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Rock & Roll Yard Sale moved to Sunday on Accounta Rain

Members of The Blind King (Josh, Andy, Dave, Kevin, maybe Beth) will be performing this Sunday, September 7th, in Union Square, Somerville, at around 4pm. Here's the info:

http://www.myspace.com/providencerockandrollyardsale

THIS SUNDAY

THE SOMERVILLE ROCK & ROLL YARD SALE

SUNDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

(raindate has been enacted!!!)

3-7PM

FREE

an ArtsUnion Marketplace Series event
sponsored by the SOMERVILLE ARTS COUNCIL

the event will be held at :

UNION SQUARE PLAZA
90 UNION SQUARE
SOMERVILLE, MA 02145

what is a ROCK & ROLL yard sale?

it will be a free outdoor music-oriented sale of
VINYL RECORDS, cd's, POSTERS, tapes, T-SHIRTS,
music + stereo equipment, great DIY handmade things,
VEGAN CUPCAKES, vintage clothing + lots more . . .

there will also be live music by :

COSTARR
THE 'MERICANS
THE BLIND KING
CHRIS MONTI

http://www.myspace.com/providencerockandrollyardsale

The Blind King at the BPL

Members of The Blind King (Josh Beth & Dave) will be playing a set today in the Courtyard at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square, 700 Boylston Street. It starts at 3:30 p.m. and runs for an hour. It’s just us. The BPL restaurant Sebastian’s will be selling food. Here's the website (http://www.bpl.org) & here's the flyer (http://www.bpl.org/concerts.pdf). We'll be playing with a drum machine, reminiscent of the first album. More about The Blind King: http:www.blindkingmusic.com

"...The library recently added music from local band The Blind King to its download collection and made it freely available to thousands of libraries using Community Reserve, a digital resource sharing tool." - Market Wire, August, 2007

Article:

Boston Public Library Brings Downloadable Local Music to the Community

Man I love this song, esp the Marrianne Faithful version

The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
Words and Music by Shel Silverstein

The morning sun touched lightly on the eyes of Lucy Jordan
In her white suburban bedroom, in a white suburban town
As she lay there 'neath the covers, dreaming of a thousand lovers
'Til the world turned to orange and the room went spinning round

At the age of 37, she realised she'd never ride through Paris
In a sports car, with the warm wind in her hair
And she let the phone keep ringin' as she sat there softly singing
Pretty nursery rhymes she'd memorised in her daddy's easy chair

Her husband was off to work, and the kids were off to school
And there were oh so many ways for her to spend her day
She could clean the house for hours, or rearrange the flowers
Or run naked down the shady street screaming all the way

At the age of 37, she realised she'd never ride through Paris
In a sports car, with the warm wind in her hair
And she let the phone keep ringing as she sat there softly singing
Pretty nursery rhymes she'd memorised in her daddy's easy chair

The evening sun touched gently on the eyes of Lucy Jordan
On the rooftop where she'd climbed when the laughter grew too loud
And she bowed and curtseyed to the man, who reached and offered her his hand
And led her down to the long white car that waited past the crowd

At the age of 37, she knew she'd found forever as they rode along through Paris
With the warm wind in her hair.

Another outside show in Union Square

Fresh Ink

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=1017391

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=761030

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,160220.shtml

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/08/bpl_offers_loca.html

Show Saturday in Union Square Somerville

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE...RECRAFT!

An eco-friendly craft fair brought you by Magpie
and the Somerville Arts Council.

Saturday August 18 2007, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
(rain date August 19)

Union Square’s Central Plaza in
Union Square, Somerville, MA
(intersection of Washington, Prospect
and Somerville Ave)

The Recraft Fair will have 25 vendors selling eco-friendly goods, local
environmental non-profits, free activities and live musical performances by:

Neptune, The Blind King and The ‘Mericans

http://www.magpie-store.com/recraft/

http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/programs/artsunion/craft_market2007.htm

The Blind King at the Plough Tuesday Aug 14

The Blind King rocks the BPL!

The Blind King is the first local (Boston area) music act to have their music added to the Boston Public Library's music database.

How cool is that?

Go here and type in The Blind King.

handouts

Toad Website

Show @ Toad in Porter Square Cambridge Sat. 4/21

We have an evening of music for you coming up Saturday, April 21st at the Toad in Cambridge, MA. This is a fun place to hang out and a fun place to play. Usually gets pretty crowded on a Saturday night but that's part of the appeal. More details to follow!

Buy individual album tracks for your iPod here

Spanky new!

Check out our new Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/theblindking

Yeah, yeah, I know, everyone else has had one of these for years...

The Blind King at the Lizard Lounge 10/28/2006

The Blind King'll be playing at the Lizard Lounge, one of our favorite venues, next Saturday night October 28th, along with The Dirty Truckers and Georgia Overdrive. We have some new material to try out along with our perennial favorites. We're up first, so come earlyish if you want to see us. The show starts at 9:30 and there's a $7 cover. The Lizard Lounge is a great, low-key place to see live music and hang out. They have a fairly extensive assortment of beers on tap, and right upstairs is the restaurant Common Ground if you fancy a hearty meal before the show.

Lizard Lounge Website: http://www.lizardloungeclub.com/

Here's a poster that Jim from Georgia Overdrive made using the "internet" ...

The Blind King on IndieFeed

Hey, check us out on IndieFeed! They just added our song, "Til You're Gone".

IndieFeed is a collection of 1-song Podcasts that you can subscribe to in various genres. They put out a new song pretty much every day. On their site they describe how to create a playlist of their Podcasts so you can listen to the songs continuously. It's kind of like listening to the radio but the DJ comes on and introduces (or follows) each song with details about the band. Pretty cool way to stay in touch with what's new...

This link will launch iTunes and send you to their various music Podcasts:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=73330132

Here's a link to their site:

http://blindingflashes.blogs.com/indie_feed/

Here's their player thingie if you don't like iTunes or just want to keep it simple:

The Blind King with Georgia Overdrive this Friday!!

We'll be opening up for Georgia Overdrive at Toad in Cambridge this Friday, August 4.
We go on at 10:15, play a 45 minute set, then Georgia Overdrive takes the stage.

Come on down, have a beverage, see your friends, listen to music!

The Blind King in the Movies!

Our bass player, Dave Sakowski, was interviewed in a mini-documentary about Somerville, and also our music is playing in the background for the whole thing. We even get a credit at the end! The songs I can hear are "The Smartest Girl In Town" and "Punk Rock Dream".

To watch the film, go here: http://turnhere.com/index.html and click on "Somerville"

Ladies of Spain

For some reason I like songs that have "Spain" in the title. For instance:

Never Been to Spain - Hoyt Axton
King of Spain - Galaxie 500 (Luna?)
Ladies of Spain - Captain Quint in Jaws:

"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies / Farewell and adieu you ladies of Spain. / For we received orders for to sail back to Boston / And soon never more will we see you again."

