Thoughts on Stone Woman

This started out with two different trains of thought.

Train #1: In the summer of 2013, Erik and I came up with the idea of doing a folk metal bellydance album. He had come up with several baselines that just needed to have music added around them. We demo'd out three songs in just a couple of weeks and then we got really busy with shows, other recording projects, and before we knew it we were deep in the process of recording the Antikythera Mechanism album. With each new album track reaching completion I could hear those three tracks crying out for attention. They were too good not to use and, realistically, that metal bellydance album had been pushed too far off into the future.

So I talked with Erik and we both agreed that we could put words to the tracks and incorporate them into the Antikythera Mechanism.

Train #2: At the beginning of my own brainstorming at the beginning of the album song-writing process I had a plaintive voice in my ear. I was imagining the voice of a young lady cursed beyond comprehension and wondering why. I'd imagined Medusa not as a harsh voice or a monster of vengeance but rather as a soft heart trapped in the cold monstrous shell.

I sent the words off to Alyssa and she took the idea and turned it on its head. This young woman wasn't the shrinking violet lamenting her fate. No. This young women was well aware of the injustice committed and was not about to go off quietly into the night. I got chills reading the words.

The collision: When I went back to the metal bellydance tunes I found the music for Stone Woman right away. The anger and aggression was right there. At first under a veil of quiet anger and then showing forth with clear intent. When Kate came into the studio and laid down her vocals I was flabbergasted. I had no idea that she could channel that kind of rage. It scared me just a little bit, actually.

Alyssa: The story of Medusa is a rough one.  Once a beautiful woman, she is raped by Poseidon.  Because this happened in one of Athena’s temples, Athena is enraged and (wrongly) punishes Medusa (instead of Poseidon) by transforming Medusa’s hair into snakes and her face into one so hideous that people would turn to stone by looking at it.  This would make anyone angry, to be punished for something terrible that happened to her and was not her fault.  I also pulled from the story of Medea and Jason, another tale of a woman thrown away, where her only crime was loving and trusting the wrong person.  No wonder there are stone hearted monsters, products of the lies and abuse they endured.

Thoughts on the song Stardust

Nathan: Stardust sprang fully formed in my head the minute Alyssa showed me the words. The words and song structure would eventually morph (but only a little). I took the last verse of her original poem and altered it (only slightly!) into a chorus. It's definitely one of my favorites to play live.

For me it's all about the bass line. That tone and that energy sums up everything I wanted to put into the song. For the longest time the song consisted of bass, drums, and vocals. I eventually decided that it need a little help from guitar and keys but still … that bass line make my blood rumble!

Two bands that really inspired my views on bass and tone are Bauhaus and Motorhead. Both bands have baselines that are gritty and very forward in the mix and yet are simple and at times can be very minimalist. The line I wrote for Stardust is raw, no-frills rock and roll.


Alyssa:  Stardust was originally a poem that I wrote for my husband, Shawn.  We are not religious people but I very much believe in the idea that everything is connected.  So I formulated this idea that perhaps the atoms that make up Shawn and I were once previously together in the heart of a distant star.  When that star exploded, our atoms traveled across the galaxy to eventually make up the bodies, hearts, and minds of Shawn and I.  And since our molecules had previously been together, we were naturally drawn together again, such that our love was “written in the stars” as it were.  Nathan took those words and made it into a fabulous song!  The original poem is below.

Stardust

Once I burned
Phoenix bright
Molten waters
Exuding light
And you were there
Lover true
How high the heat
Of Me and you

Supernova
Dwarfen might
Unblacked hole
Endless night
Chemically timed
With gravity's hold
So we collapse
To then explode

Scattered my love
'Cross film noir
Motes of dust
But settled ours
In earthen vessels
With beating hearts
Starry eyes
Of Blue and dark

Recognized
Your atoms mine
As you to me
So I am thine
Lucky chance or
Fates direction
Forged again in
Love convection

To you my dear
Pledge love and lust
Till we return
Once more stardust

Thoughts on the song Epitaph

I could not have done this one without my friends. I'd been in mourning for my friend Annie and decided that the best way to deal with it was to make something that celebrates life. In one weekend, my friends and I gathered together and raised our voices in song.

The music comes from a grave marker that dates back 2000 years. It's the oldest known complete musical work. It's a timeless melody and the words are relevant even today. I used the following translation of the original Greek inscription.

While you live, shine
Seek no trouble or sorrow at all
For we are here just a short while
And time will always demand its toll.

I wish that I could go back and change things so that Annie was still here and that we'd not had to make this song. But I can't do that so I ask this of you: please share this song with anyone and everyone. It is available as a free download here: http://nathanieljohnstone.bandcamp.com/track/epitaph

For further information on the song, check this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikilos_epitaph

Who Mourns Eos? - Thoughts and Lyrics

Nathaniel: There's been so much apocalyptic stuff in the news lately - global warming, war on terror, and genocide in those countries over there (which can, all too soon, turn into countries right here). After getting my daily dose of bad news on the internet I had to get out and go for a walk. Thankfully, there's a park near my house where the trees and critters are able to obscure the sights and most of the sounds of the city.

