Rag & Blog Shop

Life in a Blender web site redesign

2010-06-15T13:47:00.002-04:00

This was a fun one to do. A brand new web site for my beloved band, Life in a Blender. In addition to providing a central repository for info about upcoming shows and a place to look at photos and posters, I made use of the awesome customizable storefront facilities at Bandcamp.com. Every one of our songs and albums is now available in physical (CD) or digital (FLAC, mp3, anything) format. And we make a good bit more money than via iTunes or Amazon etc. And you can stream all of our music for free, to try before you buy.

Shandaken Theatrical Society website now open for business

2010-06-10T10:44:00.003-04:00

Designed by yours truly. I'm taking on web design clients now, in addition to my usual print design.

Take a look. (I also did this Godspell poster for STS)

New Mark Donato album is out

2010-04-22T10:38:00.003-04:00

Mark Donato's new album, A History of the Boys and Girls, is finally out. I play bass on it, and am joined my colleague from Life in a Blender, Al Houghton on guitar, as well as drummer Eric Parker, and a good many other talented folks.

Here's one a song from the record, "Lives of Poets."

And you can, if so inclined, buy the CD at Mark's website. It features cover art by my wife and design by me.

First Glimpse of Apple Tablets

2010-01-25T10:21:00.002-05:00

As usual, Apple have done an extraordinary job on the design.

Life in a Blender at BAMcafe, January 30, 2010

2010-01-11T14:20:00.003-05:00

I'll be playing a big long free set with Life in a Blender at BAMcafe on January 30, 2010 at 10 pm sharp. We'll have horns, we'll have new songs, we'll have fun. This is a really nice venue. Come on by.

Nancy Howell's amazing calligraphy and hand-lettering

2009-11-04T13:04:00.004-05:00

I just finished a long-postponed update and redesign of my wife's web site: Nancy Howell Calligraphy. Superb calligraphy, hand-lettering, illustration and hand-drawn maps. A lot of nice new stuff, particularly in the "lettering for print media" section: lettering for book covers, film sets, photo shoots.

Life in a Blender with Nellie McKay and Jesus

2009-06-11T10:27:00.003-04:00

I think Nellie McKay is swell, so I'm really looking forward to this. Buy your tickets early, it will sell out. I believe we (Life in a Blender) will be joined by the Colony Collapse Horns. (We're in the studio this weekend, working on album #7.)

Tell Him I'm Ugly

2009-04-22T09:28:00.003-04:00

My daughter, Edith, has apparently acquired her dad's propensity for excess. She has a new band, Tell Him I'm Ugly, with 7 people in it. (Actually, my son is in it, too, but this is Edith's project.) Their first home recording is a cover of "Kids" by MGMT.

They're playing, along with a bunch of other talented teens at a Teen Music Showcase that I've helped organize, Saturday, May 2 at 8 pm at the Shandaken Theatrical Society in Phoenicia.

Let's Party Mini Pigs

2009-01-14T09:59:00.003-05:00

See you all this Saturday, January 17, for a nice early (7 pm) show at Joe's Pub. Life in a Blender will be accompanied by the Colony Collapse Horns. Many, many correct notes will be enjoyed. Also on the bill: Les Sans Culottes.

Two shows not to miss in 2009

2008-12-26T08:54:00.003-05:00

Mark Donato plays at Googies Lounge (upstairs at the Living Room) on January 10 at 7:30.

Life in a Blender will be playing at Joe's Pub on January 17 at 7:00, on a double bill with Les Sans Culottes. I believe we will be accompanied by a horn section.

Homemade Music: Will It Never End?

2008-11-19T09:54:00.007-05:00

Avail yourself of the latest offering from me and my son, Lukas. Aided in this case by my lovely daughter Edith on bells. The song is called "Don Quixote Versus." Lukas plays drum set and bongos. I play the stringed things.

I've also added dates to the page of homemade music, for those who want to map my children's musical growth against the deterioration of my recording equipment and songwriting skills.

