Sand Machine

Bootleg dynamics

2007-11-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Word is we're going to be making the bootleg page of www.sandmachine.com much more dynamic in the very near future with live tracks and tracks from rehearsals and etc., so keep an eye on it. If you haven't found it before, it's link is somewhat buried at http://www.sandmachine.com/audio.html, at the lower right under the Porch and Space pic.

That's not all that's going to be added/changing to the website, so stayed tuned.

Jay

Banjo Jim's in lieu of Pete's Candy Store

2006-11-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

We're no longer playing Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn Saturday night, but instead are playing Banjo Jim's in Manhattan Friday night, 11/17. NYC seems to have some interesting venue names (see above, Arlene's Grocery, etc.) No pretention allowed. Some Boston venues take a more presumptuous angle, from claiming a whole geographical region (The Middle East) to the entire firmament (Sky Bar). Does Boston suffer from small-man's disease?

W. Z. Mandias Interuptus

2006-09-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we played a semi-private-but-not-really show at the Irish Pub in Quincy as a post-reception celebration of my brother Matt’s marriage to his now-wife Sharilyn. Towards the end of the night we embarked on our song “W. Z. Mandias” with some aplomb. People were looking forward to it because we hadn’t done it in a while. Just as we reached the “I look at your works and tremble” climactic moment (the first time) with shouts upon people’s lips, our aged and evidently quite experienced power strip thought better of it and stopped, resulting in a silent frustration. The intrepid Jeremy and Noah were able to procure a fresh white new surge protector and five minutes later we were able to get going again. With some discussion and adjustment, we happily resumed in the exact same spot and eventually finished with 97-99 percent safety if used properly.

Jay

Free DVD at Lizard, Friday, 9/8

2006-09-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

A limited number of free DVD's are going to be available at our Lizard Lounge show on Friday night, 9/8. Dubbed by its creator "WBCN Rumble Video", it is a collection of a few different video productions by Matt Lantier. The main feature is footage from the night of our Rumble appearance last year set to "Blue Glass in the Sky." Also there is the live footage of the first song of that night, "ATM Song". (Don't miss Jeremy's boyish short hair.) Then there are some special features including behind-the-scenes footage from our rehearsal space, some of which is set to our DIY recording of "The Ship" (produced by Noah). Lastly there is a feature entitled "Sand Machine fans" that some of you who happen to be reading this may actually be in. (Sorry for the lack of release forms.) Possibly my favorite part could be the spiffy menu page set to my favorite song we've done, "Not Sure I Can". So in my opinion, if you end up leaving this DVD on by mistake, you couldn't have a better song looping.

Special thanks to Matty for voluntarily putting this together. It further entrenches him in the Sand Machine Fan Hall of Fame.

-Jay

Noah Scanlan for Humanity

2006-08-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Habitat for Humanity took the bottom out of our show Friday, 8/18, at Sally O'Brien's (and we didn't even see it coming). After Katrina, Noah and his girlfriend Stephanie volunteered to donate some time to Habitat for Humanity. And just recently their number came up. So they're in Mississippi helping out, so Noah's missing the gig. Sorely, surely, he'll be missed.

Normally we probably would cancel, but since it's laid-back Sally O'Brien's, we decided to wing it. Besides there's no cover so we're not ripping anyone off. Either me or Mai, depending on the song, will cover the bass realm after a fashion. While I can't honestly say it will be better, it will be different.
-Jay

Return to The Valley of Fear

2006-08-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

Had a flashback today to a moment of extreme excitement early in my reading experience. I was listening to the BBC's adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes story The Valley of Fear and I remembered how intense I got when I first, and last, read it when I was twelve. There's a surprise at the end that threw me for a loop. Even now I'm not someone who much tries to figure out what's going to happen in books or movies like The Sixth Sense. I was less so then, perhaps because at twelve I was even less equipped to do so. Then I just let the wonder flow.

The jadedness and life complication that came with age probably remove to just beyond my reach such utterly-encompassing moments when the whole rest of the world disappears. But thankfully evidently compared to a lot of people I talk to I seem to be still quite able to get sucked into things. Which reminds me that today was just The Valley of Fear part 1. Tomorrow I'll hear part 2 and I'm really looking forward to it. Because I can't remember quite exactly what the surprise is.
-Jay

NOTE: 7/29 Harpers Ferry Cancelled

2006-07-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our Harpers Ferry show this saturday, 7/29, has been cancelled due to an injury. I broke my jaw (left mandibular condyle) last w/e, rendering me unable to open my mouth very much, so I am not able to sing. Hence we had to cancel. I hope this doesn't mess up a lot of well-laid plans to get there. Hopefully we'll be able to reschedule.

Right now are next show, on the other side of some vacations, is 8/18 at Sally O'Brien's in Somerville.

-Jay

Yes, fungible, but...

