Music Videos and Saucy Messages

News From The Week That Was

It’s here – the official music video for Songs About Crying is now live and available to check out!  We have some other things on the go, but don’t want to distract from this, so that stuff will be available on the next instalment of the news.  Enjoy!

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. One can be a poet and the father of fascism.
  2. Beer koozies with saucy messages are much better in French.
  3. No matter what week it is, the most popular time to start “not drinking” is next week.

Busy Weeks and Egg Kindness

After a week off from the web, this was a busy week for us in The Cube getting back to it!  Firstly, has everyone had a chance to check out “Songs About Crying” yet?? If not, you can find the links for the streaming services and for a free download right here.  We have two new tunes on the go, worked at some of the acoustic set as well as two major new projects.  The first of which is a music video for the titular (tee hee) track for Songs About Crying which should be available very, very soon.  Also, we are working on a bonus track for some of our more loyal listeners.  Info to come on that!  Lastly, we finally got around to doing a press photo.  Look at us getting the bare necessities done a couple of years in.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Some people beat eggs very, very gently.
  2. In The Cube, a suitable replacement for hello is, “‘Not drinking’ starts next week.”
  3. Swoop will straight up screw you over.

Crying and Grateful

News From The Week That Was

It’s finally here!  The full release of Songs About Crying is live!  You can check it out on your favourite streaming service – Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or if you don’t subscribe to any of those, you can just download it for free here.  If you are doing the free download thing, just click that you are going to purchase it and select a price of $0 (we let ya do that cause we love ya).

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. 407 employees are not fans of Tesla owners.
  2. I’m not the only one infuriated by Chapin holes.
  3. The support from everyone who got ahead of the actual release has been overwhelming.  Thank you all for checking it out.  Not funny, just grateful.

One Week, No Shortcuts and Eight Years

News From The Week That Was

It’s here – the titular (tee hee) and final track from “Songs About Crying”.  The full album will be available for download (FOR FREE!!!) from our bandcamp site next week.  In The Cube, this was a bit of a catch up week after two weeks off – working through some live songs and recording another potential for Fun Drunks.  Puffer is away for a couple of weeks, so we may have some limited progress through the rest of August, but we will continue to keep you up to date!

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 8: Songs About Crying

Songs About Crying

This is another early song for us, predated on this album only by Impression of You.  Scarfo aimed to write a simple piano riff to give Boyne the room to do what he wanted to vocally – it clicked almost immediately.  As we were still finding our writing style and our groove in terms of working together, this song became a little meta and was a self criticism of some of the easy shortcuts to take, “He can’t cheat that/he can’t repeat that/Just to save himself a line.”  This also became a tongue in cheek rallying cry for the type of song that ended up on this record, just us ‘writing songs about crying’.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Magnum P.I. ran for 8 seasons and 160 episodes.  Amazing how far a moustache would take you in the ‘80s.
  2. There are only so many funny observations out there.
  3. Small town folk really are kind.

Taking the Week Off

Hi everyone, this has been an off week for Fighting Whiskey – check back next week for the release of the titular track to Songs About Crying! (tee-hee ‘titular’)

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  • 1. Breaking down into an ugly cry in the middle of a workout will cause your cats to look at you funny.
  • 2. Apparently, you can have a non-burning ‘display’ fire set up for teaching purposes.
  • 3. It is possible to say, “No, I want to sit in the back so I can fool around with your mother!”, mean it and not get punched.

Goupy Eyes, Looking Inward and Seeing Fires

News From The Week That Was

This ended up being an off week for us as Puffer was away on a family trip and Boyne was feeling a little under the weather.  No “Cube” News to pass along, but you can check out the newest track from Songs About Crying below!

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 7: Hesitant

The intention here was not to make some sort of political statement.  Rather, regarding the whole vaccination semi-controversy, I wanted to reflect on how I feel now as a middle aged man versus how I feel I would have reacted in a similar situation when I was still an angry young man.  I imagined a conversation between the two versions of ‘me’ and that’s what this is about.  I can’t stress strongly enough that this is not myself or Fighting Whiskey trying to make a statement, simply a reflection on my own life.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Building a good fire can be a very rewarding experience.
  2. Angry older women are terrifying.
  3. Some people are pretty intent on getting others into a pool.

Chops, Gils and Fools

News From The Week That Was

This week in The Cube was mostly focused on keeping up the acoustic chops.  With a couple of weeks coming that won’t see the full band together, we wanted to make the most of the time that we did have so as to ensure that we weren’t too rusty when we got back together again in mid August.  Beyond that, there was some work done on a personal project, but not a ton of progress to report.

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 6: Old Gil (Acoustic)

Shortly after the release of Dandelions and Failure, as a fun exercise, we sat down and recorded a live version of Old Gil, fully acoustic.  In doing so, the song changed quite a bit – it was slowed down, there was a short guitar solo added and it had a completely different vibe to it.  Based on the positive feedback we got from the live version (see it here), we decided to do a studio version as well.  The remarkable thing that came from this is that it was a one night effort – the whole thing, from first note to final mix happened all in one night.  Sometimes, things just land properly the first time.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Even the most vile of acts can be made more classy by referring to their frequency as ‘fortnightly’.
  2. The last acceptable form of public mockery falls upon fans of the Cleveland Browns.
  3. Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, get your shit together.

New Song, Old Song and Fish Kids

News From The Week That Was

Another jam week in The Cube – working on honing some acoustic skills.  We also made some progress on a project that might not end up being a FW song and hammered out some potential new lyrics.  The main news this week is yet another new tune – “Impression of You”

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 5: Impression of You

This is the very first Fighting Whiskey song, even pre-dating “Old Gil”.  I had hammered out some lines on a piano and found myself stuck – after nearly 10 years of writing for The Dexter Holmes Story, I was suddenly in the position wherein lyrics weren’t tied to a story.  Stepping out of that box was a little scary – I didn’t know what to write about.  When forced out of that box, I got to thinking about life in general and how things end for all of us.  3 of my 4 grandparents passed away from some form of dementia or Alzheimer’s, and so I thought I would dive into that.  Digging around on what it feels like to see that happen to someone that you love and the overreaching fear that it is an inevitable fate for me as well *shakes fists at genetics* …

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. A cat will look you dead in the eye while punching another cat, then leave his paw there to show you that he doesn’t care about being a dick.
  2. I’m capable of getting excited about someone else’s tracksuits.
  3. In terms of DNA, children are 99.8% fish.

