February is upon us and, as some of you know, its Record Production Month. The basic goal is to write and record 10 songs or 35 minutes of music solely in the month of February. Last year I had a go at it, but did start until the last few days and only really got 6 songs written and 4 recorded, which I suppose is a fail. This year I’m taking another swing at it, but I’m starting at the beginning of the month and have recruited 2 of my classmates to join in on the fun. We’ve got 3 songs written and, given that today’s the 2nd, I think we’re in relatively good shape . The group is yet to be named, but I’ll keep you posted.

Hmm what else, oh yes! There are a number of happenings being spoken about on the interweb that could lead one to believe that Mr.Bowie will actually be making a go of it this year. I am currently in the hopeful mindset that Tony Visconti is recording a record for him right now (check out his twitter account). There’s a ton of stuff online if you look around.

The recordings I’m doing for treeline have been turning out quite well. While I haven’t done any proper mixes of the tracks yet, I have been experimenting with a Michael Brauer inspired mix method that is quite challenging and quite powerful. If it works out the aural payoff is definitely worth it.

As far as whats going on with The New Weather Machine, I still working on new songs and sounds. The other day I got a couple of new pieces of gear that are going to have a pretty significant influence on said sounds in very positive way. Especially if you like 1964-1968 british invasion music. hoorah!

It's been a month since my last update, time flies! I've been very busy working on a bunch of new songs and with school. If anyone who really really wanted a copy of the free "November Basement Demos" Cd I was giving out through the Facebook group and didn't get one, I found a few more copies in my travel bag. Email me and a copy is yours. Some of the songs found on the Cd are on the music page and should be up for a month or so.

The tough part of this next album is just keeping focused with a genre. As far as new songs go, they're stylistically all over the board. I've got a good idea of where I want to end up, but I'm also not going to stop myself from working on song that isn't going to fit into that idea so I'm just going with the flow. The coming months will tell which direction it goes.

If you haven't joined already, check out The New Weather Machine Facebook group. I just gave away some free demo Cd's through the group, and will have more exclusive stuff in the future.

I'm trying to add and update a few things on the website including the addition of comments to posts, and updated bio/faq, and a few other things. If you find something that isn't working properly please let me know so I can fix it.

Currently listening to:

Get Yer Ya Ya's Out Remaster - Stones (1969)
Is There Anybody Out There - Pink Floyd (1980-1981)
The Airborne Toxic Event (2008)
Rory Gallagher (1971)

For the last couple weeks I just thought i broke my website, but it turns out that I installed Snow Leopard and forgot to update my website program too. Oh well, its all good now. On to the update:


-Currently listening to Animals, The Mono Beatles Box, and Rory Gallahger (who I’m enjoying quite a lot at the moment)

-So after a string of a few great shows I've decide to not press my cd release show in anticipation of a more planned live album a bit in the future. Not saying that it wont happen, it just wont happen soon.

-Tomorrow I officially start my new recordings. This might yield a short run EP, a couple new songs on the website, or a dent into the next record depending on how everything turns out. Im going to start by knocking down the songs that I think are complete finished as far as writing goes, then move on to the stuff that might need a little work. For any non-writers out there, that is always the trickiest part because you have to pick and finalize the individual parts of the songs, the arrangement, certain words or whole verses, etc and basically decide on the final version of a song (even though you may have a hundred different variations you could use).

Im really genuinely excited for the new sounds and ideas I’m incorporating. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them.

-The show last weekend at Henotic with Pilot Speed was alot of fun. The PA wasn't ideal, but it worked out pretty ok. The band played great and we did quite a few songs the first time as a 3 piece as well as a couple brand new ones. Props to Jesse and the Dandelions (who also played upstairs) for putting on a kick ass show.

till next time...

Its been a couple weeks, whats new? Hmm the other day I ruptured something in my neck causing both what the doctor likened to a “bad chiropractic adjustment”, as well as extreme pain. That was pretty cool, well it is if I recover soon. Im getting sick of walking like a robot(the bad kind), not turning my neck, and sitting up straight. Oh well, the sleeping for 20 hours isnt so bad for now.

