today`s gig...the Moss St. market

Could you ask for anything better...a chill in the air, fresh coffee, the scent of autumn harvest everywhere and a Moss St market crowd. I don`t know what it was about the gig today, everything just seemed right. Maybe the crowd was in a mood, maybe we were, but it just seemed to happen and it was just like jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves. I wanted to keep going. Maybe its best that`s the last gig of the season there for us, it was a nice way to end.
Come on spring...

Monsters of Folk

Cd of the Week ~ Monsters of Folk. A super group - Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes and M. Ward - and a super record. A couple of folks have said to me, "you know, this Cd reminds me a little bit of the Children"...check it out. You could probably sample some songs on iTunes. Tweaking on Stereo Bang Bang continues...the song-by-song scrutiny resulted in a series of fixes and additions that we are chipping away at. With six busy guys and six busy schedules...it is always a art form to pull in together for sessions. The reconstruction of the new website is well underway...and will be unveiled sooner...stay tuned.

"The Rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night..."

I see that Springsteen and the E-Streeters are closing out the Meadowlands in style...playing Born to Run, Born in the USA and The River in their entirety on various nights of the Meadowlands last stand...what has that got to do with Stereo Bang Bang? Let me think about that...so here we sit on the West Coast, six guys in their prime, six guys trying to stay in time...recording a Cd. Fiercely independent and unmanageable...but an interesting glimpse into the creative process. The band held a listening session on Sunday, as previously noted...criticism, self-criticism. I always wonder how awful films get made...I mean, didn't anyone notice this in cutting room? Did they not have the money or the footage to fix it? Same thing holds with the recording process...are we being objective? Are the songs any good? Is the playing good enough? Is the singing...singing? There's a lot of second guessing that goes on...but, one thing is for certain, we are makin' it up, whatever it is. The songs, the arrangements, the vibe, the sound...it is truly original although derivative. But then life is derivative. This is our own private Jungleland.

cd listening party

So we sat around this afternoon trying to fix the order of the songs for the new CD. Its like trying to decide which one of your kids should go first. Not easy.
We are pretty pleased with some of the tracks, "I was Crazy I was" is awesome, can't wait to let that one out of the can. "Road to Hollywood" sounds great, nice work from the Balkan Babes who add new colours to the palette. Other tracks still need work, at times it seems these songs have their own birthing process, some are easy and some struggle to be born.
So we continue to play the midwife, and expectant parent, looking forward to the happy, healthy pitter patter of little beats...