How do you keep fresh after 15 years in a genre that is a niche inside a nook inside a crannie inside a lost geocache in No Man’s Land? Beats me, but The Life and Times are unto something with their latest release, The Life and Times. It’s a great album that somehow manages to intertwine two different side of the band. Curious about choosing the … Continue reading Review: The Life and Times – The Life and Times
It’s a low-lit bar. The band takes the scene, as the uninterested saps and boozehounds keep hammerin’ down national beer and watered-down bourbon. The three bearded gents tune the instruments, check the cabling, and do a mic check. Nobody cares. It’s a non-smoking dive bar which saw its best days in the seventies, peaking the week before the oil crisis. Still, tar and nicotine still … Continue reading Review: The Life and Times – Doppelgängers EP
Chapter 2: Darts and Tacos It hadn’t quite sunk in yet. I was sitting on the couch of our AirBnB with Joe, watching episode 1 of Vice Principals (during the sessions, this show and Stranger Things became our decompression shows after days in the studio). It didn’t quite feel real to me at this point. I was almost surprised to see them all the next … Continue reading Making Dinner Music: Studio Diaries #2
Chapter #1 – Re: Grouping *Author’s Note – The recording of this album took place during July 16th – 30th. As a result of that, my tense during these missives will be all over the place. Sorry. If you’ve ever been in a band or partaken in a creative endeavour (doesn’t have to be making a record) with a group of people, you will understand … Continue reading Making Dinner Music: Studio Diaries #1
It’s been a long time coming and we are so superfreaking excited to bring you this album that I’m switching to Spanish now. En serio. No, actually, what I wanted to say it’s that it’s been a long journey but we are proud, ecstatic and superfelices to bring you the full Vast Robot Armies album, Little Creatures, for your ears. While you listen to this … Continue reading Stream: Vast Robot Armies – Little Creatures
“Every single time I step into the studio, I say, ‘Can I still do this? Do I still have it? Have I ever had it?’ I suppose there’s a good amount of self-loathing that goes into any form of artisanship.” – Ben Harper The air of ending hung over us as we puttered about the condo on the morning of the 12th day. It … Continue reading Vast Robot Armies’ Studio Diary – Day Twelve
“Songs really are like a form of time travel because they really have moved forward in a bubble. Everyone who’s connected with it, the studio’s gone, the musicians are gone, and the only thing that’s left is this recording which was only about a three-minute period maybe 70 years ago.” – Tom Waits I knew when I woke up that morning on Day 11 that … Continue reading Vast Robot Armies’ Studio Diary – Day Eleven
“When I sit down to write a song, it’s a kind of improvisation, but I formalize it a bit to get it into the studio, and when I step up to a microphone, I have a vague idea of what I’m about to do.” – Paul McCartney We had arrived at the day I was secretly dreading: Keyboards and piano day. I love keys and … Continue reading Vast Robot Armies’ Studio Diary – Day Ten
“I love to go to the studio and stay there 10 or 12 hours a day. I love it. What is it? I don’t know. It’s life.” – Johnny Cash It was my evening on the couch, thus I was awoke earlier than my normal 7:30am.The sounds of construction and morning rush hour traffic filled my awakening ears. It was an exceptionally nice morning, and … Continue reading Vast Robot Armies’ Studio Diary – Day Nine
“The first Van Halen album makes Johnny Rotten out to be what he really was and still is: a hairdresser.” –Henry Rollins I remember waking up on the 8th day (5th day recording) and finally having the feeling. The feeling that I no longer had any sense of what a normal structured week was like. I’ve told friends in the past that recording is my … Continue reading Vast Robot Armies’ Studio Diary – Day Eight
