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Some tidbits from the band..
I got a chance to talk about a couple album-related things with the guys last night in Scottsdale. I'll post my review in that show's thread when I get the chance, but I wanted to pass on some relevant information and a couple teases. So here ya go.
- First of all, the band is well aware that the album leaked, and of course reactions are mixed. It's inevitable, so it's not like it represents an unexpected twist or anything, and they're happy that people seem to be enjoying it. But this record more than any other record they have released is designed to be listened to in full quality and taken in context with the artwork, and I urge everyone to pick this up even if they have some complaints or don't dig it - a listen through of the real thing on a set of headphones will reveal the textures of this album.
- A video was recorded the other day for "I Don't Know" and apparently is more of an art/scenic video than a performance video, as opposed to "Information" which is mostly just performance like "Bug Eyes" was. The video for "I Don't Know" supposedly features some pretty cool visual effects.
- To confirm what's been mentioned in bits and pieces, there are no b-sides from these recording sessions, at least in terms of completed songs recorded in the studio that didn't make it. Songs like "Wondrous Miracle," "Push Away," etc. were started on when recording began, but organically just sort of fell away, got swallowed into other songs, or simply didn't get finished. What happens to these bits and pieces remains to be seen - the band may choose to finish them on the road or in a studio and release them as b-sides in the future, or use them for new material which they hope to be working on soon anyway, or they may just disappear like "On Again, Off Again" did. The possibility was mentioned of releasing a demo or two they did for this record as a b-side, though, so "Holding a Remedy Potion" junkies have something to hold on to I suppose.
- I'm not going to give anything away, but people who get the vinyl are going to experience this album in a very unique way which will add another level interpretation to the context and flow of the record.
- Something I didn't know is that the band had this record mastered by the same guy that did "Leitmotif" 10 years ago. dredg spent a remarkable amount of time working on the levels and soundscapes of this record. Mark spoke to me a lot about how they intentionally made sure that the sound wasn't "squashed," compressed into a radio-focused recording. They meticulously focused on minute details like the sound of a tunnel echo, the warmth of the strings, etc. If you're hearing what sounds like basic album production, chances are you're not listening to a good quality recording (a copy of which doesn't yet exist on the net I don't think). Just a little example to capture what I'm talking about is something Drew texted to me almost a year ago today that showed up on the record. I had asked him something to the effect of "What are you doing?" and he responded "Adding a shit-ton of reverb to the word 'falling' on 'Gathering Pebbles.'" You'll notice if you're paying attention that it remains there - one of my personal favorite moments on the album.
- The concept is of course explored a lot more in the album art, and I'm beginning to think that we're going to be discovering details in history books, science books and religious texts in the next few months that resonate with the record.
- A Treasure Hunt is coming, and it's going to be pretty big from what I gather. As I've mentioned in the past, it will span across 18 cities (18 tracks... hmmm...) and will be starting pretty soon. So stick around.
- The band is putting together a Fall tour (I opined to Drew about how badly we need Oceansize over here and he said he'd look into it.. let's hope that our collective dream comes true and they end up touring with the guys in a few months, though I'm sure that's as likely as me joining the band as a bongo player). He told me they expected to be back through in a few months, which I'm sure means the rest of the country will get a chance to see them too.
- Guys, I'm just going to stress this one more time. This is the most pivotal moment in this band's career to date. This is the record they've always wanted to make, and they're all extremely happy with it. It captures what they wanted to produce and showcases their interest in both experimentation and more straightforward writing. This band has made everything from soundtracks to electronic jingles to progressive rock to instrumental music and straightfoward, radio friendly alternative, and every step of it was intentional. Put bluntly, this record needs to do well. We need to support them in whatever ways we can - buy the record if you can. If you can't, and I understand that times are tough and money is tight, then burn the cd for your friends and family, get people to come to the shows with you, pimp them on your favorite social networking site, whatever. Just find a way to support the art that supports you.
- And finally.... the biggest announcement.... dredg is going to be playing a festival overseas with Limp Bizkit. Fantastic. Not a big announcement and not really even great, but I thought it was funny enough to mention.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so if I remember more I'll edit and add.
