The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 

Watch Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Damian Kulash, and Ben Folds unveil #8by8 at #Rethink Music

They made it: Almost. 

What was supposed to be an eight-hour ninja album session at Mad Oak Studios -- christened #8in8 on Twitter, a hashtag that went on to become the name of the internet's newest supergroup -- went well past the allotted curfiew of midnight. Instead of 8 in 8, we got 6 in 12, with the final song -- the recorded lead-vocal debut of NEIL GAIMAN -- coming somewhere around four in the morning. 

Somehow, a mere five hours later, the four -- GAIMAN, AMANDA PALMER, BEN FOLDS, and DAMIAN KULASH of OKGO -- rolled into the  green room of the Hynes Convention Center, the finished record on a CD in Neil's pocket. He said the name of the group out loud -- "Eight In Eight" -- and Amanda heard "Nighty Night," and suddenly the record had a name. Minutes after the album finished uploading to Bandcamp, some fan found his or her way in and bought the first copy, then promptly Tweeted about it. Gaiman smiled broadly and held up his phone. (You can download Nighty Night right now for free at Amanda's Bandcamp page, or pay what you want and the proceeds go to charity.)


We don't yet have a re-run of the recording session, but we do have the video of the panel we did to unveil the album at the Rethink Music conference this morning. (Fast forward about a minute or so to get past the black screen of death and the introductory ramblings of your humble moderator.) Topics covered: play-by-play of every song on the album. The benefits of transparency, speed, collaboration, and community on the creative process. How one rock critic one-upped #8in8's condensation of the album cycle by reviewing the album before it was recorded. And how the next business model for music may be: paying artists to make records at overpriced conferences about how artists can make money without record labels. 

For those of you with tix, we'll see you tonight when #8in8 perform live at Rethink -- we hear they're doing at least four of the Nighty Night songs, including the Neil-himself-sung "The Problem With Saints" (aka the Joan of Arc song). We suspect there'll be a riot if they don't play the one about the suicidal squirrel. And we'll be pulling for the song that is, in inspiration if not in execution, our favorite of the bunch: "I'll Be My Mirror," which borrows a ghost of a chord progression from the Velvets' "I'll Be Your Mirror" and its character study from the infamous Mirror Lady of Westland and Hemenway, who was nominated for (but alas was not the people's choice for) this year's Best Street Personality

For those of you without tix, you can still stream the rest of Rethink's panels and tonight's performance live right over here

Amanda Palmer is the singer and pianist of The Dresden Dolls. Born in 1976, she grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts and received her B.A. from...

Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for his prowess as a pianist....

| More

Leave a Comment

Login | Not a member yet? Click here to Join

(required)  
(optional)
(required)  
 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
All Blogs
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Articles

Watch Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Damian Kulash, and Ben Folds unveil #8by8 at #Rethink Music
Boston Phoenix
Watch Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Damian Kulash, and Ben Folds unveil #8by8 at #Rethink Music
Published 4/26/2011 by Carly Carioli
rethinkmusic on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free They made it: Almost. What was supposed to be an eight-hour ninja album session at Mad Oak Studios -- christened...

Boston Phoenix
Rethink Music: Where to watch, read, listen, and follow along at home
Published 4/25/2011 by Carly Carioli
LIVE: Amanda Palmer and pals writing, recording #8in8 Fair warning: we haven't been keeping track since the beginning, but we think AMANDA PALMER, BEN FOLDS,...

more by Carly Carioli
Watch Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Damian Kulash, and Ben Folds unveil #8by8 at #Rethink Music | April 26, 2011
Rethink Music: Where to watch, read, listen, and follow along at home | April 25, 2011
Doing It Ninja Style(1) | April 22, 2011
[video] Come plays "In/Out" during TraniWrock at Oberon | April 21, 2011
Meme of the Day: #YourMomIsSoRevere | April 20, 2011

 See all articles by: Carly Carioli

Follow the Phoenix
  • newsletter
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • rss
OTD Categories
Out
VIDEO: Arctic Monkeys at the House of Blues
Rare Frequencies
Rare Frequencies: Trouble and treble
Playlists
Lady Lee's Lion's Den Playlist
MP3 of the Week
HOMEWORK: Assignment #2: D-Tension
Hot Tix
Ticket On-Sale Alert: Muse, Mariah Carey, Black Eyed...
Latest Comments
[exclusive video] Mystery Roar "Overboard" - <b>20$ Free for Hardcore Webcam This service is powered by www.pillendienst.eu</b> <a...

By 0y0Zoormardy33 on 04-28-2011 in On The Download

[exclusive video] Mystery Roar "Overboard" - [b]20$ Free for Hardcore Webcam This service is powered by www.pillendienst.eu[/b] [URL=" ...

By 0y0Zoormardy32 on 04-27-2011 in On The Download

PlayStation Network hack knocks service out "indefinitely" - Yeah "V" for vendetta" lmao good for you anonymous! If u wanna live in a dream. In real...

By Gillesss on 04-26-2011 in Laser Orgy

PlayStation Network hack knocks service out "indefinitely" - Anonymous didn't do this, and Sony installed this "backdoor" so devs could get their content...

By Anthony on 04-26-2011 in Laser Orgy

PlayStation Network hack knocks service out "indefinitely" - Hello This Is A Message From Anonymous. While it could be the case that other Anons have acted by themselves...

By TheAnonPress on 04-26-2011 in Laser Orgy

Latest Comments from On The Download
Most Viewed
Wordle Short Story Quiz
Boston V. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match
Review: Boston vs. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match at the Armory
Masters of Suspense: Tales from the Crime Scene
Signs of the coming apocalypse
Deep Heaven Now 3 releases online compilation
FREE MIXTAPE for Gamer Geeks and Hip-Hop Nerds
Most Viewed from On The Download
Search Blogs
 
Links
Bradley’s Almanac - Lower Allston blogging and bootlegging since 2001
Band in Boston -
Basstown -
Wayne&Wax -
Aurgasm -
Onward Charles -
Compound 440r -
Anti-Gravity Bunny -
Clicky Clicky -
Soul Clap -
Lemmingtrail -
WMBR -
WFNX -
Beginning To See the Light -
Jump the Turnstyle -
Heads Up Boston -
Loaded Gun -
Enough Cowbell -
Vanyaland -
Ryan's Smashing Life -
On The Download Archives
Thursday, April 28, 2011  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
thePhoenix.com
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group