Buy these lamps or we'll shoot this dog

2008-10-02T09:43:00.003-04:00

For years, only a few close friends have known about Ben's amazing lamps. Now he's decided to sell out. Or at least sell. Members of the general public (those with web access) are invited to take out their wallets and check out OR-DESIGN. Just kidding about the dog.

My son thought this blurb had too many big words

2008-09-23T09:28:00.003-04:00

and he may be right. From the New Yorker:

Life in a Blender at the Living Room, Friday Sept. 26., 10 pm *

154 Ludlow St. (212-533-7235): Life in a Blender is a long-running Brooklyn institution specializing in quirkily heartfelt pop that is both surreal and thought-provoking. Lately, the lead singer Don Rauf's endearingly absurdist musings come augmented with lush arrangements. Though rife with oddness, the band's work hides moments of poignancy and introspection amidst the laughs. Its album "The Heart Is a Small Balloon" came out early last year. With Old School Freight Train, a collection of young musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia, that’s caught the attention of the mandolin virtuoso and “new-grass” founder David Grisman; they’ve backed him on recent tours."

* Yes, I know it's the night of the presidential debate, but we will have the Colony Collapse Horns with us, which is really fun, and you know who you're voting for anyway.

No Matter Where You Go, There I Am

2008-09-02T17:57:00.003-04:00

...or so it may seem next week when I have three shows.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008, I'll be backing up Mark Donato at a free outdoor show in Woodstock, at the Woodstock Farm Festival at Mower's (1 block from the Village Green on Maple Lane, behind Bread Alone), from 5:30-7:30.

Thursday, September 11, 2008, Life in a Blender plays on a great triple bill at Arlene's Grocery in Manhattan with Johnny Society and the reunited Mommyheads. We play at 11, Mommyheads at 9, Johnny Society at 10.

And if you've got kids, come to the Bearsville Theater on Saturday, September 13, 2008. I'll be backing up the fabulous Uncle Rock at noon for a back-to-school romp.

Mark Donato, Colony Cafe, Woodstock NY, 7-25-08

2008-07-22T08:58:00.003-04:00

Mark Donato plays at the Colony Cafe in Woodstock this Friday, July 25 at 8 pm. I'll be playing bass and Eric Parker will be on drums. We'll play new stuff from the record MD is in the middle of making now.

Some older samples of MD's brilliance are below, or listen to more at his page on MySpace.
"Those Aren't Your Guts" from Sings "I'm Flapping" And Other Favorites.
"Speeches at My Wake" from I Haven't Wasted All This Time Alone.

Mark Donato live shows are a rare treat. Do come.

Life in a Blender at Barbes this Friday

2008-07-15T10:39:00.002-04:00

Life in a Blender will be playing this Friday, July 18, at 8 pm, at Barbes. We are currently roughing up our polished act so as to appear more spontanous and raggedy. Come at 7 for the amazing Chris Rael.

Get yer tickets now!

2008-05-21T14:09:00.010-04:00

We're going to have a horn section! And Rebecca is back! This should be a great show. Do come. (Illustration by Lukas Lerner)

There's No Sound In Flutes!

2008-05-02T11:22:00.004-04:00

As many of you devoted followers of this blog know, my son, Lukas, plays the drums. He's recently taken a few days off from his nearly constant musical diet of the Descendents to immerse himself in Buddy Rich's playing. It was mostly for a school report, but he got pretty into it, and we watched a DVD about the guy that had about a zillion drum solos in it. And in the era of YouTube and such, the legendary bus tapes are easier than ever to come by, in case Lukas needed any lessons in swearing and craziness. But even I, avowed jazz doubter and drum solo hater, had to admit that besides the obvious technical wizardry, there's a pretty amazing musicality at work in those solos.

So (also as part of this school thing), Lukas recorded a short sample of himself doing some Buddy Rich-style playing. Enjoy. It's no "Pusscat" or "Wienerschnitzel," but what is?

