Thanks to all those who made it out to the "Days From Evil" CD Release Party last Friday. It really means a lot to us to see our Friends and Fans brave the strange weather. Jess informed me that the puce-colored sky was conjured up by the Dark Lord herself, and those of you coming to the show would be spared, and would not perish in a burst of purple lightning.

The party was great fun, and those who missed it...missed it. For the first time ever we had a merch table with real merch on it! (Thanks Xtna!) The hard copy of Days From Evil was there in all its long-awaited, hard-earned, shrink-wrapped glory. (Thanks Tim!) Band buttons too! (Thanks Karrie!)

Fortunately, Jagged Spiral was there too, somehow managing to mix loud music with theatre; both comic and tragic. Colin's brand-new guitar made it's first public appearance. Josh got into a fight with his own drum set, and I poured a half a pitcher of beer over myself and jumped into the boy's moshpit with my bass. (Yes, there was a girl's moshpit too.) Like I said, if you missed it, you missed it.

Josh, Colin and myself would like to publicly thank all the people who made the CD Release party a big success:

Uber-Thanks go to Josh at Club Underground (no relation to Josh from Jagged Spiral) for having us out and running the soundboard.

Thanks to SBI for taking the "sober slot" and playing first to warm up the room. Thanks for firing up the moshpit, and for the pitcher of beer, some of which I actually got in my mouth....

Thanks to Sick Machine for coming down from St Cloud to rock out with us! I picked up their new CD "Ready To Burn" and you should too, check out the single "Black Out Sunday" on their Myspace Page...

Thanks to Something To Fear for taking the fourth shift and closing out the night with some wicked, double-female-fronted metal! You did a fantastic job, and we look forward to seeing/playing with you again!

Special thanks to Xtna for putting together the merch table and sign, and to Jess for helping her keep it running through the event!

Thanks to Jeremy for acting as the human "meat shield" between the boys and girls mosh pits! Who knows what might have happened if they had mixed...? Combined with Jagged Spiral's music, it's probably better that we didn't find out, at least until we can look over our liability insurance contract...

Finally, thanks to all the people who came to the show: Nancy, Sarah, Jess, Xtna, Jim, Reid, Denise, Karrie, Teresa, Boog, Tara, Dan, Tim, Jeremy, Lisa, and many more who came out to support the Spiral! You people get the Jagged Spiral Seal of Approval!

-Zero

Labels: Concert, Days From Evil, Jagged Live

This one from PerfectPorridge.com

http://www.perfectporridge.com/2008/07/10/jagged-spiral-days-from-evil-cd-release-party-july-11/

...and I quote, "With creeping guitar riffs, crunchy bass and haunting vocals that whisper fear into your soul, this album pretty much gives me piss-myself nightmares."

Mission Accomplished.

-Z

Labels: Days From Evil, Feedback

Micheal Metzger is my new hero. His review of "Days From Evil" is here:

http://www.minnpost.com/michaelmetzger/2008/07/10/2514/jagged_spirals_bone-chilling_descent_into_northern_rock

I think I've read it about thirty times now.

-Z

Labels: Days From Evil, Feedback

Check out this link for the very first review of "Days From Evil".

-C

Labels: Days From Evil, Feedback

The CDs have been placed on order, and three years of hard work are about to pay off. We are excited to announce that Jagged Spiral's debut masterwork, "Days From Evil" will be available in CD form on 11 July 2008!

"Days From Evil" is a concept album which tells the story of a hero confronting monsters only he can see. The music covers a wide range of genres, including Gothic Hard Rock, Acoustic Ballads, and Majestic Epic Metal. Much of the music on "Days From Evil" was also used by Jagged Spiral in the movie score for the local vampire movie "Pray For Daylight" from Stone Soup Films.

Ha, and my guidance councilor said I'd never accomplish anything! Now he owes me five bucks! Not surprisingly, that's the same price as admission to the upcoming Days From Evil CD Release Party! For the price of 1.25 gallons of gas, (which won't even get you halfway up to the lake for the 4th of July,) you can experience an entire evening of devastating music, as Jagged Spiral takes the stage at Club Underground on Friday, July 11th, to celebrate the release of our new CD.

Our live show will contain some stripped-down selections from "Days From Evil", (Sorry, no acoustic guitars and no string orchestras!) and plenty of new material, all of it dark metallic rock fueled by adrenaline and Jag-Bombs. Bring earplugs.

