I thought I would pose a question to you guys based on a conversation I had last week. Its a little deep for a weekday so bear with me. :)

The other day I was discussing different cultures with some friends of mine, which lead to a discussion of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” which was published by the UN after WW II. (Yes, these are the things we discuss. Along with literature, zombies, and Nathans drinking habits.)

I do not want to debate the merits or flaws of this document, instead I would like to discuss an underlying concept that came to light. That being “What is the definition of good and evil?”

The discussion started with evil being loosely defined as an act by which one person violates the rights of another. Obvious actions such as theft and murder being at the top on this list. As we continued, I noticed that all of our definitions were similar but there was a question simmering in the back of my mind. Can there really be a Universal absolute for good and evil?

All of us who were debating this premise come from a similar background. We are all US Citizens, we all grew up in law-abiding households, we’re educated in US Schools, ect. So it stands to reason that our moral and ethic views would align, based on common life experience.

But what about the billions of people outside our cultural norms and laws, that have been taught an entirely different set of moral values?

I have lived in several other countries for a time doing humanitarian missions, and have seen things that many here would consider “evil”, but are an accepted part of their society. Concepts such as “An eye for an eye” would be considered vigilantly justice in the US, but in some places it is expected. In fact you would be committing an immoral act if you did not seek retribution or compensation.

This brings me back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the question I pose to you: Can there ever be an absolute definition of good and evil (aka moral and immoral behavior)? And if so, what culture/religion/law (if any) should it be based on?

Just wanted to pose the question because it was on my mind. Hope it’s not too deep for a Wednesday. :)

So, about London. :)

Its like herding cats, trying to get all of Abney Park out of a venue after a show. We are all so pumped up that we forget that we have to pack up, drive to the B&B, sleep for 15 mins, and drive 6 hours south to London for another show. :)

We got back to the B&B around 4:00am or so (or maybe thats when I fell asleep, I cant remember) and passed out until around 7:30am. One thing I would like to point out is, Nathan must have an Energizer battery hidden in his kilt somewhere. Even after a 2+ hour performance, packing up, and hanging out with fans, he still got up about an hour before everyone.

Here's another question, whats up with baked beans for breakfast? Not that theres anything wrong with it, but every “Traditional” breakfast we had was smothered. We were flirting with disaster in the car on the way to London, with our bowels fully loaded with beans..... (I'll let you ponder that one.)

The sound check was scheduled for 3:00pm, and we got there at about the right time. The Slimelight itself is a little club in downtown London on Torres Street, and when we saw the stage... Well it was tiny, and narrow, and a rats nest of cables.

We met up with Joe Black, Ghostfire, and Thomas Trux before the show and everyone was pretty cool. We hung out and had coffee at the cafe next store, and got to know everyone. We were defiantly a bit punchy already, and it was only going to get worse. :)

Then the sound check from hell began. Oh yes, it was certainly the 9th Circle of Hell into which we had fallen. It began with Roberts Drum Mike. After about 30 mins of pounding on the drum, the house and monitor mix had not changed and there was still some feedback. Every few seconds the sound guy would come up on stage to move some cable, trip over something, the walk back to the board and do nothing constructive. I think the highlight for me was when I hooked up all of my gear and he couldn't get a strong single out of it. He changed the DI, the XLR cable, the power converter, and half a dozen other things but assumed it was my gear. To prove to him that it wasn't I plugged into Ghostfires backline and lo and behold, my stuff worked fine..... Hmmmm. Maybe operator error? COULD BE!

I think another clue was when Robert asked for phantom power for his mike. The exchange went something like this.
“I need phantom power.”
“You got it.” replies the sound guy.
“No I don't.”
“Yes you do.”
“There is a little red light on my mike and it isn't on so I don't have power.”
“Yes you do.”
By this point Robert was ready to throw his mike stand at the sound booth, and then.
“Oh, maybe this will work. Do you have power?”
“Yes.....”

I also noticed that the sound guy didn't believe in muting lines prior to unplugging stuff. So this fiasco went on for 3 hours. Yes thats right 3 hours. Nathan would have sound, but the lead vocal would fail, I would get sound and the keyboards would go out. Finally we just said “I surrender!” and went to get ready.

As we were leaving, I saw the drummer from Ghostfire starting his sound check and started having the same issues. We looked at each other with an understanding nod.

As went went out to the cars, we were greeted by a very long line of Steampunks all lined up for the show. One of Dr. Steels minions gave us some Mind Control Cookies, obviously one of his clever ploys to enlist as many of us as possible. ;)



We left and came back about 2 hours later, parked at the end of the road and headed on inside. By the time we had gotten there, Joe Black was already done and Ghostfire was on. I loved their set, as well as Thomas's which came after. Unfortunately, Thomas had some huge sound issues and was only able to do about half of his stuff. He recovered very well though, and still put on a good show.

Then it was our turn. After Nathan did a violin solo to a Britteny Spears song (Yes its on Youtube already.) we went into the first song. I though my ear drums were going to pop, seeing as the keyboard volume was through the roof when we started Holy War. For the first few songs we had to stop and start, trying to get the sound guy to fix the levels, but eventually we got going.

(Photo's below courtesy of Anhur's photostream on Flickr.





Once things were moving, the show went well. Aside from Finn twirling around and getting caught on my Gators or Roberts drum every time she moved! Our set was a little short, a little over an hour because we weren't quite sure when everything was going to blow up.

I'll talk a little more about what happened after the show with “Atmosk” and the fans later. :)

Ok, so now to continue describing our trek through the UK…

Where was I? I’m too lazy to look at my earlier post to find out.

