recording, day 1

The first day of recording at Chase Park has completed. It was a productive, if not arduous day. I, for one, learned how the process worked.

We have essentially completed one song. Our goal was two, but Echo is really good and complete. I think that we can burn through Three songs today. I think we all know more about what it takes and will have the ability to concentrate for longer today.

We also won't have as much setup time. In any case, David Barbe has had some great things to say and the album is going to sound great.

I hope your long weekend served you well. Thanks to the US veterans!

Have a great week. We are...

yellow cake,
boB

how soon is NOW?

so, i've taken a week to let it soak in. the gravity of it all. last sunday we played at bartram park [in the late afternoon] & sluggo's [later that night]. and now we're about to embark on our recording journey in athens, GA. it's all happening in such a short period of time--everything is progressing incredibly quickly. like water through a funnel. i'm not complaining, i'm just a little overwhelmed. haha.

both shows were brilliant. we sounded the best we've ever sounded live. different crowds, different dynamics. bartram park was a more laid back atmosphere. playing outdoors in the sunlight brought a wistful, summer vibe to the set. this, of course, was balanced out by chad's subversive comments. the crowd laughed because they thought it was just between song banter. i laughed because i knew that it wasn't. haha. sluggo's was amazing for a completely different reason. we were in full "rock your face off" mode. we brought it. we were playing with all levels in the red, with all systems go! and we were having so much fun. we were completely at home on the stage. we walked it like we talked it. and the kids in the crowd tapped into our energy. i think we won them over [though i'm sure our musical operandi might have been a little over their heads for the most part]. what mattered was the moment that we were all sharing in that room. at the same time. it's such an intangible thing. that, my friends--is magic.

chase park. david barbe. athens, GA. monday morning. it's actually happening. it's not entirely real to me just yet. though the butterflies are starting to arrive. [1] one band + [10] ten songs = escapist vs. exit. our debut album. and to think that the rocketpack has only been together with all members installed since march. craziness. chad. ronnie. taylor. brandon. bob. aaron. [and samuel] all present & accounted for.

prepare for lift off in 5, 4, 3, 2...

love,
ronnie

ps : thanks again to the gills for having us on the roster for their EP release party. they are such a tight musical unit! and even more thanks go out to nathan dillaha for lending me his amp & tuning pedal. without either, i wouldn't have sounded as good. call me crazy, but there's just something about playing fender through fender... :)

pss : thank you brandon for making "in search of the nugget" an adventure to remember! i can't believe we walked that entire distance! those salty snacks tasted so much better to me because of the fact. haha.

boredom + lack of skill = bad posting juju

you all were great fun.

hope to see you again soon!

--boB

3 shows one day!

yesterday was a prefect day. no rain, wasn't the usual humid may in pensacola: cool and breezy. i woke yesterday morning to fly kites at the beach. the wind dropped the minute i unfurled the tiger kite into the windless ether. had a beer for breakfast, headed home for a nap.

late afternoon, i played a solo set of songs i don't do with the band. it was very nice to play these songs, they're old friends- memories of old loves, travels, and passions. i guess old songs are also like time capsules, waiting for you to rediscover former selves.

the band has really hit a stride, everyone is firing off with great efficiency. everyone has worked so hard up to this point and its really paying off now. we played at the outside arts festival, to a crowd of artist, and people riding bikes. mostly a great show, i fired off about marxist stuff and got chuckles in return, which was humorous to me, because i am sure the people thought i was kidding.

later in the evening we played at sluggos with mi capitan, and the gills. what a perfect night. all the bands were tight, it was a great turnout and we looked hot! one of these days we'll get a good bootleg of a show and post it.

one week until athens, and then the madness of releasing an album starts! i've started on the next album, i have five stretches for new songs and plenty of time to finish them.

umbrella... ella?

Two shows tomorrow. I am hoping that the clouds will get over it and stop this crying before then.

Our first show is to be the OUTSIDE arts fair in downtown 'Cola.

You heard me, outside. What happened at our first outside gig. We didn't have one, because it rained.

I don't want to have that stigma. Book Paper Scissors Rocketpack... it'll make it rain!

Either way, tomorrow Chad plays all by his lonesome starting at 4pm, and then the rest of us plug in and rock the roofless house-type area of Bartram Park at 5pm.



Then we move on to the second phase of our day. We pack up, drive down Cervantes, maybe stopping at Mediterranean Plus (here's to hoping), and unload at Sluggo's.

We will be playing after Mi Capitan and before The Gills release something on the audience. I think it's an EP.



Either way, it will be a mini tour of Pensacola. Let's see if local independent papers ignore us now...

Here's hoping to see some shining faces at the shows. It's been raining for two days straight. Go outside!

Yay, nature! Get it while it lasts.

holla,
boB

the love you bring won't mean a thing unless you sing-sing-sing-SING.

