Week 26. The Slow Turning of the Gears
Mon Jul 12, 2004 9:40 pm
Monday July 12
What was that? Did you feel that?
I think the Conveyor Belt is moving
Today I felt the conveyor belt jerk beneath my feet. Startled by the
motion and a glimpse of light in my peripheral - I darted my eyes to the
source of the disturbance just in time to see a tall lever, covered in
cobwebs move; I screamed... (insert silent scream) for there before me,
a hand illuminated by a shaft of dustylight from a cracked window,
shoved a rusty lever forward to it's dispatched conclusion. Loud snapping
noises broke the silence in the dim, dank factory. Gears and grease and
smells and...movement. Pigeons, once nestled in the center beam above
flapped and skithered. Arms wafting, I skurried to regain my balance as I
was wenched forward; loud clattering; head spinning, senses alert;
"This is it...".
Alright, enough of my 3 minute (lame) attempt to be a writer but don't
want to spend the time to stretch beyond mediocrity. (shut up eddie; you
cactus head) All that drama to say - More phone calls today from
management reveal that the wheels are turning. I don't have any literal
news - but Eisley's return to LA to quickly finish the last 3 songs and mix
a healthy batch hand picked for the record is only a week away. More
discussion about finishing everything, getting gearing up for tours and
releasing the record are taking place.
Insignifican Offerings
Today I prepared a few tokens for you guys. First off, I spent time
working on gathering, photographing, uploading and organizing all the
major (print) press on the band. (this comes in handy when you're
seeking endorsements) Perhaps this will only peek the interest of
newbies, but just incase anyone wants to see who's been interested in
the band over the last year - here are the links:
EISLEY PRINT PRESS
This Month
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/YMcover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/YMstory.jpg
Last Month
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/TeenVoguecover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/TeenVogueStory.jpg
Sept. 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/Blendercover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/BlenderStory.jpg
April 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/RollingStonecoversm.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/RollingStonepagesm.jpg
August 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/SeventeenCover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/SeventeenStory.jpg
July/August 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/FilterCover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/Filterspread1.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/FilterSpread2.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/Filterpage5.jpg
April 2004
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/TexasMonthlycov.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/TexasMonthlyStory.jpg
March 2004
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/APcover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/APstory.jpg
February 2004
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/billboardstory.jpg
May 16 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/ETweeklyCov.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/EntWeeklyStory.jpg
July 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/CMJnewmusicCover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/CMJstory.jpg
Spring 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/TexasMusicCover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/TexasMusicStory.jpg
Sept/Oct 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/RelevantCover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/RelevantStory.jpg
July 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/Esquirecover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/EsquireStory.jpg
May 2003
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/RollingStonecover2.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/RSrandomnotes.jpg
May 2004
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/MTVMagazineCover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/MTVMagazineStory.jpg
???? Date?
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/Vaporscover.jpg.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/Vaporstory.jpg
May 2004
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/HMcover.jpg
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/press/HMstory.jpg
Paste magazine (feature upcoming)
Relevant Magazine (another feature upcoming)
CNN Story (upcoming)
MTV.com Feature
http://www.mtv.com/news/yhif/eisley/
WESTON'S FIRST MOVIE
In addition, I'd like to offer this wonderful video that Weston himself
crafted. The short movie, starring himself utilizes "The Jungler" as the
soundtrack - a powerful song from our good friends in Midlake taken
from their new self-produced, full length record (permission was
granted, of course) now released in the UK on Bella Union. I think it's
brilliant, the song and the film - but, of course I would:
HI http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/boydmovies/trywestonhigh.mov
MED http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/boydmovies/trywestonmed.mov
MossEisley VIDEO CLIP
I also promised I'd toss up an old MossEisley clip I made a few years
ago.... the band in 2002. There are a few scenes from the first club
dates, pieces of old songs performed live, moments at their first show
with Midlake and friends, etc. Enjoy.
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/boydmovies/3minuteMossmov.mov
Well, hope you're having a good week so far. I began my day with a
strong cup of Costa Rican coffee brewed in my new french press I got for
my birthday. yum. i wunt more. (NOW!) They're watching the 6th Sense
upstairs and I'm missing out. Gotta go ya'll. Much love. Boyd
Tuesday July 13
The Full Length
The Name of That Full Length
We've been boiling the creative juices - watching the impurities come to
the surface. Visuals, ideas for names... To get to the good, there's a
caldron of bad you have to sift through first. It's as hard as naming a
band. Exactly as hard. Exactly as important. This is what we're under.
