Enter Cole!

You might have noticed a lag in activity. This is on purpose.

Anne and I are proud to inform you of the arrival of our son, Cole! I know it's now June, and if you are reading this you already know this, but Coleman Michael was born January 17, 2009. Baby and baby mama are doing great, our favorite is "imitate the squeal as conversation with baby" time and tummy time.

In the meantime we've been tracking work for film, as well as plotting out Fog War, Wind War, a new configuration for the band (bye bye bass!), AND a solo project. Whew, and this is all between diapers and burping. One of these days I will get a new track up for your consumption. Maybe some virtual 7" splits are in order, a la Deerhunter/Atlas Sound

Papa loves mambo,
mcmfa

M Ward's "Let's Dance"

There was a moment that I am pretty certain I was the only one who existed in the world. It was last September and I was DJing my friend Terrence's wedding in Hatteras, NC. Through stormy weather and travails, the wedding date was finally set for Saturday. It was supposed to be on that Friday, but since the forecast was foreboding they had decided to let the mainland stranded guests arrive. When the weather cooperated, the rest of us were treated to a sublime beach day with violently tumbling surf, abundant sunshine, and low humidity.

Saturday rolled around, and we were met by intermittent showers and higher humidity. NC-12 was reopened, and the rest of guests arrived in time. We had set up a big tent in the front yard of the house, which partly straddled the driveway. We lined the interior of the tent with various sizes of Chinese lanterns, illuminated by tiny led lights. Wires were run. PA set up and tested. Table centerpieces set. (all the while: hair is done, tuxedos smoothed, nerves cooled by confidence and deep breathing)

Just after the vows were spoken, I put the system on autopilot with some dinner music, and introductions made/prayer given/meal enjoyed/toast given. Returning to the helm as the happy couple were about to cut their wedding cake, I decided to segue into the evening with "Let's Dance" by M. Ward. The world fell intoxicated by the lowering amber sunlight in the autumn haze, and the scene has been frozen in my mind ever since. Insects, too small to be silhouetted, blazed as miniature suns flying erratically to and fro, and time becomes an elastic too worn out to speed up again, as time often does when things are good. In the lowering light, I drifted while the Chinese lanterns began showing their light. It was one of those rare moments when the music video of life synchronizes perfectly with the vibrations of love and consequence at hand. In my mind, that is. And *SNAP* I am back at a wedding with 100 guests.

Realizing I was the only one swooning to the bittersweet, lugubrious beat, "Crazy In Love" was then put on to satisfy the rising tide of eager dancers. The mood in the tent shifts wayyy upward and the joyous evening begins.

First Facebook Reunites My Childhood Neighborhood

Then, Jason Lytle's dad is on YouTube. Life just got weird(er).

JeromeLytle, look him up.

ps- Jason Lytle is/was of Grandaddy. Fare thee well.

James and Bill, we salute you!

Hey! You should go to O'Tasty shows! Why not buy an album while you're there? Why does MFA want you to do so much for this other band?

James O'Brien, helmsman of the good ship O'Tasty granted us access to his house in Hyattsville, MD to use for recording purposes. He has since vacated to be nearer to his excellent RedRocks Firebrick Pizzeria in Columbia Heights, WDC, but has yet to put the house on the market.

I'll report on the recording later, but we give many thanks to James for his generosity.

We also thank Bill Thompson for use of his recording rig and several mics. Thank you!

I Watched This On Purpose: Rock of Love 2

At first, needing mindless entertainment, we went for the most vacuous thing we could find. It was unbearable.

Somehow this show has to do with music, since it is on Vh1, right? No. There were bands involved, but mostly this show involved buxom ladies propensity to drink and get into arguments, not necessarily in that order. This is what I have been missing by not watching TV for the past, uh, 8 years?

btw: we are recording this weekend! We'll see how it comes out, as team MFA will be venturing into "we did this all ourselves" territory!

Phillies Win!

I grew up outside of Boston, and my long years of suffering with the Sox, coupled with the vicarious elation of 2004's curse-shattering championship run, have well prepared me for this day.

The Philadelphia Phillies are World Series Champions!

I can't say this too loudly, as we have Mets and Nats fans in our ranks (not naming names) and they will tell you all about my "I think I am still a Red Sox fan" revelation after having attended my first game at Fenway in 15 years back in May.

But, as I settled into my role as a Phillies fan in 2005, and what I expected to be a long, turbulent ride moving into a long-suffering NL city, I carried my superstitions with me as closely guarded secrets. About the time Tim McCarver started talking about Philadelphia sports history last night, I feared him jinxing us; much the same as the soon-to-be former marine standing next to me in Fenway while Jon Lester wrapped up that no hitter I witnessed back in May, as the words "I've never seen a... oh, wait" formed at my lips.

Last night, my nephews had gone from a halloween parade to watching the game– the effects of the sugar had clearly taken hold. Taking cues from my brother-in-law, my wife and myself, they were easily whipped into a frenzy, yet unaware of the jinx. Much like a generation of young Red Sox fans who expectantly experience the thrill of victory these days, without being tempered by a spirit-sucking, excruciatingly painful drought, I look forward to them growing up having this privilege. There are plenty of folks around these parts that will be quick to remind them that it was a long, hard road to get here!

(cue Rocky horns here)

Recontextualization

"Everybody Let Up" by Apples in Stereo

This track once stood out on many miscreant mixes I would make to aid and abet misadventures with my friends. It's mix of confectionary pop and kiddie-lethargic declaration ("everybody's whinin'/cause I spend the day reclinin'") made for great sunrise drive home listening.

I ended up putting it on a 3 CD mix made for my dad when he was in the hospital. Dad shocked me with his discovery of Belle & Sebastian, so I thought I would take him the next step: indie rock. Why not? The man liked the early Beatles more than the later period, and was known to have a few early Beach Boys records in his ever dwindling collection (though a yard sale revealed not one by two copies of The Beatles' Revolver! ha), and had an affinity for just about any music that could justify its' purpose or had some sort of internal logic.

I don't need to reiterate my fathers' fate, but the song is tagged forever in the "could've been" mix. I thought of him recovering and hearing that song, and it either annoying him with it's inherent brattiness, or making him laugh at the situation of being attended to by winsome nurses and a family at beckon call. "Care of Cell 44" by The Zombies also fits into this category of songs that have nothing to do with death, yet remind me of 2 years ago. Written about a girl getting released from jail, it's lines "Good morning to you I hope your feeling better baby" and "we'll get to know each other for a second time" fit exactly where I knew my parents' otherwise great relationship was heading: loss.

Would I take it back? No. Perhaps someday with age the death-induced associations will fade and my memory will fail and I will create backstories that make more sense out of these songs' reminding me of dad, but for now, 2 years on, this will have to do...