Dr. Pants: News

Check out the press page for the brand new review from Preston Jones of the OK Gazette.

Okay, so here's the deal, people. I have been debating for a looonng time about whether Dr. Pants should be offering music for free download online. On the one hand, I really do believe in my heart that music is worth paying for (this is one of the intended meanings of the current Little Weasel slogan, "Music is worth it"), and by that I mean our music and ANYONE ELSE'S MUSIC as well. If I like somebody's record, I will buy it. If I like their song, I will buy it. The facts are, though, that my own beliefs could be impeding the progress of my band, and my ability to promote it. Therefore, we're trying something different around here for a while. At this time, Sarsaparilla Girl and Hey Abe Lincoln are going to be available for free here at doctorpants.com, and at our myspace page as well. We're going to try it for a couple of months, and see how it goes. I'd like to say that I personally think that these are two of the best songs on the record, so it's not like I'm offering the not-the-best songs for free. We'll also be trying out some promotional cd singles with these songs on them, that you can pick up at some of the local shops. The only other thing I'll say on the subject is that if you download these songs and you like them, PLEASE buy the cd from CD Baby through doctorpants.com, or pay to download the whole record from iTunes. Music IS worth it, my friends, and I know you believe it, too. I apologize if I seem like a douchebag with all my moralizing concerning paying for music...I just want to be able to see me and my friends make a living from this someday, or at least be able to keep doing what they're doing.

Word, kids. See you on Hollywood Squares.
David

...here at the Dr. Pants Medical Funk Facility, that is. I could go on and on about the state of our nation, the world, etc., but that's not really my bag.

So, after great deliberation, I have put the guestbook back up. I will just have to keep a close eye on it and remove any weasely activity as it occurs. I value the opportunity to hear from you, the listeners, more than I do the time I am going to spend cleaning out improper posts. So there you go. Conversely, in order to help spur on said activity on the guestbook, I will be attempting to post to the news/journal page more regularly, even if there's not much going on. These posts will probably very closely resemble whatever blog posts we do on the Dr. Pants myspace as well. Sorry, can't keep up creating two different sets of entries for two different sites. I just don't have that many words within me.

Finally, if you didn't know already, we had to cancel our Stillwater show that was supposed to happen here in a week or two. Over the next two months (which will be quiet ones for Dr. Pants...we will not be playing any more shows that I know of before January), we here at the Funk Facility will be doing our best to make sure that this type of thing doesn't happen again in the future. Meanwhile, since there won't be any shows to go to, stock up on Dr. Pants cds so that you won't get lonely without us. Of course, they also make great gifts, so give Dr. Pants this holiday season.

More soon...you can bet on it.

So we rocked the Dr. Pants Acoustic Magic for the first time Saturday night opening for Grandpa Griffith. Acoustic Magic is our new name for what used to be called Dr. Pants, Jr. It went smashingly, I must say, and Grandpa G were utterly awesome as usual.

We've got a Stillwater show in November, so if you know folks in Stillwater, tell them to come check out Dr. Pants at Third Place on the 18th. We're still trying to find a home for our December Madness show this year, so if you have any ideas about a venue that would want to book that (here in OKC, that is) let us know. That will probably be the next time we play here at home, so help us make it happen!

Meanwhile, the new record is available on iTunes, as well as many other fine digital music services like Rhapsody, etc. It will be on Emusic before too long. You can still get it at Audiri.com, as well as Radioradio.com. If you're a Last.fm member, become a Dr. Pants listener on Last.fm! Also, we need fans to write reviews of the record(s) on CD Baby, iTunes, Audiri, and other sites. If you love Dr. Pants, write a review saying so! This will help other people take a chance on what we do.

We hope that October finds you well. As always, drop us a line and say hi. We'll write you back, provided that we haven't passed out from exhaustion.

David

I really can’t describe what Friday night was like, but I’ll try anyway.

