James Parkington: News Flash

After some production overruns, ins, outs and what have yous, my new CD "Dandelion Eyes" is finished. At this point there is a box of CD's in my living room but it should be available soon on iTunes and through CDBaby.
In other news, I'll be opening up for the Portsmouth band Salt Pine Telegraph at the Press Room on October 10th - pretty excited to play live, it's been about 687 diapers since my last performance...

The yet to be named record is almost done! The official release will have to wait until after the arrival of our yet to be named newborn! We've been busy moving again (down the street) and getting ready to be a family of four. All is well.
I put a few of my favorite recordings - "Downtown" and "Goldrush" here on the website. Stayed tuned... it's still happening...

I posted a rough draft of "Shipwreck" here on JP.com. The final version will appear on the upcoming album. I felt compelled to write this song a few weeks ago. Just going to keep bailing out!

I'm about five songs in to a new record now that the Dennett Street Studio is up and running. I'm giving a fair shot to a few old songs as well as mostly newer ones from the end of '07 through now. So far my favorite recording is "Downtown" - a song for my little Kerris. I'm feeling pretty good about this one. Stay tuned...

I had a great time playing at the Sportsmouth event last weekend at Portsmouth H.S. The party continued afterward at Sarah and Ken Olsen’s house in Greenland where we had a good hoot night out in the back yard with Pierre’s PA system and loop pedal. Sarah’s flute jam was a highlight, as well as Pierre’s acoustic version of Paula Abdoul’s “Straight Up”. For me, it was great to play for people again – it was a Greg Brown/John Prine/Neil Young/Wilco friendly crowd – my kind of peeps.

The "Shine Blue" album is now available on iTunes.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=276389871

Got to love the digital age. As a side note, it turns out that "Texas Holdem' Man" is my most downloaded song to date on iTunes. I figured it would have been "Spacepad"...
FYI, "Spacepad" was named after the casio sound that forms the base of the song. On a spacey note, I was sad to hear that Arthur C Clarke died earlier this week. May his soul drift endlessly to the far reaches of the ever-expanding universe...

The "Shine Blue" CD is now available through CD Baby (or by stopping by the Pots and Pans Studio). It's looking like the tour to promote the album may be in a perpetual planning stage but we'll see... I may go straight to recording the next one when the time is right. In any case, thanks again to all who helped make the album happen (Mal, tic tac, Jo, Andrew, Mike B). The music never stopped...

After a variety of delays, the "Shine Blue" album is being semi-mass produced and will be available in the next few weeks. Thanks to Andrew for finishing up the artwork. I'm psyched about the cover art - big and blue!
I had fun in January recording with Pappy and his dad, Art at the Art Star Studio here in Concord. Shane has some great new songs and I think we got some quality recordings from the sessions for his next album. My only regret is that I didn't get to play my new "Thunder Tube" percussion device.
Shane opened up for "The Grift" and "Seeking Homer" at the Paradise Lounge in Boston a few weeks ago. It was a great show and a fun night out for Mal and I. I got to see a lot of old friends and to meet a distant relative from the Burke clan. I am inspired by Shane and by Seeking Homer to keep rocking on...

The release of "Shine Blue" remains forthcoming - just waiting on some artwork (Mr. Andrew!!!).
Looking back, I had a lot of fun making the recordings - I took my time and got them how I wanted them. Of course, I would have preferred to have the SF session musicians involved (Bones, AJ "Keys" Lambert, Pappy, JD Mayer, Tracy on hand claps, etc..). It's much more fun playing together live. I would have also liked to have figured out my vintage Pioneer spring reverberation amplifier - at least it looks neat! (and I "won" it on eBay)...
Thanks again to my mom, Joanne for helping out on violin, as well as Mike B for laying down some power chords on "Emperor of NH".
Mallory, Kerris and I are moving to Portsmouth, NH as soon as possible and I hope to play out more than I have been lately (Alby - I'll be sure to let you know when I'm playing) and get another recording project going.
It's all happening...

The stork flew in with a beautiful little girl, Kerris Ely Parkington on July 31st 2007. Mallory and I are enjoying the challenge of being new parents and enjoying every moment with our little "papillon".
Copies of the album, "Shine Blue" should be available within the next few weeks - the official release date is still to be determined...

The post production work on my new album - "Shine Blue" is finally done! In advance of the official album release, I've put a few songs here on JP.com - "Sunrise" and "Shine Blue". Thanks to Mallory for lending a critical ear during the mixing and mastering process (currently 4 days past her "due date" and counting...).
Keep on rockin' and keep truckin'...

Documentaries and instrumentals

Check out the trailer to a new documentary film by my cousin, Phoebe Brown:
www.ovariancancerandme.com

I am honored to play a small role with some background music in a deeply personal film that is sure to open eyes and spread awareness on such an important topic.

Recently my mom, Joanne, dropped by the Pots & Pans studio to contribute some mad violin playing skills to the new album. Thanks to Jo for sticking it out and working with me. Working without sheet music and improvising is not necessarily the classically trained musician’s idea of “fun”. For me, it was a lot of fun to record with my mom. The song is yet to be named but will appear on the upcoming release.

Between banging Red Delicious, whaling on the Red Delight, Telecasting and strumming on my mom's old Yamaha acoustic guitar, the tracks have been going down here in NH over the last few months. No time constraints but I'm hoping to release the next album before the next Parkington shows up via stork.

Santa was good to Pots & Pans Records this year! The studio has been expanded to include a glockenspiel, a shiny red drum set ("The Red Delicious") and some improved recording equipment. The 2007 project is kicking off this week with pre-production of a song called "Maine Line". Stop by some time if you want to make an appearance on the next record!

Thanks to everyone who made it to the Arizona on Tuesday night - It was great to see Sean and Shane perform and to join in for a few numbers together. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing the rest of you benevolent folks in town for the holidays!

The "Emperor of NH" instrumental has been added here under the "Music" section. More to come...

I had a great time playing for the students of Proctor Academy last Saturday Night. I got to follow up the evening showing of "Friday Night Lights" as the football team geared up for their game against rivals, Holderness on Sunday. A special thanks to Duncan the drummer and Daniel the bassman who helped liven things up, jamming the night away!
Thanks also to those who stayed to the end and helped close out the night.

The "Orion's Arrow" album is now available on iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=188755064&s=143441
For what it's worth, it's cool to have my recordings available alongside all of the commercially successful stuff. Got to love the digital age!
I'm gearing up for the Arizona/Green Martini show on Friday October 13th (lucky day) and trying to get out and play more around NH.
I also put an Eight Track Derby recording of "Hourglass" here on the website for your perusal.
Rock on!

The new CD, "Orion's Arrow" is now available on CD Baby:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/jparkington2
I will now proceed to figure out what's next...

The new album, "Orion's Arrow" has finally landed! Thanks to Mallory for following through and pushing all the right buttons to make it happen. She also designed the album cover, which I think is really cool.
The CD will be available on CD Baby and iTunes soon - I will post the news here when it is officially available.
I've also added an Eight Track Derby recording of "Night At The Great American" here under the "music" section. More to come...