I came across an article today in the Times about a new branch of the $7.2 billion surfing industry (who knew?) that really surprised me. I found it interesting that a community that has always been so in-tune with their environment is coming to the recycled materials movement so late in the game. Although there are plenty of organizations out there (like the Surfrider Foundation) that are looking after the oceans and the beaches, the toxic industry of making surfboards, surf gear, and all the waste generated from broken boards etc. had not gone green. Until now. Green Foam Blanks, a company that makes recycled polyurethane blanks (the foam core of surfboards) was recently started in San Clemente, California by surf industry veteran Joey Santley and Steve Cox. As the Times explains, “Polyurethane surfboards are made with a carcinogenic chemical compound and Green Foam aims to reduce demand for new polyurethane by recycling the considerable amount of waste produced when shaping a surfboard from a slab of foam. Old surfboards can be recycled as well.” I think these guys have the right idea. Better late than never. Santley is even mounting a guerrilla marketing campaign to get recycled surfboards in the hands professional surfers and celebrities to build awareness.

Also making waves in Cali today, Oakland’s own Rogue Wave announced the release of their new record Permalight, set to drop in early March, 2010. Their new tour dates to promote the album will start in February. They will be here in NYC (playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg) on the scheduled date of their record release, March 2nd. They have a bunch of great jams from their last album, Asleep at Heaven’s Gate, but the most fitting for today is the ethereal “Eyes.” The odd menagerie of dolls starring in this video are even on a beach!

Rogue Wave – Eyes:

-Melissa

Sono passati circa due anni dall’uscita di Asleep At Heaven’s Gate, il più recente disco dei Rogue Wave, indie band messa sotto contratto dalla Brushfire Records di Jack Johnson. E ora i ragazzi di Oakland sono pronti a tornare sulle scene con Permalight, nuovo album previsto per i primi mesi del 2010.

Stando a quanto riportato da Pitchfork, la band ha registrato all’inizio del 2009 a Oxford, Mississippi, con Dennis Herring per avere la release pronta per il prossimo 2 marzo. Modest Mouse vet Dennis Herring produced it. Good Morning, Stars and Stripes, Per Anger e Permalight sono alcuni dei titoli scelti per le canzoni del disco in questione che sarà festeggiato con un tour statunitense programmato in primavera.

Maggiori informazioni sui Rogue Wave le trovate qui.

Estão entre os mais estimulantes nomes da reinvenção das histórias populares do continente americano contadas com travo urbano. Os Rogiue Wave nascem de dias sombrios e chuvosos para escrever canções em que coisas como refrões e rimas à guitarra são obrigatórias. Não se tratam de clichés mas sim de imperativos criativos, com referências universos infantis e afins como regra mas sem se limitarem a este tipo exercício facilitista. Juntando ainda sábias lições no campo da harmonia e da escultura pop.

Os Rogue Wave estão a gravar um novo álbum e a nossa curiosidade leva-nos a descobrir primeiras pistas para este futuro registo e a comunicá-las. O títulos será Permalight, com este alinhamento:

01 “Solitary Gun”
02 “Good Morning”
03 “Sleepwalker”
04 “Stars And Stripes”
05 “Permalight”
06 “Fear Itself”
07 “Right With You”
08 “We Will Make A Song Destroy”
09 “I’ll Never Leave You”
10 “Per Anger”
11 “You Have Boarded”
12 “All That Remains”

E para recuperar memórias, está por aí o documentário sobre a mais recente digressão da banda, com autoria da PBS. Aqui.

Fun Filled Fruits Of Success

***

***

In the last of four segments, Dan talks about:

• Centralia Sawmill
• Evergreen
• Rogue Wave
• Tour of his shop

Whitaker Interview – Part: 1, 2, 3

Part Three Of Four In Our Interview With Dan Whitaker

• WIN 2009 event and why it’s important
• Willamette Valley what cities should be included
• How to retire and un-retire
• CenterSpace

If The O.C. were still around, Golden Shoulders would own the soundtrack

PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Golden Shoulders’ “Mountain” from goldenshoulders.com

Calling Alexandra Patsavas!  I think I just discovered the most teen-soap-ready California-pop ever penned.  It has the jangly guitar line — the cooing back-up vocals — the urgent mid-track crescendos — it’s basically like a more obscure version of half the tracks on The O.C. Mix 2.

