The idea behind this post is to create a space where I can share recordings I take here and there. I'm going to try to not post crap. I figure if I would listen to it on my iPod, then someone else might too.
These recordings will be either from a show, Dave's studio, Quinn's open mic (which is on Sundays with Amanda Rheaume), a campfire or the crawlspace. Yes, the crawlspace has been known to become a performance space every now and again.
Admit-tingly, these are not professional recordings, they are mono and they were done with my internet phone; there's still charm none the less.
All files have been formatted to work with iTunes (as in the "Get Info" stuff is there) and will be stored in:
/Compilations/the live crawlspace recordings (I hope it works)
To start things off here's a sample of Red Heart from the Hey Rosetta! concert last night at Capital. To download a copy go to here:
Sorta took a week off cause I wasn't feeling too good plus life has been pretty busy these days; apologies. Might as well wrap up my brain fart about music and stuffs. New Years was anything but boring this year. Megan and I decided to adventure to Manhattan for a day trip to see what kind of trouble we could get into. The original plan was to meet up with some friends and party it up; pretty simple.
Getting to NYC on the cheap was pretty easy. A three hour drive to Syracuse followed by a six hour train ride was all it took. Not the quickest trip I've ever but it gave us time to plan out how we were going to spend 14 hours in the city that never sleeps. All we knew was that we needed to meet up with Nick and Danielle, eat foods, party and before all this happened, check out a used record store cause New York style.
We left that place with 14 albums for $37 America dollars. Crazy low prices, amazing! Among those we picked up were the good, the bad and the hilarious:
Seriously, we bought the Joshua Tree for $1. I don't care if it ain't 180 grams or whatever, it's a dollar. We found some pretty fun albums that we would have never have picked up back home cause everything is super expensive. Shitty dollar record night was awesome once we got back home; Too bad the crawlspace is a little cold this time of year cause the acoustics down there are simply amazing. After dinner we found ourselves searching for this quaint little jazz bar in Village Vanguard but I couldn't remember where it was. I visited it back in May and took in this 6 piece band whose average age must have been 80. They were hilarious, amazing and on the ball. Being NYE, I knew whatever act was playing there, it was sure to be just as special. Knowing the name of the place would have helped...
Along the way we stumbled across this basement bar. Being parched from our search, we stopped in for a shot only to discover all sorts of awesomeness. The owner gave us a tour of the place which included the kitchen and the most important thing, this hidden room that you entered through a secret door in the wall. Inside this 5'x5' room wasthe most glorious thing ever, what every hideaway needs; naked lady wallpaper. If I find something similar, the crawlspace is totally getting an upgrade.
We decided to say a while longer in room awesome and had Champagne. Seriously, it was like the restaurant had it's own crawlspace! Next time you visit Manhattan, check out Bell, Book and Candle. One of the most interesting places I've been to in a while. They grow their own veggies on site with a rooftop hydroponic garden and everything; something like 60% of all their produce, check it out! After we overstayed our welcome with the glittery ladies, we Nancy Drew'd where the jazz bar was and settled at Arthur's Tavern for Sweet Georgia Brown and her lovely band.
Was a great time, one that can only ever happen in NYC.
Watch this; it basically retells the story above and the music goes SURPRISINGLY well with the pictures.
We danced the night away... all the way into a show tunes bar later that night. That place was ridiculous. It made 1/4 of us happy :P
I've never seen that many cardigans all in one place. Again, only in NY.
The last day of 2010, a night to remember.
I think these posts had good flow to them. It could have been listened to in one go as it was originally written, however, like a record, it had numerous hiccups. I totally think this series was one kickass limited edition quadraphonic album me thinks.
Because it's on topic and only happened last night, here's another everyday sample of what goes on here, enjoy.
I love finding/being showed hidden gems on the internet cause there's a lot of funny stuff and talented people out there. This is where Dave steps in as Champion of the internets. He just finds all sorts of amazing artists all the time. We literally spent most of last night watching YouTube, an activity I rarely partake in since I'm an internet searching failure. I just can't sit there on the computer for hours and entertain myself, I suck at finding cool shit; always have.
Last night I was simply BLOWN AWAY when I heard Dave listening to this:
He said and I quote, "stuff like this makes me want to quit music. They're just so good."
