the heaven seventies

come dance a little closer

2009-07-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

So, I had been purposely avoiding the blog thing for a little while, and then I accidentally stayed away for so long that I psychologically locked myself out of it; the inertia got into me. This is a bit more personal honesty than I usually put here. We're not turning emo on you or anything, don't worry about that. It's just that some things need to be said before we continue with the self-promotion.

In the last eight or nine months, we've made some new music as a group that even I couldn't have predicted, played Abbey Pub on a Friday night, headlined Double Door on a Friday night, and somehow became quite a good live band. We got to see ourselves in the Chicago Redeye, a huge photo of us along with an article that we were really happy with. I started writing songs with Gabe again, finally, and we're sitting on a lot of thrilling new material. We've been up to great things, and if you were lucky enough to be a fan of ours on the Facebook during this time, you got to see a lot of it while it was happening.

We have always been in a state of perpetual flux as a group, both with our direction and our personnel. This is by design; for me, things are most creative when they're least predictable. Sometimes the flux creeps into my life, though, in places where I can't deal with it as well. A couple of times in the last eight months, I was totally sure that I was going to quit music altogether and pick up something else. The same force that drives me to do this music thing also drives me kind of crazy; I feel the deepest thrills I've ever felt, but I also feel very alone, like I've been left out in the cold. I considered leaving my day job to do music full-time, and thought about moving away from Chicago a whole lot too, but instead I started dancing at nightclubs, DJing again, trying to remind myself of what I love about music and why I started down this path so many years ago.

Listen. I have decided to make a go of this again, harder than I ever have before, to give Chicago a chance to show us the kind of love that we need in order to take this project to the next level. There are a whole lot of you who would like to see us succeed; I hear about it when we run into each other on the street, I read late night emails about it from you when I really should be sleeping (like now). If you are willing to help out a little bit, then I am willing to push forward as hard as I can. We're going to need your help, though, I really mean that.

Some of what we do as a group is a bit surreal, and some of it is downright frightening. I think that means that we're growing. You're going to see some experiments coming from us, some of which aren't going to work the way we wanted them to. I'm going to drown in disbelief when we play bigger venues like Metro for the first time, and freak out as I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to hand out 2500 fliers in 2 weeks. This is a necessary phase of growth. If I don't say hello to you the way I used to, I'm probably just completely frazzled; don't take it personally. If I forget to call you, it's not because I didn't want to.

I still believe in this group. If I didn't, I would have quit long ago; this is so much more difficult than it looks. At the end of the day, what we do is about you as much as it's about any of us; I sing the songs but you're the one who feels them. And I think that's how it should be. The only thing I ask of you is that you keep supporting us in all the ways that feel right to you, as long as you still believe in us, too.

a voice inside my head said don't look back, you can never look back

2008-10-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Almost done moving to our new studio. Tonight, the mixing room should be finished; the tracking room and live rooms are yet to be completed, but we're getting closer. This whole thing took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it's a good change, a necessary change.

We've got a very exciting show coming up on Friday, October 24 at Darkroom. As you know, we choose not to play often in our hometown, and this will be our first performance at Darkroom, which is a great space with a fantastic sound system and nice DJ booth. It's $8, 21+, and here's the flier, designed by Brock Manke of The Beta Theta:

We're finishing up a new track which we'll release in the days leading up to the show. We can't wait for you to hear it. Nilay's still working on the cover art, I'm still working on the mix, but perhaps in the next 24 hours it'll all come together. Quite exciting!

we're gonna make it right, tonight tonight tonight

2008-08-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Last night, we were invited to a Spin Magazine private party, where "Does It Offend You, Yeah?" and "Gutter Twins" played sets. Greg Dulli brushed up against my shoulder. I handed a flier for our show tonight to Ali Youngblood from Black Kids, and she replied, "You're pretty."

Tonight we play a surprise Lollapalooza afterparty at Reggie's main room to thank all of you for coming to the Bottom Lounge last Thursday. It's a dance party plus sets from a couple of bands who are playing Lollapalooza this weekend, plus us. (It'll be a very different performance from last time; we have a live drummer, plus a couple of surprises in the works.) The show is free for all H70s fans, so print out this ticket flier and bring it with you to the show.

It feels quite surreal to play two shows in the same two week period with H70s. We've become such studio hermits; it feels great to be getting out in front of people and getting the immediate feedback that's so valuable to the direction of the group. So many of you are coming out to show your support, which encourages us to keep going.