The song is “Mountain” and it comes to us, unsurprisingly, from California: the Nevada City collective Golden Shoulders have been writing ’70s-tinged retro-pop since the early 2000s.  The band has no set line-up, apart from frontman Adam Kline.  Joanna Newsom spent some time with them, as did Marc Snegg, the founder of Grass Roots Record Co.  And if that Joanna Newsom tie isn’t enough to pique your interest, consider this: Golden Shoulders play all of their shows without electricity  (no mics, amps, etc.), a feat that few other bands can claim to have attempted.

Fans of Nada Surf, Rogue Wave, The Thrills and The 88 — you will dig this.

– Caitlin Dewey, editor in chief

Valley Entrepreneur Has Fun All The Way To Market

Dan Whitaker, one of Corvallis’  most active and successful entrepreneurs sits down with Jamie, Innovational Musings’ intrepid reporter, for an interview. In the first of four parts, Dan discusses his views on what it takes to start a company and make it work and grow. He knows, having helped start seventeen companies and associations, virtually all of them successful.

Here’s some down to earth advice from a man who has every right to be arrogant and vain – but isn’t. He’s a good example of Oregon charm. Smart, well-spoken and modest, he has a quick wit and an easy smile. Little wonder that when our local chamber wanted to chose the right person for Corvallis’ first “Entrepreneur of the Year”, Dan was a shoe-in.

…

…

Part 1 where Dan talks about:

• 1979: Software Support Services
• 1989: SAO founding
• Education of an Entrepreneur
• 1991: Evergreen and Rogue Wave Rouge Wave goes public
• Developing company values
• Having fun serving customers

We had a number of complaints about the blues harp music on our earlier videos. So we tried a new, harder,  less Sesame Street intro riff. What do you think? Please browse to the top of this post to leave a comment and voice your thoughts. Also use the RSS feed button up top to subscribe to Innovational Musings, either vis email or your RSS reader. Thanks!

Wow. Whole lot of news this week: First of all congratulations to you! Because of your votes a’tris won the first round of the Indie Show Contest! I’ve seriously lost count of how many of these we’ve won thanks to you. This win will allow us to advance to The Indie Show’s finals round, so as soon as we have more information about that I’ll post it here. Thanks again!

Yeah… I think I need to have this looked at. It’s a four hour drive to the show tomorrow too so, if I’m to fit this into my schedule (and I believe that would probably fall into the good idea category) I have some work to do! Hopefully I’ll be able to update this post with a before and after. For the moment here’s the before:

Warning: the following photographs are graphic and may offend some viewers – who are musicians – who play keyboards.

-Mason

When a bajillion up and coming bands descend on the Apple for the annual CMJ Music Marathon, it’s hard for the music buff to focus on anything else. But this year, I noticed/awakened/realized that there is a pretty descent film festival attached to the fun. Maybe there have always been films? In any case, amidst the features and shorts here are some documentary highlights from the festival that kicks off tonight in NYC:

• Leonard Cohen: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970
  Reaching way back in the history books is Murray Lerner’s 77 minute concert recording of one of Cohen’s many fine moments (don’t all Cohens know how to give fine moments?) Apparently, this perfromance followed a raucous Jimi Hendrix set but Cohen mesmerized the crowd with his dirgy lullabies, such as in the clip above. This film is also being released on DVD today. Premieres October 20.
• Speaking In Code
  Per the program, “a vérité glimpse into today’s world of techno from Boston to Berlin.” For those of you like this sort of stuff. Premieres October 21.
• D-Tour
  Pat Sturgeon’s dedication to his band, Rogue Wave, is put to the test as he searches for an organ donor for his failed kidney, performs dialysis daily, and tours with his band. Premieres October 21.
• Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard Is Full
  Biodoc on the Fleshtones. NYC Premiere October 22.
• Kid Creole And My Coconuts
  Focusing on Adriana Kaegi’s adventures as Mama Coconut, the co-founder of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Premieres October 22.
• Mellodrama
  A look at the Mellotron, which changed the production and texture of popular music, with converts like Radiohead and Kanye West. NYC premiere October 23.
• Searching For Elliott Smith
  Smith’s former girlfriend and musical peers talk about the artist who most likely committed suicide in 2003. Wonder if they got the rights to use Smith’s music. Premiere October 23