Though I have nothing to do with the naming, I created a document
whereby I listed each of the 16 songs, made attempt to boil down what
each was really about and then catagorize each song into groups based
on their inate meaning. 4 groups emerged:
1. Love Songs: Emotional - Sorrow (4 songs) ,
2. Love Songs: Emotional - Joy (4 songs),
3. Love Songs: Whimsical - Creative (4 songs)
4. Inspirational Songs: Emotive - Creative (4 songs)
Interesting, that's all. I sent a page of brain spewage to the girls as a
tool to aid in the creative process... which includes: idea pools to draw
from, ways to approach the process, suggested framework for thinking,
purpose to tie the project together with a common thread. (thus,
important to know what holds the songs together...and what they're
about) The truth? They don't need any of my bogus. I just do it because
I NEED A NAME and I help in dumb global ways.
Working thru myriads of record cover ideas along side the naming
process. As I said, it's as important to discover what isn't working and
what kind of imagery isn't right...as a way of learning what IS right.
hey. w455 sent me links to more press on Eisley that i forgot. (thanks!)
How could I forget. This is the magazine that claimed we had no indoor
plumbing when the kids were young. My favorite; seriously:
I tossed it in the first post along with the others.
Ok. I have nothing else to say for now. It's getting late and we're about
to watch a movie. bdout
Wednesday July 14
Raw Vocal Tracks and New Songs sent to LA
EISLEY BATTLES THE CITY
Those meanie cops just don't love our ole moss-bus the way we do. But I
tricked 'em. They wanted to take it away, but I tricked the fuzz. (sorry.
old 70's verbage) Because I'm such a good mechanic, and because the
problem was that the battery was dead, I acted fast.
With hours ticking away on the deadline, (the MAN was going to tow it to
their Fuzz-Lot!) I zoomed to AutoZone, inquired about a battery, went
back home, took the old battery out, zoomed back to Autozone, got the
right battery, came home, installed it, cranked up the bus.
But one big problem. No brakes...well, sorta. The emergency brake
worked. So, with the guiding help of Weston and Brad, I drove the giant
monster into our tiny 30's driveway and parked it next to our
fence...safetly out of LAW ENFORCEMENT'S way. (heh heh... now try to
tow it, boys. jk. I'm really just kidding. Now watch...I'll wake up at 4:30
am and a gigantor tow truck will be hoisting the lil' bus from our
driveway.)
BEATLE TREASURE
The Holy Grail of the Beatles has been found. Surley everyone knows this
by now. It's the most important dig of the century in my book. Certainly
the most important finding in pop culture. There are unreleased songs,
live recordings, misc. versions, discussions, photographs, concert
programs... all kinds of stuff from a guy who traveled with them...a
confident, later shot dead because cops thought he was carrying a gun.
Decades later, his suitcase worked it's way to the lowest level of
marketing known to white trash: a flea market. A 40 something year old
guy needed a suitcase and bought it, contents and all for $37 bucks. Now
that's a score. I love this story. I'm giddy to hear and see.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/14/music.beatles.suitcase.ap/index.html
BIG STEP SEEMS INSIGNIFICANT
The semi-holy grail of Eisley has been sent to WB. All the new tracks and
all of the newly cut vocals are done. That means that 14 of the 16 songs
are now lying in wait - entombed in a firewire, awaiting a final mix.
I spoke with Craig for a long time this afternoon... still working out all the
details with producer/mixer options/schedules. The new vocals sound
amazing. I... it makes me so happy to hear them. It feels like beams of
light are flashing their long cones of irredescent amber down upon this
record...finally; thank God.
Well, I hope you guys a good night. We're gonna finish watching JFK.
entertainment and history, ok? It's educational. lateryawl. bd
Thursday July 15
The Forum
Measuring Effectiveness
I have a question. If you were measuring the effectiveness and impact of
this forum on Eisley's growth, success, etc, how would you quantify the
results? Let me rephrase: What impact do you think this forum has on
Eisley's growth, success...and do you think it translates into anything
beneficial to WB? How important is this web portal to you, to Eisley, to the
label... is this labor of love going to help Eisley continue to make music
and survive in the long run? Does it really matter? Or is it just something
cool to have.
