SOS Almanac Issue 01 by Zebra In A Top Hat Press

ISSUE 01 | JANUARY 2021

SEASON OF SPIDERS JOURNALS

HE SPEAKS!

FREE OR BUY ME A COFFEE

DAVE BYRNEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FIRST SOS INTERVIEW

THE OFFICIAL JOURNALS OF

WELCOME TO ISSUE 01 of the SOS Almanac. It is the mouthpiece for Season Of Spiders Head Honcho David Byrne, former Singer, Song-writer and Multi-Instrumentalist with Dublin rock band The Aluskas. Season Of Spiders is his new musical World-within-aWorld, as you will come to see. His Debut Album, Living In Make Believe, which was just released in November 2020, is only the beginning of a Gothic, Rock ‘n’ Roll Odyssey that will tell his entire life story across multiple songs, singles, stories and albums.

“Everything you could possibly want to know about Season Of Spiders is in the music”, says Dave, but for those very curious individuals who like to delve that bit deeper, the SOS Almanac is the place to find everything else. And there is much to find. 2020 was when Dave released the aforementioned first part of the SOS Story, but the seeds of the idea began many years earlier. In the pages of this inaugural issue of the SOS Almanac, you will read and see many interesting things including maps and tales of the World of Redemption [the place where the SOS Story takes place]. You will also be delighted by a tour of Dave’s very own recording studio, Audio Arcade, and you will hear him speak for the first time under the SOS moniker when I interview him later on. “And who are you?” I hear you ask? I am Bob, Bob Webb to be exact. And I am an invention of Dave. He created and installed me as Head of PR at Cobweb Recordings for two reasons [1] So that this Magazine comes across more professionally, as if it had actual people working on it, and [2] so that it doesn’t seem like the ravings of a madman, which it most certainly is. Think of me as one in a very long line of his Alter-Ego’s, whether it be Jack Valentine, Animal Kovax, Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns, Stanley Dalton, or indeed, Bob Webb. The names may all be different, but the message is the same. This is Rock ‘n’ Roll with soul, made for people who love good music. So tune in, get reading, pop the Living In Make Believe album on repeat, have a glass of cola and a dusted donut, and let us all tell you the long and twisted tale of Season Of Spiders. Bob Webb 21 November 2020

FRONT COVER & OPPOSITE PAGE: “Dave’s Face” designed by Natalie Byrne Ⓒ November 2020. Layout & Design by Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns Ⓒ November 2020.

CONTENTS

SEASON OF SPIDERS:

Who or what the Hell are the Season Of Spiders? Mentally, that is a very good place to start your quest into the unknown, and if you continue reading, I wil tell you. It is a sprawling, complex vision I have, and below, I explain it all. God speed...

David Byrne 24 October 2020

SEASON OF SPIDERS is the Musical World of me, David Byrne, former member of The Willows and The Aluskas. In 2015/16, I set about plotting an alternative musical universe where many of my song creations could live. These songs would tell my real life story, but I wanted to do something different with them, and not just release random, unconnected songs as albums.

For starters, “Gothic” in the literary sense, combines Horror, Death, and Romance. And according to Wikipedia, “Gothic fiction tends to place emphasis on emotion, terror, pleasure and the sublime—an indescribable feeling that “takes us beyond ourselves.”” The Season Of Spiders story is one big elaborate Ghost story set to music, which features all of the above and more.

So I decided that the best way to tell my story was in the form of a Fable or Folktale set to music, where characters, places & events could be used to represent the truth, as opposed to just telling the straight truth alone. The reason for this is simple; people tell stories to entertain and to pass along a message. And I felt that one without the other would not do my story any justice. I could easily give biographical details but I think it is essential to entertain people along the way.

“Rock ‘n’ Roll”, or “Rock”, as it’s modern equivalent and extension, is the music of Rebellion, not always accepting things for what they are but questioning the values and beliefs of a Society that attempts to deaden and neutralize any opposition to the rules. For me, “Rock” is the music I grew up on and all the artists I have loved the most come from this musical tradition. It is this broad form of music, which encompasses so many elements, from blues & folk, to electronic, country and pop, that gives me the largest sound palette from which to draw upon.

And I found that the Fable/Folktale form of storytelling was exactly what I needed to be able to convey the story of my life in the most heart-felt, entertaining, enjoyable and truthful way possible. I wanted to tell my story as a multi-album Gothic, Rock ‘n’ Roll Odyssey, in the style of a modern music Folktale. But what do the words Gothic, Rock ‘n’ Roll & Odyssey have to do with me?

And the word “Odyssey” means “a long series of wanderings or adventures, especially when filled with notable experiences, events or hardships”. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate word than “Odyssey” for how I felt about the things I’d experienced. So much of my life has been joyous, but there has been some darkness too.

BELOW: Seasonal Emblems designed by Natalie Byrne Ⓒ November 2020.

But in the words of The Walking Dead, “Sometimes you have to let the cracks happen to let the light in”. And through these cracks, the light can come in to show us a bigger picture, perhaps the meaning of why we are here after all. I don’t mean for all of this to sound very serious and over the top; all of these things are touched on in the Season Of Spiders Universe, but at the end of the day, it also features much joy, happiness and just good old fashioned music. Season Of Spider’s represents my life, the good and the bad, all dressed up for Halloween. And the main reason for using the Fable/Folktale form of story-telling for the SOS story is that I didn’t want to influence the listener too much by telling them exactly what each song is about. I want them to hear the songs for themselves, and make up their own mind about the meaning of it all. By this measure, you will have guessed that the Season Of Spiders Albums are not just a random array of songs strung together. Each one is a self contained story representing a short time-frame of my life but collectively, they also form a much bigger autobiographical story arch. The best way to think of it is to see each Album as a chapter in a book, in [largely] chronological order and it is up to

the listener to decipher what the overall meaning is. As one of my favourite authors, Carlos Ruiz Zafon says, “Books are mirrors; you only see in them what you already have inside you”. And that is why I don’t want to impose all of the actual songs meanings on the listener. When you tell someone a story, they will make of it what they choose, depending on where they are, at that stage of their life. And as different people gain different experiences, they might revisit something that they previously read, listened to, saw, or felt, and take a whole new meaning from it, depending on what they’ve learned. For instance, I could tell you that “My Rebel Soul” is about me as a cocky, 11 year old kid with swaggering confidence, and on one level, it is. But in the context of the overall scheme of my life, “My Rebel Soul” represents much more to me about innocence, magic, being yourself and the eventual loss of those things. Or maybe its just a catchy, upbeat rock ‘n’ roll tune about Lionheart, the redhaired teddy I owned and loved as a kid. The point is, a listener can get what they want from a song depending on how deeply they want to delve. And if you are a seeker, Season Of Spiders offers a lot to be found.

A YEAR [AND A BIT] IN THE LIFE

Dave Byrne has had a very busy first 17 months. In that time, he has performed a sell out show with Lilcatcheetah, playing her Debut Album Porcelain Doll in its entirety, recorded and mixed 2 long-playing albums, and released the first of these, called Living In Make Believe. 5 Singles have also come out in that time too. Check out his year [and a bit] below...

Bob Webb December 2020

AUGUST 2019 ||| Dave Byrne starts recording the Living In Make Believe Album in Audio Arcade. He initially set out to record 16 songs, [12 for the LP, 4 as B-Sides]. This eventually changed when Natalie, his wife told him to put two of those B-Sides onto the Album itself, leaving him short of B-Sides. SEPTEMBER 2019 ||| Dave continues recording the LIMB LP, tracking Bass Guitar on a large number of songs. OCTOBER 2019 ||| The early part of the month was focused on the recording of Keyboard-based Instruments on the LIMB album, with the latter half dedicated to Electric Guitars. NOVEMBER 2019 ||| This month saw most of the rest of the tracking of Electric Guitars, plus Acoustic Guitars and Drums too on LIMB. DECEMBER 2019 ||| Ant Byrne [Dave’s Brother] records the last of the Drum parts for the LIMB record early on this month, and from there, Dave records some Piano parts himself. From there, he has a lot of Session Musicians in to perform certain pieces, including his Uncle Ray and Aunt Mar, Wife Natalie, and her Aunt Brona Colfer. JANUARY 2020 ||| Dave’s sisters Lesley & Debbie come in early in January to record some Vocal & Hand Clap parts for a album. This month, Dave

also records all the Lead Vocals and finalises the editing of the album too. By the end of the month, he finishes recording his Debut Album. Throughout this month, Dave, his Sister Debbie [aka Lilcatcheetah], his Brother Anthony and their friend and former Aluskas bandmate Philip Tinsley rehearse a number of times to perform Porcelain Doll, Lilcatcheetah’s Debut LP, live the following month. FEBRUARY 2020 ||| On 01 February, Dave plays Lead Guitar and performs Backing Vocals in Debbie’s Backing Band, for the launch night of her Porcelain Doll LP in Against The Grain on Wicklow St, Dublin. The show is packed out and a great time is had by all. He also mixes most of the LIMB record this month. too MARCH 2020 ||| Dave finishes the last of the Mixing on Living In Make Believe by 16 March 2020. Then, worldwide lockdown occurs due to the Coronavirus. Doom ensues... So what does Dave do? He immedietely starts recording the second Season Of Spiders LP, this one self-titled. APRIL 2020 ||| Dave continues recording the SOS LP, with Bass Guitar, Drum Programming and Synth work. MAY 2020 ||| Work on the SOS LP continues, with Synths, Drum Programming, and Acoustic Guitars.

JUNE 2020 ||| This month, Dave records Electric Guitars for the SOS LP. JULY 2020 ||| Vocals and Percussion are the main recordings made in July on the SOS LP, plus Session Musicians record Cello and Japanese Vocals respectively. AUGUST 2020 ||| Recording work on the SOS album continues with all manner of Vocals, and Dave also starts to Mix the LP too.

followed by their Debut Album Living In Make Believe on 13 November [COBWEB013], Third Single “Video Games” [COBWEB014] comes out on 20 November and finally on the 27th, “Late At Night” [COBWEB015] is released. Dave also starts putting this Magazine together, as the SOS Almanac Issue 01. DECEMBER 2020 ||| This month begins with the release of Season Of Spiders Fifth and final Single to be culled from the LIMB record called “Smiling Eyes” [COBWEB016]. It comes with another exclusive B-Side “Glass Graves”. Dave also continues working on this first issue of the SOS Almanac.

SEPTEMBER 2020 ||| This month, Dave covers a lot of different tasks. He & Ant record Drum parts between them, and then Dave edits & mixes more of the SOS LP. Also in September, he brings the final mixes from the Living In Make Believe album to AP Studios so that Antimo Kelly Puca, the Engineer who had previously recorded The Aluskas DRAW! LP, can Master the album. OCTOBER 2020 ||| Dave continues mixing the SOS LP and on 23 October 2020, Cobweb Recordings issue the Debut Single by Season Of Spiders called “My Rebel Soul” [COBWEB011]. It comes with an exclusive B-Side ‘Last Night I Dreamt I Could Fly”. NOVEMBER 2020 ||| Dave finishes the Mixing on the SOS LP. Also, a number of records are issued this month; on 06 November, Season Of Spiders Second Single “You’re My Valentine” was is released [COBWEB012],

THE INTERVIEW:

In Part One of The Big Interview with Dave Byrne, I ask some light-hearted questions that wouldn’t have been out of place in a 1960’s style pop star interview. Its a rapid-fire round on what makes Dave tick...

Bob Webb 23 November 2020

BOB: Favourite Band? DAVE: The Beatles.

BOB: Actress? DAVE: Susan Sarandon.

BOB: Song? DAVE: “Strawberry Fields Forever”.

BOB: Director? DAVE: Martin Scorcese.

BOB: Album? DAVE: The White Album.

BOB: Film? DAVE: Forrest Gump.

BOB: Songwriter? DAVE: John Lennon AND Paul McCartney.

BOB: Horror Film? DAVE: The Shining.

BOB: Songwriters from your era [the 90’s]? DAVE: Noel Gallagher AND Billy Corgan.

BOB: Festive Film? DAVE: Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

BOB: Colour? DAVE: Green.

BOB: Comedy Film? DAVE: Clifford.

BOB: Dinner? DAVE: Curry Potato [a dinner my Mam used to make me].

BOB: Childhood Film? DAVE: Back To The Future.

BOB: Chocolate Bar? DAVE: Before going Vegan, Twirl and Milky Bar.

BOB: Animated Film? DAVE: All the Toy Story movies.

BOB: Veggie Fast Food? DAVE: Rebel Whopper.

BOB: TV Show? DAVE: The Sopranos.

BOB: Actor? DAVE: Tom Hanks.

BOB: Animated TV Show? DAVE: The Simpsons.

BOB: Comedian/Comedienne/Comedic Actor? DAVE: Larry David.

BOB: Console? DAVE: SNES [Super Nintendo].

BOB: 10 of your Favourite Albums, in no particular order? DAVE: The White Album & Revolver [The Beatles], (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? [Oasis], Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness [The Smashing Pumpkins], Pet Sounds [The Beach Boys], Urban Hymns [The Verve], Moondance [Van Morrison], Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme [Simon & Garfunkel], Bring It On [Gomez], The Hour Of Bewilderbeest [Badly Drawn Boy], Blue [Joni Mitchell] & Buffalo Springfield Again [Buffalo Springfield].

BOB: Holiday? DAVE: Christmas AND Halloween.

BOB: That’s 12. DAVE: I know but I could keep going. It’s impossible to choose.

BOB: Season? DAVE: Summer.

BOB: Sport? DAVE: Football and Snooker.

BOB: Drink? DAVE: Coca-Cola.

BOB: Sporting Figures? DAVE: Muhammad Ali, Pele, Ronnie O’Sullivan,

BOB: Alcoholic Drink? DAVE: Pint of Guinness.

BOB: Sporting Event? DAVE: FIFA World Cup, Snooker World Championship.

BOB: Guitarist? DAVE: Jimmy Page, Brian May, George Harrison, Paul Simon, and Steve Craddock.

BOB: Artist? DAVE: Vincent Van Gogh.

BOB: Video Game? DAVE: Street Fighter 2 Turbo.

BOB: Bassist? DAVE: Paul McCartney. BOB: Drummer? DAVE: Ringo Starr, John Bonham, and Jimmy Chamberlain. BOB: Singer? DAVE: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Karen Carpenter, Nat King Cole, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Van Morrison, Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, John Fogerty, Billie Holiday, Liam Gallagher & Frank Sinatra. BOB: Writer? DAVE: Stephen King AND Carlos Ruiz Zafon. BOB: Book? DAVE: The Shadow Of The Wind. BOB: Childhood Toy? DAVE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. BOB: Which one were you? DAVE: Leonardo. BOB: Song on the Season Of Spiders LP Living In Make Believe? DAVE: “My Rebel Soul” AND “Smiling Eyes”. BOB: 10 Songs, off the top of your head, you wish you’d written? DAVE: “Junk” [Paul McCartney], “I’m Only Sleeping” [The Beatles], “Fade Away” [Oasis], “Perfect” [The Smashing Pumpkins], “Cloudy” [Simon & Garfunkel], “Tracks Of My Tears”, [Smokey Robinson], “Behind That Locked Door” [George Harrison], “In The Bubble With A Bullet” [Beady Eye], “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” [The Platters], & “Long As I Can See The Light” [Creedence Clearwater Revival].

BOB: Painting? DAVE: Cafe Terrace At Night. BOB: Spiritual Teacher? DAVE: Eckhart Tolle. BOB: Fictional Character? DAVE: Willy Wonka and Marty McFly. BOB: Super-Hero? DAVE: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Spiderman. BOB: Super-Hero Collective? DAVE: X-Men. BOB: Villain? DAVE: Magneto, Doctor Doom, Mr Sinister, Shredder & Hobgoblin. BOB: Musical Instrument? DAVE: Guitar. BOB: Guitar? DAVE: Gibson SG & Les Paul, Epiphone Casino, Fender Jaguar. BOB: Instrument you own? DAVE: Rockinbetter 4001 Bass Guitar, Steinmayer Upright Piano. BOB: Music Format? DAVE: Vinyl [for Artwork], CD [for Booklets], Streaming [for ease]. BOB: Amp? DAVE: Vox AC30, Fender ‘68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. BOB: Pedal? DAVE: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff.

LIVING IN MAKE BELIEVE The Debut Album by

Featuring the Singles MY REBEL SOUL YOU’RE MY VALENTINE VIDEO GAMES LATE AT NIGHT SMILING EYES “A rollercoaster ride of emotions. Flawless. The Album of 2020.” ***** Bob Webb, Cobweb Recordings ----------------------------“Once in a blue moon, an album comes along that is more than the sum of it’s parts. Living In Make Believe is that record. Fantastic.” ***** Jack Valentine, Dave’s Alter-Ego ----------------------------“I don’t usually recommend albums but this debut record from Season Of Spiders is class.” ***** Animal Kovax, Dave’s Ghost Alter Ego ----------------------------“People say you can’t be impartial if you are involved in the making of something. But I don’t care. Living In Make Believe is a deep dive of greatness into the mind of Dave Byrne’s world. Excellent.” ***** Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns, Dave’s Wolfman Alter-Ego ----------------------------“If I were you, I’d by this record right now. It’s amazing!” ***** Stanley Dalton, Dave’s Beatbox Alter-Ego

Out Now on Cobweb Recordings | COBWEB013

COME & PLAY

Audio Arcade is my residential Recording Studio, built as part of my house, Ceol Na Mara, near Gorey, Co. Wexford. It was here that I recorded and mixed Porcelain Doll, the Debut LP from Lilcatcheetah, as well as Season Of Spiders Living In Make Believe. The studio is also available to Musicians for recording their own work and I regularly man the controls for sessions by other musicians and artists, whether it be for Recording, Mixing, Podcasts, Audio Books, Meditations, Song-writing, Production work, or just plain old fun. So come along with me for a behind-the-scenes look at my humble Boutique Studio... David Byrne November 2020

THE PITCH Close to the sea near Gorey, Co. Wexford, Audio Arcade is a Boutique Recording Studio, offering a fun and calm environment for you to create your music or audio project. Located a mere 60 minutes from Dublin, the studio is ideally situated, making it a great option for anyone wanting to record. We cater for everyone with a passion for audio, whether that be a hobbyist or a seasoned professional. â&#x20AC;&#x2039; s well as offering a fully equipped recording facility, Audio Arcade A provides other services like Mixing, Production, Editing, Song Writing, Sequencing, Audio Restoration, Podcasts, Audio Books, Guided Meditations and Song-writing too. We have a lot of expertise when it comes to sound production. The studio was fully designed as an audio recording facility and provides the right acoustics for the serious creator. Get in touch with us today for competitive rates, an exciting working atmosphere and proficient personnel who can turn your analog dreams into digital reality. THE BUILD When Natalie, my Wife, & I bought our first house together near Gorey, Co. Wexford in September 2015, we were very excited about it. We never owned a house of our own before and I knew that the first thing we were going to do upon moving in was add an extension onto the rear of the property to house my Recording Studio. We contracted a builder to carry out the works and within 3 months of moving in, the bones of the facility were built. I had completed tones of research about how to build a recording studio on a tight

budget, but without skimping on the essentials. The walls and ceiling were covered in Acoustic Plasterboard in a double layer [the first layer was 15mm thick, while the second was 12.5mm, making a total of 27.5 mm of acoustic sound-proofing]. The boards were sandwiched together using acoustic sealant. These we put onto 100mm thick stud walls on all four walls and ceiling, and filled with 100 mm of Rock Wool for its added Acoustic properties. These plasterboard layers were connected to the Stud Walls via steel, pliable acoustic mesh strips, so that low frequencies would not cause unnecessary vibrations and rattling etc. We chose standard electrical ports and light switches as well [Dimmer Switches add low frequency buzz into the sound floor]. For the main Door into and out of the studio, we used a 45mm Fire Door, with a 25mm sheet of MDF attached to the inside of it [again with acoustic sealant, and screws]. The door was so heavy that it took four ultra-strong hinges to keep it on the wooden frame. We used a Norsound Steel strip at the bottom of the door to kill any noise trying to escape under there, as well as Acoustic-grade rubber sealants that were glued to the door frame so that when the door was closed, very little noise could escape. We installed a 1200mm2 Double-glazed, Argon-filled Window with a central opening for added light. The outside piece of glass was a specially requested extra thick pane to minimise sound leakage to the outside of the studio. The floor consisted of poured concrete, covered with 5mm underfloor insulation. We laid a standard tongue-and-groove laminate wooden-style floor on top of this. We also installed one large Upright designer Radiator for warmth too. When all of this building work was done, we set about the next stage of works. We

BELOW: Audio Arcade Icon designed by Natalie Byrne, â&#x2019;¸ 2019.

sourced high-grade Acoustic Bass Traps for the 4 corners of the studio, plus Acoustic Wedge Foam Tiles, stragegically placed for optimum sound deflection and absorbancy throughout the facility. The Wedge tiles were designed to absorb middle and high frequency sound waves while the Bass Traps were added to absorb low frequencies.

THE COMPUTER & INTERFACE The Computer and Interface in Audio Arcade were bought and installed with a lot of help from Graham Gibney, a computer wiz-kid. We installed the following items:

Next up, we cut a hole in the ceiling and added a folding Loft Ladder so that I could access and use the area directly above the studio. I built shelving units up there after spray foaming the attic of our house, and loaded the shelves with Archival material [e.g. Cassette Tapes, CD recordings, old equipment like my original Boss BR-8 Multi-track recorder, and folders of old band Setlists, Song lyrics, and Posters etc], and other Memorabilia that all make up the Cobweb Recordings Vault.

[2] NZXT Phantom 410 Case for PC - Black.

Following all of this, we custom built the Studio Desk. This was a laborious task, as it had to be made to exacting specifications, otherwise space in the Stuidio [which is a One-Room area] would be negatively affected. The only part of the desk that we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make was the slide-out drawer that was needed to hold the Mother Keyboard [we got a professional Carpenter for this]. After all of this was done, we built the Studio Rackmount to hold the Interface, a unique 5-Guitar Instrument Stand, and a SoundInsulating Cover that would be used to encase the Studio Computer. The last things to be built were the wall shelves and the Pedal Stands. Finally, everything was painted according to the design palette we came up with for Audio Arcade which were Black, White, and Blue.

[1] A Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 Professional Firewire Audio Interface.