Chop News, Slide Blues and Beet Juice

News From The Week That Was

Apologies again for last week, I had to leave in a hurry and was short of a couple of things that I needed.  Still, my hope is that “Lately” was worth the wait.  As a general update, the last two weeks were focused on honing some acoustic chops in The Cube.  We may be popping up to workshop a couple of acoustic songs in a live setting somewhere in the area very soon.

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 4: Lately

Lyrically, this is a pretty straightforward song.  It really was just something that I was feeling in the moment.  Overall, the structure came together pretty quickly, but the real difference came when Boyne started to sing it.  I’m not sure if it was something he heard in the way that it was written, but his vocals came out with a real country twang.  After that was established, he added the backward guitars that sound kind of slidey and we were well on our way.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. The phrase that is key to an enraged Maha is, “You just missed him by five minutes”.
  2. Cappy really, really likes beet juice.
  3. There are two types of people in this world: Those who think, “What if Mr. Big covered the theme from Perfect Strangers” and those who don’t.

Week Delay

Hi everyone, apologies. I’ve had a work emergency and am out of town for a few days – I thought I had everything with me to do the release, but I missed a couple of things. We’ll be back next week with the release of “Lately”.

Hurt, Ugly and Farts

News From The Week That Was

A bit of a recovery week in The Cube this week.  While Boyne’s foot woes continued, Scarfo developed some of his own.  Puffer added a burnt arm to the mix and we were a banged up bunch.  We focused mostly on vocal layering and mixing so as to not strain ourselves too far.  The older you get, the longer it takes to recover.  Still, another tune for you this week, “Ugliness in You”.

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 3: Ugliness In You

Simply put, this is a song about disillusionment. It looks at a moment when a person realizes that someone or something else isn’t what they initially appeared to be.  The main line, “Now I see it/The ugliness in you” is something that Scarfo scribbled down on a notepad in a hotel room years ago.  As the disillusionment grew across the last two years, the song started to come together as a whole.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Don’t start a fart war with an 8 year old boy unless you are prepared to lay waste to your entire home.
  2. For me, 41 is “Get a cane years old”.
  3. A penis themed colouring book is an acceptable birthday gift?

Off Week, Bar Creeps and Good Sleeps

News From The Week That Was

This was an off week for us as we were dealing with some family obligations and injuries. Even though nothing new is brewing The Cube this week, enjoy track 2 from Songs About Crying, “Run”!

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 2: Run

Inspired by the “Milton’s Incident”, Run is a song about bullying.  For those unaware, last year, the city where we are from, Kitchener, Ontario, became internet famous for a few days.  And as you can imagine, when someone or somewhere becomes internet famous for a few days, it isn’t for positive reasons.  A video surfaced of an autistic gentleman being physically and verbally abused by bar owners in the city.

By far the heaviest most ‘rock’ song on Songs About Crying, at its heart, Run is about bullies.  Even though there are distorted guitars, we felt that the slower pace and the themes of the song made it fit here.  

The three verses look at different aspects of bullying.  The first, is the traditional type of bullying that older generations faced.  The second verse looks at how the cyber world has now given bullies the opportunity to attack their prey even when they aren’t in the same room.  Lastly, the third verse looks at the way that some people now use the term ‘bully’ to actually bully others.  Needless to say, this is where some of the NSFW language comes in as it is incredibly infuriating.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Getting older means getting way too excited about buying a new bed.
  2. Through a cat’s eyes, my head resembles a springboard.
  3. All else fades, but if you can find someone who will laugh with you when you have simultaneously smashed your faces into the same thing, that is forever stuff.

It’s Here, A Different Gear and Free Beer

News From The Week That Was

It’s Heeeeere!!!! The first track from Songs About Crying, “Shivers and Shakes”!  See below for more details, or visit it on the releases page here.

A History of ….

Songs About Crying, Track 1: Shivers and Shakes

Shivers and Shakes is one of the older tracks, one of the ones that predates The Cube.  Scarfo was just getting back to piano, and saw an opportunity.  Writing in B flat and D minor has always seemed to him to have a special sound – something about D minor just seems a little sadder than the other minor keys.  This isn’t something that had been previously explored as this is not a key that is particularly conducive to guitar.  It isn’t impossible, it’s just uncomfortable with a lot of bar chords and we can be lazy from time to time.

Lyrically, at this point in Fighting Whiskey history, Scarfo and Boyne were toying with different approaches to writing, and this is one that fell into a particular category.  The idea was to have one of the two tell the other a story or what they wanted the feeling to be about, and the other would write the lyrics based on that.  In this case, Scarfo presented an idea to Boyne and Boyne did the writing.  The reverse of this was done on “Touching Stoves” from Dandelions, wherein Scarfo wrote lyrics to something Boyne expressed.

We wanted this to be the first song released from Songs About Crying in that it is pretty thematically indicative of the rest of the record to come.  Sound, tone, different keys, slower – this song has a little bit of all of that. 

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. No one in Fighting Whiskey is as excited about “Fun Drunks” as Euro is.
  2. A child who won’t clean his room will gladly clean a softball or home plate without being asked.
  3. The best beer isn’t just free beer – it’s surprise free beer.

Big Announcements, Why Crying and Sexy Groceries

News From The Week That Was

I’m not going to waste too much time with a regular weekly update as we have a big announcement!  We’ve talked about it for a while now, and it is finally set to be released.  On Tuesday, August 9th, 2022, Songs About Crying will go live to the world. 

In the meantime, starting next week, we will be featuring one of the tracks with a ‘history of’ on the song as well as an audio preview.  Every Tuesday (I’ll be doing it Monday night, but at different times, so Tuesday it will be guaranteed to be here), there will be a new track, its history, meaning and a chance to hear it before the album comes out.  The album cover that you see is essentially a negative of Dandelions – for an idea of why and what’s coming, see the History of “Songs About Crying” below.

A History of ….

Songs About Crying

When we started writing back during the pandemic, we were finding that our songs fit into two general categories – “angry” and “sad”.  Originally, we were going to put it all together on the first record, but as we got down to the nitty gritty, it became apparent that the two types of songs really didn’t fit together on one album.  We made the decision at that time to split it into two records – the heavier, more upbeat stuff became Dandelions and Failure, and what was left over, we were going to turn into “Songs About Crying”.  Much like not every song on Dandelions ended up being angry, not every song on Crying is sad, but there is a unifying theme.

Some of these songs are as old as the first songs from Dandelions – a lot of it was written simultaneously.  A few of them are as new as being first conceived less than two months ago, so this really has been a work in progress for more than two years.

