Something For The Next Album

I'm always on the hunt for something new instrument wise, and this 1950's Autoharp fit the bill. I found it in pretty good condition, though I'm sure a new set of strings are in order. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a tuning wrench, but I'm sure I can grab one of those when I get it cleaned up. While this won't be ready for the first album, I'm sure it'll be ready for the next and possibly alongside my 3/4 cello and 5 string banjo which also need a little work.

HAPPY HOLLOWS

Last Date

Today I re-learned and recorded a song written and demoed 10 months earlier called Last Date. It was part of the 3rd batch of songs I had pitched for the 2nd Murder Shoes album. Imagine how many songs I wrote after that. And like those, Last Date sat around gathering dust.... until today. A simple 1950's Twin Peaksy slow jam driven by tremelo and prison centric lyrics recalling the shock and awe induced vibe of The Zombies "Care of Cell 44", but y'know more torchy 50's. I also finished overdubs on an even older Murder Shoes canidate called No Place To Go. This one was written pre-2nd EP. I always loved it and it was a joy to finally track it beyond the demo phase. Lots of trippy guits on that one. Syd Barrett meets The Verve I guess. Of the other songs recently tracked, Hand Painted Dinosaurs is a curiosity. Written while both bands were still in play, this song was demoed by both. The lyrics actually discuss the breakdown occurring albeit hidden within a "relationship song". Murder Shoes worked up a five minute practice version that showed potential but we failed to touch on it again as we quickly went back to our usual habit of quicky pre-show practices with no time to spare on new material. This was a habit that stretched for over a year, thus draining any new creative possibilities. Anyways, Witch Watch had also demoed it and we re-cut it in a slower version. More goth folk I suppose. Wandering and Wondering was written during a low moment. I don't see that one coming out. That's down to picking and choosing the songs that best represent being crushed from outside forces. I guess I have better ones lying around. Wait For Me is one of the last songs I pitched to Murder Shoes. That and 4 others from a pile that I'll inevitably discuss later. While more of a Witch Watch song than a Murder Shoes song, I still pitched it and even suggested replacing the guitar lines on piano. I thought that would have been a nice change up for us. But, since I don't have a piano, and the song came back to me, we have a guitar version again. I had to use Jon's acoustic as mine had a buzzy nut bridge. It was also missing a string but I didn't need it. A Personal Eclipse, that's the newest of the new. Very minimal, very lean and mean. Spartan. Also, very Wire. influenced. Finishing overdubs on all six this weekend. Next week I'll track another three. Meow.

SONG FOR BILLY

Idle Hands Are The Devil's Something

Question of the day: Why won't Wire re-release their Behind The Curtain and Peel sessions albums? It's crazy. Anyways, Anna's in France doing French stuff and I have some days off, so I'll keep things moving by laying down more backing tracks. Today is day two of our sessions with Anna's brother Jon. I'll track another two songs and redo a few bits from last session. We'll ultimately record between 8-10 songs with Jon and then a set of 10-12 in November with Knol Tate. For those curious about such things, here's the track list of what's about to go down or already got tracked: 1. Wandering & Waiting 2. Hand Painted Dinosaurs 3. No Place To Go 4. Wait For Me 5. A Personal Eclipse

Witches Woods

A Door Shuts And A Gateway Is Opened

Murder Shoes played its final show last night at The Fine Line. The members of that band are now scattering to new and old projects and one of them is Witch Watch. Formed by Murder Shoes guitarist, Derek Van Gieson and Flowerstalks background singer Anna Neighbors, Witch Watch is a group that will carry on the Murder Shoes mix of rock & roll, shoegaze, random surf, sultry steamers, and retro 50's business, with the new addition of arty punk and post-punk leanings, rockabilly, gothic folk, and some outright absurd stuff. (OK, enough with writing in the 3rd person.) It's pretty easy to describe it as such as we've already demoed 30 songs. We're recording a third of those with some friends rounding out the drums and bass in November with former Murder Shoes producer, Knol Tate. We're also tracking some songs with Anna's brother Jon. Are we excited? Hell Yeah. We're going to work like crazy to get that album for you for the New Year. Will I be selling some artwork to help finance the record? You bet. If you like the artwork you saw on the Murder Shoes albums and flyers, you already have an idea. More details soon.