I googled myself and finally found something new!
I found a great series of videos from a show we played at The Bank in Baltimore in June of 2010!
Click here to see it ——> http://www.youtube.com/user/dnabass/search?query=green+grocer&view=u
This was an epic show, and I hear it is legendary in some circles. This show also featured a brutal 7 minute set by Yohimbe, a typically manic performance by Three Brained Robot, a beautiful meditation by Invisible Circle, and an eye opening vocal workout by Bethany Dinsick. Good memories. Sounds like we played well too.
Floating up to the Soundcloud
I’ve opened a soundcloud account. The format seems to be perfect for musical output that isn’t formal enough for bandcamp or commercial and catchy enough for myspace.
http://soundcloud.com/michael-hurder
The first set I’ve uploaded is a demo I made for a program called Musician’s On Call. They arrange for volunteers such as myself to play bedside concerts for people who are stuck in the hospital for whatever reason. I’m doing more of this kind of performing as I search for my calling as a performer.
If you would like me to perform some of these songs or others in a similar style for any reason, reach out and I’ll be there. I’ll also keep adding tunes to the repertoire as I am moved to record.
I also have accumulated a number of cassette tapes with interesting performances on them. Soundcloud will also be a good format for these new jams. Stay tuned.
New Album
That’s right - it’s a new album! Listen to it! Share it with your friends. Take joy in the creation of new art.
Audio from Michael’s concert on April 14, 2011
I have been nurturing a number of projects during the first third of 2011, and most of them are about ready to bloom. The first one that sprouted was performed last week at Northeast Kingdom in Brooklyn, NY. Thanks to Dave Ruder for setting up the show and inviting me to play. This piece is the first in my series of Zen music experiments. I am trying to find new ways for sound and breath to interact in a performance context. The first set went pretty well, and I’ve been enjoying reliving the evening. Now you too can have the experience, even if you weren’t there!
Check it out here – http://greengrocer.bandcamp.com/album/centering
Max and I have been working on mixing the tracks that I started recording last July, and I think they are finally coalescing into a coherent whole. Keep an eye on the myspace page for new developments.
New month, new songs
I’m finishing up some tunes that I started working on in July over the next few weeks. They’ll be evolving over at the myspace page.
While I’ve been working on that, unrelated words and music have been pouring out.
Tour Journal #3: Charleston, Chapel Hill, Greenville
This entry is now one week old. I’ve found it increasingly difficult to find time to write these entries on the road (turns out I get kinda motion sick when I spend too much time on the computer in the car) and internet access has become increasingly sporadic. I’ve been keeping notes on some of the craziness that’s gone down since we joined up with Invisible Circle, but it may have to wait until I’m back in Chicago to get it all up on the internet.
6/11/10
It’s 1:30 AM and we’re speeding north on i-95 through Virginia. With a little luck and a lot of coffee, we’ll be in DC by 4 AM. Strawberry Jam is blasting, and life is good.
I believe it was the once-pretty-decent songwriter Ryan Adams who wrote, “Oh my sweet Carolina, what compels me to go?” Well, we’re beginning to understand just what compelled us to go on this crazy adventure in the first place, something we never could have guessed during all those months of sending out countless e-mails to put this tour together; at it was those sweet Carolinas (South and North, in chronological order) that have helped us to understand. Read more…
Tour Journal #2: Murfreesboro, Nashville, and Athens
6/7/10
Sitting on a couch upstairs from a vintage boutique in Athens, GA after an incredible show at the Go Bar. Amazing bar, amazing bands, amazing people. Athens is everything that everyone says it is. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind.
Murfreesboro.
A few important pieces of information about Murfreesboro:
1) Murfreesboro is a suburb of Nashville.
2) Murfreesboro has more churches than schools.
3) Murfreesboro has more chain restaurants than anyplace in the world.
4) Murfreesboro is home to two thirds of Green Grocer.
5) Murfreesboro is home to an organization called Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, or YEAH! for short, a small NPO that teaches teenagers how to be awesome. Read more…
Tour Journal #1
I’m trying to write a journal to keep track of what happens on this tour. I’ll be posting on here as I write. Tomorrow there’ll be something about Murfreesboro/Nashville.
Saturday 6/5/10
I’m sitting in the back seat of my car on I-65 South, about an hour north of Nashville. Michael is driving and Elliott is riding shotgun. Born To Run just ended and Satanic Panic in the Attic has just begun. We’re about six hours from playing what I anticipate (though I’m afraid to say it out loud) to be the best house show I’ve ever played. We’re playing a show out in rural Murfreesboro, organized by someone named Ryan, from whom Michael claims to have learned everything he knows about being in a band. We’re playing with two pop-punk bands and a freak-out noise band. There will be old friends who Michael and Elliott haven’t seen in years. Needless to say, spirits are high and so are expectations. Read more…
Around the corner…
The good folks at Milk Milk Lemonade were kind enough to give us our first little bit of Internet Love. They posted the mp3/video for “Haunted” and compared us to Echo and the Bunnymen and some Hüsker Dü side project I’ve never heard of. Cool right? Right.
Highlights
“…synth-pop, caressed warmly with an understated accompaniment of distant guitars providing a rich backdrop for what we consider to be the overwhelming allure of this music project. Vocals of frontman Michael Hurder are explained as “barks, growls, croons and screams” but our interest was quickly drawn away from the press release as we began listening to his voice. An instant comparison to Grant Hart developed to the point of us having to double-check band photos to be sure this wasn’t a covert resurrection of Nova Mob. Hints of Ian McCulloch’s vocal stylings seem to be an influence as well…Most definitely a darker shade of pretty where late 80s-centered psychedelia is concerned.”
Show Friday!
Just Added:
Friday 3/9/10
*Green Grocer*
*Pet Peeve*
*Scarlet Monk and Her Orchestra*
The Horseshoe
4115 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
9 PM
New songs. Cheap beer. Texas BBQ.
