If you want to be a part of the few, the proud and the brave go join the Marines. If you want a fun interaction with the B3 community sign up to do the 3 2 1 by emailing rnolan1983 at gmail dot com!

B3: Who is your current songwriter crush on?

SS: Lady Gaga. I watched this interview with her on 60 minutes (i think it was 60 minutes) and she’s freaking awesome. And hot. How can you go wrong?

B3: Have you thought about sexting Lady Gaga? Courtship is a funny thing these days but from my understanding sexting is the first step in any modern relationship.

SS: I’m sexting her right now. Don’t tell all the tabloids, we’re trying to keep our romance personal. But that girl is a total freak.

B3: Where does the name “The Great Between” come from?

SS: It’s from a Streetlight Manifesto song, “Somewhere in the Between.” The anthem of the song’s about enjoying the limited time we have before we die. It’s also a big influence for 2012 the year of the Celebration.

B3: Is that your favorite song by Streetlight Manifesto or did the title just feel right as a band name?

SS: My favorite Streetlight song is probably actually a Catch 22 song. Either Walking away or Giving Up Giving In. Keasbey nights is one of my favorite albums.

B3: What inspired you to start the B3 basement series?

SS: Nick Matulus. And I stole the idea. Not from nick, but from some other random dude. You can probably find some sweet bands playing songs for a similar video series with a similar name. But Nick and I at funsgiving this year agreed that the actual performance was our favorite part of music, and this seemed like a great way to have fun with that.

B3: It is certainly an exciting series and I look forward to seeing all the acts. Do you have any surprises in store for us or is there a particular act you are looking forward to having?

SS: We’re in talks with the Parlor’s management to get them in sometime soon. They’re re-submitting their rider after we refused to provide locally-grown organic pheasant. I mean, come on. I’m not sure what the song is yet, but Eric seems really excited about it being a good fit. All in all, Dave and I are really stoked on everything so far.

B3: What is the best thing that has happened to you while riding your moped?

SS: General moped riding is some of the best time I’ve ever spent, but there was this one time that I found tillinghaust ave and took a picture to send to Seth and he never responded and I got really sad. That part wasn’t the best. What the crap, Roadhouse?

B3: I can’t defend Roadhouse here. I wish I could but he made a mistake and now he must pay for it. What is your least favorite thing about hockey?

SS: It’s cold….as ice. Paradise. Why would you want to hang out in the cold? But my favorite part is watching Dave house Alex in NHL. Those games get intense.

B3: Open your ITunes, turn on shuffle and press forward ten times. List the next three songs that play and talk a bit about each and how they ended up in your library.

SS:

1. Them Crooked Vultures – “Spinning in Daffodills” Dan Maddalone and Dylan Depice promised me that this band was awesome and they never lie. I believe that this video was based on their lives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyjG1Ocwsf8
2. Aphex Twin – “Actium” When I was in high school I got really into Aphex Twin and grabbed as many tunes of his as I could. I think I actually listened to 15 tracks. This isn’t one of them.
3. Frank Sinatra – “No one ever tells you” My dad loves Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin so I listened to them a lot when I was growing up. Deano I could live without, what a dick-cheese burger. But Frank is the man.

Who? Bernie Frogmouth (aka Mike from Swamp Baby)
What? “My Woman’s Love (For MLP)”
Where? The room we call our library, and the basement of my friend Justin Mikulka, Albany, NY
When? February 2012
Why? I started writing the song when I was home recuperating from UPPP surgery this past December (they took out my tonsils and trimmed and rearranged my uvula). I’ve been meaning for years to write a love song for my wife Megan (also of Swamp Baby). I never wanted a love song to sound forced, that’s why it took so long to write, I guess. In May of this year, it’ll be 10 years that we’ve been together as a couple (were friends and bandmates in knotworking for a bit before that)- I hope this song will be useful to anyone who’s in it for the long haul with another person.
How? I laid down the acoustic and the main vocals in our second floor library a couple of hours before going in to work at the day job. Unlike my efforts for last year’s RPM Challenge, this time I wasn’t hunched over in the extra room downstairs trying not to wake anybody up – got to stand and deliver with my new Shure SM57 and mike stand! I used a Dr. Sample as an effects pedal for those tracks.
I then went to my old friend Justin Mikulka’s (onemadson.com) to transfer what I had from my rickety analog Tascam 4 track (definitely need to upgrade there, it takes some coaxing to get everything to work correctly on there). We decided to add some more backing vocals, and overdub an electric guitar. The guitar came out pretty woozy because, while it was in tune with itself for the most part, I forgot ’til later that I sped up the backing track slightly, so there are some, um, interesting tonalities going on (along with some extra special effects courtesy of a Line 6 Delay pedal.) I almost discarded the electric, but I usually always opt to go with something that’s “interesting” to my ears, as opposed to being “correct” (something shared for the most part with my other Swamp Babies). I plan on sending another, sillier song to this project if there’s still room later on – a sea shanty I wrote for Wisteria Matters, which was a precursor to Swamp Baby.

