In The Shed

wood·shed · noun · Slang · to practice on a musical instrument so as to improve or perfect one's technical facility, develop ideas, etc.: said esp. of a jazz or rock musician


That pretty much sums up our summer so far. With a whole mess of new material to learn, we've taken some time off from playing live. The batteries are getting charged up, but we've had no shortage of non-band related bumps in the road. Layoffs, medical procedures, equipment failures. It tests ones patience and makes it hard, sometimes, to focus on the music-making -- the outlet, distraction, retreat, balm, etc. I, for one, am looking forward to getting back to the live shows. We've got a couple of those coming up (check here) and, hopefully, more to follow shortly. The new material is fantastic and we can't wait to show it off. My current favorite is one of Billy's -- a song in a kind of suite form called "Smile Turns To Frown" that starts with stomping country-rock and ends with ethereal balladry.


Ian and I have been hard at work editing a short video documenting our recording of Judee Sill's "There's a Rugged Road". The tribute album comes out in September, so we'll post the video before then to give a little taste. Our good friends Gil Ray and Joe Goldmark make memorable appearances, along with the amazing Eli Crews.


With lots of time to spend standing in the proverbial unemployment line, I've had the stereo on constantly. I highly recommend gorgeous new releases by John Vanderslice, Devon Sproule and the Trashcan Sinatras (who continue to embrace their inner A.M. radio with what must surely be the cameo of the year: Carly Simon.) Dat Piff is a new obsession -- Wale and Kid Cudi are current favorites. For the dusty oldies I've turned to the Buddy Holly Memorial Collection, Rick Nelson in Stone Canyon mode, Steve Miller in his psychedelic bluesman heyday, John Betjeman and my recently acquired vinyl copy of Radio City. I'm also surprised to find that I'm still listening to 808s & Heartbreak a whole lot.


The lattes and company at Coffee With A Beat help me maintain my connection with the outside world! Is there a better spot in Oakland to feel the pulse of the city? It's a spot that's turned up in one of our new songs -- more on that at a later date.


I'm wrangling with a Stratocaster these days, too -- a guitar that demands I play much better than I've grown accustomed to. How to find that perfect guitar/amp combo?

The word "wrangling" makes me think I need to get more western shirts. Thoughts?

Halfway through Shelby Foote's Civil War -- pondering Rosecrans and Longstreet...


xoxo,


B

Heart Food

It's been a little over a year since I posted (here and here) about a few recording dates we did with Eli Crews at New, Improved Recording. The result of those dates is a version of Judee Sill's extraordinary song "There's a Rugged Road", and it will be appearing this fall on Crayon Angel: A Tribute To The Music Of Judee Sill.

It's an exciting project -- not only are there some phenomenal artists on the album (and some unreleased Sill music) but the chance to interpret one of her songs was an opportunity we were really thrilled to take on. There are a lot of buried treasures and undiscovered classics in pop music, but few of the caliber of "There's a Rugged Road". The album the song comes from, 1973's Heart Food, very quickly became a favorite of mine when it was re-released on Rhino Handmade in 2003 -- it's an extraordinary mixture of Brian Wilson's ethereal, spiritual balladry and the sophisticated craftsmanship of Joni Mitchell. It's soulful stuff -- full of country, gospel, and choral elements with beautiful, searching lyrics.

We really had to dig deep to perform the song, and I can say that we turned in a performance we're all really proud of -- maybe our best moment on record so far. There's more up at the American Dust website -- here's the tracklist:

01 Ron Sexsmith: “Crayon Angel”
02 Beth Orton: “Reach for the Sky”
03 Daniel Rossen: “Waterfall”
04 Frida Hyvönen: “Jesus Was a Cross Maker”
05 Shalants: “Lopin Along Thru the Cosmos”
06 Final Fantasy: “The Donor”
07 Nicolai Dunger: “Soldier of the Heart”
08 Trembling Blue Stars: “Lady-O”
09 Colossal Yes: “The Phoenix”
10 Marissa Nadler & Black Hole Infinity: “The Kiss”
11 Princeton: “Down Where the Valleys Are Low”
12 The Bye Bye Blackbirds: “There’s a Rugged Road”
13 Meg Baird: “When the Bridegroom Comes”
14 Bill Callahan: “For a Rainbow”
15 P.G. Six: “Til Dreams Come True”

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Record Store Day II

Things have gotten a lot more complicated since the last time we celebrated "Record Store Day". Downloading might have been the primary concern in 2008 -- a time for us to remember the magic of vinyl or the affordable convenience and versatility of CDs. This year, we're looking at our hard earned dollars and making tough choices about where that money goes. Retail in general is struggling. Even loyal record store customers like me are thinking twice.

