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Tuesday, December 15

MASSIVE UPDATE!!!

Muteantowl Here!!!! 

I have just got off of the phone with a brand new music act who want to use some of our tracks in thier upcoming album, in excange they agreed that the album will be uploaded here for all to download FREE! Rob mentioned the news in a previous post but I wanted to comfirm it is happening!!!

As of now all I know is that they want to us 'The Untitled' off 'Jelly Bean Custard...' but I offered them the use of any song, so all they have to do is ask.

THIS IS ALSO ANOTHER INVITATION TO ANY MUSICIANS/ REMIXERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH THE ENTIRE SMASHING GRANDPA DISCOGRAPHY- TO EMAIL ROB AT THESMELLOFCLOUDS@HOTMAIL.CO.UK. Obviously we will have to wait for this band to make thier choices but I am always looking for new takes on our existing catalogue.

Also even more excitingly last week at the Tom Thumb memorial service in Ottowa, Canada I met with Tom's widow Karen, who said that Tom Had a box full of items related to the band and that they may be of use in preservation of his memory or.... well i'm really not sure but I am excited to see as no-one collected Smashing Grandpa memorobelia and items like Tom.

The box is being dropped off by Karen at the weekend so I will be able to update you on some of the items I have recieved.

Muteantowl.

NB. Loving the new designs Rob! Check out his work at www.thesmellofclouds.com. He has done a shitload for the blog and for the band over the years- mostly unpaid, and we sure are greatful. Cheers.

Monday, December 14

Update & News

Hey all, Rob here (Not Muteantowl). I'm the guy that maintains the blog and has done all of the smashing grandpa artwork.

Riiiiiight, it might look a bit plain up there at the banner but I will sort that soon promise, I have been very very busy these past couple of months mainly starting up a new video production company, attending the Tom Thumb memorial service and working with new acts for the record.

I can announce now that within the next few weeks a couple of my friends from the UK will be finishing thier debut album, as of now is still untitled, and confusingly so is the act. I will keep you updated. I have currently only heard 3 songs off the album but it will contain 20+ tracks. There will also be a single up soon to promote the album. All I can say for certain is that this is completely diffferent from Smashing Grandpa.

Rob.

Tuesday, November 17

Site Update

Quick update time. I am just working on a new layout for the blog, and new music from other artists to go on the blog. It will all happen very soon. Its not over yet.

thesmellofclouds.

Thursday, September 10

Design Site

Hi there, if you like the album cover designs and wanted to know who they were by just check out Rob Gale's site at:

www.thesmellofclouds.com.

If you contact him he is offering absolutely free design work for artists and bands, just because he needs more work in his creative portfolio.

muteantowl x

Sunday, August 16

Smashing Grandpa- Jelly Bean Custard Stampede [Black]


release date: 2009

track list:
1. Toxicandy- 3.56
2. Real Utopias Don't Need Walls- 4.21
3. No Prophecy Here- 2.37
4. Amplification Of Faith- 1.54
5. Laughing In Binary- 1.41
6. Working With Morphine- 1.42
7. Death Before Dinner- 2.10
8. U.S.B. (United Sound Boundaries)- 3.02
9. Custom Justice- 3.47
10. The Untitled- 2.16
1. Retropolis- 4.05
2. Infinity=Nil- 2.29
3. Travel Sickness- 2.54
4. El Diablo- 3.01
5. 46664- 3.02

information: our very final release, released by me and the Brainz on the 1 year anniversary of Tom Thumbs death. All of the song were going to be released on the upcoming album, that will never get made. But we put 3 of them on 'Something For Nothing' as they were songs that Tom had worked predominantly on, 46664 and Travel Sickness were the two songs that Tom was travelling on the train to record with us, and so these tracks do not feature Tom as he wrote both of the tracks, but never performed his section- leving just me and the Brainz to do the honours. The white version was our most popular album and was definately performed the most live. So there we go, our discography... enjoy.

We all love you tom R.I.P.
Muteantowl.x

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?tjokatm0odm
Smashing Grandpa- It's All Something For Nothing- The Greatest Bits


release date: 2008

track list:
1. Retropolis- 4.05
2. Battery Powered Fire- 2.57
3. Infinty=Nil- 2.29
4. Amplification Of Faith- 1.54
5. Attero Universitas E- 6.02
6. El Diablo- 3.01
7. Cyanide Ice Cream- 2.11
8. U.S.B. [United Sound Boundaries]- 3.02
9. Custom Justice- 3.47
10. The Final Broadcast- 1.56
11. Game_Over!- 3.01
12. Tropical Delight- 4.30

information: what all our hard work added up to, due to be released 2 weeks after tom's death in a tragic train accident, to complete recording on another album after this one. It was originally going to be called 'Greatest Bits and Some Other Shit' but we decided on 'It's All Something For Nothing' because that is what Tom chose to have engraved on his gravestone. R.I.P. That catastrophe has become known to fans and friends alike as The great train robbery, because that accident robbed us of a friend, a mentor, a husband and a father.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?wngq0eyemw5

