Finally, work on the last Cardboard Canary song has begun, and the entire cast has committed to recording it properly before laying it to rest – Blake Brown, Bradford Johnson, Robby Ogden and myself are planning to finish it by the end of the year. For me, the main purpose of recording this song is to finish the Cardboard Canary recording chronicle, and end it on what may have been our highest note – a song which every member of the band put a great deal of influence into. Thus far, Blake’s guitar and vocals have been recorded. Hopefully the rest is soon to follow!

Also, I recently got an e-mail from someone requesting the …And So Begins the Serene Flight into Stormclouds EP. We no longer have loads of printed, packaged copies of this EP, but essentially all of its material can be found on 8 Scraps of Artistic Litter in a Shiny New Package which is still $8 in the store, and comes with a free Cardboard Canary t-shirt.

I just returned from my journey to Iowa yesterday, and it was really wonderful. I got to spend a lot of time with my dad and grandparents, which was quite neat. In addition, I was also able to record a demo of a new Elmo song, as well as the first new one from Battle Hymns guitarist/vocalist Jason Staniger in about two years, called “Fruit of Thy Womb.” I may also be joining Jason for a week in the spring of 2006 to record more songs in different states with a few other musicians. Meanwhile, Erik and I are contemplating a Grimfeather tour in the summer, after the album’s completion. Lots of neat things are happening, and a bunch of interesting new music is pouring out from some of my close companions.

Well, Erik and I are about halfway done with our latest song, called “Prometaphor,” and I’m working on adding my parts to the latter half of it. It’s another long one, so the recording is taking awhile to complete. I also made it back to Iowa yesterday for a five-day visit, which is going very well thus far. I got to see a lot of wonderful people last night that I hadn’t seen in over a year. I’ll be in town until Monday, the 28th, so if anyone would like to exchange a “klreijhe” or “flriken,” feel free to jingle my bells.

Yes! Finally, the Web site for our new musical project has been launched along with a brand new song called “A Chasing After the Wind.” We’re very excited about it, as this project appears to be something that may last quite awhile, so give it a look and a listen right here! We will probably expand the site eventually, but for now, this gives you a quick look at what’s to come, and, of course, a new song. Click, click, click! —> www.Grimfeather.com. May the recording continue! Onward!

At long last, the brand new Grimfeather Web site is on the verge of being launched! I’ve been working hard on putting together hundreds of photographs for a very unique, though simple, online experience. The current site only contains a photo of Alfred Hitchcock, some crows, and a few news items, but this new one will have some of our new recordings on it as well as fresh space to provide updates to everyone on our latest musical venture. Plans are to complete the Web site this week and polish off another song called "Prometaphor" next week.

The Books are going on a new United States tour in March of 2006! I just posted several of the confirmed dates on the official site at www.thebooksmusic.com so you can get an early look at a few of the major stops. The last show I caught was very good, so I highly recommend attending a show if you can.

For those who are interested in my Web work, take a look at the newly redesigned ShriekingTree.com. Eventually, I hope to have music and photographs there as well, but for now, the portfolio should provide an interesting look at the history of sites I’ve developed. This weekend is slated to be another weekend of recording, focused on finishing vocals for “Phyllis” and polishing up those on the other four songs. Yes, friends, we are still pushing forward!