I have a batch of new songs for Splashdown, but we’re all at different life cycles, trying to get the planets to swing back into alignment. I’ll just keep polishing these ditties until they’re ready.
In the meantime, here are some things that have never been seen. It’s “warts and all,” with production quality ranging from atrocious to non-existent. Hand-held movie cameras and lo-fi VHS transfers weren’t much around the turn of the century!
Some curiosities here, including “If I, If I”, a lost song we should have recorded. Next time!
The 1998 live line-up included Laurel on bass, Joel on drums, and Anthony on percussion.
The 1999 line-up included Jason on drums, and the irrepressible Trevor Shand on guitar & bass, a talented madman in his own right.
In 2000, it was just us and Trev.
Hope you find something interesting in here. They were great times for me.
PLAYLIST
“If I, If I” at the Paradise, 1998
“Don Juan” at the Paradise, 1998
“Over the Wall” at the Paradise, 1998
“Halfworld” at Lee’s Palace, Toronto, 1999
“Ironspy” at TT the Bear’s, 2000
“Mayan Pilot” at TT the Bear’s, 2000
“The Archer” at The Middle East, 1999
“Deserter” at TT the Bear’s, 2000
Adam von Buhler 
I just want to let you know how much I appreciate these recent posts. As someone who was way late to the party (having discovered Splashdown in 2011) it is amazing to be able to experience new releases and older, unreleased songs that up until now existed merely as a sort of mythical creature whose only accounts are buried deep within these comment sections. Getting a notification that there is a new post on your blog and finding out that it contains an actual treasure trove is a feeling I can only compare to checking the mail to find a letter explaining that you have been accepted into the university of your dreams, or, as a young child, finding out that you have gotten the dates wrong and that Christmas is today rather than tomorrow.
“Metamorphosis” was an incredibly refreshing song. In my opinion it is noticeably different and new – beautifully showcasing how far you have come as artists – while still being true to the sound of your older songs. Along with “Nomadic” it has been on repeat for the past few months. I cannot wait to hear what else you have in store for us.
I know that mere words of gratitude do not put food on the table, but it needs to be said how much what you are doing means to me. And I am confident I speak for a lot of your long-time fans when I say this.
I wish you the best, Adam, with your health and all of your endeavors. Until the next post.
What a kind and lovely message.
Ever since I heard Karma Slave I’ve always thought you guys were something special. I was 13 when I first heard that song and I was devastated to learn that I had made my discovery two years too late. But it didn’t stop me from scowering the internet for anything of yours I could find. I’ve tried to keep up with everyone’s individual projects the best I can. You all were part of the soundtrack of my teen years and I’ll never stop feeling that Splashdown deserved to be bigger than it got. At 35 now I still tell as many people about your music as I can. You’re one of my most favorite bands of all time, like in the top 2. Metamorphosis was grand and hearing a more polished Nomadic was one of the highlights of my year. I didn’t think I’d get to hear something new. Once again, thank you for posting these. Thank you for having made something truly wonderful, and all the well wishes in the world.
Comments like these mean the world to me. Thank you.
Funny story about Karma Slave: we recorded it in a studio in LA that looked down into the backyard of a religious cult. One day, I was looking out the window, and saw hundreds of people pouring out of their building into their parking lot, all gathering around a person in the center who held up a gigantic book. As he turned the pages of the book, we could see from many floors up that the pages were empty. Everybody stood there in silence, looking at the book, and then after a while, they all went back inside. The whole thing was absolutely silent from start to finish. To this day, I wonder what it means!
I’m just glad I got the chance to say it. And that’s wild! It’s true that inspiration really does come from the strangest of places.
I don’t think I was much more than ten years old when a friend gave me a collection of dubiously sourced low bit-rate music on a thumb drive. Sorted alphabetically, Blueshift was high on the list and one of the first things that both got listened to in its entirety, and on repeat for what I can only over-exaggerate as an incalculable amount of time. (Likely a few weeks.) My music exposure predating that thumb drive was almost exclusively my parent’s vinyl collection, the likes of which contained things like The Beatles, Supertramp, Bread, and Alan Parson’s Project. All artists I have grown to appreciate more over the years, but to say Blueshift was a departure from what I knew is an understatement. – It is without a doubt the album that has had the greatest and farthest reaching impact on my taste over the years, and I appreciate it with all of I have become. Blueshift still gets listened to regularly. Just on speakers that do it justice. 🙂
Seventeen-ish years later, to now have Nomadic and Metamorphosis… I do not have the words to express my appreciation. Late 2023 brought a rather abrupt shift to my life, and it has been a lonely journey of personal change. So, once again, your music had a rather personal impact on me.
I truly wish you the best with your health.
Thank you.
(I’m not sure how posting comments works here, and I’ve been fighting WordPress over login info, so I apologise if this ends up a duplicate post.)
Thank you for sharing this. I can relate to this kind of story. I’ll tell you mine: I grew up in Florida, and when I was around 11, I would sit by the radio with my cassette recorder, hoping to catch something interesting on the radio. In Florida at that time, it was nothing but the Eagles, Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and disco. I had a very small sense of the musical universe. (Still love quality disco though.)
On Sunday nights, sometimes they’d relax the playlist rules and slip something random in. That’s when I heard a full-blast message from another star system, received through my interstellar radio telescope. It was “Me! I Disconnect From You,” by Tubeway Army. It was so orthogonal, Gary Numan’s affect so alien, and the lyrics were like a sci-fi novel (“Please don’t turn me off / I don’t know what I’m doing outside”). I was hypnotized. This was before the 80’s, when synths came to rule the land. Even now, whenever I hear that opening synth line, I feel that sense of future possibility. That’s where it started for me.
Thanks for triggering the memory! I am so motivated to make more noise.