Category: news

at home

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

Like you, we’re at home. It’s ironic that we have brand new business cards. All 500 of them sit here in a box with their fancy rounded corners not finding their way into anyone’s fingers, at least for now.

This pandemic promoted change is tough, both because it means we can’t play in public — our slate of gigs uniformly canceled through April and May — and because we can’t work on stuff together. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all better musicians when we’re working together, and we’re probably all better people when we’ve had a chance to mesh our musical gears. Plus, in a time of crisis, music is a great cushion to soften things. Being socially distant makes the spread of disease more controlled, but it removes one of our usual ways of coping, too.

Still, we’re working on things. We all have other stuff we’re tied up in, working and child-raising and home-schooling and breathing, so it’s tough to be particularly creative. Yet, when we each have moments we have projects we’re trying to tie together, like a 4-track mixtape where we each contribute bits and pieces and learn new things. Hopefully we’ll have stuff to share, sooner or later. It will make our own days a little brighter, at least.

As we’re experimenting with different ways of recording, I just demoed this piece that I sit down and play for my own solace. It’s what I test pianos with, just to see if how they feel, and it’s what I play to myself just to settle into my own breath. For a long time, just to myself, I’ve called it “Home.” That seems fitting now.

home (Adam, alone on the piano)

Maybe someday we’ll have to write a song we can call “out” or “not at home” or “hugs for everybody.” We’ll look forward to that day, with more to come before that, too.

Quick update: We sold a couple of downloaded albums last month, and we’re donating those proceeds to Lavender Vinyl. While Lavender doesn’t have their physical doors open, they’ll bring stuff out or deliver to you directly from their store. (I’d bet they’d even deliver our CD right off their own rack.) Or, you can order from their warehouse. I ordered from them directly, and I’m pretty tickled that I have a used copy of Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson on its way to me now.

Lavender support

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

In these days of pandemic and physical distancing, we’re all figuring out how to cope. For us as a band this is hard, since playing together and with live audiences opens the valve on good juices in our veins that make things better. We’re making the best of it — and we’ll share anything we come up with to try to add to the common good.

Until those better days yet to come, we want to promote the greater good and taking care of one another on local levels. Here’s our own first attempt:

We’re donating all proceeds from purchased downloads in March to support Lavender Vinyl here in Ogden. They’re a community centered small business that supports local music, including by carrying our own CDs on their rack. (If you happen to buy our CD directly from them, we’ll donate our own portion back to them as well.)

So now’s a time to buy our music and feel especially good about it. The best way to do this is here on BandCamp where you can get files in multiple formats. BandCamp reports our proceeds much sooner than other outlets and you can tip whatever you’d like on their site, which we’ll also pass on to Lavender. In addition, BandCamp is waiving all of their own profits and passing them along to us on this Friday, March 20. So all of the money you put into BandCamp on Friday will go directly to musicians, and S&S will pass this all on to Lavender Vinyl. (But other days are good, too. Don’t hold back.)

We’d encourage you to poke around BandCamp and find other bands you’d like to support right now. You get music, and independent musicians get support at a time when they aren’t getting gigs and not getting paid.*

Besides getting our stuff on BandCamp, you can also buy downloads on:

If you’re so inclined, you should also visit Lavender Vinyl online or in person if you can. They’ve got great stuff all around, from brand new t-shirts to vintage vinyl records.

Take care of yourselves and one another. We’re looking for more ways to connect with one another, with you, and the local community, especially right now. We’ll reach out with more.

*Quick note about music buying: If you regularly stream music (and who doesn’t?) these days, you should know that the artist is getting a very small amount of money for those streams, something like one penny for every ten streams. The best way to support an independent artist is by going to shows (when you can) and buying their stuff directly. An artist will likely pocket 100x more from your purchased download than from your streaming of their stuff.

little and big

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

We have gigs coming up in the coming days, all ages and free for everyone:

Cuppa: Saturday, March 7, 4-6p
This is the creatively conscious coffee/treat/food hangout with a lovely second-floor corner that has just the right space for game tables, couches, and a grand piano. Perfect little spot for an easy dinner or a snack before a bigger night out. We like trying out new stuff in this space, especially things that are good for the close quarters and ambience.

Jazz at the Station: Wednesday, March 11, 7-8p
This is our contribution to the monthly offering of jazz in a voluminous old train station. We love this place because you can hear the sounds of music resonate in the space. Sometimes the music sits in the rafters for a few moments before coming back to you; and maybe if you listen closely you’ll hear Joe McQueen’s sax still playing or footsteps of travelers from decades ago, maybe an old train whistle. It’s a nice place to just sit back and listen for an hour, no matter who’s playing.

Upcoming:
While March has a couple of free public shows, April has a string of private gigs; and then May will feature a combination of all kinds of stuff, public and private, early and late, free and not-so-free. The calendar is starting to fill up. We’ll keep you posted here and in our newsletter and on social media channels. As always, let us know if you have something in mind.

reports & rehearsal

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

We’ve been able to lay low for a few weeks, just settling into the new year. Besides having a new recording out, we’ve also each been tangling with new projects, jobs and babies, tasks and such. We played a secret gig for families at Cuppa right after Christmas, but mostly we’ve been hiding out.

It’s fun, though, to see that even when you can’t see us, people are still hearing us on multiple platforms. Take for example this report we just got that explained how we earned $1.01 from Apple Music streaming:

The spoils of all our recording work on Apple Music for December 2019.

Of course, the point of the recording wasn’t to make a lot of money. We’re pretty happy when you pay a $5 cover — like at our upcoming gig at Lighthouse this Saturday, Feb. 1, 9PM – Midnight. We’ll bring real CDs, too, and we’ll even sign them; but definitely the best way to hear us is live.

Now that we’re ramping back up for gigs, we’ve been rehearsing new stuff, invading Tim’s home to take over his basement and hash things out. This means that a lot of what we’re doing is not just playing to our heart’s content, but talking about everything from who leads us in to what’s the tempo to “is that the right chord?” to how to transition into the bridge to how to cue the ending . . . For a group of four people who just wanted to get together to play music, it ends up being a lot of thinking and working.

But this just means that at our next rehearsal we get to really try the new stuff out and get it polished for performances this weekend and beyond. A playful jazz classic, an unexpected cover of a rock icon, a civil rights era standard, a remade feminist anthem, and more new stuff are all on the set list. We’re excited to see what happens; and we hope you’ll be there to see and hear it on Saturday night.

acclaim, local and international

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

We’re trying not to let it go to our heads. You know, now that we’ve recorded an album that our families all want as Christmas gifts, and that has found sales far and wide. In fact, we’ve gone international already:

Locations of paid downloads on our BandCamp site. The astute map reader will note that these downloads have come from two different countries.

We’ve even sent a few CDs across state lines. Yet, it’s just as exciting to see our CDs on the shelves of our local record store, Lavender Vinyl. In case you’re looking for a copy and can’t find us in person, this is a great solution to all your holiday shopping needs. (And we love Lavender Vinyl, even if they didn’t carry our CDs. I just picked up an old Fats Domino record along with a classic Stevie Wonder album I’ve been wanting.)

And if you page through the local Indie Ogden magazine, holiday edition, you’ll find us right there with all the other bands on the scene:

Our mark in the December gig lineup for Ogden.

So, it could all go to our heads, all the fame and attention. But we don’t pay too much attention. We’re getting ready to play our favorite consignment store in Brigham City this Friday night. Hope to see you there.