Spätestens seit seinem weltweiten Durchbruch im Jahr 2005 ist Jack Johnson den meisten Musikfans ein Begriff. Das Ausnahme-Talent verzaubert mit einer unvergleichlichen Stimme, sehnsüchtigen Lyrics, lockerem Gitarrensound, lebensbejahenden Messages und einem charmanten Lächeln. Jack Johnson gilt als der Inbegriff von Freude, Sonne, Sommer, Strand und unbekümmerten Surferfeeling. Nach fünf Alben folgt nun eine vielversprechende Live-CD/DVD – „En Concert“!

Foto: balokenhaa ²

Die zahlreichen und vor allem unvergesslichen Live-Momente seiner Konzerte rund um den Globus wurden vom bekannten Filmemacher Emmett Malloy festgehalten, welcher übrigens schon für Stars wie „The White Stripes“ oder auch „Metallica“ gefilmt hat. Jack Johnson wurde auf seiner Welttour außerdem von namenhaften Gästen wie Ben Harper, G.Love, Mason Jennings, Matt Costa und Neil Halstead unterstützt – das folgende Video bietet einen Vorgeschmack auf „En Concert“.

Die „En Concert“ Doppel-CD (Limited Edition) erscheint am 23.Oktober und bietet insgesamt 38 Tracks – also, Live-Aufnahmen seiner größten Hits, wie zum Beispiel meines absoluten Lieblingssongs „Flake“. Gleichzeitig erscheint auch die beeindruckende Deluxe Edition mit CD&DVD sowie einem 60-seitigem Buch zur Tour. Einen Teil der Einnahmen der DVD/CD wird Jack Johnson übrigens an zwei wohltätige Umwelt-Organisationen auf Hawaii spenden.

Für alle die den sympathischen Ex-Profi-Surfer noch nie auf der Bühne erlebt haben ist die DVD, sowie die CD, also die perfekte Möglichkeit die Wartezeit bis zu den nächsten Konzert-Terminen oder dem nächsten Studioalbum zu überbrücken. Jack Johnson hat in den letzten Jahren zwar schon viel erreicht, aber ich habe das Gefühl, dass da noch einiges folgen wird – hopefully!

Rogue Wave – Harmonium

Live concerts are fun to attend but sometimes I prefer the soundtrack from the studio.

There the bass and treble are perfected with some reverb.

I find the sound at concerts kind of brassy at times and fuzzy sounding?

Also if you stand too close to the main speakers, you can’t hear a thing for about 2 hours after the concert.

I like it that fans are making videos and posting them.

I haven’t been able to travel to the United States (no passport) to attend any of these concerts.

I think it’s cool to see something from another country, don’t you?

It’s like your there, not in the flesh just with your pretty little eyeballs.

And big EARS.

07 Rogue Wave – Everyday

Rogue Wave – Eyes music video

I always like the previews of various bands and artists while I’m at the movies.

A video from Rogue Wave was playing and I jotted the name down and took a look on you tube for some music to share with all of you.

Hope you enjoy it.

My first impression of this band is that they sound like the Beatles to me?

I’m no expert but the vocals sound like that band.

Bob Odenkirk’s Rogue Wave

RogueWave

Rogue Wave – Bird on a Wire

WORD

amalgamate [uh-mal-guh-meyt] v. 1. to mix or merge so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine: to amalgamate two companies 2. Metallurgy. to mix or alloy (a metal) with mercury 3. to combine, unite, merge, or coalesce: The three schools decided to amalgamate 4. to blend with another metal, as mercury

BIRTHDAY

Euripides (480 BC), Kublai Khan (1214), Mary Mallon (1869), Mickey Rooney (1920), John Coltrane (1926), Ray Charles (1930), Julio Iglesias (1943), Bruce Springsteen (1949), Jason Alexander (1959), Elizabeth Peña (1961), Ani DiFranco (1970), Jermaine Dupri (1972), Layzie Bone (1975), Rachael Yamagata (1977), Melanie Oudin (1991)

STANDPOINT

Two things I’ve always been gifted at are (a) making drinks and (b) convincing people I’m actually interested in the words coming out of their mouths. So, I’m a natural bartender.

