Lots
of positive things in the works...we've wrapped and released New
Horizons, and after taking a month to relax, we've begun getting
back together to work on a batch of new songs. We have over ten
brand new songs in varying stages of completion that we're
working toward completing. Oh, by the way...like some free
music? Read below.....
There's an app for...US!
In today's world, filled with smartphones and tablets everywhere, there's an app for everything...so, why not an app for Crossroads? I've assembled a free (which means ad based, but they're not too intrusive) Crossroads app for Android based devices, such as smartphones and tablets. It's still an early release, and I'd like to fine tune it some more, but as it stands right now, it provides convenient access to this web site, our You Tube channel, and offers an audio player prefilled with a dozen Crossroads songs - no streaming, no bandwidth usage (but that's why the app is large in size - 45.6 MB). I've tested it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and it works perfectly...I haven't had any freezes or force closes in my tests so far. For those who'd like to download and install it on your Android devices, here's a link - Crossroads App - you will need to insure that your settings allow installation of apps from sources other than the Android market or Amazon Marketplace. If I get enough positive feedback, I'll consider ponying up the fee to sign on as an Android developer, which will allow me to put the app up on the Android Market, but for now, we'll just have it right here for our friends and followers. Please feel free to share this with anyone you know that would enjoy our music! Where our app worked out so well, I decided to build one for our good friends in Str8 On, so there's an app for them too - Str8 On App(Side notes - each time I update the apps, I replace the existing version with the newer one, so the download link above will always be the latest version.)
2012...the year of collaborations?
As 2011 winds down, and all the Christmas presents have been opened and enjoyed, I'm thinking about where Crossroads might be heading in 2012. With both Tubby and Al dealing with respiratory issues, lead vocals have been compromised...to what extent, I don't know for sure, but I'm hoping that their health improves as time moves along. I wonder if this might not be a good time to open the door to collaboration with some new people...kinda like "open source software", but in a musical sense. I'd certainly be open to some projects with different people coming in and adding their talents!
May 22nd, 2012...Providence Performing Arts Center
Anita and I will be sitting next to Big Steve and his son...you just have to love the invitational pre-sale email that lets you score tickets in the 19th row, Orchestra Right Center before the tickets become available to the general public! Come On MAY!!!!!!!!!
Music In The Key Of Free!
Yeah, we think this qualifies as news....we've chosen to step back and away from the grinder/shredder commonly known as Independent Music Distribution, and take a different approach. Our first two albums, "Blueprint" and "Sunday Blues" will now be available to our friends and followers for free. I've created links to download the albums, and you'll find them on our Music page. Simply click the link, download and decompress the album, and add it to your iPod (or other MP3 player). As of February 10th, 2012, we've gone ahead and activated the link for "New Horizons", so that can also now be downloaded for free...enjoy!
For the benefit of the band members, here is a calendar marking days and times when the studio is available for work - just let me know when you want to drop by, and I'll add it in here, so we can all easily see what's happening.
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New Horizons Released!
6/26/11 - Wrapped production on New Horizons this weekend, submitted it to the Library of Congress for copyright, and then to Tunecore for distribution. It should be available at iTunes, Amazon, and all the others before the 4th of July weekend coming up. It's been a long road, but well worth the time...this album is, simply put, the finest music we're released yet. Having Steve lally on drums and Sean Magee's amazing guitar work not only contributed greatly to our sound, but also raised the bar for us and our own efforts.
If the digital album had a back side to the cover art, this is what it would be:
While the song titles are familiar to those who've listened to our music over on Sound Click, these songs have been reworked and remixed extensively since they were posted up there...and they now sound a LOT better!
(6/2/2011) Ed came up with an idea recently, based on reading the newsletter he gets as a Berklee grad...we're now looking into licensing our music for use in TV or film productions, as an alternate means of getting it "out there". I signed up with a site yesterday, and posted a couple of my songs to "test the waters" with, so it'll be interesting to see if they stir up any interest. We now have a page and presence at Smashsongs if any TV or Film producers happen to be reading this page (hint, hint).
(5/8/2011) Had a lot of fun last month wearing a different "hat" - Steve and Sean's working band, "Str8 On" has been gaining a lot of momentum and a strong following, and they wanted to build a press kit containing professional photographs and a demo CD to present to club owners and expand their bookings. We got together in our Crossroads home studio for two sessions and built a powerful CD with a good mix of old and new and different styles...Pat Benetar's "Heartbreaker", Adele's "Running In The Deep", Bad Company's "Rock Steady", and Bonnie Raitt's "Something To Talk About". We haven't heard back from Sean, Dorian (vocals), or George (bass) yet, but Steve and I are very pleased with the final mixes. This CD does NOT sound like it was done in a basement at all...it sounds very tight and polished, and I think it represents the band and their strengths very well. I enjoyed the chance to engineer this project for our friends, and I sincerely hope this helps to open a lot more doors for them!
We're not a band in the traditional sense...we're more of a musician's collaborative. The closest "name band" I can think of to what we're doing would have to be Steely Dan, back in their heyday. They didn't tour (check), they recorded and released many songs and albums (check), they had different people playing on different songs (check)....man, that sounds familiar! Two of our friends/members, Steve and Sean, are very busy with bands of their own, in the traditional sense. They practice, play gigs, work hard at promoting themselves in an effort to land more gigs, as well as juggling jobs and families, so they don't get to participate as often, but that's OK. A lot of the songs we've done were completed with only a couple of us putting down the tracks....and that's precisely what i mean by a musical collaborative. What we do isn't for everyone - you need to have a different mindset than the average working musician. For us, it's all about the creativity. The freedom to write, then record and produce the songs that come from within. Will they ever make us rich and famous? Probably not...we're not starry eyed young kids. We're had our share of reality slaps along the way. But that's not why we do it. We do it for us. We're very gratified when someone hears something we've done and likes it enough to want to have it for themselves, believe me, but at the core, we do it for us, because it's such a large part of who we are. We may well choose a different model for distribution in the near future, instead of the traditional "Album" concept...we're kicking ideas around....but rest assured, the songs will keep on coming.