Hello again. Nothing too interesting to comment on, but I thought I'd give ya'll an update.
But first off, thanks to all who came to the Spot on Sunday evening. We had a large crowd, and we were super happy to get back in the swing of the Spot. After a 'sabbath' of sorts in December to really pray about the future and growth of the Spot, it was very refreshing to get back into a communal sense of worship and we certainly felt God's prescence with us. What an amazing time of worship. And, hope ya'll enjoyed the new Somers tune (called Ever)!
With this January behind us, we gotta get back on the demo saddle. We've been away from the studio for about 2 weeks because we've been redecorating/remodeling Sunny's basement. Sunny, along with a few helping hands, managed to take out the furnace & duct work, move the hot-water heater, put a window between control room & practice space, as well as paint, sand, & clean up the walls. It's coming along quite nicely. We're hoping to get that all finished up this week so we can get back to demoing. It seems the more time we have to demo, the more songs we keep fleshing out. Of course, we've still got a lot of work ahead of us with unfinished songs. Lyrics, melodies, Reason, and mixing are what's left for about 67.94% of the songs, but I imagine we might be able to whip up a few more tunes before we collect them all and send them in for pre-production. I think we're all pretty excited about the songs thus far, and we really can't wait to hear the songs in their entirety. It'll be relieving to get them all recorded.
As far as producers go, we think we've found a great producer for what we want to accomplish. Without giving too much info away, we think he'll help make our ideas come alive both sonically & creatively. Again, nothing is concrete, but we are seeking God's will and wisdom/guidance to make the right decision. I've probably said too much, but please continue to pray for us as we make plans & schedule the record process. We promise, you won't be dissapointed.
Until then, make sure to schedule in February's Spot event on Feb. 28th, 8pm @ Moncton First Chruch of the Nazarene (21 Fieldcrest Dr. behind Ferguson Knowles Funeral Home). We all know Nazarene's have the most fun...
Thx,
Jamie & the Somers crew.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
A Break from the Demo Process
Last night, we took a break from the demo process to prepare for this month's Spot. After having been in 'new song' mode for so long, I forgot how good & rewarding it is to actually play/practice together. It's been months since 5 of us crammed ourselves in the Studio 54 rehearsal space to practice for something. It felt good... really good.
With our sound-tech wonder-boy, Evan, playing drums and our old friend Tim playing bass, we fleshed out a few tunes to prepare for this month's SPOT (Sunday, Jan. 28th, 8pm @ First Baptist Church, Moncton).
It was relieving to turn off the Mac & Firepod, take off the head-phones, and pop in the in-ears for some live musical experience. Writing new tunes & demo-ing is exciting n' all, but for different reasons. It was good to plug in & play with the boys. Can't wait to go on the road & do it more often. I know the other guys agree.
Cya Sunday night!
Jamie
For Your Meditation:
Psalm 63:1-8
Isaiah 40:28-31
Listening to:
"Belief" - John Mayer
"Everlasting God" - Chris Tomlin
"King and a Kingdom" - Derek Webb
With our sound-tech wonder-boy, Evan, playing drums and our old friend Tim playing bass, we fleshed out a few tunes to prepare for this month's SPOT (Sunday, Jan. 28th, 8pm @ First Baptist Church, Moncton).
It was relieving to turn off the Mac & Firepod, take off the head-phones, and pop in the in-ears for some live musical experience. Writing new tunes & demo-ing is exciting n' all, but for different reasons. It was good to plug in & play with the boys. Can't wait to go on the road & do it more often. I know the other guys agree.
Cya Sunday night!
Jamie
For Your Meditation:
Psalm 63:1-8
Isaiah 40:28-31
Listening to:
"Belief" - John Mayer
"Everlasting God" - Chris Tomlin
"King and a Kingdom" - Derek Webb
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Back in the day...which was a Wednesday...
I (Sunny) used to be a drummer. I started out playing drums, played drums in several bands for over a decade. But let's just say it's been a while. I'm playing all the drums for our demos right now for the sake of convenience, and Evan and I were working on a new tune called "Drums of Justice" last night. Its a song about the connection between worship and ministry to the poor/social justice issues (check out Amos 5/Isaiah 1). Anyway, its a little be more demanding percussionally speaking than some of the other stuff we've done thus far...170 BPM, a switch from 4/4 to 6/8 mid-song with a dropped beat every second bar (6/8, 5/8, 6/8, 5/8, etc). Not a huge challenge for an everyday player I'm sure, but I was getting a little frustrated that my limbs wouldn't do exactly what they were asked anymore. Man, use it or lose it I guess! Oh well, it's down now.