It was a really great night, full of great moments, both onstage and off. The band rocked so hard (thanks Kenneth, Aaron and Dustin), and Jason Bondy, our sound guy, did a great job (thank you Jason). I was interviewed for the MidCity Advocate (I think it will be out this Friday). All sorts of people came to see the show. Thanks to everyone who showed up.

Dustin and Flyover-States’ opening set was awesome (thanks for that, you guys). Dr. Pants played two rockin’ sets, and even though the crowd had thinned out a bit by the time the second set started, we still rocked it really hard.

It feels great to have the cd out, and to know that people have it and are probably listening to it as I speak (at least one person probably is). It feels great to have played a good show, and to know that other great shows are coming up.

I hope you all will join us at Mesta Festa this Saturday, as we rock Mesta Park into a pile of indiscriminate rubble. I’ll post the time as soon as I know it.

GARDENING IN A TORNADO is now available on CD Baby (go to doctorpants.com and click the “Buy Cds” link in the menu at the top), and at Wherehouse Music on NW Expressway. It will be in more OKC area stores soon. It will, of course, be available at Mesta Festa and all the upcoming shows. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ll be opening for TRAINWRECK again at VZDs on 10/6. You don’t want to miss it, especially if you missed the last time.

Word ‘em up.

FRIDAY WAS A BIG DAY.

In case anyone has not been paying attention, we played a show opening for TRAINWRECK (featuring Kyle Gass of Tenacious D fame) Friday night. It was great...We had a blast. The crowd, made up mostly of folks who had never heard of us, seemed skeptical at first, but we managed to win them over. Trainwreck were pretty unreal...If you have a chance to check them out, please do.
The other reason Friday was a big day is that GARDENING IN A TORNADO was finally sent to the manufacturer!! I can barely believe it. It feels like I have somehow managed to grow a third arm or something...It's that kind of level of accomplishment for me. Considering that we started recording this record well over 2 years ago...It's really amazing that the moment is finally here.

Kenneth, Aaron and I are really excited to be doing this Dr. Pants thing, at least I think so. I know I am, and they seem to be as well. We still don't have an "official" drummer, but Dean, Dustin and Chris are all great guys, and we appreciate all the work they do for us.

I just wanted to take the chance to let everyone know that I'm grateful. Grateful to all the Dr. Pants members I mentioned above, grateful to all those who helped me finish the record, and grateful to anyone and everyone who's listening. Rock on, y'all. I'll let you know when the cds get here.

Okay, so we mastered the record on Wednesday!! Thank God. We will be sending it off to press some time within the next couple of weeks...It won't make it back in time for the Trainwreck show, but it will be here in PLENTY of time for our newly scheduled CD RELEASE PARTY, at GALILEO on September 15th!! I am thrilled to have it on the calendar, and there's really nowhere else I'd rather celebrate. Galileo has been there for Dr. Pants since the beginning, and continues to be a beacon in the darkness that is the local music scene.

Meanwhile, we had a grand time at Nichols Hills Plaza last night...Really rocked it pretty good, I think. It's still standing, but I hear that Chesapeake's going to take care of that some time soon for us anyway (ha ha).

If you are someone who does art, and want to put in a last minute submission for potential artwork on my record, you can email me here at the website. I'm talking probably by Monday at the latest. I am going to be making my decision around then and getting all the design stuff done next week, hopefully. So, if you want to throw something my way, please do so ASAP!!

More soon.

I can TASTE the new record. We are SO close. It almost hurts...The most stressful part is that we want to get it out by the time we open for Trainwreck, and that's the real challenge.

Meanwhile, we're going to be playing in Nichols Hills Plaza as part of Starbucks' Starbright Concert Series on 7/13, so come out for that...You'll have more details when I have them.

I am the last person to want to appear overconfident, but I really think this record is great. I feel like Dr. Pants sits on the precipice of something incredible, and this is the moment where I get to breathe in a breath before I am submerged in the future.

I hope you all have a chance to come to at least one of the shows. We will make it worth your time and money.