A lot of folks have done a better job that I could at arguing the pros and cons of the record store. My local shop is a never-ending fountain of great music for incredible prices (recent CD finds: Shuggie Otis' Inspiration Information for $2.99 in the clearance Soul section, Los Lobos' psychedelic masterpiece Colossal Head for $4.99.) It's also an employer for a lot of really great people and a source of energy and color in my community.

I'm one of those people who loves the happy accident, the unexpected juxtaposition and a special occasion. Record Store Day is full of treats for those of us who show up and vote with our wallets. Pro-music, pro-mom & pop, pro-walking around, etc. Hell, you might even want to pick up another copy of Houses & Homes. Happy Record Store Day!

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Blackbirds Shot

Finally got around to updating all the various photo sites (Flickr, Facebook, Myspace). A handful of live shots from some recent shows, and some extremely wet and windy shots from Moss Beach (above) taken by our friend Joanna Wong.

Lots of new songs in the works, too. We'll be gearing up for some more shows in a couple months, so expect to hear lots of the new material then. They have cool titles like "Jack Frost", "The Great Escape" and "Through The Clouds, To The Stars".

One of these days we'll finish up some videos we have of us playing live, acoustic versions of Houses & Homes songs at Lenny's house. We'll also be able to announce an upcoming tribute album track and a special guest appearance before too long.

The stereo's been busy, too. I've been on a big Richard Buckner kick. The Hill is wildly underrated.

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Live at Amoeba Music Berkeley 10/18/08

"The Ghosts Are Alright" and a cover of The Vulgar Boatmen's "You Don't Love Me Yet", recorded live at our Amoeba Music Berkeley instore last year.

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The Fences

No matter how confused or in-crisis the music industry (and, by extension, music journalism) may be, it's an extraordinary time to be making music. This has almost nothing to do with internet assisted exposure or home recording technology and a lot to do with the fact that, stylistically speaking, everything is on the table. Three albums have been on my stereo lately that exemplify a melting pot sensibility -- a widescreen palette of musical tools and inspirations.

Like a lot of people, I've really fallen in love with the latest Andrew Bird album, Noble Beast. It's a wonderful folk-pop album that includes bubbly electronica, virtuoso violin, latin rhythms, musical saws and lots of really fine whistling. It's a distinctly modern album, but entirely free of the gimmickry that my list of elements might suggest. The second album is an overlooked 2008 gem by my label mates Miller Carr & The Shalants called Passage Through Wilderness II. The "passage" in the title could easily be referring to the almost cinematic musical journey taken by the wide range of songs with all their twists and turns and shifts of mood. Surf guitars, gritty garage rock, carnival organs, cabaret and songs that can unravel in Grateful Dead-cum-Pavement jamming or fuzz out in dubby echoes and jazzy chords.

That these kinds of seamless, genre-defying explorations have landed themselves at the heart of so much contemporary indie rock is probably in part a reflection of the reissue explosion, crate digging and hipsters out-obscuring each other, but there no denying what this kind of freedom means for an inspired artist. Great artists love it when the fences come down.

The third album on my stereo is one I've gone back to because of the wonderful things I'm hearing on the other two: Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon. Simon clearly has a reputation for dipping his toes into whatever genre strikes his fancy. It's something he is often criticized for (although those criticisms seem increasingly like the result of socio-political hypersensitivity or self-righteousness rather than an any kind of understanding of creative processes), and it's easy to forget how seamless and colorful the results are when gospel harmonies, New Orleans horns, reggae rhythms and fuzzy electric pianos wrap themselves around his English folk-inspired fingerpicking, Tin Pan Alley melodies and sparkling, sophisticated lyrics.

The spirit of freedom is infectious. Paul Simon had certainly earned the artistic capital to expand his vocabulary because of massive commercial success, but it's inspiring to find that sense of freedom being assumed by artists as an organic part of their record-making no matter what level of industry success they may have achieved.

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The Ladder

It's a strange place down here on the lower rungs of the music industry ladder. Armed with the same tools as everyone else (email, Myspace, blogs, etc.) , it takes an extraordinary effort to cut through all the noise. Talent is nothing special here -- we have the same access as anyone else with a microphone and an internet connection -- and the intangibles of luck and sweat and whim hold enormous power. It's easy to get caught up in the vertical perspective, but sometimes I remember to look around at the folks alongside.

