Hello all out there in Spree Land,

The holidays are almost upon us which for the past 6 years has meant The Polyphonic Spree Holiday Extravaganza as well. No one likes to be the bearer of bad news so without further adieu this year we will not be hosting the event. There are a lot of exciting things happening in the world of The Polyphonic Spree right at that time. The new record "The Fragile Army" will be getting mixed and prepared for the world to hear in 2007. Also we have a couple of new births within the group in November and December. We will be nurturing and preparing for a busy 2007. Keep the egg nog warm for us. See you guys soon.

As always thanks for your ears,
The Polyphonic Spree

Hello. How are you doing? We are excited to announce we finally have something NEW. NO, it's not the new album but some cover songs we did awhile back and a couple of new tracks too. The EP is called WAIT. We thought this was an appropriate word choice for us and you too, our fans. This has definitely been a long time coming and hope you enjoy it as much as we have. You can find more info at thepolyphonicspree.com as of this afternoon!
xoxo

Inspiration from Tibor Kalman

“In my lifetime I have witnessed the creation of the greatest accumulation of
wealth in history. More than we need to feed the hungry, house the homeless, cure
the sick throughout the world. In pursuit of this wealth we have already endangered
most of our environment. Consumption is a treatable disease. Consumer culture is an
oxymoron. Wealth is poverty. Religion works better for corporations than for people.
Most media, architecture, design and art exist for the sole purpose of creating
wealth.

Your children will smash your understanding, knowledge and reality. You will be
better off. Then they will leave. You will miss them forever. But I’m not
pessimistic. Future generations not burdened by the egotism of having created wealth
will be able to create a righteous society, l ive in harmony with nature and
germinate culture from the few grains not yet destroyed.

Rules are good. Break them. Good designers (and writers and artists) make trouble.
Eventually you’ll forget all this but there will be plenty of new ideas to choose
from. And I believe that they’ll be better.

Everything is an experiment.

The perfect state of creative bliss is having power (you are 50) and knowing nothing
(you are 9). This assures an interesting and successful outcome. As soon as you
learn move on. You’ll see it better if you look upside down. Success = boredom.
Mistakes, misunderstandings, and mis-comprehensions provide fresh ideas.

New ideas exist in high art (often called art) and low art (sometimes called
vernacular). I have never found much in between. Good clients are smarter than you.
Bad clients are dumber than you. Graphic design is a means, not an end. A language,
not content. I am ever in search of the simple elegant seductive maybe ev en obvious
IDEA. With this in my pocket I cannot fail. This must be true because I am writing
it in the middle of the night.”

thought for the day..love, julie

Weeds Press Release

"Marijuana and music go hand in hand, and Showtime's
hit series "Weeds" has stepped right up to take
advantage of this relationship.

For season two of the show, "Weeds"' theme song,
"Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds, will be
reinterpreted each week by a different artist.
Musicians signed up for this cover extravaganza
include Elvis Costello, Death Cab for Cutie, Jenny
Lewis, the Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter, Regina
Spektor, Englebert Humperdinck, McGarrigle Sisters,
Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher (formerly from Squirrel Nut
Zippers), and Ozomatli. There has been no word as to
whether or not these tracks will be released.

The second season of the series kicks off on August 14
and will feature guest appearances from Zooey
Deschanel and Snoop Dogg, who will play himself and
record a pot-related number on the show. "

2 news shows just added...tickets for both go on sale Saturday July 22nd at 10am...give us your ears for an evening

The Polyphonis Spree
Sunday September 10, 2006
Henry Fonda Theater
6126 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
w/ Philip E Karnats

The Polyphonic Spree
Thursday September 14, 2006
Emo's (Outside)
603 Red River
Austin TX 78701
w/ Pilotdrift & Philip E Karnats

Another show...a headline show just added....a few more to be announced soon.

The Polyphonic Spree
Wednesday September 13, 2006 8pm

w/ Pilotdrift & Philip E Karnats

Granada Theater
3524 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206

Tickets go on sale on Saturday 7/15/2006 at 10:00 am CST via http://tickets.granadatheater.com/

5 SHOWS JUST CONFIRMED...

These shows will be your first chance to hear some of the new material as The Polyphonic Spree will be in the beginning stages of gearing up for The Fragile Army campaign which begins early next year. (Puns intended.) A few headlining shows will be announced soon...stay tuned.

9/3/06 Sunday
City Lights Pavilion
1000 Chopper Circle
Denver, CO 80204
supporting: Matisyahu
other support: Street Drum Corps
Doors 7pm All Ages

9/4/06 Monday
Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Snowmass Town Park
Snowmass Village, CO 81615
supporting: Matisyahu
other support: Keller Williams & Street Drum Corps
Doors 1pm All Ages

9/6/06 Wednesday
Marymoor Ampitheater
6046 West Lake
Sammamish Parkway
Redmond, WA
supporting: Matisyahu
other support: Street Drum Corps
Doors 6pm All Ages

9/7/06 Thursday
Edgefield
2126 S.W. Halsey St.
Sammamish Parkway
Troutdale, OR
supporting: Matisyahu
other support: Street Drum Corps
Doors 5:30pm All Ages

9/9/06 Saturday
San Jose Civic Auditorium
San Jose, CA
supporting: Matisyahu
other support: Street Drum Corps
Doors 8:30pm All Ages

The Fragile Army

hi all...we're trying to think of the best way to present some snippets to you of our rough mixes. usually it's kind of uncomfortable to share anything til it's completed (meaning.. final mixes, sequencing and mastering have occured)but after much deliberation, we thought what the heck. keep in mind these will be snippets and not entire songs for obvious reasons. also, comments are welcome. let us all enjoy some objective communication and sharing.and god forbid, fun.:)
julie d

The Fragile Army

we introduce some lyrics to you. a line from each song.yes, thirteen is the number.have fun and THANKS for visiting these blogs and maintaining your interest in our group. patient you have been. enjoy.

you totally found out we follow the words you learned to grow-

we try, we crawl, we live, we're small-

i'm projecting and reflecting desire for you to come into my life-

we may have missed a championship of a cross becoming a gun-

well everybody tries to keep themselves alive, you were younger yeasterday-

remember the night you said you had a vision?-

the summer clouds, they made us proud-

electric moment, we took a ride-

i'm calling a wonderful feeling to calm, it tells me something is coming but softly-

love in a mixed up time, it's hard to know which way to go-

this mental cabaret is dancing with my fate, oh-

i crawl back home to x the spot where worry begins and love's forgot-

justify all your phases, we're only human, we're always guessing-

xoxo
lyrics by tim delaughter and julie doyle

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9579975/


The Polyphonic Spree Want Peace Now
Dallas pop choir tackle the war in Iraq on "The Fragile Army"

The robe-wearing, good-time promoting, pop-rock orchestra that is Dallas' Polyphonic
Spree will release their third album, The Fragile Army, this summer.