So, for those of you who don't know, KC and I were at the Kerrville Folk Festival this past weekend. It was a crazy weekend...The festival is 18 days long, so we really only saw it get started. KC was a finalist in the New Folk competition, which is a competition for "up and comers" in the folk world. She was selected as one of 32 finalists out of 800 ENTRIES. Amazing. She was not one of the 6 winners, but that's okay. We learned a lot, heard a lot of great music, played well for a whole lot of people...It was a great experience.

Meanwhile, continuing to mix the record this week. It sounds better and better every day. I can't wait to get it out there for you all to hear. The big news is that Dr. Pants will be opening for TRAINWRECK, featuring Kyle Gass of the legendary TENACIOUS D, at the end of July!! Friday the 28th to be specific, at none other than VZDs, the finest rock club in OKC. We are peeing our pants with excitement around here, and we hope that you can all make the show. Also, some time within the next few days, I will be posting another mix for you to hear on the music page...Please keep an eye out. Remember that ALL PRICES HAVE BEEN DROPPED on the existing Dr. Pants catalogue...Get them while you can. I haven't decided whether to remove the two free EPs when the new record comes out or not, but just in case, download those while you can, too.

More soon...

There is a new rough mix on the music page...check it out.

Also, we have lowered the price of the FEEZLE DAY album on CD Baby to only $9.97!! Bargain basement...get it while you can...

Okay, so on some level, I feel like there's not a lot to say, but I also feel like I owe it to everybody to keep in touch, let you know what's going on, even if it's not an assload.

As it says on the front page, tracking for the record is FINISHED, and we are heading into mixing. The task of mixing is something that I can't really do myself, or be super-involved in...A reality which frustrates my control freak nature to a great degree. However, I am currently in the process of figuring out who can best approach this task and still serve the best interest of the record, and I am optimistic that it will turn out well. I am still very, very hopeful that we will achieve a summer release...It's definitely the goal.

Meanwhile, we're also gearing up to play what hopefully will be a bunch of shows in the summer and fall. We're going to be teaming up with some other bands and putting on some killer double bills, so be on the lookout. Currently, the next show we have set is for June at Full Circle, but hopefully by the time we get to that date, there'll be a crapload more on the calendar...

I have uploaded some photos from the studio, so check those out on the photo page. Jason Bondy, our live sound man, took them, and he possesses the mad photography skills, as you will see.

I have posted one (count 'em, 1) rough mix from the new record for you to listen to...It's a surprise which song it is, so go listen. Click on the white text that says "Surprise Rough Mix", and then on one of the "Listen to..." links. Keep in mind that sonically it will get a good bit better by the time it's all done.

I think that's it...So much, and yet so little. I am soooo ready for this record to be finished.

Word. See you all soon, I hope.

David

Alright, kids.

There are some changes going down in the Dr. Pants universe...Some of them are only in my mind at this point, but some of them are material, and serve only to make the entity that is Dr. Pants a greater, more worthwhile thing for all its participants...Both the musicmakers, and the musiclisteners.

Most importantly, I am announcing that as of the arrival of the new Dr. Pants record (hopefully around the beginning of June), all of the old Dr. Pants records will cease to exist, at least for the moment. Replacing them will be a comprehensive compilation of all the older material, with an emphasis on the songs that can actually be heard at a Dr. Pants show. So, this means that Feezle Day, The First Four Years, Werks, and Werks 2 will only be available for a few more months, in ANY FORM. Digital, hard copy, whatever. If you have been waiting to buy these records, but just didn't feel it was the right time, the time is NOW. It is possible I will choose to bring them back at a later date, but I can't make any promises. So, if you want Feezle Day, go to iTunes and download it, or buy a hard copy from CD Baby. If you live in the OKC area, you can buy a hard copy directly from me. Werks 2 and First Four Years are available for download at Audiri.com/drpants, or as hard copies from myself. Werks is only available as a hard copy from yours truly.

