Status: Single
City: Chicago
State: Illinois
Country: US
Signup Date: 7/25/2005
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Wednesday, March 04, 2009
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February was Sex Month, and Nate had one hell of a great time over at SweetheartBrigade.com See for yourself: FEBRUARY: SEX MONTHAs you can see from our logo, The Sweetheart Brigade is all about love– love of anthemic indie-rock-hip-hop, the second amendment, and the ladies. But with the onset of February, we’d like to shift our attention ever so slightly to an oft-overlooked facet of love: sex. With that, I hereby ursher in Sex Month at SweetheartBrigade.com. During Sex Month, you can look forward to a number of balanced and well-thought-out viewpoints on intercourse, and other activities that lead up to it or aren’t quite it. They’re all fair game here during Sex Month. To excite you for all that’s to come during Sex Month, I’ll tickle your fancy with a quirky vid from the folks at Durex ( click here). Spanks a lot. The "Female Orgasm" DebunkedAs you might’ve noticed, it’s Sex Month here at SweetheartBrigade.com– and just in time for February, the month of contrived love celebration (and the same amount of lame-ass sex as every other month). Because I’m an expert on portmanteau-style word combinations like Reaganomics, Ohiowa and Winternet, AND a sex expert, people want to know why I put the term “female orgasm” in quotes when I speak, write and ejaculate. I thought we all had an understanding on this– not so, apparently. It’s a lesson of such pimportance that it bears repeating, so here goes. How to put this delicately… the “female orgasm” is a myth. It’s like the “sasquatch:” non-existent, unprovable, and potentially more hairy than you care to think about. The “female orgasm” is like the “Wizard of Oz:” a complete farce and only theoretically tolerable while stoned and listening to Dark Side of the Moon. The “female orgasm” is like “Atlantis:” getting there requires an expensive Caribbean vacation, and the wherewithal to go down way too far for way too long. The “female orgasm” is like the “Minotaur:” something ominously terrifying you encounter while fumbling blindly through dark tunnels and quietly fearing for your life. In short, the ”female orgasm” is a myth. So why is it a myth? Let’s start at the beginning. Everything in nature exists for a reason. Example: salmon eat mercury, Jeremy Piven eats salmon, mercury eats Jeremy Piven. It’s the circle of life, where everything has a role to play. So if a “female orgasm” did exist, what purpose would “it” serve? I’ll give you a moment to contemplate this rhetorical inquiry………………….. Stumped? Exactly! A “female orgasm” wouldn’t serve any purpose because no one stands to benefit from “it.” “It” is completely unnecessary. Womankind already has the real, male orgasm to enjoy (which is the highest compliment a woman can receive). What’s more, women get an astounding amount of male attention as a prelude to that male orgasm. So as you can see, women are already making out like banditas in the sex game. What else could they possibly need? (Other than to get me a sandwich…) And a man’s potential interest in a “female orgasm?” Ha. Ha ha. A man’s only interest would be protecting his hearing from her deafening, incessant bitching and moaning about how good it feels. I think I speak for the rest of masculinekind when I say “No, thank you” and “Keep it to yourself, sugar.” Frankly, a ”female orgasm” would only make sex longer and more boring than it already is. Now that the ’80s are over, we’ve realized once again that the purpose of sex is procreation. Gestation already lasts 9 months, why drag out sex to upwards of 9 minutes chasing some holy grail of “feminine pleasure?” Childbirth should be enough ecstasy for one year. Procreate and move the fuck on, people. Secondly, the notion of a “female orgasm” is oxymoronic because ‘orgasm’ is a male term. “Female orgasm” is the equivalent of saying “the manly way to fold laundry.” Ridiculous! Ain’t no man gonna ball up my semen-filled dress socks. It’s mom’s way or the highway. Orgasm is inherently male, and that’s just how he’ll stay. Admittedly, there is a kernel of truth to the whole messy business of the “female orgasm,” and it’s that women are faking. It’s true, guys. Women are pretending to have “female orgasms.” With every man. Everytime. Fox News and the rest of the liberal, land-owning, feminazi media have led our fair-yet-gullible ladies to believe that their lack of “female orgasm” is a result of “male incompetence” (also a myth). You expect us to believe that in the 2,000 years of female sexistence, no guy has figured out how to give his lady a “female orgasm?” Really? Sounds like convenient logic to me. My infernal distaste for both convenience and logic notwithstanding, I’m not exactly persuaded. Trust me, if anything is even remotely possible or worth doing, a man has done it by now. Just look at the Snuggie. That said, let’s see the “female orgasm” agenda for what it is: a diabolical propaganda campaign of sour grapes from a pack of envious ovarian conspirators who know full well that masculinity has the manopoly on orgasms. Your house of cards was a lovely one, liberal land-owning feminazi media. But now that it’s fallen apart, you’ve got some cleaning up to do, don’t you? Hop to it! Some might say this type of thinking is misogynistic. To those people I might respond with a firm slap on the keister (theirs, not mine) and a quote from my bandmate and rhymester on-demand Ryan Wukovits by saying, “Misogynistic? Start massagin’ this dick!” The evidence is overwhelming: “female orgasm” is a figment of the liberal land-owning feminazi imagination. So let’s not placate, tolerate, pander or patronize any more of what we know to be total nonsense. Instead, do what’s best for the future. Place some damn quotes (in thought, word and deed) around the term “female orgasm” or any pronouns that signify “it.” The barely legal, insatiably horny, enlightened women of the year 2035 will thank you. And so will I…
Why V.D. is AwesomeThe ides of Sex Month approach and V.D. is practically upon us. So I ask you, “What kind of Sweetheart Brigadier would I be If I didn’t fake this opportunity to extoll the virtues of such a fine occasion?” An un-sweet one. And that’s not me, so here goes lovin’! V.D. is awesome because… - It’s recession-proof. With the emotional stresses of the bum
economy, people need to feel like there’s hope. And more people are
coupling and co-habitating in order to save money. - Sweetest Day is a shallow, contrived, knock-off holiday invented in
a Hallmark laboratory full of glamorously done-up caged animals. - If you go out with someone for V.D., you’re guaranteed sex– which saves you money on GHB.
