a cap/a mountain

its weird, i have been in this odd transitional mind set as far as where and what the band is doing at the moment,... when you throw the plans out the window and burn up a full year touring, you are def a different and new band by the end of that year then the band who started it all off, ----last january 6th, a tuesday night in bushwick at goodbye blue monday in the early cold of 2009. at the time we didn't even realize what our plans for the year would be and what we would achieve...we started it then and this past sunday in the east village of nyc, we ended at mercury lounge. 100 shows. a show within every 4 days. yeah, work.

i know that i learned more about really functioning in a serious band situation this past year then i have ever in my musical life yet,..and i have been playing in bands since 1994. --i have yet to come away from a year feeling so close to the work that i have done - so much like it defines me that i am sitting in recluse with a bush of weed and a lot of PAVEMENT and tons of thoughts of what exactly should be assigned to the clipboard of 2010, knowing full well to leave room on said board for the things that will come across our paths stemming from the work we have already done and continue to do.

i want to have a record, (a new full length, upwards of 12 to 14 songs) recorded and out ASAP.. but i am forgetting that if we are going to do this right, the reality of the new record being out anytime before the summer is slim..... in just thinking about the time needed to map all this material out that has been spilling over the sides for months now. - shit, we have been so crazy with just the touring aspect of this stuff that we have barely had a second to really sit with all this, and now that we have done the 100th show and 09 is officially over, it still almost feels like we need some time to let it sweat out and settle in.

but it would work very nicely for us to have the record ready for the summer and then do our cross country touring cycles from june thru sept and Europe in Oct... that could very well be how the year shapes up for us.....

the real truth of the moment is - we have a brand new live EP, just released in november of 09 and we have the 100 shows to use as another stack to add to the mountain. we are in some interesting shape. we also are going to have our work cut out for us with choosing which material we should use and focus on for the new record. we know we need to make a record that really defines what we are about so we can show all these mutherfukkers what we can do without any of their help or influence..but, we have a batch of songs that were already written and ready around the recording of Exile Baby, a few songs that we have no idea of how they did not wind up on Exile Baby and then we have another batch of songs that are entirely brand new and all really have to be considered for the record.

in reality, i only wish we were the position where a double record would help us. unfortunately, we are def not in that position, we know the next record needs to be a solid and blunt force representation of the best of what this band does, so a 25 songs double record won't be our approach - but we have the material to go that way if we wanted to. its gonna be tough. ha.

its so strange, its like a record has this whole proper life span cycle to it. --1st you have to write the songs. then you record them. then you mix and master. then art and other essentials... push it into the stream by whatever means possible and then go and perform.... and perform. ---we have been in the performance band mode for quite a bit - we can go and do a show (replete with 4 hour pre and post drive and load in up stairs or down through a basement) in our sleep right now, but having to go to the studio and write songs and have fun again is seeming foreign.

everything about being a musician can be so epic and so minor at the same time... its hard to keep yr head from exploding or yr ass from shaking out the race.

i think i might try to do a journal thing on the 100 shows from 09, to put out on our blog or something over the next few months... keep you posted, i should keep me posted too