Video for The Fawns - Friends

Happy Birthday Lesa Bezo from The Fawns.

The Baystate Hotel and Mark Mulcahy

I was alerted to a nice little piece about one person's love of the music of Mark Mulcahy and their adventure to our good old indie rock club The Baystate Hotel, here in Northampton. It made me put on some Mulcahy music. Here is a taste:

"A misspent youth resulted in, among other things, my inability to obtain a driver’s license until the age of eighteen. The first chance I ever had to see Mulcahy was at a show in Northampton, MA. The drive would require a good twelve and a half hours, and fell on the weekend of our senior prom, for which I had inexplicably landed a date with a girl with frosted blue eyes who is still bitter and unforgiving about the whole thing to this day."

Enjoy the article here: I Capture Beauty In A Conversation

PS. I could be kidding myself but, I'm pretty sure that I remember that night.

Facebook Dances

Are you on Facebook? We are. You should totally be our Facebook friend, dude. I'm hoping these links work for you. Let me know if they don't. Thanks, dude. We're gonna be such good Facebook friends.



Links:
Henning
School for the Dead
Rub Wrongways Records Group
The Great Mix-CD Mix-UP Event

The Great Mix-CD Mix-Up

Ken on WMUA Right Now

I'm currently listening to our very own Ken do his radio show at WMUA. His show is called Galaxie Twelve and runs from noon to 2:30 on Thursdays. You can listen online, like I'm doing, at wmua.org.

For a taste, here are the last seven songs played:

12:21:41 Nick Lowe Let's Eat (Live Stiff)
12:17:33 Robert A. Israel The Price Is Right (Classic TV Game Show Themes)
12:15:33 The Rondelles TV Zombie (Shined Nickels and Loose Change)
12:12:28 R, Stevie Moore Am I Ugly? (Belief)
12:09:56 The Fiery Furnaces Duffer St. George (EP)
12:07:55 Pink Floyd Lucifer Sam (Piper at the Gates of Dawn)
12:06:54 Ray Sharpe with the Curtis Orchestra Help Me (Get the Feeling) Part 1 (At the Club)

Everything Happens In Waves

Doesn't it seem a little early for there to be robins already hanging out in New England? These fat little orange guys used to be a sign of spring. Is that no longer the case?

On Saturday, I looked out the back window and saw about twenty of them. They had discovered this tiny strip of the backyard that had no snow on it. It was sheltered by the over hang of a fence and was about four inches wide and fifteen feet long. Instead of snow, like everywhere else, there were leaves and grass and dirt. These twenty robins were all over that little oasis. It was chaotic and frantic like the sundae bar at fat camp.

But this morning, things were the opposite. Not only were the robins gone, but the streets were deserted. I was trudging along, like I do, listening to my Radiolab podcast and I noticed that there were no cars passing by. I could cross the street effortlessly. It was quiet and tranquil and strange. Is this what the country is like under the new guy? Even my bagel shop was pretty empty.

Was this Tuesday actually less well-attended than others or did I just happen to be synched up with a null of some sort. Everything happens in waves.

I've never surfed, but a couple of years ago I was in the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Florida. I think it may have been Ft. Lauderdale or maybe Daytona. I'm not sure. I do know that it was a white sand beach, it was hot outside, and the water was warm! For my whole life the ocean has been a cold thing. I grew up here in New England. The waters off the coast of Massachusetts and New Hampshire are cruel in their temperatures. I've always shied away from the cold, so I didn't spend much time in the water at my local beaches. I didn't even spend THAT much time in our above-ground pool, which was shaded by towering pine trees and hardly ever broke the 70 degree mark.

I always heard about the warm ocean in the south but I found it hard to imagine. How could something as cold as the ocean really be warm? But, sure enough here I was on this Florida beach, standing in the water and I wasn't recoiling and tensing up from the cold. On this particular beach there was a long stretch from the water's edge to any sort of real depth. When you entered the water you gradually immersed yourself. First your ankles then a bit further and you are up to your knees. It was gentle and barely sloping and the water was clear. It went down to about five feet deep and then it got shallow again until you reach a sandbar where you approached the second water's edge. This is where the big waves were crashing.

