The New Name is "Drugs & Gum"

Posted on | April 1, 2010 | Comments Off on The New Name is "Drugs & Gum"

The new band name is “Drugs & Gum”. No this isn’t an April Fool’s joke.

Some of you will hate this name. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of you already do. This name was chosen after a lengthy deliberative process, and several good names were rejected in favor of this one for many reasons, but the main reason is that when I think of my band’s name, I think primarily about saying it on stage to an audience of people, and how each name feels in that context. “Drugs & Gum” is kind of silly, but it has a lively energy to it, and is VERY easy to remember and to spell. I simply can’t see performing a song about vibrators and then saying my name is “A Noble Army” or somesuch. I’d prefer to have a slightly silly name, and then surprise people with serious songs, than to have a serious name and play songs about sluts or something.

Just for fun, here are some of the other names I considered:

  • A Noble Army
  • Two Noble Armies
  • Auburndale
  • Never a Mother
  • Fifty Heads and a Hundred Hands
  • The Trumpets
  • Combat Flavor Exchange
  • The Ponderous Earth

Most, as you can see, are kind of serious. I wanted something less serious. I went against almost everyone’s advisement (thank you Heather and Anka for supporting “Drugs & Gum”). So I figure that’s probably the best idea.

Category: Branding

Fuck CERN. Fuck 'em.

Posted on | March 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

It cost $9.4 billion dollars to build.

And now here they are, finally operating, in an attempt to recreate conditions right after the big bang. According to this article, they’re shooting particles at nano-FRACTIONS short of the speed of light. The point is to answer questions about the universe, about matter, etc. And they will answer questions, lots of them. But then, the whole thing will only create a new set of questions. And the first thing those physicists are going to start thinking is “we need a bigger one”.

Baudrillard would have something to say about this.

He might ask (as do I), at what point is the simulation large enough? You’re trying to simulate the Big Bang, but in order to do so accurately, you must ACTUALLY RECREATE THE BIG BANG. To truly KNOW everything, you must DESTROY it.

And this demonstrates my fundamental problem with modern science of late. As a former dyed-in-the-wool empiricist myself, I still love geeking out on new information. But hasn’t it become clear to everyone by now that there are no hard limits on how BIG the research can be, and how TINY the increments of measurement can get? When does common sense kick in and show us that going bigger, or measuring tinier, is simply no longer efficient or cost-effective?

Because no matter how close to the “truth” these physicists claim to be, there will always be a gap between what we KNOW and what we FEEL WE SHOULD KNOW, unless we are willing to destroy ourselves. And that gap will continue to be filled with art, music, religion and spirituality, because that is how we create meaning for ourselves.

So fuck CERN. Even if they “find” dark matter, what does that really mean for the rest of us? Take all the billions you want to spend on the next collider and use it to teach kids to paint or something. To me that puts humanity on a much better course toward the real meaning of life than just uncovering more science questions.

Category: Fuck 'Em, Personal Thoughts
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WARNING: Name Change Coming

Posted on | March 29, 2010 | Comments Off on WARNING: Name Change Coming

Dearest fans and readers,

I have made the difficult decision to create a new name for my music. STETSON seemed like a great idea last year before I was performing seriously and before I had a significant online presence, being that it is my middle name, and is somewhat iconic. Unfortunately, it has been made clear to me that with too many brands already sporting that name, it is simply impossible to find me online. Some may see it as sad that we can allow a Google algorithm to make these decisions for us, but to some extent I appreciate the challenge of being more creative with naming.

A new name has already been chosen and my plan is to begin rolling it out Wednesday, March 31st, hopefully completing the transition April 1st. No, this is not an elaborate April Fool’s joke.

Some of you will not like the new name, others will love it. The name was chosen during three days of careful brainstorming and deliberation and I am personally very confident in it at this point. Given time I think everyone who is already a fan will come to understand why I like it so much.

Category: Branding, Marketing

Forgetting the Words

Posted on | March 24, 2010 | Comments Off on Forgetting the Words

I’m convinced that one of the attractions of live performance of music is to see the musicians fuck up. It’s sort of like how people go to car racing, but really they want to see a horrific crash with cars flipping, rolling, burning, and the driver crawling out of his car in flames.

I forget my lyrics pretty often. At least once per show. The more it happens, the more I deal with it better. But now and then, as at my show last night at Tommy Doyle’s Loft, I just totally crash and burn. In this case I was doing a cover of Amanda Palmer’s “The Point of It All” and just totally forgot a huge chunk of the second chorus, and kind of panicked. I finished eventually, but it felt like shit.

So I YouTube’d some videos of famous musicians forgetting their words, and they’re pretty interesting. They all deal with it differently. Some just sing gibberish, some sing about forgetting the words, others just stop completely, or ask the audience for help. Tegan and Sara seem to fuck up a lot, but rely on each other to fill in. My favorite is the recording of Bob Dylan forgetting an ENTIRE SONG, trying the whole way to play through it. And then there’s Elvis, freaking Elvis, almost having a meltdown on stage.

