Sorry I've been absent lately

I've been on a tear living real life. A lot has happened, but the basics of my life remain unchanged. I'm still trying to be a good person, etc.

I've also taken to heart something that Kumari once talked about - it's the idea of creative diversity. I'm probably mangling it all up, but I think she told me once that she goes through creative phases where she'll draw or paint for a while, then get into some music and songwriting, then perhaps go through a phase of writing or craft-making, but the general idea is to mix it up. It keeps your creative juices flowing in different directions, prevents you from getting too stagnant or repetitive, and each of these outlets can influence and maybe magnify the others.

So in the intervening time I've been writing a lot more. I started a short story, two humorous pieces about the law and a letter to future generations, which serves as sort of a handbook/introduction to being a person on Earth. I don't know that I'll finish any of them, but they're really helping me to sort out some ideas, each in their own way. With luck I'll be able to share one or more of them with you.

I'm also trying to learn more from the people around me. Not that I ignore them usually, just that there are certain times when I find that I'm able to pay better attention (the attention they deserve?). Seeing my brother this weekend helped with that. His life is a reminder that doing good things for the people you care about will always pay dividends later. So do good things for the people you care about. Life is short, don't hold back, make it count.

With that in mind, this song is for my sister from another mister: Sara.

Ben 'n Meredith - On a Freezing Chicago Street by seamonsters

It's a Margot and the Nuclear So and So's cover, and it's got a lot of elements that remind me of a certain New Years Eve we spent at a Margot concert in Chicago this past winter.

In other, more pressing news, I'm running out of space on SoundCloud. That means I'll either have to upgrade to a paid subscription or find a different place to store my musics. I've got probably one or two songs' worth of space left, so it's a problem I will surely have to solve soon. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

This is what you get for sending me music (for JON)

Earmuffs!




I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO MAKE THIS THING THE RIGHT SIZE.

For Perrine

 Hello all.  Sorry I haven't written lately.  Not a lot has changed on my end.  I had a crazy couple weeks.  As a character on cable TV might remark, stuff got real for a minute there.  I wish I had more time for music, but I got distracted.  Sue me.

No, don't sue me.  Listen to this music.

Today's recipient of the dubious honor of being mentioned on my blog is... Perrine!  Congratulations!

Old Man Benjamin - Butterfly (Weezer Cover)  by  seamonsters 

Getting around to it

I suppose it had to happen eventually, but it probably doesn't happen often enough.  This one is for Marion.  It's been one of my favorite songs for a long time, probably the most romantic of my long-standing favorites.  In my opinion, one of the most romantic songs.  I'll quit rambling and throw up a crappy cover played on an out-of-tune guitar.

Old Man Benjamin - Pamphleteer (Weakerthans cover)  by  seamonsters

This song is for

Someone.  Edward Lawson.

And Meredith's brother, whoever he is, wherever he is.

   Quiet as a Mouse (Margot cover)  by  seamonsters


Not enough birthdays lately, a lot of running around.  Ask me, I'll give you the skinny..

I know I know

What did you expect? That I'd be able to keep on posting? Every day or three? Forever? I'm no Pete Lloyd. I just don't have enough songs in the bank for that sort of endeavor.

Are any of you on Facebook? I guess some of you probably are. If we're friends on there, then you can pretty well guess that I have a hard time taking social networking sites seriously. Taylor knows it as well as anyone.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you my latest adventures in abbreviated humor.  I've been doing birthday wishes, Ben-style.  That last part is meant to be pronounced with  attitude.  BEN-STYLE.  Yes, anyway - the first one was for Meredith.  I posted this on her Facebook wall because Facebook told me it was her birthday, but I was just getting my feet wet.  The Facebook wall became my canvas, and bizarre scenarios became my paint, and I was painting with a brush made out of happiness.  Here's number 1.  She's a vet student; I figured I'd keep it topical.

On this day, many thousands of years ago, the world was blighted with a terrible curse. Unspeakable horrors have since plagued this planet, causing untold destruction and suffering. Then, roughly twenty five years ago, MEREDITH V. ADAMS arrived. Armed with incredible super powers and a better than average IQ, as well as VETERINARY SKILLS, she has endeavored to rescue our ailing planet from the forces of evil. Stay tuned and watch as MEREDITH V. ADAMS battles tyranny and VARIOUS ANIMAL SICKNESSES this week on... Meredith's Birthday.

