This page includes all the news from this site plus all the MySpace blogs from 2008.

Updates in progress.

Sorry for the construction mess. I'm cleaning while I update. Thanks to TJ Clark for the new background pic.

The new album is still done and readily available in many places. In a few days there should be some PayPal buttons here or on the Merch page so you can get it right from the source.

Big show coming in February. Stay tuned for details.

And Happy Holidays, if you're into that sort of thing.

posted 12.21.08

Pravin.

I'm not feeling morbid. I'm not feeling old. Let's get those out of the way early.

But something occurred to me tonight, and it's a sobering thought.

If I live to see August 25th - now less than two weeks away - I'll have outlived one of the best friends I ever had.

Pravin Bhakuni was my friend throughout junior high and high school (and the reason I even joined the Boy Scouts), and my life back then would have been 100 times less fun without him in it. I've never known anyone else quite like Pravin, but I know I was one of more than a few who tried to be like him back then. I didn't know he was my hero, but it's pretty obvious to me now.

Twenty years after high school, I still tell "Pravin stories" like they happened yesterday, and they still crack me up. We cheated death so many times together, and not because we had a death wish. We just did ridiculous things for the sake of doing ridiculous things, dozens that come to mind that I can't believe we got away with and/or survived.

I started trying to think of a favorite Scouting or high school story that Pravin's a part of, and I realized he's a part of ALL of my favorite Scouting and high school stories. There was a uniqueness to everything he did, a larger-than-life quality, with even the most mundane moments given a "Pravin twist." I remember riding around in that old Chevy, with him coming to a complete stop at every railroad track and having me open the passenger door - so he could peer out like a school bus driver to make sure the coast was clear. To this day I'm still tempted to do that every time I come to a railroad crossing. I have a thousand great Pravin stories from back then, and I cherish every one.

So his death almost a year ago, one day after his 38th birthday, didn't feel like a wakeup call to me at the time, just a shock and a pit in my stomach. But I think deep down it set me onto a path I'm still on a year later.

My Mom took it as a message that I ought to get into better shape. I have, and I'm glad I did. I've lost 40 pounds and I'm not done yet. But it meant a lot more to me than just that.

Try things. Don't worry about failure, just try things. Don't like it? Don't do it again. But give it a shot once just to see what it's like.

Grab life and make it go where you want it to go. Make your life what you want it to be instead of what you think it's supposed to be. Sleep in a tent in the snow. Make someone else's day more interesting and yours will be too. Live every day.

And seriously, for God's sake, have fun. Above all else, have some freaking fun every day.

Run around in shorts with bread bags on your feet in January. Lash four canoes together and nap while you drift until the lookout wakes you up to steer. Drive that Chevy Citation through mud pits it will never, ever cross. Tie the other guys inside their tents and wake them up with air raid sound effects. Cook over open flames. Eat adventurously. Occasionally catch your shoes on fire while you're still in them. Get a scar or two.

Be you. Live life. Enjoy life.

So it's been almost a year, and I don't really know what I was supposed to learn from Pravin's death.

But I sure as hell know what I learned from his life.

posted 1:01AM 8.12.08

D-Fest 2008
Current mood: drained

D-Fest was pretty awesome.

The panels were really informative for a small-timer like me - I went to five of them and took 6 pages of notes, everything from publishing rights to licensing to marketing and more. I came away with a bunch of great resources and lots of new ideas. I got to meet some cool industry and indie experts and also met a lot of folks in person who I only knew online before.

The gang from "Another Hot Oklahoma Night", next year's rock and roll exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center, was there interviewing Oklahoma artists and industry types for the video part of the exhibit, and I got to do a fun interview with them about everyone from Woody Guthrie to N.O.T.A., what I think about Oklahoma music as an adopted Okie, and my two cents about what the official Oklahoma Rock Song should be. Check 'em out here at http://www.myspace.com/anotherhotoklahomanight or nominate a song at http://www.oklahomarocksong.org/.