In digging through my CD collection lately I've been listening to a lot of the albums by artists who I've opened for, played with or stumbled across while wandering the internet. Friends of friends, local heroes, lucky accidents, links on a venue calendar web site. These are some of my favorite albums -- albums whose releases were just barely noticed for the most part, and whose success or failure rested in whatever satisfaction the artists or labels received in bringing them to the world (however unheralded.) Some of these folks are quite a ways up the ladder compared to us, some aren't even concerned with the ladder. Some of these albums are the equivalent of old "private press" records while some have made their way to Mojo Magazine and hip ears worldwide. I like to imagine some future music lover digging for gems and stumbling across some of these albums -- glittering messages from artists who didn't made the right turn at the right spot to shake the right hands.

Some of these artists are among my favorites -- Stephen Manning of Statuesque, The Moore Brothers, Jill Olson, Yuji Oniki and Dave Gleason. Chris Von Sneidern's Wood & Wire is a grown-up power pop album on par with anything in the Badfinger or Rundgren catalog. The Solipsistics occupied a strange, twisted world all their own and were, ultimately, the only people who showed up to check it out. My shelves are full of established heroes and list-topping classics -- artists who've warranted a Trouser Press entry or a Pitchfork name-drop -- and these stray sounds earn their company on the basis of that all-too-easy-to-forget thing called "being great". We all know the sting of failure and those weak moment what-ifs down here, but the towering musical accomplishments make their own case, and that trust in the power of creativity is often as much the destination as the engine.

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Feedback

This is the time of year when people start making their year-end lists (mine's here) and we get to see who likes our little record. We've also gotten some really nice reviews recently. It's always a thrill to win the praise of music lovers with good taste! Here's a little sample of what folks are saying and a few year-end lists. We really appreciate the feedback. Drop us a line if you find any more reviews or lists that include Houses & Homes , and a very special thanks to all these fine folks:

Absolute Powerpop

Hot Rox Avec Lying Sweet Talk

Unpopular Culture

Power Pop Station (in Brazil!)

Architectural Dance Society

Jumped-Up Pantry Boy

Winston-Salem's Lone Beatnik

and here's one that even features a little interview I did:

Caught In The Carousel

Happy New Year,

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Relative Harmony

Just want to add to the Everly Brothers post that Bradley put up a few inches below mine. I also want to publicly and loudly share my love for the Everlys. I suppose the root of this is my love of vocal harmony, and the mystery and magic that vocal harmony entails. This magic consists of two or three voices singing together and blended perfectly to make it almost sound like one voice.
Most of us would rather just call it magic, enjoy it, and not try to pick it apart and over analyze how its done. I am thankful that the magic of vocal harmony is still very strong for me, despite having to pick it apart and expose the secrets of its magic.
I remember being very young, I would say 5 or 6 years old, when my mom presented me with a copy of Rubber Soul by the Beatles. I was enchanted by the songs, and the harmonies, and the images of these strange guys on the cover. They reminded me of the Monkees, who I used to watch before going to school every morning. Little did I know the truth behind their story, though I love the Monkees as well. I listened to Rubber Soul for years, and I bought every Beatle record they had. With my Beatle obsession in full swing, it took me years to realize the impact the Everly Bros had on the fab 4. For all the great harmonizing the Beatles did, their harmonies never sounded quite so smooth and well blended as the Everlys did, or the Beach Boys, or the brothers Gibb for that matter. This may be obvious to some, but sometimes it takes a while for me to catch on. Is there a connection between genes and the timbre of vocals between siblings? If so, am I the only person that wondered why? The Beach Boys, Bee Gees, Andrew Sisters, Everlys, even the Gallaghers have something special in their harmonies. The 4 Freshmen and the Fab 4 I would say are exceptions to this rule, but in general brothers and sisters just naturally harmonize better together...Is it because they have been singing together most of their lives, or because they come from the same parents?? I think the answer is both, and I came to this conclusion by listening to a group of brothers that I have yet to mention, but I'm sure their name is burning in the brain of the reader. Not sure how many people would admit to liking them, but I do, maybe because I have a high tolerance for the cheesy and the corny. Let me be clear, I'm not a huge fan, but I do appreciate them and have even bought a few of the early records they put out, which aren't that great, but there is some fine singing on them, and some cool songs. Who am I talking about?
The Osmonds
I remember a few years back I was stuck in a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. It was wintertime and I was really sick, high fever, bed bound. I didn't know it at the time, but I had strep throat, and I owe thanks to the fine folks at the hospital in Birmingham that took care of me. After a few days in my hotel room, I felt better and started getting bored, so I ventured out, and soon found myself at a huge thrift store. I had VCR at the hotel built into the TV, so I was looking through the movies.
I picked up a copy of a British import called "The very best of the Osmonds". It was two bucks, so I grabbed it.
When I put it in the VCR and started watching the Osmonds as young boys on the Andy Williams Show, I was blown away.
There they were, young boys, pulling off three and four part intricate harmonies with ease. And the blend they had was great. Later on in the video, Marie came in and added to the blend. Marie was really hot when she was in her 20's (still is hot), and she has an OK voice, but things took a very cheesy turn during the whole "Donnie and Marie Show" days. As if things were never cheesy for the Osmonds! I gotta say, I prefer just the brothers singing. They also looked so much alike back then it was scary.
If you ever come across this video, pick it up and try to look past a few things, and you will get a lesson in harmony.

