and maybe it’s ridiculous and i shouldn’t get my hopes up. maybe someone was even yanking my chain. but here’s what happened…
i was at the david bazan show (very good, by the way, thanks scott), and he was closing his set with “hallelujah,” when my phone rang. it came up as some 408 number that i didn’t know, and so, against what i would usually do in that situation, that being one of my favorite songs (and one of bazan’s, apparently, too), i decided to answer it. i had to walk outside and couldn’t really hear what she was saying, but something about a third-party operator reading the conversation to me, typing responses, something…i thought she was trying to sell me something. but she finally convinced me that someone was calling me with this service, was i david, and did i accept the call? i said yes.
hello, this is neil from rca records.
what? my attention was had. (i can only remember pieces of the conversation, and not always in the right order, but i’ll write the gist of it. plus it was all being read to me by the operator, so that was kinda weird as far as flow goes and stuff. i also had to say, “go ahead” whenever i was through with a statement or whatever so she could press enter and send it to him. weird.)
and so he went on to say that they saw our show at juanita’s and were impressed with us. is this a good time to talk? YES! did i know anything about RCA? they’d like to revitalize the label, what did i think about that? i said the record industry and pop music could use some revitalizing. they thought we might could help with that and they’d like to get the ball rolling. i said that was very nice of them to say and we’d be up for any rolling balls…yes, i really did say that. and i asked what they meant by revitalize, but he said that was too long of a conversation and we could talk about it later. they asked if we wrote all our own music and what our long term goals were. i said yes, and we all want to do this full time, as soon as it’s financially feasible. he said, well maybe i can help you with that later, and i was like, well, no, i just mean we don’t know how to book enough shows to be playing consistently right now. he asked how long we’d been together, i said a couple years, but we only get to play shows once a month, if not less (trying to impress on him the fact that we would be even more awesome if we could practice and play more), because zach, the drummer, lives in missouri.
then he asked about the lead singer, so i gave him michael’s number, but then said, don’t call him tonight, cause he has a wife. the reply: is she a problem? hahaha. i said no, i just mean they’re asleep. i’m still up because i’m not connected. connected? i don’t understand. like, i don’t have a wife or a girlfriend or anything. anyway, she’s not at all a problem…she can’t wait until we can do this full time.
then he wanted to know about zach’s situation, so i was telling him how his wife is in grad school and that was another thing we were waiting on, cause she also wants him to be able to do whatever it takes for the band (namely moving to nashville is our plan after she finishes grad school). and so he says, well, we really want to get the ball rolling before the new year…you guys have raw talent and can’t afford to wait around. i didn’t quite understand, so i asked him to explain. he said, well, drummers are a dime-a-dozen, we can easily get you one from RCA to replace him. and i was like, no, there will be no replacing. zach and his wife are committed to doing whatever we have to do for the band. he said maybe we would talk about that later.
so basically they were impressed with us and want us to know they’re interested in us and want to talk more, but it was getting late in california, so he said they would call back in a couple of days or so…then…horror of horrors…my PHONE DIED! thank goodness it died after we had already had a 20 minute conversation, and not right after he said, this is neil from RCA. so anyway, i thankfully had a message this morning, being read by an operator, that said, hey it’s neil, i think we got disconnected. i’ll call back again later. goodnight.
so now…i’m freaking out. i called michael and zach immediately…they were, of course, both asleep with their wives at one in the morning. michael told me if i was joking he would rip my face off, and zach was just like, what are you talking about? probably because i was screaming. anyway, we’re freaked out and don’t know what the deal is. i didn’t do a great job recounting the conversation, but the way it went, and the questions he asked, i don’t feel like it was someone messing with me. usually that would be, hey, this is so-and-so from RCA records, we’re interested…bye. but he talked to me for 20 minutes about the band, what we want to do, etc. i feel like my heart is racing 800.000 miles a second.
if i remember anything i left out, i’ll add it later.
it’s all happening.
this past saturday was a really fun show at the powerhouse in jonesboro. there were only like 10 people there, but it was seriously one of the most fun shows i’ve played because the “crowd” was really into what we were doing. we even got them to sing along with us on a new song after we taught them the “la la la” part, which was really cool. plus some of the girls there said i was their favorite because of my dance moves…i don’t care that they’re probably all 15 or 16, it was still exciting and encouraging. i’m the bass player, so i’m not usually noticed…except for being kind of tall. we also tried some pretty interesting new stuff musically that i really enjoyed. anyway, i had a great time…probably the most fun concert i could imagine with less than 15 people in attendance.
and go hogs!
