Sinead O’Connor in Denver, 1988

Sinead O’Connor at a Denver press conference in 1988 — this is one of the most viewed and favorited photographs on my Flickr stream. She played an emotional show at the Rainbow Music Hall later that night.

Here is another photograph I took at the same press conference.

Camera: Pentax ME Super. Film: Kodak Gold 400.

The Language of Termites – Cool Denver Band

The Language of Termites taking a break from recording their second album, June 17, 2012. You can download the album from: The Language of Termites at Bandcamp

2010 in Review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

This blog was viewed about 2,600 times in 2010.

In 2010, there were 3 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 23 posts. There were 2 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 198kb.

The busiest day of the year was January 2nd with 57 views. The most popular post that day was New Year’s Eve Blue Moon 2009.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, flickr.com, waywardswan.com, search.aol.com, and mail.live.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for aspen trees, swan, moon 2009, bee trap, and sara quin.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

New Year’s Eve Blue Moon 2009 January 2010
2 comments

2

Fading Winter June 2008
 

3

Cygnet – Baby Swan on the Water August 2009
 

4

First Full Moon of 2009 January 2009
 

5

Trumpeter Swan Cygnet December 2008

Brief Interview with Tanya Donelly, 1998

In 1996, Tanya Donelly began a solo career after spending many years in well regarded bands, Throwing Muses, Breeders and Belly. When her first solo album, Lovesongs for Underdogs, was released, I wrote to her and asked if she’d answer a few questions for my website. That website went offline when Geocities closed in 2009. Here’s a reprint of that lost interview. Tanya’s response to my letter arrived in mid-December 1998.

Question: I have the impression that your surname is Irish. Do you know much about your family roots? Do you feel much of a connection to Ireland or wherever else your family roots might be from?

Tanya: Donelly is Irish, but my family came over so long ago that I feel no direct connection to Ireland, other than a romantic one. I just recently developed an interest in genealogy and would like to learn more about my blood. I’m also Hungarian on my mother’s side—easier to trace because my great grandparents came over in the beginning of this century.

Q: Is it scary having your name on the CD cover rather than having Throwing Muses or Belly on there?

T: Yes.

Q: Do you feel comfortable being a solo artist?

T: More so now.

Q: Or does it just seem natural?

T: It doesn’t feel completely natural to me yet. I’ve got a band again in a way-the people I toured with are playing on this new record and will most likely do the next tour with me, too.

Q: How do you perceive your place in the marketplace? Are record sales important to you? Or do you leave that kind of stuff to your manager and others? Are you happy with a small cult kind of following? Or does having huge record sales appeal to you?

T: I’m more happy with a small cult following and the artistic freedom that comes with that. It’s also important to sell enough records in order to continue to make them.

Q: How different was the transition from the Muses to Belly, compared to going from Belly to solo?

T: Leaving the Muses was an amicable, sad experience. The Belly breakup was a less than amicable, sad experience. I think the Muses split was harder, because I was younger and much more easily freaked out.

Q: Do you feel like you’re writing music more for yourself now, rather than for a band?

T: Yes, although I still keep the people I play with in mind when I have certain noises in my head and when I’m thinking about parts. Dean, Rich, Elizabeth and Dave are very much part of the process on this record.

(by Joe Beine, 1998; may not be reproduced without permission)

Tanya Donelly’s Website

Peacock Blue

Dancing for rain at the Denver Zoo.

New Year’s Eve Blue Moon 2009

New Year's Eve Blue Moon, just after Moonrise from Denver, Colorado

Last Full Moon of 2009, A Blue Moon

Last Full Moon of the Year, A Blue Moon, December 31, 2009 from Denver, Colorado