The music was fantastic as advertised. I saw about a dozen great bands, including locals like Black Swan (amazing as always) and Callupsie (seriously intense) and headliners like Clutch and, of course, Zappa Plays Zappa. I was there when Ghosts set off the fire alarm at the Continental and when it finally shut off - two minutes after their set ended.

My own set Friday night was a BLAST. Thanks to everyone who didn't run out screaming when the loud, angry acoustic guy started his set in the mellow sushi bar, and special thanks to the dancers who joined me during 'Life Imitates Life.' The sound was probably the best I've ever had (those little Bose systems are freaking amazing) and the crowd was truly a blast to play for. TJ took some pictures and I'll post a link when puts 'em up.

I had a great time, and now I'm exhausted, dehydrated, sore from a brutal charlie horse I woke up with this morning, and already looking forward to next year.

(But first, I've got a show next Sunday at Los Cabos I should probably start preparing for...)

posted 2:16PM 7.27.08

it’s here!!!!!
Current mood: accomplished

It's here, kids - the fruit of my labors, The Anarchist Fakebook, is ready for you to take home, rumple and fetish at your leisure.

You can get your very own copy in a number of places. I'll always have them with me at shows, of course, like *cough* MY D-FEST SET THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT 1AM AT TSUNAMI SUSHI *cough*.

It's now available in two AWESOME stores in Tulsa, which you should visit even if you're not there to buy my stupid record, because they're great places run by great people:

Under the Mooch (1425 S. Harvard) http://www.myspace.com/underthemooch
Ida Red (3346 S. Peoria) http://www.myspace.com/idareds

And sometime in the next month or so, it'll also show up on iTunes, Rhapsody, and a bunch of other digital-distribution type places for all you downloady downloadersons. That version doesn't come with all the awesome artwork though, so buyer beware...

posted 3:37PM 7.19.08

There’s a wire, and I’m down to it.

Looks like we're gonna make it.

That is, once again I'm going to Plan B for manufacturing, a reliable place in town I used last time around in this same role, because the cheaper-but-out-of-town place is not going to turn the thing around in time for the release party.

Tonight I'm making the new master copy for the in-town place, and reformatting the art for their templates, so I can take it there first thing in the morning.

Also writing press releases and making the poster I should have made a week ago.

And restringing my guitar, because tomorrow I'm going to be performing two songs on/for OklaTravelNews. It's a daily program on Cox channel 3 in Tulsa (and 9 in OKC, I think) and streams on oklatravelnet.com too. I'm not sure which day my performance is going to air but I'm guessing Friday.

It should be fairly awesome and I'm looking forward to it. Should get my mind off the manufacturing mess for an hour or so...

posted 9:10PM 7.9.08

Independence Day, and stuff.
Current mood: amused

I tend to take this country for granted. A lot of us do. I've never lived anywhere else, and it's an easy thing to do when you're used to the reality of the freedom we have, compared to how it is in a lot of places.

So this Independence Day, I'm having dinner in my living room, and for no particular reason dinner is taquitos. Miniature burritos.

I recognize the irony in that while I'm heating them up, but I don't really care. I like Mexican food and I just didn't feel like making burgers.

And then, while I'm enjoying my taquitos, the nice Mexican family next door starts shooting off fireworks in their front yard, and also in mine.

And all I can think is, if that's not America, I don't know what is. And the next thing I think is that I friggin' LOVE this country. Happy birthday Uncle Sam.

I may as well skip organized fireworks and other activities tonight, because nothing, absolutely nothing, cooler than that will be happening to me the rest of the night.

P.S. the album is currently being manufactured. I suspect there will be a small hitch that will slow it down, because there's always one with my CDs, but as of this moment the July 17th Release Day celebrations are going forward with all speed.

Currently listening: Cake, "Pressure Chief"

posted 8:55PM 7.4.08

It’s done. It’s done!
Current mood: exhaustipated, but okay

So barring any last-minute changes when I listen through it once more after work tonight, the album's done. Finito. The End. In The Proverbial Can.

