Dear Shawn Neary

Hi Shawn. I woke up Wednesday morning and thought about you. Well, not just you, but you in the context of your band. Specifically, I thought about how rough it is to wake up with the chorus of the song "Cowbell" in my head:

Do you want to live a lie
a lie to shake
a like shake
I’ve been so sure
DO YOU WANT TO LIVE A LIE
A LIE TO SHAKE
A LIKE SHAKE
I've been sooo sureeee

Whew. It's a lot to wrap your brain around before you've had breakfast. But I like the song - I had downloaded it and a few other Tapes 'n Tapes recordings.

Were it not for our mutual friend Steph, I wouldn't be writing this now, planting the seeds for the next time you Google yourself. (Don't worry, I Google myself, too.) I saw Steph a couple of weeks ago - she was in town for a conference, and I met her for dinner - and I asked her what that Shawn Neary fellow was up to. Not just you, but you in the context of your band - your old band, that is. Back when we were together, Steph and I went to a few of your Boy With Stick gigs. There was one time at that one place in Saint Paul; when my pal Phil was in town we all caught your show in Uptown.

Steph said that you were playing with a different band now, a band called Tapes 'n Tapes. I didn't know what she was saying at first - it's one of those band names that you have to clarify: Tapes in Tapes? Tapes And Tapes? Tapesandtapes?

Had it not been for our dinner meeting - for which I skipped a fresh episode of the WB's Gilmore Girls, by the by - I would have lumped the recent Pitchfork kudos and the Stereogum shout-out into "stuff I'm not cool enough to know about". I'm glad I was included in the loop, just in time. (I would caution others, however, that good things do not normally result from missing the latest adventures of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.)

Remember that one time we were all in Ames together for some reason? And we got back to the apartment where we were all staying, and you, semi-drunk, sitting against the living room wall, plucked at an acoustic guitar? I'd known other musician-types that acted the same way - making a beeline to the guitar, even if they're drummers, or in your case, a bassist - and I said something to that effect, and I might have offended you. Remember that weekend I'm talking about? I remember eating at a Mexican place, a local sandwich place, and a Greek place. Do you remember?

Well, Shawn Neary, when the Tapes 'n Tapes clamor reaches its pinnacle, that anecdote is going to sound different. It'll sound a lot different, because I'm going to punch it up. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I imagine you and I will return to the Ames apartment, conduct and impromptu jam session, and our jam will give birth to the riff within (insert whatever Tapes 'n Tapes song is popular at the moment).

Thanks for the new memories,
dn


[photo via Stereogum]