The City Veins

Oh, you’re still here?

Thank you to the (maybe) 5 people left reading this after we neglected to post for about a week.  We’ve all been busy with stuff outside of the band like jobs and such (you know, the stuff that actually pays us) so we’ve been pretty bad about posting.

Not much going on City Vein land this week as a result. Although, like Aaron said, we had 2 practices last week in which we tried to write new songs and they were awful.  In one practice, Charles completely forgot how to play the guitar.  He had an audit earlier that day at work and I think our poor Rickenbacker bore the brunt of his frustrations.  In the other, we had some good ideas but nothing coherent or particularly moving.

I will say this about our band, though: I like that we don’t force songs. Writer’s block sucks and can be demoralizing, but we don’t commit to songs unless we really like them. I wish more artists did this. I feel like some artists record and put out every little musical thought they’ve ever had, for better or for worse. Others just phone in it and make mediocre records just to make more money or fill obligations. We don’t do either, which means we might not crank out new music as quickly but when we do, you can be guaranteed we’re excited about it. I like to think that translates on stage as well. Several people have remarked that we seem to have a lot of fun on stage, and we are, in no small part because we really like our songs and njoy playing them. Shouldn’t more artists have that attitude?

Now, some random stuff:

• Velvet Lounge: Has anyone else been blown away by the changes at Velvet? It’s like a whole new place. The boys and I went over there to see Imperial China and Len Bias (both of whom put on excellent shows BTW) and we felt like we were in Bizarro World.  The narrow hallway to the bathroom now has a decent size sitting area, and upstairs walls have been knocked out to create way more space and accommodate a bar. All in all, the changes have been pretty positive (EXCEPT, of course, getting rid of Rob, the best sound guy in all DC). The one complaint I’d have, though, is that the stage now needs to be higher.  If you’re in the back of the upstairs area by the bar, it’s very hard to see the bands.
• I’m Going Hungry: We have been called out by our friend Spencer, and I think I might be down for this. I do love me some Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, and hybrids thereof.
• Running Music: Yesterday at the gym I was running on the treadmill while rocking Radiohead’s K Computer on my iPod.  CNN was on mute, but it was the same old high-school-type political bullshit they run incessantly: “Did you hear what McCain said about Obama?” “Yeah, and then Obama was like that’s bullshit and no likes you.” The usual garbage that passes for “the best political team on TV”. Anyway, they come back from commercial and go right into this crap, when “Electioneering” comes on my iPod.  I had to laugh because as soon as they showed the candidates, Thom starts singing:

I will stand…I will stand for nothing. Say the right thing when electioneering. I trust I can rely on your vote.

Happy weekend everyone. Next weekend (August 9), we’re at the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan for a bone cancer benefit with Anchorage and My Friend Autumn. Great show, great bands, great cause.

I considered formatting this picture, but I was afraid you would lose insight into Spencer’s soul.  Look at the fear coupled with confusion in his eyes.  I think this properly articulates the way this band has felt for the last few days of practice.  We’ve been trying to write and we have been awful.  It’s a damn good thing we’re not writing an album right now becuase it would be some of the most boring work to ever come out of DC…..and it would force Spencer to look like this permanently.

We are releasing our CD on Friday at Iota, and you should be there. The concert is $10.00 and we go on first, I think. To whet your appetite a little more, here is a picture from our practice last night.

p.s. I can’t seem to make these pictures appear in the right places and it is really pissing me off.

Aaron was supposed to write this post on Monday, it’s now Wednesday and so being tired of waiting, here’s my recap of Sunday night.

On Saturday, we had an amazing practice.  We came up with a great new setlist and blistered through it with a ton of energy and musical virtuosity.  There was only 2 problems: 1) we were in our basement and no one was watching and 2) in this band, having a great practice is almost certainly a jinx for a live show.  Every time we’ve had our best live shows, we’ve had awful practices before them.  I think it’s because we get the “suck” out of our system.   So needless to say, we felt Saturday might have been a bad omen.

The good news is that, from a performance standpoint, we played really well Sunday night.  We were right in fearing the omen, however.  With the exception of the microphone, almost every piece of our equipment broke in some way.  For the first 3 songs, the guitar amp was alternately nowhere near loud enough or was screeched horrificly in obnoxious feedback.  I’m not sure it was ever loud enough all night.  At another point in the show, the bass cut out completely for about half a song.  And not one to be outdone, my snare drum malfunctioned 2 songs in , leaving me to work around that the rest of the set.

As odd it sounds, it’s good to have nights like that once in a while.  It both keeps you focused, and teaches you how to work around issues and still put on a good show.  That being said, I look forward to a month of totally kick-ass shows now that the music gods have exacted their revenge on us for that practice.

Thanks to all who came out to Galaxy Hut on Sunday, we love and appreciate your support and we promise a whole lot less stuff will break next time.

Aaron, being the optimistic person that he is, seems convinced that I can learn how to sing. He is so sure of himself that he has declared that I am going to sing on every song. We started lessons on Saturday.

The lesson started with Aaron explaining how to sing properly, including:

1) How to breathe, my shoulders should not rise. The singing breath is actually a lot like a Yoga breath.
2) I should open my mouth as wide as possible. Apparently, I should over emphasize opening my mouth to the point that I can’t actually pronounce most words. Aaron claims that a lack of pronunciation is not a problem.
3) I need to sing more in my throat, and not in my nose or the top of my mouth. Opening my mouth will apparently take care of this.
4) I need to sing louder.

In summation, how I used to “sing” was all wrong. Granted what I use to do required quotation marks so as not to offend actual singers. Unfortunately this robbed me of what meager singing skills I had. I have been diligently practicing, running scales and rehearsing the parts Aaron wrote for me, and I am making some progress.

I must say that I have gained a new appreciation for Aaron. I have always known what a good singer he is, but after about 20 minutes of practicing my voice is really tired. I don’t know how he can do a whole concert.

Our practice last Tuesday was the first that I really sang at. I figured that I am going to have to learn how to sing and play at the same time, so I should start soon. Some of the songs were okay, but for the most part I was horrible. After we finished Toe the Line, Spencer diplomatically said, “I know you are trying, but that was awful.” I reassured him that I did in fact know that my singing was horrible, and we agreed that I need to a lot more practice before I share my voice with the world.

Photo by Flickr user rgdaniel.