Details:
Friday, 11 July 2008 - Doors at 9PM, - Music at 9:30
Club Underground - 355 Monroe St, Mpls MN
21+ (Bring ID!) - Cover $5

The Days From Evil CD will be available for purchase at the show for $8. All proceeds from the sale of the CD will go towards the following:

• Josh's Red Bull addiction


• Fines from the City of Minneapolis for 'disturbing the peace'


• The massive debt we ran up during the three years it took us to get this project finished

Also, we have some very special guests joining us for the event: S.B.I., Sick Machine and Something To Fear (who just got done kicking tail at the Flight of the Valkyries festival!) so come out and celebrate with us!

-Jagged Spiral

PS: If you know anyone who likes loud guitars, please pass the message along! Share the Spiral!

PS/PS: You are receiving this message because you've been identified as a decent human being with impeccable taste in music. If that isn't the case, and you want to be taken off the Jagged Spiral mailing list, just say so! Simply reply to this message with "Your Music is an Abomination! I Demand by all that is Good and Right in the World that you Remove Me From This Accursed Jagged Spiral Mailing List!" in the subject line, or something like that...

Labels: Concert, Days From Evil, Jagged Live

I really can't feel any sense of completion or accomplishment with Days From Evil until 1) I hold the physical, shrinkwrapped CD in my hand, and 2) we celebrate the CD with an Release Party. Thankfully, those things are coming to fruition. Very soon, the order will be placed for CD copies of 'Days From Evil'. Almost three years of effort are drawing to their long-overdue conclusion.

Promotional copies of the disk are finished, (sans the insert booklet). Just seeing the physical CD with printing on it has made me quite happy. Now, I'm just working on the insert artwork, which should be done this weekend, and the order can be placed next week.

As I mentioned previously, the "Days From Evil" CD Release party has been booked at Club Underground for 11 July 2008. Three other bands will be there to help us celebrate: S.B.I., Sick Machine, and Something To Fear. Jagged Spiral has gone through a significant upgrade in gear since our last live set, and we're focusing on pulling together a nice, tight, and loud show. Bring earplugs.

I've completed the press release, about the event, which you can check out here:
http://www.jaggedspiral.com/forms/dfe1.pdf and I've distributed it (with a copy of the CD) to all the usual suspects. With any luck, we can expect some honest and objective reviews of "Days From Evil". If we're really lucky, we might even get an interview offer, or other press coverage.

Even if we don't move a single copy of the CD, even if the critics slaughter it, even if no one comes to the release party, we will finally have payback for three years of hard work.

-Z

Labels: Concert, Days From Evil, Jagged Live, Press Release

For Immediate Release:

Minneapolis 'Northern Rock' band Jagged Spiral celebrate the release of their debut album, "Days From Evil" (Miku Darkly Productions).

The "Days From Evil" CD Release Party will be held at Club Underground on Friday, July 11th, 2008. Joining them will be local bands S.B.I., Sick Machine, and Something to Fear.

Music starts at 9PM, the show is 21+, cover is $5.

More details as we get them...

-Z

Labels: Concert, Days From Evil, Jagged Live, Press Release

[For Immediate Release]
It seems that Jagged Spiral's marketing strategy is gaining traction among the band's more famous peers.

Not just another Heavy Rock/Metal band from Minneapolis, Jagged Spiral (http://www.jaggedspiral.com/) smoldered in obscurity until their debut release in 2007 - Days From Evil. The album was every bit as avant-garde and eclectic as its method of its distribution. Released by label Miku Darkly under Creative Commons licensing, Days From Evil is free to download from their website, free to copy, and free to distribute. A Donation link on their website allows fans to contribute any price they see fit for the music. (They call it a "Virtual Tip Jar").

Other groups, notibly Radiohead and Atmosphere made their albums available for free download, although the Radiohead downloads were removed from the band's website once the CD was released. [Editor's Note: Atmosphere's album Strictly Leakage is still available here]

Now, Audioholics.com has announced that Trent Reznor, primary songwriter and frontman for Nine Inch Nails and historically a Trend Setter in marketing, has decided to follow a similar formula with the new release of "Ghosts I-IV". The first nine tracks from the album are available for free, thanks to Creative Commons licensing. The entire album spans an impressive 36 tracks of instrumental-only work. The remaining tracks of the album are available for purchase in a variety of formats, including progressively more expensive options, including a $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Package, of which only 2500 were made...and have already sold out.

While Jagged Spiral could not be reached for comment, the band's manager, Sugar, was more than happy to expand on the decision to release music for free:

"It just seemed like the obvious choice for an independent artist starting out in today's market. When a band like Jagged Spiral is just starting out, they have a limited fan base. If they released their recordings in the traditional model, they would have the traditional results - they would sell a couple copies, and they wouldn't likely make enough to cover the cost of production. Trent Reznor has a large enough fan base that he can give away a teaser, and still make profit on the upsell.

