Out Here

The band has always taken a keen eye to the package and art direction of their albums. When Sweet Oblivious Antidote came together, Huffer put together a fitting visual representation of the music contained within, straddling the line between high-tech and old timey - a vibe that everyone felt was present throughout the album. Jeff Wood stepped in for the art direction of All This Everything and he initially produced a few different concepts based on some initial conversations with the band. What you see today on that particular album is what the band ultimately felt best represented the recordings. There was a common theme through all of the designs presented - coming through darkness, a light at the end of the tunnel, a new beginning, and Jeff captured that perfectly.

With LiveLoveDie, the band took an entirely different direction. It was the first package that was photo-based and featured very little design work. The album as a whole was darker then previous releases, and the art direction reflects this completely in the packaging. It was the first album the band recorded since moving to Athens, but I would be lying if I said that was the reason the color scheme is so heavy on reds and black. Coincidence? Possibly. In all cases however, the art has been pretty right on with the music in one way or another. Of course, this is art we’re talking about so it’s always going to be subjective.

Heal was already shaping up to be a “special” recording for the band, a milestone if you will. It would be the first recording with John Hruby, and the first time recording at Chase Park, a place the band immediately felt connected with. There was absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that there was one person and one person only to do the artwork and packaging for this record, so a call was put into good friend Jeff Wood. Jeff met with the guys on several occasions to talk about the direction and theme of the album and over the course of six months, the band was presented with three distinctively different mock-ups. And all three were very cool in their own right, but the band settled on one design pretty quickly. In fact, I was amazed at how quickly everyone agreed. My initial thought had been that the process was one that would require a lot of deliberation, but low and behold, as they usually do, the band surprised me by all selecting the same set of images within 24 hours of them being presented. And trust me, this was not an easy decision. All three mock ups were amazing.

The first pressing of this album includes a little bonus for everyone that we think will really knock your socks off. Included in the packaging will be an additional insert on top of the actual CD booklet. That insert is a lenticular representation of the album cover. If you’re not familiar with lenticulars, it’s essentially a way of printing 3D artwork. You’ve no doubt seen it before in cracker jack prizes as a kid, and it’s been used in several other mediums throughout the years. It all came together for this record as Jeff was experimenting in lenticular artwork for his posters - which can be seen in the amazing Rothbury poster from 2008 and a couple of recent Allman Bros. posters from this past year. Bands have produced 3D artwork before - the two that come to mind immediately are The Rolling Stones (Satanic Majesties) and Tool (Aenima). Tool’s album actually incorporated the lenticular lens into the actual jewel case, which was cool until jewel case broke, hence the reason we decided to make ours a self contained insert. You may also remember seeing Rolling Stone’s 1000th issue album cover, which was also produced in the same manner. Regardless, the effect is stunning and it looks phenomenal.

The initial company that was contracted to produce the album cover had a lot of problems, and our first proof was completely out of register, resulting in an extremely blurry image. It was all a little unnerving at first, as this was the centerpiece of the packaging, and we just weren’t sure if the company would be able to get the job done. A few weeks later, and with a new printing company at the helm, we finally received a working proof that was up to snuff. And again, it looks amazing. The limited edition album cover is being manufactured as I type this and everyone’s extremely excited to finally move on to the manufacturing phase of this album. The album master and final artwork have been sent off for reproduction, and we expect the initial proofs of the rest of the packaging sometime in the next week or so. We are close…….

There is a certain amount of wear and tear that exists when you have to travel back and forth between home in Athens and a recording studio in Atlanta. During the sessions for LiveLoveDie, the band was constantly moving between Athens and Atlanta, and while that may seem like a short trip, it’s turns out to be pretty long when you do it everyday for three weeks during odd hours of the night. The decision to record in Athens for this go around was built around that idea as well as the recommendation from our friend and former sound engineer Newt Carter. Newt’s friendship with David Barbe led to the introduction between David and the band, and from the first meeting, there was no question that the band would be recording at Chase Park.

Bass HQ

I’ve had the experience of visiting many of the “big” recording studios on the West Coast, and Tree Sound was definitely in the same class. It provided a venue to record the last two studio albums, as well as a wealth of learning for everyone in the band. Tree Sound was big, luxurious, high tech, and had probably just about every amenity a musician could ask for. In contrast, Chase Park is small, intimate, quiet, inviting…..it was the perfect setting for what the band was looking for. There had been a lot of discussions about how this record was going to be approached, and there was a lot of talk of getting back to the same feel and vibe as the band’s first record, Sweet Oblivious Antidote. SOA was recorded in the basement studio of a friend, mostly live, with just a few overdubs. The recording process lasted under a week and there wasn’t a terrible amount of tweaking that went into the record. In it’s simplicity, SOA caught the band in a special place, the sound was still new, the band was still somewhat naive to the process, and there wasn’t a huge body of work to pull from. Over the course of the next two records, each production seemed to grow, not just in time, but in concept and involvement. On the last record, we had a full time drum tech, guitar tech, assistant engineers, etc. For Heal, the band would keep it simple. With the knowledge gained from the previous records, they would look back to look forward.

