Hey Stranger’s “Waited Out The Day”- 18 Months in the Making

Hey Stranger began recording a full length record in March 2010. It was finally available online in August 2011 and physically a few weeks after that. What took so long? I recorded 3 songs with The Hard Times in 8 hours of a Sunday afternoon. Why was this so different?

We did it the new old-fashioned way. That is, we spent time in advance of recording figuring out the best tempos for the tunes, and then recording vocal and guitar scratch tracks. In the 3 or 4 practices leading up to recording, we would take a few minutes out of an already busy practice to find the right tempo. Tony, our lead singer, then used those tempos to create the scratch tracks. We’d then go to multi-tracking where we recorded each instrument, one at a time, to those scratch tracks. This is where the bulk of the time went. (The last update I gave on recording was in September of 2011!)

The Hard Times Release Debut EP on Whatevski

Releases? Release? “The Hard Times” is a single unit, but it’s more than one person, but… whatever.

With not a lot of fanfare, my reggae project The Hard Times released our first 3 song EP “Two Bucks For Bob” on Whatevski, a boutique online store that specializes in b-sides, live songs, rarities, and side projects from the world of NYC ska/reggae band The Slackers. So how did we get in? I’ll start at the beginning but I’ll jump around.

Presents: Have Nots, The Band With The Fat Kids, Across The Aisle – 5/1 at Bushwick Music Studios

*** POSTPONED *** New Date TBA ***

The Hard Times Present “Reggae Hit The Town”

Flier by yours truly | Facebook Event | Press Release Below the Jump

OTiS Coverage Round Up

For the past month I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Brooklyn based Rock.Soul.Groove act OTiS. They recently celebrated the release of their debut self-titled album. The album will be released digitally on March 16 via Amazon.com, Emusic, and iTunes.

The Round Table Online included OTiS in their “Makin’ It” feature.

Rock NYC teased the new album and previewed 2 of the bands upcoming performances.

7duckets gives a nice walk through of the album, track by track, and previews the bands’ CD release show.

Music Matters in Brooklyn will be carrying copies of the CD.

Their MySpace page has a clickable banner as well as an updated bio.

Amazon.com already has audio previews of all the entire album.

A press release will be serviced this week.

Their very successful CD release party took place on Friday, February 26 at Sullivan Hall in the West Village of Manhattan, selling an unprecedented amount of Tshirts and CDs and an unprecedented audience filling the room.

OTiS on MySpace / OTiS Homepage / OTiS on Twitter

Tumblr

Because another social network that I won’t update is exactly what I need right now.

Tumblr intrigues me as it could be what focuses on strictly my creative end. Twitter is for my self-indulgence, Facebook is for staying connected, and this page is here mostly a home base for all of my musical interaction. So why tumblr?

Looks like a potential outlet for the “creative” things I do that sometimes get used and sometimes don’t. I’m speaking about the artwork I may create that sometimes gets used, and sometimes does not. The question is, are these things I really want floating out into the public? Do I really want to post some awful lo-fi demo I record for one of my bands floating around before it has a chance to get finished or vetted by the band? I think I’m going to try it out and see how it pans out. Right now it’s just aggregating this blog, my twitter, my google reader shared feed and there’s no point to that. The truth is, I generally don’t want feedback or criticism on something except from the people involved in it, and those who’s opinions I think are that valuable to the specific project. Maybe this will be a good exercise for me. It’s not that I can’t take the criticism, it’s that I’m just not interested.

Against my better judgement, I went ahead and posted a tshirt design for Hey Stranger, concept by the drummer. As it stands, we more than likely won’t use it. But I took the time to make it, so why not share it. What do you think?

In the interest of full disclosure, I had been watching tumblr from a far as it gets mentioned on Mashable now and again (a great read, I recommend). Only recently, since it had become something we wanted to use at work, did I become interested in using the service.

Ska Splash with Across The Aisle, Hey Stranger Begins Recording

Big ska show coming up with Across The Aisle. Check the flyer (not my best work, but certainly not my worst). Discuss over at NJSka.com, and Join the Facebook event. Also, check out recent pictures of ATA from a recent gig at the Worthen in Lowell, Mass. Follow ATA on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. PLEASE swing by our page at Earn It Yourself and help us get on Warped Tour 2009.

Hey Stranger began work on a 4 song record this past weekend at Hot Sound in Brooklyn. Drum tracks and bass are done, the rest should be done by early March. Be the first to friend Hey Stranger on MySpace or follow us on Twitter. Check in for pictures from our first shoot with Cristina Manas.

In other news, I began working part-time at Rock Ridge Music in Newark, NJ. I’m an assistant to the General Manager but so far I’m learning a lot and the people I work with are great.