Just prior to the injury, I managed to complete the mixes the upcoming instrumental album. This is not a New Weather Machine, but a side project I am part of. The record is 10 tracks of sort of jazz, sort of rock, jam music. I will have it available on the site when its released, there still is a lot of papers and packaging to figure out so it will be at least a few(6) weeks.

The writing and song development is going well for the next Weather Machine album. Expect some new sounds. Im looking at having an EP but ideally an LP done by November. I am currently planning on recording with a least a couple other people, schedule permitting. My new distressor is sitting and waiting for me to overuse it.

Well, time for more to take some more T3’s and dream about and the fantastic voyages David Bowie and I could go on together.

Last night I assembled a small group of people who have a secret love for 80’s new wave pop music and we recorded a very tasty rendition of modern english’s ill melt with you. thanks to tyson, taylor, and clayton for making this diet pepsi moment possible.

As far as new music goes, still working on new songs for the next record and doing some pre production stuff so i can really nail the sounds im looking for when the time comes. im just about finished the mixes for the live album, and also just about finished the mixes for an instrumental cd im working on with a couple of guys from around town.

until next time

June has been a rather interesting month. For some reason when you make plans to get certain things done, life has a way of interrupting and replacing. Hmm notable things in June.....

We’ll the most fun and disappointing was my crazy week writing and recording a theme song for a new animated tv series for Marvel’s Avengers. Unfortunately for me my song did not get selected for a very silly and fixable reason, but thats life. You can judge for yourself, the song should be posted on the music page by the time anyone reads this. **Please note that I had lyrical and content guidelines to follow!!** There are some cheesy moments, but really, its for a cartoon for 35 year olds and the song is supposed to sound like the foo fighters, ac/dc, and led zeppelin. hmm

Ive been working on 3 particular songs that will definitely be on the next album, which hopefully will be sometime before the end of the year, maybe early fall if im lucky.

Im also finishing up the mixes on an instrumental album that im part of, which should be released sometime in the near future. Ill have more details as it approaches.

dont forget to wear sunscreen and listen to your fair share of david bowie. actually this week you can have a pass to listen to emotional rescue a few times too.

jon

normally i wouldnt make a post about virtually nothing, but this week has been pretty decent so far. I also know that there are a few people checking the site for something new to read, so you know who you are - heres something new to read(i also put up some new pictures for you)!. the prospect of my music in movie and tv placement has surfaced again and its kind of fun and exciting. i am excited about at least 4 of the new songs im working on for the next album. not saying that there are only 4 good songs, but there are probably only 4 truly finished songs. its really just been a very positive week.

im hoping to have a new demo or two up in the next couple of weeks as well. The songs im working on are..hmmmm maybe more singular than plural? does that make sense? to fill my desire of not redoing what i have done already, im trying something totally different as far as song writing goes, which i hope will work out for the best for someone at least.

before my late night ranting gets too ridiculous, im going to bed.

jon

So now that the first album is done, boxes of discs pressed, interweb littered, and cd release party complete - whats next. Thats a good question, a question ive been thinking about for the last couple months. Lets start with start with a short recap.

-after “29 Months” my debut album was completed. as planned I was able to play all of the instruments, write all the songs, mix and produce it, and somehow figure out how to pay for the replication and mastering.
-the record was well received, ive managed to get it in the hands of a healthy number of fans both locally and abroad via the internet with regrettably minimal promotion
-the cd release party was a success, the band did a great job of presenting the album material live. it was a lot of fun and very gratifying
-during the month of february i took part in the rpm challenge(make an album in the month) and though my best efforts were put forward in the last 10 days, i did not complete it.
-ive been writing a fair bit lately and have recorded a few new songs - some of which im excited about
-found 2 collections of bowie material that i had never heard from 64-66

that about sums up the last few months for me as awesome or anti-awesome as it sounds.

however the question remains, what do i do now? i have a few different options for consideration. i can:

-pursue promotion and perform of the “The New Weather Machine” album solo or with a band
-put effort into some visual arts im interested in, including photography, painting, video etc
-put a legitimate band together, work on new material, and play some gigs
-record another album by myself
-record another album with other other musicians but not in a typical band format
-listen to david bowie until im “defecating ecstasy” - (we are the dead - 1974)
-do some dennis gigs
-stay/remain in isolation and read books
-do nothing at all

of course im always open to suggestions, and my short attention span will probably cause me to change what im doing 4 or 5 times before something sticks, but i do know that i a) dont want to repeat myself and b) improve on what i have done. Im not sure what exactly that is but im sure i know what it isnt. will keep you posted

jon

As of today the album is official available on itunes for download and on amazon.com for download and physical purchase. If you havent picked up a copy yet this is the easiest way yet of getting one.

