Sprung

I don't believe in this spring. I want to offer it words of encouragement so the season can get its act together and we can all go on sneezing in a pollen vortex but I suspect it's not quite that simple.

Nevertheless, the cold, while toying with my emotions, has been good for creativity, and I've written a bunch of songs recently. See them at an An Historic set soon, like on April 23rd at the Way Station in Brooklyn, or April 28th at Cafe Nine in New Haven. The former show is a Tripeg Lobo production, where songwriters are invited to cover a song from the first record they ever bought, and then write songs connected to the record or the experience in some way. For me, the record is Seal's second self-titled album from 1994, and I realized at some point that there are several tunes I've written which have had some connection to this album lyrically and musically, so referencing the thing was not difficult. The second is in support of Woody Pines, a rootsy trio playing original songs with influences from early country and folk. An Historic will be a full band for this date.

Also, I've been continuing work on improvisation and composition with guitarist Chris Cretella, with whom I work in Dr. Caterwaul's. Playing with him is always fun and the recent effort has been towards a set that hints at both of our long-standing interests in metal (especially, for him, Thrash, and for me, black metal). We'll be playing as a duo on April 22nd in support of Keir Neuringer, and cannibalizing those efforts in trio format with drummer Dave Parmalee on May 13th in support of the Ava Mendoza Trio. See the sidebar for more info.

Keir has put out an amazing solo record recently, and the April 22nd show is the first night of his tour in support. The album, Ceremonies Out of the Air, is amazing, and you can hear a preview track HERE.

Finally I have to announce that on May 5th, the An Historic "Sings Peter Hammill" will be available for free download. Made as a labo(u)r of love between January 27th-30th and April 16th-19th of 2014, the EP contains renditions of 6 songs spanning Hammill's solo catalog. Stay tuned for further info regarding that release as it approaches.
 
It is warmer now than it was when I began writing this post.