To the audience member, especially to people who are already fans, it is endearing. But to the performer, damn if it doesn’t feel awful.

Jason Mraz (0:36)
James Hetfield (Metallica) (0:13)
Joanna Newsome
Bob Dylan
Regina Spektor (1:00)
Tegan and Sara
Bruce Springstein (4:00)
Elvis (2:20 onwards)

Category: Performance

New Song: Lost in Legs

Posted on | March 19, 2010 | Comments Off on New Song: Lost in Legs

Check the player in the sidebar at right.

And enjoy.

Category: New Songs

All Asia – March 17, 2010

Posted on | March 18, 2010 | Comments Off on All Asia – March 17, 2010

Videos including:

Category: video
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Proof of Concept: Blind Pilot

Posted on | March 15, 2010 | Comments Off on Proof of Concept: Blind Pilot

I just found out about Blind Pilot. This is a band that began as a singer/songwriter and drummer duo. They’ve been playing, from what I can tell, about four years, and seem to be somewhat successful, now playing with a full band and a second album on the way. This means, at least, that a singer/songwriter-drummer duo can make something of themselves.

But it also means I have direct competition. Somebody want to off these guys? They’re pretty damn good, and we can’t have that.

We Are the Tide (Live at Doug Fir)

Story I Heard (Live in Studio 4A)

One Red Thread (Live on Carson Daly)

Category: Playlist

I Will Put a Baby in Chan Marshall

Posted on | February 17, 2010 | Comments Off on I Will Put a Baby in Chan Marshall

Perhaps this is a completely inappropriate header, considering the subject of this song, but this Cat Power performance of Nude As the News is so powerful I don’t even have time to cry. It’s like she’s tearing out my jugular and eating it, and somehow making me ENJOY it.

She hits that first “Jackson, Jesse.” at 1:53. It is…perfect. I’ve watched the same eight seconds of this video twenty times already. I see shit like this and I’m ready to retire from music forever. She sets that emotional bar so impossibly fucking high I almost hate her for it but instead I love her for it.

Lock me in a closet with Annie Clark and Chan Marshall. Please. There will be babies flying everywhere. Huge ones. Huge babies come flying out of the closet from our epic lovemaking. No pregnancy. Just instant baby.

Category: ...that makes me hate myself, Playlist
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When Addiction to Creativity Becomes Destructive

Posted on | February 16, 2010 | Comments Off on When Addiction to Creativity Becomes Destructive

My name is Christopher and I have a problem. In fact, it got so bad that I left my guitar with a friend to ensure I wouldn’t be tempted to use it for the rest of the week.

It seems that two weeks ago, in rehearsing my new song “Blow” I banged up my vocal chords pretty good over the course of days.  Then I had three performances in a week, and never stopped to let them rest. Then I started writing a new song (tentatively titled “Spiders”) which I could not stop working on. So more days spent singing and working for hours without rest. I finally managed to stop for two days, and on the third day I picked up my guitar, thinking I could manage to just sing softly for a short time, like an alcoholic who believes he can just drink a little bit. Four hours later I was sore again.

So now, my guitar is safely with a friend to prevent me from hurting myself again until I am healed.

I’m a creataholic. But I’m telling you, this song is GOOD.

Category: On Making Music, Personal Thoughts

On Dealing With the Low Points and Alone Points

Posted on | February 15, 2010 | Comments Off on On Dealing With the Low Points and Alone Points

There are many times in our lives when we find ourselves at an emotional low point. Or perhaps, shall we say, a lonely point. It’s all relative, of course, but you know it when you feel it.

A strategy I often deploy is, “keep your feet moving.” My theory is that every low point is temporary, unless you happen to die in the middle of one. And perhaps our minds are too overwhelmed with grief, sadness, confusion, or even terror, to do much of anything. You can’t make your mind move, maybe, but you can surely make your feet move. This can be all you need — to go for a walk, to get some exercise, to run an errand, to clean your apartment — anything besides sitting there moping.

I came up with this idea in response to a different problem while in college. Socially maladjusted to the point that I was clueless at parties and dating, but desperate, I began simply asking out the most attractive girls on campus, none of whom even knew me. It was a juvenile and desperate strategy, and the only way to pull it off was to move my feet, because my mind withered at the thought of doing anything so bold. I could force myself, however, to walk in the girl’s direction, and at some point I would be standing right in front of them, and then I would have to say something or look like a fool. The strategy worked, to a point. I did get a few dates this way, to the envy of my friends, but then I still had to deal with my complete fear and awkwardness, so suffice to say there were no second dates.

Maybe it’s a shit strategy. It certainly doesn’t make me feel any better. But at least I wake up and my bedroom is tidy and there’s food in the fridge.  That’s something.

Category: Personal Thoughts
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