Arcana

ARCANA

“Herein lie demos, live recordings, podcasts, and more from Nathan Wade (with and without The Dark Pioneers), including obscure recordings from the past…”

Future Warnings/Field Recordings (2008)

In February of 2008, Nathan took on the RPM Challenge: to write AND record a full album (10 songs or 35 minutes of music) in a single month. Mission accomplished! And while this home recorded album is raw and rough around the edges, there’s plenty of promising tunes and inspired ideas to make for an entertaining 30 minutes of listening. Dark Pioneers Brian Alter and Sam Collins make guest appearances in the form of sampled drum and bass loops, but several of these songs have already found their way into the band’s live set and onto their new album, The Gospel Of Rust.

To stream tracks from the album, read the lyrics, or scan the RPM blog that Nathan kept along the way, visit the Future Warnings/Field Recordings page on Myspace.

DEMOS & OUTTAKES

- Goin’ Over (alt. take) | mp3
This is an alternate version of the track that would close out The Dead Leaves Sing; Nathan eventually opted for a more peaceful finale, but this version has it’s merits. NOTE: An instrumental flub at the end of an otherwise spot-on track prompted some digital editing; the last 25 seconds are actually from the original album version of the track.

- Big Black Sleep DEMO | mp3
- Rusty Blade DEMO | mp3
- I Am The Rust DEMO | mp3
To take advantage of their time in the studio, the band recorded these three tracks on the same weekend that produced The Chroma Session EP. Allowing themselves only two takes to get it right, everything you hear is completely live with no overdubs; special guest Lincoln Barr also plays some skronking lead guitar on “Big Black Sleep.” At the end of the second night, producer and engineer Bradley Zeffren did a quick mix of all four demos (yes, four–ask Nathan about this one) and everyone was stunned at how well they turned out.

LIVE RECORDINGS

- Dead Leaves: Live at Egans (w/Charlie Spring) | mp3
- Rusty Blade: Live at Egans | mp3
- Seen The Glory: Live at Egans (w/Charlie Spring) | mp3
These tracks are from Nathan Wade’s solo performance at Egan’s Ballard Jam House in Seattle (April 2007); the audio was stripped from a video recording courtesy of David Guilbault. Part of a “songwriters-in-the-round night,” Charlie Spring played host (and some harmonica, as well).

- Dead Leaves Suite: Live at Conor Byrne Pub | mp3
A “bootleg” recording from March 2007 by soon-to-be-Dark-Pioneer drummer Brian Alter. While the noisy crowd at Conor Byrne shares the audio spotlight at times, this was one of the last shows Nathan would play with Creeping Time as a backing band. Joined by special guest Lincoln Barr on electric guitar, the band closed their set with a 10 minute, Dead Leaves Sing musical trilogy (”Dry Up Like A Dream” > “Goin’ Over” > “Dead Leaves”). Amidst it’s peaks and valleys, the Allman Brothers-esque finale inspired the Chroma Session EP version of “Dead Leaves.” (The audience seemed to approve.)

PODCASTS & MORE

- Midpoint Music Festival Interview (2006) | mp3
Also know as “The Lawnmower Interview,” this was a preview for Nathan’s showcase at Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio. His dry humor (and wise-assery) is on full display, but the podcast also features “The Final Blow” from The Dead Leaves Sing.

A Fistful Of Demos Vol. 1 & 2 (2005)

The (unofficial) debut recordings of Nathan Wade, both volumes of these home recorded demos were hand-pressed/home-made CD-Rs that Nathan would distribute at early shows. The seven tracks include early versions of songs that would later appear on The Dead Leaves Sing and The Chroma Session EP.

Care to travel deeper into Nathan Wade’s musical abyss? Then pass through the gate…