Pyromania!

Published by Dawn on June 22, 2009 in News. 0 Comments Tags: .

No, not the Def Leppard record but we can talk about that at a later date… I’m talking about good ol’ fashioned obsession with fire, the kind that most of us experience at one point or another in our lives, usually as the byproduct of a naturally curious young mind somewhere in the first decade of life.

…but FIRST, a few announcements. THIS WEEKEND, June 27th is The Seldon Plan’s Baltimore CD release party for our new record “Lost and Found and Lost”! We take the stage at The Metro Gallery at 9:00pm along with our friends Among Wolves and The Collaters. We’re really excited about the show and looking forward to celebrating with YOU so come on down Saturday night! (1700 N. Charles – Baltimore, MD 21201 – 3 bands/$7 cover/21 and over).

Secondly, the band recently spent a day in downtown Baltimore, frolicking around with Metromix writer Lindsay Smith. Lindsay was armed with pen and camera while we ran around town checking out some recession-friendly options in Charm City: The Seldon Plan’s Baltimore

Now back to ‘playing with matches’…

I’m the newest member of The Seldon Plan and it’s been an adventure for us to develop a sound for the new version of the band that sounds fresh and brings an updated perspective to the group. Frontman Michael Nestor let me know right from the start that he welcomed any songwriting contributions I might bring to the table. At first I was wary of bringing material in that potentially sounded too much like The Seldon Plan covering a Dawn Dineen song but as the band began to gel, I felt more comfortable and a couple of ideas took form. One of them arrived as the song called “Fire in Day’s Field” which is the 2nd track on the LP.

As Michael’s songs for “Lost and Found and Lost” took shape, there were some themes that felt inspiring for me including some lyrics that visit childhood memories and wax nostalgic for a more innocent time. Concurrently, with the social networking boom happening on-line I was reconnecting with several childhood friends that I hadn’t talked to for at least 20 years. One of the friends I reconnected with happened to rekindle (no pun intended) a memory of a pretty profound experience I had when I was around 9 or 10 having to do with a fire.

One Fall day this friend and I were walking home from school alone in the rural community where I grew up in Lothian, MD. Heading back to the farm where I lived at the time which was owned by the Day family, we were at an adolescent junction facing the rite of passage of smoking for the first time and trying to get a leg in on looking grown up. I thought we were so cool, hiding matches and stolen cigarettes in cassette tape cases (circa 1980, I wonder what band?).

As I remember it, one minute we were laughing, light-hearted, and I leaned down to light a small patch of grass to impress my co-conspirator. It lit ablaze but went out within seconds. Convinced it would look even cooler the 2nd time, I struck the next match. Only this time the fire didn’t go out… and the wind caught it and the flames grew… and grew… and it was swiftly clear that I had made an epic mistake. We pulled our jackets off and tried to beat the fire out but it grew larger until there was no way to stop it by ourselves. I ran as fast as I could down our ¼ mile dirt driveway to my get my mom’s help who immediately called the local Fire Dept.

The story has a somewhat happy ending. After telling my mom what happened I ran back to the Day’s field and was hugely relieved to find the fire had gone out on it’s own but not before burning a patch of grass just about the size of, well actually just about the size of a fire truck. I learned my lesson about fire that day for sure but I also learned something important about trust. My friend and I were obviously traumatized by the fear of the fire, feelings of powerlessness, the fear of getting in trouble for playing with matches and getting caught for smoking (which is why I think we tried so hard to put the fire out on our own at first). It follows that one of the clearest memories I still have of that day is how my actions affected my friend at the time, the tears, the devastation and the pain that one can cause when imposing irresponsible stunts on others! There was a child’s trust between us that was corrupted that day and the experience was not soon forgotten. I think this is likely a core lesson in anyone’s life and I’m thankful I wasn’t schooled at greater expense to life or property.

So, there it is – a little behind the scenes/back-story to one the songs I wrote for The Seldon Plan’s new record. Sometimes I’m hesitant to reveal inspirations for song lyrics but this one was prompted by a very specific and profound experience; writing the song was a kind of exorcism.

The song can be streamed through our MySpace page and Amie Street page and our record is available through Amie Street, CD Baby, iTunes and Amazon. The band has about a dozen shows booked for the summer. Come out sometime and hear me sing about starting fires live!! –dd

Thank you friends!

Published by Mike on June 16, 2009 in News. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Behind the band who makes a record stands many, many more people who support that band directly, each with their own story and passions. Records these days are rarely made alone, and need a little help from friends. We are in the precarious position as an established band who has gone away for a while, of having to almost start completely over again, as if we never existed in the first place.

