Week 26. The Slow Turning of the Gears
July 12, 2004 03:40 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.
Week 25. A Week To Remember
July 05, 2004 12:52 PM
Monday July 5
Sherri is getting sucked out
No, not for good...you bozo's!
It's not some self-fulfilling prophesy. I just want to remember this week.
It's the week I would have forgotten; a week when nothing will have
been recorded, a week that will bare no major news, a week after a
holiday, a week where I will have had nothing to say.
No more! Let's make this the week to remember. The week that boyd
shortened his journal! The week that boyd made major headway on the
full length cover art, on the new website...and, if will have been good, he
delivered, yet, another QT movie. (i have no clue yet...but, something!)
Something memorable and good has to happen this week. I declare it.
Sherri is going to New York. I'm not sure why. She's just going to New
York. I think that's what girls her age do...when they like to fly in air
planes I guess. I guess she likes the tall buildings. Maybe in Long Island,
there are people she likes. I have no clue. I never ask. What, are you
kidding? Ask where she's going? No way! Anyway, I have to get up at
5:00am or something to get her to DFW on time to catch her flight. AHhhh!
I think everyone is sick about talking about the record. No, I mean - the
whole thing - the song line up, the whole thing. I mean...sure, I could rev
it all up. But, why? Instead, let's just make this...a week to remember. If
we decide to do it, who knows what will happen?
I had a glimmer of hope today as I started to piece the enormity of how
Eisley's songs impact my own person... and was able to hold for a few
moments the entire library of song candidates in my head; and I caught
a glimpse of how impacting and far-reaching this record could be. I
thought of all the amazing comments you guys have made over the past
months...and added them to (as ingredients) my thought...and just for a
second...I had this amazing feeling, this amazing conclusion: mmm....I
can't say it. It's unclear. But, it's shocking.
Welcome to... A Week To Remember.
---------------------------
I forgot to post about our 4th. I wrote this yesterday:
Hope your 4th wasy amazing. Ours was very cool... the only thing that
differed from what I forcast last night was: mosquito's. With all the rain,
I guess they've been breeding in gulley's and ditches... bzzt. bzzzt.
otherwise, it was fun.
We swam (well, I didn't...cuz Kim didn't want to) but everyone else did...
and we ate hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, potato salad, this
amazing desert that Kim made. We even played Croquette. (no clue how
to spell that one). Stacy won.
----------------------------
Tuesday July 6
She flew. She flewd.
Long Awaited News Came Today
Do you think it was fun to get up at 4:30am? I would not SAY SUCH
THINGS IF I WERE YOU!! I slept for 2.5 hours...tossing and turning and
getting woken up because of night traffic in our house... right, because
people go to bed late after coming home from working out, they gufauh,
make smoothies, dogs barge in, kids wake up on our couch and leave at
2:30, etc. Then...beep. beep. beep. beep.... "Boyd...Boyd...the alarm..."
But I love it. I enjoyed the entire experience. Even getting no sleep and
having to get up early.
Well, sorta...except, I didn't know how to turn off Kim's alarm. It has 23
buttons that are all the same size...all covering this flying saucer type
dome clock. CONFOUND BUTTONS!! I wanted to kill it or at least bash it
with a meat tenderizer. Nothing I pushed had good consequence. The
noises and distorted radio came on at 18 decibals.
But, I made coffee, packed up some great cd's (so did Sherri)... and off
we darted into the night. I had her at the curb at American DFW at
precisely 7:30am, as planned....calculating traffic and margin of error.
We had a great time on the way up talking dad/daughter stuff...but
mostly we freaked out to how amazing Amnesiac was after not hearin
it for a while.
Some News is Good News
So, a stirring. Things happening... slowly. Darin called me (management)
late afternoon. Bring the band back out in 2 weeks. Produce and mix thru
mid-end August. Have cover art work ready by end of July. Band
rehearses a few weeks end August and hits the road starting September;
tours through October...Record released in October!
I know...it's sketchy, but I can tell what's rumbling underground are solid
dates... no telling what's being talked about behind closed doors. But
Darin did say what I expected him to: clubs. no arenas. (yea!!) 2 bands.
Eisley is support. very indie. Brand New size clubs or smaller. Very
personal... a wonderful coming out tour. Intro the new record in mid
sized clubs all over the country.
