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A blog about Friday's shows is coming soon. Also, it's official: we are playing Awesomefest this year.

Album Review

I realize I haven't made the blog post or put up the videos from Friday's show(s), but I will by tomorrow. Here is a track-by-track album review written by a Jeffrey David Archer. Everyone should mentally thank him right now.

1. Tranquility Base? - Bursts of white noise give way to a keyboard driven tune accented with a great glokenspiel sound. The music has an almost 1960's vibe to it which goes well with the fact that the mission was made in 1969. The lyrics are sung with an almost robotic delivery (as they are throughout the entire album) which strangely fits the music very well. The drums sound fairly lo-fi but this is actually a plus as the contrast between them and the more hi-fi sounding keyboards create a very interesting texture to the music.

2. Chattering Teeth - If 1970's-era Santana got together with Steve and Eydie's backing band and had a lovechild and that lovechild made music it would sound a lot like this. The lyrics tell us about the vastness and coldness of space. The mix is very strong and glockenspiel sounds abound.

3. Eagle On The Moon - This tranquil instrumental represents the actual landing of the the astronauts onto the Moon's surface. More Santana percussion mixed with the glockenspiel bring this musical reverie home. A dreamy mix of other worldy sounds.

4. Nixon & Cohorts - This song marks a departure from the overall vibe of the songs preceding it. There is some great rocking piano being played here but my attention was constantly being pulled to the raw sound of the drums. The lyrics here tell of Nixon and his fellow politicians' limited funding of NASA and the Apollo program. Good groove here.

5. First Photos (Reminiscent) - The glockenspiel is back in full effect. The lyrics in this song sing the praises of the beauty of the Moon's surface and the colors that exist there that we don't see on Earth. The astronauts are so taken with this beauty that they don't want to leave the Moon.

6. Safire Wants Gold - This piece begins with some fast piano playing then the drums come in with an almost shuffle feel. The lyrics tell the tale of newspaper writer Will Safire and his longing for the Apollo mission to fail so that he can make a good story out of it for his paper. At least that's how I understood it.

7. Why Anyone Would - A funky drumbeat starts off this song about how after you have been to the Moon the Earth just doesn't seem all that great anymore. Nice piano fills around the verses and that ever present glockenspiel filling in the cracks.

8. In The Event Of Moon Disaster - The title track of the album and in my opinion the most engaging song of the lot. This short but sweet instrumental features a wonderfully distorted organ sound (is that organ?) that grabs your attention right from the start and doesn't let up. It is definately the hook of the song. The drums are kicking in an almost John Bonham style. Awesome song. I am almost tempted to say that the distorted organ part is a little too high in the mix but at the same time it's such a strong hook that I think it's loudness works.

9. Malfunction - Another keyboard driven piece that features some very complex layers of sonic goodness. This song changes complexion quite frequently from it's uptempo beginning to a spacy middle section and finally resolving itself in an almost blues -like ending. The music reminds me of 1970's-era Weather Report. A kind of jazzy-rock fusion with suprises around every corner.

10. Turkey In The Space - This song celebrates the safe return of the brave astronauts. The tune takes the tempo of a march with an organ making tight little stabs into the musical soundscape. A flute sounding synth plays a melody over the top of the march. The tune fades out but tjust when you think that the album is over the listener is treated to what sounds like some heavily processed speech although I wasn't able to make out what it was saying.

I really enjoyed this album. When I first signed on for this critiqueing thread I was sort of afraid of what album I might end up with to review. I don't like saying bad things about other artists work although I would been honest about any album that I ended up reviewing. Luckily I ended up with this album and I can't say that there was much of anything that I didn't like or anything that I would have done differently. This is definately a charming and entertaining listen.

Vote For Me

Hey, everybody...
I'm in this contest thing on a website called vLES (virtual Lower East Side), and it would be greatly appreciated if you and your friends would all vote for me. All you need to do is sign up at http://www.vles.com, and then go to http://www.vles.com/kickstart and vote for my music by finding it in the player and clicking "HIT".

Thanks!
-Zane.

$RRRRRDFHIVP()D*^F*$P

So...Realized I haven't updated this in awhile, I've pretty much just been either playing gigs or getting ready for them. It's kind of weird that up until this April, I had never really performed my own songs live, but since April 1st I've played my music live at four or five different shows, and I have two more shows this Friday, in separate states. As for plans after this Friday's shows, I'm organizing a couple more shows for April and/or May. I'm also working on a new EP, and producing Jay's new EP, Kyle's first EP, and Phelan's metal album. I really can't stand having nothing to do...
Anywho, I finally got the CDs for Friday's show back from the factory place, and here are way too many photos of them:

Note the real bar code and cellophane!!!!

Today's Show!

For those of you who didn't know, I had a show today. Let's go through it (let's is me):
1. It was kind of a Talent Show thing at my school.
2. First 8 acts: Dancing (good), singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, drums...
3. Act 9: Me, Hugo, Sam, Alex, and Michi covering Sara Bareilles' "Love Song". It was sick ill nasty.
4. #10: Somebody, I had no idea who or what was going on as I was up next again, so I had to set everything up discreetly.
5. Act 11: Me, Mr. Redmond, Sam, Grant, and Hugo performing my own "Tranquility Base?"...with a disco ball, a oversized bouncing ball, and dimmed lights...ball.
6. After this, I drank about two gallons worth of luke warm water from a dirty water bubbler. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I think I heard some R&B.
7. My good friend Phelan was on last, doing a Metallica medley on guitar, which was sick.
8. Finally, the winners were announced:

• Me, Grant, Hugo, Sam, and Mr. Redmond - Tranquility Base?
• Singing girls
• Dancing dudes
• Singing girls and dudes
• Me, Alex, Michi, Sam, and Hugo - Love Song
• Drum dude
• Phelan, with sick guitar-ness
• Girl singing...I'm pretty sure it was about a Disney movie. Again, PRETTY sure...

All in all, it was really sick, next friday I am playing in front of the entire school and faculty at a MANdatory assembly. I have become a legend around my...house. Not the school yet, but hopefully soon. I wish other people could've seen it, but my camera died in the middle of taping the song.

Relieved To Know I'm Not A Golumb

Name that reference!
Anywho, a couple of possible shows (might) have come up:

• An online show in Second Life (more info to come soon, this one's the most likely)
• One on April 8th (a definite, but also fairly private. Let me know if you want to come, and I can get you in most likely)
• Early show on the 18th (likely)
• Kingston, MA on the 18th (definite, you should all come, whoever you may be)
• Awesomefest '08 (highly likely, but not yet confirmed)
• A show with my good friends "31 to Go" (definite, but no date or location set. Sometime in May)

So that's about it for now. It's looking like I'm going to get to produce Jay's next EP, which will be sweet. For those who are unfamiliar with the greatness that is Jay, download his first EP at http://www.verythree.blogspot.com. Hugo and I have been working on alot of stuff for "I Am The Future" lately, which is turning out pretty cool so far. Alot of the songs are very basic and acoustic-style songs when we play them, but in the demos we've been working on, they're starting to sound more over-produced and arranged.

I realized that about a paragraph I said that was it for now...

I'm not going to change that though.

-Zane.

Completely Necessary

I think everyone really needed to watch that.

Money money money money

Howdy, people!
Time for an annoying plug blog:
Go buy my new CD at AmieStreet for only a $1! (http://www.amiestreet.com/zanois)
While you're at it, check out Justice Rules! too: (http://www.amiestreet.com/justicerules)

Thanks!
-Zane McIrritating