Upload Issues

Due to unforeseen issues with my mac, my entire hard drive was rendered corrupt- therefore there has been a large gap in my upload schedule. HOWEVER, after contacting half of the adresses in the old Smashing Grandpa fansite mailing list I now have A FULL COLLECTION of our music, including some live bootlegs so uploading will resume very soon.

muteantowl.x

Monday, July 13

Smashing Grandpa- Custom Justice Single


release date: 2007

track list:
1. Custom Justice- 3.47
2. Weapons Grade: Balloon 5.27


information: phew. the last single released by Smashing Grandpa and the last single released off Jelly Bean Custard Stampede. The b-side 'weapons grade: balloon' almost made it onto Jelly Bean Custard Stampede, but we wanted the album to be under half an hour so here it is!

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?yi3wil3dgmz
Smashing Grandpa- Jelly Bean Custard Stampede [White]


release date: 2007

track list:
1. Toxicandy- 3.56
2. Real Utopias Don't Need Walls- 4.21
3. No Prophecy Here- 2.37
4. Amplification Of Faith- 1.54
5. Laughing In Binary- 1.41
6. Working With Morphine- 1.42
7. Death Before Dinner- 2.10
8. U.S.B. (United Sound Boundaries)- 3.02
9. Custom Justice- 3.47
10. The Untitled- 2.16

information: the original version of Jelly Bean Custard Stampede, the title refers to an article Tom read about album titles which said 'whatever you do, don't call your album Jelly Bean Custard Stampede'. Well, we did. Our most diverse release overall, and my personal favorite. Toxicandy was Tom's favorite song produced by us. This album sold the most copies at shows and online sales and downloads.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?lxmgtnykngn
Smashing Grandpa- U.S.B. United Sound Boundaries Single


release date: 2007

track list:
1. U.S.B. United Sound Boundaries- 3.02
2. The Smell Of Clouds- 2.39

information: the first ever release on up!down! records as you know it today. After our 4 year break and loosing 724 to his habit we got back in the studio and released this as the first single off of the upcoming 'Jelly Bean Custard Stampede' or 'Morpheus' as we referred to it. The cover depicts us three members left in the band, the tree symbols each one of us, the upside down peace symbol represents Tom as he had a tattoo on his arm of an eagle with the upside down peace symbol in his eye, the space invader represents the brainz as he always beat the rest of us at space invaders and that is what he chose to be represented as and I (Muteantowl) chose the graffiti drip because of my graphic design/ graffiti artist background. This cover is very different to all of our previous covers to show a new start, all the covers from hereon are much more simple.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?mmmzjzimwd2
Smashing Grandpa- Attero Universitas E Single


release date: 2002

track list:
1. Attero Universitas E- 6.02
2. Power Punch- 3.48


information: one of my favorite tracks of all time here. This was one of our biggest mainstream releases even though record labels still wouldn't sign us. This was the last track and release that 724 was part of and it was our last release for a while, in the gap we toured lots and just enjoyed our lives. We also gave up looking for a record label and so we created up!down! records to promote our music (the label not this actual blog)

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?fdmndwtdyzj
Smashing Grandpa- The Untold Revelations Of A Mute (Preaching To The Patient)


release date: 2002

track list:
1.The Moment The Media Ended (Intro)- 0.41
2. Chapter I: ...And All There Will Be Is Static- 0.24
3. Chapter II: Panic Without Intervention- 4.27
4. Chapter III: The Endless Suspect- 6.33
5. Chapter IV: The Outer Wavelengths- 5.11
6. Chapter V: Aligned Between Moons- 5.29
7. Chapter VI: The Digital Predator- 5.16
8. Chapter VII: Cradle Of The Infected- 5.48
9. Chapter VIII: Attero Universitas E- 6.02
10. Chapter IX: Interference- 4.20
11. Chapter X: The Final Broadcast- 1.56
12. Chapter XI: Technology Will Survive (Preaching To The Patient Bonus)- 2.13


information: we figured as we were releasing singles off of this album it is only fair that the listener can select the individual single chapter. This was much more popular with our fans as it was more easy to listen to. The songs still flow together but don't 'force' you to listen to every chapter. To make up for the delay in release we also recorded a bonus chapter for this release 'Technology Will Survive' which soon became one of my personal favorite songs. This song acted as a final end to the 'plot' of this album, allowing us to progress into other albums with a clean plate. We called this album preaching to the patient because we felt that we were rewarding those who waited and purchased this form of the album.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?vtywdjly1nm
Smashing Grandpa- The Untold Revelations Of A Mute (Regular)



release date: 2002

track list:
1. The Moment The Media Ended (Intro)- 0.41
2. The Untold Revelations Of A Mute- 45.17

information: this is the original version of the infamous album, note only two songs (one is 45 minutes and contains ten chapters) Tom frequently reminded me before his death that this was released before Dream Theater's 'Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence' which featured a similar style and so we did not copy them. This was later re-released split into chapters which spawned a number of singles. We liked the idea of one tale and various styles of music flowing together much like most game music. If we were ever going to produce a concept album, this one would be the closest to that.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?wwdtyonjymy

