in other news: our dec 12 concert at the vancouver east cultural centre is ready to listen to at cbc online. some songs with the old quartet, some songs with the current 9 piece extravaganza. some clapping. you know the type of thing.

what else has been going on? i just finished a little piece for the standing wave ensemble, a 2 minute remembrance of parks from my childhood. that will premiere on may 10 in vancouver. i’m working on music for the new theatre replacement show Greatest Cities in the World, opening march 9 in vancouver and travelling to montreal, ottawa, and kitchener. i have to start collecting complaints for a song for the vancouver complaints choir: send them in! and we’re still working on the new fits record, aiming to get that out for the summer time. and peter panties carries on, new songs coming without my even asking for them. ok, i think i need a nap.

so in the spirit of the now, here are some Fresh Songs that i sold at the Red Square Christmas Bazaar last saturday. basically, people gave me donations, i asked them a few questions, and then i played them their song. on some casios and a metronome. it was really fun, and brings me to wonder why i spend so darn much time on composition. so here you go, happy Now to you all.

at the lamplighter on monday there was a band called no gold that i really liked. nice to see the kids kicking it up to the old talking heads style african pop.

site stuff appears to be getting better, thanks to weston’s work. he thinks he’s figured out the ordering problem, which is always hard with intermittent problems but i think we’re back on track. and the other problems were just my failings in the language of html. i always try to put punctuation where there should be no punctuation. anyway, to celebrate figuring that out, here’s a demo version of cowper’s folly. the album version has worked out well, but i continue to have a fondness for this demo. particularly the way we made larissa and patsy (the other singers) sound like tiny little compressed birds. from another century.

in the meanwhile, this is a photo of the band circa 1997. barry, me, ford, martin. the classic hille combo, before everyone went salt and pepper. deborah dunn took this picture. and i have about 200 copies of it, because this was back in the days when you had to make hard copies of your photos. i have so many promo shots from the 90s! in fact, anyone who wants one can have one with their order for the next while. if you have any interest, just let me know.

and music! this is a little song that never finished itself, or maybe it was just fine the way it is. this is called “in the end”, and is from a demo for kildeer. from back in 2002, i think i made it at the end of the auditorium shows. a little happy/sad brecht rip off. more to come, i just have to keep sorting things out. happy Nostalgia Month!

the podcast of me talking about songs on kildeer is up now on the ape site, head over here to listen. and also in apely news, kildeer and the whole ape catalogue will be released in the USA on april 7th. this is exciting, as i haven’t had a release in the states since the last millenium.

and here is one of the three remaining songs from silver. this is a silly version of instructions, tailor made for the vancouver folk music festival. i’ve noticed a steady trend towards ridiculousness as i get older. and speaking of which, i have to run to rehearsal now, to put on my polar bear head and sings songs about the winter olympics.

anyway, let me refresh your memory as to the Swell Band. we have skye brooks on drums, martin walton on bass, jesse zubot on violin, peggy lee on cello, ak coope on clarinet, and patsy klein on vocals, keyboard, flute, and percussion. a deadly team. and here is us playing plants, on january 28 2007 at the vancouver east cultural centre.

silver is a bit of a motley beast, made quickly and energetically. it has alot of flaws, in my opinion, but also alot of spirit. not a bad trade off, really. so here is track 2 for you, a medley that the fits have recently taken on. the fits had a grand time at the railway club this past weekend, by the by. queen fans may have noticed that we are adding one song from A Night at the Opera to every set. by the summer we should have the whole album down. and that’s a threat.

p.s. i know that “alot” is not really a word. it’s something i’ve stuck to since the 1st grade.

and here’s something else. this song follows “the heart” on silver, which i posted for you last week. you may have noticed that “the heart” ends kinda abruptly. that’s because it connects directly to this, one of my favourite songs of all time. when we performed silver at the vancouver folk music festival one of the reviewers complained that choosing this song as our finale was meaningless. i disagree. i think this song embraces nothingness and ecstasy in one big warm hug. i cry every time i hear the band kick in.