Totally check out more from Pomplamoose, a duo group from San Francisco. Visit their YouTube page (check out the playlist section), add them to Facebook and pick up some of their mp3's on their myspace page. Awesome.
I can totally see Dave getting into something like this with his music, it's simply a matter of time. He should be creating music for a living, it's the thing that makes him so happy. I'm a huge supporter of enjoying what you do for a living. I'm still entertained at my job, buuut, owning a bar sure would be fun too...
The living room has been completely empty,
a fully furnished bedroom
and has finally transformed into Dave's recording studio.
I think the best part of having a studio in the house is that I get to hear the creative process in action. Dave's puttering around consists of a bit of guitar playing, some classical piano, some pop/trance tracks and of course, some Lego Star Wars.
Dave is the one who showed me that it's ok to like Lady Gaga if you are a man. She's an AMAZING artist. A certain YouTube clip of hers frequents DeWalt often. Who doesn't love Gaga??? Pomplamoose does:
If you watch a bunch of their videos you'll see just how hipster they are. Oh ya! Speaking of hipster, I've been wanting to find a way to write about more about the OK Go show!
I have no idea how I got such a cool shot with a simple point and shoot. They had laser guitars; almost as cool as laser sharks.
Preparation for the concert was key; whatever we did had to be ironic as well as environmentally friendly. PBR tall boys with Second Cup sandwiches purchased in the Glebe were in order. We figured that 2 sandwiches for 3 people was a good call because we didn't want any waste. Someone was looking pretty hipster that day but you know what, I don't care.
OFF TO THE SHOW!!! (some of us were excited)
Before OK Go started, I went to the bar even though I really didn't need any more drinks cause I was pretty good to go already. Then who do I run into but someone from work. It was odd cause the guy is all higher up and stuff and here he is at a completely hipster venue. I know I wasn't dressed like my work self and I kept wondering if he dressed like this normally or not. Yes, I was judging.
The show; amazing.
We were pretty close.
YES!!! That bells song!
Custom jackets!
Look at all the swooning going on over there. Lead singer guy is like two rows away.
Words don't really; words can't describe the vibe in that place. Hope this does:
Hmmmm, let's keep going with this cause well, it's fun. Listening to records is pretty cool. I'd hear on the radio that records were still being pressed for todays bands but I didn't know which bands and I just never got into it. I always thought that vinyl meant that was the ULTRA SPECIAL edition and would cost numerous many dollars. This is simply incorrect. You can get a new indie record for $12.99; the same as a CD.
This intrigues me since I am the last human being on earth who still buys CDs. I like to have the stuff. A file is not stuff.
Nowadays, some albums even come with free digital downloads. Then there's always the possibility of importing it using an $80 USB record player. Every so often I walk into HMV after work and pretty well have the same conversation with someone who works there:
"What's good?"
"Well... what sorta music do you like, blah blah meow."
"I'm just looking to reach out to new music that I normally don't listen to. Can you maybe point out a couple of your favorites or some albums you are currently hooked on?"
This usually ends with me walking out of there with 8 albums of i-don't-know-what. I usually take to them pretty well but there's always the one disc that is just too far out there for my tastes.
The perfect example of this is when I picked up Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective. That shit's just noise. Terrible.
Both bands that played that night were great, have a look/listen-ski.
After the show on our way out we see they are selling copies of their latest album on vinyl. This local Ottawa band, like, the chef from Quinn's, had his latest album pressed and they were selling them at the door. Yes. The album is psychedelic colored and has a hand-numbered sticker thing on there. Yes. All this for $20. Yes. Our record says 023/100.
Man, isn't technology awesome? I was able to sit there and take all these pictures, audio recordings and video with my iPhone. Like, I have the internet in my pocket that is also a video camera. I still remember the look on my cousins faces when I told them:
"When I was a kid, televisions were made out of wood!"
Why was I ever against technology in the first place?
"I'm NEVER joining Facebook. Or getting a smartphone."
I must be retarded. Not only do I embrace technology, I jump into it 127% just like always do for everything. I don't half-ass much in life, except maybe getting doors up.
Tell me, how could I do this without technology?
That's my buddy showing off his new car; his new, pimpin' black, sexy, voice-activated luxury CX-7 beautiful technology computer car. The features you can get today... Bluetooth in your rims to gauge the air pressure. Bluetooth stereo which connected to my internet phone via voice commands so I could play tracks from "Kevin's Shitty Phone" over the cars speakers. Right (wait for it) On.