Anyway, after everyone got to Whitby that Friday (Robert and Kristina decided to drive up from London the day of the show) we opted to go out and get some food. I’m not sure where it was, but we were walking down one of the side streets near the Abbey steps. It looked like someone pulled it right out of a movie.

Just to show how American we are, I think we said something along the lines of “Disney would try to make it look this cool, but it would suck and everything would be made of Styrofoam…” :) I’m paraphrasing of course.

We began setting up for the Friday night show around 6:00pm or so. We set up our table in the lobby of the venue, which was right on a cliff overlooking the North Sea. Again, very neat….

Later, we went are checked out the stage and they had a custom lighting and sound rig setup. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with what they had up there. I had two monitors and a backline for myself. Crazy! :) Normally I just have to try and feel the bass tone from the house subs. All the guys working that evening were top notch.

Down in the green room we had all the essentials, water, chips, Jameson, Beer, Advil…..





The show went really well and I think we played for over two hours. Robert kept saying, “What about this one?” and we would play another one. We are lucky we stopped when we did because I think we were bordering on the “I can’t really remember how to play that song, but let’s do it anyway” area.

As always, the people there were dressed in their Steampunkeriy finest. There was one couple with a pair of steam rifles and a small mechanical dragon that moved around their pack. Also, there was a guy who hand tooled a pair of pistols which looked fantastic! (Photos below curtosy of Sistercarrion on LJ)









We got done and out of there around 3:00am, and got to sleep about 4:30am. The reason I point that out is that we got up about 8:00am to start the drive to London for our 3:00pm sound check at the Slimelight. Ah yes, the Slimelight….. I will talk more about that fiasco later. But I have to say that our fans in London, in all of Europe in fact, are very cool. :)

Here we are back from the good old UK, and it was quite an arduous adventure. Allow me to begin this whole thing with saying it was well worth the flight. Although I don’t think I want to watch anymore movies on a tiny little screen for a long while. When you wear your headphones so long your ears ache, you know there is a problem.
Nathan, Finn, and I took off last Wednesday and got into London Heathrow early Thursday morning with little fan fare. We went to pick up our car, yes we decided to drive, and that when some of the fun began. First off, why do Brits drive on that side of the road? I know it has some historical context but seriously…..
After having about a 3 hour screw up with our rental, we finally started driving north to Whitby from London. As you can see, it was a bit different.



Right when we left the rental place the road north sent us through about 100 roundabouts. An important thing to note is that roundabouts go clockwise in the UK. I realized this after I got into my first roundabout and an oncoming bus helped me realize something was amiss. After nearly crapping myself (I think the term we used was “Spackle my underwear.”), we got on the right side and drove north up the M1.
We got to drive through the moors, which look liked some kind of brownish moonscape seeing as the heather has not bloomed yet. Also, every road disappeared as we crested the hills, which caused more spackling to occur….
When we finally got to Whitby, our lovely GPS (which was pissed at us I swear) took us the back way to our Bed and Breakfast. Which normally would be fine, but these were one lane cow roads with large trucks on the wrong side of the road and no shoulders…. I digress….
I have to say that where they put us up for the night was gorgeous. We were right on the North Sea and Jane (the owner of the B&B) was super nice. She had coffee and tea out as soon as we got in, and we took a walk down the shore.





By the way, people in the UK are really friendly, so much so that I began to wonder what they were up to….. Hmmmm…..
A little later we went to a meet up at a local pub with the Last Dance and some people from the festival. Nathan immediately began to consume mass quantities of beer and pronounce his love for everyone. Then Finn and I force fed him so he didn’t pass out to soon.
We have to remind Nathan from time to time that he needs to get drunk AFTER the show…..
One thing I do have to say is that when we go into Whitby, it was the first time I was ever speechless looking at a town. Its right no the North Sea, and used to be an old fishing village. It has the most picturesque abbey on top of a hill which is older then the whole US.







I’ll continue with a bit more later…

Speaking of Zombies...

A few years ago I became aware of a new breed of floating Zombies that have been trying to invade England as documented below. I hope we don't have to battle through to many to get to Whitby. Brain matter tends to clog up the instruments after you beat them with it.....


Worst Case Scenario ....
Btw, I love these trailers :) To bad they never made a movie from them.....

Ok, so I just watched the G4 TV thing and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t know everything looked cool in slow-mo. :) I was a bit nervous in the days leading up to it, trying to think of what I said during the interview and what they could do to manipulate it. But to my sincerest relief, they made Steampunk good!

Jake, your name just kind of slipped out during my interview. :) Sorry about that… But I did provide a good transition into your section.

Hope everyone enjoyed it!

Now I can sleep better tonight…
After we record…
And practice…
And drink…
And kill zombies…
Lots of zombies…

Seeing as we almost didn't do a show in Hollywood due to the health inspector stuff, we opted to do it without a bar. The exchange between Nathan and I after the show went like this..

"Nathan, how do you think the show went?"
"I think it was awesome, but it felt a little weird."
"It's because you weren't drinking."
"Oh yeah, that's probably it...."

Ahhh Nathan Nathan Nathan... :)

So, we had an all ages show in Hollywood last week and I decided to bring my daughter. The Last Dance opened for us, and my daughter (who is 9) has a few of their CD's and listens to them often. So she was in the front row singing along when Jeff (lead singer from TLD) came down and sang to her. She had a little fan girl moment...



