Posted on 12.17.10

wow, is it christmas time already?  (yeah, i know….but i’m trying to seem surprised!)  sure i’m done all of my shopping.  well, except for everyone on my list.  other than that, yeah….good.

in case you haven’t noticed, annnnd judging by the numbers, i’m thinking that maybe you haven’t- but, i’ve been much more active on twitter.  although, i have a problem with two things; first, calling tweets well, “tweets”…but, i guess it’s better than calling them “twits” isn’t it?  second, i find that some  seem to “bark” rather than “tweet”- nope, don’t follow those people.  obnoxious.  oh, and by “much more active,” i mean, getting the occassional word in edge-wise….’cause i can.  so, follow me @ www.twitter.com/seanmmccarthy and we’ll go on this incredible journey together through the wonderland that is wonderful enough to follow me through.  see how i actually said basically nothing just now?  yeah, that’s how i roll sometimes. still, follow me.  thanks.

many thanks to xm satellite radio for keeping me company through my travels.  well, aside from when it sucks and the upcoming cliff, embankment and/or slew of trees blocks the signal.  but otherwise, i love being able to hear new music that may or may not end up on mainstream radio in 6 months- at which point i’ll be tired of the song(s) that everyone is talking about.  still, enjoyable nonetheless.

oh- are you on my mailing list?  ummm, why not?  no, not you- you’re all set ’cause you’re on it.  i’m talking about you.  don’t you know that i sometimes give away free stuff (i’m sucking up to you right now) in addition to telling you about cool stuff (no seriously, sucking up) before anyone else hears about it…..true or not?  so, what is it that you’re waiting for?  www.seanmccarthy.com – slither toward the bottom of any page there & you’ll see how easy it is.

k, that’s my shlobbering shpiel.  oh- almost forgot….wait, awe man, i did forget.

Posted on 11.24.10

Posted on 11.23.10

Posted on 09.10.10

years ago, i remember singing in a cover band (yes, it’s true). after the first set one night, i was being my normal, social self….making my way through the crowd/audience (patrons)….pretty sure there was no break-room which really left me no other choice! still, making my way, and some guy stopped me to discuss the band’s song choices. apparently, he figured he was management material, so i listened. his thoughts and comments quickly led up to him saying something pretty close to, “you guys are pretty good, but it’s your voice. it sounds the same on everything.” i remember starting the next set and immediately going over to his table with my wireless mic and singing to the entire table. just wanted to make sure that they got the most out of their dime….or $5.

fast forward to today….questions regarding the “sunday morning” video can be answered with this- we’re a little behind, i don’t think anyone’s too happy about it, but we’re all trying to finish it up and get our schedules synced up to do so.

on another note, three songs on the ep are featured in the documentary film “mzungu”, due for release on october 1, 2010. the film is featured in a number of film festivals and is currently touring parts of the us. rumor has it, i may perform those same three songs live at a screening in october when it hits the east coast. yeah, i know- an actual “live” performance of sorts? crazy, huh?

sugar.

Posted on 06.02.10

someone told me today that someone told him (can you see where this is going?) that he (the second guy) put my cd in his vehicle while his took his daughter somewhere the other day- sorry for the lack of details, protecting the innocent!  after a few songs, he asked her if she knew who it was and she said, “sure….i heard this on the radio yesterday.”  btw- i know both the first and second people in this story, but not the daughter.  bottom line?  very cool that this record is getting some airplay.  of course….i didn’t hear if she actually liked it!

on another note, i dvr’d something on the documentary channel last night.  it was, yep, a documentary (go figure?) of musician “amy cook” and the typical trials and tribulations of life on the road as an indie musician.  i didn’t start watching it until later and the recording was already done so i was able to stick to the good stuff and skip the “we paid for this airing so let us tell you a little about our business” spots.  first, pretty psyched that i was able to find another artist that i’m now a fan of.  second, it was very cool to see those places where the stage is sometimes where the band will fit without getting hit by darts or the occassional flying pool ball.  amy’s style, in my humble opinion, is very remeniscent of shawn colvin.  but (there’s always a “but”), even though i’m a big fan of shawn (c’mon, we share the same name….er, aside from the spelling), amy’s vocal style seems to have a much broader range and i’m pretty sure that along with that subtle voice that can certainly pull you in as you listen, there’s no doubt that she could belt out some crazy good notes on the other end of the spectrum!  i’ve just started grabbing some of her material from itunes and although i’m sure i’ll have a favorite or two, i’m still taking it all in.  go be a fan- www.amycook.com.

okay, that’s enough of me writing your eyes off for today.  plus, i’m hungry.