Anyways, best drive to Wakefield for a sandwich I've ever been on. What else do you do with a Wednesday after work?
I had an epiphany today while flipping a record. Here I am, alone in the living room, watering the plants with this new, artificial, flourescent, white light filling the room when, scratchy scratch scratch, record needs to be turned over. Ya, we have the most unique music setup at the Estates. It's a DeWalt portable radio connected to a portable record player. My radio also charges batteries for power tools. Ya, I bet that the percentage of other human beings who have this EXACT setup in their living room is about 0%.
Anyways. I go over, flip it and as the music starts, I notice the whole flow is completely different on this side compared to the last. I've noticed this before on other albums when listening to them on my iPod or CDs. It's like the album hiccuped. You see, some albums simply just have this flow like nothing else and the only way you can listen to them is start to finish or nothing. An example for me would be Jackson Square by the Arkells. I've been listening to a lot of it at work lately and I dunno, it feels like one continual song instead of whatever many tracks. The vinyl I was listening to was Funeral by the Arcade Fire. I know I know; I'm on an indie binge right now. Arcade Fire is headlining at Coachella this year and guess who's got tickets? That's right, April 16th I'll be in California watching this Montreal band as the headliner! Anyways, Funeral is totally not one of those start to finish flowing albums. It totally changes pace in the middle. This is where I get to my epiphany. My guess is that Arcade Fire arranged the tracks in Funeral in such a way so that on a record, side A and B would have their own different feel/vibe. I think it was produced to be listened to on vinyl. Since you have to flip the thing, that's a disturbance in the flow, so I guess they can have mutually exclusive sides A and B. I am such a nerd. Now thinking back to those times where I noticed that irregularity in the middle of the album, I can NOW say "yup, this was meant to be heard on vinyl." Wow, that whole topic was totally hipster and random. But I guess that's why I have a blog and you don't.
I want to grow my own flowers for the front of the house since pretty flowers be dope.
I like gardening and stuff. I think that Black Eyed Susan's, lots of them will look really epic, like NCC epic. There is this flowerbed on Queen Elizabeth drive right behind Landsdown that is always peppered with these and I really like it, so, I'm going to copy it (minus the Terry Fox statue that goes there).
Over 300 perennials for $25 in seeds instead of like $8 a plant. The front will be blazingly yellow all the time now.
To start this endeavor I finally dug up the old planter from my mom's basement and gave the living room an UPGRADE. It's pretty ghetto and I needed to buy all new bulbs and trays and all, the total for this project is around $300 but now I have it forever. $25 for one fluorescent tube with the natural light spectrum, excessive.
Starting to grow nature from seed is something I have never done. The seeds are freakin small. Seriously, the internet says that each tray needs about a packet of seeds and they need to soak overnight. I guess they germinate here. I have to break up 12 packs of seeds into 12 trays that hold 32 plants each. This is going to be a pain.
In the end, the whole thing will probably go in the basement cause the lights are pretty bright. I just think it's too cold down there so I'm going to start them off in the warmth of the fireplace room where they can get extra love. Once they are all big and strong it will be two months of seclusion in the cold, unorganized basement followed by a lifetime in front of the Estates, 1 for 9 1 my friend.
Dave shot some video while I was puttering around with the stuff. He did some trippy camera work here and there plus the sound from DeWalt is amazing (I had some Biggie playing). I could have edited the video to make it not nine minutes; but I didn't want to. Good thing too cause once it finally uploaded on YouTube, it was flagged and I quote:
Your video, Monday at the Estates, may include content that is owned or administered by these entities:
Entity: WMG Content Type: Sound Recording
As a result, your video is blocked worldwide.
What should I do?
No action is required on your part. Your video is still available worldwide (to only my user account on YouTube).
Seriously, there are some beats in the background... there is no attempt by me to make dolla dolla bills off this video. Copyright infringement sucks. ALL I POST IS COPYRIGHT INFRINGED!
If the video WAS there, I would say if you wanted to fast forward through it, the highlights are at 6:30 (work peoples have to see this), 7:25, and 8:10. But no, you can't see it.