And I love bartending. For the most part. But there a few annoying people who might appear during any given night I’ll always be unhappy to lay eyes on.

• “The Loud Dude Who Is Totally Fucking Wrong About Pretty Much Everything” – This guy lives in every bar you’ve ever been to. He offers his opinions on just about everything in earshot, reciting  facts and statistics that are completely false. People put up with this kind of guy because, although he’s stupid, he’s no idiot and eventually offers to buy drinks for other customers. Sadly, people accept because, hey, free alcohol. As the bartender, and therefore the only sober person present, I’m forced to listen to the guy’s conspiracy theory about how Jack Ruby didn’t kill Lee Harvey Oswald, despite that being the one fucking fact in the whole JFK conspiracy everyone knows is absolutely true.
• “The Wishy-Washy Individual Hankering For Some Dream World Elixir” – OK, here’s a tip for all you who plan on ever going to a bar again. Don’t pepper the bartender with an endless ingredient list of a drink that could never possibly exist. “Well, I want something fruity, but I don’t want it too sweet, and I don’t want to really taste the alcohol, but I want it to be strong because I’m only gonna have, like, one. Or maybe two.” You might as well ask me to serve that drink in the Holy Grail and have it personally delivered by Brad Pitt. Because that’d be easier than making your fantasyland cocktail. What do you like to drink? Just tell me. I’ll make it. As long as the ingredients don’t involve pixie dust or the breath of an angel.
• “The Ultra-Demanding Dolt Who Doesn’t Truly Understand The System” – If you are finicky, that’s perfectly fine. That’s what I’m there for. If you want what you want the way you want, I’m on board. I’m the same way. However, if you make me shuck and jive, groove and dance, run around like a hopped-up chimpanzee, hey, it’s cool. I’m in the service industry and that’s exactly what I’m there for. But if you run up a tab of, say, $320 and you leave me a $30 tip, I’ll deal with it. Life will go on. BUT, the next time you come and sit at my bar, prepare to be placed at the very bottom of my priority level, somewhere between making sure my floor is clean and checking my cell for text messages. Tip well, and you’re gonna get treated well.

QUOTATION

The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of that hope never entirely removes. ← Thomas Hardy

TUNE

In Philadelphia, there’s not a much greater place to watch a band you love than Johnny Brenda’s. Here’s a video of Rogue Wave’s “Kicking The Heart Out.” I was at the show. My friend Danielle and I were busy getting hammered at the bar. But still, I was there.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ The video of Will Ferrell and a bunch of other celebrities imploring the American people to help out this country’s health insurance execs was yesterday’s big internet draw. Regardless of you position on the issue, this is some pretty funny stuff. I love Thomas Lennon’s remark at the very end.

→ Apparently, 60% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. Welcome to my world, people. Glad to have you aboard.

→ Dude, are you fucking kidding me? GLENN BECK DAY? Mt. Vernon, you suck.

Thanks again to everyone for your votes! Our appearance on Fame Games was a big success. Check out what the judges had to say after the break.

By the way, if anyone else wondered what “tickle my tittler” meant urban dictionary gives us the following definition:

1. Tittler – A small alcoholic beverage that is intended to stop after just one. Usually followed by many other tittlers. Usually consumed by people on shift in the restaurant business. tit-ler

“Hey Cypress, is it time for a tittler yet”?

So apparently one of the judges did not believe that our music tickled his small alcoholic beverage.

If you feel that you can’t stop after voting for just one a’tris song there’s good news! Thanks to your support, “Chasing Rabbits” will make its Fame Games debut this coming Monday, 28 September! I can’t tell you how excited I am to see that one getting this type of exposure.

Some songs take days to write, some take weeks; “Chasing Rabbits” took months. My writing partner, Michael Kreher, came up with the foundation for this tune and I knew he was on to something the moment he first shared it with me. Even in its early form, CR held a lot of potential; but I didn’t know where it wanted to go until I watched a speech that Sam Harris, the author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, gave at AAI 07. If you would like to get some more insight into the source material for this song please visit samharris.org.