Metropolis and Phoenicia in the same sentence?

2008-04-21T14:04:00.003-04:00

Yes, this Friday, April 25, 7 pm, the "Last Friday Picture Show" continues...

METROPOLIS, Fritz Lang's silent classic, at the Shandaken Theatrical Society in Phoenicia. With live music accompaniment by Jesse Chandler.

Life In A Blender at the Baggott Inn and at Whitney Biennial

2008-03-26T10:37:00.004-04:00

Life In A Blender has 2 splendid shows coming up in Manhattan:

Friday, March 28, we'll be playing at the Baggott Inn, at 8 pm.

Friday, April 4, we'll be performing at the Whitney Biennial. Really. 7 pm. Crazy. It's part of a piece called Neighborhood Public Radio and can be heard throughout the museum and maybe somewhere else, I have no idea.

Ooh... Scary

2008-03-17T10:58:00.004-04:00

Yet another sonic chapter in the family music saga: Lukas and Mark present a surfy confection called "Ooh... Scary."

Ever the flip-flopper in this regard, I've once again turned on comments in order to receive a flood of compliments. At the slightest hint of constructive criticism, however, they will be turned off.

Papacast

2008-03-11T09:32:00.003-04:00

My daughter Edith and three of her friends have begun a weekly (okay, sometimes every 2 weeks) podcast called, inexplicably, Papacast. It's a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of, well, my daughter Edith and three of her friends. Topics include the presidential election, how hot is/was Heath Ledger, books, music, movies, and funny noises.

You can find the first two episodes here.

or you can subscribe here, if you know what "subscribe" means in the context of a podcast. I didn't until a day or two ago.

Again with the Life In A Blender

2008-02-19T08:24:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, February 23, at 10 pm, Life In A Blender returns to the sweaty/intimate confines of Barbes, one of our favorite places on earth. But come early, at 8 pm, to see Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra, which I've never heard but sounds very interesting and includes musical comrade Philippa Thompson.

More homemade music

2008-01-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

Visit the super-secret spot to hear not one but two brand-new recordings by Lukas and Mark: The cryptically alluring "Oh No," and a much-improved re-recording of the chart-topping toe-tapper "Rock Dog" (for which we are joined by the amazing Uncle Rock, with help from Edith and Nancy).

Movies in Phoenicia!

2008-01-23T08:59:00.000-05:00

If you live near me, this is great news: This Friday (January 25) is the first screening in the long-awaited Last Friday Picture Show series. On the last Friday of every month, our local theatre, Shandaken Theatrical Society, will be showing a great movie on their new-old 16mm projector. In fact, I will most likely be the guy in the projection booth, since I'm sort of in charge of this thing. And yes, there will be popcorn.

This Friday's show is at 7pm: You Can't Take It With You, Frank Capra's 1938 film version of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The movie won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Lionel Barrymore has the best hair ever. I'd like to see a cool old-guy hair showdown between Lionel Barrymore and Nick Lowe.

The schedule for the first 6 months of the series is nearly done. I'll post it here.

Life in a Blender, Barbes, Sat. Dec. 1

2007-11-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

This Saturday night, Life In A Blender will be playing at 10 pm at Barbes, a tiny yet small club in Brooklyn, at 376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave. in Park Slope).

Do come, won't you?

Life in a Blender, Saturday at the Living Room

2007-11-08T10:06:00.000-05:00

Life in a Blender at the Living Room, Manhattan, New York, New York, New York, NY (Ludlow St. near Stanton) at 10 pm this Saturday Nov. 10. New songs, old people.

Also, Les Sans Culottes at 11 pm and Jesus H. Christ at midnight.

Do come and listen and say hello. I'd be wittier in my entreaty if I weren't sick and exhausted.