 

Yeah, I know what you're thinking.  Not all that great, right?  Well, I figured I could do better with my next one, now that I had a rough goal in mind: to make your Facebook wall worth reading on your birthday.   All those boring people going "happy bday, bro."  Ugh.  I wanted to make it more epic and fantastical.  So I threw this next one at Dan.

 

One day each year, three things take place in very rapid succession. 1) At exactly 7:05 a.m., the sun rises; 2) At exactly 7:12 a.m., Daniel Dickson puts on his coat and steps outside to mass euphonious adulation and uproarious cheering; and 3) Daniel Dickson removes his jewel-encrusted ermine shawl, points his scepter at the newly risen sun, and allows life on earth to continue for one more year. Praise be to Daniel this day.

Getting better, yeah?   Well, the next birthday was Ted's.  Ted is the sort of guy that I know, but I don't really know.  So maybe a more cautious approach?  NO.

 

Ted, I'll be honest. There's a rumor afloat that you were actually born today, 65 years ago. According to my most trusted sources, you somehow unearthed an ancient legendary art that prolongs the youth of its practitioners, effectively tripling or even quadrupling lifespans. Ted, you must SHARE WITH US YOUR SECRET TECHNIQUES. There are whispers about that the arcane practice involves employing UNBUTTONED BLAZER JACKETS and the COMPLETE ABSTINENCE FROM TRADITIONAL NECKWEAR, as well as METICULOUS MAINTENANCE AND FERTILIZATION OF THE CHEST HAIR FOLLICLES. This is a matter of urgent importance, Ted, as there are many who would use your life-extending practices to improve the planet for generations to come. Some day, with your help, we will stand proudly, overlooking our peaceful and prosperous new civilization and, with our chest hairs dancing lightly in the breeze, we will thank Ted Brassfield. 

I'm not sure what Ted's real friends made of this "birthday wish."  I haven't seen Ted in a couple years, so I hope he appreciates the spirit in which that mini-masterpiece was written.  I'd like to keep writing these when the mood strikes me.  If your birthday is coming up, just let me know and I'll see what I can come up with - it's cheaper than jewelry and better than some Hallmark cards (not really).  Here's my most recent, which I posted yesterday on Perrine's wall:   

Hey Perrine! Welcome to being twenty-three! You know, recent research has revealed a lot about what our bodies go through as we age. Specifically, and I don't know if this is true in your case, but my childish and oversized feet have already begun the slow process of shrinking down toward my eventual adult hoofs. I...'m sure you've noticed your spine curving forward as your front limbs grow less and less dexterous, paving the way for your quadripedal later years. You know you're really getting old when your thumbs begin to reposition onto your forearms and slough off, am I right! Anyway, you won't have to think about that for at least another few months. In the meantime, enjoy the taste of meat while you still can (it no longer holds much pleasure for me, though I still eat it occasionally), use those toes while you still have 'em, and have a safe and happy birthday :)

 

Well that's all I have for now.  What's new with you guys?

It's the WEEKEND!

Let's kick it off with a love song. For all the romantics out there.

Millionaire Girlfriend (Jonathan Coulton cover) by seamonsters

A pair of covers

Life as a new attorney can be challenging. I sometimes feel like I'm caught between gaining new and valuable experiences by getting my feet wet and wading in over my head. Still, I can't complain. Life has been good so far, and I'm starting to see the world differently as a working adult. I suppose I've become more boring to most people, especially my friends still living the college life. I go to bed around 11 and wake up at 7. I go to the Y after work, and I buy groceries every couple weeks.

The big news tonight was that I bought some frozen food. It opened up a whole new world to me, standing there in the freezer section at Jewel Osco, perusing the pre-made meals. I've never really bought anything besides frozen pizza before, so it was a revelation to me that they make food for people in my exact situation. When I get home from the gym it's really tough not to just watch an episode of Mad Men, eat a can of tuna and an apple and go to bed. Am I still writing about this?

