Len Peralta, the artist who did the cover art for News to Us, has started a cool new project, Monster by Mail. Send him a descriptive word and $20, and he’ll send you an original hand-drawn sketch of a monster based on that word. Plus, you can see a fast-motion video of your monster being drawn. All proceeds go to to pay for the hospital and doctor bills associated with the upcoming birth of his next (sixth!) kid. So it’s a win-win situation. Oh, and he’s only doing 150 of them (because scarcity = increased value), so act fast.
We have, of course, ordered "PaulandStorm the Monster," and will post it here as soon as we get it, you betcha.
Jen from the A Thousand Times No podcast got some good live audio from last week’s show at Milkboy Coffee with Coulton. Hear us in our "feature act" configuration, as well as in our "background singers" configuration. (by the way, whenever we sing backup for Jonathan, we are no longer Paul and Storm, but we instead become The Creepy Dolls. Just so you know…) Also, hear us argue over who would win a fight between Bigfoot and Abraham Lincoln, and hear a Doris Kearns Goodwin joke fall spectacularly flat.
This weekend, more Paul & Storm/Jonathan Coulton (PaStoJoCo?) goodness—Thursday in Baltimore, Friday in New York; then us by our lonesomes on Sunday at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica. See you there? (The correct answer is "Yes")
It’s been quite a busy day, what with the new section of the site, two posts, and all. Thursdays, huh?
The second of the aforementioned Jammin’ Java pre-show interviews we did along with JoCo is now online. Thomas Gideon of The Command Line sat down with us to talk all things Creative Commons, Code Monkey-ish, and general technical geekiness. (But in a good way.) Download the interview here. Thanks, Thomas, for making us laugh at love again.
Thomas also has a Flickr photo set of our performance that evening, including shots of the fabled Da Vinci’s Notebook Mini-Reunion™. Drop on by and look at pictures of people singing. (Which is like watching architecture dance, or something like that)
Finally, for those of you in the Baltimore area, we’re going to be doing a brief phone interview on the Jojo & Reagan and the Mix Morning Show on Mix 106.5. Those of you not in the Baltimore area, we’re still doing it; you just won’t be able to hear it quite so well.
So there’s two shiny new sections of the website today; the first is Forums, where you can gather with others and discuss all things PaulandStormical. We’re still tweaking it a bit, but it’s pretty much there. Gab away.
The other new section is "Wha?…" It’s a grab bag of the various randomness that won’t fit anywhere else. As of right now, it’s only got a couple lists—The Exhaustive List of Unused CD Titles, and 279 Clown Names—but a) they’re really awesome lists, and b) it’ll grow much bigger soon, we’re sure. Come taste the rainbow of flavors…of lists.
Before our Jammin’ Java show, us ‘uns and JoCo sat down for a pair of podcast interviews, the fruits of which are starting to drop to the ground, splitting open to become festering homes for ants.
But, really—it’s a very fun listen. Paul Fischer caught us all just as the swirling ether of pre-show excitement was sending us all into a derv-ish frenzy. So put the ADD Cast in your Pod and smoke it. While you’re there, check out his Discovery Channel send-up, Man vs. Child. It speaks truth to power.
So it was, for the most part, an awesome weekend in the Midwest. As always, Bob & Tom fans are a welcoming, friendly bunch. Plus, it being St. Patrick’s Day, the Billings crowd was especially, um, affable. (See below) But there were some…catches. So let’s use our bulleted lists to draw up a little comparison, and see how it all breaks down:
Awesome
Not Awesome
The Denver/Colorado Springs scenery
Having to get from Jacksonville (where we were earlier in the week for a corporate show) to Denver by way of Philadelphia (what the hell?)
Storm actually being at the shows (as opposed to being screwed by the weather and cerain US-themed airlines, and getting stuck halfway across the country, as happened last month)
Storm having some sort of nasty illness the entire weekend (best bets right now are either flu or strep throat; bird flu, SARS, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have not yet been ruled out) causing him to be feverish, woozy, and generally miserable the entire time
The crappiness of Billing, MT pizza—at least the stuff we had before the show. Here’s a tip, Midwest pizza makers: lots of salt + pizza = shite pizza
The fine work for children and communities done by Shriners everywhere, such as those at the Al Bedoo Shrine (where we performed in Billings)
Distinct lack of fezzes and cool, tiny cars to play with backstage
Several boobies proffered for signature after the Billings show
Boobies proffered were, without exception, extremely drunken. Plus, being married, easily-guilt-ridden types, we politely declined, offering instead to sign clothing and ticket stubs, which is far more gentlemanly but far less rock ‘n’ roll
So the aforementioned Not-Awesomeness notwithstanding, a fun time was had by all.
Speaking of a fun time (dear Lord, what a rotten segue), who all’s coming to this week’s shows with Jonathan Coulton in Philly and Annapolis? Also, a clarification: while the Annapolis show is listed as "All Ages", this is more of a restriction issue (the Ramshead is usually 21+) than a content issue. If you’re unsure, preview our stuff and JoCo’s before bringing your litt’l’uns.
Thanks to everyone at Sunday’s Jammin’ Java show for peing part of our most fun JJ show to date. While we weren’t pelted with stuffed monkeys with money pinned to them, a pair of panties did fire across our bow, we were accosted by pirates (and, later, zombie-pirates), and Paul got some cool Stormtroopers. You people are awesome.
Oh yeah, and Da Vinci’s Notebook performed in public again. Sorry if you missed that. If you did, don’t worry; from the glow of phones and cameras in the audience, someone has some video or pictures, somewhere. (Anyone?)
A reminder to all our DC-area Paul and StormTroopers (has that name caught on yet? Should we try a different one?), we’re returning to Jammin’ Java in Vienna, VA this Sunday, along with Jonathan Coulton, our partner in musical crime. (Don’t tell Jonathan, but we have a little man crush on him; he’s just so damn adorable!) What ’80s cover will they close with this time? Only those who show will know.
On top of everything else, it’s the day after Paul’s birthday, so there’s that to celebrate. NOTE: this is NOT a ploy for people to bring presents. But a Cookie Puss would probably not be turned down if it were to somehow magically appear on stage.
Check the schedule for all the details. Houses will be rocked.
Jen from the 
Thanks to everyone at Sunday’s Jammin’ Java show for peing part of our most fun JJ show to date. While we weren’t pelted with stuffed monkeys with money pinned to them, a pair of panties did fire across our bow, we were accosted by pirates (and, later, zombie-pirates), and Paul got some cool Stormtroopers. You people are awesome.
