Two videos up from the Brooklyn Tea Party gig via drawnfromdust. (thanks, Kate!) Dan Costello on piano. Fourteen or so audience members joining us on percussion and vocals off-cam. first time playing these songs in a while. FUN night.
Also put up an audioboo or two- one of me, one of Debe Dalton.
Jetlagged all to hell. Goodnight New York.
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Writing this at 20,000 feet, purely to massage my inner geek. We’re on a sleek northern trajectory, arrow-fast to New York City, and about time too.
Two chances to catch a set in The City:
May 12- Brooklyn Tea Party
The Tuesday Teacup- 7-10pm
Onstage 9pm
Myspace link for full details and directions.
May 14th- Sidewalk Cafe
Onstage 8pm. Full details at sidewalkmusic.net.
Hope to see you at one of the shows!
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I’ve just spent most of the past week walking the streets of Norfolk, VA- minding the baby while Ms Fishuncle works her arse off on a big event. In most American cities, it seems the presence of pedestrians indicates that you’re either a) on the wrong side of town or b) shopping. On foot, outside of a mall, you’re sufficiently unusual that any other walkers seem compelled to strike up conversation, as if to confirm you’re not a mirage, that they’re not the only ones. Worse, as the entire city is designed for cars, not humans, it’s not even as if you can walk toanywhere. One is compelled to describe a meandering, aimless, and ultimately circuitous route to nowhere and back.
All of which is a precise and polar opposite to much of what I love about New York. Everyone walks and there are millions of possible destinations. You step out of your front door into a chaotic whirl of bustle and froth, and your every conversation is an encounter with a real live New Yorker who, in all probability, is up to all sorts of things, and is certainly going somewhere interesting and enriching.
All in all, Monday’s flight (ORF->EWR) is pretty much the most welcome thing I can think of. But I can’t help daydreaming of home, London, where my roots and my life are. Comfortable and unassuming, like an old pair of shoes.
And, while I’ve been writing this, in this godforsaken fake marble hotel bar, a crowd of PETA donors have come in, having thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of Ms Fishuncle and colleagues, and a gay man is standing on a table singing opera in a glorious falsetto, showing me that wherever you are, life is precisely what you make it, and you should never allow circumstances to cramp your style.
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I’ve finished uploading my back catalogue to Bandcamp (at least as far back as 2003- anything before then can be presumed to have evaporated or demagnetised.)
You can listen to ShinyShiny, Lighter Than The Atom and Skin And Bone in their entirety. Some tracks are also free to download in 128kpbs MP3 if you so choose – mouse over the ‘Download’ link to find the free ones.
I intend to keep putting my stuff up, as I release it, to stream in full, for free, forever.* As well as the Bandcamp site, I’m looking in to ways to get my stuff into places like Spotify, Pandora, etc. It’s already on last.fm. Expect to see ‘unreleased’ stuff on Bandcamp too. Did I mention you should join Spotify? You should join Spotify.
These recordings can also be bought on pieces of plastic (!) that I have printed, and store in my house (?!) then send halfway around the world (!?!) so that, for more money than you could have them instantly (??) you can have them sent halfway around the world =again= so you can listen to them in a week or so (!??!) Which does, let’s face it, seem like an awful lot of trouble to just listen to some music. (Did I mention that, given that they’re plastic, CDs are an environmental disaster? Damn. Well, at least they’re recyclable.)
(*not counting apocalyptic scenarios, obsolesence of the internet, or me getting signed to one of those fuddy-duddy major labels.)
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The problem with the internet- in fact, this is a problem with computers in general- is that just as soon as you’ve built something and got it working just the way you want it, someone comes up with a better way to do the thing you just spent ages perfecting.
Bugger.
And yet, hurrah, because now you can make it work even better, if you just spend one more evening tinkering…
All of which is a long winded way of saying: ‘Skin And Bone’ is now up on Bandcamp‘. Rest of my discs to follow. Listen to everything for free, download a bunch of stuff for free, pay what you want if you want to download the rest, no DRM, and all wrapped up in a tasty Creative Commons license.
Lovely!
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A couple of weeks back I recorded a live set with my old UK friends Painter’s Radio (formerly Canteen.) We did a few of mine and a few of theirs- including at least one tune from me you’ve NEVER heard- and the whole thing goes out Oct 18 on Blow Up Radio.
Lazlo over at Blow Up has been a huge supporter, and now he’s trying to raise money for a cause dear to his heart- anklyosing spondylitis, (early onset arthritis to you and me.) It’s a great cause, and besides, some of the other acts on the bill are killer! It’s worth a click, a listen, and at least $10 of your cash – even in these meltdown days. You get a free CD with your donation, too =)
(ps for those of you wondering what the hell I’ve been up to- emigrating, moving house, and lately, changing nappies! Don’t worry- more music coming soon.)
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For those who were asking for a link to the full preview of ‘Skin And Bone’, it’s on last.fm for your listening pleasure in its entirety. Enjoy!
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I had the distinct pleasure earlier this week to see an old NYC friend, Lach, play at the Borderline and turn the smoking ban into a rather lovely piece of performance art. Arthur Delaney, who was playing support, was an unexpected treat. I have a little video to share- video after the jump! Read more…
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My cockles were thoroughly warmed this morning when I saw that the editorial staff at Ourstage had featured ‘Drinking Gasoline’ in their ‘Daily Dose‘ blog.
I keep on meaning to find the time to explore the site in more depth, but suffice it to say that I’ve been hearing some great music there. And, inevitably, some terrible music. There doesn’t seem to be an exact relationship between the chart positions and the quality, but then again, there isn’t in the iTunes charts either, is there?
It may not be a perfect site yet, but I’m very heartened by the fact that the editorial team actually listened to the tunes. For an independent like me, that’s not something you can take for granted. And it may be the closest I ever get to Bon Iver, and that’s something. =)
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In the middle of all this emigrating malarkey I somehow found time to co-produce and mix the new Costello album. Dan, the titular bandleader, is a long time collaborator who lives under the stage at the Brooklyn Tea Party- the venue he runs with his bandmates. We walled ourselves in there without the benefit of AC for three of the hottest days of the summer and made a fine racket. Anyway, the album is nearly done, and Dan has posted one of the cuts for a first listen. Have a listen to ‘Tape Recorder’!
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