Hope all is well. New Years Eve is all about looking to the future…so in keeping with that tradition, we just wanted to take a few seconds to reveal our plans for finishing this record. We’ve written nearly all the songs for the record…we’ve written probably more material than we could fit on a cd, but this current collection of songs feels like the right combination. The record will have mostly new material, but we also felt that this was the right opportunity to look back at a few of the older songs we felt never quite got the treatment they deserved. Currently, we are arranging all of the songs and making sure that everything in the studio goes smoothly. A few weeks ago, we had a few days in the studio to try out a new song and we’re very (VERY) excited about the way things are coming together.
In February, we’ll be leaving chicago…heading to NYC to record the album, spending close to a month in the studio. So…it’s not that much longer before we can show you what we’ve been doing for so long. We are definitely not the best Facebook updaters, so we greatly greatly appreciate all the support and patience weve received from you all! The first full record was something we promised ourselves we would take seriously, so we’ve worked carefully to make sure this album represents what we feel California Wives is all about.
So, again, thank you for all the support and as we promised, 2012 is the year!
We realize it’s been a long time since we reconnected about any news regarding California Wives. Rest assured, we have been very busy connecting the dots over here in Chicago. At the moment, we have a bank of new songs that have been in multiple stages of the demo-ing process…some finished, some half way there, some just beginning.It has always been our plan to record a full-length record, something that contains versions of songs that we hear in our own heads.Planning that record has been a very difficult process, starting with the business and working our way back to the actual recording process. For any young indie band, finding the right combination to make a proper record means being able to balance many different issues. Finding the right producer, the right studio, the right funding, the right timing…these are all important pieces to the puzzle and no record will be quite right unless you can cover all of it. We’re also learning that making a record is first and foremost an emotional process. Sure, getting the songs to tape is the pragmatist’s view of making albums. But these songs all have deep meaning to us and making sure they are done properly is by far the most important issue. What keeps us going is that in one way or another, more songs will be released and we will continue to push ourselves in new and more challenging directions. The format may change or the process may snake its way around to new places, but the end product will always be California Wives. We’re also doing our very best to keep our live shows up and running. Going through the setlist is actually a very refreshing process for us. Recording can make the life of a band seem very fragmented, inching along, take-by-take until a song is released. But there is a momentum and understanding unrivaled by playing together as a group. It’s a very “I get it” moment. We apologize for the long delay in getting new stuff out there and making our way to your neck of the woods, but rest assured, we’re doing our very best to keep making art in our own way in the quickest way possible! Thank you for all the love and support we’ve received so far and we are very optimistic for the new days to come! And as always, we’ll keep you up-to-date as soon as we know more.
I hope your weekend has been a dream. just thought we drop a note about the band…some news on what we’re working on and how far along we are with our next release. Sometimes we get tunnel vision with our projects and lose track of time, so we apologize for not dishing out more news a little sooner.
First off, those live videos we were talking about earlier…well they are in the final stages of the editing process, so I don’t think it should be too much longer before we can share them. We’ve got three of ‘em…one song off of Affair, one new one, and one cover song. There’s a huge list of people that made these videos happen, so THANK YOU ahead of time (we’ll list names when everything is finished).
As far as the new songs go, we’ve been really hard at work gathering our demos and working through ideas. We’ve got a healthy group of songs that we feel really good about and we’ll keep chipping away at these songs until we feel they’ve come far enough to record. Some of the demos are brand new, others have been previous ideas that came together right around the time we wrote “Blood Red Youth.” It’s been a refreshing experience, feeling like we can take these songs where they want to go without getting in the way too much.
This upcoming weekend we’ll be tracking the “complete idea” songs at our friend’s space to get nicer, working demos. It’s always nice to get into a studio early to see what ideas will translate and which ideas are better left out. Pretty much all of the songs will go through this process until we have everything in front of us and can say…”THESE songs should go on the next record.”
As far as shows, touring, festivals…we’ll be dropping anchor in Chicago this summer while we write and record the newest CW project. We have every intention of widening the touring area with the release of new material and when it’s time to throw together a tour, we’ll be asking YOU where we should go. It’ll be a group project, k? We also have two more Chicago summer shows to announce a little later, so beware!
Thank you for being patient with us while we get these ideas right. All the attention has been so incredibly unexpected and we really appreciate all the kind words we’ve been receiving. We’re working hard to make sure we don’t string you guys/gals along with false promises and such. I’ll also be filming some clips from the process as it goes on so you can see how ridiculous four people can get when they make a record.
For all you Chicago folk, tomorrow we have a show at the Empty Bottle starting at 10 PM. We are playing with two other Chicago bands, Color Radio & Soft Speaker, so make sure you come right when doors open! We’ll be playing most of the songs we played at our Billboard set at SXSW, with maybe one exception (what could it be???).
But tomorrow isn’t only the day of our show, it’s also the start of April…a month that will bring us plenty of things to do. We’ll be spending the majority of April putting the finishing touches on the songs that will make up our next recording effort. When the songs seem close enough, we’ll be heading in to make demos of our songs…seeing how our ideas translate to record. It’s a long process from song idea to song recording…but the process IS moving!
Thank you to everyone for posting, downloading, and listening to our most recent single “Tokyo.” Although the song was written well before the tragedies in Japan, our hearts are very much with all of those facing such terrible times and we hope that the well needed process of “building houses and lights in Tokyo” is swift. You can go here: “http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_src=RSG000000000&s_subsrc=RCO_BigRedButton” to donate funds to the relief effort. Every bit helps!