As I sat there I was reminded of a poem that I read many years ago: Sara Teasdale's There Will Come Soft Rains. Here's the text of the poem:

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
and swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools, singing at night,

and wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire,

whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war,

not one
will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,

of mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,

could scarcely know that we were gone.

It was written in 1920 and was a direct result of the carnage of WWI.

In recent times, I've been thinking about where our species is going. Perhaps it won't be war that does us in. Perhaps it's the environment? The latest super-virus? Zombies? Aliens? These are things that aren't necessarily the result of someone pushing the button to launch the missile but are certainly things that we as a species really should be taking steps to ameliorate. Apparently, the US Government is already planning for a Zombie Apocalypse: http://www.stripes.com/news/us/the-pentagon-s-plan-to-stop-the-zombie-apocalypse-1.283263

It the nuclear dread of the 50's has turned into the ravening cannibal horde dread of the modern day.

An aside: if not for the bravery of one Russian soldier, we all would have died in a nuclear holocaust in 1983. Seriously. Check this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov. Scary as hell, that.

Anyway. I didn't mean for this song to be quite as dark as it is but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by it. If we disappear, the sun will still rise. The seasons with still cycle. And critters the world over will still live and, hopefully, thrive. Maybe we can pull our collective asses out of the fire. I remain hopeful.

When Alyssa sent me her first draft of the lyrics she included an iPhone recording of her singing the melody. I popped that into Cubase and it was so good I was just going to keep that as the final take for the album. Alas, we changed the words so we had to fly her to Seattle to have her record on a real mic.

Tempest: Nathan asked me to listen to a melody that he was working on, and what imagery I saw in it. The vision that came to mind as I listened was hazy, but strong morning light illuminating a large empty bed in room with open doors looking out to a similarly empty patio. Morning had come to an empty world, with no one to welcome it. In explaining this picture, I remembered one of Ray Bradbury's short stories I had read half a lifetime ago – of an electronic house in a post-apocalyptic time. Everything was still running as normal, but there was no one there left alive to witness it. Growing up in the era of the Cold War, I was keenly aware that that nuclear devastation loomed possibly just around the corner, and Bradbury's story embedded itself into my subconscious. As I described it, Nathan knew exactly which one I meant.

Alyssa: I am constantly in awe of how insignificant the human race is in the grand scheme of the universe, how we are just moments in time, though we desperately attempt to achieve immortality through what we build and what we destroy. The song started as a tune Nathan sent me and the chorus flowed rather easily….as I continued, the dichotomy of a childhood rhyme that has been linked (though incorrectly) to the black plague that killed a quarter of Europe’s population, seemed a natural fit. And of course, if you listen closely, I left a few easter eggs in the lyrics that are nods to Whedonesque philosophies. There is a vastness of space and we are screaming into the void, but who is left to hear us when we are ourselves are gone?

LYRICS:

Who mourns Eos?

Ring around the rosy

Light preceeds the sound

Flashes, Ashes

We all fall down

It’s raining, it’s raining on the home

Standing, still standing all alone

No crying, no crying can erase

The shadows that lie burned ‘cross it’s face.

Three

Two

One, we all fall down

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Who mourns Eos

Who mourns the dawn

Who cries for creation

When the ending's begun


Destruction in the birthing

Death in the morn

Here lies poor Eos

But who’s left to see the dawn

The bridges, the cities, tumbling down

The tides are all rising, soon they’ll drown

Flora and fauna move to reclaim

They’ll never think of the human race

Three

Two

One, we all fall down

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

A mad man, a trigger, missiles fly

No time for a question, time to hide

The mushrooms are growing, cloud the sun

There’s nowhere, there's nowhere, left to run

Three

Two

One, we all fall down

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Who mourns Eos

Who mourns the dawn

Who cries for creation

When the ending's begun


Destruction in the birthing

Death in the morn

Here lies poor Eos

But who’s left to see the dawn

A moment, a minute, all we are

And there is so much black 'tween the stars

The lesson left unlearned to survive

It’s much harder to live than to die

Three

Two

One, we all fall down

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Thoughts about the song Snugglefish

We'd just finished our weekend in Old Tucson at the Wild Wild West Convention in March of 2014. We had woken up too early after a night that went too late and we were punch drunk and would laugh at pretty much anything. When we were standing in line at the security checkpoint I decided that it would be a good idea to ask the internet for words that rhymed with "tentacles." No, i don't know why. I blame the coffee.