(I swear I have written this story before but I can't find it anywhere in my searches of the Rockumentary. Forgive me if I am repeating myself)

I was just enjoying peacefully wading in the five foot deep poolish part when I saw a tiny little girl struggling in the small waves. She was probably three or four years old and had swimmy things on her arms, you know, those little balloons that kids where in the water, and she was doing her best to make it across the deeper section of the water in order to reach the safety of the sand bar.

I looked around and there was nobody with her. There was nobody on the beach looking after her attempts, she seemed totally on her own and so tiny. The waves in this little pool-like area were only about three or four inches high but they were just powerful enough so that they kept pushing her back despite her frantic kicking of her teeny feet. I asked her where her parents were.

It seemed like she didn't really speak English very well, but she did understand me and she pointed way out to the other side of the sandbar where a group of people - one of whom presumably was her mother - were playing in the big crashing waves. They were quite far away and they didn't seem at all concerned that the tiny girl was not with them.

I asked if she needed help and at first she said no. But she was continuing to be pushed back by each little wave and there was no way she could reach the ground. She was out of breath and spitting the water out of her mouth as she struggled.

Finally, I said, "Would you like me to pull you?" She nodded the best that she could and I held out my hand. She grabbed on with her miniature fingers and I towed her through the water until we found a place where she could reach the ground. As I pulled her, she seemed to have no weight at all. When she could finally reach the ground, she caught her breath, and I think said thank you, and ran towards her oblivious mother and family.

I went back to the warm beach and dried off and then Lesa and I looked for a place to get lunch.

Sitting Next To Brian and Jose Ayerve Rolling Stones Videos

More Video From Rolling Stones Tribute

Here is Sitting Next To Brian performing "Out Of Time" - with commentary by Brian (actually spoken during The Fawns' set):



And here is Jose Ayerve performing "Under My Thumb":

School for the Dead International

"Photobooth Curtain", for our album "The New You" was just featured on Indie Launchpad podcast #117, Best of 2008 Pt 1. You can listen to the podcast here: Indie Launchpad Podcast

You may recall that this Canadian site, Indie Launchpad, recently wrote a nice review of A Telephone Built For Two as well. Thank you, Indie Launchpad.

I, also, just found a new mention of A Telephone Built For Two out of Brazil. The website is: CoisaPop (Pop Thing) - Cultura Pop em geral para uma vida melhor (Pop culture in general for a better life).

You can read the review here: CoisaPop - A Telephone Built For Two. Of course, it is in Portuguese.

Here's the gnarly Google Translation:

"A Telephone Built For Two" - School for the Dead - 2008

Sunday. Day to recover the forces of the week, doing some work home and calm morning, and organize small (and important) nonsense that lag behind. To the soundtrack of the morning of Sunday, draws up a disc with pop melodies Jasons, humble and gentle. A good choice is the third work of the American School For The Dead, launched in 2008 called "The Telephone Built For Two".

The sound of the band is not bound to anything with your name, incidentally, is very distant. With two discs in his luggage, as follows: "The New You" 2004 and "Looks Like I'm Tall" of 2006, Henning Ohlenbusch (guitar and vocals), Tony Westcott (guitar and vocals), Max groaning (bass and voice ), Ken Maiuri (keyboards) and Max Germer (drums), the School For The Dead has the gift to go through the player quietly and let some smiles back.

The disc opens with the guitars of "Periscope", giving voice to the medium pace slow and characteristic of the band. "Feel Like I Should," could very well be on a disk of Yo La Tengo. Quietly. "This Time It Looks Good" starts as a song from Neil Young to endorse the indie pop in its place. "Save My Place", hit the chapel to catch a middle path post rock, similar to The Sea And Cake.

"Journal of Lies" is nosense and flirts with the more traditional American country music, a little reminiscent of the crazy Cake. "Back to School", has sweet melody, riff bacaninha of great guitar and backing vocals. "Boring Dream" is more roqueira and recalls the REM stage of 1984.1985. "Disgruntled Lover" is more a part of the country band, looking for any new departure from the old west saloon.

"Map" is a touch more with seventy American alternative rock of the 80s. "Superhero", brings the best letter of the disk and comes with dating back to the country, pointing out some passages of Hootie & The Blowfish. "Thinking of the Time" that closes "The Telephone Built For Two", with a marked influence of Velvet Underground, to a more traveled to the final.