Chase Park is…………hard to describe. It’s like drinking in The Manhattan bar on Hull St. It’s like getting stoned in your friend’s basement in high school. It’s like riding in Adam’s Cadillac around Athens. It’s got a vibe all it’s own. Lit with a hodge-podge of old incandescent lamps, and decorated with a few things you might find at The Potter’s House or Agora, it’s warm, comfortable, efficient, and safe. Fitting the vibe of room was the collection of gear used to record - mostly vintage everything. And because the band was recording to tape for these sessions, it all seemed to fit together like it was meant to be.

And so it was. With David Barbe at the wheel, the guys settled into their new digs to start recording the follow-up to LiveLoveDie. In retrospect, it’s amazing at how well the finished album fits with the vibe of the studio. And I can nearly say the same about Brock’s forthcoming solo record which was also recorded with David at Chase Park Transduction.

In my next installment, I might talk about the quantum difference between how the new record SOUNDS compared to previous releases. But I have shitty ears and little talent for directing thoughts into the written word. So maybe I’ll just talk about how much fun Adam’s Cadillac is to cruise around in.

The master for Perpetual Groove’s upcoming album, Heal, has finally arrived, which means that we are finally moving forward with manufacturing. Despite efforts to get the band to post regularly on this blog, it’s been inactive for awhile. Hopefully that will change over the course of the next couple of weeks as I will be adding updates and items about the recording for everyone to enjoy. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and just enjoy the fact that this record is on its way!

Fresh from Sterling

Hello everyone. I know this is long and I am not usually this long-winded……but here goes:

I have had a few days to gather my thoughts on my first official Amberland. Although I am often inclined to have a ‘way with words’, this experience is almost impossible to relay using any medium.

Where do I start? Ok, let’s start with Friday night. I literally cannot express the joy of having my GUEST boys there for the Friday night set. Sure we flubbed our way through some stuff, but that was FAR from the point. Those guys are a part of my musical being; part of my soul. We have shared countless musical journeys together and I can honestly say without question…..that was one of the best journeys to date. Just to have the opportunity to share the stage with GUEST again was enough, but using Amberland as the vehicle….lifted the experience to a whole other level. The reception you all gave to my boys almost moved me to tears. So let me speak for all the GUEST crew when we say….

THANK YOU

Friday night taught me a few things. I knew this was going to be marathon, not a sprint. After having a few beers with my boys on Friday night, I knew that alcohol might be an inhibitor for me (now I know it is not for a LOT of you ☺). So for the next two days I resigned myself to one beer a day and a steady diet of red bull and water (a diet that I will resume next year).

Saturday was miraculous. I finally settled in during the day set. The stress of remembering 25 or so GUEST songs (songs we hadn’t practiced together in over a year) had subsided. NOW I just had to remember the 15 or so we had learned for the PGroove sets! But we had been practicing quite a bit so I felt pretty comfortable.
The 80’s set was probably the most fun I had all weekend. I will never forget the cheesefest that was ‘Your Love’. And although I said it was initiation, I must admit that I was 100% committed to that shtick. I went to bed completely satisfied that night, thinking of the pure hilarity of what had transpired.

Sunday was a textbook example of ultimate highs and almost painstaking lows. I just remember thinking at the beginning of 53 things… “ok….you’ve got this”. Then at the precise moment of the keyboard solo the roof opens up and water pours onto my rig. Thank you to Aaron Levitt for the umbrella ella ella coverage.

The next set knocked me off my game a bit. The water had damaged my main keyboard, and was causing it to do some very strange things. It was de-tuning itself (my piano sound suffered the worst)….and at some points, even when I hit the correct notes, it would play two notes at the same time. You can probably hear this in Diggin and Robot Waltz distinctively. I just remember playing Robot Waltz thinking about the recording that would come out of it. I was thinking…. “People are gonna hear this and think, great….the new keyboardist is BUTCHERING one of their best tunes. I tried to gather my composure as best I could.

HOWEVER, that set did bring me another highlight of the weekend. The BREEZE jam. I don’t remember ever being as locked in with the other three guys the whole weekend, as we were during that jam. It felt as though my keyboard was playing itself. Like I said….a day of supreme highs and lows.

This brings me to the final set….and the RAIN. I am going to skip over many of the emotions the band was feeling during the stoppage period. Let’s just say WE WANTED TO PLAY! Anywho, the last set was very retrospective for me. I was thinking quite a bit during it. Most importantly I was thinking about the fans, and how DEDICATED these people are to PGroove. Once again I was hit with a wave of emotion, which brings me to my final thought on the weekend. I seriously couldn’t (and still cannot) comprehend the unbridled love for this band. You all are some of the most generous, loving, and GIVING people I have ever come in contact with. As the festival came to close I was left with a grin that had been placed firmly on my face on Friday night. I am happy to say that as I sit here typing….thinking about that experience…..that grin is returning, and I am left with only one thought in mind.
LET’S DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!

Here are some photos from eureka y’all! Woooo hoooo!