Timis Wrote:
iron_and_beer Wrote:
When do we get the real thing?
August 7
Also from the fan club site:
Quote:
WILL’S NOTES ON “OUR LIFE IS NOT A MOVIE OR MAYBE”
“‘Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe’ is the song the label felt would be the best first single from “The Stage Names,” a decision that was hard for us to make after living so closely with the record for so long. This track is actually one of the oldest ones I wrote for ‘The Stage Names.’ Some fans probably already heard it in a slower solo version I’ve been playing for over a year now. The song was actually written to be played fast - I remember originally going for a John-Cale-meets-the-Cars vibe or something, though the finished song isn’t much like that at all. I still like playing it in the slower version, which works better solo even though it tends to be almost seven minutes long. It was also the first thing we did on the first day of recording for the record, and I think the version we ended up releasing is take 2 or 3. Some trivia about the recording, for those interested: the big kick-and-snare hits you hear are the sound of all six members of the band playing drums simultaneously, with a mic placed in a bathroom down the hall. For Brian’s guitar part in the middle section, we varied the tape speed as he was recording to get an unpredictably wobbly sound. The vocals for this song were extremely difficult to record because for whatever reason I’d pitched them in an incredibly high register and then everyone liked hearing them that way. The whirring sound at the very start of the song was actually e-mailed to our mastering guy and added as an overdub in mastering, a very uncommon (perhaps because it’s so stupid and time-inefficient) practice we’ve used on every full-length album we’ve made.”
UPCOMING SHOWS
On June 10, Okkervil River plays at Neumos in Seattle on behalf of Noise for the Needy, an organization for children affected by HIV and AIDS.
On July 13, Will plays solo at Brattle Theatre in Boston, debuting some new songs from the record in solo versions.
On July 14, the full band performs at Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire, marking Will’s first show in his home state. Organized by fellow New Hampshireite Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs, the show benefits the Concord Boys and Girls’ club.
And, finally, Okkervil River plays on July 15 at Jake’s Bar & Grille in Providence, Rhode Island, with William Schaff’s marching band. Set in a neighborhood bar, this is sure to lack any trace of the Capitol Center for the Arts’ formalism).