Amazing how a small piece of predictable news can make such a
difference. I told you this was going to be a week to remember. And it's
only Tuesday, right?
Tonight an old friend of mine (he's like 27 maybe?) came over after
being in Africa for years. Music was our bond, but suddenly the master
had become the pupil. Years ago he'd turned us all on to Neutral Milk
Hotel and other cool underground bands like...gosh, 99? Today, it's
Sherri's favorite cd.
Anyway, this eve so amazing. Hanging with Rob again like old times
listening to music in the happy room. And Chauntelle gave Rob (our
friend) "Hail to the Theif". (the real one...nothing burned) He didn't know
of anything since Kid A. Woah.
So we turned down the lights and cranked up the Bose( boses?). He did
surely swoon. (to AHTTT) Then, I played him some bootleg Radiohead...
Thom and Johnny Greenwood with a beat box live. omgosh.
AND! get this - he was a huge Modest Mouse fan but didn't know of
anything past 2 records ago. He freaked and swooned over
"G.N.F.P.W.L.B.N.". It was like taking a cave man and bringing him to the
future. Good times.
Well, we're all going upstairs to watch 51st Date? We never saw it. Gotta
go. bye! I'll maybe get to come back later and check posts. Thanks. bd
July 7 Wednesday
Mid Week pause
Tomorrow Stacy hears vocals
I know it's a self declared "week to remember", but I just stared at the
title for 10 minutes trying to decide what to write about. Maybe it's
because i'm distracted. We're all in our bedroom watching "The
Naturalist". I like the muted, desaturated treatment but it occurs to me
that there aren't enough antiques and vintage props. I don't feel like I'm
there... in 1929.
I fixed the bogus end of the My Lovely video clip. You know how it
trailed off into random verbage that you couldn't even hear... I just
tapered it off when the song ended. It's not so droning and silly, but you
still get a bit of good cheer at the end. Why did I do this? I sent it to
WB to look at.
Since I don't have anything to say, and I'm missing Sherri being around,
I thought I'd dedicate a fair amout of real estate to a Sherri pic:
Taken on the Coldplay tour last year. Random. But it makes my boring
post look nicer, don't you think?
And, that's really all. Tomorrow, Stacy will go listen to the last 3 vocal
work from last weeks tracking and make any decisions on versions and
takes. So...I can validate today's post as having information about this
record. yawn.
Better keep this short. They've gotten bored with the movie. And so have
I. I feel happy, but uninspired. Writers block. Talk soon.
bd
July 8 Thursday
What the heck
I lied about Stacy hearing Vocals
Welcome to the end of the road for these posts. Well, I guess there's a
culdesac I can turn around on to get out of here. It looked like a dead
end. Not for the band! For the journal. But as soon as I loop around for a
while, I'll find my way back onto the main road.
We're sitting here watching our friend Mark's videotapes of bands at
Cornerstone Fest. It's mildly ammusing. Bands always sound terrible on
videotape. Every band. Well, except Coldplay maybe... Listening to Love
Drug right now. Very cool. Heard Copeland, The Lonely Hearts, Cool Hand
Luke... these are small indie-bands. Can't wait for Ester Drang.
I mowed and weed-ate and blew today. Hot. Hot. Heat. But the yard
looks spiffy. My brother and fam are coming this weekend. He, Wade is a
guitar playing genius. Oh, I've heard wiz kids, technicians, players...
Wade is all of them combined. speed, styles, grooves, cross
genre...(rock, blues, pop, whatever) Anyway, he and Chauntelle have
this guitar bond. She's more like his guitar dad. He's bringing his gear
and they're going to hack thru her new songs and try to work out tones
for live shows. They have 5 kids. (one less than us)
Well... like I said, I have nothing to say. If I didn't say that, that's what I
meant. I'd rather keep it short rather than waste anyone's time. Activity
will pick up... and very soon. Love you guys.
bd
July 9 Friday
The MossEisley Bus
Alive But Not Well
I sat in the old chopped, funky bus this afternoon for the first time in so
long. It's just as we left it after Cornerstone Festival 2 years ago. Aside
from the cobwebs, everything was the same. It was almost eerie. Old
empty water bottles, the little fans we plugged in to keep cool lying on
the floor still plugged into a power plug, the wicker basket of dry candy
and chips, dirty socks, tennis shoes, cd's, a few pillows and blankets, etc.
