News, the long & short
March 13, 2006
Hola, Eric here. A couple friends honestly write the text that goes here, but I'm doing this entry and the last. Just wanted to say thanks very much to Miles & Veronica, Laura, Macy, Jen, Lillian & Don and my family in Tennessee.
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Monte: January 2006 - March 10, 2006
Monte died and is buried next to a lone sagebrush not too far from the house and trailer. He was the runt of his litter, but he would follow you around like a stubborn little hippo and grunt and cry on your foot when he found you. If you were watching TV he'd climb up your chest and sleep on your neck. He looked you in the eye and knew his name by eight weeks old, which is when he got sick. He was a funny, sweet, wonderful little guy, and he almost seemed too good to be true. Farewell baby. I love you.
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March 4, 2006
Eric says he's busy today getting ready for an acoustic gig at the Alamosa Art Walk in Alamosa CO. But instead or practicing he's trying to find a babysitter for Monte (below).
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February 7, 2006
Today, with the installation
of the 2nd floor back door, Desert Air Recording is an enclosed structure. There's
still a mountain of wiring, plumbing and finger-smashing framing to be done, but just ten
weeks after groundbreaking, this two-story modernist cube, designed to discourage
creativity in favor of large-screen video gaming and thunderstorm watching, is impermeable
to the elements.
Eric says he just began editing the self-serving
"documentary" he's making, but that there's still about six months of shooting
to go. Next week he plans to capture the excitement and mayhem of the launch of
Marfa Public Radio in west Texas. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK OUT MARFAPUBLICRADIO.ORG AND SUPPORT THIS AMAZING
ENDEAVOR!!!
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February 3, 2006
Construction is about halfway
home for Desert Air Recording. A brief tour: the door on the lower left opens to the
studio, and the windows in the middle look out from the kithen. The middle right
window gives a view of the Great Sand Dunes (from above the sink and below the cabinets),
and the middle left window is usually a jaw-dropping vista of Mt. Blanca. Except at
night. And for the technically curious, total square footage is 137.5 (the walls are
pretty thick).
Eric will be in west Texas in a couple weeks for the launch of Marfa Public Radio. We urge you to
support this new station as its benefactors and Director are good people with a selfless
interest in promoting the arts. See marfapublicradio.org
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January 29, 2006
Just when we're sure nothing
else can surprise us, the world reveals a beautiful new loophole. Based on what Eric
sent us last night, we feel there might be hope for him. An excerpt from what he
wrote: "I used to think when a band becomes slow updating their website, it was
because not much was going on. Now I think the opposite is more likely."
Evidently most of Desert Air Recording's windows and doors are now
installed and the exterior will be a cross between something from Green Acres and
The Jetsons. Eric says between building chores he's been producing a
four-song EP for Andy Ard (www.andyard.com) and filming "Everyone But
You." Did we mention that's the working title for the stupid, self-serving
documentary he claims will be finished by this time next year?
Director/Videographer Amelia Tanttila also plans to make a video for
the song "Give Up."
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December 28, 2005
There are reasons building
codes vary from place to place. A metal roof with little pitch is actually
preferable in a place like the San Luis Valley where there is very little precipitation
and high winds aren't uncommon. Thanks to Ranger Jay for sending us a copy of
"Cannibal: The Musical."
This weekend Eric will be in Denver to interview and film DeVotchKa at
the beautiful Oriental Theatre.
The studio foundation and walls are now completely poured.
They're white because insulating concrete forms are foam on the outside. The foam
will be covered with some space-age polymer or something.
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December 18, 2005
Don't forget your dog at the
holidays. Whatever your dog's faith (or your own), there's something for all of you
at Macy Macy in Denver.
Tomorrow the concrete flows again at Desert Air Recording's
construction site. All the way to the top. Here's how things stand right now.
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December 14, 2005
We highly recommend you listen
to "That Girl" by Cleveland's Birdhouse
Gourds. It's on their brand new album Ohio.
NOTE: 12/31/05 IS THE LAST DATE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD ERIC'S NEW ALBUM EL
DIABLO. AT THE FIRST TICK OF 2006 THE ALBUM DISAPPEARS.
FOREVER. THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN GET IT. IT'S DOWNLOADABLE FREE.
In other news, Eric is supposed to be the lead in a short by Denver
Filmmaker Mooga Yoo. Shooting is scheduled for January.
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December 11, 2005
Never stop trying to see
yourself objectively. Having a video camera can be a good self-help tool. In
the past few weeks Eric has been recording several acts including Double Down, Black Greg
and Nora Heffernan.
Below is the latest on Desert Air Recording's home base.
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November 21, 2005
You haven't lived until you've lived in a trailer. Construction resumes tomorrow on our fancy new modernist, tornado-proof studio. Meanwhile, Eric is scheduled to record several acts around the Rocky Mountain region, including the incomparable Andy Ard.
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November 18, 2005
Reason #237 the San Luis
Valley is the best place in the world to live: Ben & Jerry's is available 24 hours a
day for $2.56
Last week Kevin Koehn of Builder's Edge
Construction broke ground for Desert Air Recording's home base. Here's how it
looks so far...
This modernist home/studio is
being built with insulating concrete forms (ICFs). That means it's sound- and
category 5 hurricane-proof. The walls are a foot thick (8" of solid concrete
sandwiched by 4" of foam insulation). Eric designed the whole thing, which
isn't saying much. It's a two-story cube, the bottom floor a recording and film
editing studio and the top floor open living space. It's 20'x20' with a 1:12
mono-truss (shed style) roof. For an idea how it will look, check out the Ithaca,
NY house in the books Mini House and Great Spaces,
Small Houses. We greatly prefer the latter of those books, since we
feel it emphasizes the practicality and beauty of small dwellings rather than offering
them up as novelties (which they're not - ask anyone who lives in Tokyo or New York what
small really means).
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October 17, 2005
Eric sent us a couple paragraphs last night. The thrust was it's good to get on your bike every day, and that the "converter," which powers 12-volt items in a travel trailer (such as overhead lights and the heat pump) is a tricky, mysterious devil that experienced electricians don't even know exists. Trust us, it exists. Be gentle with it. Especially if your trailer is older than the Double Dutch Bus. Oh yes, and he says he has power now.
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October 11, 2005
Before applying tar to the roof seams of your leaky trailer, put on long sleeves, jeans, rubber gloves and then work gloves. Use a plastic putty knife and don't expect to use it for anything else.
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October 3, 2005
Eric sent us a few pictures of his trailer and scrub brush ranch. We'll try to post them soon. He says there's still no electricity but he now has a phone.
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October 1, 2005
El Diablo, Eric's new album, is album of the month on KRFC Radio Free Colorado. Thanks very much to KRFC.
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September 20, 2005 - SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE...
Eric is in the process of building a home studio in the desert of southern Colorado. Electricity and phone aren't up yet, but Eric checks email every other day at the library. He can be reached at letters@ericshiveley.com
El Diablo, Eric's fourth full-length album, is now available free from this site only (go here). Thank you very much for listening.
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