Sci-Fi Songs: November 2009

SF Signal Posts

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that you are all enjoying the holiday. In lieu of a new song or podcast, I wanted to point out some writing that I've been doing for another blog lately.

I've been an SF Signal irregular for some time now, but in the past few weeks I've been contributing a weekly "Tuesday Tunes" post. This has been really fun and a great opportunity to discuss some of my favorite music that has a connection to Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here are links to the posts from the past few weeks:

I'm assuming that many of you already are, but you should definitely subscribe to SF Signal. There are tons of great posts every day and each week you can join in on the "Tuesday Tunes" discussion with me.

Happy Thanksgiving,
John Anealio

Sci-Fi Song #23: NaNoWriMo

For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. In a few short years, NaNoWriMo has turned into a national phenomenon, inspiring thousands of authors to write a 50,000 word piece of fiction in the 30 days of November.

I'm no writer, but I was inspired to participate in both 2006 and 2007. For the record, I made it to 50,000 words both years and both novels are steaming piles of turd that no one should ever have to read. The point of NaNoWriMo is to lock up your inner editor and just create. I'm still amazed that I was able to write that much in just 30 days. I've said it before, but the experience of completing NaNoWriMo almost certainly led me to start Sci-Fi Songs.

This song is really a gift to all of my Twitter and Facebook pals that are participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Good luck and may your coffee cup and daily word count runneth over.

I hope you enjoy the song. Please pass it on to all of your friends participating in NaNoWriMo this year.

John Anealio

http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio

NaNoWriMo

by John Anealio

This November I'm gonna write a novel in 30 days

and by December, I'll type "The End" on the last page

I've got some music. I've got my shiny new laptop

And now I'll use it as I sit down at the coffee shop

But everybody thinks I'm crazy

But I've only got 50,000 words to go

Before the end of NaNoWriMo

I thought that it'd be easy but its not

Yeah I've only got 50,000 words to go

Before the end of NaNoWriMo

I've got everything I need except the plot

I've got a trusty side-kick. I've got a strong protagonist.

There's a central conflict but a weak antagonist

I've got a cliched setting and at best my plot is trite

but at least I'm getting some time to myself at night

Refrain

Who decided to have Thanksgiving this time of year?

Don't they know I'm trying to launch my writing career.

Refrain

Here are some of the tools that I used to record this track

1. Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar in Open D tuning (DADF#AD) panned left

2. Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar in Standard Tuning panned right

3. Washburn Electric Bass Guitar

4. Trinity College Irish Bouzouki/Octave Mandolin

5. Pearl Bell Kit for the glockenspiel part

6. Rode NT-3 microphone

7. Apple Logic Pro 8 Recording Software

a. Logic's included EVB3 for the organ sound.

b. Ultrabeat for the drums

c. Logic's included Reverb, Compression, and EQ plug-ins.

Here are a few other songs that you may enjoy

1. George R.R. Martin is Not Your Bitch
2. Page 123

Name The 3 Musical Artists That I Sound Like

If all goes well, I should send out the final artwork and Master audio disc of my album for duplication by the end of the week. I should receive physical copes of the CD by the end of the month!

I'm going to put the album up on CDbaby for distribution. One of the questions that has to be answered is: What 3 artists do you sound like? This seems like a simple question, but it is often difficult to judge what one sounds like.

So, in an attempt to create an accurate picture of what "John Anealio" sounds like, I ask you this simple question:

What 3 musical artists does John Anealio sound like?

Please list your choices in the comments section. Alternatively, You can e-mail me your picks at 27summers@gmail.com or you can communicate with me via Twitter or Facebook

If a lot of you chime in on this, I'll hopefully be able to create a more accurate representation to present to people who are just discovering my music.

Thanks for your help,
John Anealio

Video: Last Drink for Bird Head

Here is a video of me performing Sci-Fi Song #22: Last Drink for Bird Head. This is a song that I wrote and recorded for Jeff and Ann Vandermeer's Last Drink Bird Head Anthology. Click here to download the free MP3 of the song and to read more about the anthology.

The instrument that I am playing in this video can either be called an Irish Bouzouki or an Octave Mandolin. The Octave Mandolin is probably the more accurate name as it is essentially a mandolin tuned down an octave. I still prefer to call it an Irish Bouzouki because ... well ... Bouzouki is fun to say.

I hope you enjoy it,
John Anealio

http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio