A gift on the darkest time of the year.

Dear Interwebs,

Because I love you all and it's the season and all that …

I'm making my entire discography available on Bandcamp for FREE!

Today and tomorrow, to celebrate the darkest hours of the year I have my albums (on Bandcamp, that is) available as a "set your own price" download. If you already have my albums do please feel free to share this link with anyone you think might like it. You can even send it as a gift through Bandcamp.

I will be setting the prices back to normal at the end of the day on Tuesday (the 22nd) so act fast! Share widely! And I hope to see you at one of our many shows next year!

Take care, drive safe, and give someone you love a hug from me.

https://nathanieljohnstone.bandcamp.com/

Any Moment Now!

The musical is finished and now it's time to get some performances going! I have a few theaters in mind but I need more than just a few. If you know of a venue that would be appropriate for the kind of show we'll be putting on please contact me! We're diving into new territory and all the help we can get will be very much appreciated. We need all the native guides we can get!

Here's a link to the new album, Any Moment Now. It's wonderful. Yeah, I'm a little biased, but if I can listen to it several times a day for 6 months straight then I'm pretty sure it's as good as I was hoping.

After every album release I hit a brick wall. After spending all those hours, days, weeks, and months working at all hours and mining deep into my creative earth I find that what follows is an almost desperate need for inactivity. I still roll out of bed way too early. I still feel the habit of early morning productivity tugging at my brain but the actual, you know, doing stuff proves difficult. After 6 months of “nose to the grindstone”, well, discipline proves elusive. :/

The dishes get done, breakfast is cooked, coffee in drunk, and the cats are snuggled but the recording studio gets turned into a storage room for a month. I open the door to the studio and think, “Oh, man. That's too much. I need to go have a lie down.”

Thankfully, there are shows that need doing, performances that need performing, and that doesn't require the same kind of creative thought. Hell, the shows are so much fun that I have -no- trouble setting aside 72 hours for travel, load in, sound check, loud out, merch tabling, and scrambling for a morsel of food every now and then. Then there's the wrangling of bandmates – making sure they eat, sleep, and show up on time to sound check. Thank heavens for responsible bandmates. They make it all possible.

Well, last night (and this morning) I've cleaned out the studio, thrown away all the detritis of inaction and am gearing up for the next thing. I've got a long list of action items to attend to – things that should have been done weeks ago. I apologize to all that have been waiting for stuff from me. I'm on it!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Dear Internet,

In honor of the season I have made my album, The Antikythera Mechanism, a gift for you. For today and tomorrow it is priced at $0 (as a name your own price sale) on our bandcamp page. If you already have the album do please feel free to share this link with anyone you think might like the music. You can even send it as a gift through bandcamp.

If you haven't got the album already, go get it! It's free! Because I like you!

But make sure to do it before the end of the day tomorrow (that is, Christmas, for those of you who celebrate it) because on the 26th I will once again be surrounded by the fires of avarice and will demand your filthy lucre in exchange for my music once again! I gotta make a living, you know. :)

But still: go to the link below and grab the music. And if you feel compelled to send me a message telling me what you think about it I would appreciate that, too!

Take care, drive safe, and give someone you love a hug from me.

Cheers!
Nathaniel

DRAGONCON!

DRAGONCON!

There's really no other way to start this post: all caps with an exclamation point. I'm gonna be there with Tempest and the rest of the band and we're totally going to play some music for you!

I expect there to be some dancing, some shenanigans, and some reconnections with a lot of old friends and bandmates. You be there and it'll make the event complete! We'll be based in the usual place in the downstairs lobby of the Marriott with all the other bands. We'll have new album(s), shirts, and other assorted stuff for your listening/wearing pleasure. We might have the occasional late-night dance party because that's what you do at midnight at the merch booth.

We'll also be sitting in on a few panels and playing a few shows.

I just received the tentative schedule show and it looks like this:

Thursday 7:30pm - THE BIG STAGE SHOW - The Atrium Ballroom - Marriott
    We're sharing a 2.5 hour block with The Ghosts Project. We play. They play, you dance.

