It’s been almost 11 months since my last blog post, so I figured maybe it was about time I reappeared from under the cloak of silence. I still haven’t graduated from college. I still work at East Side Church of God. I still play in two country bands. So basically, not a whole lot has changed. I do live in a new house with a new roommate, however. Still only a block from campus, though.

Blogging effectively is tough for me. Maybe that’s why I haven’t attempted it in a while. Honestly, I’m not convinced anyone really cares about the chronicle of my life anyway. Plus, I’d rather experience life with people than tell them about it on my blog. That being said, I would like to come up with a purpose for this blog, rather than it just being a “here’s what I did today.” I suppose I could review music, but honestly I don’t get new stuff very often. I could share pictures, but normally that requires a camera. I could share interesting articles, links, and tidbits that I find on the web, but that sort of thing is better suited to Twitter or Tumblr, both of which I have. Am I at a loss for ideas? So far, yes. Now’s where you leave me a comment with your ideas for a purpose for this blog. Go!

Whisper to me
A story of yours
And please take your time
Each word I’ll absorb
Give me a chance
To write myself in
So I can be there
When you tell it again

If this were the chorus of a song, what do you think would be a good song title? “Whisper to Me”? “Write Myself In”? “Tell It Again”? Or some combination of those using a subtitle?

Well, according to my blog stats, I haven’t had a visitor to my actual blog site in quite a while, which makes me a bit sad. But maybe, just maybe, people are reading my blog on other sites like Facebook or Virb, which are set to import posts from this blog. Anyway, I recently got back from a trip to Florida with Cook and Belle. We played at the South Florida Fair…15 shows in 5 days. On the return trip, we detoured to Missouri where we played a show at the Missouri Association of Fairs and Festivals convention in hopes of booking summer gigs at Missouri county fairs. I’m pretty sure we’ve already got a pretty significant amount of summer gigs booked with a number of others in progress. In other related news, I’ve begun to play for another young female country artist. Her name is Casey Jamerson, and she’s from Pendleton. We’ve played a couple gigs at the Moon Dog Tavern on 96th Street in Indy, and there are at least a few more shows coming up in the next few months. It would be nice if her shows started to pick up in the fall, about the same time as Cook and Belle’s start to dwindle. That way, I could have a pretty solid few months of playing regularly. Anyway, I should probably get going. I’m hanging out with my friend Amy tonight (hopefully), and I’d like to run to Castleton and hit up Guitar Center as well as Best Buy. I need to replace a keyboard pedal at GC, and Best Buy has a great deal on an external hard drive.

I’ve been learning Boston’s “Foreplay” on the keys (so Micah, Cliff, Brad, and I can rock it out), so I created a funky jam to relieve a little stress (Foreplay ain’t easy *snicker*). You can find it many places:

www.virb.com/mattulrich
www.myspace.com/mattulrich
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6614417606

The rhythm track (everything that’s not keyboards) was created in Reason, and the rest came from my lovely Nord Electro 2 and my mind/fingers. Most of it is pretty unpolished, but I suppose that’s what jamming is all about. Hopefully you enjoy it!

Hi. It’s me again. That’s right, another post less than 24 hours after the previous one. The way a blog should be, at least if it wants to attract and retain readers…if you ask me. But seriously, don’t ask me, because I obviously don’t practice what I preach. Anyway, I’m bored. I probably should just go to bed, but as you learned in the last post, that probably won’t happen (although I am laying on my stomach on the bed while typing this, and I occasionally find myself laying my head down and closing my eyes while still typing). Let’s run over everything I did today. First I woke up around 9:15. Then I showered and got ready for work. Then I went to work at 10. From noon to 2, Micah, Cliff, Eric, and I practiced in the sanctuary for a wedding reception we’re playing at on Sunday afternoon. Then I worked some more until almost 5. Following that, I returned home to Pastor Mick’s house and killed some time doing whatever kills time. A little before 7, I headed over to East Side Middle School to watch the Highland High School beat whoever it was that they played. There were a number of East Side people there. At halftime, I went to get some dinner at Taco Bell (don’t tell). After the game, I came back home and hung out with Micah for a while before finding myself right here on the computer, contemplating whether I should currently be in bed asleep. (Here’s a gap of time for when I put my head down after typing “asleep.”) I kind of want to watch an episode of Arrested Development, but I’m not sure it wouldn’t be smarter to just go to bed. Tomorrow I’m having lunch with Eryn Bowser, and in the evening, I’m going over to the Stuckey house for my belated birthday dinner with them. I think we’re eating Italian, but I’m not sure what sort of dessert we’re having because when Gina asked me what I wanted, I was pretty indecisive. I’m sure it will be great.

Ok, I think I must call it quits on this one and hit the sack. My head is currently down, and that is giving me great troubles while trying to type correctly.

Peace to you, my brethren and sistren.

Matt Ulrich (not #69 for the Colts)

Jon’s song “Beautiful Disaster” is Single of the Week on the iTunes music store! You should check it out.

Matt

Um, I have this friend named Ben Utecht. He plays football, but he also sings. So anyway, there’s also this guy named Bill Gaither that does these concerts called “Homecoming” concerts. Well, it turns out this Bill fellow decided to ask my friend Ben to sing a song at his next concert in Indianapolis, which happens to be in the Conseco Fieldhouse (the stadium where the Indiana Pacers play), in front of 20,000 people. So that’s great for my friend Ben. As luck would have it, Ben is needing an accompanist for this gig. Well, since we’re friends, we have each other’s numbers; and sure enough his name came up on my phone tonight. Long story short, I’m playing for Ben at the Homecoming show this coming Friday night. Scary, and yet…wow.

…who lives within 100-10,000 miles of Anderson should probably come to Contemporary Encore tomorrow night in Reardon Auditorium here on AU’s campus.  Contemporary in this case means any song released after 2000, so if you know today’s music, you should know the music.  Shows are at 8 and 10pm.  Tickets are $3 at the door.  The band and I have worked as hard as we possibly can amongst our busy schedules, so it should be a good show.  Come on out!