The Hanslick Rebellion is returning to action, and we hope to have a new EP for you soon. We started writing and rehearsing earlier this year but things sorta ground to a halt. We seem to be back on track now. Richard Lloyd, who had been producing and engineering the new record, is still producing and engineering the new record. He has been very, very patient with us!
I can say with all confidence that the new material sounds nothing like our last release, Let’s Get To The Fucking. Which is not to say LGTTF is anything less than awesome. I reacquainted myself with that EP recently and was stunned by how great it sounds, and how much fun the blend of rock and reggaeton can be:
The new Rebellion material is closer to our live sound, a la the rebellion is here. Richard’s studio is one small room, and we’re just gonna bang this shit out. Richard recorded all of his recent solo work in that space; his amazing The Radiant Monkey feels totally in-the-room-with-the-band, and that’s what we’re hoping for here.
And now, a few quickies.
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I’m really getting into the singles thing – the flexibility of it. As long as I can keep making physical versions to go with digital, I’ll be happy. I’ve got a bunch of new tunes ready to record in easy-to-release pairs; December should be a busy month for that.
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I’ve got a couple of crayon drawings in a Schenectady art show this month. It was a Hallowe’en-themed exhibition, so I used the Eisenstein stills from The Cutting Room Floor as my basis. Here they are… you can see them in person at the Jay Street Gallery (163 Jay Street, Schenectady, NY):
Both were done on large sheets of Bristol board (I forget the exact dimensions) with Crayola crayons. I’m doing the album art for my pal Matt Johnson’s new record the same way, so this was a nice warmup.
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I recently started DJing at WCDB Albany. That’s 90.9 on the FM dial; you can also listen live from anywhere by following this link. My regular time slot is 2pm-4pm on Sunday afternoons, though I’m off this week for Rebellion rehearsal. I’ll remind you again before my next show.
I was a station member in the mid-90’s, when college radio was in its glory. Things are obviously different now, but today’s station members are just as passionate about music as we were back then. Probably moreso… it’s easy to be involved with something when it’s cool. Harder when you have to fight to make it cool. And they do – WCDB is very cool.
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Finally, I’ve been secretly blogging someplace else, fictionally and under an assumed name. Just a heads-up, so you can play detective if ya really want to… you probably won’t find it, but good luck!
As of last week, I have a performance residency on the UAlbany campus; I’ll be playing every Tuesday night for the rest of this semester, and I expect to resume when school starts back up in January. They’re calling me the “Songwriter-in-Residence”, which I think is cute.
The shows are all free and open to the community. I’ll be paired up with another performer every week; we’ll each do a set. As long as it’s possible, I’m gonna try tailoring my presentation to complement the other artist. If the second act is a band, I’ll do a full-band thing. If not, I’ll do solo piano. Other configurations are possible as well – whatever I can make work.
This whole “Fake Coffeehouse” thing is interesting… in the room that was once the UAlbany Rathskeller (it was McDuff’s when I was a student), a stage was installed during a round of renovations – with lighting and everything. The intention was to make the place a coffeehouse, but somehow it ended up being a Wendy’s instead. Tables and chairs were placed on the stage, and everyone forgot it was a stage. Now University Auxiliary Services has turned it back into a coffeehouse. For one night a week, at least. They’re providing free coffee at every show.
I’ve been given the privilege of curating the Fake Coffeehouse series – it’s up to me to book the other performers. I hope to do three things: bring local artists to campus so students can see how much great music is being made in the Capital District; help student musicians find an audience; and bring national touring acts to play in an intimate setting. I want to help cross-pollinate the school and city music communities… I believe that the students are the key to a thriving Albany music scene. So many of them are passionate about music; it’s just a matter of letting those people know there’s stuff right here in town that is worth their time.
The first Fake Coffeehouse show featured a set by the Ramblin Jug Stompers, an awesome Blotto side project. Could not have been a more fitting way to kick off the series. It was wild fun, and a homecoming of sorts for those guys – not only had they played the room in its earliest incarnation, but they met as students on the UAlbany campus 40 years and one month ago!
This Tuesday night, I’ll be paired up with a singer-guitarist named David Schulman. He’s a UAlbany student who does acoustic originals and some loopy electric stuff. Between now and November 30 (when the series closes for the semester with a performance by Brian Dewan!), we’ll have a ton of surprises and great, great music. And coffee.