An experiment

2007-10-25T17:27:00.000-04:00

Try this. Click this link, dear reader, and you will hear "Waltz About Losing," by the Good Loser Club at a fairly unpublicized site: free.napster.com

You remember napster, the file-trading thingy. It was bought and turned into the sort of legal pay-to-download site that absolutely nobody I know has ever used.

But they have this free part, as I said: free.napster.com. You can listen to songs or entire albums, zillions of them. My wife and I have been revisiting the British invasion. I also heard albums I missed by obscure groups like FSK and records I've been meaning to buy by TMBG and a lot of other things.

What I wonder is: how do folks get paid? It's not a unit sale, but more like a broadcast, so is Napster paying BMI and ASCAP? The only limitations on playing are that supposedly you can't stream a song more than three times. Even without resorting to clearing a cache or deleting cookies, I haven't found this to be the case. I can't find any info about payment anywhere at the site.

So the experiment, admittedly somewhat self-serving, is this: click the link. Play the song. Hey, do it a few times a day if you like. I wrote it. Mark Donato sings the hell out of it. I'll let you know if my next BMI check includes a single penny for airplay via free.napster.com.

I suspect I won't have enough to buy a cup of coffee, but if it adds up, I'll use the dough to buy a long speaker cable to reach from my computer to the little stereo here at Rag & Bone Shop, so I can stream the entire history of recorded music for free.

New smash hit by Lukas and Mark

2007-09-09T23:12:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: "Pusscat."

Life in a Blender, on mp3 and at Joe's Pub

2007-07-06T13:23:00.000-04:00

Life in a Blender takes the glamorous stage at Joe's Pub on July 28 at 7 pm, with Les Sans Culottes. To celebrate, I'm putting up--for a limited time--a bunch of mp3s for your delectation. One song from each of the last few albums, and two from the newest. (You can buy our music at iTunes, Amazon, cdBaby, Zuzula, and directly from Fang Records.)

Asshole From Menlo Park (from Two Legs Bad)
Little Man Cake (an outtake from Two Legs Bad that's on our rareties collection, Mysterious Floating, so far only available digitally at Zuzula)
Mobile Wash Unit (from Tell Me I'm Pretty)
Seagull (from The Heart Is a Small Balloon)
What Happened To Smith (from The Heart Is a Small Balloon)

Enjoy, then go buy every album you can find. Oh, and come to the shows.

The Speed of Things

2007-06-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

Please enjoy a home recording of Nancy Howell and Mark Lerner singing Robyn Hitchcock's "The Speed of Things."

Is it Rosine? Is it Flat Old World? Is it Mark and Nancy? What's in a name? I don't know. I'm thinking maybe we'll just perform under own names for a while.

And look, I've turned on comments just to reassure myself nobody's out there.

Nancy Howell and Mark Lerner sing. In public.

2007-06-04T10:01:00.000-04:00

Nancy and I will sing together on Saturday, June 9th:

The wonderful American General Store on Route 28A in West Shokan is having a musical barbecue, where we will play, as will our dear friend Mark Donato. A quick glance at our set list reveals rather a lot of songs about death; songs by Flat Old World, Rosine, and some newer stuff. Again, that's Saturday, June 9th.

The $7 cover includes all the barbecued meat and vegetables you can stuff in your gullet. Barbecue starts at 5:30 and music starts at 6:30. It's best to call and reserve a spot if you want to be there: 845-657-7762. If it happens to rain and the event is held inside, fewer folks will fit and only the first 35 on the reservation list will get in.

Also, Edith and Lukas are performing in the Shandaken Theatrical Society's production of Man of La Mancha, for the first 3 weekends in June. Edith is acting and Lukas is drumming.

Opening weekend has passed, with great success. Two more weekends await you: June 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 17th

Fridays & Saturdays @ 8pm, Sunday @ 4 pm

Tickets: $12 general public, $10 members/ students/ seniors
Reservations: 845-688-2279, tickets@stsplayhouse.com

NY Times covers Life In A Blender

2007-06-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

The New York Times wrote about Life in a Blender in their city section yesterday. There's a photo in the print edition, but I am not in it, because I couldn't attend the photo shoot. I am replaced by Rebecca's chihuahua.