- Chocolate gives you diabetes.
- V.D. will inevitably spur dozens of schadenfreude-licious entries on FMyLife.com.
- The Vagina Monologues couldn’t steal V-Day from February 14th.
- Mother makes probing inquiries into my single-handedly successful sex life.
- I need another excuse to watch the movie Closer and drink a bottle of red wine by myself.
- It inspired the look, feel and sound of The Sweetheart Brigade.
- My birthday is exactly 9 months after V.D.
- Power outages on V.D. cause a surplus of births in mid-November.
- The idea of chubby, naked babies making people horny is suddenly acceptable.
- “Cupid” rhymes with “stupid.” Also with “poop head,” sort of.
- Celine Dione’s “My Heart (Will Go) On” from the Titanic soundtrack gives me a stage seven
- boner.
- (Sorry. Boner hit the keybo
- ard.)
- It causes a voluminous influx of fresh-as-a-summer’s-eve amateur porn on the interwebs.
- Women set reasonable, clearly communicated expectations for how their partners should plan to celebrate V.D.
These, and only these, are the reasons why V.D. is awesome. Enjoy the most edified V.D. of your life. NymphonarcosisSex Month has been hard, but it marches on… to the beat of a different left hand. And not a moment too soon, I might add. I’ve got a nuevo conundrum ripped from the headlines of my Sexy Soliloquotic Conundrums Journal. I’m not known as a man of science, just as a man with a couple Bill Nye posters. But the sciencetitian in me feels compelled to document a new complication within the female race. I’ve had the misfortune of ramming headlong into said complication a fistful of times throughout my improbably numerous sexual exploits. And the problem is growing, people. It’s growing. I’ve been dissmissively reassured that the issue has nothing to do with my god-like sexual prowess. In fact, my ever-so-lucky (and oh-so-numerous) partners cite a spectrum of other causes: an unprescribed antidepressant habit, lack of lube, supreme intoxication, having natural breasts, supreme un-intoxication, “What’s with all the Bill Nye posters?”, the list goes on. And the ladies are right. Those things may play a role, but I’m no fool. There’s something else that’s preventing a fully copulatious rendez-vous. Something I call nymphonarcosis. (I vehemently and sincerely apologize for this unusually lengthy preamble. I’m simply trying to express the extreme frustration of sexual build up through this slow-as-molasses writing style. But enough of that. Foreplay’s over. I’ll explain nymphonarcosis. Ready? Okay, here it is. Starting… now.) Nymphonarcosis is a smokin’ hot hodgepodge of nymphomania and narcolepsy whereby a woman becomes so sexually aroused that she falls asleep. Crazy, huh? Confounding the situation is my preference toward sex with women whilst they’re conscious. You begin to see my dilemma. So, yeah. It goes about how you might think. I’m sweating, grunting, flexing, posing, pounding, and gasping for air to take her on a physiospiritual journey through the sexmosphere. And all of a sudden, I shift my attention from the mirror next to the bed to her motionless form. I take off her blindfold and… voilà! She’s asleep. Out. Gonzo. Snoozeville. So I tuck her into the covers, and then pick her thong up off the floor, placing it ever-so-gently on her face. Then I lay in bed awake, pretending my rock-hard man mast is a sundial. Not exactly the Tuesday night we were hoping for, you know? Pretty much everything about this disease is unknown to me. I’m not sure if it’s medical, psychological, radical or some other “-ical” I’ve never heard of. I can’t even tell if there’s a particular position with these women that brings it on. I mean, I’ve tried them all (the women, not the positions) and the result is the same– they fall asleep before experiencing the other-worldly pleasure of culminating our sex. Now some braggadocious neanderthals might say, “Screw it, brah. As long as I get off, it’s aaaaaall good.” But not me. I’m a sexual altruist who works his fingers, tongue, dick and solar plexus to the bone on the never-ending conquest of woman-pleasing. So for me, the nymphonarcosis pandemic is a debilitating physiosexual impediment as well as a long, well-hung albatross dangling sleepily around my emotional neck. But can you blame me? This is no run-of-the-mill sex malady. I mean, we’re fingering, dicking and facing an avant-garde medical issue here. So I’ve turned to the experts– sex experts. Sex Expert A: a highly skilled interoperative technician from Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Rashad Abdul-Salaam has this to say about nymphonarcosis: “Sounds like a putoutitary disorder. I think there’s a prescription med that has effects like this. It’s called Trinoassatol. When mixed with alcohol, nonalcohol or whippets, Trinoassatol often produces this effect.” Sex Expert B: Justin “Sex Mitzvah” Geller, Attorney at Sex-Law. “As a Sexitime Lawyer, I’m penetrating a titillating new ho-rizon in sexual litigation that deals with sleep during sexplay known as ’snoregasm laws.’ This is a newd irection in law, so we’re delving into some juicy, virginal issues, here. Things like ‘What are a woman’s rights if she makes the conscious decision to fall asleep mid-coitus?’, ‘Does her partner have an obligation to wake her up before ejaculating in, on or under her?’, ‘Does that partner have an obligation to call her the next day to make sure she was asleep and not dead?’, ’Does that partner have an obligation to call her the next day for any reason?’ These are the subjects that snoregasm law will deeply analyze over the next five to 10 decades.” Of course, I used to rank among these so-called Sex Experts. But thanks to nymphonarcosis, no longer. Now I’m an ex-sex expert, which is both embarrasing and awkward to say. FML. This is just my first foray into the complex depths of the feminine psyche that cultivate nymphonarcosis in a swampy bog of hot stickiness–like cranberries. So we didn’t make an incredible amount of forward progress. But 6 to 8 inches of forward progress is all you need, as long as she stays awake, that is. I’ll advise you, ladies and gentlemen of planet Nate, by saying “Bang with one eye open.” And with that open eye, make a concerted effort to look at your partner every few minutes. With any luck, that’ll keep ‘em awake long enough for you to actually have some sex. And, ladies, if you do make the conscious decision to fall asleep during sex, sleep with one eye open. That way your guy can finish the job before realizing you’re actually asleep.
The Gasm, the whole Gasm and nothing but The Gasm (so help me, Gasm)Sex Month rages on with the hell-borne fury of a woman’s scorn for Sega, so strap on your wristguards and prepare for some carnal tunnel. I’ve encountered another misnomer here in sexland, and I’m calling it out. “Orgasm” is a problematic term, specifically the “or” part. It implies some sort of decision or choice, like “Do you want to hold hands or gasm?” To which I say, What kind of fucktarded question is that? That’s like saying “ifgasm” or “maybegasm,” when all our hard-earned sexperience points head-long towards dead-on-balls accurate phraseology like “whengasm”, “howbiggasm” and “whicheyegasm.” To which I say, Hey there, Sugar Bum. Have you had enough, or would you like MOREGASM?Thus, I decree: - The illusory “orgasm” question shouldn’t even be alluded to.
- Holding hands should be sexiled.
- And The Gasm should be free of conjunctions and conditions— a stand-alone, like the Marlboro Man.
It’s misleading, maleducated and downright wrong to imply an option above, beyond or besides The Gasm. It’s a non-decision, a no-brainer. Zack Morris— whose father is (little known fact) the Marlboro Man—agrees. And he who disagrees with Zack Morris (and by extension the Marlboro Man) is no longer a man. Fact. Even more nefarious is the subversive subtext implied by the “or” in“orgasm”: uncertainty. Who so invited uncertainty unto mine bed chambers and anon betwixt the nethers of my beloved what’s-her-face? Not this guy (pointing to myself with my thumb), mine friends. Not this guy (still pointing). The fact is, “or” simply doesn’t fit the straight-up (or sometimes tilted to the left) forcefulness of what The Gasm really is. The Gasm is hands down the most certitudinous of bodily functions. So why should it be relegated to a nebulous realm of wishy-washy ambiguity like humors, exorcism and menstruation? It shouldn’t. The Gasm is a force of nature, people; let’s treat it as such. coochie bootchies
Sexonomic Recession: Hitting us where it SpurtsSex Leap Day (an ever-so-brief prelude)The traditional Judeo-Venti-Americano calendar says February is over. But calendars and restraining orders are just paper, and paper can’t keep us from what we love. So rejoice and jump for joy— Sex Month now has a Leap Day. The conspiratorial, left-wing confines of February 2009 will contain the powerful burning sensation of Sex Month no longer. So Sex Month has been sextended. I declare today Sex Leap Day— a sextra day of sexiness at SweetheartBrigade.com. Lucky you! Now, on to gloomier pastures.