[2] two shows in [2] two days. pure madness. i know, i know. it sounds like i'm complaining. it should be no great shakes, right? but i'd say we have a little room to speak, as these were our third & fourth shows, respectively. and how did these shows go, you may ask? they went quite well. we're still finding our legs, of course. gotta crawl before you walk so that you can hit the ground running. or something to that effect. haha.

friday night @ sluggo's we played to a packed room. i was surprised. a lot of people made it out to see us--which does wonders for the morale. though, it's a bit nerve-wracking playing in your hometown. there are people you actually know out in the audience. it's something you always have floating in the back of your mind.

saturday night @ the blind mule we played to a handful of people. mobile IS an hour & some change away. it was a more intimate gig, which may be why i enjoyed it a little more. perhaps it was because we were strangers in a strange land. [and a strange land it was. not that we're at all normal. but for us to say that it was weird is telling. haha.] seriously though, i think it was because i didn't expect anything from them [the audience] & vice versa. i think we really entertained the true believers who stuck it out to the end of our set. [which we played in it's entirety.]

"dresden" seems to be our signature song, at least in these early shows. keysha [bob's significant other & the photographer behind the amazing images featured in this post] has fallen in love with "apollo 1969" & "asleep in winter sleeves." can't say i blame her. those were definitely exclamation points.

i'd like to thank everyone who came out & supported us @ both gigs. and i'd like to send a special thank you out to our extended band family. you know who you are. :)

this weekend we play [2] two shows in [1] one day. caffeine + instruments = ROCK. i was never that good at math, but i think we can work that equation without looking in the back of the book for the answers. funny how they only gave you the odd numbers. hrmmm...

love,
ronnie

shows over the weekend

shows over the weekend were really great. i was really nervous on friday night at sluggos, playing for people who've supported my musical projects over the years. we played with u win instantly, and the dead science. both bands were really good. the dead science had my jaw on the floor by the the end of their set, they are really really good.

saturday night we played in mobile at the blind mule. we played a better show, we were loose after playing the night previous. fortunately we were able to play a complete set without cutting anything short. we had a chance to stretch and really play the songs. the crowd at the blind mule was a small but very attentive crowd, we don't expect tons of people at our shows. yet...

mobile is a strange town.

after the show, someone was shot up the street at a club. cops on horses locked down the streets and intersections around the blind mule. for a few hours we watched dudes wave money and throw signs in three intersections around the blind mule from sunroofs, open windows, standing on hoods.

i also went to the bodies exhibit the next day in mobile, personal opinion: overpriced, overrated (i could rant about this, if you care write me at the myspace, we'll chat about the manipulative propaganda/rhetoric of the bodies exhibit.)

-c

i'm nervous. its more nerve racking to play for the hometown peeps than being on tour at some club you play maybe once a year. really excited too, new songs, new album coming! new band! wonderful people, i love each one in their own special way:

ronnie
taylor
brandon
bob
aaron


cheers.
-c

firecracker

A friend of mine quoted mother teresa for me the other night:

Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.

its the very simplicity of this statement i find so daunting. but i also feel like i'm off the hook now, i don't have to love the whole world for all its you know, stuff that i don't agree with...being so wrapped up in lofty ideals really tends to make me bitter.

i don't know my neighbors name, although we call him 'firecraker' following a confrontation he initiated late one night after he returned from some cheesy concert coked up. he screamed at us for shooting off fireworks, and he was certainly entitled to ask us to stop blowing stuff up. after we agreed to stop, he persisted in screaming at us. at one point he grabbed our wine bottle, and smashed it in the street. he then reached for his knife. as he reached for his knife, everyone i was with pulled their knife, which seemed to shock him. thankfully this deterred him, he thought better not to pull his knife. finally he went home, and hasn't said a word about the incident since. for me, how am i suppose to love my neighbor who does this? is firecracker my neighbor or the whole world?


MT:
Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

-c

zombie folk band

with escapist vs exit written and arranged, its now time for long walks, and the search for a new theme, metaphor, something to bite into for an albums worth of material. in the next year we should have two EP's out before the next album. the first EP we have started already, might end up being closer to a full length housing songs that won't find an album otherwise. the second EP, i have po-lit-ics rants to record, we'll probably finish this one up near the end of the year.

if anyone is interested in source material for the creation of escapist vs exit, read up here:

http://www.sugarbombs.com/kavalier/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Danish_Girl
http://thanasis.com/echo.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/patron.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Wulfram
http://www.ufos-aliens.co.uk/cosmicapollo.html
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/02/lisa_marie_novak_astronaut_love_triangle_kidnapping/
http://members.aol.com/yahyam/reed.html
http://ageofjahiliyah.wordpress.com/2006/09/26/the-song-of-the-reed-by-rumi/
http://psychicgoddesswisdom.com/?cat=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olokun#The_Palm_Tree

in the next few weeks i will post lyrics for the songs on escapist vs exit, and discuss stuff about them, mostly for my own entertainment, if you have questions, please write to:

escapistexit@yahoo.com

23 til...

twenty three days until we record escapist vs exit. and then the madness begins, mixing mastering, cd art, listening parties, more parties, searching for a record label, booking agent, book a tour, play the tour, beg radios to play our songs, harass bloggers. essentially gear up for another year of scraping by and seeing alot of the country from a car window. and then new songs...



today is bittersweet. i'm nostaligic for things i've never done? like kite riding in the rockies with my ex-ivy league classmates. letter writing and drinking tea with isabella v, as she does her best bette davis out the back door...

another long walk today, and leave raking until band comes over tonight for a pep talk. strange position- trying to lead people, i can hardly lead myself, and lean toward anarchist/marxist side of social structure, or lack of one. apparently i got tack though, i've been told. we'll see...

here's to a new album almost to the can... and another year of getting to do what i was made to do.

-c