Shortwave Dahlia dot org

So the songwriting machine has cranked back up, and already we’ve (as a group) generated two strong song ideas! It’s a nice feeling, coming off the experience of making The Wilderness.

Actually, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel when we were working on it last Spring. “Dot Dot Dash”, the last song written for the album, came together very quickly. That was a rejuvenating moment, as we were a pretty prolific bunch in ‘07. I was coming away from recording that album feeling kinda deflated, since 2008 and 2009 were rife with setbacks, and then this little ditty comes along and sort of hits the reset button.

During that time (well, part of it…late 2008 and early 2009), I’d written some material for the purpose of playing solo shows. That was a lot of fun, as most of it was written on acoustic guitar…and the ‘guy with a guitar’ mode of operation had quite a learning curve for me! Of course, when I sat down to actually write arrangements, they magically turned into Shortwave Dahlia-sounding songs. Not such a bad thing, but definitely something to reconcile. (and yes, never say never…some of those songs might make it into our catalogue at some point)

So that six months I needed in late ‘09 to take stock of things led me to the conclusion that I truly was married to this project, or that it was a part of me that was alive whether I was trying to acknowledge it or not. It’s as much a part of me as I am of it. I’m learning, too, that if you nurture something like this the results are beautiful.

More soon…
Jack

Goofy blog dashboard…I can’t seem to get my rich text editor back.

At any rate, massive thanks to those who came to the show on the 24th, and big thanks to Adam for working the door…and Seth from Rainy Day Manual for loaning us that gorgeous Gibson amp. Saving pennies as I type this to get my own.

Taking the next month or so to write some new songs, but hoping to get some gigs together for July and possibly go out of state in August.

Gig attendees: have you redeemed your download code for The Wilderness yet?

xo
Jack

Hey!

Good gravy, what a week. I’ve got show details for you as well as links to two (!) articles published this week about the band.

First off, the gig. It’s a dual record release party with our friends Grupo Jobu at one of our favorite venues, Nocturnal (1588 Madison Ave.). You can either pay $5 to merely get in to the gig, or you can pay $10 and get a voucher which you can use to download both our new album (The Wilderness) and Grupo Jobu’s debut Mytheme. Here, while I’m at it…go listen to both:

http://shortwavedahlia.bandcamp.com/album/the-wilderness
http://grupojobu.bandcamp.com

So, that’s the story on the gig.

We had a couple press opportunities this week also - unprecedented! Mark Jordan wrote a piece for gomemphis.com and J.D. Reager did one for the memphisflyer.com music blog.

Before I give you the links, I do want to make sure I say this: there are a few items in the gomemphis.com piece that are…I don’t want to use the word ‘deceptive’ as no malice was intended or even used. Maybe ‘distorted’…let’s see…it’s like this…

My personal matters from that period are private and are extremely unimportant in the here and now, and were only a small part of the album’s delay. A lot of the delay involved playing shows, writing the songs, re-writing the songs, learning how to properly record using the technology we had at hand, and approximately half a year’s hiatus. And yes, the hiatus was at my suggestion, as several of the songs had become extremely personal and therefore a bit uncomfortable to listen to or perform. Oddly, these were songs that I had written without anything personal on my mind - I guess it sorta seeps into your work whether you intend it to or not. This album is far less autobiographical than the article suggests. It’s personal to me, but not a narrative of any one part of my life’s story - these songs were intended to be impressionistic, amorphous and cryptic. Just so you know.

And initially I was concerned over the importance placed on my own personal stuff, even though there wasn’t much disclosed. Mark Jordan is a wonderful guy and he wrote an incredibly exciting and complimentary piece. The band and this album…that’s what’s most important. Not my stuff.

Also, for the record, I wasn’t exactly ‘chased’ out of Arkansas, and that girl really wasn’t ever my girlfriend. lol

Enough of my yappin’, here are the links:
gomemphis.com article by Mark Jordan
memphisflyer.com article by J.D. Reager

See you tomorrow night!
Jack

Sitting here in a pile of sleeping cats, puttering away on a laptop, it dawned on me to post an update on the band.

Yes, we’re still together.

There was a time (last year) when I didn’t know if we’d be doing it anymore. The record (it’s finally out if you haven’t heard it yet) was heavy on my heart and there was a lot of personal pain involved in its creation. I personally needed to get away from it, so we put it aside for a bit and tried that whole living thing.

To their credit, the guys have been patient and accommodating beyond words in this process. Maybe we all three needed a break, just to realize we missed it. I love those guys.

So in January, Grimsy and I got together to track a couple more guitar parts and discuss the final mix…and in listening to these songs with a bit of distance, it dawned on me how important it was that we continue - that we get this record out however we could and see what happened next.
Things are different now. It took us three years to make this thing, and we involved a fourth person for a while but for so many reasons it didn’t work. We started on it as a trio, and inevitably we completed it as the same (but very different) band. Insert blathering on about journeys and what-not here.