If you are expecting more of what happened on Dandelions, you will want to adjust your expectations.  As I mentioned a few weeks back, this will be ‘your mom’s favourite Fighting Whiskey album’.  For everyone who has ever said, “Scarfo, why don’t you play more piano?” or “Boyne, try and do something a little more serious”, this is the album for you.

Stay tuned next week for information on the first track, “Shivers and Shakes” … fun little video teaser below.  Okay .. maybe not fun, it’s just Scarfo playing one of the parts on the piano for less than a minute, but it’s fun to us.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. If you are going to buy groceries for your vegan friend, they’d best be sexy groceries.
  2. I need to start ignoring my phone on Friday afternoons.
  3. Learning a Harry Chapin song teaches you an important lesson – Harry Chapin was a dick.

Laying Tracks, Hanging Racks and Boyne Scats

News From The Week That Was

A heavy recording week this week in The Cube.  We added more layers to the newest song, tentatively titled, “Happens to You” and completely re-recorded the mystery cover that we were talking about a few weeks back.  We wanted to slow it down a bunch from the original, but what we had put down was simply too slow, so we started again 10 beats per minute faster and think we have a version that will work much better.

A History of ….

The Cube, Part III: From Dandelions to Crying to Fun

Now that we were set up, it was time to get back to work.  With the limited space, we had to hang the guitars from the walls and mount a number of shelves to cut down on the clutter.  Still, once it was ready to go, the minimalist approach really helped.  Having the piano next to the recording rack led to a whole lot more piano tunes, a lot of which ended up going on Songs About Crying.  One or two are even sneaking their way onto “Fun Drunks”.

The current setup is one that we are very comfortable with and are hoping to work with for a very long time.  

Who or what will the next history focus on?  Only one way to find out …

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. The more you scream, the more water gets in your mouth.
  2. When a “Barry White” part is needed, somehow Scarfo is the go to.
  3. Boyne jazz scatting is hilarious. Cause we needed more scat.

Room Laughs, Cube Renos and Bank Farts

News From The Week That Was

Howdy folks – sorry I missed last week, I was feeling more than a little under the weather.  The focus over the last two weeks has truly been on the third record.  I know that seems silly with the second not even being released yet, but we are in a ‘sit and let the mixes marinate’ part of the process with “Songs About Crying”.  My hope is that by the next time I am writing the news, we will have a release date for SAC put together for you.  

In the meantime, a note about the third album – tentatively titled, “Fun Drunks”, we are taking yet another complete left turn.  Following almost a year of focusing on serious and the more melancholy, the songs for Fun Drunks are the complete opposite.  They’re meant to be exactly what the title suggests – fun.  On Friday, as we were doing a group lyric session for a new track, there were multiple times that we had full on giggle fits.  3 middle aged men, sitting in a room (or a Cube, see below), giggling like idiots.  The rule was, if it gets a laugh in the room, it gets written down.

A History of ….

The Cube, Part II: From Stink to Party Cube

When the time had come to move, one of the issues was the loss of square footage.  The new room was going to be far smaller, and while we picked up a separate area for storage, the actual recording/jam/hang space was about a quarter the size of the ‘hallowed hall’.  We aimed to be optimistic about this and Puff had the line that really turned things around, “It will be our party cube!”.  From this statement came the name . . .

What is now The Cube started as a plumbing company’s storage supply room.  There will be a ton of pictures that will accompany this part of the story, but the pictures can’t tell the most important part of the transformation – getting rid of the smell.  Anyone who has ever been in a jam hall knows that, by nature, they don’t smell like roses, but this room had an olfactory bite that was beyond even our ability to ignore.  We ripped out the subfloor, tore down a wall, bleached, sealed and painted.  Once Puff had thrown down the carpet tile, we were finally in a spot where it could live up to Puff’s billing – it was now our ‘party cube’.

Once we were set up, it was back to work and we were weeks away from finishing Dandelions.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Being grown up doesn’t mean not talking about how funny farts are.  You just talk about how funny it is to fart loudly in a bank.
  2. I now know what a ‘piss dot’ is.
  3. Saying, “There are already a lot of scatological references here . . .” doesn’t keep the rest of the references out of a song.  Or out of the 3 things I’ve learned.

Crying, Flooding and Jumping

News From The Week That Was

The countdown is on to the release of Songs About Crying!  We are hoping to have a release date out to you by next week.  I know that we have been mentioning it a lot here in the last little while, so a little note for those who are new to the concept.  As we were writing Dandelions and Failure, we had a number of slower, more piano and acoustic based songs that didn’t really fit with the first record.  We had put them aside and are now looking to release them as a full album.  This will be nothing like Dandelions – slower, softer, more introspective.  Maybe this becomes your mom’s favourite Fighting Whiskey record? 

A History of ….

The Cube, Part I: Plucked From The Hallowed Halls

Dating back for more than ten years, Scarfo had always jammed out of a room in what was called the “Hallowed Halls” of Courtland.  This is where For The Hard Way and The Dexter Holmes story wrote, rehearsed and recorded.  After a leak made the SexDwarf room uninhabitable, Boyne joined the boys and the hall was always a bustle with creativity.  It was in this room that Fighting Whiskey was born.  Songs like Old Gil from Dandelions and Impression of You from Songs About Crying were laid down here.

Unfortunately, on an evening in May of 2021, Scarfo received an unnerving phone call.  There was water pouring out of the room.  Boyne and Stroker (long time friend of FW and guest vocalist on “Good Man” went to investigate and the news was grave.  There had been a leak from above and the hall was flooded.  Even worse, the damage inside the ceiling was inevitably going to lead to black mould, so there was no choice – Fighting Whiskey had to move.

The only remaining available room in the building was a former plumbing company’s supply room.  More on the transformation of this next week in part 2 – “From Stink to Party Cube”.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Baseball games played by 8 year olds do not have stellar defense.
  2. When Boyne and Linz get chatting, you either need all of the context or to ignore random sentences you hear.
  3. Sometimes you just gotta ‘Jump in’.

We’re Back, New Tracks and Grimsby Flack

Where’s My Whiskey???

I know that we have been silent for quite some time and you have our deepest apologies.  Going forward, we will be adjusting the blog post dates to Mondays to avoid ‘life getting in the way’ issues.  This will serve as the post for this Monday, and then starting Monday May 9th, we will get back to doing this on the regular – I mean it this time.

