well here we go my friends; your last christmas gift from me this year is the Song of the Moldau, written by Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler and based on a old czech folk song. we recorded this all in one big room together, me and my pals. this is my favourite reminder of the inevitability of shift and change and hope. merry christmas to you all.
ok, this is one of the songs that i wrote in berlin for the upcoming leaky heaven/neworld theatre show Peter Panties. the script and lyrics were written by Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef. i’m singing the part of Wendy Darling and Josepha Conrad is singing Mrs. Darling. Reimar Servas is playing drums. we recorded it at studio upstream in weissenssee. i think i’ll be putting out a little ep of our berlin recording once we’ve mixed it, and eventually we’re planning a full length album of the songs with cast. that’ll be in 2011 sometime.
a little instrumental ditty for you, with a horn arrangement by the inscrutable ford pier. someone should make an animated short out of this one. i offer it up.
and here we have another outtake from This Riot Life: a version of Soapland Serenade sung in Japanese. that’s us: maiko, patsy, skye and me, singing phonetic japanese. except maiko of course, who actually speaks the language. skye had a leg up because of his extensive karate lessons. maiko’s mom was in at the session, taking care of hokuto and being the eagle ear for our pronounciation. i’m still longing for the country of japan to totally embrace us so that we can go there and play and eat and visit miyazake. just letting you know, japan.
ok, this is a song from the long ago first cassette. i know that some of you already have this, but a fellow was asking about it at the shows last weekend and i promised i’d put it up. and yes, i still live in the same hood. this song also acknowledges my lifelong debt to sesame street.
this is a recording from about a year ago, made on my ipod which you can hear gurgling and ticking away. this is an early version of the neil young song Transformer Man, which i cover on the upcoming record Young Saint Marie. due out next year. teaser!
hey team. here begins my little series of presents for you. there’ll be a free song up every day or so until christmas. kind of like a stunted advent calendar!
alright, a little info on the upcoming shows: duplex is going to raise the kiddie roof on thursday night AND saturday day AND sunday day. friday night is all cover songs, with The Fits (who are working on a live record) and a 15 piece band conducted by giorgio magnanensi. saturday night i have my regular old 9 piece supergroup playing songs from path of a body right up to riot life. cbc is recording that one for broadcast and podcast, huzzah! and colin stewart is recording the friday for posterity and fitfullness. so in one way or another you can all attend.
all shows are at the fabulously renovated Vancouver East Cultural Centre. i plan to collapse on monday and start eating stollen nonstop til christmas. just you wait.
we are home again! phew. vancouver is obliging with stunning winter weather. i have promised some exciting posts, and they are coming. in the meanwhile, check out this interview that i did with jessa at bookslut: right here. anders steals the show, of course.
a late notice: i am playing tonight in vancouver at theatre replacement’s annual fundraiser DC5, at the Russian Hall. fun raiser!