A big thank you to everyone who has shown their support and bought a copy of the album! Then initial response has been really good and in the next couple weeks there will be an article in the Lethbridge Herald about myself and the album.

Speaking of the album, it is now available to purchase in physical and digital formats it can be purchased at

http://cdbaby.com/cd/newweathermachine

it will also slowly trick out on amazon mp3, itunes and the like.

So after 2 and a half years The New Weather Machine album is finish and is now available. Starting today it can be purchased for $12 from gigs and my web store. Within the next couple of weeks it will also be available at a few local shops as well as online from iTunes, Amazon, etc.

The first track, Sink Like A Stone, is now available to listen to on the music page to listen to.

The official cd release show will be tentatively be held on January 30th at the Slice.

Enjoy!

So the album is finally finished. It was mastered last week and after some mastering revisions the music is ready to go. I am still deciding on the album artwork however so the final record still a couple weeks off.

I think its amazing how different it turned out as a complete piece that what i had though initially, or even than what I thought 2 weeks ago. There is only one song left from the original batch i was going to use. There are 11 tracks in total, several of which were added, written, and/or recorded in the last couple days of completion. Nobody has heard it except for me and the mastering engineer so i am excited to get some feedback. Stay tuned - brand new music and more info in the coming days.....

Jon

So this will probably be the real last pre album update. I am diligently working to put the finishing touches on everything, adjusting the mixes and changes things just for the hell of it. I have yet to decide on the final track list, but there will be 10 songs, maybe an extra one or two if it swings that way. I ended up deciding on recycled paper digipaks for the physical copies and an excellent mastering studio in toronto for the mastering.

Ideally i will have some sort of cd release party at the end of november or early december depending on a whole pile of different factors(including assembling a band :p) but im not going to start getting into that for a few more weeks.

Jon

ps no one is going to get upset if you listen to a david bowie record right now

So I think this may be the last pre-completion album update. So my finger has finally recovered from its sliced and gashed state, and I just have 2 little lead guitar tracks and a vocal to do and then the album will be completed. All the tracks but one have been mixed and are ready to go. I am figuring out what I want to do as far as album art goes, it’s a lot more difficult than I was anticipating. The record has changed drastically since its original inception. I think only a song or two are still remaining from the original track list. I had some indirect advice from Brian Eno which led me to let the project go in a different direction than I had planned - for better or worse i suppose.

I have some stuff to figure out about mastering and replication, and then theoretically I should have the album for sale on the website.(As Im writing this an 80 year old Chuck Berry is playing on Leno, awesome!!). As a bonus Ive added a new beatles song to the music page. I should note that all the beatles songs are recorded one take, no fixing, barely mixing, so you get what you pay for. haha

Anyway more info later

So Christmas is finally over. All kinds of things have been exchanged, the economy has been stirred, another Bee Gees Greatest Hits album was released.... I hope everyones Christmas was a safe and enjoyable time. If you didnt get what you wanted for Christmas, just remember David Bowie is playing at coachella in 2008, and thats a better present than anyone could possibly buy you.



My new website, though hideous, is now stable. I have the technology. The album, what of the album? I wont bother going into boring details, but i have a couple songs to do vocals on, a few songs to mix, and one little piece to do from the beginning, and the theoretically i should be finished. I know it may be tough to believe but i do actually have a bunch of tracks finished and mixed and everything. no, really

I did a show a couple weeks ago with a pseudo band called Dennis. I had a great time and perhaps in the coming months we will do another gig. If we decide to do a bowie theme maybe ill put some video up for those out of area or unable to attend.