Sexonomic RecessionEveryone’s bitching about the economy these days. The unemployed, the very recently wealthy, the homeless, the conspiratorial right-wing media, the list goes on. Sigh. Friends, countrymen and pathetic huddled masses, lend me your ears— I’m only gonna say this once. All your complaining? It’s killing my erection. For serious, nothin’ makes my dick softer than a spirited episode of nasally self-important complaining. Except maybe a spirited make out session between John Turturo and Steve Buscemi. Maybe. Now for fear of sounding like a jerk, I’ll say that I’m relatively sympathetic to your plight. (As long as sympathetic, with its morpheme ’sym’ meaning ’same’, doesn’t imply that I’m pathetic like the rest of you cock-softening low-lives.) That is, I understand the idea of your pain. It’s a fact, today’s sexio-economic climate makes us more likely to get laid off than to get laid. That, my cumpatriots, is a frightening prospect. The simple idea of taking someone out to dinner these days is practically unfeasible, what with all the fees. And I’m done proposing that we just “hang out at my place unsupervised”— today’s woman just isn’t responsive to that. She literally does not respond. And then walks away. Frantically. Put bluntly, the sexonomic recession is hitting us where it hurts—in our very manhood. And it’s causing men anxiety about what it means to be a barrel chested, independently wealthy, deity-caliber provider in the year 2009. You can see this anxiety of the ‘merican male manifesting itself in a series of questionably sexy ways: - beardliness
- receding hairlines
- sporting clothes with warm colors
- bed wetting
- impotence and premature emasculation
- cohabitation
- exclusivity/pussy-assed couplehood
- “excessive” masturbation
Women are affected, too. They used to approach dating with the witless abandon of a sugared-up toddler bobbling around licking her lips, drooling for the next fix. Whereas today, women eye dating with the reclusive caution of a clumsy nun in a cucumber patch. They’re: - more sober
- home early
- shopping less (which means they’re less aroused)
- cheating less, or less frequently
- less sympathetic to randomly hooking up
- less susceptible to experimental positions, orifices and settings
- staunchly against three- or four-somes (even with other girls)
- skeptical toward well-intended suggestions of “ice cream and, you know, (wink wink)”
It’s all made the dating game a real lousy place to be. Even the basic objective of dating has shifted. It’s no longer about finding the person you’ll spend the rest of your life cheating on, but about finding the person you can tolerate the rest of the recession with. And even that’s a tall order. But, as usual, I have a modest proposal to bolster morale for the sex-starved single people of this once-orgiastic nation. I propose free blow jobs for every ‘merican. It’s not so much a bail out, as it is a balls-out blow out. These times are like the Titanic panic of 19whenever: everyone’s going down, so offer your dinghy to women and children first. It’s a big job, and when the rubber hits the road, it will be hard. But this is ‘merica. Someone’s going to blow it. Might as well be a smokin’ blonde hardbody with a bald eagle tattooed perilously below her navel. Shlong live the red, white and blew. Nate
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Monday, February 16, 2009
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In the beginning, there was no band, there was no drummer, there were no shows...
It was the year 2001... Cars flew, mutants scavenged for meals in dark alleys, and music was made by computers.
Tim recorded two demo albums with some friends, one in January and one that summer. He called it Children's Masterpiece Theatre. We told him that was a stupid name.
http://www.myspace.com/musicforsadpeople
http://www.myspace.com/firesidesuicide
Check 'em out. These are the weepy emotronic albums that led us to start a live band in 2003. Eventually, we came to rock harder and harder, primarily because it was a lot more fun that way.
-pete-
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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By Jim DeRogatis of The Sun Times & NPR's Sound Opinions A WEEKLY FEATURE DEVOTED TO DO-IT-YOURSELF RELEASES FROM CHICAGO AREA BANDS At first blush, the name Children's Masterpiece Theatre may bring to mind a BBC TV special, or perhaps another aging rocker trying to revitalize his career with children's music. But there's nothing kiddy about the suburban Chicago group - the vibe is much more tortured teen, as in a combination of vintage '90s symphonic Smashing Pumpkins with Tool or Nine Inch Nails electro-industrial thrash. Initially a one-man studio project launched by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Timothy O'Connell, who was on his way to earning an M.A. in religion and medieval literature at Yale at the time, CMT had evolved over the course of several demos and D.I.Y. releases on O'Connell's Tyranny Belle Records to become a guitar, bass, drums and synth quartet by the time of last year's ambitious self-titled album. The group resorts to generic alt-rock at times, as on "Black Neon," currently streaming from its Web site (www.myspace.com/cmtheatre). But on other tunes, including "Lorelei" from its album or "Little Children Scream," a tribute to/rewrite of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," you can hear the promise of a band struggling to find a unique path forward from its obvious influences. Children's Masterpiece Theatre performs an acoustic set at Silvie's Lounge, 1902 W. Irving Park, on Saturday. Jim DeRogatis
