January 2009 - Posts
We're back in Minneapolis for 3 nights at the infamous First Ave. Everyone is settling in nicely and Ryan is gearing up for what he hopes will be another Steelers Super Bowl victory.
On a quick personal note, I am thrilled to be back on my beloved Gamble sound board. We had some "technical difficulties" with my console as the year began and I was forced to mix the Colorado run on an all digital desk. It was not the way I had hoped to debut the Mantis material but as my grandfather would say "you gotta dance with the one you brought." I'm sure some of you critical listeners out there noticed a difference in the sonics of the recordings from last weekend's shows. Digital desks just don't have the warmth of analog and there is still a sizable difference in sound. If you get chance to compare a recording from last weekend to one from this weekend, I think you'll hear what I'm talking about. Anyway, it's almost show time here on night 2 but here are a few pics from yesterday for your entertainment.
The chaos theory that is my Gamble sound board. Out of what appears to be complete nonsense, beautiful patterns emerge.
Andy looks both ways while warming up on "iPerc"
Down the neck
Ryan & his wife
"never ever slowing down"
The view from front of house
Jake rips during Snucka III
Life struggles to emerge as the brutal Minneapolis weather climbs above freezing for the first time in January. Better late than never.
THANK YOU
That is really the message of the day. Mantis has officially been out for its first full week and the initial response has been great. We more than doubled our first week sales of "Safety in Numbers" and did it while a confused record industry tries to find which way is up. Album sales are down across the board but your support and enthusiasm helped us to have our best week of sales ever. We debuted at #62 on the Billboard Top 200 and #6 on the Independent Albums chart which is pretty great for a local band doing OK. There has been some great press surrounding the record including a number of good nods from those publications that have been known to casually write off records from "jambands" (without bothering to listen). In addition to all of your nice words, the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, & Rolling Stone have all said pretty positive things.
We truly just want to thank you for all your support. In the words of Brendan "Thanks for letting us do what we do". It does mean the world to us. Help us keep Mantis rolling by spreading the word. There has never been an easier time to turn on new ears with sites like myspace, facebook, Ilike, and beyond. Here is the link to our ecard which you can pass around at will. If everyone of you got just one friend to buy Mantis, it would help us to no end by maintaining some momentum in this tough ass business.
Looking forward to the weekend in warm, sunny Minneapolis.
The Mantis proof layout for the CD packaging
Searching for a new look while programming Cemetery Walk II
You can't lead the free world without potassium
Classic Fillmore
Focused
Good to the last drop
On fire
The Big Dog dropped by this afternoon at the Fillmore in Denver lend a hand with afternoon lighting. Jake happened to been tuning his rig and honing his chops which made for much more interesting shots.
There's something about black & white that never gets old
God and Jeff Waful tag team the light rig
A few months ago during a Mantis brainstorming session in a hotel room in New York, a few of us sat for hours conspiring the plans that would result in the Mantis pre-order program. We discussed many facets of how the program was going to work, including how we would get these packages out to all the pre-order customers. Pre-orders are tricky – you want to make sure to get them in people’s hands on time, but you don’t want to get them out to early to spoil release day. You can hire a third party to handle the fulfillment, but what fun is that? Since we put much extra love and personal touch into the pre-order, we decided we would put together a team of folks in Chicago to help us get these in your hands. No matter what, there are always obstacles, and you’re always at the mercy of the mail carrier. I think we encountered every obstacle you could think of, including manufacturing delays, sub zero temperatures, shipments not arriving on time, etc.
One of the biggest issues came our way when we found out that if we had gone with the original plan, and had the manufacturer assemble the majority of the components of the deluxe boxes, we would not get them until January 19th due to – you guessed it – manufacturing delays. We needed get the band to sign all these boxes before rehearsing, and start shipping orders January 14th. Rachel and I decided that we would have them ship all the deluxe box components directly to us and we would put everything together. Luckily we had rented extra office space in our building, as you wouldn’t believe just how much room all the materials took up! One day, we received over one ton (2,000lbs) of materials! Pallets and pallets of Mantis. With the help of the Mantis team, we would work day and night for days to get the 1,000 deluxe boxes assembled, all the extra goodies included, wrapped, boxed, labeled, and shipped. And get the 2,500 standard edition pre-orders packaged and shipped as well.
