Carry on My Mind/Daybreak
We had a great practice last night getting ready for OctoberDAZE.
Two new songs come out tomorrow. One on bandcamp/streaming and one on a local compilation CD.
Carry on my Mind
The first is "Carry on My Mind," which will be the opening track on our Blue Drops record. What makes it special is that James Paul Mitchell joins us on pedal steel. When I was working through this song, I was curious what it sound like with a reverby pedal steel... Well thanks to the Internet, I connected with James and he graciously played on it. I was so blown away by his talent that I asked him to play on two more songs. The second one is the closing track on Blue Drops: "Day/Night", and the third will be released as a bonus track on the album later.
James hails from Nashville, is a guitar enthusiast, a pedal nerd and a fantastic session player. If you ever need a session pedal steel or lap steel, he’s the person to call. Can't recommend him enough.
The song’s title became a bit of a mantra during the pandemic, especially when everything felt chaotic and bit umm...overwhelming... I’d often remind myself, ‘Carry on my mind, carry on…’ I’m not usually one to delve too deeply into our lyrics, but I don’t want anyone to mistake it for being about the "Carry-on..." movies.
The artwork. I also love how the artwork turned out for this one. During the pandemic, I started experimenting with wet-on-wet watercolour/ink pieces and gradually developed my own techniques and style. I think this one turned out beautifully, and I love the blue/green colours and how the white finishing touches it all together.
Daybreak
The second song is on a CD compilation from Cartridge Heart Records, a label founded by my friend Jon. We met years ago when our bands crossed paths at a basement bar in Kensington Market. We’ve kept in touch, and it was a pleasure to contribute a song. Every year he puts out a punk/hardcore compilation called “Kick-Ass,” and I think it was modelled after "Big, Shiny Tunes." The cover features skulls and fire and is a bit of a funny juxtaposition for us, since we’re more of a chill, tea-drinking kind of band.
This song was mixed by Colin Christian, a serious shoegaze mixer from Pittsburgh His mix gave the song a more modern sound, and he made it much heavier and “gazier” than I ever imagined. Colin did a great job, his mixes are amazing. I hope we can collaborate again sometime.
You can find the physical CD at our shows. I know some of you aren’t anywhere near Toronto, so if you’d like to hear it, you can also email me, and I can send you an MP3.
Alright - That's all for now. Back to rehearsing for OctoberDAZE!