I sat in the back of one of the custom seats we installed and looked up at
the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and a big smile came to my face.
For a second, I this happy feeling came over me...I remembered how we
all felt...even in that hot, sweaty, broken-down bus - traveling across the
country... life was simpler.
Then I was sad. Why can't we feel the same way? Now the band is signed
to this big label and making a full length record to be released
Nationally... why isn't life better? It's not worse or better. It's just
different I guess. The stakes are higher and there are more people in
charge... More stresses, struggles, relational issues, financial issues, etc.
Anyway, somebody slashed several of the tires. We had to have a guy
come out and fix, repair, put new tires on some of them. Super
expensive and frustrating. I have to get it going because Cops thought it
was abandon (flat tires). So, I suppose I have to get the brakes working
and get the engine tuned now. I think it'll be fun driving it around like old
times. Kim wants to sell it but I want to hang on to it for a a long time...
maybe some day it'll be worth something on ebay. 
Somewhere I had pics of this old bus...on the old site, I guess. Shots of
us welding, hacking, removing, installing... sheesh we worked so hard on
the interior. Well...if I find it, I'll post it, but otherwise, it's just another
boring entry in this mindless journal.
This weekend is a guitar weekend for Chauntelle. Wade, my brother, will
arrive with fam in a few hours...they'll tweak and test and experiment
and fool around with amps and guitars and tones all weekend. fun stuff.
Have a great weekend everybody.
Saturday/Sunday July 10/11
Good times
Guitarness
Thought I posted on Saturday. wups.
Chauntelle and brother Wade (DuPree) worked all day Saturday and all
day Sunday (well, mostly) on guitars... tweaking, setting up, moving
picks ups up and down, sliding floating bridges, comparing sounds, tones,
matching guitars and tones for certain songs, etc. Friends and relatives
were coming in and out of Weston's room off and on listening. Fun stuff.
Otherwise, we just hung out and had loads of fun.
I will absolutely come back online tonight and upload something I found
from the past. Not sure what. I was digging around and found some old
clips. Actually, I forgot what it was I found, but I'll toss it up just for fun.
Now I have to leave to go to DFW to pick up the New York girl. I'll be
back in 5 hours from when i walk out the door. Sherri seems to have had
an amazing week. bd
------------------------------------
hey. We're back from Dallas... all good. Sherri is back safe and sound.
Hey, I saw a few birthday wishes for me and am thankful. No clue how
you found out. Was it Mr. joseph? Man, that boy did some research. Or
maybe there was a leak somehow. Haven't had time to read anything all
weekend. I'll go catch up. Anyway. Thanks so much. Ya'll are cool.
Well, I found an old clip of "MossEisley" and am converting it now, but...I
think I'll put it up tomorrow. That'll give me something to offer on a
boring Monday. Instead, here's a really silly short clip that brad did on
Weston: (short and silly)
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/boydmovies/brad.mov
Week 24. 24. 24. 24. 24.24.24.242424!@#$%!
June 28, 2004 05:00 PM
Monday June 28
We're Zooming in on JULY!
Can I even continue this boring monologue without going burZerk!?
Hi and welcome to Eisley's 24th consectutive week of being immersed/
enmeshed in the cacophony of recording their first full length. We're
about to enter July. This journal began when we arrived in California
January 28th. The band has been back home here in Tyler for... hmmm,
I'd have to look it up and lose this entry. no way.
I know - even though it's been a long, frustrating journey, all of this will
have made sense by the time the record goes to mastering. This is the
struggle that can make for a great record. Labels push because they
know artists... artists resist because they love art. I honestly don't
believe that this iron-sharpening-iron wrangle will have been in vain. At
the very least, it's given us something to talk about... and learn about.
In speaking with Craig Aaronson today, I was reminded, as always, that
we're really dealing with flesh, brain and blood...not some torpid, lifeless
regime. People like Craig are rare. The dude is wildly impassioned over
this band and her songs. (woah, did I just assign a la fem' gender to the
band? strike that!..but it was poetic) Anyway, I honestly believe that he
lives and breaths and sleeps Eisley almost as much...I'm the only I know
besides him that can make that claim.
