We've beaten the lawyers at their own game, overcome sleep deprivation, and leapt court-appointed hurdles, and are now able to report Yes, "A Work in Progress" is done.
Whew. The brothers have made the deadline, it seems, and with a few days to spare. It'll be here this Friday, 3/25/11. We love Bandcamp, so look there (which, BTW, allows hidden tracks, hint hint). iTunes too. And we know for a fact it can be had via Amazon:
And so there's been some significant progress on the next LP, titled "A Work in Progress". So much so that the producer got in touch with a visual designer to generate an image for the CD cover.
The visual designer turned out to be no less than Noël Kristi Wells, the actress, comedienne, and creator of the Zooey Deschanel Show. (Turns out she's a film editor and brilliant photographer as well. We're pretty sure she also has a great plan for World Peace, but were afraid to ask.)
Noël turned in several comps, here's two that we really liked -
The brothers absolutely loved this one, but the producer said No, it's a bit too dark for the cuts in this release. This caused consternation, and Horace asked for a copy to simply hang in their cell. (The jury is still out on this; the producer is waiting to hear back about the institute's policy on wall decorations.)
This one is closer, and the producer said YES. But Noël nixed it, knowing there was something better.
We ended up with this one, which the brothers were very happy with:
And when we say "very happy", we mean that they agreed it was amazingly appropriate, and that there was no violence or obscene gestures between them.
With that done, the producer, flush with success, named March 25, 2011 as the Official Release Date for "A Work In Progress". Will post the success, or failure, of making that date...
The brothers have been soaking in the locals, musically-speaking; contributing to the world of music fandom in a vague sort of way. Which means they've simply become big fans of some of the talent in the Austin TX area, making suggestions to the producer about what to include in the Austin Independent Music blog and podcast.
As a musical entity, there's progress on that front as well: 12 new tracks have been earmarked for the next, as yet-to-be-named CD, who's release date is also TBD, though we're thinking March-April. These tracks are in various states of construction; some are almost ready to graduate, others are still mere infants in the DAW. But all have a sharper, sometimes dirtier, edge than the tracks on the Flattened Frog release. We are liking it.
Speaking of new - Brand Gamblin has managed to finish another novel: The Hidden Institute. This means another podcast, and hopefully more podcast-aimed music from the brothers. Should that music ever get produced, look for more "1884"-ish soundtracks on our Bandcamp pages.
Sure, coupling the adjective "new" with the noun "Christmas music" sounds oxymoronic. But Hey, it happens, and we can thank the uber-productive cats of Watch Out For Rockets for it. "It" being, in this case, the "13 Days of Christmas" release.
Yep, keeping in (or perhaps, skewering) the spirit of the season, we've been treated to a new song every day, with the madness starting on the 12th, and the last entry landing on the 25th, Christmas day.
And just to be clear: These ain't just new renditions of yer granny's favorites. Oh no, these are new classics in and of themselves. The personal favorite? Day 2, Hey Mr. Snowman. Well, that one and Day 9, Eggnog and Incense.
OK, sure, Christmas and New Years have come and gone. But good music never goes out of season. [Feel free to quote us on that.]
First - Pay no attention to the strange Technorati-embedded verification token XGWUG5HQGRMD. We already know about it, but are bound to secrecy. Kindof. Let's just leave it alone and get back to business as usual, shall we?
In keeping with the spirit of giving, we want to point out another local Austin band that has a great fresh sound, as well as the stage presence to put on a great show - Watch Out For Rockets.
Lead by the multi-faceted David Jones (not to be confused with the other Dave Jones), WOFR is on CD release #4, continuing their streak of awesome alt. rock-ness. Be on the lookout for their latest, "Telepathic War Machine", out by Christmas.
Back when the brothers were in the final throes of "Flattened Frog" - that would be the summer of '10 - Brand Gamblin (@brandg) mentioned that he would need some music for the podcast of his latest NaNoWriMo-kick-started, steampunk novel "1884".
They stewed on it, toyed with various instruments. Forgot all about it. Finished and mastered "Flattened Frog", then came back to it with fresh, "I'm ready for something other than electronic music" verve. They belted out a theme, posted it to Brand. He liked it and ran with it.
But the theme, both of the music and of Brand's writing, followed the brothers around like some vengeful ghost. Eventually, they gave into the muse, spent some days in the studio, and generated this 13 minute track.
'Tis a freebie, so get ye to Bandcamp and pick it up:
Introducing, ladies and gents, the talented Joshua Marriott - One actor & cinematographer & maker of films, who we met over a craigslist-incited email conversation. Josh needed music and sound, and the brothers joined his crew, albeit virtually; mastering the sound and providing a few musical cues for Josh's latest short, the comedy "Abra Kadabra".
Unfortunately, the producer Scott Osborn was credited with the brother's work. But that's OK - After the latest courtroom debacle, the brothers have decided to lay low on the film post-production side of things. We'll make the "Abra Kadabra Theme" available on the website Soon.
