(Watch at YouTube.)

Alone, late night, dead strings, dead tired.

The animated video for Kirby Krackle’s “Ring Capacity” is finally out! Trust me when I say that all Kirby Krackle gigs are exactly like this:

“Ring Capacity” is also available for Rock Band.

We start recording the third KK record just five days from today. Zoinks!

Video link.

(Video link.)

Man, keeping this video thing going is harder than I thought.

Here’s one from the same session with Mike and Dennis a little over a month ago. I think we rehearsed it — once? And based on that bug-eyed fish-gasping-on-the-dock look on my face, it’s pretty obvious I need to get some cardio back into my “workout” “regimen.” Eh, these should get better over time.

After posting the last video a few readers mentioned my guitar was cropped out of the shot, which makes it hard to see what chords I’m playing. I’m afraid this video suffers the same affliction. There’s a guitar there somewhere, I swear! But I’m wondering if I should do an occasional “how to play” video with close-ups of my fret hand?

Dennis came by again yesterday and this time he brought Mike!

A most welcome gathering of consummate professionals and outstanding individuals overall!

Although they appear to be looking for dropped Cheetos on the carpet or something during the intro.

Watch it at the YouTubes.

If you’re new here, you can download the original recording of this song here.

Dennis came over last weekend and we recorded this:

Watch it at YouTube

You can find the MP3 for this song here.

Happy 2011!

(Aside: why does YouTube always automatically select the thumbnail that makes me look like a lunatic?)

In Explone news: Thor Radford shot a handsome-looking video for “St. Yesterday.” I’m a little startled by the excellent production quality:

Watch the video (in larger size) at YouTube.

Word is that Thor shot the whole thing on a Nikon D300s. Kids these days with their gadgets! Lead singer Patrick has more to say here.

So yeah, things are cookin’ on both the Explone and Kirby Krackle front lines. With any luck, I’ll have something wholly Scott Andrew-related for you next week.

Last week I tweeted about rediscovering some song ideas I had written in DADGAD tuning almost ten years ago. I first learned about DADGAD when Megan forwarded me a page of alternate tunings used by Richard Shindell. Since then I’ve tried to work DADGAD into my own songs:

• Cut The Wire: DADGAD, capo 5th fret
• In Harm’s Way: DADGAD, capo 3rd fret
• Happy For Me, album version: DADGAD, capo 2nd fret (the alternate take is in standard tuning).
• 2 A.M.: DADGAD open D (I think, it’s been awhile)

If you haven’t tried DADGAD, you should. It’s fun. Especially if you get bored with standard chord voicings as I sometimes do. Tons of video tutorials on YouTube.

Here’s a video draft of “Blood Of Eden” by Peter Gabriel, in DADGAD tuning. I kinda want to record this song for a future EP, maybe later this year. The spot where I start grinning and my eyes pop out of my head is where I start running out of breath. That’s what I get for trying a five-minute-long tune after months of no singing.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Anthony Skelton’s short film submission to the Nikon Festival includes the instrumental version of my tune Not The One. There are some very cool editing moments I really like. Check it:

UPDATE: looks like the film was removed from the festival site. So never mind, I guess. Anthony? You out there? What happened?

Working on a video? You can download free instrumental versions of all the songs from Save You From Yourself for your own multimedia projects right here.

Watch it at YouTube

“Note To Self” is the only new song I’d call completed this year. I actually wrote most of it in August 2008, but it got stuck with a less-than-stellar vocal melody that was no fun to sing. I was pretty much resigned to abandoning the song when I caught a new melody driving home from rehearsal with Explone a few weeks back. That inspired me to bang out the rest of the lyrics. Consider this video a first draft.

Hope to post an audio demo soon, and more video stuff in general for 2010.