Rehearsal (6-29-11)

Well, tonight was a trial. Juan had a job interview (good luck by the way) and Carissa was off enjoying herself at a Neil Gammon reading, while the rest of us were left to soldier on. Through shear iron-willed determination and the strength of demi-gods, we were able to pull this rehearsal whole thing off.

Dan was the sport of the year and volunteered to step in for the enjoying-herself Carissa on vocals as well as manning the bass.  He went through pure hell, I can tell you.

Kent was beside himself all evening.

Maria’s Pizza was once again consumed. The barbecued chicken has taken their taste buds by storm. The band highly recommends this product and would not be averse to a lucrative sponsorship deal or being featured in highly paid television commercials for the restaurant.

Many thanks to Dong for bringing along his super deluxe camera, which I shot most of the video with.

Trampoline Song – Kent pointed out last night that about 4 of our next recordable songs have the word “Song” in them. A Discount Romance theme or eccentricity? Perhaps I’ll have to look into title tweaking. Excuse Dan from just repeating the first verse in the second verse. Also, notice how deftly Jason handles a dropped drumstick, midsong.



The Trampoline Song as heard on the night. (one of now the famous “Song” titled songs)

Even though she wasn’t there tonight, we still have this picture of how we remember her best….at Mystery Mammal Studios, licking a guitar.

Carissa’s Song – We have a new high-kickin’ ending which is very much on display. The sound ain’t great, but hey, it’s being recorded by a fucking camera.



Here is our one-mic wonder of Carissa’s Song. This “Song” titling thing isn’t an obsession. I can’t stop any time I want. Honest.



I Know It’s Only Love – This is the song that keeps getting pushed back in the schedule. No more!!! It will meet its musical maker on Saturday.



You will have to pardon us for the paucity of pulchritude, in these pictures. Rock and roll isn’t always pretty. Tonight, we proved it.

Luckily, Kent still had alcohol to fall back on.  Literally.

Kent’s new nickname in the band is El Presidente.  Well, that’s what he has demanded we start calling him...or else.

Dong shows off his “Don’t Fuck With Me, Motherfuckers” look. He’s been working on it for quite some time.

Dan is still trying to figure out which is his most photogenic side.

We discovered last night, quite by accident that Jason is, in reality, a demonic drum playing robot from a distant galaxy.

Dan’s forearm-curing meds are just fucking wonderful. Thank you for asking.

It’s harder than you’d think, to resist puncturing someone’s ear drum with the tuning head of your bass guitar.

There’s nothing that puts Dong to sleep quicker than hitting an F# minor. It’s really hampered his career as a musician.

Kent peruses the 75 page, trickily worded, Discount Romance contract.

Shabby Road (6-22-11)

Well, the curse of Discount Romance continues. I was coming out of the gym today and a prick in a Porsche Targa pulled a U-turn and miss smashing into me by inches. A spine-tingling brush with death and insurance companies. Luckily, no trip to the hospital was needed…just one to the liquor store.

The band was almost at full force tonight though, and sounding pretty damn good. (Come home Juan!) Dan is making a dramatic recovery from his Popeye-like forearms and Carissa is in a rental car.

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits (mostly Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Bass) tonight and the pizza from Maria’s went down a treat. (a sponsorship deal would be more than welcome, if you are out their Maria!)

I had my Father’s Day present (a digital camera) clicking away most of the night. The band pretended to be only slightly annoyed. Perhaps on Sunday, I’ll try the video function and really get up their noses.

Tonight we got to four songs.

They Have Laid Me Down – We tried this two ways. At a speed I thought was about right and then at a faster pace. In our unflinching effort to show a band’s birth, we are giving you, the listener both versions. (Did the Beatles ever do this? Well, maybe once with Revolution) You will be able to judge for yourself, since I’m putting both of them up. Your votes and money contributions will be taken into account when we decide which one makes it to the album. This is the slow version.



They Have Laid Me Down – The quicker version. Remember, your dollars could make the difference. If you have a preference, send as much money as you can afford or we would like.
Kent is also responsible for the little fade out bit on the end. I haven’t really faded it out here, but it will be on the album.

I Know It’s Only Love – This is the song we didn’t get to in our last recording session. It is coming along though and there is some nice 12 string work by Kent on this

Trampoline Song – Carissa does some nice vocals pieces on this silly song. We had some trouble capturing the feeling of the song. (especially the chorus) I think we made major progress on it.

Sweet Leaf – This is turning into one of the band’s favorite tunes. They really seem to like the rockers. It does move along nicely. I just hope we can capture this energy in the studio.

“Man, if this was a big, spicy Slim Jim, I’d eat it right now!”

A Tale of Two Rehearsals

Well, it has been an eventful time for Discount Romance. Car accidents, food poisoning and inflamed forearms.

We had two people missing from one rehearsal and 4 people missing from the next. It was so bad, I had to sing! These are hard times indeed. Meanwhile, we have less than three weeks to turn my crappy demos into musical masterpieces. (A daunting task under the best of conditions.)



The first rehearsal was productive. I think one song is played to fast and the other song is played a little too slow. But we are committed to sharing our warts and our beauty marks with the public at large and thus, you will hear both!



First up is the rehearsal where Carissa still had a car.



The Trampoline Song. Some nice 12 string work on this by Kent, but I think it’s a tad slow.





Sweet Leaf - This is certainly spirited and I think it’s going to work really well live, but it’s a tad fast here.





Now we come to the saddest rehearsal in the world. This reminds of me of my other band when I was often forced into vocal duties by the absence of a real singer.



They Have Laid Me Down – This was originally titled, “Dick Cheney Talks to His Daughter”. That’s basically what I imagine this tune to be. (Old Dickey boy, realizing right after death that he’s been a fucking asshole and none of his evil shit was worth it, tries to warn his regrettable daughter from the grave.) I’m singing this an octave lower than Carissa. The guys really do some nice guitar work on this. I’m looking forward to hearing the band do this in the studio.





No One Loves Me – I’m pretty well blowing the top of my head here, off trying to hit this notes.



So onto the next rehearsal, where we hope to have Carissa (in a rental car) and Dan (with brand new forearms) and Jason back.  Come back from Puerto Rico, Juan!

The Demos! #2

Well, our first trip into the studio is over and we’re back at it trying to learn the new songs for our next trip to Mystery Mammal studios, which will be on the 4th of July weekend. We’re doing two straight days, so we need to learn a ton of stuff so we get our money’s worth. (this is absolutely vital)



Along with The Road to Hannah and I Know It’s Only Love, the next songs on the agenda are The Trampoline Song and Sweet Leaf. (yes I’m talking about that kind of sweet leaf) Personally, I’ve never liked the stuff, but I hear there are people out there who do.

We were really flying in the missing man formation for this rehearsal. Juan was in Puerto Rico and Dan was still recovering from his forearm unpleasantries.



The remaining four…which wouldn’t be a bad title for a band, really did a great job despite our singers continuing throat issues. We all have our fingers crossed that good pure living and fifteen minutes of intense prayer every hour on the hour will pull her vocal chords through these trying times.



The unlucky two…also a pretty good name for a band, both missed some excellent Maria’s Pizza and one of Judith’s famous home made salads. A few Bass were consumed and bon ami was clearly in evidence.

The Demos!

The Trampoline Song – This was written a couple of years ago. I’ve always liked it, but then what song you’ve written yourself don’t you like? It’s cute a goofy and I’m glad that Carissa decided to include it on the album.



Sweet Leaf – Another goofy, little song. I have no idea why I wrote it. The muse just drops out of the sky one day and you’re writing a love song to pot, which you don’t even smoke.