The twenty-plus-member band have become known for their wildly celebratory material
-- about the joy of love and relationships -- since their 2003 debut, The Beginning
Stages of the Polyphonic Spree. But frontman and primary songwriter Tim DeLaughter
says that, this time around, expect the ensemble to deal with the political issues
of the day -- something the Spree haven't done since the Iraq-inspired "Soldier
Girl."

"It's definitely going to have that [orchestral] element, but it's our most urgent
record to date. It's a bit resonant of the times," DeLaughter says of the new cuts.
"There's a song called 'The Fragile Army,' the title track, and it's basically an
ode-to-Bush song. It's disgruntled with how things have been going and how split up
it seems we are as Americans. There is a sense, for me, of trying to create some
sort of unity with people."

In order to push themselves in the studio, DeLaughter enlisted John Congleton,
singer for punk trio the Paper Chase, as producer. "[His band] is kind of a complete
opposite of Polyphonic Spree, and we just thought it'd be interesting," he explains.
"It's been a great relationship."

Currently laying down the string parts in Texas, the Spree have also visited
Minnesota, where they put down the drums, and the Illinois studio of producer Steve
Albini (Nirvana, Pixies), where they recorded the group's signature choir parts.

"John does a lot of records there and he's friends with Steve," Delaughter said of
Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago. "John said the B room would be great room for
the choir, and it was awesome. I'm super-excited about how that turned out. The
girls did fantastic."

The Spree are already working on changing the look of the gospel-style robes for
their upcoming live dates in support of The Fragile Army -- as well as a new stage
show. "It's a rock record!" says DeLaughter. "It's high-energy and electric. And I
think my 'Tripping Daisy' days might be slipping in there as well."

JOLIE LASH

The Fragile Army
hello. ok, so we've slacked a bit on the blog. apologies.will just get ya up to speed.
after march 22, tim did some lead vocals and we mixed a couple of songs. we're finishing rough mixes next week and then we'll obviously move on to final mixes on the fragile army. then see what happens. looks like the release may be closer to sept. now...but we'll make sure to get some music out on the web before then for our patient fans.
we have some summer shows/tours pending..keep ya posted there too.
we're eager to get back out there and play.
xoxo
jd

hi all

it's an early evening here at the studio. audrey finished, went on her way and now evan hisey is in wrapping up. he kind of got caught in the middle of some craziness we were feeling after coming back to dallas from minnesota, guess we needed a few days off...so he only recorded about a day. we ended up using and keeping most everything he did at that time so was a day well spent. so anyway, he's in working on a few songs he didn't get to do back then. next week tim will cut some lead vocals, yes we did the album, including choir, to scratch vocals..and we're keeping a bit of them. our first poly album, the beginning stages is all scratch lead vocals by the way. we had little time and just kept them. plus they just felt good. but don't worry, we're not slacking on this album, don't get the wrong idea! um

one day we will actually mix this thing and get it out there! i figured up the days we've spent thus far recording and it's somewhere around 36 days..not bad for players coming in, learning song by song, performing and moving on. it's kind of the path this album was destined for....most songs written soon before recording, i think there were about 20 songs/ideas and we settled on thirteen (the fourteenth being a ten minute piano duet between mike garson and tim which may or may not appear on the fragile army..if anything, snippets of it)
saving it for another time!

john kackletap is hanging in there with us...he's still alive at least..see how things evolve, our king congleton is now kackletap.

more later.
jd

The Fragile Army

took a break from the ole blog..life has been going and more recordings have been happening..bryan wakeland and teasley are doing tag team on the percussion and bw is done. fine job too. brian teasley is in alabama somewhere adding his performances... he's supposed to be videotaping so that the session of the fragile army will be complete. can't help but wonder what that footage will look like! :)

the horns came in last four days and from what i can tell are quite amazing! they got done quick. louis, logan, mike (st.claire) and matt are out of here. upon listening, i'm realizing that this album is so realized per group/session, everything has such a strong point of view and solid attitude... it's the only part of the session i've missed thus far and what a bummer. but at least it gives me that extra nice opportunity to be suprised by the music again..it's a weird thing how ya lose and gain perspective over and over again when creating..was tough tho, like leaving my children

audrey is in now (flute), actually started last night..incredible as usual. one of the most creative people i know, hands down. ya never have to talk much with her, she just nails it. a little direction here and there but she's best when ya let her just explore. like right now she is doing some studio trickery and bringing her new "spider" sound to life...her and timmy d make a great team. he adores her playing.

will have to get some photos off the video camera..i don't have digital camera around! ok, write back soon. just think, in a few weeks our album will be done. look out.

jd

The Fragile Army

we ate fish today and it nearly put us to sleep.

audrey came up for a bit to listen in...she comes in tomorrow for a few hours. bryan wakeland and tim are laying some stuff down and we're almost done with six songs today. we'll get the next seven tomorrow. cp was here earlier too. he wanted to stay but duty called. his dj spot over at the cavern, they can't survive without him!

we'll be recording some teeth tomorrow too.

forgot about the best term i've discovered on this album when i mentioned last ones...carmony. anyone know what that is?!

exhausted and out of here..plus the girl scout cookies are killing us.

xoxo
jd

The Fragile Army

sunday afternoon/well, early evening, about 5:56pm. this is early. ricky just finished final harp part on song 13.

cp just unloaded some percussion. about to carry out harp and ricky is headed to dfw for his return back to the city of angels. sara, rick and daniel out of here too. great bunch and def did some fantastic stuff.

we'll start in the morning with song 1, start building again.

good night.
julie

The Fragile Army

taking alittle break here in the studio while sara is telling tim he looks like drew barrymore, interesting, never heard that one before..and john is looking for a picture of john cameron mitchell cuz rick told him he looks like him..and then he preceeds to talk about how tim told him to watch the onion field cuz he thinks john looks so much like james wood...damn sounds confusing..daniel is sitting to my right observing in a calm state

ricky to my left keeping us entertained with random internet info..came handy to me yesterday cuz i needed to know how 54 centimeters would translate to inches..brain alittle dull, right..we then used his size 12 shoes on the ground to get the demensions i needed...a mental picture of my new light fixture i was about to purchase on ebay, a first for me


words we've learned in the studio thus far inspired by mr.congleton (aka kackle tap) that are amongst the faves.....flavor crystal, cape flap, turtle poke, tuck and patty...and yes, these are real terms that we take seriously.

4 songs to go.

julie d

The Fragile Army

thurs night in dallas, tx (march 9)...so, we have daniel (primarily violin), rick (viola/upright bass), ricky (harp) and sara (cello) performing strings now..since tues actually..they are moving fast i might add..and sounding oh so incredible, really! refreshing to hear our string section as a full body and sonically captured in a slightly dif way than ever before, creative juices flowing..have about 8 done so we're ahead of schedule, good too cuz tim still has to do final vocals and we're looking forward to adding flute, etc. for this session

we're at maximedia and they gave us a killer deal..thank goodness! it's been a pleasure so far and we're feeling the rush but trying to hold back the intensity of that excitement til the album is DONE. we're hoping to start mixing after march 23rd...

in the meantime, let your ears enjoy whatever it is they're hearing now cuz we want you to give us 100% of your time when the fragile army arrives :)

xoxo
julie deeeeee

here are the pics i promised. don't know how to add captions so i'll just enumerate them.

1) tim checking out the piano in studio B. the A side had a nicer control room, but the live room in our side was out of this world.

2) tim and the ladies getting warmed up before the first song.

3) john and tim talking over a song with mark, our newly found tapper.

4) mark doing his magic.

5) me hanging with pip in what little downtime we had. he's named after the sound he makes; his meow is barely a squeak. he helped me deal with being away from the furry tractor back home.

The Fragile Army

sat night in control room doing a quick listen down to all the work we've done this past week, we just finished final choir vocals, thirteen songs!.....it's a good feeling when ya keep thinking "oh this is my fave" and then here comes the next song and ya think the same thing!
we done good i believe.

will get about 5 hours of sleep tonight and head to big d...we're meeting the kids at the skating rink and everyone will go back to reality..tim, john and myself will be back int he studio in dallas two days from now, march 7..we'll begin strings

whew, in the zone

xoxo
julie

tim's cutting a vocal track with some lyrics he wrote just this morning, so i thought it would be a good time to write, although i didn't know that julie had already done so just an hour ago.

anyhow, only a couple more songs to go. things have been going great. you guys are really in for a treat. the girls have done an amazing job. it's been a completely different scene this time around. a polyphonic trip usually involves a lot of testosterone, the ladies usually being outnumbered. it's a nice change. wait—i swear as i'm sitting here praising the girls and their civility, four of them just chimed an obscenely foul movie quote. i take it all back. except for what they've done with the music. the choir has never had enough time in the studio to actually experiment, so they've really pulled out all the stops. expect a lot of backstreet boys harmonies. you think i jest.

i do. kind of.

also, i just have to tell you how awesome the guys at electrical studio are. if you didn't already know, this is steve albini's studio, and if you possess even the smallest amount of musical knowledge, you know a lot of magic has happened here. steve's been wrapped up in studio A with a couple of different bands while we've been here, so we haven't seen much of him, but he seems a stand-up fellow indeed. and he loves cats—'nuff said. chad and greg have been great, and john is a damn funny man. a jerk, but a damn funny man. just joshin', john. but it really is sad that we're gonna leave here after tomorrow. between pachyderm and electrical, we've been working in some pretty inspiring—not to mention historical (in the world of music)—environments.

before i sign off, i just want to say that i forgot my camera adaptor this trip, so i won't be able to post any pics until i get back in a couple days. stay tuned!

evan

march 3

mark, our new friend we found in chicago is performing his tap dance for us right now in the studio, tracking to our danciest tune..i called him this morning, basically told him the idea and then he came to bless us..turns out he was a poly fan which is nice cuz it made it nice and easy, no big deal and no complaints even tho it was last minute..look for him anytime we visit chicago, he'll be there, dancing his way to your heart...amazing!

we had two songs we weren't sure if we'd get to cuz tim hadn't written lyrics but this morning, feeling inspired by the cold air of chicago, he made the mark..."championship" is a key word, another great song lyrically..hoping to do later tonight

jenny esping leaving in morning so we'll miss her terribly...hopefully she'll only miss one song...we're almost done..the girls are talking baout going to a country karoke tonight for her going away party...hhmm, sounds fun but not sure if it's a good idea..everyone's already pretty far out there mentally...COFFEE.DANGEROUS.

i hear tim talking to mark (dancer) about chitty chitty bang bang..better go

xoxo
julie

Greetings from sunny and windy Chicago....choir finally getting some major time in the studio, for really the first time ever, and, wow, has it been rewarding. So far we've got 5 songs down (pretty good for three and a half days): Round, We Crawl, Beautiful Feeling, Never Forget (10 Times Before), The Fragile Army, and working on Younger Yesterday as we speak/type.

So let me tell you who's here and what's happening (hey, hey, hey). It's all the ladies in the club, Jennifer Jobe (really sort of the leader of our motley crew, in the sense that she has such a strong and amazing voice and can sing anything while we're working on parts), Jessica Jordan (who is kind of the glue that sticks us all together with her gentle nature and solid ability to round out all the high parts), Julie Doyle (well, where do you start, she's the one that makes all of this craziness that is the polyphonic happen- we wouldn't be here, Chicago or even a band, without her - and don't get me started about her ear, simply unbelievable), Kelly Repka (the little girl who's grown up into a beautiful woman throughout this project and consistently delivers vocally & comically whenever needed), Potsy Wilson (our mysterious dark horse who has rounded out this choir with her beautiful voice and extreme talent to come up with awesome harmonies), Annie Clark (our guitarist and "second engineer," who we've kidnapped for her talent to cut and paste her handsome voice in with the best of them), Jenny Esping (our secret weapon, who used to sing with us before she became a little mama, and has not only an alarmingly delicate voice but also a wonderfully creative spirit), and me (awkward describing myself but I suppose I am the Linda McCartney of the choir - not the best singer but can hit Tim's melody just fine - and hopefully am contributing with my shiny personality - btw, I also can order a mean sushi to-go order without breaking a sweat!). Dude-wise we have the "Kackletaps": Tim (our fearless leader, who has written some of the most important and moving lyrics I've ever heard…just you wait), John (the mad scientist behind the board who's led us to this amazing studio), and Evan (our keyboard player, who has such a great vocal range and a head full of so many ideas he might explode that we couldn't leave him behind).