[3] WD Blue 3TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch. [4] ASUS VC239H Monitor, FHD [1920 x 1080], IPS, Frameless, Flicker Free, Low Light, TUV Certified, 23 inch - Blue. [5] Seagate Expansion 1TB USB 3.0 Portable 2.5 inch External Hard Drive. [6] Corsair Air Series AF120-LED Quiet Edition High Airflow LED Fan, 120 mm - Red, Dual Pack. [7] Corsair CW-9060025-WW Hydro Series H100i V2 240 mm Extreme Performance All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooler - Black. [8] Digitus Firewire PCI Card. [9] Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - Black, [Upgrade Version]. [10] External DVD Drive - Pictek Portable Optical DVD Drive USB

3.0 CD DVD-RW Driver Burner Writer With Embedded USB Cable and Drive Comb. [11] Intel Core I7-6700K Processor [4 GHz, 8 M Cache, LGA1151]. [12] MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6 GB GDDR5 Memory PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card - Black. [13] Corsair CP-9020061-UK Builder Series CXM750 ATX/EPS Semi-Modular 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Unit, 750 W. [14] MSI Z170 A Tomahawk ATX. [15] Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3000C15 Vengeance 16 GB [2 x 8 GB] DDR4 3000 MHz C15 XMP 2.0 Enthusiast LED Illuminated Memory Kit - Black/White. Later on, I had a neighbour friend, Dave McCabe, who works with Computers, do some upgrades to add more Storage space, and the following items were purchased and installed: [1] [6 Pack] J&D SATA III 6.0 Gbps Cable with Locking Latch, 90 Degree Right-Angle SATA III Cable 50 cm. [2] Toshiba P300 3TB 7200RPM 3.5” SATA HDWD130UZSVA [Bulk].

THE EQUIPMENT & THE INSTRUMENTS After the hard work of getting the Computer and Interface up and running, we started adding a lot of equipment, Instruments, guitar pedals, software plugins and other effects to the studio. This process took place over a longer period of time and we are still adding key pieces to the studio as the need arises. ||| SOFTWARE & MONITORING ||| Pro Tools 2018.07.0 | KRK Systems Rokit 6 Speakers ||| MICROPHONES ||| Rode NT1-A | Shure SM81 | AKG D112 MkII [x2] | Shure SM57 [x2] | Sennheiser e609 | Shure SM58 | AKG P170 [x2] | Octava MK-012-01 [x2] | Samson C02 [x2] ||| HEADPHONES ||| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm [Closed Back] | Samson SR850 32 Ohm [x2] [Open Back] ||| KEYS & OTHER ||| M-Audio Keystation 88 [Mother Keyboard] | Steinmayer Upright Acoustic Piano | Gem Wizard 335 [Organ with Leslie Speaker] | Glockenspiel | Stylophone | Kalimba Thumb Piano | Harmonicas ||| GUITARS, BASSES & OTHER STRING INSTRUMENTS ||| Epiphone Sheraton II [Electric] [LH] | Rockinbetter 4003 [Bass] [LH] | Simon & Patrick Luthier [6/12 String] [LH] | Hohner Leyanda Student [Classical] [LH] | Hohner MC-05 [Classical] | McBrides Skellig [Acoustic] [LH] | Ashbury Ukulele [LH] | Squier Affinity Telecaster [Electric] [LH]

ABOVE: Photographs of the Audio Arcade Recording Studio taken by David & Natalie Byrne, â&#x2019;¸ 2019.

||| AMPS ||| Vox AC30 | Fender Rumble 150 | Fender Champion | Marshall MicroAmp ||| PERCUSSION ||| Maracas | Shakers | Tambourines | Guiro | Castanets | Cowbell | Desk Bell | Bicycle Bell | Clog Box ||| VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS ||| Native Instruments Komplete 11 | Kontakt 5 | Studio Drummer | Abbey Road 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drummer | Puremagnetik Ultrakord | Puremagnetik Kardoni [ARP Omni MkII] | Puremagnetik NES Punchpak | Puremagnetik Pocketone | Puremagnetik Electric Rhodes Mk I | Fender Rhodes MkII | Puremagnetik Microtron Tape 1 [Mellotron Brass, 8 Voice Choir & Strings] | Puremagnetik Microtron Tape 2 [Mellotron Flutes, Cello & Octave Recorders] | Puremagnetik Microtron Tape 3 [Mellotron Clarinet, French Horn & Glenn Miller] | Puremagnetik Clavinet Model-C | Puremagnetik Hohner Pianet Model-T | Puremagnetik PM Grand | Puremagnetik Wurlitzer PM-200 | Puremagnetik PM-70 Electric Grand Piano | Puremagnetik Vintage Organs Vol 1 & 2 | VKS Mellotron | VKS Gibson G101 Organ | VKS Vox Continental | VKS Elka Panther | VKS Hammond B3 | VKS Farfisa Organ | Air Boom | Air Structure Free | Air Vacuum | Air DB33 | Air Mini Grand | Air Xpand2 | The Gentleman | Session Strings | Session Horns | Battery 4 | TR-606 | TR-707 | TR-808 | TR-909 | Linndrum | SP12 | FM8 | Absynth 5 | Massive | Reaktor 6 | Una Corda | Session Guitarist | Multiple Guitar Pedals | The Maverick | The Giant | The Grandeur | Retro Machine Mk 2 | Scarbee A-200 | Scarbee Rickenbacker Bass | Scarbee Mk 1 | Scarbee Clavinet / Pianet | Wavesfactory EchoCat | Sound Dust Dulcitonium and many more...

||| PLUGIN EFFECTS ||| Waves Abbey Road TG12345 | Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates | Waves Abbey Road Chambers | Waves Abbey Road J37 | Air Dyn3 Compressor / Limiter | Air EQ3 1 & 7 Band EQ | Air Maxim | Air BF76 | Air D-Verb | Air Spring Reverb | Air Dynamic Delay | Air Lo-Fi | Air Sci-Fi | Air Recti-Fi | Air Vari-Fi and many more... THE FINISHING TOUCHES After all of this hard work was done, we added the finishing touches by putting up cool posters of artists that inspire us, framed pictures, micellaneous memorabilia and special mood lighting. We also made a custom Cassette Tape Lamp that takes pride of place on top of the Steinmayer Upright Piano. THE GRAND OPENING Audio Arcade opened its door in January 2019, and one of the first artists through the door was Lilcatcheetah. We had previously cowritten the 10 songs that she would go on to record with me over the next 5 months. In August 2019, I started recording Season Of Spiders debut LP, Living In Make Believe and it was finished, including mixing, by March 2020. As well as these major Recording Sessions of our own, other recording artists took up more studio time throughout the last two years looking to realise their recording dreams. We work with artists from all walks of life and from many different backgrounds and we hope that 2021 will see many more come through our doors in pursuit of the ultimate recording. If you want to turn your Analog Dreams into Digital Reality, contact us today for bookings. We provide a fun, uplifting environment for you to be free to create your dream project. So be sure to make time in the new year to come and play at the Audio Arcade.

ABOVE: Photographic Selfie of David Byrne working in Audio Arcade, â&#x2019;¸ 2019.

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MIXTAPE #1:

Ok, so you’ve been reading a lot of quality material up to this point, and if you’ve come this far, I presume you want to keep going. But it is impossible if you don’t take a quick break, stick on the kettle, and crack open the Jaffa Cakes. So go do that, and then have a listen to the first in a new series of Mixtapes we’re curating for your pleasure.

Jack Valentine 27 November 2020

BACK IN 1994-96 [in the time period when the Living In Make Believe album is set], I was just a young boy. I loved music and was only starting to get into collecting. In that era, there was no such thing as Streaming. Music was listened to on the Radio, or on formats like CD, Cassette Tape and Vinyl. But a lot of people did something else too; they created things called Mixtapes. These were collections of songs, usually taped off the radio, onto blank [or reused] Cassettes. These tapes held a person’s favourite songs of the moment from different artists they loved, so that they could listen again and again to their great tunes lined up one after the other. They could also share these Mixtapes by giving them to their friends or family members.

I have kept the amount to 20 songs [10 per side of the tape] that got me into music in the first place. These records were the soundtrack to my swaggering young life and without them, I don’t know where I’d be. Although a lot of the songs on this mixtape are by Artists I still love to this day, there are some in there that are not considered “cool” by anyones standards. But I have included songs that I loved at that time even if the artists star has faded somewhat [e.g. Big Mountain, Cast etc]. I could have just featured most of the songs by Oasis, Blur, The Verve, Smashing Pumpkins, Ocean Colour Scene & Radiohead but instead, I just picked one song from each of those artists, plus a smattering of other great songs from the 1994-96 era. So without further ado, the songs:

So because we are from that era, but we’re also living in the year 2020, with such wonderful inventions as the Internet and Streaming platforms like Spotify, we have decided to start making a series of Mixtape Playlists so that the people of today, who listen online, can experience the digital version of an Analog Mixtape. By we, I am talking about all of Dave’s Alter-Ego’s; there’s me [Jack Valentine], Animal Kovax, Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns and Stanley Dalton. We all represent different shades of his personality and each of our Mixtapes will reflect each of them. For my first Mixtape, titled Mixtape #1: Living In The Past, I have pieced together a Playlist that you can listen to any time you want, by clicking the White Cassette on the opposite page. If you have Spotify, you will be taken to the Playlist and into a world of songs and artists I loved back in those mid-90s days when Britpop ruled the roost and I would fall asleep most nights listening to songs that defined my youth.

SIDE A 01 Don’t Look Back In Anger [Oasis] This is the song that got me into Oasis and is still my favourite by them to this very day. Pure brilliance. And the Music Video for it was brilliant too. 02 The Universal [Blur] The greatest song Blur ever released. An instant classic. 03 Tonight, Tonight [The Smashing Pumpkins] A glorious whirlwind of an anthem, this song made me see that artists out in my era were capable of creating magic in music. 04 The Day We Caught The Train [Ocean Colour Scene] An epic that for a time made OCS nearly as beloved as Oasis.

MIXTAPE #1:

05 Everything Must Go [Manic Street Preachers] An amazingly thrilling song from the Manics peak. 06 Baby, I Love Your Way [Big Mountain] I’ve included this track in an otherwise Britpop obsessed list because I always remember loving it. 07 Fairground [Simply Red] Not a huge fan of pop music, but “Fairground” is a cracker. 08 Free As A Bird [The Beatles] When this song came out in 1995, it was like the Beatles were resurrected and I was hearing a “new” Beatles song in my lifetime. Magic. 09 Scream [Michael & Janet Jackson] I was blown away by the Music Video for this. A brilliant song. 10 Never Forget [Take That] Probably the best song by a Boy band ever.

13 Alright [Supergrass] A Britpop classic, Supergrass were an early favourite of mine and “Alright” was a shot of sunshine in song form. 14 North Country Boy [The Charlatans] This chugging beast of a track is one of my favourites from The Charlatans. 15 Walkaway [Cast] “Walkaway” was a big hit for Cast and one of their best songs. 16 The Man Who Sold The World [Nirvana] The opening riff of this song is brilliant and very strange. It was only later that I learned it was a Bowie track. 17 She [Green Day] Green Day wouldn’t necessarily be a favourite band of mine or anything, but I do remember really liking this song. 18 Big Me [Foo Fighters] “Big Me” is the Foo Fighters channelling The Beatles. Great.

SIDE B 11 Slight Return [The Bluetones] The name of this song won’t be instantly familiar but I would hazard a guess that everyone will know it the second the chorus kicks in.

19 Fake Plastic Trees [Radiohead] A commercial entry by Radiohead standards, but a brilliant song nonetheless.

12 Tattva [Kula Shaker] A very George Harrison-inspired band. And a cool song too.

20 On Your Own [The Verve] Richard Ashcroft had one of the best voices of the 90’s, listen.

EPIPHONE SHERATON II The Gear Garage is a Season Of Spiders Vault feature on the Instruments, Pedals, Amps, Microphones, Plugins, Effects and Equipment that I use to create the Season Of Spiders signature sound. Let’s delve behind the scenes to profile my cherished 2009 Epiphone Sheraton II Electric Guitar...

David Byrne 17 December 2020

NOTES My then-girlfriend [now-Wife] Natalie bought me my Epiphone Sheraton II Electric Guitar somewhere around mid 2009. We weren’t long back from Australia, and while there I had made plans to launch a new band with my Brother Anthony and our friend Philip Tinsley. We had already worked together for years by that time but upon my return, we started over and called ourselves The Aluskas. Up to that point, I had only ever had two Electric Guitars; an Epiphone Les Paul & a Stratocaster Copy. In terms of the Les Paul, it was bought for me by my Sisters Lesley & Sinead in late 1999 at a cost of £250, purchased new from Goodwins on Capel St, Dublin 1. I was inspired to pick this model by my Uncle Ray, who had a real Gibson Les Paul himself. But as time wore on, I found that my Epiphone version was more of a beginner model than anything else. I did however use that Guitar to record all of my electric parts on The Willows Debut Album Collage in 2003. The cheap Stratocaster on the other hand, was a knock-off given to me by my Uncle Terry, also around 1999. It belonged to his son [my Cousin] Andy but Terry said he wasn’t using it, so he gave it to me instead. It wasn’t the best guitar in the world unfortunately and I ended up giving it to a friend of mine called Michael O’Callaghan, who used the body to create his very own custom-made Guitar. One thing it did have though was a Whammy Bar, and that is something I haven’t had since, but I know I will require one soon for some Electric Guitar parts on the third Season Of Spiders LP. So when Natalie came to purchase the Sheraton in 2009, it really was going to be the first “good” Guitar I would ever own. She bought it for over €550 [which was a lot of money to her at the time] from GAK.co.uk. I couldn’t wait to receive it as it was a dark red sunburst [red in the centre fading out to black at the edge] but when it arrived, I was disappointed with the Yellow-burst finish that I received. Unfortunately, they no longer stocked the one with the Red-burst finish and I had to make do. I loved the body shape of the Sheraton and it was a much more affordable version of its moreexpensive counterpart, the Casino.

But when I started playing it, I found that the tuning on the G-string was constantly slipping and anything I played in the key of C Major was awful. I got the guitar set up on three different occasions but none of it worked. I have come to learn that because I am lefthanded, not only am I extremely limited for choice of Guitars / colours / designs etc, but the playability of lefty-models is usually an issue. But then, my friend and bandmate Phil recommended Elixir strings and for the first time, my tuning wasn’t slipping anywhere near as badly as it had before, even after fairly extreme string bending solo’s etc. After I got used to how to handle this Guitar, I quite enjoyed playing it. It feels good in the hands and the large body size really suits me. It always makes me think of the Casino’s John Lennon, George Harrison & Paul McCartney played in The Beatles and this is definitely where my love of the Sheraton came from. Plus, Noel Gallagher’s Man City Blue Sheraton was another big influence. I find that the guitar lends itself really well to many different styles of guitar-playing. I recorded all of my Lead & Rhythm Guitar parts on The Aluskas DRAW! LP in 2011 with it, and it was the sole Electric used on Lilcatcheetah’s Porcelain Doll LP also. For a contrast in styles and tones I have tweaked from the Sheraton, think of the jazzy, neck pickup tone of The Aluskas “Walking In The Snow” and compare it with the fuzz-drenched riffs & solos of “Just Like Me” from Porcelain Doll. The Sheraton is so versatile and when it’s playing well, it’s a pleasure to perform with. When paired with my Vox AC30, it really is a treat and I have made some lovely recordings with it on the Porcelain Doll record [e.g. the overdriven picking of “Scar Upon My Heart” or the downstream, reverb-laden solo in “Reverie” for instance]. In terms of my uses of it on the Living In Make Believe LP, it is still my go-to guitar for Rhythm work [“The Arcade”, “Hopscotch”, “My Rebel Soul”, “Late At Night”, “Living In Make Believe”, When You Rise”], but I also used it on some more adventurous outings too [the harmony E-Bow Guitars of “When You Rise”].

INSTRUMENT: NICK-NAME: MODIFICATIONS: SERIAL NO: YEAR: NOTABLE USES:

Epiphone Sheraton II Electric Guitar The Mammoth No 0812210334 2009 With The Aluskas: “Following The Moon” [Lead/Surf Guitars], “Skin & Bones” [Lead Guitar], “Walking In The Snow” [Lead Guitar];

With Lilcatcheetah: “Our Song” [E-Bow Guitars], “Just Like Me” [Fuzz Guitar], “My Little Life” [Lead Guitar], “Reverie” [Reverb Lead Guitar]; With Season Of Spiders: “Hopscotch” [50’s Rhythm Guitar], “My Rebel Soul” [Rhythm Guitar], “Living In Make Believe” [Rhythm Guitar], “When You Rise” [E-Bow Guitars]

MY REBEL SOUL

TECHNICALITIES SINGLE #1

MY REBEL SOUL

LAST NIGHT I DREAMT I COULD FLY

A-Side MY REBEL SOUL B-Side LAST NIGHT I DREAMT I COULD FLY

USICIANS M David Byrne Double-tracked Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar, Rhodes Electric Piano [Synth], Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Double-tracked Riff Guitars, Tambourine Natalie Byrne Cowbell, Backing Vocals, Hand Claps Marian Byrne Backing Vocals, Hand Claps Debbie Byrne Backing Vocals, Hand Claps Lesley Byrne Backing Vocals, Hand Claps Anthony Byrne Drums

USICIANS M David Byrne Multi-tracked Music Boxes

PRODUCTION Engineered By David Byrne Mixed By David Byrne Produced By David Byrne Recorded At Audio Arcade, Co. Wexford Mastered By Antimo Kelly Puca Artwork, Layout & Design By Natalie Byrne Record Label Cobweb Recordings Catalogue No. COBWEB011 Release Date 23 October 2020

SLEEVENOTES “My Rebel Soul” is the Debut Single by Season Of Spiders. It features on the Cobweb Recordings LP, Living In Make Believe, released in November 2020. As the first Single from Season Of Spiders, it packs a much needed rock ‘n’ roll punch and it is a swaggering juggernaut of a tune. The track features the many talents of The Byrnettes, including my wife Natalie on Cowbell, in full-on “Don’t Fear The Reaper”style assault, as well as my sisters Debbie [aka Lilcatcheetah] and Lesley on Hand Claps & Backing Vocals. Furthermore, my Aunt Marian joins them on Hand Claps & Backing Vocals, while my Brother Anthony [The Willows, The Aluskas etc] drives the whole thing along on pummeling Drums. The heart of the track however, is built around a simple, but hugely effective Guitar Riff and impassioned Lead Vocal that I loved performing. It is pure rock ‘n’ roll with soul. “Last Night I Dreamt I Could Fly” on the other hand, is a gentle children’s lullaby, something to help you fall asleep as Winter starts to roll around. It features me on multi-tracked Music Boxes, and this track is in fact, where the whole Season Of Spiders Universe actually begins, set as it is deep in the recesses of my Childhood.

David Byrne 13 October 2020

MEET THE BAND:

As you will have already gleamed from the pages of the SOS Almanac so far, Season Of Spiders is the Musical World of David Byrne. It is his solo project and he writes, records & performs all of the songs himself. On some occasions, certain guest musicians will appear on his recordings and they are credited as The Byrnettes on all official Season Of Spiders releases. But in the strange, upside-down sonic empire of Dave’s brain resides four Alter-Ego’s, each representing different musical aspects of his personality. He created these persona’s [or, who knows, they might have come to life themselves] so that he could play different characters or roles, to help him use a much wider sound palette when making Season Of Spiders songs. How else would his recorded output include such opposing elements within a Rock Soundscape; take for instance, the spooky electronica of “The Following” with it’s creepy Theremin and crazy Fuzz Bass, or the delicate Acoustic Guitar picking of the countryish “Smiling Eyes”. What about the monolithic Motown-meets-George Harrison hybrid that is “My Rebel Soul”, the cosmic swirl of “Winnie”, the childrens’ Music Box wonderland of “Last Night I Dreamt I Could Fly” or the 8-Bit fantasia of “Video Games”. Yes, they all come from Dave’s feverish mind, but within that mind resides characters of diverse musical interests, each fighting for their moment in the spotlight. It’s time to meet the band...

Bob Webb 30 November 2020

ANIMAL KOVAX

NAME

Jack Valentine

NAME

Animal Kovax

SOS ROLE

De-facto Leader

SOS ROLE

Conjuror

TRAITS

Rock 'n' Roller, Heart of Gold, Chameleon Shoes, Disco King, Romantic, Dreamer

TRAITS

Ghost, Spectre, Blackened Heart, Guitar Shredder, Distortion-Lord

INSTRUMENTS

Vocals, Acoustic, Spanish & Electric Guitars, E-Bow, Ukelele, Mandolin, Glockenspiel, Synths, Keys & Piano

INSTRUMENTS

Vocals, Electric, Backwards & Acoustic Guitars, E-Bow, Bazouki, Banjo, Organs, Piano, Stylophone, Mellotron

TURTLE

Leonardo

TURTLE

Raphael

INFLUENCES

Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Damon Albarn, Ian Ball, Liam Gallagher, Richard Ashcroft, Stephen Stills, Brendan Benson, John Fogerty

INFLUENCES

John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Ben Ottewell, Noel Gallagher, Billy Corgan, Neil Young, Kurt Cobain, Jack White, Jimmy Page, Jeff Lynne

SONGS

"The Arcade", "My Rebel Soul", "You're My Valentine", "Catching Bees", "Smiling Eyes" & "When You Rise"

SONGS

"The Following", "Late At Night", "A Premonition", "You're Not Well", & "Glass Graves"

MAGIC POWERS

WEAPONS

Sheraton II, McBrides Skellig

WEAPONS

Squier Affinity Tele, S&P Luthier

STANLEY DALTON NAME

Baxter "Fuzzboy" Burns

NAME

Stanley "The All Seeing Editor" Dalton

SOS ROLE

Wizard

SOS ROLE

[In]Human Beatbox

TRAITS

Inventor, 8-Bit Battler, Electric Warrior, Arcade Kid, Fuzzboy, Wolfman

TRAITS

Toe-Tapper, Beat-boxer, Drummist Extraordinaire, Editor, Archivist

INSTRUMENTS

Vocals, Bass Guitar, Fuzz Bass, Synths, Keys, Piano, Organs, Celeste, Mellotron, Sound Effects, Stylophone, Theremin

INSTRUMENTS

Drums, Programmed Drums, Percussion, Shakers, Tambourine, Maracas, Guiro, Clog Box, Beats, Loops, Sampling, Sound Effects, Triangle, Vocals

TURTLE

Donatello TURTLE

Michelangelo

INFLUENCES

George Harrison, Brian Wilson, Tom Gray, James Iha, Graham Coxon, Badly Drawn Boy, Richie Furay, Arthur Lee, Daniel Johnston, Ray Manzarek

INFLUENCES

Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Jimmy Chamberlin, Oscar Harrison, Alan White, Meg White, Retro Drum Machines

"Last Night I Dreamt I Could Fly", "Winnie", "Hopscotch", "Video Games", "Living In Make Believe"

SONGS

Anything he plays on, he makes his own

MAGIC POWERS

WEAPONS

Pearl Export Drum Kit, Battery 4, TR 606, TR 707, TR 808, TR 909, CR-78

WEAPONS

Rockinbetter Bass, Steinmayer Piano

SONGS

EMERALD HEART Bespoke Wedding Invitations & Paper Goods Handmade Co. Wexford, Ireland W W W. E M E R A L D H E A RT. I E

YOU’RE MY VALENTINE

TECHNICALITIES SINGLE #2

PRODUCTION

YOU'RE MY VALENTINE

A-Side YOU'RE MY VALENTINE B-Side N/A

Engineered By David Byrne Mixed By David Byrne Produced By David Byrne Recorded At Audio Arcade, Co. Wexford Mastered By Antimo Kelly Puca Artwork, Layout & Design By Natalie Byrne Record Label Cobweb Recordings Catalogue No. COBWEB012 Release Date 06 November 2020

â&#x20AC;&#x2039; USICIANS M David Byrne Double-tracked Lead Vocals, Double-tracked Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar, Rhodes Electric Piano [Synth], Programmed Drums, Lead Guitar, Spanish Guitar, Piano

SLEEVENOTES “You’re My Valentine” is the Second Single from Season Of Spiders. It features on the Cobweb Recordings LP, Living In Make Believe, released in November 2020. While “My Rebel Soul” is a rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut that takes you by the jugular, “You’re My Valentine” is a softer, sweeter tune about a first love. Or is it about unrequited love? You decide! This track, like much of the Living In Make Believe record, was built from the ground up. For the recording, I tracked it with the first Guitar I ever got, back when I was 11 years old. That Classical Guitar is the one I learned to play on and even though it sounds a bit creaky, I still love it, and I am very happy to find places on my records where I can feature it. In fact, I had previously used it to play a small Guitar Solo on The Aluskas song “Cobwebs” [check that record out on their DRAW! LP, released on Cobweb Recordings 8 years earlier in 2012; COBWEB003]. Apart from that, the other thing of note about “You’re My Valentine” is that I improvised the Backing Vocals on the spot in the studio; they didn’t exist before I started recording the song.