I thought it was done Wednesday night, but after listening all the way through between naps yesterday I discovered I had to remix "Ruby" from scratch and make some volume adjustments on a few other things. Got that done last night and I'm happy with the results.

If this version sticks tonight, I'll be finalizing the artwork and hopefully sending it off to the duplication folks in the morning. Waiting for them to confirm everything on their end. Got a 2nd place lined up if this one falls through - I learned that lesson the extremely painful way last time around. Then it's off to write press releases and get some more fall shows booked. Guess I'll be busy this weekend.

Almost by accident yesterday I booked a 2nd show for Release Day (July 17th). I'll be playing a lunchtime show downtown in Bartlett Square, then the release party that night at Under the Mooch. Should be a fun day and I hope a lot of folks can come to one or the other.

I also seem to have at least temporarily stopped coughing, which is a nice change of pace. It's probably just allergies or pneumonia, I'm sure.

posted 5:06PM 7.27.08

A very interesting and exhausting year in AcousticRossLand continues.

The new album is DONE and the manufacturing process should be starting in a matter of a couple days now. I couldn't be happier about this thing, and I can't wait for you to hear it. Fortunately, you'll have several chances to do so in the coming months. The official release date is set - July 17th - and I'll be doing a lunchtime show downtown (Bartlett Square) and a release party that night (Under the Mooch) to celebrate. Should be a great time and I hope you can make it. If not, there are several shows lining up in the wings after that, so check the ol' shows page for details. A full media blitz will be forthcoming to bring on the hype.

If you're looking for more info about the new record right now, I've been posting semi-regular blogs over on MySpace. I'll be posting some pages here as well in the coming weeks, with lots more behind-the-scenes info, and refreshing the sounds page with some new goodies very very soon, so stick around for all the festivities. I've been building towards this album for over 3 years now and I know it's going to be worth the wait.

Trust me.

posted 6.26.08

final days...
Current mood: stoked

Here we go folks. It's down to the wire and we're looking pretty good right now.

As of this moment, there is one song that needs to be mixed, and one bonus track that needs to be edited, and everything else is finished. With a little luck, at least one of those things will be done by the end of the day, if I can fight off the coughing fits long enough to do it.

I've had to sacrifice some of the guest appearances, but managed to sneak them onto the record anyway in a different capacity. I've shuffled and reshuffled the tracklist, cut and expanded, and it's up to 15 songs now, including one that didn't even exist a week ago. Not counting bonus tracks it'll run right around an hour.

In a weird way this album sounds like nothing I've ever done and like everything I've ever done. My first four-track albums (as The Vaguerants) used electric guitars, poppy songs, perky bass lines and borrowed Yamaha keyboards as drummers. The first two Acoustic Ross records were purely solo - voice, acoustic guitar and almost nothing else. Hell, the first one didn't even have reverb. And the Math Lab EP is a freaking rock album, and sounds (in performance and quality) a thousand times better and more professional than any of those.

I've said before that this is the record I've always wanted to make, and that definitely goes all the way back to the very beginning. The borrowed keyboards magically found their way back to me years ago, and they're here, and they're joined by real drums & percussion. The electric guitars are better, especially when Greg and Jeff are playing them, but they're here. The perky bass lines and poppy songs, they're here in some capacity too. Hell, there's even a hint of Math Lab on here. And the solo voice & guitar, that's bread and butter, so of course that's here too - but it's not ALL that's here, and that's the important thing.

At some point I'll be putting up some pages on acousticross.com about this album, including lyrics and some more behind-the-scenes stuff I haven't gone into on these blog entries. A lot of it's too spoilery to post before you hear the thing, so I'm waiting.

So here goes, I'm on my way to Northcraft Studios for more mixing and a little editing. Less than a month till this thing finally comes out, at which point maybe I'll stop spending every waking second thinking about it.

Hopefully.

Currently listening: The Dismemberment Plan, "The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified"

posted 11:24AM 6.22.08

coming soon... sorta
Current mood: pumped, or something

What the hell.

