Escape Plan Trailer III

Featuring the track Her Name Is Suicide from Escape Plan coming January 2011!

Fixin' The Mixin'

Just got a listen to the Her Name Is Suicide mix and holy shit is it sick. It's nothing like anything we've ever done before nor is like anyone else i can think of. It would be in the vein of Kasabian meets Chemical Brothers. Some serious shit for sure.

We're just making some final tweaks here and there and hopefully this record will finally be done. We're exhusted looking back and just thinking about the entire process up to now. It's been another journey of self discovery and the band is another notch older and wiser...we hope. Still a lot to be done but we are very close now.

In other news, we played a private party to 400+ people last week and it was fabulous. It was another acoustic gig but with Andy on keys and Justin on percussion it felt like we were playing a stadium. However, we have started rehearsing again and we're getting pretty pumped to get out there and start playing these songs the way they are meant to be played.

be back soon

Escape Plan Trailer v2

Escape Plan Trailer

In Studio

Night Time

The Return of James!

Andy and I were blessed to witness one of the best shows of the year at the rather stiff Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto. Making their second visit in as many years (we'll forgive them for the 11 year absence before that) Manchester's James gave us another stellar show. It began with a half acoustic version of Sit Down as Tim and Larry entered the theatre from the back of the room, drawing our attention away from the empty stage, only to hear the band break in half way through as Tim and Larry joined the rest of James on a now full stage.

The night overflowed with highlights including a sic version of Jam J from the Wah Wah album. That one totally caught me off guard. The only disappointment was the exclusion of anything from the Millionaires album (my personal favorite) which i quickly pointed out to Tim Booth in a chat we had after the show.

During said conversation with Mr. Booth, I asked him what the deal is with Downstairs (an amazing b-side from the Millionaires sessions). To my surprise, he had no idea what song i was speaking of. He apologized softly but was simply stumped even after i sang a snippet of the chorus for him. Much to his credit, the rest of the band also seemed a little hazy on the song, though Saul Davies gave a rather colourful description of those sessions, which may explain why the song has faded into a self-imposed haze. It's too bad really because Downstairs is probably the most rockin' song the band ever recorded.

Credit to old Jizzoey (aka Andy) for working the after party. Great job mate.

Antisocial Disorder is Global!

Antisocial Disorder has just gone global. It is now officially available in all iTunes stores around the globe. Since Me Against The World appeared in Degrassi this season, we got a lot of requests for the song from fans of the show in the U.S.. Unfortunately, the album was only available in the Canadian store. However, that problem has be rectified and we are now available anywhere in the world.

So tell your friends and your enemies. We don't discriminate.

Listen Up!

Here's a short list of discs we're enjoying this year:

A Brief History Of Love – The Big Pink
Hello Hurricane - Switchfoot
The Problem With Angels - Filter
Dark is The Way, Light Is A Place - Anberlin
This Is War – 30 Seconds To Mars
The Night Before - James
Foot Of The Mountain - A-ha
Waking Up - OneRepublic

Here are some old ones we've been enjoying as well:

Disintegration - The Cure
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Amused To Death - Roger Waters
Modern Adventures In Recording – The Buggles
The Golden Age of Wireless – Thomas Dolby

War Child Busking For Change 2010

It's been a while since we performed live so it felt really good to do so on Tuesday for War Child's 3rd annual Busking For Change. There's such an incredible feeling associated with War Child, the artists and the wonderful volunteers who donate their time. For one day it feels like the world is a little smaller. Everyone who stops to listen, clap and drop a few coins in the bucket truly do make a difference, whether they realize it or not. So, thank you to you all.

As for Shawn, Andy and myself, it felt good just to play some songs and get the rust off. As you know, we've been in the studio for over 5 months now and playing live is such a different beast. We're ready to start playing again...

please donate whenever and whatever you can @ http://www.warchild.ca/

In The Mix!

So we're finally at the mixing stage. It seemed like we'd never get here, but it's all up to Matt now. It's in his hands while we wait like kids for the arrival of Santa. At this point we're kinda in a semi-permanent 'hold-your-breath' mode; anxiously playing out all the possibilites as to how these songs will sound in their final state. Obviously we have a clear vision in mind, as we've had since the first session; but in the recording process, things evolve as you move along and so what you end up with is not often the same as what you started with.