David Byrne 25 October 2020

ANATOMY OF A SONG David Byrne 02-04 December 2020

BELOW: CD Labels for all Living In Make Believe era releases, designed by Natalie Byrne â&#x2019;¸ 2020.

I HAVE FOUND that song-writing can a very personal thing for some [me included] or a shared experience for others. It all depends on the person. Likewise, there is no right or wrong way to compose songs. Some people work in partnership; think John Lennon & Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger & Keith Richards. Some have more defined roles, where one might write the lyrics, while the other takes care of the music [e.g. Bernie Taupin & Elton John, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Hal David & Burt Bacharach]. And then there are the lone wolves; other, more solitary beings who like to write songs completely on their own, like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Paul Simon, Noel Gallagher & Billy Corgan, to name just a tiny few. I have written in many different ways over the years. When I first started out at the age of 9 or 10 years old, my sister Debbie [or Lilcatcheetah as she his known musically these days; more on her later] and I would think we were coming up with great songs together, but we were in fact just writing words we thought we heard to songs that already existed on the California Dreams TV show. But as soon as I got a Guitar at the age of 11 [the same 3/4 size Classical Guitar that features on “You’re My Valentine” by the way], I really started to write my own songs. Early on, when I was heavily influenced by Oasis and The Beatles, these songs were near-melodic clones of “Live Forever”, “Don’t Look Back In Anger” or “Get Back” among others, just with far more embarrassing lyrics. But the more I wrote, the more I learned about writing and the more addicted to it I became. Trying to dissect those aforementioned songs was part of a journey of learning that I have been on ever since starting out in those formative years in my bedroom. There was no such thing as a Song-writing 101 class. I literally just made it up as I went along. But there was logic to how I did this. First, I was a huge music fan. I would listen for hours and hours to all the greats; The Beatles, Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Buffalo Springfield etc, the list was endless. I became acquainted with all of the best music I could find. I knew it was great because when I would listen to many other artists, their work never stood up in comparison and I would find myself severely in need of going back to my favourites, who at every twist and turn offered something fresh, original, and unexpected. Another thing all of these great songs from my favourite artists had in common was that, for the most part, they were super melodic. They had melodies coming out the Yin-Yang. Furthermore, there was a depth to most of these songs that I was drawn to and it was this depth, whether I knew it or not back then, that compelled me to return and listen to them over and over again. Next, I would look at a song like “Don’t Look Back In Anger” for instance, and break it down into it’s component parts. There was the Verse, which seemed to tell the story of the song, a Chorus that made a huge statement and a Bridge that connected the two. Also thrown into the mix were other parts like Guitar Solos, and a thing I would later learn about on other songs I loved like “Champagne Supernova”, called a Middle 8. But even though I wanted to know what made a song work structurally, I didn’t get bogged down in the semantics of structure. I learned early on, that most of the best songs I always listened to featured different parts coming in and out at different times. Sometimes, there was an Intro, others, straight

into a Chorus. In a way, there were no rules, and that is what I loved about it. As I got a bit older, I would start to create Lyric Manuscripts for my newly minted songs - a document with the Song Title at the top of the page, the lyrics underneath and a “W” & “C” for Written & Copyrighted by David Byrne. I was always very proud when I completed a new song. In those early teenage years, I would sometimes write the lyrics first, without music, but I used to find it very difficult to pair them up together if I did it this way. For the most part, I would sit with my guitar and keep strumming a Chord progression I had just come up with over and over, if I liked it. This made it easier to lodge it into my brain, but it would also allow me time to start humming over the top of it, forming wordless sounds that sometimes accidentally came to life as actual words. I found that the best way to come up with melodies [and eventually, lyrics] was to be free enough with myself not to be critical of what came out of my mouth. Because I found that my own inner critic was the harshest of them all. Never mind a one-star review in the NME or Rolling Stone; no-one judges you more harshly than you do yourself. And while that inner critic is essential for helping you to improve and get better at doing the things you love, if you let it in during the earliest moments of creativity, nothing survives. So because I learned this lesson very early in my song-writing development, I was able to loosen up and just mouth any old rubbish while beginning a new song. But don’t get me wrong; I was extremely self-concious. I wouldn’t even tell my friends in school that I wrote music because that was seen as completely embarrassing by them. I wouldn’t even tell them I played Guitar. So no-one can ever accuse me of getting into music with the view of getting a girlfriend - as far as I was concerned, music was a very personal thing that was for me and me alone. When I think back on the developing stages of my writing, it always hits me that I was far from a natural at it. This was further confirmed to me when I started my first band, Karma, with my brother Anthony, my classmate Johnny Berkeley and Ant’s friend Ron Bride. This was in the year 2000 and I had been seriously dedicated to the craft of songwriting for at least 5 years. Ron had never written anything before [he, Johnny and Ant couldn’t even play instruments before this] but one day in the Autumn of that year, just when I thought I had written a handful of “good” songs, I sat down to help guide him through the process of writing and he came out with a very Parachutes-era Coldplay inspired song called “Panic”. And I instantly thought to myself “this is Ron’s first song, and it’s already at least as good as most of mine”. But far from deterring me, it pushed me to create better songs. We quickly co-wrote one called “Downstream” which was hand-down the best song I had ever been involved with. And from there, I started to understand what made a song “more interesting for the listener” [to paraphrase the immortal words Neal Page utters to Del Griffith in Planes, Trains & Automobiles]. From there, I started to write more and more songs I was proud of. And one of the other ways this came about was, instead of keeping a mediocre song fully intact just for the sake of having a completed song, I learned that I could cherry-pick the best parts of certain songs and add them to other good parts to create newer, better songs. This self-cannibalisation of my work was a breakthrough [I

had been doing this since 1998, but now I was able to understand which parts of different songs would work well together a lot faster than before]. A lot of the songs I wrote/co-wrote in the 2000-2001 era were later recorded by my second band, The Willows on the unreleased cult record Collage in 2003. Though those songs were roughly recorded without much in the way of finesse, I returned to some of them later on, including “The Light” and “Prism” on The Aluskas debut LP DRAW! in 2012. A couple of other developments happened around this era too; the names of my songs became more unique. This may seem like a small and insignificant thing, but it’s actually huge. Giving a song a very original title makes it stick in people’s heads a lot easier. A song like The Beatles “I Call Your Name” is a lot harder to recall than say, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. I think I started to give my songs better titles after hearing that other, famous song-writers did the same thing. And even a cursory glance at the titles of most Beatles songs would reflect this, because, whether they knew it or not, they had many great song titles; “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Penny Lane”, “Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite”. Their list of great and individual song titles is long, very long indeed. But having a unique title goes hand in hand with writing songs with unique subject matter. Instead of the classic “Boy-meets-Girl” teenage love songs that I had been writing before this time, I was influenced by all the great song-writers I was familiar with to branch out and start composing more varied songs. When you are a lone song-writer, you are acutely aware of the fact that because you are the sole writer, your songs can naturally start to sound samey if you are not careful. So I was concious of this when I would write new songs. I always let inspiration play the greatest part in my writing; whatever came, and whenever it came, I would gladly take it and store it away for safe-keeping. But I would also try to write in a different style from the last one I had written when messing around on Guitar. If the last song was a slow, serious one, the next one would be more upbeat. This way of writing lends itself much better to a variance in the material you compose. But to go back to what I just said before in terms of inspiration; there are different schools of thought on this. Some writers say that they only write when inspiration hits. That way, the song they write is pure, and not contrived. Others say that they don’t wait for inspiration to come knocking; they simply sit down like they are in a 9-5 job and try to “make” a song. I have tried it both ways and sometimes I switch between the two. Back in 2000-01, I might wake up in the morning with a melody in my head, or I might be sitting there and suddenly a lyric will come to me. It would be at that point I would either write that snippet down, or get my Guitar and start trying to work something out with it, whether that be a chord progression or riff etc. I was of the belief that because inspiration had hit that I had to make a complete song out of it while the going was good. And I would usually sit and compose an entire song when such circumstances arose. This process can be seen as “part inspiration/part craftsmanship”. And sometimes this process produces good results. But more often that not, I would find that for every one good song I wrote this way, the next one would be much more average by comparison. So as time went on, and I used each of the things I had learned about writing up to this point, I found that instead of just

completing songs from small snippets there and then, I could store them in my brain and try to recall them later when more inspiration would strike. Doing this worked to a certain extent, but it started to become more difficult to remember all of these snippets that were floating around in my head, looking for a song. This was a problem, but it was one that would be solved by technology later on [more on this soon]. I also actively tried to vary the style of song I wrote during this period. One day I would come up with a “story” song, one in which a tale is told that might have a beginning, a middle and an end. Other times, I would write an instrumental. Some songs didn’t lend themselves to being expanded to a standard 3 minute length; and as I honed my writing skills I began to recognise when a snippet was just that - a snippet. I would also set myself song-writing goals. In any calender year, I would aim to write between 12-14 songs, on average one a month. My thinking was that this would act as the “craftsmanship” part of my song-writing. By having a small goal, I was keeping up with the act of learning and constantly trying to expand my song-writing skills. My aim from this would be to get around 8-10 songs that I considered to be “keepers”, while the other 4-6 might make B-sides or lend themselves to being cannibalised in later writing sessions. In the early-mid 2000’s, I was finding that my diligence was paying off; in 2004-07, I was writing a large number of songs that I really liked. Most of these are yet to be heard but some like “No Horizon”, “Circus Clowns”, “Country Stomp” and “The Morning Sun” will all hopefully see the light of day in the not-to-distant future. Another way my writing improved was when I made Demo’s of Songs [Demonstration Recordings, usually made with a Vocal accompanied by a Guitar for the purpose of ease and speed]. I would record songs so that I had at least one take of each for posterity. But when I would listen back to these tracks later, it helped give me insight into which songs worked and which ones didn’t. Knowing that I was moving to Australia in 2008, I made a huge collection of Demo Recordings known as the Roundup Sessions [I was rounding up most of the tracks I had written in the previous years]. But once I got to Australia, I conciously decided to stop writing. I wanted to experience life in the moment without any distractions for once. I moved there with my then-Girlfriend Natalie and we worked our way around most of the coast for 6 months. But by that stage, we were running out of money, and both of us were missing home. I was also missing writing and having gone 6 months without even picking up a Guitar, I was eager to get going again. But while I was in Australia, I knew that when I returned to Ireland, I wanted to have one last go trying to get together with Ant and Phil [both my old band mates] to record and release an album. The Aluskas were born from this idea, and for the next five years [20092014] we wrote songs together, recorded and released one album called DRAW!, toured in support of the record and tried everything we could to “make it”. In 2009 though, with all of this still ahead of me, and having just returned to Ireland, I listened back to the Roundup Sessions with fresh ears. And when I did, I realised that I had to “up” my songwriting game. I knew I had some great songs in the bag, but there was another number of songs that were clinging on because they maybe had a good chorus, or riff or melodic section. So the first thing I did after listening to these tapes was to start rewriting songs, condensing them down, cutting them up, and chopping

the deadwood out. My aim was to make the best songs I possibly could. And together [as a band] and separately, we composed a huge number of new songs, and rewrote a lot of old ones. This process really strengthened our understanding of what made songs engaging. Standout’s from this era where “Reborn In Time”, “The Sailor” and “Skin & Bones”, all of which later appeared on DRAW!. I also started to keep better, more detailed Original Manuscripts for songs, with better writing notes and dates etc. It was also the era of Smart phones and I found that when inspiration would strike for a riff, chord progression or melody, I could simply press record on my phones built-in sound recorder and tape that bit alone. This was a complete game-changer for me as a Song-writer. Whereas before I would try to craft an entire song on the spot out of what might have only been a snippet of an idea, now I could relax, record the snippet and leave it at that until inspiration struck again, whereby I would repeat the process. This form of writing was very satisfying for me as it took away the pressure of trying to complete whole songs when inspiration would desert me. What I would now do was look through some of my recordings when the magic writing feeling would strike, pick out parts and snippets that might lend themselves to working with one another [i.e. parts in the same key/tempo/mood etc] and then when I felt that I had a good, strong title and an idea of what I wanted to write about, I would sit down with my guitar and piece some of these sympathetic melodic ideas together, writing new lyrics as I went. And the amazing thing was, this process started to really work. I composed a large number of songs that by my standards were quite high. This “modular” approach reminded me of what I had heard about artists like The Beatles and The Beach Boys’ writing methods. Songs like “Good Vibrations”, “God Only Knows” & “A Day In The Life” were said to have been pieced together from seemingly disparate snippets in a modular fashion. They would chop and change different parts in and out until they found the right pieces of the puzzle to fit. I had previously experimented with this approach a handful of times before with songs like “Joey” but now, because I had such an easy way to record and recall my snippet recordings, I could do this much easier. During these years as well, I co-wrote a lot of varyingly themed songs with Ant & Phil which to this very moment have still not seen the light of day; “The Letter”, “The Flower & The Honey Bee”, Let’s Go Walking”, “The List Of Your Mistakes”, “Spectre” etc. I actively wrote about strange and different subject matter; I had always tried to include songs about the supernatural, and this era of my writing was no exception. But many other themes arose too - bank robbery, unrequited love, political dissent, gun-totting wild-men, ladies of the night. You name it, we wrote about it. The next milestone of change in my song-writing came in 2013, but it wasn’t even music related. I started to seek and find presence/ conciousness through the guidance of Spiritual Teacher Eckhart Tolle and his life-changing book A New Earth. And it was through this new-found presence that I was able to allow myself to go back to songs I had previously thought were “keepers” and dissect them in order to improve them even further. The bar I now set myself for writing songs went up again in this era, and where I was once willing to designate an “ok” song as a B-side in the past, now I would take a very large scalpel to it and only keep the parts [or part] that I couldn’t possibly live without. And through this process,

I started to strip away the more “flowery”, “cryptic” or “nonsense” aspect of my lyrics and replaced them with more direct language. During this time, inter-band relations became a bit strained, probably due to the fact that The Aluskas hadn’t been the knock-out success we had hoped for. But other normal, everyday life issues started to arise; we were getting older and we needed to put down roots; so we each started to buy and move into new houses, got married and welcome pets into our lives. As we entered this new phase, all of these things got in the way of the band. A planned follow-up LP called Blackbox never materialised and slowly the realisation started to hit me that maybe my writing days were over, because without a band to record, perform and release them, what was the point in carrying on. But I did continue to write; call it an addiction or a compulsion, I don’t know. But in 2014-15, not really knowing why I was continuing, the songs I was now coming up with were getting better and better. I wrote all kinds of songs; fast ones, slow ones, songs about dogs, death, love, loss, short songs, epic multi-part ones, Instrumentals, and even poetry set to music. Things I had never done before, I was doing now with ease. I was soaking up influences from a vast array of artists and turning them into my own unique songs. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I was enjoying the process. And then, one day in 2016, I hit upon the idea of telling my life story through music. The origin story of Season Of Spiders is for another article some other day, but suffice it to say that in terms of the new songs I was writing, my focus now was to tell the cohesive story of my life across multiple songs, stories and albums. I could see clearly for the first time that a huge amount of the songs I had already written were in fact autobiographical, and that even songs I had composed about others, or that were set in strange places or with unusual subject matter, were often just veiled pieces about my own feelings and life. And from that moment until the present, my writing has continued in a similar vein. To create this story, I would use all of the discordant strands of my song-writing ability, and pull them together to create one huge, complete story. And Living In Make Believe is the first major piece of that intricate story web. But writing for Season Of Spiders is only one avenue for my work. In January 2019, I set to work supplying my sister Debbie [aka Lilcatcheetah] with some music so that she could write lyrics for them. We worked fast and within a couple of song-writing sessions, we had composed the 10 songs that would make up her debut album Porcelain Doll. I found working on songs for Debbie’s project to be very liberating, and I was able to write in new, interesting ways. In the past, I would come up with certain pieces of music that might veer into poppier or dancier avenues that I wasn’t necessarily comfortable including in my own work, but with Debbie, I was able to expand my musical palette and create new songs and sounds with them. And this has been very rewarding. I have also spoken to Ant & Phil, my Aluskas band mates, and we have picked 30-odd songs from our extensive back catalogue to record and release as 3 new LP’s in the coming year. Furthermore, I have also started writing with my wife Natalie. I love her voice I know she has a knack for writing too. But that’s all in the future. So thanks for taking this trip through my writing history with me. And for any aspiring writers out there, turn over for some check-list gold.

SONG-WRITERS CHECKLIST Song-writing can seem like a mystery to the uninitiated. When I was just starting out as a kid, it seemed simply magical to me. So that is why I decided to put together this handy check-list. It is meant for the aspiring song-writer who has a passion for all things musical, but might not know where to start. It’s also aimed at the seasoned composer too; sometimes our writing loses focus and it would be nice to have a handy, little list to quickly help us get back on track...

Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns 04 December 2020

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NO DISTRACTIONS: Find a quiet place to write with no distractions. It might be your bedroom. Just give yourself time and space to develop your craft.

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GOOD ORGANISATION [PART 1]: Be organised and take your song-writing seriously. Make sure you have a writing pad, a pencil, paper, recording app or whatever it is you need to help you get your inspiration out into the real world. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to get into a writing state of mind.

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GOOD ORGANISATION [PART 2]: Catalogue your songs by keeping detailed manuscripts of where something was written, how long it took, and the times and dates of each composition. Write out very clearly, the chords and the lyrics for your song. Make it as easy for yourself to remember it. Put “written by” and your name at the top of the page and date it correctly. GOOD ORGANISATION [PART 3]: Get a folder and keep all of your song manuscripts in it together. If you have a simple recording app on your phone, record a Demo of your song on it, once it is completed. If you only have a snippet, like a riff, or the chord sequence for a verse for example, record that too. And name your Demo Recordings properly and descriptively so that you can check through these with ease later on when trying to compile bits and pieces for new songs. DO THE MESS-AROUND: Playing an instrument regularly gives you the time to explore writing by simply messing around with it. You might be surprised with what comes out. Instruments have songs in them; you can get them out by playing them.

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THE ALL SEEING EDITOR: Edit and re-edit yourself. Don’t settle for anything boring or obvious. Take the best bits you come up with and try to fit them together with other interesting pieces of music or lyrics.

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DON’T BE TOO REPETITIVE: While it is true that great songs have parts like catchy Choruses that repeat multiple times throughout the length of a song, I would still suggest that you limit your repitition to what is just necessary. Being overtly repetitive can be extremely annoying and boring. And boring, and boring, and boring. See what I did there?

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MIX IT UP A BIT: If you are a Guitar player, and you are starting to find that your songs are becoming samey, try making up melodies on a Bass Guitar, or an Electric Guitar, or a Keyboard instead. It always surprises me that different style songs come out when I jump around onto instruments other than my Acoustic Guitar. It doesn’t matter about your limitations on any of those instruments either; actually, these perceived “limitations” usually work to your advantage. If you don’t know what you’re doing on a new instrument, you are less shackled by the “rules” of that insturment, thus freeing yourself to be able to explore new melodies and ideas.

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GREAT SONG TITLES: Name your songs with interesting titles. This will usually come from writing with a wide variety of themes in mind.

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TEMPORARILY KILL THE CRITIC IN YOU: While writing, don’t be too self critical; there are enough critics out there who are more than willing to tell you that you and your song are worthless.

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KNOW WHAT YOU WANT: Before starting a song, have an idea of what you want to write about. Doing this will help you to focus on what should and what shoud not be included in your finished song.

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PLAYING THE LONG GAME: Don’t expect to write your masterpiece on the first attempt. I have been writing for the best part of three decades now and I know that good writing is a process that is developed over a long period of time.

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DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF IT: Write for the love of it, and never write anything to impress anyone else. Do it only because you want to.

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BE UNIQUE: Be as original as you can - there are enough copycats out there.

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GO INTO THE SILENCE: Calm your mind, be still and listen. We are all channels for the divine, you might be surprised with what you hear in the silence.

AIM HIGH: Think and aim big. Listen to great artists and absorb the tricks they use to make brilliant songs. When you have done a lot of listening, and you are sure you know what makes a song great, listen to average music and be able to tell the difference between the two.

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DON’T PUSH IT: If inspiration isn’t coming easily, stop, leave it be and come back when you feel more inspired. Dont force it.

