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Oasis Underground

Interesting news on the et cetera et cetera front: "Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy" was selected to be on Oasis' Underground Volume VIII Radio Sampler CD, which is sent to radio people and so-called "industry insiders." I'm not expecting to be heard on the radio anytime soon. I'm not that delusional. Really, I'm not. It's just cool to be included on the CD.

Hey, if you're cool you'll be the first to write a review of et cetera et cetera on http://cdbaby.com/cd/scottsiders. But you can't write a review if you haven't bought the double CD yet. Be a pal and do that now: http://www.geocities.com/sssiders/store_page.html.

Thanks for all of your continued support. I owe you dinner, or at least a margarita.


There are 203 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

The New Farm

Down the road to the new farm

a busted Ford truck in the ditch

and above it a circling of birds.

The red rusted frame is a backdrop

for a picture we’ll never take—

the geese, those vulture imposters

gray and swooping in pairs, eyeing

the heap—the wreck finally even

an eyesore for them. When we

approach, they stream slovenly away

to the new farm, our shoes

dusting up the dry, the old rutted road

a shortcut to the new farm.

Our walking and summer sweat

are reasons for mosquitoes, flying

unafraid—their kamikaze missions.

One wasp, wings humming up

the drum, cuts its way through and finds

its airstrip on your bare shoulder.

Luckily fingers were built

for flicking. We walk on, saving

our breath for the new farm.

A crash and suddenly rain, the edge

of today’s storm pushing past

the slow hills, the sun

a thing to cower from. At the last

curve before the new farm, a dog

is dying. It’s not too late to pick

his busted body up, to carry what blood

he has against my chest.

There is no hastening in our step.

Ahead the dust is swirling

around the new farm. The workmen

are out of some painting—their blue jeans

tight and creased, their white shirts

so bright they might just catch fire.

Even the hats are clean at the new farm.

We deliver the dead dog

to the best-dressed-man

and he turns in disgust when he sees us.

Something muffled escapes under

your breath, a quiet hate or pride

falling from your mouth.

A few of the men come at us as if

they were shooing birds.

The best-dressed-man picks out

my gaze, my grimace, my grimy

ideas that he’s certain are good

for nothing. He pulls his gun

and places it harmlessly at his side.

He is not bent on murder, and means

no harm, just as we are not

meant there. Grandfather must have done

some talking some years before.

His voice is silent now, but his will

still echoes in what was built here.

The best-dressed-man plays

his game of chance with a dead man

over which is the true martyr

and it is only for the slow, swarming

and constantly growing seasons

to decide now. The best-dressed-man

places the gun in his holster, grunts

and smirks as he turns away.

He has won, but the spoils are shady.

Our long walk back begins, our new

dead dog a passenger, a hostage.

Where the weeds meet the old Ford

we stop and fit our bodies in its bed.

We say nothing. The dog is a witness.

Stars emerge from their own pick-up trucks

and show themselves. We’re steeped

in the blood of the dog, wind smooth

and running these fields, our home

up there in the balance. Night becomes

early morning. We leave the truck

holding the dog. I silently wonder

if there is something we could have done.

Finally we find our way and our feet

hit the old road away from the new farm.

It seems like one of us should

say something, but the wind, in every

trite way possible, blows up loudly

around us. The mosquitoes are ferocious

at the splintered gate, and suddenly

I come to, alert and ready

for anything, like he would have been

all those years ago in that horrible war.

My words are sharp and quick:

“Here we go again, alive and sinning—

blindly searching for reasons

where only relativity makes any sense.”

There are 234 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Musings of a Cockfighting Enthusiast" Wins . . . Something

Members of www.GarageBand.com voted "Musings of a Cockfighting Enthusiast" as the "Best Male Vocals" AND "Most Original Song" AND "Best Lyrics" in the spoken word genre. Check it out here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

Check out the entire spoken word double CD at www.scottsiders.com.


There are 249 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Today's Dust

Barefoot and sprinting through some desert—
sharpened weeds and cacti and occasional lone flower
go about the business of bending for the wind.
By midday, the body’s chest heaves again, sweat

bursts into the world wherever the body
lets it. How long, how hard the sun hits.
How blistered and torn the feet
on hot sand, how red the face, how tears or sweat

burn eyes in the rush, the speed
of the body and always the wind. The only sound
the rhythmic pounding of feet
against sand. Ahead the illusion of water

or woman, the blurry shaping
a way out, a way into another country
where wind is carnivorous and sand
a puff of smoke. But still the running, still

the subtle grace, an end of knowing. At dusk
a slight ringing in the ear, a sharp
pain in the side, muscles tearing
in the heat of thighs, bloody feet: each a reason

to keep at it, the possibility of what the body
can do. And in the false distance
the focus, unwavering and unconscious—
a lone, withered flower flutters a little.