So now it’s time to speculate. What next?

Well, first…listen to The Wilderness. Enjoy it at our new music distribution page (http://shortwavedahlia.bandcamp.com) where we are also offering a free companion EP called Remainders and a newly-remastered “Loose Arrow” single. In this uniquely-challenging 21st Century musical climate, bands like us need you listening and supporting us more than ever before. But yeah, give it a listen. Shoot us a note at shortwavedahlia@yahoo.com and tell us what your favorite track is.

Next up, shows…we’re playing this Friday night at Neil’s with a band called Rainy Day Manual. Should be a great gig - our first since last July. In April we will be having a ‘release party’ with another band, Grupo Jobu, who are also releasing their album. You’ll be able to pay $10.00 and get download codes to both albums, or just pay $5.00 and enjoy a night of live music. Along with all this gigging, we are honored to be playing out with our friend Woody Wall accompanying us on keys. Rehearsals have been very positive and promising.

And as for more music? Count on it. I’ve demoed a couple new things and have a third which I haven’t worked out yet. Working titles and a few lyrics here and there, but nothing solid to report yet. Don’t know if Grimsy’s worked on any new songs or not - he’s been talking about solo work which is very exciting to hear. It would be really cool if we have at least one new tune for the April gig but that depends entirely on rehearsal time.

If you’re still reading this, thank you. This project started in earnest in 2004 and the fact that I’m even typing this out is somewhat amazing to me. Thank you - from those who’ve worked creatively with us, to the smiling faces that have taken the time to come to shows (especially you lot who’ve traversed state lines - how flattering is that?)

Onward and upward, friends!
Jack L. Alberson
3/24/10

Upcoming gig!

Shortwave Dahlia is back out and performing! New album is imminent!

Here’s the show details–If you’re in the area, make sure to come on down and enjoy an incredible show!

The Full Moon Club
1718 Madison Ave
Memphis, TN
With Clouded Son and Black Max.
Friday, January 9, 2009 at 9:00pm

If you can’t make the gig, check out the merch!
Cat Room Records Merchandise

Now that the album is in it’s final stages, stay tuned for order information, track listings and maybe the occasional taster!

Directly from the proverbial horse’s mouth, and by horse I mean JACK!

“Okay, so here’s how this is going to work.

The Wilderness is expected to be rolling out in August or September.  A pre-order price of $10.00 gets you:

1. A compact disc of the album (remember those things?  shiny platters of digitally coded music?)
2. A selection in the weeks before the album’s release of downloadable practice sessions, in which we roll through the new tunes as well as some old favorites.
3. Inclusion on a special e-mail list with which we give you news on the album’s development.
4. Last but not least, your very own shortwavedahlia.org e-mail address!  Now your spam has somewhere new to go!

PayPal your money over to shortwavedahlia@yahoo.com OR to send it by snail mail, contact Jack at jack@shortwavedahlia.org for the mailing address.
So what do you say?  Ready for the next phase of Shortwave Dahlia?”

Per Jack!

http://popsballot.memphisflyer.com/

Please do a write-in vote for “Shortwave Dahlia”. It would blow my mind to see us actually get written up as an honorable mention.

So get over there and do the Shorty D write-in!

We got together for the first time this year last night. First and foremost, we knew we needed to take some photographs (kinda makes it seem more official that we’re a quartet, plus it was long-needed anyway) so we went outside and, with a flash and the lawn security light to guide us we became immortalized in pixels.

After that, we went inside and pulled up something Ethan had sent over a while back…made ourselves acquainted to it—lots of great variations in the drums and some melodic elements that we instantly endeared to. Threw about a couple extra chord changes and had a good laugh about the chorus…hopefully next week we’ll give it a bit of structure and voila! A new song!

Had a look at the photos as practice concluded, ended up with about five keepers and one really fantastic one of Dana (that I can say with absolute certainty makes her cringe). Fun times…

Love and gourami,
J

So one New Years Eve, many years ago, I was with a group of good friends.  As the clock chimed 12, I felt something needed to be said.  “May you all live in interesting times” I said, not realizing then that this was, apparently, an ancient Chinese curse.  One of those good friends spent most of that year cursing me.

 Cut to a year later.  The friend mentioned above is at another New Year’s party in another state - one of those loud and crowded affairs.  He happened to be near the stage as those midnight toasts / wishes were going around and, through some irresistable urge, grabbed the mic and wished the entire crowd an interesting year.  As he tells it, the room fell into a perplexed silence, except for one irage voice that shouted back “You !!!!”

 So if you happened to find yourself at a party this New Year’s where someone was paying this particular one forward, watch out - it could be a wild year.

 For my part, I am looking forward to this one.  The band has our first album (with this configuration) on the horizon and there are some interesting changes in the old personal life as well.  Even the day job is looking up… well, later than sooner, but still this year.

 So with that, here is hoping that at least this year does not bore you to death