i love your radio show, the kind of songs you play

finalizing the mixes and the tracklist for the album this week. here is some art work.

also, i was on the radio last week on East Village Radio. Had a good time w/ DJ Elhaam. Played 2 songs acoustic and made some DJ picks. You can stream the show here. Click "listen" on the Sept 7th show.

good to be back home

saw you at the sunday matinee

Here's a new version of "Sunday Matinee" for the album. People have often referred to our songs as nostalgic. I guess its something in the sounds we use. This song actually looks back to high school, and for me that meant going to punk rock shows at VFW halls.

I liked the version of this song we recorded for the ep last year, but I always went back to the original demo I had made. It just sounded more exciting. I brought Dan in to do some cool keyboard stuff and worked from the demo to make this version. Hope you like it.

beat radio - sunday matinee (mp3)

Here are the lyrics:

i met all your friends today
i couldn't think of anything to say
everybody seemed so lonely
but we could play our bad day down
hide behind a wall of sound
communicate with our our eyes only

and we're alone we're alone when we're together we're alone and we don't wanna stay here but we can't go home
and there's so much we've lost along the way
but your the sweetheart of the rodeo
the queen of the all ages show
i saw you at the sunday matinee

you're everything that i'm not
drinking in the parking lot
and then we hear the band start up and then we rush inside
and when the bass drops out and the singer screams and shouts you say "this is that song that i was talking about."
you push your hair behind your ears and you close your eyes

and when you lean in close
when tell me it's the part you love the most
and you pull me out into the light
i don't care about the song
but i could watch you listen all night long
and i feel fine i feel alright i feel alright

more preview tracks from safe inside the sound here.

the bell house friday 9/4!

we've got a big show coming up at the bell house in a couple weeks with our friends the mugs. hope to see you guys!!

sleepwalking

The kick drum sound on this song is a field recording of fireworks exploding. I got it from freesound.org. I wanted the song to feel like summer. I wanted it to be a rock and roll song. The lyrics are about trying to create a sense of community. You surround yourself with creative people and you support each other, in basements, in bars, drinking cheap wine in backyards. Without them you fall to pieces. Sometimes even with them you fall to pieces.

I dedicated this song to Tim and Rob from the Diggs last week when we played it at Union Hall, because when I sing it I always think of them, and those early days when they were in the first version of Beat Radio, in 2002. A mad mission.

beat radio - sleepwalking (mp3)


Here are the lyrics:

Summer is gone don't know where the days went
Me and my friends descend into basements
When we were kids we did things the same way
Queen of the street and ghost of the midway

We come together to hold each other up
Broken guitars and wine from paper cups

Cmon come on
Sometimes you feel the pain of everyone
Sometimes you feel like you're the only one
Sleepwalking in the mid day sun

We came apart
Everyone said it was a work of art
16 bit troubles for my 8 bit heart
A mad mission from the very start

2
I'm moving slow so everyone wonders
Nothing could break the spell that I'm under
Love is a map of stars and I'm lost in the words on the page I can't get across.

And if I could I know we'd be just fine
I get no sleep but I'm dreaming all time

Cmon come on
This is the story of a town gone wrong
And we're together cause we don't belong
And everyone we used to know is gone

We came apart
Everyone said it was a work of art
16 bit troubles for my 8 bit heart
A mad mission from the very start

Instro

Bridge: (in 3/4)
Who was it that said
That death is the remedy
Nearly all singers dream of?
Well, let that be my elegy

Cmon come on
Sometimes you feel the pain of everyone
Sometimes you feel like you're the only one
Sleepwalking in the mid day sun

We came apart
Everyone said it was a work of art
16 bit troubles for my 8 bit heart
A mad mission from the very start

Cmon come on
This is the story of a town gone wrong
And we're together cause we don't belong
And everyone we used to know is gone

We came apart
Everyone said it was a work of art
16 bit troubles for my 8 bit heart
A mad mission from the very start

more preview tracks from safe inside the sound here.

exit strategy

This is an autobiographical song.

Your dreams have the power to reverse your regrets.

I have a piano in my front room. I don't know how to play so I like writing on it.

I write with my tape recorder mostly, so I don't forget things. This captures that weird place where songs come from for me, in between awake and sleep. Bits of things captured to tape, assembled later on.

beat radio - exit strategy (mp3)


more preview tracks from safe inside the sound here.

interview at fingertips.com

fingertips is like an o.g. of mp3 blogs. i recently did a pretty in depth interview with them on the state of the music industry. it's sort of a wild time to be navigating your way as an artist. i rambled quite a bit. you can find the interview here:

http://www.fingertipsmusic.com/sendrowitz-qa1.htm

i'd love to hear what you guys think about some of the things we discussed. like, should music be free? is being able to download albums good for how we listen to music? how should artists move forward in trying to find ways to support themselves and their work?

it's complicated stuff, and it's an exciting and strange time to be a musician. hope you enjoy reading.

best, bri