PATRICK’S FLEECE BLOG
In the year 2000, Patrick formed a new incarnation of his long-running Fleece project, going from a solo act to a five piece. He invited friends Rob Kelley (drums), Tim Graham (keyboard), Bill Flynn (bass) and Sarah Parkington (violin) to join him in the new band. At that time, we had a rudimentary website. Patrick would post band updates from time to time. The nice thing is that it wasn’t always related to our band, but also included details from Patricks’ life and is kind of a fun artifact of the early 21st century. Here are the complete blog posts, dating from September 2000 to May 2001.
9-11-00 welcome to our new website! ok. the biggest news right now is the fact that we finally have a website that looks the way we want it to and actually works. i’ve never been too good with computers, but i’m slowly learning the basics... we are currently at work on an ep. this will be released on the teagown label. this will also be the fleece’s first compact disc release. woo hoo! welcome to the 21st century. hopefully the ep will be ready within the next couple weeks. cross your fingers. the cover will feature artwork by our very own tim graham, and will feature six songs recorded over the past year at various studios. we are sorta looking at it as a double 7-inch type thing if that makes any sense. anyway, we’ll keep y’all posted on the progress. check out the shows page for our upcoming live performances. we are very excited to be playing once again with the operators of somerville at the sky bar. unfortunately this is a 21+ show, but maybe some of you youngsters can finagle your way in. it should be a tuff show. ok. on oct. 1 we will be at tt’s in cambridge. come on out and dance with us, or cry. whatever. ok. ok. that’s all for now. love, patrick
9-25-00 ok. hello. i have a headache. oooo. um, the new cd is coming along nicely. the cover art is all done. we did it on tim & megan’s computer. awesome. there will be six songs on it. it represents our recorded output for the year. well, there are two songs that we recorded that we will not include; maybe they will appear somewhere in the future. anyway, i suppose i’m pretty happy with it. it’s the best we could do with limited funds. ok. hopefully it will be out by mid-october. we’ll see... remember to come check us out at tt the bear’s in cambridge this sunday, oct.1. there’s gonna be a rumble. i can feel it. tuff. ok!
10-02-00 hello all. to all those that came to our show in cambridge last night: thank you. it was not one of our best shows, but i had fun. we are still trying to figure out how to function as a band with bill and sarah now living in boston. it is hard to get together as much for rehearsal. in time we will sort all of this out... i think that we have been playing so many shows in the past 6 months that we have not given ourselves enough time to regroup and really work on new material. right now the plan is to do just this, as well as to finally get the cd out. i shall try to keep the few who read this page abreast of our progress. please note that our email address has changed. netscape redesigned their webmail system. in the process they insisted i change my email address, and completely erased all of my old mail. so i will not be using their services anymore. well, i guess i shouldn’t complain. it was free email. oh well. ok. love, patrick
11-01-00 hey. there hasn’t really been anything newsworthy to report as of late. we only recently found a rehearsal space in cambridge. it’s in a relatively convenient location, and the price is right--for now. one can already feel the melancholy chill breath of old man winter breathing down one’s neck. i’m pretty sure frozen rock salt fell from the skies the other day. more often than not, winter on cape cod brings hard times for the working man. o, to be wealthy, or retired, or better yet both. i must admit i am lazy. ok. is anyone hiring?!?! anyway, enough about me. i shouldn’t complain. i am warm. i just ate. there is a small siamese cat on my lap trying to distract me from my typing. coffee and nicotine. what more could a boy need? o, let me tell you. i tried again to go see the goonies play. this was reported to be their last show. for awhile at least. well, tim and i arrived during the end of their final song. we made good time to worcester. we had a little trouble finding the club. well boys, for whatever it’s worth, what i did see was pretty intense. i’ve been told frequently lately that i am frequently late. i really do try. i promise. ok. well, i wish all of the goonies the best of luck in whatever they end up doing in the future.
i guess i should get to the point of this news section. the fleece have been working on some new stuff. we’re still getting used to the acoustics and size of our practice area. i suppose the acoustics are better, but this coupled with the small size of the room can lead to some confusion. anyway, things are going pretty well. we have one new show confirmed which is not until december. check the shows page for details. there are other things in the works that may or may not occur in november. a radio broadcast out of lowell, ma? perhaps. a lowell area show? a possibility.