News From The Week That Was

We’ve been making progress on all fronts across the previous few weeks.  Songs About Crying is nearly locked in – we don’t have an exact release date at the moment, but you can expect that it will be released by early summer.  On the acoustic performance front, we are putting together a set that we are pretty proud of – it will be arriving at a fine establishment near you very soon.  For any fine establishments looking to book us, please email booking@fightingwhiskey.ca and we can discuss.  Additionally, we have the bones of 8 songs written for the 3rd album, which again will be a complete left turn from everything that we have done up until now.  Lastly, in the spirit of ‘Get To Know Your Whiskey’ and ‘Fighting Whiskey Recommends”, we will be starting a new feature next week “History of . . .” wherein we will look at the history of all things Fighting Whiskey.  Next week will be part one of “History of The Cube”.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. It appears that I have unfairly besmirched the reputation of Grimsby, Ontario.  I apologize to all Grimsbians.
  2. It is possible to, in the same day, get high and mighty about a child getting spaghetti sauce in his eyebrow while later not noticing a glob of icing in your beard.  Humbling.
  3. I drastically under promote the awesome relationship I have with my mom.  Sorry mom.

Twitchy, Itchy and Okie Dick

News From The Week That Was

Hi everyone, apologies on the couple of missed weeks.  I just wanted to give a quick update so that you knew that we were still kicking.  The reason for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks is due to a couple of personal issues on my (Scarfo) end.  The first is a very happy one, I recently got engaged!  The second, less so.  Last Wednesday, my family tested positive for COVID, and while initially testing negative, I tested positive on Thursday.  I’ve been pretty laid up in bed over the last little while, so I haven’t had a chance to get word out to everyone.  The regular updates will return next week.  In the meantime, see below for the 3 things I’ve learned this (these past three) week(s).

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. A slip of the tongue led me to my new favourite way to agree – “Okie dick”.
  2. During an illness, there is a number of times that people can say, “You sound like shit!” wherein it stops being comforting and starts to get offensive.  That number is around 19.
  3. Being out of The Cube for two weeks leaves me a little twitchy …

Cats, Whales and Hamsters

News From The Week That Was

As things start to open up again here in Ontario, the focus in The Cube this week went back to bringing up our acoustic chops.  We saw Puffer return after beating COVID and made some serious strides in terms of being able to perform live.  I didn’t take any pictures this week in The Cube, so the side picture this week is Sam, Scarfo and Linz’s brave boy who suffered an injury this week.  Sorry for the goofy lookin cone, dude.  Glad you’re gonna be okay.

Get to know your Whiskey!

What is something you have accomplished as an adult that your younger self would be proud of?

Boyne: I broke some cycles.

Scarfo: My younger self was kind of a prick and wouldn’t appreciate who I am now.  But he’d be into Dandelions and Failure.

Puff: My younger self was pretty blasé, but he’d probably be pretty stoked that I got a driver’s license… And still have all my hair. (A hearty middle finger from Scarfo on this one).

Who is your hero?

Boyne: Blindboy Boatclub.

Scarfo: Well, in second place for my hero is Chris Boyne.  The rest of humanity is tied for first***.  Joking aside, there are 3 people that I look to in terms of how to be a good man – my late grandfather, my dad and Steve Strohack.

Puff: Ringo Starr, cuz he’s to them good music skills and ye never seen him be a dick about anything to anyone.  Just seems like a gracious and kind person, which is something to aspire to. (Scarfo suggests starting by not maligning the follicly challenged).  

What did you want to be when you were small?

Boyne: The first thing that I can remember wanting to be was a Marine Biologist – that did not last long.

Scarfo: A garbage man.  I think they call it ‘sanitation engineer’ now, but when I was a kid, it was garbage man.  Hanging off the big truck, lifting the dumpsters with the truck forks – it was like working inside of a transformer.

Puff: An artist, cause I wanted to spend as much time as possible drawing.  I’d like to spend more time drawing now … 

***Note: Line borrowed from the late, great Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Boyne isn’t shy about telling you when you look orange.
  2. Hamsters are nocturnal. (Not funny, just didn’t know that and learned it this week.)
  3. There are some people out there who have a real disdain for Grimsby, Ontario.

Peas, Cheese and Knees

News From The Week That Was

A bit of a mental break week in The Cube this week. We tried a different exercise wherein we worked on building something together from scratch. I’m not certain if it will land anywhere in particular, but it was fun as a process to put together. It also helps to ‘eat your vegetables’ and try new approaches to break out of your comfort zone. My comfort zone does not include peas. Beyond that, just some mix updates and more critical listens. “Songs About Crying” inches ever closer …

Get to know your Whiskey!

My apologies, due to a copy and paste error last week, Puff’s answer to the last question was omitted.  By way of apology, I am dedicating the full “Get To Know Your Whiskey” section to the missing answer:

Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?

Puff: My kids when they were small, and we’d have mac & cheese with hot dogs.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. People seem to be really mad about knees this week.
  2. Reasonable people can disagree, but assholes are always gonna asshole.
  3. I am terrible at SuperBowl prop betting.

Coffee, Pizza Pockets and More Coffee

News From The Week That Was

Despite being down a Puff due to illness, it was a very productive week in The Cube for Boyne and Scarfo.  More work was done on the ‘surprise’ cover mentioned last week as well as some vocal redos on a number of songs in contention for the new album.  We consolidated and realized that we are looking at about 16 songs that we are going to whittle down to what will eventually be the next record.  We are looking toward doing some more writing this week to see if anything new squeezes out before we start making decisions.  Luckily, The Cube now has a newly acquired coffee centre, so some late nights ahead may be a little more comfortable.

Get to know your Whiskey!

What’s the most useful thing you own?

Boyne: My fan – keeps me cool, helps me sleep

Scarfo: I did mention that air fryer, right?  Seriously though, the recording rack that I bought – without that, there would be no Fighting Whiskey.

Puff: Probably a screwdriver or something

What’s your biggest fear?

Boyne: That luck exists and you only have so much of it

Scarfo: Heights.  No witticism here, I hate ladders.

Puff: Balloons

Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?

Boyne: Robert Mitchum and this lasagna I have left in my fridge – it’s so good. Although I’m sure he wouldn’t like it and I don’t want to share it.. So prolly just feed him booze and let him talk.

Scarfo: Shakespeare and pizza pockets.  Pizza pockets would blow his old school mind.  We could talk story structure.  Or Ian McShane and whatever the hell he wants as long as he talks through dinner so I can just be in awe.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. While not advisable, it is possible to have a 10 minute conversation about snakes before my morning coffee.
  2. When someone asks you what you are thinking about, sometimes the response just comes out, “Geography.”
  3. Sometimes, the hard work is the reward.

