St. Patrick

Well, Top of the Mornin' To You. Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Rums & Bums camp. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green on this day are pinched affectionately. I never knew this until now. I'm set to change out of my green suit and back into Blue, the original color associated with this day.

Well, I met up with Dick Syn, Delphi Finn and Stone Catcherye last night at the recording studio to witness them working on some of their pre-production stuff. Dick Syn showed up asking where the Jameson was and said he was extremely disappointed that Delphi & Stone didn't have a shot or two lined up for him when he arrived. I think the appropriate term here is "Saucebag".

After a few beers (with a green label) Dick Syn was plugged in, turned on (if you will) and ready to go. The song of the evening was Simple, a tune penned by Dick, Syn & Delphi. Dick was laying down magick, leaning on melodies and grooves. He recorded his guitar tracks, with only minor procrastination. Once the guitars were laid down onto wax, they set out for those shots.

Stone, being the semi-non-drinker of the band passed on doing shots, but the other two made up for his lack. The Jameson however was nowhere to be found so they had to settle for J&B. R&B, J&B, I think I see a theme here.

After the shots were consumed and set into motion, Dick Syn strapped on a bass guitar and headed back into the studio. While they are auditioning bass players, Dick has assumed the bass player's role in the band in the studio. The song was completed in no time and was sounding fabulous. No doubt because of the new engineer in training and the producer, both of whom are very Irish.

Then it was mixdown time, and this is where Stone's mystery vocal tracks were revealed. Apparently on every song they record, Stone lays down intense vocal work, including tracks almost inaudible to the human ear, but when the producer played only Stone's vocal tracks, a whole new world was opened up to the band. At first, their was complete laughter, nearly tear-flowing laughter, and then Syn and Delphi made the producer remix the song with one of the secret vocal tracks raised up and it was perfect. Not only did it throw in another element to the song, but it also brought forth some magick.

Delphi had to leave soon after to get home before the big day today. He was set to celebrate St. Patty's Day all day long, as only he can do. Dick Syn however stayed until the wee hours, shooting the breeze with Catcherye and me, before Catcherye's big trip North. That's not to say Dick didn't leave without a bang....he must've crashed into every wall on the way out of the studio, causing ruckus where ever he went, dropping mirrors, waking neighbors....a perfect ending to a loud studio session.

I ended up crashing at the studio and was awoken around 9 am to an obnoxious car horn. I opened my eyes, and squinted out the window to the yelling that was now echoing form the front of the building. Slate and Robinson, blue Lexus, yelling to Stone that it was time to go drink some guiness. ahhhh, little do they know that Stone may be Irish, but he is in no way a drinking man's man. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. I'm not sure if Stone went out for those drinks or not, but I'm sure I'll find out in a bit.

Rums will be off next week due to Stone Catcherye's trip North. He's traveling to Northern Maine to a giant house where he will be recording new music with friend and cohort, Christopher Scott. Their side project band is known as Chemical Fiction and has yet to release any actual recordings. This will be their first "real" recording session, and I've been invited along to document it with cameras and words. I will be checking in remotely from the recording house in the woods to fill you in. I will have exclusive interviews with both Christopher Scott and Stone Catcherye.

may you all be pinched properly,

Truth.

Rituals of Auditioning Musicians

good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the blog of Rums & Bumbletons. a blog not told by the band itself, but rather by an impromptu friend.

as you may or may not know, the band is currently auditioning bass players due to their bass player Kramwell Ellavalled leaving the band. the band has had a few auditions thus far and mum's the word on what's going on with that, I'm assuming we'll get news as soon as they make an educated decision as to the future of the band and the bass player slot, once filled.

Scheduled to play The Scott Haney Show on CBS in CT on Friday May 13, 2011, the band still says they're unsure as to who will be joining them on camera for that event. I caught up with Delphi Finn and he had this to say, "Yeah, we're scheduled to play and right now, we're not a complete band, haha. It's not really anything that has us worried, as we have a ton of great friends who also double as fantastic musicians, and if we get in a pinch, we've already had offers to get us through."

As I hung up the phone, I wondered, as many of you may or may not have in the past, how do bands go about auditioning a new bandmate? Sure, if you're the Red Hot Chili Peppers, you just tweet it and there's scores of skilled musicians forming a line, however, when you're just a regular Indie Rock band, what's the process, how do you advertise?

I picked up the phone and dialed Stone Catcherye to see if he had any insight for me in this particular area of interest. Here, for the first time are the 13 steps involved in auditioning for the band. Be reminded, this is straight from Stone Catcherye....

1. The remaining band members gather in a small room with 13 walls, and meditate with photographs of their own voodoo dolls set in a triangle. The meditation reveals desires, objections and who breathes the loudest. (loudest breather gets their vote diminished by 3%, meaning the other two members get 34.5% of the vote.

2. We contact those who we've been in touch with about playing. Either from word of mouth, 900 number advertisements or flyers we hung up at the playboy mansion.

3. We conduct a phone interview with each potential candidate. Each candidate gets asked a series of questions, no more than 10, which differ from all other candidates, all except for one question. The single common question being, what's your favorite room in the house?

4. We then meet with the candidates, all with at least one piece of our gear. Dick Syn usually brings one of his Les Pauls, Delphi always brings his hi-hat stand and I usually bring my microphone cord. The meeting place is dependent upon the candidate and the day of the week.

5. We have a contest to see if the candidate can drink a beer faster than me.

6. At least 8 days later, we meet up again with said candidate and play no more than 124 minutes.

7. We once again gather in the small room with 13 walls, but without the pictures of our voodoo dolls. Rather they meditate while listening to the most recent audition.

8. We then throw darts, while blindfolded at pictures of the candidates.

9. At each step, we're eliminating at least 1.4 candidates, but at the ninth step, we call in friend and cohort of the band, Christopher Scott, who then, while looking at the photos on the dartboard, gives his best impression of each candidate, without ever once having met them.