Just when I think I have the tracklist all sorted out, and the perfect sequence of songs, and the perfect length for this beast of a new album, I suddenly decide -- literally while working on the artwork for it -- that it absolutely needs a 12-bar blues on it.

So I sit down and write one. And immediately decide it needs a live band playing on it.

Seriously, now I think I'm just making this more complicated than it needs to be to drag out the process. It's musical masochism and I'm beating myself over the head with my own ideas now.

But the new song is pretty kickass, in my humble opinion, and you'll like it.

Well, hopefully some of you will.

Now excuse me while I go play through it again.

Burma shave.

Oh, and go buy the new Sloan album already, it's brilliant. Andrew's at the top of his game and the other three are no slouches either.

Currently listening: Sloan, "Parallel Play"

posted 11:44PM 6.16.08

guest star night 1
Current mood: rejuvenated

Guest star night 1 was pretty kickass. Jeff Graham, Dylan Turner and Greg Klaus were the victims this time.

I had a song in mind I wanted this group to play on. We listened to the demo then heard another song that, in my mind, was already finished as a solo piece, then we spent the evening turning it into a band piece, learning how to play it, and getting the sound down. It got late enough by the time we had done that that we really only got one passable take, so there will be a guest star night 2 very soon so we can finish.

Later (read: after 11:30 on a weeknight) Jeff & Greg laid down some parts that were missing from *blushes* (including a bass part I didn't realize was missing, but totally needed to be there), and I'm remixing that right now to work in the new stuff. Next week we'll finish the other track, work on the one we set out to work on (maybe), and Jeff & Greg both still have a little stunt guitar work to do on another track. After that there should be a session with a different group of guest stars, then that should pretty much be the end of the recording phase.

It sounds less close to finished than it really is. This thing is coming together faster than I expected, and better than I'd dreamed.

I like this record. I hope you will too.

posted 12:45AM 6.13.08

getting there...
Current mood: thankful

The all-solo tracks are all finished. I finally tackled 'Fault Country' this weekend and I'm happy with the results, which leaves exactly two things left to record. (Plus maybe one more bonus track that'll be pretty easy to put together.)

On tap this week, a session or two with guest stars for a 'band-style' track (the title track, which for a long time has barely even been considered for a bonus track) and some stunt guitar work on a few of the solo tracks. I've never been much of a lead guitarist, so I have two great ones coming over to help cover that task in a few places that need it.

Then sometime next week it's Math Lab's turn. "Ruby" started life nearly 20 years ago as a fairly lame set of rock lyrics, got revised repeatedly under its original name ('Slipping'), and got better music just in time to make it onto the 1998 "Where Is Everybody?" tape before being once again banished to the Not Good Enough pile. Math Lab came along, and with a few lyric changes, a new name, and completely different music, it came back for a while, right about the time we realized it sounded a lot more like me than us. I think it made it into two live sets before disappearing again. So 'Ruby' has now come full circle to its original owner, but I'm making Math Lab play it one more time for this record.

Should be another fun week.

Currently listening: Todd Snider, "Near Truths and Hotel Rooms Live"

posted 10:19AM 6.8.08

typing when i should be playing
Current mood: pumped

Album update: It's not done yet.

Thirteen 'proper' tracks, not counting bonus tracks - of which there will be several, but only two that really qualify as 'songs,' so let's call it 15 total. Right now 12 of those are finished.

One track left to record as a solo act - I'm about to head into Northcraft Studios to start on that. Might be my favorite song on the record, so it's a little intimidating because I don't want to screw it up. That'll leave 2 tracks left to record, both of which will feature other musicians. Hopefully by the end of next week both of those will be finished, once I email everyone back and get it all scheduled. This is why I saved these for last. There are also two small stunt guitar parts guest artists will hopefully provide, but those songs are otherwise done and I'm counting them as such.

The artwork's done, although I tweak the credits daily. That's likely to happen right up to the moment I send out the files for manufacturing. Names come and go, sometimes in sneaky codes and sometimes not. I just changed one of those.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'm not releasing many more tracks in advance or giving out the tracklist (or even the title, although it's leaked in a few places), but I can tell you this is the album I've always wanted to make. It's fuller-sounding than anything before, thanks to the instrumentation and recording techniques, and musically it's a hell of a step forward.

Yes, if you insist, it's still mostly "funny songs," but if you've been to a show in the last year or two, you know that the material's evolved a lot, and I think that'll be evident. Mixed with the jokes are some complex emotions and some of the darkest songs I've ever recorded. It's really not an Acoustic Ross set unless I bum you out for a couple minutes in the middle, right?

Some of this material is new, some is old, but I don't think you'll be able to tell. In the past I was always afraid to do anything too straightforward or serious, and flat refused to play slow songs & ballads for a LONG time, but all those stops have been pulled out. The songs here on the MySpace page - most of which aren't the album versions - are a good cross-section of what's to come this summer.

I can't wait for you to hear it.

posted 9:00PM 6.4.08

halfway there...
Current mood: napping

The holiday weekend is slightly more than halfway over, I think and I've got 2 more tracks done, with two more hopefully to go.

Yesteray's victim was "*blushes*", honestly at one point one of my least favorite songs on here, but it's grown on me a lot now that it has some instrumentation going on. People seem to like it even if I think it's kind of a one-joke pony, maybe I'm just too picky.

In the middle of recording I had to run to Guitar Center for percussion equipment I suddenly realized it needed. That percussion gear has now shown up on today's victim, "Ugly American," a nice little country ditty that slams the left, right, and popstars in equal amounts, all of whom were totally asking for it. For some reason when I did vocals I was inspired to sing 2 new adlibbed lines over what used to be an instrumental break. I'm trying not to overthink these weird ideas when they happen. On the backing vocals I don't think I quite pulled off 'gospel choir' but I think my point will get across... if you've heard this one live you may know what I'm talking about, otherwise wait for it.

I've got two more 'solo' tracks left, then a couple that will feature guest musicians, then I should be able to pronounce an end to major recording operations. Here's hoping that's sometime soon.

(I'm not actually listening to the crappy sounding but still sentimentally valuable CD below, but I thought it was cool that it showed up in the database. Don't you dare go pay $39.99 for it, though.)

Currently listening: Acoustic Ross, "News From Around the Bend"

posted 4:16PM 5.25.08

more new stuff...
Current mood: contemplative

Just posted a bunch of new shows!

OK, technically, I posted all of 2 new shows, but it looks bigger thanks to the vague references to 2 tours this fall.

I've got a couple Sunday afternoon shows at Los Cabos (on the Riverwalk in Jenks) coming up in August & September. It's always a challenge playing for a family crowd, so you would most certainly be welcome to come watch me struggle mightily with it.

I'm working on getting a couple release parties scheduled in June/July to welcome the new record to the planet.

Then in August and October, the aforementioned tours should take me & the new record to various midwestern places (August) and various northeastern states (October), should we find ourselves able to get some stuff booked in those places. The August shows smell a lot like Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and maybe Texas; the October trip more like Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and maybe even Massachusetts or New Jersey.

I'll keep you posted. Don't I always?

Wait, don't answer that.

Currently reading: "Criminal Macabre: The Complete Cal McDonald Stories" by Steve Niles

posted 11:09PM 5.22.08

Thanks for a great couple of shows!! Mayfest was a BLAST once again this year, and 5 days later was another classic Math-Lab-at-Sound-Pony rocker. I posted some Mayfest pics over in the pictures region.

New album is rolling along very nicely thank you for asking. Might be more like early July than late June, but I'm working on it pretty much every chance I can get, to the detriment of my sleep schedule and everything. Keep an ear on iRok Radio for exclusive sneak peeks at this one, or check some out over on MySpace.

Um, and I know it's crazy and never happens, but the shows page is suddenly starting to fill up. I'm as surprised as you are.

posted 5.21.08/5.22.08

update 5?