Life in a Blender at Barbes and the Living Room

2007-05-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

Two gigs coming up with Life in a Blender...

Friday May 25, at the homey and wonderful Barbes in Brooklyn. 8 pm.
Saturday, June 2, at the wonderful and homey Living Room in Manhattan. 10 pm.

Chicken Dance by Life In A Blender

2007-04-26T17:32:00.001-04:00

If you can tear your eyes away from the sight of the dancing chicken, you can also see yours truly dancing in this video.

Good Loser Club on WKZE and the web

2007-04-20T11:03:00.000-04:00

The "Off the Beat-n-Track" radio show is going to feature the Good Loser Club this week, meaning, I think, they play 4 or 5 songs from it in the 2nd half of the show.

In the Hudson Valley, listen at WKZE 98.1 FM, or tune in at robinhoodradio.com on Saturday April 21 from 9-11 PM .

The show will re-broadcast on robinhoodradio.com on Sunday April 22 from 9-11 PM, Thursday April 26 from 6-8PM, and Friday April 27 from 6-8 PM. Podcasts are downloadable from offthebeat-n-track.com

The Dogs of the Phoenicia Library

2007-04-16T14:28:00.000-04:00

That's my noble bagel hound*, Maddie, posing majestically at the Phoenicia Library, which welcomes dogs and even people. You can buy notecards featuring Maddie and other local pooches at the library. The pictures are pretty great.
Proceeds help the library, one of our greatest local resources, with their expenses.

* Bagel hound: lovable mutt made of equal parts basset hound and beagle.

Mark Donato at Googie's Lounge

2007-04-11T08:56:00.000-04:00

The talented and neighborly Mr. Donato performs this Saturday April 14 at Googie's Lounge above the Living Room (154 Ludlow St.) at 7:30.

I'd be there if I could. Why don't you go and pretend to be me?

Rag & Bone Shop website updated

2007-03-16T15:54:00.000-04:00

I put some new work up at the Rag & Bone Shop website. Book covers, book interiors, CD packaging. Do take a look.

life in a blender - the heart is a small balloon

2007-02-28T14:26:00.000-05:00

The fifth album by Life in a Blender is finally ready. Come celebrate the release with us on March 17 at the Living Room, NYC.

More homemade music

2007-02-20T11:59:00.000-05:00

I'm sure my son would rather he had a dad whose idea of rock didn't sound so much like demented circus music, but so far he still humors me enough to play and record music with me. Our latest effort, a ditty I call "T in China."

Drums by Lukas. Blame me for everything else.

Nancy Howell Calligraphy swanky new website

2007-01-30T20:03:00.000-05:00

Finished the redesign of my wife's website, Nancy Howell Calligraphy. Hurrah! Many thanks to the excellent and expeditious Sky Pape at abitoff.net.

Life in a Blender shows

2007-01-29T13:14:00.000-05:00

Friday, February 2: Groundhog Day. Life in a Blender plays a nice long set (90 minutes) at BAMcafe (at the Brooklyn Academy of Music). It should be groundhogtacular.

Thursday, February 8: My birthday, dammit. Life in a Blender plays at Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn. With Piñataland.

Bob Wiseman, part 1

2007-01-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

I think I might use this space to sing the praises of a few unsung singers whose songs sing to me most singingly. I'll start with Bob Wiseman, but not today. Today I'll just mention that he's playing a rare U.S. date this Saturday, in Chicago. If I lived there, I'd be there.

Mark Donato this Friday: Dr (Red) Hook and the (Acoustic) Medicine Show

2007-01-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

I'll be playing bass for the splendid Mark Donato this Friday, January 12, 2007
in Red Hook, NY at 8 pm.