I appreciated the words as we closed out last week. On "My Lovely", I am
reconsidering my stiff-necked position on the release of a small video clip
that unveils pieces of the tune. I swear, it wasn't a build up. After
learning today that more than likely, the tune will stay as is... and be
tossed into the giant pile of songs to mix. That changes everything.
Besides, the band likes it this way... so, who cares.
All I can say is...hang around or keep checking. I'm putting a few tweaks.
As a video, it's the same lo-fi calibur clip I always put out...you know,
that special, indie-cred crap; not good enough to be a threat to real
videoographers/film-makers, but handy down in the trenches. If I were
you, and...I am you, this is what I would want.
I have the new Eisley T-shirt up on my borrowed monitor to the right,
Kim is skipping over track 15 on Good News for People Who Love Bad
News (well, the F bomb right here in the office with women and
CHILDREN?!), the Eisleyoids are tucked away in rooms doing creative
things like watching movies with freinds, the Weber's embers are slowly
losing their glow in the wake of my mosquite smoked, lemon pepper,
grilled Chicken...and, that video is not going to get finished unless I get
off the forum.
"My Lovely" may or may not make it on the full length. It's just another
song in a line up of potential songs. I've been told "it's probably not a
single", so...maybe that means it's just another average Eisley song. To
me, there aren't any average Eisley songs. I might have been sucked in,
manipulated... transfixed, blinded, bemused by their enchanted fairy
spells... horned with the unicorn from their galloping Barbie horses... lost
in the deep woods of their dark, foreboding forests...where night
creatures alone sing their praises... but, I just like all of their songs.
If I drink enuf coffee, I might be able to cook up a QT version and toss it
up tonight. (wee morning?) I'm JUST getting this to press before
midnight. bd
---------------------
it's 2:10am and all it well. my espresso beverage is only half drunk, my
mind is still ticking and I'm getting closer on the vid-yo.
--------------------
it's 4:00am and somehow I screwed up a critical video/audio alignment
that's sucked an hour of time already; it's too big to fix tonight. I have to
work on it tomorrow. I wanted to make it happen so bad. sorry. First
thing tomorrow morn, I have to prepare t-shirt art for separations...so,
hopefully after that I can wrestle this stupid little clip to the ground. bd
--------------------
Tuesday June 29th
It's raining in Tyler again!
Still, I think it's a lovely day...
At 5:00am, I wrestled the clip back to some sembence of it's original
state... actually improving it some. Then I crashed on the couch in our
bedroom so I wouldn't wake kimbertones.
When I awoke, she was gone... it was 8:40am. I'd slept in. I jumped off
the couch and scampered back to my little cave...ahh, finish tweaking
that silly little 3 minute motion picture:
It's fat, but that's the price you have to pay to watch it. (Hey, nothing is
free... cheap MAYBE...)
Info about what you're about to watch:
The video opens up with Sherri's original acoustic, garage band version
that was sent to the label/management in the background; Random
dialogue happens while they're preparing to play the song again (over
and over) to learn it...and get scratch tracks for Weston to track drums.
He's actually tracking during this clip.
Everything is fairly sloppy...vocals aren't intended to be all pretty or
tuned...it's just all live until you see Sherri/Stacy sitting in the console
room listening; I fade in an unmixed version of the song (as cooked as it
was at that time) for a while... until you see Chauntelle tracking guitar
over the bridge. That's real, of course... the tune is still playing in the
background.
As the song fades, I tossed in random silliness from the tracking room as
they were preparing to play the song again... fades. the end.
My fear is that I built this all up too much... it's nothing special as a video
and...the song is just; well... just another Eisley song. You be the judge. I
like it, but hey...what do I know; i grew up listening to the Beatles and
crap. Oh wait, so did they.
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/MyLovelybd.mov
http://eisleymerch.com/boyd/MyLovelybdmed.mov (half the size)
I have to jet for a bit. Will come back later to check your pulse on this
content. I hope this one ends up on the record... but, either way the hit
singles crumble, I know Eisley is gonna play this live because they like it.
bd
p.s. kimbertones brought me a triple shot, venti, vanilla lotte. I KNEW
there was a reason I married that girl.
---------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday June 30
Sullen, I Stoke the Embers of Disphoria
Rain, rain, raining, ranting.
A wise man once said, "They may forget what you said, but they will
never forget how you made them feel." - not my context - it's just
what's glooming under the surface of my egghead.
After a conflict and subsequent reconciliation, do you ever feel reflective?
I do. I think the Greeks called it cathartic. And boy are those grey
skies helping. It's dark and quiet in my little corner of my own little
cave... I can be whatever I want to be. Everyone is gone. I can hear the
rain drops thwacking the ground just outside my window even louder
than the faint, spinning hard drives inside the small, shabby, Eisley office.
This is surely the mood for deep thoughts...but they're not coming. I wish
I had been smarter and better at the game of life. Board games always
beat me. "Pictionary" was ok. But only because I could draw. I wasn't
good in math, so counting beans wasn't an option. Besides, I never had
any beans to count. I can draw them...but that doesn't count either.
That pretty much sums up my life.
I really just wanted to say thanks again. (broken record) This forum
constitutes the forged lives of so many amazing people... I value the
on-line friendships and connections way beyond whatever affection we
have for Eisley's music. I have to thank you again. (oh no. sap. he's
squirting sap from his neck.)
You're commitment and involvement toward making this place different
from other forums is not something I take for granted. It's the people.
It's you guys. Someone told me the other day, "the eisley forum is like a
big family". (would somebody please slap the sap out of me.)
Anyway, no matter what I rant about in my journal, no matter how
controversial some of the discussions get, no matter what fears and
defenses I raise in my xanga...(wait, I don't have a xanga. THIS...is
my xanga!), I really appreciate you and want to continue providing
quality content...whatever that is; I guess it's whatever stuff makes you
happy.
I try to return the favor by making homespun video clips, but somehow it
doesn't seem enough. As soon as possible, I'll try to dig up something
else... perhaps nothing new (i.e. new song), but maybe something live.
The new forum will be called "Laughing City" and the new url will be
laughingcity.com. 'Berlies, from this forum gave me the idea during
her time of great pain and suffering (the loss of William). I think it's
perfect metaphor... like a tribute to always remind us of their
circumstance, the brevity of life...what's important in life, our values...
and how we should treat people; The perfect creative umbrella for this
happy place where people can be sad if they need to be. A place where
people comfort the hurting, where people rejoice with those who are
happy... I'm not sure if we've lived up to the title yet, but... I'm up for
the challenge.
I'll have more thoughts on this as we get to that point. This forum will
be seamless... accessible from within the new eisley.com domain.
Today is Collin's birthday. He's 10. The baby is 10. He's double digit. The
man child is a decade old. Boy, where did time fly? The cat's in the
cradle. Happy Birthday Collin. You guys don't know him. He's a cool kid.
Well, I haven't said anything profound, but I've said thanks. I know that
I'm feeling more than i'm able to express today... but, at least I've been
brief. And, now...I have to get back to work.
Have a good day and be glad I edited my 2nd paragraph which said this:
This is surely the mood for deep thoughts...but they're not coming. (Jack,
where are you?!): "I wish I had been smarter and better at the game of
life. Board games always beat me. "Pictionary" was ok. But only because
I could draw. Honestly, I think if my mom hadn't of wormed me in front
of my friends at school, I'd have been more popular. And then, instead of
being a starving artist, I'd probably have been a really nice business
shark...the kind with those glazed eyes on the sides of their heads.
Thursday July 1
Big Dog on the Bed
My Head Hurts
I would hate to have a daily column. Everyday, you have to have
something newsworthy. Well, I don't have anything. And Eisley doesn't.
Tomorrow the band goes back to Rosewood to finish up. Maybe I can
report SOMETHING that relates to why I started this journal.
We've crested 150,000 posts and hit the 3000 user mark. (3017 to be
exact) 248 ave. posts per day. I can hardly believe it. It gives me a mind
Glot. It stumps my skull innerds. It glarnks my grey-stem. Can't wait for
laughingcity.com upgrade and switchover.
Eisley is on page 120 of Teen Vogue - just hit the shelves. August issue.
I don't like the photo. There should have been amazing shots. I have
video of the entire shoot. This one...sheesh; who pics these shots? I wish
they'd send us the contact sheets. Still... nice publicity. This shoot
happened a few hours before the Madison Square Garden gig.
My brain hurts. Writing and staring into a screen all day makes your head
muscle hurt. And your eye's bulge and get twisted inside your sockets...
and you have to quit. So around 7:30pm, I ended up on this bed, with my
wife and our big dog and watched TV. (I never do that).
