SPOOKY LIGHTS - JAMS ARE TIGHT

Happy Halloween. Stay tuned for more recording updates.

LISTENING DOWN

Finishing up in the studio in the next week or so.. And feeling good.
New songs and our old favourite(s) will be featured on the EP. It's been a long road since our last release. Listening down, we don't have any regrets.

To our fans that have been following our progress.. Thank you and please keep your eyes on this blog. More videos and updates on the EP to follow.

Listening to the early stages of the recordings...

SO ALIVE

EMERSON, LAKE OR PALMER?

A DATE WITH THE NIGHT

some clips from the studio last night .

DROWNING WITH LAND IN SIGHT

Randomly heard Matthew Sweet yesterday for the first time in years. Got me thinking about 'intelligent pop music ' . Dug out this gem from the criminally overlooked
77's and thought I'd post a link to one of my top songs of all time.

Maybe the best 80's song to come out of the 90's.

Band - the 77's
Album - drowning with land in sight
Song - film at 11


Here's the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh3GQY3llsE


RK

ONE DOWN ONE TO GO

Vocals for 'island' . Done .

THE KEYS TO BEING VOCAL

Waiting rooms become familiar

BREAK OUT VIDEO

giving old demos a new life.

before heading into the studio over the past few months we wrote a ton of songs. due to a lack of public appetite for a triple record we had to cut some songs before we went in.

we feel like we chose wisely and that the very best of the best will be on our new record. that being said, we felt like there were some great tunes that just barely missed the cut.

lately we've been working on these 'demo videos' that use a live off the floor or demo version of a song that missed the cut for the record . we wanted to share these songs in some context and this seemed like a cool way to do it.

some of the demos are finished , others are not. some of them have 'scratch' lyrics in certain parts, some of them aren't as tightly arranged as we'd like them to be but these versions capture an immediacy and spark that is evident in the early writing stage .

TEENAGE DREAM

So unless you've been out of it for the past week you've probably heard the stone roses are getting back together.

who gives a shit .

According to Russ this is apparently the best news ever, but he's also a city fan so how much can we trust his judgement ?

While I'm not gonna slag off the roses it's not the massive deal to me that it seems to be to everyone else .

For my money Suede were the best band to come out of the UK in the 90's ( pulp follows a close second ) . I recently dug out 'coming up' and it's still as good as I remembered. I used to come home from high school everyday and listen to this record on repeat.

I named my cat Suede and insisted my family refer to me as 'Bernard'.

More than the roses , blur or oasis , suede were my band.

RK's 90's NME TOP 5

Suede
Pulp
Supergrass
Longpigs
Elastica

I WANNA KNOW WHAT I WANNA KNOW

Check out this blog by our good friend Ryan Kohls. He asks great questions to interesting people .

Recent interviews include Henry Rollins , Andrew Scott , Malice from The Clipse and Steve Albini.

This weeks subject is Dewey Bozella . Worth checking out for sure .

Also , Rocket From The Crypt are awesome . Always will be .

The glass was half full...

Important meetings over a bottle of white that was supposed to be red.

UP NEXT

Synths and vocals up next . check back for more studio updates.

I FEEL I'M ON TOP AGAIN LATELY

russ recording guitars .

ROCKERS AND JOCKS

Rikers pick for the world series.

Anyone wishing to place bets can call the warden.

MENTAL PREPARATIONS, BASS INTENTIONS

Recording bass, another brick...

INDIGO

Russ recording guitars on INDIGO.

LYRIC SCRATCH PAD

I can't sleep
You're in my head
We're just animals
Once we're fed
We keep coming back again

TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

Back in the studio for a few days coming up . Tracking bass and guitars. new stuff is coming together nicely .

pre studio playlist :

Robert Palmer
Twin Shadow
Catherine Wheel

RECORD REVIEW - ALEX

GENTLE GIANT - CIVILIAN

If great records speak for themselves, "Civilian" is probably not a great record, though it definitely has some "great" elements. Gentle Giant was known for their complex arrangements and incorporation of influences that ranged from jazz to baroque and mediaeval music. Released in 1980, "Civilian" straddled the end of the classic rock and prog rock era and the beginning of new wave. Because of this, and their relative lack of prior commercial success, Giant pursued a more direct sound, with simpler arrangements and straightforward vocal hooks. This approach when combined with their inherent "weirdness" led to an awkward blend of synth infused prog and classic rock and roll. Despite its shortcomings both then and now, I keep coming back to this record. You can hear the compromise in the music, as if every song is a conversation between the purists in the band and the guys who wanted to make a commcercial impact before calling it quits (this was Gentle Giant's last record).

The opening track, "Convenience" is driving and fast, with an off kilter arrpegiator throughout and an almost Judas Priest-like guitar riff. "Number One," with its ridulously triumphant major chorus ("I'm number one, and you're still no one,") sounds more like hair rock, but with key and bass lines that sound more classical if anything. "I Am a Camera" is my favourite track, and is most musically symbolic of the crossroads the band must have been at. It's built around a straightforward major two chord rock riff, and most bands would have left it at that. But Giant throws in a minor ascending line that the guitars, keys and bass play in unison which probably would have destroyed any commercial potential given what was popular in 1980.

It's often said that records encapsulate where the band was musically and personally at the time of writing/recording, If that's true, Gentle Giant must have been really fucking confused, and overall I would say that this record is made up of moments rather than songs. But if you're a music junkie, it's definitely worth picking up.

THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

In Toronto tonight ?
Check out our brothers from different mothers BIRTHDAY BOYS at sneaky dees ( Bathurst & college )

Full disclosure : some of us have the same mothers.

RIKERS - MINUTES (DEMO)

TRACKING DRUMS

the waiting is the hardest part.

RECORDING DRUMS

These are drums.

Location:Vespa Studios