July 2007 EP: Hello Come In, ‘The Rundown’

July has come and gone, so it’s about time we pop out another one of these mini EPs. We’ve decided to call this first-of-the-second-half EP The Rundown.

It’s a typical month for us, no special rules or stipulations like the past couple EPs. We think the tunes turned out great, but judge for yourself the lonesome cowboy wanderings of Aryn, the social laments of Mike, and the minimalist folk of myself. We’re still working towards meeting our ideal level of collaboration, but we’re making recordings and building up the library, which is the important part in our minds.

It’s time. Stop everything you’re doing and peruse The Rundown. Or right click here to DOWNLOAD entire album.

Or check the podcast. Or be 21st century at MySpace. And most important… leave comments on the blog or via email at [email protected]. Cheers!

Tracklist:

1. The Imitators (Katzif)
2. Sequel Pending (Crowley)
3. Following Payment (Johnson)

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Last week I woke up to the bitter taste of orange juice and toothpaste. I mean I was awake, but not really fully there I suppose so that biting acidity was a welcome catalyst to stir the summer lethargy of the morning. On sweltering hot days like we’ve been having, everything just seems to drag to a slow crawl. And as we get deeper into these summer months, it can be hard to find much ambition aside from aspiring lounge in the air conditioned bliss.

On this particular morning I was in a half daze, thinking of, unsurprisingly, music. More specifically, my own music. More specifically, why I could not write a chorus to a song. A song I had been nursing for a few months.

Writing lyrics is still fairly new to me so it can be a constant battle of writing and rewriting and overthinking the whole process. And for me, creating a sturdy and memorable chorus is by far the hardest part. Put it this way: if writing verses is like climbing to base camp of Mt. Everest (a mere 5400m, or 17600ft for those who would like to know), then writing a refrain is like summiting. Without oxygen. Sometimes I think I need a songwriting sherpa.

There is something about that repeated stanza and finding the right mixture of melodic hooks and memorable words that can be nearly impossible. I’m not sure if others have the same problem, but man it can be a struggle. This particular song was giving me more trouble than normal. After many aborted attempts, I had nearly given up. That is until I drank some orange juice after brushing my teeth. It was then that a melody popped into my head that I thought would work.

After that it somehow just came together. I cannot explain it really, and I certainly don’t attribute that vile taste to giving me a sudden moment of clarity. But sometimes when that song is pretty much a lost cause, I’ll take inspiration from anywhere I can get it.

— Mike, July 2007

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Past EP’s

Temporary Setback :: January 2007
Clouded Spaces, Falling Skies :: February 2007
First Pull Up, Second Pull Down, Third Take Away :: March 2007
Ancient Telephones :: April 2007
The Cavalry Arrived Again :: May 2007
Designed In Anticipation Of His Centennial Years :: June 2007
The Rundown :: July 2007
The Ninth Great Fire :: August 2007
Empty Bottles And Dog-Eared Books :: September 2007
I Can Fix Things In The Morning :: October 2007
We Are Full Of Useful Noise :: November 2007
The Last Duel :: December 2007