oh man…i had some stuff to write, but i just forgot most of it because i’m laughing so hard watching the daily show. we did play last night at juanita’s, and it was…ok. there were some frustrating things, but i guess there will always be some kind of frustration to deal with, and so really all we can do is play the way we know how…which is harder than you might think sometimes. we broke out a full-scale version of “goodnight, moon,” and it went over really well with the crowd, even though it wasn’t too polished. i think it’s gonna be really good once we get the hang of playing it together. it’s also exciting because it’s the first song we’ve really collaborated on as far as ideas and words and musical stuff, and it might be one of our best songs yet, which means we’re growing together as writers and musicians, and that’s really neat. i said neat. anyway, i’ll post the lyrics soon and see what y’all think. oh yeah, and johnny raines played a trumpet line along with it (at the show) that makes it sound kinda sufjan-esque, and also when we all sang “la la la” at the end…which is probably pointless to talk about on a text-only blog, but trust me, it was cool. probably the happiest moment i’ve had on stage in awhile (which isn’t saying i’ve not been happy on stage, but this one was overwhelmingly happy)…especially when michael and i were singing into the same mic. i don’t know…it was cool. and one more thing, the tv appearance went well, too. i’ll try to figure out if i can get it on the net somehow.
[edit]
here are the lyrics for “goodnight moon”
goodnight moon
there’s no place to rest our heads tonight
cause our time has come and gone
there’s no use in putting up a fight
we’re all alone
our starry friends have all left town
but don’t hang your head cause our time will come around
goodnight friend
this world has torn us both apart
but we still have the night;
the darkness uniting both our hearts
i was yours
you were mine
and thats enough to know that when the end must come
we’ll still be holding on
and we will sing la la la la
goodnight moon
there’s no place to rest our heads tonight
cause our time has come and gone
there’s no use in putting up a fight
you have yours
and i am quite content with mine
but we will meet again
on the other side
and we will sing la la la la
love doesn’t end after the end has come
after the end must come
[/edit]
serious stuff later, perhaps.
i had a pretty crazy weekend…we played two whole shows. ridiculous! and we have another on tuesday. this one is kinda biggish for us cause we’re playing at juanita’s in little rock, which for ya’ll that don’t know, is a pretty big deal. at least for arkansas. and us. anyway, we’re also going to be playing on live television for the first time when we play on the local abc affiliate’s morning show. oh yes, it’s true. if i can figure out how, maybe i can get some of that on youtube or something. so that’s exciting.
there are other things on my mind, too. i spent a lot of the weekend trying to clear my head, and i think i succeeded. i also realized that i’m a relationship retard, but michael gave me some tips on that (he’s getting married, so i have to trust him), and did a good job encouraging me, too. i’m always up for some encouragement.
“break the same” might have a little reggae flavor in it…but maybe not. i am watching cool runnings, though, so that’s a factor.
sha la la la lo.
i have some ideas for songs…once i write the words down, i’ll give them to michael so he can rewrite them and make them good, and then i’ll post them for you. one we’ve been working on is called “goodnight, moon,” and i think it’ll be pretty special when it’s done. another one is called “nieman,” which is gonna be loosely based on the guy who assassinated president mckinley. i know, i’m a dork. i even got the idea from watching the history channel. it may or may not work out, but i’m hoping it does, cause i like the first little bit we’ve done on it. and then there’s another one that doesn’t have a name, and i can’t really explain what it’s about yet…but i’m excited about where it could go. i know that’s vague, but i also know most of you don’t care, anyway. maybe some poetry will appear tomorrow. i’m kinda feeling something.
(yes i am listening to blink)
i’m actually watching how to lose a guy in 10 days right now. and enjoying it. so put that on a bumper sticker and…smoke it?
i just found out that my friend aaron lunsford’s band, as cities burn, is breaking up at the end of their summer tour because their lead singer/screamer (they’re a screamo/hardcore/whatever band) is getting married and wants to settle down. now, this news doesn’t directly affect me or anything, but it still makes me sad. i’m sure that some of the members will go on to find other bands, but it still hurts me to hear that, in some measure, dreams are ending. i guess i can’t authoritatively speak to what those guys’ dreams are, but i know what mine are, and i’m scared of what could happen to squelch them. ah…another undeveloped idea from me…enjoy.
and a sigh for good measure.
