We
started recording, "The Dark Night" in May of 2001. We had a decent
little push there for a bit where we got a bunch of stuff done in a matter
of days. My initial reaction to this was elation, thinking that maybe making
this one won't be as hard as making Redemption.
Andy
Parrott
Tom
Jessen
Suffice
to say there was numerous times I wanted to just quit that self-indulgent
overly ambitious piece of shit. But if there is anything good about Redemption
for me now it's just the simple fact that I finished the sonnavabitch. The
photos you see are from this initial push in May of 2001.
On
hand were Andy Parrott (guitars), Nate Basinger (keys, organ), and Wes Phillips
(bass). The drumming chores were split between two drummers I have played
with almost exclusively in the past, Jimmy Viner and old 'Outfit' drummer
Eric Griffin. So far there have been a number of people lending their talents
to this project as we have been going along.
Nate
Basinger
Wes
Phillips
Jimmy
Viner
The studio I
was recording in (The Petting Zoo) closed in early July only to relocate
and merge with Minstrel Studios, where I recorded Redemption.
Patrick Brickell (Petting Zoo) and John Svec (Minstrel Studios) co-opted
their resources and talents, found a new space and spent much of the rest
of the summer and fall rebuilding the place themselves. From July to just
before Christmas I was inactive in the studio, which damn near killed me
and the momentum we had in May.
I
was wrong in thinking that this record might be easier than Redemption,
(you know, all the valuable hard lessons I was supposed to have learned
in the process of making it and implemented afresh on this new project.)
This thing has been brutal and terribly slow in the making. I didn't think
anything could have ever been as hard as making that first record.
Foolish man.
Tom
Jessen
Eric Griffin
Tom Jessen
Andy
Parrott
Nate
Basinger
Andy
Parrott
Can't
tell you when this thing will be done. Hopefully it will be out by the
summer if we get a little karma kickback action happening. Of course,
I suppose that might be why it's been so hard so far…
