Best wishes!

Wishing all who observe a very happy holiday!

Blessings to you and yours.

In fraternity,
Stillwater Black

Can we be honest about women?

I was asked recently why we don't write love songs.

Our secret weapon

This past Saturday proved to be a very inspiring studio session.

Artist Profile: In This Moment

Back in September, we profiled a band that Chris turned me onto, My Chemical Romance. THE poster boys of emo rock, I had missed the ENTIRE life span of this band while on my musical hiatus. The good news is that I get to enjoy them like they're some new thing, but I certainly lost an opportunity to be a part of a cultural moment.

Drum day 12/10/17

We got together yesterday. It was our longest single session in awhile. Issac put down drums for two more new songs giving us a total of five new pieces of music to work through over the coming weeks.

Flashback '94: Roadhouse Blues

Since we're now streaming our cover of I've Just seen a Face, it seems appropriate to revisit another cover that was a staple in our early sets, The Doors' Roadhouse Blues.

Loss and recovery

. . . or have everything ripped away!

I've Just Seen a Face

This was a blast to record.

New music this week?

For blog subscribers, yes!

The rock life chose me

Twenty years ago we had a record deal. We had a road crew. We had merchandise. And we had dreams of traveling the countryside and sharing music and good times with as many people as possible.

Man of Wax

Take me to your prom. Dress me up and down; it's funny how these shoes- they just don't seem to fit . . .

No live set, but . . .

OK OK OK. Going to have to back-pedal a little here . . .

Kingfisher

Morning mist rolls in like a blanket and tucks itself in and falls asleep . . .

Epidemic terror

Scores of people were gunned down at church on Sunday. This has happened before.

1000 views (and a reflection)

Yay! We did it! We got our 1000+ views!

We crossed the 1000-view mark four months to the day of longshot's release back in July (in case you ever wondered what "7117" is all about- July 1, 2017).

That's a VERY big deal!!!

I'll tell you why.

Live show?

Mebbe. Dunno. Really kind of up to you.

Fats Domino 1928-2017

We mentioned something about the roots of rock and roll here. Elvis Presley was mentioned. Chuck Berry was mentioned. Little Richard was mentioned.

But I missed this root, perhaps because he simply ran too deep.

Love?

It don't sit so well with me.

I can't tell your holding from your holding me down.

Happiness?

We see it all the time. We know about people who seem to have everything. But behind the stuff, the acclaim, the achievement, and the notoriety is absolute misery.

Drum day: 10/14

We finally got Issac into the studio (hiding far left!) to start tracking drums for three new songs. It was a minor miracle that he could stand up, let alone play.

Rock ethics

Rock musicians party. Rockers get high. They get drunk. They get laid. Rock music is inherently sexual. It's emotionally charged with a driving backbeat that compels listeners toward rabid, violent physical expression. Rock music is the soundtrack of moral depravity and a crumbling society. It's the devil's music.

This whole post is really just an excuse to showcase that totally rad Sigil of Baphomet.

But I also want to take a minute to figure out how rock got that colorful reputation.

Biology

We need a photographer. Just throwing that out there.

That hazy mess above is actually Chris and I in the studio for a fabulously productive writing and arranging session. So productive in fact, that Chris was refusing to honor his biology.

Shane

While I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting his lovely wife Crystal, my memory of Shane will always be connected to a gig we played in San Diego.

Owls

I've been thinking a lot about owls.

Football!

Something not too many people know about the band: three out of four of us played high-school football.

Abby

I met Abby a couple of years ago while having coffee with some dear friends. As the conversation took its twists and turns, I found that the two of us had a couple of things in common. She did some running and I had just completed my first ultramarathon. And we were both passionate about music.

Artist Profile: My Chemical Romance

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been out of the popular music scene for a couple of decades.

That's been mostly great. I hear tell that the quality of musical output over that period really took a dive. And, with what little of it I've heard, I tend to agree.

I don't think Stillwater Black ever really broke new ground, but I think we were good at what we did. And that's all I want out of any performer in any given genre. If you innovate, great. But at a minimum, the work of a mainstream artist should be representative of the best the genre has to offer. And, in much of the contemporary music that I've been exposed to, I have not heard that to be the case.

But I don't listen so much. Chris has and does. And as my musical mentor, he's been kind enough to point me in the direction of some really great music.

The first thing he lent me was My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade.

The album came out in 2006. The band dissolved a full four years before I'd ever heard note one, so really late to this party.

Media, flipped

Twenty years ago, I walked away from Stillwater Black. I stopped playing music. I stopped listening to music. I got rid of all of my recordings, CDs, cassette tapes, and videos. I stopped listening to the radio. And I got rid of my television set.

Back in the studio

Chris and I got together this past Saturday. Finally.

longshot: Another listen

Chris, Issac, and I were talking about how hard it is to listen to and really enjoy music with the kind of abandon that a lot of people seem to experience. We just hear too much.

Molly

I first talked about Molly here. It was through her that Stillwater Black got introduced to an amazing community of kids in Moreno Valley. But more than that, it was through her that we came to record our first EP, The Last Virtuous Lady of Athens.

Why you shouldn't buy our music (and why you should)

In this post, I'm not necessarily writing on behalf of the band. We all have ideas about what art means and our roles and responsibilities as creative people. We agree on many things, and sometimes we disagree.

Adam rereleased

Well, this is exciting.

Our first and only full-length record was originally released in 1996. There are a precious few CDs from that original run around (and if you have a copy, please say so in the comments).

longshot

Enjoy. Like. Share. Comment.



In fraternity,
Stillwater Black

One day to go . . .