Here's the full version:

Farewell, and adieu to you Spanish ladies,Farewell, and adieu to you ladies of Spain!For we've received orders for to sail for old England,But we hope in a short time to see you again.

We'll rant and we'll roar {66} like true British heroes,We'll rant and we'll roar across the salt seas,Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England;From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues.

Then we hove our ship to, with the wind at sou'-west, boys,We hove our ship to, for to strike soundings clear;We got soundings in ninety-five fathom, and boldlyUp the channel of old England our course we did steer.

The first land we made it was called the Deadman,Next, Ram'shead off Plymouth, Start, Portland, and Wight;We passed by Beachy, by Fairleigh, and Dungeness,And hove our ship to, off the South Foreland light.

Then a signal was made for the grand fleet to anchorAll in the Downs, that night for to sleep;Then stand by your stoppers, let go your shank-painters,Haul all your clew-garnets, stick out tacks and sheets.

So let every man toss off a full bumper,Let every man toss off his full bowls;We'll drink and be jolly, and drown melancholy,So here's a good health to all true-hearted souls!

(Arrrrrgh, matey!)

From:

Amazon.com, baby!

Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EHPXG0/sr=8-2/qid=1139538763/ref=sr_1_2/102-3411520-9599361?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Quilico’s Nine Laws

La Scena Musicale - Vol. 6, No. 4 December 2000

Quilico’s Nine Laws
Interview by: Christina Petrowska
http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm6-4/quilico-en.html

Version française

Canadian baritone Louis Quilico passed away last July at age 75. In his later years, Quilico devoted much of his time to teaching. He was the only Canadian included in Jerome Hines’ interesting book, Great Singers on Great Singing. As an homage to Quilico, La Scena Musicale presents an adapted version of his “Nine Laws of Singing,” taken, with permission, from Mr. Rigoletto (Captus Press), a collection of interviews edited by his second wife, Christina Petrowska.

How did you develop your technique and your laws of singing?

I had six months to prepare for a performance with the San Francisco Opera. I was unhappy with my singing and decided to go back to basics and study by myself. To develop a feeling for the voice, intellectually as well as physically, you have to use your mind. I lived in an empty room and stood about eight inches from the bare wall, meditating for at least 5 or 6 hours a day on the process of how one sings. The less singing you do while studying, the better. You have to discover yourself and your own identity. The voice won’t do anything if it is not commanded. As a teacher, I never talk about sound, because for me it is the least important element. You have muscles that might be causing problems, and you have to know where they are. You should be master of your body. This is why I developed my own way of teaching, which I call the “Nine Laws.”

1. How to stand: If you don’t stand in the right position you create tension. Never distribute your weight evenly on both feet, which creates complete tension, or transfers it to one place. Shifting weight from one foot to the other allows your shoulders to settle and relax.

2. Support: If you place your hand on your abdomen and press the lower abdomen, the stomach area comes out. You have two sets of muscles here. The lowest muscles of your abdomen provide support, like shock absorbers cushioning a bouncing car. Don’t breathe by using the chest muscles. There’s only one way to breathe—by going down to the lower abdomen, because then, instead of pushing against the muscle you use it as a protective floor.

3. Breathing: Think of air as going to the brain, not into the lungs. Overdoing breathing will give you too much air, and you want the right amount. Sometimes I tell my students to imagine they have a little pipe between the two upper front teeth. Thinking about shooting air in throughthe little pipe makes the process gentler. Never think about inflating your lungs, but try saying “yes” with no hint of expanding the lungs, and feel your actual breathing. The lungs will inflate. Also, never breathe through the nose or the mouth exclusively—use both.

4. Opening the throat: Flexibility is important. Lowering the larynx isn’t a natural movement. You can move your Adam’s apple, for example, independently of the jaw (which should not move in this exercise). A child asked to wink at first squeezes both eyes shut. He has to learn to use only one eye. Similarly, you must learn independent motions within your larynx and reacha stage where you can move different muscles, one at a time. At some point, everything merges into one action, but you are still aware of the individual actions needed. Opening the throat not only requires an up and down movement, but the ability to feel the larynx expand. Think of an expanding pipe that can move up and down: you should feel the expansion at the larynx (the Adam’s apple), not at the back of the throat (the pharynx).

Watch your head position, which cannot be dropped or lifted. The throat has to feel it’s in its proper “socket,” otherwise it won’t function correctly. If you lower your head, you collapse the larynx and the throat can’t function. Likewise, the larynx collapses when you raise you head. If you want a pipe to give you a tremendous jet stream, make it straight, don’t bend it. Eliminate obstructions. The larynx should be vertical.

5. Tension of the vocal cords: If you make a tiny, raspy sound, the tickling it creates in your throat irritates you. This irritation shows you where your vocal cords are. I like to feel the cords moving through the air when I sing. Actually, you’re compressing air, and it’s the cords that make the pressure, not the wind or breath. The voice is the most flexible part of our body, and the pressure we use should never be great, but extremely flexible. The vocal cords, which should be tense, like a violin string with air for a bow, must move down into the air.

6. Broadness of sound in the cheekbones: We’re taught that we use resonance to sing. What makes resonance? Collapse the cords, and there is none. Tense them a little, and there is more. The upper palate lifts, providing more space. At the same time, imagine that you are increasing your facial space (actually a question of elasticity more than gaining space). You have to feel your face becoming very, very broad. The sound itself is a little point about eighteen inches in front of your nose, and you sing into that little hole. You have to reach your bone cavities as much as possible and be aware of your cheekbones.

7. Lifting the eyes: It’s a question of feeling space. If I lower my eyes, I’m not aware of the ceiling. But when I take a breath and raise my eyes and eyebrows, I’m aware of taking air from the whole room. Just lifting my eyes makes me more sensitive to the space around me.

8. Combination of air intake and feeling: When I breathe, instead of swallowing air I absorb it, so that it goes to the brain. Oxygen passes into the bloodstream, circulates throughout the body, and passes out again. This cycle creates incredible strength. It’s like yoga. Between inhaling and exhaling there is suspension. If I push oxygen out, I lose what I need. If I’m not pushing it out, I can use its strength to give my voice power. To achieve this suspension and equilibrium, think of a tightrope walker. When he starts to walk on the wire, he touches it with his toe to get the feeling of it. He then slides onto the wire, like a blind man using only his feet to navigate. It involves supreme concentration.

9. Making a sound: When you make the right sound it’s like ecstasy. Then you can sing. This sensation of ecstasy involves rotation of the hands, moving from the inside to the outside. Rotation should be away from your face, not toward it.

The Blind King at Toad this Saturday nite!!

We'll be playing this Saturday, February 4th, at Toad in Porter Square Cambridge. We'll be opening the night at around 10pm.

The headliner is Georgia Overdrive, featuring singer Jim Horan. They play the best (and some of the worst) classic country from Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash to Glenn Campbell and Johnny Paycheck, paying homage to the great songs and artists of country music songs about truck drivin', heartache, and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

Toad: 1920 Mass Ave, Porter Square, Cambridge, MA 02138 - no cover - open 'til 2am

The Blind King plays Great Scott

We're playing for the first time at Great Scott in Allston this coming Monday, January 30th. We'll be sandwiched between The Plastic Constellations and The Juliet Kilo. The show starts at 9 and costs $8 at the door.

Great Scott website: http://www.greatscottboston.com/

Note: it wasn't so long ago that it was kind of a joke to say "We're playing at Great Scott," since they catered to the hippy-ish college crowd and typically featured "508" bands, reggae, and jam rock. Now it's turned into a cool venue and they're booking some great indie rock acts. Who'da thunk it?

Lizard Lounge recap

The show at the Lizard was a blast. Hilken played with a full band which was kind of loud in the small space, but she sounded great. Then we played for about an hour to a very appreciateive crowd. In the end Tiger Saw played a mesmerizing set without the use of mics or a PA.

Apparently the show sold out, which is always a good thing. There was a big crowd. I think we also played one of our best sets, yet - the band was tight and it looked like everyone was having a good time. We hope to play there again soon!

If anyone has snapshots from the show we'd love to see them!

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHO: The Blind King
WHAT: The Blind King CD Release show for "'Til You're Gone" with Hilken Mancini and Tiger Saw
WHEN: Saturday January 14 at 9pm, $6 adv / $8 door
WHERE: The Lizard Lounge 1667 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge

An eclectic ensemble of eight Boston musicians known as The Blind King will celebrate the release of their second CD, "'Til You're Gone" on Saturday, January 14 at The Lizard Lounge.
"'Til You're Gone," recorded at Boston's Q-Division Studios, and released on the band's own label, Careful Records, is an intimate and contemplative album reminiscent of the Tindersticks, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. The Blind King will appeal to fans of quiet-core, alt-country, indie pop, psychedelia, and classic folk music. Live, the eight members of The Blind King play a variety of instruments, such as accordion, trumpet, mandolin, theramin, lap steel and cello. The songs ebb and flow with such ease it sounds as if the band is sitting in your living room performing just for you.

This is a city known for its singer/songwriters and The Blind King's Josh Boughey is one of Boston's undiscovered gems. His simple songs manage to avoid cliché while exploring the lives of his characters in an informal story-telling style. Continuing to build on the bookof excellent songs from The Blind King's first CD, "One" (aka: "The SilentWheel"), the new album boasts some of Boughey's finest work to date. One of the album's strongest songs, the lilting waltz "Her Grey City," recently received an Honor Award from The Great American Songwriting Contest. Other standouts such as "Punk Rock Dream" and "Driving in America," reflect on both our inner and outer lives. The haunting melodies and thoughtful lyrics will stay with you long after each listen.

To learn more about The Blind King, please check out: http://www.myspace.com/theblindking

Lynrd Skynrd - Simple Man

Simple Man
Lynrd Skynrd
C G
E---||------------|-----------------------|---------------------|
B---||------------|-----------1-----------|---------------------|
G---||*-----------|--0-----------0-----0--|-------------0-------|
D---||*-----------|-----2-----------2-----|-----0----------0-0--|
A---||---0--2--3--|--------3--------------|--------2-----------2|
E---||------------|-----------------------|--3--------3---------|


Aminor

E---------------------------------------0--3--0---||
B---------------1---------------------------------||
G------2-----------2-----2-----2-----------------*||
D---------2-----------2-----------2--------------*||
A---0--------0--------------0--------0------------||
E-------------------------------------------------||

{C} {G} {Am}
My momma told me, when I was young.

{C} {G} {Am}
Come sit beside me, my one and only son.

{C} {G} {Am}
And listen closely, to what I say.

{C} {G} {Am}
And if you do this, it will help you some sunny day.

Take your time, don't live too fast.
Troubles will come, and then they'll pass.
If you find a woman, you'll find love.
But don't forget me my son, there is someone up above.

Chorus:
{C} {G} {Am}
And be a simple kind of man.
{C} {G} {Am}
Be something you can love and understand.
{C} {G} {Am}
Baby, be a simple. Be a simple man.
{C} {G} {Am}
Won't you do this for me son, if you can.

Forget your lust, for the rich man's gold.
All that you need, is in your soul.
You can do this, if you try.
All that I want for you my son, is to be satisfied.

{Chorus}

{Break}

Oh don't you worry, you'll find yourself.
Follow your heart, and nothing else.
Do this for me, at least you should try.
Cause all I want for you my son, is to be satisfied.

{chorus x2}

Tag: Won't you do this for me son, if you can.

CD Release Poster (click for big view)

CD Release Party has been scheduled!

We're having a CD release party on January 14, 2006, at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA. We'll be playing with Tiger Saw and Hiken Mancini. Should be a great night! More details to come...

The Blind King MP3 Platter

Here's a sampler of MP3s - please feel free to download, distribute, and enjoy:

The Blind King MP3 Platter

The Blind King Sampler

Listen to an assortment of old songs and new material here: The Blind King Sampler

http://www.last.fm/label/Careful/playlists

A Spoonful Weighs a Ton

by The Flaming Lips

And though they were sad
They rescued everyone
They lifted up the sun
A spoonful weighs a ton
Giving more than they had
The process had begun
A million came from one
The limits now were none
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun

Forcing it off with their hands
The trapdoor came undone
Above our heads it swung
The privilege had been won
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun

Yelling as hard as they can
The doubters all were stunned
Heard louder than a gun
The sound they made was love

Podcast

I was interviewed in September on www.smallworldpodcast.com - check it out here:

http://smallworldpodcast.com/index.php?paged=2

Here's a direct link to the podcast:

http://www.smallworldpodcast.com/mp3/smallworld091905.mp3

Demo-mania

The farmer's market show was really fun, and we got some complimentary squash and onions from admiring fans. We also sold a bunch of advance CDs and some t-shirts.

I've been busy sending out demo copies of "Til You're Gone" to labels and press and radio. Kevin is working to get the artwork ready and then we'll be getting 1000 copies manufactured within the next couple of weeks. Ulp!

Check back for record release dates and lots of shows and stuff coming up to promote the CD.

Show This Saturday in Union Square

This Saturday August 13 there's a Farmer's Market in Union Square Somerville. Bands will be playing from 9:30 am or so until 1 pm. I think we're starting at around 11:00 and playing 2 sets. We love playing outdoors and hopefully you like sseeing music outdoors!

A Case of the "Tweaks"

Well, Jeff @ Peerless is gonna kill me but after letting the album sit on the shelf for 3 weeks I came to the conclusion that I should leave the 2 older tracks off - they make the album too long. Also, they're available on the first album which I'm going to try to also get out to people so the songs will be available anyways.

And I decided to significantly change the song order, too. I've moved Driving to the end (it is the long weird jam-out song after all, and doesn't belong in the second slot) and moved some of the better arrangements and songs with tastier solos to the front of the record...

eCommerce THIS!