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KEEP FRUSTRATION AT BAY: Try not to get frustrated. Song-writing is a process, and it can be a very slow process sometimes. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

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ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT YOU ACHIEVE: When you do eventually write something that you are proud of, acknowledge it and be thankful.

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DON’T GIVE UP: Don’t take yourself too seriously and definitely don’t give up. If you have passion, are truthful and if you like what you’re doing, eventually, the goods will follow.

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BE REAL: Avoid the generic, corny or cliche ridden. Write from your heart about what you feel. If you write about what you know, the better the chances are that you will be moved by it. And if you are moved, chances are, others will be too. KNOW YO-SELF, FOOL: Know yourself and be comfortable in your own skin. If you do and are, you will be able to get to the source of truth which is essential to writing real songs of depth and quality.

Season Of Spiders

Living In Make Believe, their debut album is available right now on Cobweb Recordings Listen on Spotify now

Also available, the Singles: “My Rebel Soul”, “You’re My Valentine”, “Video Games”, “Late At Night” & “Smiling Eyes”

seasonofspiders.com

cobwebrecordings.com

PART TWO In Part Two of The Big Interview with Dave Byrne, I sit down with the man in Audio Arcade to talk about Season Of Spiders Debut Album, Living In Make Believe. “It’s an album I felt compelled to make” says Dave, “made out of necessity on two fronts; the future and the past. I needed to create a way forward for myself musically after the fall of The Aluskas, but I also needed to confront the past, my past, and move on from it”...

Bob Webb 07 December 2020

WE ARE SITTING in Dave Byrne’s residential studio, Audio Arcade in early December 2020. The friday before, he released the fifth and final Single from Season Of Spiders Debut Album Living In Make Believe. And now, with all releases from the record done and dusted, I meet him in a relaxed state of mind. Outside, frost covers the rooftops of all the nearby houses, and the crisp morning air whispers “get inside, grab a cup of tea and stay nice and warm”. And that is exactly what I intend to do. Lights, Camera, Action!. BOB: Judging by the sound of Living In Make Believe, I would never have guessed that the Studio it was created in was so, let’s saw “Boutique”. The album does sound intimate but none of the big songs on it sound like they were recorded anywhere but a large, high-end recording studio. How did you achieve such a sound in such a small working environment? DAVE: I was surprised myself by the sound of the LP. The last time I had worked in a full-on professional recording facility was with The Aluskas on their debut album DRAW!, when we recorded it back in 2011 [the LP was released in mid 2012]. So when I came to build Audio Arcade in 2015, I was hopeful that I could achieve a great sound but you just never know. Especially when building on a budget. But, to be honest, I don’t hear a huge amount of difference, in terms of size and scale, between DRAW! and Living In Make Believe. I think we live at a time when it is finally possible to achieve a great sound outside of a professional studio. I mean, I hear albums all the time that are recorded with minimal equipment in peoples bedrooms that sound very Hi-Fi. Even 10 years ago, I don’t know if it was possible to achieve similar results to what we can do nowadays. And I am delighted about that because it means

I can record with affordable gear without sacrificing the quality of the sound of the record. BOB: Yes I have to say I agree. Even the sound of the Drums on this new record don’t sound unlike most others out there. And to think that they were tracked in your minimally-sized live room blows my mind. I read in the liner notes to the album that your Brother Anthony drums on some of the tracks, while you recorded some yourself as well. How did you decide who should play what? DAVE: Well, for the most part I recorded the album alone. But I did have guests come in on a number of tracks to lend a hand. In terms of why Ant plays some Drums, while I play on the others is simple; he is a far, far superior Drummer to me and there were songs on this record that I wouldn’t have had a hope in hell of being able to perform myself. Take “When You Rise”, the last song on the album, for instance. To me, those Drums sound like a cross of two of my favourite Drummers of all time, Jimmy Chamberlin [from the Smashing Pumpkins] and Keith Moon [The Who]. Now, had I tried to record that part myself, not only would that song not be the epic that it turned out to be, but it would have possibly ruined the album as a whole too. My Drums there would have been very anticlimactic. Like letting the air out of a balloon. So I was so glad to have Ant in to record on a number of songs. For me, it’s like having Ringo Starr play Drums. What I always love about Ringo is that whenever he came up with a part for the Drums for a Beatles song, it was like a composition in itself. He always played the “Song” as opposed to playing the “Drums” if you know what I mean. Whatever the song required, he would figure

out and play. Like the Drum part on “Come Together”, or “She Said, She Said” or “A Day In The Life”. And I feel the same when Ant plays Drums for me. He plays the “Song”, not the “Drums”. So I can always rely on the fact that his percussion parts will be very interesting. BOB: So I take it that you play Drums on the songs you can handle, technically speaking. DAVE: Exactly. I love the Drums and I have always wanted to be great on them, but I think that ship has sailed. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to play on the simpler stuff. I like to think I follow Ant’s approach to Drums, just in a much more basic manner. So that’s why I play Drums on a few of the songs myself. BOB: Ok. Obviously Ant is your Brother, but he is also your former band-mate in The Aluskas too. Speaking of The Aluskas then, why did Phil [Philip Tinsley, Aluskas band-mate] not play as a guest on any songs for you? DAVE: Well actually, I really wanted him on the record, but he was tied up and couldn’t make it. Then Coronavirus came along, and killed any possible chance of a collaboration with him. BOB: Ah, that’s a shame. What was he supposed to play on? DAVE: I wanted him to add Banjo, and possibly Mandolin, to “Catching Bees”. He has both of those instruments and I think they would have really lent themselves well to the feel of that song. I was raging that it never happened. But speaking of Phil, in much the

same way I described Ant playing the “Song” and not the “Drums”, I remember there was one time when I was working with him in The Aluskas and we were trying to arrange a song. And I was finding it quite difficult to know what to do with the arrangement. Phil said something very simple and straight-forward, but it really rang home as a simple truth. He said each song should be arranged with what it “needs”, nothing more, nothing less. And he gave the example of The Beatles songs “Blackbird” and “Strawberry Fields Forever”. They are two of the great Beatles songs, but they couldn’t be further from one another, arrangement-wise. Where “Blackbird” is a simple, delicate and sparse Acoustic Guitar number, “Strawberry Fields Forever” has everything in it. And I don’t think either of those songs would be as good as they are if they were recorded any differently. The Beatles were Master Arrangers of their Music. And this simple truth has stayed with me ever since. Whatever a song “needs” is how it should be done, nothing more, nothing less. BOB: Yeah, it sounds so simple but I think a lot of artists forget some of the fundamentals when arranging; they might be a band, and there can sometimes be an unwritten consensus that everyone must play their assigned instruments on each and every song, regardless of what type of song it is. DAVE: True. I think this has definitely changed over the years, and artists are much more aware of making each and every song as good as it can be, as opposed to just nailing through 10-12 songs on an album with Guitar, Bass and Drums. Obviously, some songs require only those elements but that for me is answered by what a song “needs”; if that is the arrangement that is needed, then by all means, do it.

BOB: You’ve sort of answered my next question already, which is how did you arrange the songs in such contrasting styles?

BOB: Ok, I know you don’t really want to get into it here, but The Aluskas called it a day in 2014. What took you so long to get something together for yourself?

DAVE: Job done. NEXT!!! Haha. BOB: I suppose what I wanted to point out there is that even though each song on Living In Make Believe is totally different from the next, you would also know that they are all by you. DAVE: Well I think that comes down to two things; [1] the fact that I have written all the songs and [2] my voice. You see, in The Aluskas for instance, we were a trio of Singers, Song-writers and Instrumentalists who all contributed equally to the band. This was always my preferred format. Most of my favourite groups had multiple singers and writers; The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Gomez, etc. I like to hear the different contributions of each member of a band and when you find yourself in a group with this situation, you are very lucky, because usually, you won’t be bored with an album by an artist like that. Everytime a new song comes on, it might be someone else singing, someone else writing etc. So while it is true that you may not like every single thing by a certain group like that, I don’t think it’s really possible to be bored by them. BOB: If working in a group is your ideal scenario, then working on Season Of Spiders must have posed its challenges for you, being a one-man-band, and all that? DAVE: It did, and for the longest time after The Aluskas went to ground, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was frightened of the idea of singing all songs on an album of my own because it didn’t lend itself at all to the idea of a rotating roster of Vocalists that I love so much. Furthermore, I was worried people would get bored of my voice after a couple of tracks and switch the record off. Because I know I don’t have the most appealing voice in the world. There are some people I know who don’t like my voice at all. And as a Singer, that can really dent your confidence. But as time went on, I started to trust that if this was the way it had to be, then it must be for a reason. I have always liked Singers with unconventional voices; Billy Corgan, Bob Dylan, Neil Young. And I am not comparing myself to them, only that their voices are not the typical amazingly beautiful voices of say Paul McCartney, or Nat King Cole or Elvis Presley. And I love their voices a lot too. But I found that what I liked about Corgans’, Dylans’ and Young’s’ voices was the fact that it was their voices telling their story through their songs. Not someone’s second hand interpretation of what was originally said. I think that is why I am so attracted to their voices. To me, their voices are somewhat more attainable. I would love a voice like Sam Cooke or Jackie Wilson, but my songs more than likely wouldn’t sound right coming from a “great” voice like theirs; part of the charm of my songs, I think, is that it is my voice telling my story through my songs. I have songs I need people to hear and to quote myself from “My Rebel Soul”, “I’m a Singer on a mission”. It is the voice God gave me and the only one I have so I need to use it the best way I can. BOB: Fair enough. Well I for one like your voice. And I should know, right? DAVE: Thanks Bob.

DAVE: Well, a brief outline of what led to where I am now. In 2012, The Aluskas released DRAW!, and though it was well received, we weren’t making enough money to continue as we were. We were all a little fed up, after touring in support of that record throughout 2013-14, and my hope was that we would regroup and record a follow-up LP called Blackbox in October 2014, with the idea being that it would see release in the December of the same year. But for a number of reasons, that deadline came and went, and Blackbox, which would have been a really great album, fell by the wayside. I was left very disappointed by the failure of that LP to arrive. We had already written the songs for it, and we had even worked up the arrrangements. But obviously, not making enough money, and then having to find more for recording costs was one of the final nails in the coffin for The Aluskas. Plus, Ant got his foot on the housing ladder and it was at this time that we all started to question where our lives were headed. We all had partners who wanted to get on with their lives too and we had to start making more practical life decisions around this time. So Natalie [McGlynn, my then girlfriend] and I started saving for own house, and a lot of our time and resourses went into that, which naturally took over from band-orientated stuff. But I had it in the back of my mind that I needed to keep writing songs while I was looking for a house. Then in 2015, I struck upon the Season Of Spiders idea as way for me to continue recording and releasing music, even if the other Aluskas didn’t want to anymore. So I made one thing a necessity when buying a house; I wanted my own Recording Studio as part of it. Without this, I knew I wouldn’t be able to constantly afford to pay for “real” Studios every year. And that would mean I wouldn’t be able to go on with my music. Luckily for me though, Nats was very much on board with this idea, and when we eventually bought a house in Courtown and moved down in September 2015, straight away, we had a studio added onto the rear of the property. And although this space was built by the January of 2016, there was a lot of internal works that needed to be down to fit out the place, never mind the research that went into how to build it in the first place, plus the expense we went through to kit it out with recording equipment and Instruments. Then I got marrried to Nats in the November of that year, so all of 2016 was taken up working like dogs to finance that. So the music took a back seat again. As 2017 came around though, I knew I was finally ready to get going except for one thing; I didn’t know how to Engineer, Produce or Mix my own records. Well, thats a bit of a lie; I had originally qualified with a Certificate in Sound Engineering from Kylemore College when I was 17. But far from endearing me to the process of making records, it actually took the shine off it for me. I didn’t really like peering behind the veil of how music was made. For me, some of the magic was lost. But almost a decade after that, I once again found myself behind a console, this time teaching kids how to write and record songs in Schools. So, in this capacity, I was engineering, mixing and producing. This time-period crossed over with The Aluskas DRAW! LP so I was getting more and more used to arranging music, and seeing how it was worked on by Professional technical staff.

So I knew when building the facility that I would have to upgrade my production skills if I wanted to be able to run my own studio. Jump forward again to March 2017, and that’s when I started taking a year-long class online in Sound Engineering, Production and Mixing. Without that class, I wouldn’t be where I am now. After the class was up, I spent another year relearning it [the truth is, there was so much in it that a year wasn’t enough to drill it into my head]. So it wasn’t until January 2019, after two years of study and research, that I felt comfortable to start work on my Sister Debbie Byrne’s Lilcatcheetah Debut LP Porcelain Doll. That record took us 6 months to make and by the end, I was totally happy to work away recording. During that time, I also had some clients come in to work on their audio projects and this work helped grow my confidence. And then, finally, in August 2019, I started recording the Living In Make Believe album. But to get to that point was a very long road of learning, as you can see. Plus we were renovating the house in that time too, so a lot of work took place during this era. BOB: It tires me even to listen to you recount it, haha. So then we get to the making of the record. Can you describe to me how you picked the songs for the album? DAVE: Well, I started to plot out the record back in 2016-17, so the idea was bubbling away for 2-3 years by this point. I knew I wanted to start the Season Of Spiders journey in my childhood, so all of the songs that I had written to do with that era were selected for the album. There was no bigger plan than that. But in terms of the sequence, I knew I wanted to make the album as diverse as possible, so that it wasn’t predictable or boring. BOB: For those who don’t know, Season Of Spiders is an autobiographical story, the tale of your life in fact. Why then do you use characters and fictional places in the story instead of the real names and places where the events actually took place? Why create a fictional world to set your story in? DAVE: As a kid, I loved creating all kinds of things, from my own line of chocolate and crisps, to drinks, computer consoles, football leagues, cars and magazines. Everything you can think of, I was always making up my own version of it. I wish I had the drawings of some of the things I created during my childhood to show you. And to this day, I have continued creating my own version of things, whether that be Cobweb Recordings, the SOS Almanac, or Radio Maplewood. Add to this my love of the ficitonal worlds that different Authors have created, includings Tolkien’s Middle Earth and J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts. So because Season Of Spiders is a musical project based on my life, I thought I could tie an autobiographical story together with a fictional world of my own creation to make something entirely original and entertaining. Furthermore, my life is also personal to me and I didn’t necessarily want people knowing every single detail about me either. For the longest time, I knew that I needed to write songs about my life because [1] they needed to be heard and [2] the songs acted as a form of therapy for me. In writing these autobiographical songs, I was confronting my past and with it, trying to forge a path into the future. But the reason I use fictional characters is because there has been a supernatural element at play in my life. It has made its presence known in our family, dating all the way back to childhood.

And this supernatural element does two things [1] it adds a mystical dimension to the story and [2] it is entertaining for the listener. And at the end of the day, though this is the story of my life, the listener also has to be entertained. Music is a part of the entertainment industry, and if no-one is entertained, they will simply move on to the next thing. Furthermore, writing about these supernatural events which take place in the SOS story, along side the melancholy aspects and the happy ones too adds a depth to it that would be missing if you took any one of the elements away. And by fictionalising the story, I found I could express myself far better if I was able to draw on some of these mystical elements, rather than if I just wrote first-hand “truthful” accounts of what took place in my life. So having come up with the idea of setting the SOS story in it’s own world, it was just a case of plotting the story out and seeing if that idea held up across my projected timeline. And having come to the conclusion that it did, I went for it hell for leather, haha. BOB: Ok, so what can you tell us about the world in which the Living In Make Believe album is set? DAVE: The world of Season Of Spiders is more like a country that I call Redemption, because the whole of the SOS Story is one big metaphor for redemption. The redemption of your soul. It is not religious, but spiritual. Anyway, within this “country” are cities, towns, and places that get expanded upon as the albums come along. Living In Make Believe is set in the suburban “City” of Maplewood, named in honour of the street I grew up on in Springfield, Tallaght as a kid. For all intends and purposes, this version of Maplewood is my childhood town, because through the eyes of a kid, a street or neighbourhood is huge because you don’t go anywhere else when you’re young. You stay out playing games on your street or at a push, you venture slightly further afield into your larger neighbourhood. It is your world, and that is how it seems. So the real-life events of my childhood play out in this fictionalised place. But this place, the world of Redemption, also features the supernatural, much like our real lives did too. Those aspects are expanded upon during the course of the album as well. In the story, I am represented by a character named Jack Valentine. You have met him already across the pages of this very magazine. And it is the story of Jack, his family, and their happy life until the realisation of a darkness lurking just ahead, up around the corner. All of the things that happen in the story are real, with the only differance being that the names of characters and places are changed. Or certain things are merged if necessary. BOB: So you are Jack Valentine. And he is the young fella playing hopscotch [in “Hopscotch”] and strutting his stuff in “My Rebel Soul”, trying to catch the eye of Winnie, a neighbourhood girl, is that right? DAVE: It is. Winnie is actually an amalgamation of a few different girls I used to like, whether they lived on my road, or I went to school with them. But for the flow of the story, they are merged into one “super” girl, if you will. Also, there are three overall stories running side by side in the Living In Make Believe album. One is the [unrequited] love story between Jack and Winnie, the second is the supernatural element that comes knocking in “The Following” and the third is the sad story that awaits our family with the news of

sickness and ultimately death that happens to our parents. All three strands intertwine together to create the overall story. And all are true. Or exaggerated versions of the truth. BOB: When you say true, can you please expand on the story of “The Following”. Who are these “wanderers without a home”? Are you saying you encountered these beings or are they one of the “exaggerations” of the story? DAVE: They are not an exaggeration. I know many people are very skeptical about Ghosts, or the Afterlife, and they find anything to do with these areas to be complete nonsense. But there are many more like me who have experienced completely unexplained phenomena that simply cannot be dismissed. Basically “The Following” is a song about what we in our family perceived to be an entity or entities that followed our family for many years. There are countless stories from around the world that speak of Ghosts, Beings, Demons, and Hauntings etc. Stories from people who claim that their family are cursed and that a being, or beings, latched on to those families, haunting them. Well, as kids, Ant & I, along with some friends of ours played with a Ouija board, and though nothing happened, it played on my mind that we had let something cross over from another realm, because of the “bad luck” we experienced very shortly after, with the death’s of our parents. I know now that we didn’t cause what happened, but around this same time, strange things started to happen in our house. Weird noises, boxes being knocked around, running on the stairs, banging on walls etc. All of this stuff happened in our house, so it all played into the song. In that era, my parents concealed the

fact that they too experienced such activity. I suppose they didn’t want to frighten us. We also didn’t know that my Grandparents on my Mothers side considered themselves to possibly be one of those “cursed” families. They and all their children [including my Mam] experienced similarly [and much more] frightening things in each of their houses too for many years. We only found a lot of those stories out years after the fact. So when I came to write “The Following”, it got its name because I considered these entities to be “followers”; they appeared to latch on to the family and follow them wherever they went. I think that whatever latched on to my Grandparents filtered down to their kids [including my Mam] and followed each of them to their own family homes. And by extension, we experienced some of the supernatural phenomena because we lived with them. This all sounds crazy, but there have been many unexplained events that have happened to all of us that will be detailed as songs and albums go by. So, songs like “The Following”, “Late At Night” and “A Premonition” are all true accounts of paranormal events that happened in our family. BOB: Now I’m a bit spooked. Are “The Following” still following you all to this very day? DAVE: I don’t know. Activity has died down a lot ever since we sold our family home in Maplewood in 2015. But things still do go bump in the night from time to time. Regardless of whether people believe in the supernatural or not, the events I detail in the Season Of Spiders songs are true and they happpened to me/my family and at the very least, everyone likes a good old-fashioned Ghost Story, don’t they?

BOB: I suppose they do. I’m still getting over the fact that you said these supernatural stories are true, and that they actually happened to you or your family. So a song like “Late At Night” is a bit more vague, speaking of “shadows on the stairs” or “lights that flicker and flare”. But then you have a more detailed account in “A Premonition (Or Just A Bad Dream)”. The way that song is recorded, with the sound of a tape recorder stopping, rewinding and fast-forwarding, in light of the fact that you are saying these things are true, really does add a creepy element to the whole experience of listening to those songs. DAVE: Yeah, the first verse of “A Premoniton” recalls a time when I was a young kid. I would be woken from a nightmare, and in the darkness, I would approach the landing outside my bedroom in our house. But upon getting to there, I always thought that a large ‘Eye” was watching me from the corner and as I made my way running towards my parents room, I always thought that something was going to grab my leg as I ran on the landing passed the stairs. I would hop into my parents bed and stay there until I fell asleep. But that “Eye” used to terrify me. The second verse is set a few years later. I used to sit by the window, nervously waiting for my Dad to come home from work, worried that he wouldn’t arrive home alive. I would become quite anxious while waiting for him and to this day I don’t know why I felt that way. My Mam would be there making the dinner and she would tell me not to worry, but I couldn’t help it. I think I was born worrying and in some ways this type of worrying in scenarios like this felt like a premonition of things to come. Neither of those aspects in “A Premonition” are supernatural, but they point towards an unease that I sometimes felt during some of the early part of my life.

BOB: It must have been hard to write songs like that, to go through the emotions, for fear of almost bringing them up again. Was there ever a point where you just wanted to move on and forget about them? DAVE: There was. But it wouldn’t have been true to the story of my life if I didn’t detail them. Making Living In Make Believe was hard; it was difficult to go back and reawaken some of the nightmare times that we lived through to get to the essence of the story. But without going back through them, the album wouldn’t have been half as compelling as I think it is. And having to write and record some of those songs was like a therapy for me. It helped to relive them so I could better understand my own life. BOB: I can see how reliving some of them would help but a song like “You’re Not Well”, that must have been very difficult to write and record? I don’t know if I would want to face something like that head-on. DAVE: I never actually wanted that song on the album. I never wanted to even write it, but that song was in me as a nightmare for many years before I actually sat down to exorcise it. It details the slowly dawning knowledge that my parents weren’t well, and for anyone who has ever felt the creeping suspicion of this will understand how worrying and heart-breaking it is. So once I wrote it, I knew it had to be part of the overall SOS story, but I certainly didn’t want to give it a spotlight by putting it on the album. I thought I could just tuck it away on a B-side so that people wouldn’t have to be confronted with it. I didn’t want to be confronted with it. But when I played it for my wife Natalie, she insisted very strongly that

it go on the album. I tried to argue that the idea of the song, with its “suspicion” and not concrete evidence, would work well as a B-side, almost like you hear it once or twice and you don’t necessarily register it, but she told me that it was essential to the understanding the story of the LP. I fought it for weeks but the more I thought about it, the more I knew she was right. So I reluctantly placed it on the album, but now I am very happy it’s on there. It’s an important song to me and the overall story. BOB: I think including it in the albums’ running order was the right decision. We’ve been talking about some heavy subjects here, but I would like to bring to the readers attention the fact that Living In Make Believe is also as much a work of joy as it is of sorrow. It has it all, the light and the dark. Take for instance your Debut Single “My Rebel Soul”; that song is completely infectious and uplifting. And going by what you were saying earlier, I can imagine you trying to channel Sam Cooke or Jackie Wilson while singing it, because it really has that type of Motown, R&B vibe to it. DAVE: Absolutely. I love Motown and with that track, I was trying to create a cross between All Things Must Pass-era George Harrison and mid-60’s Motown. I wanted to recreate how it felt to be a kid with the world at my feet, trying to catch the eye of someone I liked. Moreover, I think the lyrics of the song are the internal dialogue that takes place in my head rather than in actual reality, because as a young-fella, I didn’t have great confidence with girls. There were too many rejections for me to be confident. But in my head, I could play out any type of scenario I wanted, so that’s what “My Rebel Soul” is about. A little make-believe Don Juan from Tallaght. It’s pretty funny when I think about it.