I think this is update 5, but I've lost count and I'm too tired to go check which one this is supposed to be (click twice?? what am I, a marathon runner?), or to check it later then edit this, which would really actually be pretty easy but I'm not doing that either.

Busy weekend again, including the now-doesn't-even-surprise-me-anymore early wakeup call from work on Saturday. But it was productive again - I recorded two more tracks, in their entirety, mixed those two, remixed and touched up everything else I've done, listened to everything on the computer / headphones / car stereo / iPod / Dennis's stereo / my stereo to make sure it all sounds more or less 'right' everywhere - and now I'm sitting on 9 tracks** for the album that are 100% finished.

Haven't completely settled on the track sequencing, in fact I screwed with it a bit today, but it's getting there. I can't be sure till I hear the full arrangements and instrumentation on everything, because the last thing I need is for all the songs that 'sound the same' (in tempo, style, instrumentation, theme, or several at once) to be right up next to each other.

No, you want that, you go buy my first two records.*

This one's the big one and I hope this spider bite on my lip doesn't kill me before I finish it.

Having said that, I'm guessing I probably just sealed my fate. Nice knowing you!

- R

* Just don't ask me for a copy, because fuck my first two records. I can't listen to those muddy, hissy beasts anymore and I don't want anything to do with them. Seriously, this one is going to make those seem like Edison tubes. Which about half the first record already sounds like.

** ok, I counted wrong... including the bonus track that's done there are 10 finished.

posted 6:04PM 5.19.08

Mayfest, etc.
Current mood: jazzed

Mayfest 2008 rocks. My set Thursday was a blast, complete with broken string (that never happens anymore, and I've lost my quick-change touch) and thanks to the tons of awesome people came out to see it and/or sit through it and/or buy me lunch. Last night I caught Susan Herndon, South 40 and Ghosts. South 40 was totally not what I expected, Susan rocked harder than I've ever seen her rock, and Ghosts were Ghosts as always, great time all the way around.

Swung by the iRok Radio booth (www.irokradio.com) and wound up doing an impromptu interview - listen to their upcoming podcasts if you want some secret scoop on the new Acoustic Ross joint that I haven't posted here, including the title and some more sneak peek tracks from the record, which I'm about to go make copies of for the folks at iRok. Davit, Dustin and Tom are running a kickass show over there, and supporting Oklahoma indie artists 24/7, and you should be too.

I've started rounding up a few guest stars for the new record, who I won't name just yet, but they're names that should add a nice air of credibility to the proceedings. Still looking at a late-June release date for now, with release parties and shows to book in the meantime. D-Fest is July 25 & 26, and I'm really psyched to be joining that lineup as well. I just hope I'm not on against Zappa Plays Zappa or the Apples in Stereo, because I don't want to have to skip my own set to see theirs...

Currently listening: Sloan, "One Chord to Another"

posted 8:12AM 5.17.08

samples posted
Current mood: adventurous

Still can't guarantee they're final mixes, but I posted some preview tracks for you nice folks who appear to actually be reading this thing.

"Swept Down the Plain" is an all-new recording, think I mentioned that in the last entry. If you've heard the old version, please promptly forget it, because this one is superior in pretty much every possible way. It's also much better than the way I played it on TV this morning. (Don't feel bad that you missed that.)

"Without" is probably the oldest song on the album, except maybe "Ruby", and it's kind of a departure from the usual AcousticRossNess. It's loud, angry, electric, and not about you.

posted 8:43PM 5.14.08

album update 4

Got another one recorded last night, somehow, in between an ungodly number of phone calls that continued well into the night and are the primary reason I'm fucking exhausted right now.

Anyway, the new recording of 'Swept Down the Plain' completely kicks the old one's ass up and down the block, and I can't wait for you to hear it. I've got remixes and editing to do on the other 'finished' stuff, but every day there's a little progress and that's all that really matters, right?

(Please help me keep telling myself that.)

posted 9:28PM 5.13.08

album update 3.5

What a difference a day makes.

