I happened across Subterranes making with a soundcheck down in the catacombs of St Kevins Arcade a while back, and suggested we play a gig. None of us ever make it out of the tunnels, so of course the gig is at Whammy Bar. Allure City have been coaxed back to the gigface to join us in raucity (it’s a word, I looked it up).
Having just released Beg Steal and Burrow I was looking for my next challenge, so I decided I’d give National Solo Album Month (NaSoAlMo) a go. All I have to do is write and record a solo album of at least 29:09 in length during November. That couldn’t be too hard, right?
I had the best of intentions last year, but only ended up writing three or four songs. What I did do was write a 50,000 word novel. It’s possibly I was trying to do too much.
Follow my NaSoAlMo efforts at Kul Wahad.
Announcing the choice poster for the gig on November 18:
For the complete radcore experience you should confirm your attendance over on Facebook.
Be rad to each other.
Please welcome to the world a brand new baby EP, Beg Steal and Burrow. We birthed it into the world last Friday at the Wine Cellar, and it sure was fun. There are some Holga pictures waiting to be developed, snapped by Hannah JV on the night. I’ll let you know when they can be seen.
Meanwhile, the EP. Did you get a copy? Lucky soldier! Missed out? Not for long.
There it is. Listen, download, enjoy. You can pay for it, or you can get the whole thing for free in exchange for an email address. We’ll pop your email address on our mailing list, but you can totally unsubscribe if you don’t want exciting news from the future. I understand if you’re not ready.
For those who like shiny discs and want to hold Hannah JV’s hot photography in their hands (this is everyone) you can buy the CD for only $15 $16 including p&p anywhere in the world (I miscalculated) $13.50 including shipping in New Zealand, NZ$16.50 including shipping anywhere else..
Last night I went on my first poster mission in what must be about two years, rocking up and down K Road with Caitrin and Ryan from Stirrers sticking up Canadia EP release party posters, and flyers for the free Stirrers gig tonight at Whammy. If you see one of these bad boys on your travels give it a high five, will ya?
Just finished the tracking for Beg Steal and Burrow and not a moment too soon. I feel like I’ve been working on this EP forever, and it’s finally all wrapped up. All that remains is editing, tweaking, mixing, sequencing, mastering, artwork, pressing, etc, et al., and on into the future. I’m hitting my stride on some self-imposed deadlines, so everyone please pat someone on the back.
The EP as it will be has six songs: ‘Other Side,’ ‘We’re Leaving,’ ‘I Often Follow,’ ‘Let Me Know,’ ‘Augustine’ and ‘Let’s Pretend.’ ‘Let’s Pretend’ is brand new (a few days old). ‘Augustine’ has gone the instrumental route, and ‘Other Side’ has turned into a duet with a guest vocalist. The point is BAM! it’s wrapped up. Nothing else goes to (metaphorical) tape.
Rehearsals have started for the release party, too, with Blair McPhee on guitar, Rachael Botur on bass, and new blood Will Wood of Skyscraper and The Electric Nomad on the drums. The gig should be somewhat of a buffet assortment of Canadia treats from the new EP, from One Dog Clapping, and probably even a few not yet record songs, so prepare yourselves.
The artwork is coming together as well. Hannah JV took a sack full of cameras out and about this weekend and shot a buttload of film and flash card. The film goes in to get developed tomorrow, and when the prints come back we’ll start piecing this thing together.
So that’s my news, you guys. It’s 12:39am and I should sleep so I can face things like getting up early on a Monday morning, the first of daylight Savings, and acting like I know what I’m doing at work.
Life, eh? You’d have a assume I’ve been busy with all kinds of things that aren’t your typical Canadia like making movies, looking at comic books and drinking. And this is all true. But despite the fact that I always seem to answer “what have you been up to lately?” with “um, working and… not working,” I have in fact been making an EP.
If you follow my Twitter at all you’ll see I’ve been mumbling about recording for the last month, but then I’m always mumbling about recording. But it goes like this: by the end of June I will have tracked the follow up to One Dog Clapping. There will be a new Canadia EP.
Wait, hold on, it’s July already. So make that some time in July. The plan I wrote on my wall says June, but I used pen and can’t rub it out.
The EP has no name yet, is mostly acoustic in nature, and will have six tracks. There are three brand new songs, and three that have been kicking around in the live set for a while. Although I changed them, so let’s act like they’re new and not get all “I liked your old stuff.” If you liked my old stuff I would have more wine. That is science.
Progress so far: two songs completely tracked, one song almost completely tracked, and three songs totally started. I’m joined on the recordings by new white MacBook Maggie Williams, who is the most helpful member of Canadia since Eunice Brance Branca. She’s basically doing all the work.
My children need wine.
It took me a while to changing things back to normal, but I guess normal is back-dated and slow to respond around here anyway.
The NZ Government temporarily held back Section 92a’s enforcement at the end of February, giving ISPs and rightsholders until March 29 to come up with a workable plan. Fingers crossed they can’t and the law gets tossed. Keep yelling, please. Meanwhile, business as usual1.
1 business as usual, (colloquialism): state in which stated intentions have gone unfinished (eg FAWM), gear used to peform daily tasks is broken or missing (um, I dropped my Mbox. And it broke), and in which weak excuses are accepted as valid reasons for doing very little (I’m sick, so I need to look at all those things. Over there. And not do whatever you’re talking about).
Canadia Beats is blacked out in protest against Section 92a of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act here in New Zealand. This section, dubbed ‘guilt up accusation’ by those of us who are against it, calls for ISPs to disconnect customers accused multiple times of copyright infiringement. Accused, mind. The act doesn’t call for any proof.
Find out about Section 92a at http://creativefreedom.org.nz/s92.html
Find out about the blackout at http://creativefreedom.org.nz/blackout.html
Black out your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc accounts. Follow the #blackout on Twitter. I blacked this page out using this script from @stevegoodwin.