BOB: And so many others on the album are very optimistic too, like “Hopscotch”, “You’re My Valentine” and one of my personal favourites, “Video Games”. DAVE: The funny thing about “Video Games” is that I didn’t want that one on the album either. I wrote it as a B-Side, but when I was recording it, and layering it up with those cool 8-bit sounds that remind me so much of my childhood, I really started to enjoy it. Actually, recording that song was the most fun I had while working on the album, probably because the pressure was off. But when I played it for Nats, she loved it and once again, she battled me for weeks until I finally decided to give in and put it on the album. The other reason I didn’t want to put it on there is because I knew it would leave me short of B-sides [that’s ultimately why there are only two B-sides from this record]. But as the weeks went on, I knew Nats was right again so I gave in. Then a funny thing happened; I started to like it so much, that I decided to release it as a Single. So it just goes to show that for all the planning that goes into these things, you can’t plan everything. BOB: Nats has good taste. DAVE: She does, haha. BOB: Speaking of Nats, she designed all of the Artwork for the Album and it’s accompanying Singles. I love it all; the sleeves are very uniform but unique as well. They work as a collection but also stand up individually too. I can see why you like using her for your records. She also did the Artwork for The Aluskas and Lilcatcheetah

too. What is it about her Artwork you like so much? DAVE: Everything you said, I suppose. For me, she captures the essence of what I am looking for. I suppose this comes from knowing me for so long [in 2021, we know each other 20 years], but there’s a magic and innocence that she portrays through her work that really appeals to me. I love it all. BOB: Nats has been one of your longest-running collaborators along with your Aluskas band-mates. But in the credits of the record I see that family and friends also played a large supporting role on Living In Make Believe. DAVE: Debbie my sister [aka Lilcatcheetah] provides Hand Claps and Backing Vocals on “My Rebel Soul” alongside my other sister Les [my third sister Sinead is the only one who didn’t take part this time around; I’ll get her on a record somewhere down the line] and my Aunts Marian & Barbara. My uncle Ray plays Accordion on “Late At Night”. He previously played Accordion on The Aluskas song called “The Sailor”. Then you have Nats playing “Don’t Fear The Reaper”-level Cow Bell, as well as Hand Claps & Backing Vocals on “My Rebel Soul”, Ant on Drums on a number of tracks and Nats’ Aunt Brona playing Cello on the final song on the album, “When You Rise”. So it really is a family affair.

2020, just as Coronavirus made its way to Irish shores, locking the country down. So what I decided to do was start recording a follow-up record to it straight away. I recorded it from then to around August or September, then I mixed it from September to November. It’s finished and I hope to get it Mastered and released sometime in 2021. This second album is a continuation of the story which started with Living In Make Believe, but it goes to some darker places because the timeline of the story has moved on to when I was 13-14 years old. There was a lot of hard times during this era, and while the second album deals with those hardships, it also looks at a deeper meaning behind the grief we experienced during that era of our lives. In a way, recording the second album was actually more difficult than the first; its subject matter is the darkest of my life and having to relive it was tough. But going from Album #1 straight into #2 without a break was very, very difficult. I didn’t even take a week off to gather my thoughts and I don’t think I will ever do anything like that again. Especially because we were locked down for most of that time. That isolation really didn’t help. But I’m glad I’m through it now, and I can focus on the fact that I have told the story of those years of my life the best way I could. And when it does eventually come out, it will be a good feeling to know that I have unleashed it from my soul so that I can move on, musically and spiritually speaking.

BOB: So with this album in the bag, where do you go from here. Is there another album in the works? And if so, when can we expect to hear it?

BOB: Thanks for speaking to me today, it’s been enlightening, entertaining, and spooky as well. We’ll have to do it again soon.

DAVE: Well, I finished recording Living In Make Believe in March

DAVE: Count me in. Thanks a mill.

LIVING IN MAKE BELIEVE

ABOVE: Front Cover of Season Of Spiders Debut Album Living In Make Believe. Designed by Natalie Byrne â&#x2019;¸ 2020.

TECHNICALITIES ALBUM #1 LIVING IN MAKE BELIEVE SIDE 1 LIVING IN MAKE BELIEVE 01 Winnie 02 The Arcade 03 Hopscotch 04 My Rebel Soul 05 The Following 06 Video Games 07 You're My Valentine SIDE 2 GLASS GRAVES 08 Late At Night 09 Catching Bees 10 A Premonition (Or Just A Bad Dream) 11 Smiling Eyes 12 Living In Make Believe 13 You're Not Well 14 When You Rise

THE TECHNICALITIES Written & Arranged By David Byrne Performed & Recorded By David Byrne Engineered & Mixed By David Byrne Produced By David Byrne Recorded At Audio Arcade, Co. Wexford Mastered By Antimo Kelly Puca Artwork, Layout & Design By Natalie Byrne Record Label Cobweb Recordings Catalogue No. COBWEB013 Release Date 13 November 2020 THE DATES & THE PLACES Recorded & Mixed At Audio Arcade Recording Dates Aug 2019 - Jan 2020 Mixing Dates Feb-Mar 2020 Mastered At AP Studios, Dublin Mastering Dates September 2020

THE SEASON OF SPIDERS David Byrne All Vocals, Instruments & Effects, except... THE BYRNETTES Anthony Byrne Drums [02, 03, 04, 08 & 14] | Percussion [03] Barbara Cunningham Shaker [03] Natalie Byrne Cowbell, Backing Vocals, Hand Claps [04] Marian Byrne Backing Vocals, Hand Claps [04] Debbie Byrne Backing Vocals, Hand Claps [04] Lesley Byrne Backing Vocals, Hand Claps [04] Ray Byrne Harmony Accordions [08] Brona Colfer Cello [14]

ABOVE: Back Cover of Season Of Spiders Debut Album Living In Make Believe. OPPOSITE: CD Label for Living In Make Believe Album. Both pieces designed by Natalie Byrne â&#x2019;¸ 2020.

LIVING IN MAKE BELIEVE

Living In Make Believe is the Debut Album by Season Of Spiders. It was released as COBWEB013 on Cobweb Recordings on 13 November 2020 [Friday the 13th!!!], 2 days after my birthday. It features the previously released singles “My Rebel Soul” & “You’re My Valentine”, and the forthcoming Single “Video Games”, plus 11 other songs as well. All of the tracks that make up the Living In Make Believe record were made in my residential Recording Studio, Audio Arcade, from August 2019 - January 2020. I mixed it over the course of 6 weeks, stretching from February - March 2020 and it was Mastered by Antimo Kelly Puca at his AP Studios, in Sandyford, in September 2020. Coming off the back of co-writing and producing Lilcatcheetah’s Porcelain Doll LP with Debbie Byrne in June 2019, I was able to take a lot of the skills I’d learned on that record and apply them to Living In Make Believe. Working alone in the studio, I built each song by overdubbing Instruments, Effects & Vocals on top of one another. I also featured a number of family and friends on the record, that I dubbed The Byrnettes, honorary Byrne’s who added greatly to the recording process. My Aunt’s Marian & Barbara are on there, as are my sisters Lesley & Debbie [aka Lilcatcheetah], my Wife Natalie, her Aunt Brona, my Uncle Ray and last but not least, my Brother [and former member of The Willows and The Aluskas], Anthony. In terms of the album, Living In Make Believe is a conceptual work, set deep in the recesses of Childhood. It is about an 11 year old boy, turning 12, his family, and the dark shadow that is about to envelope them, and from which they can not escape. Contrastingly, it is also about all the fun things kids of that age get up to and dream of, and I wanted it to flow together as a musical folktale. It’s an album of two halves, and I have sequenced it so; Side 1 is subtitled Living In Make Believe [light and airy in mood], while Side

2 is called Glass Graves [where serious concerns start to take over]. This album is the first part of a much bigger tale, telling a completely connected story in fragments, moments and memories and includes aspects of the Supernatural, as well as normal, everyday life. It is a melting pot of sounds, where “Rock ‘n’ Roll, Soul, Alt-Country, Cosmic Folk, Electronic and pure Rock sensibilities collide” [to quote Bob Webb, our PR Wizard at Cobweb Recordings]. So without further ado, the songs. The dream-like “Winnie” quickly gives way to “The Arcade”, a place where our stories’ protagonist Jack, along with his Brother and Sister, spend many hours of their time on holidays. Games like The Turtles and Golden Axe, while the hours away, and the Arcade is a dreamland of “flashing lights” to them. “Hopscotch” soon takes over, and it’s 1950’s rockabilly aesthetic rumbles along like an out of control train. Jack has his eye on Winnie and he will stop at nothing to get her attention. Next up is “My Rebel Soul”, a swaggeringly upbeat and confident attempt to merge All Things Must Pass-era George Harrison with my love of all things Motown. The song itself details the exploits of Jack, again trying to get the attention of Winnie, by listing all of his qualities [“I got the shoes of a Disco King, I got the moves of a chameleon”] in the hope that the object of his desire will give him a chance and “get to know me”. rom there though, things take a darker turn with “The Following”, F a story of shadow entities that Jack believes have entered his life through his use of a Ouija Board. Right after playing with it with his friends, he worries that the bad things that would soon befall his family were somehow caused by his antics with the game. Trying to come back to the light, “Video Games” is a song set on a Friday afternoon, right after school ends for the week, safe in the knowledge that you have nothing else to be doing but putting on

your favourite SNES game [Street Fighter II Turbo] and letting the rest of the world go by unnoticed. Side 1 of the record end with the mellow “You’re My Valentine”, an Eels-style nugget of romance and another plea to the girl of Jack’s affections to “give your heart to me, kiss me and make it real, cos I can always dream, you’re my Valentine”. ide 2 opens with “Late At Night”, a Beach Boys-meets-Phil Spector S gem about starting to hear strange noises at home. Creeping on the stairs and creaky floorboards. “Who’s there” is the question, but the answer is one that Jack doesn’t want to hear. From this moment on, the album takes a little bit of a sombre twist with the arrival of “Catching Bees”, an ode to what all of the neighbourhood kids loved to do; using a jam jar with some holes popped through the top of the lid [so that the Bees could breathe], they would go around their local area trying to catch the biggest or scariest Bees they could find. The song, on the surface, is a poetic recounting of a favourite childhood past-time, but on another level, it is about what this era in Jack’s life represents; how his innocence is fleeting in a world where people seem to sell their very souls to “keep away the Vultures from the door.” ollowing this is “A Premonition (Or Just A Bad Dream)”, a F nightmare of impending doom, set to frightening music, recorded on what sounds like a Cassette Tape and left discarded in a darkened drawer of the past. “Smiling Eyes” is the concluding chapter of the “Winnie”-”My Rebel Soul”-”You’re My Valentine” romance and it’s simple, elegant piano part in the Outro is a beautiful metaphor for having to let go and start growing up. The title track of the record though, is one last plea from Jack to remain where he is, metaphorically speaking, at this point; he knows that change is coming, but he doesn’t want to venture into the unknown future

for fear of what awaits him there. Because right around this very next corner seems to be the horrible culmination of all of the things he feared in earlier tracks like “The Following”, “Late At Night” and “A Premonition”. In “You’re Not Well”, Jack details the painful knowledge that his parents are very ill, and the song feels suffocating. As its lyrics play out, the realisation that nothing will ever be the same again dawns on him and all of Jacks’ worst nightmares are coming true. It’s a sad song that Jack wishes he never had to be part of. The album concludes with the Winter twilight skies of “When You Rise”, an emotional tour de force that takes the listener “out into the streets” of Jack’s childhood town. He “rushes down midnight lanes” where “the starlight is bleeding” because he knows that time is running out; there is no escape from the terrible tragedy that is about to befall him and his family. It is a towering moment on the Living In Make Believe record, and it is a song that leaves the listener peering through the window panes of Jack’s broken Family home, knowing that things are very bad indeed, but not knowing what’s coming next.

L iving In Make Believe ends here on a knifes edge. The listener will have to return again for album #2 if they want to hear of the fate that will befall Jack. And I am quite sure that if you immerse yourself into the story, you will be rewarded with each listen. It is an album intended to be enjoyed, in headphones preferably. I hope the listener hears something in it that they can relate to and it becomes an album that they can return to at any time of year. Until next time...

David Byrne 11 November 2020

CEOL NA MARA

On 23 December 2020, 2 days before Christmas, I teamed up with my Sister Debbie [aka Lilcatcheetah] to play a short set of acoustic versions of some of the songs from our respective debut albums. Collectively, we called ourselves Eerie Orphans [the name of one of my Season Of Spiders songs that will be released in a few years time]. This secret show took place at my house, Ceol Na Mara, under the Christmas Tree, in front of a small, invited audience. We performed in aid of Harold’s Cross Hospice in Dublin and all proceeds from the night went to them, just in time for Christmas. The performance was part of the Worlds Smallest Christmas Market, put together by my wife Natalie. She decided to organise a Market-style event in our house [originally planned for 18 December] because she and Debbie would ordinarily take part in a Christmas Market. But because of Covid, no Markets were on to take part in. On the night, we hopped between songs on Lilcatcheetah’s Porcelain Doll album and my more recently released Season Of Spiders LP Living In Make Believe. I chose to perform 4 of the 5 Singles from my album [minus “Video Games”] while Debbie chose only 1 Single [“Porcelain Doll”] with the other three offerings [“Under My Sky”, “Our Song” and “You Or Your Brother”] being LP tracks from her record. We performed everything together, with Debbie taking the Lead Vocal on her own songs, while I sang on mine, both harmonizing with the other, and all accompanied by my Acoustic Guitar. We decided to add in two covers to round out the performance; first up was a rendition of Paul Young’s hit “Everytime You Go Away”, popularizared by the film Planes, Trains And Automobiles and the second was a song by Nancy Sinatra called “Sugar Town”. The show lasted 45 minutes, after which we had a few festive drinks.

David Byrne 12 January 2021

OPPOSITE: Commemorative Poster for Eerie Orphans first Live Performance, 23 December 2020 at Ceol Na Mara. Artwork by Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns, Ⓒ 12 January 2021.

EERIE ORPHANS In Aid Of

HAROLD'S CROSS HOSPICE

CHRISTMAS AT CEOL NA MARA, 23 DECEMBER 2020 Playing acoustic versions of songs from two albums Porcelain Doll [Lilcatcheetah] & Living In Make Believe [Season Of Spiders]

VIDEO GAMES

TECHNICALITIES SINGLE #3

PRODUCTION

VIDEO GAMES

A-Side VIDEO GAMES B-Side N/A

MUSICIANS David Byrne Double-tracked Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Drum Programming, 8-Bit Triangle Wave Bass Synthesizer, 8-Bit Pulse Wave Lead & Rhythm Synthesizers

SLEEVENOTES “Video Games” is the Third Single from Season Of Spiders. It features on the Cobweb Recordings LP, Living In Make Believe, released in November 2020. This record exhibits another side of my personality, in the form of the quirky 8-bit noises that make up the track. It is the opposite of the cool swagger of “My Rebel Soul” or the heartfelt “You’re My Valentine”. “Video Games” is all about the anticipation and extreme childhood fun of getting home from school on a Friday and knowing that you have the whole weekend ahead of you. And what better way to spend some of that time than in front of a small screen, with a SNES [Super Nintendo] and your favourite video games to keep you busy for hours. It is one of the only tracks I have recorded so far that features solely synthesized Instruments, apart from the Vocals. But even the Vocals have some cool Delay, Reverb and Crushed Sound Effects on them. With “Video Games”, the rules went out the window, and I just explored what was possible using these amazing 8-bit sounds. It is probably the most fun I’ve had recording so far. And it’s hard to deny the joy that you feel when listening to 8-bit music. Some of the same sounds appear in another song on the album called “The Arcade” so go check that one out now too.

David Byrne 16 November 2020

MIXTAPE #2:

Time for another pit stop. You’ve been reading this copy of the SOS Almanac for hours now, like a complete nut. I’m sure you’re so addicted to it that you want to keep reading until the very end without breaking. But there’s a good chance that you could die without rehydration and sustenance. So I implore you to stick the kettle on again, grab another bite to eat [maybe a Gluten-free Brownie] and have a listen to the second Mixtape we’ve put together for you.

Animal Kovax 10 December 2020

ALL OF OUR Living In The Past Mixtapes are made up of tracks culled from the years 1994-96. This second volume consists entirely of my selection of songs from this era. Most of these tracks were some of my favourite songs at that time, but I didn’t hear one of them [The Eels’ “Susan’s House”] until many years later. I’ve also included a few “pop” songs because they are lodged deep in my braincase but also because each of them are extremely well written and catchy. It would be so easy just to include music by artists who are considered “cool” and forget about the rest, white-washing my own musical tastes in the process, but it wouldn’t be truthful. One thing we grew up knowing was to judge everything on it’s “merits” - not whether something was considered “cool”. A lot of the time, “cool” just means “boring” if you ask me. Ok, sit back, put your feet up and hit play now! SIDE A 01 Buddy Holly [Weezer] If you listen to this song even once, you won’t be able to stop singing it over and over. It’s a 90’s classic, with it’s mix of grungey distortion, melodic Vocals and crunchy Organ & Guitar tones. 02 1979 [The Smashing Pumpkins] Perhaps the greatest song from The Pumpkins, “1979” never gets old. It makes me nostalgic for my youth. Effortlessly beautiful and evocative. 03 Wonderwall [Oasis] Up there with “Don’t Look Back In Anger” as a contender for the best song by Oasis. Back in the day, anyone with a Guitar gave “Wonderwall” a go, but few have come close to the magic Liam,

Noel & Co. created here. One of music’s towering masterpieces. 04 The Circle [Ocean Colour Scene] A year after Oasis scored big with (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, OCS dropped Moseley Shoals and some of the big hitters from that LP were in direct competition for Oasis’ crown. “The Circle” features on of my all time favourite Guitar Solos, this one courtesy of Steve Cradock. 05 High And Dry [Radiohead] Another of Radiohead’s more commercial songs, “High And Dry” proves that even though something is commercial, it doesn’t mean its not still brilliant. 06 When I Come Around [Green Day] This song was another of Green Days’ big hits from their Dookie album, and rightly so. Extremely catchy and melodic. 07 Stranger In Moscow [Michael Jackson] I’ve always been a huge Michael Jackson fan and when the HIStory album came out in Mid 1995, I loved so many of the new songs on it, especially this one. 08 Back For Good [Take That] Another classic “pop” song from Take That, the best Boyband of all time. “Back For Good” is pure 90’s in the best way possible. 09 A Design For Life [Manic Street Preachers] Probably the Manics defining moment, with a classic Music Video too, “A Design For Life” was and still is epic.

MIXTAPE #2:

10 Alright [Cast] Jack Valentine already included another song with the name “Alright” on the first Living In The Past Mixtape [that one was by Supergrass], but I couldn’t skip this cracker from the Britpop Liverpudlians. SIDE B 11 What’s The Frequency Kenneth? [R.E.M.] The second side of this Mixtape opens with a heavier than usual [by their standards] track from one of the biggest band’s of the 90’s, R.E.M. 12 Stay (I Missed You) [Lisa Loeb] This track was one of the biggest of the era, opening with it’s simple Acoutic Guitar part and lovely sweet Vocal. 13 Without You [Mariah Carey] This heartbreaking offering from Mariah Carey [a cover of a Badfinger song] is one of the high points of her career. 14 Crazy [Aerosmith] This song has a great chorus but was probably one I preferred more when I was younger. 15 Rocks [Primal Scream] “Rocks” is Primal Scream channelling The Rolling Stones. It’s as simple as that, but it’s also one of the great Indie tracks of the 90’s.

greatest group on the planet [after Oasis & The Smashing Pumpkins] and “Best Days” is one of the finest songs Damon Albarn ever wrote. 17 Real Love [The Beatles] “Real Love”, the second “new” offering from The Beatles in the mid 90’s is fantastic. It usually comes in for unwarranted stick but I think it’s actually better than “Free As A Bird”. It’s uplifting and melancholy, a perfect mix. 18 Susan’s House [Eels] I only heard this track from The Eels debut LP Beautiful Freak many years after the fact but as soon as I did, I recognised a very inventive streak in the Eels writing that I am glad I know of now. I also love the piano riff that leads into the Chorus of the song. 19 I’ll Be There For You - Theme From “Friends” [The Rembrandts] I used to love the TV show Friends and I always thought “Ill Be There For You” was like a forgotten gem from the 60’s. It’s become so overplayed and lodged into our heads that it’s hard to remember what a quality song it actually is. 20 Ironic [Alanis Morissette] “Ironic” was a massive tune when I was growing up, and although nothing in it is actually ironic, it’s still a great song.

16 Best Days [Blur] During this time period [1994-96] Blur were possibly the third

REDEMPTION

The Season Of Spiders story takes place in the ficitionalised world of Redemption. It is a Country afloat at sea that has many different cities and towns, and races of people and beings from different cultures. As the SOS tale moves from album to album, more and more of the landscape of this strange world will be revealed. But just how was Redemption founded in the first place, what is it’s history and what happened there before Season Of Spiders even existed? We’ll take a closer look at four of the places that make up this vast land. Keep reading to enter the next realm...

Bobb Webb 17, 18, 19 & 21 December 2020

REDEMPTION - THE LEGEND The land known as Redemption is old, very old indeed. It is essentially like anywhere else that we know about, developing in much the same way that all major Countries do. Wars were fought, people died, dreams were dreamt and Power, Money & Greed are the roots of all evil. Redemption is like anywhere, except this land is not only filled with Humans, but other beings too. Legend has it that, centuries ago, the earliest settlers on this diamond-shaped, continent-sized country came from all four points of the compass, across vast oceans filled with underwater beasts, mermaids, and sea-serpents, and moved inwards as time wore on, fighting great battles along the way to advance each of their own races.