We hope to have something this weekend to share with you...fingers crossed.

One Last Time?

I hate to even say it because that means it won't come true, but it appears we'll need just one last session before we can start mixing this record??? Shawn and I were in on Saturday spitting out some harmonies. We figure we'll need just one more session to finish off all the necessary bits before we start mixing. Of course, mixing is when the real fun begins but it too takes a little time.

We're so pumped about this record, it's been a long arduous process but we know the results will justify the distress. Sometimes I think we're the second coming of The Cure with our exasperating recording process and fragile psyches. But hey, it's all part of being in a band and loving what you do, right? Fuck yeh!

and so it continues...

What The F**K???

Ok, so we know already that we don't do things the easy way. Such is life in TAE world. As Shawn so painfully puts it, making an album for us is a musical root canal. But, somehow it's joyously painful! Matt's been away on assignment somewhere, not exactly sure where, but once he returns this week, we will finally get this disc done! PISS!!

Just spent the evening with our manager going over the details for the album's release. Fun stuff talking about how to make us a household name. We just want people to hear our music and play as much as possible really. However, we've been getting tons of mail for Me Against the World since it appeared on Degrassi (view here). It Rocks! You can also watch an unofficial video here.

be back soon...

Almost There!

So we're getting very close to finishing this disc. We're just putting the final pieces together so we're looking at an August release for Escape Plan. Matt's been building some amazing loops and believe me this record is going to sound sick!

This isn't the same TAE you heard on Antisocial Disorder.

be back soon...

Bit by Bit

Chippin’ away bit by bit. As is our tendency, we’re behind schedule. Things happen, distractions occur; life goes on outside the walls of the music house. We’re getting there though. There is light at the end of the tunnel…hopefully, it’s not a train!

Did the vocals for Changing on Monday, which I think went pretty well. Neither Shawn nor I can figure out exactly how to produce this track, but we’re confident that Matt is going to make it all come together.

I only have to track the vocal for Honeymoon and then I will be done all the leads. Matt and I will work on the harmonies next week. Jay still has some bass parts to finish leaving only the electronics to complete. Still a lot of work ahead but we have a definitive deadline of July 19…which we hope is real time and not TAE time.

and so it continues...

Much of Nothing

Too much!
Too much everything
Too much everything everywhere
So easily distracted
Distracted by a voice
Distracted by a view
Dis-tracked by the wind
Distracted by a thought
Thinking too much
Thinking about nothing much
Still thinking
Shut off the lights
Shut off the thoughts
Shut out the world
Shoot out my brains
The drip of a melting sun
Oozing onto the cement
Concrete abstractions
‘Cemental’ illusions
Ghosts from the future
Living in the past
Here and now
Here and how
Hear it now
Do the Gods know everything?
Do they know everything I know?
Do they have secrets?
Who would they tell?
Who would listen anyway?
We’re too busy doing too much of nothing.

Gone Fishing....

So Matt's trying to land the big one! He's off fishing somewhere in the lost woods of Saskatchewan, which means we have a little time this week to take care of some other important things like the album cover and a photo shoot. Our brother in arms Andy L did us the honour of snapping some pics for the album. He is also the man behind all the shots you see here on the blog.

After much consideration, we’ve unanimously decided on an image for the cover, now we just need to see how much it’s going to cost us to use it. There’s always a catch…but it’s never a fish.

So upon Matt’s return we’ll be back in the studio finishing up vocals and then it will be time to mix. We can’t begin to tell you just how jacked we are to start mixing this thing. I’m sure it’s going to be almost as thrilling as losing our virginity…and for some of us, even more so! It’s been a complicated journey over the course of the past year + and the completion of this record will be an exorcism of epic proportions.

and so it continues….

Lighting In A Bottle...My Ass!

Further proof that it is indeed impossible to catch lightning in a bottle, twice! Last night was a hit and miss experiement. Captured a great vocal for My First Robot, which was a relief because we had done some serious tweeking to this song. However, I was not so lucky with The Lost Art of Breathing.

