So, we finished the next batch of Cuban Heels recording. There's a new 7 song mini album called 'Give The Bone A Dog' that will be available in a limited release around December 15. Like the first one, some of these songs will make it onto the finished album. Anyway, here's a new video, that i'm very proud of. More news to come soon!

Hi all..Lots to blog about, but not enough hours in the day. Soon though... In the meantime, here's a lovely little, rustic, self-edited video from that wonderful day in the studio. Enjoy, and share around!

Michael Carpenter & new band 'The Cuban Heels' release new mini album in record time!!

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I’m happy to announce that my new project, Michael Carpenter & The Cuban Heels has released a new 7 song mini-album, titled “New Dog – Old Tricks”. Recorded almost completely live on August 2, 2008.. yes, just over 3 weeks ago, this project sees me going down the country/alt.country/countrypop path I’ve been alluding too for many years. It’s kinda like Tom Petty with pedal steel. Or Bob Dylan with pedal steel. Or The Band with.. err.. pedal steel.....

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The whole concept of the project came from being asked to do a show with the wonderful Bryan Estepa here in Sydney on September 3. Rather than just re-heating the Michael Carpenter solo experience, I decided to put together a whole new band… a country band!! I had a couple of appropriate new songs, had a few co-writes lying around, plus I had a few covers I wanted to have some fun with. So I gathered together some of my favourite people, who also happen to be amazing musicians, gave them a week or two’s notice, booked us into the excellent Linear Recordings, with engineer Chris Vallejo and bashed out 7 songs in a really fun, exhausting and exhilarating day. Apart from the overdubbing of Jason Walker’s pedal steel and a few lines of backing vocals, the project was cut all live, together, in one room, with only occasional use of headphones. ....

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After years of making records one instrument at a time, crafting and refining them, (which I love), I thought it was time to show another side of what I love… the sound of a room interacting with a band playing together.. capturing a band as they learn the songs and play their instinctive best. Some of my favourite albums reflect that, and I felt like it was time for me to reflect that side of what I love. Plus, was I good enough to pull it off? Could I sing in tune for a whole song.. for a whole day? That challenge was daunting and exciting. And I think we all pulled it off......

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So these 7 songs on the “New Dog-Old Tricks” mini album ARE the start of a new record. But not all of these songs will be on that record. There are 2, maybe 3 songs I definitely will not be including on that album, whenever that happens. So the idea of this mini album is to embrace the moment.. to spread some of the spirit of immediacy the recordings were done with to the listener. These days, with the structure of the traditional music industry model crumbling before our eyes, I didn’t want to sit on this record and wait. I wanted it released as soon as possible. And this mini album marks an experiment for me. This is all about getting the music out there…getting this project out there. So I’m offering 3 songs as a free download to anyone already on my mailing list, or anyone that joins my mailing list in the foreseeable future. And I encourage people to pass this deal on to anyone they think might like what I’m doing. All people have to do is subscribe to my very low traffic mailing list (either sign up on my My Space front page or from my out of date website) and they get 3 free songs. For those that want more, or like what they hear there’s the whole 7 song mini album, with artwork and extra pics available from the Big Radio site (www.bigradio.com.au) in a zip file with high quality mp3s for $7 US. For those that want the CD, a slimline case CDR is available for $11 including postage anywhere from the Big Radio site.. It’s a VERY limited edition pressing of the CD though. It is available also from Not Lame, and a select few other retailers will follow. It will not be available from iTunes etc for at least another month or so, but will get there eventually.....

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The tracklisting for the mini album is......

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1. The Ballad Of Ambivalence....
2. Oh No, Not You Again....
3. Some Days Are Worse Than Others....
4. Workin’ For A Living....
5. If You Ask Me....
6. It’s Not That Simple....
7. Jambalaya....

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Tracks 2, 4 & 6 are included in the free download.....

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So that’s all. Enjoy and spread the word. If you happen to be in ....Sydney.... next Wednesday night, come along to the Excelsior Hotel. It’ll be a fun night!!