Redemption is filled with everything; the things of dreams and riches beyond dreams; nightmares and Monsters beyond belief; Religions and cults; corrupt political systems; vigilantes; aweinspiring landscapes; mythical cultures; the living and the dead living together. It is a world where all manner of creature big and small roam; think Middle-Earth crossed with Gotham City & Grand Theft Auto set in modern times. Races of Humans, Dwarfs, & Elves, Vampires, Lycans and Shape-shifters live shoulder to shoulder with Spirit Beings, Forlies, Warlocks, Witches, Wizards, Ghosts, Ghouls, Water-folk, Skin-walkers, Winged races and everything else in between. It is a place filled with contradictions; the good, the bad & the insane. The battles for power were waged by all of these races and Redemption was carved up, first by each tribal race, and eventually, into Kingdoms, then towns, cities and finally, States. Today, there are 48 States and each has it’s own history of how it came to be. These 48 States are broken up into four territories [North, East, South & West] with 12 States in each. Many are

industrialised, modern Cities, while others are quaint, olde-timey places where time seems to move slowly, out of step with the rest. They all focus around the Central State of Mount Gory, a huge, mountainous and forested region in the very centre of the country. Mount Gory is also the largest Single Mountain in all of Redemption and some say that to behold it is to know God. Legend has it that this mountain is the beating heart of the entire place. It is a mystical region and though it is inhabited, few travel there because of its harsh terrain and impassable wilderness. Bounding outwards from Mount Gory are many states covered in Large Forests, and a lot of these regions have remained that way throughout their history. The states immedietely outside of these places are where most of the large Cities exist, and they are the centres of industry. One of these, Citadel Hill, is the capital of Redemption. Finally, most of the coastal regions are Holiday paradises, filled with tourists all year round. Some of these states are eternally in Winter [Northern Territory], some exist in perpetual Summer [Southern Territory]. The Eastern & Western Territories shift between the seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter like most any other place. You will journey to most of these places throughout the Season Of Spiders story, and learn of the unique landscapes and captivating things that have happened in each of them. But we should begin with the 36th State of Redemption, the one that in many ways matters the most. The State of Maplewood. Because it is here that a boy called Jack and his family live a contented, idyllic life with little knowledge of Redemptions’ history or it’s inhabitants. For them, life is good in their hometown, the sleepy suburban city in the East.

MAPLEWOOD STATE: STATE NO: ESTABLISHED: TERRITORY: INHABITANTS: POPULATION: LANGUAGE: COMMUTER RAIL: NEWS MEDIA:

Maplewood 36 1800 East Humans, Ghosts 2.1 Million English The Maplewood Express The Maplewood Post

KNOW YOUR STATE - MAPLEWOOD Maplewood is the 36th state in Redemption. It is situated in the Eastern Territory with a population of over 2.1 million people. It is inhabited by Humans mainly, but other beings do live there too. The Dead are ever-present aswell, as you will come to understand from listening to the Season Of Spiders album Living In Make Believe. It is a mid-sized city, with a lot of greenery. It is well connected with trams and home to some iconic landmarks known throughout the country. THE MAPLEWOOD EXPRESS The Maplewood Express, the longest-running train service in Redemption, has been operating continuously since 1850. It was the Maplewood Express that was famously hijacked by the Mountain Men, a group of maurading outlaws from the neighbouring State of Blackoak, in 1871. The leader of the gang, the infamous Jack Whiley, was wanted in many states for numerous bank hoists dating back over a decade by that point. The robbery on the Maplewood Express went down in history as the single largest theft of gold ever in Redemption. THE MAPLEWOOD MAMMOTHS The Maplewood Mammoths were one of the top Football Teams in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s. They won everything from the Eastern Territory Cup [ETC], to the RSL [Redemption Super League; the Redemption equivalent of the Premier League] and the most coveted of them all, the Copa Redemption [basically the World Cup/Champions League of Redemption which takes place every 5 years]. They fell on hard times during the 1980’s but ever since they rebuilt their iconic Maplewood Rodeo Stadium in the early 1990’s, they have seen a rise in their fortunes once again. RADIO MAPLEWOOD 198.3 FM Radio Maplewood is the local Radio Station of Maplewood. It plays great music 24 hours a day, and is one of the treasured institutions of the state. In fact, listenership is enormous throughout most of Redemption, never mind just Maplewood, with its mix of great music, radio plays, infrequent advertisment interferance [it is state funded], deep-dive programmes into the making of classic albums and best of all, The Graveyard Shift, Radio Maplewood’s most popular programme anchored by legendary Disc Jockey Darlina Pine, who, every Friday night from 10-2, tells spooky tales in her sultry voice while also spinning classic rock ‘n’ roll records.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS Other attractions & items of note in Maplewood include the first Telegram company in Redemption, the not-so-imaginitively titled Maplewood Telegram Company. And the Maplewood Mall, built in 1972, was the only mega shopping mall in the land until they started to be built elsewhere at the end of the 70’s. THE HIGHS The Maplewood Mammoths completely dominated the Eastern Territory Cup [ETC] in the 1960s-70s, winning it every year on the trot from 1961-66 and then again from 1969-1971 and randomly in 1974, 1976 and 1978. During this era, they also won the RSL [Redemption Super League in 1964-1966, 1970, 1972, and 19761978. To top off their achievements, they lifted two of their 4 Copa Redemption titles in this era too, winning in both 1965 and 1975 respectively. The Mammoths teams of the 60’s and 70’s are considered some of the greatest to ever play the game and their star striker in this era, Timmy Henders, still holds the all time goalscoring record in the ETC. THE LOWS Maplewood was plagued by a spate of unsolved murders numbering in the high teens in the mid-to-late 1980’s. The murderer, infamously known as the Maplewood Strangler, carried out his brazen attacks on many women in back-street alleys in the seedier parts of town late at night. He was eventually caught when one woman broke free and alerted the Police. She was said to be the only woman he ever attacked to survive. His name was Donnie Kearns, a 26 year old Janitor living in the south side of the city. He pleaded guilty and in the 1990’s, in a series of bizarre interviews with The Maplewood Post, told them the location of 15 of his victims bodies. He is serving a life sentence in the Maplewood State Penitentiary to this day. THE OTHER SIDE Many people in Maplewood have claimed to have experienced encounters with the supernatural. In 1996, at the height of such claims, a scientic research team from the Maplewood Institute carried out a series of scientific tests at a house known as the Barn of Witches, the most reported site of paranormal activity in all of the city. Although some of their tests proved inconclusive, anecdotal evidence from a number of the researchers on the study claimed to have seen the infamous Isabella Fontaine, otherwise known as the Black Witch, but these claims have never been substantiated.

SWEET VIRGINIA STATE: STATE NO: ESTABLISHED: TERRITORY: INHABITANTS: POPULATION: LANGUAGE: COMMUTER RAIL: NEWS MEDIA:

Sweet Virginia 01 1795 West Humans, Ghosts, Elves, Dwarfs 900, 000 English The Western Railway The Virgina Dispatch

KNOW YOUR STATE - SWEET VIRGINIA Sweet Virginia is the 1st state in Redemption. It is situated in the Western Territory, on the most western tip of the country, with a population of just under 1 million people. It’s inhabitants include Humans, Elves and Drawfs, plus the obligatory Ghosts as well. It is a beautiful coastal city, and the influence of the sea plays an important role here. It is one of the most visited cities in all of Redemption because it’s an extremely safe and family-orientated place [despite the fact that every year, some fishermen mysteriously go missing at sea; more on this in a minute]. THE VIRGINIA ARCADE The State of Sweet Virginia is where the Season Of Spiders song “The Arcade” takes place. Because it is a holiday town, Jack & his family would visit there every year when he was a child, and it was there, in the famous Virginia Arcade, that he and his siblings whiled away so many hours playing games like The Simpsons, The Turtles, Golden Axe and Double Dragon. THE STORM OF THE CENTURY Sweet Virginia is also infamous because of the events that led to the sinking of the Sweet Virginia fishing boat in the early part of the 20th Century. It happened while the fishing boat was working for 5 weeks out on the Silver Sea [a notoriously dangerous stretch of the Great Western Ocean] where it is believed that it encountered a Perfect Storm. Official reports at the time claimed that this was the reason for the ships disappearance until Raymond Clane, the First Mate of the Sweet Virginia, reappeared with the boat intact before it crashed into the cliffs of Gallows Rock, the State to the south-west of Sweet Virginia. Clane was the only surviving member of the 12 man crew and in an interview he gave to the Virginia Dispatch newspaper [dated 23 December 1914] he recounted the tale:

“After only a week at sea, there was already an ominous feeling onboard and some of the crew would sit around and drink at night, singing strange songs like “Dead Man’s Blues”. They claimed that the boat [and the trip] was cursed, saying that none of us should have boarded in the first place. As the days went on, we had no luck at all catching fish, and soon our own supplies started to run low. Two weeks in, around half the crew fell ill, but no one was quite sure how or why. They were bedridden and chores on the boat became harder to cope with, with so many men down. And then the first death happened. One of the ill men got up during the night and sweating heavily, he ranted incoherantly, claiming that none of us would survive the trip. Then he threw himself overboard and was never seen again. But this shocking event was only the start of it. During the third week on board, I went into the Store room where our food was kept, only to find that it had been completely destroyed. A lot of the food was missing. I was very frightened by this turn of events and headed straight towards the Skippers quarters. But right before I got there, one of the deckhands cut me off and told me that Jimmy, another deckhand was missing. The crew searched the boat from top to bottom but he couldn’t be located. An eerie feeling gripped me and all I could think of were the words that some of the drunkards sang on those lonesome, seasick nights; “November moon, dead mans blues, a young man walking in a cursed mans shoes”. I entered the Skippers quarters to find him on his hunkers. But when I told him that Jimmy was missing and that the food store had been destroyed, he just stared at me for what seemed like an eternity and then did the strangest thing; his head slowly tilted to one side and this horrible, but almost undetectable grin slowly crept over his face. But then as if nothing had happened, the

Skipper shook his head and returned to his previous pose. It was then I knew that some terrible evil was present with us out there. So I made for the door and, climbing to the top deck, I gathered the rest of the crew, but just as I was about to tell them of what had happened in the Skippers Office, the Skipper appeared behind me and claimed that I had killed Jimmy by throwing him overboard. The crew were already in a frenzy and I suppose they were looking for someone to pin all of their problems on, and the Skipper made it easy for them. I was taken to the holding cell below deck and it was there that I remained. But as each night passed, more and more of the crew kept disappearing. Knowing that I was locked up and couldn’t possibly be the reason for each disappearance didn’t help these dim-witted deckhands see the light and release me though. They just drank some more, and sang their haunting songs. And then at sometime during the fifth week aboard that wretched boat, it happened. At around two in the morning, I heard the winds rising, and huge waves started to crash against the sides of the boat. I heard what sounded like drunken laughter coming from the upper deck, but soon their voices were silenced by the extreme noise of the wind & waves all around. And then I saw him; the Skipper stood in the outer doorway that faced my cell. His eyes were completely white and for over a minute, he stood staring and grinning at me, but never uttered a word. I don’t know to this day if the sea had

driven him to madness or if some inhuman entity had taken him over, but I will never forget that grinning face until the day I die. He never spoke, but as he left, he seemed to move disjointedly. And just like that he was gone to face whatever was laying waste to our boat outside. And I was caged there, left to drown and die with the rats. All went dark then as the boat was battered by the elements and the last thing I remember is smashing my head off the door before falling unconcious. When I awoke, I awoke to a new nightmare. The Sweet Virginia was somehow still intact, and my cell door was completely broken off it’s hinges, but when I dragged myself to the upper deck, all I could see was the looming cliff-face metres in front of me. If I hadn’t died before now, then this was certain death for me. The boat crashed into the cliffs and the large, sharp rocks cracked it apart with ease. I was thrown around like a child’s doll and I knew that the curse of the Dead Man’s Blues was upon me. Crash. Bang. Wallop. Lights out... But the next thing I know, I am being dragged ashore. Somehow, the God’s were smiling on me and to feel land under my broken body was like a dream I never wanted to be roused from. And by the grace of God, I stand here now to tell you this tale.” No one believed Raymond’s account and found that it was the ravings of a man driven mad by the unforgiving sea. Some suspected that he had lost his mind out there on the vast Western

Ocean, and killed the entire crew. He never worked at sea again and was shunned by the community, many of whom had lost their sons and husbands in the terrible tragedy. Raymond Clane turned to drink and eventually drank himself into an early grave. To this day, no one mourns him in Sweet Virginia. MYTHICAL MERMAIDS Every year, around 5 or 6 Fishermen go missing at sea in the waters off the western coast of Sweet Virginia. As well as the great tragedy that befell the crew of the Sweet Virginia, over the years, many Fishermen have returned from their long trips away reporting all manner of weird sightings such as strange lights that would appear from the sea near their boats, to grotesque creatures that would attack them at night. But one of the most common sights of all, reported every few years, are sightings of underwater beasts [that most have described as Mermaids], trying to lure them to their deaths. And in many cases, according to the fishermen, these “Mermaids” suceeded. The Mermaids are often described as extremely beautiful to the point that any man who gazes upon them directly is drawn to them with a force they cannot deny. Some fishermen have claimed that upon sighting these creatures, men have jumped head-first into the freezing oceans to reach them. Others claim that the Mermaid’s come aboard the shipping vessels and seduce the men in their bed’s before dragging them to their untimely deaths in the sea. But

none of the legends have been proven and nowadays, these stories are seen as nothing more that folktales, something to frighten children before bedtime. SWEET VIRGINIA MOONLIGHT The Moonlight in Sweet Virginia is said to be the most stunning in all the land of Redemption. So much so that their football team called themselves Sweet Virginia Moonlight in it’s honour. But while the moonlight may be stunning, Sweet Virginia’s football is anything but. They play in Division 2 of the Redemption Super League [the lowest of the three leagues] and for many years have struggled for any type of soccer success. Their highest achievement came back in 1925 when they qualified for the Premier Division of the Super League. The remained there for 3 seasons but fell back to Division One thereafter, never returning to the top flight again until the 90’s where, in a sequence of unlikely victories, found themselves once more playing with the big boys of Redemption Football. Their only silverware came in 1926, when they lifted the Western Territory Cup title, a title which the city remembers fondly to this very day. Hopefully their luck will change in the near future, but for now, Sweet Virginia Moonlight will have to content themselves with Division 2 excitement.

COVE CANYON STATE: STATE NO: ESTABLISHED: TERRITORY: INHABITANTS: POPULATION: LANGUAGE: COMMUTER RAIL: NEWS MEDIA:

Cove Canyon 48 1797 South Drawfs, Humans, Canyonost, Ghosts 600, 000 Khuzdul [Dwarf], English, Yonost [Canyonost] The Southern Odyssey The Canyon Sun

beings and many of their rituals involve the use of magic. But with the arrival of Drawfs, these Godly flying beings who used magic were hated and cast out. As years went by, their ability to fly was seen to give them an unfair advantage overs Drawf’s & Human populations and controversially, the Cove Canyon Council of 1925 outlawed their use of flight. As absurd as this sounds, it was brought into law and only after a war was fought in the late 1920’s was it done away with. But the Canyonost never forgot, and have decided that the only way to survive is to move further and further away into the Cliff lands that surround Cove Canyon. AIRCRASH In the 1950s, with aviation at it’s peak, Redemption now had a new, affordable mode of transport that connected the country in ways never before imagined. But on 02 August 1955, Cove Canyon was the site of the worst Aircrash in the Aviation history in Redemption. According to the report in the Canyon Sun Newspaper, given by one of the seaside visitors who witnessed events on that fateful day at Sandy Cove, the most popular tourist beach in all of Cove Canyon: KNOW YOUR STATE - COVE CANYON Cove Canyon is the 48th state in Redemption. It is situated in the Southern Territory with a population of 600,000, but is similar in size to Sweet Virginia. It is primarily inhabited by Dwarfs, Humans, and a race of flying beings known as the Canyonost, but their population is less than 40,000 and they rarely interact with the other inhabitants. Cove Canyon has had a tragic history and death has dealt its hand a little too often here. A large part of Cove Canyon is almost cut in two by the Gold River that runs south from Mount Gory in the centre of Redemption and out to the Swirling Sea, south of Cove Canyon. BIRTH OF A SOUTHERN CITY During the birth of Redemption, many races came from all over to inhabit the new land. One of the first races to arrive was the Canyonost. They were a spirit race of flying creatures. To some they were seen as Gods, but soon, Drawfs arrived and many years of battling ensued. The Canyonost were a peaceful race, and never wanted to fight. So Canyonost Elders made a pact with the Dwarf Lords that they would divide up the city. The Canyonost would inhabit the high Cliff lands of Cove Canyon while the Drawfs would take the Valley. But many were unhappy with this arrangement on both sides, and peace was fragile at the best of times. Soon, betrayals occured and people were killed. Retribution after retribution went on for more than 30 years until the whole of Cove Canyon was too dangerous to visit by outsiders. That was until Humans intervened. But they did so on the side of the Drawfs who they held a closer affinity to than the Canyonost. Knowing they were outnumbered, the Canyonost were forced further and further away to the outer cliffs and the underground cave systems and it is in these regions that they live today. Over the years, gestures of peace have been offered by some from the Human side, but for the most part, the Canyonost are outcasts on their own land. Humans and Drawfs control the city and every now and then, there are attacks on both sides, with casualties piling up between them. THE CANYONOST The Canyonost are ancient beings who have the ability to fly. Because of their gift of flight, other early inhabitants thought they were Gods, and praised them as such. They are very spiritual

“It was a normal late Summers day, just like any other. It was around 6.45pm and we were all running in and out of the sea, swimming and just having a good time. The lights on the beachhuts twinkled behind us and the beach was full of sun-bathers, kids with their parents, and teenagers alike. I left the water and grabbed my beach towel to dry off. Then as I did I looked up into the sky, I saw a plane with both its engines on fire. And it was coming in at great speed towards the beach. It was the most frightening sight I have ever seen. There were hundreds on the beach and in the water. At first no one saw what I did, but I started to scream and people quickly looked up. Realising what was about to happen, they startled to flee in terror, but it was too late. The massive plane, now almost completely engulfed in flames, hit the shore next to the beach and exploded. It was the loudest thing I’d ever heard. There were bodies everyhwere. People burned alive. Mothers screaming. Dead children. It was a vision of hell and something that will never leave me.” People searched the ocean for survivors for weeks afterwards, but only a few were ever recovered. All in all, its estimated that 561 souls lost their lives that day. Investigators still don’t know what caused the engines to catch fire and there have been longheld suspicions that the plane was sabotaged by members of the Canyonost community, although their involvement was never proven. COVE CANYON SOARERS The Cove Canyon Soarers major footballing success came in the early 20th century. Back then, members of the Canyonost and Dwarf communities played side by side in an uneasy alliance that led to Southern Territory Cup [STC] wins in 1902 & 1904. This team made it to the Redemption Super League Premier Division and won in once [1907] but soon after, both communities returned to fighting with one another and all chance of success was lost. No Canyonost player ever competed for the Soarers again until 1971, when Dimitri Pritic became their star striker and once again, led them to victory in the Southern Territory Cup in 1972, 1974 & 1975]. Their best showing in the Copa Redemption came in the inaugural 1900 series, when they finished runners up to Winterland Whiteout. In 1905, and again in 1975, they came third.

ELDIN WOODS STATE: STATE NO: ESTABLISHED: TERRITORY: INHABITANTS: POPULATION: LANGUAGE: COMMUTER RAIL: NEWS MEDIA:

Eldin Woods 18 1804 North Elves, Forlies, Spirit Beings 5 Million Elvish, Forlian The Northern Line The Eldin Globe

KNOW YOUR STATE - ELDIN WOODS Eldin Woods is the 18th state in Redemption. It is situated next to Mount Gory in the centre, part of the larger Northern Territory. It has one of the biggest populations in all of Redemption, with 5 million people. It is completely inhabited by Elves [and some say Forlies; creatures similar to fairies]. Eldin Peak is the second Highest Mountain in all of the land, after Mount Gory. On this mountain, many Elvin Spirit Beings reside, as the veil between this world and the next merge. It is one of the wealthiest States in Redemption and the standard of living is among the highest too. Education and Healthcare are top quality. Eldin Woods is also one of the most scenic places, covered in mature forests. The city is a woodland fantasia and large redwood trees are everywhere. The air quality is excellent here too and all of these advantages make the people of Eldin Woods some of the longest living too.

DANGER AHEAD There are some ominous signs warning travellers to take extreme care if venturing through Eldin Woods. Pictures of crazed beasts and wild animals adorn these signs to let visitors know that danger awaits the unsuspecting adventurer. Those that choose [and can afford] to vacation in Eldin Woods know the area well, and never veer off the beaten path. But those seeking escape and excitement beware. Many people have been reported missing in Eldin Woods. The forests are so large that when some people wander in, they are never seen again. Many have claimed that the forests are alive, and change shape depending on who or what has entered the region.

RICHES Many of Eldin Woods inhabitants are wealthy, and their homes are large and luxurious. Numerous stately homes, as well as private resorts and expensive hotels dot the landscape. Eldin Woods is so rich because of it’s natural reserves of Oil, and heating and power are free for all residents. The Eldin Diamond Mines are another source that adds to Eldin Woods obscene wealth. A lot of big pharmaceutical firms and technology companies have established bases here too.

Others claim that people have disappeared at the hands of Forlies, Fairy-like creatures that are said to inhabit the Mountains and Woodlands of the area [more on them in a minute]. But the most plausible reason for the large amount of disappearances in the state of Eldin Woods every year is put down to the Silver Lake Slayer; a homicidal murderer said to take the lives of female teenagers in or around the vicinity of Silver Lake, one of the largest lakes in Redemption. It is not known how many he has killed but estimates put the figure at over 30. He has never been caught despite multiple manhunts, and million dollar campaigns. However, Eldin Woods Police Officials play down the belief in such a serial killer and have gone on the record questioning whether he actually exists or not, blaming the teenagers disappearances on animal attacks.

ELDIN WOODS FOOTBALL TEAM Eldin Woods are probably one of the two or three greatest football teams in Redemption. They have been consistent in their success and roughly, every 20-25 years or so, they hit a purple patch of success. They have won the most amount of Northern Territory Cups [NTC] [39] and their dominance of the Redemption Super League in the 1930’s [6; 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1938 & 1939], 1950’s [3; 1952, 1955 & 1957], and 1980’s [4; 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1989] is unparalled. They have won the Copa Redemption a record 7 times as well.