Surprises, Lizards and 5,000 Pounds of Garbage

News From The Week That Was

Another recording week in The Cube – a test vocal line went down on top of the acoustic song last week and we are looking at recording a surprise cover to add to the new album.  (Ooooooh – surprise!!).  There were some mid-week remixes of “Run” and “Hesitant” and we are inching ever closer to getting the new record out to you fine folks.

Get to know your Whiskey!

What TV shows are you watching right now?

Boyne: My name is earl and Succession

Scarfo: Succession, Ted Lasso, and rewatching The Newsroom.  I’ll never not be watching Lost.

Puff: The Witcher, Trailer Park Boys, W/ Bob & David, Solar Opposites, Letterkenny, Sneaky Pete

What was the first LP/cassette/CD/eight track you ever bought with your own money?

Boyne: The soundtrack to TMNT the movie – the first one on cassette.

Scarfo: I genuinely don’t know.  It was probably Weezer blue, Smash or Pretty Hate Machine.

Puff: Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon was my first record, my first CD was either Queen or Run DMC

What is something that hasn’t happened yet, but would certainly break the internet?

Boyne: The internet is not a real place. I don’t really care what happens there. Or at least I don’t want to.

Scarfo: An EMP.

Puff: The Trumps turning out to be lizard people would probably do it, OR actual contact with really for real aliens.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. When people ask, “Do you know how much crap you accumulate over a decade?”, the answer is roughly 5,000 pounds.
  2. A bad day can be helped by the arrival of wacky tshirts.  Not fixed, mind you, but helped.
  3. Living with me can make someone feel dead inside in a matter of hours.

No Titles, Revolutions or Pants

News From The Week That Was

Another acoustic tune on the go for us this week as we have the base of a track laid down for something that as of yet is untitled.  Beyond that, just some mixes being worked on.  Honestly, as Scarfo is moving this week, we have been limited – so has his willingness to say a whole lot in the blog 🙂

Get to know your Whiskey!

If you could take a week off from your regular life to immerse yourself in learning something new, what would it be?

Boyne: Woodworking

Scarfo: I’d love to say learning a language, but a week probably wouldn’t do it.  I’d love to learn the basics of carpentry, it would be cool to be able to build things.  And it would be another reason that I’m cooler than Jesus.

Puff: The ancient alchemical art of distillery. 

If you could go back in time ten years and tell yourself something, what would you say?

Boyne: Get rid of shit, you don’t need all that stuff

Scarfo: Save every penny that you have and bet it all on Leicester City to win the 2015 Premier League.

Puff: I would give myself a list of the winners of all major and minor sporting events for the decade to come

If you could erase one event from history, which one would you erase?

Boyne: April 16th 1994.

Scarfo: I mean, you’d have to be a dick to not say the Holocaust, right?

Puff: The ‘merican revolution.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Linz’s son has an arm that is always wet and no one knows why.
  2. Puff takes having buttons seriously.
  3. I always thought I hated pants more than anyone in the world.  Among the 4 people who live in my new home, I’m number 3 at best.

Monkeys, Monkees and Bananas

News From The Week That Was

Another recording week at The Cube this week, minus Puffer as he was fighting a family cold.  Note: He was fighting the cold, not his family . . . or at least that is how I read the text.  We are looking at the possibility of splitting some of the songs from the new record off into a 3rd release, some of the more ‘fun’ songs that we’ve done and leaving the softer stuff on it’s own.  More on that decision to come. 

Get to know your Whiskey!

What’s something I would never guess about you?

Boyne: I have no concept of what others think of me, so maybe just that.

Scarfo: I asked Linz to help me with this one and she said, “I don’t know because you shock me every day.”  I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Probably that I’m 41 and I still talk to and sleep with a stuffed monkey named Fritz.  He’s my buddy.

Puff: I played guitar on stage at the Ryman Auditorium

What has been your most memorable or inspirational gig and why?

Boyne: “The Mike and Mickey Show” – pretty much The Monkees, Mike Nesmith was pretty much my guy from the time I was 3 years old.  Seeing him in real life was emotional and wonderful.. plus I took my mom, seeing her seeing me seeing them, yeah that was special.

Scarfo: The most memorable would probably be the Mustache Festival with For The Hard Way.  Aside from it being a very receptive crowd and a great lineup (you can actually see the opening tune badly filmed here), the general level of bad decision making throughout the day was the key.  Knowing that we were in a field by mid afternoon and not playing until after sundown, our plan was to go beer/water/beer/water to stay ‘sober’.  14 waters later, we hit the stage . . . 

Puff: Hasn’t happened yet.

What are three words that best describe you?

Boyne: Cue. Green. Slime.

Scarfo: Stubborn, fun and gassy.

Puff: ***Note: Puff didn’t answer this one.  After reading his answers so far, I’m going to answer on his behalf: “Best Human Whiskey”.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Dishonesty regarding high levels of banana consumption can really set me off.
  2. People really have a hard time distinguishing between the names “Ken” and “Cody” and understanding which of them we are ‘fer’ and which we are ‘agin’.
  3. Capri Pizza is worth the drive to Windsor.

Boosters, Cuddles and Head Injuries

News From The Week That Was

Apologies for the lack of update last week, between work being nuts, getting boosted and some family stuff, I simply ran out of time.  As for news for this week, another new song was created in The Cube, though it certainly has some work to be done on it before it actually becomes anything.  Edits and mixes are continuing on the new album and we are moving forward nicely with that.  Lastly, today marks the beginning of our new feature, “Get to know your Whiskey!”  We blatantly ripped some questions from the “Exclaim!” questionnaire, but there are some additional questions added in as well.  Enjoy getting to know us, dinks.

Get to know your Whiskey!

Why do you live where you do?

Boyne: Everyone I love is here, it’s where I’ve always been.  I work here and love what I do.

Scarfo: I was recently evicted, so this is a bit of a jerk question.  I am in the process of moving to Galt for three reasons – 1. That is where my family lives; 2. It is very, very close to the Farm League Brewing tap room (stumbling distance) and 3. The aforementioned eviction.

Puff: It’s close to family.

What are the best and worst purchases you’ve ever made?

Boyne: Best, my last PC. The worst was the laptop I bought to replace it.

Scarfo: I should probably say something about my Les Paul, but I bought an air fryer a couple of hours ago that I am pretty pumped about.  As for worst, I took my chances on a Cleveland Browns “surprise box” from China recently – it came with 4 Browns masks that don’t fit me, 4 crocheted bracelets, a phone case that didn’t fit my phone and a hoodie that Linz immediately took.