10. We regroup with the candidates left and play for no more than 124 minutes, but change the tempo and keys to all of the songs to see if they get lost.

11. Candidates then get to throw darts at other candidates' photos to try and eliminate them.

12. When we've narrowed it down to 3 people auditioning for the spot, we take them camping, one at a time and introduce them to nature. Usually leaving them at the campsite alone to find their way out to the road, where we're waiting with Sushi and Fine Wine.

13. The last two remaining candidates then get to have a bass duel. The loser is the one whose fingers open up and bleed first.

and there you have it, more strange Bumbletonistic rituals.

Truth.

Ersatz

good morning fictional and non-fictional beings, my name is Pace Truth and I am the cyber representative for the band I call Rums & Bumbletons. I'm sitting here, not drinking French pressed coffee, but rather drinking a lower shelf coffee, but with high grade creamer. I'm being entertained sonically by Fluidum Letale on ReverbNation. I have the blinds closed with a soft lit light to my right, creating 11 O'clock shadows all about the room. The room I'm in is strewn about with musical instruments, amplifiers, computers and artwork hidden in between.

Last night I met up with the Bumbletons for another bass audition and seeing as how I'm contractually not allowed to speak about the audition, I am allowed to give you a rendition of the evening's humor.

I was the first to arrive and caught Stone Catcherye watching some spring training Red Sox footage, and indulging in a giant piece of hubba bubba. Delphi Finn strolled in all shits and giggles, loaded to the gills with drummer's equipment. We all entered the "jam room" so they could set up. Not too long after called for the arrival of Dick Syn and the bass player mentioned earlier. For identification's sake we'll call him Number 4721, on a scale that doesn't start at zero and that ends on an odd number divisible by 4.

Dick Syn had brews and we were set to go.

Rums kicked into a set of 6 songs, they had previously rehearsed for this audition. If I'm allowed to recall, it was Out There, Social Lion, Simple, Blue Roses, Granted For Taken and Can't Make A Killer. I've never seen Stone Catcherye chew bubble gum and sing before, it's almost like his gum because part of the show. Bubbles, sticking it out, snapping. A real three ring circus. Dick Syn was apparently still bent about the photo circulated amongst the band of a recent photo shoot of Dick and wasn't pulling off his normal "stage moves" for fear of stares. He was however in good spirits and managed to rip it up. Delphi Finn was on fire, as usual. He was the initiator of the Speed Challenge. An eight bar measure of one of their songs with something like 64th notes, or maybe even faster, how do I know. Delphi played through it with lightning speed and almost instantaneously Sinner called out, "I'm going to play that FASTER!"

"Faster" meaning that it wasn't fast enough. Sinner and Delphi had a "sonic war" of speed notes for the next few minutes. And then just as in battle, as the smoke cleared and the sounds were just about all removed from life itself, Stone Catcherye chimed in, through his microphone, to almost sound as if his voice were the voice of Zues reigning over the valleys srrounding Mt. Olympus, "I can do it FASTER!"

"Faster" meaning I challenge you punks to a battle of false manhood and bloody fingers. To which Delphi replied, "Sing faster?" and Catcherye replied with, "I'll play the guitar while playing your double kick drum simultaneously."

It was on, money went into the 8 faced relic and we shall have the results of the competition in roughly 1200 hours.

There were some spontaneous covers thrown out this evening which I feel the need to mention. There was a vocal-less rendition of Two Princes, for all you dirty pop-hippies out there, and then a version of Patience by GnR with Dick Syn emulating a perfect Axl Rose, dance and all, while playing a perfect Slash at the same time! Delphi was Steve Adler with the broken wrist and Stone played Duff's Background Vocal part. There was a vocal-less version of Tom Sawyer and then the big bang. A tribute to Mike Starr, the first bass player of Alice In Chains, who died earlier this week. Alice In Chains being one of the guys' influences. They ripped into No Excuses, Would, and a sick version of Them Bones.

A fitting tribute and it was goodnight. After a brief exchange of YouTube links and cutlery care, they grabbed their shit and headed out the door.

never to be heard from again,

haha, not Truth.

Sheepdikat

Wednesday evening, approximately 7:25 pm - I arrive at Stone Catcherye's house, carrying a notebook completely covered in doodles, one of my favorite pens, a bottle of merlot and a digital voice recorder.

Wednesday evening, approximately 7:49 pm - Stone calls Delphi Finn's cell phone, which he does not answer, and then proceeds to tell Delphi on his voice mail that he's quitting the band to front the 80's band, Poison.

Wednesday evening, approximately 7:50 pm - Stone falls to the floor laughing, spilling merlot all over his newest wall to wall carpet.

Wednesday evening, approximately 7:55 pm - Delphi returns Stone's call explaining how he can't get to his voice mail and he's hoping that practice isn't canceled.

Wednesday evening, approximately 8:05 pm - Delphi Finn walks in the door carrying a snare drum, a drum stool, a couple of cymbals in their carrying cases, and his drums sticks case. Oh yeah, and a 12 pack of brews.

Wednesday evening, approximately 8:10 pm - Stone explains his disposition to Delphi and they continue to proceed with setting up for the evening's music. I sit in the corner of the room enjoying glass after glass of wine, all while making different vowel sounds into my voice recorder.

Wednesday evening, approximately 8:17 pm - Dick Syn walks in carrying his custom pedal effects case and wearing some sort of life preserver. Behind him, the man we've dubbed The Squirrel Hunter, the bass player for the evening. Due to the band's privacy disclosure, I cannot reveal his real name as of yet.

Wednesday evening, approximately 8:30 pm - They kick into their first set. Stone & Delphi on one side of the room, with Dick & The Hunter facing them on the other side. The songs I can recall them performing were Social Lion, Simple, Blue Roses, Can't Make A Killer, Out There and Granted For Taken. With a few covers thrown in the mix from all different eras.

