MPLS!

Hello dear friends! I hope you are interested in an update on the making of our latest album in Minneapolis, because that is what you are about to get!!

A lot of people ask me how/why we decided to make this record all the way up here in the Twin Cities. The story really goes all the way back to early 2008. IWTDI had just turned 1, and had a pretty uncertain future. We were a band that just started off thinking we'd make one album, have a bit of fun, and go our separate ways. None of us had a ton of time to focus on the project, but we were getting some support from some strange places- some encouragement that sort of persuaded us to keep going. One such source of encouragement came completely out of the blue. An old friend of mine, Paul Cadena, had started a new band and, the networking-wonder that he is known to be, was constantly hitting up "influential" people and asking them to give his music a listen. One day, he randomly contacted Josh Cain from the band Motion City Soundtrack, a personal favorite of mine at the time(OK, I was obsessed). Paul basically said "Hey Josh, I was hoping you could check out my new band. Also, my good friend just put out a record that is pretty cool too- check out I Was Totally Destroying It sometime". Josh listened to Paul's band and thought it was "OK"(I think he was wrong about that- Small States was the SHIT!), but listened to us and said "Hey Paul, how can I get in touch with your friend?". Ten minutes later, I got an email from one of my idols, telling me he really liked my band and wanted to work together someday, and the rest is history. Josh and I talked frequently over the years, played some shows together, etc. We wanted to make "Horror Vacui" together, but busy schedules and IWTDI's impatience and prolific nature got in the way. So finally, here we are, and we are thrilled it's finally all happening! By the way, Paul has gone on to do crazy big things since those days- now people (like me) email HIM for help!

We're almost done with week 1, which has been spent entirely on pre-production. Allow me to explain "pre-pro" to those not in the know. When working with a producer, oftentimes the primary focus will be on arrangements and presentation of the songs. We recorded demos at home last fall and sent them to Josh, allowing him to start to get a feel of the material he would be working with. We discussed various changes with him over the internet and phone during the past few months, but the bulk of the work has been done this past week- all together in a small rehearsal room. We'd play our songs and then Josh would rip them apart- telling us what drum fill didn't sit right with him, what section went on a little too long, etc. There will be more production ideas coming from all of us in the studio over the next few weeks, but this was the preparatory week- the true "pre-pro". It's an interesting situation to be in. We've never worked with a real producer before- you kinda have to open yourself up to the idea, and embrace the fact that an outside set of ears can approach your music much more objectively than you ever could. A producer can suggest an idea that completely reinvents a song, and you immediately love it - and they can also suggest a minuscule change that throws the whole composition off, in your mind. But again, it's about allowing that new opinion into the process and seeing where it takes you. It's been a great experience, thus far.

We arrived in MPLS this past Monday evening, and after briefly settling in to our lovely little rental house, we headed straight to the rehearsal space with Josh. We've been there every day since, fine-tuning our latest….tunes. Tomorrow we load in to the recording studio, get set up, and begin tracking! Wish us luck. We can't wait to share "Vexations" with you!