If the community was just allowed to drift, with no content, no focus, no
connection, no updates, would it really matter? Are the QuickTime clips
important? If so, why? Why bother? You guys can go see them live...
other bands don't devote so much attention to this stuff. How and why
does it make one bit of difference?
How have the clips changed influenced your opinion about the band? If all
of this never happened or happened with little interest or investment
from me, wouldn't you guys still buy the cd? Sure you would. So, who
really cares if this forum is thriving... growing; If there are 3050 + of
you... maybe that means potentially 3,000 cds to WB. So what if there
are 6000 in another year or 12,000 in two years? Even more? So what?
Wouldn't the same number of fans buy the same number of CD's?
Or, are you guys infected... is this viral? Are you more apt to yammer
about Eisley down in the trenches on your campuses because of this?
How does developing and keeping Eisley's brand consistent help the
label? Would you guys give up on the band if the forum were to vaporize
tomorrow? How many of you read about Eisley in National press first? Did
you read:"homeschooled, hanson, siblings, Christian, unicorn barbie,
before you heard the band live or heard about them? How do you think
indie-cred enters into the equation?
How has this forum influenced or changed your opinion as to who the
band is? How well has the reality of Eisley been communicated on this
forum? Play like it never existed. Does it really even matter? I know
some of these questions are loaded. It's just something I've been
thinking about. I know this forum isn't perfect or so great... I'm not
driving for gratitude or praise.
Wait, was that more than one question? man oh man. I unloaded the
questions, huh? Anyway, again...I am NOT fishing for compliments. No.
Please. I'm really asking the question - who benefits from this forum and
is it important to the band's career in the long run? How can I quantify
the effectiveness of this form? Is it even possible? It matters.
Remember, my commitment and conviction about this work will not
waver. One of my biggest goals...an essential core value in developing
this forum was to create an environment that treated fans as friends...
important to the whole... treated as important as the band. I haven't
always succeeded.
bd
Friday July 16
The Forum Continued
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Comments
I was flabber gusted to read your comments. I was yarnk-divited. I and
my face were pummeled beyond recognition. I was left with no name.
Without getting too deep into what's ticking behind the scenes, let me just
say - your comments were very helpful. In fact, your comments armed
me with the right arsenol to present a solid case (for the forum) to WB.
I might have been overloaded since, basically what they told me was -
the work you're doing on Eisley's forum is better than anything on the
label...and probably in the industry. I wasn't fishing for that kind of
endorsement. Just a few bucks to maintain and update and keep it live,
engaging, beneficial for you guys.
CRAP! I have to go. We're all leaving to go to see The Anchorman. (I
haven't seen it... and they're like, "dad, you've been too stressed, you
need to go see this film." btw. if you ever see me as Jessica Simpson's
dad, or like some reality TV show, I'll quit doing this...) So, I'm off. I'll try
to get back on later. Thanks so much guys for your amazing words. You
have no idea what that did for Eisley. Much love. boyd
----------------------
Stacy, Sherri, Weston, Jon, Jesse, Me, Markymark and Josh went to see
The Anchorman. I think we laughed harder in the van coming back than
we did in the movie. I'm still wiping the tears away. What a ridiculous
film. So funny. I laughed and flailed and stomped - it was so hilarious.
Typical Hollywood crude, but the character development and the random
humor level was high enough to push it into the cult film category. gosh.
I'm still laughing outloud in this quiet office over the street fight scene...
ok. Well, I would and should go to sleep but Collin and his mighty dog
(our boxer) are asleep in bed next to Kim with the TV on. sheesh. What's
a man to do? TO THE COUCH. g'nite.
Saturday July 17/Sunday July 18
SAT/SUN
Throwin' it down
I didn't post. This was a test. Only a test. Not a real non-post. A test non
post. I'm preparing for another weekend when I have nothing to report.
But, I did post. It's only 11:57pm
I never posted this: Lost at Sea - live at Cole Studio's. It's fat... so, only
serious modem speeds, please. And don't you ever hold this over Eisley's
head. The full length version will be different... but, hey...you'll always
have this one. This clip featuring Eisley's A&R's baby girl - "Eisley". I just
shot it continuous with no edits. It is what it is:
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/boydmovies/ColeLost@sea.mov
g'nite.
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