The Acoustic Medicine Show
in the Afterglow Taproom
Red Hook Inn
7460 South Broadway
Red Hook, New York

FREE.

iTunes has Good Loser Club

2006-12-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

The Good Loser Club is available at iTunes. Just in time to redeem those iTunes gift cards you've received. (Also available in its physicl form from Amazon, cdBaby, and directly from Rag & Bone Shop.)

Rosine and The Dead Girl

2006-12-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

Very excited to report that a Rosine song, "Standing Above the Stars," is in the soundtrack to the new feature film The Dead Girl, written and directed by Karen Moncrieff (whose previous film, Blue Car, also made the wise choice to use a Rosine song).

The Dead Girl opens December 29 in New York City and Los Angeles; additional cities on January 12th; and everywhere on January 19th. It stars about a zillion great actors (Josh Brolin, Rose Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Beth Hurt, Piper Laurie, Mary Steenburgen, Giovanni Ribisi, Toni Collette, Brittany Murphy, and more). Check out the preview.

You can buy the Rosine album, A New Broom Sweeps Clean, But an Old Broom Knows Every Corner, at Rag & Bone Shop, Amazon, or iTunes (where you can also buy individual songs, like "Standing Above the Stars").

TWO new CDs from Rag & Bone Shop

2006-12-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

The Rag & Bone Shop music catalog, long dormant, is now back in business, with easier ways to buy, and two new releases: the debut of GOOD LOSER CLUB (Mark Lerner, Frank Randall, Mark Donato, and Chris Erikson), and Mark Donato's 3rd album, I HAVEN'T WASTED ALL THIS TIME ALONE.

Come visit. There are free downloads, and our whole back catalog--including the Sycamores Christmas EP, "Three French Hens"--eagerly awaits the tender touch of your wallet. You can also purchase at Amazon.com, cdBaby and (soon) iTunes.

Also, for those so inclined, songs stream and "friends" abound at myspace.com/goodloserclub and myspace.com/markdonatomusic.

Music self-played is happiness self-made

2006-11-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

Been making music at home with my family. I write 'em, we all play 'em.

Last night we recorded "I Don't Drive," sung by Edith, played by Nancy, Mark, and Lukas. Three songs so far, all available to you, dear reader:

http://ragandboneshop.com/internal/homemade.htm

Happy Election Day everybody. Vote the bums out of office.

Fall harvest

2006-10-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

While finishing up the art for the CD by the Good Loser Club, I came across this, which made me laff.

Actually, there's been a real spate of CDs getting finished up these days. I've recently cranked out packages for Tom Laverack, Julia Douglass, Life in a Blender, Mark Donato. So expect lots of lovely new albums available in time for the holidays. Good luck to my fabulous clients.

Life In A Blender at the Living Room

2006-09-19T09:26:00.000-04:00

After missing a few shows, I'll be back with Life in a Blender at an upcoming show:

Saturday, September 30, at the Living Room. We'll play at 11 pm, followed by the Cheesebeads. It's FREE, though a large and intimidating hat will be passed and you will feel enormous pressure to fill it.

New Life in a Blender album now slated for December release... hopefully.

Life In A Blender's "Mobile Wash Unit" is featured in a documentary about Dr. Bronner. If you live in the Bay Area, Sara Lamm's film, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Box has its official debut at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October.

Mysterious virgins--example: Mary, Jesus's source--underwent no penetration

2006-08-12T15:39:00.000-04:00

(Click photo to enlarge) It's a mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets, suggested by my friend Jodi and rendered in thousands of beans by me and Nancy. With any luck, it will be showing in Phoenicia's Arts Upstairs gallery next week, along with a very nice painting by my son that I neglected to photograph.

By the way, the mystery flower of a few posts back is, apparently, a native variety of foxglove. So says our gardener pal Nancy B.

Wallflower, wallflower, won't you dance with me

2006-08-04T09:44:00.000-04:00

We made a record in 4 days and then spent more than a year on a few small overdubs and choosing which mixes to use. Truly we have earned our name: The Good Loser Club.