Thanks 2008!

albums:

Augie March Watch Me Disappear
Sam Phillips Don't Do Anything
Jackie O Motherfucker Valley Of Fire
Robert Forster The Evangelist
Toumani Diabate Mande Variations
Lindsey Buckingham Gift Of Screws
American Music Club Golden Age

books:

I've been plowing through Eric Hobsbawm's "Ages" series and Shelby Foote's Civil War, so I didn't have a lot of time for more recent publications -- these were the excellent exceptions:

Anne Boyer The Romance Of Happy Workers
Owen Hill Against The Weather
Paul Fattaruso Bicycle
Naoki Urasawa's Monster

sports:

Timmy wins the Cy Young
Lightning Bolt
Cal's redemption

Blackbirds' gig:

Muddy Waters Cafe in Santa Barbara with our good friend Dave Gleason

Happy Holidays.

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In A Misty Morning

I've been listening to a lot of Gene Clark over the past couple months. Not just the solo albums and his work as the front man for The Byrds from 1964 to 1966, but compilations with rare tracks and live bootlegs, too. As part of a generation of musicians who grew up with Clark as an established icon, it's always a bit startling to be reminded of what a commercial failure his post-Byrds career really was. Even more startling, perhaps, because the quality of that career from 1967's Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers to 1974's No Other is really top notch.

Like a lot of singer-songwriters in the 60's, Clark went through the standard musical transformations -- a folkie electrified (and re-R&B'd) by the British Invasion who falls under Dylan's spell and, as the psychedelic era fades, embraces Country music and American roots music before blending them all together into a more introspective, personal style. He was already blessed with an astonishing melodic gift -- his melodies are winding, magical constructions that remain immediate and accessible despite their complexity (Chris Stamey always seemed to me to be his natural heir in that department.) His lyrical skills are often underrated, but he was able to transform a somewhat awkward, overstuffed Dylan phase into a rich, adventurous style whose debt to Dylan was more complimentary. By the time he'd released White Light in 1971, he could spin an extended lyric of dense imagery and spiritual transformation with the best of them.

Clark would have been 64 today. He didn't live long enough to receive the Rick Rubin treatment, but he got to see REM and Tom Petty take Clark-inspired material to the commercial heights he missed out on as a solo artist. Hopefully he got see some of the lasting influence of his work.

There's no question that what we do in The Bye Bye Blackbirds would not exist in the same way without Gene Clark. We get a lot of Byrds comparisons. On the surface level, it's a reference to our jingle-jangle guitars, country influence and harmonies, but I like to read a little more into it and consider the willingness to explore all the dusty corners of our songwriting and playing in ways that remain true to the fundamental lyrical and melodic philosophy without falling strictly into any genres. Billy's songs are often road songs loaded with country imagery and twang -- my songs tend to the visionary experience in lyrics and to power pop and folk-rock musically. We're both comfortably at home in the Gene Clark tradition. A lot of our heroes draw deep from the Gene Clark well, too -- The Go-Betweens, The Vulgar Boatmen, Robyn Hitchcock, etc. It's such a rich vein of influence, and it's truly inspiring to dive back into his still-overlooked solo career and reconnect with the visionary artistry on display.

Happy birthday, Gene.

