Take Solace in the Blogosphere

I just recorded a video of our new song “Bring the Whole World Down” and posted it on Facebook.  

Watch it

The stain left in northern Wisconsin this year, not by a bodily fluid but by a clever acronym (namely B.A.R.F or Bluegrass and Roots Festival) is not unlike the damage done to a stylish taupe vest after one’s humors are balanced on it after a night of saturnalian excess. One is not sure of what has just happened, and not knowing what has happened we are less sure of what will happen. But take comfort in the lingering acrid smell that still faintly appears on your clothes and on the sacred grounds of the Algoma Hunting and Fishing Club. No amount of laundering and no amount of rain can wash away the trodden-in excrement of good times gone past, because said good times only ripen with temporal distance. Memory is a revisionist, and as such, events gets repeated with the same glossed over abandon as the scrolling news floats by while a disinterested newscaster yawns through the same tired advice from the station’s resident nutritionalist. So why should we give a damn about counting your precious calories? The very things we seek to live for are floating away right beneath our feet. But don’t fret too much about our collectively imperfect recollections. Truth and clarity are ugly things. The word for this softening of memory is nostalgia. Deep down, all modern bluegrass fans share this same nostalgia, this same anachronistic fetish for what we ourselves have never experienced. Yet, that’s not entirely true because even though our minds and bodies are tyrants, music transcends all, and for a few blissful moments a connection is made to this nonexistent past haven gestating like a bucolic womb in all of our minds. This year’s Festival was no exception. It is the quality of the people and the quality of the music that make it such. Our sickened psyches will tie the loose ends. Let the breath of this coming winter be a cathartic for whatever discomforts might have been suffered. The passage of time can only make Old Crow whiskey taste more like ambrosia. And it goes without saying that, in the future, rain will seem like a necessary backdrop to facilitate the appreciation of early morning banjar playing. One can only hope that next year, only those with a healthy dollop of dog shit ground into the soles of their shoes will be allowed through the gates. In this capacity, I think I can say with confidence that this year’s festival was undoubtedly the best yet. And if reality is the whore I really think she is, let’s strive to paint her the bluegrass way. And no this doesn’t mean in some apple-cheeked Rockwell fashion. Let’s tell the truth this time. But try to make the truth timeless and a little more universal. More like a Brueghel. Not appealing but trancendant. Nothing less that a culmination of the human experience.

Last night we stopped in on an open mic at Live on North hosted by Blonde on Blonde’s Chrissy and Jessica.  BOB (I feel like shortening it) played some acoustic duets including a Bob Dylan and a Pink Floyd cover.  I dug their vocal harmonies and their style of pickin’.  Chrissy works with a friend of mine and this was the first time I met her in person.  She’s really nice and hopefully we’ll play a full out show with her in the future.

The Buskers were there too and played a few blues originals. I met Ricky (guitar/vocals) and Dave (bass).  They had a bunch of really cool blues-rock songs - pretty close to the Black Keys.  Ricky was nice enough to let Dave K. use his guitar for a couple songs.  I hope we end up playing with them again too.

Peter Carlson of Monday Saga fame also came out to show his support.  I guess he sometimes plays with Blonde on Blonde when needed.  He didn’t play anything last night but perhaps we’ll jam with him sometime off stage.

As for me, I played 3 acoustic songs by myself at the beginning of the night (Two Headed Boy by Neutral Milk Hotel, Plush by Stone Temple Pilots, and Needle and the Damage Done by Neil Young).  Chris and I then played 2 songs as a duet - he brought his mandolin - The Mountain is Going Away by Take Solace (hey that’s us!), and Dancing in the Moonlight by Thin Lizzy.  After those Dave K joined us for a couple more songs - It took a little bit to remember what songs we had with 2 acoustic guitars and a mandolin but we eventually figured it out - Dark and True by the Gourds, our It’s Your Own Damn Fault, and Westfall by Okkervil River. 

I think the set went pretty well since a guy tried to buy me a shot at the end of the night.  You know you’ve done well when someone tries to buy you a drink!  Thank you anonymous dude!  Sorry, I couldn’t take it.  Laura and I were in Chicago for the weekend and did A LOT of walking so we were pretty exhausted.  It was a great end to a great weekend.

I just smashed my coffee pot. Now I can’t make my daily latte. I’m not sure what kind of effect this is going to have on my productivity and punctuality. I would assume the worst.

Cool. This is being posted via my iPod touch. Pretty sweet.

Kind of sucks to write with though.

We have proposed yet another plan for recording that, we can only hope, will work. This plan involves us setting up in a very large hall near the middle of the state and playing our songs live. We’ll record all of the tracks simultaneously using a very sophisticated digital recording apparatus and hopefully the hugeness of the stage will reduce any echo or weird effects we often find when we play in small concert venues.

It does seem that this plan is just another attempt but this time we actually have it scheduled. I guess, if you think about it, it’s really just another experiment. But whatever. I like experimenting. How else does one learn and grow or find out what does and doesn’t work? Either way it should be fun to do something different.

I’m purposely giving limited details here to keep the hype down. I think we’re pretty safe in telling all 3 of our fans that read this blog.  We’re very trusting.

In a side note:

We have been discussing the merits of a good recording and have had a couple disagreements about it.  To me, a good recording is representative of the music and, without it, the song just isn’t as good.  A recording that doesn’t have professional sound will never be played other than by very close friends or deeply rooted fans. Thus, the reasoning behind my push for a good couple tracks.

While we may have some really cool songs and our live presence is darn spectacular we are still in need of some good recordings to use as demos and to pass out.  Our goal never was to make money by selling CDs - just to make good music that people listen to.  BUT good recordings do COST money.  And since we don’t like spending money (Dave is a financial advisor and, subsequently, advises against it), we need to do things ourselves.  Recording, mixing and mastering is an art form - and like any art form it takes practice to be good.  We’re on our way and this blog is a record of our findings in this area. 

Hopefully this new “experiment” will give us some good results.  Otherwise, it will just be another page in our book - which is an end in itself and, consequently, does not mean failure.