Played our final show of 2009 at Pete's Candy Store the other night (Dec 11th) and we had a blast. Pete's has a great little stage (check the vid below), and the sound was remarkably good for such a small room.
We'll be scheduling shows for the spring very soon, (if you have any suggestions for venues, please let us know). Until then, we're going to use the free time to write, write, write. We've already got a half dozen new tracks in the works, and hope to release a full length album by late spring, so be sure to keep an eye out for demos and such we'll be posting along the way.
Speaking for myself, the writing process is quite nebulous and I don't really know how to explain it except to say that I do quite a bit of pure experimentation and most of it is horrendously un-listenable. Some of it is just me playing with new chord progressions. Some is free form improv. And some is an experiment in translating ideas into phrases or just sounds. All of this is incredibly pretentious to talk about, so I'll leave the rest to your imagination. But I do want to keep a running journal about how this album gets written, so if you're interested I'll be updating this thread fairly often.
That said, I'm done updating it for today...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Seeing the Future
The gig at The Delancey last Saturday (Nov 21st) was our second with new drummer Dave Varraile, and I think we're on to something.
Preceding us on stage was Charli, a cartoonish group of characters ranging from a portly gangsta wielding a shiny blank and white strat to an Ann Wilson-ish vocalist who started their set with a karaoke performance whose conviction captivated everyone in the room.
Then it was our turn. We found the room a bit empty by our standards, but I think that was a good thing because we were definitely not ready for a packed house. Dave had only played with us once before (at the MEANY festival a few weeks before) and various flus and trips to who-knows-where made rehearsals difficult. But once things got started, I found myself having as much fun on stage as I've had in quite a while.
The groove felt great and there was a sense of drive and emotion that I think had been lacking for a while. We had played the first album live so many times that it was (rightly) starting to get a little boring. But when Dave's style forced us to change things up a bit, it was as if we were playing everything for the first time.
The rather strict time constraints imposed upon us by the otherwise excellent sound engineer put a bit of a damper on our spirits towards the end, but when all was sung and done, we had a blast.
From almost the moment we started breaking down our equipment, the room rapidly began to fill with bridge and tunnel types (albeit the upscale variety) for a dancy funk band called Kite. Now whatever image you have in your head about what a dancy funk band might look like, keep in mind that Kite is from Staten Island. If you know anything at all about the place, you'll also know that they look like this:
Didn't have the chance to stick around to hear much of the set, but they did sound like fun.
On to, well...The Delancey again on December 4th at 11pm for the MEANY fest's big "Notable Mentions" show (we were among the most popular bands in the festival, but alas not among the top three). See you there!
Preceding us on stage was Charli, a cartoonish group of characters ranging from a portly gangsta wielding a shiny blank and white strat to an Ann Wilson-ish vocalist who started their set with a karaoke performance whose conviction captivated everyone in the room.
Then it was our turn. We found the room a bit empty by our standards, but I think that was a good thing because we were definitely not ready for a packed house. Dave had only played with us once before (at the MEANY festival a few weeks before) and various flus and trips to who-knows-where made rehearsals difficult. But once things got started, I found myself having as much fun on stage as I've had in quite a while.
The groove felt great and there was a sense of drive and emotion that I think had been lacking for a while. We had played the first album live so many times that it was (rightly) starting to get a little boring. But when Dave's style forced us to change things up a bit, it was as if we were playing everything for the first time.
The rather strict time constraints imposed upon us by the otherwise excellent sound engineer put a bit of a damper on our spirits towards the end, but when all was sung and done, we had a blast.
From almost the moment we started breaking down our equipment, the room rapidly began to fill with bridge and tunnel types (albeit the upscale variety) for a dancy funk band called Kite. Now whatever image you have in your head about what a dancy funk band might look like, keep in mind that Kite is from Staten Island. If you know anything at all about the place, you'll also know that they look like this:
Didn't have the chance to stick around to hear much of the set, but they did sound like fun.
On to, well...The Delancey again on December 4th at 11pm for the MEANY fest's big "Notable Mentions" show (we were among the most popular bands in the festival, but alas not among the top three). See you there!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
I'm sitting in a time-warp of a coffee shop in N. Brooklyn -- photos of Sinatra preserved in saran wrap and red ribbon on the walls, Brenda Lee on the radio, Egg-cream for sale, Sara and Joe behind the counter. I wandered here, looking for a safe place to write some lyrics, but find myself too lost in the 50s vibe of the place to concentrate. It's impossible for me to write my own lyrics when other music is on. But all is not lost. I'm enjoying myself immensely -- this place is completely unpretentious. Sitting here and soaking up "the real deal" will hopefully reflect in the lyrics later.
Besides, the band just polished off the arrangements and lyrics for 3 new songs, and we have another almost complete. Hopefully we can debut "Drifting", "Flight", and "Can't go Home" with the full band at our show at the Delancey this Saturday. We had to cancel (horror!) our last show due to the influenza, so we'll have to make up some momentum on Saturday. Ok, my sugar and caffeine high is rattling me out the door into the lovely, and freakishly nice, November weather. Until next time.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
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