Stegor
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2/25/2008 11:44:10 AM
---- Updated 2/25/2008 12:44:53 PM
The day Bat Lenny... died? Naw, he was only sleeping...
It was summer, 1991. The heavy duty custom built counters that once held up the hulking 8 track reel to reel tape deck, the patch bay that never worked, and an array of rack mountable but never mounted devices was empty, except for the rectangles of dust marking the former positions of the once cherished and yet reviled slabs of solid state gadgetry. The ever-present brown glass containers with varying levels of malt beverage and fungal growth were just memories, punctuated by the rings left behind. The once cockroach infested refrigerator, rescued from the loading dock next to the dumpster, with the hand written note saying “Free! I work!” was empty, the door left open, in the hopes of preventing the growth of a microscopic forest within.
What once was an environment oozing with creative energy was in the process of being renovated into loft apartments. The art deco architecture of crumbling concrete and brick work that was once considered ugly and concealed by prefab wall panels and brown commercial grade carpet was about to be re-exposed, it’s beauty reconsidered. The radiator pipes that were painted in a feeble attempt to blend them in with the walls were going to be stripped. Lead paint and asbestos out, cast iron and copper in. And the refrigerator will find itself, once again, next to the dumpster. This time the sign taped to the front will be from an IBM Selectric typewriter, saying: “This is a urinal, not an ashtray”.
Was this it? Was Bat Lenny done?
Stegor was optimistic. “Naw. We can still do this. Let’s just divide up the equipment and each get a 4 track cassette deck and we can collaborate that way. We don’t have to all be in the same room at the same time.”
But months passed. Then a year. Nothing.
Until winter, 1992. Bat Lenny reconvened at the apartment of Dr. Dust, (at the time only Mr. Dust, pending his degree). This time, instead of sitting around watching Ren and Stimpy, Stegor had a different plan in his pocket. He had been working on a new song in his basement. A bass track, two guitar tracks, a drum machine rhythm, a little bit of Casio… a pretty decent demo to get things restarted.
Or so he thought.
“Check this out, guys! I’ve been busy!” Excitement rushed to his index finger as he pushed the button with the triangle pointing to the right. The room was filled with a sound that hadn’t been heard in over a year. The start of a new Bat Lenny song!
“So, whaddya think?”
“Well, why did you do that?”
“Huh?”
“You recorded a song without us?”
Critter always had an opinion. “You always have too many parts and they’re too short.” “That’s a bad place for that guitar part because there’s other things happening there.” “You’re always playing the same things over and over.” (It’s called “Practice”). But this time he really surprised me.
“You can’t just go and record a song without involving the rest of us.”
“But it’s just a basic track. It still needs vocals, keyboards, whatever you want.”
“But what if I don’t like the bass part? And the drums are boring. How are we supposed to change it now that it’s practically done?”
“I based the drums on a Dead Can Dance song because I thought you’d like it. I don’t even like them!”
“Well, I dunno…”
Dr. Dust and The Nail sat back in stunned silence.
“Tell me what it is you would want to change.”
“I don’t know. I’d have to listen to it for a while.”
Ooh. They’d heard that one before. Critter always had an opinion, but sometimes it took him a while to produce it. And in the meantime, nothing was to proceed. It was at that moment that they realized what was holding back progress.
“I guess Stegor is going to have to start doing solo albums then.”
And so he did.
Snow Angels and Dust Devils
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Stegor
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2/26/2008 6:24:43 AM
Thanks, Terry. Rather a long way 'round for a promo, but I wanted to take a shot at something that might be considered "The opposite of a hit and run promo".
Actually the promo part of it is more of a sidebar. The story, which I realize is too long for a lot of people to bother with, is one that I think several people here can relate to. I was especially thinking of Ken of Two Silo Complex, Larree and Todd of Hop on Pop.
Today, Bat Lenny is alive and healthier than ever!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
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