I was making a list of intruments my husband plays

but first I had a silverman. I think this went well.😀


    8-string bass
    5-string bass
    Headless bass with David Letterman sticker and no frets
    Baby grand piano
    Juno 60 keyboard
    DX7 keyboard
    (I'm blanking on the other keyboards)
    The Arturia thing
    The Beatstep
    KAOSS pads
    Acoustic guitar
    Electric guitar
    Drums
    V-drums
    Djembe
    Buffalo Drum
    Doumbek
    Uda
    Rock tambourine
    Other tambourine
    Thumb piano
    Didgeridoo
    Didgeridon't
    All those little wooden things that clack
    Triangle fer fuck's sake
    That weed was really good

http://www.joekowalski.us/

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Joe plays with The Elderly Sept 27

Joe plays with The Elderly Sept 27.

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April 10th
The I Want You play at ONCE Ballroom in Somerville, MA.

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Charlie's

The I Want You is playing Charlie's tonight.
Yeah but look at my husband's ass in them pants.

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Throwback Thursday: 2002

Kirkland Cafe - Somerville, MA
Al "Plastic Cheese" Janik mugging at Mardi Gras.

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Marty Lederman came over to tune the piano.
He was early. Joey wasn't home yet, so Marty hung out with me. I was in the kitchen pickling a daikon radish.
So Joe came home to find me and Mr. Lederman just hangin' and talking all the things we like to pickle.
There's a Joe Show about Marty.

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Back In The Saddle

Joe posted on Facebook about how Aerosmith's free street show today is happening right outside our old building. We lived at 1315 Commonwealth in The Peerless. One of the local rock stories is about how the next building over, 1325 Comm, was where Aerosmith lived when they were a local Allston band, too. I didn't walk over to Comm Ave, because I was at work, but I took a screen shot of the live feed while it was happening. I added an arrow so you can see where me 'n Joey would have been today, if we didn't move to Lower Allston two years ago.

You know what would have been funny?
If we still lived at 1315 Comm, but weren't aware of the Aerosmith event.
Imagine waking up to this throng and Steven Tyler's voice outside.

The Peerless (1315 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston MA)

This is a photo of our building from March 2010.
I'd researched and was excited to find out that The Peerless would turn 100 years old in 2011.
 I'd started a private Facebook Group for the Peerless residents,
like a combination "good neighbor" group and "history of the building" thing.
But only one guy joined so I took it down.
Then we moved.
At least I made one new friend.

Related: Peerless Life in Allston Rock City

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"Have you ever heard of Joe Kowalski?"

T Max had been slipping into despair. His Brian Eno tribute show was coming up, and he was running out of time to find a bass player with the required chops. Then one day in spring, he called. He was very excited. "Have you ever heard of Joe Kowalski?!" I had not. "Lexi, you won't believe it! He nailed it!" This guy we never heard of, Joe Kowalski, apparently came over, auditioned and dazzled on an 8-string bass. I couldn't give a shit. T Max had been wholly consumed with the Brian Eno thing, and not being a fan, me and everybody else at The Noise was sick to death of hearing about Project Eno. "ENO eno-eno EEEENO eno-eno" is approximately how Izzy phrased his imitation of any conversation with T Max during those rehearsal weeks. I was in full agreement on the matter.

I forgot about this Joe Kowalski until one week before the July 12th show. It was a punishingly hot summer and I hated everyone. I don't handle heat and humidity very well. Somehow or other I ended up being the one to take the Project Eno band publicity shot. I'm no photographer, but I did own a digital camera, rare in those days. Hard to imagine now! But T Max needed the band photo THAT DAY for the Metro piece on Project Eno, and that's the only reason it was me who took those PR photos.

So on a sweltering summer day I went to Peter's house. In the yard, with Bleu calling jokes out the window of the house as the band posed, each member wearing some sort of T Max-contrived costumes of questionable taste, I shot photos of Gene, Peter, Shawn, Tamora, Joel, T Max, Glenn and Eddie, all buddies of mine, barely noticing the new guy. Here was this crazy-good bass player that nobody ever heard of
who would,
pretty soon,
become my best friend
and mad love.

I fell in love with Joe Kowalski. I even like Brian Eno now.

Happy Enoversary, my love.
I'm so happy my dreams pulled you through my door.

I'LL COME RUNNING

(Brian Eno)

I'll find a place somewhere in the corner

I'm gonna waste the rest of my days

Just watching patiently from the window

Just waiting season change, some day

Oh, oh, my dreams will pull you through that garden gate

I want to be the wandering sailor

We're silhouettes by the light of the moon

I sit playing solitaire by the window

Just waiting seasons change,

You'll see, one day, these dreams will pull you through my door

And I'll come running to tie your shoe.

L to R: Gene, Peter, Shawn, Tamora, Joel , Joe Kowalski, T Max, Glenn, Eddie

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Joe Kowalski plays keys & synths for Brownboot - TT the Bear's Place, Cambridge, MA
(Photo: JustBill)

Bill has been getting great live shots of Joe since 2002.
He still teases me about the time I hired him to take photos 
of All the Queen's Men at The Middle East.
He says I said, "Make sure to get a lot of the bass player."
Probably I did say that.

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