Remember back during pre-pro, when we said this song was the thorn in our side? So, like an ugly cold-sore, just when you think it's gone up pops another one. Everything is there, the groove is kick-ass and the guitar bits are sic, but together, it's just not meshing. There's still a lot to add, with keys and loops, but something seems wrong in the chorus? I think my performance was solid, but I didn't like the style in which I delivered it. So we're going to come back to it later in the week and approach it from a different angle.

In the meantime, i'm looking for rabbits again, hopefully not dead ones!

and so it continues....

Let The Head Games Begin

You might think that it would be very exciting for a singer to finally get in front of the mike and lay down vocals. Well, it is. Conversely, there's also a great amount of anxiety that comes along with it. The importance of a great vocal can’t be overstated, so obviously there’s a certain amount pressure involved. It isn’t about confidence or ability; it’s almost a sense of duty. Everyone does their parts, laying down some amazing tracks; the vibe of the song is there, and now it’s all about breathing, it’s about delivery, phrasing, passion, power, intensity, emotion. People have to feel it, they want to feel it. So you better damn well hope the singer is feeling it.

Last Night I was feeling it. It took a few passes; it always does before I get in the zone, but once I locked in, it felt incredible. Pumped out vocal tracks for Night Time and Screams of the City before calling it a day. Back in tonight hoping to pick up where we left off and recapture the magic.

*Special thanks to Yoko for the inspiration.

A Dead Set of Headphones

Dead in my tracks
A priest in the high
Standing by a tree
Underneath a satellite
Underneath a dying sun
In-between a dead set of headphones
Can’t hear the air
Can’t feel my face
Can’t believe I waited for this
The surface is in the distance
Like a window on a high-rise
Like a cloud beneath the sea
I’m a tidal wave of emptiness
I’m a fish in a tree
Too good to be true
Just too lost to find you
Wheels on pavement
Nails on a chalkboard
Voices echo like fading bouquets
Howling scissors in a pop can
Drifting to the bottom of the top
Snapping fingers play foreign melodies
This music is making me sleepy
Doors to places unknown
Spread thin across a vast page
Blank stare from a reflection
What does the mirror say?
What does the reflection suggest?
Why can’t I get your voice out of my head?
How do I make such a mess?
I'm hearing your voice through a dead set of headphones.

NYC and Back

Spent 3 short days in NYC. Took in a lot, walked a lot, saw a lot, drank a bit and saw A-ha! Couldn't have had a better time. Probably pop down for another visit once the record is done and before the summer escapes us.

A-ha was incredible. First tour of North America in 25 years and sadly their last. We saw the last of 3 shows in NYC but the Toronto show was even better. Check out the intro to the show here .

Back in the studio this week to finish off the bass. Vocals next. Can't wait for you to hear it when it's done.

and so it continues...

A Quick Update

Hey, just a quick update to say things are moving along nicely. Shawn and I are headed to NYC for the weekend while Matt is on a well deserved vacation. Jay will no doubt be entertaining friends while pacing the confines of his cage. We'll all be back at it early next week. Jay has some bass parts to finish and then I will get started on the vocals, with keys and programming to follow. We're still on target to have everything done and mixed by the end of May.

We just got word that Me Against The World will be featured in an upcoming episode of Degrassi - The Next Generation. It will be airing on Much Music July 26. Meanwhile, our latest video The Honeymoon Is Over will be featured for the next three months at the Shanghai Expo.

and so it continues...

Tone Is Everything

A studio can have the nicest console, a great isolation room and a slick, bowl-cut salesman to tell you how great his studio is. It means fuck all in the grand scheme of things because it comes down to that magic word, Tone.

I wrapped up most of the guitars over a 48 hour period, which meant sleeping at the studio. The collaborative effort and chemistry between Matt and I has been exceptional to say the least. We seem to click on every level and almost read each others thoughts when it comes to the melodic landscape of these songs.

Some moments that really stuck out for me were The Lost Art Of Breathing and Promise (which I'm especially excited about). I haven't really gotten to the clean guitars yet, but Promise is a song I'm particulary proud of and I will be doing other parts, including acoustic guitars, after we re-amp and change the set up. We got 5 different amps with a few different cabs and about a million mics to cover all the dynamics (TONE!..)

and so it continues.....

