Arrivals and Departures

when i find myself in the middle of the holidays (like i am now), i always wonder if the greater kansas city area is more of an arrival destination or a departure point. are there more people leaving here or coming here? could cheaper gas prices cause a mass exodus? sometimes a long absent customer will walk into homer's like a silent movie actor walking onstage. if i don't remember his or her name i'll say "hey stranger!" and the prodigal patron gives me a knowing look. this buys me time to gather my thoughts and retrieve a name from the same mental vault that holds movie and music trivia (i.e. the number of eggs paul newman eats in 'cool hand luke' or the last concert venue buddy holly played).

I'll Have the Usual

routine. standard. run of the mill. what makes up an ordinary day for you? a normal day for me includes surfing the web for a few minutes while mr. coffee does his thing, then getting jenny out of bed so she can do her thing (get ready for work). our membership to the gym expired recently, so in an attempt to feel less flabby we broke our morning rituals and jogged around the neighborhood for awhile. it was good. and thanks to homer's faithful patrons who have favorite usual drinks, i am part of other people's regular daytime routine. when i see them walking through the parking lot, i know what they are thirsty for. jim drinks his moroccan mint tea with a little skim milk, sandy has a small skinny latte, mike brings his own mug for dark roast (and sometimes he buys one for his barber, wayne), john likes his mexican mocha skinny, but with a little whipped cream... there are many more and the list is always growing... who will be the next regular? maybe you.

Get Ready for... Two Ugly Goats!

Two Ugly Goats is playing for the first time at Homer's tomorrow night. The band members are Danny Williams and Rob Guy, both of whom work at Homer's... conflict of interest? I think not. When a barista works at a coffeehouse long enough to know the customers on a first name basis, and see how an audience responds to different bands on the weekends, it gives them an edge & puts them in a good position to please a crowd. Homer's baristas who can sing and play have been doing this for years. Rob and Danny are simply carrying on an old tradition, and following in the footsteps of other bands with Homer's baristas in the lineup. Jim Mathis (who started Homer's in 2001) currently plays with Sky Blue at Homer's on a regular basis. I have played with at least 3 bands on the Homer's stage over the last 9 years. Another band with mostly Homer's alumni, The Coffeehouse 5, wrote and recorded a song called I'm A Barista that gave people a good idea of what it was like to work at Homer's in 2006. Those are just a few bands I can remember, I'm sure there are others... anyway, back to Rob and Danny: if you have other plans for tomorrow night-- cancel them. I haven't heard the songs they are going to play, but I have heard genres and artists that they are influenced by... the Kinks, Cloud Cult, the 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' soundtrack, Iron and Wine, and MANY others. Seriously... if you miss out tomorrow night, you better have a good excuse.

Halloween Aftermath

ok... halloween is behind us, thanksgiving looms up ahead like a scary gargoyle, and i've heard that some radio stations are already playing christmas music. these last two months of the year always seem to build up speed with each passing (shorter) day. as an employee at homer's, i never know if overland park and kansas city are arrival destinations or departure points for friends and families. what i DO know is that every friday and saturday night live music at homer's draws a crowd. tomorrow night red tree will return, and saturday night my band (the subs) will show up with enough songs to choke a horse. we hope to see you there!