Wednesday evening, approximately 9:30 pm - The four take a little refreshment break and then jump back into a few jams. One in particular had Stone backing away from the microphone and lending himself to the mercy of a shaker in each hand, alternating between shaking, tapping on beer bottles and using a rain stick.

Wednesday evening, approximately 9:56 pm - Stone proclaims it is 10 o'clock and they all beginning unplugging and carrying on.

Wednesday evening, approximately 10:12 pm - Dick Syn is thrown into hysterics, along with Stone Catcherye when they watch a video The Hunter showed them on YouTube.

Wednesday evening, approximately 10:25 pm - Delphi Finn and Dick Syn fight over who gets the last beer.

Wednesday evening, approximately 10:53 pm - after debating whether or not to do shots, Stone breaks out the new Hell Fire wings, and everyone digs in. They are a hit, and Dick Syn passed the test, his tolerance for spice is improving, according to Stoney. The Hell Fire wings were delish. I'm told that Rums will be making a video with Stone cooking his famous wings, while sharing the recipe, so that everyone can enjoy them.

Wednesday evening, approximately 11:13 pm - Dick Syn yet again falls into hysterics when he discovers a Sheepdikat in Stone's kitchen.

Wednesday evening, approximately 11:27 pm - The Hunter tells Dick Syn they have to go. Everyone exits, including me, all headed for home.

Thursday Morning, approximately 10:04 am -My phone rings and I answer it, as I'm just sitting down to a cup of coffee and the morning news (online). On the other end is a conference call from Stone Catcherye and Dick Syn. Stone was cooking scrambled eggs with pepperjack cheese, and Dick was cooking a Syn Omelette. It was too early, so I didn't bother to ask what that was. They were far too awake for me probably due to the fact that they were both way past their first cup of coffee. The two just called to exchange breakfast recipes. Apparently, before they got me on the line, they had tried to call Delphi, who was obviously unavailable and their call went to voice mail. They left their acapella version of Cotton Balls on his voice mail.

Thursday Morning, approximately 11:35 am - I finally hung up from the breakfast conference call and went back to sleep.

see you next week,

Truth.

Catcherye's Hell Fire Wings

I'm sure you've heard of Stone Catcherye's amazing wings by now and if not, you're totally missing out. Well Cap'n Catcherye has added a whole new level of danger to the mix, particularly due to Dick Syn's spicy food training regiment. You see, Dick has never been good with spicy food, it gives him the hiccups.

Catcherye was always pulling pranks on the Sinner by adding spice to his food secretly and then laughing for hours on end once Syn started his gasps for oxygen. With the help from Troy (of the North), Dick Syn has been underground extreme spice training, gradually lifting himself to higher Scoville Heat Units.

Well, Catcherye's onto that game and has just informed me that his new recipe is even quite a kick for himself, who has the highest known tolerance to kick. His secret ingredient is from his own Troy Warrior, Batukah Catcherye. A pepper mixture that's bound to make even the manliest man cry.

I'll be back to inform you on whether or not Dick Syn can handle the heat.

Truth.

The Squirrel Hunter

Well, it's been about a week or so and I've been on roofs all week, not shoveling them off, but just sitting on them, watching birds, trying to figure out the air temperature via the old Ritz Cracker method. If you don't know that method, I'm sorry I can't explain it to you, you'll have to do some searching.

I got to sit in, via FM radio signal to the first bass audition of Rums & Bumbletons this past week. Apparently, Rums doesn't let anyone into the auditions, because of the breach of security that happened back in 2007, when Kramwell Ellavalled came in to audition. I can understand that, but I'm an avid supporter of the band, not to mention their staff blog writer, I'm nearly everyone in the band's best friend, and they wouldn't even let me in because they said unless I play an instrument, no way in. I told them I can play the slide flute but they wouldn't buy it.

They did however, let me hook up to their Fm radio feed, which they broadcast every week, although I was never aware of it until this week. The significance of the actual number of the station has yet to be deciphered though. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to give that info out, so I won't.

I tuned in sometime around 8 pm and noticed there was still just white noise going on and I figured I had been tricked once again by Delphi, Dick & Stone. A moment later, I was proven wrong and Stone's voice came through like a hot knife into butter. "Greetings Earthlings, this is Stone Catcherye, along with Delphurius Finn and we're about to break into some live music, so sit back, grab a cold one and melt your hearts away..."

I swear at this point is when I heard the sound of Dick Syn laughing obnoxiously and the music kicked in. They gave the audience three songs and the airwaves went back to white noise. Granted for Taken, Can't Make A Killer and Out There. At first I could swear it wasn't live, but then I heard a few convincing details that proved to me that they were playing live and as far as I could tell from the sound, the bass player was doing pretty well.

I called into the studio to talk to them afterwards....

P.Truth: so, I heard the jam, sounded pretty good, how did the audition go?

D.Finn: What do you mean?

D. Syn: What did you hear?

P.Truth: well, I heard three songs, Granted, Killer and Out There....

S. Catcherye: Where are you?

(laughing in the background)

P.Truth: I'm at Dick Syn's house, had to pry my way in through the only open window I could find. Sorry I knocked the plant over, couldn't find your vacuum.

D. Syn: you better hope it's cleaned up before I get home, or you know what'll happen.

P.Truth: so tell me about this bass player, anything you can give me?

D. Finn: he's a master squirrel hunter.

D. Syn: he likes beer.

S. Catcherye: I think he's part American Indian.

silence.

P.Truth: that's all you're going to give me?!

