New Fumes

New Fumes Photo of the Week

2012-01-19T23:59:00.001-06:00

Photo by Benjamin Curtis (School of Seven Bells) taken at Crown & Harp in Dallas, Tx

This is Only a Test

2012-01-19T22:47:00.007-06:00

So sorry for the lack of posts, I'm a bad blogger...
I'll make it up to you with some news and updates!
2012 has been really fun and exciting for me so far!
It started by playing an after party on NYE for The Flaming Lips/ Plastic Ono Band New Years show. It was supposed to take place at THE WOMB, but it got moved to the OKC farmers market. Long Story. Wayne Coyne had asked me to do an "electric sockhop version" of 'Thus Sprach Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss, "with paranoid soundscapes". That piece of music is famous for being the theme music in "2001: A Space Odyssey". I worked on it day and night all the way up to the event! Stardeath and White Dwarfs did a tripped out jam version of Stravinsky's 9th symphony.
With the fire marshall closing down the Womb, it all seemed uncertain wether or not it was going to happen at all or if anyone would be there if it did... It ended up being a really good time!
The next week, I played a show in Tulsa and ended up crashing in Wayne's Pink Floor studio in OKC again. It smells like a tire shop (because of the pink rubber floor) , with a hint of cigarettes and cheeseburgers. True scents of progress! Haha!
Long story short: I ended up writing a song with Wayne, made by mashing up two instrumental tracks I made in the Dome in Dallas and having Wayne arrange and sing over it. We did it really quickly over a day and a half, then we made a video for the song the next day.
Total trip! I'll be posting the video whenever it comes out, for sure, if the internet doesn't censor it.
Here's a video test George Salisbury of Delo Creative did with me, just outside of the Pink Floor Studio... I hope George doesn't mind me posting this. I think it looks wicked!
George is a master!

More news to come!

I'm Touring! Opening for Polyphonic Spreeee!!!

2012-01-19T22:33:00.007-06:00

YES!!!! Finally touring , and hopefully coming to your town!
02/06 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain's
02/07 – Norman, OK @ Opolis
02/08 – Little Rock, AR @ Rev Room
02/10 – Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
02/11 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
02/12 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
02/13 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
02/14 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
02/15 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
02/16 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND POSTERS

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE "YOU + ME" PHASE ONE TRAILER from Good Records Recordings on Vimeo.

I'm On A Really Good Remix LP

2012-01-19T22:10:00.008-06:00

I am excited to be a part of this remix LP !!! My college roommate, Brad Loving makes some weird/ cool music as Lobisomem.
I had a blast "reimagining" one of his tunes and it's fun to be on this list of contributors!:::::::
Ben Vida (of BirdShow,Singer), M.Takara, Dan Bitney (Tortoise, Isotope 217), Bundy K Brown, DJ /Rupture & Chief Boima, Roberto Carlos Lange, Diamond Age, New Fumes, Totem Test, The Eternals, and Clive Tanaka remixes Lobisomem.
check it out! HERE

The Flaming Lips/ Plastic Ono Band Vinyl Session Highlights Dec. 2011

2011-12-19T00:25:00.001-06:00

The Flaming Lips/ Plastic Ono Band Vinyl Session Highlights Dec. 2011, a set on Flickr.

7" for Teeth of the Sun!!!

2011-11-15T21:04:00.014-06:00

On 11/11/11 Good Records Recordings relaunched and released a series of limited 7" singles, including mine!
This should be happening once a month, so stay tuned!
The first from New Fumes is a song from Bump and Assassination called "Teeth of the Sun" with a surprise B side.
Nevada Hill screened the super Ltd edition covers for all the artists...
here's mine:

For more info, video action and purchasing power, link up here HERE!

Images from Tulsa, night 2

2011-11-02T15:49:00.003-05:00

Brady Theatre, Tulsa, OK Sept. 14, 2011 Photos by Kevin Pyle

Cool Poster!

2011-09-10T01:43:00.001-05:00

I don't know what to say, Im excited... sure to be a good time!

The Flaming Lips / Lightning Bolt Vinyl Pressing Session Highlights

2011-09-02T22:22:00.001-05:00

The Flaming Lips / Lightning Bolt Vinyl Pressing Session Highlights, a set on Flickr.