we’re working on getting some mp3s up soon. the aforementioned compact disc is in limbo right now. we are all broke. here are some things i’ve done lately: i went to see the rock*a*teens play. i love them. i’m not sure they have caught on yet in this neck of the woods, but it is only a matter of time. then again it was kinda nice to go to a show and not have to be packed in like sardines. i’m sure the r*a*ts feel differently. on the flipside of that concept, i also went to see at the drive-in play. this was at the dreaded axis. i do not like that place. it’s set up all wrong. i suppose it is mainly a disco anyhow. at the drive-in was electric as always. go see mark robinson play. everybody. a living legend now residing in boston i believe. ok. talk to ya soon. tim graham loves death metal. tuff. to the few who read this page: you’re very sweet. too sweet indeed... love, patrick
11-08-00 ok. hi. we are now on mp3.com. thanks to computer genius tim graham. you may have already noticed the link on the main page. tuff. how are you feeling? there is one song up there for now. more to follow. enjoy. we are putting the necking ep out. we had to go back underground for a pow-wow. it will be a limited release, as we are operating on limited funds. teehee. we scrapped the original artwork and opted for a more “organic” design. thanks to artistic genius tim graham. much thanks also to megan “pippi longstocking” mcdonald. what in hell would we do without her? the new cover is beautiful, in my humble opinion...we’re going to put a picture of it on the releases page. soon? yes, soon. ok. i’m fairly certain we will have the ep available on cd for the next show. you may want it. you never know... i didn’t vote. i tried to register too late. i try hard to ignore politics, but i usually get sucked in, in spite of myself. it’s much safer and easier to be self-absorbed. yeah. i like nader. he seems somewhat like a human being... i’m reading a biography of elvis presley. lotsa interesting memphis recording service reminiscences(sp?). call sam! elvis’ “blue moon” gives me chills... love, patrick
11-19-00 hello. we are pleased to announce that the “necking ep” is now available. ordering information is on the discography page. the cd contains these six songs: the actor & the make-up artist, verses, take off both sweaters, christmas forever!, the season’s castings and siblings. it will also be available at our future shows. we’d like to thank everyone who helped in the recording of the songs, and our pal jason rogers who is assisting us in the manufacturing process. well, that’s all for now. happy holidays. love, patrick
12-01-00 hey! our next show is sat. dec. 16 at the juice bar in orleans. details on the shows page. we will be playing with our friends the sashas (the sashas mix trad. rocknroll with various ethnic sounds, while remaining extremely danceable and at times poignant...sometimes all in one song), jef czekaj (jef’s the drummer for the anchormen. he will be playing his infectious brand of guitar pop with steph from the operators on drums. a must!), and haven (haven are from here on the cape, and they play an incredible sort of complex, yet melodic, instrumental music ala tortoise/capt. beefheart...not to be missed). this should be a fun show. if anyone would like directions to the juice bar feel free to email me or call me: (508)240-6981...i will do my best to get you here. hope to see you all. take care. love, patrick
12-28-00 greetings everyone...hope everyone’s xmas was happy. i got a new blanket. i am happy to say our last show at the juice bar on 12-16 was a success. thanks to all who came and all who played. miraculously, every band got the time they needed and we still had twenty minutes to kill. this rarely happens. our next show will be a bit unusual. we are playing a sort of “benefit” for our friend johanna’s zine: “mary is reckless”. johanna is a terrific writer who mixes both personal and social topics with some comics and an occasional music review to boot...as many may know (we sure do...) funding any creative endeavor by yourself can be tough when you’re a workingclass slob (no offense to johanna. i suppose i refer mainly to myself. johanna’s not a slob. that i know of at least. i am.) anyhow, it’s a worthy cause. we will be playing an acoustic set since the event will be held in johanna’s boston apartment. the sashas will also be playing i have been told. check our “shows” page for more info. in other news, “necking” has been selling pretty well, and our mp3.com page is being checked out fairly regularly. we would all like to say that we feel very honored that our song “the actor and the make-up artist” was picked as the number two song of the year by francis dimenno in the december issue of the boston magazine the noise. francis helps edit the noise, and has for years written their demo tape column, “audiodoodaday”. this issue marked the end of the “audio...” column forever, and so we are very proud to have made it in again (we received a great review in the april issue...) for the very last one. thanks francis. it means a lot. well, i suppose there is nothing else to report right now. we need more shows to play! anyone who would like us to play get in touch with us. i say we mix it up a little bit! is everyone afraid of different style bands playing together at the same show? it sometimes seems that way. isn’t it boring to see, like, four hardcore, or four emo, or four whatever kinda bands in a row on one night? integrate! ok. love, patrick
02-08-01 hi. it’s been awhile since i’ve updated. i apologize. much has changed since my last update. i am sorry to say that we have parted ways with bill and sarah. let me say first that i am proud of what the five us have accomplished creatively in the past year and a half as band. with bill and sarah away at college in boston, and the rest of us still here on cape cod, it simply became too difficult in the end for the five of us to coordinate our conflicting schedules. we wish the best of luck to both bill and sarah in the future.
