Be there. Have some fun.
P.S. Flyer by Megan Ott. Great, right?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
GLASS AMERICA AT THE MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS!
Be there. Have some fun.
P.S. Flyer by Megan Ott. Great, right?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Drums are Done!
That's right! After just over five days of inhumanly long hours hitting stuff like his life depended on it, Micah has finished all of his tracking for our next album, and it sounds awesome! 
Mike and I loaded up all of the recording equipment and headed up to Rangeley, Maine (way further north than most rational people dare to tread), and set everything up in the sanctuary of Micah’s parents’ church, which graciously let us use their space for the week. The big advantage we had over last time we went to record drums was this space. It was big, and it sounded beautiful. We were able to set up a couple microphones in the pews to catch all of the reverb and ambience, and they make the drums sound way bigger than they ever could on Redivivus.
We recorded a little on Friday, but Micah had to work for the majority of the day, so Mike and I just enjoyed some time on the lake and hanging around reading. It was kind of unreal to be recording where we were. Rangeley is the kind of place that bands pay big money to go and record, just for the natural beauty of the area. We soaked it in on Friday, and with the exception of a couple short breaks, this would be our last time to enjoy it all.
Saturday, we got to work. We started recording at 8:15 a.m., and we finished the day at 10:30. Drum tracking may very well be the most exhausting, stressful, and rewarding part of the recording process. Trying to play with energy and precision to a single sloppy guitar and an ear-splitting metronome for hours on end is something I would not wish on anybody, but Micah toughed it out. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to spend two to four hours recording a two-minute section of music. By the end of Saturday, we had two songs done and a third started.
Sunday was similarly long and productive. Mike went home, and Jared and Josh, a close friend of the band, came up to lend a few extra ears and take turns behind the computer.
Monday was the toughest day, for sure. The absurdly long days of hitting drums as hard and passionately as he could muster started to take its toll on Micah. He was still cranking them out, but this was now interspersed with collapsing on the floor silently for 10-20 minutes every now and then. We took a little break for a nice lunch that day, and stopped for ice cream on the way home. We did little things to ease the tension and to remind ourselves that humor and good feelings were still present in the world. We may or may not have danced at one point or another, and Josh and I allegedly went out into the space where Micah was recording and played air guitar to help Micah feel a more tangible live presence in the recordings. I will neither confirm nor deny.
We finished up Tuesday morning. Micah slammed out a whole song in just about two and a half hours. Then, we took our sweet time packing everything up and listened to music that had nothing to do with our band while we worked. It was a very relaxing, low stress end to an intense six days.
I am very excited about these drums, and about the start of the recording process. We got to experiment a lot this past week with stuff that we didn’t have time or confidence to try last time around—stuff like double tracking, auxiliary percussion, and group drumming. I’m psyched for you all to hear this album. We hope you’ll like it.
Thank you to anybody that's read this or supported us in any way.
Peace in everything,
John
Monday, August 16, 2010
Recording Is Underway
After months of writing, discussing, and demoing, we have finally begun recording for our new album. We chose the sanctuary of Micah's lakeside church in the mountains of Maine to track all the drums. We are currently on Day 5 of recording them. Micah is almost done the 7th song out of 10 with one day to go so hopefully all the drums will be done by tomorrow night. So far, he has logged about 45 hours of recording. Needless to say, he's pretty pooped but we're really excited about his performances and the sounds we're getting from the drums.
Thanks for keeping up with us. We can't wait for you all to hear what we've been working on. I'll let John write a blog once the drums are complete and we head back home and maybe we'll put up some sort of a studio video update.
Jared
Thanks for keeping up with us. We can't wait for you all to hear what we've been working on. I'll let John write a blog once the drums are complete and we head back home and maybe we'll put up some sort of a studio video update.
Jared
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Some Summer Updates
Hey guys!