Looking forward to this song being finished, and someday hearing the actual finished product as well. It's a very neato-mosquito groove with some cool noise and ambient stuff going on, but also I'm pretty passionate about the subject matter. I could ramble on for a while about it, but I'll leave that for another post I guess.
Anyhoo, keep yer stick on the ice.
Sunny
"Chaos" - MuteMath
"Eat, Sleep, Repeat" - Copeland
"Crystal Ball" - Keane
Looking forward to this song being finished, and someday hearing the actual finished product as well. It's a very neato-mosquito groove with some cool noise and ambient stuff going on, but also I'm pretty passionate about the subject matter. I could ramble on for a while about it, but I'll leave that for another post I guess.
Anyhoo, keep yer stick on the ice.
Sunny
"Chaos" - MuteMath
"Eat, Sleep, Repeat" - Copeland
"Crystal Ball" - Keane
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Demo vs. Studio
Not much to write about here. Sunny and I continued to track a new song last night. It has potential to be a cool song, but I suspect it would sound better once we get a live sound out of it. It'd be interesting to see what we could turn it into.
Last night, my wife asked me what the difference between the demo & studio processes were. She asked, "Why don't you just record your album in Jeff's basement? What do you need a producer for?". I thought about the question for a moment realzing it was a valid question. But demo-ing & doing real studio work are two different things. The studio, being ultimately the more rewarding of the two, is kinda scary but can open up some really creative space and it's always exciting to hear the end product. A producer knows the difference between a good & great take are. The demo process usually only hears the 'good' takes. The demo process, however, is cool because you get to hear your full songs in their entirety for the first time and with a full-band sound. The demo process can also be kind of a let-down because takes (I'm speaking of my guitar tracks especially) never sound a good as they could be. The studio/producer force you to do your best takes all the time.
But, these are demos; their existence serve as a good base for pre-production. They're a solid stepping-stone to what you imagine to accomplish in the studio with a producer. Songs get changed, skewed, dumped, shortened, etc in the studio. That ebing said, we're not doing too bad at all. I'd say we've got abuot 12-15 new songs that are finished or in teh midst of being finished/recorded.
Anyway... as we continue to search for a studio/producer it makes the demo process seem long & arduous. But at the same time, the longer we demo, the more songs we get to flesh out & tweak to our liking. Our little basement demo studio is working out great for that though we're still on the lookout for a producer. We've been on the phone a few times, but nothing concrete yet. You'll be the first to hear, we promise.
Don't forget to come to the Spot next Sunday night (Jan. 28th, 8pm @ First Baptist, Moncton). Maybe you'll get to hear a new tune... I said, "MAYBE".
Cya there!
Jamie
www.myspace.com/worshipperiod
www.myspace.com/somersonline
Last night, my wife asked me what the difference between the demo & studio processes were. She asked, "Why don't you just record your album in Jeff's basement? What do you need a producer for?". I thought about the question for a moment realzing it was a valid question. But demo-ing & doing real studio work are two different things. The studio, being ultimately the more rewarding of the two, is kinda scary but can open up some really creative space and it's always exciting to hear the end product. A producer knows the difference between a good & great take are. The demo process usually only hears the 'good' takes. The demo process, however, is cool because you get to hear your full songs in their entirety for the first time and with a full-band sound. The demo process can also be kind of a let-down because takes (I'm speaking of my guitar tracks especially) never sound a good as they could be. The studio/producer force you to do your best takes all the time.
But, these are demos; their existence serve as a good base for pre-production. They're a solid stepping-stone to what you imagine to accomplish in the studio with a producer. Songs get changed, skewed, dumped, shortened, etc in the studio. That ebing said, we're not doing too bad at all. I'd say we've got abuot 12-15 new songs that are finished or in teh midst of being finished/recorded.
Anyway... as we continue to search for a studio/producer it makes the demo process seem long & arduous. But at the same time, the longer we demo, the more songs we get to flesh out & tweak to our liking. Our little basement demo studio is working out great for that though we're still on the lookout for a producer. We've been on the phone a few times, but nothing concrete yet. You'll be the first to hear, we promise.
Don't forget to come to the Spot next Sunday night (Jan. 28th, 8pm @ First Baptist, Moncton). Maybe you'll get to hear a new tune... I said, "MAYBE".
Cya there!