2006-07-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

When people posit that foreign policy actions are "for oil", I have heard it answered from various spots on the political spectrum that this is not the case because oil is fungible, meaning, broadly, subect to the dictates of the market. It doesn't matter who specifically has it b/c it ends up on the market anyways and available to anyone. I heard anti-Iraq war NY Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman say this at a talk at the JFK Library. Another anti-Iraq war columnist, James Carroll, of the Boston Globe uses the same argument in his book House of War to point out the relative unimportance of Saddam Hussein's control of oil since it was subject to the dictates of the market. Yet I don't see how this fungible argument can hold. It strains credulity to me to maintain that as long as oil is making it to market smoothly its actual origin is immaterial, beyond perhaps who's directly turning a profit from its sale (but then again this will be subject to the dictates of the market as well, right?). There seems to be an awful lot of jockeying among nations for access to oil if it is just going to go onto the market regardless. Can it be that national leaders simply don't understand this fungible concept or is there something more going on that renders the fungible assessment soon-to-be-if-not-already outdated?

I wonder if there's not some big end game being played out for the time when the oil truly starts to run out. Perhaps at that point it will no longer be a matter of markets but of nations controlling by force the increasingly limited quantities and distributing it (or not distributing it) in ways that are strategically useful. With an open market you can't very well starve China, say, of oil because it only needs to buy it. But perhaps that structure will not be there for much longer. I wonder if perhaps a big power move will happen and then the market force question of fungibility, however much it ever did explain the politics around oil, will be obsolete.

AS220, Harpers Ferry

2006-07-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

We haven't entirely mastered the instruction manual on our new website, so I'm going to make sure our next shows are on here somewhere. Here goes:

Saturday, 7/8
AS220
115 Empire St.
Providence, RI
401-831-9327
21+, $5
www.as220.org

Lucky 57
Sand Machine
The Country Doctors
Ian Fitzgerald

And then after that we'll be at Harpers Ferry in Allston on Saturday, 7/29
-Jay

Porch and Space reviews so far

2006-06-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here's some reviews of the album that we know of thus far - Jay

"This is music with a brain, music with heart - most of all music that will draw you in and hold your attention in a myriad of ways, and that will leave you glad you took the time to listen...Sand Machine are something fresh and interesting in a world filled with imitators and duplicators There are moments of uplifting joy, as well as fear and self-doubt. There are songs thatll make you want to get up and bop like a dirty Grateful Dead fan, and songs that will make you pour yourself another shot of Jack Daniels into that glass you havent washed in years"

- www.askewreviews.com

"The impressive thing is that Sand Machine put their personal stamp on each song That these guys can play as well as they do and still stay out of each others way is another feat... Lyrical strengths abound. I think what I like best about Sand Machine is theyre different enough to remain interesting without going too far into left field...Every track is an accomplishment in song craft as music, lyrics, and vocal approach provid[ing] a tapestry of oddball humor and damn good roots rock"

- Skope Magazine Online

“This is the band that everyone wishes they had. It takes real talent to groove SLOW, relaxed, and the Sand Machine has that down to a science. With an early Neil Young/Crazy Horse mood, great vocal harmonies that remind one of Stones at times, and that countryish folk bluesy rock thing going, these guys are right ON. I don’t really smoke the wacky tobacco anymore, got paranoid too much, but this type of music makes me want to start again! There’s a positive sign. You just get the feeling (I’m speaking of the overall sound of the whole album) that things will be alright as you ride the lazy, swinging chord progressions that Sand Machine has put together for your audio pleasure—tasteful arrangements that would sound great pumping out of your stereo on Friday after a hard work week (if you’re a nine to five person, which I’m not). I hear a lot of music and try to keep an open mind about all styles, and bands like this just reaffirm my thought that there are some cool people out there doing really cool stuff.”

- The Noise

"With a powerful arsenal of songs, a respectable history, and a new CD out, Sand Machine seems poised to take on the industry This pop-meets-melancholy sound might be too scattered a range for a less experienced group, but Sand Machine tackles their breath of expression with passion and skill."

- InSite Magazine

CDBaby

2006-05-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

The new CD, Porch and Space, is now available at CDBaby at http://cdbaby.com/cd/sandmachine3

CD release show

2006-05-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

The CD release show went swimmingly. Nod of appreciation to The Gulf, Three Day Threshold, and The Collisions for playing with us. And another one to a bunch of other folks for supporting us by coming out, buying CD's etc. If you weren't there, or even if you were, basically we played all of Porch and Space, albeit out of order, plus "The Ship" and "The Difference Is". Sand Machine historians (i. e. Dave) will want to note that this was the first time "Mystery Track #4" was played live (it's not really so bad).

Welcome to the Sand Machine Blog

2006-05-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hey there, and welcome to Sand Machines online web log. We'll be using this location to keep you up to date on the latest news, supply show journals, and upload other random thoughts and notions which we see fit for public consumption. The big items of news for now are:

1. Porch and Space record release party, May 20th, Middle East Downstairs

2. An all new www.Sandmachine.com is coming your way in the next few days.

I hope to see you May 20th at the show (and make sure you check out all of the bands playing, they've been hand selected for your enjoyment), and also, enjoy the only known photograph of Dave center stage, free from being trapped behind the drums.

-Noah, Sand Machine bass ace.