EisWood #3 Clip

Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:04 am

Shot from Summer '08 shoot in Tyler w/ Chris Phelps. Read more below.

Note: Click link for SMARTPHONES: (iphone/BB's/handhelds)
YouTube has not figured out that 60% of the public using cells are accessing the web through their hand-held device. Eisley's YouTube Channel uses flash interface - therefore iphone's & Blackberries are missing this new clip. Even if there is a work-around, what % of users have it?


Clip lives on our YouTube channel. Leave a comment here and/or there if you're feeling it. thnx.


EISLEY LP3
Sorry for posting such few clips (hey - Sherri also posted!). We will push more of this kind of inside media as we approach the finish line. Also, when we get a release date, wb will join in with bigger guns. For now, it's all us... just as it should be.

FYI - on progress: this album has been produced in 2 halves. That's a Gary Leach (co-producer) agenda that makes sense to everyone's brain. Remember the days of side 1 and 2? So it goes: pre-production cycle followed by tracking > rough production mix. Repeat. They only have 1 more pre-pro sesh' (always wanted to say pre-pro sesh' just so i could hate myself) Monday night and Eisley begins tracking 2nd half next week. We're getting great (best ever) reaction from the production mixes at the Bunny. All systems go. No release date yet. Lots of sprinkles to put on first half, volumous work to accomplish on 2nd half. I vow to film more.

SEGUE PHOTOSHOOT
We pulled off an exciting photo-shoot last year - mid-July - almost exactly 1 year ago predicting we'd be at a good place to start thinking about press, cd graphic images, etc. I loved that shot. Chris Phelps is quite amazing. We all scouted, art directed, the band did their own fashion, etc but Chris gets the cred'.

AT this point, this shot should serve as a foretaste of what is to come. Obviously, we were slightly ahead of schedule. lol. We're talking w/ Chris about another shoot mid-July. The band is saying - "mmm... how about not out in the 105º heat this time?" Sherri seems to be good at water acrobatics in slimy East Texas lakes... perhaps we could so an under-water shoot. kidding. It's hot as the blazes of hell here in Tyler. Anyway, sadly, the image from a year ago is out-dated because of hair-do's. I might just slather it somewhere anyway. It can be a monument to the struggles we all went through to get to this point.

REPRISE > SIRE SHIFT
Speaking of - we have old news that's new to you. We were going to push this (label change hype) at some point but just decided it wasn't really that important. Tired of my own zealous blogs. It's all about the music and touring. But here are excerpts from pres release shiz I wrote last year but didn't blast:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"After 2 ep’s, 2 full lengths, 3 digital ep’s, 6 years of touring, fan/brand building, Eisley opts to hop from Reprise to Warner’s SIRE after being courted by long time A&R Craig Aaronson, whose recent appointment to President of Sire Records might likely give them the opportunity to continue their career well into the middle of the next decade.

Sire Records, founded by Seymoure Stein in 1966 - purchased by Warner Bros in 1978 - might feel more like a giant indie a to an indie on a major but draws from their tenure/track record of breaking rock bands like - Depeche Mode, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Smiths and Madonna. This move provides Eisley a new familial home with younger, indier label-mates such as Tegan and Sara, Regina Spektor, Jack’s Mannequin, and others."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You'd have found out eventually but again, it's just not headline news; only care about getting the right attention/treatment/push/, etc. It didn't make sense to leave the Warner family but it did make sense to follow Craig into his new opportunity (kingdom). His tenacious, unending enthusiasm & powerful persistence persuaded us (bonus points for alteration bordering on studderation) on so many levels. Relationship is everything. Structurally, Warner is Warner - no matter what brand: Reprise, WBR, Sire; it's all the same.... exCept for the fact that Sire has a President and his daughter's name is Eisley. Any questions?

Not gonna to give you the "things are going to be different" speech; I could write a novel on our history and a short story about where we believe things are going but I don't see a purpose. Suffice to say - we're excited and have good reason to be here and even better reason to believe the opportunity will produce a different outcome... a positive one... one that nurtures a long career.

The history of Sire is better than Reprise, the logo even better... and talking to the president on a regular basis is better. And there are many more better's... I won't get into because I'm bored with this. We believe all of this will quickly translate into good things for everyone (kick A merch site, exclusive offers, better tours, more music more often... expansion on a new level)

be kind.

posted by: boyd | Add Comment | Permalink

48 Comments

« prev | goto page

12345

 | next »

lookingXglass

Congratz to all the Eisley band member and to you Boyd! That's awesome! I would literally crap my pants if y'all finally got a merch site

posted Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:13 pm

vintage_snowflake

PAUSE.
here's my request, my behest, my matchstick in the game: I'm in love with how raw and richly beautiful it sounds right here. With Combinations, the production was too slick for me- I liked the songs, but they always felt like there was a Plexiglass layer on the very top, stopping me from fully tapping into & connecting with the songs. The girls' voices are already so beautiful, instrumentation already so great, that there's no further processing required. Admittedly, I'm also a lo-fi addict, but I honestly feel like it would be some much greater missing that barrier- that superfluous Plexiglass and plastic wrap.

posted Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:53 am

vintage_snowflake

organic. That's the word I think I was searching for. Records should sound organic.

posted Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:44 am

lookingXglass

quote Mylovelyislostatsea:
"Sire!!!
yaaay.
labelmates with tegan and sara is probably the coolest thing ever."

I've always thought your avatar looked like a picture of either Tegan or Sara lol

posted Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:29 am

grain thrower

I like making up anagrams too (ILMUAT). And when they're phonetically solid, it's like finding gold.

