Hello there! For those of you concerned with audio fidelity (myspace just wont cut it!), ive hosted a slightly better quality mp3 of the Christmas song here:

http://www.brackcantrell.com/woodburningstove.mp3


enjoy!

-brack

Well the time is finally here: the new CD has been mastered and is finally being pressed as we speak.

I'm proud to present to all of you what has been my labor of love for the past 8 or 9 months









I've been through many personal changes in the midst of writing and recording this project and I feel it reflects them pretty well. I hope it finds a spot in all of your hearts!

Expect it to hit iTunes within the next couple weeks, then hard copies by the first weekend in December. A CD release show/party will be soon to follow.

As far as live the live shows and the possibility of tour goes - I'm currently searching for new friends and musicians to start playing with. Hopefully this upcoming summer will be a good time to see many of your beautiful, foreign faces!!

- Brack

(oh yes, and this art was put together by mr cory sever. go check it his work, it will change your life.)

...on october 20th. Alan Douches. NYC. So stoked.

-brack

hello everybody! i am finally all settled in my new place where i have been recording like nutso in preparation for the new album, as well as working on others CD's and songs (The Lings and Jeremy Ashida to name a few). i thought it would be an appropriate time for a picture update, as well as a song from the new album. its the only one that im pretty certain is complete. its actually an alternate version of the original recording which will also be on the cd and was recorded in an empty room when i was moving out of my old house. recently ive been obsessed with the use of room sounds and space in my recordings, so when i heard this place i just had to take advantage of it: all tile and no furniture + 1 room mic = one vibey sound. i hope you enjoy. heres what the room looked like while i was tracking:






pretty eerie, eh?


since ive upgraded all my gear, a huge concern of mine has been keeping all of the songs and recording very honest. you wont find auto tune on this cd. and thank jesus - you wont find programmed drums any more either! i feel like my writing has made a huge stylistic shift since ive switched to mainly organic sounds and instruments now. ive made sure every song i write is perfectly within my musical capabilities of playing. if it wasn't, id be lying to you.


so, onto the new place.

its an old 1930's bungalo style house with original hardwood floors that sound just lovely. the drums really punch! the whole place actually rests above a six foot crawl space, so you can hear every floorboard move and resonate with the instruments (much more pleasant sounding than you would think).

here are a few pictures of the tracking and mixing rooms:








so just about a month more of audible adventuring and i will have a brand new cd ready for print. i hope you all are as excited as i am for it!


on a completely unrelated note, my good friend steven enlightened me to a fascinating universal paradox; a real mind bender -

buttered toast always lands butter side down and cats always land on their feet. what happens if you strap a piece of toast, butter side up, to the back of a cat and drop him?

blackhole? wormhole? time and space continuums mashed up into an incredible spinning vortex of death? please discuss.




-brack

sorry for the lack of updates, im not online as much anymore. but i have been spending much more time with my music, and ive been writing and playing more than i have been in a long time.

i should be completing a brand new CD this summer, and when it comes close to being done i will start posting more songs.

so please dont forget about me! im very much looking forward to releasing something new and fresh, and i hope you all will enjoy it.

ill do my best to get some picture updates on here when the recording process really gets going!

-brack

www.purevolume.com/balanceproblemsxmas

i was driving down the highway over lake lewisville today when i saw a humble juniper tree on the side of the road. it was short, stubby, and not a tree that would normally grab your attention, but in the middle of the night someone had extravagantly decorated it for the holidays; there were huge red and green ornaments, yards of tinsel, streamers, and even candy canes! a carefully placed star perched on top, defying the wind and cold, glinting in the sunlight like some sort of traffic signaling device. caught up in the excitement, I reached for the radio and dialed in Dallas' holiday AM station. my heart thawed immediately, and i was reminded of how Christmas made me feel when i was just a few years younger.

i applaud who ever did this - you know who you are! your fervor and sentiment brings joy to the countless commuters, lonely truck drivers, and weary travelers of Interstate 35. this sort of thing is exactly what we need to see more of around Christmas time.

let's make a change this year. don't let consumerism take hold of you! go back to your roots - back to the board games and cups of hot cocoa, knit sweaters and popcorn strings. give thoughtful gifts, not the latest plasma-screened, solar-powered, text messaging electronic gadget. instead sing a carol, write a letter, help your mother with the dishes. prepare the turkey (or tofurkey if you are vegan), hug your grandmother, or save a puppy from the streets.

in honor of holiday spirit, I'll be posting several (four maybe?) Christmas songs for all to hear, download, and hopefully enjoy.

remember whats important to you this year, let's make Christmas special again!

-brack

back (and revised) by popular demand...