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School Of Rock

I've been teaching guitar, bass, and drums since...well, let's say a long long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Now, here on earth, I've been grouping some of my students together for band lessons. Currently, I have three student bands, learning songs like "I Can't Explain," "About A Girl," "When I Come Around," "Secret Agent Man," "Play That Funky Music," and, of course, some Beatles songs.

One of the exciting things about these lessons is that I can go beyond the usual techniques of private lessons and teach the subtleties that go into the making of a good musical team. Arrangement, tone, dynamics, listening to each other - all the things that most of us learn by trial and error through years of band practices and performances - are being absorbed by my students in ways that a one-on-one lesson could never achieve. I'm very proud of how well they've picked up on these nuances, and I can't wait for their performance in December at The Uptown (during the day, of course, before the bar opens).

When I tell my musician friends about these students, I usually get a response like "Wow, that is sooooo cool!" I think this is because it reminds us of our roots; playing with some friends from school who share our musical tastes (and hopefully a rudimentary ability to play an instrument!). It's where we all came from, and I feel honored to have the opportunity to perhaps give the next generation a push in the right direction. More importantly, I'd like to be a real life "Dewey Finn" (Jack Black's character in School of Rock) and bring out the best in kids through positive reinforcement. Okay, maybe I won't take on ALL the characteristics of Dewey Finn, but when my students become famous rock stars and The Bye Bye Blackbirds are opening for them, maybe they'll give a shout out to their old teacher from back in the day!

The Guitar Slinger and the Ol' Blackbird Mine

Several years ago my father asked me if I wanted any of his old vinyl records. A guitar playing son knows better than to turn down his father's Blues, Jazz, and Country record collection Well, I knew a good thing when I heard it. 

Dad was the man who taught me to play guitar. He was the guy who introduced me to the blues, folk music, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. The rock stuff wasn't really his thing, but he did his homework on it for the sake of curiosity and probably thinking about what his boy might like a little further on down the line.

In my room I have a special stash of those records and every once and a while I dig in and ALWAYS find gold. One hell of a good mine, indeed. This weekend I dug in and found some absolutely incredible early Elmore James stuff on Ace Records

…Gritty, dirty, nasty…"Godhead" as Rodney Bingenheimer would say. 

I picked out some Mississippi John Hurt, too. It just doesn't seem possible to not feel good hearing his laid back voice and that gorgeous, earthy guitar accompaniment. No words I could write could do the man justice.

Now, of course,  The Bye Bye Blackbirds sound nothing like these guys, but all of us try to absorb all the good stuff we can. These influences might not be obvious, but they do figure in. I listen to Jazz and African music about as much as I listen to rock but I don't pretend to be a musician representing either of these things. But I pray to the great god, Leo Fender that a little of that magic, be it phrasing or rhythm seeps in. 

Set List (Amoeba Music Berkeley) 10/18/08

Original Lights
Leave A Light On
Edge Of Town
100 Years From Now
In Stereo
It Only Costs A Dime
In Every Season
The Ghosts Are Alright
You Don't Love Me Yet

Happy Birthday, Mr. Dolby

Thomas Dolby turns 50 today, so it's a great time to heap praise upon the guy who produced Prefab Sprout's Jordan: The Comeback. It might not be their most beloved album (which Dolby also produced) but it's an extraordinary one. It's also one of the most brilliantly produced albums in contemporary pop, with a range of textures and arrangements that few albums can match. Dolby's pretty famous for his cutting edge work with computers, and it sounds here like he's syntheszied entirely new sounds for almost every song (all the more impressive because the range of the album's 19 songs is enormous.) There's nothing calculated or distracting about it, though -- Dolby knows how to treat a great song well sung. The highlight, for me, is the "Jesse James" sequence (which you can listen to here , accompanied by an odd amatuer video.)

It can be a difficult album to absorb -- loaded with Paddy McAloon's pet themes of identity, mythology, celebrity and spirituality. Subjects range from gangsters to the archangel Michael to ABBA. Credit Dolby, in part, for gluing it all together so brilliantly and bringing in elements from every corner of popular music to do it. It's an album I go back to time and time again, not just to explore the themes and amazing songs, but also to luxuriate in Thomas Dolby's stunning production. Happy birthday Mr. Dolby, and thanks.

B

Super Tuesday

Houses & Homes is available now! You can buy it direct from American Dust, any number of excellent online retailers (like insound) or at your favorite local record store. Please write and let us know what you think once you've had a chance to check it out!

