Apologies for not having kept in better touch during the last month or so. After the band got together last night and listened to the record in it's completed form, and saw the cd art work (posted by Aaron above), I hope you can forgive us for the little hiatus that we've taken - because it seems to have paid off. Last night we had a chance to listen to the music that we've created for "A Sense of Urgency" in its entirety and it is unexplainable. I feel all excited like we've just won a fight where the odds were stacked against us. I'm struggling to find words to really and effectively express the emotions and feelings that I/we felt last night. We invited the UY family (band members and wives) to have a final listen before we send it off to be pressed on Tuesday. We were able to make final comments and corrections and hear how amazingly far this record has come. It always blows me away to hear a completed song and remember the little moment that created it before it became its completed self. This record challenges what I thought UY would ever accomplish. We started this recording process with a very intentional move towards a rock influenced ska/reggae feel and we made that goal a sweet reality. Additionally, every aspect of this recording process has been improved and magnified. We've taken the punk/ska genre in a direction that is completely our own. I feel like we've finally defined ourselves and created our sound. Enough cannot be said about the mixing and engineering skills of Demitri on this project...the "mental skills" (inside joke). I only hope that we can properly convey through our music the excitement, commitment, and sacrifice that has gone into this record.
With that in mind please, those of you who follow and support UY, keep posted for CD release shows. We have two cd release shows confirmed and one in the works. The very first show, Oct 11th, is going to be at the beloved Coffee Talk in Kaimuki. This is intended for the all ages crowd and is a fairly small venue. The second show, Oct 18th, will be at The Loft in China Town. This is a sweet venue with an underground feel, especially since you have to walk through a bakery in order to get into the venue. We hope to let guest artists participate in our set that night like a keyboard player, rapper, and pro trumpet player. We really want to make this show a great representation of how far we've come. The final show is still in the works. We really want to throw down a show at BYUH in Laie for a few reasons. Primarily, it would be a venue where we could have a great sound system, stage, and audience that we could explain song by song what this record means. It's rare to have a band release an album and then have a show where they explain to you song by song how the ideas came together, what they mean, and how they all work together. It'd be kind of like a behind the album type of show. Also, we'd have those guest artists as well to phatten up the evening as well.
So, please don't think that our online silence has meant UY has died. All it means is that we've really been focusing on making this record as amazing as possible. Hopefully soon you'll all be able to experience the mixture of excited emotions that we all felt last night as you listen to our new record, "A Sense of Urgency."