Recorded 3 more songs today, in their entirety, remixed the existing ones a little and made several necessary edits on some of them. I've got 6 in the can for sure, leaving 7 to record. Looking like a couple bonus tracks this time, one of which is also in the can already.

So I guess that's not quite but almost halfway. Somehow today I found the time to make some major changes on the main site (acousticross.com) and go to work for about half an hour, because apparently I can't go a single day without having to be there for something, or go 3 consecutive hours, day or night, without my damn phone ringing.

Oh yeah, plus I called my Mom. Because it's Mother's Day, and because calling is a good way to keep in touch with a Mom who lives nearly a thousand miles away.

posted 11:19PM 5.11.08

Making progress. The artwork is nearly finished, other than finalizing the tracklist (which has been shuffled twice already this week) and the liner notes, which are evolving daily but well on their way. Pretty sure I've settled on the right place for duplication, not sure if I'm going to pursue any mastering though.

Despite spending 2 hours at band practice and 3 hours at work, yesterday was pretty productive. I got 2 more songs 95% finished (one needs an edit), and I finished last week's "Life Imitates Life" for real. The intro was way too freaking fast, so it's been re-recorded at a much less ludicrous speed. The old version's still on the page here, you'll probably have to wait for the record to hear the real thing.

So that's progress, and we're still looking at a late-June release date so far if I don't blow it. (And I'm not ruling that out.)

posted 9:37AM 5.11.08

The new mailing list is active, the site has a new color scheme, and there are 3 songs completed for the new album. It's been a busy weekend.

Don't forget about Mayfest this Thursday - love to see you there if you can make it. They classified me as 'other' instead of 'folk,' and they were right to do it. I'm also psyched to announce I'll be playing D-Fest this year too - more info on that when I have some.

I'm about to go into the studio for the day, once I take care of a few Mother's Day type things, here's hoping today's as productive as yesterday was. As always, you can track the progress of the new album (scheduled release: late June) over on the MySpace page, I'm actually using their blogger thingy.

Yeah, I know.

posted 5.11.08

I've got a couple fresh recordings posted over on the MySpace page - an Ass Ponys cover, and an original tune from the dreaded forthcoming Acoustic Ross album.

I've also started posting some little blog updates there, because it's easy, so if you want to follow the progress as the album comes together, that'd be the place to do that. If you want to look at old stuff, though, feel free to hang around this dusty old place...

posted 5.5.08

album update 2
Current mood: productive

Just spent about 6 hours recording and mixing a song for the album, I guess technically the first song I've recorded for the album now. This one ("Life Imitates Life") is one of the most complicated things I'm doing, so I'm not all that surprised it took all evening to get it done. I didn't really have the arrangement planned out much, so that evolved a lot and ended up with about 10 different tracks and odds & ends mixed in.

This song's one I don't play very often, and although I'm not gonna share everything I record for the album, I'll go ahead and post this one tonight in place of something crappy that's been on the site a while. It has lots of frills and extras and a really nice groove that never used to be there, even some VERY minimal drums if you can believe it, and I'm liking it so far. No guarantee this is the final mix or anything, but here it is regardless. I defend my decision to leave the word "close" the way I sang it in the 2nd verse.

So that's like 1 down, 14 to go, I think - I think the other original I worked on last week is getting scrapped and started over. Doesn't feel like progress when I put it that way... I gotta get back to work.

Just as soon as I can feel my fingertips again.

posted 5:42PM 5.4.08

new music, sorta
Current mood: cantankerous

So I'm working on a new, nifty album, but it's run into a lot of hitches along the way. The first one being that if it comes out this year it'll be nearly 4 years after it was originally supposed to happen.

The good thing is I'm finally in a position to start getting proper work done on it. Tonight was the first real session, but after working in vain on something I apparently didn't feel like working very hard on, I recorded a somewhat complicated cover of an Ass Ponys song I love, "Swallow You Down," that recently started showing up in my live sets.

Yes, I realize that sentence included the words ass, swallow, and love.