After the Last Dance got off stage and we went on to perform, she asked if she could go lay down because she had already seen us before. Well I know where I rate with her... :)

Wow, has it really been a month since I blogged? Ooops. I've been recording, playing shows (most notably Hollywood and San Fran), doing the G4 TV thingy, and taking a college class. (Yes I went back to college after 12 years. :P)

I have to say that the San Fran show had some of the best lighting we ever had, and the Hollywood show was our first “no alcohol” show. Granted this was not on purpose, seeing as the club was closed down by the health inspector, but you do what you can. :)

I’ll talk a bit more about them later, but for a Wednesday and Thursday show they were great! Thanks everyone for coming out.

I am here again to entertain you with a short synopsis of the events which transpired this past weekend. We were fortunate enough to play the Edwardian Ball in San Francisco with Rasputina. As always, it was a enjoyable event, and I have to say that this one was very well executed. But allow me to begin at the beginning… So we begin... Again... Anyway....

As we travel more and more, the airport has become predictable so I will not bore you with that, suffice it to say that nothing went horribly wrong. The food from “Casa del Agave” came out horribly wrong, but that’s another story.

We arrived at our dwelling around 9:00pm and sauntered our way down to the Regency Center. The building itself used to be a Masonic Temple back in the early 1900’s. There was the seal of the 32nd Degree Mason on the entry way floor, and as we entered the main ballroom we were met with an extended stage in a newly repainted space, with a full balcony, and what was arguably the best lighting system in SF. But this was not the really interesting part of the venue. The promoter escorted us back to a vintage elevator, with the old control handel, and took us up to the Red Room. This room used to be the Masons Lodge Hall. As we passed through the entry chamber (which still had the original brass valves on the wall for gas lamps), we arrived in a red velvet lined room with a wood planked stage at the far end. Just above us in a balcony, stretched a fully functional pipe organ. (I could see Kristina twitching, she really wanted to play it…) But the truly unique items were on the stage. There were 32 back drops, one for each degree of masonry in the Scottish tradition. You can check them all out here: (http://www.regencycentersf.com/lodge_backdrops_a.html)



After ooo’ing and ahhh’ing for a while we went out for dinner at someplace that I cant remember. I know I had some kind of Portuguese soup and the quote of the night was.
“Man, there is some sort of sausage at the bottom of my bowl…” to which Robert replied
“Are you saying you don’t like man sausage in your bottom?”

The next day I took a stroll to China Town and found the most interesting toy that I got for my daughter. (See Photo). The best part was the caption “With 4 Magical Horns and 3 Figures to Impale!” MMUUAHAHA!



That evening we readied ourselves for the show and set up the merch booth in the lobby area. Everything went fine, until the show started. At one point Robert went to the green room to get some food and opened up a window to let in some air. As he did, he realized that he was looking out over the line waiting to get in, which stretched around the block.
“It’s Robert from Abney Park!” someone exclaimed.
“Anyone want Cinnamon Roll’s?” he responded. Really, that was his response. Robert then proceeded to throw cinnamon rolls to the crowd from the window.

Now then, the show. It was standard Abney Park glitchiness… It began before the first song when we had the entire crowd yell “Kristina!!” as she was no where to be found. Come to find out that she was selling stuff at the merch table and lost track of time… I thought she was in the bathroom, but I lost that bet. Sydney and her crew of bubble girls were there though, which made the night even more fun! You had to be at either the Edison Show or here to under stand that remark I guess... ;)

We were able to play a few new songs for everyone to include “Until the Day I Die”, “Clockyard”, and “My Life”. In the middle of the set we were presented with the Video of the Year award from Noisescape TV for Sleep Isabella, which was a cool deal. “)

Now, after the show. I would like to preface the next statement with “I never drink.”

A fan (Whose name starts with a C, and told me to call him Claws, and who I told to email me because I knew I would forget his name...) gave each of us a personally engraved shot glass with the AP logo on the back. I have to say that these were damn cool! Now, the problem was that I have a shot glass in my hand. So fans felt obligated to fill it with Jameson, a couple of times. Did I mention I don’t drink? Anyway, peer pressure got the best of me and I downed a few shots. How bad could it be?

Sooooo, I’m still apologizing to several individuals for making a blabbering fool of myself. Nothing unforgivable mind you, but (as an example) when I spoke with Gayle (From the Steampunk Ghostbusters) and said that “The girl we brought on stage looks a lot like you. Is that your daughter?” Too which she glared at me and replied “It’s my sister, and I’m five years older than her.” Foot in mouth maneuver complete.

Just so you know, I continued this trend for about an hour, digging myself ever closer to China.

I remember narrowly escaping with my life, and staggering back to Hotel later that evening / morning.

Needless to say it was a good time had by all as always. Thanks to everyone who came and hope to see you in March, when we swing back through SF!

Let the wind be at your back.

There we were deep within the recesses of the dark and foreboding urban jungle which is Los Angeles. By day LA teems with life as its citizenry move about its concrete and asphalt veins, imbuing it with a sense of purpose. By night, LA breaks free of its corporate shackles as its life blood moves indoors where all manner of art, music, and excitement can be found.

And then there are the white blood cells of LA, the dreaded motorcycle police…..

Ok, so Nathan, Robert and I decided to go to breakfast the morning after the show. Surprisingly, Nathan did not have a hang over because he can hold his liquor (then devours it), and drinks lots of water. (and his pee reeks of alcohol. Ahhh, the circle of life.) Just kidding Nathan :)

Now we originally left just to get coffee and a bagel, but it quickly devolved into a scavenger hunt. We first stopped at the Coffee Grind next to the Edison, but it had a sign that said Starbucks was open on 4th Ave, so we went there and it had a sign that said come to the Starbucks on 6th Ave. It was at that point I noticed that the message also said “This message is for the employee meeting. Starbucks is closed.” Sooooo we decided to go to the Kyoto for breakfast.

