Toaster shoot done.


Taking one final break before jumping back into the whirlpool that is September. Skipped the rehearsal this week, but still had quite a few things to take care of: kicking off planning for the single release with Deni (our PR/Manager), finalizing the timetable for the upcoming gig and biting nails about Tony's flight back from a wedding on gig day, reviewing the first shots from the video shoot, writing a blog post, shooting selfie videos on vacation for the social media, getting educated on SoAlive conference format, etc.

The video stills look amazeballs. Not wanting to rush anything we've given the director/editor ample time to finish, so we expect to present a ready video end of September, as opposed to middle of the month. We have full and unconditional trust in the crew, but it does feel different not having been on the actual shoot. And this was a three-day ordeal. The trust comes from seeing all the prep work and emotional engagement. I guess it's just getting antsy and impatient to see the results more than anything.

Here's to sending other band members links to gear they don't necessarily need, but would definitely feel FOMO about. I'd say one out of ten times you go for the impulse purchase, but it's good for building up discipline. We've grown in this respect, but it may have something to do with having accumulated a fair amount of gear meanwhile. And then there's always the excuse that Kalo will need it for the studio. It's a painful, sweet itch this link exchange rabbit habit.

We discussed how to reach the younger audience for the upcoming Rebel Rebel festival - Deni's pride and joy. The idea for it didn't start for commercial reasons. Although it is growing now having names like Clawfinger and Sisters of Mercy (who may or may not be using some of our gear) joining us, it's always been about building a community. And the local community needs its youth. We're going to go for a grassroots approach reaching out to young bands and directly involving folks from the age group in the organization rather than having us boomers figure our what's "hip" with the young folk. I guess you see what I mean...

Another thing that happens during an "empty week" is staying in shape. Listening to the rehearsal recordings, playing through the setlist - especially new songs. Otherwise you end up spending most of group rehearsal times remembering what parts you were supposed to play and how. It still inevitably happens, but it helps not to start from scratch every time.


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