Bad News: Sunday morning at 3 am, Jed Gleason was in a very serious car accident. His car hit a slick patch of road and spun out, flipping over several times. In the process, Jed was thrown from the vehicle. The speed and severity of the action totaled his car.

Good News: Jed is very much alive and kicking. Despite suffering from a separated shoulder, bruised lungs, a lacerated kidney, and requiring 6 staples in his head, Jed looks and sounds great.

We in the band did not find out about Jed's injuries until Sunday night, at which point we had a band visit to the hospital to check on our main man. Sure enough, Jed is a little worse for the wear, but is still in better physical condition than most normal men are on a good day.

While his injuries will take some time to heal, we are confident that our two groups, Stone Lucy and Dollar Williams and the Profiteers, can keep up our intensity so when we return to the RVA scene in 2009 we will be ready to kick some ass and take some names.

So we have a mixed blessing. We are content to thank God that Jed is alive. Richmond has not lost its best drummer. We have not lost our friend. Life, despite its downturns, is very good.

Stone Peeps...

Someone mentioned to us the other day that we have been nominated to play in the Monroe Park 40th Anniversary Festival in October.  They are deciding the bill based on audience votes - so let's show 'em what's up. 

Go to this link: http://www.40th.vcu.edu/festival/bands.php and vote for your favorite band (that's us - the list is alphabetical, so we're in the bottom right).

You can vote for us multiple times from the same computer, so start voting your asses off, there is no reason we shouldn't be closing this show - after all, Monroe Park is where Garrett panhandles, it would be disappointing to be demolished on our own turf.

Love,

Stone Lucy. 

No, not dollars (we broke many of those with out-of-pocket expenses to keep the Lucy ship afloat long ago).  We're talking about Myspace friends of course.  You guys.  The only people that really matter right?  So we're bloggin' all 1001 of you that say:  VOTE FOR OUR FUCKIN' BAND TODAY PLEASE.  No shame right?  Go here:

www.coldplayontour.com/wwdc

We're 14th from the top (aka 2nd from the bottom).  I know I know... there's no chance in hell at this point right?  But the POINT IS we're better than 185 votes and that said with the most modest of implications. 

Beyond that... this Sat we'll be performing on the Eastern Shore of VA (Adam's homecoming) at the Benefit For the Hungary Festival in Onancock, VA (we hit the stage around 6 we're told).  So if your reading this and you live on the Eastern Shore or (anywhere within 60mi of there) we expect to see you on Sat.  Adam has lots of beers to drink with lots of people so come help him get as wasted as possible (not that he needs help there really). 

The rock group Coldplay (if you don't know them, check 'em out at http://www.coldplay.com/index.php) is having a contest to see who opens for them at the Verizon Center. 

We beat out about 2,000 other groups between Baltimore and Hampton Rhodes to get in this contest – they've narrowed it down to the 15 "best" bands in the region.  We're one of them, but now we need people to vote for us.

You can vote for us here: http://www.coldplayontour.com/wwdc/ 
(our video is 14th from the top [aka. 2nd from the bottom] )

Info about this deal is here:  http://dc101.com/pages/coldplay.html

Thing of it is, they aren't even pushing this in our home-market, Richmond, so, the 13 bands that are DC based have a pretty big advantage.  If you get a chance, really try and get everyone you know to help us out – it would be a big break.  Help us show 'em what Richmond is all about.

Thanks for helping,
Stone Lucy

Last Tuesday (June 17th), www.HRMusic.tv launched their second season featuring 4 Stone Lucy songs from our performance at The National Theater last month.  The band would like to thank HR Music for all their work and is excited to be part of the positive influence that they are making in the regional music scene.

That being said, there is a mistake at the beginning of the episode that is the main motivation behind this entry.  Our previous drummer, Chris McKinney, is credited as our current drummer and this is obviously incorrect.  Jed Gleason was and is the man behind the kit in the video, and has been since he joined Stone Lucy back in August of last year.  We can only assume that Chris's name was picked up from the Syndicated Summer EP which was released in early 2007 prior to the change in members.

So... sorry fans, sorry Jed, sorry Chris.

And while we're on the subject, yes, Jed also drummed the new EP "Halluchimeras" tentatively set for release in early august.  And yes, that is just a single bass drum pedal.  How, Why?  Because Jed Gleason is the fucking man!