Deep sigh, big stretch (muscles cracking), okay...

I've just spent many hours setting up a label account for the Blind King on Last.fm and Gemm.com. So now you can download songs, buy CDs, T-shirts, etc. all online with your creditcard. How cool is that?

Check it out:

www.last.fm

and

www.gemm.com

Brattle Show with Walker and Jay

...last night was fun. The "White Trash Trailer" show was a benefit for the Brattle Theater. There was BBQ and beer for attendees as we played from 7:15 to about 8:15. It was Ned's new song order and I think it worked well. Eric played bass since Dave was on vacation, and so there was no trumpet. We were also missing Kevin's guitar parts. I think it still sounded good, but I always prefer the sound when we have the full band.

Here's what we played:

4 New Strings
2 Yellow Sarong
5 Nothing
2 Her Grey City
3 Moonlight Mile
5 Turned to Glass
0 She Fell Down
7 Starlight
7 Driving In America
3 Tore It Down
0 Hot Down Here
4 Punk Rock Dream

Then we watched tons of funny old trailers and drank beer and then there was a raffle and finally this awesome act called Walker and Jay played.

I was interested to see them, having just returned from a long trip in the mountains of Virginia, during which we failed to see any genuine mountain music performed (and wasted $10 on a tape of what turned out to be Mtn Muzak).

Anyways, Walker & Jay consists of two guys with a banjo and a fiddle and a guitar, which they trade around variously between songs. They sing around a single central mike, old-school bluegrass style. And traditional bluegrass is what they play - or is it? I'm not familiar enough with the genre to say which were standards or originals, but everything they played sent me to the Appalachian Mountains in my mind.

The second half of their set was played in darkness while the Quaid Brothers' mechanized animation "Street of Crocodiles" played silently and creepily behind them.

Very strong playing - the instrumental sections stand on their own - and then are supplemented by a convincing and surprisingly mature vocal sound that seems to blow in from very far away. The fiddle provides the harmony part in several songs, and there were some nice harmonizing vocals as well. Despite some technical issues with the mic arrangement and the instruments reacting to the heat and humidity, they played a captivating set, and by the end had cast a spell over their audience, causing us to buy Walker and Jay CDs.

I'm now listening to their 13-song "4-track Demo" which sounds frickin' awesome!

Oh, and we sold a couple of Blind King t-shirts and CDs, as well. ;)

2 shows coming up...

Sunday July 10 - Emily Operator plays violin with Hilken Mancini (Count Me Outs, Fuzzy, Punk Rock Aerobics) at the WASHINGTON STREET ARTS CENTER with Brett Saiia and The Blind King.
321 Washington St., Somerville, MA (617-623-5315)
7:30 PM
$5 suggested donation

Thursday July 14 - The Blind King plays an acoustic set at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge:

Brattle Theater "Trailer Treats"
7:00pm
$12

The Brattle's annual celebration of summer is back! The whole thing started as a one-off party but we had so much fun we decided to keep it going. Join us for a night of fabulous (and fabulously horrible) trailers from the Brattle's collection, terrific tunes from The Walker & Jay Show and The Blind King, delicious barbeque, and, of course, a ton of fun! Make sure not to miss the now traditional door prize: " The White Trash Gift Basket!" Please Note: Tickets are $12. No Passes Accepted.

http://www.brattlefilm.org

(We'll probably be playing from 7:15-8:15)

How To Fake Being an Indie Rock Expert

You too can be a hipster!

'Til You're Gone

The new album is nearly through the mastering process; yay!

Jeff from Peerless Mastering gave me a reference disk which I'm listening to right now. The mastering brought out a lot of detail in the mixes, and has provided a unifying sheen that sounds really great.

I originally imagined the songs would flow one into another, with minimal space between tracks, sort of like Ziggy Stardust or other similar concept albums. But Jeff talked me into leaving fairly long pauses between each track, and I think he was right. It allows a sort of mental breath, a sip of wine, to occur between each song, and I think it helps to create a relaxed atmosphere around the material.

So I'm going to listen to it in a few places over the next few days: at work, in the car, at home, and make sure everything sounds good.

It's hard not to compare it to the tracks on my computer that I've been listening to over and over while choosing the mixes, remixing, figuring out the song order, etc. The mastered version is much brighter, and louder. There's a more consistent dimensionality from one song to the next. Jeff said it was like mastering a multi-artist compilation, since the mixes are all so different from each other; this is due to them having been recorded and mixed at such different times (2000-2005), in different studios, in my basement, in the B Room at Peerless, etc. I think he did a great job of making the album sound consistent, and his suggestions on the song order really helped a lot, too.

There are certain subtle details that seem lost, or maybe they've just moved to a new place in the mix, nearer or farther, due to the changes in EQ. So far I haven't noticed anything I can't live with, and in fact I think most of the songs are improved quite a bit, since the various parts are more separate and distinct. There's a lot less of that 400-500Khz "mush" that typically happens in recordings that have many parts/instruments playing at once. It's tough to avoid it, since most every instrument plays pretty loudly within this range. The arrangements were developed live, where this isn't as much of a problem. It explains why a lot of music sounds so different on record: it's actually a different arrangment, typically much more sparse, designed to avoid such issues. We'll probably do more of that on the next album.

We've included 2 tracks from our previous record, Lady Fay and Lost In Space. This other "first album", The Silent Wheel, was recorded and mixed in 2000 but never actually released. It was originally meant simply as a collection of my songs, something to hand to other musicians so they could learn the material and play shows with me. But then my friends started coming in to do overdubs, and it started sounding more and more like a real record, and the next thing I know I'm in the mastering studio with Jeff. Working on that album provided a welcome distraction at a time when various other things were melting down around me. Despite certain predictions that I would end up "all alone with my solo album and my Barracuda", life is now actually quite good. :)

After I made The Silent Wheel, my friends who had played on it decided, one by one, to join the band. Next thing I know I'm in an 8-piece indie "orchestra" called The Blind King! We've been doing it for a couple years, now, and it's been really great.

So this is our first album as an actual band. Though much of our sound is melancholy, and the songs might seem sad, 'Til You're Gone actually documents a wonderful time of growth and discovery. And hopefully it's also a good album!

IFF show

...the Independent Film Fest party last night was fun. It took place in a cool space in Boston near the Fort Point channel. Basically a giant concrete cube with windows at one end. Hence the acoustics sucked and none of us could hear; our first set I think we pretty much created an ambiance more than anything. There was an open bar and free food and lots of beautiful people. Our second set we decided to just rock out and so we did, which was a lot of fun. Gave away 10 promo CDs and sold a couple T-shirts and everyone went home in a good mood. Eric did double duty as sound-engineer AND trumpeteer and is to be commended for his dedication, his tasty solos, and his good looks.