This spring’s lineup boasts a few big names in literature and one rock star in the world of physics.  Here are a few that I’m looking forward to:

February 10: Teju Cole - Cole released his debut novel Open City to favorable reviews last year.  It was the complex story of a young Nigerian-American doctor.  Cole used this novel to raise issues of identity, borders, and allegiance.  There was a little romance in there somewhere too.  Personally I found the novel too worldly for my taste.  Some of the references to classical music, opera, and architecture were lost on me.  Still, whether or not he was trying to impress the reader with his vast knowledge of all things, it is evident that Cole does, in fact, have a vast knowledge of a lot of things.  Though his novel wasn’t my favorite, I would say that Cole showed more potential with his first effort than any other debutant, including some whose books I loved.  In addition to being a veritable polymath and immensely talented writer, Cole is also a street photographer.

February 21: Michio Kaku - Kaku invented string theory.  He has spent his career attempting to finish Einstein’s Theory of Everything.  Do I understand any of it? Absolutely not.  Luckily, Kaku is a great personality and a great writer.  In some of his best-selling books he is able to take mind-boggling concepts and describe them in ways that are understandable to those of us who begin to tremble and weep at the word “physics.” Best of all, Kaku doesn’t limit himself to incomprehensible theories.  He talks about all sorts of cool things: invisibility cloaks, teleportation, time travel, aliens, phasers, hoverboards, light sabres, the Death Star.  He covers it all.  This is one of those events that is so big that it will be held in the Campus Center Ballroom.

March 1: Shalom Auslander - I don’t know much about Auslander, but the website calls him an “ex-Orthodox Jew, humorist, and cultural renegade.” He’s contributed to NPR’s This American Life, he’s released a memoir and a collection of short stories.  Last month he released his first novel, Hope: A Tragedy.  So far it’s earned a great deal of praise.  Though I received Forkeskin’s Lament as a gift awhile back, I still haven’t read it, but only because I do most of my reading in schools.  I believe it’s generally frowned upon for teachers to read books with penis references in the title.  Anyhow, I hear Auslander is great, and I’m sure this will be an entertaining afternoon and evening.

March 27: Lauren Groff - Lauren Groff published her amazing debut novel The Monsters of Templeton 2008.  It features a graduate student who returns to her hometown after being impregnated by her archaeology professor.  Before leaving she tried to kill her professor’s wife by running her down in a bush plane.  Besides attempted manslaughter charges, she is also leaving behind her lupus afflicted best friend.  And when she returns home her mother sends her on a quest to find out who her real father is.  There’s even a ghost and a lake monster.  It sounds convoluted but it’s not.  Groff manages to take a busy storyline and unravels it using several different forms, giving a new spin on the thread of indentification and redemption.  In addition to her original style, Groff uses beautiful descriptions and imagery to create the Templeton of past and present.  It also turns out that Templeton is modeled after Groff’s hometown of Cooperstown.  Her new novel, Arcadia, will be released this year, and Richard Russo likes it.

Other notable writers include Margot Livesey, Anne Enright, and John Sayles, whose recent American epic (over 1,000 pages? Look out Melville!  Am I right?) was published by McSweeney’s.

Most events include a “seminar” at 4:15 at the Assembly Hall on UAlbany’s uptown campus, as well as a reading elsewhere on campus at 8 p.m.  Some events do deviate form this format, so be sure to check the site for details.  It’s also worth noting that the “seminar” is generally a fairly intimate Q and A session that lasts about an hour.  The reading features an author reading to you.  Unfortunately none of the events will ever again feature crazy ol’ Norman Mailer talking about his theories on the afterlife.  But if you missed that, think of what you could be missing in this year’s lineup!

