A Vaugely Chronological Year and Change... (Pt 1: The Rubber Trot Sessions)

So, if I've learned anything about myself in the past half decade, it's how abundantly awful I am at staying up to date on the website front. This last year and a half, for a number of reasons, really pushed that tendency to the extreme; Claire's death, a subsequent (and brief) hiatus from all things music, and a somewhat scattered and unsteady return left little room for or interest in the promotional side of things. But across those sixteen or so months, there have been some incredible projects released or picking up steam or popping up on the horizon that I've been lucky enough to be a part of, so it seemed like time for some recaps and some announcements. I'll be splitting this up into a few installments to focus on some of the most significant of the bunch, part ICYMI and part my way of processing the whole whirlwind. First and foremost: 

TROT FOX (Do You Realize; Say It Ain't So) 

In many ways bookending the first year after Claire's death are two covers from a 2015 Trot Fox session at the Converse Rubber Trax studio. The first, our take on The Flaming Lips "Do You Realize" (recorded in Feb of 2017 and released that April) came together with the help of a choir of Claire's friends and family, especially made possible by Mel Hsu and Jess Best, who put together the vocal arrangement, and Jared Paul, our engineer at the helm of the tracking and mixing sessions. The latter, Weezer's "Say It Ain't So"  was a smaller project with Gabe, Declan, Jared and I putting in some post-production work in time for a release on Claire's December 2017 birthday. Both sessions were cathartic in a way I hadn't experienced prior. Both gave us the chance to sit and sing with Claire's incomparable voice again, which is something I am grateful for in a way I will never be able to fully articulate. Both represent some of the things I love most about Claire as a musician and friend and human, the most beautiful and most absolutely bat-shit weirdest sides of her simultaneously on full display. All proceeds from each were (and are still) donated to RAINN and The National Center for Trans Equality in Claire's honor. If you haven't would love for you to check them out, and if you're able and so inclined, to donate. 

More stuff to come. 
-N