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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
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Free Download of "Drift or Die Trying" The newest release by CMT is a collection of B-Sides & Remixes, including numerous collaborations with Ryebread, Antimatter, & M. Sherwood Brent from the Melodic Scribes and the Proscriptions. Many of the songs on Drift were originally created & released for the Tyranny Belle Subscription Service, which sends a free mp3 every Tuesday to members of our mailing list. You can sign up for the TBSS by entering your email address in the box you see in our bio or going straight to TyrannyBelle.com. Drift or Die Trying was released officially at the Beat Kitchen on April 4th.   01. Black Neon (Digger) 02. The Mustang (Lavender) 03. The Big Send Off (Live in Studio) 04. The Jump House (Dancer) 05. Black Neon 06. Little Children Scream 07. Taxes 08. Hollywood Correctional Facility 09. Crush Them Bones (Roller) 10. Night City Ryemix 11. Night City Rainstorm (Coma Daydream) 12. The Mustang (Racer) 13. Drift
Released: April 04, 2008 Recorded and remixed: at The Dope Den, Chicago, IL Produced by: T O’Connell with N Winter. Engineered by: T O’Connell. Art direction: Matthew Brent Cover photograph: Nick Haas Additional contributions: Nick Campbell, Arthur Jordan Children’s Masterpiece Theatre: * Gerald W Good III - Beats * Timothy O’Connell - Voice, Guitar * Peter Walsh - Bass * Nate Winter - Synth Additional performances by: * Arthur Bamford - 07, 13 * Matthew Brent - 09 * Kathryn Hines - 02, 11, 12 * Rashad Abdul Salaam - 01, 05, 06 ,09 * Ryan Wukovits - 01, 05, 06, 08, 10 Additional notes:* Black Neon (Digger): written by R Wukovits, add. vocals by RA Salaam and R Wukovits
* The Mustang (Lavender): written by T O’Connell, N Winter, add. vocals by K Hines
* The Big Send Off (Live in Studio): written by T O’Connell
* The Jump House (Dancer): remix by T O’Connell, add. samples from 2019: After the Fall of New York
* Black Neon: written by R Wukovits
* Little Children Scream: written by Melodic Scribes, adapted from 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson
* Taxes: written by A Bamford, add. guitar and vocals by A Bamford
* Hollywood Correctional Facility: written by T O’Connell, performed by T O’Connell and R Wukovits
* Crush Them Bones (Roller): remix by T O’Connell, N Winter, add. vocals by M Brent, RA Salaam
* Night City Ryemix: remix by R Wukovits, add. vocals by R Wukovits
* Night City Rainstorm (Coma Daydream): written by T O’Connell, add. vocals by K Hines
* The Mustang (Racer): written by T O’Connell, N Winter, add. vocals by K Hines
* Drift: written by T O’Connell, add. guitar by A Bamford
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Monday, March 10, 2008
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Underground Lounge (2/29/08)Flesh of Lost Summers (w/ AB - lead guitar) Taxes (w/ AB - lead guitar, vocals) The Butcher's Pupil (w/ AB - trumpet, KH) The Mustang (w/ KH) "Mary Murder" (w/ KH) The Jump House Roll Them Bones (w/ MSC) Black Neon (w/ MSC) Little Children Scream (w/ MSC) Nate here. SUCK MY PREDICTION I told you so. My prediction of rock excellence for Friday night's show came true like a hand print on a stripper's ass. The Dubious Moniker acoustic set heated up the crowd with clever medley segues and rousing collaborators. Noman ran out of ass to kick after its first 3 songs, but then acquired more ass and then kicked that recently acquired ass for the rest of the set. Children's Masterpiece Theatre? Let's just say the crowd was stunned to the edge of comprehension by a mind-bending maelstrom of rock awesomosity. EMPLOYMENT = LAZY AND NOT SERIOUS ABOUT THE BAND I'm not one for airing the band's dirty laundry in public, so I'm putting this tirade on CMT.net, where only Tim and Pete will see it. It's been a long time coming, so I'm laying it on the server in writing. STOP BEING CHILDREN'S MASTERPIECE THEATRE'S ONLY TWO FANS READING THIS SITE FROM WORK, AND START BEING ITS TWO NEWEST FULL-TIME MEMBERS! That was harsh, but in all earnestness... This band has so much potential, but we can't go anywhere unless we're all committed. Jerry and I are the beginning. When we wake up in the late morning/early afternoon, all we think about is Children's Masterpiece Theatre. This focus improves not only our creativity, but our song writing, technical ability, and performance edge. Can you imagine what this band would be without that? Example: Jerry and I tapered all day on Friday in preparation for the show. And when it was go time, the effect was like uncaging two caged animals of rock. We were ferociously energetic, yet deftly skillful. Tim and Pete? Like watching two sloths name their favorite deadly sin. It takes me all week to write these incredible posts. What if a day job got in the way of that? Children's Masterpiece Theatre would plummet toward mediocrity and oblivion. Jerry and I are just two examples. Look around, guys. Art Bamford: pursues music full-time. Dan Patrevito: music full-time. Justin Geller: same thing. Kathryn: failing out of law school to pursue a musical career. Take the hint. This is what serious musicians do. We ditch the day jobs so we can dedicate our lives to the music. And as strong as we are, it's still tough to drag you two and your day job baggage kicking and screaming behind us. Making good music isn't about having a roof over your head or fresh undies on your johnson. It's about growing avant-garde facial hair (which Jerry has) and buying third-hand clothes a size too small from second hand shops (which I would do if I didn't have so much of my dad's money). It isn't about sucking up to The Man day in and day out; it's about expressing feelings for no reason in particular. And using the lyrics "I feel," and "insane" a lot. This is not an ultimatum, it's "How To Start A Successful Rock Band," page 1, first edition. Jerry and I already wrote the preface. How the story ends is up to you guys. in the free world, Nate
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Sunday, February 24, 2008
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Prior to their 2007 Self-Titled album, Children's Masterpiece Theatre released four full-length albums, an EP, and various CD singles. Originally the one-man band of Timothy O'Connell, CMT has progressed and evolved dramatically since its inception in 2001. What follows is an attempt at the complete history of CMT, including the early history of its members. Photographs lost in the sands of the internet will be restored at some point, and their tags stand as a reminder. Timothy O'Connell, Jerry Good, and Peter Walsh (the original core members of CMT) grew up together in the western suburbs of Chicago, and have played music together since the 7th grade. The first time the members played together was in a garage band called Fuzz. In 1995, Q101's "Local Music Showcase" in Chicago, then hosted by James Van Osdol, featured Fuzz as their "demo of the week." This band consisted of James Henes on lead guitar and vocals, Timothy O'Connell on rhythm guitar, John Nagrodski (now John P. Chase) on bass, and Jerry Good on drums. (above: John P. Chase in the recording studio for Fuzz's "Radio Superstar" demo) Soon, J.P. Chase left Fuzz and joined up with Brandt Gassman (Hype Factor) to play keyboards in an ambient dark-electro duo called (fearfeedsfear), and Pete Walsh joined Fuzz as bassist. The band wrote dozens of original songs, despite Henes frequently breaking up the band and destroying all the demo tapes. For a time, O'Connell left the band, following a violent incident with a microphone stand, and Fuzz became a three-piece while O'Connell briefly contributed vocals to (fearfeedsfear). Fuzz re-united for one practice, but finally broke up for good. Two tapes are all that remain of Fuzz, and are being kept safe until the National Archives requests them. (above: Tim O'Connell, digital terror.) At about this time, O'Connell and Chase began collaborating on an Industrial act called Digital Terror, inspired by their collaboration in (fearfeedsfear). To oversimplify their roles, O'Connell served as frontman/vocalist and Chase programmed beats/keyboard. (Chase & O'Connell) (O'Connell) After the breakup of Fuzz, O'Connell recruited Walsh to join DT as bassist. DJ Lori Lori at one time contributed vocals to certain Digital Terror songs and, to the degree that the instrument can be contributive to anything, the theramin. (above: dt left to right--Peter Walsh, Timothy O'Connell and John P. Chase) (Chase, Walsh & O'Connell live as Digital Terror) (above: O'Connell and Walsh, prepping for digital terror performance.) Walsh and J.L. Bergquist, meanwhile, began making music on their own, and, bereft of Chase, Brandt Gassman welcomed them to join him in reviving (fearfeedsfear). The threepiece recorded half-a-dozen songs at Gassman's studio, which DJ Lori Lori contributed vocals to. Musical and photographic evidence of this (fff) incarnation exists and is likewise ready for the archives. As Digital Terror came to an end, many of the players in this scene got together in their first "live band" arrangement since Fuzz: O'Connell, Chase, Walsh, Bergquist and C. Plumb (Idol & the Whip) recorded "Not For What's Lost" as Commodore 64, and performed their own version of Spears' "Hit Me Baby (One More Time)." (authentic ticket to C64 performance) O'Connell next recorded "A Red Boy and His Girl" with Brandt Gassman and Peter Celauro, and "Love Songs For the Obsessive and Deranged" with Bergquist and Walsh. (Both songs made it to CMT's first album, 2001's Music For Sad People.) During the fall and winter of 2000, O'Connell had been piecing together a home studio in his pantry to record, under the name Children's Masterpiece Theatre, the tracks which later became the album "Music For Sad People," released in January of 2001. Current bassist P Walsh and DJ Freelance appear variously on these tracks. O'Connell began to distribute copies of MSP among friends and quickly found that P Whitaker, a good friend from high school, shared his vision of a fly-by-night studio project with a rotating roster of collaborators. The two spent most of 2001 writing and then recording the songs that became "Fireside Suicide Sing-Along Songs," and released the compilation in August of 2001. The album's goal and function was the re-imagination of O'Connell's lilting and emotive songwriting as over-produced electronica; however, Fireside led almost instantly to talks of live performances. P Walsh, by now a regular contributor, and M Yarlaggada play the bass and violin, respectively, on these recordings. 