D. Finn: It'll work out for him in the end.

D. Syn: he likes food.

S. Catcherye: He's good with smoke signals.

silence.....

that's when I hung up and went to the bar.

this week I'll be visiting Catcherye for a post Valentine's Day Fluidum recording session.

congratulations to Egypt!!! Revolution!!!!!
Truth.

No Title.

Stone Catcherye invited over yesterday for a day and night filled with sports, blood and excessive partying. At first when I got the call, I was a little leery seeing as I'm not at all into sports and the mega-money business greed machine it's become, but once Stone said he had booze, I was in.

I arrived at his place, sometime after noon, only to find him breaking ice on his driveway. He was losing the battle to the ice when I arrived. There was just way too much ice and water on top of it to get rid of and soon after I arrived, the ice drew first blood.

Once the ice threw the first blow, Catcherye decided to sever his ties and get on with his day. Next thing I know, we're in the car, with Lucy, and Beav & Beavette, speeding our way through the streets of Hartford, until we found our parking garage and got out for a breath of fresh stale air. To my surprise, we were there to see a hockey game, The Hartford Whale VS The Portland Pirates. Stone had amazing seats, we were about 5 rows from the glass, and near one of the goalies. I personally have never sat that close at a hockey game, and seemed to either jump or leak a little every time there was a check into the glass and I wasn't paying attention. I was more into the beer and food at the time. Stone Catcherye and Co. seemed to be having a great time, yelling at fans, overpowering the other team's cheers and even mixing it up with a few of the players. and of course, Stone's team won, The Pirates, with a 3rd period goal to break the 2-2 tie. The game ended with a missed shot by Hartford at the buzzer and a

fight ensued. We made our way through a whole hockey game but there was no blood, until we got outside. An older gentleman slipped on ice and fell head first into the pavement. good samaritans including Catcherye & Co. stayed with the man and helped him to his feet. We offered to call the paramedics but the man smiled, put his hat over his open head wound and said, "I'll be fine, thanks."

Then it was off for more fun at a mini Superbowl get together with enough food to feed the 3rd Legion. I was completely unimpressed with the hyped up commercials. The game was ok for a superbowl, but was filled with penalties and injuries and just lacked the luster of what I had in mind. Nonetheless, we managed to make a good night of it and without any more bloodshed.

A day with Stone Catcherye is like a great sci-fi book, but without the sci.
Truth.

The Snake Riffing Proclaimation

Good Morning and welcome to yet another installment of Rums and Bumbletons weblogs. It's bee a record snowfall winter here in the land of ice, snow and all things that can freeze your blood into blood cubes. The snow is piled so high I can't even think.

I was the first to arrive at the studio to meet up with the guys last night for a bit of recoding mania. Right behind me was Stone Catcherye, carrying a rum and coke, apparently also fed up with snow removal tactics and all that is associated with winter. I have to say, it looked as though Stone has been working out for a few months, he almost had a Popeye sort of appearance. giant forearms, squinty eyes and a pipe.

Delphi Finn was the next to arrive and in his hands was a bag of beer. not one of those cheesy home made beer bags, but a plastic grocery bag (totally environmentally unfriendly) filled with a good mix of cold beer. Delphi too had that look of exhaustion induced from too much snow. Apparently he's been making a living shoveling snow off of roofs for the past few weeks.

Unsurprisingly, Dick Syn was the last to arrive, but only because he had to drive in from Boston, aka Beantown aka BallsTown. He wasn't carrying any alcohol, but as soon as he stepped into the studio, he broke a record with the fastest consumed beer. I think it may have taken him 2 gulps to devour his beer. I'm almost surprised that he didn't just eat the bottle too.

They set out right away into laying down some tracks and it wasn't long before these Bumbletons began to make some progress. I was allowed to listen to a few classics while they were tracking out the songs. The Graveyard Song....which I believe was one of the very first songs penned by the band...was hot.

I'm not even sure what other songs they played because the beer took over.

I can say this, I've never heard them so into their work before. After a few songs were recorded, they broke into a discussion of sound, dynamics and physics like none other. It's as if they were all in a classroom and studying for a music quiz. There were computers chugging away to try and keep up with Dick Syn's google fingers.

I guess I don't know what happened after that, which is rare, but sometimes that happens.

I didn't get any good interviews out of them, but I do know that next week they will be holding their first audition for their open bass player slot. Delphi kept calling it "JakeJam", Sinner kept calling it "SnakeRiffing" and Stoney was referring to it as "The Fornication Proclaimation".

All I know is I get to witness it first hand.

I will definitely take notes to fill you all in.
Truth.

The Tennessee Crossed Finger Hook

well, there's never a dull moment at any gathering of Rums & Bumbletons. tonight I even managed to learn a few things in the process.

for the record, I just want to say that Dick Syn was the first to arrive at the studio, well, besides Stone & I, but he did make it before Delphi and for once, he wasn't the last one there. that is what we were celebrating later in the night when we broke out the Jameson and a shot that Catcherye made called, The Snowflaker.

Delphi arrived with the beer and walked into a Dick Syn and Stone Catcherye duo....they were singing along to the Brad iTunes session cd. good disc. To everyone's amazement, the engineer had gotten into the studio early and had everything wired and ready to go. a few minor tweaks to the drums and they were off running. Once again, I don't know why, but the engineer had the Sinner helping out with the controls. Perhaps, subliminally he's trying to get Sinner to be his production partner when the studio opens commercially. The Sinner is in training and doesn't even know it yet.

There was one flub by the assistant engineer tonight and only one. Apparently they nailed a take of a song that usually never sounds right, good ole Dick Syn never saved the take, so it was lost into the cold winter night forever. The engineer gave Sinner his one and only "get out of jail free" card.

The evening was fun, got to hear some newer Rums songs and wow, their dynamics are incredible in a studio setting. I guess this recording isn't intended to be something they will release as a cd, but they said they might just give it out for free. it's finished versions of their songs, but without the finished and polished quality of a commercial release.

