February is upon us and, as some of you know, its Record Production Month. The basic goal is to write and record 10 songs or 35 minutes of music solely in the month of February. Last year I had a go at it, but did start until the last few days and only really got 6 songs written and 4 recorded, which I suppose is a fail. This year I’m taking another swing at it, but I’m starting at the beginning of the month and have recruited 2 of my classmates to join in on the fun. We’ve got 3 songs written and, given that today’s the 2nd, I think we’re in relatively good shape . The group is yet to be named, but I’ll keep you posted.

Hmm what else, oh yes! There are a number of happenings being spoken about on the interweb that could lead one to believe that Mr.Bowie will actually be making a go of it this year. I am currently in the hopeful mindset that Tony Visconti is recording a record for him right now (check out his twitter account). There’s a ton of stuff online if you look around.

The recordings I’m doing for treeline have been turning out quite well. While I haven’t done any proper mixes of the tracks yet, I have been experimenting with a Michael Brauer inspired mix method that is quite challenging and quite powerful. If it works out the aural payoff is definitely worth it.

As far as whats going on with The New Weather Machine, I still working on new songs and sounds. The other day I got a couple of new pieces of gear that are going to have a pretty significant influence on said sounds in very positive way. Especially if you like 1964-1968 british invasion music. hoorah!

Hope everyone is having a david bowie new year. As long as the weather stays warmer I’m peachy. Working on some great new music I’m excited to share with you in the coming months. Im also doing some recording for a local band called treeline that may surface in the near future and is definitely worth checking out.

It's been a month since my last update, time flies! I've been very busy working on a bunch of new songs and with school. If anyone who really really wanted a copy of the free "November Basement Demos" Cd I was giving out through the Facebook group and didn't get one, I found a few more copies in my travel bag. Email me and a copy is yours. Some of the songs found on the Cd are on the music page and should be up for a month or so.

The tough part of this next album is just keeping focused with a genre. As far as new songs go, they're stylistically all over the board. I've got a good idea of where I want to end up, but I'm also not going to stop myself from working on song that isn't going to fit into that idea so I'm just going with the flow. The coming months will tell which direction it goes.

If you haven't joined already, check out The New Weather Machine Facebook group. I just gave away some free demo Cd's through the group, and will have more exclusive stuff in the future.

I'm trying to add and update a few things on the website including the addition of comments to posts, and updated bio/faq, and a few other things. If you find something that isn't working properly please let me know so I can fix it.

Currently listening to:

Get Yer Ya Ya's Out Remaster - Stones (1969)
Is There Anybody Out There - Pink Floyd (1980-1981)
The Airborne Toxic Event (2008)
Rory Gallagher (1971)

I was looking through some pictures i took a couple months ago and found this one. I must apologize. I should have alerted everyone immediately that jetpacks were finally available. I was keeping it to myself all this time but can keep the secret no longer.

I just read in some sleazy email that summer is over. There’s always a moment or two of disappointment every year when that realization occurs. My mind always goes directly to halloween and frost, the months between the summer and the snow have a tough time creating an impression against costumes and and scraping windows. On the bright side, maybe i can get a new jacket...

Let’s see what do we have coming up.... On September 5th at the Slice, The New Weather Machine will be playing alongside a huge roster of local talents including Planet Telex, whatever Shaela’s band is called with an extra person, Treeline, and the Skillet Lickers. Itll be a first playing playing as a 3 piece with the fabulous Brad Brouwer and Taylor Ackerman. The idea of the night is relatively compact sets, so there’ll be a few new songs and a few old songs.

Speaking of new songs, Ive been doing demos and things, and one way or another will start proper recording next month. Ive also put up some new music on the music page, including a couple live tracks.

Other than that, I made the decision to jump ship on the day job and pursue a music degree, so we’ll see how that plays into the equation. Its looking like it will open up my schedule a little bit, and im ready for the change. Until next time

June has been a rather interesting month. For some reason when you make plans to get certain things done, life has a way of interrupting and replacing. Hmm notable things in June.....

We’ll the most fun and disappointing was my crazy week writing and recording a theme song for a new animated tv series for Marvel’s Avengers. Unfortunately for me my song did not get selected for a very silly and fixable reason, but thats life. You can judge for yourself, the song should be posted on the music page by the time anyone reads this. **Please note that I had lyrical and content guidelines to follow!!** There are some cheesy moments, but really, its for a cartoon for 35 year olds and the song is supposed to sound like the foo fighters, ac/dc, and led zeppelin. hmm

Ive been working on 3 particular songs that will definitely be on the next album, which hopefully will be sometime before the end of the year, maybe early fall if im lucky.

