It’s a New Year (or two)

Wow, time can really slip away. It’s been 19 months since I last updated this blog and life has certainly changed a lot. I, of course, would like to blame the absence on the ease of updating everyone through Facebook, but that’s just an excuse.

I am now happily divorced and doing well. Angela and I separated in February 2011 and divorced on September 9th, our ironic anniversary date.

Things have changed significantly in my band since then too. Life has imitated Spinal Tap once again and we’ve gone from Josh Hale to Paul Gauer to John Hoerner on drums. None of them spontaneously combusted on stage, but stay tuned. We also got an album recorded and I hope it to see it released before summer.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Castle in the Clouds

Angela and I just returned from a great weekend excursion to New Hampshire. We stayed at Steele Hill resorts, which is in the White Mountains overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.

We visited Castle in the Clouds on the way there, which was a pretty interesting place. It was built by a guy who made his fortune by opening the largest shoe factory in the world (Jamaica Plains, MA) in the early 1900s. He built the castle for his first wife and stayed there as his fortune slipped away through a series of bad investments and a divorce. The castle was far ahead of its time from a technological standpoint – it had a year-round indoor greenhouse heated by steam – and is a cool place to visit.




Overall, it was a great weekend and I’m sure we’ll go back.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I miss you, Dad

Yesterday would have been my dad’s 71st birthday. I hope he is at peace and knows how much he is missed and loved.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

She wants her nuggets

This caught my eye this morning. A woman from Toledo is so outraged she can’t order chicken nuggets (they were still serving breakfast), that she gets out of her car and starts attacking… He, he he.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The garden…

…is coming along nicely this year. We have two tomato plants that we started in the window in April that have taken off. They’re the biggest tomato plants we’ve ever grown and should lead to a few good batches of spaghetti sauce and salsa!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Say what?

I just read an article on CNN that states “the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States may shorten life expectancies for the first time since the Civil War unless something is done about it.” What a horrifying statistic!! Better add some bacon!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Excuse the hiccup…

This blog was set-up in September of 2009 and I had big plans to post to it daily. I overwrote the home page source code at some point last October and am just now getting around to getting the blog back up and active.

It’s been a busy year! My Dad passed away in February and that was really tough. I never expected to have lost both parents by age 40.

I got to see one of my favorite bands, Alice In Chains, in concert in April and they were incredible. The songs from the new album held up against the older material and new lead singer William DuVall is the real deal.

Earlier this month I went on my yearly camping trip to Rockwood and we had one of our best years ever. We certainly don’t skimp on food and beverages while we’re there and the photo below shows eggs benedict – camping style, and the start of a good night’s fire!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Black Gives Way To Blue (Alice in Chains, 2009) – Album review

I’m a long time Alice In Chains fan and always felt Layne Staley was the class of the 90s alternative vocalists. I was excited when I first heard rumblings of the band  reforming with William DuVall on vocals, as I had seen William perform with Jerry Cantrell in 2002 (State Theater, Portland, ME), and I remember thinking at the time “this is the closest I’ll ever get to seeing AIC.” I closed my eyes during “Rooster” that night, and it could’ve been Layne up there.

I pre-ordered the new album a couple weeks ago and hoped it would arrive Tuesday, its official relase date, but no luck. I went in to track my shipment and saw there were already several album reviews posted on amazon. The one that really stuck me was one saying it sounded like another Jerry Cantrell solo album and not AIC. That surprised me, but then I reminded myself I liked Jerry’s solo stuff, so maybe that wasn’t all bad, but it certainly wasn’t what I expected to read.

The album arrived yesterday and I’ve had a chance to listen to it a good dozen times by now. I really like it and think the critiques I read on amazon were unfounded. William DuVall’s harmonies bring back the classic AIC sound and he claims his own ground on several tracks. For those of you that can’t let Layne rest, may I suggest you procure a copy of the Bad Dreams bootleg (3-2-93, Glasgow Holland), a definite classic!

Black Gives Way To Blue

Black Gives Way To Blue opens with All Secrets Known, which kicks in with a pulsing riff from Cantrell that feels somehow optimistic. The first verse echoes that sentiment – ” Hope. A new beginning. Time. Time to start living.” I think that line sums up the song pretty well.

The second track is the album’s first single, Check My Brain. This song is pure, hard-rock bliss and I’ve found myself cranking it on the morning commute. A great guitar hook and a sing-along chorus will keep this on the radio for years to come. Oh Yeahhhhhhh….

The album’s third track “Last of my Kind,”  is the first that leaves behind the classic AIC vocal harmonies and allows William DuVall to step out on his own. He’s not Layne Staley, but this song proves he doesn’t need to be to create great music. He leads the charge well and shows he’s capable of filling the rather large AIC front man shoes.

Your Decision sounds like it could be an out take from the Jar of Flies album and reminds you of  how versatile the band is. The next track is the grungy, A Looking In View, the first track I heard from the new material. Another great hard-rock track that will remain a radio staple.

When The Sun Rose Again is a slow brooder that is my least favorite of the bunch and leads into Acid Bubble, which starts off on kind of a dreary note as well. This lull takes an abrupt u-turn with the introduction of a sledge-hammer Cantrell riff half-way through the song that takes it in a whole new direction.

Lesson Learned is another that is reminiscent of  the Jar of Flies era and is the song that stuck with me after the first listen. The song’s lyrics focus on a theme that is at the core of all the songs - a reflection  of the road they have traveled.

The album’s final  and title track, Black Gives Way to Blue, features a piano accompaniment from Elton John, who was a fan of Layne and Alice, and agreed to Cantrell’s request to play on the song. In the latest Guitar World magazine, Cantrell discusses the process he went through writing it. It’s an interesting read.

gw1209-Jerry-Cantrell.jpg December 2009 Cover with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains

Final Verdict: This album rocks and Alice in Chains fans should find plenty to be pleased with. The poor speakers in my car stereo may never recover!

Posted in Music Reviews | Leave a comment

Vampires are Glamorous

I was psyched to see the book I’m currently publicizing, How To Catch and Keep a Vampire, featured in the November issue of GLAMOUR Magazine!

Glamour

 

Posted in Press coverage | Leave a comment

Hello world!

Hello world,

Welcome to Andy Sturtevant’s blog. I’ll touch on things that interest me here from music to the web to lightning bolts. I recently ordered the new Alice in Chains album and plan to have my first official post be an album review of it. I’m hopeful!!

Until then, feel free to browse through the pictures I’ve posted to the site and excuse the areas I haven’t yet finished (Links, About), or better yet go check out some of the music my fellow conspirators and I have created over the years.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment