Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Ballad of Stayed and Gone 14

The album is mixed! Mastering will be done very soon and the artwork and design are being worked on as we write this.

It’s been more than a year an half since we started this project, but it feels like this is all we’ve been doing since the beginning of time. Not because it has dragged on (a year and half is not that long for an album), but because it feels like, musically, this is all we’ve been thinking about, and it has certainly taken up most of our music listening time.

But now our creative work is done. Now Nick Peterson will master, Joe Brzoska is doing the cover, Ali Nickles the photography, and Mary Gunn the design. And then we’ll have to play some shows and all that to back it up.

And then start thinking about the next project…

To celebrate this moment, here are two versions of Season of the Grape, the final mix one and the original demo one. I thought some of you who have been reading these posts about the record might enjoy the before and after experience. You can choose which one you want to hear first.

The mixed (unmastered) version of Season of the Grape.
Nathan Golub - pedal steel
Nathan Logan - drums
Stu Cole - bass
Alex Bowers - piano
Recorded in Chapel Hill at the Cavern Tavern (Rob Walsh bartending) and Ultra Fin Riz Studios

The first Season of the Grape demo, all done by Roberto in garageband with mostly canned instruments.

The demo was track 18 on the original demos group. The final mix is track 13. So we've cut at least 5 songs/ideas between conception and final mix. Good.