Here’s the ORIGINAL SONG:

Nice, right?

[audio:Just_Like_Anyone.mp3]

Between working on our original material, we decided to record a version of the Aimee Mann song, “Just Like Anyone,” a short and beautiful piece in tribute to Jeff Buckley. If you’ve listened to our music, it’s easy to hear Jeff’s influence. Aimee, without question, is another one of our musical ideals. “Just Like Anyone” is what came of these two beautiful minds intersecting, and for that reason holds a special significance to us.

Aimee Mann on “Just Like Anyone”

“This is a song I wrote when Jeff Buckley died…

I hadn’t known Jeff extremely well, but we kept bumping into each other here and there. One night we met for a drink at a pub in NYC, and started writing messages to each other on a paper place mat that was there, instead of talking, because the music in the bar was really loud or something. An interesting effect of that was that we found ourselves writing things that we would never would dare to say to each other out loud. I remember thinking that he seemed to be sort of lost and sad although he outwardly was very funny and lively and confident, and wrote something about that, among another things.

I didn’t talk to him for a long time after that-I went to England to live for a while and we talked once or twice and then nothing for over a year. Then one night I got a voice mail message from him that said, “I just realized what you were trying to tell me that night”. I tried to call him back but the number I had for him was old, and then I got his new number but I was out of town again and it was difficult to call, and then I heard that he was missing, and presumed dead.”

[audio:Violet_Hill.mp3]

There’s a good chance I’m more into the production than the actual song. So be it. Brian Eno is the man. The mix is complex and well layered, giving particular attention to the rich, crunchy guitar tones. All together, it’s a great combination of diverse textures featuring a low and gentle synth, Chris Martin’s roomy vocals, deep drums, and a meticulously blended acoustic piano.

As for craftsmanship, the song is good–for Coldplay. I’ve never been a huge fan of their work, but I dig that they’ve put something together that appeals to my sensibility. The melodies are nice, but nothing too ground-breaking. My least favorite part of the whole song is the obligatory 8-bar riff section that comes in at 2:18. For lack of a better example, it reminds me of the riff from that Franz Ferdinand song that went huge. I’m too lazy to look it up AND I really don’t care. In any case, it’s unoriginal. Points off.

The ending, however, is super solid. They introduce a brand new melody, kill everything but piano and vocals–like some kind of breakdown or bridge–and then tie the new melody back into the refrain seamlessly to close things up. It’s really cool, really classy, and above all else: original.

Unrelated to the music, it’s noteworthy that the band is actually giving this track away all week to anyone with an email address. Furthermore, they’ve announced they they’ll be playing free shows in New York, London, and now Barcelona. Not bad.

Tomorrow night (4/26) at 10pm, the band is playing at The Bitter End on Bleecker and Thompson.

Our latest song, “The Man You Made,” is polished up and sounding great. There’s an acoustic version up on our myspace if you want to take a sneak peek.

Hope to see you there!

Ten years in the making, the song is about my first broken heart and how that experience shaped me at such a naive and impressionable point in my early development. The concept has been hanging around up there for a bit, but I was finally able to focus it into words… that rhyme… with each other.

Here’s a quick and dirty recording of it from an acoustic gig at Rohrs Coffee House

[audio:The_Man_You_Made.mp3]

If you like it, stay posted to our MySpace for the next few months. There are rumblings of getting together with our favorite engineer, Jeff Berner of Galuminum Foil, to do a studio recording. Holla!

Hey, Everyone!

We’re playing again. Here’s the info:

Saturday, December 29th @ 10pm The Bitter End
147 Bleecker St. (bet. Thompson and LaGuardia)
Subway Map

For anyone who hasn’t been there, The Bitter End is a cozy little venue that sees some of the best music in the city. It’s an honor for us to play there, no less on a Saturday night. This will be a really great pre-New Years night to relax, hang out, grab some beers, and rock out with/to/at/on The Nine.

If you’re going to be in town, I’d really love to see you there. I’ll send another reminder closer to the show, but don’t forget to save the date–December 29th.

Click to listen while you read on.

[audio:Enemy.mp3]

We debuted it at The Continental club in December of 2005, and like most all of our first-time-evers it was miserable. With some polish it became, and remains, one of my personal favorites.

Lyrically, it was my first attempt at a faster rhythmic pattern but I think it came out all right. I remember channeling Joey Eppard to capture the vibe we were feeling. In spite of the unfamiliar speed I’d committed to, the foundation of lyrics poured out in only a two or three short sessions. Most likely because of the song’s autobiographical nature.

The song is about blame. When life unfolds in ways you don’t expect or want it to, it’s a lot easier to point the finger at your parents, your girlfriend, money, work, or whatever fits, than it is to suck it up and take responsibility. Sure, there are barriers, and luck, and factors, but at the end of the day, you’re driving. “Enemy” is my personal recognition of this difficult but empowering frame of mind.

The first verse is full of thoughtless blame and finger pointing. It’s not until the interlude before second verse that I step back and change perspective to recognize the real problem. The rest of the song is a sensationalized conversation with myself where I point to the short-comings of a second-person “you” standing in to represent the lazy, entitled, and selfish things I catch myself doing to distance myself from the responsibility of my failures. It escalates to the resolution that you have to fight like a sumbitch to get what you want from life, and essentially, from yourself. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, just my take on it.

The best part is that it opens the album. When removed from it’s autobiographical context and applied to the band, the song’s message of strength, perseverance, and responsibility takes on an even greater significance. It says that we stand by our music and we are willing to do whatever it takes to see it succeed in spite of anything. To borrow a line from the chorus, don’t slow me down.

Chester - last night went super duper awesome, I had a lot of fun - It’s gonna sound rad all plugged in.

