hi,

ben here. i just finished an EP. it's called "speed graphic". it has 5 songs on it. it will be available in the next couple of weeks, during which time i'll be finishing another EP called "sunny 16", to be released in september. a third EP will be recorded (no name yet) for release in november. a trilogy of EP's. a full length cd will come out at the beginning of the year, for those who don't like EP's. i have 24 hour access to a studio now, so i'm using it.

quietly releasing my music as EP's allow me to get it out there as i finish it. with a minimum of hype. it's for people who buy my music anyway. it won't be sold in the big ass chains, because that puts the price up and starts the big ass machinery - press, radio etc. then i have to pose naked at the piano, and really, i'm not a piece of meat, you know. the music will be available at gigs, and online, and on vinyl in some smaller stores.

a few of the tunes on the EP's are older songs that i never recorded in a fancy studio until now. a lot of them are brand new, and there's also the odd cover song.

at the beginning of the year, the full length cd will come out.

THE EPS
speed graphic:

it's mostly piano bass and drums. john painter, of fleming and john recording and playing bass behind the recording console (i could see his head bobbing up and down through the glass). jim bogios, formerly of the 'rockin the suburbs' touring band, now playing with counting crows, plays drums on a few songs, and lindsay jamieson, of the english band, departure lounge, plays drums on a song. tracks recorded live through old shit, which breaks all the time, into a massive tape machine, which also breaks all the time and mixed in an afternoon.

1. in between days - old cure song
2. give judy my notice - i just wrote it last week
3. protection - old song written with anna goodman and never recorded for real
4. dog - old song written with evan olson and never recorded for real
5. wandering - the lost folds/jessee collaboration. kinda like brick in that he wrote the chorus (the part people like to sing 'she's a brick' ... 'all this wandering' etc) and i wrote the rest (the part that leads up to the part people like to sing). he passed me the chorus a few years ago. i tried to do it justice...

sunny 16:

we're in the studio recording this one right now. i'm playing drums on a few songs, but mostly it's jim bogios on drums and john painter on bass. we're booking in a string quartet for next week. possible songs include:

you've got to learn to live with what you are
rockstar
there's always someone cooler than you
songs of love (by devine comedy)
they give no fuck
adelaide

we'll see what i actually get finished.

anyway. that's all i know for now. better get to work...


looking for an archive? click here for ben's note from january 2003.