Saturday 4pm - CONCOURSE SET ONE - Concourse II - Hilton
    We're playing a somewhat acoustic somewhat electric set of our favorite songs!

Sunday 1pm - CONCOURSE SET TWO - Concourse II - Hilton
    We're playing a DIFFERENT somewhat acoustic somewhat electric set.

Sunday 10pm - THE MECHANICAL MASQUERADE - Peachtree Ballroom A-F - Westin
    This is the big deal Steampunk bash. Parade your finest gear and gadgetry and DANCE!

We've got FOUR SHOWS at Dragoncon. This means that you will have plenty of chances to hear our new songs and get hugs and stuff.

We're still working up our panel schedule. We'll make a post of that once we have all our panel appearances confirmed.

Flight of the Ikarus!

Our airship shanty!

I mean, really. If you're a steampunk band you kinda need to have your own airship shanty. It's like how every 80's hair metal band has that one power ballad. Personally, I'd rather have the airship shanty than the power ballad. :)

I kinda feel like I cheated on this one, though. There I was, a veritable Tom Sawyer with a fence to paint - I had an idea, and my friends all showed up and did most of the work for me!

First off, there was Alyssa who dropped some lyrics into my lap. We'd been discussing the various myths that resonated with us and the story of Ikarus was one that we both wanted to include. And as we were brainstorming the album we both knew that our airship shanty had to reference that story. And, of course, if you're going to write a story about an airship called The Ikarus you just know how it's going to go. The lyrics she sent are, in my most humble of opinions, absolutely perfect. She just nails it. I love the story. I love the unnamed captain who thirsts for glory. And the refrain is so much fun to sing!

I immediately recorded a demo that, thankfully, will never, ever see the light of day. It had too many guitars, was too fast, and totally F-ing metal. Think over the top heavy guitar madness.

I played it for Kate hoping that she'd be up for singing and she was all, "Ok. I think I can work with this. Let's see how the words flow." So we stepped into the studio and began poring over the lyrics to tidy up some of the syllable counts. It was just Kate, me, and my classical guitar (which is what was handy at the time). We fixed up the words and laid down a quick demo of her singing with me playing flamenco-esque rhythm on my guitar.

When we reviewed the recording we both knew instantly that that metal demo I recorded wasn't a thing and this new orchestration would totally work.

So I put down some guitar, ukulele, bass, and Kate's vocals. But at that point we decided we needed something else. At which point Kate tells me that she recently met this guy who played accordion and was pretty good.

And this is where I meet Evan Evanovich. Not only does he play accordion he also plays some pretty kickin' clarinet! There is a moment in the song where I was so enthused by how it was going I shouted out "It's alive!" a la Victor Fankenstein forgetting that the tape was still rolling. It only seemed natural to leave it in the mix. (http://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U)

We sent the resulting mess to Tom Coyne. He's my secret weapon. He lives in a magical land of rock and roll recording studios and has a killer drum habit. A few days later I received his tracks and they were utterly perfect!

FYI: for this song I recorded 5 different guitar parts. Not one of them is in the song. In fact, there is no guitar in it at all. It is: voice, ukulele, bass, accordion, clarinet, and drums. The bass is all me, though. I think in another life I would have been a bassist.

Alyssa's two cents: This is one of my favorites and one of the best sets of lyrics I have done for the album. Interestingly, this one took a really long time for me to write. The chorus came quickly but the story took a long time to reveal itself. I had this female captain and I wanted to know why she would go ahead and fly that close to the sun, bringing in the Ikarus myth….and the easy way out was some heartbreak or some tragedy…but… I wanted a different story for a heroine that did not involve a love story of any kind. Also…Ikarus was about pride and folly. So I took our proud captain and made her wildly over-confident after her very successful rise to glory. She was bold, brave, proud, a little arrogant, and unable to see her own folly until it was too late. In other words, she was human.
Then Kate and Nathan took the story and infused it with its heart and soul. Kate truly makes it come alive with her evocative vocals. The Spanish guitar version is actually one of my favorite arrangements and I’d love to see someone do a cover of this with some delicious Spanish guitar!


