Birthday Week

Birthday Week is kind of the new “In” thing. At this point we have all become so self absorbed and egocentric that one day is not enough, damn it we need a full week to really bathe in narcissism as we celebrate being born into this chaos we call life. Well, I was hipster before hipster was cool (and I have the beard photos to prove it), so of course I had to do the “In” thing, and I had one hell of a Birthday Week.

Now, in my defense, I have been playing on or near my birthday since 2003, so back in May I set up a show at the St. Charles Coffee House for the 17th, two days after my birthday so it would serve as the birthday show. As fate would have it we got booked at the Library on the 10th (which ended up closing down, so we actually played Foam on the 10th, but that is a different subject all together) and instantly I had bookends to an actual Birthday Week.

The show at Foam was just an amazing release. So Much Closer hadn’t played electric in St. Louis since May 15th, so we were all very excited. I think the let down of moving from a large venue to a tiny one, made it that much more intense, like we had something to prove. Here is a clip from that night:

After the show we hung out at the Luna Lounge with a huge gaggle of people from Twitter who had come out to support us. That ended up being an extremely late night, as we ventured over to Uncle Bills for some late night eats.

Sunday was relatively chill, no practice, since we just played…I am sure there was TV and Laundry, but outside of that I cannot recall what I did.

Monday was back to work, just another day, but when Tuesday came along things got birthdayrific. First gifts of Chocolate Chip & Jalapeno cookies and a cool Spicy Cookbook from Jennifer Loughman showed up at my office, brought by her Carrier pigeon, aka JT her boyfriend who works with me.



A couple hours later, brownies from Meredith arrive, and they were to die for.



Before I get too deep into this, I should point out that I only had one piece of any of the deserts that were brought to me. I felt it was my obligation to at least taste them, since they were made for me, but taking down boxes of cookies, brownies, cakes, and the likes is not really part of my workout regimen.

Wednesday, and it is time for the boss to show me some love, so she took me out for lunch and then got my ALL TIME FAVORITE cheesecake: Hank’s Keylime. I am not going to lie, I did have 1 piece at work and took 1 home, but it is my all time favorite.



Thursday I took the day off and went to Six Flags with 5 of my closest friends, nothing like acting 18 on your 36th birthday. We capped off a day of riding roller coasters in the sweltering heat with some decent Mexican food, and then I headed home for an evening of movies. First the Waterboy because it is a classic and I love it, and then Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Juan Antonio is my new hero.

Friday was back to the grind which is surprisingly easy to do when you know you are only 9 to 10 hours away from a weekend. Plus my team took care of me. Yes another cake. This one was an amazing strawberry white cake thing from Helfer's. I had never heard of that place before, but that icing was so good I wanted to do things to it that would have me blushing if anyone entered into my office.


After work, I had a lot to do to prepare for the after party the following night. I made my Cajun pasta, some spicy hummus, and a cheese tray which took me until 11 when I decided to become 1 with my pillow.

Saturday day involved a pretty serious house cleaning session, car washing, and eating cereal while some dude fixed my garage door, and then finally we got to throw down at the St. Charles Coffee House. Our friends My Molly opened up for us with an inspiring performance, and then we tore into a blistering acoustic set. My favorite quote from the night came from my friend Julie Saletto:

“Had a great time at the show tonight, Vin and I keep discussing how touching and powerful it was!”

That is all I could hope for from any performance.

Afterwards I invited anyone that was at the venue back to my house (Yeah, that is how I roll). We had about 20 take us up on the offer, which made for a pretty fantastic end to my birthday week. I am not even sure what I said, but Meredith seemed to enjoy it:

“I just laughed so hard it hurts. @ketzermusic is a funny funny man.”

I also got to open 3 more gifts, 3 gifts that would become my favorites. Huge thanks to my Mom, Stephanie, and Julie. PLUS, yes you guessed it, one more cake. This one from Mary who is part of my morning workout crew, and her cake was probably the most sinful. I guess that is why we workout. This chocolate bundt cake is too amazing to photograph, someone may lose their soul. However, I am looking for people to help me eat it, so come on over.

All this birthday talk got me thinking about who I am, and who I was. I am not unhappy with who I have become, but there are definitely times when I miss the little guy inside.

Kool-Aid-Stained-Lip Smile


I still remember him
Tiny fingers and floppy hair
Energy eyes and sweet spirit
He hides within
Drinks with two unsteady hands on cup
Exclaims AHHHH! after each refreshing gulp
Smiles his Kool-Aid-stained-lip smile
But now some thirteen thousand one hundred and forty days old
He is less boy and more man
Tired fingers and failing hair
Exhausted eyes and sarcastic spirit
He hides within
Drinks in time-saving chugs
Releases empty cup with no acknowledgment of satisfaction
Still smiles his Kool-Aid-stained-lip smile
Some things never change