We finished up school mid-May and all headed to our respective hometowns (from Santa Barbara, California to Rangeley, Maine). Being in different parts of the country makes it pretty difficult to play music together. Before we finished the school year, we demo'd out all 11 songs that will be on our new album. Since then we've been listening to the demos over and over and talking about what we want the album to feel like, ideas for song titles and the album itself, how we want to record etc. The process for this album has been much more deliberate and involved than Redivivus. Having an entire summer to pour over it and pray about it allows us to be more intentional. We're also able to sit on ideas and let them develop. Redivivus came together beautifully but maybe a little too easily because none of us knew we were recording an album at the time. All of the new songs for this album were written with the album in mind rather than the album being molded to fit the songs. These four months listening to the demos and talking about ideas will allow us to have a very good grasp of what we want to accomplish once we head into the studio in August. We're very excited for you to hear what we're working on and we're sorry that we aren't able to play at all this summer. But I think it gives us a good chance to step back and really think through every single song on this record and its purpose.
If you didn't know, we now have physical copies of Redivivus. You can go to glassamerica.bigcartel.com and buy a copy and I will personally ship it to you.
Jared
We finished up school mid-May and all headed to our respective hometowns (from Santa Barbara, California to Rangeley, Maine). Being in different parts of the country makes it pretty difficult to play music together. Before we finished the school year, we demo'd out all 11 songs that will be on our new album. Since then we've been listening to the demos over and over and talking about what we want the album to feel like, ideas for song titles and the album itself, how we want to record etc. The process for this album has been much more deliberate and involved than Redivivus. Having an entire summer to pour over it and pray about it allows us to be more intentional. We're also able to sit on ideas and let them develop. Redivivus came together beautifully but maybe a little too easily because none of us knew we were recording an album at the time. All of the new songs for this album were written with the album in mind rather than the album being molded to fit the songs. These four months listening to the demos and talking about ideas will allow us to have a very good grasp of what we want to accomplish once we head into the studio in August. We're very excited for you to hear what we're working on and we're sorry that we aren't able to play at all this summer. But I think it gives us a good chance to step back and really think through every single song on this record and its purpose.
If you didn't know, we now have physical copies of Redivivus. You can go to glassamerica.bigcartel.com and buy a copy and I will personally ship it to you.
Jared
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
FINALLY!
The physical copies of Redivivus have arrived, and we could not be happier with the final products. Included is new artwork, with photography by our friends David Denison (pedestrianpictures.blogspot.com) and Peter Morse (pfm.viewbook.com). These really do look and sound beautiful.
You can head over to www.glassamerica.bigcartel.com to pick one up for $10 (plus shipping), or grab a t-shirt/CD package deal for $17 and save a couple bucks.
In Peace and Love,
John
You can head over to www.glassamerica.bigcartel.com to pick one up for $10 (plus shipping), or grab a t-shirt/CD package deal for $17 and save a couple bucks.
In Peace and Love,
John
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Finishing Up The Writing Process...
Hello friends!
It's been an exciting couple of days for us. Saturday morning we loaded up our Dodge Caravan
(which Mike has nicknamed Vanna White) and headed up to my house in Southern Maine to work on the new music and see if we could begin to wrap up the writing process for the next album. This was the same basement in which we recorded all of Redivivus, so it was really fun and familiar to set to work on another album there.
We got there around mid-day, played through some familiar songs just to loosen up, then we got cranking on a couple new ideas. Before we knew it, it was 1 in the morning and we had written three new songs, tightened some bolts on all the others, and we were holding all the material for the new album in our hands: 11 songs that we are unbelievably happy with and excited to record and share with you all.
This album will not be Redivivus pt. 2. In the same way that we felt like Redivivus captured perfectly the place we were at a year ago, we hope this album does the same. With Rafaell on board as bassist and Mike moving over to guitar alongside Jared and me, we feel like we've really found our groove for the first time. Both Rafaell's and Mike's creative abilities will feature heavily on the new album, and we are made so much better for them. The writing process has been much more collective than Redivivus was. Unlike on many of the songs on the last record, which were often pretty distinctively "written" by one member of the band, this batch of songs was created largely as a group, with each member playing an important role in leaving their very unique mark on the composition. This is a more mature and more comfortable us.
Musically, this album is everywhere. It is very heavy. It is very melodic. It is very loud. It is very quiet. Certainly, it is darker and less predictable than our previous effort. We're excited. Come out to a show and see for yourself.
