Thursday, March 31, 2005 My friends Mike and Elisabeth, among others, made a short DVD called The Pizza Guy. Check it out if you get a chance, some of the scenarios are pretty funny, basically they order pizzas and stage these elaborate scenes when the pizza guy arrives. I'm hoping that the World show on Sunday night in Kensington comes together. It's Adam Forkner from Yume Bitsu and you can download a sample mp3. Saxon are in the Philadelphia gearing up for a little tour magic with some practicing today. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 01:05 PM CST Wednesday, March 30, 2005 Tonight is the draft for the Burnt Toast Vinyl fantasy baseball league. There will be much trash talking. Willis inspired some weird rock/baseball combination team names such as Neutral Milk Dotels, NewBomb Turk Wendells, and the frightening Kieschnickelback. Make any sense to you? If so, you have my sympathies. Saxon Shore will be playing at MACRoCk in Harrisonburg, VA on Friday. I think I'll be down to see the rock, hopefully see you there if you're in the neighborhood. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 10:57 AM CST Tuesday, March 29, 2005 I love instrumental music because it can paint an image of environment that lyrically based songs are often too confined to do. Saxon Shore's releases have been song oriented, less free form and sprawling or free-jazz inspired than some other instrumental acts. Because of this emphasis, the songs use more traditional melodic tools in a verse chorus verse structure, repeating and returning to themes within a single song. The band has been moving in more electronically influenced sound through some of their performances and tours. This sound is most completely realized in the Luck Will Not Save Us from a Jackpot of Nothing. Here, the traditional bass, guitar, drums band formula gives way to the inclusion of layers of synthesizers and keyboards and electronically derived rhythms. The result isn't immediately recognizable as Saxon Shore, but the song structure and melodic arrangements begin to reveal that identity. The sound is darker and bleaker, relying on more ambient and soaring sounds, but still accomplishing the song oriented instrumentalism goals. The layers and layers of sounds heighten the listening experience as my mind translates aural to visual images. Luck will Not Save Us from a Jackpot of Nothing shows this different side of Saxon Shore, a beautiful and stark contrast to their energetic and intense live rock alter-ego which is promised to re-emerge on their full-length, The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore. Matthew and I went to NYC last night in the rain, arriving a little too late to drop off cds at Fanatic, so we stacked them high in Matt Doty's apartment. Matt, Matt, Mary, and I all went to see Me Without You at the Knitting Factory after. I haven't seen them play in a really long time and it was good to see some old friends. Also good to hang out another evening with Johnathon. He's getting excited about the Magic Hedge remixes, I think there's going to be a lot of interesting things coming out of Bloomington from he and Dan. Tonight is the second meeting of the record listening club. More talk about Brian Eno, more about his rock albums and music theory. Sometimes it's fun to be a music nerd. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 08:05 AM CST Monday, March 28, 2005 I don't often take the time to explain why I put out certain records. When I first heard demos from Mara Miller of Bosque Brown, her simple voice and lyrics immediately captured my attention. Bosque Brown Plays Mara Lee Miller is a beautiful record, so sparsely and warmly recorded by Eric Fisher that it makes Mara's songs live and breathe. The songs are built from the foundation of Mara's vocals and guitars, but have additional instrumentation such as violins, drums, background vocals from Damien Jurado, even accordion tastefully mixed to strengthen and support. When Mara cries out "I'm still afraid of the dark" on the 7th track, it captures more than just my ears' attention and pulls on my heart and soul. I am with her and understand. The beautiful "I Think It Snowed" is maybe my favorite album on the record, recalling winter memories in the Midwest looking out from my bedroom window to see the ground dusted in a fresh blanket of snow or even this past winter to see the bleakness of the season brightened up in white. These beautiful melodies and images combine in a truly compelling record that transcends its honest simplicity. I am honored to be involved in releasing such an album. Tonight, Matthew and I are trucking up some records to NYC to be sent out by our publicists, the fine folks at Fanatic Promotion. We may stop over and see Johnathon and the Me Without You folks at the Knitting Factory if all goes well. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 12:58 PM CST Sunday, March 27, 2005 Happy Easter. Johnathon Ford was a surprising visitor in Philadelphia today. He's been traveling with friends in Me Without You for the past few weeks and ended up here for a little break. He's off for a few more shows with them and will fly to Indianapolis next week to finish up the Magic Hedge cd re-issue with Dan Burton (Early Day Miners). Thanks for the advice St. Johnathon of the Broken Arrow. The visit to Monk's was great. Thanks for brunch, Scott and Jane. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 10:51 PM CST Saturday, March 26, 2005 it's spring cleaning at the btv compound. new releases are all set up and the boxes all organized. my parents have been helping at a maddening pace. life is being breathed back in. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 03:33 PM CST Thursday, March 24, 2005 One random comment...what genius came up with the idea to get Hootie to hock ranch dressing in the most surreal Burger King commercial I've ever seen? During the NCAA games, we were all freakishly attracted to its bizarreness. Update: I'm on the phone with Matthew and he's just got our cds out of hock. He's unveiling the Bosque Brown with the embossed cover digipak, matte paper booklets, and says it looks great. Mara, they're finally done! Later Update: The new Saxon Shore cdeps and the re-issue of Be a Bright Blue both look great, too. Pre-orders should start shipping shortly. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 09:07 AM CST Wednesday, March 23, 2005 There was some good news today, Dan Burton does have the master tracks to Unwed Sailor's Magic Hedge release. The original 7" version had the song as the A side and a remix as the B side. For the cd re-issue, Johnathon and Dan are going to make some additional remixes in April. Nic Tse has apparently contributed some fruit photos for the cover art, but no further details. Retail release dates for upcoming titles through Redeye Distribution: btv064, Bosque Brown Plays Mara Lee Miller on 3 May btv065, Saxon Shore : Be a Bright Blue on 17 May btv066, Saxon Shore : Luck Will Not Save Us from a Jackpot of Nothing on 31 May Tour dates for Saxon Shore in April are up on their website and here as well. They'll be out in June with Ill Ease for some more dates to be announced later. My parents are here visiting for a few days and it's raining. "and when we break, we'll wait for our miracle..." :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:25 PM CST Tuesday, March 22, 2005 A flat tire has prevented me from getting the new releases out of customs. Matthew is going to get them tomorrow with Mike so I don't have to ride the donut to make the rock happen. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 02:11 PM CST Monday, March 21, 2005 The trip to Indiana was a lot of fun and a lot of basketball. We didn't get to see the upsets, but had a lot of fun rooting for the underdogs. Andrea Crosariol is our new favorite; his two ridiculous power dunks and blocked shots against Illinois brought us to our feet yelping, yes, yelping. Too bad he couldn't do much else or FDU just may have won. Got to get tenderloins with my grandma, go to Ivanhoe's for ice cream, meet up with my sister in Indianapolis for lunch, get addicted to milkshakes at Steak and Shake, and try out some Skyline chili on the drive. Thanks to Matt, Mike, Dave, Nicole, Steve, and my parents for a fun trip. The Saxon Shore cd and cdep and Bosque Brown cds are waiting for me in customs. They'll be set free shortly. goodbye... :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 03:11 PM CST Monday, March 14, 2005 Willis, Mike, and I saw Menomena and Hood on Thursday. Menomena delivered a really solid set, Hood was very underwhelming. Sometimes the electronics just don't translate in the live setting. Today's big distraction is the NCAA bracket predictions and I haven't finished yet. On Wednesday, Dave, Nicole, Mike, Matt, and I are loading up into the van and driving to Indianapolis to see the first two rounds of games there. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun. I am disappointed that I'll be missing Early Day Miners in Philadelphia on Friday at Mill Creek. If you're around, join Willis and go see them play. They will not disappoint. The latest three releases should be en route from the factory, including the new Bosque Brown and Saxon Shore ep, as well as the re-issue of Be a Bright Blue. Starflyer 59's jackets and test pressings should almost be ready for the vinyl release of Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice. Saxon Shore is at SXSW this week playing at the Fanatic Promotion showcase. Be there, this Wednesday, 16 March at the Velvet Spade in Austin. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:08 AM CST Thursday, March 10, 2005 Tonight, I may go see Hood with Menomena at the Unitarian church in Philadelphia. Willis will be there for sure. Saxon Shore are playing just outside my hometown tonight. Grab some Ivanhoe's for me, guys. I think my mom and dad are going to see the rock happen. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 01:38 PM CST Monday, March 7, 2005 On Friday night, I saw the Rachel's play in the sanctuary of the Unitarian church here in Philadelphia . They began the set as a 3 piece (piano, cello, viola) without amplification. It sounded amazing and the members are incredible musicians. It had been a long time since I last saw the Rachel's live and they did not disappoint, the sanctuary was the perfect venue for them. This time, as the previous time, I was thoroughly impressed by the films projected during the performance, including some eerie footage of the NYC blackout. By the way of full disclosure, I ended up meeting Greg King (filmmaker) at a brunch in NYC over 4 years ago, but was very impressed to find that he had done the films shown at the Rachel's performances. After the show, a few of us went down the seat to investigate the purported emergence of Two Boots pizza in Philadelphia. It turned out to be a copy cat called Two Red Boots Louisiana style pizza and was closed. They claim to have crawdad/andouille pizza, too, so I'll have to check it out, but I am suspicious and not sure it will be as good as the Bayou Beast. Randall from Jetenderpaul is going to be in town for something related to history and we'll be meeting up. Always good to meet. There were some rumblings about new Jetenderpaul recordings around Christmastime, but nothing concrete to announce. Saxon Shore is still on tour. Be sure to see them play. The repress of Be a Bright Blue and the new cdep should be back from the factory shortly. Order away... :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 01:05 PM CST Friday, March 4, 2005 There were some problems last night with the site, but everything is back. Matthew is out on the road with Saxon Shore, so I'm handling all of the mail order for the next few weeks. I spent a lot of last night getting caught up with this week's orders while watching this incredibly fascinating documentary about Jandek, highly recommended and makes me want to just order all of his releases. Saxxon is kicking their tour off tonight in Fredonia, NY. Be sure to catch them when they come to your area. Tonight, I'm off to see the Rachel's with Ida in the Unitarian Church Sanctuary. The only time I saw the Rachel's, they were spectacular and I'm sure the sanctuary will do wonders for the sound. I finished up the jacket design, really the adaptation from the cd design, for Starflyer 59 : Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice LP. Should be ready shortly and up for pre-orders in a couple of weeks. There's going to be a repress of Woven Hand : Consider the Birds. If you don't have a copy on LP, buy one right away to get the blue marbled vinyl, the repress will be on black vinyl. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 09:41 AM CST Tuesday, March 1, 2005 I added a few more releases to the online store, including the two new releases from our friends at Asthmatic Kitty - Bunky and Half-Handed Cloud - as well as the new Early Day Miners which I'd forgotten to add a few weeks ago. Order away. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 07:46 PM CST [ Archives ]