24 inch iMac with 2.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo + 2 GB memory
Digi 003 Rack Factory Bundle with Pro Tools LE 7.4 + some fun plugins
Reason 3.5
Focusrite ISA 428 4-channel tube pre w/ Digital Conversion expansion card.
A Designs Pacifica stereo preamp
Altec 1592B Vintage mono preamp/mixer
KRK Rockit powered 5 Monitors

Mics: ST77 large diaphragm condenser, Audio Technica 3035, SM57, Audix i5, SM58.

Guitars: Fender American Telecaster, American Strat (custom shop), Taylor 414 CE, Gibson Standard, Orpheus Valley "Sofia" Classical Acoustic, Goldtone Banjo, Fender Precision Bass

Amps: Orange Rockerverb 50 watt, Fender HotRod DeVille

and a humble gathering of outsiders, including: a lovely green melodica, an orange glockenspiel, a kidsplay bell set, shakers, ankle bells, sleigh bells, kazoos, and pretty much any other elementary school band toy/instrument you could imagine.

come jam with me.

(old stuff was recorded on a much simpler setup. new cd this summer will be recorded on this stuff. raise your sonic expectations!)

-brack

hello there everyone! as promised, i have released my new digital EP "separate chapters" onto iTunes and many other online music retailers today. all i can say is sorry it took me so long to finally get it out. ive been extremely busy with school, learning to use my new recording equipment, and super smash brothers. it shouldn't be long until its up online for purchase (it will probably be up on amazon before itunes. itunes may take a few weeks.) i hope you enjoy it very much! expect some of the new songs to be up on my page for your previewing-pleasure very soon.



Tracklist:

1. Obstacles
2. Papaver
3. A Ring Around the Moon
4. Adjust Your Eyes
5. Garden Song
6. Turner Falls

(ps, this is a digital only EP! i will not have hard copies made. sorry if this is an inconvenience to anyone.)



-brack

can be hard to find.

we have tried and tried to tour with so many bands this summer and every one of them dropped. we tried having several people book us a tour and/or some shows out of state. none pulled through. it seems a streak of bad luck has hit us as far as shows go, so i regret that we probably wont be heading out this summer unless we can hop on something. BUT, there is some good news:

lately we have all been plugging away in the studio writing and recording so there should be a new balance problems EP out within a month or two, as well as the long anticipated "the patient and i" (lewis' project) EP (which sounds great by the way). not to mention a few surprises we've been working on with friends.

moving to denton and going to school turned out to be a pretty good choice for me, ive met a lot of great people and have had tons of inspiration and cool experiences to learn from and write about. i think the newer stuff is turning out a lot more how i pictured balance problems going from the start and im pretty proud of it. hopefully everyone will enjoy it as much as i do.

ill probably have some new songs up here pretty soon. thanks for sticking by me and listening attentively.

-brack

Morning Sun review by Sophia Shah

A parallel exists between waking up in the morning and defining the day that has risen, but a paradox rests in every experience. Embedded in ten tracks, Brack Cantrell's new album, Morning Sun, traces the highs and lows of the seasons that filter into days, hours and minutes.

Balance Problems isn't treading foreign grounds. Morning Sun brings back the memorable ambience and tranquility, but stirs up a new air of diversity. The album sketches the past and future into a work of art, coated with contradictions. The canvas illustrates the comfortable and awkward silences, and the second chances and imperfect romances.

"A Hard Look at the Facts" blends the shady truth and white lies into a gray void. The track is almost ethereal, with a fragile sound of apologies and blame, and a mix of paradox and parallels. The sounds resonate from a composed rhythm that intertwines a soft and down-to-earth atmosphere.

The album parallels the human spirit in the echoes of guest vocals and melodic instruments. In "Iowa" and "Drive, Sleep, Repeat," Balance Problems suggests that a home doesn't have to be permanent. The highways, the turnpikes and the road signs are a comfort that is just as therapeutic.

Like the Texas weather, Balance Problems suspends the tone from the morning everglow to the brisk daybreak. Morning Sun's unique serenity and consuming choruses are like listening to music in reverse. You feel backwards when you doubt your intentions, your motive, and your decisions while you're in pleasant places with familiar faces, or driving down an unknown road. "The Bo Tree" is a fusion of the cheers that mirrors being tired, but content, with having the Beat generation and the infinite streets to look forward to.

Balance Problems modestly embodies the essence of simply being alive, even if you're living in unfavorable conditions. Morning Sun ends with a hint of hope that maybe that morning parallel will happen each time you wake up to the sound of a new day, offering a new start and a change of heart.

__________________________________

High Voltage Magazine interview:


You know, in the first few seconds of listening, Brack Cantrell has it. Whatever "it" may mean to you, know it's something big. After stints in Texas hardcore outfit Sky Eats Airplane, and later moving on to a lighter genre as guitarist for Pop/Electro fueled PlayRadioPlay!.All the while working on his current solo works under the moniker
Balance Problems, this singer/songwriter has a long career ahead of him. He has been hard at work at the forthcoming full length Morning Sun to be released March 12th.