Our goal in writing a darker album is not, of course, simply to depress our listeners, however. The album is dark because it must be if it is to reflect the world we see. There are times when light falls on a patch of green grass or glints off of choppy water, but our world is full of so much that we don't know, so much that hurts and that confuses that, where we are and how we see things, we would be lying if we told any other story. We are not sad people, but we exist in a broken world. This album is a study in hope's interaction with despair. It is an attempt to convey the difference between moving "through" and moving "among". There is no door at the other end of the unlit hallway toward which the album walks. Only the memory of moonlit windows along the way.
We expect to begin recording by late August. Please keep checking back here, we'll keep you posted.
Peace and love always,
John and Glass America
P.S. Show at Hugh O'Neil's Pub in Malden, April 29, 10:00 PM
It's been an exciting couple of days for us. Saturday morning we loaded up our Dodge Caravan
(which Mike has nicknamed Vanna White) and headed up to my house in Southern Maine to work on the new music and see if we could begin to wrap up the writing process for the next album. This was the same basement in which we recorded all of Redivivus, so it was really fun and familiar to set to work on another album there.We got there around mid-day, played through some familiar songs just to loosen up, then we got cranking on a couple new ideas. Before we knew it, it was 1 in the morning and we had written three new songs, tightened some bolts on all the others, and we were holding all the material for the new album in our hands: 11 songs that we are unbelievably happy with and excited to record and share with you all.
This album will not be Redivivus pt. 2. In the same way that we felt like Redivivus captured perfectly the place we were at a year ago, we hope this album does the same. With Rafaell on board as bassist and Mike moving over to guitar alongside Jared and me, we feel like we've really found our groove for the first time. Both Rafaell's and Mike's creative abilities will feature heavily on the new album, and we are made so much better for them. The writing process has been much more collective than Redivivus was. Unlike on many of the songs on the last record, which were often pretty distinctively "written" by one member of the band, this batch of songs was created largely as a group, with each member playing an important role in leaving their very unique mark on the composition. This is a more mature and more comfortable us.
Musically, this album is everywhere. It is very heavy. It is very melodic. It is very loud. It is very quiet. Certainly, it is darker and less predictable than our previous effort. We're excited. Come out to a show and see for yourself.
Our goal in writing a darker album is not, of course, simply to depress our listeners, however. The album is dark because it must be if it is to reflect the world we see. There are times when light falls on a patch of green grass or glints off of choppy water, but our world is full of so much that we don't know, so much that hurts and that confuses that, where we are and how we see things, we would be lying if we told any other story. We are not sad people, but we exist in a broken world. This album is a study in hope's interaction with despair. It is an attempt to convey the difference between moving "through" and moving "among". There is no door at the other end of the unlit hallway toward which the album walks. Only the memory of moonlit windows along the way.
We expect to begin recording by late August. Please keep checking back here, we'll keep you posted.
Peace and love always,
John and Glass America
P.S. Show at Hugh O'Neil's Pub in Malden, April 29, 10:00 PM
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
New album, music on tv in Virginia, shows, etc.
Hey guys,
For those of who read this thing, I'm sorry for getting lazy. Lots of stuff has been going on with us and we've been really busy which is always a good thing. But when that happens, the blog writing takes a hit. I don't think I've posted anything since December 09 so I'll start from there.
John got back from Italy mid-December and we've settled into our permanent five-man lineup with three guitarists. Lately, we've been doing a lot of writing. We're very close to finishing the writing process for a new album which we'll begin recording this fall. We hope to have 10-11 songs this time around. We're staying away from the wicked long songs for the most part which is a good change up for us. People keep telling us to put more vocals in so the new record will have much more singing. This album will be pretty different musically from Redivivus as we have been continually discovering who we are musically and what we want to write. The concept of the record is still being nailed down but we're exploring how little we know and how life can be desperate. This album won't be as blatantly hopeful as Redivivus. Rather, God is revealed in the music as the One who sustains us through the sorrow and trials of life. We await His glorious return but until that comes, we must trudge through the hardships of life. It's so easy to say that having faith will solve all your problems and God is marketed that way a lot. But if we're honest with ourselves, life isn't that great a lot of the time even when we have Christ. He never promised to spare us from tribulation. He promised to never leave us or forsake us.
