Shortest letter ever? I bet it’s a short enough sentence for W to write all by himself.  It’s never too late!  “Dear Condi, …” 

 This picture was taken on the morning of Election Day at the Whitney Bank in Carrollton (New Orleans), right after I visited my local polling place to cast my vote.  Seen on twitter’s election channel later that day: “We just blew up the Death Star!” 

check out dan’s new photo blog and download his weekly pinkysqueak mp3s: http://blog.ganx4.com  

After a hurricane evacuation, having to reset up the studio and wait for a dead Mac to be repaired (thank god it was still under extended warranty–barely), we’re back to mixing the new album. Two sure-fire Top 10 radio hits already done. We’ve also got some pretty decent recordings of the rehearsals before the last few gigs which we might make a free mp3 mini-album out of as well.

Brian mikes up the ol’ studio Hoover for an overdub on a new song. The vacuum sucks/drones in C, which, coincidentally is the key for the song (the danjo was tuned to open C).

Try this at home corner: a PZM is not as good as a condenser for this. Keep the mic away from the vacuum’s exhaust.

1. Chef Menteur at Circle Bar May 17, 2008
2. Chef Menteur at Dragon’s Den June 6, 2008

Thanks to Christy!

On the first night of the Potluck Audio Conference, Chef Menteur is playing the Dragon’s Den with A Living Soundtrack, Douglas Ferguson, Rat Bastard and splnlss (Jon Cohrs).

A Living Soundtrack (New Orleans) could be one of the best live electronic bands in the country and a must-see for anyone who thinks they know what the New Orleans music scene is all about. “There’s a new sound bubbling out of New Orleans and it doesn’t sound funky. Will the Big Easy be the birthplace of the next decade of rock?” – Jambase.com alivingsoundtrack.com Douglas Ferguson (Austin, Texas) is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter. Douglas improvises and scores with a combination of homemade electronics, fx pedals, synthesizers, and acoustic instruments to create sound installations, textural soundscapes, and soundtracks. Douglas has performed solo as well as in the following bands: Necessity, O.U.C.H., Study Partners, the Austin Theremonic Orchestra, EList of Likes, Lunar Death, Tetrahedon, Ejouto Dynamato, Buckle, Book of Shadows, ST37, Primordial Undermind, Rest Area, Venison Whirled, and Laundry Room Squenchers. http://www.douglasferguson.us Chef Menteur (New Orleans) has been confounding people’s expectations since they put a monkey in the oval office. Ot-of-phasey psychedelic drifters recently nominated for best local electronic rock act. “Sounds like an instrumental version of Kashmir as performed by Gary Numan” –Aural Innovations. The live lineup of Alec Vance, Dan Haugh, and Brian Abbott with Mike Mayfield may surprise those who last saw the band play live a year ago. http://www.chefmenteur.org Rat Bastard (Miami): Multi-beer drinking, producer and hoo-ha guitarist by way of Laundry Room Squelchers, To Live and Shave in LA and Scraping Teeth —”Worst Band in America”. spnlss a.k.a Jon Cohrs (Brooklyn) is a visual/sound artist who recently migrated from Portland (where he worked at Jackpot!), runs a recording business named after his missing spleen, and works for Laurie Anderson.For more info: http://www.backporchrevolution.com/shows.php 

some photos from the Circle Bar show that Abby took.

Also, check out this week’s Gambit magazine for the “Hot Pick of the Week”, we got a nice plug for this Saturday’s show, courtesy of Alison Fensterstock.  

More on the band