DAY BY DAY BY DAY
out and about
We have been touring a lot lately, to really say the least. Being out with Rainer Maria has been a blast. Being on the East Coast has made the trip easier..... shorter drives, lots of friends, & familiar clubs have kept us sane. I remember a time in my life where I was super tense everytime that we got to the show. I always wanted to be there early and was nervous about playing and keeping everyone happy. The only thing that seemed to easy was talking to people I didn't know. Now it is the opposite. I have been less stressed about anal details and have tensed up talking to new people. If I gave you a weird respose, I am sorry. I really don't know what is wrong with me.....I am sure it's a phase.
jason.andrew.wood (Posted: 07/28/04 @ 3:18pm)
fake
The one thing i have learned that drains me most physically and mentally is having to play our music without feeling connected to the people around. Sometimes a show will feel completely stale due to lighting, stage sound, stage feel, etc and giving a performance of our music without being completely immursed in the mood just isnt worth it to me. If I was a big sports fan i think i would relate it to playing the super bowl without feeling external stimuli to kill the other teams. You run in circles because that is what you know to do but your adrenaline is dormant because you feel alone on the field. I wish I did like sports. It seems relative to other live experiences. I guess.......
Keeley (Posted: 07/24/04 @ 12:19pm)
fake
The one thing i have learned that drains me most physically and mentally is having to play our music without feeling connected to the people around. Sometimes a show will feel completely stail due to lighting, stage sound, stage feel, etc and giving a performance of our music without being completely immursed in the mood just isnt worth it to me. I was a big sports fan i think i would relate it to playing the super bowl without feeling external stimuli to kill the other teams. You run in circles because that is what you know to do but your adrenaline is dormant because you feel alone on the field. I wish I did like sports. It seems relative to other live experiences. I guess.......
Keeley (Posted: 07/24/04 @ 12:17pm)
once upon a time
Once upon a time, enginedown had a month until the release of their most anticipated record yet. and then .............
Keeley (Posted: 07/20/04 @ 4:40pm)
lengthy tour diary
we just got home from 53 hours straight san fran to richmond.it really wasn't that bad. if you want to read at length about the whole trip, you can go to richmond.com where i did a daily tour diary. http://www.richmond.com/MUSIC/music_out.cfm?ID=3066331&vertical=music
jonathan (Posted: 06/17/04 @ 2:02pm)
new sites
As a band we have toured quite a bit................and now i have finally seen the Grande Canyon! This tour with Sparta and All State Champion has been oh so interesting. More of a vacation really. And sometimes you realize that you shouldn't sleep in the van all day when the most amazing scenery is passing by in a flash. Canada has given new meaning to, as cheasy as it may sound, breathtaking. My girlfriend Colleen is on tour with us for half of this trip and I am blown away by how she has taken in the whole experience. Well as far as Sparta goes, hell yeah!!!!!!!!!!! There new record will blow your mind. It has been a great time hanging with them bro's, and i can say bros if i want to. Shut UP. What are you looking at? Okay it was just a false alarm. Well well well wellwe lwlekwlekrjadifgasdhpuiofr. some guy wants his school computer back.
Keeley
keeley (Posted: 06/01/04 @ 6:48pm)
twins (the movie)
ok people.folks confuse travis (our merch guy) for me all the time,typically, i don't mind, in fact, i take it as a compliment, because i happen to think that the guy is a hot piece of property.....but,it's starting to get a little out of control.even when i'm standing right next to him, people still think that he was the one on stage.apparently, he looks more like me than i do.
jonathan (Posted: 05/30/04 @ 12:18am)
indecent proposal
hey, thanks to everyone who came to see us play with q and not u, cub country, and cheers to no tomorrow in chapel hill last sunday. we were able to raise almost three thousand dollars for mike tripplett...which isn't much in comparison to his medical bills, but it will help with his living expenses as he is still out of work recovering.in other news, i am writing this in the van on the way to vegas to join up with sparta.26HOURS DOWN, ABOUT 14 LEFT TO GO.it's not as bad as it sounds, keeley and jason rigged a little budget entertainment lounge in the back of the van.it includes a display model hello kitty TV strapped to the ceiling, and a sega dreamcast.right now travis and cornbread are playing some ridiculous fighting game called jojo.keeley is working on album artwork on his laptop (endlessly)jason and i are listening to the new velvet teen record (AMAZING)ok, see you in vegas, where we plan on being indecently propositioned by robert redford.
jonathan (Posted: 05/21/04 @ 1:27pm)
shock away
So we spent 5 days in Canada, which is scary for two reasons.
1.None of our cell phones work in Canda, thus preventing us from calling home, getting news from our crew, checking email, updating the website, etc.
2. The very fact that we forgot how to tour without cell phones. Technology wins this round.
It was an amazing time though. We had some interesting times..............one night 1500 people the next night 15, Jason takes a stand on attention wanting meatheads and almost gets nocked out by a water bottle (we won though..check the message board), my sister shows up and tells me that Denali is over, both Poison the Well and Spitalfield miss a few dates because of the Canadian border, and Thursday's health takes a turn. Back in the states and everything seems just fine. We are almost in Chicago and I cant wait to see the rest of the gang again. bye
Keeley (Posted: 04/26/04 @ 10:05am)
cornbread is slippin'
so, every time that cornbread posts on the diary page,
he does something ridiculous like put his name where the subject should go, or put the entire text of the entry in the subject line....
not only that, but usually, he's making fun of someone else in the band.
i figured it was time for a little payback.
so here goes.
when he and travis wrestle, travis always wins.
when he sleeps, he snores.
also...
his pants stink.
seriously folks... this tour is a HECK of a lot of fun, mainly because of the awesome guys in thursday and poison the well and the whole crew.
jonathan (Posted: 04/20/04 @ 8:00pm)
the van
Did I ever tell you guys about when jason got in an argument about how he could cut on the van light, rip abey's glasses off of her face, and then grab her by the throat if she moved 1 foot closer. Well, Abey approached quickly and jason did all of the before mentioned. It was amazing. We always get into these dumb arguments about how the mummy is or isn't in the new Van Helsing movie. How peanuts are or aren't a key ingredient in chex party mix. And lots of other pointless things.
cornbread (Posted: 04/17/04 @ 12:52pm)
Booyah
You know what? Touring is awesome. Vegas (PTW) and I took so much money from other band members at the pool table last night. Basically, When you got it, you got it. We are going to venture out right after this tour with Sparta!!!! Sorry, all west coast dates! It will be fun I'm sure.....We are amped! Get into it! I am! You should! Okay!
jason.andrew.wood (Posted: 04/16/04 @ 8:19pm)
boys........in bands
It is all in the atmosphere of a tour that really makes it a memorable time. This tour with Thursday, Poison the Well, and Spitalfield is like travelling with your best friends for the first time. The music is the bonus because every night you feed off of each others energy to try and create a totally moving experience for everyone. This is only day three into the tour but to be back on the road together again we remember why these kinds of tours are really worth the long drives. PS. sorry University Inn, we didn't pull the fire alarm.
Keeley (Posted: 04/15/04 @ 12:33pm)
danger
i almost burned down my apartment last night working on a design for the back of this record. tip #1 paper is hard to get a burnt look without really burning it. tip #2 paper burns fast and is scary as hell to put out inside a building. I hope this lesson helps us all. ps. I am f*#%ing ready to go back out and play my guitar. one week and i see my beloved friends in Thursday and Poison the Well. Lets do this!
Keeley (Posted: 04/02/04 @ 12:11pm)
for once
well I have moved off of Cornbread's couch and into my own apartment with my lady. I want to thank Cornbread for letting me curl up on his couch for 6 months and for being such a great drummer/friend. What else can I say, I am surrounded by such swell guys! ps. i forget how to not tour.
Keeley (Posted: 03/18/04 @ 6:24pm)
west coast represent
so we're currently on the west coast, in tacoma, to be exact.
we have had really great shows up the entire coast, and we're expecting tacoma and seattle to live up to that. we've been entranced by the velvet teen every night, what an amazing band... and of course, we are always rockin' to the sweet sounds of statistics... we have also been (as denver says) "bro-ing out" hardcore.
last night we stayed with our friend bren in portland, and we climbed high in a tree to ride the zip line from her neighbor's yard into hers. it was a very peter-pan experience. i will never grow up.
thanks to all of the friends we have across the country who always host and entertain us, without y'all, we would have stopped touring long ago.
we love you.
jonathan (Posted: 02/21/04 @ 8:36pm)
Snow
I didn’t know that Texas would call on snow. Beautiful really. I just found out that we are going to have the pleasure of touring with Thursday in April. I love those boys. I really wish I knew what it meant to have a reoccurring water theme in all my dreams. It is getting freaky.
Keeley (Posted: 02/14/04 @ 12:21pm)
cornbread
I kicked Travis's ass last night when we wrestled. NO MATTER WHAT HE OR ANYONE ELSE SAYS. I WON
FOR REAL
oh yeah (Posted: 02/10/04 @ 10:07pm)
the tour thus far
OK,
So Moments in Grace is the most amazing band I have seen in the last year. They are how you say, "on point" every freaking night. I know everyone will enjoy the CD when it "drops". Decahedron are maniacs. I was outside of the St. Augustine show when I turn around and Jason H. is yelling at everyone with a bullhorn, then runs inside with just enough time to play the first song. Statisitcs are the smoothies cause they make the booty shake with much sauvness (sp?) And then there is us who could not be happier being out with these amazing bands. BUT wait till tomorow when I hate everyones guts cause M.I.G has bad sock smells or something, Decahedron leaked jelly into my bag of fine clothes, and the Stats won't stop yelling at me in some weird Russian Language (pointing and laughing). I don't know if this will happen but it better not.
take care
cornbread (Posted: 02/10/04 @ 10:06pm)
tour has begun
The boys are back and town, and it is sweeeeet! Well its like Xmas and you get yourself way too excited to go to sleep and the joy is lost in the anticipation. 1st show was in Charlottesville,VA and i felt like a little boy learning to ride a bicycle for the first, but damn i thought i knew enough to get up on the first try. Yes it was tough and still a bit fun, but our first show of this TOUR was last night in Chapel hill with Decahedron, Moments in Grace, and Statistics. That shit was so fucking bright. I dont mean to use profanity but shit i do!!!!! I cant wait to live this month across the US. see you soon
k
Keeley (Posted: 02/05/04 @ 5:37pm)
crabs
we've been so immersed in all the minute details of making this record that from time to time, i forget what we we're even doing. after spending countless hours in the control room with no natural light, obsessing over guitar tones and things like the pitch of the snare drum, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
today, hearing a few of the songs near completion nearly blew my mind... i can't believe how good it freaking sounds... i'm nervous that after spending this much time and energy on this record, and focusing so much on making the perfect record, that when it's done, i might have post-partum depression, or empty nest syndrome....
or maybe just crabs.
jonathan (Posted: 01/28/04 @ 6:50pm)
strings tacking
HOLY S@%T, Our friend Howard Arnn came up to do strings today and we captured some pretty amazing sounds. It's as if we cloned him and turned him into an entire Howard Symphony. The first time he harmonized with his cello I just started laughing because it sounds so good.
cornbread (Posted: 01/25/04 @ 9:39am)
sleep
Tracking all this new music and taking time to try to create something fresh has left me with little sleep. Every morning I wake up as if I am starting to feel the symtoms of a cold. But nO! I just pull on my hair a little and it goes away. This is the most insane process I have been through in a while. I think this will be a huge stepping stone in our progress as a band. The dynamics are blowing my mind and I now see why we started this shit. tour coming soon, i am truly losing it. Will you come and talk to me. thanks
Keeley (Posted: 01/22/04 @ 9:03am)
jason and cornbread
We put together something today to celebrate us finishing our tracks. Go to the downloads page and watch us shake it up.
new movie (Posted: 01/15/04 @ 3:44pm)
the devil's heartbeat
things are starting to come together.
jason and cornbread are working on a movie, because they're done tracking.
keeley and i are working on guitars, and brian is getting some amazing sounds.
the other night, our friend matt squire came over, listened to a couple of songs, and said...
"the kick drum sounds like the devil's heartbeat."
mission accomplished.
jonathan (Posted: 01/15/04 @ 1:43pm)
movie tyme
OK so yesterday Jonathan and Keeley worked hard on tracking guitars (not "hardon") and then that night we treated ourselves to a relaxing yet. what we thought would be, scary move, "House Of The Dead" . IT SUCKED SO MUCH . DERN. DON'T SEE THIS. They even included scenes from the videogame in the movie. Ok I need to calm down. What are good movies to see? YEH? HOLD ON I know "Big Fish" was great (Jason cried at the end, but don't tell anyone I told you that). I need something. Oh Yeh, DRUMS AND BASS SOUND SICK ( this is good). Brian is an evil doctor that uses monkey hearts and squid brains to get Rockin Sounds.
Cornbread (Posted: 01/13/04 @ 11:01am)
Booyah
At Karaoke last night (happy birthday Nate!!!!!) Cornbread and I sang Simply Irresistable......sorry to everyone that was there.
As well, Jason H from Decahedron was on fire......I could not even come close to describing how amazing it was. So you will have to wait til you see us all together on tour. Drums are done......bass has tackled 5 songs. Lets just say different distortion on everysong so far. KILLER. You think you know, but You have no idea.
jason.andrew.wood (Posted: 01/09/04 @ 8:19pm)
tracking
drums for 3 songs are done. (Rogue, InTurn, and 101). Maybe I could think for one minute about what a great job Bri is doing with the drums if he would stop making fun of me for not wanting to play with boomstands. DANG, I gotta go do more I'll write back later. BooYah
cornbread (Posted: 01/06/04 @ 9:22am)
4
The day before yesterday I rolled over in bed to see what time it was. the clock read 4:44 and at that moment i realized that the next day was my birthday January 4th 2004, and the first day recording our 4th record. Does anyone believe in fate?
Keeley (Posted: 01/05/04 @ 8:02am)
DAY #1
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KEELEY!
My man hits the big 28 today. What a better way to have a birthday than to unpack your bags in Beltsville MD and start to record a record.
Our 4th record starting on the 4th of Jan in the year 04. The 4 of us are stoked.
CB's drums are soundin sweet. Pedro is asleep. I am listening to Brand New and typing. Jonathan is on the phone.
Brian is setting more stuff up for tommorrow. Keeley, well, it's his Bday so he is doin whatever the hell he wants...........
More to come.
jason.andrew.wood (Posted: 01/04/04 @ 7:41pm)
New Years 2004
When you write New Years, do you write the year it was or the year it will be? Cornbread Compton performed to the T..T,,,,,,,,ttTee. I am ready to be back in the studio, except I do get some serious hang time with special person. Hope your holidays were memorable and safe.
Keeley (Posted: 01/01/04 @ 6:47pm)
Real Holidays
I hope that everyone had a pleasant holiday without all the fake people trying to be jolly. You never really notice how some family, friends, or strangers, are real people in your life until holidays roll around. It seems everyone is on the same emotional level which throws out any past hang ups or relationship quarrels. I hope that I am not the only person in the world that is lucky enough to see which people are the true people in my life. Sooooooooo I have obviously been affected by this holiday and you should really cut me some slack. take care..
Keeley (Posted: 12/28/03 @ 6:45am)
Week
This has been a long and detailed week, yet very productive. We are now taking a break for holidays so i am going to leave my coffee sweatener here since we will be back soon. Happy Holidays.
Keeley (Posted: 12/21/03 @ 8:51am)
Today
Well, today is my BDay and we are knee deep in demos. To create means to destroy, which mean to recreate. We have never spent this much time on a record, usually due to time restrants. Walking away I will know we are done instead of wishing we had more time. I love being surrounded all day, working on our art. It is a wonderful feeling. This is what I am supposed to do.
jason.andrew.wood (Posted: 12/17/03 @ 1:45pm)
1st day in the shit
So we had our last practice in the practice space and I cant say I will miss it. I had to tune my guitar every half of a song because the temperature was so insane (cold is what i say). I am not complaining except I am. We drove late in the night out to Maryland to get friendly with our favorite man. You know who. The next day was the first time we have worked with someone else's opinions. That sentence doesnt make much sense because Jason is eating poached eggs right beside me and it is distracting. Mainly I want to say, this shit is exciting. These songs we brought to the plate were already much loved by us and now we have someone on the outside to help cut the fat. Great team. I am going to make some cereal.
Keeley (Posted: 12/16/03 @ 8:08am)
The Coming Future
So much has happened both personally and professionally within the Engine Down family. Jonathan and Keeley have finished the last tour ever with Denali and everyone has decided to devote all energy and power to Engine Down. The writing process of the new record has been absolutely awe inspiring. Even though it is winter and the practice space is not equiped with HEAT, we have trucked on to create something that excites us enough to play without feeling in our hands. Oh yeah, it's cold. See for yourself in this clip. We go to demo the songs on Monday, more then.
Engine Down (Posted: 12/11/03 @ 11:08pm)
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