Ive been doing a bit of writing lately, and although ive been going out of my way not write to until im finished with this current batch of songs, it exciting to hear new things and different sounds.

Well its late and i should probably go to sleep at some point - so im off put on my inside copy of Diamond Dogs.

Jon

Another much needed update today. Lately I have had a hard time believing how fast time passes. In the last year and a halfish I have recorded three different versions of the album, and am working on the fourth version, yet it seems like I started not that long ago. Unfortunately I didn’t but I am still trucking away at it. I hope it is worth the wait for anyone who cares to listen and worth the effort for me personally.

Well version 4 is starting to sound like the one that will eventually be heard by the public, for better or for worse i need to finish this project and move on to another. As of today and just judging from the drums, it sounds more like Led Zeppelin than the Stones if that means anything. Ideally it will sound more like me than Led Zeppelin when im done.

For better or worse ive decided to nix the inclusion other musicians for this current incarnation. I hate having people come into to record and do all these great musical things only to scrap the track and do it again. Ive also decided that im going to be playing here and there acoustically in the near future instead of trying to do the whole band thing until the record is done. As far as Red Rock Rebellion goes, I would classify the group as “in limbo”, not because of personal issues or anything of that sort, but the group has lost interest in playing covers. The gigs have played recently are probably the best we have done as a three piece, but they are few and far between. After working primarily by myself for the last while, im starting to miss the traditional sitting in the garage with real people hacking through songs. It really is the best part of playing music. I wish to return to that as soon as possible.

Just for the hell of it im going to make my semi-annual album release prediction how about October 31st? Wouldnt that be frightening?

Jon

Oh boy, its been a very long time since I’ve made an update to the site. I got an email the other day that got me thinking about making an update to the site. Im not going to explain much, but heres a status report.

At least half of the material i initially planned for this record has been replaced for one reason or another. The focus and lyrical content of the album has shifted. I now have around 5 hours of material that i have recorded in the last year for this project. I have a title and basic art design figured out. Because of the journal entry dates im realizing that The New Weather Machine began official existence on april 20th of last year, and would very much like to be started on another record before that time this year.

I hope that helps, i promise i will have a significant update soon.

Jon

Well, the short answer is no. I didn’t even get close to what i needed by my deadline, but im also not behind on my time table. Curious? I had allotted time for both tracking and mixing - and instead of doing all the tracking, then all the mixing, ive been doing both to give my self a break on one task or another.

Anyway so right now im looking at the beginning of august to have the finished product in hand. I continually underestimate the sheer amount of time and work(and money!) that goes into a project like this. The worst part is, as soon as im done im most certainly starting on another one, a labour of love i suppose. I dont understand why bands take 5 years to release a record. We have the technology.

Alright, so where was I? I promised a real post right? Well here ya go.

I wasnt able to get as much done as I had hoped(or anticipated for that matter) but as of today 2 songs are completely tracked, 2 other songs are about 80% tracked, and 2 songs are 50% tracked. I am hoping to put a tour together for the fall and in order for that to have a possibility of happening I need to have everything tracked by friday and all the necessary stars would need to align, but it can happen. A lot of work that is, but it can still happen. A couple of the remaining songs will be difficult to do, and the others hopefully wont be too difficult.

My other band played a festival this weekend and it was pretty awesome. Huge pro stage and production from some company out of Cranbrook, they did an exceptional job of making our noise sound like a proper band.

Im really happy with how the finished tracks are turning out, with the addition of other influences on the music in the form of real drummers and bass players, the songs are really taking form. I think one of the most important things you can have while writing songs is an open mind. Just because you wrote a song one way, doesnt mean you cant change it later. It may sound awkward at first because youre not used to it, but a little time can provide you with new perspectives on old things. That sounds like a fortune cookie. I love cookies.

