Whats new?

After the departure of our original drummer Barry Simon, Blue Cartoon were on hiatus allowing us to work on other projects. That hiatus ended around 2010 with the formation of the Blue Cartoon lineup that recorded our last album, “Are You Getting On?” released in 2013. Not long afterwards, guitarist Terry Carolan left, and another incarnation of BC was formed. That incarnation of the band spent a year writing new material and playing the occasional gig, but members started to gradually leave, and the band evaporated with no fanfare or goodbyes. We just ceased to be. We even let our web domain expire and Blue Cartoon became a ghost. The only remnants of our existence are the digital versions of our 5 albums for Aardvark Records which are still available for download or streaming. 

But now, eleven years later, we announce the arrival of not one but two new albums by Blue Cartoon. Well, three given that one is a double. 

So, what gives?

During the hiatus after “September Songs” I threw myself into writing and recording what I originally thought would be a solo album. While I was confident the songs were some of my best, I was less confident in my ability to deliver a worthy product on my own.  

I approached Dave with the idea of forming a duo which we decided to call The Spandrels. 

We recorded at my home studio, amassing a stockpile of Spandrels tracks and inviting musician friends to augment the recordings with new ideas and extra chops. We didn't have a drummer, so we resorted to drum machines and plugins, which sort of went against the grain of the more organic folk sound we’d originally envisioned. 

With the reformation of the 2010 incarnation of Blue Cartoon, the Spandrels project was put on hold so we could throw our energies into the writing and recording of the rather ambitious “Are You Getting On?”.

After the gradual demise of Blue Cartoon, and after much begging and cajoling, Mike Reynolds agreed to record drums and percussion on the Spandrels tracks. The addition of Mike’s creative and dynamic drum parts skewed the project in a more rock direction. 

After my divorce in 2016, I relocated to California and once again the Spandrels project was disrupted. But over the years Dave and I traded files via the internet: overdubbing, replacing parts and adding more songs until these albums began to take shape. 

It became apparent to us that the resulting music sounded more like Blue Cartoon than what started as The Spandrels, so with permission from the other guys, Dave and I are now Blue Cartoon.

While this is not a full return of Blue Cartoon-the band, it IS the return of Blue Cartoon music. 

We are discussing plans for making more Blue Cartoon music, hopefully with contributions from various BC alumni.  

Hopefully it won't take another 12 years!

In the meantime, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dave for all the hard work and creative energy he has invested in what started as a ‘solo’ record and guiding me to forge this body of work to life. A truer friend and musical partner would be impossible to find. 

Now, let’s get to work on the next one…

Lee Elliott

Temecula CA

December, 2025