In celebration of being finished, sorta, I've put up another free song, "Waltz About Losing." Enjoy.

Mark Donato sings and drums, Frank Randall strums, Chris Erikson picks, and I do whatever bass players do.

What kind of flower is this?

2006-07-11T13:31:00.000-04:00

Please let me know... mark-at-ragandboneshop.com. Looks sorta like foxglove, but the flowers are all lined up on on top of the other.

Google says I'm not alone

2006-07-06T14:26:00.000-04:00

Results 1 - 10 of about 86,600 for "too busy to blog". (0.09 seconds)

Kids away for 4 weeks of camp and N. and I are celebrating by burying ourselves in work.

A couple of Life In A Blender shows coming up this month, and they will be without me. No doubt this is an added enticement for some folks, so check them out at the band's website. Cellist Dave Moody will be handling bassly duties, I think.

Ugly Last Night

2006-06-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

Went down to NYC the other day to croak a few more backing vocals for the new Life In A Blender album (album number 5? number 6?, see below). It looks like we're pretty much done with overdubs. We're looking to have it all done by summer's end. No title yet.

At the same time, Don and Ken have compiled various outtakes, B-sides, live recordings, etc, to create another new album, number 5 or 6--see above). This one has a title: Mysterious Floating Head: The Forgotten Songs of Life In A Blender. I've posted a song from it, the beautiful and mysterious "Ugly Last Night". It features Nancy Lynn Howell (Mrs. Yours Truly) on lead vocal. I have no recollection whatsoever of recording the song, though I do recognize an old fretless bass I no longer own.

Souled American, Death Metal Faves

2006-05-16T09:43:00.000-04:00

It never ceases to amaze me how linked up this small world of an internet is. It's like a worldwide web, if you will.

So I shouldn't have been too surprised to find a favorable mention of Fifty Posters about Souled American at a death-metal zine's site.

I also notice the fellers themselves recently played a couple of shows. Anyone with any news about the shows, or how a new album is progressing, or whatever became of the documentary film that was being made about the band, please get in touch.

Bruce Springsteen: The Lerner Sessions

2006-05-11T14:46:00.000-04:00

Apparently, Bruce Springsteen's "Seeger Sessions" band played (recorded, too?) a version of Blind Alfred Reed's "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" and dedicated it to the plight of post-Katrina New Orleans residents.

Now some completist has compiled an online guide to all the folk songs on Springsteen's new record, and has included notes about Reed's song, with links to versions available online. Which includes, of course, our delightful Flat Old World version (circa 1994) at the Rag & Bone Shop free mp3 page.

...which is sending an awful lot of Springsteen fans my way. I hope they like what they find.

I was pleased to note that the band for this Springsteen album includes lots of great NYC players, including Larry Eagle, who played drums for quite a while with Nancy's old band Clovis Noches. So it all comes full-circle, sorta.

Caterpillars

2006-05-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

We've got 'em.

Life in a Blender at Barbes

2006-05-05T09:29:00.000-04:00

This Saturday night, May 6, I'll be playing with Life in a Blender at Barbes in Brooklyn at 10 pm. Do come by. Barbes is fun and small. Very fun, very small.

New mp3s by Mark Donato and Life In A Blender

2006-04-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

Back at ye olde web site, on the mp3 page, I've put up two gems. Well, not gems. Songs.

Life In A Blender pays heartfelt tribute to Bob Dylan, who drank himself to death at the White Horse Tavern in NYC in 1953. This is a live recording from Woodstock, NY.

And a recently unearthed Mark Donato song, "When I Had a Hammer." An outtake from his first album. I think I may have played electric guitar on this, but don't let it stop you.

Happy Spring

2006-04-18T13:56:00.000-04:00

As you can see from my new self portrait, I am one happy bunny.

What's Black and Blue and read all over?