Another 7 days of pressing vinyl at A&R in Dallas for The Flaming Lips. The colors were much more limited this time, but I think I made it work! You might be surprised at the limitless shades of grey in the universe and what you can do with them. Stan Getz let me experiment a little bit (see the smoking rabbit), but we only got a few that looked like that because we had to stop the machine every time we pressed a record. It would have taken months to get 2000 discs at that rate. I have been getting messages on twitter from people around the world with pictures of their copy of this record... it's fun and fascinating to see where they end up!
These were pressed in August, so there is a lot of my sweat in these discs, literally.
It was hotter in the plant than it was outside in the middle of a record setting heat wave (no pun intended).
Still, it was worth it. It's hard work, but I am lucky to be doing it and I am having a fun!

Trust

2011-07-21T07:39:00.003-05:00

Here's my cover of a Pretty Things song, "Trust", from their 1968 classic album S.F. Sorrow.
There are so many great songs that would be fun to cover on there, but I chose this one because it was the one that was stuck in my head when I was ready to record last week. Feel free to hit the download button, grab the other covers while you're at it.
Trust by New Fumes
here's the original:

A Song for the Owl

2011-07-04T04:50:00.002-05:00

So I found this baby owl in my driveway and named it Billy.
I took it inside for the afternoon to keep it away from stray dogs and the sun.
That night, I took it outside and placed it on a branch in a tree in my yard.
It's parent came pretty quickly to feed it, and in about a week, it was flying.
I like to think that it hangs out in the trees around my house and keeps an eye on me.
Yesterday, I wrote a song to Billy.
"Billy, I am a Living Animal"
I'll leave it up here for a short time so you can check it out.
Billy, I Am a Living Animal by New Fumes

I found a baby owl in my driveway!!!

2011-06-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

The Flaming Lips/ Prefuse 73 vinyl

2011-05-17T14:46:00.001-05:00

The Flaming Lips/ Prefuse 73 vinyl, a set on Flickr.

I have been recording new material, but for about two weeks I hand poured 2000 12" discs for The Flaming Lips collaboration with Prefuse 73 at A&R Record Manufacturing in Dallas. Not a bad gig! Here are some of the highlights...

Under Cover #2

2011-04-12T23:28:00.006-05:00

I first started digging in to The Flying Lizards when Sean Kirkpatrick of The Nervous Curtains gave me a pile of really killer music a while back.
I fell in love with several of the jams including this one from their 1981 album "Fourth Wall"... it's been in my head for a long time now, so I just had to make a pass at covering it. I had an idea to get a certain local celebrity to sing it for me, but eh...I didn't feel like dealing with her right now and just sang it myself.
This is my first recording made in "The Dome"!
Lovers and Other Strangers by New Fumes

Here's the quirkier original:

More on The Flying Lizards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Lizards

Under Cover #1

2011-03-23T10:45:00.005-05:00

I was thinking that New Fumes should start recording a few cover songs and just give them away as downloads.
So, I decided to start with this one by African (Zambian) psych rock legend Chrissy Zebby Tembo called "Feeling Good", from his 1974 album "My Ancestors".
I got turned on to this by Chris McGaha of PVC Street Gang who gave me a kick ass compilation of music a while back.
This song really appealed to me with its simplicity and kwirk... not to mention it's killer guitar action.
I can also really relate to the lyrics these days, so it seems like a perfect place to start.
I may have totally messed it up by doing my own version, but it was fun, so oh well.
Clay came over and put some more drum tracks on the ones and zeros as I am still trying to work out the best way to record drums at home.
Check it out :
Feeling Good by New Fumes

here's the original:

Millennium Crux

2011-03-07T22:13:00.001-06:00

New song, first mix

2011-02-13T21:51:00.006-06:00

I live is this neighborhood near the Dallas zoo.
I love living over here!
It doesn't seem like Dallas to me, there are hills and trees and the architecture of the houses are really interesting.
I think it's the forgotten part of Dallas..
It's kind of a poor neighborhood, but it's beautiful.
There are flocks of peacocks and packs of pit bulls roaming free... it's an interesting place.

I started to write this song about this dude in the neighborhood who walks around (sometimes backwards) having arguments with people who just aren't there. He's yelling at someone that seems to be following him around, but it's clearly in his head.
Sometimes I can't stop thinking about him, I want to help, but what can I do?
My other neighbors tell me to just ignore him and don't make eye contact, but this seems like part of the problem- no one will talk to him or even acknowledge that he is there.