Anyway, I posted the track here on the page. I suppose it's a little taste of the new record that should be out in June, even though this song isn't likely to actually be on it.

What do you expect from me? Logic??

(edit: remixed this one 5/5/08 while testing new memory cards, the one on the page now is the new improved remix...)

posted 2:01AM 5.1.08

Ballroom Blitz 2008 was big fun. I posted some pictures to prove it, along with some from last year's Freaker's Ball show.

I'm playing Mayfest again this year, and really looking forward to it again. Last year was a blast, even if I was 30 pounds heavier then.

The new mailing list thing is ready to go now too, look down below for the link. It looks way more complicated than it actually is, and the complicated part is there to keep you from getting spammed.

The new album is coming. It really is. Memory cards ordered from a different company are heading my way as I type. At least, they freaking better be.

Lastly, I can't stop listening to Triumph in anticipation of their big reunion show at Rocklahoma. It's 1987 and I'm still in high school blasting this stuff on a Sparkomatic radio in a 1968 Chevy Bel Air.

Good times.

posted 4.28.08

OK, new plan. The new record must, absolutely must, feature a cat playing a theremin:

(Watch the whole thing, the last 3 seconds are the priceless...)

posted 4.14.08

Gig update here. It's a good one.

Whatever the opposite of a shout-out is, I would like to give one to the idiots I ordered CompactFlash memory cards from last month. First they shipped the wrong kind of cards - I'd specifically ordered a certain brand and speed because they work in my awesome little recording device - and they sent me a completely different brand, one which I already knew wasn't compatible WHICH IS WHY I ORDERED THE TRANSCEND AND NOT THE STUPID SANDISK IN THE FIRST PLACE. So I called for an exchange, they told me how to take care of that, I sent the SanDisks back and expected a somewhat speedy turnaround, sort of hoping to have them by last Friday. Starting Friday I called to see what happened, and they said they'd sent them Wednesday but didn't have any kind of tracking information. I called a few more times as this week came and went (an interesting week, to be sure, but that's a different story) and they repeated that same information - then last night I got an automated email with tracking info reflecting that they JUST SENT THEM YESTERDAY, so now I'm sure it's going to be like another two weeks before I see the damn things and can finally start the bulk of the recording process. Note to self and anyone who cares, avoid memorysuppliers.com in the future.

On a completely unrelated note, I think the new mailing list thingy is almost ready now...

On an even less related note, Oklahoma is starting to work on choosing an official state rock song, and the nominations are open to anyone right now. Good explanation here, nomination form and list of nominees so far here.

posted 4.12.08

Remember me?

It's OK, I kinda don't either.

Apparently, I used to be a guy named Acoustic Ross, who used to play shows and write songs that were moderately funny, and publish a zine that was also funny in a moderate sort of way.

About 15 months ago that guy took a new job, bought a new house, and pretty much all those other things, along with his cashflow, evaporated.

But now it's April 2008, and slowly all those things are returning to existence. If you've been around these parts a while, you know that the EP released in 2004 was intended to be a quick stopgap for the 'new' record that was supposed to come out the following year. A certain music-related project at a certain old day job of mine had a few things to say about that and that EP still stands, four years later, as my last recorded & released work.

Until now. Well, until... soon, I guess.

Just this week, I started work on the long-awaited (by some I guess; long-threatened at least) NEW ACOUSTIC ROSS ALBUM.

It has a tracklist, a name, and cover art. None of which I'm showing you just yet. But I'll tell you this: this is already the best-sounding Acoustic Ross record, and it's already my favorite too.

There is still much to do, and I'll try to drop in here a lot more often to get some updates out there, a little peek at the inner workings as the thing shapes up. I've got a few gigs starting to come together for 2008 (I had one in January that this site completely ignored). I've also been forced to abandon my old mailing-list program, and I'm still getting the new one sorted out, so I'll be around here more often working on all of that as often as possible.

This hopes to be a busy year in AcousticRossLand, and I hopes that it lives up to that hope. See you soon.

posted 4.5.08

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