-Roadhouse

Who? Lumberjacks
f/ Lumberjack Be Nimble & Lumberjack Be Quick (better known as Eric & Jen from The Parlor)
What? “Moonlight Satori”
Where? The Parlor of the Kirk Estate, Altamont, NY
When? January 2012
Why? We have an ever increasing list of samples we’ve wanted to turn into songs for years now. This seemed like the perfect time to whip some of them out.
How? The lyrics are the true story of one evening this winter where Eric went alone into the woods on a moonlit night to battle wolves and hobos (of the non-musical variety) -only they didn’t exist outside of his own mind. Satori is the Zen term for the experience of seeing into one’s true nature. In the song we’re paying homage to Gary Snyder, the great poet of deep ecology and Zen Buddhism, and we’re channeling the coolest hip-hop group of all time, which of course is the Digable Planets. The main sample is “Mad Mountain King” performed by Apollo 100, a British rock group from the 70s that did classical music in rock n roll arrangements. There’s also a sample performed by Nuns-Choir of the Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Varensell entitled “I. Research Period, Gregorian Chant, Series B: The Mass Missa in Festo Pentecostes.”

Last night Barons in the Attic unvelied their new video for “Julia”, the first single from their forthcoming album “Turn It Off & Take Out the Battery”. The video was shot by Mike Matthews (mikematthewsart.com). The “Turn It Off…” release show is scheduled for March 2nd at Valentine’s, be sure to mark your calendars!

Who? Nursing Home Discoveries
What? You’ll Sing (demo)
Where/When/Why/How? “You’ll Sing” is a demo I wrote and recorded in the Roof of Bamyan hotel in September of 2011. I didn’t have any recording equipment with me other than my computer, so all the vocals are recorded into the little mic attached to ipod headphones. The rest is made of sequenced samples I made by hitting the bokhari in my room, clapping, and making noises with my mouth. I’m planning to re-record the song for a new EP near the end of February.

Anyway, we convinced the ever-talented Katie Hammon to come down to hang out between episodes of Friday Night Lights; the new series being abused in the household. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more flavor.

B3 Basement Three – Beargrass from David Mark on Vimeo.

You can find more Bear Grass here.

I’m going to be brief with this one, because I feel the music will speak for itself. You’ll either love it or you’ll not be that into it. However, I will say that the 3 times I saw them play were possibly the most influential performances I have witnessed in the last 10 years with very few exceptions. They were introduced to me by one of those exceptions, The Mathematicians, who had played with them on tour and traded a few shows with them over a couple of years (04-06?), they played at the Rexleigh Mill Fest twice and once at Tim Oakley’s apartment next to Dove Studios in Glens Falls. They toured Japan, recorded an album, and then unceremoniously broke up before they could even properly release the album. I was lucky enough to secure an advance copy that I will now share with you.

I was under the impression that the album was never officially made available to the public, my apologies to the band and Ruffian Records – if you are interested you can purchase the album here: ruffianrecords.com

Sentai hailed from Washington, DC and was the brainchild of Collin (last name?), who was joined on drums by Justin (last name?) aka Juice. They had a different bass player at one point, but at the point I first saw them until they broke up Hugh McElroy played bass. I had met Hugh, briefly, after seeing his old band, Black Eyes, play in Ithaca. They were sweet dudes. Last I knew, Collin was playing in the band Buildings and Hugh was running Ruffian Records.

For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the RPM (Record Per Month) challenge is basically a test to see if one can write, record, and produce an album in just a little ole month. Specifically, the month of February.

A few of our bands/acts have tried this in the past, so to get your creative juices going, why don’t you check them out again.

Also, for the month of February, while you’re hard at work on your RPM-album, you can get a free download of We are Jeneric’s first (of three!) RPM challenge album – Hansel and Gretel; Stories from the Stove.

Other B3RPM albums:

Grave Surfers – Necronomican Phenomenon

Matt Ferguson – Colors I Have Heard

Black Licorice Ghosts – Sun, Moon, Sonic Boom

We are Jeneric – In the Parlor with the Moon

Scientific Maps – Hold on Whoever You Are [if anyone has a link to this, let me know]

We are Jeneric – Animals Are People Too

The Hoborchestra – We Live in an Orphanage

There’s a psuedo-official RPM challenge group that allows you broadcast your creation to the world, but it’s pretty loosely organized. You can check it out here.

Who? HELLOFAWAYTODIE
What? I Am Who I Say I Am
Where/When/Why/How? This is an exercise in churning out music, and I’m super pumped on it. freesound.org is one of my favorite websites. It contains free sounds.