Almost Contiguous, But Not Quite Yet

Some things are hard to diminish, even over time, do not lose their luster, and never change.

Like the chance to nostalgically replay what is basically an interactive memory of your childhood when it's not your turn to record, and you're not required to be in the recording room.. And, naming your character in said game with a reference from another nerdy interest. Anytime there's a chance for Princess Zelda to say, "It's up to you to save Hyrule, Han Solo" or Navi to annoyingly chirp "Gandalf, what would Saria say about this?", you must take that fortuitous opportunity.

This all occurred this last weekend; we finished (mostly) what we hard started the weekend before that. We are just coordinated enough to juggle school, work, and our collective schedules to eke out time for such things, and the result of such labors have been enjoyable. Vocals still need to be put down, but, besides that moody section of work, everything else is down. Technical errors were few and far in between, and most everything went smoothly. Smoothly does not mean fast though. Except with Lee and I; we knocked out his entire recording, two guitar tracks for every part he plays, in about 15-20 minutes, even throwing in a little Easter egg, buried in the mix, for Luke to find later.

And, when we were not recording, or running the system, just outside the make-shift recording room is the main area of the BSM. Namely among the things in that place are two large screens with projectors. Almost like a Pavlovian Response, we expeditiously arranged the right wires to plug in a Wii and a PS3, nearly making time not recording better than that of recording.

To all who watched us via our webcam, thank you! Though it may seem voyeuristic and odd to watch us in this capacity, we appreciate each and every viewer. It shows support and interest in the band. Though, it could just mean people are watching us for comedic purposes, prodding and poking fun, akin to a Riff Track. Though, we tend to think it is showing support and interest. It's more comforting that way.

So, getting the thought train back on the right track, new songs are conterminous, and we really want you to hear them. We'll be sure to let you know when they are available for hearing as soon* as we can. They are near.

In other band happenings, last Thursday we were blessed to worship with many of our friends at SFA's BSM. The set list was one of my favorites we have done, and a sentiment that we all shared was vocalized by Luke. It went something to the effect of, "I forgot we were on stage, leading worship. It felt more like we were just singing with them, not for them. It was almost easy to forget they were even there."

Of course, any night were Jon Foreman is covered, piano is played upside down, and the stages are configured in a creative, almost professional looking way, tends to be great, even after the great atmosphere and ambiance. And, I even got to sing on two songs. How about that?!

Once again, thanks to everyone who was there, enabling us to hear the crowd over our loud monitors, sharing a wonderful moment with us. While this whole band thing is fun, and an avenue for our creativeness, nights like that are the real satisfaction, and the reason we do it.

Random S.P. Fact

Super Fans, now is the time to distinguish yourselves from, and above, other "mere fans". So, if you are what is known as a Super Fan, take note. Like we've said before, Something Personal has many "Officials". Like the Official Video Game, the Official Pizza place, and the Official Mascot. Today, we're going to discuss are very important "Official".

The Official Football Team of Something Personal is The Dallas Cowboys, also know as America's Team, and God's Team (the hole in the roof is so "God can watch his team play"). Even at some of our fantasy team's expense, we root for the 'Boys and cheer them forward every time they play. While not quite a religion, it's more than a sports team. It's a family, a following, and the Official Football Team of Something Personal.

Good luck against the Falcons this week, Romo, Ware, Barber, and the rest of the 'Boys.

As always,

JPP

*(Commas and italics can be used to convey pauses and emphasize words and phrases to help convey to the reader how you'd like them to read. This can change the connotation of sentences, and add an extra layer of meaning to what you write. I will sometime knowingly use commas in incorrect fashion just guide the reader in how I would like the sentence to be read. Writing tip #2)

A Treatise on Hype

You may have seen this, or this, or this.

You may have heard this, this, or this.

You may have watched this, maybe this or even this.

But, there was a new masterpiece in the works this very day.

Okay, maybe that was too much hype. Let's try that again

Hey, how was your day? Good. What all did you do? Yeah? That sounds good. What did we do? Well, we planned on recording drums, bass, rhythm guitar, some vocals, etc this afternoon for two of our newest songs. Though we only got to work on one, with heavy hearts, that intense labor was very much worth the time. Not saying this latest recording is a masterpiece, but, it's unequivocally the best recording Something Personal has produced. And, we can tell this even though Jake hasn't laid down the lead guitar tracks, Luke still needs to finish up some of the vocals, and the whole thing E.Q.ed and mixed.

For those of you wondering, the song is "Carry Me", written by our friend and yours, KK Smith. You may have heard it live the very few times we've played it. We are very excited to finish it up and let you all hear it, like a new father, embracing his new child, swathed in a small blanket, walking to and fro his various relatives eager to present the child to everyone.

Once again, maybe too grandiose. But, do expect good things.

This coming weekend we will finish up that song, and hopefully knock out our other new one as well. The visage of our next musical offering, may it be another demo, or full length, or any combination of the two, is starting to appear different, but in a great way.

You may have also seen we had a web cam filming the entire experience. We apologize for any remarks, or unconscious behavior that may have shocked or offended. But, we're glad for all who tuned in. This may feel like spying, or some type of creepery a creeper would do, but, it's actually just another way to support the band. We appreciate all our viewers exponentially more than you know. Once again, maybe too much, but, it's just another brick in the "theme-wall" I'm building. Apparently, so are bad analogies.

Oh, and I think you should know: David Crowder*Band has a robot drummer. Who plays on some songs. Along with their human drummer. Yeah. * B-Wack, the human drummer assembled Steve, the robot drummer. And Steve is really good. And he is a ROBOT.

Random S.P. Fact
Super Fans, now is the time to distinguish yourselves from, and above, other "mere fans". So, if you are what is known as a Super Fan, take note.

Since I'm talking directly to the audience in this post, how about we dive head first into some Something Personal history, friend?
(abridged version)
Our humble beginning is in Center, TX, when Luke Lengl asked Phillip Porterfield to play bass, which Phillip had recently acquired, in a band with him. So, in a rag-tag band, including Phillip's older brother, the band played a few places, named some old, early-high-school-garage-band sounding name. After a few personnel turn-overs, we asked an already good friend of ours, KK Smith, to try play drums with us. So, in August 2004, he came, things clicked, and we went racing from there. Fast forward to 2007; by now Luke has taken over lead singing duties, and we were a guitar player short. Enter the virtuoso, Jake Rogers. Initially leading worship with us at SFA's BSM, we quickly added him to the already illustrious band of Something Personal. Jump again to 2009. After playing bass and guitar with us at the SFA BSM for around a year, Lee Harrison's harmonies and subtle, tasteful rhythm guitar riffs persuaded us to add him in that February. Now, there is Five, a good, solid, prime number.

And there you have it, a brief, nostalgic history of the band. Now you know, Super Fan.

As always,
JPP

*(Notice a series of shorter sentences implies more dramatic statements. Writing tip #1)