Happy Accidents to You All!

Often it’s the happy accidents that make a song really interesting and last night we were treated to a few of those accidents. Reggie (aka Shawn) has been tracking guitars for the past few days and things are sounding amazing!! I get so inspired when I hear him lay down his guitar tracks. The thing is with Reg, he has it all locked up inside his head and we don’t ever get to hear his sound-scape until he gets into the studio. It’s the same sort of thing when hearing the songs fully produced when several months earlier they were born from the humble strings of an acoustic guitar. It’s overwhelming sometimes because they are bigger and better than I had ever envisioned. The great thing is is that we all get so motivated by each other’s ability and creativity.

For example, when Reggie changed his approach for The Lost of Breathing it gave the song the spark it had been missing; causing Matt to play a wicked groove on the kit, which in turn, caused Georgie (Jay) to tap out a sick bass line. Breathing has truly been the problem child of the bunch over the past several months, but with each passing session it’s becoming the most interesting track on the album.

and so it continues………….

So finally I got in to the studio to start tracking. We've been in purgatory waiting for the drums to be tracked and edited but let me tell you it was well worth the wait. I did however show up late like usual but at least I didn't get lost! First song we did was Does Change Mean I'm Changing and God spoke to my fingers and created a groove that will get ya moving! To my amazement, it only took 3 takes (pretty sure i'm awesome now). It sounds incredible and somehow this once show opener has transformed into a great album track.

After a shit load of talking, which had nothing to do with the album and more to do with how amazing Matt and I are (haha) we eventually worked on My First Robot (f.k.a. Idiot's Guide To Genuis f.k.a. 4th Floor Pull-out), followed by Matt and I mutually stroking each others egos and talking about how shitty the music industry is. This song has come such a long way from its origins, I'm pretty sure we almost dumped it but now its a HIT! After completely forgetting the bridge we got on track and nailed this one in only a few takes as well and even came up with a couple extra bass lines to really help complement the drums. Unfortunately we had to stop there as it was getting late and we ran out of cocoa butter so we decided to call it a night.

Jay

The Big Pink

Checked out the U.K.'s latest buzz band The Big Pink this week at the Mod club in Toronto.

I've been really digging their album A Brief History of Love for the past couple of weeks so I was very curious to see what kind of show they'd deliver. Gotta say it was more than I had hoped for. Very intense and dynamic. Something about the Brits and their knack for melody that always draws me in. It's all about creating a mood and not sacrificing the essential melody of a song. Great show, great record - check them out.

New York based A Place To Bury Strangers opened the show and i gotta say i was a little disappointed. I had heard a few things about this trio and to their credit they are an intense outfit. However, the sonic assault that left me nearly deaf is unjustified. It doesn't help that by the third song you feel you've pretty much seen their entire show, and you're only left with 30 more minutes of that same thing. It's nothing we haven't seen/heard before, but there is something strangely intriguing. I'll keep my eyes and half deaf ears open to see what direction they go in next.

Phase 1: Complete!

So that’s it for pre-pro, with the arrangements locked down Phase 1 is now complete. We left the studio last night feeling really confident about the way the songs have come together. Matt’s been huge in helping us get these songs in shape just by keeping things simple and really focusing on the meat of the song. It’s easy to get caught up in the “artistic” side of an idea or ride an idea for so long it starts to get weighed down. Screams Of The City is a great example of that. We felt that of all the songs Screams needed the least amount of work, but we trimmed a lot of fat off it last night and it’s a much better song because of it.

However, Night Time didn’t change at all and I really thought that it might be a severe victim of the knife. I don’t know why I felt it needed something a little extra, or different, because every time we play that song it feels so right…as it did again last night.

Before last night we hadn’t touched Her Name Is Suicide since the day we first demoed it back in the summer, so it’s been marinating in apathy for about 9 months. Nonetheless, I think we uncovered a buried treasure. In fact, I will even say I think it's going to be the coolest track on the album.

So next week Matt is going lay down the drum tracks and then we’ll start adding all of the succulent bits swiftly…though by nature swiftly is not how we do things; sadly, a distinguishing trait of all things TAE.

…as they say, keep calm and carry on!