We were channel surfing and came across the Ashlee Simpson show. Kim
yelled for Sherri to come in so we all watched a few minutes of it.
(everyone else went to the mall. yes. in Tyler, you go to the mall. Then
you go to Starbucks.) Kim and I were going to go but instead, she
insisted on reading her new Jack Handy books to me and cracking
up...page after page. She's on a kick right now.
Ashlee was saying stuff like: I don't want to be like Hillary... gosh, I'm
not like her... I'm not like my sister, I don't want to do pop. If I have to
be like her, I don't wanna make an album...I don't even wanna make a
record.
And the president of the label was saying stuff like: I don't care about
your tv show...you're all caught up in it. "You're a great musical artist"
and I want the Ashlee Simpson that came in here and was bouncing off
the walls... I want you to give it all..this $@#$ (her demo) sounds like
you didn't even care...I want a great record...we're going to put you with
tons of great producers and song writers...and get this thing right...
Ok. I have to stop. It was more than I could stomach. We were
screaming and laughing. I'm sorry. Not trying to be disrespectful, but
does anyone watch it as serious entertainment? I mean, it is...it's so
absurd, it's funny. They have to bleep every other word out of her
mouth. And her youth pastor dad, now the executive producer, always
has to be on the camera.
Now that's more like it... "Pimp My Ride" is on. What a great show.
I have thoughts... things in my head... but, this week had enough deep
thoughts. I've aired so many thoughts about EisleyI don't feel like airing
anything else. Think I'll go read some of what you guys are saying.
Friday July 2
LIVE....from RoseWood Studios
THE DRAGON IS ALIVE!!!
Stacy is recording "They All Surrounded Me" and... the DRAGON IS
ALIVE!. (the people of the village rejoice) Say goodbye to broad...
But, as long as the Dragon is alive, the world is safe. Eisley is safe.
There's a story behind it...but, whatever. He's alive and that's all that
counts. Gotta go! More tonight. bd
•••••••••••••••••••••
It's 11:59, so at least give me credit for reporting today's activities...
today. (clap. clap. clap. BAM 12:00midnight)
Today was a kind of celebration for us doop-ree's today. This morning,
we all climbed in the Eisley van, dashed to Brookshires Grocery Store,
bought a "Celebration" boquet of flowers, zoomed over to ETMC where
Kim was finishing her last day of Cardiovascular Therapy.
Arriving a few minutes early proved to be awkward. They'd found out
about Eilsey and had been saying things like, "Kim's a ROCK star
mom...". When we walked in single file, they were still working out; You'd
thought they had seen the grand Kiwannis hoodini's goat. Anyway, we
just kept walking and found Kim doing her last reps of leg lifts. She
graduated today. It was so cute. Congratulations Kimbertones on working
her butt off to get healthy. She's doing SO good.
Another cool thing happened today - Eisley finished re-recording all of
the vocals for their entire record:
Last Wednesday/Thursday
One Day I Slowly
Plenty of Paper
Today
They All Surrounded Me
Marvelous Things
The Escaping Song
The only one the didn't redo was "I Wasn't Prepared". There was no
point. The vocals are sweet. Sherri nailed it in LA.
To me, all of the vocals are better... WAY better. I've already talked
about this - the magic of this studio, being at home, sonic technology... I
don't know. Like I said, much is a result of the happy vibe and location.
But honestly, I think it's just the girls. They had a chance to live
with the bitter reality that they were finished with vocals and, seeing how
they weren't happy with the outcome, they were frustrated. I remember
at the Sound Factory saying to them, "gosh, if only you guys could just
cut all the vocals in Tyler at RoseWood..." but nobody thought it was
possible.
This was a second lease on vocal life for record no.1. They were
very psyched; determined to beat the crap out of their earlier perform-
ances. I listened today while they tracked... and did swoon. Take
after take were all good. There were many that you'd just say, "why
even grab another one? it's done." But Gary likes to get about 4...like
everyone else.
So, to celebrate the two events, we went to the Olive Garden with a few
friends and afterward went to Super Walmart. wow. what a celebration.
Everyone was sleepy, so in spite of the fact that we rented "Cat's and
Dogs" and were ALL going to watch it, Collin made cookies and now we're
all in our bedrooms chillin'.