Stone was off in his vocal suite again, cracking jokes and being the wise guy he is. He apparently had gotten Caliwhacked earlier int he day and showed us all his bruised fat lip. You have to be careful where you get Caliwhacked defined, because I heard Catcherye's definition and then Delphi's and they were two greatly differing explanations. Nonetheless, Catcherye sounded pretty smooth tonight.

Delphi was on fire, as usual, not to blow smoke up his you know what, but yeah, he was ripping it up. He was rambling all night about his tempo though. He kept insisting that he was speeding up and slowing down the tempos. We listened back again and again, and we couldn't figure it out. Come to find out, Dick Syn was leaning on the tape and was making it warp out of time.

We all took turns slapping him.

Syn ripped it up this evening, but even more importantly, his sounds were coming out beautiful. Dick wasn't using his normal set up, he was using line 6 equipment. at one point, I closed my eyes and it sounded like Stevie Ray Vaughn was playing in the next room on my headphones. it was that good.

that was the extent of the recording session and then I followed the guys down into the Studio Lounge for some drinks and business talk. Apparently they have a film crew that wants to create some online video spots with them as the hosts. I didn't get the whole story yet, that's what they do, give me a little piece and then clam up. Once I get more, I'll be back to tell you.

I'll be making a special appearance to Sound Construction this weekend with just the Sinner, Dick Syn and the house engineer at the studio, Billy Sparrow. Billy doesn't really talk all that much though, he's always tweaking knobs and Tennessee Hooking everyone when they walk by.

I'm going to get a live, audio interview, which I will post with my next blog, but not here, it will be on their website, www.rumsandbumbletons.com

I'm off to make snow angels and watch twin peaks,
Truth.

In A Few Words: Ode To Kramwell Ellavalled

good morning, here I sit, anxiously waiting for the umpteen amounts of snow we're expected to be covered with here in NW CT. fun? not really. maybe if I were a professional snowboarder or even luge competitor.

I'm here to report on some very important news, a change to Rums & Bumbletons. Our dear friend and bass player, Kramwell Ellavalled, has left the band to pursue other ventures in life. The band will miss Kram dearly, not only his good humor and well adjusted attitude, but his foot stomping style of funky rhythms and floor shaking low end.

Kram was first introduced to Rums when cousin Stone called him up to fill the empty slot left from previous bass player J. French. Kram easily fit right into the vibe and the music. After four months of rehearsing, Kram and the boys were playing their first show, a battle of the bands at the Webster Theatre Underground. It was a cold October evening hen they first hit the stage together and despite Stone having a spell of the flu, they managed to win the first round battle.

Kram also played with the guys at Toad's Place, and helped introduce Rums to Northampton, MA, South Windsor, CT, and to a few full capacity shows at a local club in Torrington, CT. Kram was the 3rd bass player of the band, but the only one to have been in the band when places they played ran out of bar glasses and even booze in a couple cases.

Kram E. also was part of the first two cd's ever released by the band, Rumination, a 5 song, home studio demo, recorded at the band's rehearsal space, which they sold out of, and their first commercial release, Ahrenbe, another 5 song cd, recorded at Sound Construction Studios and produced by Rums & Bumbletons along with Christopher Richardson.

I tried to get some comments from the band as to why Kram is departing, but they only said that they love him and will miss him and will support all his future endeavors. Stone said it's a personal matter and it will remain between the band members. Stone did say that Krammy will indeed still be part of the family and might even make some appearances in the future.

Now you may ask, "What are they going to do without a bass player?" Well, currently they are holed up in Sound Construction Studios, recording their entire catalog of songs (25 in total) as well as a whole slew of new songs being demoed by Stone Catcherye and Dick Syn (at least 10 that I'm aware of). Dick said they're making great progress only a week into it, with plans to have 10 songs recorded by the end of the 2nd week. Delphi said the songs are full on Rums and sound the best they've ever sounded. Though no word of any release of this material yet.

As for the open bass slot, word is that auditions are being held worldwide, and a few people are even flying in from parts as far as Dublin to try out. I wasn't able to get the names, due to privacy issues, but I was told I'd be the first person to know, outside of the inner circle of Bumbletons.

I'll be back this week with another episode of Rums in the studio and perhaps maybe even an interview.

snow is like canceling fun,
Truth.

Dick Syn Juggles Knives

Dick Syn definitely took the cake tonight when it came to good ideas gone terribly wrong.

I met up with Delphi, Stone and Dick sometime around 8. Stone was running cables everywhere in the studio and Delphi walked in with a grin on his face, shaking his head as if Stone had lost his mind. You see, when Stone Catcherye gets into recording mode, he almost goes mad scientist on us, sometimes he'll be looking you square in the eyes and you'll have a conversation with him, and then he says, "wait, what did you just say, I didn't catch any of that." It wasn't too long after that Dick Syn showed up with a 12 pack of mixed Brooklyn Brewery Beers. Bodacious.

Then they set up to record. Delphi & Dick in the main tracking room and Stone in the isolation suite. For some reason the engineer decided to let the Sinner run the console during the session, which would explain the names of the songs. Can't Make A Krucifix; The Big Nipple; Blind Squirrels; 6 Days of D*ld*s and even Wish You Were A Mofo. Rums put down 5 songs, with an extra take as well. Delphi was on fire with the tempos and I think the sounds were some of the best yet. Stone was all by his lonesome, but was singing like he was migrating south, at one point even reciting a paragraph from a Twin Peaks book. The challenge was up to Delphi & Dick to figure out which movie, but alas, neither had prevailed.

After the sessions, they had a brief listening session to check on the recordings and they all seemed fairly pleased, except for when I was trying to talk to them during the session.