Anyway, the response was lightning fast and suddenly I had a thriving FB thread full of suggestions. By the time we'd sat down in our seats on the plane I knew that we needed to write a song with this. Kate, Tempest, and I passed my notebook back and forth and the rest of the song materialized in about 15 minutes. I'm sure the other passengers were plenty irritated by our silliness.

The third verse came a few days later, after I'd sent the song-in-progress to Alyssa. She totally nailed the idea. I loved the Frog & Toad reference!

I don't know what a Snugglefish looks like. I've seen a couple of artist renderings and each one is unique and awesome.


Lyrics:

Oh, those dreary days

In my world down below

The sea where I sit

To watch the world's show

The mortals, full of hubris

To their Gods' respect is lackin'

There's just nothing left to do

But shout, “Release the Kraken!”

But I know that deep inside

Your fleshy, squirmy, slimy hide

A heart of gold resides ...

CHORUS:

You're my fierce and fanged Snugglefish

My toothy, scaly Snugglefish

The mortals fear you, Snugglefish

As they're gobbled by you, Snugglefish

Lord Zeus says you're nonsensicle

Because of all your tentacles

Residing in my ventricles

Are nothing but respectacles

For you …

My little Snugglefish

My little Cuddlefish

For the Lord of the Sea

It's such a lonely lot

That sometimes I feel

Like you are all I've got

And it pains me ever so

When mortal respect is lackin'

And there's nothing left to say

But, “Release the Kraken!”

Because you've shown me, deep inside

Your fleshy, squirmy, slimy hide

A heart of gold resides …

CHORUS!

Instrumental Interlude - DUELING KAZOOS! How cool is that??

You're man’s most dreaded enemy

My best friend, not frenemy

Frog and toad will always be

Envious of you and me

So when you feel down and out

Like all the world’s attackin'

Never worry, I will shout

Hey “Release that Kraken”

Because you've shown me, deep inside

Your fleshy, squirmy, slimy hide

A heart of gold resides …

CHORUS!

Link to the Fundraiser!

The Fundraiser is officially live!

Check it! http://www.nathanieljohnstone.com/fundraiser.html 

And here is a picture of Eleanor....because...cats!

THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM

Introducing my new album, The Antikythera Mechanism!

To be released on Memorial Day Weekend! Our CD release show will be at Clockwork Alchemy in San Jose, CA. 

This all started about 6 months ago when I read an article about the sophisticated science and technology of Ancient Greece. Reportedly, they had death rays, steam technology, and were making clockwork devices that rival the elegance of modern Swiss watch makers. Our whole world is thick with the influence of Greek art, music, knowledge and philosophy. For instance, the oldest known complete musical composition is from Greece (it's dated to somewhere between 200BC to 100AD).

The title of the album comes from an ancient artifact found in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in 1900-1901. The corroded bronze object had obvious gear work and, after years of care and investigation was found to be a device used to predict the movements of the heavenly bodies - eclipses, the phase of the moon, the wanderings of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury through the heavens. Scholars and scientists today are still puzzling over the complexities that the mechanism has to offer. The sophistication required to make this was lost and didn't reappear again until nearly 1500 years later. Seriously, go google it and have your mind be blown.

So, anyway, as I was pondering this incredible find I began to hear music in my head. From there it was just a matter of time before I knew that I had an album's worth of material. I pitched the idea to my friend and collaborator Alyssa Rosenbloom and she agreed that this would be a thing! Several weeks and chat conversations later we had enough lyrics for the whole album! It seems like not a day would go by but that there would be a new lyric in my email box. We hashed out songs about Medusa, Cassandra, Eos, the goddess of the dawn, Aphrodite, and a whole bunch of others.

Of course, seeing as we're both totally steampunks we knew that we had to add some science fiction to the project. So we've taken a few 'liberties' with the stories. If you've heard our previous album, Narrative, you'll get what I mean.

I'm deep in the recording process even now and plan to have everything done by the end of March. Mixing, mastering, and manufacturing is all scheduled for April. I plan to have the album release in late May with a special show at Clockwork Alchemy in San Jose, CA. We'll be performing on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend.

And the cool thing is that I somehow managed to convince Phil Foglio that drawing my album cover was a thing he wanted to do! I don't know about you but … holy hell! Phil Foglio! I've only been a fan of his work since the early issues of Dragon Magazine back in the 80's. <insert van squee here>

Ahem …

So, yeah.

Like our previous release, Narratives, we're doing a fund raiser to help cover the costs for The Antikythera Mechanism. I can do a lot of the work myself but I can't play all the instruments, nor have I learned that special magic sauce known as mastering. We're going to press an initial run of 1000 CDs with all the beautiful art and layout you'd expect.

Over the next several weeks, I'll be posting song samples, bits of art, and some discussion about the songs. We will also be offering some spiffy swag for your help with our fundraiser. We’ll get the fund raiser page up in the next day or so. I just couldn’t wait any longer to share all this!

Thank you!

Nathaniel