Stephen MacDonald

Stephen Michael

I’m named after my mom’s brother, Stephen Michael Lawlor, whom died of Aids in 1983. Throughout my life I have been given some of his things such as his class ring, art books, clothes, etc. Considering I have 17 cousins and get his things, I think my Grandmother sees a bunch of similarities between us and enjoys letting me have his possessions.

He was an artist who had moved to Philadelphia to pursue his painting and work for Philadelphia Magazine. I’ve always wished that I could meet him because I feel like he would be able to appreciate, more than anyone in my family, the path in which I’m trying to go down. A lot of my family are pretty straight laced and appear a bit conservative. I often feel like the obvious outcast, but that may be my own doing.

Despite never meeting my Uncle though, I am lucky to be able to sift through his belongings and try to piece together what kind of person he was.

My Grandmother is moving and has been giving away a lot of her belongings. While over her house for Thanksgiving I came across a box filled with his paintings and various letters. I had seen some of his work before and always really liked it, but this gave me a whole new perspective on his talent. I was slightly shocked and very proud of his work. It all really struck me.

I took 3 of the paintings along with a photograph he took of a woman in a tea shop. I think the photo may be of a woman named Anna, whom had written a bunch of letters to him which were also in the box.

Along with the paintings my Grandmother also gave me his yearbooks and a scrapbook someone had made of his accomplishments. It’s filled with articles recognizing his art along with a bunch of academic honors. He was even valedictorian of his high school and college graduating classes.

One of the most interesting things I found in this stuff was his old address in Philadelphia. Thanks to google maps, I was able to see how far it was from the venue I played at back in August. It’s exactly half a mile away and I remember being on the street exactly. It’s the very same street we parked my van and also where I had to change my shirt because a bird decided to shit on me. It’s weird to think that as I was walking around, I was so close to the old apartment of the exact person I am named after. I wish I had known and I would have walked there. Perhaps next time I am in Philly I will try and find it.

I am not a religious person, but I’ve realized lately that some of my favorite Christmas songs lean that way. “Silent Night” is one of those songs and this version by David Bazan is beautiful.

Top 100 records of 2009: 100-81 | Artrocker

“We Are Bound” was named number 92 on the top 100 albums of the year. It was weird to just be scrolling along and then see a photo of us along side some of the more hyped up bands right now. Still pretty cool though.

» Semi-Finals

We made it the semi-finals of that online battle of the bands. We are now up against another cover band. Help us out by taking 2 seconds to vote for us and clicking the link above!

Photos from Umass Lowell Fox Common - Credit D’s 4 Design

Beautiful.

» wj3_bandpage_puddlefishvsstephenmacdonald | WEBJAMS

We are currently in an online battle of the bands. It’s comprised of some acts from southeastern mass. Our matchup went up today and we are currently getting killed by a middle age cover band. Do me a favor and take 2 seconds to vote for us. Thanks!

David Bazan is, in my opinion, one of the best songwriters out there. I know I’m not the only one to think so, but lately it’s been reinforced to me. There are moments where I hear a song of his and I just think, “Shit, I wish I could write that”. Specifically that happened on the first verse of Hard To Be, which is the first song of his new record.

I bought the record the day it came out and enjoyed it. I would mostly put it on at night while I painted, but I guess I never payed much attention to it.

The other day I listened to it for the first time through a pair of headphones and I was blown away. I tend to experience music better when it’s right in my ear, and I felt excited about an album for the first time in a while. The only other recent albums to really offer me a sense of excitement lately have been “Brother’s Blood” by Kevin Devine and “For Emma, Forever Ago” by Bon Iver.

It’s something I think about often. I’m someone who is pursuing music and writing songs, yet I find myself so bored with a lot of music that comes out. Maybe it’s because I’m older or maybe it’s the changing landscape of how we receive music (which I believe I’ve written about here).

Either way, this new Bazan record is really really fucking good. Go buy “Curse Your Branches”

This the trailer for an independent movie that will be making its way to some festivals. My friend Kyle, from Chicago, is in it and he had let one of the kids working on the movie borrow my first record. He ended up really liking it and decided to put “Shake” in the movie and also a little bit of it in the trailer. I completely forgot about it happening and it’s pretty cool to see.

» One Little Indian • [artist_name] • Sigur Ros - Takk... [DMM]

I want this badly.