To help “Chasing Rabbits” advance please use the following links to vote and review for it!

More news to come!

-Mason

There are 11 songs in the Love Happens soundtrack, including The Eels, The Postal Service and Rogue Wave. The downloads for all of them are here.

I have not seen this movie yet. Frankly, I had forgotten about it until I visited Box Office Mojo to see what was being released today. It has not gotten all that much buzz. But to tell you the truth, I have been listening to the music from the movie all morning, and it is brilliant.

I was drawn in by Badly Drawn Boy. The soundtrack to About a Boy is still a classic in my mind. But combine them with The Eels, The Postal Service and Rogue Wave, and now you are talking. But not just any ordinary Rogue Wave song, we’re talking a cover of Buddy Holly’s Everyday (plus Lake Michigan). The soundtrack also takes you back a bit – to John Hiatt singing Have a Little Faith in Me. Classic.

This soundtrack has romantic comedy written all over it. In fact, the soundtrack to Love Happens is a bit derivative. Dream is from Bride Wars, Fresh Feeling is from Failure to Launch and IO was in Elizabethtown, (plus Everyday is from Stubbs the Zombie). Still, it is damn good. Light, subdued, a bit poppy and good. Just what I needed for a muted morning in DC.

• The Time of Times – Badly Drawn Boy
• Dream – Priscilla Ahn
• Life In Ashes – Curt Sobel and Gary Schreiner
• Lake Michigan – Rogue Wave
• Fresh Feeling – Eels
• Acidtar Bollyhop – Curt Sobel and Gary Schreiner
• We Will Become Silhouettes – The Postal Service
• Your Hand In Mine – Explosions in the Sky
• Have A Little Faith in Me – John Hiatt
• IO (This Time Around) – Helen Stellar
• Everyday – Rogue Wave

Original music for Love Happens – Christopher Young

Long-time readers may recall that we’ve posted about the trials and tribulations of the band Rogue Wave in the past on here.

As a quick recap, the band’s drummer, Pat Spurgeon, was in dire need of a kidney transplant in 2006. Working through the struggle of being a touring musician on dialysis, Pat received his kidney in 2007. In a crazy twist, the band’s former bassist, passed away in a tragic house fire in 2008 and went on to become a donor.

The band has now released a documentary called D tour that takes an inside look at Pat’s struggle for a transplant just as his career was taking off.

The Chicago Cultural Center will be screening the film this weekend!

Details are as follows:

Saturday, September 19th, 2:00 PM
Chicago Cultural Center in the Claudia Cassidy Theatre

78 E. Washington St.
Chicago, IL
FREE Event, Open to the Public

In addition, the event will feature a panel discussion on organ/tissue donation with the following guests:

Alison Smith, Vice President of Operations, Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network;
Dr. David Hinkamp, Founder, Co-Director, Health in the Arts Program, University of Illinois at Chicago
Tyler Beach, Musician
Moderator: Carrie Shepherd

Hop over here to check out more details and be sure to watch the trailer below!

-Scott

Last time I blogged I asked you guys if you’d like to help us get another tune of ours back on Fame Games by voting for your favorite song. Thanks for responding in a big way! “Black Bird’s Song” is now going to be receiving some major exposure as, thanks to you, it will be appearing on Monday’s Q show! I’m so glad to see that you like “Black Bird Song”; it’s a personal favorite of mine.

For those of you who aren’t on Twitter, the guys and I have been tweeting about some really great news this week and I wanted to share some of that with you here. Currently “Automatic Doors” is #1 on Ourstage’s Alternative Channel for the second week in a row! There are all kinds of cool prizes to be had for monthly winners so thanks for helping us hold steady at the top Two more weeks to go, w00t!

In other cool news, a’tris is currently Globally ranked #71 on ReverbNation’s Alternative chart. Just to give you some perspective, over 250,000 bands use ReverbNation to promote their work so we feel really good about that

Thanks again for your support!

