Me and the crew I roll with

No music is made in isolation and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the folks (that you may or may not have heard of) that I think exist in the same universe as My Brightest Diamond and who have contributed greatly to my musical life. There are many more friends I will tell you about, but for this post, I’ve picked the following folks because we’ve all been spit out, jumped out or are still half way involved with the classical world. We live (or used to live) in Brooklyn. We do yoga together. We run into each other on the N train. We meet in Prospect Park to go kite flying. We are in the same book clubs. We play on each other’s records. If it seems like I am gushing, well I am. Without these friends whom I admire, who inspire and support me, I would have much less happiness and be scowling a lot more. So I thought I should throw an online wine and cheese party and introduce some of my peeps to my other peeps. Would you like merlot or chardonnay?

Osso
Osso my darlings Osso! How I do love thee. I mean, just look at their faces! Can’t you see it all in this photo? Rob Moose, the tousled and talented violinist who has the best shoe collection in the world. Maria Bella Jeffers, the cellist, who can never have enough green in her outfit and who is constantly wondering which cello she should bring to a gig- rock cello or classical cello? That choice exemplifies the torment we each find ourselves in every day. Marla Hansen, the violist- The quiet one who plays not only viola at her shoulder but also in her lap whilst playing her own songs. Don’t be fooled however, for she has more sass than a bottle of sassafras. And oh dear, who is that hooligan who snuck into this picture??? Could that be the famous Frenchy Olivier Manchon? Is he villian or violinist? Ah it is Manchon the mischievious, Michael McDonald’s best impersonator and the Muldaur married mirthful one. The lovely Osso were recently signed to Asthmatic Kitty and are recording an album of string quartet interpretations of Sufjan Stevens’ electronic album “Enjoy Your Rabbit”. Osso played on both MBD albums and if truth be told, meeting them made me find a new band name.
Year of the Boar: download

DM Stith
Every drawing you’ve seen, every Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton duet that has come out of My Brightest Diamond is brought to you by the lovely and talented DM Stith. The first time I heard David hum I begged him to sing on my album. The first time I saw him draw I gave him $5 and asked him if I could keep the drawing. Actually the last part is a lie, but I do have one his drawings currently posted on my refrigerator. Anyway, he’s draws really really amazing subconscious abstract scribbles as well as excellent long legged skinny horses and he just became my label mate (woo hoo!) and has his record coming out soon. Osso plays on it too!

Be My Baby: download
Thanksgiving Moon: download

Sebastian Krueger of Inlets
Oh my gosh Sebastian Krueger is such a dork. Actually no I’m kidding, he’s not a dork. I adore him. I cannot get enough of Sebastian’s bad attitude. (Sebs, you think just because you played banjo with Feist on SNL that you are too cool for everybody else. Well, you might be, but don’t have to talk bad about my studio, okay? That kind of hurt my feelings.) Sebastian has played clarinet and bass clarinet with My Brightest Diamond on virtually every track on “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth”, as well as the new hot b-side jam I Had A Pearl. He also played guitar at many of the live shows. I know you knew that already but what you probably DIDN’T know was that Sebastian is a lovely songwriter and arranger and has a band called Inlets.
Your Good Arm: download

Clare & The Reasons
One of The Reasons is Clare’s strange and scruffy husband, named Olivier Manchon. (He’s the one with his mouth open. Extra hors d’oeuvre for you if you remembered that Olivier plays violin in the string quartet Osso.) Now Olivier is perhaps the Frenchiest French person you may ever run across in your travels. He always carries brie, a bagette and a bottle of Bordeaux under his coat. He is a good one to have around when your french pronuciation needs to be corrected. Actually, I’m just kidding, he’s not so strange. He is scruffy, but he wears it well. His wife is the exact opposite of scruffy. Classy, elegant, chic- Clare is like a movie star out of the 1950’s. Her voice is like a mix of Billy Holiday, Nina Persson and June Carter Cash. The string and vocal harmony arrangements on their album “The Movie” fall somewhere between Prokofiev, Walt Disney scores, Sesame Street and Dr. Who. This is perfect music for the mornings. They make me feel sorry for the (heh h’em) “planet” Pluto, make me miss my waitressing days (?!?!) and make me remember falling in love.

