Vol. 8: Congratulations to Jon and the Omahens

As a proud Hufflepuff, it is hardly surprising that I was drawn to a band named Sue and the Hufflepuffs. Jon Omahen, who is Sue and the Hufflepuffs, created the band as a tribute to Sue Upton of the Pottercast Fab Four. Sue is like to the queen of Hufflepuff in our Muggletastic world and is a suitable individual to create a band for, in my opinion. Jon, in keeping with the general acceptance that helps characterize Hufflepuffs, did not settle to simply create this band as such, but seeks to include as many people as possible by singing in multiple languages including English, German, and Afrikaans. He currently has his first album, Horcri Latte, on backorder and started writing songs for his next full-length album, Elegy, quite a while ago.

In June of 2007, I was privileged to witness Jon’s first ever live performance at the West Coast Wrock Fest in Anaheim, California. Attending the event with Jon was his girlfriend of the time, Kelly. I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that Kelly can no longer claim Jon as her boyfriend. The good news (or should I say great news?) is that as of 12 July 2008, Jon and Kelly have had the wonderful ability to call each other husband and wife, respectively. In announcing his marriage to his fans, Jon wrote, “While not everyone believes in the concept of marriage, and I respect that, I cannot deny I believe wholeheartedly in the incomparable joy and depth that unconditional love brings.” With sentiments like that, how could anyone doubt the wisdom of such a match? From what I have seen, the ceremony was absolutely stunning, but nothing could outshine the beauty of the bride or the obvious love between Jon and Kelly. Jon has made a link to his online wedding album available through his blog, the Badger Brief.

Following the wedding, Jon and Kelly went on their honeymoon to the ever-amazing Scotland, so it’s no wonder that it has been a while since we’ve heard much from Sue and the Hufflepuffs. Now that Jon has finally rejoined the real world, he has updated us on his life and his upcoming album. Elegy has been in the works for some time now, but Jon is determined to make this album as incredible as possible. After having time to work solely on the project, he discovered that there were “so many amazing ways to work with it that the album work has become much, much larger than I ever anticipated. I have new appreciation for the amount of time that goes into a full-length album.”

At present, Jon positively refuses to give too many details about Elegy, shrouding the album in mystery. He will not provide a release date due to past experiences with delays, nor will he provide a set number of tracks. “Instead, I want to ensure that the finished pieces will work with my overall vision of the album-to-be,” Jon wrote in the 23 September edition of the Badger Brief.

Jon’s vision for his second album is for it to be something similar to his first in the sense of it not necessarily focusing on the books but on the fandom as well. “Right now, Elegy needs to be what it sounds like: an intro- and retrospective on the closing-out of the literary portion of the beloved Harry Potter… That’s not to mean there won’t be anything fun or light hearted in the album! I don’t want to create a dirge for my second work, but a little something in-between.” I, for one, am curious to discover what kinds of events in the fandom make it onto the album. In the past year, there have been some very interesting things happening from Wizard Rock events to the conventions to JKR v. RDR. Which, if any, of these will become songs?

I am totally excited to find out the answer to that question, but can’t be sure of how long it will be until I know. To make the wait even more excruciating, in his latest Badger Brief, Jon mentioned that “there will be 15 slots this time for pre-orders, and there may or may not be a special gift for you. I don’t want to tease any more for fear I might give too much away.” As I said… an excruciating wait! But, having listened to the song “The Veil” from Elegy, I can’t help but just give in and wait, checking constantly to make sure I can be among the first 15 pre-orders.

Well, as I wait anxiously for further word from Jon, I am satisfying my Wizard Rock needs by attending the Wrock show organized by the Swedish HP Alliance Chapter, The Advance Guard. In fact, an update featuring interviews with some of the performing Wizard Rockers and how the show went will appear within another week or so. So in the meantime, I’d love to hear from any of you about fun Wrock events, new bands, or anything else!

‘Til next time,
Dinah Saur