The disc also includes the shares of Mark Mulcahy (Miracle Legion), Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne) and Lloyd Cole, among others. The School For The Dead brings in his list of influences, the American rock underground in his side and more alternative, combining this with the current indie pop, producing a result that will not change anyone's life, but very well convinced that in a morning on Sunday.

Some Stuff That's Been Happening

Last night we had a band practice. Why is this unusual? Because, normally we only get together if we have a show coming up. We don't have a show coming up any time soon, so instead Brian and Max came over to the studio and we worked on some new School for the Dead songs. It was nice to do a creative music thing together. Lots of times, over the last few years, we'd just meet a day or two before a show and play through some songs. We'd get half way through one and say, ah, we know this. Then we'd play half of another song etc.

This time, I showed the boys a brand new song called "Somebody Else's Problem". They picked it up really fast. Generally, they start playing along before I've played it through once for them. Then we went over two other new ones that we had touched on a few months ago. They both remembered them quite well. Impressive. Those two songs have working titles: "Saving Your Life (Is Gonna Be Real Interesting)" and "I Don't Know About Anyone Else, But". Hopefully, they'll be on our next album along with "Turn It Down" and "The Infinite Kitchen" which we've already added to our set lists at shows.

I've got a bunch more that I have given to the band on a demo CD. I'm also just embarking on a new song called "I Fell In Love With The Wedding Photographer's Assistant". It's so brand new that it is pretty much just a title with a few fleeting images of ideas that I want to incorporate. I'm trying to picture a music video in my head in the hopes that I can then write a song to fit it. I know, that's totally backwards. That's why I like the idea. I'm a victim of the 80's, what can I say?

Can't you picture it? It's a novelty video along the lines of what's-his-name's song "Jeopardy". There's a wedding happening but the groom (or bride) keeps seeing this wedding photographer assistant in the background. Hyjinx ensue.

I've also been interested lately in writing an 80's new wave romantic type song, something along the lines of Bryan Ferry or Mike and the Mechanics or what have you. Something with lush strings and reverby vocals. But that's just an abstract thought, I have nothing to show for it yet.

Anyway, that's where I am right now in the composing front. In the recording world, I've been working on revamping a cover of Mark Mulcahy's "I Just Shot Myself In The Foot Again", I've got a Sitting Next To Brian EP to work on and a Bourgeois Heroes record that's been not getting the attention it deserves.

I'm not sure if I need more time or if I need more energy. Probably both.

Video - Henning Perfomrs "Thinking Of A Time" with Audience Participation

Here's another video from the Iron Horse show last week. This one is of me playing "Thinking Of A Time" (from A Telephone Built For Two). Notice the audience partake in the percussion solo.

Henning Performs Ruby Tuesday - Video

Here's a little audience video of my performance of "Ruby Tuesday" at last week's Rolling Stones Tribute that was held at The Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. If you listen closely, you can hear the crowd singing along on the choruses. Thanks, everyone.

Pictures Of Stones Tribute

Sarah Gagne has some great photos of last night's Rolling Stones Tribute Show at The Iron Horse.

You can see them all here: Stones Tribute

2008 Concert Recap

Welcome everybody to 2009. At the beginning of each year I like to go through the shows that I can recall from the previous year. I made a little list here of ones that stuck out in my head for one reason or another. This isn't to say that these were the best shows I played or anything, they are just the ones that popped into my head. This year, I've included some photos and videos.

January 1: Sitting Next To Brian - Scribblethon - Elevens, Northampton, MA - Scott Alden's crazy 24-hour non-stop drawing event was capped-off with a free concert. Sitting Next To Brian was thrilled to be a part of the show and to see Scott complete his final drawing of the marathon. Learn more about Scribblethon and Parrellelaverse
(with: Abeja, Ella Longpre, File of the Storm, The John Bobbit Experience, DON'T)

January 10: Henning Solo - Bruce Springsteen Tribute Night - Iron Horse, Northampton, MA - This was the debut of my brand new ukulele. I performed Dancing In The Dark with it and the crowd ate it up with much greater enthusiasm than I ever imagined.
(with: Thane Thomsen (The Figments), Steve Sanderson (Drunk Stuntmen), Matthew Loiacono (Kamikaze Hearts), Rusty Belle, Kevin O'Rourke, Chris Pureka, Philip Price, Mark Mulcahy, Frank Manzi Band, Dave Houghton (Fancy Trash), Matthew Hebert (Haunt), Jeffrey Foucault, Dennis Crommett, Jose Ayerve, Jim Armenti (Lonesome Brothers), Erik Alan (The Amity Front))

March 8: Spouse - The Annex, NYC - I'm a third tier member of the touring Spouse machine. Once in a blue moon I sit in on bass. More than the actual gig, I have very fond memories of a quiet last-minute practice in a lovely New York apartment. As I played along and listened to the sweet three-part harmonies of Jose, J.J. and Naomi, I stared out the window over the buildings and watched the clouds whipping across the sky.