Not surprisingly, there were few people in the restaurant when we were there. It had a decent menu with $15 bacon and eggs and a friggen expensive fruit bowl. (Robert likes his fruit. Mmmmmm fruit.) Robert left a bit early to go finish packing and Nathan and I walked back about 10 minutes later. As we left the Hotel we noticed just how dead the streets were. There were no cars to be had, the cabbies were sleeping in their taxis and I think I saw two other people walking. With this in mind, we started back to the Hotel which was about 3 or 4 blocks away. As we walked up South Hill Rd, we came to a four way intersection near the Edison. Nathan and I looked both ways and noticed that there were no cars. I mean there were no cars parked, driving, or otherwise. In fact there were no bikes or pedestrians either.
So Nathan and I crossed, god help us we crossed AT A RED LIGHT! Oh the HORROR! Jaywalking, we’re such pirates...

As soon we took our first step onto the roadway I heard him, sneaking up from behind. His little motorcycle engine puttering away. Then it came… “Whoop Whoop” The familiar sound of a police siren. (Don’t ask why it’s familiar). I don’t know if he was hiding in the alley or disguised as a tree somewhere, but there he was pulling us over for jaywalking.

“You know jaywalking is a ticketable offense, and I’ll have to write you up.” He said from behind his mirrored sunglasses. “We get a lot of people hit by cars here downtown.”

Ok, WTF? I again looked in all directions and STILL didn’t see any cars at all downtown. It was at this point I turned on the “Let’s see if I can talk my way out of this.” conversation mode.

“Sorry about that officer, we were just trying to get back to hotel. We have a cab coming in about 5 mins to take us to the airport.”

“Id please..”

“Sure, sure. We are going back to Seattle in a bit, and my daughter is flying back in from Buffalo today so we are going to meet at the airport. I Hope there are no delays…”

“Id?” At this point I slip him the super secret ID card.

“Do you have a state ID too?” And then the Washington ID card.

“Ok, well I’ll give you a warning this time. Have a Happy New Year.”

Success!!
So the moral of the story is don’t pay $15 for bacon and eggs…..

Anyway, just thought I will tell you that little tale. Yet another chapter in the wonderful Misadventures of Abney Park.

Well were back from the New Years Eve show in LA. I know that I got back a few days ago, but I’m just now getting to writing about it. :) Anyway, the trip down went rather well, except for the hour or two flight delay. You know that you fly way to much when you move through check in and security without any incidents. I’ve been back and forth across the country about 6 times in the last two months, and feel as if I’ve been beaten over the head with a large stick of pepperoni. But I digress…..
Once we arrived in LA, we checked into our Hotel which was about a block and a half from the Edison. (Downhill) Now, a block and a half seems like such a short distance to walk, and it truly is. When you are sober and not dragging a bunch of crap behind you. (Whose idea was it anyway to haul to gear by hand? Oh yeah, that was mine….. brilliant.)
The next morning we went to breakfast at the “Blue Cube” next to the venue. As soon as we walked in I knew we were a bit out of place, seeing as we were the only one’s not wearing a construction helmet and a reflective vest. We then sat down to a fine dinning experience of runny eggs, flame broiled toast, and bacon so crisp I used it as a paint scraper. (And then ate it, I was hungry) The looks we got were more of curiosity than anything else, as Robert tried to play a Motocross game on the I-phone (with the volume all the way up) and Nathan and I rambled on about something.
Load in and set up went well, but I’m still not quite use to the backpacker guitar that I’m using now. Its SOOOOO tiny. After that we got to meet with rest of Lucent Dossier, which I have to tell you is a fine bunch of people. We hung out in the Green room together for a bit (did some more eating) and went to down just prior to doors opening. I do love the way Lucent Dossier spreads themselves out around the Edison and adds to the whole atmosphere of it. Nathan and I were hanging out at the stairs with a few of them while we played Mandolin and Guitar. Lucent Dossier began to improvise a little tune about how Cotton Candy is poison and will rot you brain. All the while, another woman fed cotton candy to the people coming down the stairs. One thing on that, all of the people who were dressed Steampunk got into the whole thing by the stairs, but I noticed that the others coming down didn’t know quite what to make of us. Not sure if they were ready for the whole experience. Have some Absynth, that will put you in the mood!
Speaking of Absynth, holy crap I’ve never see so much being served. (Or horded by patrons). One poor addicted fellow was staggering behind the Absynth Fairy, taking several bottles every time she stopped. Then staggered away claiming victory over some oppressive whosamawhatsit, while conversing with his four invisible friends.
The show itself went off well, with us only mildly botching some of the new songs. Although if everyone was playing the Abney Park Drinking Game during one particular song, they should all have alcohol poisoning……
As the clock wound down to midnight, so did our set, as we only played a few songs after the confetti cannons shot off. Speaking of confetti, I found some lodged in the strangest places the next morning. Also, confetti doesn’t taste good mixed with Champaign.
Slowly, as we neared 2am, people began to filter out, and we start breaking down our gear to take back to the hotel. (Remember when I said downhill on the way to the venue was a bad idea? Because it means uphill on the way back!!!) Dragging a keyboard, guitar, 5 suitcases, bass, mandolin, backpacker guitar, violin, accordion, and a semi conscious Kristina is an adventure I care not to repeat.
All in all it was a VERY good evening. There were many a familiar faces to be had in the crowd, and it was good to see you all there. I can even recognize some. :) Special thanks to the Steampunk Ghosterbusters (glad you could make it), Bubble Girl (Not sure your real name), Eric (yes I brought your check :) and the rest of you who supported us down in LA. Hope to see everyone in San Fran in two weeks! Happy New Year!

