Stormcellar Band Home Page

Back at the Baldy, this Saturday night 20th October 8:30pm, with some special stuff happening, but I am soo freaking busy sorting the last of this album art you'll have wait until I update this for extra details.

Back down south, free gig, this saturday night, 7:30 pm (early start for us).

I am driving myself loopy looking at different options for the CD packaging format.

Logic says: jewel case. simple insert booklet. It's classy, cost effective and bog standard.

The less practical centres of my thinking say, 'hell no, follow through on your crazy ideas', that being to have the album come out in the format of a dime store western, complete with the story of The Black Crow (our answer to a question Willie Nelson never asked).

It's a brilliant idea, its only 5 times more expensive, won't fit in your CD Rack, costs more to post and...the list of impracticalities is long and correct. Thus we will probably go for the simple option. It's just logical.

(sigh).

Is anyone there? Hellooo? :-) That was a great night and another adventure.

We're about to start a regular string of gigs that runs into 2013 so it's been nice to have the last two weekends off. We commenced the gig run last night with an impromptu Acoustic Performance at the Taverners Hilll Hotel..ah, I but I get ahead of myself.

Ahem. Right.

En route to the gig last night, Rosie rang me to tell me that the power in Leichhardt had failed. Not the whole suburb, but the grid that the pub was on was out. We opted to proceed at full speed anyway, damn the torpedo's (that's our default strategy). As I drove up Parramatta Road, there were enough headlights from the traffic to give the illusion that all was well.

But one look inside the pub told a different story... (you shoulda seen this picture before I lifted the exposure to ridiculous levels)

I went out to help Rosie unload his car.

All of the patrons of the pub had gathered together in the main bar by candelight, it was Tres Romantic.

With no web, TV, Foxtel, Football, Jukebox, TAB, Sportsbetting, Poker Machines or any other form of distraction, we had a captive audience. Just how we like it.

It also suggests that should the end times come and we lose the power grid, we'll still be able to get gigs. All right!

After loading all our now useless electric gear into the pub, we cleared a space and played some good old style rootsy stuff.

Theo, like all people of Dutch Origin, can perform percussion in complete darkness. It's a genetic gift I guess.

We played a set and then with news that the power was going to be off until midnight, we prepared to complete the evening as we had started it until...

Ah, but that magical spell was broken. Still, we setup and played 2 more electric sets. The show goes on.

I'd send out shout outs to everyone who was there but I could hardly see anything to start with, so I'll just maintain the anonymity of the night.

Back to light, back to reality.

We're at Jannali next weekend and who knows what to expect at our gigs. Wild weather? Check.

Occasional burning cars?  Blackouts? Check Check

Next I suspect is Locusts. Yep, Locusts. Lots of locusts. Gotta admit, it's never dull.

Hey You! Yes, You, the harmonica player picking up all their harps from the floor because some overly enthusiastic dancer has pirouetted into your stuff and sent your harps flying.  

No more will you be wondering 'WTF did my Bb harp go?' during your next song!

No more 'ARGH!' after Drunk Random #4590 has flipped all your carefully arranged stuff into the air because 'frazzzlle ruble mmm burp oops'!

That's because because you wisely invested in the

HARP GUARDIAN 5000 (patent unlikely) from MJEB Industries

We start with the finest, cheap ass alumininimum alummin...aaloo...A case from Bunnings Warehouse, made in China! that's right, China! They make'em good and cheap over there, oh boy.

Now here you can see the rookie mistake, all these harps and musical what-nots just lying in the case, almost inviting someone to come along and send them tumbling into the air!

We then visit Clark Rubber, that same place beloved by pool enthusiasts and fetishists and buy our selves some foam! 

Yep, good old foam.

Then you find out that when Clark Rubber says 'We cut to size'  they only mean '1 cut'  and if you want all those little holes for your harmonica, you are on your own!

Good luck with your little craft knife and no, you can't borrow the cool foam cutting knife, now give me your money and get gone.

But here at MJEB Labs, we have the latest in Pen and Ruler tech. See how our experts work out how big stuff is and draw lines.

IMPRESSIVE!!!

And because we're not shmucks, we know to leave enough foam at the edges and between the holes so it doesn't suffer from Structural Fall Apart!

4cm by 3(ish)CM squares seems to do the trick and grip the harp cases nicely.

We even cut the holes in a pattern that allows more stability, why? Cos we thought of it as we were doing it and we're SMRT!!

When the foam is 100 MM thick and a craft knife won't cut all the way to the bottom it, what do we do?

No problems, we use a craft blade to cut the initial shape out , drill a hole in the centre of the foam, use a thin bladed file to cut the deep edges and then RIP the middle foam out by hand or with pliers! All hi tech! not done in a clean room.

ET VOILA!! Here you have it! the Harp Guardian 5000, loaded and ready for drunks everywhere!

I tried dropping this, knocking it  over, turning upside down and those suckers stayed put. I am digging it.

Stay tuned for more technology of the future from MJEB industries!!