What's This Music For?

Wow, it’s been quite a while since the last post.  In between then a now there have been lots of changes happening, accompanied by a bit of a lull in band activity.  But we got together recently to take some new pics to reflect who we are at the moment, especially as *ahem* one of us has changed quite a bit.  Thanks to Amy Kinley for the photos.  Stay tuned–our next show is coming up in about three weeks!

We got an email from Francois Beaumont, program director of “The Globe” Internet radio station, telling us that “Your Doll” is in heavy rotation.  I’ve listened to The Globe and it’s pretty cool and eclectic.  Check it out: http://www.live365.com/stations/thegloberadio.

In the fall of 2012 I took a class online called “Recording with Reason” (referring to the software package made by Propellerhead); as part of that class I had to choose a reference track from a commercial CD as a starting point in recording and mixing a song.  My reference track was “Girlfriend is Better” by Talking Heads, and the song I ended up writing was “Skeleton Crew”.  It lacked the second verse, guitar solo, and the “second chorus” at the end, but in other respects, it was pretty similar to the end product you hear.  In fact, some parts of the Chameleon Red recording recycle bits from the original class project.

When I finished writing the song, December 1, 2012, I had just been laid off from my day job, which may explain the bent of the resulting lyrics and the fantasy of revenge on greedy corporate dudes.  The “second chorus” is an adaptation of the well-known (and creepy) “dry bones” passage in the Bible, Ezekiel 37:1-3. An engraving by 19^th-century French artist Gustave Doré, illustrating this passage, was incorporated into the Skeleton Crew cover art.

The video was mostly recorded in one evening. I had a hard time keeping a straight face during the filming of the “presentation”, especially when I copped a move from David Byrne’s frenetic performance in the “Once in a Lifetime” video.  The “Night at the Roxbury” skull heads were filmed later and were also laughter-inducing. John designed the actual presentation that is seen in the video quite a long time after those scenes were filmed.

What do you get when you combine a clandestine love affair, a kiddie show host, and two Michael McDonald impersonators?  Why, our music video for “Paragon”, of course.  This is the fourth single from Skeleton Crew, and I think you’ll find that it’s unforgettable.  Whether that’s a good or bad thing is another matter.  Is it a zany tour-de-farce?  Is it the worst video ever made?  Is it both?  You decide!

Here’s a teaser from our next music video, coming soon.  Yes, everything is better with beards.

We’re just about ready to start a new series of Stories Behind the Songs for the Skeleton Crew album.  We’re going to do it a bit differently than with Transposition, however; instead of in order of appearance on the album, we will go in a more arcane order.  Just to mix it up, you know.

As the band Mother Zephyr was in its last days, John and I began wondering what to do next.  We both had completed songs we wanted to properly record, some of which had been played live by Mother Zephyr and some new songs were brewing, too.  We decided to resurrect Chameleon Red, dormant since 2009, and record the songs as that band.

We did some recording in the summer of 2012, though it was pretty late that year, after Mother Zephyr’s last show, that we really began recording full steam ahead, still writing songs all the while.  Recording extended until mid-June 2013; by that time, we had more than enough songs to fill an album.  We shot quite a bit of video while recording.

By happy coincidence, I was taking mixing and mastering classes back-to-back in the spring and summer of 2013, which came in handy when finishing up the album.  We selected the tracks and title for the album and commissioned Caitlin Rose Davis to provide cover art, toward the end of the recording sessions.  Because of changes in my schedule, completing the master took longer than expected; that was finally finished in October.  We delayed production of the CDs a bit longer in order to have the finished Chameleon Red logo, created by Mark Ray, on the CD itself.  The album was officially released in mid-January of 2014.

Performing at the Acoustic Coffeehouse in Johnson City, TN, back in January.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that Transposition, our first album, is an example of that much-maligned art form, rock opera.  After the album was completed, we became interested in the possibility of bringing Transposition to the stage.  So far we have had little success; the people we have approached seemed to lose interest after learning the subject matter.  I guess it’s a little too controversial for our conservative little neck of the woods.  Anyway, I have been searching for alternative ways of presenting the opera visually as well as aurally.  I arrived at the idea of using static drawings to illustrate the action, but until recently hadn’t found a cost-effective way of doing that.  Then I found Pixton.com–a great tool for creating comic strips quickly and relatively easily.  After several weeks of feverish activity, I have produced a series of videos consisting of comic strip-type drawings (complete with dialog balloons), so that for the first time, it’s possible to see as well as hear Transposition.  It’s not quite as exciting as watching a stage show or movie, but it’s a start.  We will be having a private showing or two, and then eventually upload the videos to YouTube for viewing by the general public.  Stay tuned–we’ve got more Skeleton Crew videos on the way, too!

We’ll be reappearing at the Acoustic Coffeehouse, Johnson City, TN at 8:00 PM tomorrow for another unplugged set that will include material from both Transposition and Skeleton Crew, as well as a medley that will make you cry, “That’s just wrong!”.  Be there or be somewhere else.

Busy times here in Chameleon Red land.  We are preparing for our next gig a week from tomorrow.  And another super-secret project is underway.  I won’t reveal the details just yet; suffice it to say that Transposition still has more life in it.  TGIF!