Special Secret Show tonight

We're playing the after-party for the Boston Independent Film Festival tonight. So if you're going to the Festival try to sidle up to someone who looks famous and shmooze your way into the party and come see us play! I think you can also buy a ticket. We're playing 2 sets, pretty late I think.

Here's the IFF stuff:

http://www.iffboston.org/index.html

Here's the spiel on the party:

Friday Night — AFH Epicenter

IFFBoston and the Artists For Humanity co-present an evening dedicated to visual artists of all mediums with complimentary drinks, music and art at the AFH Epicenter in Boston's Fort Point Channel Arts District in the heart of the city's burgeoning South Boston Waterfront. Free admission for Chrome and all Venue Passholders. Individual tickets available at www.iffboston.org for $20 or at the door for $25 www.afhboston.com

Another nice review of Indie Pop Song

The Blind King's "Indie Pop Song" mocks the awkward position indie rock finds itself in, repeating that this is "JUST an indie pop song". But it sounds very pleasant as a drum machine leads into two guitar lines; one simple and melodic and the other spurting and more distorted. Half-mumbled lead vocals and a female backing singer make a good combination. It may be nothing more than an indie pop song, but it is at once clear that this band means a lot to them, and is the compilation's first gem. It is not unlike the quiet music of Pedro the Lion, and after noticing that they have 6 full members and 2 guests providing vocals and lead guitars, I am left wondering how on earth they make so little noise.

From: http://www.pennyblackmusic.com/cgi-local/rbbandsearchtitle.pl/SID=1246867/?searchq=94172

Great American Song Competition

Our song "Her Grey City", from the forthcoming album "'Til You're Gone", won an Honor Award in the Great American Song Competition. They gave me this pretty link thingie to put on our website:

Slumberville

"Slumberville" is my latest project - it's me recording myself in my basement. In addition to some new material, I'd like to do a bunch of recordings of covers of my favorite songs by my friends.

Meanwhile, I'm also gearing up to put out a compliation on Careful Records of my friends songs, recorded by them in their basements. It will be all DIY recordings.

Review in The Noise

From The Noise, re: our Dec 30th show w/ The Vinyl Skyway:

The ranks of The Blind King have swelled to eight: Josh Boughey's acoustic guitar and voice are supplemented by harmony vocals, bass, (minimalist) drums, accordion, electric guitar, trumpet, and Andy Santospago (pulling double duty tonight) on the proverbial kitchen sink, which includes 6-string electric, lap steel, mandolin, and theremin. Boughey's songs have stately tempos and simple harmonic structures which leave plenty of space for each member to play in without crowding. No one overplays, so it doesn't turn into a sea of mud, but many of my favorite moments come when melody lines on different instruments almost fuse into new hybrids---anyone for trumpordian? Drummer Ned Armsby is fairly new to the lineup, but his presence transforms the band, defining the pulse more sharply and adding texture without overwhelming the hazy, melancholic mood. (Doug Mayo-Wells)

Thursday Night

The show at Zuzu went well. Still our favorite place to play. The Kent 100s had to cancel due to illness, but Mark Kraus of Jr. Courdoroy agreed to fill in. We played our quieter stuff for the first set. Then Mark played some of his great songs.

I was into my 4th free beer by the second set, and pretty relaxed. We kinda rocked out, and jumped around a bit, which was fun. Maybe I'm getting a little tired of all the moody quiet material. It felt good to play loud and move around. Easier to get into it and the band locks in much tighter. Maybe we'll start moving more in that direction for our live shows.

The crowd by that point consisted mostly of our friends, who were busy catching up with each other, and not paying strict attention. This made it more fun to just let go and have fun. We were the background music, setting the vibe. Personally I thought it was one of our best shows, even though it was a small crowd.

Set 1
-----
Nothing
Box
Turned to Glass
New Strings
Cellar Door
Punk Rock Dream
Driving
Moonlight Mile

Set 2
-----
She Fell Down
The Ballad of Tom Billings
Lost In Space
Lady Fay
The Smartest Girl In Town
Yellow Sarong
Her Grey City
Hot Down Here
Pennsylvania
Indie Pop Song
Jersey Girl

The Blind King vs The Kent 100

We're playing at one of our fave venues this Thursday night: Zuzu - in Central Square Cambridge. We'll be playing 2 sets, and The Kent 100 will play a set in the middle. Here's the schedule:

10:00 The Blind King
11:00 The Kent 100
12:00 The Blind King (again)

The Kent 100 is the latest project from Arto Payaslian of Mishima USA fame.

Come early and have a nice meal, Zuzu serves some fine cuisine!

The music is free.

Zuzu - 474 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, Cambridge, MA 617-864-3278 x237

Fun show tonite

The Vinyl Skyway played a really nice tight set tonight. They have the coolest songs, and they played some new stuff with these cool-ass vocal harmonies. You'll have to go see them.

Our set started off a bit slow, I was having tuning issues and feedback from the guitar that caused some re-starts, but we got rolling about halfway through the set and had some fun. There was a decent crowd and they stuck around for the whole show, which helps a lot.

It's so hard sometimes to just let go and trust the soundman. Because you can never hear anything accurately up there unless you've got some state-of-the-art monitoring system, so you're kind of playing blind, er, well, deaf. You have to just sort of remember, "oh, I usually play quiet here, so I won't strum as hard" and that's about all you get for dynamics, loud and soft. And with all those instruments going at once, it's hard to know where my playing is fitting into the mix, or if I'm even in tune. Okay, enough about me.

There were nice people to talk to after the show and we got some good feedback. A guy I didn't know was very encouraging, which always means more to me than when it's someone you do know, because after all they HAVE to say something nice, or neutral, or run away. But the guy smoking a cigarette doesn't have to say anything at all, so it somehow means more. Beth said she even got invited to go "pahhty" with some random people. She's officially a rock star, now!

I had a nice chat with another musician about how important it is to have a network of nice people who you can relate to. And really, that's what it's all about. I feel so lucky that I get to do this. I'm always meeting the sweetest people, and I love their music, and it's like I have my own secret club or something. The "nice" gang. Y'know, the kids the Rockabilly bands beat up for a laugh.

Shattuck Shelter Benefit 9pm Wed 12/29 with The Vinyl Skyway

A Benefit for the Shattuck Shelter

9 pm at The Lizard Lounge
(617) 547-0759
1667 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138

Free admission includes music by The Vinyl Skyway and The Blind king

(Clothing and Blanket Donations Requested)

http://www.friendsoftheshattuckshelter.org/

poster

Show this Sunday Nite!

When: Sunday December 12th
Venue: The Middle East Upstairs
Location: 472 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 (Central Square T Stop on the red line)
Details: 9pm 18+ $9 With Cub Country, The Blind King and Iowa 80.
Venue Info: 617-931-2000

okay, a little to the left, easy, easy...

I just moved all these files to a new directory so there may be a broken link or two for awhile.

