music

Cocktail Nation Available

Submitted by Blue on
BMo - Cocktail Nation album cover

Cocktail Nation Now Available!

The fifth official Booze Monkey album is now available for love, affection, fondling and consumption!

You can listen to the entire album for free right here, or click through for lyrics and if you'd like, links to purchase and download.

Countdown to Cocktails Music Video

And here it is... hot off of the proverbial presses... rendered in the wee hours... transferred from BAM to the Compound via DropBox this morning as the Bloody Mary's diminished... uploaded to YouTube as the celery stalks dissipated... and now live via the Internet(s). Shot/Directed/Edited by my scary-talented fellow Black Hat Clown Brooke Magalis - in celebration of the release of Cocktail Nation - the music video for its opening track: "Countdown to Cocktails". Here's to hoping you dig it! Cheers!

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Cocktail Nation - coming 25 October 2011

Submitted by Blue on

The fifth Booze Monkey album, Cocktail Nation is scheduled for release on 25 October 2011

For the month of October the Random Lyric box on the upper right of the SCM Home page will feature only lyrics from Cocktail Nation.

There are fifty different quotes from the new album.

I hope you find something you dig!

BMo - Cocktail Nation album cover

This is a rock and roll record.

It's a lean, but muscular, combination of drums, electric bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals, and on a few songs harmonica.

It's a rock and roll record.

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In the final throes

Submitted by Blue on
Cocktail Glass Icon

I am currently finishing up the fifth Booze Monkey album, Cocktail Nation. I listened to the first rough mix/master this morning and now I'll spend the day in the studio tweaking and twiddling accordingly. I'm planning to have a listening (drinking) session with my Christina tonight if I can assemble a suitable master in time.

I should have the album available to listeners before Halloween, barring the unforeseen.

Right now I'm just trying to finish the record before hurricane Irene knocks out our power at the Compound.

As soon as I have the record in the can I will begin updating this site on a very regular basis. I'll be "re-releasing" the Naked Acre Compound Films, placing all of my published lyrics online here, restoring the old SanityCheck.net photo gallery, and beginning a new one, et al. I have been assembling the fodder for this over the past few years, so once it begins, there will be constant updates for some time to come.

In the meantime I regularly update my Twitter feed @BoozeMonkey and post in Babbleon (see the Forum link at the top of the page).

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Amanda Wilkins Band - live video

Submitted by Blue on

My friends Ricky and Amanda Wilkins asked that I create a live video for them.

So on Friday 13 May 2011 I joined my buddy Leo at Cristina's Cafe in Strasburg, and captured a performance of the Emmylou Harris tune, Easy From Now On by the Amanda Wilkins Band featuring Doc Shelton on guitar.

I've known Ricky since, very nearly, the beginning of my musical career. In 1989 I hired an attorney to assist me in forming Sanity Check Musec, Inc. a "catch-all" corporation to act as an independent record label and publishing company in releasing my musical efforts. Remember this was 1989, the phrase "independent record label" didn't even have a ring to it yet, and there was quite a bit of legal mumbo jumbo to work through. We pulled it off and I released my debut effort in February of 1990. The attorney was a friend and fan of Ricky's and went on to executive produce Ricky's debut solo recording.

Ricky is a fantastic musician and one of the finest band leaders I've ever had the fortune to know. I was also proud to have him perform both piano and organ parts on the song Voice Mail (from the blues) on my 2008 Booze Monkey album 4th St..

And... well... anyone who's ever heard Amanda Wilkins sing will surely confirm that she is an extraordinary talent. I've only recently met Doc Shelton, but the trio certainly shines, as you may see and hear below.

This is a live video, with an ambient audio recording. That is, I sat my Zoom H2 on a table in front of the band and recorded the ambient sound of the performance. I then synced that audio recording with video captured using four little portable Flip HD camcorders.

I've been busy working on the new BMo album, Cocktail Nation (I'm in the final throes) - so it took me a while to get this edited and uploaded.

I am always pleased an honored to work with such shining talents.

Please - enjoy.

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Perverted Uncle Music Video

Submitted by Blue on

Ladies, gentlemen, friends, Romans and country-Monkeys!

The first music video from the fifth official Booze Monkey album, "Cocktail Nation":

It's an "in the studio music video", much like the one I made for Dick Frankenstein's Night Out but unlike that video, this one is in HD.

I hope to create a video of this sort for each song on the new record. I am actively working on the new album and, from today forward, I hope to track the album's progress here at SanityCheck.net.

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Session Three with L.J.B.

Submitted by Blue on
Leo in the studio with Hagstrom
I'm pleased to say that I'm producing the first full-fledged solo album from my buddy Leo J. Bailey.

I've been a fan of Leo's music for as long as I've known him. We met right around the time that the Booze Monkey album Good Luck Mr. Gorsky was released, so that was around (... sneaks off to peak at his discography, which is still under heavy construction...) 2003 give or take. We've been close friends, and occasional lovers, ever since. So much so that it is difficult to think that it has been less than a decade.

I know Leo's music inside and out. We've had many lengthy discussions about music in general, and I have a clear understanding of his musical lexicon. I'm familiar with his influences, tastes and proclivities. We share many musical passions and can easily lose hours to labyrinthine chats about music simply as music-lovers. As musicians? Even more so.

Blue in the Naked Acre Compound Studio

Leo hosts the weekly open mic at Cristina's Cafe' in Strasburg, Va. every Sunday evening from 6 - 10 p.m. He also handles the entertainment booking for the Cafe' and maintains the Cristina's Cafe' MySpace page. Many people have enjoyed his acoustic slide-guitar performances there, and throughout the Shenandoah Valley area over the past decade. Some even remember that before that he performed regularly as a monster-bassist. Every once in a while he'll bring out Big Red (his '92 Fender Jazz Deluxe bass - with the first gen. Lace sensor pickups) and scare those who believe in Godzilla into thinking they might be under impending attack.

Yesterday we had our third studio session at the Compound. These sessions, each running about 5-6 hours in length, have been extraordinarily productive, as well as relaxed, easy and fun. He already has the blueprints for three tunes in his possession. They are only drafts at this point, pre-overdubs, but they are already powerful pieces, methinks. It is already clear that this is an album that I, for one, can't wait to hear.

Blue's Breakfast - Chicken Biscuit

I don't have anything that I'm allowed to play for anyone (a fact that has the Black Hat Clowns more than a little miffed) yet, but I look forward to the moment that I am allowed to share some of it. In the meantime only Leo, his hottie-honey MJ, Sundance, Bourbon and me have heard it, with Christina catching a bit here and there through the floor boards.

I've also been working on the next Booze Monkey album, Cocktail Nation. I have four songs in the can with a fifth awaiting the final vocal performances. I've just about finished the first music video from the record, for the song Perverted Uncle - look for it here next week.

In closing I'd just like to say that despite Leo's incessant blathering about the absence of his "biscuit roller", mine is present, intact and ever-functioning as illustrated here by this picture of my breakfast.

Now that I've posted a picture of my breakfast I feel like a blogger.

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4th St. feature - Robkast Podcast

Submitted by Blue on
Robkast Podcast banner image

I was chatting with my buddy Mark earlier this week and we began discussing podcasts. I didn't know Mark when I was podcasting with The Simian Syndicate back in 2005. As you can tell by the date, we were among the early podcasts. The Syndicate ran from March of 2005 through August of that same year. Just about six months, during which time we published about ten hours of audio mayhem.

But this post isn't about the Simian Syndicate. I suspect that chimp will rear its hairy mug in archival glory here sooner or later, but until then...

This post is about episode 128 of the Robkast Podcast. Let's skip ahead now to June 2008. The fourth official Booze Monkey album, 4th St. was released on 8 April 2008. In June of that year the entire album was featured on the Robkast Podcast. Further that, Rob asked me to record some interview segments for his show. The show is from the Netherlands and it's in Dutch, but he edited this episode together with my interview segments so that only the really cool parts are in Dutch. One of the coolest moments for me is hearing Rob read the Hurricane Monty Cocktail recipe from the 4th St. liner notes in his native tongue.

4th St. Album Cover image

There is a segment in the podcast where I illustrate how I used one of my Australian Shepherd Sundance's old chew toys on the record. I played the podcast the other day while I was working on the code for Babbleon. It still makes Sundance run around, ears perked, looking for this long gone toy.

This podcast also provided me the opportunity to provide shout-outs to the guest musicians who lent their talent to the album; Kahle Magalis, LB, Leo J. Bailey, Christov Ashton, JRock, Steve Floyd, Rick Wilkins, Lee Blanton, and, of course, Sundance.

As the conversation petered out, Mark sent me forth into the corners of the Internet(s) to find episode 128 of the Robkast Podcast - "The Booze Monkey Special".

I did, and I also exchanged an email with Rob, who tells me that the show has amassed a significant number of downloads in the ensuing years and tells me he is still fond of the record. His show is now at episode 184 (and that doesn't count special episodes). I think it is a superb podcast, and I've discovered a bunch of artists from it. I highly recommend it.

If you're interested the show features most, if not all (I'd have to check to be sure) of the Booze Monkey album 4th St. along with quite a bit of extra curricular babbling from yours truly. It also features some exceedingly cool interludes in Dutch, and Rob's production is superb. And it's free!

Robkast Podcast banner image

The links:

Robkast.nl: The homepage for the Robkast Podcast.
The Robkast Podcast on iTunes.: The iTunes page for Robkast on the web. You may subscribe to the podcast in iTunes - you can then scroll to episode 128 - "The Booze Monkey Special".
Episode 128 info page at Robkast.nl.
Robkast Podcast at The Pod Lounge - simply scroll to episode 128.
A direct link to episode 128 of the Robkast Podcast on Rob's server.


I highly encourage you to check out the Robkast Podcast for a free opportunity to hear all kinds of cool music you might not have otherwise heard.

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