Since we play about once a week and don’t usually do a song more than once we have a lot songs in the kitty. We had this idea to get one hundred downloads up on our site site by Christmas but that took some doing. We spent the last week listening to things like “Prom Night 2″ from a few years ago and now retitled “Submarine Races.” And this afternoon at about four o’clock we uploaded the hundredth song.
Pete and Shelley are coming down from the mountains for tonight’s gig at the George Eastman House. Shelley emailed from the library that she was bringing her shakers so we’re in for a special treat. How do you think this tree lost it’s needles?
Margaret Explosion records most shows. We never rehearse (we sound it, I know) and we hardly ever play a song more than once so it takes a while to work our way through the recordings. Some songs survive multiple listenings and stay on the “A List” until we can give them a title. “Strip Club”, from October of last year, is one that wouldn’t go away. It features Jack Schaefer on bass clarinet and Pete LaBonne on piano. I just added it to the site today.
Pete LaBonne joins us for Friday’s gig at the Eastman House opening and Saturday’s gig at the Memorial Art Gallery. Jaffe, former keyboard player with Colorblind James, said he might stop by and sit in tonight at our Little Theater gig. Stop by. Live a Little!
Brian Williams was talking about all the gigs he’s done over the years with John Mooney and Bob Henrie. He was saying how he wished he had taken the time to jot down the the specifics of each gig. Tom Whitmore from Watkins and the Rapiers was there. He lives in Geneseo and Brian asked him if he remembered a place called Gentleman Jim’s. I said I had played there with New Math and someone stole Gary Trainer’s guitar after the gig. Brian said he was on that same bill playing with the John Mooney band. It seems like I have always know Brian but I guess not.
Let’s see, I played in a working C&W band in Bloomington, Indiana and then a New Wave band in Rochester called “New Math”. Both of those lasted a couple of years and then I started playing in a band called the Hi Techs which sort of morphed into Personal Effects. Those bands lasted for most of the eighties and somewhere in the nineties we started playing as Margaret Explosion. Time flies. Tonight we play at the Little Theater Café.
Here’s a song from two weeks ago. Margaret Explosion – Lodestar
Margaret Explosion “Lodestar”
with Pete LaBonne on Piano
Like a grade school kid Margaret Explosion took the summer off. Rested, fired up and full of mind expanding experiences we are ready to explode. Join us as we kick off Labor Day Weekend on Friday at 6PM in the Village Gate Square. Pete LaBonne joins us on piano. We’ll move the festivities inside if it rains.
Here’s a song from our gig there two years ago. Margaret Explosion – Festival
Margaret Explosion “Festival”
with Pete LaBonne on Piano
I thought yesterday’s 4 Season’s post on “So Many Records, So Little Time” was cool but today’s was a sensation. Kevin posted Margaret Explosion’s “Purple Heart” What a way to start the day.
We took a long bike ride in the direction of Irondequoit Bay and wandered around in the dreamy little neighborhoods that overlook the bay. We stopped at a few garage sales and rode down streets with “No Outlet” signs on them. Perfect Day so far.
I love the Blindfold Test that DownBeat gives a musician in each issue. Listening with with an open mind, no cover image, liner notes or baggage, can be exhilarating. That’s why I like “iTunes DJ” shuffle mode so much. Knowing what song is going to come up in what order takes all the fun out listening. I’m always running to my computer to find out what it was I just heard come out of there.
I was working at my computer with the iTunes DJ at work in the background when Peggi came in to ask who the last song was by. I was kind of surprised because it was her on sax with Margaret Explosion doing “Sargasso Creek.”
Duane sent us this link to his newest video, one he did for “Juggler” from Margaret Explosion’s latest 45. He takes the the light side of the single and goes dark on us, enriching the music twofold. It’s a total knockout.
We finished Netflix Season 3 of “Breaking Bad” last night and spent some time today with extras at the iTunes store. In that spirit I posted some of Duane’s comments on the making of “Juggler” below.
“The camera is shooting 10 sec clips and turning them into 40 sec slo-mo’s internally. So those little swaying camera moves were actually happening fast. And those swinging planes that sailed by within inches of the camera were really going fast. On another take, I jumped back suddenly, thinking I was about to get hit. Shot at Coney Island till they closed. Back home I came to the shot of the swinging chairs and immediately decided that shot was the opening w/o even seeing the rest. It dictated the whole feel & path. The machines are juggling people. The life we lead juggles us, we learn to be juggled by it from childhood onward. It all fit. I started seeing it all this way and it basically assembled itself. I made a choice not to ride any of the rides, to keep the point of view objective vs subjective. But I’m dying to go back at nite & just ride the rides.”
So Many Records posted a single from Rochester’s Dick Storms this week, a sensational Velvet Underground & Nico song. Not all 45 are hit bound. The format is a medium unto itself.
Peggi and I finished printing the second color (black) of our 45 sleeve last weekend. We had to do the second color in two passes because we didn’t have enough wooden letters to do “Margaret Explosion” twice. In fact we didn’t have any wooden letters at all until Bill Jones cut them for us on his type making machine. We ordered 100 pre-scored and die cut 45 sleeves, flat and pre-folded or glued, from Stumptown printers in Portland and Geri McCormick, a member of the Printing & Books Arts Center here, coached us through the press run on their Vandercook letterpress. Tom Kohn from the Bop Shop insisted that we hand number the edition so we did that as well.
Both songs were recorded live at the Little Theater Café last November. Jack Schaefer had joined us on bass clarinet for the second set “Juggle” was the last song of the night. We got an encore and that became “Purple Heart.” Jack is joining us on Wednesday at the Little for an old fashioned record release party so stop by and pick up a single. It includes free digital downloads of the songs.
Jack Schaeffer and Pete LaBonne join Margaret Explosion tonight at the Bug Jar. I should say “rejoin” because they were both original members. Jack doesn’t settle for ordinary and Pete doesn’t even know what it is so it promises to be an adventure. The shot above was taken at the Bug Jar about thirteen years ago so it will be a reunion as well.
