Welcome to the secret band info page. Hopefully this should answer any questions you have. If you have any more questions, email us and we’ll straighten things out!
Basic info/setup
The Flophouse Sessions are a pretty laid-back deal. Show up, bang out some tunes, have a couple of beers, eat some cheese.
Time
Show up at the time we gave you – if we said 6, show up at 6. That’s basically the load-in time. Sessions usually take 1-2 hours.
Length
We usually shoot for 6-8 songs, but if you’re hard-up for time, we’ll take 3, or if you’re really on a roll, it’s up to you (as long as it’s not getting too late – we try to finish up by 9pm – and we don’t have another band coming in). I think the record is 13 or 14 songs
Equipment
We have all of the mics, stands, etc, so unless you have some really sweet ribbon mics or something that you really want to use, you don’t have to worry about that.
Drums
The one rule when you’re packing up: no drums. We have a mini (about 3/4-scale) kit that is sort of the signature of the show, and you’ll almost definitely have a lot of fun playing it. The cymbals kind of suck, so if you want to bring along a splash or two, you’re welcome to do it. Here’s the kit in all its glory. Let me reiterate- there is no lens capable of capturing the sheer diminutive cuteness, it’s even smaller than it looks:
Guitars/Basses
As for guitars and basses, feel free to bring your own, or use ours. We have 2 acoustics (vintage Harmony Patrician & acoustic/electric Takamine), and a variety of electrics. Namely, a P.O.S. guitar I found in the trash, a vintage Kay, a vintage UniVox BeatleBass copy, a Fender Strat, a Yamaha RBX5 5-string, a fretless Fender Jazz, and a Carvin 4-string that’s not in the photo. The basses are almost all strung with flatwounds, for the record.
Keyboards
We also have a pretty sweet old (circa ’72) Hammond organ, with the prerequisite 2 dead keys.
Of course, you can bring your own keyboards as well.
Amps
That brings us to amps. We have a Peavey bass amp.
We record bass direct, so this baby does the job. We use a plain-vanilla DOD DI box, so if you have something fancier, by all means, bring it along.
We also have a small Peavy practice amp, which sounds surprisingly decent, but most people bring their own. Just don’t go bringing something that can’t be turned on without making your ears bleed.
When we’re using the Hammond, we run it through a bass/key amp, though we record that direct as well. If you’re not using the Hammond, you’re welcome to use this amp for whatever you need an amp for.
Directions and Contact
We’re at 10 Josephine Ave in Somerville. It’s basically between Davis and Porter Squares, and slightly north.
Here are maps from all the usual sources: Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, MapQuest, MS Live.
Here are our plain English directions…
From Mass Ave:
If coming from Boston, go past Harvard Square and Porter Square. Take a right at the first set of lights after Porter onto Beech St. (If you’re coming from the Arlington area, take a left. It’s the set of lights after the car wash.) At the end of Beech St, stay to the right and go straight across to Willow Ave. The bicycle shop will be on your right. Go through 2 sets of lights (Summer and Highland), and through a stop sign (Morrison). Take a right at the next stop sign (Kidder Ave), and the your first right onto Josphine Ave. We’re #10, which is the 2nd-to-last house on the right. Park anywhere, we have visitor permits.
From Route 93 North (from Cape Cod, South Boston, RI, etc):
After you cross the fanciest part of our gigantic waste of public funds (i.e., the Zakim/Bunker Hill Bridge, which is actually pretty cool), take the next RIGHT exit, to Sullivan Square. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left. Go less than a mile – you’ll go under a railroad bridge and come to a set of lights. Take a right at those lights to get on the O’Brien Highway. As soon as you get on, get all the way to the left and turn left at the first set of lights. If you cross a bridge, you already blew it. Nice job. Call me. That left is Highland Ave. Stay to the left at the split and go about another less-than-a-mile. Turn right on Cedar Street, at the Quik Mart (NOT Central Street at the QF Mart!). You’ll go over some old railroad tracks. Turn left on Morrison Ave. Turn right on Rogers Ave (it’s about the 5th street). At the stop sign, turn left on Kidder, and the left on Josephine. We’re #10, which is the 2nd-to-last house on the right. Park anywhere, we have visitor permits.
From Route 93 South (coming from North Shore, NH, etc.):
Take Exit 31 (Mystic Valley Pkway). On the ramp, get all the way to the right and turn right at the first set of lights. Go straight through the next set of lights. You’ll see a self-storage place. Good. Follow that for about a mile. You’ll go under a railroad bridge. At the next set of lights, turn left onto Boston Ave. Follow that to the next set of lights. Go slight right onto Rogers Ave. Kelly’s Diner should be directly to your right. Pescatore’s will be on your left. At the first intersection, turn right onto Kidder Ave, then left onto Josphine Ave. We’re #10, which is the 2nd-to-last house on the right. Park anywhere, we have visitor permits.
From the MBTA:
Take the Red Line to Davis. Exit via the College Ave exit. At ground level, go out where the buses arrive, and head left. This will take you behind a Brooks Pharmacy and onto the bike path. Follow the bike path until you cross a street. This is Willow Ave. Take a left and then your first right onto Morrison Ave. Then take your first left onto Josephine Ave. We’re #10, 2nd house on the left. I’m sure our dogs will alert us to your presence.
If you get lost, call us at 617-718-0638 and we’ll steer you in the right direction.
Again, any other questions, email us and all shall be right with the world.
