Hey Kids,

I am about to go crazy waiting for the cd to be completed. Its as if the build-up is gonna outweigh the final product. Hopefully in 2-3 weeks, everything will be done and I’ll have a link to buy the cd, a site redesign and a few other things lined up for ya. Mastering is almost DONE, artwork looks great and almost done. The folks at GreenRoomProduction always have a quick turnaround, so I know the actual pressing won’t be a problem.

I must say though, that my friend Amanda has been doing a lot of stuff for the band, and is really trying to set some things up which will ultimately lead to greater exposure, distribution and prominence. Much thanks to her going above and beyond for me. She really believes in us. The plan is to self-release the thing, and then look for other companies to distribute. I kinda blew off the whole self promotion thing the last time and just released it through cdbaby. Not that there is anything wrong with cdbaby – I appreciate their distribution channels, but I’d like a bit more of the pie this time. Hopefully, things will be a bit more professional this time around. Of course the fact that I am describing these trite, behind the scenes situations leads me to believe I am far from professional. heh.

So what the hell, here is a new/old song – unmastered – and still glorious. It’s called ‘First Five’. I think it was one of the first songs I wrote when I started getting back into the band thing. We’ve played it at every show, but never recorded it until now. It sounds a million times better than the demo I crafted several years ago – though Trey would say the new version lacks the loungy vibe. But to me this song is more of a desperate plea ‘to be heard’, ‘to be noticed’, ‘to want to be something that matters in a world that often tells you to give up’ – so the faster tempo and insane noodling works.

First Five (128kbps – 3 mb – 3:17 minutes)

[audio:TheJonesThing_FirstFive.mp3]

My favorite parts are at about 1:22 when Eric follows Chris in this wild triplet pattern – as if we weren’t already doing enough, and then of course the extra keys during end of the break. Perhaps I am spoiling it for ya with the explication. Everyone rocked on this – Trey especially.

Here are the lyrics…

First Five

Living in the world of someone else’s dream
what a drag to know that yer nothing at all
just some backdrop prop that is imitating life
waiting for your cue to move out of the scene

and in the courtroom scene your sitting
with you back against the wall
defendant passes you and 50 other wannabees

just stay in your chair
don’t dare say a word
just gasp – the verdicts read thru you

Living in the world of someone else’s dream
what a drag to know that yer nothing at all
just some backdrop prop that is imitating life
waiting for your cue to move out of the scene

and in the battle scene your holding
plastic guns – stand at attention
script calls for you to die
with other wannabees

feign a shot in the gut
fall down in the mud
you’ll wind up on the cutting room floor

don’t wanna be the one who’s dying in the first five
minutes of the movie killed by the bad guy
in the first five
minutes of the movie no one even knows you
don’t wanna be the one who’s dying in the first five
in the first five minutes

Living in the world of someone else’s dream
what a drag to know that yer nothing at all
just some backdrop prop that is imitating life
waiting for your cue to move out of the scene

now move out of the scene
please move out of the scene
take your stuff and get out of the scene
you can go now.

(mumbles under breath to self)

– still need to remix one part of one song – drats
– then send it to be mastered by guerin
– need cd artwork
– then greenroomproduction goodness
– need to practice (me)
– then book at least one gig for cd release
– create press kit
– then self-release cd
– appear on several podcast interview-type deals
– place ads in local mags
– shop the shit out of the record
– play gigs

(returns to ongoing game of Katamari Damacy while rocking out to the great music that goes with it)

I was dead around 7:30 Tuesday evening, slept a long time, then awoke in the middle of the night and decided to create a li’l audio post for the site. You can podcast via the link in the right-hand nav or just listen to it here on this page.

I took one of our ‘non-jonesthing’ tunes that will be on the new cd and pulled out the various demos and parts that led up to the final version, providing some explanation here and there. Lemme know what you think. If you like, I’ll do another one in early January.

Hollywooden Dreams – Explicated (128kbps – 17 mb – 17.5 minutes)

[audio:hollywooden_explicated.mp3]