Pluto: download

Marla Hansen
I had known Marla as a viola player for many moons and then one day, she invited Murat Eyuboglu and me over for a cheese and wine fest. We sat on the deck which overlooked a garden full of New York weed trees and indulged. After a while, Marla gathered her courage and said that she had written some songs and asked if we wanted to hear them. Of course we did!!! So we went inside where the living room furniture was all white. The light was shining in from the glass deck doors. I sat on the couch and Marla pulled up a kitchen chair and sat in the middle of room. Then she began playing the viola in her lap, singing in the softest voice I had ever heard. Her voice was so pure that it felt like hearing glass, like hearing something that no one else in the world had ever heard, like a bird singing for the first time. There was nothing about her singing in that moment that pushed to be heard, that fought for space, that demanded anything. It was elegant and pure. It made my eyes brim over with tears. So many moons later Miss Marla put out an EP, “Wedding Day”, which also features the finely coiffed Sebastian Krueger, the lively Mr. Nathan Lithgow (who also plays bass in the MBD rock trio) and me on some background la-la-la vocals.
Wedding Day: download

Clogs
I was touring about the midwest in a green Saturn with my band Awry. The backseat was packed with items we’d picked up from thrift stores- casios, a trombone, a Schoenhut toy piano, air organs, in addition to a trunk full of guitars, a P.A. system, sleeping bags and luggage. I was scrunched in the backseat while the boys in the front were listening to A Perfect Circle at full blast. While I love A Perfect Circle, I was in a different mood and for two months, smashed my headphones into my ears and listened to Pierre Boulez’s Pli selon Pli on repeat. When we finally got home, I was determined to learn how to arrange for strings and I started searching the internet. I found a friend of mine from school, Steve Wilder who had moved on to Yale and sang a piece by composer Padma Newsome called These Walls Thy Heaven. I wrote Padma scared as a country mouse and asked him to teach me. He graciously did. This began our friendship and collaborations which will include a few songs on the upcoming Clogs album. Rachael Elliot played bassoon and Thom Kozumplik played marimba on “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth” too. At one time I was having trouble with my wrist and I called up guitarist Bryce Dessner for his advice. He is the guitar guru. My wrist stopped hurting then.
Im very sad: download
Pencil stick: download
Whos down now: download

Jon Rodgers
I met Jon at the Sidewalk Cafe one night, a million years ago. We were both trying to play the open mic night there one lonely Monday, ordering the cheapest drinks on the menu, and waiting until 2 a.m. for our numbers to be called. Finally I played for a thin audience and afterwards Jon and I struck up a conversation, realizing that we both had a love for Jeff Buckley’s music. We became friends and he later played bass in my old band, Awry. Jon moved back to New Haven and I started studying with Padma Newsome who lived in New Haven, so when I went up for lessons, Jon and I would meet in the park and talk about music. Jon ended up studying some with Padma too. I was inspired by Jon and wrote the song Bass Player (on “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth”) sort of about him. Jon has been working on arrangements for his new record, “The Aviary”, for at least the same amount of time that I’ve been working on “Shark’s”, so it feels like cousins being born at the same time.

All Wrapped in White: download

Gabriel Kahane
Mr. Gabriel drinks better coffee, wears better sweaters, better shoes and reads more books than I do. We both like Joseph Mitchell’s stories and we both adore the opera Peter Grimes. We both hoolah hoop with Rob Moose (from Osso) as well as drummer James McAlister and Swiss army knife instrumentalist Casey Foubert from the Sufjan crew. We had our records mixed by Husky Huskolds. We both come from the classical world, but I think Gabe has kept his golashes more squarely in both puddles than me. We met one night when we were playing at the now defunct music venue Tonic (God rest it’s soul) and became fast friends. In a musical family tree, I think Jon Rodgers and Gabriel might be second cousins once removed or something.
Underberg: download

Drawings on the airplane barf bag

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I made these drawings on the barf bag of the Iberia flight from Barcelona to New York today. I had an upset stomach but I did not employ the intended use of the bag.

