▲
Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of our loss of my wonderful Grandpa George and today I’m releasing an EP based on some letters he wrote in the early years of his life. It’s called “Dear Dad and Mother” after the introduction he used on most letters. A few years back, my dad was given a large envelope of correspondence and typed up every single one, resulting in a 249 page book that was a surprise gift to family members. I wrote the songs to be very loosely based “snapshots” of these letters. They were recorded quickly and edited minimally to give the music a rougher and more honest feeling. The songs can be streamed for free or purchased for cheap at:http://alecbetterley.bandcamp.com/Special thanks to my amazing artist Gregory Hedderman and this EP’s musical partners Colin Summers, Megan Keely, Caitlin Claessens and David Dawda.I hope you enjoy. More recordings of the “outtakes” from these sessions will be up soon.

Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of our loss of my wonderful Grandpa George and today I’m releasing an EP based on some letters he wrote in the early years of his life. It’s called “Dear Dad and Mother” after the introduction he used on most letters. 

A few years back, my dad was given a large envelope of correspondence and typed up every single one, resulting in a 249 page book that was a surprise gift to family members. 

I wrote the songs to be very loosely based “snapshots” of these letters. They were recorded quickly and edited minimally to give the music a rougher and more honest feeling. The songs can be streamed for free or purchased for cheap at:

http://alecbetterley.bandcamp.com/

Special thanks to my amazing artist Gregory Hedderman and this EP’s musical partners Colin Summers, Megan Keely, Caitlin Claessens and David Dawda.

I hope you enjoy. More recordings of the “outtakes” from these sessions will be up soon.

-
Saturday, 13th April
▲ 1

hello, everyone!  or, well, anyone who will actually see this!

it just seems that life disappears left and right and i never come to update this little home of mine.  nonetheless, a few things are on the horizon.  in either late january or february, i’ll be releasing an ep of songs entitled “dear dad and mother” and inspired by letters written by my late grandfather during his time in college and the service (1930s/40s).  gregory hedderman has already completed the artwork, and i’ve attached an extremely bare, piano-only track from “come back home,” of the tunes i’m working on.  hopefully, the release of this ep will take place alongside that of my friend mr. david dawda, who is also working on completing a project.  stay tuned for a cozy winter release show date. 

as posted below, i’ll be sharing some songs on tuesday night at a really cool event.  i hope some of you can make it.

happy holidays to all!
alec

 

0 plays
-
Friday, 14th December
▲ 20
i’ll be joining my wonderful cousin caitlin, and a host of talented others, at this event on tuesday night.  my set will be a couple quick tunes that were written to/based upon works by shel silverstein.  solo performances have been few and far between, so i am excited for this!

i’ll be joining my wonderful cousin caitlin, and a host of talented others, at this event on tuesday night.  my set will be a couple quick tunes that were written to/based upon works by shel silverstein.  solo performances have been few and far between, so i am excited for this!

(Source: caitsmeissner)

-
Friday, 14th December
▲ 1

yesterday was one of the first days i’ve had in many, many months with *nothing* on my schedule.  that being said, there was plenty of music to be worked on, but it was wonderful to be able to stay in, complete it at my own pace, and take massive breaks for aimless relaxation. 

i’m in the midst of a rather wide variety of musical projects right now; work has commenced on writing the music for “dear dad and mother,” a small collection of short songs based around my grandfather’s letters from a book, compiled by my dad, of the same name.  hopefully that ep, in all its rough and tumble form, will be available in late september.  i’m also collaborating with a queens-based musician on music for “let’s flex,” an interactive kids’ exercise program based on long island, and working to compose a little music for my friend vance’s upcoming webseries “caught in the act.”  plus the toys are working on a full-length LP, which will hopefully see release in the autumntime.

last weekend i finished up two outtakes from the “where you were young” recordings and today i’ve attached one, called “the carriers.”  it’s a bit louder and grittier which is why it was left off the LP, but i’m happy with how it came out.  it takes a lot of influence from “as i lay dying,” one of my favorite books.  it’s un-mastered, so headphones are recommended.

a.