i dreamed that for some reason father maple was doing a photo shoot with…andrew osenga. like, he was in the pictures with us. and i think ella (his baby daughter) was there, too. i’m not sure why he was taking pictures with us. maybe it’s because i fantasize about being in a band with him…er…anyway, we were bustling around nashville trying to get some cool shots, and we just kept getting more and more frustrated because we didn’t think the photographer cared about the job and was taking stupid pictures. after the shoot was over, andy and i got in his car…he dropped an f-bomb (don’t worry, ella wasn’t around) about the photographer and we both complained about how we coulda done a much better job ourselves with a tripod and a timer. then we decided to go get pizza and laugh about the whole thing.
the end.
i have a new guitar! it’s a fender precision bass (american) and quite beautiful, don’t you think?
father maple played a pretty great show tonight, if i do say so myself. i mean, at least we had fun. and i played three different instruments, so i felt more involved than ever. i did a little violin thing while michael played “saddest love song” and then played some slight keyboards during the closing song, which was the hymn “god of love, king of peace,” so that was a lot of fun for me. plus i’ve started using my delay pedal some, too, which is even more fun. this is one of those posts that no one really likes to read all that much, i don’t think. but whatever. the point is, the concert went well and i think that some of the students (we were at williams baptist college) really enjoyed hearing us. also thanks to katherine wallace and christian and whoever else for all their help in getting everything set-up and running as smoothly as possible, and for their tireless promotion.
now i’m going to go work on my new song about an assassin and a lonely boy. details to follow…
i don’t really want to talk too much about it, cause i want the words to just speak for themselves when i’m done…but i’m really excited about a new song i’m writing. really it’s just an idea i’ve got and i’m taking notes for it…which is something i’ve never done for a song before. it’s also gonna be the first story song that i write (or co-write, if michael helps me out). i got the idea for it while watching the history channel last night, so i’ve already worked up the backstory on how it came about in case we’re ever on vh1 storytellers. it’ll finally be my turn to take the mic after michael has been hogging it all night (just kidding…or am i?). i think it’s gonna be sufjan-esque, if i can be so bold as to make that claim, and will be a lot of fun to write. anyway, i’m really excited, and all i’ve got is a germ of an idea.
this is actually gonna be something like a guest post. this past weekend we (being father maple) were scheduled to play a show with andrew osenga. i was going to write something about it, but michael wallace (lead singer of father maple) wrote a post on his own site that i decided said exactly what i wanted and needed to say. i love being in a band with these guys, cause we have such similar philosophies on what we’re doing. anyway, here it is:
A near empty room on kirby street with two bands, a sound guy, and video guy, a girlfriend, a roadie, and a lifesize cardboard cut out of toby mac were the setting for what has turned out to be one of the saddest yet interesting nights of my life. A week ago, andrew osenga (amazing musician) emailed me about setting up a last minute show in little rock on his and his band’s way back to nashville. Luckily, I just started helping out with a church here in little rock who gladly offered the youth building to me. I just knew this was going to be an amazing night. This would mark father maple’s second performance with andrew and it would be the first show in a while that we actually even had a chance to sound decent with a decent system and room.
The band showed up, we saw a movie, we did load in and sound check and we waited….
The show was supposed to start at 7:30 with nick flora playing an acoustic set. then father maple then andrew.
As the room remained empty well past 7:30, andrew and the guys decided it really wasn’t worth it to play for no one when they had a 5 hour drive ahead of them that night (which was completely understandable). They decided to pack up and leave. I was able to round about a hundred bucks from fm and some of the few people that actually showed up, so that we could pay them something, and upon giving them the money, andrew didn’t want to get payed with out playing at all, so he played 3 acoustic songs. He does more with three songs and no microphone that most bands do with a full set and pyrotechnics. It was great.
Then nick played one of the best sets i’ve ever heard him play. It was phenominal, and if you haven’t heard his new stuff you should, because it is real. We then played for about 45 minutes or so and then it was over. The crowd ended up consisting of mostly girlfrieds, friends and parents, and by all normal standards was a complete failure, but somehow i’m beginning to look at it a little different. here are the things i learned
1. Even your heroes get homesick and even down about what you think they are great at. Andrew seemed like he was just totally down about the tour. I think maybe he thinks that people don’t really get into his music, or maybe that people don’t care, and i can totally i didentify with thinking that,but I wish i knew how to tell him he is wrong. i know for a fact that the four of us in FM wouldn’t be the musicians we are without his and the normal’s influence. and i know a ton of other people who could say similar things. It encouraged me to know that even or maybe especially good musicians have a hard time getting people to listen because of what popular music has turned into.
2. Sad nights allow you to be more honest than you normally are. Nick had a terrible weekend. this turned his normally jubilant and adolescent stage presence into a powerful and revealing honesty that allowed me to listen to his songs in a way that i never have before. I’ve always been a fan, but i’m even more of one now.
