365 DAYS PROJECT

2003   NOVEMBER 8   #312

Soggy Heart Sea: The Dogfight Mix

I was sitting in on cello with a band called Turkish Queen at their rehearsal space, a converted paper factory. We'd just finished rehearsing a song, which I recorded so I could practice my part at home. As the last notes faded out, a terrible ruckus broke out upstairs - sounds suggestive of a murder in progress. Not yet familiar with the vast, run-down building, I hung back a little as the others dropped their instruments and ran upstairs, kicking open a thick metal door on the way.

With no phone to dial 911, I crept cautiously upstairs to find a bandmate prying the neighbor's two large, ornery dogs apart with his bare hands. The mongrels had gotten in a fight, and were headlocked, dripping blood and gore everywhere. Once separated, both dogs were taken to the vet for stitches, and all are doing fine now. But for awhile afterward, we humans were quite shaken.

Returning to the rehearsal room, I realized the whole commotion was caught on tape. Aside from the dreadful barking and hollering, we thought the recording came out pretty well!

- Karen Langlie, http://www.wisteriax.com/

TT-7:53 / 7.2MB / 128kbps 44.1khz
Recorded by Karen Langlie

Henry Krasker writes:
Oh, how this recording took me back to the early 90's when I was a starving 22-year old student/band manager. I spent many hours in this sort of setting, freezing my fingers off in a cavernous garage helping a now-that-I-think-of-it-not-very-good Bay-Area band during their endless, depressing rehearsals of gloomy, nihilistic music. This band is much better than the one I "managed", but still! How I would have loved to have one of those interminable, loud and pointless sessions interrupted by a dogfight!