(PS.. if for some reason you decide to purchase, and something goes wrong, please be patient, and i'll fix it up asap. I'm a novice at all this web stuff..)....

So... the next step in the great Michael Carpenter & Cuban Heels experiment starts to reveal itself..

The tracks are more or less finished. I'll be mastering next week and will have a sneak peek track up after that. I'm very excited, and i hope if you've had a chance to look at some of the pics, you'll get a sense of how much fun it was. There's some video as well... we're just working out how to best present it.

So... i have a bit of a plan to get this out there. I've never done this sort of thing before, so would be keen to hear any thoughts.

So... i've been keeping something under my hat for a few weeks, and now i can finally tell you all...

I had this idea a while ago that i'd like to do a project a bit differently. I'm used to meticulously putting things together one at a time in my studio. I'm really good at that, and have made a lot of records that way. Apart from parts of the Kingsrdworks album, that style of record making has certainly defined my solo career. And i LOVE making records like that.. crafting. Layering. Really creating a 'sound'.

But, as a live musician for well over 20 years, there's another side of me that i feel needs to be reflected. I think i'm a pretty good, experienced live performer. The amount of work i've done as a live sideman bears that out. PLUS.. a lot of my favourite music just sounds wonderfully 'live'... where you can hear the vibe of the room.. the spill.. the ambience.

Another factor is that people generally know me as the 'pop' or 'powerpop' guy. And i love that for sure. But i listen to The Band as well.. one of my favourite bands. Mid 60's Dylan. The rootsier side of Tom Petty. Steve Earle. Buddy Miller. You get the idea. I LOVE that stuff... plus i've made a lot of country or alt country records for other people lately.

Over the last few years i've developed a great network of great friends who are amazing players. I seem to play with 6 or 7 people in 5 or 6 bands all the time. I know them really well, admire them very much and love them as people. They love me back and support me and i enjoy their company a lot.

So... a few weeks back Bryan Estepa asked me to do a support for the first of his Wednesday night residency shows he's doing in September. I was excited because i haven't done a band show in a while. But then i thought "maybe i should see this as the opportunity to do something new?" And so, with that idea, i announce...

Michael Carpenter & The Cuban Heels.

The lineup is loosely..

Me (guitar)
Casey Atkins (lead guitar)
Jadey O'Regan (piano)
Russell Crawford (drums, guitar, piano)
Charlie Lee (bass)

with special added guests..
Glenn Wilson (drums)
Tim Byron (hammond)
Jason Walker (pedal steel)

The idea is i've got enough great guys that in any situation i can have the right lineup to do the job. It's VERY low pressure and everyone can just relax and have some fun.

So, i started thinking of songs. I wrote a few. Had a few lying around. thought of a few covers i'd like. I then had a further crazy thought.. "let's record an EP and have it ready well in advance of the first gig!! And we'll record it as live as possible.. vocals and all".  So yesterday most of the people above (our pedal steel player is still MIA.. call me Jase!!) went into the incredible Linear Recordings with engineer/owner Chris Vallejo (which is handily next door to my Love Hz Studios) and we set up and aimed to bang through 7 songs in one day. Basically, an instant record. I wanted it to feel like a band playing together. Without it being too retro, kinda like a Dylan 'Highway 61 Revisited' vibe... lots of spill.. really natural. I felt like i was singing well enough, and the band was certainly playing well enough. For the first few songs, i was in the same room as everyone. No headphones. Facing Russell's drum kit. All close together.. reacting off each other. It was exhilirating. When we went in after the first takes to listen, we knew it was going to be a very special day. We ploughed through a whole bunch of things with me, Casey, Russell, Charlie and Jadey. I moved into the booth after a while for some extra seperation for a few specific songs. Then Glenn Wilson came along to play drums, and Russell moved to acoustic, and Tim Byron joined us on hammond. We had 7 of us cutting a particular cover version, which should be the first 'single', all live. It was amazing.. the band all locked in. We kept it simple and incredibly effective.