Puff:  I’d say my ’86 Gibson Melody Maker has been my best. My worst purchase was a POS car that was a financial black hole.

How do you prefer to end your day?

Boyne: Reading myself to sleep.

Scarfo: By lying down in my bed?  A nice cup of tea in the evening is very relaxing and a little RDR2 is nice as well.  Something about a cup of hot Royal English Breakfast tea and shooting O’Driscolls in their penises that makes me settle right in.

Puff: Cuddlin’ with me wife.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. It is possible to not laugh while watching a 7 year old smash his head off of a cupboard door and hit the ground.  Not easy, but possible.
  2. When an impressionable young adult asks, “Can we do a celebrity death bowl?”, you don’t correct them on the bowl/pool issue, you just say yes.
  3. Euro shouting lyrics never gets old.

A Year Departs, Fresh Starts and Farts

News From The Week That Was

With the holidays, this has been a light week in terms of productivity for Fighting Whiskey.  There were some small mixing changes for “Hesitant” on the upcoming album, but we will be getting back to it in earnest in the new year.  In the meantime, as an end of year note, Puffer, Boyne and I wanted to thank everyone who has given the tracks a listen, told a friend and/or just said something nice about the project.  It has been a lot of fun going through the year of “Dandelions” and we are really looking forward to the year of “Crying”, or as Boyne calls it, every year.

Also, now available – a page for the third Whiskey – Puffer. Check it out here!!


Starting next week, we’ll be doing our “Get to know your Whiskey” feature with a few questions answered by each of the boys.  If you want to have your own question answered by all of us, just submit to questions@fightingwhiskey.ca.  From all of us to all of you, may 2022 be better than 2021 and please, don’t whiskey too hard on NYE.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Giving a magic 8 ball to a child who still believes in magic is a HORRIBLE idea.
  2. Chimpanzees do not have tails.
  3. If, while in range of a Google mini you say, “Hey google, fart!” – it will.

News, Reviews and Survey Blues

News From The Week That Was

A few notes before the holiday season from your barrel aged friends with punchable faces.  First off, a huge thank you to Divide and Conquer music for their in depth review of Dandelions and Failure.  You can read it here!

Another ‘acoustifying’ week in The Cube as the set list grows. As you can see from the picture, Scarfo tends to ham it up whenever cameras are around, Boyne gives zero shits.  This coming week will likely be quiet on the productive front as we are all taken over by family obligations, but never fear, 2022 will soon be here.

Additionally, while we have finished our current round of “Fighting Whiskey Recommends”, we will be bringing out a new ‘Get to Know Your Whiskeys” feature in the new year.  Learn about the madness beyond the method to our madness.

Finally, we officially exist on Facebook.  You can search Fighting Whiskey and give us a like.  We gave you a free album, c’mon, give us a like.  Once the page has its own URL, I will post both here and as a button at the bottom of the site.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. What REM sounds like is very subjective.
  2. Random surveys can hurt my feelings.
  3. When my girlfriend is making a gingerbread house, shouting “Push it!!!” over and over again at her is not considered moral support.

Fingers, Mouths and Joy

News From The Week That Was

The fingers have taken a real beating this week as we continue to ‘acoustify’ a lot of the Dandelions and Failure songs.  “Stay the Same” was a challenge, but this week we were able to create a version that we think may very much work in a live acoustic setting. 

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Who? Murder By Death

What? In Bocca Al Lupo

Why?

One of the most overlooked albums from one of the most overlooked bands you can imagine – even the band themselves ranked it low among their own list of albums.  Still, this was an absolute game changer for me.  It was one of those records that I listened to multiple times a day everyday for years.  Story songs, heavy themes of outlaws and a voice like Johnny Cash – it grabs you a little on the first listen and gets better and better with every subsequent listen.  It can be hard to find on streaming services, but there are videos of “Sometime the Line Walks You” and “Brother” kicking around on Youtube.  This is it, this is the record.  I will never dream of making anything this great. 

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Impersonating a dead celebrity can bring joy to a joyless man.
  2. My cat can accurately predict the outcome of a football game within 3 points.
  3. When someone says, “the person who baked these cookies said you couldn’t have any,” there is a good chance that they are lying, cookie thieving jerks.

Smoking, Stealing and Splotching

News From The Week That Was

Welcome back – another week plugging away in The Cube as the new album takes shape.  After last week’s powwow, a lot of mixing changes happened, not a glorious thing, but a necessary one.  Needless to say, the new giant ashtray helped with this.  Mixing goes with smoking like morning coffee.

Additionally, Puffer added acoustic guitar lines to “Hesitant” and we have lyrics for another new one, tentatively titled, “The Storm”.  This was a result of a writing challenge from Boyne to Scarfo.  Actual conversation from two weird dudes:

Scarfo: Give me something to write about.

Boyne: Manifest destiny.

Scarfo: Already did one about that for FTHW.

Boyne: Reverse Racism.

Scarfo: I hate you.

Challenge accepted – spoiler alert, the song does not come out on the side that it actually exists.

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Boyne’s #2 – Moseley Shoals

Who?: Ocean Colour Scene

What?: Moseley Shoals

Why?:

This is one of the most important albums in my life.  It is perfect, I used to cover these songs all the time as a kid playing chip joints and coffee houses. They made me a better songwriter and singer. I didn’t often say who wrote them mostly because this album would be half my set and that’s just embarrassing. But if someone asked I would gush about how great they were and I continue to do so today.

If you like ya know “music” you should give this a go.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Alexander the Great’s sister died and became a mermaid.**
  2. Being a ‘good winner’ takes practice.
  3. I apparently have splotchy skin and usually stink before noon.

**Not a verified fact.

New Tunes, Old Croons and Side Hustles

News From The Week That Was

Is everyone as excited as Boyne (pictured) about the recording process?  A double session this week as we finished the bones of a new song and did a review of what we feel might be ready to go for the newest album.  We have 5 songs that we are confident are ready and 7 more that may need a little tweaking.  Your newest Fighting Whiskey release may not be that far off!

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Scarfo’s #2 – Greatest Stories Live

Who? Harry Chapin

What? Greatest Stories Live

Why?

Okay, so I cheated again, picking a live album.  This hadn’t even been on my radar for this list until I found myself on a long drive back from Windsor last week.  It was kicking around in my car’s CD changer (it’s an ‘06 Yaris – live with the jealousy) and as each song passed, I remembered more and more how underrated and undervalued he was.