Last Thursday at Bottom Lounge went smashingly well. Over 200 of you came out to show your support, and we're so glad you did. All the other bands were incredibly professional and polished-sounding; we countered with a mixture of energy, presence, and catchiness.

Speaking of the live experience, Nilay keeps bothering me to "ditch the glasses" and "get rid of the flashlight"...of course, I wholeheartedly disagree. what do you think? Let me know.

radio, live transmission

2008-07-21T05:52:00.001-07:00

It was radio weekend.

Last night, Chris Payne played "Coldest Day of the Year" on his show on Q101. This was the first time The Heaven Seventies have been played on major radio, and since Q101 was my favorite radio station when I was 13, it felt crazy and exciting to finally get airplay. You can hear that here for the next couple of weeks (we're at about 12:50 in part 3, 07-20-08): myspace.com/local101

Also, on Saturday afternoon we did an interview on WCRX, the 100 watt station run by Columbia College in Chicago. In my opinion we did quite well. We got video of it, so we might post an exciting moment or two from it if we get some free time.

Mike Miller, one of the owners of Bottom Lounge, wears chelsea boots. Good taste in shoes, I say. I went to check out the place before our show there on Thursday, and man, it's huge. I'm excited to see all of you fill it.

you know we love you, mariah

2008-07-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

To promote our show next Thursday, July 24 at Bottom Lounge, we made a mixtape-style "remix" of the Mariah Carey single, "Touch My Body". I heard it on the radio and immediately "alternate lyrics" started flowing out, so I knew we had to do it. We were fooling around in the studio with our cinematographer friend Kyle Kramer, and he started taking some shots of us...one thing lead to another and before we knew it, we had a video to go along with the audio!

download the mp3

You can see the video here:

or click here to watch it on facebook...it looks and sounds best there. (You don't need a facebook account.)

This one's on us, but if you want to show your appreciation, come see us at Bottom Lounge on Thursday, July 24. Our next show after this one is at Darkroom in late October, so mark your calendars.

who's to say it isn't right?

2008-06-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Working in the studio four nights a week (two with the other members and two more alone) on more projects than we can keep track of:

1. "A Sudden Ocean" official release. (almost finished)
2. "Seventeen" official release. (finally!)
3. "If I Leave Without You" h70s version and corresponding video.
4. "In the Morning Light (Remix)" ... totally mindblowing, I can't begin to explain it.
5. new song "Complicated" in two different versions... version 1 produced by h70s, and version 2 produced by Tek.

Also in the works:

6. putting together our first full length CD, working title "Singles, Vol. 1"
7. shooting a secret new video for our secret new remix track... we just finished the track, finally.
8. nonstop practice for July 24 show at Bottom Lounge, Chicago.

And in the meantime, some challenges:

9. Moving to a new studio space in August.
10. Computer crash (no data loss, luckily).

I'll update with some deep thoughts in a little while; right now I'm just trying to keep my head on straight.

Next show July 24 at the Bottom Lounge

2008-06-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

We just confirmed our next show in Chicago at The Bottom Lounge (managed by Brian Peterson of mpShows) on July 24 with Welcome To Cambridge, White Hot Knife, and another band that WTC's Alex Kramer mentioned over the phone but I can't remember. Stabbing Mercury? Something like that. Bottom Lounge is brand-new (again) and seems pretty slick, so we're excited -- hope they've got insurance for those nice new subs!

Booking shows in Chicago is hard if you're an in-town band, but people have been really receptive to our pop action, and we're working on quite a slate of shows -- we're working on dates with the Double Door, Schubas, the Metro, and the Darkroom right now, so you'll be seeing us all over in the coming few months. Plus we're probably going on our first little tour soon, so get ready.

blonde chicks say "like" like, all the time

2008-06-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

Two out of the three rappers actually showed up yesterday, incredibly promptly even though I pulled the time and date out of the air without consulting anyone's schedule. Kalico put down a damn good verse and Wattson spit 2 verses plus a bridge-type thing that sounds like a second hook. I'm still finishing up my own verse...I was up until 4 AM writing one, and now I'm rewriting it to the higher standard these guys set. Ill Legit is scheduled to come over tonight before our regular session and do his verse, possibly around 6.

