Less Pottery, More Music

Studio last night: wedging, kneading, decorating, trimming, cleaning, forgetting to take pictures.

That pretty much sums it up. I finished recycling my clay (37 pounds), and then I worked on some of those large bowls to have sgraffito on the inside. I'm hoping the turn out alright in the end. Every once in a while a piece flops, and that's just a part of the process. But sometimes you put a lot of time and energy into a piece. And you hate to have that one flop on you.

Anyhow, I will have new pots to show later this week, but the kiln was still at 400 degrees when I went in last night and that's still just a little warm to unload.

So, for something that has nothing to do with pottery, and everything to do with good old American rock'n'roll, please check out The Elms, one of the most underrated rock bands out there right now. They've just re-launched their website in preparation for their upcoming album, The Great American Midrange, and this is another one that I couldn't be more excited for (I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about Switchfoot's October release of Hello, Hurricane, but this comes out in September, so it's like a rock'n'roll appetizer). Check out the promo video for the new album, posted below.

You can also watch the video here.

I have yet to see The Elms live in concert, despite following them for 8 years and having tickets and intentions of seeing them on more than one occasion. Once I arrived late to a festival where they were the very first to play. Another time they had to drop their support role on a tour due to illness in the family (it was still a great concert, but it would have been better if they had opened). On two occasions we were in the same town, but I had prior commitments and couldn't make it to the show. And so on and so forth.

I hear they're an excellent live show - I think they'd have to be to spend a year opening for Peter Frampton - and someday I'll get to see for myself. In the meantime, I'm an ardent fan of their music, from their CCM-friendly debut to their last release, the raw, raucous, face-melting Chess Hotel. The upcoming album proves to be more of the same good stuff.

So, if you're in the market for some foot-thumping, fist-pumping, gritty American guitar-rock, do yourself a favor and check out The Elms.

"But don't take my word for it..." - little bit of a Reading Rainbow moment there. Seriously, check out The Elms. You probably won't regret it.