I am not doing this to instigate some sort of feeding frenzy to create revenue for myself...I just think it's time to simplify things, and to create a situation where the material I'm offering is absolutely, 100% stuff that I feel I can stand behind as an artist. Some of the older stuff doesn't fall into that category, and that's why it's going away for now.

Don't forget that there are 2 free ep's available for download on the music page as well.

Meanwhile, Kenneth, KC and I will be doing Dr. Pants, Jr. at Full Circle April 15th, so please come check it out. We'll be premiering some new material, and a good time will be had by all. There will be more shows going on the books very soon, so stay tuned.

Word. Thanks to everyone who supports what I do in any way.

Because we love Dr. Pants!! Thanks to everyone who showed the love by coming out last night...I apologize to anyone who felt as though I didn't talk to them enough, or abandoned them mid-conversation...I get the worst case of ADD the night of a show. Something about the adrenaline, or the severe right-brainedness of performing music, or something...I have no idea why. I have the most difficult time maintaining any sort of conversation with anyone but the people that I'm playing the gig with. Very strange.
Thanks so much to Kenneth, Dean and Justin for playing, thanks to Jason for running sound as always. Thanks to KC as always for singing...Babe, when you get up there on stage with me, I have to take my game up a notch, and I appreciate that.
As we get closer to the new record coming out, we're going to be making some changes in the Dr. Pants camp, in terms of setlists, overall vibe...I think that if I learned anything from last night's show, it was that we've got to get streamlined up in this mug. Granted, this is rock and roll, and nothing about REAL rock and roll is ever that polished, but if you, the PEOPLE, are going to come shell out $5 or more to see us play, we owe it to you to give you a great musical experience. More about these things as they happen...
Meanwhile, all the actual tracking for GARDENING IN A TORNADO is FINISHED!! (not to be confused with finnish.) This means that we're moving into the mixing stage, and we hopefully will have it in your hands by the beginning of June or so. Stay tuned for more on that. I will have some rough mixes up for listening soon, as well as some photos from the studio.
Word, and I'll see you on Hollywood Squares.

All right, so here's the deal...There's this website called Audiri.com (www.audiri.com/drpants), and they started out as just another purevolume type of place where you could post a few songs, do an artist profile, etc. NOW, however, they have created a situation where independent artists can upload songs for pay-to-play downloads, and make them available IMMEDIATELY. This is great, since there was about a 4 month wait for CD Baby to get the Feezle Day album up on iTunes. So, the complete albums of "The First Four Years" (a collection of pre-"Feezle Day" songs, many of which we still play live such as "A Guy Named Matt", "Great Job With Me", and "One Month") and "Werks 2" (the "side project" I put out early last year, featuring "Egg Dance", "7th Heathen", and "Incidental Music From the Cyberpunk Episode of the Jetsons") are now available in the digital domain. I tried to price the songs so that if you get all the songs from one of the albums, the total is roughly equivalent to the $10 you would spend buying the CD-R directly from me. Audiri doesn't give quite enough webspace to post the first "Werks" in addition to the other two, but I'll be able to make it available digitally in good time. This is good stuff, so please go check it out. Meanwhile, we're back in the studio this week...I'll try and post something later in the week about that.
Word,
David

Wow. I'm really glad the holidays and everything are over on some level, but there's a part of me that is still on relaxation time. I mean, I never get that much of a break, seeing how I work in retail for my day job, but various other portions of my life, including Dr. Pants, did take most of December and January off.
So, the big news is that we are going to FINISH THIS RECORD! It's official, people. The money has come through and you will hopefully have a new Dr. Pants record IN YOUR HANDS by early summer. The material sounds amazing...I really think that every musician's goal, whenever they make a record, should be to make their favorite record of the moment. Maybe not their favorite record of all time (although, one can hope), but at least their favorite record of the moment. I feel like I did that with Feezle Day, although most of you probably feel bewildered by that record most of the time. It was very much what I wanted to do at the time, though, and Gardening In A Tornado is very much what I want to do NOW. This one won't bewilder you NEAR as much...I am really hoping that it will make you laugh, cry, and rock your ass off (just like Wesley Willis, baby). I think I am making my favorite record of the moment, and I can only hope that even one of you decides it's your favorite, too.

