we’re getting a dear old friend back today!! more to come…
(ssshhh, i heard a rough first mix of one song, “talk you down” for the new record… very pleased)
I apologize for not updating as much as we should. we’re all working really hard trying to get these songs to sound the best we can, sometimes we forget to take pictures/video and post updates. I promise we’ll be better about it going forward…
we’ve had an interesting couple of weeks. some new gear, mixed with getting other gear fixed has made recording interesting to say the least. we’ve had to try some slightly unconventional tactics, but the result’s been good so far. more on that later…
the may 30 show went really well, thanks for everyone that came out. we tried a lot of new songs, new ideas, and new setups which seemed to go over very well. it’s exciting to start playing live again. you get in the mindset of recording, and then to take these new songs out into the live world is something special.
sorry for the giant post/rambling…
some filmmaker friends of ours shot the last show, we’re editing film right now. surprises for everyone soon…
ben.
ps. spent some time at the DeCordova museum recently…
As you might know, for some reason I really love wearing a dress when we play. Not sure if it comes from childhood when wearing anything besides jeans meant it was a special occassion - actually, come to think of it, I’m still kind of like that! So here’s my great new handmade dress that I cannot wait to wear to the show tomorrow night!
Also, a sneak peek at the set list:
Rest Your Head*
Talk You Down*
White Flag*
Intro Song
Ghosts for Now
Church Bells*
Fire Eater#
Meteor Flights
Three Twenty-Six
True North#
I’ve put a * by all the brand NEW ones that will be on the record, and a # by all the new-to-you songs (you may have heard them live once or twice).
Also - there’s been a slight update to the set times and we go on at 10pm sharp!
so we’re taking a small little break from recording to rehearse for this show on may 30. we’ve got some surprises in store for everyone…
got up early this morning to work on some guitar and bass parts. we’ve decided to focus on 3 to 4 song batches, get everything recorded for those songs then move to the next batch. I’ve almost got my parts done, a few more days of work.
jen’s gonna work on her parts the next two days, giving me a couple much needed days off.
we’re also getting ready for the may 30 show at cafe 939. should be great. we’ve got a lot of surprises in store for everyone. stay tuned…
In light of last nights Celtics loss, Loki wanted to show his support and help to team with game 7. I think what Loki is trying to say is: “More Scal! More Scal!!!”
We spent the better part of Saturday on Amp patrol. We dropped off the AC30 at Boston Guitar Works to get it looked at and to get a new reverb tank installed. They’re the place to go if you need a boutique amp and have some amazing gear. After spending a some time perusing and drooling over their amps, we decided to head back into town to make the Fender Twin acquisition.
We’ve used various Fenders in the past, but this is by far the nicest sounding one I’ve heard. It has the perfect Fender sound - and its reverb is just beautiful. Once in the van, we made a beeline back to your recording space to give it a full run through at full volume.
Besides it being a damn loud amp, it sounds “just right”. Just plug in and play - not much else is needed. After spending a lot of time struggling, and not succeeding in getting the right sound for a few of our songs, this amp got us there in a few minutes.
One of the many good things about the Rick that Ben is playing, is the way it feeds back. That’s also why he’s standing so close while he’s playing (i’m sure his ears will thank him later). Once it’s starts to feedback, you get an amazing lush wall of sound which fills up space so nicely.
Now, if we only had an AB/Y switch that was quite so we could get both channels pumping at once. We actually have 2, but they are way too noisy for your liking. The Divided by 13 Switchazel looks real nice, but it’s also $275.00 - i think it’s going to have to wait.
Once we get the AC30 back (hopefully later in the week), these two amps will be singing together proudly.
Now the “30 day” clock is ticking…
I walked out to the van this morning to find this:
It reminds me of a note that someone left on my van a few years - in that case, someone was complaining that the van was too big, took up too much space, and shouldn’t be allowed on the street. My reaction on both occasions was the same: How can I possibly take up even more space?
Except when your crankshaft explodes in Petaluma, CA, driving a 15 passenger van is a great thing when it comes to touring and carrying all your gear around. It does, however, make driving and parking back at home a bit more difficult. For some reason, a note like this makes driving the van around town worth it.
I’m not sure quite what it says about me, but all I want to do now is figure out a way to take up 3 parking spaces right in front of this fine poets house. The van is big enough where I may just be able to do that. Now I have something to shoot for.
Let the games begin!
So we finally got around to taking a look at the reverb tank in the AC30 (that’s the thing that make’s all the cool, dreamy sounds). Sure enough, the thing is all sorts of broke.
There is supposed to be 3 springs stretched from one end of the tank to the other, but none (which is what we have) is decidedly less than the aforementioned 3. I’ve read reports of other AC30 owners having similar issues, so it seems that the stock reverb tank is pretty cheap.
I spent awhile today trying to track a new one down, but I didn’t have much luck - at least not if i wanted one sooner than “a few weeks” anyway. I think our best bet now is to bring it in the Mr. Amp Dr. and she if they can get it fixed sooner.
In the end, the amp needs to get looked at anyway, so I now is as good a time as any. That Fender Twin we’ve been looking at may need to be aquired sooner rather than later to take the AC30’s place.
Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but today is someones birthday. To celebrate we eat at a fantastic new restaurant called “Hungry Mother” in Cambridge, Ma.
And no, this photo is not supposed to imply that it was my birthday, this happens to be the only one that came out clear enough to post; sorry, you get to look at my ugly mug.
I would highly recommend “Hungry Mother” to anyone looking for some fine, environmentally friendly, and organic food. It was one of the better meals I’ve had in long time! One interesting thing little tidbit about the place is that it took over the space that used to be a club called Kendall Cafe. “The Kendall”, as it was known, was a place that Jen used to play a lot of shows before her SOTG fame. There were definitely some good shows there, but now there it’s serving equally good food, I really can’t complain too much.
If you do get a chance to eat there, definately check out their boiled peanuts. I’ve never seen or heard of them before, and much to my surprise, they were quite good. They almost tasted like potatoes. It was a nice way to start the meal.