The Living Rockumentary

1:00 AM last night. I got back from doing an extra long two-show shift behind the sound board at The Elevens and I was sitting in front of my computer prparing to try and put up our newly designed web-site, or to send out a mailing about tomorrow's radio appearance, or to work on gathering together the artwork for the new Aloha Steamtrain album, or to update the new Rub Wrongways site. But instead I just sat there and stared at the computer feeling drained from a very busy weekend. Then I decided to take the night off and I went downstairs, put the digital cable on one of the music-only stations that played classical and I read a book.

Before I get into describing my views on Saturday night's CD Release show, let me post some impressions from others.

Scott Brodeur over at Blog Beat on Masslive writes about attending our show:

"Big Night
Last night, I went to the wonderful PACE for the CD release party for School For the Dead. It was a festive and fun night that makes me realize how fortunate I am to live in such a music-rich area.

The guys from SFTD decided to have 12 different singer-songwriters open for them, doing one song each. Many of those performers also happen to be bloggers. There was Rick Murnane and Jose Ayerve and George Lenker and Philip Price and Dennis Crommett..."

...read the whole piece here: Blog Beat Big Night

Chowflap had some nice things to say:

"The School for the Dead CD release show Saturday night was da bomb. I love seeing bands at PACE because everyone is quiet and paying attention and you can really hear the music. It was hard to not get up and dance, though. And I missed out on the activity pages, which were confined to the cafe area before the show began. Other than that I have no complaints. I loved the opening act, which was comprised of 13 musicians..."

...read the rest here: Chowflap

Rick Murnane of Group Deville sent me a little review of "The New You":

"Okay, here's my totally unbiased review. Yeah, right.

I've just finished listening to the new School for the Dead CD (first chance I've had; it was a busy weekend). First thing I noticed was that the production sparkles in all the right places, and is dark and mysterious when it should be. The songs themselves are, well, they're by Henning, so each one is a gem. The playing by each musician is top-notch, as I expected, and even the packaging design and illustrations pasted a big smile on my face.

I was also prepared to be somewhat intimidated by the level of studio excellence I both expected and discovered. But instead, it became obvious that album is a true labor of love as well as a shining example of technical skill, and it's one I find both accessibly welcoming as a listener, and wholly inspiring when I listen as a musician.

Nice work, guys."

There's a also some more talk about the show at Masslive's Soundboard

Thank you, everyone!