The Flaming Lips / Lightning Bolt Vinyl Pressing Session Highlights

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

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

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!!!

The Flaming Lips/ Prefuse 73 vinyl

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

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

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

New song, first mix

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

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

Get Em While They Are Hot

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

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

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!

Wayne Coyne made 30 of these cool posters!

Finally!

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.