the Sobriquets: News

We had a fine, fine weekend here at Sobriquets HQ... two great sets marking the debut of the newest Sobriquet, Josh Neale, upright bassist extraordinaire and solid third vocalist. Pictures (of him and some new ones of us) on the site soon.
In other news... We're taking a month or two with pretty mild scheduling, so as to focus more on the recording process; it's entirely possible we may not see you again until 2008 (though who knows what we get offered), but soon into that year, we will have some tunes for you. Keep an eye out for our recording journals to stay current; we'll let y'all know if anything comes up. Otherwise, have a lovely holiday season, and we'll be in touch soon.

Been busy busy busy...
Over the last two days, we've taken solid swings at Lowtide, Train, Slided, and Twelve. Haven't touched vocals at all yet (I've got a bit of a head cold), and certainly we have enough instruments lying around to keep us occupied until then...
Quite some difficulty on Train: I've developed the habit of writing very patterned, repetitive lines that build into a mix fabulously but are notoriously hard to play steadily. My ability to maintain a Zen-like focus on damn near anything but what I'm playing has been a little slim of late, and the second I start to think about what I'm playing, the pattern goes to hell. I think we need to get a more interesting rug, something I can stare at and pay attention to.
Otherwise, though, quite good progress on all tracks; we shouldn't (I hope) have any real trouble finishing the process on schedule.

Rehearsal today for our gigs this weekend (are you coming to them?), so we probably won't do much recording until next week. See y'all on Friday in Ardmore and Saturday in Philly!

Loves,

J

It's been a while... thought we could justify restarting the count.
That's right, we are back in the studio, working towards the record that we hope to release in the spring.
Did some work on Revolve today; a nice dark tune with some ethereal dissonance. Maybe two thirds done with it in only a couple hours...
Spent the evening playing with Josh the Secret Weapon. Or One-Take Bartlet, as Jack Warner and we've begun calling him. Good times all around; I love a guy who can record a keeper track on the first try of a song he hasn't heard until that night.

Anyway... got some Monty Python cued up, so more tomorrow.

Loves,
J

So it's getting on towards late October... shouldn't it be below 80 degrees? Summer's killing us...

Couple shows coming:
OCT 26 (Fri) DeVoe's Music in Quakertown. All ages... free... Starts about 5:30. W/Katherine Mundy and TBA.

NOV 9 (Fri) The Rusty Nail... 21+ $5... 9 PM...

NOV 10 (Sat) The Fire
Early show (starts at 5:30, we're on at 7) 21+ $7 (unless you get advance tix from us... talk to us soon)
W/Brian Salcido and Ode to a Storm

Also... we have a new toy. I won't ruin the surprise, but his name is Josh. Come out to these shows and find out. He has greatly increased the awesome quotient.

Hitting the studio in a couple weeks to start work on the debut record...

See y'all soon,

J

And the living is easy...

Here at the Sobriquets Central HQ, we've put a few shows under our belts, and have they been fine. Time well spent in Philly, Brooklyn, and Ardmore, and more to come. We're back at the Khyber in a couple weeks, and working on another Brooklyn show for later in the month of October. We'll keep you posted as more dates arrive.
In addition, having had a couple weeks off to rehearse for these gigs, we will soon be returning to the studio (read: my back room) to begin work on our debut full length. The songs we have put on the site (have you downloaded them yet? You haven't? What, you don't like FREE MUSIC?) will probably appear on it, though in perhaps altered forms, which means get 'em now...

Anyway, just checking in... Got some more booking to do today, so we'll see you soon.

Loves,

J

Yes, folks... I know it's been a few days since we talked about the recording process... but for now... IT'S DONE!! There are now 4 songs at the music link, which can be heard in their entirety, and better, CAN BE DOWNLOADED FOR FREE!! Yes. Take them. Rip them for whomever you like. Share them (though, if you or anyone you know wishes to use them in a commercial format, talk to us first and/or send us a decent check... we would eventually like to be paid for this kinda work)... Live them. Love them. Download them. Let us know if you like them.

Enjoy...
Shows upcoming...
Further bulletins as events warrant...

Loves,
J

We were so close. So close to having a new tune ready for you tonight. Alas.
But, in the spirit of good fun, here's some thoughts:
It's called This Old Town.
It's kinda R&Bish.
There's electric piano and four ebows.
It's less than 4 minutes long (this is quite an accomplishment for me).
It used to contain a Stevie Wonder reference (deleted on the grounds that it didn't really work).
It still contains a Shakespeare reference (which also may not work, but what the hell... he's dead).
Yes, I was an English major in college... is it obvious?

It will [read: should] be done on Sunday. If all goes well, we'll have finalized versions of all the songs on Sunday. Then we'll post them, and you can download them for free. Really. I mean it.
Take em. Share em with yer friends. Play em for your dog.
He'll like them, I promise (we included a little something extra for our canine friends... no we didn't, but wouldn't that have been cool?).

Going to bed now.

Loves,

J

Well, you asked for it... well, actually, you didn't... but we assumed you were just being polite. Now here it is: Jaked, in all its rough mix splendor.
In addition, I cheated a bit and did some work on a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW song today before Dan showed up... It's nearly done already... Needs a response vocal to the call vocal... probably also some little touch-ups... and a quick mix or two... try and get it done on Thursday.
Probably would have finished it too, except we were distracted for awhile when a dude got shot in the head in front of my house. Really. I'm starting to think our Tuesday night recording sessions are cursed. Maybe we'll try Wednesday next week.
Anyway, you can hear what we did to Jaked, and I don't really feel like divulging any secret info on the new one (since we'll probably post it in the next week or less). So... ciao.

