Wednesday, December 21, 2005

If I Run I Can Free My Worried Mind

A Cold Dan WilsonWhat do you do after your band is put on semi-permanent hiatus because three albums only produced one hit? Everything. Members of Semisonic are ridiculously prolific since putting the brakes on the band best known for Closing Time.

Drummer Jacob Slichter wrote a great read on the Semisonic story and the burdens of high expectations in the music business. The unfortunately named So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star is a must for anybody who's wanted to know how a band grows, hits, and sputters.

Bassist John Munson has a few music projects currently underway. The most recent is The New Standards, a jazz trio that just released a CD full of curious covers. Consider this the jazz version of the Moog Cookbook. He's also in a band, either called The Flops or The Dark Nights (with Matt Wilson, Dan's brother). I don't think that's quite finalized, although The Flops already have released music. Finally, Munson is evidently a student of Chinese traditional music, although, I'm not quite convinced that's legit.

Guitarist and chief songwriter Dan Wilson is not taking a break either. The most talented member of Semisonic (in my opinion) has produced, written, and sung with others (including Glen Phillips of Toad, Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing, and even the Dixie Chicks) over the past couple of years. He's also had time to record his own original music, and evidently, his new CD will be released under the Warner/Reprise umbrella sometime in spring or summer.

And don't forget where they got started: Trip Shakespeare.

Phew. I'm exhausted just writing about them. Enjoy some downloads and previews:

MP3: Pleasure (Semisonic) - If I Run (demo) (via)
MP3 Preview: The New Standards - The New Pollution (Beck cover) (via)
MP3: The Flops - Drummer Like Me (via)
MP3: Dan Wilson - Everything I Own (Bread cover) (via)
MP3: Dan Wilson - What a Year for a New Year (via)

No comments: