PS: In answer to a visitor inquiry, the email address request is so that the comments come from real folks and not salesbots. No need for little blue pills, fake diplomas, or replica watches here, thanks!

During that time, Buck and David were working on Dolores Dagenais’ album BIG GIRL ART due out this spring. Also during this layoff from cutting Comets tracks, David and Howard Rabkin prepped for and played the Stateside Gathering in Cleveland this summer.

We bring this up because A BIRD IN OUR HOUSE features David and Buck AND Howard. Howard plays bass, Buck plays mandolin, (a Comets first) and sings harmony as well. David composed the song and sings, plays guitar and keyboards and handled the production.

David has described the song as being about his family’s first television. He has also acknowledged that it’s about death. Which, when you think about it, could be one and the same thing! It’s the contemplative side of the Comets and we hope you enjoy it.

We also hope you’ll add a comment here. Come on, weigh in – on the song, the band, the universe or the superiority of your pets over all other animals on the planet.. We love your comments; they keep is on our toes.

Oh, and for those new to the site, A BIRD IN OUR HOUSE is the first tune on the player in the upper right of the page!

“It was a good break from the Comets”, said Buck, “and a bit of a change for Dolores whose past recordings have been mostly solo work.”

Dolores wrote the songs, a broad,  lyrically driven selection ranging from sultry ballads through topical pieces to joyous uptempo tunes. She sang them and played acoustic rhythm guitar. Buck accompanied her on acoustic and electric guitars, lap steel, dobro and mandolin. David oversaw the production and chipped in with keyboards, percussion, harmonica and backing vocals.

“We love Dolores’ songs and her evocative singing”, said David. “We hope to talk her into an appearance on a Postcard Comets track this year!”

Dolores Dagenais’ CD Big Girl Art is scheduled for release in the Spring of 2010. Check back here for more details!

But that’s not all that’s been going on in Songville. The intensely wet summer moved Buck to build an ark in his basement only to have to dissemble it when he realized it wouldn’t go out the back door. David played the Stateside Gathering this summer with honorary Comet Howard Rabkin. As it turned out, the torrential rain they drove through on the return trip made them regret not bringing Buck’s Ark. There’s a rough clip of their performance on youTube if you haven’t seen it (and it’s fair to say that the majority of the world has not). In the clip they appear to be relatively dry at that particular point in the adventure.

OK, enough deflection. Let’s admit here and now that the musical leviathan known as POSTCARD COMETS has not been as productive in the posting of new songs this past six months. But they’ve vowed to change their slothful ways and get some new tracks up here on the website pretty soon. There’s even talk of a recording project with Howard Rabkin if he can tear himself away from the other 12 bands to which he belongs.

Will they post new work? Yes. Will they continue to post for the following 12 months without fail? Well, first David has to go into CNN detox and as for Buck, there’s been some dark talk about a dirigible…

Thanks for listening, everyone and here’s to a healthy and productive 2010!

Tweaks Tatum
Official Corporate Spokesperson
for
POSTCARD COMETS

But this is not about my absence of hand tool savvy. It’s about the fact that I had to shut off the water to the entire household to attend to the task at hand. Because I had to remove the taps and the sink and the attached drain, the water had to be off. Even I knew that.

This meant a significant number of hours without water. Now, I have a friend who lives part of the week in a cabin with no running water. He showers at the local KOA campground. But I am not such a hearty soul. I like my taps to flow, my toilet to flush and my shower head to rain down clean clear, temperature-controlled water.

All of this has me thinking about wonders taken for granted: the love of my family, yes, electricity, certainly, and even the blessed miracle of garbage pickup. But it may not surprise some that it also has me thinking about music.

I record regularly with a certain musician. For purposes of anonymity, let’s call him “Buck”. Buck and I record together as a band. Let’s, for fun, call this band “Postcard Comets”. What Buck and I do not do with any regularity as Postcard Comets is perform live. When an opportunity to play in Cleveland this month arose, Buck’s family obligations prevented him from going. That and the fact that he’s wanted in at least fifteen states.

Now, by rights, I should have been screwed. Based on compelling prior evidence, I do not rate my talents as a solo performer. So did I turn down the gig? I did not. I picked up the phone and called another friend of many years. For the purposes of this story, let’s call him “Howard Rabkin”. Howard is a bassist, guitarist and singer of no small ability. He went with me to Cleveland and I think it’s fair to say that the gig went fine, primarily because I have a resource like Howard that can be relied on to elevate the quality of my music and my life.

Parallel to all of this, I’ve been working with a singer songwriter called Dolores Dagenais. She asked me to produce her next album. Because I love her work, I accepted. Now, Dol, did not ask me to produce her because I’m a great musician or a fabulous producer or because I’m devilishly handsome (although this must have played some part… a small part, tiny even. OK, none.) She asked because she likes the recordings I’ve produced for Postcard Comets.