Transmissions from Möbius Street

08:39 pm - A Looong Overdue Report

In the spirit of "better late than never", I'm finally posting a con report for 2t0nic. I know I'm a lazy good-for-nothing, but in my defense I've been trying to:

• Finish our next album


• Get started on cadhla's album.


• Work on the remasters and bonus tracks for the rerelease of both Duras Sisters albums

Current Mood: nostalgic

05:21 pm - 7 Things

fleetfootmike tagged me for the "7 Things" meme. It involves listing 7 surprising or obscure facts about myself and then tagging seven other LJ users.

( More than you probably want to know )
Tag to ohiblather vixyish bedlamhouse jodimuse catalana porpentine nimuejohn

Current Mood: jet lagged

09:12 am - Packed my bags last night, pre-flight...

Tomorrow we leave for the UK. Today will be spent making sure everything at work is covered. We packed our bags last night, so with luck, we can relax tonight and get ready for the great time zone change boogie. The most stressful part of packing for us is making sure our bags are under the 50 lb weight limit. On our way to GaFilk, we had one bag that was 4 lbs over, and so in addition to all the other drama associated with boarding that flight, I had to redistribute our stuff. Surprisingly, the people in line behind us didn't seem terribly amused. Go figure. The main source of weight is carrying 4 different CD titles. Anyway, in hopes of averting a repeat of that experience, I bought a digital bathroom scale on my way home last night. Each of the three suitcases weighed in at a svelte 46 lbs, fully packed. If we manage to sell at least a few CDs, there'll even be room to bring back a few souvenirs :-).

We're hoping Amanda is ok on the flight. I know she won't be scared, but she's a very energetic and talkative 5 year old, and I'm not sure how she'll do on an 11 hour flight. We're taking her Leapster game system, and we've loaded up an iPod with kids movies. Should be interesting.

Current Mood: excited

07:44 am - If only....

I've been reading with great sadness about Greg McMullan's passing. I wish I'd had a chance to meet him. I saw him at the My Filk contest at GaFilk, and thought he'd be a fun person to get to know. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Current Mood: sad

11:01 pm - GaFilk Report

GaFilk report

Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything. Maya and I just got home from GaFilk. We had an absolute blast. I can’t thank the concom enough for inviting us, and for their warmth and kindness while we were there. ( Here’s what I can remember... )

Current Mood: grateful

08:39 am - Question for filkers in the UK

Maya and I have the great privilege of performing at the UK Filk Con this coming February. I'm starting to think about a concert set, and I'd like to get some feedback from those of you familiar with the UK filk community about what sorts of songs may, or may not translate well culturally. Maya and I have two basic types of songs. We do parodies of (mostly) classic rock songs. The subjects range from media (Star Trek, Babylon 5, Buffy, LotR, Harry Potter), to computers, filking, general culture etc. We also perform original songs, that are really not filk, but are rock or folk/rock songs that we also perform for general audiences. For those of you who are familiar with our material, and either are from the UK, or have attended filk events there, are there any songs that we should avoid performing? I like to think I have a pretty good idea of what works for an American audience, but I'd like to make sure our set is as entertaining as we can make it for the British fen.

Current Mood: contemplative

08:38 pm - The State of My Backbone

I've been having chronic back trouble for the past year or so. I'll spare you all the gory details, but basically I've been through a string of treatments and therapies, and ultimately was completely misdiagnosed by the first orthopedist I consulted with. A few weeks ago, I changed doctors, and miracle of miracles, he actually took some time to go over the MRI that the first doctor sort of waved under my nose. He showed me exactly why the initial diagnosis was wrong, and what was really going on. The upshot was that on Monday, I had an epidural to try to calm down the nerve irritation that we think is the problem. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but I'm fairly optimistic this will make a huge difference. I can get up after sitting for more than ten minutes, and straighten all the way up. I had to stay flat on my back all day Monday after the procedure, and I took yesterday off to be safe. I took the opportunity to write lyrics for a couple of the songs we're planning for the next album. For those keeping score at home, the titles are "A Perfect Moment" and "Divide by Zero".

08:51 pm - Finer than better

I had a good day in the studio today. I added several guitar parts to the as yet unnamed song I started yesterday. I got a pretty good acoustic, 12 string acoustic and crunchy electric track done. I guess I need to write some lyrics.
Normally I would probably have recorded a bass line before adding all these guitar parts, but on this album I'll be playing very little (if any) bass. I have the good fortune of access to a couple of extremely good bass players at the moment. One of them is Tony Levin, who has always been a musical hero of mine. A while back I spoke with him to help out with some technical problems he was having, and he offered to record a few tracks for me. A few months ago he did two bass tracks (High Desert and Falling) and a Stick track for Möbius Street. I can't even begin to describe the feeling the first time I heard the utterly distinctive sound of Tony's playing on my songs. Tony is probably best known for playing with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, but his discography is a mile long, and includes some of the most popular artists and albums of all time. If you have a lot of time check it out here.

For most of the other songs, I've got a friend from work, Victor Gonzalez, playing bass. Victor spent years touring with Santana and Tracy Chapman, and he's an awesome player. He's already recorded tracks for Radio Free Luna, Between (a gorgeous fretless part) and A Candle in Your Hand.

I'm also waiting for some drum tracks for High Desert from Jerry Marotta. He plays in Tony Levin's band, and also played on several Peter Gabriel albums. Having all these accomplished players on this project is really making me raise the standards of my own playing. I'd hate to look like a fool compared to the other players on my own project.

Current Mood: artistic

11:21 pm - A fine end to a not so fine week

I spent most of today working on a new song in the studio. I'd really like to have our new CD out by the beginning of next year, and quite honestly it has been a bit disjointed lately. I've got several songs pretty well along, and others that are either song fragments, or complete arrangements that need lyrics. The past week or so has been a series of disasters, so it was nice to be productive. If you dare, a lengthy description of ( the good, the bad and the ugly. )

Current Mood: okay

11:15 pm - My very first LJ post

cadhla and I agreed that it would be a Good Thing ™ if I set up an LJ account to facilitate scheduling and communication for Red Roses & Dead Things, so I've been dragged kicking and screaming (well OK, maybe only whimpering slightly) into the blogosphere. I don't know whether I'll post very often here, and if I do whether it will be all that interesting, but here I am.

The kick-off meeting with Seanan went really well. Many logistical dragons were slain, and we have a Plan.

Current Mood: accomplished