Modern Sisyphus

That position is daunting, to say the least…and sometimes can be demoralizing. Often we feel like Sisyphus, having to push the rock to the top of the mountain yet again, only to have it fall back down. We just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helps us, supports us, and who takes 10 minutes of the day to care…not just our families and immediate friends, but people like John Campbell, Tedd Henn, Mark Gross, Sam Sessa, Jack Rabid, Lindsay Smith, K.B. Blankston, Andy Och and countless others. Your passion for life and music never ceases to amaze us.

Check out this interview (edited for time) from WRYR in May:

Please request us on WOXY, and on Breakthrough Radio, as well as WTMD.

Here are some reviews about the new record:

-Atomic Books
-BMF
-Babysue
-Amie St.
-KB’s Blog
-Eartaste

From A Producer’s Chair

Published by Mat on June 9, 2009 in News and Recording. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Making this record was interesting in that I wore two hats. Of course I am the drummer. But for my day job I am a producer/engineer so it was a logical step for me to produce this record with Mike. Because I was the producer one typically has a hard time actually enjoying the record as a whole during and right after the process. It’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the record. But it’s just something you get too close to, to see the big picture. But that day came last week (after a few weeks to not listen to it) when I popped it on the iPod on the way to rehearsals. I finally listened to it, not thinking about what needed to be changed. It was done. Period. And it was awesome and pretty and dramatic and layered and fun.

That said, I’d like to go through each song and talk briefly about my favorite parts or an interesting recording process.

  1. Caldecott: Reverse chorus from Undertones/Ezra sessions. Mike’s idea. Perfect intro. Dawn played harmonics in the verses. They are insane. They blend drastically with the bells. But they are there and are amazing.
  2. Fire In Day’s Field: First off, the acoustic guitar in this song drives it home. You can really hear it best in the verses when most of the electrics cut out. Can’t you just eat Dawn’s harmonies?
  3. Lost and Found and Lost: I overdubbed the handclaps. 2 are mine and the 3rd is triggered to a LinnDrum handclap to thicken.
  4. Lullabies For Old Hearts: Beat stolen from Phil Collins but inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In the Dark. No relation to the actual song writing. Perhaps the most reverb I put on the drums. In fact it’s the only reverb I used on the snare that I can remember.
  5. Run, Go!: Mike’s awesome sample. Listen to Dawn’s insane finger picking. 2nd take, I shit you not.
  6. Philadelphia and a Moment: This song sounded nothing like the original. Someday we’ll through the scratch tracks up here to compare. I threw out the idea out to the band to do it acoustic expecting to get shot down instantly. But obviously the rest of the band was in to it. A favorite of mine. I love Dawn’s harmonies (Do you love me…) – She sounds like sunlight. Oh and Julia’s cello is so cool and Velvet Underground-y. “Hanging out with people” – is my favorite thing Mike does with his voice on this record. Maybe be cause it’s so out of character. Oh and the reverb on Mike’s vocals was actually a mistake. When I record guitars, I put a PZM mic on the floor so we can talk back and forth. I had left that mic on (from the session the night before) and actually recorded the PZM track when Mike was recording the vocals. And we all liked it. There you have it.
  7. French Cinema: My drums were initially inspired by Jimmy Chamberlin – not sure if it came through. One of Mike’s most pretty songs. I’d be proud, Mike.
  8. Lonely Bridgewater: Don’t tell anyone, but I used 12+ mics for the drums. I ended up using only the kick and two room mics. Props to Chris from Infinite Honey for lending me all the cymbals. His 20″ K shined here. And someday I’ll solo only the vocals. Mike is a genius with layering vocals. We’re talking Brian Wilson-crazy with vocal arrangements.
  9. See A Word: If you listen carefully you can hear Mike at the bottom of the well.
  10. There Are Definite Undertones Here: 3:18 is one of my favorite moments of the record. It’s just so pretty. And that weirdo synth. Classic.
  11. Majestic Mountain: I’ve always been in to demos and unreleased songs from bands I love. I mixed this song that way. It’s almost unfinished. And it’s also the only song that has simply two guitars in it. And I used a 15″ snare. Heh. I love this pop gem.
  12. Ezra Jack Keats: A classic closer. CMy favorite Dave bass line. It’s simple yet prefect. Dave always knows when to play, but better yet, he knows when NOT to play. Oh and there are close to 70 tracks of instruments plus voices on this song. Start counting.

PS. Did you buy it yet?