Hello, Friends.

Hey, it sure has been a long time since I wrote anything here.  The internet has changed since we started the Living Rockumentary.  Communication capsules keep getting wispier.  They're briefer and more fleeting.

SFTD has been still at it though when it comes to music.  We've finally begun mixing our upcoming album, "The Bells on the Boats on the Bay."  I won't estimate a completion date, don't want to jinx anything.  I don't believe in jinxes but I probably am jinking myself by just saying that.

We've been busy in extra-curricular activities as well.  

Brian has been playing and organizing a bunch of tribute shows; Jerry Garcia, Mike Nesmith, R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock, and coming up next week the Band. He's also been drumming with the Claudia Malibu, the Heir of Mystery, and Mystics Anonymous.  He's also in the studio with the Figments as I write this.  That's all on top of his usual positions in the Fawns and SFTD.  Oh, did I mention he's also written the songs for a new album and is just about to start recording that?

Max has been playing with Spanish for Hitchhiking of course.  They've done a few shows backing up Frank Black or Black Francis, however you take your Pixies tea.  He's also been designing like crazy.  Shirts and posters for the aforementioned Black, and album covers for the Scud Mountain Boys and Mark Mulcahy.  Max and I went on a photoshoot the other day just for the fun of it.  He took pictures of me throwing a guitar as far as I could into the blue sky.

Tony..well, who knows about Tony.  He's a mystery.  He shows up for our gigs and somehow knows how to play our new songs.  I imagine he spends most of his time walking around and laughing to himself about funny words.

Ken has been all over the place as a key member of the Heather Maloney Band.  He's also often on the road with the Young at Heart Chorus, playing shows all over the world.  He also heads a group-sing at a local community center and has his weekly radio show on WMUA.  

Ken and Henning have also been playing a bunch in the Mark Mulcahy Band, a new trio.  They were in the U.K. in December for a week and have shows coming up in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Iowa and another jaunt over to England.  They'll be doing a number of radio appearance and festival shows during that time

Of course, a lot of us are playing as the Fawns, too.  Henning has done some solo shows and some duo shows with Lesa Bezo as well.

It seems like we are doing everything but playing School for the Dead shows.  Hmmm.  Well, that'll change, with the completion of this new record.  Oh and look out, we already have enough material for another record after that and another one as well.  

What should we do with these recordings do you think?  Vinyl?  CD?  Download only?  Help!

We've also created a new web presence for Rub Wrongways Records that you should check out and bookmark.  All of our events are listed the very clearly and you can easily listen to all of the music.  Go there now: www.rubwrongways.com

Thanks.

First Flower 2013

First Opened March 13, 2013
Well, well, well. Look at this! The Little Yellow One is back, baby!  Last year, The Little Purple One took first place in a major upset.  Yellow must have been training all winter because it burst through the finish line today with gusto.

First opened on March 11, 2012
There's been an upset in the flower world!  Our usual first flower, The Little Yellow One, has been beaten this year by a strong contender, The Little Purple One.  This guy came up yesterday while there's still no sign at all of the past champion.

First opened on March 20, 2011:
Well our annual first-flower came up later than usual this year  To tell you the truth, I'm surprised it came up at all.  It just didn't seem possible.  But, sure, enough, there it is and it's on the first day of spring at that.  Well done, little yellow flower.

First opened on March 8, 2010:
Each year this flower comes up a little bit earlier. Climate change? Impatience? Maturity? Coincidence? I don't know. All I know is, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Spring doesn't even seem possible, but this flower says, not only is it possible, it's unstoppable.

First opened on March 14, 2009: 
This one flower wins the race two years in a row. This year spring is starting sooner. Unless it sees its shadow and turns into Bill Murray.

First opened on March 24, 2008:
That's it. The first sign of Spring 2008. It's right here in our front lawn. We planted it there last fall.

The Great Mix-CD Mix-Up (disc 5)

Henning's Imaginary Robyn Hitchcock Song

A Message from R.W. Wrongway

Reconstruction of the Fables: A Tribute to R.E.M

On January 17th, there is a tribute to R.E.M. charity concert at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA

Reconstruction of the Fables: A Tribute to R.E.M

Featuring: 

Mark Mulcahy

Rusty Belle

Winterpills

Heather Maloney

Goldwater The Second

Golden Bloom

The Fawns

Rocky Roberts and Friends

Spanish For Hitchhiking

The Lonesome Brothers 

School for the Dead

Orange Crush

Now, R.E.M. were a huge influence on my life as a musician.  A lot of those songs were the first that I ever learned to play.  I can remember struggling through (Don't Go Back To) Rockville before I could properly play a B Major chord.  So, I'm pretty excited to take part in this and also to listen to everybody else's take on the songs.

The problem is that I want to play just about every song from the first five albums.  When we first learned of this event Brian and I went through a bunchy of songs off the top of our heads.  Max, Ken, and Tony pretty much just said they'd be happy to do whatever, which is good because we already had too many songs to narrow it down from.  We could only chose two.

Here are our initial thoughts:

Henning:
Gardening at Night
A Carnival of Sorts (Box cars)
Radio Free Europe
7 Chinese Brothers
Pretty Persuasion
I Believe
Harbortown
Moral Kiosk

Brian:
Pretty Persuasion
Life and How to Live It
World Leader Pretend
Cuyahoga

Then to make our lives more difficult, we put out a call on Facebook, asking which songs the  followers of the SFTD page thought we should do.  Here's what they said:

(Don't Go Back To) Rockville - Mylène Ouellet
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville - Nina Nowak
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville - Andy Churchill
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville - Kihm Randall Sanders
A Perfect Circle - Mylène Ouellet
Band Wagon - Andy Churchill
Belong - Nina Nowak
Carnival of Sorts (Box cars) - Steve Willard
Cuyahoga - Kihm Randall Sanders
End of the World as We Know It - Art Carey
Everybody Hurts - Steve Willard
Fall on Me - Jeanne Chisamore
Fall on Me - Nina Nowak
Fall on Me - Veronica Jessico Reed
Harborcoat - Aimee Richardson
I Believe - Han Wang
Laughing - Matthew Novak
Little America - Han Wang
Man on the Moon - Jeanne Chisamore
Moral Kiosk - Leslieanne Garziano
Moral Kisok - Matthew Novak
Near Wild Heaven - Miriam Lee
Nightswimming - M Freddy Stockwell
Nightswimming - Veronica Jessico Reed
Perfect Circle - Paul Gardikis
Pretty Persuasion - Art Carey
Sitting Still - Dan Haag
Superman - Nina Nowak
Texarcana - Nina Nowak
Wendell Gee - Leslieanne Garziano

Phew, that's a lot of awesome songs to select from!   Well, we have since narrowed it down and chosen our two songs.  Do you want to know them now or should it be a surprise?  I think it might be best if we just do them at the show and not say it here.  But I will if you want.  Even if just one person says I should.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your help.  I think it's going to be a real fun night.

Join us on Facebook

SFTD Group Sing

We had a nice recording session on Tuesday.  The album is coming along slowly but surely.  Here's Brian, Tony, and Ken along with special guests Lesa Bezo and Beth Savage Marchese doing a group sing for the song "Turn It Down".