according to rumor and conjecture, the amazing new socratic record is slated to be released on may 6th, and is titled, “Spread The Rumors.” it’s a clever title because it’s also one of the lyrics from one of their songs. smart fellas, those socratic guys.

here is a recent review of our our friends our lunar activities. check it out. these guys are on the up and coming

it turns out i wasn’t able to make it to barcelona this week, as travis and i were called back into the studio to record a song for a movie. more details on that later on.

also, i just heard the second round of mixes of the socratic record, and they sound awesome. i truly cannot wait for this record to come out. i hope you all enjoy it as much as i do. this is quickly becoming one of my favorite records of 2008, and not just because i produced it. the band wrote an amazing record. very different from anything else out there right now. check it out when it’s released.

there is a lot more production work on the horizon, and a lot more songwriting. cool. bring the awesome.

late last year i was talking to our managers paul rosenberg and larry vavra about i forget what, and i said that i was “bringing the awesome, every single day, in every single way.” i have no idea what it meant or even if were true or not, but i liked the phrase and am determined to work it into the popular vernacular. so please feel free to use it in your everyday conversation. “hey man what have you been up to?” “oh you know, just bringing the awesome…” (actually hopefully something better than that exchange.) spread the word. but when it becomes the next “where’s the beef?” or “who let the dogs out?” or “like totally,” just make sure you remember where you heard it first…

in any case, today i brought the awesome to the honda civic tour launch party. this year’s headliners are panique a la discotheque, along with motion city soundtrack (buy their album “commit this to memory “) , the hush sound, and another band yet to be named. i was asked to host the event, and that’s where the wheels fell off. we all had a lot of fun, and it was good to see the panic guys again after playing the show together in las vegas on the last civic tour. they played some songs and introduced the car they designed, which is lime green turquoise with flowers and rainbows and fairy dust and a time machine on it.

here are some pictures from the event:

by the way, in the second picture, don’t pete and i look like the new TomKat? i’m just saying…

also, next week i may or may not be in barcelona for the bread and butter tradeshow to visit some old friends. vanilla sky is playing a concert in conjunction with the show, so that should be cool. if you are at the show or concert, stop by the booth and say hello. it’s all very last minute, so hopefully the flights and everything will work out. we’ll see…

welcome to the ocho. bring the awesome.

our friends in socratic have released a demo of their song “magazine” on fuse’s website that we recorded for their new album. this isn’t the final mix, but it’s the recording from our studio, so i guess technically in the music industry you would call this a “reference mix.” click here to download the song.

well here it is. the fourth and final installment of our day in the studio with our lunar activities. this the last chapter of the arc of the story that was that day. the third act, where our conflict becomes resolved. we overcome some sort of difficulty or challenge (where is the missing high guitar part?) and come out of the whole experience having learned something about ourselves. be warned: you may cry at the end of watching this video.

that being said, also check out the looks of hate that chris holmes throws me the entire time. i guess that’s how he truly feels about working in the studio with me as a producer. his face says it all. and don’t think i don’t notice. anyway, the record is nearly done. we’re just waiting on final mix notes from the guys who are back home in scotland, and then we’ll do a sequence and mastering session and it’ll be a wrap.

finally, thanks to justin from subversive who put all these episodes together. look for more from him in the future. check out the video.