Staccato and Beyond

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I sat in the Ape House at the Zoo for about an hour, and for that I am thankful. But, the past is gone. This next week is shaping up to be quite the doozy.

Okay, that is an understatement. This year has been a doozy, the year of rock. Anne and I went to Coachella, and saw everyone from Dios to The Cure. Since then, of course, there have been several good shows, but nothing like this next week.

This week started with Brice Woodall and Monopoli at the Hut Sunday, and will move forward with Ted Leo at the Black Cat on Thursday (if you don't count Verbal at the Backstage Tuesday, hey, a brother's gotta sleep sometime). Then, we have our show at Staccato Friday night. Check this out, by some stroke of dumb luck, Jim had an extra for one of GBV's final shows in NYC Saturday night. Barely being able to see past this weekend, we've got the Pixies next Wednesday here in DC.

This is why I moved to DC in the first place, to be in proximity to such shows… and the gods of rock have smiled. There's a Tenacious D song in here somewhere…

We'll be armed with a camera, so look for some kind of stab at photojournalism, but Jim is keen to remind me that it won't flow with our website redesign. I'll find some way to post them that won't distract.

And please come out to our show this Friday. We know there are tons of good shows that night (Magnetic Fields, Blonde Redhead, Brice, the Homes,etc), but Sean Winter, Laura Burhenn and My Friend Autumn will be in fine form and ready to make you glad you did.

Immort Ale

Who gets 120 points in Skeeball? I suck. Mid-Autumn (no pun) at the Delaware shore is something to see. It was very chill and the company was awesome. Most of the places I would want to go were open, yet not crowded. Dogfish Head's beer sampler is the right taste at the right price. I was also able to do some tax-free music shopping as well picking up the latest Shins (finally!) and Ted Leo/Rx records. Oh, I also picked up 4 one-inch round pins. Yes, I am 28 and still collect one-inch round pins. I think the bands were Jawbox, Afghan Whigs, Built to Spill and... uh... Damn. I forgot what the other one was. Beware of Jiffy-Pop though. I almost burned down the place I was staying at.

Oh yeah, the other pin was Superchunk.


Artomatic was cool. I hopped on stage right after a 3-hour car trip from my weekend getaway to Delaware. Even with very little practice it felt good to be playing again. I think we were playing just the right kind of mood music for looking at TONS of art. The way Artomatic is setup at this particular stage, it is almost as if you are an exhibit in itself. We didn't distract, but blended in, calling attention to ourselves only as much as we had to. My favorite comment about the band is: "it sounds like more than just guitar and drums". I take that to mean that we fill out the sound very well and we don't sound thin. I threatened to take my pants off around song #3. Sadly, it didn't happen.

The Fourth Wall

Yesterday's show was a good time, thanks for coming out. I have to apologize for being outside of myself with a fever, hope it didn't come through too much. Artomatic is a very interesting scene, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the video looped sex scene from Monster's Ball. What a frightfully fantastic walk through the minds of several artists. Philip D'Ambrosio said it best when he spoke about getting a window into the inner workings of the artist. Though he was referring to the Pet Sounds box set, the same applies at Artomatic. I urge you to check it out, walk around maybe with headphones on, and take it all in.

Just as much, what the crap was Ron Artest thinking? I am not a huge NBA fan, but sporting in general was done a great disservice by a display of 1) american hooliganism and 2) professional abandon. They talk about great performance breaking down the fourth wall to the audience, it's safe to say the Pacers broke that wall down and then some. And then some more.

Artomatic

So we've added a second show, this Sunday at 6pm on Artomatic's Cabaret Stage.
This will be MFA stripped down, with the boost of massive reverb playing in the sanctuary of a former convent. Wandered around a bit on site last night, and saw about 1% of the art displayed there. Then we went on a witch hunt to find an alternate drumset for Jim to play, and ended up getting a beer at Staccato. And listening to someone play an awful medley of 80's songs. Okay, I secretly enjoyed hearing Take On Me go into Freedom go into Faith (both George Michael)… why doesn't anyone cover Howard Jones?

Also picked up a print copy of On Tap, the current issue profiles friend Laura and friend Brice. Dig!

Songs of the moment:
I Think of Demons- Roky Erickson
Cold Brains- Beck
September Gurls- Big Star

Reading Cash by Johnny Cash. What would it mean if I said I hadn't seen Evil Dead yet?

Shift On The Fly, Baby!

"It's drums, it's not exactly rocket science"
-Jim Greif in response to our last minute booking at Artomatic, and lack of rehearsal therefore. This is why I love playing music with him.

The Bob, The Edith

"I'm looking for a way out of politics, for a way to bring everyone back as one. We've been divided by masters who spin us a song, but say very little than what we already know. I'm turning off my radio. I'm turning off my television. I'm gonna talk to the man and the moon about how the mrs. mom treats him right. Resignations, hesitation marks… they're all the same."

At least bad politics spawns great art, we have that going for us.

Listening to rough mixes from the studio last week and plotting an earlier return. I'm imagining a world where I can pay everyone who works on this record in Bob and Ediths.

Jim is back in town, and we have much to talk about.

Day 2 in the studio

Went into Inner Ear this weekend to lay down some more tracks for album TBA with Nick Anderson engineering.

Okay, it just feels good being able to say Day 2 and report on it. Mind you, Day 1 was back in May. It took us some time to get back together with life happening and all. I brought my former band in to do a song. Okay, it just feels completely trite to use the words "former band" here, Bruce and Philip are like brothers.

The vibe was loose and relaxed, and there was much laughter. Much of that credit goes to the others, as I'm business too much of the time. It is a priviledge to work with people that I have such respect for, and to watch them work around a composition that previously existed in very ragged 4-track form. Bruce had an interesting time working around one of the tempo changes, and the subsequent release completely jumps off of the tape. You can literally hear the drummer nail the change, and then pour himself out through the outro of the song. I only hope mixing does this justice.

Two more songs are done nearly in their entirety, one done nearly completely live. With one mic (!). Some decisions were made on the fly, but we are about 75% done with the record now. Or, at least done with the basic tracking. Chances are we will take these out of the studio and tweak them quite handily. You just can't afford to tinker in the studio like you used to. Or, um, when you are footing the bill.

As soon as I can figure out the streaming of videos, I'll post some of the shenanigans to the main page. When in South Arlington, please visit Weenie Beenie. It'll love you up and call back the next day, just to say hello and see how you're doing.

-mc

District Represent

Okay, on the heels of my beloved Red Sox winning a World Series, everything has a sheen that prevents me from adequately putting my feet on the ground. I am generally nicer, and am even dispensing my limited "knowledge" of html and even worms/viruses (more on that) toward the greater good. Go me.

So now the powers that be of Washington baseball are reporting that the Expos will likely be named the Nationals when they get started up here. Not quite as good as the Greys (though they were actually a Pittsburgh team), and exponentially (pardon the near pun) better than the debiliating Senators. The Nationals. Hmmm… let me drink on it.

So here is my new beef. Viruses/Worms are the new "Boston Red Sox losing in the post season." Seriously. This crap has to go. My roommate was infected by some virus that has sent out personal information transmitted through emails. I don't know how it all works, but it has sucked out her ability to live, and laugh, and love. So if you get some email that says "End Tyranny, Vote Kerry" flip a bird at the young voters who didn't show, and the rest of the country that can't see they have voted for four more years of rights being taken away from us. Not to mention the bird for the worm people. Gross.

That being said, I live in a place where 90% of people agree with me. If not, feel free to comment and discuss. It's what patriots do.

What Am I, 12?

So I think I am 12 again. Or still. I can't tell.

All I know is it's cold and raining outside, and I made myself some hot cocoa. But, instead of doing the adult thing and using one packet, I put two in there. So, now I've got myself a significantly heavier cup of cocoa that is twice as delicious.

Try this at home kids.

Seriously. Oh yeah, and we've got a show coming up. Check out the shows page. Na na na boo boo.