Information, photos, canned interview,
song summery, photos, more...for the duo ALIEN BLUE and their debut CD
release "An Alien Blue" (profits from many locations go to arts charitites,
like the YMCA's various scholarship funds).
"AN ALIEN BLUE"
Alien Blue's first release is "An Alien Blue" and features original predominantly original music, plus some surprises! Alien Blue is David (guitar & Vox) and Blue (vocals). Visit the main ALIEN BLUE page.
***Here is the CD cover:
***Here are some quotes from fellow musicians:"Spooky, celtic, magical--these words come to mind when I listen to Alien Blue. Michael Hedges jamming with a river nymph somewhere in Wales." Debra DeSalvo (guitarist, solo artist)
"I’m very impressed!" Mika "Mr. Fastfingers" Tyyska (guitarist, Elektrik Pyjamas)
"Highly evocative and wonderfully original, Michael Hedges meets Dead Can Dance." Philip High (guitarist, solo artist)
"Sounds great!" Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (guitarist/producer, solo artist, Guns-n-Roses)
"Wow - your playing is awesome. Steve Vai type of unique!" Dario Santa Ana (guitarist, solo artist)
"Educated, talented, and inspired. What more can you ask for? Excellent stuff!" Mikhal Caldwell (guitarist/solo artist)
Listen to the songs at MySpace and JamWave. ***Here is the track listing:
"Tailbone Blues" "Revenge" "The Wind and the Sand" (instrumental)
"Hush" "Desperation" "Fade Away"
"Tap Dance (part 1) (live)" (instrumental) "Dream" "Rose (live!)"
===BONUS TRAX===
"Shenendoah" "Amazing Grace"(instrumental) "Breath (electric)"
"Grave", "DI", and "Breath" have already captured the NUMBER 1 slots at various charts, and top spots at other sites (IndieMoosic, JamWave, Unsigned Direct, Soundclick, MySpace, and more). Then next single will be "Amazing Grace", followed by "Breath (electric)".
"Tap Dance" is also available (with parts 2 & 3) on David's solo album, "HUNGER".
All music (c) 2002-2005 DM McLean, (p) Morgan Star Music, BMI; International copyright secured, all rights reserved.
***Here are photos of the band performing live:
Close-ups from November
2006 CD release party.
This is actually 2 pics spliced
together so y'all can see the crowd as Blue takes the stage.
Here is an interview with guitarist/vocalist David M. McLean:
(feel free to re-print, re-post, or use in articles)
Q: It took a while to record this project, yes?
A: Hahaha! Yeah, it did...well, kind of. We tried several times to get many of these songs done in the studio, but as polished as the trax were, I wasn't happy with the overall feel, and neither was Blue. Finally, just a few months ago (mid-2006), we sat down and said, "Let's do this thing!". I pulled out the old Roland VS-880 and we put it on the floor in our bedroom. I plugged in a couple of mics and we played. It was that simple. We wrote several of the songs, like "Dream" and "Fade Away" and "Revenge", on the spot. What you get is less-than-perfect sound and even less-than-perfect performances. But the feel is so "live" - it's what we really sound like, warts and all. It's an honest representation rather than an uber-gloss, picture perfect performance, and you can almost hear the fun and the sweat. We opted to keep those trax instead of the studio trax.
Then I dug out a couple of live trax, compiled the whole mess, and ta-da!
Q: So, money goes to charity from this? Can you elaborate?
A: Yes. We're using the profits, which vary depending on sales venue but we try to make sure at least $2 per disc goes to charity (though in some cases 100% of the retail price goes to charity!), to pay for arts & other programming for those in need. For example, all sales profits via the YMCA of Central KY are ear-marked for either arts programming in general or the YMCA's Campaign for Kids fund - which is a scholarship fund to pay for ALL YMCA programming for those who can't afford to avail themselves of programs offered by the Y. We're trying to set things up where a charities across the country (well, the planet, actually) can purchase as many discs as they need at wholesale cost and set their own retail price to raise money for their communities.
Q: What can people do in their communities to help?
A: Call your local radio stations and ask them to play your favorite song(s) from "An Alien Blue" and make your favorite charity aware that we've provided this opportunity. We prefer arts charities, but ultimately we don't mind which is your favorite charoty so long as CD sales are helping someone.
Q: How do you control who uses this opportunity to ensure that no one just keeps the profits?
A: I don't. We're on the honor system. I put it out there and hope for the best...relying on human values and karma to keep things straight. Blue and I put a LOT of effort into writing, arranging, performing, recording, compiling, mastering, & choosing these songs as well as conceptualizing the charity plan. My hope is that people will respect those efforts and not take advantage but instead buy it to enjoy the music and sell it to raise money for worthy causes. But if a handful of people abuse it, well, then they do. Maybe a week or a month or a year down the line they'll just donate some cash out of pocket to a worthy cause.
Q: What about illegal downloads & file-sharing.
A: That's a different topic and my views on this are well-known. In a nutshell, however, there is no such thing as illegal downloading depsite what you hear in the press. No one has been sued or arrested for downloading music, depsite what you may have heard. They've been sued, not jailed (it's civil, not criminal we're discussing, then), for distribution...and the RIAA is preying on music fans utilizing a viscious but effective tactic. They sue for outlandish sums and settle for pennies. Their strategy is to rack up wins wuthout seeing the iside of a courtroom, where they run the risk of loosing and setting legal precedent. It's disingenious and disgraceful. They, and the MPA & others like them, lack all sense of honor and are a disgrace to the music industry.
Q: But if people download your CD then no money goes to charity.
A: If people download my CD then I am honored that they enjoy the music. I am also hopeful that they will encourage charities to avail themselves of this revenue-generating opportunity AND that they will perhaps donate a small amount to their favorite non-profit charity with us in mind.
Q: Fair enough. So, what inspired you to give to arts programming and other charities?
A: Because when I wanted to take guitar lessons years ago, I couldn't afford it. If I have any skill at all today, it is in large part due to the good will of fabulous musicians who tolerated my presence and helped me understand concepts and technique and the like. People like Elizabeth Roth, Dr. Alan Beeler, Jeff Wilder (who wrote a cool theory book for guitarists), the EKU music library staff, Mike Froedge, and sooo many others.
Q: You're self-taught?
A: No one is self-taught. We use an instrument developed hundreds of years ago, playing standard & even non-standard tunings developed by others, utilizing song forms and compositional techniques and theoretical concepts developed long before we were born. We are what we are because of the artistry and craftsmanship and genius that came before us - we stand on the shoulders of greatness...and sometimes mediocrity and worse (hahaha!). But...have I had a formal lesson where I pay money to sit in a room and learn something? No, but that's nothing to brag about and I intend to remedy that as soon as my schedule allows.
Q: Can you tell us a little about the songs?
A: Absolutely. We chose some old standards to do because we love them: "Ain't No Grave" and "Hush" and "Rose" and "Shenandoah" and "Amazing Grace". Beautiful songs, all. Some of the music, like I mentioned earlier, was written on the spot in a sort of frenzied spontaneous composition (which really means quickly edited improv), while some songs - "Breath", "DI", and others, we've been performing for a number of years. They've evolved and aged nicely, I think, and it's an honor to perform them with Blue - she's amazing! We decided to keep them all very sparse - no drums or keys or overdubs (we did some extra vocals on "Desperate", which is the one exception) - just like playing live. Then we decided to do a full band version of "Breath" because we performed that with a band once or twice. I played all the instruments, so you can tell I'm not much of a drummer (hahaha!).
Q: Thanx for sharing.
A: Thank you!
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