November 2008 - Posts
The tour is over and we are all enjoying the comfort of home. There is truly nothing like your own bed. Aahh.
(We have removed the stream of the 9:30 club due to Abraham Lincoln's request. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
Abe
Dogs
The first of many installments of "Guest Bloggins"
Light a bolt of lightning from the heavens, Umphrey's McGee has thrust itself down upon a city torn asunder by political transition. Our heros find themselves swimming amidst a sea of sharks who know but one quest, and that quest is blood. Shall they prevail and vanquish the naysayers? Repudiate the critics? Quiet the nattering nabobs? Take the our nation's capital by storm and tame its wildest beasts? Finally get a goddamned profile in the Washington Post's Friday Weekend section? This humble reporter believes that they will. Not by luck, nor by chance, but by by sheer force of will, with a dash of prog-funk for dat ass.
Represent D.C. style at the 9:30 Club. Much respek. The fellas are coming pretty hard tonight with some electronica at times, offset with that trademark Umph-funk. It may be the penultimate night of the tour, but the energy is just as good as it's ever been. KTB on the ones and two and Budney Lights mixin' it up doesn't hurt. That and Stasik's bass line is making my pants shake. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jake's solo in 40's Theme- it brought the house down. 9:30 is always a good venue, a good crew and a good show. I just wish it wasn't so damn cold.
A good man once said, "Axl Rose? F-ck Axl Rose." I thought I knew this man. I was wrong.
-Johnny Buick
Backstage at setbreak: Foot Breathe
Soundcheck Wizard
Budney Lights
Kris Myers explores the world of free form Jazz Blues backstage at The National in Richmond, VA, one of the few glorious theaters with a hot tub in the dressing room.
In the interest of switching it up...
Bijou Theater, Knoxville, TN - Acoustic Set One:
August > Visions > Morning Song, Crooked > Great American > Down Under > Great American, Black Water
I snagged this this short solo piece from Jake while he warmed up his gear, unbeknownst to him. The mood parallels the weather here in Nashville today.
To lots of people, summer means hanging out at the pool or the beach, soaking up rays and baking in the sun in pursuit of the perfect golden tan. Indeed, most Americans, including up to 80% of people under age 25, think they look better with a tan. But before you don your bathing suit and head to the pool — or into a "John Wilkes tanning Booth" (not recommended) — spend a few minutes finding out about your skin and sun exposure. These facts can help you get the look you want without stressing your skin.
Not to mention skin caner!!! Always protect yourself. Sunscreens or sunblocks, which block the sun's harmful rays, are one of your best defenses against sun damage because they protect you without interfering with your comfort and activity levels. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Ideally, it should also be hypoallergenic and noncomedogenic so it doesn't cause a rash or clog your pores and give you acne.
Staying out of the sun altogether may see to be the only logical answer. But who wants to live like a hermit? The key is to enjoy the sun sensibly, finding a balance between sun protection and those great summer activities like drinking, volleyball, triathlons, and swimming. So these are just a few tips/facts about fun in the sun!
Yours truly,
Chuck Tanner
"Stay golden Ponyboy!"
Don = afraid of the sun Pony = loves the sun
Too much sun!!!
Always protect your skin.
Just working on my bronze, man!
Bad spray tan = orange embarassment. Stay natural.
First things first, a tremendous thank you is in order for all of the initial support you have shown towards Mantis. With your help, the pre-order is off to a great start and the momentum continues to build.
Needless to say things have been as hectic as ever around UM headquarters as we continue to devise ways to make the whole Mantis experience as unique and rewarding for all those involved. We are trying to get outside that proverbial box and take care of those who have long taken care of us. To be certain, the music business is a bizarre and rapidly morphing business and most of the conventional rules have been tossed out the window like hotel TVs on a Motley Crue tour. We figure that provides us an opportunity to stretch out a bit. The main questions we keep asking ourselves revolve around the idea of what would our fans most appreciate, along with a delicious new record? What excites us about our favorite bands and how can we expand on those answers?
And so we've arrived at Mantis. The bonus content is aimed at giving you a better understanding of how we create, where the ideas come from, and how they germinate. It's also aimed at our desire to share the Mantis experience with you as the control room of a studio is only so big (Joel has been keeping especially fit recently so we thank him for that added space). Beyond that, it is important to us that we continue to push the boundaries of how music is shared, heard, and experienced. We certainly don't have all the answers but we are never going to stop asking the questions.
Initial responses have been favorable across the board. There have been a variety of posts that are noticing what's going on in our camp and we're just getting started. Here are links to a few recent articles that have been garnering some industry attention.
http://www.brandflakesforbreakfast.com/2008/11/how-to-sell-product-in-music-industry.html
http://www.freshsqueezedmarketing.com/2008/11/controlling_the.html
http://www.playbsides.com/?p=500
http://encore.celebrityaccess.com/?encoreId=160&articleId=28576
http://www.adrants.com/2008/11/plaid-helps-make-the-record-business.php
We would really love your help to continue to foster the growth of all things Mantis. Much like the live show, this is only as good as the energy that is harnessed together. So pass it on and spread the word, embed the widget in your own blogs/networking sites, gift the record and stay tuned as we provide more tools for your DIY arsenal.
The funny part is that lately we keep focusing on everything surrounding the album now that the actual disc is pretty much finished. But I honestly can't get these tunes out of my head. I have literally been working on this record for almost two years and I still love this music. And I can assure you that is a rare feeling after you listen to something for several thousand hours with a fine tooth comb. Look for lots more commentary and goodies to be springing forth in the weeks ahead.
The beloved Ampex MM1200 16 track 2" tape machine that we used for all our core tracking
And the beloved computer screen that my partner in crime Manny Sanchez and I have been staring at for 21 months, not quite as soothing as that tape machine
When this crazy idea of doing a mashup show was hatched back in February, we had no idea how things would turn out, musically or costume wise. What we did find was that it was a really fun game to try to come up with costumes. Here are a few more with particular relevance to today that we came up with but didn't see out there: B.A. Baracus Obama, Boy George Bush, Elton John McCain and last but not least, Sir Edmund Hillary Clinton.
It was great to see our fans and friends come up with original costumes out there too, some of my favorites were Sponge Bob Marley (no one took my Sponge Bob Weir......which could have been taken to the next level with Sponge Bob Weir(d) Al Yankovic as well!), Karate Kid Rock, Larry Big Bird, Harry Caray/Kerry Wood and Stevie Wonder Woman.
Musically, we had a lot of fun putting these ideas together and getting to execute them for you. Trying to find ways to correlate such musically disparate songs as Sad But True and Clint Eastwood was really interesting, but surprisingly easier than we first anticipated as much of the two pieces stayed in the same key. My favorite mashup was Thriller and Another Brick in the Wall pt. II. As we assembled the two pieces, we found more and more musical similarites and changes that lined up. That made it very easy to make the parts more cohesive with each other. We have a few more ideas left over in the kitty as well, so we'll what happens to those in the future.
Thanks to everyone for a great, great night at the Warfield.......we'll see you again soon.....
From Left to Right:
Sugar Ray Charles, Ronald McDonald Trump, Pittsburgh Vampirate, Beelzebub Dylan, Incredible Hulk Hogan, Rick James Bond
