As we grow older, we start to see our daily responsibilities begin to overshadow the things we just LIKE to do. These things that we like give us peace in our lives; they make us feel whole, they make us feel ALIVE. They even make us feel productive – sometimes people don’t understand that. Like for instance, with me and my music, or my air guitar. When I book a sweet show for one of my bands, or when I am getting ready to compete in an air guitar competition, I feel like I am GETTING SHIT DONE. It’s an amazing sensation, and it’s one that pretty much anyone can relate to.
Now, look at what I just said and you will see the position I am in. I like PLAYING MUSIC and PERFORMING AIR GUITAR, probably the two “professions” in the world that pay the LEAST out of anything else one could engage in. This is because they are also the most fun. Some say it’s kinda like the Rule of Eating: If it tastes awesome, it’s probably awful for you. But that’s not always true – bacon, as we all know, is insanely delicious, AND a great source of protein! Continue reading →
The dream of air guitar was incepted in Finland where they believe air guitar can help create world peace. What hate could you harbor in your heart when flailing your fingers to your favorite tune? Well if the goal of competitive air guitar is to achieve world peace it is about time they found their air messiah! Air Jesus claimed his first championship placing 1st in the Kansas City Regional Air Guitar Championship this past month. The next stops are a couple of expensive round-trip tickets to semi-finals in New York at the Bowery Ballroom on July 2nd and Los Angeles at the House of Blues on August 17th. Help Air Jesus complete this pilgrimage and spread air love across the nation by contributing $20 and in return receiving this rad Air Jesus t-shirt, with artwork created by Dennis Stanton, the man. The shirts are ice gray with black ink. Contribute 20 dollars to this paypal. Then, email your shirt size and address to jojolongbottom@gmail.com and I will mail, or personally deliver, your Air Jesus shirt on July 10th. Air guitar is nerd heaven and the opportunity to jump on stage in front of sold out crowds in NYC & LA is enough to geek out about. It is indeed a labor of love so if you love Air Jesus, help him send his message across this great nation. Cheers and thank you!
Never Erased is indicative of the new approach we took when recording Fade In/Fade Out. While recording our last record Out of Earshot Hawks and I would always record two versions of our guitar parts so that we could pan each one to its own speaker meaning no matter which speaker you were listening to you could hear all the guitar parts and harmonies. Our vocals could then be built from the center, coming straight at you and harmonies could be layered around the driving melody of each line. The result was a full-sounding record.
The recording of Never Erased (download here) was much different. When writing the song Hawks and I worked on creating counter-melodies with our guitars that would work off of each other. During the chorus of Never Erased you can hear me playing the rhythm part in your left ear and Cameron’s response, in a higher tone, coming from your right ear. Each of us having our own speaker –or our own ear for you headphoners– accentuated the call-and-response of the guitar parts. The vocal line screams at you from both speakers coming straight from the middle. The vocal line too is a call immediately followed by the response of two lead guitar parts mimicing the vocal melody in harmony.
In order to make-up for any loss of the full sound we had achieved with previous recordings, Eric’s drums have more presence and a warm saturated room sound. Colby, who loves to track last, strings together his own melodies that then fill-in any spaces left open in the array of sound.
It all adds up to a sound more reminiscent of our live show. Simpler maybe. But then again, don’t tell that to our producer Chris Cosgrove. He would tell you anything but.
I wrote “Sing it Soft” for my mom, right before she lost an ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer in July of 2010. After a four year struggle of our own to finish our second album – which included a third of it being erased by a click-happy studio intern – The Dead Girls had finally released Out of Earshot the previous April. Never in my life have I experienced such highs and lows…and it all happened in a span of four months. Continue reading →
As JoJo posted recently, we’re really close to finishing our new full-length record Fade In/Fade Out. But today, you can get a cool sneak preview of four songs from the album over at Daytrotter! We recorded a live 5-track session in June and the whole thing is up now!
Welcome to Daytrotter
The Beast Inside
Never Erased
Girl In Fatigues
Naysayer
Chasing Clouds
From Sean Moeller, head Daytrotter dude and all-around nice guy: “The characters in these songs are handfuls, causing all kinds of drama, losing their shit and just generally freaking out. It doesn’t mean that any of this was a bad idea though. You can tell that these are people who might actually thrive on the unpredictability of good looking babes. Hawk sings, “Whatever it takes, I’ll find a way/To get you to show me the shape of your body/It seems it’s all I ever think about these days,” and it could be the root of the problem, but it’s not like it matters all that much. It’s always gonna be hard, ya know? As long as you can spin the troubles of the odd couple into some shredding rock songs, it’s all good.”
We hope you dig the four new tunes and our full-band electric version of “Chasing Clouds” from the Te Quiero EP!
Chris Cosgrove, the highly talented local producer, is currently in the stage of doing the preliminary mixes of Fade In/Fade Out, the Dead Girls’ 6th release and 3rd full-length album. The whole band is extremely excited to release the new material, including many songs never heard before live. Don’t expect to hear the same ol’ Dead Girls album you have become accustomed to. There are some definite chances being taken on this record and we think you, as the listener, will approve of the changes.
Click on continue reading to hear about the process of recording Fade In/Fade Out.
I really can’t stress just how excited The Dead Girls are to be a part of MidCoast Takeover this year. This showcase has become the premiere non-official SXSW event for Midwest bands, so tight that even a score of national bands clamor to be added each year. I’m not totally sure how this year’s lineup stacks up to those of past years, but 2012’s collection of KC area and national bands would be enough to make me want to hitchhike down to Austin if my band wasn’t already playing.
Twenty-six KC bands have been chosen to represent this year, and while that is quite a lot, I have no doubt in my mind they are all great choices. I haven’t heard them all, but I look forward to finally hearing some bands that people have been buzzing on for awhile, like We Are Voices, The Empty Spaces, Maps for Travelers, and so many more. For the sake of getting down to the nitty gritty of just how awesome this MCT lineup is, though, I’m going to do a breakdown of some of the bands I have already come to know and love, and the bands with whom I am most excited about causing a good old-fashioned Austin ruckus. Continue reading →
We are playing the Bloody Valentine Ball on Tuesday February 14th at Record Bar in Westport!
This shindig will get started at 9pm on Valentines Day with a screening of Season 2 of the zombie web series Dead Wait, followed by performances by The Dead Girls and Last Night’s Regret. There will be contests, door prizes, dancing, and more–zombie attire encouraged by not required!
Doors open at 9pm, Screening starts at 9:30p, Rock begins at 10p
Tickets $5 in advance on the Record Bar website (www.therecordbar.com), $7 at the door and all proceeds go toward making a Dead Wait feature film!!
