Tag Archives: Cowboy Scat

Usual Rubbish

An arrival of sorts.

It’s here, it’s here! Great gob in Heflin, it’s here! What’s that? No, of course I’m not talking about the royal offspring, recently delivered of the Duke and Duchess of whatever-the-hell. Something far more important.

It's here, it's here!What is it? My wristwatch of course. I thought I left it in the local watering hole, but it’s here, in my sock drawer – it’s here! Now if I could just find my socks. (Note to self: check the watch drawer.) Oh, right… and a box came. Not by itself, you understand. A truck dropped it off. It was a biggish box, but not too big. A box full of discs. Not chock full, exactly – what I mean to say is that there were discs in the box. Discs called Cowboy Scat: Songs in the Key of Rick.

Yes, that’s right – it’s Big Green’s third studio album, released after a hiatus of no less than five years (we released International House in 2008). It’s certainly the longest album we’ve ever made – fully twenty-one tracks, 78 minutes of music (if that’s what you call it). The official digital release date is July 31, this coming Wednesday. So am I excited? Damn straight I am. I found my freaking watch, man! I am over freaking joyed!

But anyway … this album is not only our longest, but our fastest. Let me tell you why – we have refined our “clubhouse” recording method to the point where it has only taken us a year to write, record, and finish Cowboy Scat: Songs in the Key of Rick … as opposed to five years with International House, two years with 2000 Years To Christmas. It’s the discipline of doing a monthly podcast (THIS IS BIG GREEN). It’s made us concentrate on actually finishing something, for chrissake. That runs against type in a real serious way. Our “type” is really more about sleeping. Serious sleeping.

But no more! It’s onward and upward from now on! Right … after I take a little …. nap …. zzzzzzzz.

Usual Rubbish

Was that a… truck?

Did you hear beeping?Wait, I heard something. That beeping noise. Did you hear it? Go out and take a look, will you? I’ll just sit here and finish this cardboard sandwich. What? That’s the microwave beeping? Turn it off, then. There’s a good chap.

Oh, yes … hello. Just getting a little impatient here at the abandoned Cheney Hammer Mill in beautiful (now roasting) upstate New York. It’s been so damn hot we can’t even manage to borrow enough electricity to run our fans, and now the refrigerator has gone south (looking for warmer climes, perhaps) and all of our provisions have gone sour. (Except for the lemons, which have turned strangely sweet in their spoilage.) Nothing to eat but cardboard. Here’s the good news: there’s not a lot of that, either.

I just sent Marvin (my personal robot assistant) out to greet the delivery van that will be dropping off the initial pressing of Cowboy Scat: Songs in the Key of Rick, Big Green’s ludicrous new album, hot off the digital presses. Its release date is July 31, but we are expecting advance copies any moment now. Though this is the fourth time in the last hour I’ve sent Marvin out to the brickyard, searching in vain for the UPS truck or the FEDEX van or some over-the-road tractor trailer. He’s about ready to revolt – in fact, I think he’s considering joining that terrifying band Captured By Robots again. I still have nightmares. (Not about that, obviously …. mostly other stuff.)

Hey, I’m looking out the window and I see the ass-end of a semi. Marvin is out there, making some unintelligible hand signals (or claw signals, I should say). They appear to be interpreting his gestures as encouragement to continue backing into our courtyard. This is getting exciting! Yes, they’re moving closer, turning the cab. I can see the side of the trailer now. Big letters that spell, “Mayflower Moving”. Hmmmm… I didn’t know they delivered packages.

Okay, I have to look into this further. Far from delivering anything, they appear to be taking things out of the Mill, like …. LIKE MY ARMY SURPLUS DESK AND CHAIR! LIKE MY DISCARDED MATTRESS! This is shaping up to be one hell of a week.

Usual Rubbish

What’s going on.

Is that what busy looks like? Shut the front door! I had no idea it looked like that. Sakes alive.

Press record nowWell, once again, you are encountering me in the midst of some level of astonishment. Seems like I spend half of my life sore amazed and the other half just plain sore. (I am definitely in the sore second half.) Anyway, never mind my poor self control – these are indeed heady days here at the abandoned Cheney Hammer Mill in now waterlogged upstate New York.  There’s so much shit hitting this fan, it’s hard to see your face through the fertilizer. Or something.

Here’s what we’ve got on the burner: lunch. Marvin (my personal robot assistant) is heating up a can of soup. He doesn’t seem to understand that you need to TAKE THE SOUP OUT OF THE CAN BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN THE FIRE. (I’m hopeful that, if I raise my voice, he will begin to understand.) So if we hear a ‘splosion just before noon local time, we will likely know why. Soup in a can, friends. Keep it cool. That’s all I’ve got to say.

Beyond the lunch issue, there are other things happening round these parts. Cowboy Scat: Songs in the Key of Rick has been sent to the distribution house and will soon be available in all the usual online outlets – iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, blah blah blah. We are also on the verge of pressing a limited run of discs – those should be ready by the end of July, maybe sooner. If you want one, tell Marvin next time you see him at your corner gin mill. (Lush!) Or just leave a comment on this post and let us know. Or visit our contact page.   

We’ve also got another episode of THIS IS BIG GREEN in production, with a fresh installment of Ned Trek. It’s Ned Trek #11, and you’ll hear it very soon. Weird? Yes. Childish and stupid? Perhaps. But you get what you expect, right? Big Green is nothing if not honest.

So, album … podcast … we’ve got it going on here at the hammer mill. Watch for the eerie glow of success. Or … something else.