i am happy to say that rob, tim, and i will continue to play together, and we would like to welcome some new members into the fold. craig cipolla has joined the band on the bass guitar. craig was already in an earlier incarnation of the fleece, and so this should help to make the transition a bit easier for us all. brian foley has joined the band as our second guitarist. his addition to the fleece should prove to flesh out our sound in new and exciting ways...so, welcome craig and brian! ok!
in other happenings, the “necking” ep has been selling unusually well. thanks to all! and to the few who may actually glance at this website now and again, thanks for your continued interest in what we do... vima tresna. love patrick
02-28-01 hello. spring is coming. hooray. how are you? ok. the fleece will be playing a show on sat., march 24th at the juice bar in orleans, ma. joining us will be: 28secondsbefore... (a band from the yarmouth, ma area featuring ex-members of bowl of bread and negative reasoning. ), center of the earth (a band from lowell, ma featuring our friend matt m. on the drums.), sinkcharmer (a band from somerville, ma. this is paul of the operators songwriting project. he sings and plays his songs with assistance from other members of “the handstand command”.)
sounds like a good time to me. this will be our “spring fling”. it would be in everybody’s best interest to come. i mean it. ok. we have been very busy rehearsing lately. everything sounds amazing to me. the old songs have a new energy to them. this is a good thing. that’s right. craig’s bass playing “chops” are at their peak, although he insists that the rest of us refer to him as “the manbat” for now on. he’s planning some sort of fancy introduction for himself at the show involving pulleys and wires...i’m not sure what he’s talking about, but i have all the faith in the world in him. he’s a good boy. brian f. has been rehearsing his guitar parts via fax and email. lately he’s been on fire! stay tuned. vima tresna, patrick
03-22-01 friends. hello. ok. this saturday night, march 24th, a performance by us. the fleece. open to the public. a small fee. here we go. let’s have a good show. go team. ok. ok. we do this for you. all these songs are about you. bury the hatchet. vima tresna. we play to watch you watch us. yes. heart me, patrick
03-25-01 hi. we would like to thank the bands and the people who attended saturday’s show. we all had funfunfun. i’m glad that you came. i sorta felt like e.s. right? ok. yes? we should be playing in april at cape cod community college. more on this later. what? p.e.t.
04-09-01 what is it? the weeks seem to be following one after the other around here. do you think? i can’t make sense of it. it looks that our next show will be friday, may 11th with the goonies somewhere in millis, ma. i will have more substantial info soon. we’ve been trying to get together with the goonies for awhile now, and so i am very excited about this show. the planets are finally aligned or something. the goonies are electric. (check out our link to their site...) i saw them the other night and i can’t explain. they have some incredible energy that is just contagious. for about a half hour after their set i just wanted to keep smiling for no reason. i was giddy. that’s something. do you know? joining us will be the faux and 1 or 2 other bands not yet confirmed. come. we start recording again in june. ok. myheartacheseverytimeiseeyouandimeanit, p.e.t.
05-04-01 you are just a little angel. we will play our best on fri., may 11 in millis, ma. you should come, no? it has been quite hot. we will be attempting a small “tour” down the east coast in august (cross your fingers...). any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. say a prayer. we are planning on recording a full-length album for the teagown label in june. if all goes well it will be ready by august. or sooner. say a prayer. that’s it. ok. i’ll see you. love on you, p.e. tottenham
05-17-01 hi. we met some nice people at the show in millis last week. every band was pretty amazing in their own unique way. much thanks to nick and a.j. for having us play. some boy was nice enough to record some of our set on a minidisc recorder, but it seems they are not working on the webpage he downloaded them onto. ok. maybe this will be sorted out soon. we will be playing at the skybar in somerville on tuesday, may 29. we’ve played there before. it’s usually fun, and the people are nice, but playing 21+ shows is a drag. this means the few people who make a point to come to all our shows (i can count them on one hand...) may not be able to get in. i apologize for this. we don’t have people banging down our doors to play shows, so we usually take whatever oppurtunities we get to have new people hear us. i am setting up an all ages show at the juice bar in june to make up for it. also in the works is a show in fitchburg, ma sometime in the future. more on this later. ok. don’t explain, patrick
That’s it for Patrick’s regular posting - however, in 2003 the site was updated with the announcement that The Fleece had broken up.