You can also get you hands on There's Life In The Trees via his website: brackcantrell.com

Both works are available on iTunes.

High Voltage Mag: What was you first musical memory? How did that influence how you perceive music today?

Balance Problems: My first musical memory had to be from when I was about 5 or 6 years old. My older sister would let me into her bedroom while she worked on homework and played different bands she liked for me on her stereo. This is where I first got introduced to bands like Smashing Pumpkins, 311, Green Day, and Beck. I remember being very excited about the music and almost obsessing over it. I would study it, listen to every little sonic detail, and then ask for her to play songs I especially liked over and over again. I remember listening to the Smashing Pumpkins' song "1979" probably a hundred times over the course of a week; it's still one of my favorites today.

HVM: After playing with both Sky Eats Airplane and PlayRadioPlay!, do you find that you thrive better solo or within a group?

BP: To tell you the truth I really do enjoy having the freedom to write music on my own, just how I want to hear it. Sometimes I do miss having someone to collaborate on ideas with, but I am glad that the music I write can be solely an expression of my own thoughts and creativity. Both Sky Eats Airplane and PlayRadioPlay weren't exactly the traditional "band" experience. With Sky Eats Airplane, I still got to write a lot on my own while Lee helped add and shape the songs. I didn't get to help write anything with PlayRadioPlay. I've found that writing music on my own has given me a lot of happiness and peace, it's almost a therapeutic thing for me now. I feel like maybe I write music for a lot different reasons than most artists do.

HVM: While listening to your work over the past year or so I noticed there's a bit of "layering" (if that makes any sense at all) within the songs, and I wondered how that came about. What's you process when writing?

BP: When it comes to writing and recording, I'm very detail oriented. I really enjoy the small touches that can shape the overall mood of a piece. My songwriting process usually consists of recalling/researching an event, taking mental notes about the main points I want to include, coming up with a chord progression or melody I like, and writing words to the music.

HVM: Why write music, why not just leave it at poetry?

BP: Songwriting is simply the best outlet for me to express what I want. Although I very much enjoy reading or writing short stories and poems, songs have always conveyed far more meaning and emotion to me. It combines my two favorite art forms -- music and words -- into one package that you can hear as well as feel.

HVM: I've found your songs easy to relate to. Do you write from personal experience or do you lend yourself to friends' situations?

BP: Often times the songs I write come from personal experiences. I take past memories or recent occurrences and try to shape them into an artistic form that I can relate to. Songwriting has sort of become my personal diary. If I look back at songs I've written they form a timeline of important people, places, and events that I've experienced over the years. Things that happen with my friends or people I love has also inspired me and produced some songs. Of course there are exceptions, but for the most part I like to write about what I know. And what I know best is my own life.

HVM: Your songs seem to be literal, so the listener can see/feel what's going on in that moment. Was that your intention?

BP: A lot of my songs deal with events that have happened in my life. I try to write about them in such a way that people can understand the experience along with my thoughts, opinions, and reactions. My life is the best source of inspiration, so I try to use what I am given.

HVM: The music scene in Texas seems to be growing rapidly. Do you feel that it's a scene that's supportive?

BP: The Texas music scene is diverse. The people are into lots of different types of music, and that's a good thing. It's supportive to musicians like myself, and caters to a wide variety of sounds. However, the main trend is still hardcore. You won't see an indie rock show selling out a venue here.

HVM: Who do you feel is someone we should keep our eye on?

BP: I've recently had the privelege to play with (and soon record) a band by the name of Soft Machines. In my opinion they are by far the best thing to recently come up out of the Dallas/Fort Worth music scene, and I enjoy their music the most. They are great people, great musicians, and work hard at what they do. (Go check them out at myspace.com/softmachinesmusic)

HVM: I've found a lot of similarities in the music coming from Texas, does that make it harder to stand out?

BP: I get frustrated when I see kids throwing together a group for reasons other than making music. It has almost become a popularity contest or a social statement, not an art form. If I could offer advice to anyone, I would say step back and look at what you're doing. If you're not in music for the right reasons, for the sake of creating something you love, you should seriously reconsider your actions.

HVM: What's next for you? Anything else you want to share with us?

BP: I'm not quite sure what is next for me. I guess it all depends on what happens here in the next couple of years. I hope to continue creating music while I go to school in the fall and spring, and tour during the summer. If it's received well enough, then there is definitely a chance that I would start writing and touring full time. So all I can ask is for your love and support, and hopefully I will get to meet all of you very soon. I also just want to say thank you to the people that have already given my music a chance. It really does mean the world to me.

Official Site | MySpace | PureVolume

-Naimah Holmes