The songs are unbelievable & wildly passionate. I can't wait for people to hear them. We're trying to get two songs done a day but the first day was a little shaky as most of us stayed up too late and danced too long the night before. The last two days have been super-productive (except for the pizza comas). We've been fueled by ridiculous amounts of coffee and therefore have been brainstorming and experimenting like crazy - executing parts that don't even sound like a choir. Well that's all for now - Roy Orbison in the house and I'm needing some more java joe.

Jennie K.

The Fragile Army

first off, thanks for the happy birthday wishes. had a nice, quiet time and greeted the next morning with much optimism and delight. it's nice to get a year older. and also, chris penn had his 35th yesterday, feb 28th! he was working at store so we sent over a singing telegram..lots of balloons, cookies and champagne..a gorilla in a tutu. we later called from studio and sang happy birthday..

so tonight, sitting in control room of electrical listening down to a song called wings of love..figuring out choir parts..we're in good spirits and moving right along..not ahead of schedule like we hoped (wanted to run around city for a couple of hours at least one day whilst here) but that's alright..usual schedule is to meet in hotel lobby 10:30am, go to studio, start at 11am and get home around 11pm each night..long days but when everyone's learning new songs and creating parts spontaneously, it takes time...

not sure if i mentioned but first night here we met our old friend phil and his girl lindsay..must say it was a blast! turned out thai place they suggested was right next door to our hotel so the whole night was easy going and one thing led to the next...at one point we were across the street in a dance club and most of the choir were dancing endlessly up on a stage there, guess deep down everyone misses being on the road..hence, performing!:)again, it was the polyphonic party, when ya have alot of people, you make the place your's. anyway, went back to hotel and listened to alot of abba..also watched phil's new video he shot, performed in, etc...pretty stellar..if any white dude could be sleezy, sexy, soulful and classy all at once, phil karnats is your man.

lunch..had sushi today. yum.

we have a few days left here and will head home to big d on sunday..on 7th song now.

we will then begin on strings, horns and audrey..yippee

xoxo
julie

hello all.
been awhile, true. too much happening and at the same time not enough. wanted to wait til there was some real update on the adventure.

so first, wanted to expand a bit on "duncanville", us getting our start (duncanville is located about 30 miles south of dallas)...tim and i met here in 1983. tim had a band called REGENCY..and that's about it. duncanville was a strange place to grow up, somehow looking back there always seems to be a dark cloud associated with it..then again, who doesn't say that about their "home town", cliche'. so i'll leave it at that. although i have to admit realizing this is where we'd do some overdubs (thanks to mark) was shocking. and honestly, tim and i couldn't even remember where the main exit was, cedar ridge..how could we forget? but it slowly started coming back when we passed duncanville high school, looked brand new i might add. unrecognisable. once you're in the studio here you could be anywhere. cool place. and cool people. i have a knack for ending a conversation and then adding a few more thoughts. i learned it last december after the polyphonic xmas show.

so, the album...tim finished scratch vocals with lyrics as of this evening, my bday by the way. we're headed to dinner with evan and jennie. king congleton is running some rough mixes of songs with the vocal. we wait.

we're leaving for chicago soon and need to get the choir some music! will be another spontaneous adventure. choir is quick though, a special trade achieved thru by always being last to record in this group and usually at 2am and of course "with very little time"....fun.

songs are getting to a place of real excitement. went and saw pilotdrift the other night (easily one of the TOP performing bands out there right now..would hate to come on after them) and then ventured off to the new good records where we played the roughs on the new system there. there were about six of us and we listened til 3am..tim cut the floor up with his new and improved moves! i think we all did. was definitely a high moment thus far associated with the music.

will update in chicago. the girls are getting ready.
xoxo
julie

The Fragile Army

well, we've been back in dallas for a few days now. it's great to be home, and the few days off were so needed before hitting the studio again. this time we're out at spaceway in duncanville. apparently mark led us to this studio, b/c tim and julie had no idea of its location until the day before, which was extremely surprising to them b/c that's where they got their start. sort of like coming full circle. by no means in the sense of ending where you started, but more like the scene in "the wall" where young pink keeps running across the soccer/football/whathaveyou field with the sun glare in the camera lense; something significant in your life that keeps popping up, no matter how infrequently.

anyhow, now it's my turn to step up to the plate. it's been such an interesting, fresh experience watching the songs evolve over the past month. annie and ryan did some amazing stuff in minnesota, a lot of which has made me rethink parts i wrote over just piano, bass, and drums. it's almost better this way b/c it's forced me to reexamine what i have and decide what i truly like about each part. it's also quite a challenge keeping track of all the different sounds i'm using and the tweaks i'm adding. it's not like we've been playing these songs live for the past few months. before i know it the album will be done, we'll be working up our new live set, and i'll be asking myself, "now, how did i do that again?"

evan

dallas, texas..we are home. gotta say after twenty days we were ready. felt like we were in a trance and never coming back. started wondering if it was a good or bad thing :)

went to good records party upon returning, not sure how..we were running on a few hours sleep...it was great, very festive...although we were in a complete daze i felt very sentimental...along with many others..felt like an end of an era somehow and in more ways than one..saw king congleton and his girlfriend lisa there along with some of the spree...and many other faces we haven't seen in a long time...i wondered how anyone (spree) could find the energy to get there after the twenty day journey...craziness i guess, especially john..i figured we'd ruined him for life!

to sum up last few days of pachyderm is tough...most important thing is we finished most guitars and annie and ryan pulled some out..we're happy with the sounds thus far and know there's much work ahead.,..we have some rough mixes and drove around this morning listening a bit in the car...truthfully scared to, nervous we'd been in the zone out there in those woods too long losing a bit of reality...but the feeling was one of great relief and inspiration...completely stoked to hear the rest of the band make their mark now on top of something darn good...taking tomorrow off and headed back into a dallas studio tues., no rest for the wicked

looks like evan hisey will start and tim will work on vocals this next week, then the choir in chicago at end of month...and finally, percussion, strings, horns, flute, theremin...audrey may actually come in a couple of days this next week..she's great about experimenting on the fly and giving material something unexpected..i need to call her

hope all is well and you enjoy the photo, king congleton, genius.