As promised, Stone Lucy has stayed away for nearly a month.  Cooling our heals, taking a break, catching up on life while we wrap all of the different parts of releasing an album.  There's a great deal going on behind the scenes in a non-musical way.  This is the suckiest part of being in a band, but it's necessary in order to spread the gospel according to Stone Lucy.  We are busy scheduling our new line-up of shows, which will officially kick-off inAugust - 8/8/08 - the day our new cd will hopefully hit shelves and airwaves.  As of right now that date is tentative, but we're working our hardest to make that happen.  So until the next time you can see us live, here are some facts of interest:

1.  Stone Lucy's show at the National will be the main feature of Hampton Road's Music Television as they kick off their new season.  Catch it at www.hrmusictv.com starting June 17th. 

2.  The album is currently being mixed.  Then we have to figure out where we'll have it mastered.  We've got the packaging pretty much ready, but this time we are doing everything DIY and trying to maintain as much control as our talents will enable us.

3.  We will release our updates to www.stonelucy.com and www.myspace.com/stonelucy just before the album drops.  We can't wait for you to see them, but again, we're striving for consistancy here.

4.  Stay tuned for info about where you can purchase the new disc, press, gigs, and all things concerning Stone Lucy.  Also, get your fill of our tunes now because we're going to be putting up new songs soon.

Best,

Will 

More blogging goodness.

I was driving to work today and I heard a radio interview with Laslow.  Laslow is one of the creatives behind the video game franchise Grand Theft Auto - in reality he is one of the writers and producers of the game; in the world of GTA he is the host of radio show "Entertaining America".  What really intrigued me with this interview this morning, however, was not some bout of gamer nerdiness but instead Laslow's description of the work involved in putting together the huge project that is GTA.  The Grand Theft Auto franchise, with its huge 3-D landscape, hundreds of characters, and long plotlines is a remarkable achievement.

At that point it occurred to me that complex achievements have always held my fascination.  As a philosophy major the work I spent the most time on was Kant - not because I enjoyed what he had to say, but more that I marveled at the intricacy of his ideas.  As an reader, I've always been drawn more to highly structured works, like those by Dante, Faulkner, and Pavic.  

In my life as a musician I've always appreciated works that flow together and yield a larger emotive picture.  Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers...", and The Beach Boy's "Pet Sounds" come to mind as good examples of rock records that are like that. 

Growing up and though college I never played with others who wanted to make albums like these.  Maybe it seems pompous to attempt to sum up modern experience as DSOTM does; maybe it strikes people as out of their depth.  Maybe it is out of my depth.

And of course our band isn't there yet.  We aren't going to write the next Sgt. Pepper.  To my mind that isn't the point.  The point is to try to reach further than you have before, and connect with others.

So we are picking up where we've left off.  Hopefully we are building upward and outward. 

 

Check our bio for more info. 

 

Hello all,

It has been far too long since I've given you an update on the Stone Lucy happenings.  Well, as you know, it has been a productive last couple months.  We've played some great shows at T.T. Reynold's in Fairfax, VA; we've rocked our showcase at the Millenium Music Conference; and recently we enjoyed some fine Southern hospitality in Charlottesville kick some frat-boy ass for charity. 

Lately, though, we've been restless to get rid of the backlogged material.  Since before Jed joined the band in October, we've had several songs of unrecorded material in use during our live shows.  And though we've tried to press on and forge a new creative direction for the band, this material and our schedule of gigs has been, in a way, the friendly ghost that just won't let us write in peace. 

So we're giving up the ghost.  To you. 

Stone Lucy is back in the studio with Bandazian frontman and songwriter Alex Keena to record our follow up to Sydicated Summer.  There will be more on the new EP in the next blog, which I will write about 3 minutes from now. 

Two things of importane:

1.  Bandazian just released their new EP, "O'Pioneers".  It is without a doubt one of the best releases I've ever heard from a group of my peers.  I'm a pretty conceited a-hole and it takes a lot for me to admit that a band has written something that I don't think I could do - I reserve a few spots for close friends and enemies.  "O'Pioneers" is just great songwriting, fleshed out with maturity and grace; Bandazian is ready for the big time and I hope they make it.  You owe it to yourself to go to www.bandazianmusic.com

2.  Stone Lucy will play one more show before going on a hiatus.  We are rocking the National in Richmond on April 24th with our buddies and 2008 Chili Cookoff Winners, Core 87.  Tickets are $10.  We are trying to sell a ton of these.  There is the possibility of holding our CD release party at the National, so we need all hands on deck for this first appearance so we can make a good impression.

