The Strangeness That Is My Love Affair With Musicals

Posted in Toby's Posts.

Grunge As a teenager, I would sit in my room for hours listening to grunge-scene records I received in the mail from BMG, which offered, “10 CDs for the price of one!”  (FYI, you might remember BMG’s competitor, Columbia House, which offered a much less-appetizing and math-riddled deal of “17 CDs for the price of… Continue reading The Strangeness That Is My Love Affair With Musicals

Recording The Corrupt Senators’ 1996 Release, Secret Bag Of Goodies

Posted in Toby's Posts. 2 Comments

I remember being totally frustrated by the lack of support I was getting in my brother’s bedroom.  I was blasting away on my Jackson guitar, playing it through my Princeton Chorus, I think.  Although I could have been using one of my brothers’ amplifiers…I can’t remember.  I was always using my brothers’ gear.  I had… Continue reading Recording The Corrupt Senators’ 1996 Release, Secret Bag Of Goodies

Nervousness

Posted in live shows.

Tonight I played at a house party.  It was awesome.  The hosts were cordial, and the attendees were wonderfully-supportive.  There were all sorts of other bands there.  As such, the between show chatter surrounded band-related stuff with a healthy dose of cover-band hatin’.  Thank you!  It was refreshing to have those conversations.  I felt at… Continue reading Nervousness

Con El Sol – The Speakeasy Heroes

Posted in Video. Format Post format: Video

The Speakeasy Heroes were the predecessor to my Minneapolis outfits.  If we could travel back in time to the year 2000, we would see a young grunge outfit transforming into something special.  We were greater than the sum of our parts.  I have not quite been able to capture and release the magic of that band since.  On the whole, the music I am writing today is vastly superior to the music I was writing back then, but sometimes a good band trumps good music.

We were able to reunite for the first time in 12 years and performed a couple of songs at my wedding.  Here is a clip of us playing Nate Cryns’s Con El Sol.

We released an LP that summer, complete with songs written and recorded that summer.  Pretty neat!  Ask nicely, and I might send you a copy.

Plugging

Posted in Toby's Posts.

“Just keep plugging.”  That’s what I keep telling myself. It was a grind on Saturday, but I am so pumped about what I am working on. In the past, I have posted everything as I have recorded it.  This time I am taking inspiration from Charlie Van Stee‘s and LETRON‘s respective forthcoming albums in that… Continue reading Plugging

We are on Spotify!

Posted in News.

To answer your question…  Yes, we are on Spotify!  Both Cryns #3 records are rocking, Faraway Farm is currently blaring in my stereo.  Rock on, Lucy! Now only if The Fullerenes would get on board…

What inspires you?

Posted in Toby's Posts, Video.

An energy flows from my upper stomach and into my eyes and exits through my armhairs when I listen to “Every New Day” by Five Iron Frenzy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFIMOJ46ofk Five Iron Frenzy is a now-defunct Christian ska band from the 1990’s.  They were among the biggest bands on the Christian touring circuit for a while in… Continue reading What inspires you?

1% of the Time

Posted in Toby's Posts.

Lisa has a hard time at my shows.  Last night we had a talk about this. The songs I sing are not well-rounded pictures of situations.  They are photographs of moments in time blown out to 2-5 minutes.  None of my songs give people a well-rounded concept about anything.  They are emotional and reactive and… Continue reading 1% of the Time