There are 264 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Looking to Land" Named Track of the Week

"Looking to Land" was selected as the "Track of the Week" in the Spoken Word genre by www.GarageBand.com. It's moving up the charts: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 301 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"One Shot at the President" named Track of the Day by GarageBand.com

The et cetera et cetera track "One Shot at the President" was selected as the "track of the day" on March 2, 2008, by www.GarageBand.com. Check it out here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

Visit www.scottsiders.com to get your grubby little hands on Scott's new spoken word double CD.

There are 319 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

More Recognition for "Tom"

Members of GarageBand.com voted "Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy" as having the best lyrics in the Spoken Word genre last week. So that's nice. Y'all should really buy a copy of the double CD. It's really quite good. I swear. Have I ever lied to you? Be a pal and buy it easily and securely at www.scottsiders.com.

There are 336 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Tom" is Track of the Week

"Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy" was named the "Track of the Week" by www.GarageBand.com. It's moving up the charts: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 336 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Looking to Land" named Track of the Day by GarageBand.com

The et cetera et cetera track "Looking to Land" was selected as the "track of the day" today by www.GarageBand.com. Check it out here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 340 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

GarageBand.com Selects "Dis" for Track of the Day

"Dis," a track from et cetera et cetera, was named "track of the day" today by www.garageband.com. You can listen to the track and write a short review at http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 355 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Track of the Day

"Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy," a track from et cetera et cetera, was named "track of the day" yesterday by www.garageband.com. If you have a minute, please go to http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders to post a review.

There are 362 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Farmhouse Magazine

More news on the publishing front: The online literary journal http://www.farmhousemagazine.com just published "Treasure Map 1," a long poem I wrote this year. It will be featured in Farmhouse Magazine's January/February issue. The exact link is http://farmhousemagazine.com/16Psiders.html.

There are 383 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Flask & Pen

Just a quick bit of news: The online literary journal http://www.flaskandpen.com/ published a poem I wrote, called “After the Reception.” Check it out. The exact link is http://flaskandpen.com/?p=113. Leave a positive comment. Leave a negative one. Either way, you’ll be helping out the cause (cause to be named later).

There are 397 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

“Et Cetera Et Cetera” Finally Hits the Streets!

My new spoken world double CD et cetera et cetera featuring Josh Skelton has finally been released. Check it out now at www.scottsiders.com. You can listen to selected tracks, view CD details, and purchase it securely via PayPal on my site.

There are 404 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

“Et Cetera Et Cetera” Update & The Laptop That Did Not Die Gracefully

For my one or two readers . . . Here’s an update on the record: “et cetera et cetera” officially went into production at the duplicator’s yesterday. This means that the release date actually will be in mid-December. For once, I’m not a liar (I’ll be a liar again soon, I promise). Check back for an update on the exact release date next month. You know what this means, folks. Do the math. “et cetera et cetera” will be on sale before the holidays, and it makes a terrific stocking stuffer for little Timmy.

In other news, my laptop shit the bed last week. The hard drive was French fried (I’m convinced the Bush administration had something to do with it—if so, I guess it was freedom fried). I had to replace the hard drive and basically start from scratch. Luckily, I had all of my important files (including confidential documents and secret eye-witness testimony proving who killed JFK) backed up on an external hard drive, so I didn’t lose anything irreplaceable.

I’m thinking about starting up one of those Meetup groups in Long Beach for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the like. Trouble is, I’ve never been very good at organizing things (except for that Million Man March a few years back). Anyhow, it seems like a good way to network and get more exposure for my company, Novo, Inc. In the meantime, I’ll be building my business Web site that will hopefully go-live early next year (I know, I know . . . I’ve predicted things in the past that have turned out to be wildly different from my original estimation, but I think February is a reasonable goal to shoot for).

There are 418 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

“Et Cetera Et Cetera” Shipped & We Moved All Our Crap to Long Beach

The record is officially done. My double spoken word CD “et cetera et cetera” was finally shipped off to the duplicator today. This project began with me recording the spoken word pieces in March 2006. I believe that’s 21 months in the making. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears (and complaining, shouting, and nervous frustration). I’ve been giving people estimated release dates for several months now, but I can now say (with confidence) that “et cetera et cetera” will be released and on sale in the first part of December (I’ll know the exact date soon). You’ll be able to purchase it securely through PayPal by going to scottsiders.com on the day it is released and, alternately, purchase it on cdbaby.com and amazon.com a few weeks later.

In other news, we moved from Huntington Beach to Long Beach this past weekend. It was annoying and exhausting, but at least it’s over. We really dig our new place. We’re three blocks from the beach and it’s just a 10-minute walk downtown. Plus, there’s a little kid here who won’t shut up until you slam the door in her face. Needless to say, we’ve become fast friends and we’re getting along famously.