Afterwards, Dick and Delphi got into a heated debate about who drank a greater percentage of the available beer. They cooled down just as they were both winding up for the first punch. Luckily for them, they wound up in the kitchen area of the studio juggling clementines. Stone and I walked in as Dick Syn was juggling 3 of them for a good solid time frame. We both had no idea the Sinner could juggle. From there he moved to Grapefruits, and then, you guessed it, to knives. I almost couldn't watch, but the suspense would've killed me.

He didn't get cut, but he did have to get into a cold car to drive home when his electric car starter malfunctioned.

I'm sure Dick will feel much better tomorrow evening when he joins up with team Catcherye (Stone, Lucy & the Beav) to catch John Scoffield live. Who knows what will happen!

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.
Truth.

In the Capsized Boat of Icycles

it's winter again here in cozy Northwestern CT. all snug as bugs in rugs. waiting out this ice storm, and hoping that a new tomorrow melts away that cold and gloomy frozen oxygen and hydrogen concoction. sure, I like ice in my beverages but definitely not under my feet, unless of course I have skates on and I'm practicing my double salchows.

it was a busy place here in the studio during the weekend, with a house guest and then a guest session with Fluidum Letale. Dr. Simmons, one of the very first drummers of Rums stopped in for some prepping on what is to be Fluidum Letale. Dr. Simmons, best known for his sarcasm and hard to figure out humor, is scheduled to lend some drums and orchestration to the project.

And as Simmons out the door, he said he'd be back soon, and then made sure he had remembered his cd.....he did and 5 minutes later came back for his coat.

About 3 hours later, Qmone Eauxdeaux stumbled into the facility with an appreciation for turtles. He carrried with him, his axe of choice for the evening, a G&L. He ended up working on a few of the tunes on project Fluidum and had to call it a night.

Here we are a few days later and Stone is still putting things back in order. I just came to talk Rums and he's up to his ears in Studio Jargon. I don't really know or care what a stereo bus is. sounds like the party bus we took with Dick Syn that one time.

He's pointing at me now as I type and rambling on about animals talking. I wonder if he's talking about himself?

So, Rums. I heard there's a whole new website coming soon, along with new music, videos, recipes, parties and antics. this all remains to be seen.

May all of your icycles melt,
Truth.

Golf Balls

I have to say, it's been quite some time. The Bumbletons were on Holiday for the past few months. I was lucky enough to get my own little vacation away from everything. While I'm not sure where the Bumbletons have gone on their little trips, I can definitely say that I went to a nice warm, relaxing place with plenty of Beatles to go around.

Tonight I met up with the threesome known as The Lightning Trio, Stone, Dick & Delphi. They were getting together for an impromptu jam and I thought I'd be that fly on the wall. Due to all the snow in the recent days, the parking lot was full and they had to park at least a mile away and had to walk their gear in.

They kicked in, to my surprise, with the Beatles....Norwegian Wood, and then it became a medley and drifted through Wish, Come Together and then Headtax. I heard a bunch of other classics throughout the night as well until the bottle of Jameson came out and then it was over. literally.

I should be back shortly with some new stories, antics and similes.

stay warm and dress cool,
Truth.

in as many words

well, here I am in good ole New England and it's snowing. Who would've thought?? and I'm sure if I try hard enough I can guess as to what the four guys in Rums & Bumbletons are doing at this very moment.

Kram is fighting down a few beers, somewhere indoors, enjoying a nice game of football courtesy of ESPN. His team is playing tonight.

Dick Syn is most likely shuffling in and out of the snow, with his new security system. Funny how you have to break the new ones in like that.

Delphi is doing donuts on one of his neighbors' lawns in the snow, making crop circle like designs.

Stone is multi-tasking with a bit of computer design and no doubt recording his 200th symphony. he's hardwired to that recording device.

I've been over to their rehearsal space and caught a glimpse of a project Catcherye was working on, recording all of his analog tapes to digital masters. A trip through memory lane with some of those old demos, which date all the way back to 1993. I know, they've been playing since they learned how to walk.

I'm not sure if I will be meeting up with the guys this week, that is to be determined once I speak with the guys.

until then, snow angels for everyone!!
Truth.

another day, another dollar

well, it's been a while and I've been stuck in the trenches, trying to make it to Rums camp Delta. I'm not liking the change in weather, nor am I liking the fake yuletides that have seemed to capsize my vessel. one submersive tank at a time.

I have recently been able to get in touch with a couple of the guys form the band and I am informed that they will be getting their proverbial shit in gear and will be reconvening sometime soon.

what more can a human ask for?

I'll be back soon with words straight from the horse's mouth,

until then, shop away,
Truth.

where in the world is Delphi Finn?

well, good evening, here we meet again, in the darkest of hours, well past your bedtime. usually I'm here, adrift in Bumbleton Sea, telling you tall tales of the creatures at hand, the mythical beasts that they be, but tonight I'm addressing the un-obvious, where in the world is Delphi Finn?

I met up with 3/4 of the band in a location I cannot disclose. I can describe the place as being stocked with musical instruments and illuminated with scented candles. I can tell you that there were all sorts of beers and drinks present. I can't tell you the risk I put myself in to get you this story.

Delphurius was last seen a week ago, leaving the rehearsal space and told Dick and Stone he needed a vacation.

the three Bumbletons had to make a guess as to where he was based on the following facts:

Delphi - likes hiking in all kinds of weather, doesn't like insects larger than a silver half dollar, can do 200 push-ups faster than Stone can say the alphabet backwards, likes good food, can speak 13 different languages, loves to drive fast, only knows the first letter of Dick Syn's middle name.

so with these facts, here's their guesses:

Kram - he's in the Fiji Islands, with some sort of coconut cocktail, humming Somewhere Over The Rainbow over and over.

Dick - he's at home with the lights off, pretending to not be there. drinking Schlitz.