He is a really big dude that looks like a cross between Mike Tyson and Forest Whitaker.
He doesn't seem to cause much harm, other than random piles of broken rocks in front of peoples' houses, in the street.
Therefore, the police won't do anything about him.. so , he's just part of the charm of the hood.
I suspect he is the one that left the dirty Scooby Doo underwear in my yard.

Anyway, here is a song I am writing about him, this is the first mix,
you can hear an actual recording of him yelling in the distance if you listen closely:
Invisible Someone *test 02/13/11* by New Fumes

Clay Stinnett came over and laid some sweet traps on this one. He is a freak of nature.
I'm learning to record drums. I have two microphones.

Here is a link to get the record

2011-02-10T23:05:00.001-06:00

http://www.goodrecords.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=4205

Get Em While They Are Hot

2011-02-05T21:41:00.003-06:00

That Flaming Lips show was a Blast! And that snow! Crazy!
That morning and the previous afternoon, for me, was spent at the record plant putting colored vinyl chips and beads into the vinyl pressing machine.
I could have spent all day doing that! It was so fun to experiment.
I came out with some interesting results, i think.
The first 100 copies of the LP come with a CD of the music as well.
I just want to say that I have much love, respect and appreciation for Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips organization as well as Tim Delaughter and the Good Records organization... they have helped me so much and been so encouraging. Good and Funny people.. i love em!
You can purchase the LP here:

http://www.goodrecords.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=4205

New T Shirts and Vinyl

2011-01-28T21:43:00.004-06:00

Nevada and I made 30 of these:

And we made 100 of these in these colors of the 12" vinyl covers.
We plan on having Yellow vinyl.
The first 100 of 500 will have a CD of the music in there with the record..

We hope to have all this available at the Flaming Lips show on Feb.3

Video Action

2011-01-19T13:30:00.003-06:00

New Fumes- "Your Style Won't Save You Now" from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

New Fumes- "Teeth of the Sun" from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

Big Fun!

2011-01-07T20:28:00.002-06:00

Wayne Coyne made 30 of these cool posters!

Finally!

2011-01-07T20:19:00.004-06:00

Good friends at Good Records Recordings are putting my record out on Vinyl by February 3, 2011. It will be ltd to 500 copies with colored vinyl, so reserve your copy from them today.
Nevada Hill is screen printing the covers that will look something like this:

Big things coming from Good Records in 2011, Mark my words.

Your Style Won't Save You Now/ Your Smile is a Bomb Song

2010-11-30T20:37:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I get into a flow and write two songs as if it were one.
I tend to look at it like an A and a B side of a single together as one track.
Silly? Maybe.
Here's one i have been sitting on for a while.
Sally Glass, Regina Chellew and Jennifer Billings were very kind in lending their voices to the second part of this one ( same group as heard on "Light is Light")
Have a listen!
Your Style Won't Save You Now/ Your Smile is a Bomb Song by New Fumes

I am opening for Octopus Project doing "Hexadecagon"!

2010-11-12T19:10:00.003-06:00

So excited about this!
Not only that i get to play my music at an Octopus project show, but that i get to see them perform "Hexadecagon".
Thursday, November 18, 2010 at Southside Music Hall.
This should be very special.
check this out:

Hexadecagon Shows Trailer from The Octopus Project on Vimeo.

if you miss this, it will be a bummer.

Tapes and Shirts at Good Records, Dallas

2010-11-10T21:55:00.003-06:00

There are only a few cassette tapes left and even fewer T-shirts.
A few of each can be found at Good Records in Dallas.
I have a couple of shows lined up for you, when all the details get ironed out, i will let you know.
Keep your eyes peeled here for the next couple of days. it should be exciting if everything works out the way i hope.
In the mean time, enjoy this track from my cassette album,"Bump and Assassination".
The track is called "Superglue, You can Join Our Band".
Superglue, You Can Join Our Band by New Fumes

SHIRTS

2010-10-01T22:35:00.004-05:00

Nevada Hill made some shirts!
They look something like the one above.
There are are 29 of them in existence.
get one while you can.

coco rosie were nice

2010-10-01T22:31:00.002-05:00

Hanging out back stage with Coco Rosie made me really want to speak French so that I could be shy in French instead of boring ol English.

I am excited to open for Coco Rosie!