Stepping Out

Shawn and I stepped out for a short acoustic set on Friday night. It was cool to play a handful of songs that aren't quite TAE material, but good in a different way. It got us out of our comfort zone enough to stretch the chops. With that said, it wasn't the tightest set we've played, but it was more about being in the moment than being perfect.

We really enjoyed playing The Lost Art Of Breathing. Since we've been having trouble with it in the studio it was nice just to bring it back to where it started in it's acoustic form.

Some of the new ones like The Arms Of Judas, Somewhere/Someday and Escape Plan, which were played for the first time ever, were also quite enjoyable. These songs are a little outside the normal TAE world, but hopefully one day we'll find a place for them. Promise and Me Against The World are always fun to play and seem to be fail-safe so it's always a pleasure having them in the set.

Despite the shitty weather, a good time was had by all. Special thanks to Reid @ Feather's for the invite.

Day 2 ~ The Magician Waves His Wand

Good News! Jay found the studio with little or no unexpected detours.

Perhaps it was magic or maybe just the red bull, but day 2 seemed to find us a little more focused and in the zone. As a result, a miraculous breakthrough for Breathing appeared out of the thin stale air that circulates the room. Still a lot of work to go with this song, but at least the fetus exists.

Hey, how do you like your coffee?....CRISP!! After a short break and some chocolate bars the most exciting part of the day was a new twist on Promise. Matt believed this song to be more of a ballad, but we just didn't feel sold on that concept, so we compromised. After a simple suggestion of a Stewart Copeland type rhythm Promise emerged in an inspiring new form...can't wait to hear this song when it's done!

Back at it in a couple days. We still have a few songs to strip naked and expose in harsh lighting...much like Jay does every practice for some reason??

Day 1

For the record, Jay could get lost in a circle (point A to B works much better when you don't take D).

Despite his bizarre driving ability we finally managed to find the studio and start pre-production.

Most of the night was spent on arrangements for Idiot's Guide To Genius (a.k.a. 4th Floor) and Does Change Mean I'm Changing?. I think we discovered some breakthrough moments for both of those songs. Matt's laidback approach to producing is a real asset. His demeanour in general hits an immediate comfort zone which allows us to relax and get the positive vibes bouncing about the room.

Oddly though, we can't seem to find a way to make 'Changing' stand out. All the elements are there and for such a simple progression, the song has a challenging nature to it. It's odd structure doesn't allow it to be as simple as it is. However, we've got the basic structure nailed down so we're confident the rest will come together in the production stages.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for The Lost Art Of Breathing. Written with a specific groove in mind, which we have been able to achieve from time to time, the problem seems to have shifted to the guitar track. Shawn's come up with some great stuff, but unable to make it fit. The second half of the chorus needs some tweeking as well. If we didn't feel so strongly that there's something really special in 'Breathing' somewhere, we'd abandon it completely. However, we'll likely drown in sweat trying to guide this ship to shore. It seems a bit ironic that a song all about pulling back and taking a deep breath is the one song we seem to really struggle with...?

Time will tell...back at it tomorrow.

4 - 3 - 2 - 1.............

So perhaps our biggest and most important decision has been made. We've chosen Matt Von Wagner to produce the new record. We feel really good with our decision as Matt is a kick ass dude and a 'blow your mind' musician. He's done most if not all of the USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) stuff among others, and his own band Alpha Galates is just sick!
The direction of the new material is much different from anything we've done in the past as we aim to bring some rather unusual worlds together. Think Filter meets very early Duran Duran. Toss in some Kasabian, a little Vast and maybe The Music and I think that's one tasty cocktail my friends.
Of course, things change as you start to progress and the songs often begin to take on a life of their own. New elements rise to the surface and then the experimental games begin. We suspect Matt is going to open a few trick bags and we'll all start rubbing our hands like twisted evil scientists. Ooh, it's going to fun.
We don't have an album title yet, but here are the working titles for the songs we've selected:
Does Change Mean I'm Changing?
Promise
Idiot's Guide To Genius
Night Time
Screams Of The City (I Feel Loved)
The Lost Art Of Breathing
Her Name Is Suicide

Preproduction begins next week and then the next 2 months will be non stop.
We'll be blogging after every session so we can share the process and progress with you.

be back soon....