March 20: Versus - Sierra Grille, Northampton, MA - This was my first (and so far, only) foray into the mad world of Scott Alden's Versus. It's a free-form improvisational challenge in which two teams are given song titles and must instantly create music. I most enjoyed playing the drums and ad-libbing lyrics. It was terrifying and splendid.

April 6: School for the Dead - Raise the Roof - The Calvin Theater, Northampton, MA - The Calvin is a beautiful old theater and this would be my third time on its stage. Our band was given the final spot on this fund raiser variety show. We introduced "Waiting For A Ride" and got the large audience in the booming room to play along as our balloons streamed high, high above our heads. Then we closed with a rendition of "Yellow Submarine" in which all the day's performers came out and joined us. It was a feel-good-moment that I'll remember always. Maybe. Photo
(with: First Churches Children's Chorus, Primate Fiasco, Bill Ross, Keith Kunslow, Dicey Riley, School for the Dead, Leah Kunkel, Zoe Darrow, Spirit of the Hills Chorus, Maria Sangiolo)

May 14: The Rosenbach Company - Kanbar Hall, JCCSF, San Francisco, CA - It's always an unforgettable adventure playing this show. Doing it on the west coast only made it more exciting. We hit San Francisco in the height of an unprecedented heat wave, but the theater was dark and cool and we met a great response.

May 15: School for the Dead - The Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, CA - I can't believe it actual finally worked out that we were able to play a show with our friends, The Invisible Cities. Since only Brian and I were out in California we adopted Han from that band and he played bass with us, as well as let us sleep at his apartment. It was a beautiful relaxing hot vacation full of music. I felt totally at home with the people I met. Photo
(with: The Invisible Cities)

June 28: The Aloha Steamtrain - Wedding - Easthampton, MA - We were set up outside under a tent on a warm June night. That's a good start right there isn't it? The food was excellent, there were people dancing, but also it rained and I dropped both of my amplifiers in the parking lot. One of them broke.

August 8: School for the Dead and The Fawns - 080808 - The Elevens, Northampton, MA - Jose Ayerve, Lesa Bezo, and I put together this celebration of numbers. It was in the thick of the Chinese Olympics and the number eight was everywhere in the news, also it was everywhere in the venue in the form of eight-shaped balloons, eight bands, and an Ipod Playlist of music from 1988. Photo
(with: Watcher, The Fawns, Spanish For Hitchhiking, Spouse, School for the Dead, Ken Maiuri, Winterpills, Mark Mulcahy)

August 30: School for the Dead and The Fawns - Squealing Pig, Provincetown, MA - We were back again at our favorite spot on the Cape, the Squealing Pig. We like to head out there at least once a year and this year we once again turned it into a multiple day adventure bringing along some extra friends and everything. Sun, sand etc etc.

September 13: School for the Dead - Wedding - Alford, MA - They found us through MySpace. That sounds like the title of a horror movie but it was, in fact, just the opposite. We were hired to play a wedding out on the far western reaches of the Berkshires. The weather was perfect, the food was divine, and the people were particularly nice.

September 18: Rub Wrongways Records Caravan of Stars - The Rendezvous, Turner's Falls, MA - This was our first Rub Wrongways Records show which featured short performances by Sitting Next To Brian, Jason Bourgeois, The Fawns, School for the Dead, and Tony Westcott. The Rendezvous is just a nice place to be. I recommend it.

October 4: School For The Dead - Forbes Library Lawn - Northampton, MA - There's a YouTube video out there of us playing on a luckily warm October afternoon next to the great old Forbes Library. More people than I expected were strewn out on the grass. I imagined our music sailing out over the town and across the campus of Smith College. Video
(with: The Novels)

October 23: Henning with Lord Russ - Obama Rally - The Sierra Grille, Northampton, MA - In the throws of the 2008 Presidential Campaign, I broke out my trusty melodica and hooted out some change for the country. Or something.