(above: P. Whitaker, T. O'Connell, P. Walsh at Ice Planet Hell)
In spring of 2002, O'Connell, Walsh and Whitaker spent a week in Bloomington, IN, at the home of P Whitaker, meeting up with potential drummers and discussing the new direction of the band. During this trip, known now as "The Procession," CMT recorded live acoustic sessions of old and new demo material (now known as the "inferno tapes"), and practiced as a full band in the basement of the Abercrombie Skins. 
("The Inferno")
(O'Connell)
(Whitaker in Bloomington) (Whitaker and O'Connell during recording of live material in Bloomington) In addition to looking for a drummer, Children's Masterpiece Theatre was considering the benefit of a keyboardist; CMT was, after all, overproduced electronica up until that point. A keyboardist would bridge the gap between electronica and rock. At their wits' end on both counts, Walsh suggested Jerry Good and John P. Chase, two friends and musicians they had worked with before. But no one had played music with Jerry in years--last anyone heard, he had given up the drums for turntables--and, furthermore, he was still in occasional contact with ex-Fuzz frontman James Henes, who O'Connell and Walsh feared might be incredibly hostile to a reunion that left him out; and John Chase, while still a close friend, had been in infrequent contact since 2000. O'Connell agreed, nevertheless, that those two, if they were interested, would be a good fit. Both agreed, and in the summer of 2002, O'Connell, Walsh, Good and Whitaker took up residence in the home studio of long-time friend J.P. Chase; "Unstable Studios" became "Unstable/Chase Studios," and 2002 saw the release of "Nitetime All the Time," an ambitious collection of songs produced by O'Connell and engineered by O'Connell and Chase.
(above: Unstable Studios) 
(Unstable/Chase Studios: J. Chase, P. Walsh, P. Whitaker, J. Good, T. O'Connell)
Throughout the recording of "Nitetime All the Time," Chase's presence during live practices naturally waned in favor of studio contributions, and Whitaker returned to Bloomington prior to the completion of the album; it became clear that CMT was now a three-piece band consisting of G Good, T O'Connell and P Walsh. "Nitetime All the Time" features additional performances from P Whitaker, J Chase, and P Celauro, who recorded lead guitar in Whitaker's absence to finish up the album.
(Back to front: O'Connell, Good, Walsh) 
(Good, O'Connell, Walsh)
(above: Jerry Good and a collection of broken drumsticks)
CMT had become a fully functional live act by summer of 2003 and, though J Chase was no longer a contributor to CMT musically, citing creative and lifestyle differences, he continued to provide support, not only with the use of his studio, but by contributing his van and technical support for live shows.
(P. Celauro and T. O'Connell in Momence; the Unstable/Chase van to the right)
Meanwhile, P Whitaker, who may have preferred CMT as a studio project, found that his interests and the interests of the band were no longer consonant. In 2003, CMT recorded their second album without him (i.e. as a three-piece) at Unstable/Chase. The Diseases of Venus was released in September of that year. P Celauro plays guitar and provides backing vocals on this album.
(above: Tim O'Connell and Brandt Gassman - Unstable/Chase Studios)
(CMT, including P. Celauro, live in Kankakee) During this time, The Jonathan Chase Symphony had briefly resumed the role of Digital Terror, representing Chase's and O'Connell's solo and collaborative work. A half-dozen techno tracks Chase had written over the years, along with two new collaborative efforts ("Kate Blank" and "Predator's Ball") and one solo track by O'Connell ("Ghosthouse") were compiled; however, no album ever officially dropped. "Ghosthouse" was added to CMT's '03 release, The Diseases of Venus.
Between September of 2003 and August of 2005, CMT continuted to play as a three-piece and found that the ensemble's sound was changing too quickly for O'Connell to document in an album, busy as he was with related projects. In 2004, O'Connell and M.S. Brent had released Fenix Down under the name The Proscriptions. During the summer of 2004, though no CMT recordings were made, O'Connell planned to found a new studio the following summer and capture CMT's evolving sound. By the summer of 2005, O'Connell had founded the record label now known as Tyranny Belle. Children's Masterpiece Theatre moved from Unstable/Chase to Tyranny Belle's Outer Heaven studio in May of 2005, recorded an EP called "Sheep" and released it in August of 2005. The function of this EP was to document the progress that CMT had made during the previous summer as a three-piece; many have remarked that it represents a radical departure from the previous albums. It featured the two newest CMT songs, "Pain Assessment" and "Something Haggard," the first two songs written as a full band at practice, as well as live versions of two of CMT's oldest songs, "Great Expectations" (written in 2000 but never recorded) and "Car Bomb" (previously "Car Hug" from Fireside Suicide Sing-along Songs). It was clear from the EP that CMT was developing more of a live sound, and O'Connell was experimenting anew with the range of his vocals.
(Good and O'Connell during "Sheep" sessions) O'Connell and M.S. Brent also released their second Proscriptions album, Fission Mailed, that same summer, and played numerous live shows up until Brent moved to California. The Proscriptions helped O'Connell to experiment and perfect not only his songwriting, but both his studio skills and live vocal performance.