-Mason

Word

gadabout [gad-uh-bout] n. 1. a person who moves about restlessly or aimlessly, esp. from one social activity to another 2. a person who travels often or to many different places, esp. for pleasure

Birthday

Claudius Clavus (1388), Johann Michael Haydn (1737), Hamlin Garland (1860), Harry Sinden (1932), Walter Koenig (1936), Larry Brown (1940), Joey Heatherton (1944), Sam Neill (1947), Beth Neilsen Chapman (1958), Wendy Thomas (1961), Faith Ford (1964), Dan Cortese (1967), Tyler Perry (1969), Robert Ben Garant (1970), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (1971), Nas (1973), Amy Winehouse (1983)

Standpoint

Oh, man, yesterday was the first Sunday of NFL season, and, Christ, could it have been more dramatic for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans? I’m completely sure the answer is no.

Yesterday afternoon, Donovan McNabb ran in for a 3rd quarter touchdown, putting another nail in the coffin his team was busy building for a supremely shitty Carolina Panthers football team. And then some 300-lb. dude named Damione Lewis landed all of his significant weight on McNabb’s rib cage, causing some sort of damage, the extent of which is not yet fully determined. 

Suddenly, as McNabb was writhing in pain on the turf, and FOX Sports was already showing the live feed of Michael Vick up in some luxury box, it wasn’t hard to envision the lightbulbs go on over the collective braintrust that is Philadelphia Eagles fans everywhere.

Later, as Kevin Kolb entered the game and did just a tiny bit better playing quarterback than, say, a robot I might make in my basement out of old stereo components, it wasn’t hard to conjure what every die-hard, bleeding-green member of Eagles’ nation was thinking.

Dogs? What dogs? I sort of remember something about Michael Vick and dogs. I kind of remember there being some kind of negative attention he may have attracted to himself involving something he did with/to dogs. It’s all a bit fuzzy. Let’s move on.

Couple of superb truths are about to be brought to light regarding “the best fans in football.”

One, this city seems to get its rocks off on when a guy, who’s done nothing but smile through all the massive amounts of shit we’ve hurled his way, gets physically injured. (I’ll elaborate more on the McNabb/Philadelphia relationship in tomorrow’s post.)

Two, all the clowns who were so “outraged” by the Vick signing are going to find that feeling suddenly replaced with outright panic over who’s going to quarterback the football team they’ve dedicated endless hours revolving their lives around.

Instantaneously, this city is about to change its tune. Because, while the pointless slaughter of defenseless dogs is, yes, a crime, it doesn’t come close to the potential atrocity of not making the playoffs.

Quotation

I’m always concerned that I’m not being nice enough. You know, people have told me I’m unfailingly polite….But I think those people are all pieces of shit. ◊ Michael Cera

Tune

Listening to tons of really good stuff the past couple of weeks. At least 15 new albums, mostly because of eMusic giving me 50 free downloads for some reason or another. The best of the bunch is, hands  down, Touchdown by brakesbrakesbrakes, known as Brakes in its native UK, featuring members of British Sea Power, Electric Soft Parade and The Tenderfoot. I may be digging on it so much because there are certain parts of the album where the band seems to be channeling Rogue Wave. And that’s fine by me because if there are two bands out there who can gracefully twist an turn through an album like that, all the better. Try “Worry About It Later.”

Gallimaufry

 → I’ve never been a huge Jim Carroll fan, but definitely had a boatload of respect for his body of work. Very sad to learn that he died this past Friday night from a heart attack at the age of 60. He was someone who two of my personal heroes, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, recognized as a viable voice. his poetry and prose never really appealed to me, but, being the music geek that I happen to be, I’ve always loved “People Who Died” – one of the only great songs to come out of Carroll’s foray into music.

→ I’ll be the first one to tell anyone who’ll listen there isn’t an abundance of interesting people up here in the suburbs. Exception to the rule are my friends who run Liberty Tattoo in Skippack. Talented, cool folks. Definitely worth a drive up from wherever the hell it is you are to get some quality work done on your person.

→ I’ve made an important life decision. If you and I are to be friends, I’ll need to be convinced you have a firm grasp of the important contribution Calvin and Hobbes made to our society. If you’re smart, you’ll start using this as a meter for determining worthwhile individuals. Don’t worry, if you’re already my friend and you don’t enjoy Calvin and Hobbes, we can still hang out. I won’t stop being friends with you. After all, it’s just a comic strip, right? Wrong. That was just a test. Hopefully you passed.