Alright, more blogging to come.

Peace,

Will 

Hosted By: Stone Lucy
When: Saturday Feb 23, 2008
at 9:00 PM
Where: Alley Katz
10 Walnut Alley
Richmond, VA 23223
United States
Description:
Stone Lucy

Click Here To View Event

I promised this a few blogs ago and never got around to it.  So here are my thoughts on what it means to be progressive in local indie rock in the year 2008.  Bear in mind that we at Stone Lucy do not feel that we are progressive power-houses, it is just a label we've been given, so why not explore it?  So don't comment on this with "Well I've been a Rush fan for 45 years and Alex Lifeson is a way better guitar player than you!"  I know, and that is my burden, thank you very much.  ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The reviews and critiques Stone Lucy has received from the press, fans, and friends often label our act "progressive".  This is a label I've never fully understood; we certainly don't sound like bands that have defined the genre - Rush, King's X, Spock's Beard, etc.  Then I stumbled on a review of the last Tool record, which claimed that it was a progressive rock record.  So I thought, "Well, we do have elements in common with that group, so I guess I get it."  The more I've thought about this, however, the more I've come to realize what people are really saying when they claim a rock band is progressive. 

They mean that they either love you or they mean they hate you.  Progressive music challenges normal preconceptions and forces people to look at something from a different viewpoint.  Some bands want to do that; others create music that people are meant to enjoy immediately.  Some of the bands we are closest with are like the later - they write songs for people to enjoy, and we think they are good at it.  There is nothing wrong with writing a song that other people can sing and enjoy immediately (the Beatles did it, so you are in good company!), and there is nothing worse than the pretentious pricks who claim some kind of artistic validity by writing music that is unnecessarily difficult to enjoy.   

On the other hand, there are bands out there in the great wide world that are out to make money, become famous, and they will jump from song writing style to song writing style along with whatever trend is popular at the time.  These groups are the reason we might seem progressive ('cause we ain't); they lower the bar for the audience.  In 2008, a band is progressive if their songs are over 5 minutes long, if they don't have an "image", and if they are marketing themselves to people over the age of 18.  

A listening audience might not immediately love odd time signatures, asymmetrical riffs, odd chord structures, or songs that veer from pop song format, but that is no longer what people mean when they say something is progressive.  Radio now is full of slick, 3 and a half minute songs, and music is marketed to ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />12 to 16 years olds.  Adults are no longer making the market place, which is really sad.  Bands like Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Radiohead, groups with vision, on the cutting edge, and who are still popular are anomalies.  And they are playing to crowds 18 years old and up.  It is seems that it is progressive and cutting edge merely to write music that a 13 year old wouldn't fully appreciate.  I loved Nirvana and Soundgarden in the 6^th grade, but they made their name on college radio.  It is really only now that I'm older that I can really understand the depth of their songs.  Not that a 13 year old liking music is a bad thing, but it is obvious that music is the only creative endeavor in the world in which they are the "taste makers".  Consequently, we adults with refined sense of taste have to deal with Fall Out Boy, twenty-some things who dress like they are 15 and write terrible songs.  It's like watching Raffi go triple platinum and suddenly he is the new standard for what music should sound be.

The light at the end of tunnel is that this will all end very soon.  The record industry is decaying because people can get their music for free now, and only the groups that need to be consistently shoved down your throat to digest (lookin' at you again, Fall Out Boy) will need the marketing and promotion big labels offer.  Soon music will be in the hands of individuals with the time and money to research and appreciate it.  20 year olds will go to Borders and pick up a copy of Rolling Stone and see that the latest NIN record got great reviews, then they'll go and download it from Trent.  They'll pay 7 bucks an album and Trent will make 5 or 6 – better than he would have done under the old system.  Music that is "progressive" now – over 5 minutes, complex melodies, crafted songs – will return, because college kids will be able to tell their little brothers and sisters what is cool, instead of the other way around.  Hopefully then we can drop the "progressive" label on music that should be standard issue in every suburban household.

P.S. Also, a big fuck you to: Nickleback, Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, Paramour, and Panic!at the Disco.  Your time is going to come, and I cannot wait to see you on VH1 or the discount pile at Walmart.