There's always a compromise between monetary gain and distribution. Higher cost equals limited distribution, lower cost equals larger distribution, No Cost equals unlimited distribution. When you're starting out, it makes more sense to choose fame over fortune. Now, people around the world are sharing the songs off Days From Evil through bittorrent, limewire, e-mail and blog postings. And instead of feeling like criminals, they can feel that they are helping the band out. That's not a 'Street Team' that's a 'World Team' working for them 24x7.

The money can come later, once you've proven yourself. Crack dealers use the same method, and it works if the product is addictive. Trent Reznor is doing it right now. The first nine tracks off Ghosts are free, and if you like what you hear, and you want more, you'll pay for it."

While giving art away for free is not a new idea, and neither is Creative Commons licensing, Jagged Spiral's idea of allowing the audience to pay them via donations through their website is. Sugar explains:

"Having a method for fans to donate money directly to the artist makes them feel involved in the process; it creates a loop between the artist and fans. The fans provide the resources for the artist to continue, the artist converts the resources into art for the fans. Marillion has this business model mastered. They funded their entire last album production costs off fan pre-orders ,and they're doing it again this year. They're working directly for the fans. It's the internet version of the musician on the street corner with their guitar case open."


Bands like Jagged Spiral and Nine Inch Nails giving music away for free not only fueled the buzz surrounding their releases, but also fueled the fire between the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the entire independent artist movement.

"We gave them years to come up with something, and you can't possibly feel sorry for them. The RIAA hung themselves every day that they resisted the internet. They pulled the same bullshit when Dolby "C" and HX-Pro noise reduction got built into tape decks. It's too late for them now, but they struggle to keep afloat with DRM infected songs on I-Tunes. Bands like Jagged Spiral and Nine Inch Nails are showing the rest of the world how the new system works. The record industry has just been outsourced by the internet."

Labels: Days From Evil, Press Release

If you click over to the merch page, you will find a new wallpaper has been added! My friend James created this demon-skull for us, exclusively for the Days From Evil album cover. James also designed the Jagged Spiral Logo based off the band name, the triangular version you see in the uppper-left corner of this website.

I tossed James a pre-production copy of Days From Evil, and explained the concept in a nutshell; a person being chased by some kind of demon, or monster. The band discussed what we wanted from the cover art; something dark and sinister, to fit the tone of the album. Then we set James loose, and he came back to us with a handful of sketched-out ideas. The band mused over the sketches, and with a little direction ("Horns," we agreed, "It has to have horns, probably curly ones, like a ram or something...") he came back with this amazingly rendered demon skull.

So the cover for Days From Evil is finished, and the band is laying out the liner notes and credits. Once that's done, it's off to the printers. Of course the art will be available on jaggedspiral.com for free download.

Our thanks to James for the fantastic work on both the band logo, and the Days From Evil album cover. (...and I'm not supposed to tell you that he's already concocted a rough layout for the next Jagged Spiral album, so I won't.) But, if you need any graphics work done, website programming, or anything set up to send to a professional printer, James doesn't mind a little moonlighting here and there, so give him a yell at jstuartj@jstuartj.com.

Labels: Days From Evil, Pix, Website Update

"The Last Song" is up on the Merch Page. Merry Christmas.

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil, Website Update

As 2007 draws to a close, and the crushing grip of December threatens to squish Minneapolis into a frozen oblivion, Jagged Spiral comes to the rescue, by releasing the second-to-the-last song from Days From Evil! "I Am Death" has now been uploaded to the merch page.

You should know the drill by now: download and share the hate; all the songs off Days From Evil are free to download and share. In fact, if you are looking for a really cheap Christmas gift, feel free to download and burn the first 8 songs from Days From Evil to a CD and give it away for Christmas! Then, take the cash you would have spent on a gift, and use it for yourself! Because that's what (American) Christmas is all about; yourself!

And hey, if ever a song was written to be played around the Christmas Dinner Table, it's "I Am Death". This song will scare your parents, small children, and kill small animals. In fact, "I Am Death" has the same biological effects on organic material as ethyl-diisopropylaminoethyl-methylphosphonothiolate. So enjoy!

-Zer0

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil, Website Update

I'm putting this one out a little early, since like you, I will be at Stasiu's tonight for Jagged Spiral's first show.

Till then, enjoy "Not Enough Bullets". It's a simple song, and should easily replace "Smoke On The Water" as the first song you figure out on the guitar by yourself.

