Howlin’ Moon

banjomarc — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:48:54 +0000

This a here is the forum for the debut CD from Little Gray House, ‘Howlin’ Moon’. We’ll be recording up the North Shore, living room style, with Jake Larson at the board. The tracks:

Howlin’ Moon / Kick the Kitchen Chair / Leave a Light On / Every Single Night / Just Hold On, Sweetheart / Woman is the Prey / I’ve Seen Things / In The By and the By / A Broken Heart / Spring Ain’t Here Yet / My Lord He Knows Me By Name

And the band:

Marc Gartman- bouzouki / Sophie Karakatsoulis- violin / Stephanie Tresidder- bass / Crystal Glowacki- autoharp

This is a fun little band we’ve got here. We’ve been friends for a while and just totally randomly we decided to start a band together. I don’t remember why. Maybe cause it’s a fun thing to do. I wrote the songs pretty fast, I wanted to be up and running pretty quick. Everyone is doing a great job and I look forward to putting this CD together for sure. We’ll record it in the ladies home just like I’ve done with Jake Larson before. As Bob Dylan once said, ‘that’s the way to make a record, in a house with a dog running around’. He said something like that…

myspace.com/littlegrayhouse

Can’t Slow Me Down

banjomarc — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:43:14 +0000

alright now that i’m getting my feet wet a bit here with posting on the message board thought i’d add a couple thoughts regarding the new CD coming out in April. first one’s gotta be, why 4 cds in 2 years? it’s a tough one to answer. outside of ’cause we can’ or ‘why not’ personally i think it’s a good idea for a band to always be challenging themselves. we don’t play as many shows together as we’d probably like so we have to get our kicks some other way and that’s writing new tunes. sure it makes it difficult for folks when they go up to our merch and see FOUR CDs it’s like, jeez, if we only had 1 or 2 we’d probably sell more (maybe) but i think, for us at least, we’re keeping ourselves entertained and if people want to follow along, awesome, but we’re not going to make too easy. also i never really plan it out when i start writing songs. like, i’m going to write a two many banjos song. it either turns out to be one or it doesn’t. most of the songs for the 5th one are done too but i’ve also mostly been writing songs for this new project i’ve started called ‘gypsy curse’. i just go where the music takes me. i’ve gotten better with that. i get a lot of inspiration from the people i’m playing with and the project we’re working on together. once i see the picture we’re trying to make i am off and rolling.

Pow!

banjomarc — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:42:35 +0000

going to set up a few new topics here and i’ll add info as it seems fit.

first up, Pow!, the new Two Many Banjos CD we’re going to record next month. The tunes:

Absent / Everybody’s Dog / Everything To Anyone / Pow! / In Their Lungs / Like I Should / Can’t Find My Feet Below Me / Whoops / We Don’t Have Much / Anxiety

We’re gonna record it with Erik Koskenin and since there’s no need for us to make any more quick records we’re going to take a little time with production. I haven’t worked with Koskenin before but from what i’ve heard he’s got some great ideas. I’m really looking forward to putting this one together. Not too much bluegrass music on it, mostly, i don’t know, experimental americana. Matt Mobley and I have been running most of the tunes every week at our Monday residency at Sir Bens so basic tracking should go pretty fast.

Anyway, that’s about it. just looking forward to it.

When The Night Comes

banjomarc — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:41:22 +0000

This is the new one from Coyote, myself and Jerree Small. It’s slow going but the songs are coming. Don’t know when we’re going to record it but I think we’ll be doing some demo stuff in her house hopefully soon. The tracks:

When The Night Was Still Young / Underneath the Silver Stars / Champagne Eyes/ When The Night Comes / Julia / One Time / Crow’s Foot / Your Lady / Followe Me Down / Banjo Breakdown / Outside The Roses

It’ll be a bit different than the first one which is probably a good idea. I like the debut but I think we could stretch out a bit, some more production. Anyway, not much else to report on this one quite yet.

myspace.com/duluthcoyote

The Road 2/15/2009

banjomarc — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:40:33 +0000

Just back from our week across the Wisconsin. Feels great to be home. Really want to thank all the folks that came out to see a band they’ve probably never heard of before. I’m not sure I would have come so thank you for not being me.

Also want to give a shout out to Coleman’s Twin Quick Bed with the Wrap n’ Roll Storage System.

Also a big thank you to Mr. Steve ‘The Gar’ Garrington for jumping in at the last minute and filling in for the tour. You’re a kind soul and an important person in the life of the band.

Next up, bass player number 4, Matt Mobley, gets trained in! We’re going to take our time with CD5 but basic tracking should start at some point in April.

Questions? Concerns? Feel free to let us know!

The Grassy Knoll

banjomarc — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:39:38 +0000

I want to relay an event that happened to us as a band the other night. It was an important incident that went beyond what we think we saw right in front of our eyes.

On Saturday night in Minneapolis Two Many Banjos had a gig at the Nomad Club in The West Bank. With some time to kill we went and had a drink with our friends The Bitter Spills at their own performance at the 331 Club in Northeast.

On the way back about to get onto 35 we heard gunfire nearby. It sounded more like pops than movie guns going off. The car directly in front of us slowly crashed into a divider and then more gunshots. From the front seat the driver fell out and slouched motionless on the ground. After a few moments another passenger walked around to his body and two women got out of the backseat crying, screaming. We called 911 and after what was probably only a minute or two we drove off. We gave the police the information we saw and they said a squad was on the way. It was traumatic. Our gig after that was a tough one.

When discussing the situation amongst us we all had different versions of what we saw. The dispatcher asked me what color the car was. I saw it as white; Dave was sure it was black. Dave thought he saw the woman holding a baby, Steve said it looked like a gun. We also knew for sure the shots came from within the vehicle.

Dave found out this morning the car was beige and it was a drive by. Did I even tell her 911 the right license plate number? It all happened so fast how can I be sure?

While it was a terrible situation and we were all shaken up by it, it affected me in a way that had lasting effects outside the situation itself.

Let’s go back a little further, two nights prior. Again we are at a gig, our tour kick off night in Duluth. There’s no need to get into the gritty specific details of what happened because that’s not the point but myself and another member of the band got into an argument. When talking about it the next day it was still a heated debate. What was said, who said what, why they said/did what they did, etc. We were at a standstill. We “knew” what we heard with our own ears! How could we possibly be wrong? Are you telling me I’m deaf?

But what opened things up was the shooting in Minneapolis the next night. No matter how 100% positive we are about what we just saw with our own eyes, what we just heard, what was just said - everyone will have a different perspective. No one is right, no one is wrong. There is nothing that we can do to make someone truly change his or her minds about what is going on and we shouldn’t. All we can do is tell them how it made us feel. That is the only thing, as far as I can tell, that is accurate and real. You cannot tell someone that what you said to him or her did not make him or her think that way. No one possesses that right. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not possible to tell someone that his or her feelings were wrong. Unless, of course, you’re Obi Wan Kenobi.

Communication is key and so is trust but perhaps more than both those things is the ability to accept and listen to others viewpoints on the matter. We don’t have to agree and many times we will not. It’s great when we do though! This pertains not only to band disagreement but also, as I learned the other night, life and death.

If we are able to express to one another how someone else’s actions or words have made us feel we have done all that we can do. “You hurt me with what you said” as opposed to “you’re a liar and you are wrong”. One is acceptable – the other is not.

Life is a learning process – always be ready and open to gain knowledge from has happened. Hope for the best – prepare for the worst.

For more information along these lines I have to recommend the fascinating documentary by Errol Morris called ‘The Thin Blue Line’. - marc