I do however know what songs will be making an appearance on the still untitled album. Though the songs, and the names of the songs may change, the current tracklist is as follows:

Wind & Wildfire(working title)
Leave The City
Just a Little Longer
Straight Outta Hell
No Light
On The Rise Pt.1
I Am The Tree
What Do You Wanna Do Now?
Black Mistress
Meet Me In The Morning
On The Rise Pt.2

Currently the total running time is an estimated 47 minutes. I have been trimming the fat in order to meet the ideal album time of 42-45 minutes. So far this has been an excellent learning experience for the next album - and like everything else in life, it takes far longer than expected. I am extremely determined to make my tracking dead line of friday june 30th. That will give me a week or so to mix the album, usually it would take slightly longer, but i have gone extra mile while recording to get the source sounds as good as I possibly can, which make the mixing process much more painless. I have done the best I can to create the most with what I have(which isnt much). After Im done recording and have a little more time Ill provide some picture of my “”studio” and gear.

For me,the last few months have been a highly creative period, and because of the ‘concept’ nature of the project I have a lot of material I have written that I cant, or am not using for one reason or another. The 30ish unused songs will make doing the next album easier. Some pure crap, some real gems. I guess that only time can tell. lol maybe im getting ahead of my self just a little.

Anyway, if I can get it all done, friday night we’re going to have a celebration at soundgarden with the chevelles. If it doesnt get done we’re(well I am at least) going to drink away my loss of a tour at soundgarden with the chevelles. Either way somebody wins.

Finally the tracks are starting to be recorded. So far the bed tracks to 4 songs have been recorded and I have been working on them as much as I can. Im pretty happy with some of the guitar tones ive been achiving.

Anyway, I have another session with a drummer tomorrow as well as friday. Im hoping to have all the bed tracks finished by sunday and everything recorded and in the mixing process by late next week. I have to keep this short so ill post again on the weekend with more in depth details.

Dont forget this friday The New Weather Machine will be performing at The Slice Bar and Grill. Band members include Jason Shultchen and Brad Brower.

Unfortunately due to a few foreseen and unforeseen event the recording has been pushed back. Fortunately one of the things delaying the album is a string of new songs that I think fit well in context to the rest of the record I have planned. Included is a first for me, a power ballad of sorts. Well maybe its not a power ballad but its got a couple of the cheesy and necessary elements. I didnt really plan on it, but it is what it is. lol . It can be found for a short time on the Rock and Roll page. I also had the opportunity to re-write bits of a few tunes that i was unhappy with.

Primarily the delay comes from a few other things though, including my amp giving out on me, work, and some other personal things.

Anyway, the end result is a handful of new tunes and some new demos. Originally I planned for 40ish minutes of material but from the looks of it it will be more like 60 or 70. The amount of songs in the pool is growing faster than i can work, and im not looking forward to have to pick out the final tracklist, but eventually I have to say “when”. Maybe I could do a double album.............


Dont forget Saturday May 12th I will be performing an acoustic set in support of Red Wine Smile at Tommy G’s Pub in Lethbridge.

So I’ve whittled down my song pool to 16 songs, of which 12-14 will be used on the record. Recording will begin early next week. Now that the songs have all been recorded and demo’d in some form, tracking everything should only take a week or so(less any revisions). Im anticipating mixing also take a good solid week, depending on what comes up on the schedule. I’ve chosen a mastering house to master the album, which has roughly a 5 day turnaround, as well as a CD duplication house with a 2 week turnaround. So right now we’re looking at 3 weeks for recording and probably another 2 or 3 weeks for post production, which puts the record out roughly at the beginning of June.

Also on Saturday May 13th, I will be performing a solo acoustic set in support of Red Wine Smile at Tommy G’s Pub. I will, in some form, be playing a selection of songs that will be featured on the album.

In the next few days or so I will also be adding some video to the site.

Cheers

Well here we begin. Officially my new project The New Weather Machine is a go. I’ll bring anyone who cares up to speed.

-Im working on a mildly ambitious concept album
-In the last 3 months or so Ive written roughly 30 songs for the project and have demo’d about a third of them
-The album will be 40-45 minutes long
-I will be doing as much as I feel comfortable with for the project including all the writing, mixing, and producing
-Touring and live performances of the album will happen at some point, right now its impossible to tell when - but sometime after the release of the record
-The album will be released sometime before the fall(sooner rather than later)

I guess that about sums up the current state of the project and the “band”. I thank you for checking out the site and the music, and hope you’ll stay tuned.

Cheers,

Jon