2006-04-17T15:59:00.000-04:00

Like baseball? Do you know how to read? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, go buy Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America, by Tom Adelman. Rag & Bone Shop regulars may be more familiar with his music writing (as Camden Joy). The same brilliance is brought to shine upon America's pastime. Go, buy, read.

Upcoming shows with Life In A Blender

2006-04-04T20:06:00.000-04:00

Two shows coming up with Life In A Blender, as we finish up album #5 at glorious Dubway Studios:

May 2 at Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, in New York City's East Village. We'll be joined that night by two great acts, Chris Rael's Church of Betty, and Ed Pastorini.

May 6 at Barbes in Brooklyn.

Album title suggestions welcome.

R.I.P. Cindy Walker

2006-03-30T12:46:00.000-05:00

I didn't know much about the legendary songwriter Cindy Walker--who passed away last week--until we recorded her beautiful "Born to Love You" with The Good Loser Club last year. I've put a free mp3 of it up for a while. Enjoy.

Webbings

2006-03-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is scary. The encyclopedia of creation science [sic].

And this is just amazing. Anamorphic drawings (is that the right word?) done on sidewalks and streets. Viewed from just the right spot, they appear very three-dimensional. Viewed from many wrong spots, they just look gooey and elongated.

Lots of free MP3s by a new favorite of mine, Okkervil River.

New mp3 files

2006-03-17T16:11:00.000-05:00

The global pandemic of free mp3s continues to spread. New songs by Life In A Blender and Rosine added to the mp3 page.

New as in newly mp3'd and newly offered up for free for a while. Not new recordings. Though Life In A Blender's 5th record is getting mighty close to finished.

A leg.

2006-03-14T10:28:00.000-05:00

Video of Messrs. Lerner and Donato performing "Montana" with John Linnell and the Statesmen on Late Night With Conan O'Brien about 5 or 6 years ago. A link from this site.

Thank you to El Rey del Art for the link.

Worth Every Penny

2006-03-03T15:54:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to change the free mp3s at my website with some frequency. Added today: A rare Flat Old World recording, a rare song by Mark Donato, a Rosine demo, and a lullaby from The Abasement Tapes, by Flat Old World.

Those Wacky Internets

2006-03-02T08:55:00.000-05:00

Today's finds:

An entire bulletin board devoted to discussion of the Fender Bass VI, the weird six-string bass that I have. If you're one of the, what, like, 500 people who have one of these rattly old buzzards, you'll be thrilled. If you register, you can downlaod a PDF of the instruction manual. I'll save you the trouble if you just want to see the excellent cover illustration.

Bat bombs. "In a 1948 interview with the Bulletin of the National Speleological Society, Dr. Adams recalled: 'I had just been to Carlsbad Caverns, N. M., and had been tremendously impressed by the bat flight. . . . Couldn't those millions of bats be fitted with incendiary bombs and dropped from planes? What could be more devastating than such a firebomb attack?'"

Mathematician Richard Lawrence discovered the image of a woman hiding in the digits of pi.

I do not like voice-mail menus

2006-02-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

So I'm happy to pass along this link, courtesy of Echo.

I use the FedEx trick nearly every day.

Everybody Wangchuck Tonight

2006-02-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

The king of Bhutan has a novel reason for postponing democracy in his country: His astrologer told him now's not the right time.

Ha ha ha, they're so backward over there. Not like, uh, here.

What Henry Said

2006-02-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

I added a new song to the free mp3s section of my website.

Listen to "What Henry Said" by the Good Loser Club.

New site takes wing

2006-01-30T15:22:00.000-05:00

Take a look, I've got a swanky new website, thanks to the incredible incredibleness of Sky "Incredible" Pape, who was able to translate my half-baked ideas into very fully-baked ones. Do let me know if you encounter anything untoward.

New year, new blog, new website design

2006-01-12T10:39:00.000-05:00

We will never discuss the year 2005 again, ok? Agreed?

New website design coming here in a few weeks.