Stone - he's sitting on the top of Mt. Kilamanjaro making snow people modeled after us. drinking the whiskey from a Saint Bernard's cask. is cask a word?

I'll be back next week to tell you which guess was the closest!

in conclusion,
Truth.

The Lost Recordings

well, it's been a long few weeks. a long few weeks without the Bumbletons. and so you may wonder, what is going on with the four guys we know as Rums & Bumbletons?

well, I got to catch up with 3 of the 4, 2 times in the last 5 days. Kram is the only Bumbleton I haven't seen in a while. I caught up with the other three at Stone's annual Halloween bash this past Saturday. it wasn't nearly as jammed as it has been in past years, but it was a doozy. appearances were made by a number of close friends, including but not limited to Buyak who dressed as himself, Slate who arrived as 70's porn star Robert Brightwood, Miss Amy & Andre who were Pauly Girl & Sam Adams, Dawn & Tiffany who were Dracula & Land O Lakes girl, The Sinner came as the Brawny guy, Delphi showed up as Danny Zuko, Meg & Linds came as Sandy & one of the California Raisins, Stoney & Lucy were Count Chocula & Fruity Yummy Mummy, Siro came as a psycho clown, Mol & Stace were the delicious pair of Slush Puppy and the Utz Girl. I'm sure I'm missing some, so forgive me.

Lots of beer, wine, and alcohol in general was consumed. The evening really kicked in with Stone's zany scavenger hunt, which sent all the guests rushing to find all the items on the list. the winning team was that of Meg, Linds, Delphi & Sinner. who can top those four brilliant minds? what a great time, I don't think anyone left before the next day.

and then I got to check out the jam session between Delphi, Stone & Dick Syn. there were a few familiar Rums tunes jammed, but most of the night was spent jamming on new songs. luckily the engineer showed up at the studio and was able to capture some of it on wax. I'm not sure if anything will amount from the session, but I was grooving in my little corner all night.

Rums has been layin low, working on new material and preparing for the cold season. I'm told that Dick Syn & Stone Catcherye have uncovered lost demo tapes from their past. a few songs they thought were lost in time turned up in a pile of studio tapes. Clean the Spit Out, a funky tune with the only appearance by Catcherye on kazoo, as well as a song written back in the day called Synthetic Family. I just got word that the two may be rehearsing them to bring to the band soon.

that's all I have, I'm spent,
Truth.

ode to Mr. Bo-Jangles

sad day in Rumsland, Bo-Jangles Catcherye passed away after a long fight with cancer. Father of Batukah, The Beav and Stone Catcherye, he was also a musician and played in a few popular bands. As can be imagined, the Catcheryes are mourning but are fond of all the great memories of their "Fahder".

I haven't been in touch with any of the guys from the band, but I'm sure their toasting to the man we know as Mr. Bo-Jangles. Say hello to Heaven.

with love in my heart,
Truth.

Useless Banter

I'm here, which is neither here nor there. but that's kind of irrelevant now. I'm held up in a recording studio used frequently by the band Rums & Bumbletons. the room in which I sit is a mixture of light green, sky blue, navy blue and sandy brown, and decorated with the likes of Picasso, Thorne & Rimsky. the constant sound of computer fan surrounds my ears, with several high speed computers rigged up around me. most of them connected to recording equipment. this only leads to one thing....I must not hit the wrong button at all during this communication. doing so could be a bad thing.

I am excited to hear that I have been invited to the annual Halloween Party that the band attends each year. invitation to this party is said to consist of a debate between seven panel judges to determine one's ability to gain an invitation. I'm presuming from my invitation that I either had some pull on the panel, or it was a mere sympathy vote. either way, it's a win for me.

I have also been told that the band has been throwing some music onto tape (computer) in preparation for another possible Rums disc in the future. they must have about 30 songs by now that they haven't yet put into recorded form.

I am set to be in contact with the guys in the next 648 hours and will surely let you know when I have more than this,

uselessly yours,
Truth.

Social Climbers and Self Promoters

here it is, coffee time and I'm sharing the moment with one Stone Catcherye. we're enjoying a nice breakfast blend served in black mugs. I stopped by to get the scoop on his trip to Maine, as well as if he and Dick Syn met up in the state of Maine.

if you know Stone, you'll know he either brings forth tons of details or little to none. this particular time all I managed to get from him is a list. here's the list, quoted from he, himself.....

"traffic. donuts. sleep. bad indian food. cold. foliage. brother. dogs. party. fire. live entertainment. stars. beer. good people. sunrise. the beach. traffic."

yeah, right. he did say that he and Dick Syn had connected via phone but their schedules didn't get to meet up. he said that last he heard, Dick Syn was getting on a boat to Sail in the Atlantic Ocean. wow, I can only imagine the cold. and wait, where was he sailing to? was he coming back?

this will be the mystery until wednesday when they're set to rehearse. I will keep you informed if I hear of his return.

until then, there's more coffee to drink,
Truth.

The Quiet Music

so, here we are, yet again. I met up with the guys from Rums & Bumbletons last night for a little rehearsal session. I have to say, their new material is sounding pretty damn good. I got an inside listen at the Sound Construction Studios.

I arrived a bit early and spent some time drinking with Catcherye. we hung out in the cool autumn air and waited for the others to arrive. some idiot hampered the parking to the studio by parking halfway across the driveway. of course he had a yankees sticker on his car. (sorry kram). Delphi pulled in soon afterwards and found his prime parking spot. Then Kram drove the tank into the tightest parking spot you could find. narrowly missing the ass that had blocked the driveway in the first place. With no spots left, the Sinner pulled in and made his spot across the beautifully landscaped lawn.

once inside, they all tuned up and plugged in and began their journey. the engineer was on hand this evening and began tracking their songs for a potential cd, I'm told? perfect, they haven't even sold out of their first cd yet.

the engineer got into it with Delphi throughout the evening, because Delphi kept moving the microphones on his drums. constantly throwing off the engineer's mojo, Delphi still managed to sound fab. little does Dlephi know, the engineer planted a tick on him in the process. a little bit of blood traded for a good sound.

the Sinner ripped through the set, making his guitar at one point catch fire, thankfully the studio is always equipped with fire extinguishers. Dick Syn was all jacked up on Coca Cola. a rare site.