xoxo
j team (as annie would say)

apparently you're only able to attach 5 photos to each post (and apparently fizty has to play out of 5 amps), so here are some more to go with "the love below."

sorry for the delay in the post. have been really busy since we last "spoke." jennie (jk) and the kids being here lifted our spirits so much; we understandably got sidetracked.

on a nonmusical note, we got to take the kids on a nice little adventure on one of the many trails behind the house. oscar found a paw print that scared the charles dickens out of us. i thought bears are hibernating this time of year. i don't know what else it could be (the foot [size 9] beside the print is mine for perspective). anyhoo, it's amazing out here. we've seen beaver, wild turkey (the non-101 proof kind), deer, jackelope, etc.; forunately no bear. and if you've ever been in charge of 3 kids on a trek over an icy bridge over a raging(?), ice cold river (read: creek), i feel for you. even as i took the picture i feared the thought of telling tim and julie that their j-bird had fallen just a few feet to his demise. not quite ready to be a parent. kudos to all of you who are!

before jk and the kids left, bw (who rivals fitzy and mike's culinary skills) whipped up a killer batch of spaghetti (both carnivorous and veggie). the kids helped with the garlic cheese bread through jk's ingenious Q/A game.

today tim decided to redo some of the bass tracks with his new axe. actually, our new acquaintance jim leverton dropped off one of tim's repaired acoustics and showed a recent luthierian(?) project of his. i subsequently used it to get some much needed fire wood.

also, today it snowed again like nobody's business. compare the first pic of the studio to today's. since then the snow has melted off twice; everything in today's pic is oh so fresh. hopefully you can see from the studio pics how refreshing it is to see the outside world while you're working. windows are virtually nonexistent in a studio environment. it's such a simple concept, but pachyderm is the only one in my experience to grasp it. fortunately, seeing the sun go down lets annie know that it's time to watch "project runway." (let's just say we're hoping she gets her priorities straight really soon. daniel's good, but chloe's the ringer; just my opinion, though.)

evan

p.s.--pink and white tulips are the new red roses!

HI JULIE AND TIM,
I FELT I HAD TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT EACH PERSON I MET AT THE STUDIO AS EACH ONE HELPED ME CHANGE MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER.
PLEASE POST IT ON YOUR SITE WHERE YOU SEE FIT.

LOVE MIKE=THE SPREE CHEF


THE POLYPHONIC SPREE

I FEEL SO BLESSED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE MY PIANO PLAYING TO THIS WONDERFUL GROUP AND NEW ALBUM.
THE JOY THAT EMANATES FROM THESE SPECIAL SOULS EACH IN THEIR OWN WAY IS OVERWHELMING.

JULIE HAS THE ABILITY SOMEHOW TO HOLD IT ALL TOGETHER AND SEE THE REAL BIG PICTURE. GOD BLESS HER I DONT KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT PLUS 3 ADORABLE BRIGHT SMART AND TALENTED KIDS THAT HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO POWER NEW YORK CITY!

TIM HAS TO BE ME IN A DIFFERENT BODY AS HIS VIEWPOINTS RE. MUSIC, CREATIVTY, AND POSITIVE ENERGY, AND INSPIRATION ARE A MIRROR OF WHERE I COME FROM. THE ULTIMATE BAND LEADER. HE WOULDNT ACCEPT ANYTHING BUT GREAT RAW ENERGY AND INSPIRATION FROM ME. HE CONDUCTED ME BY THE PIANO THROUGH ALL MY PERFORMANCES FROM FROM A DISTANCE OF 1 FOOT AS IF THERE WERE 100 MUSICIANS PLAYING ! WHAT A GIFT. ILL ALWAYS TREASURE THAT!

BRIAN IS A GREAT DRUMMER AND WONDERFUL GUY. HIS DRUMMING HAS WONDERFUL INTENSITY AND ENERGY AND VERY ALIVE AND I LOVED CO-CREATING WITH HIM.

MARK COMES UP WITH CATCHY BASS LINES AND HOLDS THE FORT DOWN WITH A GREAT GROOVE AND IS VERY ADAMANT TO GET THE PERFECT BASS PART. HES A TERRIFIC GUY AND AN ESSENTIAL TO THE GROUP. IM HAPPY TO KNOW HIM.

JOHN IS A PHENOMENAL PRODUCER. SO FOCUSSED ITS 'STUPID'.
HE REALLY KNOWS WHEN YOU ARE HAPPENING AND CAN DIFFERENTIATE FROM A PROFESSIONAL PART AND A MAGICAL PART. KEEP IT UP MAESTRO! HE ALSO HAD TERRIFIC ASSISTANCE FROM BRENT WITH HIS MANY SKILLS.

ANNIE IS BLESSED WITH THE GIFT OF MUSIC. JUST HER BEINGNESS WITHOUT PLAYING A NOTE IS VERY POWERFUL. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HER.

RYAN HAS A SMILE THAT CAN MELT YOU AND A TERRIFIC GUITARIST AND A KNACK FOR CATCHY RIFFS AND VERY DEDICATED IN A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO THE SPREES. I LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING MORE MUSIC WITH HIM.

EVAN IS NOT ONLY A VERY CREATIVE KEYBOARD PLAYER AND HAS A GREAT SENSE OF SOUNDS PLUS SEEMS TO HAVE A VERY BIG BRAIN AND MANY ABILITIES GOING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY. SCARY! ANOTHER VITAL PRESENCE TO THE BAND.

JENNE IS AN ANGEL FROM ANOTHER PLANET AND A TREASURE TO HAVE AROUND. SO INCREDIBLY WARM.

NOW IM MISSING OUT ON THE OTHER 15 OR SO MUSICIANS WHO WERENT AT PACHYDERM STUDIO SO ILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE NEXT TIME TO COMMENT ON THEM!!!!! I SUSPECT ALL QUITE MAGICAL.