KC, Kenneth and I will be Dr. Pants, Jr-ing at Full Circle on February 11th, so please check that out. If you don't know, it's a small, intimate setting that's good for just playing some songs. Dr. Pants, the original, the rockin', the legend, will be at Galileo March 10th.

Peace out, y'all.

Hey kids.
I think that first, I have to start off by saying that the DECEMBER MADNESS show was one of the most fun shows I've ever played...Thanks to Kenneth, as always, and to James, Chris, and Jason for making the music what it was. Thanks to Jerry for all of his help as a sounding board and collaborator, thanks to Allison for the great signs, thanks to Mark and Amber for being such great elves. Thanks to Galileo for putting up with all of my silliness.

PLEASE stay tuned in the coming year for the release of GARDENING IN A TORNADO, the new Dr. Pants album. I am pee-my-pants excited about this record...If you want to know how YOU can help it come out, please email me (go to the contact page for the address, etc.).

It looks at this point as though we may be taking January off, and that's really fine with me. In order to bring you the best year of shows, records, and everything else that we can, it might take a few weeks to regroup after the holidays. I promise, though, once we get to February 11th at Full Circle, it will be full speed ahead, and we'll have the kind of year that many bands only dream about! I believe this...I believe this truly will be the YEAR OF THE PANTS, and hopefully, you all believe with me...
I wish for everyone a great Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate, and a great new year. We'll see you soon-
David


P.S. CHEWBACCA!!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
Unfortunately, I had to turn off my messageboard today, because some unsavory folks out there in internet land decided that it was in some way appropriate/okay to start posting links to porn sites there...This saddens me, and if one of the culprits happens to be reading this right now, THANKS FOR MAKING A MOCKERY OF THE EARNEST EFFORTS OF AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST. You should be ashamed of yourself. Hopefully, it will be possible to turn the messageboard back on some time soon...I'll let you know here if I do.

What is DECEMBER MADNESS, you ask? About 4 years ago, I had the idea of making the Dr. Pants show in the month of December into something special. I mean, I always wanted to integrate a somewhat theatrical element into what we do (increasing overall entertainment value in the process), but I thought that the holiday season would be a good time to step it up a notch. That year (2000), at our December show (most of the original Dr. Pants lineup was still in tow), we did several unique-to-that-show "DECEMBER MADNESS" pieces of music, as well as some poetry performed by members of the audience. It was all very well-received, and in my head, DECEMBER MADNESS was something we would do every year from then on.

Of course, by the following year, there really wasn't a Dr. Pants lineup per se, and I was heading into a hiatus of sorts. So, this year, once I got the ball rolling again, I decided it was time that DECEMBER MADNESS be re-born, and really take its rightful place as an OKC local music legend.

So, I invite you, one and all, to come and join us as we celebrate DECEMBER MADNESS. Be prepared for a grand time. Together, we will establish an OKC music tradition that will hopefully live on for years to come!!

Okay, so the hugest news is that the FEEZLE DAY album is FINALLY available on ITunes, after a long wait...Now you can purchase any song from that record individually for $0.99 each, or download the whole album for $9.99 (an absolute steal, seeing as how it's a double CD, and costs $15 when you buy the hard copy). It is also available on some other digital music sites as well, including MusicNet, BuyMusic, Bitmunk, MSN Music, MusicNow, PassAlong, Chondo, Sony Connect, Ruckus, and MP3tunes. If you routinely buy music from any of those services, get yo self some Dr. Pants!!

Meanwhile, I also want to thank everyone who came to our shows in October...The show with Bring Back the Guns and Oida went really well, especially considering it was a Sunday night in OKC. Everybody was happy, I think, and I really appreciate all the positive feedback I got on my attempt to do something different. I have a feeling it won't be the last "boombox" set that I do. Look forward to more of that.

