But this rehearsal...

We got the PA setup.  We caught up with each other as we plugged it all in and tuned up.  We talked about my new-found love for the Battlestar Galactica tv series my wife and I have been watching on DVD (and some love-filled ribbing ensued for my new love -it's ok, I can take it). We talked about the game plan for the night.  We got caught up on the details of the coming recording sessions with Joel, etc...

Then we began.

"Tiger Beat" starts with some programmed keyboard parts that start quietly and build until an organ sound adds in a few chords and the musical movement is established.  I was leaning against the window near the door -- on my side of the room where I'm camped out every rehearsal -- with my eyes closed while the tracks played, and we waited.

Ethan started his bass line, descending... pulsing... building for a few measures (booming against the window at my back).  Todd's snare cracked with a short fill then his beat was there, solid, locked in with the tempo of the tracks that continued looping, my window now pulsing with the combined kick/bass low-end. A few measures later Troy was in, his guitar contributing a reverb drenched melody line. It was my turn soon, so I opened my eyes.  By this time I was smiling. I was no longer stuck in the day's events, but couldn't help accept the reminder that THIS is why I love being in The Mines.  THIS is life giving and renewing.  THIS is more fun than I ever expected when I started setting up my gear.  So I join in with some big open chords that add some mid-range body to the song as Ethan sings out "Straight to this breaking heart..."

"Tiger Beat" is the first song up this weekend as Todd, playing to some "scratch" keyboard, bass and vocal tracks Ethan has already recorded, works with Joel to get the sounds and performances that will go on the CD.

Fun. Really fun. You should see Todd's face when he records.  Maybe you will.  We'll try to post some video and photos as we go along.  No promises though.  I've still got more episodes of that tv show to watch!

Greg


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Play one song many times.

Analyze. Dialog. Tune up.

Repeat.

Next song.

Repeat.

Midnight.

Go home. See you next week.


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Not since we recorded our first three song demo with our good friend Aaron Niequist have we had an outside producer -- someone to push us around, er... I mean kindly suggest things such as song arrangements, instrumentation, sounds, etc...  After producing the first two CD's on our own, I can tell you having a fifth person that we can trust to provide feedback in all aspects of the songs, and push/pull us into new territory, is a relief.  Already Joel has pointed out certain things in a number of the songs that we hadn't considered which have resulted in major improvements. Besides his skills on the production end, we're also getting someone who is an experienced and professional songwriter to help guide every song.

Besides playing all of the songs for Joel last night and getting his feedback, we also talked through the approach we're going to take to record the songs.  For the next few days Ethan will be working on the scratch tracks that Todd will play to when recording the first two songs -- "Tiger Beat" and "Behind The Eyes".  He'll get those to Joel who will get the busy work of setting up the DAW out of the way before we show up to critique Todd's every note.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  Then we'll start tracking the other instruments for those two songs before bringing Todd in to record more drums.

We have ALWAYS made Todd record every song in one day -- (even on Metropolis which had 13 songs on it!) -- in the interest of efficiency.  It's about time he's allowed a little more space.

OK, I've rambled on enough for now.  We'll post more as the process rolls on.  Stay tuned.

Greg
for ~The Mines


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As you may or may not know, we're starting the process for recording our third CD. (No, there's not a title yet, but the track list is coming together. I'll share that in the coming weeks).

As an independent band, we choose to make our next cd’s when we've made enough money to cover the recording and other production expenses.  Of course the only way to make that money is to play shows and have people buy the music.  Because we're a part-time band (ie. This is not our full-time job), we can only play so many shows, and to be honest, the vast majority of the shows we play pay less than $50 (that’s not $50 per person either!). 

Really you ask? Really!! 

So that means we need to sell our merchandise – cd's, shirts, etc... – in order to make money to keep the releases coming.

To sell merchandise, people need to know about us, and to know about us we need to have appeared on their radar somehow.  And even then, if they've heard of us they're probably going to test us out in some way before they buy anything... listen to some of the music, browse the recent blog posts etc...

That's why this question is so important.  The internet provides an amazing vehicle for getting the word out about The Mines, but with limited time and money, we’d like some help determining what about the band, people want to know about.

We definitely don't want to constantly be saying "go buy our cd" as our only blog post or update. That’s lame!

So with that in mind, please consider these questions and let us know what you're looking for, so that as we begin this new cd cycle of creation, promotion & performance, we're maximizing the insight into the band that will ultimately (hopefully) expand the number of people who know about us so that we can continue to do what we love to do: create and record music that we're excited about.

Here are some things to think about (feel free to respond in the comments, send an email to band@theminesonline.net or send us a message via our comment form).

We had been playing together since March of 2004 -- jamming, writing songs, playing a few shows under a different name, and with original guitarist Josh Mikrut -- but Josh had moved on and we were recording our debut full-length CD, so we needed a name, and an identity.

Ethan had been kicking the name around for awhile, I think.  We were for a long time trying to find a replacement for our first name. (If you know the original name, good for you.  We probably won't publish it anywhere.)

Looking back "The Mines" name has served us well, and continues to serve us well four years later.  I'm still very excited to say that I'm a part of "The Mines".  Many times a band name wears out over time, but this one continues to feel right.

And now here we are, October 2009. I'm not sure if we'll actually start recording our next CD this month, but we're really close.  The songs are coming together, we have a producer lined up (more on that in a future post), and we have no shows on the calendar which will allow us to focus on recording.

It's a good time to be in "The Mines".

Greg


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