0 plays
-
Saturday, 21st July
▲
on shel silverstein.

my awesome cousin caits and one of her creative partners, tishon, recently published the first issue of the wonderful ‘well and often reader.’  they asked a couple of friends to share thoughts/stories on things from which they derived artistic inspiration.  i wrote a short and simple piece about the (huge) influence shel silverstein has had on my music composing.  i hope you enjoy. 

-
Thursday, 12th July
▲ 1

new recordings, soon.

Hello, fine friends.

Three months have passed since I released my first full-length album (“Where You Were Young”— see below) and while I’ve been happy with the response, I feel it is time to continue moving forward and immediately creating new music.  I’ve set a goal to release an EP’s worth of material - most of it as of this point un-written, by my birthday in late September.  The rough basis for the work will be a book of letters, entitled “Dear Dad and Mother,” as written by my grandfather in his late teens/ twenties and then typed over the course of a year by my father.  Recently, I had some time to commence the songwriting as Nicole and I drove through the South — 4000 miles in 11 days, a ukelele along for the ride.  Though summer flies by and days disappear to work, gigs, social times and everything else, I hope to be squeezing the rest of the writing/recording into a small window of time with the aim of creating a less-produced, simpler and more raw series of recordings. 

In the meantime, I’m close to completing and releasing two outtakes from my bedroom/living room “Where You Were Young” recordings sessions.  Entitled “Red Fields” and “The Carriers,” they’re two tunes with a bit of a more ragged and, at times, heavy feeling — and while they didn’t seem to fit on the album, I’m excited to release them for new ears to hear.  I think that they work well as a small, dual-song release.

If you haven’t already, please download my album for whatever cost - or free! - at alecbetterley.bandcamp.com .  It means a lot to me!  Best wishes from the midst of this hot Brooklyn summer.

-
Thursday, 5th July
▲
“where you were young” released, april 1st, 2012.  hello friends, april has been exciting thus far and is fixin’ to continue being a busy, music-filled month.  my album, “where you were young,” is complete and has been released!  to back up a little bit…. during the winter months i spent the vast majority of my free time drinking coffee, hunched over the computer screen, editing and automating tiny bits of instruments and vocal tracks.  the final days were the most labor-intensive until i came to a point where i decided to not bother myself with the tinkering anymore and to, in essence, let the project go.  in early march, i mastered the album with the wonderful josh bonati and soon thereafter gregory hedderman completed the intricate the cover art.  although he and i had discussed the artwork on a few different occasions, i didn’t see even a hint of it until it was completed and he had sent a scan to my e-mail.  it’s amazing.  greg incorporated loads of images from the songs, as well as unique images ideas/from his own life, into a gorgeous cover.  above is a snapshot of the front; to really be appreciated, though, it’s best to see the entire wrap-around image and the interior.  the disc itself is cool, too (shameless plug: buy a cd from me!). i digitally released the album online on april 1st and you can stream it/download it here: http://alecbetterley.bandcamp.com the digital album is pay-what-you-can.  if you buy the tracks online for $10 or more, send your snail mail address to alec.betterley@gmail.com and for no additional charge i’ll mail you a physical copy within 2 weeks!  although i didn’t have the actual cd present at the 4/7 bar 4 release party, it was a total blast.  half-breed (dave dawda feat. mike riddleberger, aka brooklyn’s tightest rhythm section) did a beautiful, lush set and then following my solo performance the my friend other trio did our first performance in over a year and a half. many thanks are due.  to everyone who helped, thanks - it would not have been possible without you. and, if you’re still reading at this point, so much more on the horizon: tonight, the toys and tiny instruments will play a mammoth 90 minute set at park slope’s intimate barbes on 9th street.  on saturday, april 28th, i’ll be improvising a live piano score to an episode of pee-wee herman!  and then on may 5th, our crew has freddy’s locked down and i’ll be doing a set (possibly solo? yet to be determined) alongside the lovely caitlin claessens and the wild, unpredictable “nice fellas” (the aforementioned gregory, plus my toys bandmates c.m. duffy, tom cryan and the illustrious zane van dusen).     thanks, more than ever, for all of your support.  if you can afford to purchase my record, i hope you do, and if not, i encourage you to download it for free and feel good about doing so.  i hope you enjoy.  love, alec

“where you were young” released, april 1st, 2012. 

