In anticipation of this Saturday's Alejandro & the Fame show at the Midway Cafe in JP, we put together another quick demo of one of our songs. So, sorry, this isn't a new Lady Gaga song, but rather a better version of an already existing Lady Gaga song, done by us. This isn't the final mix or master, but it's a good idea of how we rock (and if you really feel like bringing the mosh and punching someone in the face, fast forward about 3 minutes for the breakdown 'cause it's awesome)
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Thom Dunn is a Boston-based writer, musician, and utterly terrible dancer. He is the singer/guitarist for the indie rock/power-pop the Roland High Life, as well as a staff writer for the New York Times’ Wirecutter and a regular contributor at BoingBoing.net. Thom enjoys Oxford commas, metaphysics, and romantic clichés (especially when they involve whiskey), and he firmly believes that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is the single greatest atrocity committed against mankind. He is a graduate of Clarion Writer's Workshop at UCSD ('13) & Emerson College ('08).
I've Been Waiting
Scene: 8pm, Saturday night. Meeting up with the fine folks at Vagabond Theatre Group (who produced True Believers) at a bar later in the evening. I finally open up the tube preamp that I bought to accompany my the new recording mics that I received for Christmas. Instead of just setting it up in my recording studio, I decide to, you know, actually try it out. 2 hours later, I'm late for the party. But I did this: [soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/74737500" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /] So you're welcome.
Punk Rock Archaelogy
While combing through my parents' basement to find my old Warhammer models (shut up), I stumbled across a CD-R with my name written on it in someone else's handwriting. Of course I was curious, so I popped it into the computer and discovered two demo recordings of songs I had written in high school. The playing is sloppy, the lead parts totally unrehearsed (and foolishly undubbed), and the vocals are much whinier than I remember my voice ever being, but they're fun enough. This, in addition to my MORTIFIED performance last Saturday, and the further basement discovery of VHS tapes from my high school band's performances (coming soon!) have made this a delightfully nostalgic week. Anyway, for your laughing/listening pleasure, here they are:
The Dot of My "I"
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/72843665" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Yes, this song was written about Ellen Hickle from The Adventures Of Pete & Pete (AKA the greatest TV show ever created and I will stand by that fact until the day I die). The lyrics are slightly different here than I remember, but that's alright. Maybe I'll re-instate the Endless Mike line if I ever perform it again. Or, maybe not.
(And ugh, bongos?! REALLY, High School Thom? I'm so disappointed in you. I thought you knew better, even then)
Fun fact: a high school friend of mine had a popular public access TV show (oxymoron?) and, after hearing this song, invited me to perform it on the show. Little did I know that he had actually contacted the actress that played Ellen Hickle and offered to pay her to be a surprise guest on the show, which would then chronicle our hilariously awkward blind date. Sadly, she backed out at the last minute (she was apparently working on a pre-med degree at Dartmouth circa 2004, go figure), so our love never had its true chance to blossom, but I suppose it's for the best.
Rockstar Me
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/72843820" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
This song was an adolescent attempt to deconstruct the myth that guys in bands get laid all the time. So, ya know, it's fictional, tongue-in-cheek, and there's a nice little ironic twist at the end. It's corny power-pop, sure, but it's hardly the worst thing I ever wrote...
Fun fact: My good friend Andy Michaels heard me play this song at an Open Mic night my freshman year of college. We had never met at this point, but his friend had a crush on me, and upon hearing me sing this song, he decided that I was the biggest dick ever, and made plans to kick my ass (though it never actually happened). We finally ended up meeting in the fall of my sophomore year. His aunt was friends with my mother, and he was in a comedy troupe with my suitemates, and one night he drunkenly stumbled into my room and said "Hey! My aunt knows your mom! Is that a Spider-Man comforter? That's awesome! Hey guitar! Let's play a song!" and then we lived happily ever after.
Final ALEJANDRO AND THE FAME demos
We've been working on these for about a month between recording, mixing, and mastering, but I'm finally satisfied with the results — and I hope you are as well! All instruments were recorded/engineered by my, except for the lead vocals which were done by Paul Cantillon (aka "Cody Grey"). We'll be sending these out to some clubs as we try to book some more shows, so keep an eye out for our updated events list. In the meantime, enjoy, and tell your friends to do the same. [soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1035013" height="200"]