08-15-03 OK, the rumors are true. The Fleece broke up as a result of a series of anti-climactic discussions between the band members. Why? Flagging band member enthusiasm for a much loved but tired project. We, ex-Fleece members, will continue to make music in various forms, together and with other people. We really appreciate all the people who have come to see us play, and have listened to our CDs (and Pat's tapes). See you soon, in some form or another.
A History of The Fleece (by Patrick)
Prehistory
In 1993, Patrick Tottenham began making music under the name The Fleece. This started as primitive songs recorded "secretly" on equally primitive tape recorders. As time went on, he got a little better and a little braver and began sharing the results of these clandestine recordings with friends. In early 1995, Patrick acquired a four-track recorder and work began on what would eventually become the cassette When You Tell A Story You Use A Lot Of Nails. The summer of 1995 would see Patrick's live debut at a Unitarian church open mic night on Cape Cod. 1995 was an important year. Patrick met many people that summer whom to this day remain some of his closest friends and musical collaboators both in and out of The Fleece.
The Middle Ages
The first incarnation of the Fleece as a proper band consisted of Brandon Collins (of Cheesewheel and No Siento) on drums, Steve Felton on bass, and Patrick singing and playing the guitar. This line-up produced the second Fleece cassette called In Search Of The Champion Methods. Throughout the next year, the Fleece played various Cape Cod shows, and made its Boston debut at the Middle East. In the summer of 1996, Steve left the band to concentrate on school and his own music. Craig Cipolla, a close friend of Patrick's and Brandon's was kind enough to take Steve's place on bass. The new trio continued to play out and work on new music. During this period, the band recorded four songs with Chris Blood of Sonic Trout Studio. These cassettes were distributed to clubs and such, but never officially released. Soon, Patrick's frustration with the standard guitar/bass/drum format and the band's differing ideas about what direction the music should take resulted in the dissolution of the Fleece as a group. Patrick continued to record and perform under the Fleece name as a solo act, and released the following cassettes between 1997 and 1999: A French Cable, Is Invisible, When I Was In Grade School I Played The Clarinet, and The Actor & The Makeup Artist. Sometimes Craig would play the drums with Patrick in live situations during these years. Patrick also participated in the bands The Great Northern and The Test Boys around then.
In the fall of 1999, Patrick recruited a new Fleece line-up. Tim Graham (of the Sashas and Cheesewheel) joined on keyboard; Rob Kelly (of Cheesewheel and the Great Northern) played the drums; Sarah Parkington added violin; and Bill Flynn (of Revenge of the Nerds) played the bass.
After much new song writing and arranging, and many performances, we began a series of brief recording dates. In January 2000, "The Actor & The Makeup Artist", "Verses", and "Christmas Forever" were recorded digitally by Jeremy Graham at Thermodynamic Studio. Then, in July of that year, the Fleece went to MassComm in Boston to record "Take Off Both Sweaters" and "All About America" with Tom Blundell and Amos Scattergood. Finally, in August 2000, we recorded "The Season's Castings" and "Siblings" with Chris Griffin at Griffin Sound in Harwich, MA. These songs were "mastered" and released as the CD Necking.
Unfortunately, difficulties began to arise within the band due to scheduling, rehearsal, and divergent personalities. After attempts at reconciliation, Sarah and Bill ended up leaving the group. Perhaps the very musical diversity of the members that had birthed such interesting sounds ended up forcing a split-up.
The Modern Era
In the winter of 2001, Brian Foley and Craig Cipolla joined on guitar and bass, respectively. These new members helped energize the new songs, and added fresh dynamics to the existing set.
In August of 2001, the Fleece recorded Wrecked At Rehearsal with Paul Coleman of the Operators and Sinkcharmer. We managed to get nine songs done in one day, but ended up choosing the best six to release. Soon after that recording session, Brian had to depart due to his scholarly obligations. In his absence, Tim picked up guitar duties on some songs, while playing keyboard on the rest.
The Fleece recorded the four songs of Candle or Dynamite on a budget of $0.00 in Rob's basement in the winter of 2003. Tim used a 4 track and Protools Free to commit the songs to CDR.
Finally, Craig had to weigh his obligations, and realized that his education needed to be the first priority; he nobly relinquished his bass role to Tim and climbed high into the Ivory Tower of academia. It should be no surprise though, that the siren song of rock draws Craig back whenever possible... He will join the Fleece on a per diem basis as 2nd drummer when available.