- First of all, the band is well aware that the album leaked, and of course reactions are mixed. It's inevitable, so it's not like it represents an unexpected twist or anything, and they're happy that people seem to be enjoying it. But this record more than any other record they have released is designed to be listened to in full quality and taken in context with the artwork, and I urge everyone to pick this up even if they have some complaints or don't dig it - a listen through of the real thing on a set of headphones will reveal the textures of this album.
- A video was recorded the other day for "I Don't Know" and apparently is more of an art/scenic video than a performance video, as opposed to "Information" which is mostly just performance like "Bug Eyes" was. The video for "I Don't Know" supposedly features some pretty cool visual effects.
- To confirm what's been mentioned in bits and pieces, there are no b-sides from these recording sessions, at least in terms of completed songs recorded in the studio that didn't make it. Songs like "Wondrous Miracle," "Push Away," etc. were started on when recording began, but organically just sort of fell away, got swallowed into other songs, or simply didn't get finished. What happens to these bits and pieces remains to be seen - the band may choose to finish them on the road or in a studio and release them as b-sides in the future, or use them for new material which they hope to be working on soon anyway, or they may just disappear like "On Again, Off Again" did. The possibility was mentioned of releasing a demo or two they did for this record as a b-side, though, so "Holding a Remedy Potion" junkies have something to hold on to I suppose.
- I'm not going to give anything away, but people who get the vinyl are going to experience this album in a very unique way which will add another level interpretation to the context and flow of the record.
- Something I didn't know is that the band had this record mastered by the same guy that did "Leitmotif" 10 years ago. dredg spent a remarkable amount of time working on the levels and soundscapes of this record. Mark spoke to me a lot about how they intentionally made sure that the sound wasn't "squashed," compressed into a radio-focused recording. They meticulously focused on minute details like the sound of a tunnel echo, the warmth of the strings, etc. If you're hearing what sounds like basic album production, chances are you're not listening to a good quality recording (a copy of which doesn't yet exist on the net I don't think). Just a little example to capture what I'm talking about is something Drew texted to me almost a year ago today that showed up on the record. I had asked him something to the effect of "What are you doing?" and he responded "Adding a shit-ton of reverb to the word 'falling' on 'Gathering Pebbles.'" You'll notice if you're paying attention that it remains there - one of my personal favorite moments on the album.
- The concept is of course explored a lot more in the album art, and I'm beginning to think that we're going to be discovering details in history books, science books and religious texts in the next few months that resonate with the record.
- A Treasure Hunt is coming, and it's going to be pretty big from what I gather. As I've mentioned in the past, it will span across 18 cities (18 tracks... hmmm...) and will be starting pretty soon. So stick around.
- The band is putting together a Fall tour (I opined to Drew about how badly we need Oceansize over here and he said he'd look into it.. let's hope that our collective dream comes true and they end up touring with the guys in a few months, though I'm sure that's as likely as me joining the band as a bongo player). He told me they expected to be back through in a few months, which I'm sure means the rest of the country will get a chance to see them too.
- Guys, I'm just going to stress this one more time. This is the most pivotal moment in this band's career to date. This is the record they've always wanted to make, and they're all extremely happy with it. It captures what they wanted to produce and showcases their interest in both experimentation and more straightforward writing. This band has made everything from soundtracks to electronic jingles to progressive rock to instrumental music and straightfoward, radio friendly alternative, and every step of it was intentional. Put bluntly, this record needs to do well. We need to support them in whatever ways we can - buy the record if you can. If you can't, and I understand that times are tough and money is tight, then burn the cd for your friends and family, get people to come to the shows with you, pimp them on your favorite social networking site, whatever. Just find a way to support the art that supports you.
- And finally.... the biggest announcement.... dredg is going to be playing a festival overseas with Limp Bizkit. Fantastic. Not a big announcement and not really even great, but I thought it was funny enough to mention.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so if I remember more I'll edit and add.
Could someone who meet the band in personal tell them that these great songs are deserving a good release, because they are on par with all their other great songs.
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