I shall tell you the tale of the good ship Ikarus
The pride of Alexander’s skies
She sailed round the world on the winds unfurled
O'er ocean and desert alike

Her captain was a lass of twenty and eight
Sun browned with star filled eyes
Stern in command, ready smile at hand
Adventure her only prize 

    So raise the wreck of the airship Ikarus
    Her glory days long past
    She flew phoenix bright toward the daystar light
    And her captain would never look back (repeat)

With each tale of her strength and wits
Her fame spread like fire
Glory never feeds it creates bigger needs
Daring she rise ever higher

Alexander sent a challenge across the land
He would rule beyond Earth’s door
Whoever can bring him the Olympus gates
Shall history save in the stars
 
    So raise the wreck of the airship Ikarus
    Her glory days long past
    She flew phoenix bright toward the daystar light
    And her captain would never look back
 
She smiled, our lass, our captain so dear
“Tis us who can win this task
Raise sail to the wind, let the race begin,
Though no one will be in our class”

So strong our captain, so brave, so true
But glory had blinded us all
We raced on alone, a field of one
For the rest had wisely withdrawn

    So raise the wreck of the airship Ikarus
    Her glory days long past
    She flew phoenix bright toward the daystar light
    And her captain would never look back

No friend of the land, but a child of air
The captain she had but one goal
Meet Alexander’s quest, not one of, but the best
But pride always takes it's toll

No mortal may touch the godly realm
Lord Helios burns too bright
Our captain would not abandon her helm
Though blinded and seared by his might

    Raise the wreck of the airship Ikarus
    Her glory days long past
    She flew phoenix bright toward the daystar light
    And her captain would never look back

With wings aflame, she plummeted down
The sea quenched all her fire
Blackened in blue, she sank out of view
A watery grave for her pyre (repeat)

It’s all long ago, but the legend lives on
In the end she would not be denied
Though no long lived life, in death she'd survive
In the stars her fame would reside

    So raise the wreck of the airship Ikarus
    Her glory days long past
    She flew phoenix bright toward the daystar light
    And her captain would never looked back
    And her captain would never looked back
    And her captain would never looked back

Flyover Country

This was one of the first songs written for the album. I was in a melancholy and reflective mood when I first put words to paper.

Once upon a time I fell in love with a lady who lived too many miles away. When I first laid eyes on her she was dancing and I was dumbstruck. Looking back on it, I must have been crazy - long distance relationships really suck. That's just an unfortunate reality. And yet, here I was pining for a woman in a different time zone.

It's a common theme nowadays, though. So many of us are not able to be with our loved ones. Whether it's work, school, a deployment, whatever. So many of us have to negotiate the emotional mine-field of distance and love. I hate it. But. At the same time I wouldn't want to let distance be the end of things.

The story of Odysseus and Penelope has always struck me as being about the wrong thing. Sure there's heroism, epic journeys, and monsters and all that. But to me the biggest story is how they kept their love alive in the face of 20 years apart. How the hell do you do that?

PS - My mom is convinced that this is the breakout song on the album. I think she's nuts. Clearly, Snugglefish is going to be the hit of the album. What do you think?

Alyssa:  This song began as a song about a breakup, about how the distance became too much and the person singing it needed a closeness that was not possible.  However, he did not look back on it in anger, but instead in fond remembrance.  As we played with the themes of the album, it became clear that this was Odysseus pining for Penelope.  Remember in those times, communication was either very slow or nonexistent so neither really knew if the other even lived.  So we changed it up and the result was Odysseus, thinking of his love, wishing he could get to her and working desperately to return…and hoping, hoping that she would wait for him.