The best thing I saw this weekend? Half of a pizza just off the sidewalk, soggy and slumped in the grass. It was delicious.

I’ll write again when “et cetera et cetera” hits the streets and my new and improved Web site goes live.

There are 433 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Lots of Talk About Britney, But None About Me

So, yes, it’s been a long time since I posted something on this blog. I’ve been busy.

We were in New York for 10 days in September for a wedding, after which we traveled around visiting friends and family. I could write about all of our exploits but, alas, I’m too tired and you’re not that interested. Suffice to say that it was a whirlwind trip and that Woodstock is a good place to have a wedding. Oh, and I ran into John Lequizamo in NYC. That was cool. He said I have the face of a writer (see: a face for radio), and to never, ever think about being on camera—never, ever.

I turned 31 on October 3. Yip-yaw and who the fuck cares. It’s just one more click on the slow, agonizing march towards 40. Not to sound too morose but, yeah, everything after 30 is just everything you didn’t accomplish in your 20s, and I’m feeling it. Hopefully this will be a productive (meaning what?) decade. It has to be.

We’re moving to Long Beach next month. We loved moving from Colorado to Huntington Beach 14 months ago so much that we decided to do it again—but this time only about 10 miles up the coast. I dig our new place. We’re going to be two blocks from the beach and a half a block from downtown, which is a pretty good scene. Staying focused on work will inevitably be tough—except the part about needing to make money to live and all that BS.

Now, then, on to a subject near and dear to my cacophony heart: et cetera et cetera. Yes, indeed, I finally have a real update. The mixed and mastered CDs are in the mail as I type this. Not to the duplication company. That comes next. These are the (cross your fingers) final versions of both discs minus all of the issues we’ve had (oh yeah, I haven’t blogged in awhile, so suffice to say that there have been some technical difficulties over the past couple of months). Anyhow, hopefully all is well. In which case, I’ll be sending everything off to the duplication company next week and (cross your toes this time) the record will be released sometime around the middle or end of November.

So that’s it for now. That’s as much of an update as I can stomach. There will be more to come when I know more about the exact release of et cetera et cetera.

I’ll be packing and moving in the meantime. Wish me luck.

There are 465 days remaining in Bush’s presidency.

After the Aftermath

First of all, let me apologize to all of you who didn’t get into diPiazza’s due to a long wait in line and the ultimate fire marshal cap of 500 people. That sucked. My entourage noticed at least four midgets—sorry, they told me to say “little people”—so that equals two “real” people, right? So two of my fans didn’t get in? Is that what happened? If so, I apologize, but I had no idea what was going on outside.

For those of you who did get in, you were great! I did a few “oldies” to warm you up, but you responded well to the pieces I did off my new spoken word double CD, et cetera et cetera. I must admit that I did get sick of hearing, “When can we buy it?!” As I’ve said on my Web site and on my MySpace page, it’s coming. It’s being mixed. It’s within six weeks—eight weeks max—of being on the street. That’s all I can say at this point.

Rachel Kann read from her new book of short fiction, and did some spoken word with a musician friend of hers. Her work was solid, regardless of the genre. She performs all over the place, so I hope to meet up with her in the future as I hopefully start doing more shows.

The band that ended the night was a mess of hilarity. Regrettably, I can’t remember the name exactly, but it was something like “Sam Bush and the Track & Field All-Stars.” The “alternative country” (my designation) songs were written by Mark Romer, and he was accompanied by a talented group of musicians who helped wager his hard-luck songs.

I’ll be in touch with news on et cetera et cetera as it warrants. In the meantime, take solace in the bootlegs (you know we saw you recording!).

There are 521 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Performing Tomorrow Night

I'll be performing at diPiazza's Lava Lounge as part of The Writer's Garage series tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 15, at 8 p.m. I’ll be performing spoken word pieces from my forthcoming spoken word double CD et cetera et cetera, as well as reading a few poems from my books.

diPiazza's is located off PCH at E. Anaheim in Long Beach, CA, and is a great place to see local writers and bands perform, enjoy a meal, and/or a few drinks with friends. Poet Rachel Kann and songwriter Mark Romer will perform at 9:00 and 10:00, respectively. diPiazza's Web site is www.dipiazzas.com. Info on The Writer's Garage can be found at www.myspace.com/thewritersgarage.

I hope to see you there. If not, maybe some other time. Not interested? Not ever? Okay, well, maybe we’re just not that great of friends, now, are we?

Here’s the address:

diPiazza's Lava Lounge

5205 E. Pacific Coast Highway

Long Beach, CA 90804

Time: 8 p.m.

There are 524 days remaining in Bush's presidency.