Ok, so Im putting some stuff into envelopes for a few Abney Park fans this afternoon. I made sure everything was ready to go, and I was about to seal them when I realized that.... I had Cheeto hands. AARRRGGGHHH! Now I myself am a fan of Cheetos (in moderation of course), but you would think they would put a warning on the label stating "Will turn all paper a smudgy orange and clog up your keyboard with a fine Cheetorific powder..... Enjoy." Needless to say I will be redoing all of the envelopes here shortly, unless fans want my fingerprints highlighted in orange on their correspondence. Anyway, just thought I would share.

DAMN YOU CHEETO HANDS!

So there I was… No really it’s true…

Now to continue where I left off yesterday. I noticed that a few pictures of my daughter made it onto my Journal. Yes, she was with us for the whole weekend. I thought it would be good for her to come to a show, seeing as we do not do many all ages shows. While we were there she managed to do the following: First, she participated in ballroom dancing for about 3 hours Friday night. I went up to see how she was doing and saw that she was schmoozing with everyone. Shortly after I arrived she came to me and asked me to dance. I thought, “How nice, it’s great she wants to dance with me.” After we began she quickly realized that I had no clue how to ballroom dance and promptly said, “Your not very good, that’s OK, I’ll lead.” This was coming from a 9 year old. Sigh…
Next, she viciously attacked me with a rubber mallet in the vendor room. The video of which will bubble up on YouTube soon I’m sure. :) Lastly, she came to the show. This was pretty much her first real concert and she got an “All Access Pass”. I never got an all access when I went to shows :P Anyway, she ran around the Civic Center, past guards, Police, and stage crew saying “All access, I’m going over here, and here, and here.” The funny thing is that everyone just stepped out of her way. But the defining moment of the night came after the show was over.
She had been in the audience, dancing with a bunch of fans. Apparently she had bonded with them because she then said to everyone assembled around her “I have an all access pass, want to come back stage to see everyone?” Shortly there after, a group of 12 or so people appeared in the Green Room, my daughter’s entourage I guess, and we all chatted for a bit. This group included the Steampunk Ghostbusters, and a bunch of Dr. Steels Toy Army Soldiers. Kato brought a group up from LA for the show. Yea!
As for us, Saturday went relatively smooth. Aside from me losing the van keys right before we were supposed to leave at about 12:30am. I swear they were not in the Van when I found them. They were in the parking lot…. a squirrel took them from my pocket…. during a hurricane…. it was dark and there were wolves…. never mind :P
The next day we went to the Winchester Mystery House and took the 2 ½ hour tour. I have to say that it was very impressive. Granted we had a few people who seemed very bored because there were no shiny lights and TV’s, but for the most part it was fun. I never knew that Mrs. Winchester was only 4’ 8” tall, although you could tell when you tried to walk through some of the rooms. We were able to see the room where she died, her séance room, the basement, the door to nowhere, and a few other key places.
Overall it was a good show. As always, the fans were great, the venue was great, the promoter was great and we had a wonderful time. Oh by the way, I had heard some people complain that we are getting to good at our live set and have not been making any mistakes on stage. Don’t worry, we more than made up for that this show. A few cases in point.

1. During “Death of a Hero” Robert began singing at completely the wrong time, at which point I glared at him. It took a moment, but he realized what happened and stopped turned to the audience and smiled. (Everyone take a shot…)

2. During “The Derelict”, we had to pass out lyric sheets to ourselves. (Everyone take a shot...)

3. During Stigmata Martyr Robert kicked out his XLR cable on his mic. Even though the sound guy told him to wrap it up. (Drink the whole bottle...)

4. During about three songs the computer had issues with the output to our MOTU. (Now eat the worm…)

Anyway, that’s a quick run down of what happened this weekend. I hope to see everyone in LA on New Years. May you all have clear skies and the wind at your backs.

Well it seems that I have started somewhat of a small tradition in describing our shows from behind the scenes. I just got back last night from San Jose, as I opted to stay an extra day to go see the Winchester House and some other things.
We began our epic journey from Seattle on Thursday afternoon. Surprisingly, we had no major issues getting through the airport this time. But we are an interesting bunch. If you can picture each of us carrying two instruments and a carry on after we have checked our other two bags. Then we wander through the airport up to the security line in a group, only to break apart at the last moment and clog up all five security lanes and conveyors.
My issue usually revolves around my shoes. I don’t have room in my checked bags for the large pair I wear on stage so I wear them through the airport. But they have about 2 miles of laces, 20 buckles, and a combination lock. Not so good if people behind me are in a hurry…
Robert has two main issues. First, is that he carries his microphone on the plane, which kind of looks like a thermal detonator under the x-ray machine. The next issue is that his full name is Robert Brown. A name so common that it cause’s the TSA to ask “Is that your REAL name?”
Kristina, well she never has problems. :P:P:P:P
Finn is usually stopped by the TSA to ask about her hair. “That’s such a nice blue color. How do you get it like that? What brand do you use?”
Then there is Nathan. Ahhhhh Nathan. The man of a thousand instruments, each of which must be checked by TSA every friggen time we go through the line. But it’s not enough that they check each one, oh no. Nathan must explain each in detail as everyone huddles around him in fascination. By the end of it, Nathan has five more friends for life, and the rest of us have pitched a camp in the lobby because we waited so long. But I digress…
We arrived Thursday evening and hung out at the Domain Hotel, then walked down the street to get dinner. The Domain Hotel has a retro, future, neo, fung shue vibe to it, and if that doesn’t make any sense to you then you have the right idea. Although I do have to say Kristina loved the rocks…. in fact she took many picture of them. Next time you see her, feel free to ask her about them. (I think she brought some small ones back with her to Seattle.)
Now comes the sad part of the story, the Airship Trip was canceled. Yes, it appears that we brought the rain with us from Seattle. After speaking with several people in San Jose, they told me that they had not had much rain in over six weeks, and this is the first major storm system they have had. Yeah. Lucky us. Go team. So instead of doing that on Friday morning, we just hung out around the hotel and got some lunch. Real exciting I know. Whew, we need to slow down that Rock Star pace a bit. :)
The day of the show was just as rainy as Friday, and if I hadn’t told you before Friday was pretty wet. (Rainy I mean, get your minds out of the gutter). We got there about 2pm-ish to load in and sound check. The room was rather large and had a bit of an echo. I could play a riff on stage and synch it with the echoes in the room as if I was using a delay pedal. Which is a cool effect, but not so good for keeping track of what part you are actually playing during the show.
Whoa, just noticed the time here. I need to go out for a bit. I will finish this tomorrow. :)

