Stormcellar Band Home Page

It's an odd place to find ourselves after a release in November. Considering 'Signposts' took...2 years? Maybe? And now...6 months later we're looking at Album Names for a new thing?

This is all so backwards.

The drums are going down at the end. This is too weird.

And so far, no takers on Mutato Potato. I know I am not gonna win that one but I kinda like it.

I am not sure how long finishing this...thing...part 1 of the greenhouse project...will take. Sort of.

We could put out an EP now with the unplugged stuff. That's a solid 'maybe'.

We already have 'something to go by' out as a single.

How long will it take for the first batch from the greenhouse project to mature? I figure it this way. When my brain starts thinking 'album names' that's usually a sign that things are drawing closer.

If I observe my own logic over the years it has been 'project name' and then a bunch of songs and then an album name.

There's no rush. It's more like....an enthusiasm to get new stuff out into the set and cos I'm looking for something beyond what we know. Fair question is whether we have the capacity to manage a high workload at a quality level we are happy with. Good question indeed....but I kinda wanna find out :)

Technology is on our side. We have continued to mutate - it leads me to think of the beach boys and Pet Sounds. How bands evolve their stuff over time.

Because we can embrace the changes that have happened in the music world we get to have the fun that is possible now. Gold toilet seats on our private jet? Not so much. Getting on with it because we can? Hmmm.

And remember our motto, mutate early and often!

A shout out to Paul S for lending a hand in the greenhouse. Things are growing at a fast pace. More buttons, more filters, more stuff.

We're so busy mutating that we have to let it settle before Theo does drums. This is very different to our previous methods of producing an album.

There are different challenges in this environment, dealing with so much material. We're solely limited by our ability to master the practical. Each thing must take the time it takes, and there are so many things.

I have set a totally bonkers target of 2 albums this year. Yeah you heard me. Send help! (send cash we still gotta pay for mastering LOL)... https://paypal.me/stormcellarband

Ok, so hear me out. I'm already sitting at Album 1 worth of material at the 70% complete mark.

We have 4 tracks out already from the green house - The Duke, 2 X unplugged+ 'Something to go by'

I still think we take all the depressing stuff and put it on 1 ep. Ok great. That leaves 'Something to go by' as first released track for...ummm ....whatever the next album is called.

There are 26 tracks in the greenhouse now, with around 11 of them bearing fruit. The rest are still growing.

They're also mutating. That's what I am after.

I am hoping to use up all the ideas we have until we run out and have to come up with something that's truly new for us. To continue to the metaphor, there are another dozen songs in concept or 'seed' stage. I want them out of the way too so I can find what's beyond what we know.

There's an old saying, 'you have to have a talent for having talent' and that leads me to consider 'you have to manage the practicalities of doing this much work to the standard that you prefer' and that takes some brainpower and elbow grease. Brain grease?

I guess I am also explaining my slow down in blogging. It's cos I am in The Cooler, mixing and listening. One day I expect we'll be back in a studio with someone else manning the desk. Today is not that day.

That's why I share'em on video sometimes before we officially release. We're doing what we dig, where we are at, the stuff we like hearing. 99 pictures of haystacks until you find the right one.

No gigs in march so we have time to work on the greenhouse project.

2 hours of testing a sound to see if we could hit a Univibe sound. Hmmm.....

Meanwhile we're close to the Drum sessions. We have enough tracks to start when we feel like it.

The freedom to do as much as you feel like doing and the responsibility for managing the practical aspects of it are the balancing aspects.

I woke up humming one of the new ones today. A good sign. I still have a lot of lyric and melody to write cos it's easier to put the parts down than it is to find a 3 letter word to fit a space :) ok I exaggerate. Embellish. Thesaurus?

I have a bonkers goal for output this year. I will be curious to see how far we get. Meanwhile, if it's quiet here it's cos we're in the stormcellar, banging things into other things to make pretty patterns.

Mr Wizard said we've been doing this for 16 years and I went naaah. Do the math, we started recording 'Whiskey Talkin' in 2007 that's....that's...one, two...um...let's see 2017 would have been 10 years, so...OH NO.

This whole COVID thing sure did compress 3 years there. Coulda sworn it was only 12...How fortunate we have been to get to do this as long as we have. Wow.

And we're still at it. The greenhouse project is running at 26 possible tracks. How many will actually survive the process is yet to be determined. It's good to be working, it's good to be playing shows. 16 years huh? wow.

That means 15 years of this blog. Heh. Oh well can't sit here typing, I'm still mixing. One day we might wind up back in a studio for 100% of the production process. Not today. Best part is that we can start bringing new songs into the set. Huzzah!

One day, I will be given the correct start times.

Not recently tho..fixed.