Oh yes, the conflict of interest train just keeps on rollin’, I tell you.
Jon Rooney, one of this very blog’s very writers, also happens to be a very talented and prolific songwriter in his own right. Scratch that, there’s no “happens to be” about it. We first came in contact through our mutual music-making, and I’ve been featuring his songs on Ball of Wax for years; so if there’s any “conflict” in me telling you I like an artist that I’ve obviously liked for years, well then I don’t know what.
Jon (as previously mentioned, formerly of Morning Spy) has released one “proper” Virgin of the Birds full-length – and by “proper” I mean the money-and-resource-wasting manufactured CD with packaging that we all hold to such a high standard of legitimacy for some bizarre, self-sabotaging reason – 2007’s wonderful Mixed Choir. Since then, he’s been churning out these wonderful little EPs and releasing them for free online. It’s inspiring, both from a creative and a business perspective. It’s essentially free to produce and distribute, and incredibly immediate – you can release your recording the day you finish it if you want, rather than waiting months for all the little bits that go into “properly” releasing an album.
Jon released Fugitive Works, the fourth in this EP series, last month. As always, it’s a concise chunk of erudite bedroom pop music with experimental leanings and just enough sloppiness so that Indie Rooney (no relation) would feel at home. You can go download it (and the other three) at the Abandoned Love Records site.
Jon will be my guest on Underwater Sounds of the Aquatic Ocean, my bi-weekly Hollow Earth Radio show, this Sunday, March 20th, at 4 p.m. I’m sure he’ll play a few tunes from the EPs, and maybe a cover or two. Tune in and check it out!