Tunes from the Far Side

Tunes from the Far Side will be an album by the Mike Block Trio that includes 12 original musical compositions, each inspired by a different cartoon by Gary Larson. With a taste of whimsy and a strong sense of humor, this surprisingly sincere album is directly inspired by Gary Larson’s timeless creations of The Far Side.

Mike Block’s vision/dream for the end “product" is for the record label, Bright Shiny Things, to collaborate with publishers of The Far Side, Andrews McMeel, in the printing of a new The Far Side book, that would combine full-page color prints of each of the 12 cartoons below, with notated sheet music of the corresponding musical composition on the opposing page, along with a QR code to listen to the audio while looking at each cartoon. We’d also like to invite Gary Larson to consider creating a new custom cover image for this new “book/album”.

Mike Block Trio

Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.

NOTE: the recordings below are first ROUGH edits, and are not mixed.

additionally, 4 tracks with vocals (Big Red, Sylvia & Rhonda, Mr. Binkley, Something to Add) do not have any of the singing added, yet …

Beverly Hills of the North Pole

Sylvia and Rhonda

The Beguiling Madame D’Gizarde

ALBUM CREDITS:
Mike Block: cello, vocals
Joe Walsh: mandolin, vocals, octave mandolin, guitar
Zachariah Hickman: bass, vocals, tuba, ringmaster speech
Eve Wodarcyk: vocals

Engineer: Dan Cardinal
Producer: Mike Block

Music composed by Mike Block
Arrangements by Mike, Joe, and Zack

12 tracks, 43 minutes