Known primarily as the “Cat’s in the Cradle” guy, Harry Chapin was a master storyteller and this delivers what it promises – some of his greatest stories, live in Los Angeles.  He has fun with the crowd between tunes and with his band – the songs are above and beyond great.  If you’ve ever had a dream, “Mr. Tanner” will break your heart, “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” will make you laugh and “A Better Place To Be” is both the greatest story song and greatest love song ever written.  I’m not adding a humble “IMO” to that – bow before the facts of Scarfo.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Trying to relearn a song that you had written, recorded and forgotten how to play is a frustrating and humbling experience.
  2. Boyne may have a secret second job trying to sell Youtube Premium subscriptions.
  3. There is a good time to be evicted.

***Note: For those wondering about the potato with a face from last week, a quick update.  “Mr. Potato” is having a rough time, feeling depressed and spent last weekend watching TV on his laptop and knocking back cartons of milk.  Your plant based thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

New Toys, Old Stories and Friendly Potatoes

News From The Week That Was

More of a writing and recording week in The Cube than an acoustic conversion focus over the last 7 days.  Vocals were laid down on a new song, tentatively titled “Run”.  Also, Boyne was able to play with his new toy (see pic), which isn’t nearly as dirty as it sounds.  Even in our 40s, birthdays can be fun.

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Boyne’s #2 – City Pop

Who? Benny Sings 

What? City Pop

Why?

At the height of the 2020 lock down I listened to it just about every day for about three months.

It was my escape. It was just about the only thing I wanted to listen to.  It had me completely transfixed, and excited about music in a way I hadn’t felt since I was a kid listening to the radio and playing video games.

A time when a song I liked was based on what I liked, and had nothing to do with how cool it was, or if anybody else liked it.

When I sang those songs to myself and sometimes aloud while I skated, played basketball or just on the playground, to pump myself up to skate faster, hit a basket or whatever.

I do that a bit with these songs now.

It may be a little cheezeball here and there but it is beautiful in its brilliant simplicity and universal appeal.

Think Michael Mcdonald meets Stevie Wonder. And if that doesn’t do it for you then I don’t care. Try it anyway. You are wrong, it’s a wonderful thing.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Be careful who is in earshot when you shout, “Sweetie, anything else to add to the grocery list”.  It may lead to a 10 year old shouting, “Potato!”.
  2. Potatoes aren’t just for eating, they also can be for drawing faces on.
  3. Trusting me to write lyrics to a song on a topic that I am fired up about can lead to thoughtful words until the last two lines.  The last two lines end up being mostly f-bombs.

Bank, Bush and Miller Time

News From The Week That Was

We made up for lost time from last week and went hard on the acoustic conversion front this week.  There is a set that is really coming together well and we are pretty pumped about it.  Also, another newer skeleton of a song in the bank – the creative process keeps on rolling.  Going forward, we are going to have some exciting announcements about merch and a special ‘outtake’ real for those who have downloaded the record in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned!

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Scarfo’s #3 – Rock Against Bush, Volume I

Who?  Various Artists

What? Rock Against Bush, Volume I

Why?

Okay, so I cheated a little bit with this one.  In the before times, the long, long ago, when you were looking for new bands, one of the best approaches was compilation albums.  A record label would release a ‘comp’ with tracks from different artists – you could hear 20 different bands in one place and figure out whose sound you were interested in before the days of Spotify.  

This was one of the all time great comps – usually you would get 2 or 3 tracks that worked for you.  Of the 26 songs on this comp, there are more than 20 absolute bangers.  There were heavy hitters like The Offspring (when they were still punk), Sum 41 and Rise Against, but a lot of the heavy lifting is done by bands like Alkaline Trio and an amazing Less Than Jake tune that has Billy Bragg singing on a verse.  We may be well beyond being concerned about the election of George W. Bush (seems quaint in hindsight, doesn’t it??), but the tunes are well worth a listen.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. When seeing someone on a kids tv show get hit in the junk, I laugh harder than the 10 year old in the room.  I may need help.
  2. If your boss calls at 11am and asks if you are napping, “No, but I am planning to go down soon, so, ya know, tick tock . . .” is apparently an acceptable response.
  3. It may be worth paying extra for Miller Lite simply for the joy of shouting ‘it’s Miller time!’ in The Cube.  We all need help.

A Friend, The Frond and Marked Sticks

News From The Week That Was

This week saw us have a bit of a ‘life gets in the way sometimes’ situation in terms of the acoustic conversion process.  Still, Puffer and Scarfo were able to get some real work done on converting “Had a Friend” and hammered out some of the yet unreleased “Shivers and Shakes”.  Additionally, Scarfo was able to lay down the beginnings of yet another new track.  Scarfo is a machine! (says Scarfo…)  The audience in The Cube (Carey, Pacitti, Halloween Cat and Homer) went wild.

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Boyne’s #3 – New River Head

Who? The Bevis Frond

What? New River Head

Why?

This double album is inspiring on every level to me.

“The Frond” will never get their due – that has been established since their inception in 1987.

I am just doing my itty bitty best to get the word out.

This is an excellent place to start, however damn near every album is, if you can dig this you will dig em all.

Recommended especially if you like hawkwind power pop and psychedelia in general.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Crudely drawn mild pornography can be a thoughtful and heartwarming gift.
  2. Despite shunning geography in university, I am a heck of a map builder.  Eat it, Laurier.
  3. Technology can’t ever improve upon a well marked stick.  Long live the stick.

Stripping Down, Tearing Out and Throwing Up

News From The Week That Was

Another week of acoustic practice this week – we are looking to get ourselves into a position where we can play sets not only as a full band, but broken down to just acoustic as well.  As we’ve worked on them, we feel that we are really rediscovering these songs and getting to know them on a new level.  There are acoustic versions of Dandelions songs and a smattering from what will eventually become “Songs About Crying” (working title).

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Scarfo’s #4 – Has Disappeared Into The Mystic Dawn

Who? SexDwarf

What? Has Disappeared Into The Mystic Dawn

Why? 

I suppose we are about to find out if Boyne actually reads these as I am gonna get yelled at tomorrow if he does… 

Still, I don’t care.  One of the best records to come out of the 519 this century, Has Disappeared Into The Mystic Dawn is an absolute masterpiece, growing on you with every listen.  “Tear it Out” is usually the track that grabs people first, but the more and more you listen, the more songs reach out and get hold of you.  Give this a go, and give it more than one go.  Now, go!  (After reading the 3 things …)

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. “Grandma, we have to stop and get a glockenspiel” is making a case for being one of the greatest sentences that I have ever heard.
  2. For never having played piano before, Puff can be pretty territorial about his piano part in Old Gil.
  3. When leaving the cube after 3am, you may have to step over vomited jello shooters and 20 year olds.

