*116 pages on HD color Fedrigoni matte coated paper – Language: English/Italian - 1st press, numbered copies!*
Every month of 2019 we released a song. Some of the songs were written the month before they were released, while some songs were written as early as 2009. Each month, Eli Wengrin made a cover for the single, and I wrote a little essay to go along with the song. In early 2020, we asked our friends if they had any art or words they would like to share that was, in some way, related to Calendar. All of the contributions have been compiled into this book.
Looking back at the beginning of the year, it’s hard for me to remember exactly who I was when writing the first entry for Toursong. Whatever sense of identity that I feel today isn’t the same as what I felt a year ago; In a sense, I am a “new person.”
If Sam from a year ago is a different person from Sam as I am today, there is no reason that I (today) should attribute any more weight to their (me a year ago) wants and desires than I would to any other person who I know. Right now, I relate to a lot of friends more than I do to my past self. I am equal to my peers.
While making the XTC album “Skylarking”, Virgin Records told Andy Partridge, the band leader, that he had to make the record with an American producer in an attempt to tap into the American market, and eventually Todd Rundgren was hired for the job. The record is amazing, one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time, but the story goes that Andy and Todd butted heads throughout the entire recording process. Their egos were both too big. Now, Andy hates the album. He claims that Todd completely fucked it up at the last second by “reversing the polarity” of the tape, something that would in practice have an undetectable effect on sonic quality.
There is a song on Skylarking, “A Man Who Sailed Around His Soul.” The song is about a man who tried to “find himself,” but he actually found nothing.
"Now he sits all alone
And it's no place like home
It's empty skin
A bag to keep life's souvenirs in"
Ego is a sham. Identity is a sham. Don’t try to find yourself, find others.
Includes unlimited streaming of Never Bored (feat. Jimmy Kraft & mnngg)
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Baseball Gregg Vinyl Discography
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Calendar + Sleep Vinyl boxset - for the cheapest price ever!
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about
Eighth song off "Calendar", out on August 31st!
Artwork by Eli Wengrin
--
In July my best friend John moved to Chicago. In the weeks leading up to his departure I thought a lot about our friendship and how important he has been in my life. We were very close during the years of my adolescence, when a large part of my personality was formed.
The first band I played in was with John, and without him it’s possible that I would have never started writing songs. There’s a Joni Mitchell lyric, “love is touching souls, surely you’ve touched mine because part of you pours out of me in these lines from time to time.” John’s influence on me, both as a musician and as a human, is immeasurable. He is one of the people I love most in this world, and not having him as a regular figure in my life feels like a part of me has died.
In the last weeks before John left for Chicago I was feeling depressed. I was spending so much time worrying about the future that I was unable to live in the present. Part of the depression was a sense of guilt I felt for wasting my last few weeks of living close to my best friend.
Recently I’ve been excessively worried about “hiding” from my emotions. I believe it’s better to take time and space to process negative thoughts rather than trying to shove them aside to continue living as if nothing is wrong. But excess space can lead to isolation; It’s important to know when to detach and process how you’re feeling, but it’s just as important to know when to reengage with the world around you.
I wrote “The Breeze” a week before saying goodbye to John, and while writing it I realized that I was ready to reengage with the world. A few days after writing the song, I went to the last show John’s band Boy Romeo played in Sacramento. They played together with Zelma Stone, who sang the beautiful guest vocals on this song.
The second verse of “The Breeze” is addressed to John, but the song as a whole is a reminder to myself to enjoy the present. The future is never still, but the winds of change don’t have to feel like a hurricane, they can be as pleasant as a breeze.
lyrics
Driving to the show I scan the radio
But there's nothing on to make me feel like dancing
Wind in the trees but it won't rustle the leaves
And I can't stop daydreaming about crashing
In due time we can think of all of these things
But for now if you don't mind I'll take a load off my feet
Cause tonight we've got everything that we need
So let's take a moment and we'll try to enjoy the breeze
I've known you quite some time
in fact it feels like my whole life because
I don't know who I'd be if I weren't your friend
Windy city bound, you'll have a whole new stomping ground
I hope I won't be long before I see you again
In due time we can think of all of these things
But for now if you don't mind I'll take a load off my feet
Cause tonight we've got everything that we need
So let's take a moment and we'll try to enjoy the breeze
credits
from Calendar,
track released August 30, 2019
Vocals by Chloe Zelma Studebaker
Master by Dylan Wall
Artwork by Eli Wengrin
The Seoul-based indie pop duo lean deeper into the interplay between dance and emotion on their second album for Beeline Records. Bandcamp Album of the Day Aug 31, 2023