When it's mixed, it's going to be shockingly good, real next-level stuff. Not as good as "Throw Some Ds" of course, but amazing in a different way.

south side, north side, come together

2008-06-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep, so I'm working on my verse for the official remix of "In the Morning Light". Chicago rappers Ill Legit, Kalico, and Wattson are supposed to come over tomorrow evening to lay down verses for it. I hate to admit it, but I'm nervous. These guys are really good at what they do; it's intimidating to work with such talented people. I hope I've done enough planning...

got pockets full of dollars i could throw em at you

2008-06-03T21:26:00.001-07:00

Will and I just went and shot a scene for our new secret remix video, and it came out looking amazing. Here's a taste:

don't wanna let you go

2008-06-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes with all the glossy pop production, you can forget that there's a great song underneath. Here's a live-in-the-studio acoustic version of "In the Morning Light" by Will and Loren...our new single seen from a totally different angle.

Youtube turns the audio from hi-fi stereo to lo-fi mono, and makes the video look pretty shoddy. These look and sound much better:

In the Morning Light (acoustic), Quicktime video [84.2 mb]
In the Morning Light (acoustic), mp3 audio [6.1 mb]

always wanting what you ain't got

2008-05-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, I went to a farewell party at Darkroom. David Golitko, a member of (ex-)Chicago bands Assassins and Marvelkind, is moving to Germany to learn how to make wine, and presumably leaving his bands forever in the process. The word on the street is that his family has been in the wine-making business for hundreds of years, which is probably quite a bit longer than they've been in the rock music business.

Assassins are basically a Los Angeles band now, in so far as they still exist. It's hard to tell what might be going on with them now, and I'm far too shy around Merritt Lear to be able to ask the right questions. "It's fun to play these old songs again," Joe Cassidy said from the stage. It felt tragic to hear him say it. Their album came out in 2006.

David Golitko is awe-inspiring. He sings surprisingly well, plays guitar and keyboards like a pro, and dances with gorgeously subtle kinetic grace. Assassins and Marvelkind share another member, Aaron Miller, who is a complete monster. He drums with so much intensity; two sets in a row, and he only got better as the night progressed.

Assassins are a gently-fronted, propulsive electronic pop-rock group. Joe and Merritt would never scream at you, and they're eerily on pitch when they sing live. They kiss on stage, a peck on the lips, and Joe looks at Merritt sweetly, reminiscent of Starlister. Close your eyes and Joe is Bernard Sumner. Los Angeles, you'd better be good to them; they deserve it.

I handed h70s demos to David and Merritt, and to Jonathan Radtke and Greg Corner of Kill Hannah. Maybe someday there'll be an Assassins remix of h70s, or vice versa. Maybe someday I'll interview them here, or stay with them in Silverlake and talk with them about the future of pop music.

The stories of these bands inspire me, but they also make me sad. I often wonder whether it's possible to make a career out of playing music at all anymore; if a band like Assassins can't find a label or a significant, nationwide audience, how could I hope to do any better? Kill Hannah have been in the public eye longer than I've been making music and have been touring like crazy for a few years now, yet it doesn't look like their two records on Atlantic have sold enough to break even.

Marvelkind and Assassins were beautiful, and left me with more questions than answers. The songs are catchy; what are they saying, and why are they saying it? The songs are danceable, but nobody's dancing, and the band pretends not to notice, not to mind. I left the show much more impressed than I thought I would be, a little less sure of myself than I was before.

i think that shorty i got a thing for you

2008-05-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

Loren and I put down some more vocals on your soon-to-come secret remix tonight, but the last time we got together I forced us to listen to Usher's "Love in This Club" like 1000 times and we ended up drinking a couple 40s of OE and recording this silly acoustic version. Check out Pryce doing his best Young Jeezy impression!

the way you make it clap has got me clappin' for you

2008-05-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm in the studio right now, recording vocals onto our new remix track. I don't want to give the game away just yet, but those of you who liked "Shawty Is a 10 (Remix)" will be thrilled.

I also left a freestyle on my sister's voicemail telling her to get into the studio with me soon so we can record her on some tracks. The Dream told me that writing songs can be like freestyling. The song I freestyled to my sister was hilarious, but probably not that great of a song...

Tek and Kalico are coming by later on tonight. Listen to "make you famous" on the h70s production site if you haven't already, I sing the hook and it's a killer.

a juicy glimpse into

2008-05-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Re: the blog... we wanted to give everybody a glimpse into The Heaven Seventies. It's an exciting time, and we know a lot of people are waiting to see what's going to happen with us, so here you go, a juicy glimpse into what we're doing.

(From Loren: Those who know me know that I'm normally against this whole blogging thing, but honestly, if I weren't in this band, I'd be wanting to read this blog. Too much crazy shit's happening not to tell people about it.)