In addition to CMT and The Proscriptions, Tyranny Belle released Life Intimidating Art by Dubious Moniker (produced by O'Connell) that summer. Dubious Moniker was born in 2002 when J.P. Chase and O'Connell recorded a short demo with A Bamford. A Bamford and G Manolis (Wake of Poseidon, Stale Chofli) were the core members during the recording of Life Intimidating Art, and in early 2006, Dubious Moniker became a live act consisting of A Bamford (vocals, guitar), P Celauro (lead guitar), P Walsh (bass guitar) and G Manolis (drums). Children's Masterpiece Theatre began recording their fifth full-length album in 2006 at Tyranny Belle's new Double Duece studios, with additional performances by J. Chase, A. Bamford, and vocalist K. Hines. During the recording of the Eponymous, CMT performed dozens of shows in and around Chicago. They released the self-titled debut in September of 2007. Since the release, Nate Winter has been added to the roster on keyboard, and collaborations with Ryebread & Antimatter (Melodic Scribes) have become more frequent. CMT regularly releases demos, live recordings, collaborations and covers in free downloads via the Tyranny Belle Subscription Service, the label's free mailing list.
This is a living history and members of CMT will continue to add to and revise it.
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
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Category: Art and Photography
The following are pictures from CMT's record release show at the Abbey Pub, back in September, which was a Q101 event organized by Midnight Standard Revue featuring WWF legend The Iron Sheik, who wrestled some local musicians.  CMT is pictured with A. Bamford ( Dubious Moniker) and K. Hines, who were featured on the album, Nate Winter, CMT's new keyboardist, and two of the Melodic Scribes, RyeBread & Antimatter Bonecrusher. CMT and Melodic Scribes played together on the Scribes' song "Little Children Scream," which borrows from "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson. CMT played the part of King Crimson at the show. 
The set list at the Abbey was as follows:
1. The Jump House
2. Kill All Vampires!
3. Paint it Black
4. Lorelei
5. The Big Send Off
6. Little Children Scream (with Melodic Scribes)
7. Flesh of Lost Summers (with A Bamford)
8. The Butcher's Pupil (with A Bamford + K Hines)
9. "Mary Murder" (with K Hines)
10. Night City Rainstorm (with K Hines)
-pete
CMT
 | Currently listening:
Strange House
By Horrors
Release date: 15 May, 2007 |
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
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Current mood:  full
Category: Web, HTML, Tech
Howdy killers, this is Tim. I just wanted to stick my head in and bump a few things: 1.) We're playing an all ages show at SubT this Sunday (10/21/07) and we're not leaving any room for anyone to make excuses this time around: there will be face painting (courtesy of Benny from Rusty Pipes), I baked two different kinds of cookies (oatmeal and coconut) and doors are at 6pm so you could, if you were so inclined, show up at 6:30, stick around for a couple of hours, eat homemade cookies, watch us do our thing, and be out of there by a quarter till 9pm. 2.) We've got a real website now: it's http://childrensmasterpiecetheatre.net. Nate and I have been doing news updates pretty regular. His are really funny and well-written. Mine have been mercifully short. The site is a work in progress, and I'm pretty much coding it by hand so it's coming together slowly. If you pop over there and check the news queue, you'll find the recipe for CMT Atomic Death Cookies. 3.) Don't forget to holler at our new joint, " The Mustang". It was featured on our label's Subscription Service last week and it's a pretty fucking sweet piece of work. Yours, TOC
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
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Current mood: grateful
Category: Music
The album is done. It's shipped. It's quite good.  We released the album Thursday the 27th at the Abbey Pub. You can pick it up now at our shows or through PayPal right here on our MySpace page. PayPal lets you pay securely with credit, debit, e-checks, sanguigraphed deeds to your soul, etc. $10 (plus S&H) through PayPalThe album was recorded and produced by Tim at our studio here in Chicago and mastered by he and Peter Celauro of Dubious Moniker. The album art was done by M.S. Brent of the Proscriptions. Additional performances on the album from Art Bamford (of Dubious Moniker), John Chase, and Kathryn Hines. We would like to thank all the people who waited patiently for the album to be completed, and who supported us this and last year as we painstakingly set out to play at and get blacklisted from every dive bar and concert venue in and around Chicago: Peter Celauro, Artie, John Chase, Benny, Catherine, Justin, Megan, Monika, George, Brooke & Mike, Dan & Marjie, Joe & Cassie, Robert, Ashley, Vik, Palav, Dr. Bold, Colin Harris, Rashad, Ryan Wukovits, Sujay, Deana, Holly, Leah, Mike Walton, Samson & friends, Mary "Murder", Eric V., Claire, Edgar, and anyone else we may have forgotten. We also need to thank the friends we met along the way: Andrew Beer and Blackbird Suite, Boris and Remedial Records, the Backroom, Andrew Stott, Big Jon w/ Midnight Standard Revue, Razor & Di, everyone at FearlessRadio, and Todd "Fook" Fooks. Their support went above and beyond what was required of them as strangers--which was nothing--and we are truly grateful.  Pete CMT
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Thursday, May 17, 2007
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