So, I have been trying to get myself to continue writing some short stories, but i never seem to get around to it. This is the first chapter in one I have been working on. Just to reiterate how slow I am, I originally posted this on my Myspace in June. Soooooo, I hope to have some more out before the San Jose show. The story will unfold itself as a combination HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and HP Lovecraft. If you can picture that. :) So here to hoping that I get off my posterior and finish this....

***

This is my first log entry. It tells of the particular battle that occurred just south of Paxio Island in the Ionian Sea.

***

In the distance the "Thump" of cannon fire can be heard amidst frenzied shouts of my fellow sailors as they scurry about the main deck trying to keep the "Elysium" afloat.

"More incoming fire boys!" the Captain bellows as we dive for cover.

A split second later the sky's are filled with a series of deafening explosions, as time fused shells explode above our heads. Red hot shards of twisted iron split the air as we try to hide in vain. Through flesh and bone, wood and steel, it rips a path of carnage. Pieces of rigging, deck, and sail lay scattered about. Testament to the relentless shelling we have endured.

Through the hail of fire and iron I held my post amidst the shambles of the aft deck, attempting to keep our long nines firing as best I could. With trepidation I glanced over the rail into the churning seas beyond. My eyes widened as I saw what was bearing down upon us. Three Carrack class vessels from Her Majesties Royal Fleet were closing quickly, the ocean churning upward along their prow as the white froth rolled off to the sides. Their sails twisted ever so slightly in the early evening breeze, tacking left and right as they attempt to bring their main guns to bear. From their decks I could see the telltale flash of powder, and haze of smoke. Their forward guns firing continuously, tearing away at our sails and slowing us to a crawl. Soon we would be dead in the water, and then our desperate flight would be over. They would quickly traverse the blue space between us and then we would suffer the full might of their mighty broadsides. Innumerable thirty two pounders firing at point blank range, grape shot and canister, our fates stand sealed as we sink lifeless beneath the sea.

My minds wandering was cut short as I snapped back to the task at hand. A six pound shell obliterated the deck railing to my left in a hail of glowing embers, blowing the remainder of my gun crew overboard. Their bodies flung like rag dolls over the side, disappearing into the swirling ocean below. Instinctively covered my face as I sunk to the ground, my head still ringing from the blast as I tried to focus.

"A Hammer is breaking free from formation!!". As I attempted to glance upward I found myself dizzy and disoriented. I sickly feeling nearly overwhelmed me as I fell to one knee, attempting to steady myself upon the pitching deck. Blood, water, and ash washed past my hands, a small rivulet of crimson trickled down my cheek as I finally raised my head.

A Hammer….

My heart sank as the ship in question came into focus. It was short and squat vessel riding low to the water, its hull glistened in a shimmering bronze as it stood silhouetted upon the western horizon. A thick trail of smoke emerged from its aft quarter, as the steam propeller upon its keel sliced deep into the sea. The smog thickened, as it began to close with us, its coal fires shimmering from deep within. But it was not the speed which drove some of us to panic, it was the monstrosity which stood upon the deck . A long line of enormous iron cannons were mounted along the deck, secured to the floor and hull with a chaotic array of metal beams and rigging. Their barrels were a mere five feet long, but the mouth of each yawned to such a size that it could swallow a man whole. Blurred shapes could be seen crawling over these beasts. With muscle and sweat they loaded their deadly shells, and it was evident that a single pass would send us to the bottom.

"Starboard side! Starboard! Tact to Port!" The main sail groaned under into own weight as our men jumped upon the ropes in a desperate attempt to catch the wind in what was left of our sails. The Captain gripping the wheel tightly, trying to grab every ounce of speed that the sea would grant him.

"500 meters and closing!"

As the Hammer pulled forward, the rest of the fleet fell silent, knowing that their guns would do as much damage to her as to us. The air, now quiet, swirled with salt and smoke as this deadly race continued. The tension was palatable, a bitter taste of bile within a dry mouth. All around grown men knew that their final hour had come. Some began to weep, others fell to their knees and prayed.

"300 meters and closing!"

Men rushed to the rear of our damaged vessel. Desperate shots rang out from musket and pistol as everything was poured into our last defense.

Now knowing full well what would soon transpire, I struggled to my feet. For the will of man is not easily broken, if pushed it shall not yield. Deep within me I swore that this would not be the end.

Gathering my wits I placed my hands to my mouth and called out "Gun crew to the rear! I need powder and solid shot!" I quickly turned back to my cannon, praying it would fire. I leaned in close and examined its three solid steel barrels. They seemed to by intact, but the traverse gears were shattered beyond repair. The barrels themselves stood nearly red hot as water hissed and spat upon its surface.