Krammy was flipping his bass guitar all over, throwing it up and catching it in between fills. I don't believe, however, that he threw any kicks out this evening.

Catcherye was set off in his little corner, shadowed by green light and reading intensely from his lyric sheet.

after the night was said and done, they had recorded 13 songs. that's enough for an album, but they seek perfection, so I'm sure they will weed through the takes and keep only what they feel captured the moment.

they all left the studio at a decent hour.

Dick Syn is said to be leaving this weekend for a favorite hang out of Catcherye's, Portland, Maine. Catcherye coincidentally will be also heading to Maine, but will be 2 hours north attending a party called Into the Out. the two may be meeting up in Portland for a few beverages at some point during the weekend, and I'm sure to have tales about that one.

until next time, be courteous,
Truth.

Pre Cursor

It's the 7th day, the day of rest to most, but not for my host, Stone Catcherye, from the band Rums & Bumbletons. Stone began a little late this morning, but has been painting all day straight around the studio. A little break to catch some football, but then right back to work. Graciously, he let me drink all of his beer.

Right now we're listening to his quickmix on Pandora Radio. Stone decided to skip through Motley Crue and Pearl Jam but somehow stopped on Tupac. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. I recently read something about some people thinking he's still alive. What's with all the conspiracy theories in this place? Did you ever think that everything is as it seems. Like when an ant dies, then it's dead, no ant afterlife, no satan ant, no reincarnation of the ant into an otter, no mystical numerology system to tell you what mood the ant will be in on it's 21st birthday month. Delphi may very well be a prophet with his "it is what it is..."

Speaking of Delphurius, I haven't had contact with him since he made off towards Mt. Washington. I'm hoping his trek went well and that he conquered that rock. I'm assuming if he didn't make it, his ghost would've been haunting me by now, after all the cheap shots I've thrown at him. haha.

I'm also assuming that Kramwell Ellavalled, bass player and music connoisseur of the band, is watching this american football that has entered into it's 2nd week. Kramwell, as you may or may not know, is a Giants fan. boo. ha. I think they're playing Indi.....good luck with that. Kramwell has been rumored to have grown a handlebar mustache in the weeks off of the Bumbletons. He bought a colony of bees to supply the wax with which he shapes the stache. He's hardcore.

Dick Syn, otherwise known as the Sinner. (metallica just kicked in on Pandora, Catcherye Station....an ode to the Sinner? blackened.) Dick Syn is at a football party, hosted by chum of the band, Etals. or perhaps you know him as Slate, Slater or even Slatedawg. They being Redskins fans are most likely watching that game and rooting the Skins on.......Stone was supposed to go as well, but as you know, decided to get some work done in his growing pile of work.

Sinner is rumored to be learning how to speak Hieroglyphically. A new team is working on a way to speak with images. it's sort of like smell-o-vision, but different. Apparently he's figured out most nouns and a number of verbs and is now working on prepositional phrases, conjunctions, adverbs and proper nouns.

So you see, in the absence of band rehearsal time, there is a whole lot getting done. I am set to meet with them this week for a rehearsal/gorilla recording experiment. I received the agenda from management emails and there were three new songs on the list.

The first tune, Out There, has been around since sometime last spring. It began as a jam, and slowly morphed along the way into it's semi-structured form. It rips with a killer riff. A slow groove from the rhythm section gives it a nice flow, and then the verse vocals come in, sometimes running parallel, sometimes perpendicular. I asked Stone what this was about and normally he doesn't speak too often about song lyrics, but this one he says has a few stories in it. "well, I was approached in New Orleans, by this guy wearing some sort of symbol on his forehead sprawled in ink. he spotted me from a block away and was yelling my name. I figured there was someone else there with my name, so I kept walking, next thing I know, he's in my face, calling me by a knickname I have, which only a couple of people have ever called me. with a few of my skills I picked up from magician school, I got out of there really fast, but had to keep looking over my shoulder. he just didn't seem friendly. that and this therapist I call Ruth. she had the same intense look but she was so friendly. and I think they both thought that I was out there."

then there's Can't Make A Killer, inspired by Dick Syn. a bosa nova beat with some interesting rhythms and melodies interwoven. the story goes like this.....Dick stopped over Stone's crib one evening, walked in and Stone was in the middle of recording some demos. He handed Sinner the guitar, set him up with a beat and hit record. lead, rhythm and bass guitar laid down, by the Sinner completed the song. and then Catcherye wrote some lyrics based on his discussion with Dick Syn about whether killers can be made, or if they're born killers. a topic up for debate, I'm sure. the song has an eerie vibe and reminds me of a killer movie scene.

the third tune is called Sweetness, ironically titled after the original demo was recorded to mimic a riff that Delphi had in his head. so they brought in this crappy cell phone recording of Delphi humming or something and just had this great jam on the spot. a few days later, Stone brought the song back with killer vocals. but as he played it for us, we noticed that at the very end of the original recording, you can hear the Sinner say in approval, "Sweetness!" the song is a very upbeat, off time driving tune, with a chorus that has the same off time tempo, but seems as if it drops to half time. and apparently, Stone uses a bit of his sarcasm in the lyrics, or at least on the version I've been digging on.

3 new songs. more info than you care to know, I'm sure. what kind of craziness will I have for you next? how about interviews with the whole band? soon......soon.....

where the fuck is our video guy?

live long and prosper, oh yeah, and Happy Birthday Sinner!!!
Truth.