Posted on 06.01.10

as i was flipping through some pics on my iphone, i was wondering why in the middle of some la pics there were 3 or 4 pics of a tambourine.  and then it clicked and i remembered steve talking about how famous this particular tambourine had become.  not only was it used on the tories & avion records, but it was also used for the trademark intro to the song, “are you gonna be my girl?” from the band, “jet.”  another little known fact, it also appears in “sympathy” courtesy of steve bertrand himself.  are you starting to see the 6 degrees of separation here?  ….or, something like that?!  ahhh, music trivia for your late-nite, monday night bridge club meeting, get together thingamajigs!  you can thank me later.

yeah, i know, me…..making the world a better place through useless knowledge.  i’ll stir up some stir fry and share some more with you as it comes to me.

piece (of fried chicken)…out.

Posted on 05.19.10

early morning radio spot this morning went well- huge thanks to steve nichols @ magic 97.7! 

i was thinking….facebook, myspace, twitter, etc…all good, but let’s face it- once someone becomes a fan, how often do they really come back to see what’s happening with you?  or, if they happen to have a couple hundred or more friends, do they even see updates that are posted?  it’s not that anyone is ignoring what others are saying, but it’s pretty tough to catch everything unless you’re looking at your computer screen like brokers watch the stock ticker.  now that i think about it, “farmville” may actually have a purpose in keeping fans poised for new news, a solid addition to it’s current purpose of keeping people indoors on a sunny day &  helping many to forget that actual “visiting” is better than being asked for a truckload of lettuce to feed their protein-deprived kids (hey, i don’t play it….how would i know what all of this stuff is for?)  here’s an idea, take 5 minutes, grab a piece of paper and a pen, write, “dear [insert someone you care about here….anyone, seriously], just wanted to let you know i was thinking about you.  signed, [you]”.  fold it up, put it in an envelope, address it accordingly, and then (get ready, this seems to be the hard part), bring it to the post office, stamp it and drop it in the “out” box.  you’ll be amazed at how much you made that person’s day when they receive it. 

where am i going with this?  no where, really.  but thanks for reading that paragraph.  it’s honestly just me coming to the realization that my mailing list is so much more powerful than anything else. 

i’ve decided to post lyrics for the songs on this record.  you know, stuff to read, read into, burn after reading.  it’s funny, as i was spell-checking them, i realized how many i had to either cut out or edit!  many changes occurred from when & how the songs were written to the time that they were recorded.  kind of a cool transition, really.  (i stopped listening to the original versions- they’ll only mess me up when i play these out live!)

i need to hurry up.  all of my ideas run out as my coffee gets colder…..

Posted on 02.21.10

i’ve had to ask what day today is 2 or 3 times.  so much has happened since arriving- it feels like a week has past when it’s been less than 48 hours.  yeah, i’m beat.  but, steve b. probably has more reason- he’s been crazy busy with this project!  sean woolstenhulme is coming in tomorrow to lay down some guitar tracks.  yeah, sure, i play guitar just fine.  but when you have the opportunity to have great players put their spin on your songs, you take it!  i’ll put my six strings in at some point as well in the process.

and so ends another entry.  i need some junk food.

Posted on 02.20.10

landed in la late last night. headed straight to east/west studios with steve to meet the players who were in the middle of another session. late night….

tracked drums & bass today with kenny aronoff & chris chaney. james “jimbo” barton came by at the start to make sure that we were all set with the sounds that he & steve had gotten a couple of nights ago. session was incredible- can’t even put into words how amazing these guys are. some editing and more tracking tonight. posted a few pics on the “photos” page. since i had no tracking that i had to do, that was my job….photographer- well, with my iphone- sorry for the lack of quality on some!

Posted on 02.01.10

decided it was time for a fresh look as well as a place to call “home”.  still in the works, apologies as it’s lacking some prior news….chalk it up to looking forward rather than backward.

also included links to the social networking of your choosing- yeah, i know no one’s really following me on twitter yet….but then again, i’ve had nothing to talk about worth, well, talking about.  that’s changed, i’ll be name-dropping before you know it!

check back when you can.  excitement is building for the upcoming record….