3. these are the times that are preparing us for tomorrow. Not the idealistic tomorrow which is far away, but the tomorrow that is the today of yesterday. I was devastated the after the show the other night, but i’m beginning to see beyond then to today. I learned today that saturday night was testing my dedication to what i believe. If i can’t continue doing what i believe i am called to do when there is no one there, then how can i expect people to take me sincerely when there is a room full of people. You can’t connect with people if you are not committed to being honest in every circumstance. For me, part of being honest involves playing music about my life and my beliefs. This is what i must do and this is the way i must do it, and so i will; even to 13 people crowds. We will continue to share ourselves with people through our music until the door closes in our face. On that day i will have no regrets.
-Michael
ryan adams, how are you so good?
i told a gentleman at my parents’ small group that i was in a rock band, and then went on to mention that we are playing a concert at a church this week. so he asked me if we played christian rock, and i said, “no…i mean, we’re all christians…” but this confused him. he pointed out that we were playing at a church and that we wouldn’t play “hey jude” there, would we? all i could do was give him a look like, oh really? maybe we would, if we were so inclined. i didn’t say anything further to him because i wasn’t comfortable causing a stir at my parents’ small group, but i really wanted to. and ever since then i’ve been wishing i had. because it really pisses me off that there is this so-called thing of “christian rock.” we play rock ‘n’ roll. look, as a christian, by definition every thing i do will be “christian.” that is, from a christian worldview. it doesn’t mean that everything i produce has to be categorized in a special christian section and labeled as such. how ’bout let the words speak for themselves like they do for everyone else? not every song is going to have jesus referenced specifically in it, just like everything a christian artist paints doesn’t have a cross in it (or at least, i hope not). there are certainly times and places for those kinds of songs, but sometimes we write songs about girls or loneliness or being angry…this does not mean we aren’t christians, or that what we’re producing is not honoring to God. if i write a symphony, i’m not going to make sure to note that it is a “christian symphony” so that christians will know it’s ok to listen to and will be able to properly enjoy it. how silly does that sound, anyway? it’s so disappointing to me when christians refuse to listen to music that isn’t labeled by someone as christian…open your little mind. i could go on about this, but i won’t. i’ll just say that there is a great need for christians who actually make good music (and write good books…that area is even worse sometimes). there are a few, but overall “christian rock” is pitiful. probably because they’re worrying more about making sure it’s “christian” and accessible to christians, rather than making the best art they can.
this just in:
andrew osenga will be playing a special concert with father maple and coin laundry loser on april 1 at the parkway place baptist church youth building (in little rock). if you’re in the area, come to the show and i guarantee osenga will blow your mind.
this is not a joke.
and whatever george mason’s cheer is…yeah!
we now have t-shirts available for the first time. here’s one of our models wearing one:
you will have the opportunity to buy one at any show, or you can send us money and we will mail you one. we have a new paypal account we’re getting set up, so that will be an option soon. t-shirts are $10, and of course we still have cds for $5. if you have questions, or need to know where to send money, e-mail me at caedmondave@yahoo.com.
i have begun the process of losing the beard. i was going to wait until it was all gone to post any pictures, but i can’t wait, it’s too awesome to suppress any longer…
the apex of my beard:
the burnsides, or reverse goatee:
pretty ridiculous, huh? i’ll post more as a i shave more. yes, i went out in public with it looking like that.
i just realized that paul mccartney played bass in his band. as much as i sometimes wish i was the guitarist in mine, i’m becoming increasingly more satisfied with the role i have as bass player. i’ve been listening to a lot of the beatles lately, and paul’s bass lines are well-thought out and enhance the music so much, often in very subtle ways. until i became a bass player (when my band needed one, like paul did), i almost never listened to a bass line, or really cared what might be going on. bass may not always be a position of glory, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important, and i still have plenty of opportunity to influence things. of course, it’d be nice to get to play some guitar every now and then…maybe i’ll get that chance like paul did. but for now i’m going to concentrate on improving my playing and writing of good bass lines that help the song as much as possible.
Next Page »
![[caedmonscall.net]](http://rmfo-blogs.com/images/ccneticon.jpg "The official unofficial fan site of Caedmon’s Call.")
![[derekwebb.net]](http://rmfo-blogs.com/images/dwneticon.jpg "The official fan site of Derek Webb.")
![[rmfo-blogs.com]](http://rmfo-blogs.com/images/rmfoblog.png "About the [rmfo-blogs.com] service.")