2010-09-17T23:08:00.006-05:00

I always loved that song "Techno Love Song" and was just thinking to myself the other day how i would like to meet CoCo Rosie. Then BAM, i just found out today i get to open for them!
SleepWhale is on the bill as well!
September 29, 2010 at Granada Theatre

New Fumes Photos by Sally Glass

2010-09-15T23:31:00.005-05:00

From The Nightmare. July 9, 2010

Sally also sang on this song along with Regina Chellew, Jennifer Billings and myself.
Light is Light!
Light is Light (test) by New Fumes

Last Minute

2010-08-18T23:22:00.006-05:00

I'm playing at the Cavern Tonight Aug. 19, 2010.
The line up is New Fumes, Yells At Eels, Blixaboy.
Yells at Eels aka Added Pizzaz (ARiel Pink collaborators) will make beautiful jazz.
Blixboy aka Wanz Dover will make beautiful a dubstep shoegaze combination.
I play first , that's 9:45- 10:00 start time.
this is going to be a good show.
I have cassettes!

here's a track from the tape:
Intrusion by New Fumes

please come say "hello".

Your Style Won't Save You Now

2010-07-31T14:16:00.000-05:00

New Fumes- "Your Style Won't Save You Now" from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

THE FORT!

2010-07-20T21:33:00.004-05:00

I'm really looking forward to this!

also, if anyone is interested, i have an "Experimental Birthday Band #36" playing this coming friday, July 23 2010 at Winedale Tavern.
the band includes myself on guitar and electronics/ video, Clay (ghostcar, black dotz, boom boom box) on drums, Jermy (telethon, mission giant) synth and electronic drums, Ross (black dotz) bass and maybe Chris (swirve) hopping in here and there on trumpet. Improv baby!
Winedale Tavern is located at:
2110 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75206-7126
(214) 823-5018

Pining (When We're Together)

2010-07-04T14:49:00.005-05:00

this is an old song (1999) i decided to re-record. it's about pining for someone even when they are right there with you.
Pining (when we're together) by New Fumes

2010-07-04T12:28:00.003-05:00

July 9, 2010 at The Nightmare (the lounge, but better) 2810 Elm st. Dallas, TX $5

Melting Season is Bruce Blay from MOM/ Sleep Whale. He gave me a CDR of his stuff at the last show, it's really nice and beautiful.
Some of the songs get stuck in my head. It's very organic and loose electro-folk kind of stuff...reminds me a bit of panda bear, but not ripping it off at all. It's all Bruce. Think of low riders in the hood with booming bass systems playing trippy, atmospheric tribal folk music (and still rattling your windows).
Diamond Age- fans of Heldon and This Heat will love it.
I will have cassettes of the entire "Bump and Assassination" album with a bonus track, Nevada Hill packaging, and smells from my house embedded in the paper.$8

JUNE

2010-06-17T13:51:00.009-05:00

Starring is members of Pterodacyl and Skeletons (both bad ass bands, check em out!) and Florene is a sonic electro duo from Denton. Good Times for sure!

the night before i will be playing in Denton :
NERVOUS CURTAINS, DIM LOCATOR, NEW FUMES, REGINA CHELLEW
Date:
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Time:
9:00pm - 11:30pm
Location:
Dan's Silverleaf
Street:
103 Industrial
City/Town:
Denton, TX

I will have cassettes available at these shows! ltd edition of 100, hand screened covers by Nevada Hill shown below..

Out From Hiding

2010-05-16T17:15:00.002-05:00

I Got a couple of my dearest friends, and a couple of the most talented musician/ song crafters I know to come out of hiding and play for the first time in a very long time. First, there's M Leer a.k.a. THE DIAMOND AGE

http://www.myspace.com/itsthediamondage

http://thediamondage1.blogspot.com/

http://www.lifeandlivingrecords.com/store/artists/diamond.html

formerly of the Denton band Mandarin, he recorded his own version of Gareth Williams' album "Flaming Tunes"- I will just say, GET A COPY!

Next there is Regina Chellew, formerly of Captain Audio and Chao Music:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chao

here's a taste of her work with Captain Audio:

just be there YO!

this will be fun

2010-05-11T07:03:00.002-05:00

up-coming

2010-04-18T04:11:00.002-05:00

Wow, Good Records' birthday was fun! Thanks for being there- it was a long, wet and loud day.

Here are the next New Fumes shows:

May 15 at Sons of Herman Hall (downstairs early 9:00) for ISHI's Cd release.