A cry echoed from behind, "Shot ho! I've got 2 rounds!" I could now see that it was Marcus who called out as he came running up the steps to the gun deck. Marcus had been with the "Elysium" for many seasons, through which we had become close friends. It was good to see that he had not succumbed to the bedlam surrounding us.

"Load one and two!" I bellowed as I began packing a double charge of powder into the barrels.

"100 meters! Starboard side! They loading canister!"

Time began to slow as we focused on the task at hand, our hands moved deliberately, our bodies ignoring the creeping exhaustion, our actions were nearly automatic, as the memories of our bloody engagements flowed freely within our thoughts and veins.

"25 meters!"

"Load complete!" shouted Marcus as I set the primer and fuse.

"They are on us!"

The Hammer lumbered up upon our left, as the smell of coal and cinders filled the air. Sounds of grinding metal and churning seas slowly drowned out all else as I began to drag the aft gun into position.

"Fire Damnit! Fire!" Calls for action rang out among the crew.

"Not yet…" I countered

I continued to lean into the cannon, my muscles burring from the effort. I took but a second to look up from my task and saw the gaping maw of my enemies short barrel cannons pass in front less than 10 meters away. Above it all, I could see their flames poised above the fuse ready to blast us from the sea.

"Almost." I grunted, sweat and blood rolling freely from my brow.

I now heard and audible click as the cannon fell into its firing position, and a unearthly silence descended upon us. As I sighted in, the eyes of both crews locked, and the fear on everyone's face was evident. The lives of over 200 men flashed by in a instant as the scene was lit by the mussel flash from my cannon.

"CRACK! CRACK!" resounded as both barrels fired, enveloping us in a cloud of smoke and soot. The splintering of wood and bending of metal could be heard from across that short deadly space, as our shots buried themselves deep within the boiler room at the rear of their vessel.

The enemy ship lurched painfully forward, as the crew was knocked to ground. A high pitched hiss could be heard, slowly building in intensity. Copper gears and iron rods could be seen falling from hull, ground to dust within the belly of the ship.

I gripped the rail as we pitched hard to Port in a last desperate attempt to distance ourselves from the Hammer. Red and white flames began to surge from the back of their ship and in that moment victory turned to desperation. A stream of bodies began leaping overboard as the hiss became a roar, the roar became destruction.

The explosion which followed nearly flipped us out of the water as the main boiler blew itself apart, taking most of the ship with it. Machines, wood, and men were flung into the sea as they sank beneath the waves never to be seen again. I can only image the scene upon the ships which trailed us. Their eyes had been following every moment, their minds savoring the thought of our destruction. But in an instant it was gone. All that was left was the smoldering remains of one of their own.

Taking full advantage of the chaos which followed, as we sailed further away from our pursuers. Night had began to fall, and I watched as they pulled up alongside their fallen comrades and began to drop lifeboats in the murky waters. It was by the grace of the Gods that we were granted this short reprieve from our imminent destruction. But it was not to last, for it seems that the fates had something far more terrible in store for us as we sailed into the approaching darkness.
***

The return of Abney Park to Seattle, after a 14 month hiatus we came back to Heavens (formally known as the Catwalk).

Back in August of last year we did a benefit concert at Doc Maynard’s in Pioneer Square, Seattle. That show was, how can I say it, interesting? There were about 75 people there, most of whom found out about the show from Roberts LJ post, or the website. As it turned out, there really wasn’t a promoter for the show, the sound guy had trouble finding the “on” switch, and I think we blew a fuse while tying to turn on the lighting. But after all was said and done, it was a very fun and intimate show. All of you were dressed spectacularly, the sound wasn’t bad, and Doc Maynard’s is a nice venue. :) So why did I bring this up? Well that was about average for a Seattle show up to this point. Hence the reason we never did very many of them. But we had a number of fans asking for another show, as well as the “Seattle Steamrats” asking when we would perform again, so we decided to go for it. And, oooooo my it was goooood. :)

First of all, Heaven is a great venue. With a state of the art digital sound system. (So state of the art that we had a little trouble figuring out the digital board during sound check. “All I want is an analog board with some dials!” laments the sound guy. Who was great by the way). While we were setting up, Robert and I were standing next to the DJ booth and noticed the Abney Park logo and our photos on the 4 large plasma screens in front. Very cool. That was something extra they threw in, which shows their professionalism towards the show. Speaking of that, I have to say that everyone involved at the venue was great.

I was very happy to see Sepiachord, Steamrats, and others come in and use the vendor space. We definitely wanted this to be a Steampunk community event, not just a show. They were all great and we chatted throughout the night. Just before doors opened I went upstairs to get something from my car and saw the line going down the street for the show. Before my eyes stretched a long winding line of Steampunks, with gadgets and gizmo’s a plenty. I also noticed that the indigenous Seattle population looked on in awe and wonder as Steampunks are the best dressed crowd around. :)

The show itself went off in classic Abney Park style, with good music, some self deprecation, strange looks on stage trying to figure out why Robert didn’t sing the 4th verse of Stigmata Martyr….. We tried out some of our acoustic set during the show as well, which went over well. By the end of the second set, the whole place was dancing! I must also tell you that I was amazed how loud everyone yelled to bring us back up for the encores. I could have been the venue we were in, but the roar from the audience was almost as loud as Dragon Con (and their were 4000 people in Atlanta)

We had one other visitor while we were there. Roman, from Dr. Steels Toy Army who brought us COOOKIES! Yes it looked like a bake sale at the merch booth for a time, but they were good. Apparently Sergeant Kato had ordered Private Roman to make cookies for us, so he asked what we liked. He even made gluten free cookies for Finn. During our encores, Kristina stopped playing for a bit and took a cookie break on stage. :)

To sum it all up, great show, great vendors, great venue, great fans. I think we will be doing this again and hope to see all of you there.

