I came up with the band name and the album title.
Pretty much everything else was the brainchild of composer/keyboardist/producer, Sam Lee and vocalist/lyricist, Heather Williams. I also provide the hammy emcee vocals on track 4, “No Guns Allowed.” Of course, Sam is the real wizard behind this. It was his idea to put together this kind of project and he’s the one who damn near worked himself to death, hoisting this thing over two years of obstacles and drama like Fitzcarraldo and that damned boat.
Sam and his violinist, Johnny Benson are ones to watch. Both of them almost certainly have a future scoring video games and movies (which, I believe, they are working on under the not-quite-top-secret name of Manatap).
If you want to look and hear without committing precious drive space, there’s always the lovely MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/theclockworkdolls
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Here is the band performing their most accessible (and undeniably FIREFLY-influenced) song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBJQVkf8LkI
That clip gets a lot more watchable after that moment when the camera seems to swing for the rafters.
And here is a slightly more awkward video in which I join the band on stage and blow my cues all over the place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5hOCb9IUzk
Enjoy!
But forget those videos and enjoy the album. It’s a credit to the blood sweat and tears of the maestro behind it that it all somehow came together.
Here’s a little bit of background on what the concept is:
Sam, Heather and Johnny have essentially crafted a garage band musical and it really, really works. I’d have been genuinely stunned if you musical fans in the audience didn’t appreciate this.
The last two tracks are lovely, aren’t they?
Here’s a little bit of background for you:
–”Clockwork Maid” tells the story of Allison Curval, the clockwork automoton who is charged with raising a wild young, noble girl and making a lady out of her (which, as you can hear, doesn’t really go well). I think the song starts one year before her wedding and ends on the night before. That’s where the song really gets you.
At the end, Allison sings Helene to sleep and is left alone with Helene’s dress which she dances with and sings to in the moonlight coming in through the bedroom window.
This was originally the first song on the album, but I suggested to Sam that it wouldn’t have been a very commercial move given how theatrical it is.
Chronologically, “Clockwork Maid” gives way to “Maiden Voyage.” Helene and Allison make a break for it on her wedding day and she commandeers an air ship called the Serenity, er, I mean The Dame de Fere. 
From “Maiden Voyage” to “Impartial” we are introduced to some of the crew (hence the title, “Dramatis Personae”).
“A Safe Rest” which shares the track with “Clockwork Maid” (and acts as a hidden track) is a flashforward to the end of the story in which Helene, having been forced to kill Allison (trust us, it’s necessary) and sings her to sleep.
And that, I argued, is why it should’ve been moved to the end since it’s a mirror reflection of “Clockwork Maid.” Besides, most of the album is about the air ship and the crew. The Helene/Allison stuff is really just a preview of what the second album will be about.
As for what comes after that? Heh, heh, heh. All I have to say is, “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!! THE CABARET D’INFERNALE PROUDLY PRESENTS . . .
“. . . YOUR FAVORITE HOSTESS AND MINE, THE MADAME OF THE DAMNED, AAAAANNNNNNNNNE FERNALE!!”
It’s going to be The Clockwork Dolls doing our version of “Cabaret” starring Anne Fernale and the gravelly voiced gentleman thug, Harry Mandall Barker.
We’re going to be looking for choreographers for that one (hint, hint).
It’s showtime, folks!
–tom
P.S.: Oh, and for goodness sake, YES!! Share it!! Leak it, burn it, link it, rip it!!
Get it out there! We only have 100 copies of the cd now. Hopefully, it will be up on iTunes before too long, but now now, it’s FREE!! Well, the download is free. The cd will cost you 10 bones.
–tom k.
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