I however can enjoy the video you cannot and I feel that as a whole, the whole thing is interesting (take our word for it). I like the subtleties in the video and how natural it feels. Maybe someday you will think it is neat and amusing as I do. Enjoy, but only later... maybe:
Until YouTube quits being gay and gets with the program, here is the video in all it's glory:
After having dinner with Jay, Aileen and fam-co I was pretty stuffed and not so sure I would be able to plant all these smaller than mouse poop seeds. By the way in case you were wondering, bathroom roasts are delectable.
I got some advice to soak the seeds overnight in water... which became more like a day soaking buuut I think that doesn't matter. I still can't get my head around how these tiny seeds are going to produce wild flower bush things. Guess time will tell.
So we basically poured the seedy water onto paper towels and then brushed off the wet seeds onto plates and such like so.
Afterwards they made their way onto dry paper towels where they were portioned off into the holes in the dirt.
After that we covered them up and gave them a drink of water.
Lastly, we covered them in their little party tents so that the neighbors wouldn't be disturbed by the party going on inside.
Hopefully, little Mr.Plants start to sprout all over the place giving fresh oxygen for all to breathe. Ya that''s right, I'm creating life here, no big deal.
I'll probably post a status update once these little soldiers get in line and man up. Wish me luck!
***UPDATE #2: Feb.27,2011***
These little suckers have started sprouting, leaving a sea of green across the three shelves. I had to transplant a fair amount of them since some boxes were doing better than others.
I've learned that the water likes to pool in the end rows which makes them really soggy. Some of the plants have been withering up because their roots are rotting from sitting in so much water. To counteract these effects, I am only watering the middle sections since they get dried out the fastest. I figure the excess water will eventually reach the ends so no need to water every time.
Hopefully in another two weeks I won't be able to keep the lid on. This means I'll need to water every second day or something because the fireplace sure does dry out the house.
I'm on pace to make 384 plants. Is that too much for the front bed?
Superbowl is on Sunday so I finally decided to post this. There simply wasn't a reason to do so before now. You need to know that when I wrote this I was DEFEATED. Like crushed. All these feelings; like... turbo feelings.
I originally wrote this on the train ride home from Boston to Syracuse after the Patriots suffered a loss that would eliminate them from the playoffs. It's long. Here goes.
Jay and I have only been to epic football games in Foxboro (yes, that's how it's spelled).
The first game we ever saw live was in 2007. It was Monday Night Football, the start of the last season that John Madden ever called and it was the Patriot's home opener. It was against the Chargers and all week LT was chirping us saying that he was going to run the ball for a million yards. We shut that fool up with our actions on the field; we stuffed his face as he ended up rushing for nothing. It was a good win against a scary team.
I recall the ride back to the hotel that time because the train got lost or went onto another track or derailed or something. We actually had to switch trains and the 30 min ride became like 2 hours. With all that waiting around I wandered all over the place simply trashed meeting peoples. Eventually, Jay ran into the same people that I met and once he said he was from Canada the first thing they said was "are you going to rant about jelly donuts too?"
The next game was a football fail against the Dolphins where we witnessed the birth of the wildcat. It was so confusing to see live. You see, that's how good New England is; other teams need to invent ways to play us that involve magic and trickery. This was the last 1pm game I will ever see because there just isn't enough time to tailgate all proper like. We also learned to NEVER take the Pats train to the game; it arrives like 45 mins before kickoff. Terrible. That loss in 2008 was the last home game the Pats lost, that was until last Sunday.
In 2009 we saw another home opener against the shitty Bills where the game was anything but shitty. We were down by two scores with not long to go. In the end Ben Watson got 2 TD's and we pulled off the amazing comeback. My football arm hurt so very much after that game. Probably a thousand high fives, it was so fucking epic. All the Bills needed to do for the win was kneel in the end zone and then run the clock. Instead, buddy decides to run it where Meriweather stripped the ball. The rest is history.
This regular season we where lucky enough to physically be in attendance for two great games.
First off was the return of Randy Moss to Foxboro, only weeks after we traded this franchise player to the Vikings. In this game we also got to see Fa-vre being carted off the field on a stretcher. Joygasm.
After that game Moss had the most ridiculous press conference ever. So ridiculous the Vikings put him on waivers immediately after the game where he was let go. I rememberwatching that clipfor the first time the day after in South Boston drinking at Murphy's Law (the bar from Gone Baby Gone).