So we're really excited about getting this album done. In March, we were contacted by a video producer in Virginia who asked to use one of our songs, "Gomer (Returning Home)" in a suicide prevention PSA on local TV. So we're really excited about being able to help in such an awesome cause. Check out the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHOVOiL-R4w
We recently put in an order for hard copies of Redivivus so those will be available within the next couple of weeks. You can purchase them online at drivenrecords.bigcartel.com. We're really excited to have another way for you to get your hands on it other than just digitally.
So far this year we've played a couple shows in the Boston area. On March 18 we played at a bar in Cambridge called The Cantab Lounge with our friends in The Vegas Report. It was a fun show and our first one with the whole band there. We had a few friends come out which was awesome.
Then on March 29, we had a show in Worcester at Tammany Hall. Probably the best venue we've played so far. It was a cool bar/hall. We got there and unloaded our stuff and just hung out. My brother drove up from New York with some friends and surprised me so that was pretty sweet. And we had a bunch of friends come from all over the place to see us play which was awesome. I think we ended up getting around 30 people there. We got to hang out and talk with people and then we went on second to last. We played pretty well minus a couple technical issues. During our set I joked and said that our t-shirts were free if you went and took them while we weren't at the merch table. Some guys there didn't know I was kidding so they went over and stole some. Luckily my brother went and took the shirts back haha. It was a really fun show and we'd definitely love to get back there at some point.
This weekend we're going up to hang out at John's house to finish writing and talking about the album as well as play through the whole thing so that should be fun. Thanks for checking in and I'll try to start keeping this thing up to date.
Jared Deame
For those of who read this thing, I'm sorry for getting lazy. Lots of stuff has been going on with us and we've been really busy which is always a good thing. But when that happens, the blog writing takes a hit. I don't think I've posted anything since December 09 so I'll start from there.
John got back from Italy mid-December and we've settled into our permanent five-man lineup with three guitarists. Lately, we've been doing a lot of writing. We're very close to finishing the writing process for a new album which we'll begin recording this fall. We hope to have 10-11 songs this time around. We're staying away from the wicked long songs for the most part which is a good change up for us. People keep telling us to put more vocals in so the new record will have much more singing. This album will be pretty different musically from Redivivus as we have been continually discovering who we are musically and what we want to write. The concept of the record is still being nailed down but we're exploring how little we know and how life can be desperate. This album won't be as blatantly hopeful as Redivivus. Rather, God is revealed in the music as the One who sustains us through the sorrow and trials of life. We await His glorious return but until that comes, we must trudge through the hardships of life. It's so easy to say that having faith will solve all your problems and God is marketed that way a lot. But if we're honest with ourselves, life isn't that great a lot of the time even when we have Christ. He never promised to spare us from tribulation. He promised to never leave us or forsake us.
So we're really excited about getting this album done. In March, we were contacted by a video producer in Virginia who asked to use one of our songs, "Gomer (Returning Home)" in a suicide prevention PSA on local TV. So we're really excited about being able to help in such an awesome cause. Check out the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHOVOiL-R4w
We recently put in an order for hard copies of Redivivus so those will be available within the next couple of weeks. You can purchase them online at drivenrecords.bigcartel.com. We're really excited to have another way for you to get your hands on it other than just digitally.
So far this year we've played a couple shows in the Boston area. On March 18 we played at a bar in Cambridge called The Cantab Lounge with our friends in The Vegas Report. It was a fun show and our first one with the whole band there. We had a few friends come out which was awesome.
Then on March 29, we had a show in Worcester at Tammany Hall. Probably the best venue we've played so far. It was a cool bar/hall. We got there and unloaded our stuff and just hung out. My brother drove up from New York with some friends and surprised me so that was pretty sweet. And we had a bunch of friends come from all over the place to see us play which was awesome. I think we ended up getting around 30 people there. We got to hang out and talk with people and then we went on second to last. We played pretty well minus a couple technical issues. During our set I joked and said that our t-shirts were free if you went and took them while we weren't at the merch table. Some guys there didn't know I was kidding so they went over and stole some. Luckily my brother went and took the shirts back haha. It was a really fun show and we'd definitely love to get back there at some point.
This weekend we're going up to hang out at John's house to finish writing and talking about the album as well as play through the whole thing so that should be fun. Thanks for checking in and I'll try to start keeping this thing up to date.
Jared Deame
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