FORLIES Forlies are said to be magical creatures, similar to Fairies but are slightly bigger [around 8-10 inches in height]. They are believed to live in Eldin Woods, predominantly in the Eldin Peak region. Rarely seen by anyone, Forlies are said to exist between this realm and the next. But legend has it that if provoked, Forlies use dark magic to enact revenge. The Mountain range around Eldin Peak is protected by their sorcery and anyone trespassing does so at their own risk. It is said that they should be approached with caution, although they are rarely seen at all.

FENDER RUMBLE 150 In this, the second feature in The Gear Garage, I turn my attention to the Fender Rumble 150, a 150W Bass Amp used by The Aluskas, Lilcatcheetah and Season Of Spiders...

David Byrne 12 January 2021

NOTES Off the top of my head, I can’t remember exactly when we got the Fender Rumble 150. We directly injected the Bass Guitars into the console when The Aluskas were recording DRAW! so we had no need for it at that point [2011]. Furthermore, a lot of the early shows The Aluskas were playing were acoustic, so we still didn’t have any need for it. I do know however, that as soon as we got serious about performing electric live shows, our need for our own equipment increased. My brother Anthony was going out with a girl at this time [2012-13] called Deirdre [she later became his wife], and she kindly who offered to buy a number of items for the band. These purchases included a lot of Guitar Pedals and also the Fender Rumble 150. From the day we heard it in Jimi’s Music Store, Ballymount, I knew this was the one for us. With 150W, it was more than powerful enough to be heard in a live venue, and this was our main focus at that time. But I also loved the simple tone from it. It was clean and direct without sounding “modern”. And that’s the other reason I was drawn to it. I don’t know if we had the Rumble 150 by the time we came to record The Aluskas “Merry Christmas To You” / “Walking In The Snow” Single in October 2012, but I do know for definite that the Bass Guitars on those songs were not recorded with that amp. Instead, we used the newly installed Bass Amp at AP Studios [we also ran a second feed directly into the console so that we had a mix of both sounds to play around with]. The Amp cost us somewhere in the region of €400-450, which was a lot to us at the time. But from the point when we got it, we gigged

with it continuously. It was a real workhorse and to this day, has never given me any trouble. When I built Audio Arcade in 2015/16, I installed it into the studio. I kept it there thinking that it would be replaced later with a “better” amp like a Fender Bassman, but as time went on, I started to mess with it and found that this amp could work for studio recordings as well. And now, I use the Amp, mic’d with an AKG D112 MkII, while simultaneously running a second line [through a Radial J48 Active Direct Box] into a built-in Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 preamp of my recording setup so that I can mix both signals for a better sound. When I recorded the Bass parts for Lilcatcheetah’s Porcelain Doll album, I used this exact recording setup and since then, I have gone on to use it on Season Of Spiders Living In Make Believe LP too. I use the same basic settings on the amp to achieve the Bass sound I’m after and it seems to work each time [the settings pictured on the right are pretty much the ones I have used for all recordings so far]. So far, some of the recorded Bass sounds I have really liked from the Rumble 150 include “You Or Your Brother”, “Reverie” and the title track of Lilcatcheetah’s album. From Living In Make Believe, I have been very happy with the tone of the Bass on “My Rebel Soul”, “Late At Night” and the title track. I also really liked the distortion setting on the amp that I applied to the signal to record Fuzz Bass on “The Following”. There are many more up-market Bass Amplifiers out there, costing a lot more than the “Humble Rumble”, but for now, I’m more than happy to play with this Bass beast.

AMP: NICK-NAME: MODIFICATIONS: SERIAL NO: YEAR:

Fender Rumble 150 NOTABLE USES: The Humble-Rumble No CFOH10000039 2013?

With The Aluskas: Live Performances; With Lilcatcheetah: “Porcelain Doll”, “Reverie”, “You Or Your Brother”;

With Season Of Spiders: “My Rebel Soul”, “Late At Night”, “Living In Make Believe”, “The Following” [Fuzz Bass]

BERSERK MISHI GOES

KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

K R E S R

RNE NATALIE BY

NATALIE BYRNE

ABOVE: “Collect Them All Now!” Promotional Poster in support of Season Of Spiders Debut Album Living In Make Believe. Designed by Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns Ⓒ November 2020.

LATE AT NIGHT

TECHNICALITIES SINGLE #4

PRODUCTION

LATE AT NIGHT

A-Side LATE AT NIGHT B-Side N/A

MUSICIANS David Byrne Double-tracked Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Harmony Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar, Rhythm Guitars, Piano, Rhythm Guitar Strikes, Lead Guitars, Harmony Glockenspiels, Tambourine Anthony Byrne Drums Raymond Byrne Harmony Accordions

SLEEVENOTES “Late At Night” is the Fourth Single from Season Of Spiders. It features on the Cobweb Recordings LP, Living In Make Believe, released in November 2020. This was one of the more complex recordings on the record, because it featured a lot of extra tracks. It took a long time to record too, as I was trying to get all of the many layers of Vocals to sit well in the Mix. It reminds me of a cross between The Beach Boys & Phil Spector, with the stuttering Drum pattern [supplied by my brother and former Aluskas member Anthony Byrne], the Glockenspiels, the multipart Harmony & overlapping Vocals, and circular Guitar Riffs. One extra feature of the track that really adds the vintage Beach Boys feel is the Accordion supplied by my Uncle Ray. Both his and Ant’s contributions to the track are fantastic and just what it needed. In terms of the subject matter, “Late At Night” deals with the subsequent occurrences of supernatural goings-on in Jack’s family home, with creeping on the floor, flickering of lights and pattering of feet becoming evident to him as the song goes on. Things are beginning to take a darker turn in his life and the multi-layered, overlapping Vocals in the Outro could be viewed as the voices that Jack is now hearing in his house, or they could be the voices in his head. Who knows? Have a listen and decide for yourself.

avid Byrne D 24 November 2020

MIXTAPE #3:

You’re thinking one of two things now after reading about Redemption; [1] Who does Dave Byrne think he is, making up imaginary worlds like a wannabe J. R. R. Tolkien or [2] Dave Byrne is a visionary, tell me more about the amazing world of Redemption. If you fall into the latter camp, you are right. And to show our appreciation, here is another curated Mixtape of amazing songs, chosen by me, Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns, one more of Dave’s many Alter Ego’s. If you are the rare individual who falls into the former category however, you too can sit back and enjoy this selection of tracks to bring you back to the real world...

Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns 23 December 2020

BY THIS POINT in proceedings, you get the idea of these Mixtapes. They are just an excuse for me to share the music I love from 199496, the era in which the Living In Make Believe LP is set. This third volume again consists of 20 of my favourite songs from that time period. Like before, there are a number of “poppier” tracks thrown in amongst the rockers, but there’s not one there that I don’t like. So if you were alive back then, you will appreciate the quality of these selections, and if you came along later, you can listen in awe to the many, many brilliant tracks that existed long before you were born.

05 End Of A Century [Blur] Blur’s Parklife album was jammed with brilliant songs, from the title track and “Girls & Boys” to “This Is A Low”, “To The End” & “End Of A Century”.

SIDE A 01 That Thing You Do! [The Wonders] This song was the lead track from the Tom Hanks film of the same name. It’s written and performed in the style of early-60’s Beatlemania and it is very exciting and entertaining.

07 Thirty-Three [The Smashing Pumpkins] “Thirty-Three” is one of the most beautiful and heart-felt tracks of the 90’s and with this, the Pumpkins once again displayed a stylistic reach that made them unique among their peers.

02 E-Bow The Letter [R.E.M.] Another song taken from R.E.M.’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi, “E-Bow The Letter” really reminds me of the predominantly acoustic based sound of Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged In New York. 03 Live Forever [Oasis] Another towering masterpiece from the pen of Noel Gallagher, “Live Forever” stands as not only one of the best Oasis songs but one of the greatest of all time. 04 The Riverboat Song [Ocean Colour Scene] “The Riverboat Song” was the track that broke Ocean Colour Scene into the mainstream, used as the theme tune to Chris Evans TFI Friday TV show. Paul Weller also plays on this riff-driven classic.

06 Australia [Manic Street Preachers] Another iconic song from the mid-90’s, “Australia” features a simple but memorable Guitar Riff and Chorus from the Welsh outfit who were really coming into their own at this time.

08 Setting Sun [The Chemical Brothers] The siren-like electronic wail featured in “Setting Sun” is very spooky, set as it is over ominous beats and reverb-drench backwards vocals. And all this before Noel Gallagher appears, giving the Chemical Brothers their first UK No. 1 Single. 09 Three Lions [Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds] This track is one of the best “football” songs of all time, released for Euro 96. “Football’s Coming Home” was the over-optimistic message of the song, but things turned sour when England were knocked out in their own tournament to eventual winners Germany. 10 Hey Dude [Kula Shaker] I really loved this Kula Shaker track at the time, but over the decades, some of its shine has worn off. Not bad though.

MIXTAPE #3:

SIDE B 11 One To Another [The Charlatans] The Charlatans were releasing some great tunes in this era, all from their Tellin’ Stories LP. “One To Another” was a big hit for them at the time.

17 One Of Us [Joan Osborne] “What if God was one of us?” is the most recognised lyrics from this pop hit that was ever-present on the radio in 1995.

12 Nobody Knows [The Tony Rich Project] “Nobody Knows” holds a special place for me and it was everywhere when it was released back in November 1995.

18 How Do You Sleep [The Stone Roses] The Stone Roses debut LP is a stone cold classic that was released in 1989. Their long-awaited follow-up, 1994’s Second Coming was highly anticipated but didn’t exactly hold up to expectations. However, there were a number of great tunes, including this one.

13 How Deep Is Your Love [Bee Gees] The Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love” is one of my favourite songs of all time, and Take That released a great version of it in 1996.

19 Earth Song [Michael Jackson] “Earth Song” has been criticised as “overblown” by some but I disagree. I love it and it was my favourite track from Jackson’s HIStory album.

14 Common People [Pulp] Pulp had some amazing mid-90’s tracks including “Disco 2000” and “Common People”, both of which were monster hits for the group back in the day.

20 Breathe [The Prodigy] The Music Video for this song always freaked me out but the song itself is very cool and I always remember liking it. This song later featured on The Prodigy’s third album, The Fat Of The Land.

15 Breakfast At Tiffany’s [Deep Blue Something] “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” was a huge song during this era and I really grew to love it. However ,it became very overplayed and I started to hate it. But every now and then when it comes on, it still sounds good. 16 Don’t Speak [No Doubt] “Don’t Speak” is a great song by the American band No Doubt fronted by Gwen Stefani. It has endured for what is now almost its 25th anniversary.

MELLON COLLIE MORNING

In October 1995, a remarkable thing happened - just three weeks apart, two of the biggest and best albums of all time came out and changed my life forever. On 02 October, Oasis released their defining statement in the form of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? This was followed just 22 days later [24 October] by Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, a double album magnum opus by The Smashing Pumpkins. Both records had long, strange titles and both would forever consolidate their respective makers in rock history...

David Byrne 03 & 12 January 2021

At the time of the release of these two towering LP’s, I was a month shy of my twelfth birthday and up to that point, I had been reared on my parents record collection. Through them, I became a Beatles nut [which I still am to this day]. I also loved Simon & Garfunkel, Gilbert O’Sullivan, UB40 and I was quite fond of Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits. Back then, I was very happy listening to this music and it never crossed my mind that most of it was 20-30 years old. In fact, all of these artists had been popular before I was even born. But that didn’t bother me; even then, I was regularly hearing people saying things like “modern music is rubbish compared to what was out in my day”. So, as far as I was concerned, this great music was all I needed. And because of this, the October releases of both Morning Glory and Mellon Collie initially passed me by [or so I originally thought]. But skip forward to one day in February 1996 when, sitting in front of the TV, I saw something that mesmerised me; on MTV, the Music Video for the rock ‘n’ roll band Oasis’ Single “Don’t Look Back In Anger” came on and I instantly fall under their spell. I’d never seen anything like it. Well, I had, but what I mean is this - Oasis looked like The Beatles, and sounded amazing, but these guys were young, seemingly the age The Beatles were when they were out in the 1960’s. So it was like I had my very own Beatles right there on the tele in front of me. I couldn’t believe it. The swagger, the Lennon-like “Granny-Glasses”, the “Imagine” Piano Intro, the Tune. Somehow, it felt like life was falling into place. And from that day on, I started to invest a lot of my time in finding out all about this great band. But the more I watched the video for “Don’t Look Back In Anger”,

the more I remembered that I had in fact come across them before. Back in October or November 1995, I saw them perform a song called “Wonderwall” [I think it was on the Des O’Connor TV Show]. I couldn’t really form an opinion of it at the time but I remember my Mam saying that she thought it was a Beatles rip off, so that made my mind up for the time being. At the same time, I was attending a Guitar lesson [which I had started a few month’s earlier, back in September] in Dominic’s School of Music, Tallaght. I was waiting to go in to my class, sitting outside opposite this chap who looked very different to the way I was dressed. He was more “American” looking, with a grungy-style T-Shirt and longer hair than me. And while we waited, he started playing a Guitar Riff from a song that I thought sounded familiar; it was “Tonight, Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins, and i really liked it. Afterwards, I told him so, and seeing that i was carrying my classical guitar without a case, he gave me his grey one and off he went, never to be seen again. So fast-forward back to February 1996. By this point, not only have I now seen “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis, but because of their enormous popularity, other video’s of theirs were in constant rotation; I now watched “Wonderwall” through the lens of “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and I loved it. I couldn’t believe that those two monumental songs were both by a “modern band”. I saw others too like “Some Might Say” & “Roll With It” and then realised that Oasis had many other songs like “Supersonic”, “Live Forever”, and “Whatever”, to name a few. All were insanely excellent. But while I consumed these tracks with glee, another band was also releasing era-defining Music Videos as well, the band I had previously come across called The Smashing Pumpkins. They too were making incredible visuals for their own epic songs; “Tonight, Tonight” with

RIGHT: Front Covers of Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness Albums.

its mix of symphonic strings, orchestral Drum fills and Victorian-era clothes & back drops; or “1979”, that portrayed the youth of America having the time of their lives, driving round in cars or going to house parties. Between of Oasis and the Pumpkins, I was starting to see that my own youth was opening up in front of me. There was something else though about the music of both artists that drew me in; for the first time in my life, I was hearing music that I thought was possible to compose myself. This doesn’t mean I thought I was as good as them; far from it, I was 12 years old and could barely hold a Guitar, never mind play it, but perhaps it was seeing young, modern bands writing their own songs that were on a par with the best of what I had heard before from The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel that inspired me and made me think that if I worked hard, I too could write great songs like these acts. So, during my Guitar Lessons, I asked my teacher to include songs by Oasis and The Smashing Pumpkins. He did include the likes of “Some Might Say” and “Wonderwall” but I don’t think he knew much about the Pumpkins. Also, around this time, a school-friend called Adam Daly was learning Guitar too and, from him, I picked up “Live Forever” [I subsequently wrote a very early song of mine called “Nobdy Else” which was basically “Live Forever” with my own lyrics plastered on top]. Fast forward again, this time to the Summer of 1996, where Myself and my Brother Anthony [Ant for short], plus two of his classmates James Aherne and Luke Byrne, performed “Don’t Look Back In Anger” in front of our entire school [St Mark’s National School], with all of us on Vocals, plus my Classical Guitar accompaniment. Later that Summer, I got the (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? album on CD as a gift from my Dad and I played it over and over again. To me, it sounded like a Greatest Hits record and reminded me of the quality of The Beatles Red [1962-1966] & Blue [19671970] albums that we used to listen to on cassette while travelling to Westport each year for our holidays. I thought every single song on it could have been a Single. The title track was electrifying, “Cast No Shadow was a thing of epic beauty and it just seemed like there was no room for filler. Song after song was just amazing. I couldn’t get enough. And after that, I decided to collect all of the outstanding singles and the other album Oasis had previously released [Definitely, Maybe]. At around this time, I visited my Uncle Ray, and his son Robert had an outstanding collection of Singles and Albums by my other new favourite band, The Smashing Pumpkins. And it was there that I first saw the Sleeve of their album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. It was surreal; a Victorian-style collage that hinted at the wonders contained within. I was completely intrigued. Here was a Double Album by a modern group. I thought the Double was reserved for the likes of The Beatles but here was a band who thought they had enough great material to fill the whole thing. I thought this was an epic statement to make, and just by the fact that the Pumpkins had the balls to release a double made me believe that newer artists might be able to compete with bands from 30 years earlier, and by extension, it made me believe that, one day, I might be able to do the same. As a side note, when I was 15 or 16, I got a Music Bible called The Great Rock Discography by Martin C. Strong which had Biographies

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and Discographies of all major rock bands throughout the 20th Century. While looking through it, I was fascinated to discover that Morning Glory and Mellon Collie achieved similar chart feats upon release; Morning Glory hit #1 in the UK and #4 in the US charts, while Mellon Collie reversed the feat by reaching #4 in the UK and #1 in the US. I was always interested in chart facts in that era, because I liked to compare my new favourite bands with the chart successes with The Beatles. For me, Morning Glory and Mellon Collie had a lot of crossover - both were made by rock groups at the peak of their powers; both had long and strange album titles; both LP’s were composed almost entirely by each groups’ main force [i.e. Noel Gallagher & Billy Corgan]; both featured similar instruments like the E-Bow and Mellotron; both mixed acoustic-based songs with full blown electric rockers; both had been hugely inspired by The Beatles and David Bowie; both Noel Gallagher and Billy Corgan were left-handed performers who played their Guitars right-handed; both made iconic Music Videos that have stood the test of time and both criss-crossed the globe in the exact same era playing their biggest-selling albums to sold-out stadiums full of fans everywhere. So it fascinated me many years later to discover that most fans considered the pairing of The Smashing Pumpkins & Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds very odd when they toured together. I was surprised that people felt this way, considering what I’ve outlined above [I would have loved to see those live shows, but unfortunately, the tour never came to Ireland]. When I think of The Beatles, I realised that they had two writers of equal quality composing their material [three when you consider George Harrisons’ late-era emergence]. And for the most part, other bands across the spectrum of their careers come up short when compared to the achievements of The Beatles. Most other bands have to rely on one writing talent to drive them along. So this made me consider the question, what if you paired up two writers of equal stature and presented their song-writing achievements against that of Lennon & McCartney. That surely was more of a fair fight. Two against two. Lennon & McCartney against Gallagher & Corgan. And then it made me think that each of these writers had seperately written Beatles-standard albums on their own. For context, both Oasis and The Smashing Pumpkins are seen by many modern music journalists as having two superb albums each [Definitely, Maybe, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, and Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness respectively] before quickly fading away into insignificance. I don’t buy into this narrative at all, quite the opposite in fact, but that is the narrative I have heard more than any other about both bands when reading about them in the music press. But if you consider for just a moment the following: I am not trying to pair up each groups’ music onto the same albums; this wouldn’t work as both groups have their own sound, despite the similarities I pointed out previously. But if you stacked the best material from both writers in the 1993-96 era [the era in which most critics agree both bands did their best work], I think you would find that their great songs from this time-period together go a long way toward competing with The Beatles. If you take a similar time period for The Beatles [1967-70] and look at the numbers, they released Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour [both 1967], The Beatles [White Album;

ABOVE: Back Covers of Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness Albums.

1968], Abbey Road & Yellow Submarine [both 1969] & Let It Be [1970], amounting to 6 albums if you discard Yellow Submarine and count the White Album as two, which amounts to just shy of 100 songs [including album tracks, as well as stand-alone Singles and B-Sides]. By comparison, between 1993-96, The Smashing Pumpkins released 4 albums [Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness, plus the B-side collections Pisces Iscariot & The Aeroplane Flies High] which is just short of 90 songs. Then add to that Oasis’ contribution from 1994-96 [2 albums; Definitely Maybe & (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? plus 9 Singles that each featured 3 B-Sides] which totals at just under 50 songs. In terms of quantity, thats 140 songs from what most critics consider to be these artists greatest periods and when added together, it is almost 50% more than The Beatles had for a similar period of time. For me, it’s just interesting to consider how The Beatles career is seen in rock history compared to the likes of Oasis and The Smahing Pumpkins but if you actually break it down and make a fair comparison, you can only conclude that both Noel Gallagher and Billy Corgan, for a period of time at least, where duking it out at the highest songwriting levels with the best of them. So in a very real way, the fact that both Morning Glory and Mellon Collie came out in October 1995 is all the more remarkable. For me, both of those albums appearing at the same month, one on each side of the Atlantic, was like getting Sgt Pepper [Morning Glory] and The White Album [Mellon Collie] at the same time. Both writers were on fire in this era and no one else could touch them. Morning Glory has it all; blistering rockers [“Morning Glory]”, epic album

closer [“Champagne Supernova”], towering hits [“Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Wonderwall”, “Some Might Say”], introspective gems [“Cast No Shadow”], and fun & extremely catchy tracks [“She’s Electric”], with not a hint of filler in sight. Mellon Collie on the other hand, is The White Album of its era; a sprawling masterpiece that dives from all-time great songs of sweeping invention [“1979”, “Tonight, Tonight”] to delicate acoustic numbers [“Thirty-Three”, “Stumbleine”] all-out rockers [“Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, “Jellybelly”, “Zero”], extremely heavy tracks (“X.Y.U.”, “Bodies”], huge epics [“Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans”], dreamlike visions [“Galapagos”, “Take Me Down”, “In The Arms Of Sleep”] and sweet treats like “Lily (My One And Only)”, the title track, and album closer “Farewell And Goodnight”. Both albums are genuinely breathtaking in scope, ambition, geniuslevel songwriting, epic performance and production and everything else that went with them [Artwork, Music Videos etc]. These records were sung by two of the voices of a generation [Liam Gallagher & Billy Corgan] and the snarl and attitude of both of them greatly inspired me and helped me believe that “different” voices could go a long way. They made me want to sing my own songs and develop as a singer. To say that these records inspired me is a huge understatement; they remain two of my favourite and most respected albums. Both of these records were like worlds unto themselves, where you could delve deep to find music of brilliance and excitement. Both LP’s demonstrated that modern Song-writers were still reaching for greatness and that if they could do it in an era when people from older generations said it couldn’t be done, then what was stopping me from trying to write great songs myself. And to this day, I still hold Oasis & the Pumpkins very close to my heart.