Sam. I think your derby's too tight, bro. longshot drops TOMORROW and you've been riding that same note for like the last four days.

Two days to go . . .

Sam. Bro. Really? Like, would it kill you to pay attention? longshot drops in TWO DAYS!!! And you're just . . . wearing flowers?!

Three days to go . . .

No. Seriously, Sam. Three days!!! How can you look so chill?!

Four days to go . . .

Sam's trying to concentrate and I'm like, "Bro. Longshot drops in FOUR DAYS!"

Longshot: First look

One of the amazing things about art is trying to understand where exactly it comes from.

Storytime: Recording The Last Virtuous Lady of Athens EP (1994)

After several months of gigging in and around the Inland Empire, we found our most consistent support in Moreno Valley. This was due in large part to a girl named Molly. We’d love to hear from her on this, but here’s what we remember.

Holy promos, Batman!

Chris is a big comic book guy and I know that my brother Sam and I grew up on Batman reruns, so we'll open this by paying our respects to the family of Adam West.

9/19/28-6/9/2017

The Batman show hit that sweet spot between engaging entertainment and absolute absurdity. This past Sunday we shot our first ever lyric video, aiming for a similar target.

Chris appearing with Sister Hazel (6/16)

Some 90s kids might remember their biggest hit, All For You.

The San Bernardino Incident

We left the year off the flyer, but we guess it was probably 1993.

We were in the process of recording our first EP and getting better gigs. The headliners for this one was a band called Dramshop, vaguely evocative of Siouxie and the Banshees, but with more reverb. We don't remember anything about the Acoustic Sluts.

Longshot drops 7/1

It's done!!!

Our first song in twenty years, Longshot- written, recorded, mixed, and mastered. And it's a BEAST!

A Blessed Ramadan!

Wishing my Muslim brothers and sisters and the entire human family a blessed Ramadan!

Flashback '96: Man of Wax

This is my favorite song off Adam. It's our closer on the record, that final, lingering soundscape.

Mixing done!

Longshot, our first new song in 20 years, is written, recorded, and finally mixed! Now it's off to the mastering house for some final sweetening.

And it only took us six months!

: )

Flashback '96: The Price

This was the first song of ours that I remember hearing over commercial radio.

Of mice and blues

I finally got to see Chris fronting Big Papa and the TCB last night on the mainstage at Downtown Disney.

Flashback '96: Common Thing

I've hardly come to terms with my sexual self. At it's best, sex is sacred communion. At it's most depraved, it's abusive and dehumanizing.

That one time I was mistaken for Chris Cornell (1964-2017)

It was late at night, sometime around ’96 or ’97, I think. I was in my car, a beat-up 1970 Volkswagen Super Beetle and I was in a drive-thru line waiting for my food.

Flashback '96: Fragile

I wrote this in my mother's dining room. I think there was actually a box on the floor marked "fragile."

May the 4th

It's an important day for nerds everywhere. Today is Star Wars Day.

Flashback '96: Solitary

I love the build up. And the way the wall of sound just drops out in the final few seconds.

That's kind of the way things work.

Earth Day

Today is also my oldest daughter's sixteenth birthday.

Only yesterday her mom took her and her three sisters to live with her and her new husband in New York.

Really? You couldn't give me one more day?

Flashback '96: Kingfisher

This is probably the most underrated song on the record. We got back-up girls and a percussion break on the bridge. It's got a great hook, two sweet little guitar solos. Sam's bass work is stellar.

Writing

I've been banging away on the black hollow-body. Lots of music coming up.

Flashback '96: Raven Kin

This is an amazing song for so many reasons. Nobody ever wanted to hear it live, and I'm pretty sure that most people skip it when it comes up. It doesn't do any of the things you want a song to do!

Rough day

This is a blog about Stillwater Black. We made music a long time ago. And we're making music again.

Flashback '96: Hylas

Chris starts channeling mythology sometimes.

Ideas

Today we got Issac back into the studio. He brought his daughter, Sierra. Super sweet girl.

We tinkered a bit more with Longshot. We've never been in this position before. No timelines. No pressure. Access to an amazing creative space. These are variables that don't exactly encourage discipline.

Flashback '96: Judas and the Angel

Alright. We'll admit that Jimi Hendrix practically wrote the opening bars. But if you're going to borrow, borrow from the best!

You like comics?

Chris is really into comics.

Enough so that he's got a couple of his own that he'll be showcasing at the Long Beach Comic Expo this weekend, February 18-19.

Longshot: drums tracked

Here's Issac listening to playback after crushing it in the studio this past weekend.

Our ninja!

Sam's our bass player. He's also my brother, in the true-blood sense.

But he's a lot of other things. Husband, father, custodian of his mother, teacher, poet, athlete . . .

Flashback '96: Clear Skies

I was never a riff guy.

Locked down at CIW

Today was my Johnny Cash moment. I even wore black.

Flashback '96: Most Days

The songs Chris wrote and sang were often lighter, bouncier affairs with much more mature arrangements than anything I would come up with. Where my writing tended to move from verse to chorus without a lot of musical interest to support the transition, Chris was forever bringing in these little bits that just made everything more . . . adult?

Kids and Dobros

I had an amazing time with Chris this past Sunday. We were originally planning to lay down the drum tracks for Longshot, but Issac couldn't make it out. He had a prior commitment with his daughter.

Flashback '96: S?

Chris' dad had this amazing 5-car garage. We used to rehearse there from time to time.

Session cancelled

We had plans to lay down the final drum and bass tracks for Longshot today, but it turns out that Chris isn't feeling so good.