Next week, "I Am Death" will be released, followed by "The Last Song" the week after that. Artwork is nearly finished for Days From Evil, and will be available for download from the website. Come to the show tonight, and we might have some roughs printed.

Hope to see you-all at Stasiu's tonight. Don't have a time locked in yet, could be as early as 10 or as late as midnight. If you come down to see us, I promise we will play "Not Enough Bullets" for you.

-Zero

Labels: Concert, Days From Evil, Website Update

As forewarned, the latest free single from "Days From Evil" is now available. Click over to the merch page to hear 'Lament (Part ii)'. Yet another mood swing on the Jagged Spiral Playground, this song was written as an ode to Saveau, a friend of the band, and contains vocals from our very own Hometown Heroine, the Uncanny Cassie Banning!

Listen up and stop back for the next three songs, available over the next three weeks of December!

-Zero

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil, Website Update

The fifth song from "Days From Evil" is now available for download on our merch page. It's called "Let It Out". Like all the others, it is completely free, so check it out, and if you like it, spread the word.

Let It Out was one of the few tracks to have lyrics finished before the vampire movie "Pray For Daylight" was finished (the others that I remember being "Not Enough Bullets" and "I Am Death") An abbreviated version of "Let It Out" was used for the two trailers of the movie, the only vocals retained were the "Let It Out" grunts I did which gave the song its name.

For lyrics and more background info on "Let It Out" or any of the songs from "Days From Evil" check out this page.

-Zero

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil

"Run" is the fourth song from the "Days From Evil" album. You can go to our merch page to download it for free, along with the first three songs.

Believe it or not this song was finished on 26 Jan 2006, almost 2 years ago. For a long time it was called "Plung" which was the name of a sound effect loop that the song was based around. The sound effect was later removed, and the song was then titled "Creature Finds the Window". Later verse writing led to the chant "Run!" which became an obvious name for the song.

At one point we had agreed that when we played together live, Run was our most 'accurate' sounding song, meaning when we played it live it sounded the most like it did on the record. We weren't particularly proud or embarrassed about this fact.

Interesting that we should be practicing this very song tonight, on the night of it's release to the internet. Why, you ask? I'll tell you...later.

In the meantime, check out Run and the other songs, and let us know what you think. Then check back each week until the end of the year, and we will have plenty more audio for you.

-Zero

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil

The next piece to the Days From Evil puzzle is now available on the merch page. "Hallowed Ground" is a significant mood swing away from the last track, "Monsters".

If you want the lyrics for Hallowed Ground, or if you want to know more about the making of any tracks on Days From Evil, go check out the Days From Evil album page.

If you have kept up with the free music downloads we have made available so far, we would love to hear your comments, criticisms or any feedback you have about the album. Shoot me an e-mail at conradzero at gmail dot com.

The next track we will release is called "Run" and will be available on 21 Nov 2007 (Thanksgiving Eve).

-Z

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil

On Saturday, the Spiral paid respects to the man who mastered Days From Evil, Reid Rejsa. He put the final coat of polish on the album for us. In return, we treated him to dinner at Sushi Tango in Uptown. Our server, Janelle, was the most informative sushi waitress one could ask for. Short of busting out a PowerPoint presentation on Sushi, she was able to help us wade through the menu, so to speak, and make some informative and tasty decisions.

I like sushi, but don't eat it often enough to know more than the difference between the dragon roll and a caterpillar roll. We ordered a smattering of everything, including a small whitefish, head and all, stuffed with rice and..well, himself. Once Vlad was et (we called him Vlad because he had a skewer though him, so obviously he was Vlad The Impaled) anyway, once he was emptied, the remains were taken by Janelle back to the chef, to be tossed into the deep fryer and then we had Vlad Round 2 (or Vlad The Deep-Fried). The eyes were said to be good luck, and Reid was given first pick, and he bravely chose the right eye, which he said had the consistency of a gummi-bear. Colin and Xtina had a Rock-Paper-Scissors contest for the other eye. Colin won...er, lost; depending on how you look at it. Either way, Colin ate the other eye. Our server said the eyes were supposed to be good luck.

All in all a great time, and it was good to sit back and celebrate two years of work.

-Z

Labels: As the Jagged Spirals, Days From Evil

The song Monsters has now been uploaded for your listening pleasure. It is the second song from the Days From Evil album. Click over to the merch page to pick it up, the song is completely free to download.

If you missed it, last week, we debuted the song "Forced Entry". The next song "Hallowed Ground" will be available next week, check the side of this page for the countdown timer to the release date. At www.springwidgets.com you can find all the countdown timers for all the Days From Evil songs. Its easy to copy the code and add them to your own websites/blogs/myspace/facebook pages...