As promised I’m passing on some music. These are some of my favs. — I should say that this started out as just a bunch of links, and then it got… more… involved.. Though I do own cats (plural) (just 2) I’m not a crazy person. Cross my heart. The email below is just a combination of a slow morning, guilt from not doing this months ago when I said I would, and a guy who really loves the music he loves.

Ira’s Mix - This is a KILLER Beach Boys mix made by a kid I knew from Skidmore. I don’t know what “Beach Boys” connotes for you guys, but this is some really cool complex, and occasionally a little dark music from the band and their various solo projects. Sorry about the nameless tracks. I’m normally totally OCD w/ that stuff, but I like to think of it as part of its charm.

Deadwing by Porcupine Tree - My favorite album of 2006. They are kind of like a edgier modernized Floyd. It’s that “Nu-Prog” stuff I was talking about at Walter’s. The album is an interesting mix of accessible shorter tracks (Lazarus, Halo, Open Car) and longer more epic ones (Deadwing, Arriving Somewhere, Mellotron Scratch, Start of Something Beautiful). If you aren’t into this one, I’d like to try some of their other stuff from them on you. If you are, I’d like to try some of their other stuff on you.

Been to the Future by Joey Eppard - My bandmates all grew up together were all in a band before I started playing with them. They went to play some “Battle of the Bands” and were doing OK compared to the competition until this guy came on. As he was the only signed act that night it was kinda BS that he was there in the first place, but he’s the man - and at the end of the day it was for the best. Really cool acoustic guitar work, poppy with thoughtful lyrics, great voice, great songs. It’s one of the records I keep coming back to every two weeks or so. Good shit.

Faith Hope Love by King’s X - These guys rule. Heavy heavy airtight rock trio with an AWESOME front man, and beatles-esque harmonies. They’ve been around since the 80s and are credited with pioneering grunge (pre-seattle) as well as drop-D tuning. Crazy huh? They’ve earned a lot a lot a lot of respect from fellow musicians, but (not for lack of trying) never really struck popular appeal. They’re next album is going to be called “Go Tell Somebody” — this is kinda my stab at that.

Carnival by Moke - A relatively obscure, but extremely awesome English band from the 90s. This is the second of their two albums. It’s a little more creative production-wise, but they are both amazing. These guys make the music that lives in my head: heavy, beautiful, edgy, and inspired. Easily in my all-time top 5 bands ever. Easily.

Musicology by Prince - Just in case you don’t have it already. Prince is the man. This maybe his best work ever. I’m listening to it right… now.

Seal Acoustic - Seal? Really?? Seal? This is the second disc of a Greatest Hits album he release a few years ago. It’s a handful of his best work, totally stripped. No harmonies, no synths, no nuthin. It’s one of the prettiest albums in my collection, and the quality of the production is immaculate. (Excellent for hangovers)

The Light by Spock’s Beard - Sick 90s-Early 00s relatively poppy progressive rock band. This is a really nice album. There’s a lot going on. The first track is a little more theatrical than most of their other stuff, but don’t let that turn you off. They’ve got some very technical and well crafted instrumental sections that, to me, are kinda reminiscent of Phish’s structured, synced up, instrumentals. Chester, let me know if you hear it too. The lead singer/mastermind (Neal Mose) has since found Jesus, and consistently pumps out remarkable solo projects… about Jesus.

Suzan Kingdom by The Suzan - I just kinda tossed this in there. It’s pretty much as obscure as I get. These guys played right before us at a show, Charlie I think you were there but i don’t know if you caught them — it was the only time I’ve bought another band’s CD at a show, and I’m happy I did. Straight up rock and roll brought to you by four little Japanese girls. It was just awesome. The craziest part is, they flew all the way over from Japan to play some of the shittiest clubs in New York. We were literally in a basement that maxed at 90 people, underneath two other venues.

Bottoms of Barrels by Tilly and The Wall - This was my ‘honorable mention’ for 2006 album of the year. (I am so delusional) I don’t really know what to call them… I guess Indy works. They are relatively popular on that scene, you may know them already. I fucking love these guys. Their most unique characteristic is that they have a tap dancer who performs with them as a percussive instrument. The album has this great energy to it, that kinda comes form the whole “stomping and clapping” thing they have going on. Combined with their thoughtful lyrics, it makes for a unique and remarkable album.

Soul Vaccination by Tower of Power - An absolutely perfect live recording of arguably the tightest soul band to ever throw down. This one speaks for itself.

Blackfield II by Blackfield - This is the most recent release from a side project by Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Israeli pop star Aviv Geffen. For what it’s worth, this is Amanda’s favorite band ever. Though I prefer Porcupine Tree, these guys are extraordinary. The album is amazingly seamless and cohesive, which is most likely be a consequence of the short 40-minute runtime. If you get into it, I’ll be happy to give you their first release. Also great.

Distorted Lullabies by Ours - Last, but certainly not least, this is their debut release from early ’00s; Jimmy Gnecco’s vocals, reminiscent of Jeff Buckley and early (as in good) U2, soar over the entire album. The songwriting and performances satisfy everything I look for in musical greatness. The band earned a decent degree of critical acclaim when their song “Sometimes” reached the top of MTV2 charts. Since then they’ve laid very low, hired new backing musicians, and have been recording an album almost 4 years in the making — really looking forward to that one. I’ve seen them live twice now, and it was nothing short of phenomenal.

OK OK OK - that’s it. Sorry for all this self-indulgent ridiculousness. It’s a lot to take in at once. Please, don’t feel pressured to listen to all of it and get back to me ASAP, but obviously, I’d love to know what you think.

LATERS,

LM.

Yeah, so that’s me in an email.

I’ve broken all the links to the since moving it from a private to a public medium, but if any of my manic descriptions piqued your to curiosity, leave a comment or send me an email and we’ll go from there…