Dig Me But Don't Bury Me

Well folks, here it is, another one 'o them thar progress reeee-ports on theee progress of my new CD.

I've made MAJOR strides in the construction of "A Brew For Elliot Spitzer and The Minutemen", so far, it STARTS with lots of Hammond organ, a kind of R&B-ish groove with some laid back yet unorthodox note choices from the bass. And as people who know me can attest, after that, any semblance of mainstream normalcy is VERY short lived (MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!). I still have to concoct some guitar parts, The most FUN aspect of putting his piece together was overdubbing a "percussion ensemble" last night (consisting of an egg shaker, a Turkish duburka drum, a recording of a Whiskered Screech Owl, a wood frog and some subtle distant synth -generated bells. It was done in 12/8 time with the rhythmic grouping as follows; 3-2-3-2-2), it came out, well, shall we say, VERY backwoods sounding. Today I laid in the bass which was actually very enjoyable. The title BTW, refers to the former NY State Attorney General, now governor Elliot Spitzer who along with several other state's attorney general went after several major record labels, most notably your favorite and mine, SONY, for illegal practices like payola and royalty witholding, The Minutemen were a pioneering indie/punk/avant rock band who not only made and released VERY unique music on their own terms but also toured relentlessly out of a Ford Econoline van WITHOUT any help or meddling from the major labels. This piece is my tip of the hat to them both for not bowing down to the idiocy of corporations like SONY and their ilk. Elliot, Mike Watt and George Hurley, I would LOVE to buy you guys a round of brews to thank you. And RIP D. Boon, you left this world too young!

Also, I recently dug up a recording of a drum improv by Jim Dunn and a bass track laid over it by my buddy Dave Condra. After relistening to it with fresh ears, I promptly did a little snipping of this rambling 15-minute maelstrom, creating two far more manageable and logical foundations for TWO new pieces, to be titled, "You Too Can Be Incredibly Average" and "Mime Doesn't Pay".

On The Player
Egg - The Polite Force

This 1971 vintage gem of what came to be known as the Canterbury style of progressive rock (trademarks include jazzy rhythms and harmonies, whimsy, English drollness in the vocals and lyrics along with absurdist humor where needed, and LOTS of organ, (especially a distinct kazoo-like overdriven fuzz-organ sound for solos that is VERY cool). With keyboardist Dave Stewart (no NOT the Dave Stewart from The Eurythmics) at the helm, this threesome (Mont Campbell on bass and droll vocalising, Clive Brooks on drums) charge their way through some VERY by turns, hilariously absurd ("Contra-Song", with alternating 5/8 and 9/8 time, HILARIOUSLY off-kilter brass and very bizarre/funny lyrics), meticulously composed (Long Piece #3 parts 1-4) humorously droll ("A Visit to Newport Hospital", which chronicles their life as travelling musicians "avoiding skinheads and the law") and ruthlessly experimental ("Boilk"). Definitely NOT for the faint of heart, fans of Lawrence Welk or Top-40 music, but for folks who like something VERY adventurous (even if it's a little awkward once in a while), humorous and out-of-the-ordinary, this is just what the doctor ordered.