Thursday, July 9

Smashing Grandpa- The Final Broadcast Single


release date: 2001

track list:
1. The Final Broadcast- 1.56
2. Freak- 3.29

information: The first single promoting the release of our 'epic' album 'The Untold Revelations Of A Mute'. This was released for xmas 2001 and played a strong part on our late 2001- early 2002 concerts, after leaving the studio.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?dw5qcgndnyw
Smashing Grandpa- Thought Of the Unthinking EP (Reissue)

release date: 1998

track list:

1. Battery Powered Fire- 2.57

2. Almost Surgical- 4.14
3. Cyanide Ice Cream- 2.11

4. Pandora's Box- 2.50

5. Disco Death- 3.23
6. Valley Of A Thousand Suns- 3.41

information: we decided to reissue the very first ep, considering they were mostly released to family and friends or sent to record labels who just turned us down and never returned them. The tracks were originally going to be bonus tracks for 'The Untold Revelations Of A Mute'

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?zjtlyzd4twz

SMASHING GRANDPA- TROPICAL DELIGHT SINGLE

Smashing Grandpa- Tropical Delight Single


release date: 1996

track list:

1. Tropical Delight- 4.30

2. Have You Been Learning?- 1.47

information: The first and last single off 'Don't Adjust Your Colostomy'
. When originally released only 500 copies were distributed at various concerts.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?zm2tmzzmmgm

Saturday, July 4

Smashing Grandpa- Don't Adjust Your Colostomy


release date: 1996

track list:
1. The Third Tower- 5.27
2. Eleven- 3.31
3. A Thousand Eyes- 3.19
4. Out Of World Experience- 4.10
5. Missile Thier Whit- 3.39
6. Wonderland- 3.05
7. Game_Over!- 3.01
8. Tropical Delight- 4.30
9. Synbiosis- 3.45

information: the first 'proper' album a lot more experimental and diverse than thoughts for the unthinking my never the less it's definitely better off for it. 427 and The Brainz were very prominent in the concept for this album and apparently it tells a story although I've never quite understood what.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mzelymrmzj1
Smashing Grandpa- Thought Of the Unthinking EP


release date: 1993

track list:
1. Battery Powered Fire- 2.57
2. Almost Surgical- 4.14
3. Cyanide Ice Cream- 2.11
4. Pandora's Box- 2.50

information: phew. here we go the very first EP from Smashing Grandpa, If you like it there is definitely more of the same coming very soon.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mzelymrmzj1

BAND BIO: SMASHING GRANDPA

SMASHING GRANDPA. 1993 - 2009
Genre:
Chiptune/ 8 bit

Former Members:
Tom Thumb- Deceased in train accident in 2008. R.I.P. (Center Front)
Muteantowl- Formed UP!DOWN! records (Right)
The Brainz- Living back in Baltimore, working back in accounts (Center Back)
724- Thrown out due to drug problems in 2002 (Left)

Biography:
In 1993 four accountants working at a firm in Baltimore USA met and formed Smashing Grandpa, they produced many albums and spread them locally using sales at live shows rather than a record label for dispatching. They remix songs from the nes and commodore 64 consoles, including some of their own.

In 2002 724 was thrown out of the band for his extreme drug use which ruined the band's clean image. They then continued to produce albums until 2008 when Tom Thumb was killed in a tragic train accident, Muteantowl and The Brainz released a memorial version of their last album in his memory and returned to mortality.

They never had a huge fan base usually playing local house parties and small venues with only the same fans attending each, although a small community the fan community collectively mourned Tom's death, and agreed with the decision to not continue the project.

To keep themselves anonymous and keep peoples attention focused on the music they wore masks each with a different graphic and color, to stop confusion between members. However because of this no-one apart from the band members ever knew the true identity of the members. Except 724 who announced on stage after his dismissal his actual name is Mike Williams. I know the identity of the other members but for Tom's sake as well as for my own personal reasons I am not at liberty to disclose them.

Discography: (Will All Be Made Available To Download In Due Course)

1993 - Thought Of The Unthinking EP

1996-Don't Adjust Your Colostomy

1996- Tropical Delight Single

1998- Thought Of The Unthinking EP (Reissue)

2001- The Final Broadcast Single

2002- The Untold Revelations Of A Mute

2002 - Attero Universitas E Single

- 724 was forced to leave

2007- U.S.B. (United Sound Boundaries) Single

2007- Jelly Bean Custard Stampede

2007- Custom Justice Single

2008- It's All Something For Nothing: The Greatest Bits

-Tom Thumb Died In The Tragic Train Accident

2009- Jelly Bean Custard Stampede [Black]

For a band with such an extensive discography its very strange that there has been no serious coverage of the music.

I am currently trawling through 16 years of demos, b sides and live tracks in order to upload some more rarer songs. I will upload all of these for free to download in the coming weeks.

muteantowl.x