Is the politically charged and ironic follow-up to the critically acclaimed debut The Oxygen Ponies. Produced by Paul Megna and Don Piper and recorded live at Between the Trains studios in 2007 with Don Piper engineering, Harmony Handgrenade nearly became the record you were never going to hear.
Written in August and September of 2007, following The Oxygen Ponies' successful UK summer tour, H.H. was recorded quickly with a live rhythm section in a single week that fall. Nothing was rehearsed. All of the 'special guest' musicians including Oxpo newcomers: Joe Bennett (Goldrush), Nick Stumpf (French Kicks), Brandon Wilde (Black Bunny, X/Thisway), Ben Trokan (Robbers on High Street) and Randi Russo, as well as returning Oxpo mainstays: Don Piper (A Don Piper Situation), Konrad Meissner (Graham Parker, Syd Straw, Silos), Len Small, Steve Salett (King of France) and David Roland; heard each song for the first time on the studio floor and went with their initial insticts. The sessions continued a month later when overdubs were handled in the same celebratory way. All of the original mixes were completed by Thanksgiving.
Ultimately, Paul wasn't satisfied with the overall 'feel' of these mixes and with co-producer Don Piper out of the country, he turned to Dave McNair at Hull Mastering. McNair remixed and mastered the album in it's entirety and handed Paul the completed project in April 2008. There was still plenty of time to prepare for a Fall 2008 release to coincide with the upcoming election - only Paul had been dealt an ugly hand. While the record was being mixed and mastered he unexpectedly lost his day job and remained unemployed for the next nine months. No income meant no record release and no live shows as there was no money to pay the band. So Paul tucked the masters under his bed, began writing songs for another record and started producing Randi Russo's forthcoming full-length.
As the months passed, Paul struggled with the idea of throwing the whole project away or leaving it hidden under his bed as the 'lost' Oxygen Ponies record. Then in early December 2008 he listened to it again, in it's entirety and decided it was still a great record and deserved a wider audience regardless of whether he was employed or could afford to have the whole band perform it with him or not.
Harmony Handgrenade will be released on Hidden Target Recordings on May 19th, 2009 and is essentially about a man leaving his country for the first time and then returning home disenchanted with his government and the way things are. Where The Oxygen Ponies turned everything inward with a 'fuck me' mentaility, H.H. punches outward and becomes a big 'fuck you' to everything thats wrong with corporate America. It's post-apocalyptic without being melodramatic or self-indulgent. Matter of fact, chastened, jaded but hopeful. Just like Megna himself.
Was born out of necessity. It ultimately grew from a failed long-term relationship and the incurable lonelines that ensued, but it's rrots went much deeper, much further back to a lifetime of disappointments and failures. Yet, despite it's origins The Oxygen Ponies remains uplifting. Essentially conceived as a 'break-up record', in retrospect it's more about the struggle for survival and the responsibility of standing behind one's actions.
Recorded in two separate sections in the spring of 2005 and again later that winter, Paul Megna's debut was produced and recorded by Don Piper (A Don Piper Situation) at his 'Between the Trains' studio in Dumbo NYC, in the wee hours and early mornings. "This New Yorker [Megna] has a voice limned with sadness, although not overcome by it, and most definitely not wallowing in it. He gives up a weariness, a weariness worn down by the sadness he carries day to day." (Sixeyes Blog) Every track began very simply with Paul on acoustic guitar and a scratch vocal. All the other instrumentaton was layered in as needed, often times with the guest musicians never having heard the songs until the recording button was engaged. For this very reason Piper and Megna specifically assembled an incredible cast of NYC indie rock all-stars and blended them into a cohesive unit to flesh out the Oxygen Ponies powerful compositions. The line-up included: Steve Salad (King of France) on baritone guitar, David Roland on electric guitar, Konrad Meissner (Graham Parker, Syd Straw, Silos) on drums, Matt Durant (Rana) on piano and Len Small (Jennifer O'Connor, Koester) on bass. Everything else was handled by Piper and Megna.
The project was originally intended to be an a six-track acoustic EP entitled 'ocean', but the boys were so excited with the results of these sessions that they decided to record the second half of the record later that year and make a full-length debut. The 'sky' sessions began that winter with two major differences. Megna wanted the second half of the record to be 'electric' and he also wanted to add a few new songs specifically composed with the previous musicians strengths in mind. The biggest challenge of the 'sky' sessions was the orchestration of the albums closing track 'The Quickest Way to Happiness' a seven minute opus in which Megna wanted to incorporate every instrument used on the entire record and carry the listener forward to a new direction without losing the cohesiveness of the album as whole. "...the fantastic 'The Quickest Way To Happiness' finishes the album. Beautifully arranged, this song, and indeed this album, could become modern classics if given half a chance." (Americana UK)
In the summer of 2006, The Oxygen Ponies critically acclaimed self-released, self-titled debut came out of nowhere to garner favorable reviews in Magnet, Tape Op and Salon.com while landing on three bloggers (on two continents) best albums of 2006 lists with such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Band of Horses, The Decemberists, and Cat Power. All without a publicist and mostly before the Oxygen Ponies even played a live show for the public. "[The Oxygen Ponies] have taken that internet super-stardom and turned it into a singer/songwriter's dream. Folksy pop that belies great lyricism and witty lo-fi song arrangements, make this album one you definitely don't want to miss out on." (Smother.net)
Rife with wistful melodies, melancholy lyrics and carefully woven, inexplicably uplifting aspects The Oxygen Ponies is a 'Blood on the Tracks' for the Blog Generation - blending the honesty of Leonard Cohen, the swagger of John Cale and the intimacy of Elliott Smith into an original soundscape which is as captivating as the story of the artist himself.