BLUE SHADOWS ON THE TRAIL

by Eliot Daniel & Johnny Lange

(This song was sung by Roy Rogers' in his first band, Sons of the Pioneers. I first heard it in the movie Three Amigos, performed by Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short)

[E] Shades of night are [F# minor] falling
As the [E] wind be- [G# minor] gins to [F# minor] sigh [B7]
And the [E] world's silhou- [F# minor] etted a- [B7] gainst the [E] sky.

Blue Shadows [A] on the [E] Trail
[A6] Blue [D] moon [B7] shinin' [A] through the [E] trees.
And a [E] plain--tiff [E7] wail--- from the [A] distance
Comes a [E] driftin' on the [B7] evening [E] breeze.

Move a- [A] long, Blue Shadows, move a- [E] long [D#] [E]
Soon the dawn will [B minor]come and [C#7] you'll be on your [F# minor ] way
[F# minor aug] [B7]
[D#]Un- [E] til the [E7] darkness sheds its [A] veil [C#7] [F# minor]
[F minor dim]There'll be [E] Blue [B7] Shadows on the [E]Trail.

Move a- [A] long, Blue Shadows, move a- [E] long [D#] [E]
Soon the dawn will [B minor]come and [C#7] you'll be on your [F# minor ] way
[IF# minor aug] [B7]
[D#]Un- [E] til the [E7] darkness sheds its [A] veil [C#7] [F# minor]
[F minor dim] There'll be [E] Blue [B7] Shadows on the [E]Trail.

[F] Shadows on the [E] Trail.

Nave Gallery - video and pics

We played at an art opening at the Nave Gallery - here is a little video clip of us playing and some panoramic pics: http://www.kelvybird.com/connection/exhibits/play.html

quite frankly brilliant

From a review of "This Is Indie Rock" at: http://www.mammothpress.com/

"...The Blind King are generally slower and more peaceful, and “Indie pop-song” is very emotional and quite frankly brilliant. Opening with a fairly acoustic feel, the vocals sound mature, and the inclusion of a female singer balances the sound out. Without trying to sound too teenage and immature, this song would fit perfectly on the sad and thoughtful moments on TV shows such as Dawson’s Creek. The band may not like that description, but with such a beautiful song and thought provoking sound, it would be a match made." - Tom Beck

The Flower of Olivia

The Flower of Olivia

Manahattan Island Serenade

by Leon Russell from the album Carney

Em

Em Am
Sitting on the highway in a broken van
Bsus B7 Em
Thinking of you again
C7 G
Guess I'll have to hitchhike to the sta - tion
C7 G Bsus B7
With every step I see your face
Em7 Am7
Like a mirror lookin' back at me
Bsus B7 Em
Sayin' you're the on - ly one
C7 G F
Makin' me feel I could survive
C7 Bsus B7
And so glad to be alive.

G D Em G7
Nowhere to run there's not a guitar to play
C B A7 C7
Messed up inside and it's been rain-in' all day
G B7 Em G7 C G B7 Em
Since you went away, Manhattan Island Serenade


Em Am
Sitting on the highway in a broken van
Bsus B7 Em
Thinking of you again
C7 G
Guess I'll have to hitchhike down the high - way
C7 G Bsus B7
With every step I see your face
Em7 Am7
Like a mirror lookin' back at me
Bsus B7 Em
Sayin' you're the on - ly one
C7 G F
Makin' me feel I could survive
C7 Bsus B7
And so glad to be alive.

G D Em G7
Nowhere to run there's not a guitar to play
C B A7 C7
Messed up inside and it's been rain-in' all day
G B7 Em G7 C G B7 Em
Since you went away, Manhattan Island Serenade
Em G C G A7 C G
Since you went away, Manhattan Island Serenade

(chords sent to me by Clifford Dungbrook)

Benefit show in R.I. this SUNDAY

We're playing on this cool bill down in R.I., it's a benefit for MoveOn PAC. We're the opening band, and the sets are 1/2 hr long, so it will be interesting to see how it works out logisitcally. SO many cool acts on the bill with us, including Ida, one of my all-time favorite bands, ever! Here's the poop:

ROCK ON for MOVE ON [an all-day outdoor CONCERT to benefit MoveOn PAC ].

SUNDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2004 2pm - 11pm - Rain or Shine

Fleet Skating Center, downcity Providence, R.I. [kennedy plaza]

$5 donation

-this concert is going to be a rock and roll marathon, with 17 bands from rhode island, northhampton, boston and new york city, volunteering their time and talent to raise money and awareness for MoveOn PAC

-the event is being organized by chris daltry, along with josh miller, who is hosting the event as part of his annual HOT CLUB WATERFRONT FESTIVAL [this year held downtown at the skating rink instead of at the HOT CLUB in providence]. the hot club waterfront festival is a 3 day outdoor live music event beginning friday 10 september and ending with this separate benefit concert on sunday

-admission is a $5 donation to MoveOn PAC. larger donations will gladly be accepted. all of the money collected will go to MoveOn PAC. our goal in organizing this event is to help JOHN KERRY defeat GEORGE W. BUSH in the upcoming november election. since MoveOn PAC shares our goal, they have been chosen by us to be the financial recipients of this benefit concert

[order of bands subject to change]:

2:00 -the blind king
2:30 -ida
3:00 -lucky 57
3:30 -anders parker [varnaline] with kendall meade
[mascott]
4:00 -the 'mericans
4:40 -sleepyhead
5:00 -spouse
5:30 -the chilblains
6:00 -the bob kendall band
6:30 -su casa
7:00 -the blizzard of 78
7:30 -charlie chesterman and the motorbikes
8:00 -international penpal
8:30 -sibling rivalry
9:00 -mudboy
9:30 -mahi mahi
10:00 -lightning bolt

-information on individual bands is available. music styles range from
roots/alternative country, rock & roll, pop and experimental.

-event organizer and contact person: chris daltry

[401] 353-1759 / [401] 861-4244 / themericans@yahoo.com

cool t-shirts 4 U

I made some t-shirts with the blind king logo silkscreened on them. This was all done old-skool, e.g. w/ hand-cut film, toxic adhering liquid, and lots of tape and paper towels. I will post a few pics when they get out of the dryer. They are white ink on black and colored t-shirts. I am going to make black on light shirts next. E-mail me if you want to buy a shirt for $10. Or if you have a favorite old T-shirt you can send it to me with a SASE and I will silkscreen onto it during the next batch...