I know I've been promising new pictures for a while now, and there will be some soon. Also, recording on the new album will continue at the end of November, and hopefully I'll have a rough mix or two to post so you guys can check it out. Meanwhile, I'm trying to make the December show the biggest thing we've done this year, so look forward to that and TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!! Dr. Pants is here to stay, and to rock your ass like a hurricane, people. I'll see you on 12/10!!

DON"T FORGET, 2 FREE EP's ON THE MUSIC PAGE!!

Okay, so just a quick note to let everyone know that, if you are interested, I changed the running order on the Extra Pants EP on the music page (it's my record, I have license to do that), so if you DO download it, download it with "Calm" as the first song.

Meanwhile, trying to get ready for the shows at the end of the month. More details soon.

Just got finished playing at the Mesta Festa about an hour ago...It was quite good fun. These days, it feels great just to play, and to even just get a little bit of gratitude from those who happened to be there.

Thanks to John and all the Mesta Park people for the opportunity and hospitality...Thanks to KC for lending her gorgeous vocalizations to the proceedings as always. Thanks to anyone who was there and listened.

Stay tuned for updates on the new record, new photos, etc.

Drop me a line anytime about anything...
David

Thanks to everyone for coming out to Full Circle last night...It was a good crowd. The venue was happy, I was happy...Chris and KC were happy.

I think that playing a venue like a bookstore has its advantages and disadvantages. The fact that, after having played two shows there, the pros very much outweigh the cons at this point is a good thing.

It was really great to have my brother and his roommate at the show (see previous journal entry) and really great to have other great musicians in the audience listening (Shannon, Joel, Tyler, the previously mentioned brother and roommate). I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to do this show, and I am very much looking forward to the next one...

Check back here for pics from the show, and hopefully more info on when we might see the new album come out. See you on the 24th...Don't forget the 2 free ep's...

I just have to take a minute and acknowledge that my brother, who was until last week living in New Orleans, and everyone from there that he cares about are safe. I have to speak that in a public arena, and say how thankful I am. I don't know why all this is happening, and I certainly don't feel very optimistic about how it will all play out in some ways, but I simply have to declare that I will always be thankful that my brother and his loved ones got out of there when they did.

I hope that everyone is coping with the insanity of this tragedy in some sort of helpful way, and if you have been displaced from your home, or someone you love has, you have my deepest sympathy, and my prayers...

I hope that I see some of you this Saturday, and that we can all enjoy an evening of music together, despite circumstances.

David

Well, here we are, on the cusp of the fall, and at the Funk Facility it's all about the shows...The shows and finding a way to get the record finished. The shows will help bring in some cash to do that (it really does cost money to make a record...Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise), but don't think that's the only reason we're playing them...

Dr. Pants has never been more important to me, and I hope that all our performances this fall will convey that. We will do our best to make the shows something to remember, no matter who is in the line up that night, no matter whether it's a full band or DP Jr. show, or even if it's something crazy that I've never done before. It will all culminate (hopefully) at our soon-to-be-annual DECEMBER MADNESS show at Galileo on 12/10...There will be lots of fun surprises in store at that one.

And it all starts in 2 weeks at Full Circle, Saturday the 10th at 7 pm. I truly do hope to see you all there, and that you will bring friends. We will do our best to make it a lovely time for all.

Long live the Pants,
David

So in the record store biz, you run into a lot of colorful folks, of course...as in any service industry. For a number of years now, I've interacted with a guy whose name is--NO SHIT--MIKE RUTHERFORD. For those in the know, this name has meaning. It's the name of the guitarist for 80s behemoths GENESIS and MIKE & THE MECHANICS. Now, of course, we record store geeks have always made jokes about it, but we've never mentioned the coincidence TO Mike. I guess we just figured there was no point.
Well, last night at work my friend and coworker Jerry decided otherwise. He asked Mike what he thought about the coincidence, and Mike replied that he didn't really know if it meant anything but--AND I QUOTE--"I know if I had his money and he had a feather up his ass we'd both be tickled." You can't make this stuff up.