IF WE ALL REMAIN TRULY HUMBLE THIS MUSIC WILL BRING GREAT JOY TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
MIKE GARSON 2006

hello on tuesday

guitars done on almost four songs...annie and ryan rockin, knocking em out! to answer someone's question about release date, its' scheduled for july 3, 2006.

bubba is coming in tomorrow, we're on the hunt for some sushi..having withdrawls here! then he'll begin tp ack up the gear and drive out early sat. morning...in the home stretch

we get in sat. morning to dallas and will go to good records...it's our final day there at old location..chris has been puttin gin some nutty hours to make it all happen...if ya live around dallas, you should go! even if ya don't! opening new good records feb.16...HELP!

bye
jd

sunday night

mike cooked a thankgiving meal..amazing..that guy has some crazy superpower with food..he takes our odds and ends and makes these phenominal dishes,..anyway, he went into town and bought everything yesterday morning and started preparing...spent today on and off as well cooking...at 5pm it happened, possibly the best thanksgiving meal ever..so we sit, stuffed but satisfied

the music...our fourteen tracks are on their way...we begin in the morning with a whole new thing..guitars, sounds and evam, i say "evan" cuz he does something different from the idea of just a "keyboard" player..he's sort of a secret weapon..

we picked jennie and kids up yesterday from airport and they were so excited...they've been sledding and going stir crazy at the same time! and eating plenty of s'mores! they also did quite a bit of swimming today and tonight...before mike left oscar played some piano for him..the kids met him when they were younger and now they seem much bigger, more aware

check out the poly forum where it says "song titles/contest"..gives ya an idea of what we're up to

bryan is packing up the drums tonight...mike left..mark is done...most will be leaving tues..tim, myself, annie, ryan and evan will stay til the 11th to see what we can see....

listened down today to most tracks in a row for first time and thought it was still pretty awesome, fingers crossed...don't wanna toot our own horn :)

xoxo
julie

woke up to phone call from jennie letting me know that our loft back in dallas is practically flooded for the second time this week due to a broken drainpipe. i feel so bad for her having to deal with it alone, but there's nothing i can do from all the way up here. so i drown my sorrow with a few rounds of sledding! talked with her again a few minutes ago but didn't have the heart to tell her. she'll read it here first, and i'm sure i'll get a phone call shortly thereafter... can't wait for her to get up here with the kids tomorrow. they're gonna love all the snow.

john was holding his breath watching bryan take a few goes on the sled. a broken arm wouldn't do us any good with three more drum tracks to lay down. tim of course couldn't stand it watching fitzy, bryan, and me having all the fun, so he gave it a try. ran into a tree the first time; serves him right, though, b/c he was talking smack telling us we were doing it all wrong.

evan

friday morning........woke up to a massive amount of snow and it's still falling heavily..we're hoping it goes all weekend, we texans don't get to experience this very often..the house we're in is up high over the hills with loads of trees and a stream alongside, tough isn't it? :) the kids and jennie will be pleased coming in tomorrow, it's gorgeous.

tim is building a fire and mike has started on a lunch dish for the day, meatloaf. we have alot of catching up to do, yesterday was a bit off. got a late start and weren't quite "feeling" it on the planned track...so the guys moved on to another and it looks like it's gonna come out stellar...finishing bass this morning after mark picks up stephanie from airport and then onto another song..we have only a few left, putting us at fourteen strong

i might mention that over the last five minutes, tim and mike just put out a fire here in the kitchen, the meatloaf caught on fire! a picture would be great to accompany the entry but it happened so fast and we were just freaked out so....have to imagine the moment. i'm watching them now get things under control and although it was scary, it's funny now..evan just walked in and asked if there was a fire in here!?

about food...we had our first, official outing as an entire group last night...the engineer here, brent and his wife, wendy, their daughter, kitty and their friend laura invited everyone over for dinner..WOW! it was delicious and they have the most amazing home...just a mile from where we're at...was such a nice break and even though we've had plenty of home cooked meals here at the house, it's all beginning to taste the same..i'd say the change in environment, company and spices was a welcomed change by all. they were quite generous too,,,nice wine and food, good music and laid back..not to mention some hilarious conversations! so thanks to them we should have a great, productive day today...

we're starting to realize that the entire session sounds like it's based around food! and in ways it is i admit...but, trust us, we're determined to deliver you guys something special and will do...we still have much work ahead but will at least leave here with fourteen songs that if they had to stop there, would be killer songs! we loaded our plate basically! before coming out here, it felt like a mountain and we were anxious..now the confidence is up and we're well on our way

it looks like a white xmas here right now

xoxo
julie

p.s. from evan: just added a pic of brent and wendy's jackelope that he bagged here in cannon falls last winter. they have it proudly displayed over their fireplace. apparently this neck of the woods is overrun with them. also wanted to mention that besides the great food and company, it was such a treat to see their three pups, romeo, jack, and rocky. made us all miss our critters back home (willie, zot, galaxy) even more.

hi, all. just wanted to let you know that i finally got around to posting some pics, so be sure to scroll down and check them out; i added them where appropriate. i'll try to keep up with it better.

i'd also like to wish everyone a happy groundhog day! we haven't seen any groundhogs up here, but tim did almost get attacked by a beaver while fishing the other day (you can see a tree chewed down by one in the pics below). and i don't know if it was intentional on tim's part or not (i personally didn't realize the actual date until well into the movie), but yesterday he threw in the DVD "groundhog day," which i've seen about 50 times now. never gets old, though—bill murray's finest moment in my opinion. soon after, fitzy and bw accompanied me into town to get some water. (aside: got a great pic of fitz on a cannon outside the local VFW. he loves to pose for the camera.) on top of the date coincendence, fitzy pointed out that for him, annie, and me, our stay up here is exactly like the movie. we wake up, have some breakfast together, practice some, eat, mill about, eat, pop into the studio to see what's happening, eat, practice... the three of us are chomping at the bit to get over to the studio and do our thing (and getting fat in the meantime). i've had a couple bouts of cabin fever so far. we're trying to use our time wisely, though, working on the songs (which are basically brand-new to us) here in the house. as i'm writing this, fitzy is downstairs (loudly) experimenting with two delay pedals feeding back on each other, making some crazy sounds.

oh well, that's about it for now. gonna go practice some more. or maybe i'll eat...

evan

would not let you down..must share at least something about today..we are all done for the day/evening and listening to the band america in background while working on dinner..never knew they had so many hits and even some worthwhile..jeez

hits were easier i guess back in the day when songs actually could be musical and have feeling and there were no time limits..taking whatever time it took to say what it needed to..