A month later we were in attendance for the battle of two 10-2 giants it what the papers were calling THE GAME to see this regular season. We embarrassed the Jets 45-3. I was so happy. So was Jay.
Obviously I'll be going back there for more games, we're both on the wait list for season tickets!
I have zero interest in seeing my Pats play anywhere else. For those that don't know, I am a ridiculous football fan. A loud football fan. An insane football fan. If I were to "cheer" like I do in say, Oakland, I would completely break rule #1: Don't get dead.
Here's the thing, it's not the Pats that keep us coming back, it's the people. How else can two assclowns like us continue to visit Boston and still be alive?
Last weekend we took the train from Syracuse since it was so cheap and we were planning on returning next weekend. On the ride down there were these Fuck the Jets fans that were also going to the game.
We talked football and such in a civilized manner ish. That's the great thing about football fans, everyone gets along no matter what your colors are, no matter how much taunting there is. My most hated team of all time changes from week to week depending who we're playing.
At least I'm consistent.
Before we arrived in Back Bay I specifically told them where they needed to be for tailgating. Route 1 before the stadium, pull into the field where the LIQUORS store is. Fuck stadium tailgating. The people in the field are always there. They have their own spots and everything! There's totally a sense of community/family there... like gambling and drinking with your uncles... who are cops.
Well guess who we ran into yesterday? Everything they had was green. I bet their neighbors were thrilled... They pretty much made tailgating in that section shitty for everyone else cause of their presence, hilarious!
They wanted to trade up for a Molson (that's what America calls Canadian) so I made them come back to our lair. I wanted to see how our crew would react to these Fuck the Jets fans :P.
The old guys fucking loved every minute of it! Many helpings of smack talk were served, everyone had their smiles on; amazing. We shared some steak tips, listened to some gangsta beats and had a blast.
I couldn't get over how such a little person could dish it out. Like King Kong cahonees. Amazing.
"I'm not going to the game until I hear Gin and Juice!" - Fucking awesome guy
The nicest people in the world hang out in that field in Boston. When I die I want my ashes spread there, seriously. Just not against the fence, I don't want piss on my remains.
- Nine Teeeeen Sixty Nine!
- Ya, no one gets it. That's stupid.
When we first starting coming down we didn't have a clue what to do, where to go, what to bring. I can confidently say that nowadays we have it all figured out, and a huge part of this is due to my Boston field peeps. With our season coming to an end I can honestly say the shittiest part is that I don't get to see them for another 8 months.
This trip was even more epic than most cause we re-met so many people from previous times. Everyone simply knows us as The Canadians.
There is nothing better in life than drinking shots of Jack outta some converted Pats ambulance when someone approaches you and says:
- Don't I know you? - Didn't we play championship flip cup last time? - Was it you that drank the entire jar of pickle juice?
There is just so much win in everything that person said. Awesome times.
We even saw the sketchy NY dude who goes around selling Cubans for retarded prices. I think that's his job.
Fuck. Sadly, the shock of the loss is still with me. I don't think I ate enough cheese.
Seriously, we ALWAYS win on cheese day. I hardly ate at tailgating this Sunday. Only 2 varieties of cheese, not the usual 5.
I have no interest in the remaining games this season. When I get home I'm selling Madden. I'll watch the Superbowl but that's about it. Lol, sometimes I think Shawna was right about the bipolar thing...
I wonder what I'll do with all my free time; football has been consuming me lately. Maybe I'll get some doors.
I want to leave on a positive note so I'll share my favorite moment of the trip. Other than hanging out with Cam and his family, my favorite part was tossing the ball around with Jay just before the lot filled up.
There was hardly any room to play, people everywhere. Cars were being guided behind Jay, the sidelines had people tailgating doing their thing. We had some fans watching us too. I heard the words "awesome catch" a bunch. I caught a wild throw just before it hit this kid in the face, then turned to him and said, "I just saved your life." His dad just laughed.
It was so simple. Just two people playing catch, diving all over the place, throwing bullets, getting ready for the game. Pretty much the definition of Right On!
Oh Boston; until next time.
MONEY SHOT!!! (it's always better when it's cop's money)
by Animal Collective. That shit's just noise. Terrible.
