[rocksmyfaceoff.net]

As of ten minutes ago, Randall Goodgame’s new site has officially launched. There’s a lot of great stuff up there, including some great photos. Check it out at http://www.randallgoodgame.com.

Here’s some info about his next project from the “About” page:

Four years have passed since the release of Randall’s last album “War and Peace,” and now he’s writing again for album number five. Well-versed in folk music as a frequent writer for the group Caedmon’s Call (INO Records), Randall is putting down his guitar and going back to the instrument he grew up on – the piano. “The songs I’m writing,” said Randall, “are what happens when I’m writing on the instrument I’m most comfortable with.” What you will hear is a representation of Randall’s musical past blended with his real-life experiences in the present. “Reverie,” a new song written about his wife of seven years, is the mark of Randall’s maturity as an artist, how the past four years have molded him and, in a way, reveals his true musical identity. From the smooth, soulful vocals to the rich and captivating piano melody, “Reverie” invites the listener to celebrate love and devotion with a joyful innocence. A whole new chapter begins to unfold through the infectious, piano-based melodies he is creating, once again letting all that surrounds him become a part of the song and a part of the story that is Randall Goodgame.

I think it’s safe to say that this pretty well skewers everyone involved—which, if you think about it, is really Derek’s point. You may not agree with the point, or with how its expressed in this highly sarcastic video, but you have to agree that it gets made loud and clear.

[Me? I liked it.]

Michael Terry IM’d me the link to Randall’s channel on YouTube, and I thought that I’d share it with you.

A happy first birthday to Derek and Sandra’s delightful little boy, Rhodes. Yeah, it’s been a year already. Crazy, no?

And Derek’s other child came into being this week—NoiseTrade finally launched. [You will be forgiven if you were wondering if it would ever happen.] We’ve all been playing with it for a while, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s pretty cool. And hey, if that doesn’t get you to try it, maybe getting The Ringing Bell for free will…

• AO in Nashville on 7 Jul [like, Monday, y'all]

… or so Derek said at the show last night.

You should enjoy it.

Just thought we’d highlight that Andy will play 3rd and Lindsley on Monday July 7th. Sadly, I will be unable to make the drive up from North Alabama given work considerations.

No, there were no new dates last week. I was sad, too.

• RG in Duluth, GA on 20 Sep

While the thought of an Andy O podcast has rattled around in our heads here at AO.net from time to time, we’ve never actually pulled it off. Now we’ve been done one better - Andy has rolled out the first episode of the ILikeAndy.com “I Like Podcast”, and it’s a lot of fun.

Highlights: Andy O talks with Andrew Peterson about AP’s The Far Country, how Andy O’s life “generally smells better” after he got married, and then finally they discuss this all-important question: if one of the Square Pegs were the final Cylon on Battlestar Galactica, which Peg would it be?

You can subscribe to the podcast using this URL: http://www.andyosenga.com/index.php?feed=podcast

No word from Andy yet on how regular this podcast will be, but for the Andy Osenga fans out there it’ll be worth the wait each time.

Eric noted yesterday that he’d put up notes about the songs on Scarce, which he calls Debriefings. [I love that.] Scarce now has a full list of Debriefings, and if you hit his Sounds page, click on any to see the debriefing for that song.

Several of you have asked, “What’s up with Goodgame’s site?” Well, it’s being re-done. Presumably, this supports the new record, which Randall mentioned briefly on a Facebook status the other day.

We’ll write more when we know more …

If you’re like me, you probably woke up this morning thinking, “I wonder when Eric Peters is going to start working on his new record?” Well, wonder no more. Last Tuesday, Eric joined fellow Square Peg Alliance member Ben Shive, who is producing the record, in the studio, and they started working out arrangements and laying down acoustic guitar parts and scratch vocals. So far, they have the basic tracks recorded for four songs. They’re taking a break this week, while Ben is recording the rhythm tracks for the new Sara Groves Christmas record he is producing, but hopefully will be back at work soon. Eric has started a new blog, The Middle of the Storm, where he will be posting updates every recording day, if things go as planned. There are already a couple of posts up, so check it out.

The only new date this week is from Andrew Peterson:

• AP in Jonesboro, GA on 13 Sep

If you haven’t checked The Rabbit Room yet today, first of all, why not? Second, here’s what Andrew posted this morning about an event Saturday.

At Davis Kidd Booksellers, arguably the coolest big bookstore in the Nashville area, I’m honored to be reading from On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, as well as playing a few songs with my good friend Randall Goodgame. I hope you can make it out. Bring your kids, or your selves, or your cardigan sweaters.

Where: Davis Kidd Booksellers, at the Green Hills Mall
When: 2:00 PM
What: Toothy cows, singer/songwriters, books
Why: To experience the thrill of peril! Adventure! Mystery! Internal rhyme!

Hope to see some of you there.

Thanks!

AP

After much hinting about it, Andy’s new website has finally gone live. And it looks fantastic. Major props go out to Brannon and Jordan who put it together. Fantastic work, guys.

Some new features on the site: photos to download, opportunity to post reviews of Andy’s albums, videos, an RSS feed of tour dates, and, coming up next week… a podcast. Andy’s been hinting at how cool this podcast will be for months now, and I’m getting tired of waiting around. Bring it, dude!

One thing to pay attention to at the moment: the website address has changed. You’ve gotta head to www.andyosenga.com to get to the new site. If you’re subscribed to his blog, you’ll probably need to re-subscribe to the new feed. Hopefully they’ll get some redirection set up soon.

So anyway, head on over and take a look. The site looks great.

Oh, and last but certainly not least: there’s a new AO song on the site media player, called What I Know Now. On first listen, I like it. As AO told us on his blog a few weeks ago, it’s a little more pop and a little less Radiohead, but hey, it’s good stuff. Take a listen and let me know what you think.