This Is Indie Rock - Vol I

Our song "Indie Pop Song" will be included on this upcoming compilation from Deep Elm Records



THIS IS INDIE ROCK: Volume One (DER-439)
The Best Bands You've Never Heard
Release Date: October 25, 2004 - Worldwide

01. The Pit That Became A Tower (Jerusalem, Israel) - "I Must Save ThePresident"
02. Clair De Lune (Minneapolis, MN ) - "Marionettes - The Song"
03. The Blind King (Boston, MA) - "Indie Pop Song"
04. Dino Velvet (Hackettstown, NJ) - "The Weekend Warriors"
05. Second Hand Stories (Charlotte, NC) - "Frontiers"
06. Throat (Larne, Ireland) - "Saturday"
07. Winter In Alaska (Normal, IL) - "Puzzle: Part One"
08. Joanna Erdos (Brooklyn, NY) - "Silver & Gold"
09. Siva (El Paso, TX)- "G"
10. Lakota (New York, NY) - "So Simple"
11. Leaving Rouge (Dearborn, MI) - "Rooms"
12. The Kidcrash (Sante Fe, NM) - "Bells And Hammers"

Last Minute Show July 7

The Blind King, in stripped-down format (e.g. missing 2 members, not naked), will be performing tonight at 8:30 PM at The Paradise Lounge, along with Michael Hayes and his Vinyl Skyway. The Paradise Lounge is in the "front room" of the Paradise Rock Club.

Jersey Girl

JERSEY GIRL (by Tom Waits)
----------------------------

Chords used in this song:

D A7sus4 G G/D
xx==== x===== ====== xx====
|||||| |||||| |||||| ||||||
|||*|* ||*||| |*|||| ||||||
||||*| ||||*| *||||* |||||*

D
Got no time for the cornerboys
G
Down on the street makin' all that noise
A7sus4
Don't want no whores on eight avenue
D
'cause tonight I'm gonna be with you

G
tonight I'm gonna take that ride
D
across the river to the Jersey side
A7sus4
Take my baby to the carnival
D G/D D
and I'll take her on all the rides
G
Down the shore everythings allright
D
You with your baby on a saturday night
A7sus4
Don't you know all my dreams come true
D D/G D
When I'm walkin' down the streets with you

-----
D7 G D A7sus4 D
4*: sing sha la lala la sha lala la la la (and so on)
D
1*: I'm in love with a Jersey Girl

4*: Sing sha la la la la la sha la la la la la (a.s.o)
-----

You know she thrills me with all her charms

When I'm wrapped up in my baby's arms

My little angel gives me everything

I know someday she'll wear my ring

So don't bother me 'cause I've got no time

I'm on my way to see that girl of mine

nothing matters in this whole wide world

when you're in love with a jersey girl


--
chorus: (shalala as above)

--

D A7sus4 D
and I call your name
A D
I can't sleep at night
D7
shalala

Last night we played the last in our 4-show series at Zuzu. This was probably the best of the four, in terms of attendance and also in terms of how much fun we had and our comfort-level on stage. It ain't easy getting 8 performers to sound good together with a so-so PA system. We hosted the 'Mericans, from Providence, RI, and they played a terrific set in between our 2 sets. Our 2nd set was a lot of fun, we did a few covers (Here Comes the Rain Again, Here Come the Dancing Horses w Dave singing, The Cat Came Back w/ Kevin Singing, and I'll Come Running). Starlight->Driving went very well and the crowd seemed into it. I'll post the set lists from all 4 shows later on, as well as tons of pics. Now we're psyched to take a little break before playing more shows, maybe finish the record or something. Yay us.

Here Comes The Rain Again

Lennox & Stewart

[Am]Here comes the rain again, [F]falling on my head like a memory
[G]Falling on my head like a new emotion [Am]

[Am]I want to walk in the open wind, [F]I want to talk like lovers do
[G]Want to dive into your ocean, is it [Am]raining with you?

{soc}
So baby, [F]talk to me, like [C]lovers do
[F]walk with me, like [C]lovers do
[F]Talk to me, like [C]lovers do [D] [G]
{eoc}

[Am]Here comes the rain again, [F]raining on my head like a tragedy
[G]Tearing me apart like a new emotion [Am]

[Am]I want to breathe in the open wind, [F]I want to kiss like lovers do
[G]Want to dive into your ocean, is it [Am]raining with you?

{comment: chorus}

[Em] [F] [Am]
[Em] [F] [G]

{comment: chorus}

Lilli has offered us a residency at Zuzu, so we'll be playing there every Thursday in May (6th, 13th, 20th and 27th). We'll have special guests tba for each show. Stay tuned!

The show tonight at Zuzu went exceptionally well. Ned, the new drummer, really pulled things together, and the extra rehearsals paid off with everyone being pretty tight, and loose at the same time. Also, Beth and I stood up, which for me worked well because I wasn't locked in to one position the whole night. We played for over an hour and the crowd wanted more when we were done. I really like playing there. Yay us!

Set list:

7 Starlight
7 Driving In America
4 New Strings
3 Tore It Down
0 Ballad of Tom Billings
2 Yellow Sarong
2 Her Grey City
0 Lost In Space
0 Pennsylvania
0 Murder
0 Lady Fay
5 Nothing
4 Cellar Door
4 Punk Rock Dream
2 Smartest Girl In Town

We're playing another show at Zuzu! This time it's on April 14th.

Unfortunately Vinyl Skyway had to cancel, but we hope to play with them soon...!

This wasn't one of our better gigs - I was off, and with no drummer it knocked everyone else off track, too. The sound guy also insisted on putting my guitar through the PA, and afterwards people said it was ll my vocal and my guitar, which is totally not what we're about sound-wise. Also, we played last after Heygoods and Mark Kraus (Mark sounded awesome, btw, in his first appearance in over a year). Oh, well, chalk this one up...

Setlist:

0 The Ballad of Tom Billings
4 New Strings
4 Punk Rock Dream
2 Her Grey City
5 Nothing
5 Box
7 Starlight -->
7 Driving in America
0 Lady Fay
0 Murder
4 Cellar Door

The gig at the Midway was fun. It was weird playing with a drummer, but everyone said it helped our sound, so we're going to keep looking for someone permanent.

We're putting a show together February 25th at the Lizard Lounge. Also on the bill are the Heygoods and Vinyl Skyway... stay tuned for more info!!!

THE LIZARD LOUNGE
1667 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA
Phone: (617) 547-0759

Located in the basement of
the Camrbidge Common Bar & Grill

Well, I'm down with the flu so the show tonight got cancelled. I've never cancelled a gig before, but I'm really sick. Dave and Kevin are going to play some Swizzle songs to fill the slot.

We have another show coming up Jan 17th at the Midway... more later.

We have a show coming up at The Sky Bar in Somerville:

thursday, january 8

INTERNATIONAL PEN PAL, CARS CAN BE BLUE (Portsmouth, NH), THE BLIND KING

Johnny Anguish just sent me some pics he snapped during our Davis Square show this last summer:



The Blind King - Davis Square - Somerville, MA - July 19 2003

We're back!! In case you didn't notice we were gone, for 2 months you couldn't get here via http://www.carefulrecords.com, but had to get here via http://www.ultrajosh.com/carefulrecords/. If you care why then read this.