May 20 at the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff. show starts at 7:00. The Diamond Age and Regina Chellew open. Both Diamond Age and Regina have not played live in a LONG time- this will be really good. Diamond Age is M Leer (Mandarin, History At Our Disposal) solo. Google him and see his connection with This Heat! Regina Chellew was in Captain Audio and Chao Music. She Rules.

Now, here's a download for ya------>

files.me.com/daniellathon/f9n1kx

this is the FROGBOY album i did a while back called "rides golden thread". much of it was my laptop deathmatch material, mostly intrumental- still melodic, symphonic, electronic, psychedelic idm rock...

i would not be doing New Fumes without having done this stuff first. i think you will like it if you enjoy what i do now. maybe you will like it even more. ENJOY!

A little movie with a little diddy about having sun poisoning

2010-04-01T10:09:00.002-05:00

check out the video for "teeth of the sun" from Bump and Assassination.
there will be an official version, but maybe you like seeing a work in progress...

New Fumes- Teeth of the Sun (long version) from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

Making Out with Kimberly

2010-03-25T00:25:00.012-05:00

Okay... so, the next New Fumes show will be at Good Records on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 17. schedule here:

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2010/04/good_records_announces_its_rec.php

I'm still working out the details on getting the New Fumes album released... It's coming out, just "when?" and "how?" are the questions. It's an ever changing cosmos.The thing is done and mastered, ready to go.
Nevada Hill came over one night not long ago to talk about doing some art work for the release- we want to have this cool, hand made, silk screened, limited edition cover happening.

That same night , Chris and Chris from PVC Street Gang came over to talk about a split 7" we plan on doing (and maybe have Nevada do something for the cover as well).

We were listening to possible tracks to put on this 7" and I played what was the beginning of a new song I had started writing the night before. I told them I had no idea what to sing on it, so Chris M. busted out a pen and paper and started writing something right then. Nevada ran out to his car and grabbed his violin and a ring modulator and went to town on the track while Chris was still writing.

When Nevada was done, Chris was ready to sing and it happened like that.

Check out the result:

Making out with kimberly (on acid at the holotropic laundromat) by New Fumes

This is a picture of something I found in my front yard one day after work last summer. I had to document the randomness...Those are XX large Scooby Doo drawls we are looking at! It seemed fitting to go with a song about tripping on acid at a laundromat.

On a Ship, Under a Bus

2010-02-22T23:19:00.001-06:00

On a Ship, Under a Bus from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

This is a video collage i did for the live set... thought i'd share it with you here as well.

Video Action

2010-02-17T13:40:00.004-06:00

I have been working on/ improving upon video projections for the live show.

If things go the way i think they might, i will be playing first on Feb. 19- if that is the case, i will be doing a VJ set of some videos and songs i like before my New Fumes set. So the earlier you get there, the better. I may start as early as 8:30, but who knows? Love ya!

Feb 19 at the cavern!

2010-02-12T14:54:00.002-06:00

Cool poster eh?! I dig it. I am really looking forward to this show. Be sure to get there early and bring friends. Bands always play better when there are more folks there. ENERGY baby ENERGY!

So, the "Bump and Assassination EP" will now be a full length.

The plan (now) is that it will be released on vinyl and cd. Expect 10 songs...really about 14 songs, but there will be 10 tracks. Another version on the last download I made available on this blog will be on there as well as the songs " Millennium Crux" and "Folding Time".

I added some guitar tracks and got Regina Chellew, Jennifer Billings and Curtis Jackson Davis to sing on "Folding Time". So , it's a little different than the version I have with the video that you might be used to.

I'm still waiting on details from the label and talking with Nevada Hill about hand made packaging.

Also, I finished a remix for Nervous Curtains. Look for it and others in a remix collection from their label's website in the near future.

www.latestflame.com

www.myspace.com/nervouscurtains

Stay tuned for a release date for Bump and Assassination and a split 7" with PVC Streetgang.

Free Virtual Siamese 7" Download

2009-12-01T22:01:00.012-06:00

Here you go, I put the A side and B sides together as one. They are both pretty short, so they sort of play as one. These are both non-E.P. tracks, though they will very likely appear on the full length version of Bump and Assassination.

If you are color blind and cannot see the link below, let me know and i will hook you up.

I will try and come up with these from time to time, so check back.

A virtual 7" club, if you will.