Context-less Vocals, Boyne Questions Your Vision and Ineffective Rallying Cries

News From The Week That Was

This week in The Cube was a layering and mixing week.  Scarfo made some adjustments to “Lately” and “Heart Attack Santa”, but the real progress was made by Boyne on the mic.  Backing vocals were added to “Lately” (Necessitating the mixey mix) and full vocals were added to a new song that is currently without a working title but that we are very excited about.  

Fun story about that – Euro joined us to be a ‘fly on the wall’ during the vocal recording for the new song.  When you are in the room for vocal recordings, the music is only in headphones, so without headphones, you are hearing vocals with no context whatsoever.  He joined us as Boyne was soulfully emoting the words “Dick” and “Prick”.  The reaction ruined the take as laughter bled onto the recording, but was well worth it.

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Boyne’s #4 – For Beginner Piano

Who? Plone

What? For Beginner Piano

Why?

I have really grown to love the Boyne blurbs:

Imagine yourself living in the retro-futuristic world portrayed in Terry Gilliam’s 1985-movie “Brazil”.

You dig?

This sounds like that, only better … depending on what you envision.

Actually, on second thought, if you can imagine that, just go make that album and don’t listen to this.

Then when you are done making it, show it to me, and then go listen to this.

Fyi

I like this a bunch so you will have a lot to live up to.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Throwing a pack of socks at someone and yelling, “FOR CAMBRIDGE!!!” is not the effective rallying cry I had hoped it would be.
  2. The term “I’m having a drink and think” is really catching on.
  3. Euro is good with advice: “Boyne, I don’t know how to say this, but you need to hold your ‘dick’ longer.”

Acoustics, Throwback Emo and Dirty Knees

News From The Week That Was

A bit of a cleanup and updating week in The Cube.  We have some newer shells of songs and did some acoustic layering on what already existed.  Fairly low key, but such is the pace when everyone has jobs …

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Scarfo’s #5 – Deja Entendu

Who? Brand New

What? Deja Entendu

Why?

From Scarfo:

You may know the second track “Sic, Transit, Gloria” from it’s very brief stint on the radio in the mid 2000s, but this album is so much more than just that song.  There isn’t a clunker on the whole record – it varies song to song, but definitely maintains a theme throughout.  Long after I had been listening to this album regularly I noticed something – the first line, “I’m sinking like a stone in the sea . . .” and the last line, “ . . . need you like water in my lungs” tie together.  When I realized this, it gave the record a whole new context as it came together as a cohesive story – an exploration of how a man’s first sexual experience shaped his view of relationships for years to come.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. The new ‘in’ thing for 10 year olds is having dirty knees.
  2. Recording acoustic guitar can lead me to unheard of levels of rage.
  3. Scarfo acoustic rage is Boyne unbridled joy.

Writing, Recommending and Learning

News From The Week That Was

It has been a writing week here in The Cube.  As has been noted on the Dandelions release page, as we were writing that album, we also had a number of songs that were softer, piano based tunes that didn’t really fit.  Those are now being worked on to create a completely separate release, tentatively titled “Songs About Crying”.  If you preferred the acoustic version of Old Gil to the original or think we are “ . . . just too darn loud”, this will be the album for you.  This week saw vocals being added to “Ugliness in You” as pictured at the side.

We’ll be talking more and more about this album as it comes together.  At the moment, we have 14 songs in various stages of completion.  If we follow the Dandelions pattern, we will likely land somewhere between 16-18 total and pick the best to go on the record.  Rumours that there may be a tribute to “Heart Attack Santa” as mentioned in last week’s 3 things.

Fighting Whiskey Recommends

Boyne’s #5 – American Teenage Rock N Roll Machine

Who? The Donnas

What? American Teenage Rock ‘n Roll Machine

If you like, you’ll like: The Ramones, the Runways and those who wanna feel waaaay cooler than they could ever be in real life.

Why? From Chris Boyne:

“If the title doesn’t sell it, I cannot help you.  You are beyond all reasonable help.  I don’t have time for your shit.”

Trust me it delivers on what it promises and more.”

With a blurb like that, doesn’t it make more sense that we wrote a song called Smug?

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

  1. Politely saying to your cat “Please don’t put your butthole in my face” is the quickest way to get a face full of butthole.
  2. Some people should not shave their heads.
  3. After a few beers, referring to said people as being trailblazers for the effeminate Nazi movement can hurt feelings. 

Live Acoustic “Old Gil”

News About News

We are aiming to get a news update to you once per week.  There will be updates on the writing and recording of the follow up record to “Dandelions and Failure”, any video and pics that come along.  Also, starting next week, Boyne and I will begin a series sharing from our lists of albums you may not have heard but will totally fall in love with.  Finally, there will be the resurrection of the infamous “Three Things I’ve Learned This Week”.

Live from The Cube

“Old Gil” Acoustic, Live from The Cube

As you can see above, we recorded a live acoustic version of “Old Gil” from Dandelions and Failure.  It certainly varies from the original – Boyne has referred to it as the “Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack” version – I assume that is derogatory, but luckily, I have never seen the show.

A huge thank you to two great guests – first off, Puff working the piano.  Puff arrived as we were setting up for this, and being that he played the acoustic guitar on the album version, we really wanted him to get involved.  I asked Boyne what he thought would work and he said ‘Piano’.  When Puff explained to Boyne that he didn’t play the piano, Boyne was not going to let that get in the way.  We taught him a couple of quick chords and not only did he nail it, he threw in some subtle (but kickass) harmony vocals on a chorus or two.  Additionally, Linz joined us playing her foot tambo – a really great percussive addition.

Enjoy, share, like, subscribe, all that good stuff.

Three Things I’ve Learned This Week

As a throwback to the FTHW days, with each of these posts, I will be adding three things that I’ve learned in the previous week.  They are completely out of context lessons, but we aim to educate and entertain here at Fighting Whiskey headquarters.  Without further ado…

  1. Meeting a man you immediately nickname “Heart Attack Santa” is not the funniest thing that will happen in a day.  Watching him fall out of the back of a pickup truck is.
  2. Eating healthier leads to tiny poops.  Not cool.
  3. We are all living in the shadow of Dale Dorado.