Heigh-ho, just wanted to remind you Seattleites that my "Damn, I Shoulda Had A CD Release Show!" on July 18 is fast approaching. If you're planning on coming (and I hope you are), make sure to call/email to reserve a table, or else you might be seated on the sidewalk.
It has also come to my attention that Batman: The Dark Knight opens that same evening. Let me just say that I myself CANNOT WAIT for this movie to get here, but nonetheless I compiled the following list of reasons why you should come to my show instead:
Unlike the new Batman film, which opens on hundreds of screens nationwide, my show is only being performed once! Ever!
Dennis the drummer is very nearly as sexy as Christian Bale, even without the leather bat suit. They even look like twins from a considerable distance!
The new Batman film has Maggie Gyllenhaal and she doesn't sing a note! My show's got Suzanne Picard on piano, and guest vocalists Alissa Jandt, Laurie K. Carlsson and Jerin Falkner. Four times the foxiness!
Heath Ledger. I -- okay, fine, I got nothing here.
Um, and that's all I could come up with on short notice. Anyway, my point is that Hollywood should totally check with me first before scheduling any summer blockbusters.
X the Owl: Are you hurt, Bob Dog?
[Bob Dog howls in pain]
X the Owl: Does that mean that you are or you aren't?
X the Owl: I don't think we should call them "bombs", though. We should call them "surprise treats" or something like that. Bombs are scary things and hurting things.
Lady Aberlin: What's the matter, X?
X the Owl: Oh I'm really disturbed. I am just as disturbed as can be.
Lady Aberlin: Why is that?
X the Owl: Well just come on inside my tree ands I'll show you.
Lady Aberlin: I think this knothole is a little too small for me to get in.
X the Owl: There's a bigger door for creatures your size around the back. Now just come on in here and meet you inside. I tell you, I'm really disturbed.
X the Owl: All the same, I wonder if it wouldn't be easier if people just gave each other the things they need instead of buying all the time and selling all the time.
Cornflake S. Pecially: Well in some places, it's like that, X. But in most places, people earn money for work and then pay that money for what they need.
X the Owl: Like shovels and buckets.
X the Owl: I'm not so sure I want wishes to come true.
Lady Aberlin: Why not?
X the Owl: Well, Henrietta, you know Henrietta Pussycat, my neighbor, she said to me, "What if all your wishes would come true, X?"
Lady Aberlin: And then what did you say?
X the Owl: Well, I thought about the times when I'm angry and wished for bad things. I wished my tree would fall down and all kinds of bad things.
X the Owl: [singing]
One time I wished that my tree would fall down
And hit someone else on the head
I was mad all the day
And I just couldn't say
Why owls and people and things get that way
I wished for some terrible thing, I'd say
Especially trees falling down
But that wish certainly didn't come true
'Cause scary mad wishes don't make things come true
No, scary mad wishes don't make things come true.
Robert Plant, "In The Mood"
Ginuwine, "Pony"
Player, "Baby Come Back"
Mötley Crüe, "Dr. Feelgood"
Mötley Crüe, "Livewire"
Snow, "Informer"
Neil Diamond, "Heartlight"
Michael Jackson, "Rock With You"
R. Kelly, "Sex Weed"
Ted Nugent, "Stranglehold"
Yesterday afternoon Greg and I finished tracking drums and bass for four new Explone tunes. I posted a few photos to Flickr here.
I was a bit intimidated going in, this being my first time in a "real" studio and all, for someone else's music, with my bass playing under such scrutiny, but I didn't make nearly as many mistakes as I expected. We stuck my 6x10 cab inside a foamy isolation booth in the basement. Since I've spent years sequestered away in the Folkhole playing amp-less bass lines directly into my sad little 4-channel mixer, monitoring my bass through headphones wasn't a problem at all. I didn't really need to "feel" the low-end punch in the room with me. (Although you could feel it rumbling through the floor a bit, because my bass rig is a beast.). Anyway, the result is some really great-sounding bass tracks that I'm finding hard to believe I actually played.
Today Shawn and Patrick are tracking the rest of his guitars and vocals, and I'll be going in for a few hours to add some backing vocals.
Here's some video of Patrick cutting some guitar tracks in the control room:
And here's Greg doing a drum check ahead of recording:
Starting today, Explone is spending three days tracking new songs at Studio Litho here in Seattle. We'll be working with local producer/engineer guy Shawn Simmons. I'm a bit nervous to have my bass playing put under a microscope, but I'm really, really looking forward to the session. It's been a long while since I've been in a studio that wasn't my bedroom.
I didn't know this until yesterday night, but Litho is owned by Stone Gossard. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Dave Matthews have recorded here. And now here I am, tracking dirt on the carpet and stuff.
I've become a little bit addicted to John Roderick's columns in the Seattle Weekly, where he writes about life as a mid-level rock star and bandleader of the Long Winters. You don't have to be a musician to enjoy it.
The band could not reach a consensus on whether they were individually hungry. I extolled the virtues of [local restaurant] "Ranay's" and made a final endorsement of it even as we were driving past, but the suggestion was greeted with two whimpers, a look of confusion, and an exhalation of breath. OK, done.
But as SOON as we walk in the door of my place, two-and-a-half minutes later, the rabble starts: "Can we order a pizza?" "Is it OK if I open these chips?" "Can I make some pasta?" The enterprising bandleader, a well-known singer, opens my pantry, discovers my canned-chili depository, and says to the room, "Who wants chili?" Four hands shoot up.
Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic also has a blog there, but it's all political and not nearly as fun.
It'll be at Egan's Ballard Jam House on Friday, July 18th. If you're in the Seattle area and would like to attend (and why wouldn't you? It's going to rock), I highly recommend contacting Egan's and reserve your seats in advance. Egan's is a fancy little venue and seating is limited.
Other details are on my Tour page, but I'll be announcing more stuff about the show as the date draws near.
Heigh-ho, just wanted to remind you Seattleites that my "Damn, I Shoulda Had A CD Release Show!" on July 18 is fast approaching. If you're planning on coming (and I hope you are), make sure to call/email to reserve a table, or else you might be seated on the sidewalk.
I've become a little bit addicted to