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Why you NEED the Apology Accepted EP

Top three reasons for downloading our EP

1. It's a free download.

2. It's a free download.

3. It answers an important question. And that question is: What would happen if we could clone humans? And what if we cloned Ian, our lead guitarist? And what if we cloned him, like, 6 or 7 times? But!...this scientific experiment gets out of control, and the Ian clones come out all deformed. They've got heads like sharks! They breathe fire! They clone more of themselves. And dozens, perhaps hundreds, of these man-eating, fire breathing Ians rome the earth, using the planet as a giant bar-b-que.

Oh...and these Ian clones can all play a mean guitar.

Wanna know what the fire-breathing guitar-playing shark-Ians would sound like? Just download the EP and listen to the title track. It's that simple.

4. It's a free download.

Cabbages And Kings

There's an old saying: "Good design is hard." Few things are more disheartening than a bad album cover and, for those of us who still own albums in mediums that come with album art, it's an integral part of experience. That's why we've twice hired Cabbage Design Co. to design the art and packaging for our CDs.

Back when we were talking about cover art for the "Honeymoon" ep, I started tracking down an old friend of mine from nearly 20 years ago. Anjel and I had been out of touch for awhile, and I really had no idea what she was up to, but I knew she'd be the right person for the job. Lucky me, she'd started a design company with her husband! The results are really extraordinary. I get a ton of great feedback from people about the art, and it's hard for me to separate their images from the music -- even though i've been writing, playing and recording the stuff for months before they get involved.

I can't imagine it's as rewarding to do our album art as it is to do Saag's sausage packaging, but they make us look like a million bucks and we appreciate it.

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New Improved Eli

Make a list of the things you require from a recording engineer and Eli Crews will meet them all. We found our way to Eli through our much-used Beulah connections (Eli played bass from 2001-2004), and he immediately proved himself to one of the most resourceful, creative and technically sound engineers we've worked with.

His recording studio (New, Improved Recording) is the perfect fit for a band as artistically ambitious and broke as we are -- the gear list is solid and that mysterious marriage of digital and analog is blissfully realized. We actually recorded and mixed Houses & Homes entirely in the realm of tape (with most basics done across the bay at Tiny Telephone), but "Apology Accepted" (from the free EP of the same name) and various other little projects have taken advantage of his digital expertise as well.

Technical wizardry aside, Eli is also one of our favorite guys to hang out with. His kid is adorable, his wife is ridiculously hot and talented, he's an excellent musician and he always... wait a minute, Eli makes us sick! He totally stole Billy's Bread tape, too.

Just kidding. We love Eli.

B

PS The Houses & Homes CDs arrived today. They always look so great packed neat and tidy in their little 30-count boxes. Makes a man feel proud. It should be in stores on September 30th -- order a copy today or tell your local record store to order it from Revolver Distribution.

Guest Star #2: Gil Ray

When it comes to tambourines, maracas, handclaps, sleighbells footstomping and even analog synthesizers, Gil Ray is the secret weapon. He appears on almost every Blackbirds recording, and it's quite often that last little magic touch to make the song complete that he's responsible for. (That's him on the left above -- the hot chick is his excellent wife, Stacey.)

Long before we met and started working with him, Gil was probably one of the best drummers in the world when he played with Scott Miller in both Game Theory and the final line-up of The Loud Family. He's often mentioned Aynsley Dunbar as a hero and that's a near perfect comparison for his style -- sophisticated and detailed, but wild and swinging, too (like Dunbar's amazing work on Flo & Eddie's supremely brilliant Phlorescent Leech and Eddie!) If all Gil had done was play drums on that towering masterpiece of 1980's underground pop, Lolita Nation, he'd be a hero in our eyes.

But he's so much more! Since retiring from the drum throne he's proven himself to be an excellent singer/songwriter/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist (check out his solo album) and a top notch blogger, telling incredible stories about his music career. He's just about the funnest and funniest guy we know, and we probably spend half our time in the studio bugging him for hilarious stories. I don't know how many times I've been standing in a studio with him -- headphones on, recording handclaps or some other percussion part -- trying desperately not to break out laughing. They're usually some of my favorite recording memories.

He's all over Houses & Homes, but the stand-out track is probably "The Ghosts Are Alright" -- he shook some tambourine and joined Lenny and I for the (actually quite difficult) handclap part, but he also came up with the fantastic, spooky analog keyboard line that instantly became a defining part of the song. We'd be lost without him!

B

PS He even wrote a surf song for us that we've been known to unleash live, although we don't quite do it the justice it deserves...