Well, here I sit, waiting on video to render of things that happened over 20 years ago. Why? I wish I knew. Maybe it's because I just like having something to b#tch about.
Whatever the reason may be, I'm editing(or trying to get the stuff together to)footage of my old band FOXX, to use in a promo clip for an unreleased tune called "So Many Promises" that we dug up on a live board tape from a long-dead club in Pekin, IL called Kopy Kats. I gussied the digital transfer up the best I could with a little mastering, and now I'm attempting to assemble the video side of things so we might have something proper to herald our return to the stage after 20 years of post-hairband rehabilitation. Call it a relapse, a midlife crisis, or just plain nostalgia, but we're dusting off our old attire, letting our remaining healthy follicles do their best to provide us with the tresses that were occasionally able to somewhat camouflage our musical shortcomings, and relearning how to play guitars with pointy headstocks and whammy bars.
More on that whole Rock N' Skull Fest thing later, since it's nearly a year away…..November 15th, 2014…Goodfellas….Pekin, IL…….just FYI.
As for what's been up lately…well, just prior to taking a quick break for the holidays, we played a benefit at Marathon Music Works, here in Nashville, and then headed up to John Brown's in Marion, IL, where the year of gigs that was 2013 was met with a fitting end. Drinks were drank, songs were sung(including a bunch of covers we'd never played before…some KISS, Enuff Z'Nuff, and more KISS…among others) and new friends were made. This is the kind of gig that makes it worth doing after all these years.
When we finally managed to reassemble ourselves for a rehearsal this week, it was evidently much needed. We put together a set for this Friday(1/17) at The End that features at least one longstanding benchwarmer making a return to active play, and we may yet rejigger the rest of the lineup before we actually take the stage, so any diehards in attendance can count on a surprise or two.
Kenny & I have been cutting guitar tracks in my home studio this week, hoping to expedite the final whirlwind round of overdubs we start at The Switchyard on Thursday morning. 6 songs left to sing, some percussion, acoustic parts, and then we shuffle a couple of these off to our trusty lap-steel and piano men for finishing touches, while we begin the process of mixing the rest of this 13-song, years-in-the-making monstrosity. I, for one, will be relieved when it's a wrap, so I can move on to the other record I've had demoed and on deck for the last few months. Once The Die Youngs' "Nothing's Broken" is packaged and available for retail consumption, I plan to set about recording what will either be the next The Great Affairs record, or the first proper Denny Smith release, depending upon how the next few months shake out schedule-wise. One way or another, there is a mess of songs that I need to see recorded properly, before I lose my mind and take up finger-painting.
So, that's about it, I believe….Friday, January 17th at The End.
Saturday, February 1st at Thompson House in
Newport, KY for the ClassX Radio Benefit
February 7th…well, that'll be announced soon, I
hope.
... in March we'll be at The 5 Spot, with a guest
bass player subbing for Henry, as we open for
Abandon Jalopy(Blind Melon side-project).
….the children will cry in April…details TBA
…and the overthrow occurs in May, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, Kenny & I are flying to L.A. for a few days, to shake hands and kiss babies, so we can get free stuff like guitar strings and drum heads for a while longer. If we don't spot you Friday, I guess maybe we'll see you when we see you.
Cheers,
Denny
The Great Affairs
Links: The Great Affairs Official
FOXX 'So Many Promises' promo clip
Hearing Things(my weekly blog)