GOD FORBID’S DALLAS COYLE OFFERS UPDATE ON NEW ALBUM
What’s up party peoples? I just got back from LA after finishing up the vocals for the new album. After hearing this record for almost a year now I can say I’m tired of it and excited for it at the same time. Is that possible?
We worked on the vocals for a month when we thought it would take two weeks. This has been the M.O. with this record. The label is pissed off because we didn’t meet certain deadlines, we’re pissed because the person who was supposed to mix it pulled out on us last minute. In all honesty, we deserved it because we did the same thing to him when we couldn’t finish up everything before the Death Angel tour. The tit for tat was well deserved. Karma.
With a ridiculously saturated fall schedule it may be a blessing. Metallica, Trivium, All That Remains, Mastodon, Gojira, Dragon Force, etc, etc. Would you want to put out a record with all of those records coming out too? We seem to be a band that gets lost in a shuffle if our timing is shit.
This recording process has been the most excruciating for all of us. Recording fucking sucks. One reason it sucks is because once it’s done it’s out there forever. It’s like the final seconds of a tied game and a player has to make the winning shot. You either hit it or you don’t. The second reason is we can’t make a living while working on a record. Many people think bands get paid to record when in reality we’re not getting paid when we’re working on the record. Usually we have a budget that involves monthly bills for each member but since we ran over time and budget we were pretty much in LA for a month with no income coming in. So right now as I write this my bank account is shot to shit and I’m looking for some consultation opportunities because I have to play catch up. It’s a constant game of catch up really. All life is if you think about it.
Unless you are fortunate enough to make enough money to save while living, it seems like we are constantly looking over our shoulder at the next financial hurdle. When I worked a real job, I lived week to week. Now I live money increment to money increment. Unless we’re on the road we don’t see money week to week. It’s here and there and it can fuck with your head.
Making this record has severely fucked with my head. When you have to create every day for 8 to 12 hours a day it can really mush things in your brain. I wasn’t able to write scripts, work on other music or even think while we were doing these vocals. I wanted to make this record the best it could be and for the first time ever in our career I’m not sure we have succeeded. Before, I knew it was the best! Now, I don’t think about it. Expectations can make a good thing dog shit. There are always people who like your last album more than the new one. There are so many people who say ‘Determination’ is the shit then they don’t like ‘Gone Forever’ and then they love ‘Constitution’. How are we supposed to know?
We’ve finished vocals but the process isn’t over. We still haven’t mixed or mastered the record. We haven’t solidified all of the artwork. For me, the record isn’t done till you see the whole package. In one sense it’s very sad because the I-Pod generation doesn’t really get that. As a musician the process is very personal and seeing the final product is like seeing your baby for the first time. There’s the release date, the video, the press, the reviews — It’s such a process and once you’ve been through it a bunch it can get to you. I’m happy I have some time to chill out and get my post-album shit going.
Making records is difficult and that’s why people should buy them. A lot of bands break up because they find it difficult to work in the studio. It’s a stressful fucking place because there is so much riding on it. Labels, managers and agents all get paid off the blood and sweat of the musicians toiling over their next ‘opus’ or whatever they call it.
If you any of you are in any bands I’d like to read your best or worst studio experiences. If you’re friends with a band I’d like to hear your experiences when you visit them in the studio. I’m sure there are some funny breakdowns and fights when emotions get into it! They always do.
Keep it Real.