Im also finishing up the mixes on an instrumental album that im part of, which should be released sometime in the near future. Ill have more details as it approaches.

dont forget to wear sunscreen and listen to your fair share of david bowie. actually this week you can have a pass to listen to emotional rescue a few times too.

jon

finally home after the long drive from the gorge in washington. i went down for the first night of the sasquatch festival and it was pretty awesome. basically a lot of people all just wanting to see some cool bands and crappy overpriced food and beverages. super nice weather, very cool vibe, and the v bomb dropped over a loud speaker within 2 minutes of walking in the gates. i mean really, what more could you ask for besides an auntie anne’s pretzel?

my only regret is that i didnt get to stay and camp for the full weekend but at least i can remedy that next year.

on a side note - some ideas on the next record kind of came together during some portion of my trek and i think what i want to do is making some sense. that or im still a little delusional from whatever the giant mosquitos were pumping into arm/head/neck

Havent posted an update in a couple cold weeks so i thought i would post some thoughts and what im up to. currently im writing and doing some demos of new songs. i have one in particular im excited about and hope that it works out the way i want it to. as a songwriter, i think that the ability to properly translate what you have in your head lies somewhere between not knowing nearly enough and knowing to much. its why the “legacy” artist cant write important music and the amateur sounds like he should keep his day job. its why slick nashville country can be so bland. its why lame indie rock can suck so badly. im sure it doesnt just apply to music, other forms of creative art probably suffer the with the same issues.

as a listener i want to hear a bit of struggle. i want to see dripped paint where the artist took a chance and was unsure if it would payoff.

i do however think that this eventually comes around as well. after the knowledge saturation point has been reached and sustained, a new avenue is opened. there lies a true master of craft whether it be songwriting, painting, building, speaking, design, etc.. a master is ultimately someone who is truly aware of what they dont know.

in regards to music i can think of very few good examples. its seems like these artists eventually had some sort of break through very very deep into their careers, and somehow harnessed the ability to put out very brilliant, very direct communication. this might be a turn off to some people as the most direct communication can be simple and incredibly threatening. it can be uncomfortable if not taken in context because of the instant level of connection.

ultimately i think that there is a sweet spot somewhere in the middle that resembles or exceeds mastery of craft, when someone knows enough to accomplish the desired task, is fully aware of the unknown, but is still hungry enough to put in some real effort and take a chance or two.

Until next time david bowie


Jon

I have been extremely busy over the last few days and especially the last few weeks but would like to make a delayed special thank you to everyone who came out the the cd release. it was very successful and I appreciate the support. I recorded the show and a few good pictures were taken. Possibly in the next few days or weeks i will make a little section on the website for those of you who couldnt make it

Hello everyone. Hope youve had an acceptable holiday season and start to the new year. Next week we finally get(close) to what we’ve all been wanting for the last 8 years. I know a rod stewart stomach full of people are as excited as me about it and rightfully so!

On friday we did Dennis 9:The Worst Dennis Ever out at the CMI in Coaldale. Thanks to Paul, Kyle, Jason, and Tyler for putting on a great show! Look for some new pictures on the picture page soon.

With the current state of the economy and the global recession, its easy to look at the glass as half empty. Compared to the impending eruption of the super volcano in yellowstone, the time bomb of the mayan calender, and the idea that Israel has the second largest store of nuclear weapons in the world (see pic) - loosing some money or getting an extended holiday from work looks like a walk in jelly stone park.

On a more important note the date for the Official Cd Release Party of the album is February 6th. It will be at the Slice Bar and Grill in Lethbridge and will tentatively feature Treeline, Crystal Kid(from Calgary), and of course The New Weather Machine. This will be the first performance of the album in its entirety and should be fantastic!

So Christmas is finally over. All kinds of things have been exchanged, the economy has been stirred, another Bee Gees Greatest Hits album was released.... I hope everyones Christmas was a safe and enjoyable time. If you didnt get what you wanted for Christmas, just remember David Bowie is playing at coachella in 2008, and thats a better present than anyone could possibly buy you.



My new website, though hideous, is now stable. I have the technology. The album, what of the album? I wont bother going into boring details, but i have a couple songs to do vocals on, a few songs to mix, and one little piece to do from the beginning, and the theoretically i should be finished. I know it may be tough to believe but i do actually have a bunch of tracks finished and mixed and everything. no, really

I did a show a couple weeks ago with a pseudo band called Dennis. I had a great time and perhaps in the coming months we will do another gig. If we decide to do a bowie theme maybe ill put some video up for those out of area or unable to attend.

Ive been doing a bit of writing lately, and although ive been going out of my way not write to until im finished with this current batch of songs, it exciting to hear new things and different sounds.

Well its late and i should probably go to sleep at some point - so im off put on my inside copy of Diamond Dogs.

Jon

Well here we begin. Officially my new project The New Weather Machine is a go. I’ll bring anyone who cares up to speed.

-Im working on a mildly ambitious concept album
-In the last 3 months or so Ive written roughly 30 songs for the project and have demo’d about a third of them
-The album will be 40-45 minutes long
-I will be doing as much as I feel comfortable with for the project including all the writing, mixing, and producing
-Touring and live performances of the album will happen at some point, right now its impossible to tell when - but sometime after the release of the record
-The album will be released sometime before the fall(sooner rather than later)

I guess that about sums up the current state of the project and the “band”. I thank you for checking out the site and the music, and hope you’ll stay tuned.

Cheers,

Jon