Summer Ghosts / Nightfalls – Out Sept. 13th on Burst & Bloom Records and Broken Sparrow Records
This cover of 80s classic from Dream Academy is a bonus track from Summer Ghosts / Nightfalls LP out September 13th on Burst & Bloom and Broken Sparrow Records. Written by Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel.
We did it. We played these songs for people. And we want to say thank you to those everyone who came out. Some from as far as several hours away. We very much appreciate you coming out and laying down your hard-earned cash to watch us perform. It is not something we take for granted.
A very special thanks to all the SWC folks (in no apparent order): Gregg Porter, Michael Yorgensen, Chris Decato, Karen Elizabeth, Clara Kebabian, Guy Capacelatro III, Jim Rioux, Chris Greiner (adjunct), Ryan Prows (from the Los Angeles SWC cluster).
We shared the stage with the truly excellent Eastern Sleds. Their tight harmonies and great songs really made me bummed out to follow them. Seriously, they were so good. Why aren’t Eastern Sleds bigger than Coldplay?
Anyway, we (I think I can speak for the entire SWC) hope you enjoyed the show. I was nervous and anxious which, as it often does, made me a bit ornery. But you stuck with me and I thank you for that. While it may have seemed entirely extemporaneous, I can assure you that we had two rehearsals before the show.
I should mention that Community Recording Services represented, with some of their great team coming in all the way from Connecticut! If you haven’t checked out what this amazing non-profit is doing you really should (full disclosure, I am on the board). Their motto is “Make Music Not Profit”. What more do you want?!
Also, a shout out to the always fascinating Chris Greiner for setting up the show, treating us so well and helping to shepherd the Press Room into the current era. There’s an actual Green Room!
Well, I have digressed.
If you liked the show – or even if you didn’t – I’d encourage you to get the record. We’re really proud of it. Talk to you soon.
Single from “Summer Ghosts / Nightfalls” out Sep. 13th on Burst & Bloom Records and Broken Sparrow Records
Sounds like: Driving through god’s country after a long night of mind expansion.
Very excited to announce that Ryan Prows will be directing a short film in the form of three serialized videos for our upcoming record entitled “Summer Ghosts / Nightfalls”. Ryan has directed the feature film “Lowlife” and also directed a video for “Raise Me” from the Hotel Alexis’ last record “Raised on Fire”. Expect something cinematic in scope and narrative.
His videos are like packing a feature film into three minutes of music so imagine what he will be able to do within the scope of this ambitious, three-video spanning film. While no release date has been set, look out for this epic work in early September 2019.
We all met up in Sunapee, NH and it was hot if I recall. We actually intended this to be two different records as it was made in two separate trips to the church (more on that later, probably). Did I mention it was hot? Seeing all the old faces was wonderful and we quickly got about the business of making a record. Yorgi was at the helm but was quite generous about letting others take the wheel (this is a metaphoric wheel, there is no actual wheel) when it made sense. So Guy would jump into the control seat or occasionally someone else. I had sent the gang a bunch of songs as “demos” in various states. None of which were particularly complete or all that interesting. But we started to breathe some kind of magic into them. Some kind of alchemy between the ghosts of the old church, now pewless, the crucible of long friendship, the sweat, the electricity. As usual though, I thought it was an unmitigated disaster at the time. It always seems like that. I think it’s because it never matches the vision you have in your mind. But I’ve learned to let go of that vision a little bit (or a lot) and let the molecules of the moment seep into everything.
More later. xo, Sid.
It started in a church. Well, actually let’s go back. It started with a fall. When I first met Michael Yorgensen who would go on to produce this record (and be one of my best, lifelong friends) I fell down a full story by stepping backwards into a hole in the unfinished floor. A nail that was sticking out deeply scratched the entire length of my body but I did land on my feet! I was dazed and bleeding and had to leave the party. It was an auspicious beginning.
Cut to circa 2017 and Michael and I start talking about making a record together, something we’d been wanting to do for far too long (and something we’d taken tentative stabs at over the years but never been able to kill).
Michael had been looking for a church to buy. His dream was – and is – to convert an old church into a recording studio offering services to those who might not otherwise have the means to make a recording (thus was born Community Recording Services the non-profit that he and Karen have formed).
Anyway, Michael (Yorgi we call him) finds this old wonderful church in New Hampshire and the owner – the inimitable, though we all try, Roger (favorite line of his “that was dryer than a popcorn fart” said regarding I can’t remember what) – agrees to rent it for a week or so. Yorgi hauls a full recording studio worth of equipment, including many guitars, amps, AND A PIANO that we’re still not sure where it came from and sets up camp in the church.
I flew out from Portland and the rest of the east coast gang converged on the church in summer of 2017 (god, could it have been 2016? It’s a bit of a blue, frankly). Karen and Michael tell us in no uncertain terms that they will be playing host and will be providing everything we need so that we can focus on the recording process. They are true to their word and Karen seems to show up with delicious snacks at the perfect moment and creates incredible full meals for us which we eat collectively in the basement that she’s tricked out into a kitchen an dining area.
While Yorgi and Karen let us know we were welcome to stay in the church with them (albeit without beds), I elected to rent a cabin nearby and the rest of us stayed there. It was hot and I am a sweater (as in a sweat a lot not as in I’m a garment meant to keep you warm, god this is getting long and I haven’t even gotten us to the start of recording yet and I have you know, work to do so let me pause this here and I will be back to fill you in on the rest of the adventure soon).
xo,
Sid