Photo by Oscar Garcia
More Primavera pics by Alterna2
The show for Primavera Sound in Barcelona was really really fun though we were jet lagged like dogs in space. The last time we had played in Spain the power went out in the middle of our set. This time, however, no power cords were cut by rebellious falling cymbals and we played our little hearts out and met some beautiful people. The night also featured DM Stith (the mystery ghostly voice on the MBD albums, otherwise known as my own Kenny Rogers) who gave a debut performance of the songs from his in-progress album. I was grounded to my feet and felt like my spine was coming through my stomach while he sang.

Photo by Otter Freak

Before Spain, MBD went to the west coast, playing loads of new songs from A Thousand Shark’s Teeth as well as Prince covers which you will never hear on YouTube. We played at the Hotel Cafe in LA with the amazing and attitudinal and atmospheric wonder, Pedestrian, featuring Joel Shearer (who did most of the engineering for Bring Me The Workhorse & big muff pedalled it up on “Inside A Boy”) and the bearded god Zac Rae (who graces both MBD records as well) on keyboards and screeching noises. I sang with them and simultaneously scoped out their new pedal boards. They rock my face and have a new album coming out which I shall tell you about soon. Pedestrian has been known to deal harshly with criminals.

If you wanna check out what Nate has to say about me making him wear suspenders and a bow tie on this tour, check his blog. He doesn’t hold back. I keep telling him that he can make some side money in that outfit as a valet or cocktail waiter or something. Please someone, comment on hot he looks in the velvet bow tie. That will really help me out in a lot of ways.

Oops! Mamie Minch is on Tuesd…

Oops! Mamie Minch is on Tuesday the 27th, not Wednesday. I’m in Barcelona and got confused with time traveling.

Mamie Minch- the woman with th…

Mamie Minch- the woman with the sexiest, lowest voice in the world is playing Union Hall at 10pm on wednesday!! Cd release! Go!

My cab driver to the airport h…

My cab driver to the airport had dyed hair & glasses. He gave me a bubble gum lollipop & reminded me to be grateful.

Welcome Welcome!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to the new site! We are still working out The Kinks but feel free to snoop around and listen and look and comment. I’ve uploaded lots of new pics of the making of Shark’s Teeth in the photo section so you can catch the studio vibe. Since we started recording for it in 2004, you can see how everyone’s hair has changed over the last four years. Also, new music for you to listen to in the fancy new mp3 player! I’ve put up some exclusive-ish stuff, live from the 2007 Music Now festival, the Osso string quartet version of “Youkali”, and a new song “The Gentlest Gentleman” that I’ve been playing a lot live recently.

Don’t forget that if you pre-order A Thousand Shark’s Teeth you’ll get the demos for free! Also check out the single Inside A Boy that features the b-side “I Had A Pearl”, along with remixes by Tim Fite and Son Lux!

listening to Dory Previn.

listening to Dory Previn. The photographer Raphael Neal made compilation 4 me & it’s so good!

Tim Fite’s Fair ain’t Fair!

Tim Fite’s new album, Fair Ain’t Fair, is now available and it’s faaaantastic! Yours truly sang a little jang-a-lang background animal vocals. You can get it here.

So far my fav tracks are “Line by Line” and “More Clothes”. Tim always makes me remember things I’ve forgotten. He’s like Mother Theresa, One eyed Sam, a front porch band, Jesus and a shoot ‘em up all wrapped into one. He has a blue coat with pale pink buttons. He doesn’t stop drawing. He prints. He waxes. He remixes. He sews. His myspace is easy.

Shark Demos

A pre-order for A Thousand Shark’s Teeth is now up at Secretly Canadian, featuring a bonus EP for anyone who orders the album this way. This bonus EP is a fully realized collection of alternate versions of A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, in addition to one album outtake. Orchestrated and complex, yet spacious and direct, these versions are a rewarding listen for the opportunity to hear how the songs have grown into their final form. Link to PREORDER.
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Tracklisting for A Thousand Shark’s Teeth Bonus EP:

1. Apples (alternate version)
2. Bass Player (alternate version)
3. To Pluto’s Moon (alternate version)
4. If I Were Queen (alternate version)
5. The Diamond (alternate version)
6. Music Box (outtake)

has anyone else got the extend…

has anyone else got the extendo version of The Golden Compass yet? So amazing!!!!

going to see Half Handed Cloud…

going to see Half Handed Cloud 2nite at Cake Shop on the lower east side Manhattan.show starts at 8$7 cover. John (HHC) prolly goes on 10.