We filled USPS trucks to the point they’d have to send more trucks. They even sent the supervisor for our district over to our office to see what the hell was going on – they couldn’t believe how much we were shipping. We even went to the post office with the main postal pick up driver (Torrence) and helped him load bag after bag into the back door. Torrence ended up coming to see the show at The Vic on Monday night because we gave him a copy of the album for all his hard work. He was blown away, and said that Cemetery Walk is his new song to wake up to! We still owe the USPS women who helped us process all these orders some chocolates – Turtles to be exact.
All in all – we had over 20 workers who helped make this process happen. We really didn’t know how many orders we’d be filling when we made the decision to take on this challenge, and I have to say it was a great experience. It was hard work, and we’re still making sure orders are being delivered, but it was worth it. I’d like to thank Rachel and her Mantis team for executing a successful strategy to bring Mantis to your doorsteps, and for their long hours, great attitudes, and willingness to give that extra push to pull this off. And thanks to the band for making this wonderful album!
Buddy Guy strolls behind the bar at his club "Legends" for a nip of cognac to stay warm
Over the course of the 2008 New Year's run, we all had the chance to meet our cover artist Mark Blanchette in person as he journeyed north and spent the 29th & 30th with us at the Auditorium Theater. Mark and I got talking and discussed the idea of him penning a "making of" the Mantis cover to shed a little light on how the project came to fruition. The following is the result of that conversation complete with a host of images that probably wouldn't have otherwise seen the light of day outside our close circle. We are thrilled with Mark's work and excited to give you another peek into the ground room floor of our latest creation. Many thanks to him and all the folks at Plaid for the great design work throughout the evolution of Mantis.
-Kevin
The
Evolution of an Album Cover....Mantis style
Part
1
Early
September 2008 began a very busy time for me. A few days after I opened a
solo show of my work in a prominent downtown Chicago art gallery, I received an
email from Vince Iwinski, Umphrey's McGee's manager, inquiring about my
availability and willingness to work with them on their new CD coming out in
January. Apparently the two coinciding events were pure
circumstance, and they had discovered my work from my website when searching for
artists who fit the "feel" the band was looking for.
My
first few phone calls were with Vince and Kevin Browning (the sound engineer
and producer for Umphrey's McGee) who provided me with the foundation of what
the band was looking for...black and white work with a splash of nuclear
green. The title of this cd is Mantis. The scope of the music
was epic, grandiose and the cover image was to imply a vastness, but still
remain intimate. The new music included strings and lyrically
mentioned a "higher power", but in a very subtle fashion. They wanted to see some macro photographs of a Mantis insect, not necessarily for the
cover, but for the album artwork.
As
I began to immerse myself in the project, I discovered that the word Mantis is
Greek for a prophet or seer. This guided my thought process along with
the information provided to me from Vince and Kevin. I created a
single image as a form of litmus test, to see if I was going in the right
direction.
Part
2
A
conference call was set up between Vince, Kevin, the band members and I to
discuss the album artwork and provide me with more direction. The
submitted image showed promise and everyone responded extremely well to my
thought process of "Seer or Prophet" as a guiding force along with the information
already provided. In the end, this would serve as the basis for all
the submitted imagery. The conversations flowed very easy
with a fluent exchange of ideas and suggestions. Kevin sent me an
email with all the lyrics to the new cd for reference and inspiration.
Armed
with the lyrics and two pages of notes from my conference calls, I headed into
my darkroom and set to work. The first step was to get the mantis
images taken care of.
Everyone
felt the mantis images were too "Sci Fi" and didn't fit the cd. I
agreed completely, so the mantis aspect was dropped from consideration.
Inspired
by the lyrics, I continued down the "Seer" path. I created a full
series of pieces for submittal. These included several images for the
cover, disk, the back of the cd and a sprawling photomontage for inclusion
inside the packaging.
The
day after I submitted the whole series of artwork for review, I received a copy
of the CD in the mail. I immediately knew the artwork did not
fit. On their own, the lyrics are dark and brooding, full of
conflict. The images I created reflected as such. Placed in context
with the music, the lyrics are still dark, but not nearly as ominous.
Another
conference call took place with the band, staff and myself to discuss this new
submittal and the artwork direction. Everyone agreed that I nailed
the essence of the lyrics on their own, but not the album as a whole. We
were pretty much set on the theme and direction for the artwork. I
felt confident, now armed with all the pieces of the puzzle that I could obtain
the imagery the band was looking for.
Part
3
This
last conference call took place right before I was to leave on a two week photo
jaunt through New England and Canada. I loaded the new cd into my
MP3 player and headed off for the trip. While away, I spent a lot of time
with the new music, jotting down notes. Mid way through the trip, I
received an email from Kevin. He suggested a music box as a potential
element of the artwork. I was happy to inform him that before I left, I
ordered 3 music boxes for the project. Great minds think alike!
