What we’re doing now is simpler: leveraging the Live Music Archive at archive.org to bring you Andrew Osenga concert recordings. All the old shows are available there, as will the new shows going forward. We’d like to thank Andrew for not only being taper-friendly but explicitly allowing us to use archive.org to share these shows with you.

We asked Andy if he would submit to an official taping policy, and he has agreed to the following:

1. You’re allowed to tape Andrew Osenga’s concerts.
2. If the venue will allow it, Andy is okay with you getting a board feed.
3. Andy is also cool with videos of concerts.

We’ll add the following caveats that are standard to the taping community:

• Share and share alike. Don’t sell.
• Trade in lossless formats [FLAC, SHN, etc.], and keep lossy formats [AAC, MP3] for your own personal use only.
• Be respectful of the artist and the venue as you tape.

We encourage you to print this out for proof in case you get asked. Of course, if you’re at a show and wanting to tape, you can just go up to Andy before the show and get him to okay it with the venue if he doesn’t know about it beforehand. The only times I’ve ever had to ask the venue is for a board feed, and most places are definitely okay with it. Just bring the equipment and cabling you’ll need to hook up to the board.

If you have questions about recording, we can address that in a separate post.

His rates and terms are fully disclosed and very, very reasonable… so this is your chance to get Andy in your town, maybe even in your home, for a performance you won’t soon forget.

So, if you want the chance to get a fantastic piece of art for your wall, use one of the forms below to make your purchase.

8″x12″ print:

Signed or Unsigned?

Unsigned $30.00 Signed $45.00

11″x14″ standout:

Signed or Unsigned?

Unsigned $100.00 Signed $150.00

These days I find I write best when I have something in mind, some sort of project. Where the song is going to be heard helps me know what I’m trying to write. Is it a song for me? I’ve got four records I’d love to make soon, which one is it for? Does it belong in a story arc, is there some scene this needs to fit? Stuff like that. Once I know what I’m writing I can sit down at 9 am, answer my email, make my phone calls, turn off my phone and write til lunch. Also, deadlines don’t hurt!

I wish my process was more romantic, sexier, but it’s really just working. I find I’m rarely inspired when I’m watching TV, but daily inspired when I sit down and just start writing.

It sounds to me like Andy has hit the groove that Elliott Smith had—constantly writing, constantly recording, constantly improving; I remember reading the 33 1/3 series on Elliott’s XO and coming across so many people talking about how he just worked and worked at his craft. To quote Alexander Pope:

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance.
‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offense;
The sound must seem an echo to the sense.

– An Essay on Criticism, II, l. 162

We’ve seen this in multiple versions of the same song, how songs have had verses change over time.

[Parts 1, 2, and 3 of this interview set are on StSL as well. And yes, I did pull out my copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations while writing this post.]

You can choose the CD for $12, or MP3 downloads for $9.

Choosing Sides contains nine tracks, some of which will be familiar to those who have heard Andy play them in concerts over the past year:

1. I’m On Your Side
2. She Finds A Way
3. Swing Wide The Glimmering Gates
4. The Arms of Love
5. Waiting
6. Rest
7. Without You
8. I Thank God For You
9. What I Know Now

There’s also a rumor that Andy will have the discs along for sale on the BtLOG tour this month, so if you’re lucky enough to get to see him there, buy one! (Lincoln, NE tonight!)

Once I get my hands on a copy of the CD I’ll get the Song Vault updated with lyrics and supporting info.

Got any guesses as to what that might be?

You know how Andy’s page loads have been awfully slow of late? Well, Andy decided to let us host his site. But … suffice it to say that … things haven’t exactly gone well.

Now I think I have a handle what’s going on … but hang tight and we’ll get it back to right soon!

Andy does some new stuff (Four Horses, I’m On Your Side), some old stuff (White Dove, Santa Barbara), some rare stuff (New Mexico – never heard him do that one live before!) and some really old stuff (a fantastic bluesy version of I Miss Those Days that simply must be heard). Oh yeah, and there’s a two-minute guitar solo on Hold The Light.

Just to give you a little taste, here’s “I Miss Those Days”:

Download audio file (20090323-aosenga-track01.mp3)

If you want to download the whole thing, head on over to indieriver.net.

Let me suggest that each of you take a minute to head over to Andy’s blog or his facebook page and wish him a happy 30th birthday. And let’s all hope that the 30’s only make the rock and roll that much more AWESOME.