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Lilcatcheetah

Porcelain Doll, the debut album is available right now on Cobweb Recordings Listen on Spotify now

Also available, the Singles: “Just Like Me”, “Scar Upon My Heart”, “Porcelain Doll” & “When You Gave Your Heart To Me”

lilcatcheetah.com

cobwebrecordings.com

SMILING EYES

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TECHNICALITIES SINGLE #5

PRODUCTION

SMILING EYES

A-Side SMILING EYES B-Side GLASS GRAVES

MUSICIANS David Byrne Lead, Harmony & Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Hammond Organ [Synth], Hand Claps GLASS GRAVES â&#x20AC;&#x2039; USICIANS M David Byrne Double-tracked Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar, Wurlitzer [Synth], Drum Programming, Infinite Grand Piano [Synth], Backwards Infinite Grand Piano [Synth], Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitars

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SLEEVENOTES “Smiling Eyes” is the fifth and final Single to be culled from Season Of Spiders debut LP, Living In Make Believe [Cobweb Recordings, COBWEB016]. It is one of the more sparse songs on the record, and once again, stands in total contrast to the multi-layered aural gem that was the previous single “Late At Night”. It opens with the warm drone of a Hammond Organ, like a new dawn arriving, and sparks into life with delicate Acoustic Guitar picking. But the songs’ stripped back arrangement reinforces the idea of waking from a dream into a somewhat harsher reality. There are no big production values here; just a boy and his Guitar and the truth. The brief addition of disembodied Hand Claps in each chorus act as a ghastly omen, the spectre of impending sadness sticking it’s head around the door, announcing its imminent arrival. Though the music of “Smiling Eyes” is beautiful and comforting, the gut-punch of its lyrics are anything but. Here, the boy who sings “you are a dream and I am a dreamer, but I’m just a boy to you” is the same boy who roared “get to know me, my rebel soul will set a fire in your heart for the world to see”, but in terms of what they have experienced, they are a million miles apart. And that, I suppose, is the bittersweet thing about life; we are here to learn lessons, but we don’t necessarily get to decide which lessons we learn. “Smiling Eyes” is a sighing recognition of this, the end of one part of life and the arrival of another. he single features an exclusive B-Side as well, in the form of T “Glass Graves”. Listeners will already be familiar with the title, as it was the given name for Side 2 of the Living In Make Believe LP. In it, big distorted Guitars clash with Backwards Pianos and electronic beats, in a song of tightly controlled chaos, mimicking the unease at the centre of Jack’s heart. From this point on, there is no escape from what’s coming down the tracks.

avid Byrne D 30 November 2020

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MIXTAPE #4:

By this point, you have heard 3 Mixtapes of music from the years 1994-96. But there are so many more great songs, I felt it would be madness not to include one final playlist from this era to keep you rocking.

Stanley Dalton 14 January 2021

To say I loved being the age I was during this period of time would be a massive understatement. I was growing up when so many great bands and artists were releasing some of their greatest work. Even pop music from back then was pretty good too. So check out these golden nuggets and enjoy...

05 Bullet With Butterfly Wings [The Smashing Pumpkins] Even people who don’t know anything about the Pumpkins have heard the opening line of this song, “The world is a Vampire”, and it’s even more famous Chorus of “Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage”. Blistering and compelling.

SIDE A 01 Fitzcarraldo [The Frames] This was the title track of The Frames breakthrough second album. The LP also featured “Revelate”, which was a big hit for the group, but “Fitzcarraldo”, with it’s stuttering Drums, and epic Violin and Guitars, build to the monumental release of the Chorus.

06 They Don’t Care About Us [Michael Jackson] Another epic from Michael Jackson’s HIStory LP. His sense of rhythm is almost unparralled in pop music and this song stands as another example of that.

02 Ten Storey Love Song [The Stone Roses] “Ten Storey Love Song” was stylisically one of the closest on Second Coming to their earlier material, and all the better for it. 03 Supersonic [Oasis] This track was the first Single by Oasis and set the tone for things to come on their Debut album Definitely, Maybe. The song opens with epic Drums, over which the sound of Noel Gallaghers’ plectrum is heard scraping down the neck of his Les Paul Guitar. Enter the picked Guitar riff and one of Liam Gallaghers all-time great Vocal performances and you start to feel supersonic. 04 Charmless Man [Blur] “Charmless Man” features one of Graham Coxon’s best Guitar performances and the song is a knock-out, so catchy and memorable. This was one of Blur’s best up to this point and one of the standouts from The Great Escape.

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07 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me [U2] This song was used to promote Batman Forever and is one of the best offerings to a Comic Book movie genre up to that point. In terms of style, it seems like The Smashing Pumpkins may have taken tips from it for their own installment into the Batman franchise a few years later with “The End Is The Beginning Is The End”. 08 Gangsta’s Paradise [Coolio] “Gangsta’s Paradise” was everywhere in 1995; in fact, it was the biggest selling Single in the US that year. It samples Stevie Wonders’ 1976 hit “Pastime Paradise” to great effect, and for me, it was a record that crossed over from Rap / Hip hop. 09 Father And Son [Boyzone] Ordinarily, I am not a fan of boy bands [with Take That being a rare exception], but Boyzone’s version of Cat Stevens “Father And Son” wasn’t bad, even if it was a little bit over the top [it’s a great song though, and a way for me to include something by Stevens from this era].

MIXTAPE #4:

10 My Beloved Monster [Eels] Another favourite of mine from Eels’ Debut album Beautiful Freak. I really like how the very sweet and twinkling verses sit next to the powerful Chorus and how the Guitar Solo raggedly assaults the ears. Excellent. SIDE B 11 Killing Me Softly With His Song [Fugees] The Fugees version of this track was incredible and another “Hip hop” song that spoke to me from this era. I only later found out that it was a cover of a big 70’s hit for Roberta Flack. The sparse arrangement by The Fugees is really understated. 12 The Downstream [Ocean Colour Scene] One of the final tracks on Moseley Shoals, “The Downstream” is a melancholy piece with some beautiful Guitar playing and a sensitive Vocal as well. 13 How Bizarre [OMC] This song is very upbeat and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it. It reminds me of the carefree days of Summer’s long ago. 14 2 Become 1 [Spice Girls] “2 Become 1” is undeniably a great pop song from this period and one of the best from The Spice Girls.

simple but very effective. 16 If It Makes You Happy [Sheryl Crow] The Chorus of “If It Makes You Happy” is explosive and the yearning quality of Crow’s voice is lovely. I really like the tones of all of the Guitars on this one too. 17 Born Slippy (Nuxx) [Underworld] This was another huge hit in the mid 90’s, featured as it was in Trainspotting. It’s a wild tune from a wild era and an epic of its kind of music. 18 7 Seconds [Youssou N’Dour, Neneh Cherry] “7 Seconds” was not really my type of thing but it did grow on me over time and it is one of the big songs of the 90’s, so here it is for your listening pleasure. 19 Firestarter [The Prodigy] The Guitar riff from this song is freaky and one of the darkest and most powerful of the era. Keith Flint’s punkish Vocals work so well and the Music Video for “Firestarter” used to give me nightmares. 20 You And Me Song [The Wannadies] We finish up the Living In The Past Mixtapes with the “quiet-loud” dynamics of The Wannadies “You And Me Song”. I love it and I think its a fitting track to leave you with. Until next time...

15 When You’re Gone [The Cranberries] This track is heartbreaking and Dolores O’Riordan’s strange and hypnotic Vocals on it really add to that feeling. It still stands as one of their greatest songs and the Guitar solo after the first Chorus is

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THE PORCELAIN DOLL Before Dave Byrne recorded and released Living In Make Believe, he was approached by his Sister Debbie to co-write some songs. She said she wanted to make an album. So they wrote away and within one month, they had enough tunes for a record. So, they entered the Audio Arcade recording studio and emerged with Porcelain Doll, the debut album under Debbieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pseudonym, Lilcatcheetah. Released in January 2020, Porcelain Doll immedietely caught my attention and I decided that this material should comprise the first batch of releases on Cobweb Recordings since The Aluskas 8 years earlier. On the first anniversary of the release of her record, I sat down at Debbieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cosy seaside home in Co. Wexford to talk all things Lilcat...

Bob Webb 13 January 2021

BOB: Hello Debbie! DEB: Hi Bob. BOB: What is Lilcatcheetah? Where did the name come from and is there any significance to it? DEB: This is a question that I get asked a lot Bob. The one good thing is that most people seem to get the pronunciation right, unlike that unfortunate band The Oneders in That Thing You Do [which is a great film by the way]. The real story behind the name is that I was living in Melbourne, Australia and at the time, I had an art stall in the well-known Rose Street Markets. I was making clocks, bowls, and coasters by melting and reshaping Vinyl records... you name it, I made it. I needed an artist name to go under and it was from there that the pseudonym was born. It was only later suggested to me that it would be a good name to use as a music artist too. It rolls off the tongue very easily and sounds kind of Spanish-y, which I like. BOB: Excellent. You recorded Porcelain Doll at Dave Byrne’s Audio Arcade Studio. Can you tell me a bit about that process and how it worked? DEB: I can. It flowed very well from day one. We recorded the album from February-June 2019. Dave has a very natural talent for musical direction and has a gift for moving a project forward, making suggestions and giving options for how things could work, and without this artistic direction, the album would have never been made. But generally speaking, on a daily basis we had a schedule of what we had to do each day and we stuck to it. When we lacked

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inspiration [which wasn’t often], we stopped [any excuse to take a break and have a cup of tea, haha]. But for the most part, Dave made the experience enjoyable, walked me through a lot of the processes and I also got to work with some of the recording tools myself. It was exciting to actually see how a record is made and makes you appreciate the work that goes into it. BOB: What can you tell me about the writing process for the record? I know you co-wrote it with Dave but how did you go from never putting pen to paper before, to suddenly composing a whole album of original songs? DEB: I suppose it was always in me, but it was hidden somewhere deep down. As the years went by, I began to doubt if I would ever be able to tap into it. I had been saying for many years that I would love to make an album of songs of my own and over that time, I discussed the idea with Dave a lot. But then another year would pass and nothing would be done about it. It’s so easy to get caught up in the chaos of everyday life and forget that it’s ok to dream every once in a while. Finally though, I realised I just needed to get my act together and do it. Sometimes its’ just about starting where you are, because, let’s face it, there’s never really a perfect time to begin something new. So I created a schedule for 2019 of times and days that I would work on writing songs and it was this planning that made it possible. At first, I dreaded the idea of sitting down to write. Funnily enough though, when I started, I got lost in it and I really enjoyed the process. It was hard work at times as I was working a full-time job and studying Graphic Design at night as well. And when I think back

to those cold rainy Winter nights, arriving home late and putting pen to paper, I shudder haha. But I would never take it back; short term pain for a long-term gain. In terms of inspiration, ever since I was a kid, I always documented my life by keeping a Diary. So much had changed for me in the previous few years that I felt I had a chapter that I just needed to put down on paper. So I opened my Diary for inspiration and I just wrote. In ways, it was like opening a wound. I laugh at some of the ridiculous situations I found myself in over the years, and I cry remembering both the good and painful times. Most of all though, I really think it healed me. Now I feel like I can leave those times in the past and move forward. All in all, I am proud that I just found the resolve to push through and create something. I think it’s a testament to myself that I actually did it as it was something I wanted to do for such a long time. BOB: Songs like “When You Gave Your Heart To Me” and “Our Song” seem to be very personal. What was the inspiration for them? DEB: I’m glad that you picked up on the sentiment in those songs as they really were written from the heart. The year 1997 was a very difficult time for me, as I lost both my Parents to Cancer. I was only 10 years old at that time but I knew that I needed to create a song or a message to thank them for bringing me into this world and for creating beautiful memories with me. I could clearly remember times I’d spent with them both and I really knew the type of message that I wanted to convey. But sometimes I struggled to convey that message in words. So I would just sit with the essential memory of them and I began to realise that I had to find a creative way to sum up what I was trying to say. In “Our Song” [dedicated to my dad, the Late Alec Byrne], the lines “the curse of being young, too young to understand, when I thought I was too old to hold your hand”, recalls a memory of my Dad taking me to see Santa in the Square in Tallaght, the area where I grew up. As I was leaving, Santa gave me a present of a basketball net but as far as I was concerned, that was not a girls’ toy. I demanded that my Dad take me back to see Santa for a second time that day, so that I could change the toy, even though he told me that he would teach me how to use it. He eventually reluctantly agreed, and in the end, I was content to change it for a pencil case. And when I look back now, I laugh, but it pained me for a long time after my Dad died that I didn’t stick with the original toy that Santa had given me. So with “Our Song”, I wanted to convey how innocent you can be in your youth and you only realise it as time passes by. “When You Gave Your Heart To Me” on the other hand, is dedicated to my unforgettable Mother - my idol, Carmel Byrne who, although I only knew her for a short time, she instilled a deep sense of home

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into my very being. She is pictured on the Artwork for the Single of the same name. The lines “I found a picture of us where I had been so carefree and I remember it so well / but life got complicated, should’ve appreciated the moments that I treasure now” speaks of the distractions of everyday life and acts now as a reminder to myself to try and live in each and every moment, because when you’re easily distracted, looking back on such memories can be painful. BOB: Yeah, I love those two songs and you would know from the first listen that they carry a lot of depth. And they are both so different from one another which leads me to my next question. The songs on Porcelain Doll are very diverse, musically. I hear soul, pop, country, rock and indie influences coming through. Was it hard to include and condense all of these diverse styles into a cohesive sound on the album or did it come naturally to you? DEB: I had a lot of help with this from Dave. I knew what I wanted to say, and had a good idea of how I would like certain songs to sound, but Dave really weighed in musically, guiding me on a very diverse sonic journey. For instance, songs that were intended to have a slow tempo and sound almost melancholy [like “When You Gave Your Heart To Me”], ended up having a very upbeat retro Synthwave arrangement. I was totally shocked at the diversity we achieved. Sometimes I would come back to the studio after being away for a while to find that a very basic song had been transformed by Dave. It was like giving new lives to the songs and I loved it. There are so many forms that any given song can take when arranging, but sometimes you have to make your choices and stand by them. And now I can’t imagine them recorded any other way. I decided to embrace the journey, go on a musical ride and flow with the different influences. I managed to not get stuck in just one style, and I think it really paid off. BOB: While there are some serious songs on the album [like the ones we just mentioned], there are many other light moments that sit really well along side them, and really balance them out nicely. A song like “You And Your Brother” for instance, can you tell me a bit of the background to that one? DEB: I am laughing just thinking about that one. The thing about my songs is that most are fictitious but each one has an element of truth in them. Or some of them contain memories of things that have happened to me in my life. So when I write and sing certain lyrics, I can really be taken back, clear as day, to a certain point in my life and relive that memory again. Some of my songs though, are a mish-mash of a series of unrelated events that flow well together in the end. Essentially, “You Or Your Brother” is a funny little story of creating a life with someone who is not available, emotionally or otherwise, and the long-awaited epiphany that we need to get our shit together hits you. It helps you put that person out of your mind

and move on. The lines “it took some time to realise that I’d created one big lie, one that you did gladly partake in” sums this song up perfectly. BOB: I love the title track [“Porcelain Doll”] of the record. That song has a sort of Gwen Stefani vibe to it that intrigues me. And the lyrics are fascinating. Were you writing from personal experience on it? DEB: Unfortunately, yes, haha. Like I mentioned before, there is an element of truth in all of my songs. It’s a story of a break up, moving on and pondering the question of what that person is doing now. I thought it would be funny to take on the persona of a stalker for this song [although I never did anything like this in real life haha]. I always liked The Smiths ability to tell a story using very dry wit and how you could actually find yourself laughing at a song [“This Charming Man” / “Girlfriend In A Coma” etc]. BOB: Yeah I agree. Your lyrics take the listener into your very own world and it feels like you go on a journey while listening to the record. Did it take you long to write the songs? DEB: That’s a nice compliment; I appreciate that. I sat down and made a schedule whereby I spent a couple of hours each night writing the songs. I had the first 5 written in around 2 weeks, then I took a fews weeks break and wrote the last 5 in a similar time-frame. I even wrote the last song on a plane on my way to Colombia. I had the idea and just needed the space to get it down and structure it properly. I didn’t think I was a person that needed this type of structure and discipline, but it turns out that I did and I found that I can achieve a lot when I work this way. BOB: If you had to pick one song written by someone else that you wish you’d written, what would it be and why? DEB: How dare you ask that question. How rude, haha. I am never prepared for questions like this. I need more time to think about this... Off the top of my head, let me say that I am always fascinated with certain Song-writers abilities to play on words and write lyrics that might have multiple meanings. There’s also a lot to be said for vulnerability in writing and putting yourself out there to tell a story where you may come off less desirable in the eyes of others. But I think we all warm to people who show their insecurities. For this reason, I will say I really like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”. It offers a glimpse into her insecurities and Dolly has a great ability to lay these down in a sweet and innocent way. BOB: If you had to pick one of your own songs which you were happiest with/most proud of, which would it be and why? DEB: The one I would choose is actually a lesser known song on the album called “My Little Life”. I wrote it shortly after I had a real

“AHA” moment, as Oprah would say. I was so excited to write this song, that I ran home and the words just poured out. The style and the tempo all remained as first intended and the mesmerising sound of the Ukulele that flows through it is a credit to Dave for bringing it to life. It tells the story of a young woman trying to find her way in life and questioning what it’s all about. That moment when everything becomes clear; I remember that feeling fondly, but also thinking that I will look back later and wonder what the hell I was talking about. Sometimes you receive those moments of pure clarity and I’m glad I captured that on the album, just a small moment in time before it’s gone. I am still none the wiser now, haha. Sometimes not getting what you thought you wanted can send you on an unexpected path. I am thankful for not getting what I thought I wanted back then because out of that, this album was created. BOB: One year on from the release of the Porcelain Doll LP, what do you think of the record now? DEB: I am so relieved that I just started it. I remember all the hardwork and sacrifices that went into it so vividly and the terror that comes with putting yourself out there and sharing a part of yourself with the world. The thought of leaving yourself wide open to criticism is very frightening, but I realised that I was my own biggest critic. You tend to look at yourself under a microscope but I came to understand that other people spend most of their lives in their own heads and are generally more focused on themselves. There’s a freedom that comes with arriving at this revelation. It’s a starting point and I learned some great lessons which helped me to move forward. It’s great every now and again to be able to listen to myself on Spotify through a brightly coloured lamp, haha - I never thought I would be saying those words together in a sentence [thanks to Ikea and their weird technological advances]. BOB: Ok, last one. Are you planning on recording any new material in the future and if so, what style will it be? DEB: Porcelain Doll was a glimpse into a chapter of my life. I feel like that story has been told now and I am extremely proud of the work that went into it. That album told my story so well. I am excited to move onto my next project and bring out another side of Lilcatcheetah, so you can expect to hear a totally different, more blues / soul vibe on the next record. I have already started work on this album and feel I am going back to my original roots channeling some of my inner soul influences like Aretha Franklin, and Nat King Cole, among many others. I look forward to giving you all another glimpse into my world again, maybe later this year. BOB: Great, I look forward to hearing it. Thanks for your time. DEB: Thanks Bob.

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And so, that concludes the first ever issue of the SOS Almanac. We [my Alter-Ego’s & I] have really enjoyed taking you through some of the things related to the world of Season Of Spiders. All in all, we put this magazine together on a number of dates from midNovember 2020 to mid-January 2021. It’s been hard work, but I hope you have enjoyed it and feel closer to us, now that you, the reader, are a part of it too. If you have enjoyed it, you should go to seasonofspiders.com and SUBSCRIBE to the website [on the HOME page] so that you can keep up to date with SOS developments. You can listen to Season Of Spiders’ music on Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, & iTunes, among many other streaming sites scattered throughout the Internet. You can also stream and purchase the Digital version of the Living In Make Believe album on Bandcamp [seasonofspiders. bandcamp.com]. If you are interested in Lilcatcheetah’s Porcelain Doll album, you can find it on all the same services, as well as on her very own website [lilcatcheetah.com] and her Bandcamp page [lilcatcheetah. bandcamp.com] too. Any support of Independent Musicians and Artists is always greatly appreciated. As far as Season Of Spiders are concerned, Album #2 is already in the can and will be released at some stage this year [2021]. At the time of going to press on Issue 01 of the SOS Almanac [Mid January 2021], I can tell you that I am about to start the recording of Album #3. So stay tuned as there is a lot more great and interesting stuff to come. FInally, I’d just like to say thanks to my wife Natalie for designing my crazy face on the front cover of this issue, as well as all of her artwork that made up the Living In Make Believe record and its attendant singles [I have reproduced a lot of her work throughout this mag]. I’d also like to thank my Sister Debbie for the indepth interview that she gave. And finally, to you the listener, reader and Season Of Spiders fan, Thank you.

David Byrne 14 January 2021

THE OFFICIAL JOURNALS OF

ISSUE 01 | JANUARY 2021

THE PRODUCTION Editor Sub-Editor Illustration, Artwork, Layout & Design Photography Proofreader

David Byrne Bob Webb Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns David Byrne, Natalie Byrne Stanley Dalton

THE CONTRIBUTORS Front Cover Artwork Natalie Byrne Single & Album Artwork Natalie Byrne Article & Feature Writers David Byrne, Bob Webb, Jack Valentine, Animal Kovax, Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns, Stanley Dalton Lilcatcheetah Interview Debbie Byrne THE PUBLISHERS Publisher Zebra In A Top Hat Press Cat No. SOSAL001 THE WEBSITES Season Of Spiders seasonofspiders.com Cobweb Recordings cobwebrecordings.com Lilcatcheetah lilcatcheetah.com

Text and Illustrations Copyright owned by SOS Almanac, David Byrne, Natalie Byrne, Season Of Spiders and Zebra In A Top Hat Press respectively Ⓟ & Ⓒ 2020 & 2021. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the Editor | Illustrator | Publisher.

Welcome to Issue 01 of the SOS Almanac, the first and only official magazine of Irish rock ‘n’ roll band Season Of Spiders. Here, you will find all you need to know about their music and their Debut Album Living In Make Believe. You will also enter the world of Redemption, where the entirety of the SOS story is set. This 120-page mag is filled to the brim with high quality artwork by Natalie Byrne [Emerald Heart, Baubie Sunshine etc] and Baxter “Fuzzboy” Burns. There are many articles and features as well, including the Gear Garage and the Living In The Past Mixtape series. Finally, Lilcatcheetah is interviewed about her recent Porcelain Doll album too.

ISSUE 01 | JANUARY 2021

SOSAL001