Here's the

link:

files.me.com/daniellathon/qedp9h

don't be so paranoid

2009-12-01T12:10:00.004-06:00

above New Fumes photo by Jimi Bowman 11/28/09 at Andy's in Denton, TX

Two more shows coming up:

Sat. Dec. 5 at Good Records in Dallas 9:00 p.m. with Blixaboy

and

Fri. Dec.11 at Super Happy Fun Land in Houston!

I'm looking forward to both of these shows.

i am preparing some more free downloads, so check back tonight or tomorrow.

Here's another example of what you will be hearing and seeing when you come to the show:

New Fumes-don't be so paranoid from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

Folding Time

2009-11-11T09:01:00.001-06:00

New Fumes-folding time from daniel huffman on Vimeo.

New Fumes upcoming shows , New Record and Video

2009-10-06T21:27:00.006-05:00

I have been booking shows around DFW, just thought you should know.

Starting Friday, October 16 at FallOut Lounge New Fumes with BlixaBoy (Wanz Dover's fantastic dubstep project) and SoundClash (Royal Highnuss +TomB).

Starts at 9:00

835 Exposition Ave

Dallas, TX 75226-1743
(214) 823-0675

Next: Saturday, October 17 at Arlington Info Shop. Its an all day festival celebrating the grand opening of the Info Shop with a whole bunch of bands playing including Zanzibar Snails. I can honestly say the Zanzibar Snails put on the only show that did not bore me at one point or another during their set this year. It completely captivated me. Awesome peeps as well. I'm excited to be playing right in the middle of the whole thing (around 5:00 or 6:00 i think).

This place sounds really interesting and hopeful. check them out, they will lend you a bike!

http://www.myspace.com/267107067

Friday, November 20 @ the Project House New Fumes with TV Torso, Cocky Americans and PVC StreetGang. love PVC StreetGang!

Project House: 2607 Wallnut Hill Ln. Dallas, Tx 75229

Saturday, November 28 @ Andy's in Denton New Fumes with Factory Party and PVC StreetGang.

Andy's : 122 N. Locust st. Denton, Tx 76201

I have more shows in the works, i will be sure to keep you updated.

There are many exciting things happening in New Fumes world...

the Bump and Assassination E.P. looks like it will be released on an exciting new label in early 2010. We are talking about a double 7" including a CD version with bonus material. Collectable hand made packaging, the works. Should be nice! I will Tell you about the label when things become a bit more solid, but things are looking good.

Also, this past weekend I began filming a video for "Teeth of the Sun", which is the second song on the new E.P.

Thanks to Jonathan Rudak (+friends) and James M. Johnston's camera ,this thing should look really nice. The location is stunning and surreal. I will be excited to share it with you when it is done.

you can hear the music at

http://www.myspace.com/nufumes

So much happening....

Stay Tuned.

The Mountain

2009-09-24T07:13:00.004-05:00

Jill Foley has an amazing installation going at the Conduit Gallery this month.

She turned the gallery into the interior of a mountain. There's art on the walls, there are creatures and characters, it's a trip.

Every Thursday night this month , she is also hosting "Happenings" in the mountain.. last week was an open mic poetry reading and they were doing freestyle rapping to asian kareoke laserdisks...

it was fun and unusual- just what Dallas needs.

You should show up for the event tonight if you can! 6:30-8:30.

the picture here does not do it justice.

Also at the Conduit, be sure to check out Dan McPharlin's

sculptures and prints. He did the most recent Prefuse 73 album art. Really nice stuff!

New Ghostcar Album on iTunes (or for Free)!

2009-09-16T14:35:00.002-05:00

Ghostcar's new album went live on iTunes, Amazon mp3 and other download sites.

We could really use the money from sales, but at the end of this note is also a free download.

We appreciate your support, but times are hard(we know). Ultimately we just want to share our music.

Titled "Geisterfahrer", which is a word German police call crazies on the Autobahn driving on the wrong side of the road at night with their headlights off.

I think the title fits the music.

We recorded it two and 1/2 years ago at the Echolab in Argyle with David Willingham . We just went in for a day and improvised for a few hours as usual. Karl and I mixed it this year just after Christmas. Karl would do a mix in Arizona and send it to me on the web, then i would do a mix and a tweek (if needed) and send it back. So on and so on.

We took so long to get around to mixing it because we hated it right after we recorded it. We were pretty bummed about it at first.

We put it away on a hard drive for a couple years, and when Karl came to visit for christmas he decided to go back and give it a listen.... there was some pretty good stuff on there. Strangely, i think it's our best and strongest album to date. Funny how that works.