hello friends,

april has been exciting thus far and is fixin’ to continue being a busy, music-filled month.  my album, “where you were young,” is complete and has been released!  to back up a little bit….

during the winter months i spent the vast majority of my free time drinking coffee, hunched over the computer screen, editing and automating tiny bits of instruments and vocal tracks.  the final days were the most labor-intensive until i came to a point where i decided to not bother myself with the tinkering anymore and to, in essence, let the project go.  in early march, i mastered the album with the wonderful josh bonati and soon thereafter gregory hedderman completed the intricate the cover art.  although he and i had discussed the artwork on a few different occasions, i didn’t see even a hint of it until it was completed and he had sent a scan to my e-mail.  it’s amazing.  greg incorporated loads of images from the songs, as well as unique images ideas/from his own life, into a gorgeous cover.  above is a snapshot of the front; to really be appreciated, though, it’s best to see the entire wrap-around image and the interior.  the disc itself is cool, too (shameless plug: buy a cd from me!).

i digitally released the album online on april 1st and you can stream it/download it here:

http://alecbetterley.bandcamp.com

the digital album is pay-what-you-can.  if you buy the tracks online for $10 or more, send your snail mail address to alec.betterley@gmail.com and for no additional charge i’ll mail you a physical copy within 2 weeks! 

although i didn’t have the actual cd present at the 4/7 bar 4 release party, it was a total blast.  half-breed (dave dawda feat. mike riddleberger, aka brooklyn’s tightest rhythm section) did a beautiful, lush set and then following my solo performance the my friend other trio did our first performance in over a year and a half.

many thanks are due.  to everyone who helped, thanks - it would not have been possible without you.

and, if you’re still reading at this point, so much more on the horizon: tonight, the toys and tiny instruments will play a mammoth 90 minute set at park slope’s intimate barbes on 9th street.  on saturday, april 28th, i’ll be improvising a live piano score to an episode of pee-wee herman!  and then on may 5th, our crew has freddy’s locked down and i’ll be doing a set (possibly solo? yet to be determined) alongside the lovely caitlin claessens and the wild, unpredictable “nice fellas” (the aforementioned gregory, plus my toys bandmates c.m. duffy, tom cryan and the illustrious zane van dusen).    

thanks, more than ever, for all of your support.  if you can afford to purchase my record, i hope you do, and if not, i encourage you to download it for free and feel good about doing so.  i hope you enjoy. 

love,

alec

-
Thursday, 12th April
▲ 1

toys and tiny instruments at magic future box, brooklyn.

photo courtesy of david packles.  02/11/12.  

-
Sunday, 12th February
▲

save the date!

salutations to anyone who actually looks at this site.  in the midst of what is likely the busiest time of my life, i’ve found bits of time to work on the record (current title: “where you were young”) and, little by little, the gradual progress has brought me to where I am now: with a release show/party scheduled for saturday, april 7th.  mark your calendars if you’re so inclined.  i’ve chosen my favorite little brooklyn spot - the cozy bar 4 in park slope - a venue i’ve loved since first playing there with colin in 2009.  a friend will be starting off the night with a solo set, followed by me doing a set of album material (and, perhaps, given the nature of the album’s tunes, some stuff that’s slightly more uplifting) and then the first my friend other electric set since late 2010.  it’s gonna be a fun night.  the beer is cheap, the show is 100% free, it’s a great local business, and saturday nights there often wind up morphing into some resemblance of a dance party.  if you pick any one show of mine to attend, i’d be honored if it’s this one.    

in the past couple of months i’ve had the great pleasure of working with friends and family to fill in some of the lonelier spaces of the album; special thanks to, in the past few weeks alone, nicole lenzen, caits meissner, alessandro tabora, caitlin claessens and david dawda for lending their considerable talents to the project - and for just being all-around great people to hang with while we record.  in the midst of my jobs, i’m busy working on vocal takes and tying up loose ends.  the wonderfully talented greg hedderman is currently putting in time on the cover art, and it’s gonna be great. 

other projects on the horizon include the first full-length toys and tiny instruments lp and a digital release of a few new my friend other songs.  colin will be producing the former and i’ll be producing the latter.  also, following a short break after i finish my full-length album, i’m going to begin work on an ep project based on a collection of my late grandpa george’s younger-life letters, discovered, typed and brought into beautiful book form by my dad as a surprise for the entire family.  pretty cool.  the plan is to give myself a time window of 6 months to write, record and release that music. 

anyways, enough about me.  i hope all of you are happy and healthy.  for those who i haven’t seen in some time, give me a call or an e-mail.  i’d love to hear from you.