October 31: School For The Dead - Halloween Party - The World War II Club, Northampton, MA - We rented the room and the sound system and School for the Dead, The Novels, and Haunt had a Halloween Party complete with costumes, colored lights, and candy. Hooray. Photo
(with: The Novels, Haunt)

November 7: The Fawns - PopFest New England - The Elevens, Northampton, MA - The Fawns back again at PopFest. These shows are packed with enthusiasm and we learned right off that the opening track of the PopFest CD is our very own "Snow Day". Awesome.
(with: The Up Set, The Lil' Hospital, The Specific Heats, Surefire Broadcast, The Sterns, The Besties)

Novemer 9: Jason Bourgeois - Popfest New England - The Elevens, Northampton, MA - I got a call from Jason at the last minute after his drummer backed out and I sat in on drums. I loved every second of it.
(with: The Inclined Plane, Boy Genius, One Happy Island)

November 14: Rub Wrongways Montage - Melissa Mulcahy Benefit - The Center For The Arts - It was a treasured organizational nightmare that led up to an evening of wonderful music, art, and camaraderie. The Rub Wrongways Records gang came together to form one big group and we did a medley plus an Abba cover. We were also treated to a number of unforgettable musical performances. What a town. Video
(with: Winterpills, Lo Fine, Spouse, National Carpet, Spanish for Hitchhiking, Haunt, The Claudia Malibu, Trallfazz, The Caroline Know, The Humming Field, Zeke Fiddler, Steve Westfield, The Drunk Stuntmen, Mr. Ray, The Mountain Movers, Jeff Greene,and Dinosaur Jr.)

December 31: School for the Dead and The Fawns - First Night Northampton - The Elevens, Northampton, MA - Two of my all time favorite performances at The Elevens. These were early shows and the audience was totally there with us AND the noisy and scary next door crowd was NOT there. It was a perfect way to close out the year. Video

Thank you very much everyone who came out to our shows or picked up some albums this past year or who wrote to us or who just read our nonsense here. It's your ongoing support that keeps us going. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Exile On Center Street

Tomorrow night it's a Tribute To The Rolling Stones at The Iron Horse in Northampton. Each act will perform one original song and a Stones song. Here is a list of the performers:

5:30pm – doors open
7:00pm – The Amity Front
7:10pm – Chris Pureka
7:20pm – Rusty Belle
7:30pm – Henning Ohlenbusch
7:40pm – The Fawns
7:50pm – Jose Ayerve
8:00pm - The Novels
8:10pm – Ray Mason
8:20pm – Jim Armenti
8:30pm – The Grownup Noise
8:40pm – Frank Manzi
8:50pm – Sitting Next To Brian
9:00pm – Swill Merchants
9:10pm – Thane Thomsen
9:20pm – Matthew Hebert
9:30pm – Dave Houghton
9:40pm – The Dingle (ending with multiple Stones songs)

Tickets available here: Northampton Box Office

Indie Pages Review Of "A Telephone Built For Two"

Here's a review of A Telephone Built For Two that was published at indiepages.com:

School For The Dead - "A Telephone Built For Two" cd (Rub Wrongways)
I liked the last record from this Northampton group, but I'm finding their third album considerably more enjoyable. As before, the band displays a variety of styles and influences, but this time around, it seems as if maybe Henning (the band's leader and songwriter) got most of the slower, more introspective songs out of his system on his last solo record... Not to say that there aren't quiet moments on here, but the emphasis is certainly on the peppier tunes, which remind me quite a bit of the Vehicle Flips and Wimp Factor 14. You'll also hear similarities to Fountains Of Wayne in spots (and I'm not even talking about the songs where Chris Collingwood provides backing vocals!) and They Might Be Giants in other places (the playful-sounding music in "Journal Of Lies" would've fit perfectly on "Lincoln"). Though I have to say that a couple of these songs seem to go on just a little too long ("Boring Dream", for example), I still think that a number of these songs rank among Henning's best work to date. MTQ=10/11

-- Listen to "This Time It Looks Good"

Language is a Virus - A New Review of A Telephone Built For Two

I came across this review of A Telephone Built For Two and I'm wondering if anyone knows for sure what language it is in. My guess was Portuguese and the translator tool seems to work OK with that. Here is the direct link to the site to see if you can pick up any hints: The Crystal Lake: School for the Dead.

Here is the text as written:

O início deste A Telephone Built For Two tem uma sequência de 3 canções que logo fazem do álbum um must-listen: "Periscope", "Feel Like I Should" e "This Time It Looks Good". Para esse disco, os americanos do School For The Dead reuniram influências como They Might Be Giants, Fountains Of Wayne (um dos integrantes do fountains participa em algumas faixas desse album) e até The Kinks!. A Telephone Built For Two é excelente para começar um domingo, até mesmo para pegar a estrada de manhã, sem preocupações, deixando apenas se levar pelos versos inocentes e pelas melodias juvenis.

Afinal, a gente não vive do jeito que deveria..

1. Periscope
2. Feel Like I Should (lovely song!)
3. This Time It Looks Good
4. Journal of Lies
5. Save My Place
6. Back To School
7. Boring Dream
8. Disgruntled Lover
9. Map
10. Superhero
11. Thinking of a Time

And here is what the Google Translator suggest for Portuguese:

The beginning of The Telephone Built For Two is a sequence of 3 songs that just make the album a must-listen, "Periscope," "Feel Like I Should" and "This Time It Looks Good." For this disc, the Americans of School For The Dead together influences as They Might Be Giants, Fountains Of Wayne (one of the fountains of the members participating in some of the album tracks) and even The Kinks!. A Telephone Built For Two is great to start a Sunday, even to hit the road in the morning without worries, leaving only be carried away by the melodies and verses innocent juveniles.

After all, we do not live the way they should ..

New Year's Eve a Recap

Happy New Year to you. Who ever heard of 2009? Not me. But, hey, whatever, man, we'll see what it's like right? I'm willing to try this 2009 of yours.

The last day of 2008 was so busy, it seemed like a whole year was crammed into just the one day. It all started off with the Weather Channel and their threats of up to 10 inches of snow. A snow storm?!? How would that work with our planned First Night Adventure? How would anybody park anywhere? Would town just shut down?

Lesa and I sat on the sofa and watched the snow streaming down outside and the cancellations streaming across the bottom of the TV. Aye aye aye, as if the day wasn't already chock full of organizational chaos. Now we've got a blizzard to contend with? Seems like 2008 was trying to get the last word. Nice try old year, but you couldn't keep us down. First Night Northampton would prevail.

We started off by bundling up and snow blowing the driveway and the sidewalk. I tried to be careful as I maneuvered the monster in the wind and snow. My back is fragile and I had a long day ahead of me and a history of crooked New Year's Eves.

When the driveway was cleared and we packed up our gear, we slipped and slid our way to town where we managed to acquire the exact parking spot that I had envisioned. I was preparing for playing six sets of music on this day and moving my equipment from one venue to another. We were able to park right in between for optimal loading and unloading. Score one.

We arrived in town at 1:45 and trekked through the frigid wind and the as-of-yet uncleared sidewalks to the church on Hawley Street where the Drunk Stuntmen were about to begin their first set. We had our First Night Buttons with us and entered the back room where the band was setting up. Everything smelled of baking. Cookies and brownies threatened with their scent but never appeared for consumption. We grabbed a couple folding chairs and enjoyed a nice 45 minute set by the Stuntmen. It was strange but somehow comforting to see one of their shows so early in the day. Despite the strange acoustics of the room, the familiar songs were a welcome start to the day.

After the Stuntmen, we trudged back to The Elevens to load in some of our stuff and to see the Novels play their second show. It was 3:00. The room was so much more welcoming than on a typical night because there was no booming dance music and fights breaking out amongst the tough-guy-gal-riff-raff that usually spill over from the next door bar. The Novels were great of course, and the crowd seemed to dig them. Lesa and I almost ran up on stage to sing along with one of their songs but we restrained ourselves.

Brian and Max had loaded in their stuff and we went back out for the rest of ours and when the Novels finished we set up the equipment which we would be using for the next two School for the Dead shows and then the next two Fawns shows. I got a call from Tony saying he was on his way but would be showing up just on time. He called from Ware, MA where he was currently dashing through the snow.