now we're on to bruce springsteen...i actually played it for john cuz he loves him and has tried to convince that bruce is wonderful..i just never got it i guess, except for born to run, what a song! and now he is pointing out what bruce and polyphonic have in common, i see it alittle..the spirit i guess...wanting to be triumphant and hopeful

so, here's the story..mike finished a couple of tracks on piano and tomorrow we start our few final tracks..two being again, working titles, called ten times before (my fave) and left them on the floor, a pop oddessey....we gotta get done, drum rentals expire on monday and mike leaves monday...time to move on to evan, annie and ryan..bryan teasley says he might come up but never heard back..hope he comes..stella, oscar, julius and jennie will be here sat. afternoon..YES! it better snow on friday like predictions say....kids think you can control that stuff

well upon saying goodbye i will mention that ryan cooked some tasty burgers tonight..beef and veggie...we're all here again, in the same room and everyone on their computers, actual verbal conversation happening tho, no IM'ing each other...something is happening now, i hear bets going on between john and bryan, what song has the drum machine, blah blah.................john is online looking for the facts so he can prove bryan wrong..ok, bryan is wrong..i told him not to bet!!

going to bed..glad we can entertain ya a bit here via internet/blog/blogger, etc..thank chris penn, his idea..also, evan and i picked out some pictures today to post but internet was down while we had time..now if we put them on we'd be interrupting the bruce sprimgsteen celebration..boo hoo

xoxo

HELLO.
feeling extra inspired and excited tonight..was a long day and we got off to a late start as far as tracking something new cuz we couldn't make up our minds this morning about a tempo thing in a song tentatively titled beautiful feeling..got it worked out eventually and were stoked and moved on

now for the rest of the evening, tim and i were kind of dreading the two songs we would go on to do cuz they already felt so old but agreed they were the only two we'd previously performed with the group and should at least give them a shot since they'd become faves of some of the members (was that a run on sentence?!)..i probably wouldn't share this news if the tracks hadn't turned out great (or unless we def decided to ditch) but finally, decent recordings and a new approach= the songs came out suprisingly well....it was so rewarding to have such doubt on a song and then have it turn around and take on a completely new life in the studio, art happening spontaneously..i'll give ya a hint, while it was never a fave of mine, it was ironically one of the best, immediate lyrics tim has ever written in my opinion and so i encouraged him to give it a shot.."you will make it right, you were misunderstood" "now you know, you're beautiful, you always wondered"...one has to hear the delivery to appreciate such simple words..john (producer if ya haven't caught that yet) was a believer in the track and had mentioned he was hearing a ziggy stardust approach, drop all the electric guitars and go acoustic for one, slow stuff down..little did he know when he first told us that back in dallas we would end up with the one and only mike garson playing piano on the album..so tonight, it happened, the track known to most of you as "younger yesterday" became a top contender for the album..forget what ya knew about this song and start over...when annie and the boys first started messing with the new "feel" tim looked miserable, so stuck on the old melody and approach he couldn't get past it..it was hard cuz i knew he wanted me to agree and i just couldn't, i could imagine this catchy pop tune rediscovered and could hear a very vulnerable tim that vocally was so moving to us all...so i ran up to the house and asked mike to come on out and observe and be ready to jump in, after all , who better than him to bring the idea of a ziggy stardust tune to life..within minutes it started to happen, a magical experience...did a couple of takes while things were fresh and got it! tonight, converted!

we have ten in the bag and a few to go..cool too cuz they're all ones we really like collectively..so now we're getting into the home stretch of phase one and it feels good. in a couple of days we'll get started with the guitars and keys.

anyone seen aristocrats? it's on in the backgroud and i'm getting pretty distracted..if you've seen it, you know why :)

goodnight.
julie

p.s. if i have typos, please forgive..too tired to proofread! waiting for annie to tell me if proofread is one or two words..pretty sick, we all sit (during breaks or end of night) only a few feet from each other and we instant message ach other..seriously, even at breakfast we find ourselves sitting at the same table and im'ing...crazy!

hi. got picked up last night at 10pm from the minneapolis airport by annie and evan...we made our way back to pachyderm and the snow was outrageous..we couldn't see signs for miles but we got home..evan done good..although once at studio he had to get out and move trash cans cuz they were in the way of his sharp turn he needed at the wheel to get in driveway...annie and i felt nervous, the 15 passenger van sliding a bit and a huge ditch in front of us..evan thought about eating mcdonalds on the way in cuz he's burned out on the food at house but he passed..thank god cuz i nearly fell for some disgusting french fries

anyway, got in and guys were finalizing working title "we can fly" drum take...it was exciting. i heard a bit of the percy faith influence in there tim has always wished for which was nice..

so today...started a track called beautiful feeling..again, just a working title..you're truly in the infant stages of an album with us...this seems to be a fave amongst most here..and i agree, it's a good one. just has that something extra about it...

evan and i went into town and filled up on groceries..i noticed when i got here last night the kitchen was dirty and the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes, hhmmmm..clean now tho..also they told me it was the most unproductive day on sat...any coincidence a girl leaves for the weekend and productivity slows down? :)

looking forward to some sleep tonight..looks like tomorrow we'll try for two tracks, younger yesterday and round, the only two we've ever performed as a group...not sure if they'll make it or not but we're gonna try..

just told bryan we should crank the seven tunes we have basic tracks for..although they are rough and untouched, at least they feel like songs...very rewarding for now! bryan wakeland and julie doyle in one place with a stereo and songs we like, TROUBLE...it equals LOUD..not always a good idea

goodnight

12:22pm sunday in dallas tx where it's quite sunny and warm outside...just got off the phone with tim (in minnesota where he says it snowed some more and it's cloudy) and it sounds as if they were up very late last night catching up...mark finished more bass tracks and tim overdubbed some piano stuff on top of mike's to make for some interesting honkey tonk sonics on a song or two :)..it's pretty cool watching them work together in the piano room..mike sits at a 9ft. piano while tim sits at his keyboard hammering away at the keys..

mark is instant messaging me right now..says they all went out last night except john, tim and mike...and he woke up with one of the songs (working title "justify")in his head..seems really excited about the rhythm section too..bryan wakeland, kicking ass i might add!

looks like they're starting another song today, basic tracks...our session/phase one ends feb.10 so we gotta get alot done!

by the way, look for a couple of poly songs in a film coming out this spring called LUCKY 13...we covered the r.e.m. song shiny happy people..yes, yes we know...how perfect to have polyphonic sing about shiny, happy people! the original idea was to really strip it down and do an acoustic version at a much slower tempo but...in the end, we stayed true to the track although it only features tim, mark, bryan, audrey, annie and jennifer from the band...the other song is from the beginning stages, have a day..featuring mark, tim and jennifer only...it's beautiful..i don't think there will be a soundtrack so we'll make sure to get these tunes out once movie is released for your listening pleasure

julie

wrapping up for the day/evening... we offcially have six songs tracked now..that means drums, bass and most piano with a scratch vocal..we'll be catching up piano tomorrow and starting guitars on those songs...thus giving mark and bryan a break, a day off

ryan, evan and bryan just left for "town"...we're in the middle of nowhere..the lucky place tonight is called brewster's...pool tables, bright lights but a decent jukebox...oh and cheap drinks...annie and i thought about going but decided to stay home and get a good nights sleep..i am headed to dallas tomorrow for the weekend to see the kids..found out this evening our daughter was chosen amongst the top six kids at school to participate in an art exhibit, exciting...