By the end of the day, we'd cut 7 songs.... and in the biggest shocker.. to TAPE! Yikes!! My voice had caved in by the last song, but the band played it well, so maybe i'll cheat a little and re-do that one... or maybe my voice dying will be part of 'the moment'. One of the songs i'm not sure we nailed as well as we could. But still, i reckon we have 6 absolute keepers. We'll need to add some BVs and when we locate Jason, get him to add his sweet pedal steel. But essentially, we have a record.

There was a bunch of things that i remember of yesterday, that will just live with me forever. How beautifully sympathetic and prepared these wonderful musicians were to what we doing. How incredible Chris Vallejo ran the sessions in his wonderful studio. If i didn't have a studio to run i'd suggest everyone go to him. He was amazing.. i continually was throwing scenarios at him, and he reacted so well. Amazing. How the piano started off a little out of tune, but seemed considerably more out of tune by song 7!! How i should have stuck to my original plan of the running order!! How quickly these guys all picked up the songs and knew what to play. How exciting it was to make a record this way. Sure.. it's not the way you'd make most contemporary records, but it was a wonderully indulgent way to make this record. I'm too far along now to give a shit about how contemporary it's all supposed to be.. this is something i'd always wondered if i was good enough to do. I chickened out a bit with Kingsrdworks, but this time i felt REALLY good about it all. I can't wait to hear it all again tomorrow.

The plan is to finish this as soon as possible. I'd hoped by the end of this week, but more realistically it'll be the end of next week. It will go straight into manufacture, and i'll print up a VERY limited EP/Mini Album.. maybe only 100 copies. It'll be available for download as well. James Cooper of Dreamer Productions came down and shot some video and stills as did my wonderful wife. Those pics will be up soon. In a few months we'll go back in and do a few more songs. Then maybe a few more a few months after that. Hopefully we'll pick the best out and get an album together... the plans are all up for grabs at this point. We'll be looking for gigs. This is NOT a side project. This is a new band.

I'll have something up here asap.

Without getting preachy, we all have short lives. There are things we dream about. We sometimes dream we're good enough to do something. I've been fortunate enough to live out a bunch of my dreams.. big dreams. There's always more dreams to live, but this ticked off a big box that i didn't realise was so big...

Well... the morning report is that the knee feels much better this morning. Still off to the doctor, but i'm assuming the Reaper has no interest in me just yet..

(That may have been a bit dramatic...)

Thanks for all your thoughts anyway... I guess my body was telling me i needed a rest.. surprisingly.

So.. things have been busy. I've been lecturing for a few weeks. It's been ok.. i look forward to getting a bit better at it in the new few weeks. Studio is busy with good work. Gigs have been great lately. Mastering is good. It's been a full on schedule, but all good stuff and i've been happy... feeling really good.

So, on Thursday night i get home from work and say to the wife, "my knee feels a bit sore". I pull up my jeans and it has blown up to 3 times the size. It feels all fluidy but i can still walk fine, so i assume i must have bumped it or something. I had a full day on Friday so didn't get to go to the doctors, but by Friday night, it's even bigger, and more painful, and i don't feel so good. So this morning, after a GREAT 9 hours sleep, it feels even worse. So i head to the doctor.

He takes one look at it, and says "that's an extremely serious knee infection." He starts wondering whether i should go straight to hospital or not, but decides we'll try some heavy duty anti-biotics first. But he says i need to rest for a while, whith my leg elevated above my heart. I jokingly say "well, i need to be at the studio in an hour". He very calmly explains that this is SERIOUS. As in, if not treated immediately, is life threatening. The speed at which it has blown up says it's a very aggressive infection, and that if it hasn't reduced significantly by Monday, i will go to hospital.

Needless to say, i'm now lying on the couch with my leg up, and will be for the foreseeable future.

Life throws you up some curly ones, that's for sure..

MC

Oh dear.. I was sent this link, and it's the first time in a long time i've had tears rolling down my cheeks with laughter. This is using technology for good. Thank you Joe.