As School for the Dead was about to begin, the room suddenly completely filled up with people. I was totally surprised. I had assumed that an afternoon show in a dark bar on a snowy work day would yield hardly a soul. Instead, our two shows proved to be two of my favorites of the year. Even though for some reason my voice started to close-up and squeakily fade away, I was over-whelmed by the close attention that we were being paid. The room was silent during the quiet parts of the songs. The audience was listening. I mean all of the audience. Every face was up-turned toward the stage and listening. When I spoke everyone heard me.

Our second set was just the same, but even more so. Oh, if only all the shows could be like this. It was a great reminder that when we are presented correctly in a way where people are there to see a show and to listen to music, that we can win over a crowd. Despite my wavering voice I felt 100% confident in everything we were doing. The audience ranged in age from single digits to the upper doubles and I could sense our music connecting with them all. I wish I could capture that feeling and keep it around to bask in after the less than successful shows.

When we finished, I approached the merch table and was greeted by hand shakes and accolades and fistfuls of money as we sold out of the CDs that we brought. Look for a few School for the Dead T-Shirts around you as well.

We finished at 6:00 and Lesa and I headed out to see the fire works that were about to go off just around the corner. We stood in a crowd and gazed up at the explosions in the sky over Northampton. The arctic wind was gusting so hard that the fire works couldn't make their usually round shape. When they exploded, all the embers and sparkles were swept off to the south in a dramatic river of light.

When we could no longer bare the temperatures, we took shelter again in the Elevens and got everything ready for The Fawns shows which was to start in about half an hour. At seven we took the stage and once again we had wonderful crowds of all ages. Some were sipping hot chocolate. Others were dancing. Our two shows were a great success and, again, afterwords we were greeted by all kinds of kind words. One kid walked up to me and said "You are awesome!". How do you respond to that? I ripped off my legs and threw them out into a snowbank.

It such a pleasure to play for people who don't often go out and see live music. Their energy is infectious. I get to see things in a whole new light. Since much of my life revolves around music and concerts, I sometimes forget that these are special events. Thanks everyone.

Oh...but the night wasn't over yet. In fact it was only nine o'clock when Lesa and I found ourselves out in the streets looking for a small pre-dinner snack and maybe a hot tea. We made the rounds in the dreadful cold and discovered that painfully, all of the little cafes were closed. What the?!? Why on earth would that be? The whole town was teeming with cold new people just looking for a place to warm up and sit down. We found nothing. We started to panic. We were freezing and exhausted and frantically hungry. Finally we just got in the parked car and blasted the heat and put the seats back and let our feet and backs chill out and warm up. I pulled out my super hero phone and checked the weather channel "Feels like -8." it said. Sheesh.

But the car warmed up fast and the quiet and solitude that it provided were a great refresher for us both. We sat there and watched the endless parade of people looking for a parking spot.

At 10:00 we headed into the Sierra Grille where we had dinner reservations with Lesa's parents. They waited for the table while Jason, Brian, Roger, and I brought over our equipment to prepare for the next show of the night. Thank you, Jason, for carrying my amp and saving me from spending today on my back in pain.

We had an excellent dinner in one of the back corner best tables of the Sierra and just as were were finishing up, The Novels kicked into their set. The room quickly changed from upscale dining to a New Year's Rock Party. I finished my last Belgian fry and went up to tune my bass for our looming Aloha Steamtrain sets.

Just as we were about to start, at a few minutes before midnight, the screaming fire alarm went off and everyone was ushered out into the freezing streets. It turned out that someone at the third floor bar brought a smoke machine. Whoops.

I didn't get to do my yearly onstage count down, and instead, we all huddled together between parked cars and had our own make shift Happy New Years! moment. After about ten minutes, the fire department let us back in and we took immediately to the stage. We definitely lost some of our audience to the fire alarm debacle, but we proceeded to play two long sets of good old Aloha Steamtrain songs. I've got a blister on my infrequently used bass playing finger to prove it.

We ended our last song at just before 2:00 AM, and although we were invited to what sounded like the ultimate New Year's Eve after party (complete with catering) we just could not muster the energy. When we brought some of our stuff home, it was so warm and comfortable in the house, there was just no possibility of us heading out again into the frigid and cruel outdoors. Instead, bed-ways was best-ways.

Thank you everyone, for coming to our shows last year. Happy New Year.