman taking care my blood presure. i start flirting with her. tell her i liked the ears. she says i am a lucky guy one of santas little helper is taking care of me. ; )

the xrays come back. turns out, i hit my hand so hard, i broke the bone below the knucle of my pinky.   it was at a 45 degree angle. doc called it a boxing fracture. i now have to go to an orthapedic surgeon to get my shit fixed. in the meantime, i had a teporary cast put on. really just a piece of fitted fiberglass around the outside of my right hand and wrist, with an ace bandage wrapping it up. even wearing a sling. i am now having a good sense of humor about it. what the fuck, right? i may need bolts put in my hand.

the up side is, the ladies in the ER, walked by my bed several times, with urgency, but for no apparent reason then to check out the lead singer of Tight White Jeans. besides... i have had ladies eyes on me since i left. in the pharmacy, at Michaels there was smoking 2o year old in a tight fitted great shirt with santa hate. tall, skinny, and hella cute nose & eyes. she asked me if i needed help putting my purchases in the cart. the bandage makes me look like even more of a bad ass       .....and possibly dangerous.

it couk have been worse. have a merry chritmas. by the way. i wrote this all with one hand, so fuck you if you have a problem with the mispellings. i cant use my dominant hand to do anything. use your imagination. but for real. be safe, enjoy yourself, and learn from me. not worth stressing.... now get lit. wooooo

Just fucked my hand

so i am working on this drawing of my nephew for my family as a christmas present. i have done it the last 2 years and was making it a tradition. had been working on it for about 8 hours total, but i got to a point, and it is 3 days til christmas, and realized i went too far with the piece and over did it. i got very upset and tried to fix it by putting water on it. just made it worse.

then i mop it up and now i have no present to give. so i am fucked. i toss my chair kick my night stand, the buddah falling over, breaking a glass. i push over my dresser. then i punch the drawing.... hard. it was laying on the floor. i am an idiot. with a bad temper.

it was swelling up. and more. so i think i have to go to the hospital. get some x rays.

but it think i can save the piece.    maybe

Welcome Back

Hey there folks. This is Dan, of Tight White Jeans, and I will be taking you on an exclusive look into my mind. And other fun things too. Like... stupid, random things that just come out. And talk of my stalkers. Famous people, like myself, have them. So I employ a body guard. (I give and give, but they just want more!!?!?)

There is a lot going on here in Brooklyn. Something is right with the alignment of planets, because the band is moving forward at record speed. We are about to play our 9th show in 2009. All the shows have been in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Although we are looking into playing Philly, Boston, NJ & DC. Basically the North East. We have an albums worth of original material.... we are anxiously waiting to record!!!

Until then, we are honing our craft, and rocking the shit out of our live performances. The popular opinion is that it gets better every show. At least you know we haven't peeked yet.

The best is yet to come. Every day we move forward. This is the first entry of this kind and I want you all to know, I will be throwing down some shit.

Eyes heavy. This Legend has to get some sleep.
Goodnight to my lovingly obsessive fans

Begins

i think that this may be trouble because i tend to be a prolific writer with very little ability to use internal screening of content. i struggle to find ways to find he perfect way of expressing myself. it is a constant journey. i have so many pieces of paper i have just gone through for the 50th time and i says to myself, i just have to get on-line with my thoughts. no more carting around boxs, literally boxes of little sheets of paper, printed lyrics, notebooks, napkins and anything i might happen to create. people say i have a lot of stuff. all that stuff is necessary for me to unlease what, for better or worse, is locked in my cranium. well dh has work to do. keep rockin and i hope you are enjoying yourself so far. stay with me. it is like a vibe that carries over time rather than an imidiate gratification thing. some say it is too much. but i have plans and here is where you will here about all of it. and where i can go back to see what the hell i was talking about.
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