One
day of my trip was spent exploring Acadia National Park in Maine on a rented
scooter with a friend of mine, taking loads of photographs.
Throughout that day, one specific line of lyric from the song Cemetery Walk
kept echoing through my head. Initially, I knew that line had
imagery potential and as the day wore on my thought process congealed into a
solid form. I had no idea the impact that one line would have in the album
artwork. More on that later.
Upon
my return, it was back to the grindstone. I photographed the music
boxes, but leaned heavily towards this little hand crank music box.
As a nod to the use of strings on the new cd, I specifically chose this music
box as it plays Beethoven's Fur Elise. I felt the basic, manual music box
suited the aura of the new cd. Everyone agreed. Check one off
the list.
The
next batch of images that were submitted for consideration contained a full
assortment of artwork for the cover, exterior, interior, marketing and single
release. I've included some of the cover images submitted.
The last one was my personal favorite.
Along
with all of this artwork, I submitted my idea from the song "Cemetery Walk" as
a marketing or t-shirt piece. The lyric from the song is "It's not
a cage if you're feeling like a resident". That one line of
lyric spoke volumes to me. I vividly remember wrapping my mind
around that one statement in so many ways while exploring Acadia National Park,
dissecting and reassembling the possibilities.
In
its simplest form, my image is a metaphor for "Protect what is important to you
in your world", but it applies to the line of lyric on a myriad of
levels. I won't bore you with the verbal gymnastics.
This
last round of artwork was submitted as Umphrey's McGee began their New York
City run in mid October. Due to a hectic schedule, it took a few days to
receive a response. The feedback I received was not what I expected, but
pleasant none the less.
There
was such a connection to the Cemetery Walk image that the band decided to use
it for the cover, and move existing cover work to the interior. All of
the other artwork was approved and we began working with the design team at
Plaid.
The
rest is (or will be) Mantis history. Granted, this is the abbreviated
version of three months work, but this has been by far, the most enjoyable
project I have worked on. It was truly a collaborative
effort.
Mark
Blanchette

All of
Mark Blanchette's work is done in a traditional darkroom. Each
image is made by exposing the photographic paper multiple times with different
negatives utilizing several techniques (dodging, burning, and
masking). All of the photomontages are created in only one size in
an edition of 10 prints. Of the 10 prints, images 1 through 9 are
available for purchase. Number 10 of the edition is kept by the artist
for museum and gallery exhibitions. Once the 9 prints are sold, that
image is retired. By creating the image by hand, each montage
in the edition will contain subtle to drastic differences in tone and image
blending. In essence, each photomontage is an original work of
art.
The
photographic artwork of Mark Blanchette has been collected and exhibited in
museums and galleries throughout North America and abroad. His work has
received numerous awards, and he has participated in many prestigious art
festivals, including repeated exhibitions in Disney's Festival of the
Masters. Mark works exclusively with black and white film and
utilizes a conventional wet darkroom to create his surreal images. The
images are designed to allow the viewer to find their own interpretations of
the meaning or message depicted in the content. The conclusion is
oftentimes a reflection upon the individual viewer's own personality.
Mark
Blanchette is a resident of DeLand, Florida and can be found online at www.GRYMWISH.com
The Omega Moos Chronicles Volume I
The Omega Moos have been touring around the country trying to change lives one Moo at a time. Basically we throw a party that makes you love the songs you hate! Darren has been editing several clips from my video camera from both on and off the stage. Well as you know, those Moos sure can party...and if you don't know, well then you best come check it out somewhere near you very soon!
The OMEGA MOOS are: Brendan Bayliss, Darren Shearer, Jamie "guitar" Shields, and Ryan Stasik
Enjoy
"The Moos represent an era of absurd amounts of shellacked musical cheese, rock and cut off jean shorts. Of course, remixed into a techno-rock supernova that is sure to excite any and all, from the permed and uniformed 70's cheer leader to your bass-craving club kid - Darren Shearer
I'm sure that many of you have seen this great video shot by a friend of ours out in Seattle but we figured we'd post it on The Floor today in honor of Miss Tinkle's himself, Joel Cummins. He turns 67 today and wants to thank you for almost seven decades of support while he has pursued his dreams. I would encourage you to double click on the link which will take you directly to you tube where you can select "watch in HD". It's well worth it.
I never thought I would find Hitler amusing but his assessment of the Winter Meetings is every bit of that.