tentativitude/upandcomingness

Dawn Of Isis Against The Signified
coming 2013

One of my many goals for the 3 1/2 months I have off from school is to make a full-length solo record. I’ve produced eight singles/EPs in the last year and a half and feel ready to take a flying leap into something more substantial and involved. I’ll be working on two full-length albums at once, producing both my solo record and one for The Counter Elites (whoever they are) while Songs From The Moon wraps up our impending EP Blood For Power at Woodshed Studios. Anywho – I have my full-length demoed out and about 95% written for piano, synthesizer, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, multi-layered vocals and maybe some extra interesting musical happenings. I may or may not invite friends to play/sing on it – at least know for sure my ultra-bud Shaun Wisniewski will be playing drums on at least 2 or 3 songs, including the lead single “Carpe Vita.”

So here’s a tentative track list for Dawn Of Isis. I’ve been playing quite a few of these tunes at my solo shows, and a couple go back to the earliest days of SFTM:

1. Before We Turn To Dust
2. Carpe Vita
3. Long Night
4. Why Would She Want To Be With Me?
5. Doin’ Nothin’
6. Jordan Haircut
7. We’re All Underwater
8. Wonky Eye
9. Phossy Jaw pt. 3

Speaking of up-and-comingness, SFTM has a new teaser-trailer out, featuring a clip from “Ball Of Thread”:

Songs From The Moon BLOOD FOR POWER commercial from Simple Living Ferndale on Vimeo.

and our first show booked in 13 1/2 months – at the Phoenix Cafe Hazel Park’s 4-day Memorial Day Weekend May Bash.

Happy spring (and all).

Happy Apocalypse

I recorded this song last night in celebration of the final night of existence. I wrote it on Sunday and debuted it live on Wednesday at Skipper’s open mic in Hamtramck. I figured if the world was going to end, I might as well go out making some music on an otherwise lazy Thursday evening.

I kind of took a break from the Internet. I played a show on my birthday in July and gave out 100 CD-Rs of early mixes of my upcoming EP over a couple weeks. Since then I played at the Phoenix Cafe after the Hazel Park Art Fair, but that’s it. The Walking Beat had a handful of cool shows, including a Halloween party at the Lager House where we played as The Kinks. I was the Dave Davies and it was unimaginable fun. SFTM has only gotten together a handful of times to work on our next 7″, which is about 2/3 complete. I’ve been working on my Master’s, some writing projects, and Shaun and I have been producing a punk band called THE COUNTER ELITES and prepping for our Simple Living Ferndale mega-release party that very few people know much about.

SLF 1 year anniversary party

video produced by Shaun Wisniewski
music and poster produced by Jonathan A. Berz

SLF 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY

with
THE COUNTER ELITES
SEX POLICE
JON FROM THE MOON
PANCHO VILLA’S SKULL
MATILDA

making “Yours”

Tracking has begun for 13 new ones. They’re each at varying stages of completion, and we’re gunning for the following deadlines:

Tue June 26: “Lucky To Be Alone (Again)” / “The First Amendment”
mp3 release by Songs From The Moon
plus stream of “The Lucky Suite” in its entirety

Tue July 17: “Yours” / “Why Would She Want To Be With Me?”
mp3 release by Jon From The Moon
w/ music video for “Yours”

Tue August 7: “Sanguine” / “Choleric”
mp3 release by Songs From The Moon

plus – late August / September – triple CD release:

Porn on TV / The Lucky Suite split CD by Matilda and Songs From The Moon
Dawn of Isis Against the Signified CD EP by Jon From The Moon
Humors CD EP by Songs From The Moon

I’ve decided to track the progress of my next solo single – “Yours” – and will be posting pictures and audio clips along the way.

stage 1:

forthcoming

a split CD by Songs From The Moon and Matilda
via Simple Living Ferndale

“Morning Sun”

to download, right-click, save link/target as:

“Morning Sun” mp3 (5.13mb)

“Morning Sun” wav (42.3mb – CD quality)

music and artwork by Jonathan A. Berz
2012

making Protest Strategies

Green Monday

I’ll be performing this Monday at a speaking engagement with Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for US president. For info on her platform visit jillstein.org, and to RSVP check out the Facebook event page.

and now for something completely different

Next Saturday, the fifth of November, I’ll be performing a solo set at AJ’s Cafe in Ferndale as part of their 3-day Assembly Line Party political rally. I’ve got the 6-7pm slot and plan to play some upcoming singles, some stuff we’ve been doing live for a while and six or seven new songs that we haven’t even started working on yet. Yep!

Linkage:
Facebook event page
“Soapbox Summit” happening Saturday, November 5 from 4-6pm
Assembly Line Party
AJ’s Cafe