JoCo Live
I’ve been working on many things behind the scenes lately, and one of them is this new album called JoCo Live. It’s a collection of songs that we performed on tour in December of 2012. Yeah, wow, that WAS a long time ago wasn’t it?
But listen, JoCo Live. We recorded all the shows on that tour and picked the best performances from multiple venues. So the album isn’t a single concert, though it is programmed to feel kind of like one. And then I went into the studio with Christian Cassan (who you might know from his drumming and frequent shirt changes during shows) to edit and mix and generally make them sound good. I myself am not always a huge fan of the way live performances sound: WHY DON’T THEY DO IT LIKE THE RECORD. But in this case I must say we got to a pretty rocking place with these tracks. It sounds GREAT.
One of my favorite things about playing with a band, which weirdly still sort of feels like a new thing for me, is the rediscovery of older songs. I’ve always written a mix of sad slow stuff and rock band stuff, and it’s really a wonderful feeling to open up something like Big Bad World One and let it fly. So there are plenty of old favorites on JoCo Live, and they feel reinvigorated to me because we were having a ton of fun playing them loud and fast. There are also a bunch of Artificial Heart tracks, which I will always think of more as having been born in the context of a band. And of course everything gets elevated when you’re in front of an audience that’s enjoying themselves, screaming and yelling, pogoing up and down. This album reminds me that I miss playing for all of you. I’ll be back to that as soon as I can, promise.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one. I’m doing a pre-order of the physical CD right now over at JoCoLive.com, but you can get the digital version right away. There’s also a free download of Code Monkey today, and you can stream a bunch more tracks there and check it out first. The pre-order will end October 17th, at which point I’ll crank up the release engine and put it out in all the regular places, iTunes, Amazon, etc. But if you want a CD (or a signed CD) by Christmas, pre-order now, because I can never tell how long that release process is going to take.
More things are happening! Some I can’t talk about yet, and maybe will ultimately not interest you. But I am working on new stuff, and someday will have an album of that stuff to offer you.
Comments
Ice says
Cooool. I saw your 2012 show in Minneapolis/St. Paul and I was seated (kind of awkwardly actually) directly in front of you.
I hope something from that show makes the album!
Jay says
I'd suggest planning Thing a Week 2 (that would correspond with....yikes!....the 10 year anniversary of Thing a Week 1 !) and maybe save the new material as a cushion for that, in case you run out of ideas?
Zombies Father says
Definately could use LIVE JC again, always a spectacular time. So for everyone who can't make the cruise, JC, when?? Psyched for the upcoming CD for now but finish some new stuff and play some gigs my boy!
MissM says
Loved you in Good Wife!! Such a great surprise!
avnerdsdontgetchicks says
Can we please get a listing of which tracks were recorded in which city? Would be nice to know, thanks!
Jay says
Again, looking forward to Thing a Week 2015...the "10 years (yikes!) later sequel" I'm sure it will be even better than Thing a Week 2005. :)
Kevin says
Here is the track listing:
Artificial Heart
Code Monkey
Sticking It To Myself
Big Bad World One
Shop Vac
Want You Gone
Je Suis Rick Springfield
A Talk With George
Good Morning Tuscon
Glasses
Blue Sunny Day
Mandelbrot Set
You Ruined Everything
Zombie Instructions
Re Your Brains
Gratuitous Applause
Still Alive
I Feel Fantastic
ryan nelson says
I just bought the new digital download, with paypal, but the link for downloading fetched and saved *the html* page for the download link , and now I get "File Download Limit Exceeded".
How can I contact customer support? I'd like to download the album I just bought! Your download process doesn't appear to appreciate download-manager software.
Andrew says
I love that you make FLAC available, and also the sound cloud links. You continue to be the best Joco! Keep up the awesome work
Thomas says
Is this going on iTunes in the future, or is there any chance of that? Or any other way I could pay without using PayPal? PayPal is a hassle.
Zach says
I would also like to see a list of the locations of each recording, I was at the Jefferson Theatre concert in Charlotesville, I was fortunate enough to meet you backstage after your portion of the concert, if you remember. It would be extra awesome to see a recording from that concert on the track!
Kevin says
Was that really you on The Good Wife last week?! I thought maybe it was...and then IMDB.com seems to confirm it. Whoa!
kingofthebacon says
I just have to say after listening to this live album.
I feel fantastic and I never felt as good as how I do right now, except for maybe when I think about how I felt that day when I felt the way that I do right now, right now.
Jaf says
I absolutely love all these songs and the extra flavor added to them played live. Keep on rocking JoCo.
Kevin says
What about people that don't live in the free world. Shouldn't they also be encouraged to rock?
JoCo says
Hey all, any questions or problems should go to webstore@jonathancoulton.com. Especially with regards to download links not working and such. I've also put a list of the venues up under the Details link over at jocolive.com. Lots of Dallas there - it was a really good show, and well recorded.
@Thomas: when you pay, you should be able to use a credit card without setting up a paypal account. It will get processed by Paypal, but it doesn't require you to set up a paypal account. Failing that, it will be up in iTunes and all the standard places later this month.
Thanks for the kind words everyone! I'm very proud of it - somewhere in the last few years we figured out how to be a pretty good band.
Kerrin says
@Jay
I was speaking to Jonathan a few years after he finished Thing a Week about the possibility of him doing it again (or something like that). At the time he was adamant he wouldn't do something like that again, as it was really hard to do, and he would move to a more standard write songs as one offs or for albums (which is what he has done since). Now things could change, but I suspect he will never do another Thing a Week.
For more details the interview is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ciTF_MTNk&list=UUVhYWKkPfdT7e9fY2XCaBEg
Edward says
Great ^_^ , your songs helped me trough some tough times in my life Jonathan , and i will not hesitate on buying your new album ! Wish you the best of luck ! You're the bes Jonathan keep up the amazing work .
<3
Jay says
@kerrin Good interview. What song was it that he said at the end wasn't one of his favorites and he didn't perform it much anymore?
Anyway, I still think a Thing-a-Week 2015 would be a good way to get JC back into "Full-on Internet Rockstar Mode" again, with all the fame and fortune associated with that mode. If he had a "cushion" of say, at least 10 or 20 'things' already completed by the start of Thing-a-Week 2015 he could dole them out while working on new things. (and the first 'thing' would not have to start until Sept of 2015)