Jimi Bowman at Klearlight studios did a fine job mastering the thing.

So, here it is:

free download (for the poor folks):

files.me.com/daniellathon/yv4b2e

enjoy.

Show at Hal's

2009-09-14T00:35:00.000-05:00

NEW FUMES

at Hal Samples gallery

2814 Main ST

in Deep Ellum

Dallas, TX

Saturday Sept. 19

8:00 p.m.

Bird and Whale

2009-09-14T00:12:00.000-05:00

Download an "Ambient Work" of New Fumes from

www.birdandwhale.com

It's a site my college roommate Brad Loving started to showcase mix-tape style compilations his friends make.

Man, there's some good ones on there.

Some of the highlights for me are mixes by The Diamond Age, Bundy K. Brown and John Mcentire just to name a few.

enjoy!

Beginnings

2009-09-13T21:09:00.000-05:00

Hello,

This is my very first blog.

I hope to keep you informed of the latest happenings in my world and to let you all know about upcoming events that i find interesting .

Hopefully, I will be performing at some of these events. I will be sure to let you know.

Also, I will be sharing thoughts and ideas floating around in my head.

Who knows what will happen?

I'll give you free music downloads and tell you some stories.

Anything goes at this point!

Here we go!

So I played my first official show as New Fumes last friday, September 11, 2009 at a little house in Arlington, Texas called "The Wasted Words Art Collective".

Man, it was smokey in there. The folks putting on the event were super friendly and enthusiastic.

The event was a sort of an anti-war benefit with free speech rantings in between bands.

Seems most of the other acts were on the experimental noise side of things. Some were just extremely abrasive and others were harsh , yet soothing. "Soothing" to me can mean a lot of things. When i was a teenager , Ministy's "The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste" used to lull me to sleep. So , last friday, if someone was playing feedback and their music had a nice ballance of lows and highs, i found it "soothing".

I played second. I brought a laptop, a guitar, an omnichord, a few foot pedals, an amp and a P.A.

I had my set Pretty well planned out to take the audience on a journey. there were segues between songs that were partially impromptu , but the majority of the set was planned.

This was also my first time singing a set of songs for an audience.

I have always been the "guitar player" in bands, never the core songwriter, singer, front man person. So this was a big step for me.

Honestly, i never really wanted to be the front figure of a band or a singer. I just wanted to play guitar or whatever and add textures and melodies to other people's songs... or in the case of Ghostcar, we were totally improvising. It was mostly a democracy of spontaneous composition.

That's fun, and just by the pure nature of the instrument, the trumpet ends up taking the lead and i form clouds of guitar texture and throw in some hooks here and there. Moments happen that way that could never be planned.

New Fumes is different. It's pretty structured.

As the story goes: I was making a bunch of music on my laptop over the past few years, mostly instumental stuff and i was taking part in the Laptop Deathmatch events that Wanz Dover was putting on here in Dallas and calling myself "Frogboy".

Frogboy was a name i decided to use because i needed a stage name for Laptop Deathmatch.

Wayne Coyne named me "Frogboy" when i was touring with The Flaming Lips in 2002 on a tour right when "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" came out. Wayne had their stage hands dressed up in different animal outfits. Kliph Skurlock was "Dog Bear" and i was "Frogboy".

They were kind enough to let me play a little casio sampler keyboard i brought with me on the trip. iI also played some guitar on a song or two on some radio sessions and on that "Can't get You Out of My Head" song during the show each night.

I look back on those six weeks i spent on the road with them...and wow, it changed my life.

I liken it to trying to jump on a moving train. Not a slow moving train, but one that is really hauling ass. I was unprepared and perhaps a bit naive. I was trying to learn songs i had never heard while riding in a van, i was wearing furry animal outfits on stage during a mostly outdoor festival in August, i was dancing, controlling strobes and smoke, and i was sweating my ass off.

I was dehydrated, not sleeping at night because i had headaches and i was starting each day with several cups of really strong coffee. I was attempting a cold turkey detox from a daily habit of smoking marijuana. Not to mention i was on the road and on stage with what was probably my favorite band since i was 16 or 17 years old. So yeah, it was weird.

I should also mention that i am not really all that "good" of a musician. I wanted to be, but i was nervous and awkward and had almost no musical theory or vocabulary. My knowledge of chords was minimal. Now, it's just a little bit less minimal.

