A Year of Recollections

Ryan:
Simply put, 2008 was one of the most intense and emotional years of my life. One which will never be forgotten for both the good times and the bad. New friends came into the picture which helped build the steps we needed to put in place to take our music that much further. Ulrich Schnauss in particular became that one friend I always hoped for since I was a child dreaming of the day I would finally hit the stage. He was not only a huge influence to me, but also one of the most amazing collaborators I've ever worked with. The chance to write music with such a legend brought a new sense of excitement into my life and I am so grateful for the opportunities we had with him, not only in songwriting, but also in touring. The chance to work with yet another legend, Kramer, nearly floored me. It was amazing to have that second ear in my own home studio helping shape such an important album for us. It was an eye and ear opening experience I'll never forget. Having finished the album now and receiving the finals xmas eve was the greatest present I could ever imagine!

Losing a friend a week after the anniversary of another friend who passed along nearly destroyed me. It was quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my life, but it was also one of the most important learning experiences I've ever had happen. We take everything for granted daily, and it's easy to lose hindsight to it all due the hectic nature of life in general. It opened my eyes and changed me more than anything ever has. It gave new insight into what our music is all about and why it keeps me moving every day. I learned how important it is to let out the tears and the heartbreak through music and art, and how it really can heal the deepest of wounds.

I also learned how important it is to keep a tight friendship with those around you no matter what. My friends, band and family feel closer than ever, and I am humbled by it all.

Here's to another year of amazing events! This time I look forward to more positives than negatives, and I know that no matter what, it's great to be alive with you all today!

"neverChanger" album version kickoff

Ryan:
So before Ulrich took off we decided to collaborate on a live version of "neverChanger" for the album. Something similar to what we jammed out during the tour. We decided to jump right in by recording the drums and bass today. Gonna hit up guitars and vocals this week and send it on over to Ulrich for his final additions. Will be interesting to see how much different it sounds from the EP version.

the tour is over but the memories live on

Ryan:
What an amazing trip. I can't put into words how much fun we had with Ulrich. From the moments in the car driving across pure hell, to a night of hanging with Rachel of Experimental Aircraft and her man Carlos at their pad, to a few nights of pure bliss onstage jamming with Ulrich, it was utterly superb. I'll never forget it, and I for sure look forward to doing it again sometime very soon.

landmark theatres sampler - "neverChanger"

Ryan:
Here's something you don't see everyday. Not only was Filter so generous to offer us a spot on the Summer 08 Landmark Theatres Sampler CD, but the main people at Landmark decided to have us as one of the two highlighted artists on the cover, with the other one being one of my biggest influences "Portishead". My jaw dropped when I saw the disc in person. So amazing to even share the same sheet of paper as Portishead, much less the same CD.

CD's shipped tomorrow

Bundled up all the cd's after another a late night session, which are ready to go out to toneVENDOR tomorrow! Official release is June 10th, 2008.

"neverChanger" toneVENDOR pre-sale

Ryan:
We are very proud to announce the preorder of a very limited run of discs we're hand assembling of the track we more than love. Ulrich Schnauss is seriously such an amazing musician, and we are so proud to have collaborated with him for such a epic sounding track. Double thanks to Kramer who put the magic mastering dust on top, and Francesco Brunotti for the gorgeous photo for the cover. Just click away on the image above to make sure you get one.

"neverChanger" CD COMPLETE!

As of tonight, "neverChanger" is complete and ready to be shipped to distro. Can't wait for you to hear it. The remixes by Cacheflowe and Jap Jap are absolutely stellar. A very special thanks to Francesco Brunotti / Andrea Boccalini for their amazing photo used for the cover art.

Ulrich finished up "neverChanger"!

Ryan:
A few moments ago I received word from Ulrich that he has finalized his parts on "neverChanger", and of course had to download first things first all latenight weeknight style. Upon first listen I must say I am absolutely blown away. His parts have done nothing but make this an absolute epic track!! I cannot wait to reveal it to all of you. Very exciting times indeed!

co-produce with ulrich schnauss?

So here's some really good news. Ulrich Schnauss of all people is in talks of co-producing a track with us! It's not happening yet, but we are talking about it with him to see what happens next and if all works out, it will be happening sometime soon on "NeverChanger" or possibly another track.

To give some background, while on tour with Innaway we found out he was a fan of our music, sending out an email blast to his fans saying he was currently listening to us. It blew us away to be quite honest as we've been huge fans of his epic music since I first heard him back in 2004 from a recommendation from our original drummer Gabriel Ratliff.

So ya never know. It's quite a dream in which I hope comes true.