Jamie
www.myspace.com/worshipperiod
www.myspace.com/somersonline
We don't look quite right as a trio, do we?
Friday, January 12, 2007
...Of Kings & Rulers
Hey Folks. Jamie here.
We started to track a new demo last night called "...Of Kings and Rulers" which we had actually written a little while ago. It's pretty rad. We revamped a Matt Redman worship tune and liked the riff we used so much that we wanted to use it in our own song. It's actually close to finished (as far as finished goes), though we've gotta lay down vox, bass, some "Reason" goodies, and J has got to throw in his "Warren Haynes" chops in a few places.
We also snapped a few more pics which will be up here pretty soon, we hope. We're still on the lookout for the right producer (which is exciting & frustrating all at the same time), but we're enjoying the pressure of having to get what we need done. Cool dizzle.
And, in case you're not aware (or even care), Sunny's little basement studio gem has been aptly named "Studio 54". His street number is 54, so there's no real hidden agenda behind the name.
Finally, when I post I'll usually throw in a few songs that I've been listening to or some songs that inspire or remind us of one of the new demo tunes. It's always reccomended listening!
Listening to:
"In My Place" - Coldplay
"Fix You" - Coldplay
"Worried Down with the Blues" - Government Mule
"Gifted Response" - Matt Redman
We started to track a new demo last night called "...Of Kings and Rulers" which we had actually written a little while ago. It's pretty rad. We revamped a Matt Redman worship tune and liked the riff we used so much that we wanted to use it in our own song. It's actually close to finished (as far as finished goes), though we've gotta lay down vox, bass, some "Reason" goodies, and J has got to throw in his "Warren Haynes" chops in a few places.
We also snapped a few more pics which will be up here pretty soon, we hope. We're still on the lookout for the right producer (which is exciting & frustrating all at the same time), but we're enjoying the pressure of having to get what we need done. Cool dizzle.
And, in case you're not aware (or even care), Sunny's little basement studio gem has been aptly named "Studio 54". His street number is 54, so there's no real hidden agenda behind the name.
Finally, when I post I'll usually throw in a few songs that I've been listening to or some songs that inspire or remind us of one of the new demo tunes. It's always reccomended listening!
Listening to:
"In My Place" - Coldplay
"Fix You" - Coldplay
"Worried Down with the Blues" - Government Mule
"Gifted Response" - Matt Redman
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
We Ran All Nite
Well, just worked on demoing a new tune tonite. It doesn't have a title or really a concrete melody line or lyrics yet, but we banged out a musical composition anyway. We're calling it "Run" for practicality sake at this point, not sure why, and certainly not sure it'll stay that way. We're pretty happy with how the track is sounding so far, cuz its rock n' roll. Loud guitars and then more loud guitars. Sometimes ya just need to get the rock off yer chest. Plus Jamie gets to unload some of his pent up Shreddy Shredderson moves, which is good, cuz if he doesn't every so often, his head explodes...its gross.
We also took a bunch of pics and a few video clips which will end up on here shortly, I'm sure.
Hopefully we'll be finishing up the tune in its demo form real soon so it can have a complete life, and maybe even a real title. Dream on, dreamers.
Jeff
We also took a bunch of pics and a few video clips which will end up on here shortly, I'm sure.
Hopefully we'll be finishing up the tune in its demo form real soon so it can have a complete life, and maybe even a real title. Dream on, dreamers.
Jeff
Welcome
Hey everybody...or nobody...or somebody...
Its the boys from Somers (formerly Jeff Somers Band) here, and we've created this blog to track our progress in doing a new album. We're very early on in the process, doing some writing and demoing and so on, but we thought it'd be cool to keep a bit of a journal with some info, pics, inside scoops and so on as we go along. Plus once the album is done it will be peachy keen and neat to be able to look back through the proverbial journey. Granted, it may be self-serving in that we may be the only ones reading it or interested, but still...
So if ya like, hang around and we'll be droppin' science periodically. Take 'er easy, lemon squeezy!
- Jeff
Its the boys from Somers (formerly Jeff Somers Band) here, and we've created this blog to track our progress in doing a new album. We're very early on in the process, doing some writing and demoing and so on, but we thought it'd be cool to keep a bit of a journal with some info, pics, inside scoops and so on as we go along. Plus once the album is done it will be peachy keen and neat to be able to look back through the proverbial journey. Granted, it may be self-serving in that we may be the only ones reading it or interested, but still...
So if ya like, hang around and we'll be droppin' science periodically. Take 'er easy, lemon squeezy!
- Jeff
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