-
Friday, 3rd February
▲

a new song.  stay warm.

“place for me”

they told just to grow and to learn and breathe
they told me to collect all that i could see
but i could never be them,
no i could never begin just to win

they told me to be strong when the winds would blow
they told me to look up from the ground below
but me i’ll run away
find another little sunshine

and i’ll show when they set me free
that i’ll row where the seas take me
and i know that i’ll find a place for me.

10 plays
-
Tuesday, 20th December
▲ 1

sometimes when i sit down to record a demo i like to toss a bunch of instruments in front of me, allow an hour or two, and try to make the song sound alive with those instruments.  setting time limits always produces interesting results, and i enjoy getting out of the normal piano/guitar box by forcing new sounds out of things i don’t always use. 

i think on this one the results are, at the least, interesting - probably could’ve spent more time on the vocals, but here it is anyways.  instrumentation is: snare, tom, tambourine, guiro, melodica x2, acoustic guitar “bass,” distorted acoustic and drum rims.  the song comes from a melody i’d had laying around since 2005 and finished up this summer. 

spy (up, up, up)        2011.

well, i’ve a perch in a tree made for you and me
and i’ve a tire to swing on in revelry
and i’ve a kite that’ll rise up into the sky
and from a thousand of miles i’m a spy.

well, you don’t see me but i see you very fine
and this-a view that i’ve got, well it’s ever mine
and with my one little eye to a telescope
i’m-a climbin’ so high on my rope. 

up, up, up in a little balloon
up, up, up and jump over the moon, never return
up, up and away do i fly
‘cause baby girl i’m a spy.

i hear you speak in your tongue with your riddle rhymes
and i will paint you and fill all the little lines,
if i’ma too small to know how to love it all
be in my box in the night as it falls.

up, up, up in a little balloon
up, up, up and jump over the moon, never return
up, up and away do i fly
‘cause baby girl i’m a spy
‘cause baby girl I’m a spy.

0 plays
-
Wednesday, 30th November
▲
another masterful work by c.m. duffy, this one for an exciting upcoming toys and tiny instruments show - saturday, december 10th at a venue we’ve never played before, the rock shop, right in the neighborhood.  we’re joining amy klein & the blue star band, along with the debutante hour, for what should be a really sweet bill.  come join us!  other upcoming shows include the toys sunday 12/16 at cameo in williamsburg and january 20th at the cake shop.  and the my friend other trio will be doing an upcoming brooklyn gig soon.  excitement. 

another masterful work by c.m. duffy, this one for an exciting upcoming toys and tiny instruments show - saturday, december 10th at a venue we’ve never played before, the rock shop, right in the neighborhood.  we’re joining amy klein & the blue star band, along with the debutante hour, for what should be a really sweet bill.  come join us!  other upcoming shows include the toys sunday 12/16 at cameo in williamsburg and january 20th at the cake shop.  and the my friend other trio will be doing an upcoming brooklyn gig soon.  excitement. 

-
Monday, 28th November
▲

autumn brought busy days and evenings with intermittent work on the record occurring amidst two jobs and a lot of travels.  after returning from a 15 day voyage   (nyc->detroit->madison->nebraska->denver->boise->oregon->pacific coast and a week in the bay area) i spent some time upstate and am now back in brooklyn with a lot of time on my hands to complete my record. 

here is a little something i recorded earlier this summer.  it’s a late ‘09 song called “with the currents.”  more soon!

with the currents

woke up, i was a bubble crawling worm
it was a lovely dance i learned
and for the first time i was something
just an instant then and there,
i was visible i swear
what i sought had disappeared
the revolving one revered,
it was me.

don’t know what to do but
see your face,
where the foreground is erased,
and we’re both in prophecy
me, i’m a plaster mannequin,
dusting off my little twin
you’re a mathematic graph,
with your kinfolk you may laugh,
but i win.

i belong to them tonight
and they’ll have to do me right
i belong to them and i’ve
got a wish that they rely on.