Inside a Boy | Single

Digital EP – Release Date: May 6, 2008
Listen to “Inside a Boy” on MySpace.
Purchase on iTunes / eMusic / Rhapsody / etc.

My Brightest Diamond releases the first single from A Thousand Shark’s Teeth with “Inside a Boy.” The release includes the original track, a beatbox-driven fantasy rock b-side called “I Had a Pearl,” and remixes of two tracks.

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Tracklisting for “Inside A Boy” digital single:
1. Inside A Boy (album version)
2. I Had A Pearl
3. Black and Costaud – Tim Fite redux
4. Inside A Boy – Son Lux remix

I Had A Pearl Lyrics:
Many strange things did I behold
I had the favor a queen and watched it turn to stone
I’ve kissed the lips of princes, fools and dreams
I walked a tightrope through the moonlight to the seven seas
I’ve seen silver headed Valentine
I carried up the swan kings gold and gave them thimble wine
I saw the old man time glisten before the end
I went down disappearing hole was never seen again

I had a pearl and I lost it
I knew the bliss of the dawn and it faded
I saw her face turn away
and now I know that there is nothing so hard
I can’t get over it

On eleven o two I sailed a red hot balloon
to the snow capped mountains of Timorataloo
And when the owl stole my air for his last tune
I floated up to Pluto on a beam of the moon

I had a pearl and I lost it
I knew the bliss of the dawn and it faded
I saw her face turn away
and now I know that there is nothing so high
I can’t get over it

I Had a Pearl credits:
programming- SonLux
bass drum- James McAlister
beatboxing- Adam Matta
bass, guzheng- Nathan Lithgow
clarinet, bass clarinet- Sebastian Krueger
piano, organ and vocals- Shara Worden
toys- Sxip Shirey

engineered by Shara Worden
Produced by Shara Worden and Son Lux

Video: 

New Single

The record’s first single, “Inside a Boy”, will be released to all digital service providers TODAY, May 6th. The release includes the track, a beatbox-driven fantasy rock song called “I Had a Pearl,” and remixes of two tracks from A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.

Tracklisting for “Inside A Boy” digital single:
1. Inside A Boy (album version)
2. I Had A Pearl
3. Black and Costaud – Tim Fite redux
4. Inside A Boy – Son Lux remix

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Download album version “Inside a Boy” on AKitty or buy the single on iTunes.
Download SonLux remix at pitchforky.

New Tour Dates

My Brightest Diamond will be playing a select run of West Coast shows with Pedestrian, in addition to her own very special East Coast shows.

Upcoming Tour Dates…

5/20/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café (w/ Pedestrian)
5/21/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café (w/ Pedestrian)
5/23/08 Saratoga, CA @ Monalva Arts Center (w/ Noe Venable)
5/24/08 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent (w/ Pedestrian and A Weather)
5/27/08 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound
6/9/08 New York, NY @ Other Music Instore
6/14/08 Hultsfred, Sweden @ Hultsfred Festival – Theater Stage
6/17/08 New York, NY @ Blender Theatre at Gramercy (record release show!)
6/20/08 Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center (w/ Clare and the Reasons)
6/27/08 Evreux, France @ Le Rock Dans Tous Ses Etats

Pre-Order

A Thousand Shark’s Teeth is now available for pre-order at Secretly Canadian. If you pre-order the CD or LP, you’ll receive a download code for a fully realized collection of alternate versions of A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, in addition to one album outtake. Orchestrated and complex, yet spacious and direct, these versions are a rewarding listen for the opportunity to hear how the songs have grown into their final form. Link to PREORDER.

Tracklisting for A Thousand Shark’s Teeth downloadable Bonus EP:

1. Apples (alternate version)
2. Bass Player (alternate version)
3. To Pluto’s Moon (alternate version)
4. If I Were Queen (alternate version)
5. The Diamond (alternate version)
6. Music Box (outtake)

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