My apologies for not recording too much these past few days. I broke a string two weekends ago, and I haven't replaced it yet. Is that symbolic? Anyway, I threw together these Shins covers without the high E string. It'll have to do for now. It's time for a sea change.

Old Man Benjamin - Gone for Good (Shins cover) by seamonsters

Old Man Benjamin - Past and Pending (Shins cover) by seamonsters

MANIFESTO

Despite how things may appear, I’m awfully undeveloped in the more technical aspects of singing. I can do the following things passably well: 1) make up a melody, 2) sing a melody somebody else made up and 3) badly mangle any harmony I come in contact with. Which is why for years I’ve been hoping for two things: either I’d get rich enough to buy something like this, or I’d come across a person who was better than I am (NOT DIFFICULT) at singing harmonies.

As luck would have it, I met such a person in Jason Ayers two years ago, who not only is better than I am (again, NOT DIFFICULT), he’s downright excellent. He seemed to have a natural range that fell somewhere around +7 notes above mine and whenever we sang together things just fell into place. The universe (I) was pleased.

Then he moved to Philadelphia, and I started thinking more seriously about picking up some audio equipment. That thing I linked to up there is a serious piece of machinery with some really crazy features and it might be fun to try it out. But then I met Meredith. Watch (or listen to) this:

Ben and Meredith - Wagon Wheel 3 Part Vocal by seamonsters

She easily outperforms the machine (tagline for a sci-fi movie?). To compare her to that thing would undersell her gift for crafting new and creative harmonic lines that run parallel to the existing melody. She sent me two non-overlapping harmonies within a few weeks of learning Wagon Wheel, and she recorded them both in one evening. Last time I was challenged to learn a new song, it took me, well, too long. Certainly I wasn’t writing new harmonic parts, well, ever.

What’s even more exciting is that Meredith is on board now with the Virtual Band Project idea. This is the fulfillment of a musical vision I’ve been trying to make real since I left Bloomington. I want to create a musical workshop where I can pass around files to share between as many people as would like to contribute. A virtual band, if you will. The recording of that song Front Porch had some element of that, but I’m just now getting the pieces into place to make this all happen. So here’s my hope (however unrealistic) for the future of this enterprise:

- To create and manage a website supporting the goals described herein
- To figure out a way to add drums into the mix
- To get more musicians involved, I’m looking at you, Jason, Jake and Smitty
- To eventually organically create a fully orchestrated and integrated piece of music, whether an original or a unique take on a cover
- To get you (the reader) to listen to it
- To leverage your listening into monetary gain, musical acclaim, and countrywide fame
- To support research that leads to the creation of a fully functional robot that has feelings, which can do my laundry and dishes
- I hate laundry and dishes

So here’s a teaser taste of what’s been going down over the past 24 hours. If you’re a musician, download this (or any other of the songs on here) and add a part. AND GET EXCITED!

Seamonsters - Quiet as a Mouse, Teaser version by seamonsters

This is the story

Many of you know that I “cut my teeth” musically on the open mic scene.  One of the coolest things I think I ever did was to just set up some recording equipment at one of these gatherings.  In Valpo a few years back I managed to acquire some of the most interesting audio files I’ve ever had.  I also have one from an open mic I helped organize at the honors dorm in Florida.  The problem was that I could never manage to get a good recording of myself, since I was on stage and had to trust somebody else to set the levels (which they never managed to do properly).  Even so, it was well worth it.  I only ever stopped because some of the people got worried that I was going to steal their tunes or misuse them somehow.  I never really imagined that would be an issue, but I have a lot of respect for peoples’ rights to do what they want with their music, so I cut it out after only recording one or two.

My history with home audio recording has been long and difficult.  For some people it comes naturally.  For me, well, let’s just say that I’ve learned the hard way that the simpler equipment works best for me. 

I’m in a bit of a “going back to roots” phase right now.  Here’s a classic Decemberists song that I re-worked a few years back to fit my acoustic style.  It’s a bit of a tribute to those years when the only people who could hear me were the ones who happened to be in the coffee shop at the time.  I like the sort of intimate vibe of that, and I try to carry it with me.  Enjoy.

Old Man Benjamin - Red Right Ankle (Decemberists cover) by seamonsters