A couple of days ago I blogged about Susan Peter’s comments on our lyrics. In response the guys and I received some messages asking if we’d made them available and, if so, where they could be found. The short response could have simply been “no,” but – because we try to be a little less curt in our replies, I
thought a more thoughtful answer might be in order:

No.

There is a reason behind this though When I sat down with my writing partner, Mike Kreher, years ago and first started talking about what we wanted to do with a’tris we immediately agreed that an emphasis should be placed on the lyrical content as we both felt that much of the landscape of popular music at that time was dominated by acts whose works were seemingly calculated to touch upon every conceivable cliché in order to solicit a response which would lead to quick record sales… In other words, boy bands. And that needed to be fixed.

The two main acts we sited as influences as we began thinking about how to create music that we believed would be accessible but more relevant were Radiohead and R.E.M. We were both big fans of those acts and each of us believed that they embodied what we were looking to do both sonically and lyrically. Radiohead’s song forms and structures were different and their harmony could at times be complex, but everything they did had a clear focus and purpose and, for that reason, it just worked. Many of these same ideas were embodied in Michael Stipe’s lyrics as well. A lot of his stuff was pretty esoteric and often I would spend hours when I was growing up listening to his records and wondering what he was saying. At some point though, I stopped focusing on what his meaning could have been and started thinking about what the meaning had become. Mike expressed that he felt the same way and suggested that we avoid publishing lyrics in the future.

I could see where Mike was coming from because I had a difficult time understanding Michael Stype’s words and could never get what Thom Yorke was saying. (Anyone else find they have that problem, too?) But that was cool because I made up my own words to fill in the gaps.

On a side note – I always wondered if those guys, along with many of the other artists whose works I respected, slurred their words intentionally to make their performances sound cooler or to throw me off or something. Now that I’ve been accused of making similarly incomprehensible sounds though I believe that this has less to do with intent and more to do with the often spasmodic nature of self-expression.

To try to articulate each word would rob the work of one of its most indelible traits. At the same time, releasing the lyrics would similarly rob listeners of the ability to apply the music we would create to their lives in much the same way that we had both done with R.E.M. and Radiohead’s material. But I was (and still am) ridiculously perfectionistic and so I wanted to share them because I would be spending a lot of time creating them. I don’t mean to sound self-aggrandizing here but that’s honestly how I felt. And would releasing the lyrics really take away from our future listeners’ experiences? We were split; but that was okay because, aside from a couple of tunes I’d already written, (“Black Bird’s Song” and “Compassion”), we really didn’t have any other material.

After a few more chats and many weeks of writing Mike and I finished up the songs, put what was to be the first incarnation of a’tris together, and brought Chuck Sokol on board to engineer appeal. It was in 2004, as we began to plan how to release that album that Chuck settled our debate about the lyrics by siding with Mike. A future publishing deal cemented it and that’s the story. As of this time, for the above reasons, no lyrics have been officially released.

Thankfully it looks like I’m not the only one who would like the lyrics to be made available. I just noticed that someone posted lyrics to “Automatic Doors” on SongMeanings.net. And it appears that they made up some of their own words to fill the gaps like I used to Whoever you are I support you! If anyone wants to build us our very own Greenplastic.com, while I can’t supply you with our lyrics, I’ll gladly send you my blessings and gratitude.

-Mason

P.S. Care to hear more about our early years? Tune in to paradizeradio.com this Saturday, 29 August at 4PM EDT and feel free to ask me some questions in the chat room!

Today did not get off to a good start. In an effort to add some new content to a’tris HQ I accidently modified a couple of key files and the whole site came toppling down like a game of Jenga. That’s about the only funny analogy I have for that one though because I broke our website… :/

And the refresh button didn’t fix it. Nope. But I clicked it a couple of times anyway because it felt better to blame my browser than recognize my carelessness. Venting my frustration on my primary mouse button didn’t really get me anywhere though so I finally put on my thinking cap and started to work out what I needed to do.

Long story short (a little over two hours long, to be exact) I was able to get everything up and running again thanks in large part to an application called iWeb Valet developed by Ziggysoft. Maura and the gang at Ziggysoft are fantastic and those 19.00 EUR were well spent. I hope you’ll visit atrishq.com now. After all of that I am through with web development; that is one big bag of hurt. I get extremely perfectionistic about things and I’d much rather focus my energy on writing lyrics than on creating, breaking, and rebuilding websites.

