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: