Derelict 80: "Rubble" Album Promo

I spent the past two days working on a short promo video that I created for Dave's band's upcoming album release.  The song you hear on the video is called "Cold Snap."  I thought it would be a good idea to share the video through social media, in the hopes that it would go viral.. and make a profit for the guys!  (If you like the video, you can listen to samples of the other tracks once the album is released.)

Their will be available through iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and a ton of other places.  It's pretty exciting.  And even if they don't gain much popularity, I still had fun making the video... and the kids think their dad is a rock star.  Who am I to argue?


Here is a rough draft of the album description, in case you're interested.

The début release for Derelict 80 is a very energetic album with
heavy guitar and drum-laden hard rock tunes reminiscent of the 70s, 80s
and 90s.

Derelict 80 started playing at the Ranch House in Marshfield,
Massachusetts. They were inspired by the early Classic Rock sounds of
Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Rush, and again by the later,
more alternative sounds of The Pixies, Stone Roses, Oasis, and Blur.

However, Derelict 80 has a very distinct sound of its own.

"Chariot" opens the album as straight ahead Rock, and helps pave the way
for what is to come. "Highway 95" sets the pace for the album, by
combining creative guitar sounds with a driving beat to produce an
atmosphere that inspires the imagination. "Helmut Head" is a song that
combines several musical movements that culminate into a release and a
rebirth by its ending. The song "Lines" takes inspiration from several
guitar sounds of the 70s, and lyrically places the listener into a state
of contemplation. The distinctive guitar strumming in "Rule the World"
sets this song apart from the rest, with an almost Middle Eastern flare to
it. The title track "Rubble" couples a spoken word/poetic construct
together with heavy guitar and percussion playing. "Cold Snap" illustrates
a darker side of the band's writing style.  The last studio track,
"Revenge", can only be described as a controlled jam that kicks it into
overdrive. The final track, "KonichiWa MoFo!", was added as a bonus track,
and is a live recording made on an 8 track portable recording studio... an
archive piece from a practice session in an old barn in Marshfield,
Massachusetts. 

Girls' Room: new and improved!

It's all done!  Whew, what a weekend!  Here is how it turned out.

Oops, we don't have a spare blanket for Amanda!  Good thing it's hot... no need for a blanket!

 

I am calling it quits for the day, and am going to sit in their air-conditioned room and read with them. 

Finished: Liam's room & the study room/play room

We debated what to do with Amanda's full size bed.  Having it for guests would be great, but it takes up so much space.  We came up with a fine solution and now I'm happy with it.  We moved the full size bed into Liam's room, along with Liam's twin bed.

He can now store all of his trains and blocks under the full size bed, and it's out of sight.

Here's how Liam's room turned out. 

Liam's bed on the right; Amanda's old bed on the left.  We can now put guests in the full size bed, and move Liam's mattress into the girls' room.

I love the quilted map that Grandma Jo.  We never had a place to hang it until now!

The guest bed.  Dave suggested hanging the map, again from Grandma Jo, as a banner/flag.  We like it!

And here's the new study room/play room. 

My task for the day is to go through all of the books and donate the outgrown ones.

A perfect nook for puzzles, drawing, homework or using the computer.

Legos, puzzles, coloring books and music!

Dave is on his way home now with the box springs/mattresses for the girls, and then I will finish putting their room together. 

I am so thrilled with the way this has all fallen into place!  It now feels like we have ample space!

New Beginnings

The time has come for us to do something as far as the kids' rooms upstairs.  Time for a change!

Eva is moving out of her room, and into Amanda's room.  Liam is moving out of his room into Eva's old room.  And Liam's small room will now be the study room/craft room. 

We moved a table and bookcases into the study room.  Now it can be used for puzzles, drawing, writing books, or homework.  There's enough room (and an accessible outlet!) for a laptop and a lamp. There is also a large closet in that room, which will serve as storage for the kids' toys. 

I found two matching twin beds last week, so the girls will each be getting new beds.  At first, there were tears from both girls (at different times) about that, but they've come to terms with it and are now thoroughly excited about the change.  Thanks, Pinterest!  Once I started showing them pictures of other girls' rooms, the fire was lit under them.  They began designing their 'ideal bedroom' and mapping it all out. 

 Later that day, we went shopping for ideas. They had so much fun at the Christmas Tree Shop, working together and consulting each other.  We left without this pillow and rug...but they may use their own money to purchase them later.  Although Amanda has plans to sew matching pillows for them this summer.

We did come home with something fun: sparkly pink curtains, brightly colored paper lanterns and matching sheet sets. 

 

Today's job is to set up all of the beds.  We've gone through various scenarios, and have chosen one that makes sense to us - although it means LOTS of sleeping areas and very little playing areas.  However, as the girls getting older, they are playing with toys less and less.  The majority of the time, they are drawing or writing or some other creative thing. 

I even convinced them to go through the toy boxes with me yesterday, and figure out what to get rid of.  The clincher was that I told them they could keep the proceeds of anything they sold.  What do you know?  Someone came that afternoon and bought eight Barbie dolls for $15.  We put the money in an envelope labeled 'Yard Sale' and we'll continue to add to that and eventually figure out what to do with the money.  (I suggested a new swingset but I don't think Dave was quite on board with that idea. Yet.)

