My band officially released our first EP yesterday.

[deevergote]

Download it HERE for free!



It's called "An Act of Survival", and we're pretty proud of it. Recorded live, rather than track by track, in a single afternoon. The way oldschool bands did it! It's been professionally mixed and mastered, however.

Let me know what you think!

The whole thing is under 10 minutes long. We're hoping to do a run of 7" vinyl pressings. I found a one-off place that will make them to order (even 1 at a time) for a reasonable price, so I'm at least getting one myself!


The lyrics (which I still need to type up word for word) were all written by Andy, our drummer. The basic music (melodies, chord structure) was written by Bob, our singer/guitarist. I play bass, and wrote all the bass parts. I also designed the cover (it's Fidel Castro, if you can't tell!)

[GhostAccord]

This is pretty cool.

I remember covering a room in the basement with egg cartons and blankets, jamming out and recording live. Long before digital recorders and home studio software. Things have come a long way in 20 years..lol

[deevergote]

Thanks!
The last time we did that (in my house... I think it may be why my neighbor no longer speaks to me...) we actually did it track by track on a lame old Dell PC.

This time around, we went live (all but vocals), but did so into a semi-pro recording rig and a brand new high end Mac. The guy doing the recording is Bob's girlfriend's stepfather (who is kind enough to let us practice once a week in his basement...) and he's a semi-professional musician in his own right. Plays in 3 bands, builds upright basses for fun. He's an Audi mechanic, which makes him even cooler
He had just gotten the program and the computer, so he was using us to familiarize himself with it... so chances are it could've been better... but the raw sound of it is pretty cool.

The middle two songs are likely on their way out. Fun to play, but I feel the first and last are our strongest of this batch. They might make it to a full-length.

[GhostAccord]

That's a pretty good sound quality for a live recording home recording has come a long way. Plug in a few mics and power up your computer.

I like the sound you guys put together. Assuming punk influences?

[deevergote]

Definitely. Our sound is (for the first time ever) actually a bit in line with the sound coming out of our area at the moment. We were more of a "Chicago style" punk band (the region, not the rock band) a few years ago, but upon reforming and writing new material, we seem to fit in much better with the current Philadelphia area sound. I suppose we're still "punk", for lack of a better term... that's where most of our influences come from... but I'm not sure if there's a proper term for what we are! Our music is the product of guys that grew up in the 90s listening to the Descendents, Green Day, and Blink 182... but we've outgrown the fart jokes and "I'm a nerd and girls don't like me" lyrical content.

[AccordWarrior]

You totally need to create a "Chicago style" (the band) punk rock band! I'll have to give this a proper listen once I've got some time (and I can plug into my real stereo).

[CyborgGT]

This is my kind of music! You guys remind me of Autopilot Off, particularly their Looking Up album with the way this one was recorded. Good stuff.

My only complaint is in the mixing itself; the singing could stand to be a little louder to be better heard over the music.

[Grumpys93]

This is my kind of music! You guys remind me of Autopilot Off, particularly their Looking Up album with the way this one was recorded. Good stuff.

My only complaint is in the mixing itself; the singing could stand to be a little louder to be better heard over the music.

I agree with cyborg, it seems the guitar is in the spot light the whole time. Vocals could use a little bump in volume and the drums and bass are drowned out. All in all I like it and look forward to hearing more. Nice job on your first EP!

[bobbycos]

My turntable is patiently waiting for the 7" vinyl

[gloryaccordy]

I recorded some random shit with a buddy of mine like this. Jamming is so much damn fun. Wish I had the time

[deevergote]

I agree with cyborg, it seems the guitar is in the spot light the whole time. Vocals could use a little bump in volume and the drums and bass are drowned out. All in all I like it and look forward to hearing more. Nice job on your first EP!

My guitarist/singer says that it's mixed properly for vinyl... though that remains to be seen! I do agree, though.

[steelbluesleepR]

very nice, Deeve! I'm hearing some ska influences as well, and I'm really liking what I'm hearing.

[GhostAccord]

Can't beat the sound you get from vinyl on a good system. I still buy it and would rather sit down and listen to vinyl over an MP3 or disc any day!

[af_1132]

I want to hear more of that sophisticated looking bass player back there



The harmonic content and tempo of the fourth track stands out to me, and I like that very much.