Thudding beats throbbing bass
In darkened room I saw your face
Dancing close with smiling eyes
Dancing close with smiling eyes

There's very little to discuss
As the music swirls around us
Dancing close your smiling eyes
Dancing close your smiling eyes

    Flyover country
    Lies between you and me
    The heart of your city
    In your voice calls to me

    The heart of your city
    Calling sweetly

Far is near with you my dear
Our love will bridge and never fear
Can’t you see it in my eyes
Can’t you see it in my eyes

But distance wounds which cannot heal
And lonely beds, I need you here
Can’t you see it in my eyes
I've got to look into your eyes

    Flyover country
    Lies between you and me
    The heart of your city
    In your voice calls to me

    The heart of your city
    Calling sweetly

    I’m calling
    I’m calling
    I'm calling
    Can’t you hear me
    Come home to me


My absence grew as did concern
That you’d be gone when I returned
A memory of smiling eyes
A memory of smiling eyes

Though I’m gone, don’t acquiesce
Our time’s not done, please reminisce
in memory of smiling eyes
in memory of smiling eyes

    Flyover country
    Lies between you and me
    The heart of your city
    In your voice calls to me

    The heart of your city
    Calling sweetly

Dance With Me - An exercise in ebullient nihilism

It seems that everywhere I turn I see bad news. Every time I look at the internet I see evidence of the four horsemen of the apocalypse: war is over here slaughtering millions, plague is over there insinuating himself into cities and nations, and famine is evident all over. Admittedly, I haven't heard anything from pestilence but I'm sure he's out there doing is level best to ruin someone's day.

On top of that we have all the tales of near misses in the world around us. Apparently we were only just narrowly missed by a massive solar flare two years ago. If it hadn't missed, our world's entire power grid would have collapsed and we'd have descended into barbarism. And then theres that super volcano rumbling to itself under the state of Wyoming. Apparently, it goes off every 70,000 years or so and it's overdue.

It wears on me sometimes. Ok, pretty much all the time. But what the hell can I do? I'm just this guy who writes songs with his friends. My solitary vote is pretty insignificant. Compared to the captions of industry by own economic potential is practically microscopic.

There comes a time when the world is so big and the dangers so massive that it defies reason. When the sun decides to puke on your little planet, when the state of Wyoming decides to explode, and when the ocean swallows up your island … it might as well be one of the Gods punting your sorry ass over the horizon.

Imagine yourself living on the island of Thera in Ancient Greece. Your world is coming to an end as far as you know it. You're standing there with a bottle of fine wine and the love of your life standing next to you. One last kiss. One last swig of wine and perhaps one last dance. What the hell else are you going to do?

That's where my mind was when I wrote the song. I try to adopt the mindset that you can't account for acts of god, so why try? Just do what you can, when you can, and enjoy whatever pleasures there are to be had.

The words came in a rush of ebullient nihilism. Alyssa offered up a few choice lines that brought it all home. I expect there to be dancing!

Alyssa:  When I began working on this song, I thought of a Doctor Who episode where the Doctor takes Rose to watch the end of Earth.  It is a tourist attraction, watching the natural ends of planets…are party as such.  I wanted to capture that scene in some of the lyrical imagery.  I combined this with the end of a great love, “Casablanca”, and a few choice Firefly easter eggs.  I thought of this mostly as resignation to mortality and the choice to celebrate the end, rather than mourn it, if there is nothing left you can do. 


Tell me my darling, my love did you hear?
Our total destruction is ever so near
But we've got naught to fear but fear
And the end-- the end of time


Soon the explosions will light up the night
And our lives will flicker out like fireflies
But we'll find serenity in our demise
So dance with me to the end of time
Dance with me to the end of time


Dance with me, dance with me 'neath burning skies
Dance in my arms 'til we laugh instead of cry
Dance till it hurts and then we'll dance through the pain
Oh, yes let's dance on again
One last dance and again


Instrumental

Dance with me, dance with me 'neath burning skies
Dance in my arms 'til we laugh 'stead of cry
Dance till it hurts and then we'll dance through the pain
Oh, yes let's dance on again
One last dance and again


The dread riders shadows darken our door
Famine and Death,  Pestilence, War
So play it again Sam, and give me a pour--
Of the wine, blood red and fine
While we dance to the end of time

Dance with me, dance with me 'neath burning skies
Dance in my arms till we laugh instead of cry
Dance till it hurts 'cause we're all going to die
While we dance to the end of time
It's you and me to the end of time

Dance with me, dance with me 'neath burning skies
Dance in my arms till we laugh instead of cry
Dance till it hurts 'cause we're all going to die
While we dance to the end of time
It's you and me to the end of time
We shall dance to the end of time