mike is turning in early..he had a late one last night catching up some piano once tuner left...he started about 1am this morning, then got up about 9am and started making what he called an "avantgarson" dish..this means he gathered odds and ends of food here in the place and made something worth eating for all of us..i must say it was hearty and was a relief to eat food with substance at lunch time rather than another sandwich..he then tracked most of the day with others..


still no trout to be caught and eaten..tim working on it

goodnight
xoxo

it's thursday night and ryan is at it again, more jalepenos except this time he is making double the amount..tim just made a fire and we're watching history channel on tv..hitler for god's sake

had a 9ft. yamaha piano delivered today..well, mike did.. we all agreed it was the most rock and roll thing we've ever experienced..studio piano wasn't sounding so hot so he made a call and got a piano delivered the next day for free...then later as he was playing it we saw a price tag for 146k, wow. not that anyone's buying it

we worked out a new arrangement today for a song called " we crawl"...it's def the most mellow song on album thus far..was a simple song and became quite complex in the studio..funny how that happens..always the simple ones that come back and haunt you

we have about 16 songs but are only looking to put about 10 on the record but who knows...depends how they come along

john congleton has been such a pleasure to work with...and i heard his new paper chase album the other day, amazing. excited for him to put it out..strange and beautiful

tim and bryan went trout fishing earlier during a break outside the house here but no luck..maybe tomorrow...tim says he was looking for inspiration..he doesn't have the majority of the lyrics written yet so the narrative is up in the air, out in space, the unknown...i've always known him to have strong bursts at inconvenient times so we'll see what happens under pressure..truth is he has written most of the album in the last couple of months except for two so the material is quite fresh and alittle challenging for all just in terms of "learning" it..the majority won't be recognised by anyone and even most of the band hasn't heard a lick..a different journey this time around

can't continue to write because i'm incredibly distracted by what's on tv....fahrenheit 911 (michael moore) and i believe one more moment of bush could cause me to vomit

xoxo
julie

p.s. encouraging the others to write some stuff down too..along with pictures. i'm not usually one for sharing in the writing department, bare with me.

got too tired coming down from several games of boggle late last night and didn't write..i won't mention the big winner..anyway, ryan just brought me some stuff jalepenos he made..WOW! he's got something addicting in them..hot as they are, i could eat twenty..i don't think any of us ever new ryan was so domesticated...he not only cleans well on the buses, he cooks and prepares incredible dishes of food...i can hear everyone upstairs right now bursting out with joy on the tasty presentation..go ryan

he and annie have been practicing (some might like to say "jamming") here in the house for hours a day...it's exciting to see them work together since annie came into band..their sound is becoming a true force..they've yet to lay anything down yet cuz we're still working on drums, bass and piano...so they've done a good job at killing down time with beautiful sounds..the studio manager told me this morning how much he's enjoying working to the ambient sounds of our guitar players, makes his job worthwhile

anyway, i've been documenting the process since dallas preproduction for all the fans who have always wondered how it all works...and will continue thru out process, one day we'll finally share...the ingredients that exist in the making of this album are as interesting as ever..it's a shame we didn't capture the beginning stages record, quite an amazing thing looking back

together we're heavy was pretty dull as far as the process goes so ya didn't miss much...basically we had five weeks off from touring the uk and had to make the album fast and get back on the road..we did it in dallas and it was almost like punching in the ole time clock...trying to do a traditional schedule when you're making art is for the birds...i am amazed we captured what we did with such little inspiration..i love that album though and feel it definitely represents where we were as a young band trying to conquer the world with our energy and vision...and in more ways than one

on a final note, things are going well here..we have no actual titles for songs, just working titles or i'd let ya in on them..but, we have gotten basic tracks for three now and working on fourth one...tim just yelled down for me to come listen to a drum take on the third one so we can move on...be back soon
xoxo
julie

Hi. We have our first drum take this evening and finally on our way to create the Fragile Army album. Bryan was quite inspired and got things happening quick with the help of Mark, Tim and Mike. We have a special guest playing piano on this album, Mike Garson. We met him on the Bowie tour. He's been with David Bowie since the Ziggy Stardust album. Although we got here yesterday, today's the first day of actual tracking. Mike is mind blowing in the true sense. Plays the piano in such an other wordly way. Anyway, we're feeling good and excited to be here.
All had dinner together tonight..some great burgers for some and veggie burgers for others. Tim cooked on the grill outside. I think it was below freezing so we were appreciative.
We're closing the evening down with a game of Boggle, a band fave while listening to Billie Holiday. It's nice. And Evan Hisey is winning the game, as usual. Good night.

To whom it may concern

I sit on my couch tonight in Dallas whilst Tim DeLaughter, Julie Doyle, John Congleton, Mark Pirro, Bryan Wakeland, Evan Hisey, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Annie Clark are nestled up in Cannon Falls, MN at Pachyderm. You can check out the studio at the following link: www.pachydermstudio.com Looks to be a neat place. Those guys have been busting their ass doing pre-production for 3+ weeks getting these songs tighter than a frog's ass. I am super excited that they got to get out of DFW to get into another bubble other than the triplex. The triplex is our studio/rehearsal space. Mark equating it to the musical equivalent of digging ditches. It will pay off. They have a guest coming in tomorrow but I will let Julie fill you in on that. Look for this to be the place to get day to day updates, photos, and movies we hope. We just decided to get this going so bear with us as we get it set up. I am sure that Julie will be the main updater but look for thoughts and reflections from all involved. Oh yeah big ups to Billy Doyle aka Bubba for getting the gear to the studio on time. He made a straight shot from Dallas to the studio. The man is a driving machine. No thanks to American for delaying Tim's suitcase but that is how it goes when you fly that often. Stuff is bound to malfunction. Let's wish these guys well and wait patiently for the songs that I am sure will get stuck in our craniums.

CP

Ps. Check out the current issue of Under The Radar as Tim shines some more light on the new record.