WAIT. I forgot. After Olive Garden, we went and joined a fitness center
called Premier. Amazing place. Brand new self standing building...
privately owned, espresso bar, smoothie bar, big wide screen TV's and
you bring your own headphones, amazing work out place... and all for
very cheap. Kim didn't want to be tempted not to keep working out and
the girls were chomping to get back into it... so we joined.
I wanna go read some posts. bye yawl. bd
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
THE DRAGON IS ALIVE?
I just realized that many of you don't know what "THE DRAGON IS
ALIVE" even means. I'll try to explain: like many of you guys, I was
sad when "and that's when the giant dragon jumped over the hill"
turned into: "and that's when the fearless phrase came into my
head" ... I said, no, no, no, no...no, no, way sir, no, no, no, no,
no...not today sir, you won't surround me...
If you go listen to the mp3 on chad's fansite, (straylight6.org) you'll hear
clearly... Sherri says, "this is a song about a dragon". That was in a
Toronto amphitheater opening for Coldplay. I should one day pull the
video file on that performance and align the audio taken from the board.
ANYway... so what happened? Why the vocal shifting? Well, for one
thing...artistry happens. It's never over until it's over. The song had not
ever been recorded or released. (ok, it was tracked by Rob Cavallo, but
never released)
Artists are picky, as many of you guys know. Changes are inevitable.
And, Eisley is a young band... maybe they were (i use the term past
tense) a bit impressionable. It's just my opinion, but I think it's possible
that knee jerk reactions to the R.S. article caused her to second guess
her (Stacy's) position on whether or not using fantasaical metaphors
were mature enough - (unicorn barbie rock) At the same time,
WB were using the term "broad" more and more.
Learning who you are, what you believe, how to learn not to lick your
finger and raise it to the wind, how to become thick skinned without
becoming hard hearted are all valuable lessons to learn in this game.
Today, moments before she walked in to re-track the song, I asked her -
"so...is the dragon absolutely dead?" I told her of Markymark's comment
the other night at our house: "With the dragon dead, i don't really even
care about the song anymore...it's dead."
He made a brilliant point... (i'm rephrasing and re-interpreting the idea a
little, but it was Mark's observation):
The "fearless phrase" lyric suggests that the author has the power to
protect him/herself, which is far less spiritual and far less romantic - far
less fitting for the song than the "dragon" metaphor, which suggests that
a symbolic, omnipresent, mystical figure protects the author on his/her
own choice - by his own benevolence, devaluing the role of self
dependancy, thereby increasing the romantic, knight-in-shining-armor,
quality and quintessence of the song.
But none of that argument was brought up before she quickly stated: "i
know...i miss the dragon too." She turned, walked confidently walked
down the hall into the tracking room to bring the dragon back to life. The
biggest obstacle was to re-learn the old verse and track it instead of the
newer lyric. I jumped up and down...."yes! the Dragon lives!"
Saturday July 3
Thin Ice Life
The balance between caring and hurting
Do you ever feel like if one more crumb of criticism or one more tiny
conflict befalls you, the thin layer of ice supporting your fragile existence
will crack... releasing you into the deep? Wait. Let me try to make it more
dramatic... ok. Do you ever feel like the damaging, emotional
collaborates in your life will soon join forces to push you over the
edge...and that the last sounds you'll hear are the torid, death cello's of
the Goat Gauntlet performing their haunting version of Daunce Macabre
in a final symphonic rite?
Yeah, me either; just wondering.
In other news... I can't make this my xanga. At least not tonight... I'm
reminded of an early Eisley song and for some reason, it's resonating
with me in a powerful way: "I go down, trembling...these are the, these
are the monsters of the night..." I loved that song; ...not even sure if it
exists anywhere.
Anyway... I guess it's normal, but sometimes the cosmos around us just
weighs us down...and it feels like it would be easier to give up; For some
reason, tonight I just feel like packing up and moving to a place where
nobody knows us and nobody cares. It seems like the greater exposure
we have, the greater pain we have. That's a topic for xanga, but has
nothing to do with recording a record.
No worries. Nobody is giving up; the game hasn't even begun.
Happy 4th everyone. We're gonna have an old fashion BBQ tomorrow
afternoon - with watermelon and swimming and grass and sky and silver
bugs and fire flies...as the dreamsicle skies melt into the silhouetted
furrow of our deep veridian woods.