I love having a fresh start with the rooms and am hopeful that this will solve some of our space issues.

Welcome to the Jungle... of debris!

It really accumulates.  We have gotten away with not securing a dumpster, until today.  There was no way around it.  The pile was positively overwhelming.  There was no way I could let Dave conquer that on his own.  Keep in mind that it was actually worse than the photo shows, because each piece of wood was filled with rusty nails.

Here's how the mess looked at 10:00 this morning:

A 15 ton dumpster

I requested music, which is a prerequisite for any demolition or construction.  Usually, it's Rush that we play.  Today was different.  We hauled load after load while the Guns N' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" album played, blaring through the windows of the barn.  It was aggressive music that made us work faster.

Dare I say it was even a tad... fun?  It was like the old days before we had kids, when we demolished the old barn and built it back up.  A bit of deja vu, but loads more experience under our belts.

Did you catch Dave's remark? "I wish I'd gotten a bigger one."  The whole time, we thought there was no way we'd fit all of that junk into one dumpster.

By the end of the album, it was time for me to make lunch for the kids, but Dave kept at it for another half an hour, before heading into the recording studio for one last tweak.

After he left, I resumed working, determined to have the pile completely gone by the time he returned.  I kicked it into high gear.  Even if I couldn't get it all done, I told myself I'd go until 2:00 and call it quits. My back was killing me!

Mission accomplished... with 8 minutes to spare!

It all fit!

We still have a separate pile of burnable wood, which will make quite a few good sized bonfires.  It is a big relief to have this task completed before the end of the day.  We had assumed it would be a weekend project.

Another beach day

Today we have another heat advisory from 11 am until 8 pm.

The kids were all worn out from yesterday's party and slept late for a change.  After a quick breakfast, they changed into their bathing suits and we headed for the beach.  By 9:00 am, we had secured our area of beach real estate.

The girls cooled off in the water with their boogie boards, but Liam preferred to play in the sand.

We met up with two sets of friends, one of whom is a 3 year old girl, so Liam finally had a little buddy to play with.  It was adorable to see he and Elle holding hands, wading slowly into the water like a little old married couple, and digging in the sand together.

Pool party!

Nine kids (and a baby) plus one kiddie pool and a sprinkler = FUN!!!

Throw a swingset and sandbox into the mix and it's even better.

All afternoon the parents commented on how well the kids played together.  No arguments, no quarrels, no conflicts whatsoever.  Nothing but smiles and squeals of laughter. 

That makes for a perfect party in my book, even if it IS 95* and sweltering.

 

Happy 4th of July!

We started our day with a festive breakfast of blueberry and firework pancakes.  (Well, funfetti pancakes...)

We have been hearing fireworks here and there since Monday.  In our town, the 3rd of July is a really big deal.  I was in the center of town yesterday to run a few errands, and the buzz in the air was reminiscent of the day before Christmas when everyone is in a rush to get all of their last minute things done.  I was talking to an older woman at the deli counter and she said it felt like a blizzard was coming, and people were stocking up on food.  The only difference is that people were buying deli meat, cheese, fruit.... and beer.  In the parking lot, I saw people filling massive coolers with ice and beer, getting ready to take off on their boats.

None of the towns around us have an official fireworks display, but no one complains because the amateur displays on the beach are phenomenal.  And the bonfires are massive.  People come in droves, and traffic gets backed up as far as the eye can see.  The police have really cracked down the past few years and banned all of it, but it still doesn't stop the crowds from coming.

This afternoon we're going to a party where the kids will most likely spend the day in the pools. It is supposed to be 91*, but closer to 100* when you figure in the humidity.  I'll record the Boston Pops Firework Spectacular, and we'll watch it on TV if the kids are interested.  

The whole next week is supposed to be in the high 80's, so our poor window air conditioners will really be put to the test. We have plans to meet friends at Rexhame Beach tomorrow morning, which will be the perfect place to be.

Happy 4th to you!

Farewell to the swingset

When we bought the house, we knew that the swingset was not part of the deal. At some point the previous owners would either take it to their new home, or sell it.

After a year, it was still here. We hoped that maybe they'd change their minds and decide it was too much trouble to retrieve.

Today a couple finally came to buy it, and after three hours if disassembling it, they drove off with the swingset in a trailer.

I had prepared the kids over breakfast, which wasn't too big of a deal because they knew all along that it wasn't ours to keep.

The ironic thing is that first thing this morning while running errands, I found three swingset components on the curb with a FREE sign! They were the very same slide, rings and glider that came with the set in our yard... all of it just four houses down the road from us.

I went ahead and picked them up, unsure if we could even use them. That sure helped to ease any sadness the kids felt! I figured I could always put them back out on our curb if we can't make it work.

The good news is that the backyard looks huge now. Plenty of room for soccer or frisbee or a tent or whatever our hearts desire.

Still, it will be missed.. Lots of good memories there.