So many strands. Must proceed in an orderly fashion. Calm breaths. OK:

1) Great photo. Who cares about current hairstyles? Obviously not the guy who tries to max out at 6 cuts per year whose locks go from Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent to Bill Murray in Kingpin. Very Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the remake) backdrop, how pleasingly/queasingly fitting.

2) Shifting from Reprise to Sire might be like shuffling furniture around in the same house, but from my perspective you wound up with the cool couch. Great to know there is some promising stability & support in that wing, plus with some of the new neighbors you don't want them to turn down their music. Eisley with Tegan & freaking Sara, what could be better than that twin bill?? {Pause allowing the ginormous cleverosity of that quip to fully sink in.} Plus the sisters Quin are probably the only siblings who can out-goofball the DuPrees, which is really saying something. There should be a 'Battle of the Network Stars'-style competition.

3) Studio clip is like a kick drum to a block of wood. Where did I get that imagery? Anyway, much to savor in there. I like seeing the WHOLE BAND sitting in the control room and discussing the finer points of song construction. And potato head drawings. Nobody's knocking off early because their part is finished. All for one, one for all. The intimate clip of Stacy tracking vox sends tingles down the spine. Almost as magical as the Diamond Daves golden throats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMfX9fu2030

Much to look and hear forward too. The cloud is already mushrooming.

posted Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:53 am

grain thrower

Anagrams?? I meant acronyms. Or IMA.

posted Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:56 am

supermanbbp

wow. all the new songs sound amazing, and i would love it if there was a merch store. it would be awesome.

wow, great songs. i love it. wow.

posted Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:44 pm

bigideas

boyd, i like the artsy jump cuts to karate chops.

posted Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:17 am

boyd

ahhh! Such great comments. Gives me brain tingles.

Vintage_Snowflake: Open subject on this topic. Fun but squirmy subject to slither into. Lots of opinions, terms are vague, describing the invisible art (sound) is difficult, but I do believe you must know where you're going or you won't get there.

On "or-janic mixes" - Sorting all of this out. But there's a difference between production and mixes. Production = parts, ideas, creative, layers, arrangements, tracking vocals, keys, guitar parts/tones, drum parts/tones... on and on. Mix = how you shape what was tracked/produced.

One mixer might push towards: small, lo-fi, indie... say - early Rilo Kiley; another might try to turn you into Incubus. But again, I hope we're talking about mix, not tracking/producing. Eisley has an affinity w/ raw; sure... but if raw means: less, un-adorned, plain, un-refined, clumsy, coarse, etc. you'll be disappointed.

Polished is a word that might find root in both production and mix. "Polished" is when you put a high-gloss shine from buffing and buffing something that might otherwise appear dull or unpolished. Better... here are 2 thoughts on "polished" from Thesaurus: 1.) glossy, shining, shiny, gleaming, glistening 2.) accomplished, excellent, flawless, impeccable, masterful, masterly, skilled, skillful. No.2 isn't all wrong.

Perhaps finished is not a bad word. The girls love harmonies, layered-lush vocals, fly-in background parts, worked out parts, strong dynamics, steady meter, things must be in tune, etc.... like always. So if by saying raw, you are saying you want the sound, the tones (vocals, guitars, etc) to be dry or un-altered.. or not shaped in any way, that's a reasonable request but... it's not probable; not desierable. I defy you to find recordings at this level (or way below this level) that aren't shaped in some direction... by the mix. All good records are mixed. From Radiohead to Bon Iver.

With regard to mixes, there's a world of direction we could go. Personally, I want the mix that fits the songs, the band... that resonates within the market they have and the market they want to attract; a mix that tugs on hearts but kicks in the _ss when required. The mix can't sacrifice itself to the lo-fi snob-gods who bow to confinement and celebrate narrow appeal; it cannot be innocuous, flat-line.. boring.

It can and should feel organic, alive, raw... both sensitive and impolite. It can't be targeted to rock radio but it shouldn't forfeit or unqualify itself. Here are a few completely random mixers and what they've done:

Michael Brauer - Coldplay, Regina Spektor, Doves, The Fray, My Morning Jacket, John Mayer Joe Zook - One Republic, Katy Perry, Modest Mouse David Boucher - Ditty Bops, Daniel Powter, Missy Higgins Adam Hawkins - Kate Voegele, Rilo Kiley, Natasha Bedingfeild, Pink Dave Fridmann Tapes n Tapes, MGMT, Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse Phil Ek - Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Band Of Horses

IF you pick the last mixer/list (assuming - lo-fi affinity), you might have just turned the 'verb up to 11 on this recrd (Fleet Foxes) - which is not at all what you heard on the clip. Or look at The Shins mix: "Wincing the Night Away" is very, very lush...SO nice, right? - but the drums don't drive and the guitars are plain n pretty; nothing pokes out... it's beautifully innocuous; like a 60's Beach Boys mix re-mastered. I love it but is it right for Eisley? Ever heard Band of Horse? love it. Still... None of those bands' mixes are raw - though, they are are all certainly indier-than-thou' bands. In a perfect world, perhaps Dave Fridmann would be right. I don't think he just mixes. Pretty sure he produces and mixes his own stuff like Neil Avron and others. Most producers would LOVE to mix their own records. Often, Labels insist on getting that fresh perspective by hiring a separate mixer.

Past mixers: Jerry Finn, Rosewood, Tim Palmer. Who did the best job? Open to ideas. Be kind. I didn't proof this. cya.

posted Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:55 pm

Lost Account 14172

vinyl?

Any chance of the new record or the last one getting released on vinyl? I already have room noises!

posted Tue Jul 07, 2009 5:50 pm