The Tater Blog » blogging

If a Tater blogs in the forest and no one is there…

Craig — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:35:35 +0000

Is this thing still here? I just realized it’s been a scant SEVEN MONTHS since I posted on here, so that’s gotta change!

A lot going on for the last 4 or 5 months, including lots of shows, a change in job stuff, a bit of a shake up in the band membership, the appearance of crop circles on my front lawn – just lots of things! So, going to try and get back to posting here. Yep. We’ll see, won’t we!

I’m also hoping to redo the website this year to bring it more in line with what we’d LIKE it to be like. I’ve been using a template for the past year from Hostbaby, and while they are a GREAT company, the template is a bit limiting for me. I just didn’t have time to do a lot of manual content management last year, so I went with the template thinking I’d save myself some time. But I’m less than happy with some of the constraints of the template – for instance, I can’t just add a new page to the site; there are a set number of pages and I can only use what they have. Whine, whine, whine… Anyway, if I can find someone to help with it I’d love it, but otherwise I’ll be making a stab on my own and living with the results!

One thing that is a holy grail for me is the ability to TRULY maintain one calendar and use it throughout the web. So far I have a minimum of 3 that I have to remember to update; the website itself, the Reverbnation calendar, which is linked to our mailing list (and which provides some neat little widgets that I can use on other sites, like the calendar on this blog!) and the necessary but annoying Facebook events. And that’s not even counting the Twitter feed, which I don’t use so far for calendar stuff. If I could ever figure out how to get the information I need out there in one place I’d be a happy little spud! I’m also looking at some other options for the mailing list. I like the one that Reverbnation uses (FanReach) but the interface for it is very limited, and the multilevel signup processes has stumped a lot of people. I dread the drop-offs that will come when I change again, but I keep hoping for the perfect solution!

On the MUSIC side of things (that’s why we’re out there in the first place!) we are working on several new things, and I’ll let you know about those when I know more. The Squeeze tribute CD is hopefully going to come out this year, and our cut of “Goodbye Girl” should be on there. We’re talking about a possible video to accompany that release, as well as other video ideas – anyone want to volunteer to work with us on that? We have some ideas but no one in the band has any real seat time as an editor, or even much on the camera side! If you have ideas or would like to be involved, let us know!

There are also various side projects that we’ve been involved with. A lot of Taterheads in the Richmond, VA area are familiar with the Rock & Roll Jubilee that Brad & I have been involved for the last year and a half. It’s a tribute to the early days of music, when it really did roll! We do our best to recreate the music of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Ricky Nelson, and the Everly Brothers. The show includes Tater pals Jim Wark on guitar, Brian Sulser on bass, and our old alumnus George Garrett on drums. BJ Kocen, a long-standing force in the Tater orbit plays radio manager Radio Ray Cadbury for WJKS, “Where Joy Kills Sorrow”, and the whole show is done in the style of a 50’s live radio broadcast. We’re having a blast with it, and have started rehearsals for another installment coming in February. If you’re in the area, come out and see it; if not, you can see some videos of past shows on our YouTuber channel – just look for the “Rock & Roll Jubilee playlists.

OK, more to come! I’m just sure of it…

Craig

missing pics

Craig — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:45:14 +0000

Sorry for the various mystery pictures on the blog now! Been having some issues getting it up and running since the Taters’ site was switched over to a different platform on the Hostbaby servers. I’m not sure I’m keeping it the way it is (the site, that is) but for now it’s fairly easy to update using the tools that Hostbaby has, and at least for the time being I don’t need any more work to do!

I’m somewhat limited in what my options are with the new platform – I’m basically working with a site template at this point and changing/customizing what I can, but I don’t have the flexibility that I had with a standard FTP site. The folks at Hostbaby have been a huge help with things and have bent over backwards to let me make some changes that aren’t really supported thru their “wizard”, so a big thanks to them. I just really need something where I can get the site setup the way I want it, with a good content management system, but I don’t have the time or the know-how to build it from scratch right now.

Anyway, I wanted the mention the pics because I may go thru and try to correct the links that got broken for some of them, but for a lot I’ll probably just have to leave them and concentrate on moving forward!

Oh yeah…

Craig — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:39:40 +0000

things have been quite busy in Taterland over the last few months, and most times I clean forget to add updates! Sorry, I promise I’ll try to try harder. Or at least I’ll try.

I’m sitting in the studio now listening to final and near-final mixes on menagerie. There have been a few setbacks, but it’s still alive and kicking, just taking longer (always!) than I thought it would. I’m also working on finishing the cover art, liner notes, all the publishing stuff, etc, and working with the pressing plant to get that all setup. But all that notwithstanding, I’m hoping for a Halloween release, so keep your bony fingers crossed!

On a related note, watch for the October release of Virginia Creepers: THE HORROR HOST TRADITION OF THE OLD DOMINION. It’s a documentary featuring stories and clips of classic Virginia late night horror show TV shows. The Taters have a song in the soundtrack, a menagerie cut called “Wolfman Told Me Tonight”, so you’ll want to get a copy of the film ! A lot of you know the song from our shows over the years, but this is the debut of the recorded version. On an inexplicable note, the website for Virginia Creepers lists our tune as a “romantic ditty” (??), so I don’t know what to tell you about that. Not a big Valentine tune to my way of thinking but hey, it made the cut so we’re happy!

Spread a little Tater around

Think about the last time you bought something from a friend’s recommendation, or because you read a review of a book, movie, album, whatever. Chances are that review or recommendation made more of an impact on you than any “official” advertising from the manufacturer. One of the most beneficial aspects of the web is this ability to spread “word-of-mouth” recommendations across a much larger audience.

Same is true with Tater tunes. We have all sorts of people who come to see us or buy the CDs because someone told them about us, or they read a recommendation from someone. You could be a big part of spreading the word about The Taters, not only by telling your friends but also by posting reviews of our music or shows on the web. Nearly every place that sells the music online – CD Baby , iTunes , Amazon , you name it – has some way for you to post reviews and comments. It would be a great help to what we’re trying to do (merely get every single individual on the planet to hear us) if you’d add some reviews of your own. Say whatever you like, tell about your favorite song on an album, what you like about the music, etc. If you use iTunes, make a playlist that includes the Taters music and share the list so others will find it! Every single voice helps, believe me!