Last Saturday I returned to Book Club, C’ville’s music-venue-in-an-afterhours-bookstore, opening for some casually virtuosic student shoegazers and some peddlers of self-described “slutty goth-punk”. All of whom were very young and very talented. To be very honest, for the majority of the day preceding the show, I was wrestling with some kind of nondescript malaise and... Continue Reading →
Folks, I am excited to announce that my third full-length album, Distraction Portraiture, will be out in a week! It was conceived of three or four years ago, and most of the writing was done last year. Here’s the short-form album teaser trailer Here's me talking about the concept Here's some coverage of the artist... Continue Reading →
Fortunately the silence in the SK camp this year has been for doing rather than ruminating, but it's past time for an update. Being WTJU Charlottesville's DJ Malpaso, host of Limerence Addiction, quickly turned into a robust (but, fortunately, intuitive) commitment. After a few months sharing my wee-hours time slot with a compatible alternate, said... Continue Reading →
Ten years ago, I turned 30. I didn't feel too ceremonious about the number itself. Maybe it sounded high-ish, because after all, I had never in my life been older. I was vaguely aware of traits the dominant culture might start attributing to me, but I was astute enough to realize that 30 wasn't old... Continue Reading →
Last summer an Instagram account I follow, whose creator (a local artist) captures forest fungi and other specimens, featured a photo of a mushroom I'd never heard of before. Laccaria amethystina, the amethyst deceiver. In addition to it being a purple mushroom, which is already mysterious and cool, the name arrested me at first sight.... Continue Reading →
My old classmate Brooke*, a visual art major, painted and pasteled the wings of fantastical butterflies. Exalted Tree of Life circulatory systems. Her own conventionally beautiful visage in buoyant soap-shimmering orbs. Her rainbow-age was as extra as Lisa Frank's, but more graceful. All of this was both her great endowment and her great curse."I'm trying... Continue Reading →
My last album, Best Dead Masterpiece, treats nostalgia as a largely positive thing. A thing that is prized and hoarded. A shard of personal history, of individuality, stubbornly preserved. A robust and colorful way of seeing, the absence of which makes someone appear small-minded and dull. As is typical of me, I am now beginning... Continue Reading →
Here it is, Everyone. The culmination of almost 18 months of work from composition to release. Like most of my material, it's not a happy album, but a cathartic album. I heard someone use the term "vent art" the other night, and this might be that. I have also become fond of calling what I... Continue Reading →
Let’s face it: for better or worse, humans compare things to other things. And even though my music has changed a lot since my debut as Alexandra Rising, I still think it’s most likely to be compared (by those of a certain age, anyway) to the music of one Ellen "Tori" Amos. These days, I’m... Continue Reading →
The Sold Kingdom 