In summary I've moved everything over to a new ISP and moved my domain names, as well. Now you can bite me, Register.com! ;)

So anyways, that's the news. I'll be updating the Blind King page soon, and moving it to a directory called, er, blindking. Also, I've come up with some cover art for The Silent Wheel album, which has been cooling on the shelf for over a year, now. I listened to it the other day and I was like, "Hmph! Pretty good!" So anyways I'll be doing some reorganizing on the site, so don't be ddiscouraged if it's acting funky or you can;t find your favorite upskirt shot.

Oh, and we have a show, I believe: Jan 8 @ The SkyBar. More on that later....

Added a link to Andy Santospago's groovy new website. Check it out

Not much progress on the record, lately - waiting for some studio time to come up to do more vocal overdubs.

Wrote some new songs, though. And I've been making a "song book", with chords and lyrics, for some of the new songs and some old songs, too: http://www.ultrajosh.com/songs/

Meanwhile I've moved and I'm setting up a practice space/studio in my basement, which is a bit cramped and basement-like, but seems to work okay (we rehearsed there once already).

I was thinking of calling it The Laundry Room.

What's nice is there's also a separate little room that I can use for electronics projects, and then the other half of the basement is a dedicated workshop where I can keep tools and car parts.

I finally added the page for Roger Fritz's musik. Just a few things so far, I need to convert some more tracks from the other CDs he's given me. I wish storage space wasn't so frickin' expensive.

I just added one of those "please donate" PayPal links to try to defray some of the costs of maintaining this site. Every little bit helps!

The show at Zuzu last night was fun, and we had a good-sized, attentive crowd. The usual monitor situation made it hard to tell if we were hitting the notes on the harmonies, but after-show feedback said we sounded good. Everyone played well and seemed to enjoy themselves.



I need to get used to the fact that playing live will just NEVER sound as good as the rehearsals. It's always a battle with the sound system and the physical layout. But I enjoy it more each time.

Lilly was a great host, and we all ate magnificent Zuzu dinners. Playing for my supper never tasted so good! I had shrimp with lime cilantro sauce over beans and rice with long plantain chips. Very nice presentation and I wish I could've ate it all, but I didn't want to fall asleep before the show.

It's sort of funny how appropriate our material was for the Unhappy Hour. One heart-wrenchingly sad song after another...

Set list:

(the numbers are my capo setting)

4 New Strings
4 Punk Rock Dream
0 The Ballad of Tom Billings
2 Her Grey City (formerly Beautiful Song)
5 Nothing
5 Box
5 Die of Hope
7 Driving in America
5 'Til You're Gone
0 Crazy (by Versus)
0 All My Dreams Are Dead (by the Television Personalities)
0 Murder
0 Lady Fay
2 Yellow Sarong (by The Scene Is Now)

Andy didn't bring his cello - he's trying to phase it out - just too much of a hassle to lug it to shows - but played mandolin and lap steel, which gave a more Bluegrassy sort of feel to the numbers that are usually cello-heavy. Probably a good thing, as strings would have made the songs simply too sad to bear.

Got a good laugh with my intro to Driving in America: "Okay, we're gonna pick things up a bit now with a new song that's all about how much it sucks to be alive"

It was a very Unhappy Monday.

Here's a pic of me playing "Song for Mikey" @ the Mikey Dee Memorial Service @ the Paradise back in July. My friend Paul took the picture with his phone.

Some pics from last night in the studio:

zuzu gig confirmed for 9/22

UPDATE: the Zuzu gig has been postponed to either the 22nd or 29th of September. Once it's firmed-up I'll make some nice posters.

We have an upcoming gig at Zuzu, in Central Sq. Cambridge, on Monday, September 8th. It's a part of their "Unhappy Hour" Monday night series, featuring "all sad songs all the time" - sounds right up our alley! We're really psyched, er, miserable about it.

More details to come!

A good time was had by all last night at AS220 - the staff was super-friendly, the Red Hook on tap was $1.25 (for band members) and only a bit more for everyone else. It was cold and tasted great - they know how to keep their lines clean, I guess!

We had a nice and responsive crowd, smallish but not bad for a Sunday night. We played the same setlist as Saturday. I felt a little off while on-stage, probably due to the monitor mix being kind of bad. It was also really warm on stage. I couldn't hear the mix, and didn't really get a sense of how Beth and I sounded together until the last couple of songs, when I think the sound-lady tweaked some stuff. But the after-show feedback was positive so that's what you gotta go on! I think the new material is strong, and we're starting to gel as a band.

The Operators played a great set after us. It was nice to be able to sit outside and drink a beer and still be able to hear and see them. We were tired and had the long drive back to Boston ahead of us so didn't stay to see Ellison, unfortunately.

The weekend felt like a big success and inspired me to update the Blind King site and start working on T-shirt designs...

The BLind King is playing another show tonight, Sunday, 7/20/03 at AS220 in Providence, RI. We are booked as "ADINEKO", due to a publicity snafu that is both difficult and embarrasing to explain. We're warming up for TIZZY, THE OPERATORS (be sure to check out the Operators' cool site), and ELLISON.

AS220 is a cool little venue/art gallery. I've only been there once but everyone was super friendly, the music was great, and the beer was frosty.

The Blind King played yesterday during the day to "a festival crowd" I hope someone took pictures, cause it sure was fun. Nice sunny day, at last! Last 2 times we tried to play Davis Square it rained...

ANYways, The Blind King practiced a lot last week, so we were pretty relaxed and had fun and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves on stage. The crowd was attentive and stuck it out through the whole set, which was very cool considering all the other neat stuff to do at ARTBEAT 2003. My voice was a little ragged from singing too much right before the show, but I warmed up eventually. Also, Beth and I worked on singing together and it really clicked this time, I think, especially on Murder, which we played last.

Set list:

Beautiful Song
Lost It Again
Punk Rock Dream
New Strings
Driving
Nothing
'Til You're Gone
Box
Song for Mikey
Lady Fay
Murder


We got a lot of good feedback from friends and strangers alike. I'll post some pics if I can find some. Saw people there with video cameras so if you have any footage of the show we'd love to see it.

http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/artbeatfeature.pdf

Apologies for the quality - these are digital pics I snapped of prints, so there are some weird artifacts that aren't actually there.



(Original Photos by Roland Oulette)

Last Friday night Silent Wheel played at the Berwick Research Institute in Roxbury for a benefit for the Rock and Roll Girls' Camp. Aliza Shapiro put it together and they raffled off all kinds of cool stuff donated by bands and labels. Silent Wheel played last, at like 12:30 at night, so not too many people were left and we were kinda tired. But I think it went okay. Short set, including the new song, Beautiful Song.

Also, we've been recording at Q-Division, got about 8 songs so far - Rafi wants to re-do a few if not all of the ones from the last session. Got a better vibe in the big room at the first session. Songs recorded so far:

1st session:
Lost It Again
Punk Rock Dream
Box
Til You're Gone

2nd session:
Die of Hope
Murder
Nothing

I'll post some mp3's of the ruffs as soon as I buy some more room on the server...