X-Oriente

In this episode, Jason and I sit down with Thomas Francis Lane II and Eve Bottano, of the 357s, a Masonic themed-alt-rock band from Northwest Indiana. Jason and I love the sound, which is a mixture of punk, rockabilly, goth, a little New Wave and, as Eve insists, the B-52s. The 357s challenge what a Masonic rock band could and should be: aside from Thomas, all the members of the band are female. But the sound is distinctive and haunting.

Thomas, Jason, Eve and I talked about the band's influences and how Masonry informs Thomas' musical experience. Funny story: Thomas thought we recorded the show in a proper studio, so they made the trip up from Indiana to Skokie. My home studio will barely fit 2 people, let alone 3, so we had a lot of last minute scrambling to relocate all the recording gear to the dining room! Apologies for any dogs barking. I'm glad Eve and Thomas were such good sports about it, and after several tech challenges we were able to get the recording going.

The 357s album drops on September 17th, and will be available through all the usual suspects (iTunes, Google, etc.) as well as on Spotify, Apple Music and the band's website. Both Jason and I urge you to BUY the album though as artists get paid between $0.006 and $0.008 per play, or if you are decimally challenged, it is about one-sixth of a penny. Both Jason and I are big believers in supporting Masonic artists.

The band is having a record release party on September 17th at Porter's Tap in Hammond, IN. if you are in the area, please come out and support the band, it should be a very good time. (Hanging out with Eve is worth the ticket price alone! I'm mean... sorry Thomas, but she rocks the gold spangly dress better than you ever could--but I digress) Tickets are available at Eventbrite. You can hear the band at their website, the357s.com, on Soundcloud, and check out their new video on YouTube.

Thomas tells me the goat references in the video are completely coincidental. Sure, they are, Thomas. Suuuure they are.

The show so good we did it twice! Well in truth we had tech issues last week that prevented us from completing the show, but we fixed them!

In this episode, Jason and Eric count down our top 10 Masonic movies. Now unlike other Masonic movie lists, we wanted to find films that didn't necessarily contain direct Masonic references (like National Treasure), but we wanted to find films that reflected Masonic ideas, themes and values. Special thanks to the guys at Oriental for their recommendations. Special thanks to the guys at Oriental for their recommendations. Also, special thanks to my wife, Fran Diamond, for helping me find the clips.

Our choices:

10. The Matrix

9. The Grand Budapest Hotel

8. A Face In the Crowd

7. The Fountain

6. Spartacus

5. The Seven Samurai

4. Star Wars (Episode 4)

3. Master & Commander

2. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

1. Henry V

Links to all the clips can be found in the show notes at www.xoriente.com.

NOTE: The clips contained in this episode are included and intended for commentary and critique, and represent fair use under generally accepted copyright law. But we're not lawyers.

It is the most powerful object in freemasonry and can either enhance or ruin the harmony of the lodge. But do we really pay attention to the black cube and how it can help or harm the Craft?

Sure, Freemasonry is not a business, but lodges do business. Managing our finances, raising funds, dues...in this episode Jason and Eric have a discussion of various aspects of the finances of a lodge, and some of the problems that lodges face when they neglect the financial side of things.

Jason has a lot on his mind in this episode. He's thinking about advertising and Masonry. Is it necessary? Is it a good idea? What role does marketing and advertising play in attracting men to Freemasonry? We have a discussion. Visit www.xoriente.com for links and references!

By the way, you will notice a break in the numbering. Don't worry, you haven't missed anything. We've got some episodes that we decided not to publish for various reasons. We'll try and bring them back.