Here at MAGNET, we like to stay on the cutting edge of technology. We have a very modern fax machine gifted to us by Rolling Stone (it transmits pages over the telephone and only takes 18 minutes per page), a state-of-the-art Jitterbug flip phone (with a high-tech urgent-response button that immediately connects us to a friendly agent at the Wilco loft) and Bob Pollard’s old boombox (he finally splurged for one with two tape decks). So it’s no surprise that we have entered the world of NFTs. (Gen Xers, NFT stands for “Non-Fungible Token.” OMG! LOL!)
We teamed up with Tulipomania, one of our favorite Philly bands, to bring you this special performance, NFT style. It’s called, appropriately enough, TULIPOMANIA — live — A Non-Fungible Token.
Tulipomania—vocalist/bassist Tom Murray and keyboardist/vocalist Cheryl Gelover, joined here by guitarist Mitch Smith and drummer Rob Campbell—minted a one-of-a-kind, live-in-the-studio performance featuring five tracks from latest album This Gilded Age. It was recorded pre-pandemic at Horizon Studios by Richard Hartline (who co-produced the set with Tulipomania), with camera assistance by Alec Smith. But the video—the only live recording of tracks from This Gilded Age—wasn’t completed until earlier this year.
According to Murray and Gelover, finishing TULIPOMANIA — live — A Non-Fungible Token ended up being just the inspiration the two of them needed during the past year: “Working as a duo writing and recording new material during the pandemic while putting the finishing touches on this four-piece, live-performance-session archive of five tracks from This Gilded Age has been cathartic. Examining the way we work in retrospect via recorded footage and performances with additional collaborators while starting anew working again as a duo during a period of time when we rarely left home has made us think about how we will perform and work in the future. In the past, we have performed a few times as a duo—but we preferred to rehearse and perform with a drummer and guitarist. In the post-pandemic environment, we will be playing more as a duo and seeing what it feels like to play music designed to be performed as a duo. We plan to once again create a number of animated music videos for our new tracks. Hopefully, 2022 will see us playing live and releasing new tracks and music videos.”
We’re proud to premiere TULIPOMANIA – live – A Non-Fungible Token today at MAGNET. Watch it right here, right now.
TULIPOMANIA – live – A Non-Fungible Token is not for sale. Limited exclusive rights to premiere this NFS NFT were exclusively granted to MAGNET. TULIPOMANIA – live – A Non-Fungible Token remains exclusively owned by Tulipomania. All rights beyond those granted to MAGNET are reserved.