Loves,

J

More work on Jaked... principal recording's pretty much done, which means now it's down to the mixing and the fighting.
Bunch of vocals today; lead and many backing... various disagreements on the placement and/or duration of suspended 4ths and beat syncing...
Added a cool open tuned slidey bass part (and yes, we cheated and used an electric bass... oh for a studio upright(and yes, I know those are electric too...)...).
Hopefully, I can do a couple touch-ups while Dan is away (and maybe add like ten more vocals, just to watch that vein in his forehead pulse) and get this all ready for mix. God willing, it'll be posted next week. Then onto some other song to be decided later.
On a more philosophical note: so far, these songs are not "new" in the purest sense of the word. All three we've taken on have been performed in at least one previous ensemble; that being said, this project is the first time pretty much since we wrote them that we're deconstructing them and rebuilding in new and interesting ways. For what that's worth.
Anyway, we're really enjoying this work, and hope y'all are enjoying it too. Drop us a line with yer thoughts... We could do this all for ourselves, but they're already in our heads, so we probably wouldn't bother...
See y'all soon,

J

More work on Jaked... lot of mixing and electronic tomfoolery... couple guitar tracks laid down... haven't percussed or sung yet. Work distracted by police chase and car accident in front of house. No, really. Hopefully get Jaked to listening quality Thursday. Hopefully.

Loves,

J

Today the focus is Jaked. Jaked is inaccurately titled. Ask me about it sometime...
We decided that, having gone fairly electronic on the first two cuts we worked on, perhaps it was time to try something a little more organic. Thus far, there isn't a single thing on the track that isn't from an instrument made of wood and unamplified. That being said, we did run a mandolin track backwards. And there's no telling what might happen to the sounds once we get into mixing. I think we should make the whole track into a single from a Do Make Say Think record, but maybe that's just me.
Jaked still lacks percussion, vocals, and a je ne sais quoi to be determined (hopefully) by and on Sunday.
In unrelated news, keep an eye on the Dates calendar... more gigs are in the works...

Loves,
J

Vocals vocals vocals vocals... mixing mixing mixing... mastering mastering... VOILA.

Rough mixes. Available to be heard. When the mixes are final, these will be downloadable. Until then, you can hear but not have...

Much to do... Off to send emails and whatnot...

Loves,

J

Further work on Push Me today... Added a couple guitar tracks... a solo that may be redone later... discovered the first official "James' Studio Tip of the Day:"
Noise Gate does a ton more than I thought I did.

Seriously, though... if you're patient (or if Dan is, and you can leave him at it for awhile), you can do crazy things with noise gating... and all these years I've looked at the noise gate plug-in as the bastard stepbrother of the "useful" plug-ins...
All in all, not a too productive day, but still Push Me Away sounds great... once we get a real vocal (or at least an in tune one), this track is gonna rock. Inasmuch as any track without live drums or electric guitars rocks... Hopfeully, we'll have a rough mix of it and Steve for y'all by the end of next week. Dan's away for the weekend, and I have a paralyzing fear of faders, so I don't go near the board until next Tuesday.

Loves,

J

This evening, we set our sights on Push Me Away. It's an older tune, but one near and dear to my heart.
For reasons relating perhaps to the both of us being dropped on our heads as children, we decided to approach this one ass-backwards (note: "decided" should probably read "happened, on a whim, running like a small, blind boy through a field full of old boarded up wells, and also land mines"). Rather than lay down the roots of the song and build upwards, we built all the weird shit first, leaving ourselves the far less enjoyable task of, ya know, recording the song parts, for some other, duller, day.
3 hours of drum looping, backwards guitar playing, and banjo beating on later...
All this needs is a (forward) guitar track and vocals. Maybe a mandolin. Maybe not. This may be the bangin'est track on the album. Unless something else gets bangin'er.

Loves,

J

More work on Steve... added organs (because what's a Steve without organs? A hollow shell, incapable of love and other real emoticons), redid some guitar, and vocals vocals vocals... I think I was Brian Wilson in a past life... which is odd, as he's still alive...
Aside from a couple touch-up points (Dan, for some reason, likes to drop just one guitar chord out of rhythm... every time... not the same one, you understand), it's on to the mixing stage; this is also known as the stage wherein I sit outside and smoke, like a nervous would-be father in a prenatal ward, while Dan begs for an epidural and pokes knobs until it's done. This is the point we wish we had money and could hire a wetnurse (like Dan's brother, or our friend Scott, or someone like that).

Okay, that whole metaphor got way outta hand. I mean, that escalated fast. Next week, we begin Jaked or Push Me Away (coin toss forthcoming). Tunes online soon. Been drinkin'... going to sleep now.

Bye...

J

Well begun is half done, as they say... though I'm not sure who they are, nor exactly what that means...
That being said, WE HAVE BEGUN RECORDING.

First on tap, after the obligatory groundbreaking (unsuccessful; those floors are hard) and the ceremonial smashing of a champagne bottle on the mixing board (successful, but in retrospect, not perhaps the best idea ever), we turned our focus to Steve.
Steve is a song. Not a person. Though I imagine there are many persons named Steve.
Laid down scratch guitars and vocals, then deleted half the guitars, added a little piano, little drum loop... Already this has taken a turn beyond our intentions. I fucking love studio work.
About 3 hours of work; little completed, but what was done is choice, and has set a tone (I think) for this new project.
More in a couple days...

J

Welcome to the Sobriquets... soon, there will be songs... and after that, shows... Then probably some more songs... Somewhere, I imagine we'll have lunch... Come back soon.
Loves,
J