“cousin,” he said,
“you can move with me,
but you must hold close and be
like an infant memory,
bend with the currents
in the air we’ll be
serpent-like up there,
and you know that they will try
but never not to find,”
we begin.

0 plays
-
Monday, 28th November
▲

the first song of 2011’s “30 songs in 30 days” project.  it’s a little ragged, but i hope you enjoy.

web, map and hook

me i’ve got a web where i catch my dreams
all the beauty we have
me i’ve got a hook where they hang at night
so you don’t have to be sad
me i’ve got a map and i’ll show you home
go away now, come and stay now
me my littlest down a road we roam
so you don’t have to be alone.

me i’ve got a one little cabin lit
all the light that i have
me i’ve got a boat, it’ll tug along
and try as hard as it can
me i sit a while and i watch the day
there unseen i revolve in rising
me i make a trail and i’ll follow it
no you don’t have to come yet.

20 plays
-
Wednesday, 31st August
▲ 1
hello, all.  it has been quite a while.  what can i say; august, amidst travels, gigs, a back spasm, a hurricane and all else, disappeared before me.  as the first traces of autumn-y air begin to crawl through the bruce windows, i’m fastening down and returning the focus to my music. the instrumental portions of my upcoming lp are nearing completion.  special thanks to andrew eckel for taking the time to arrange and record a string part for my song “make me a raft.”  i haven’t heard it yet, but i’m sure it’ll be amazing [the man has beastly ears… check out his recent tune “doorstep” at http://www.andreweckel.com.  it’s great].  additionally, many regards due to some of the musicians whose contributions i’ve been recording and to the ears lent in order to give advice. another project keeping colin and myself busy is an upcoming indie film entitled “the hollow tree.”  some of our and the toys’ original songs will be featured, both via recordings and live performances.  more info on the way! to top this all off, as of today, i’m embarking on yet another ‘song project.’  akin to what i completed in autumn ‘09, i’ll be writing 30 songs in 30 days.  this time the guidelines are a tad different; i’m allowing myself to include instrumentals, mostly in order to broaden my writing styles so that i can begin a portfolio of work for film.  i hope to post today’s song, tentatively titled “web,” later today or tomorrow. i hired c.m. duffy to do a homepage for a website i will soon be developing.  since that whole project, amidst the rest, is probably a good distance off, i figured i’d share his work, pictured above.  i think it’s pretty darn swell.  hopefully that image will grace a nice site at some point… all in due time.  all my best as we head into the cooler september days, and if you get lonely, come here to listen to the new songs i’ll be posting.  take care.

hello, all. 

it has been quite a while.  what can i say; august, amidst travels, gigs, a back spasm, a hurricane and all else, disappeared before me.  as the first traces of autumn-y air begin to crawl through the bruce windows, i’m fastening down and returning the focus to my music.

the instrumental portions of my upcoming lp are nearing completion.  special thanks to andrew eckel for taking the time to arrange and record a string part for my song “make me a raft.”  i haven’t heard it yet, but i’m sure it’ll be amazing [the man has beastly ears… check out his recent tune “doorstep” at http://www.andreweckel.com.  it’s great].  additionally, many regards due to some of the musicians whose contributions i’ve been recording and to the ears lent in order to give advice.

another project keeping colin and myself busy is an upcoming indie film entitled “the hollow tree.”  some of our and the toys’ original songs will be featured, both via recordings and live performances.  more info on the way!

to top this all off, as of today, i’m embarking on yet another ‘song project.’  akin to what i completed in autumn ‘09, i’ll be writing 30 songs in 30 days.  this time the guidelines are a tad different; i’m allowing myself to include instrumentals, mostly in order to broaden my writing styles so that i can begin a portfolio of work for film.  i hope to post today’s song, tentatively titled “web,” later today or tomorrow.

i hired c.m. duffy to do a homepage for a website i will soon be developing.  since that whole project, amidst the rest, is probably a good distance off, i figured i’d share his work, pictured above.  i think it’s pretty darn swell.  hopefully that image will grace a nice site at some point… all in due time. 

all my best as we head into the cooler september days, and if you get lonely, come here to listen to the new songs i’ll be posting.  take care.

-
Tuesday, 30th August