I relied a lot on my ear up to that point. I would play until something sounded good or interesting and that was how i rolled. I had never been formerly taught.

My point is, i don't feel that i did all that well playing with the Lips and i was probably not the best roady, but that's okay.

That experience really served me well in the long run, and i am so grateful for that.

When i got home, i was inspired and determined. I wanted to be better and an expert at jumping on moving trains (if other moving trains were to present themselves).

So i practiced, read up, learned my chords (and what to call them), recorded a ton of songs on my four track and started more bands with friends. Ghostcar kept playing from time to time and that was/is always a great exercise.

Throwing yourself into a situation where you must improvise and sweat, i think it really builds character and strength musically.

Without all of this, i would not have been able to jump on the Polyphonic Spree train when they asked me to do so.

Annie Clark apparently quit the Spree by not showing up to bus call after their SXSW shows to finnish the little tour they were on. I had called Tim or CP before they started the tour to see if i could catch a ride with them to Denver so i could visit a sick and dying friend. They were headed there after the SXSW shows and i thought maybe i could help out by guitar teching or lugging equipment (or something) to earn my ride. They didn't really answer, but they called me when they were on their way home from Colorado and asked if i would be interested in playing guitar on an upcoming tour because Annie had left the band.

I never thought i wanted to be in The Polyphonic Spree, i didn't own their records and was only familiar with a couple of their songs. I gave it some thought and talked it over with my friend David Willingham , who was running sound for the Spree, and we agreed that if David would do another tour, i would join on for atleast one tour. So, everyday for a month i familiarized myself with Polyphonic Spree records and tried to learn the songs. What i could not figure out on my own , or where i could not hear what the guitars were doing, i had Rick Nelson (viola) tutor me on the chord structures by phone from New Orleans. Then, a couple times each week i met up with Ryan Fitzgerald (guitar#1) to work parts out with him. So, in a month's time, i learned all the Spree songs i needed to know to do the tour (and a few more) and i was on the road.

The ten day tour I originally signed up for turned into seven months of touring.

We circled the U.S. a few times, we went to do Summer Sonic in Japan, we toured the U.K. and Canada, i made a busload of new friends and had some incredible experiences. Some of it was hard, stinky, snotty and sweaty and some of it was just fun. I gained a whole new respect for what Tim Delaughter is doing. He is the real deal. The musicians in the Spree are wonderful characters and superb at their craft. I am a better person and musician for working with them.

At the beginning of January, 2008 I told Tim and Julie that I was not going to be touring with them any more. No hard feelings, my heart and mind were elsewhere. They were completely cool and understanding.

That whole winter, spring and summer i was a recording fool.

I was up till dawn every day and night hashing out ideas and sounds , recording and arranging everything on my laptop . I think maybe I was starting to lose my mind a bit.

I wasn't sure if what i was doing was Frogboy material of not, I was just making music.

By the time the summer rolled around i found myself singing over some of the the tracks and it just didn't feel like Frogboy any more.

I was at work in a photo studio one day, painting a ton of sets white. For weeks on end we painted white white white white and white. I was working with this really trippy , older hippy dude that seemed like he took a ton of acid back in the day. He was a master carpenter and just an all around interesting character. I remember he was mixing some paint, primer and some other chemicals and with his really high, southern voice he said ,"man, we're gettin' some new fumes up in here".

"New Fumes" stuck in my head from that point on. It became the title of this group of songs I had been singing over.

There you go...New Fumes is born.

I have been laying low for the past year. I did a couple laptop battles and a couple Ghostcar shows, but mostly i was getting my head and life together. I Gave up the weed (I've been weed free for a year now). I have no desire to smoke, but still love the smell. I stopped drinking coffee. Again, still love the smell. I drink on occasion but don't get drunk (i get enough headaches without alcohol). I found out i have an allergy to gluten. This is good, because i eat awesome food and i feel healthier without gluten in my diet. So yeah, big changes this past year.

Maybe the most exciting thing is that i finished and mastered a New Fumes E.P.

I have had a couple of small labels express interest in releasing it and i am pumped about playing shows.

Since the show on friday, i have booked a few more and have several prospects for playing in some other cities.

For now, New Fumes will be just me and select items in my arsenal, but I do think that I will be adding other musicians as I play more shows and figure out exactly what this needs.

I hope you will return to this blog and see what's going on. Hopefully this experience will be entertaining, enlightening, informative and inspiring.

Peace!