Current mood: anxious
Hey guys…so I know that it has been way too long since the last post. Reason? Well, I have not had any real exciting news for you. I still don't, but I can at least tell you what I know…and then give you the "hearsay". What I know is this…We have an amazing record finished! We have all the artwork for said record finished! We have a new myspace layout about to drop. (Yes I'm sure, I've seen the proof)! We have new merch! We have some shows booked! (Although still waiting on a tour).
Soooo…. When is the record coming out? I honestly don't know. I've been trying to get answers from the label and management, but unfortunately, the business of setting up a record for release and radio is something I know very little about, and is too complex for them to explain it to me? What I can tell you is that there are people working very hard to put this thing together. The thing that everyone needs to understand, and what I need to understand, is that this is a crazy industry, and is in a constant state of change. Nothing is easy anymore…just as you think you have it figured out, it changes. Anybody who reads "Rolling Stone" knows this because in every issue it seems there is a story on how the music industry is falling apart, record sales are down, blah,blah,blah. They spin it all as doom and gloom, but I see it a bit differently. Yes, the industry as we once new it is no, more…all this means is that you have to do things a bit differently to get them done. Everything is still possible, but it just has to be done a different way. …Unless you are a "Major player" i.e. Nickelback, Gwen Stefani, Akon, or insert American Idol here. Then you can pretty much make up the rules as you go. For up start bands on up start labels, you have to work a lot harder, and jump through a lot more hoops to make it happen, but it will happen trust me.
So what is happening in particular to slow things down for us? Well here comes the "hearsay". I've been told that the distributor (the company that will get our CD in stores) is in a state of "change" or shall we say "merger"…The Company that was once EMI based is merging into Capitol Records. Now this will be a good thing in the end because Capitol is an amazing distributor, but while they are in the process of merging, releases are kind of bit and miss. If you didn't have your record set up and submitted by a certain time, you may be waiting until next year for a release….now don't freak, I'm not sure if that is the case or not for us, but it is a possibility. So if we don't have a release date, then we can't send a single to radio. Why? Because who wants to put a song on radio and try to break it when there is no place to buy it, and not even a date set that it will be available. Then the problem of touring unfolds. Nobody wants a band on a tour that doesn't have a song on the radio, and doesn't even have a clue when they will.
Soooo what do we do. We wait, and try to do things they way we always have…on our own, and with the help of our fans. We are booking shows pretty much by ourselves until things get worked out with a release date. So if anyone wants us to come to their town and play…send us a message, and we can work out the details. We don't need money…just need to break even with expenses. (i.e. gas that is $3 plus a gallon). Also, keep spreading the word. I'm hoping new music will be posted with the new myspace page. Also there have been talks of going ahead and releasing it on itunes, but that is again all "hearsay". Until next time…here are some pics of our last show at W.O. Wrights:
-T
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/smalltownsleeper/Troywillwo.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/smalltownsleeper/derkwo.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/smalltownsleeper/willwo.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/smalltownsleeper/Danntroywo.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/smalltownsleeper/dannwo.jpg
Toledo "Headliner's"
Yep, both of the beer's I'm holding are mine...
Now, it's been a long haul, but I can finally say THE RECORD IS FINISHED! We just spent the last couple of days in NYC. Tues. was mastering with George Marino at Sterling Sound. George is an amazing person with an insane track record. His credits go from The Rolling Stones to Coldplay, and Sterling Sound pretty much is the "go-to" mastering company. If you ever listen to radio, you could probably bet that Sterling Sound has mastered about 90% of what you hear. In fact "Sum 41" were right down the hall mastering their new CD. We bugged Derek (a.k.a Sum 41 singer and Avril Lavigne's husband) for a quick photo with a camera phone.
Hey what can I say, just because we are in a band doesn't mean we can't still be fans…right? Anyway, back to the new record…after hearing the final product, there is only one word that can describe how we all felt…"Proud". This record has taken our entire lives to write, and there was nothing easy about any of it. We laughed, we cried, we gained friends, we lost friends, we watched relationships build and crumble, but in the end it was all worth it. We pushed everyone involved with the making of this record (including ourselves) to the breaking point. We wanted it to be the best thing we have ever done to date, and after hearing the final master…it is.
For those that don't know….
The record is called "Conversations" and the track listing is:
1.Let Me Go
2. Backseat
3.The Part that Walks Away
4.I Have Been Waiting
5.Candy
6.Why
7.Song for the Summer
8.Blue Skies Red
9.Can You Relate Too?
10.It Could be You
11. Telvolli Angels
We had a meeting with the label while we were in town. All there is to know is that we are gathering the troops, and planning our attacked. See you all soon!
-T
