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.