Valet Confidential

Find out what I've been keeping under my hat

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Buy Our Record – Support Community Radio

7 Inches in HeavenFor the fourth year in a row, I am the Artist Wrangler/Associate Producer of a record about records, “7 Inches in Heaven“. It’s a 7” 33 & 1/3 rpm compilation record filled with songs about records.

For the past four years, I’ve helped my pal DJ Belinda of the Bubbles in the Think Tank radio show make a compilation record for Record Store Day. Each year we get six musicians to contribute unreleased songs and get a couple of artists to create artwork for the labels and record jacket – all of it donated. Then we fund the initial record printing via a Kickstarter campaign and … voila … we end up with a limited run of 300 records. Half the proceeds from the record go to community radio station WMFO (91.5FM in Medford, MA) and the other half helps us make future records.

You can pre-order “7 Inches in Heaven” right now and we’ll ship it to you as soon as we have it in our hot little hands. We’re planning a packing & shipping party for Saturday which should get most of the records to purchasers in time for Record Store Day (Saturday April 18), so please go visit love.bubblesinthethinktank.com and buy the record – it’s a labor of love that we would love to share with you.

We’re pretty thrilled with this year’s record – as Belinda put it, it’s one of the best four records we’ve ever done! We have music from:

Dot Wiggin Band – that’s Dot Wiggin from The Shaggs – their album “Philosophy of the World” is included in Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Most Influential Albums of All Time”

Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby – Eric is probably best known for the classic Stiff Records track “Whole Wide World” and Amy for her album “Diary of a Mod Housewife” – together they’ve been making music together for 8 years.

Zoë Lewis – Zoe’s one of my favorite entertainers – a real joyful performer. The Boston Herald said Zoe mixes “Quirky lyrics, a little jazz, a little salsa, and a lot of enjoyment”

J. Cournoyer– You may know him from Calamity J and the Giants, drummer for any number of Cape Cod greats (Spampinato Brothers, Link Montana, High Kings, Lester), or even playing with Mumble & Peg(!).  Now you will know him as a member of the Bubbles in the Think Tank Stable of Stars!

The Marconis – the newest project of Sal Baglio of The Stompers, Woodpeckers and, often The Catbirds! A musician with a bag o’ songs and one ol’ soft shoe…

And introducing that up and comer Chandler Travis – John Donohue of The New Yorker says that Chandler writes “playful original songs that mix mind-bending wordplay with jazz, shimmering rock, and horn-fuelled R & B.”

This package promises to be one you’ll never want to put down with the incredible cover designed by Courtney Waite  and the most fabulous label and vinyl from  J.D. King.

Oh, and there are bonus download songs included!

We have 2015 version of Fred “Freddy” Stockwell’s “Hooray For Record Store Day”, this year performed by the enigmatic Swampy Junior & Swami.

The Tom Hambridge song “12 Inches”, which was co-written by the aforementioned Sal Baglio.

And two versions of one of the all-time great songs about records, “Records Go ‘Round”.  We have the original version recorded by Men & Volts from the belatedly released “Boomtown” (recorded c1984, released 2015!) and we a recording by then 9-year old Jack Moriarity on guitar & vocals with his dad Pat on drums – believe-you-me, it’s chock-full of youthful exuberance!

So please, won’t you buy our record? Orders in advance of Record Store Day will get some cool swag (we have buttons & stickers & other cool things from several bands) in addition to the record!

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We’re making another record and need your help!

Rosemary Clooney - BITTT triptych

Oh dear readers, won’t you please help us make another record about records for Record Store Day?

For the fourth year in a row, I’m the Associate Producer/Artist Wrangler for this project from Bubbles in the Think Tank Records.  “7 Inches in Heaven” is a compilation of previously unreleased songs about records that we’re going to release just in time for Record Store Day 2015 (Saturday April 18).  The last three have been absolutely fabulous and this year’s model looks to be equally fantastic.  Oh, and half the proceeds we make from the records goes to community radio station WMFO (91.5FM/Medford, MA)

Read all about it and donate on the project’s Kickstarter page – the good folks at Kickstarter already made it a “staff pick”, so you’ll totally be one of the cool kids by donating!

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What Does Heaven Mean To You? Send Us Your Video!

Belinda & January Fairy - photo by Abe Perlstein

7 Seconds in Heaven. You know, like the party game, only shorter.

We’re starting work on the next Bubbles in the Think Tank record about records for Record Store Day, “7 Inches in Heaven.” Once again we’ll be launching a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the manufacturing the record and we’re looking for videos from our friends and listeners that we may use in our Kickstarter video.

We want you to send us a 7-second long video of what heaven means to you. Make it simple or elaborate: just you talking, various shots edited together, voiceover or talking head, serious or fun, just as long as it’s made with love.

Email your video to heaven@bittt.me

Hopefully we’ll use it in our Kickstarter video and you can show off to all your friends!

Think of it as our little mutual slice of heaven.

xo

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One Last Plea For Your Love and Money

family---appreciate-recordsWe’re down to the last few days for our Kickstarter campaign for “7 Inches & Other Delights” – the 3rd Record about Records for Record Store Day from the Ever-Embiggening Staff of Bubbles in the Think Tank.

We sure want to thank those of you who contributed to the project, and would like to make a last-minute appeal to those of you who have not yet contributed and to those of you who might consider increasing your pledge.

Those of you who haven’t yet contributed – please check out the details – if you love real honest-to-goodness vinyl records and/or dig themed compilations, then this project is for you!  We’re even offering the two previous releases among the many rewards available to contributors/backers.  You can check out my summation of the project here, and our kickstarter campaign here.  We’re even lining up bonus download tracks – one of which will be a rare Blotto track previously released only as the B-Side of a single!

I do want to point out one of the rewards that have yet to be taken advantage of – for $250 you get the opportunity to have a short subliminal message on the record. Come on! How cool is THAT!?!?

For anyone who increases their pledge, DJ Belinda will send you several of her favorite songs about records which were released outside of the our projects – I don’t know what they are, but I bet they’re great.

If we manage to surpass our goal, we have a few really cool additional features we’re looking into – trust me, they will not disappoint!

So here again is our Kickstarter campaign:

And here’s an awesome remix of our promo video by my high school buddy and our label artist for “7 Inches & Other Delights”, Deane Arnold:

So please – help us give you the best possible package we can imagine.  I double-dong dare you to!

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“I don’t want to make money, I just want to be wonderful”

quote-i-don-t-want-to-make-money-i-just-want-to-be-wonderful-marilyn-monroe-129267

or: I learn to channel my inner Marilyn

For the third year in a row, I’m going to be the Artist Wrangler/Associate Producer for the Bubbles in the Think Tank record about records for Record Store Day 2014.

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Somehow I’ve become a record company exec

I’m the Associate Producer and Artist Wrangler for the second annual Record about Records for Record Store Day to be produced by the ever-embiggening staff over at Bubbles in the Think Tank.  This year’s edition is “Eponymously Entitled” and we just started taking advance orders for the record over at love.bubblesinthethinktank.com

That’s right … “record” … real vinyl … 7 inches of it, in fact.  Last year we made a purple record, “The Petite 7 Inch Record.”  This year we did something completely different.  We made a clear record.

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LISTS

It’s a new year and everyone and their cousin is making a list. Or two. Or more. Do we really need another from me?

Well, my friend Todd Remley tagged me on his “Top 15” list on Facebook, and my friend Belinda, at Bubbles in the Think Tank has her list and talked to me about mine, so I guess there are two people in this world who care.
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