Digital vs. Physical Release

Did I mention how serious I was about releasing this puppy on the 20th of March? Well I am! But to do so may require sacrificing a physical format release...for now.

On March 20th, I plan on making the songs available to you all on my website, Reverbnation, Myspace, Facebook and Itunes to name a few. You will have the option of purchasing it this way with a digital booklet that will include the lyrics and all that jazz. However, if you wish to wait or have something tangible as well, I will be working to get the album pressed and packaged and ready for your shelf not too long after. This physical release will have its perks over the digital version so I'd recommend buying it that way. If you want both, the more power to ya!

Anyway, more on that as we approach the deadline. Look for an official, FULL website in the next few weeks as well...(hint: keep an eye on that countdown)

Thanks all! Much love.

Safe Travels, LaCie External Hard Drive

Today I send my trusty hard drive through the USPS to go fetch my What To Keep & Let Go files :) When it returns, I will bring the files that Dave has loaded onto it to a studio down here in SC to mix the record!

Exciting times. I will report more later.

Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald

That'd be much cooler than watching my silly mug. haha Nevertheless, take what you will from my video update!

Everything's In Motion

Writing the next album...

Alyson McKinster and Dan Cooper

Meet my two new back up vocalists. Alyson has been on board for a while but I haven't had a chance to properly introduce her in a post, 'tho I'm sure you have seen her name floating around some blog entries. She is currently featured on both If Not Now Then When and Ask You and has plans on returning to the studio in the coming weeks to lay down some tracks on Bicycle on the Ice and perhaps a couple others. Her voice is a great fit for the songs and I'm very excited about having her as part of the project. She also plays piano on If Not Now Then When so her touch on the song certainly doesn't go without notice. It's brilliant, you'll see.

As for Dan, I met him a while back through Marcin and knew from word of mouth as well as sound clips that he possesses some phenomenal pipes. Naturally, it made sense to have him back me on one of the most difficult and energy-driven songs on the album - In The End. So fortunately, our schedules aligned when I was up this last January and Dan came in and recorded his part in a little over an hour. It, too, sounds amazing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- this album is dripping with talent and these vocalists are no exception. Thank you Alyson and Dan.

R.I.P. Intermission

Even a name change and lyric rewrite couldn't save this song. Intermission, previously Passing Into August, has gone through the ringer a few times in order to maintain its spot on the record. Countless demos, a hook added in and a simplified conclusion aided by Marcin Kuc, weren't enough to make this tune last to the final track list. It's sad for me to abandon any song, especially a veteran like Passing Into August/Intermission (I still remember when POA was thought up back in August of 2003). However, when something doesn't fit and ultimately brings down everything around it, it's time to say goodbye. Intermission ended up feeling much more like a filler piece than it did a contribution to a whole artistic vision. It was a deep breath that kinda left you gagging, not really breathless and lyrically it never was quite strong. A good sign that a song doesn't really work is when you aren't even excited to work on it. All the other songs on the record feel very complete and special to me and I want to protect that, not tarnish it with something that is better left in the "valiant effort" folder. Thanks to Dave, Marcin and Aaron for their work on this song.

POA/Intermission, I say this to you: Thank you for carrying me through to this point and your involvement was not in vain. After all, the negative space in art is just as important. Your absence helps to make the album as strong as it can be and I appreciate the sacrifice. Much love to you and may you find your place somewhere.

**PLEASE NOTE THE UPDATED TRACK LIST ON THE RIGHT SIDE PANEL OF THE BLOG***

The Last Studio Session

The weekend of January 28th, 2011 marked my final day in the studio. Did we finish? Not QUITE but we're close. And the remaining things left to hash out can be executed by the very talented Fat Dave and the remaining back up vocalists. I have Brendon Thomas in New York gearin' up to record some backing tracks for Circles and Alyson McKinster is set to revisit the studio in the next couple of weeks to lay down some vocals for a couple songs. I am hoping that our production is complete by February 20th so as to leave a month wiggle room for mixing, mastering and reproducing of the CD's. The only thing that could pose an issue is finding a studio down here in Columbia that I can afford to mix and master the CD in time for the release. Rest assured I'm going to do everything in my power to stick to this deadline of March 20th.

Check out some of the studio session photos where Dave mastered the keys once again to lay down some sweet sections in Circles. We also had the unique experience of recording back up vocals together at the same time for the song. It sounds, needless to say, quite spectacular what has been done with the song.

Thanks for reading and be sure to keep checking back.

LOL (Lots of Love) Dylan

There Are Your Two Sides To Every Story.

We're sneaking up on the Weston Monster's trail...

A new site has been released, leading us that much closer to unraveling the mysteries of the creature that has been intriguing us for so long. Keep a bookmark on this page as I have a feeling things will be changing on this site very soon.

Lots to come. Check out what looks to be the "coming soon" page for this official Weston Monster website.

Click here.

Broken and Bruised but Still Amused :)

I'm getting better at typing despite my little mishap in Boston this last weekend. Yes, I managed to break my finger. And how, you may ask? Well I was a playful idiot and decided to wrestle my friends in the snow (instigated by me, of course) on the way back from the bars. Apparently, the mix of frigid snow (Marcin kinda-sorta borrowed my gloves) and spirit-induced numbness, will render one oblivious to any serious blows to the body or *cracks* to the bone. After a few "is this frostbite?!" inquiries and a four hour night's sleep, I realized it was pretty badly damaged. It wasn't until I went to Doctors Care on Tuesday that I realized the ring finger on my right hand was in fact broken. Funny, the 45 degree angle of the end of my finger and the black spot on the nail didn't LOOK serious. haha

So anyway, here I am, almost a week later, with a cool little splint hugging the fracture, struggling to thoroughly scrub my hair and doing a sweet left-cross to put a contact lens in my right eye. No easy task! I'm amused and impressed by this self-sticking tape they applied to the brace. (The tech guy said this stuff costs $300 bucks a box. hmmm. Maybe I can sell the three strips he gave me to buy some groceries.)

Boston was great and well worth this fiasco. And if this adventure has taught me one important lesson: Don't Drink & Dive...in the snow.

That is all. Well...until next post of course.