Back to lyrics – the guys and I received some fantastic comments from Susan Peters about a couple of our tunes. It’s really cool to see such a response to our approach. I’ve included Susan’s words below. What are your thoughts? Do you share her interpretations or do you have some of your own? Leave us some comments and let us know what you think!

Aug 23 2009 7:32 AM:

HAILS FROM COVINGTON, TN.
Thank you for requesting to be added to myspace friend’s list. I hope that our friendship will continue to grow. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your world of music. Also, I want to thank you for your patience in my getting back to you. I have been having some Internet Explorer software problems, and like children can be, does not want to respond. So everything gets erased and I have to wait and start all over again. Should you guys get a banner, plz let me know so that I may post it on my profile to help spread the word about your music and for future friends and people who come to visit my site. DARK LOTUS-This song, to me, is about a young human-form who is being primed for a particular task. He no longer has to fear leaving home on this journey set before him. He is no longer attached to his mother’s apron strings. He is told to leave. Do not be afraid of what he must do. He has reached maturity. Old enough to be able to flourish and replenish the Earth on his own. The information has been put onto tapes that he was given. Possibly instructions on what the task he has to accomplish. He has grown into manhood. Similar to a Noah’s Ark possibly. The music and your vocals are amazing. The different octaves that you are capable of reaching are just phenomenal. The music is sooo visionary along with the lyrics. I can see in my mind what you are singing, but it is really hard to put into the proper wording that I have described. It is as if this young man has a gift. That possibly by touching something, he is able to provide life, rebirth to what has remained dead in the Earth. Great job. I love the song and the lyrics. Continued.

Aug 23 2009 7:33 AM:

AUTOMATIC DOORS-I am just sooo stoked on this music that you guys are providing me. This song has started by the light that is sooo bright it is blinding people. Life is short. A conversation has begun about how everyone is doing. Some people do not feel that great. Do they imagine what might be after life? People are afraid of possibly wanting to travel farther away than their front doors. Not wanting to take a chance and take that step that will put them in a place of insecurity. A place unknown to their small minds. The insight that you have on the world is astounding. Money is the root of all evil. We are pieces on the governments chessboard and they play us where they want us. They tell us only what we want to hear not what is actually happening. We are just letters on a piece of paper. Love the song. Great job. LIGHT AND SHADOWS-This guy is reading from some sort of a transcript that he does not particular believe to people who are listening, but then after reading this passage, he comments to the people and tries to say that he did not mean what he said. So here he is trying to concede and explain what he said that was out of context. He is of political stature. The workforce is at a standstill. He is clouding his speech. Trying to whitewash it. Telling the people stating that he is not responsible for the problems at hand. Curfews are set. Marshall Law has come into play. Houses being ransacked. To me, the light and shadows are the half-truths and lies they conceive as truths. Continued.
Susan Baker Peters

Aug 23 2009 7:33 AM

THIS MORTAL ENGINE-I love the intro to this song. An accident has happened. He had a dream about the two of them on the beach. He awoke from his dream and believed that she was there. He was able to trace every line ofwhat she looked like in his mind. She faded in and out of his mind. He believes in his mind’s eye that this is how life ends. Reality has set in. He is remembering the ambulance sirens. He is remembering the conversation the two of them had before the accident. She told him that this is how healing begins. It starts with remembering. Putting things in perspective. She came to him in a vision and spoke to him, telling him this. Love the story. I hope that this was not an actual event in your life. How sad I feel for you to have lost a loved one so soon in your lifetime. This song brought tears to my eyes. You put such feeling into your songs. I loved it. CACTUS BRIDE-Bridal invites are being sent out by the groom. He is wanting people to arrive bearing very expensive gifts. He is requesting that people arrive in casual attire. The party is in the streets, kind of like a block party which is out of character for a party before the wedding. He is getting bored and his patience is being tested. This is all a fascade. The plastic and artificial rules and regs of getting married. These so-called formalities of a party before the wedding. I have enjoyed every single piece that you have written, played, sung. The whole band was such a joy to listen to. Will continue to keep in touch with you..Kisses, Susan