So I was thinking…
That, in and of itself is a little bit troubling…

Anyway, we have been getting ready for the Seattle show this week by drinking heavily and trying to focus on our instruments while the room spins wildly around us. Please see Robert post about the set list if you think I’m kidding :)

Now back to the “I was thinking” portion of my ramblings. I was pondering Birthdays today. I remember way back, when I would get so excited that my birthday was coming up. I looked forward to the gifts, parties and all of the people that would be there to help celebrate it with me. But then, as we all get older, that excitement seems to tapper off. Less and less people say happy birthday, and even less mean it. It becomes an exercise in politeness to wish someone well, but that’s about it.

Now, why does that occur? I think it’s because some people believe that Birthdays only mark off another year before you move into old age. Another year that you have moved further away from your childhood. In other words, they see it now as day to be dreaded rather than to be celebrated.

I have to say that I disagree. Fact is that if you didn’t have a Birthday you wouldn’t be here to dread it! Life’s too short to brood over days past, or lament over the future. Grab the here and now. Your Birthday should mark another year of experience and of enjoying what life has to offer. Be that your friends, family, travel, artistic endeavors, or whatever. Each persons interpretation of their Birthday is different, but they all have one thing in common, which is to celebrate who you are. (Even if that tends to annoy certain members of your immediate family… :)

So I say, go out on town, stay up late, drink copious amounts of rum, and let the world know your still here :) (No streaking if possible, unless your wearing only body paint. I’m speaking to you Finn…)

And yes, my Birthday is on Saturday. :P

Well, we are back from our New Jersey outing and I must say it was interesting. It began, innocently enough, as we arrived at JFK airport on Long Island. It was raining heavily as we docked the Ophelia, and we to get a rental car to go to Somerset. MapQuest said 1.5 hours from JFK to Somerset….. About 3.5 hours later we arrived at the hotel, loopy and exhausted. We got to meet the directors of SalonCon when we arrived and they were all very nice.

The next day we began getting ready to play and do our MTV interview. The interview itself went well, and I think we were able to properly convey the essence of Steampunk. It cannot be pigeon holed into a particular definition, nor is it restricted to any single type of person or group of people. Also they asked if we could name a video game with Steampunk influences and I blurted out BioShock… I was under pressure! I couldn’t think of any others! :)

So far so good, then we did sound check and had a few issues with the sound system. Such as we may blow it up if we push all of our gear through it… Hmmm, could be a problem. This is what I like to call classic Abney Park. Allow me to explain.

For a series of about 4 shows or so, we were having horrible technical glitches on stage. Sound cut out, we would lose our synth lines, ect. Now the key to a good show in light of all those is…. you go with the flow and just use it. If you get stressed out about it on stage, then the audience feels it, then they get stressed, you get more stressed, then the sound guy has a nervous breakdown and curls up in the fetal position on the floor, and one has a good time.

We were doing a show in SanFrancisco at Makers Fair and the computer started to crash. Nathan and I started improvising for a bit to cover it up, but when the House sound system filled with the “Exiting Windows” sound clip as the laptop shut down, everyone kind of knew… :) So Robert and Finn started bantering with the audience while we played something in the background while we waited for it to reboot. Pleading with the audience to “Buy our CD’s so we can get a new computer!” :)

So, knowing the sound system would probably fail at some point during our set at Salon Con, Robert led off with a drinking game for the audience. Every time the system cuts out take a shot. I think most everyone would have been sloshed by the end of the set, even Finn took a drink on stage! During Dear Ophelia, Nathan and I almost blew the stage monitors as they began to crackle wildly. At that point we began pointing fingers at each other and told the audience it was each other’s fault :)

But with all the glitches, we still had fun. The crowd was great, the energy on stage was good, and everyone was happy to be there. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously. The unexpected happens, and you have to deal with it. Complaining doesn’t change anything, just roll with it and see what happens.

This is kind of a follow up post to the last one, and a partial answer to satyrlovesong’s question.

I can truly say that I have no idea where life is taking me. Every time I think I have it all worked out, something else pops up and takes me in a whole new direction. I have a perfect example of this that I hope you all enjoy :)

If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be playing Bass in Abney Park, I would have said you were out of your mind. I had been working my other job, and had pretty much given up on my music career. I had been playing Guitar since 4th Grade, and I been in a few small bands but nothing ever panned out. Anyway, so I was hanging out at Robert’s in May a few years back during a rehearsal. It was only the second time I had met anyone in the band. Jean Paul had just got done practicing and said that he would be leaving the band soon to command his own airship, and they were trying to find someone else to play Bass. (Did I mention Jean Paul rocks?)

It was at that moment that I saw my life changing direction. The fates had given me an unexpected opportunity, and I just had to reach out and grab it.

So I asked Jean-Paul to show me a few Bass lines from the songs, at which point Kristina poked her head around the corner and asked “Do you play Bass?”. Why yes, yes I do :)

Now it still took a few weeks of practice and hard work before I was ready to try out with everyone else, and Robert didn’t make it easy on any of us. “Can you play amidst distraction??” he bellowed as his smacked us with old rigging from the Ophelia… (I still have the welts.)

The bottom line is that if life throws you an unexpected twist, you can either play it safe or reach out and dive in to the unknown. I didn’t know if I would be chosen after the tryouts, but I gave it everything I had. Opportunities for adventure and inspiration are out there, they just pop up in the most unlikely places, and at the strangest, most inconvenient times.


“You did what with the alcohol?!?” Overheard from Finn just before the acoustic set, the second morning of Dragon Con.