And there's more goodies to come. Keep checking back as we release a new track from "Days From Evil" every Wednesday at midnight for the remaining weeks of 2007. There will also be some desktop wallpapers, videos, more pix of the band, and plenty of free stuff to gorge your hard drive on.

-Z

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil, Website Update

If you click over to the Merch page, you will find the first track from the Days From Evil album, "Forced Entry" is available for download.

For Free. Gratis. Kostenlos.

Of course, don't let that stop you from giving us money, whether by using the donate buttons inconveniently located at the bottom of the page (consider it a virtual tip jar, if you will) or by simply e-mailing us your credit card number and pin, or your coworkers credit card number and pin for that matter.

A better idea is to visit this page to discover the myriad of other ways you can support independent bands like Jagged Spiral. You shouldn't be surprised to discover that a lot of them don't cost you anything at all.

One of the ways you can help us out is by spreading the word. Tell people to download the latest track and give it a listen. If it doesn't click with you, no worries, we won't be offended, but come back next week for the next track; Days From Evil is pretty diverse, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

For the next nine weeks, we will be posting all nine tracks from Days From Evil. It's a concept album, so I suggest you listen to the songs in order to get the full effect...

really loud...

with headphones...

in the dark...

completely naked.

Enjoy,
-Z

Labels: Audio, Days From Evil, music, Website Update

We are still working on artwork for Days From Evil but we have a ways to go.

Actually, that's a lie. If we were working on it, it would be done by now. Truth is that we aren't working on it at all. Which means there simply is no way the album can be released by Oct 31 as we had hoped.

Instead, what we will be doing is releasing the album online one track at a time. Nine tracks total, one track per week (give or take) thoughout the remainder of the year. The first track "Forced Entry" will be available on Halloween, and you can check the countdown timer on the right hand side of our homepage to see how much longer you have to wait. Links to the free track downloads will be through our merch page.

Sometime around the end of December, the CD will be available, even if I have to hand-draw the inserts in crayon myself.

Along with the tracks we also hope to release other goodies, merch, audio and video, and perhaps even a game or two with prizes to be won by those fleet-of-foot and knowledgable in Minneapolis Geography. So check back throughout the 9 Weeks From Evil, or better yet, enter your e-mail address in the field under the countdown timer, and you will receive e-mail updates of these blog posts (No SPAM! We hate SPAM too!)

-Zero

Labels: Days From Evil

Lyric writing is tough. Sometimes. On the "Days From Evil" album, I rewrote the lyrics to the song "Hallowed Ground" three times. *RE*wrote. Which means I wrote that God-Damned song four times, living with it through several rough recording sessions and living with the results for days, sometimes weeks before scrapping them in disgust.

In almost every case, I could tell as soon as I wrote the lyrics down that they weren't right.

Yes, I actually write lyrics down. On paper. My preferred method is graph paper and a fine-tipped, black Sharpie pen, but often I end up writing on the back of some old German homework or a Chinese Take-Out menu; whatever is within arm's reach when the lyrics start to flow. Junk mail addressed to "Occupant" also works well.

Inevitably, there are mistakes, or corrections, or improvements, or overhauls. Words get shuffled, replaced and rearranged. I try not to line out lyrics into illegibility at any point, just a couple quick lines through them, because several times I've gone back to lyrics I crossed out. I've only recently begun to have the laptop nearby to type lyrics into as I write, but I still never delete lyrics that get replaced (even after the song is done) I move the words to the bottom of the page under an [Unused Lyrics] header.

There's something about a lyric sheet that has all the corrections on it. I would love to have the lyric sheet that Fish used when writing "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" or Roger Waters "Comfortably Numb". Cut-n-Pasting on a computer is so sterile, and results in a perfectly antiseptic version of the song, all set to paste onto the internet, or the liner notes. But it's missing the *process*. The crossed out words are the trail the author took to get where the song is now. I haven't yet been able to part with any lyrics sheets even if they were later replaced with something else, even if they outright sucked. Looking through them is like looking through old pictures.

Sometimes Melody comes first. It helps to think of the lyrics as a guitar or keyboard solo. Hum random melodies or random lyrics (called 'Scat') over the top of the music, and see what lays well. Copying the melody from existing rhythm will always work. It's also almost always Lame-O, so start there if you like, but try to move away from the rhythm as quickly as you can. If there are any existing solo parts, try to sing in variations of the solo. I've had really good luck making melodies out of the Drum line, a trick I discovered while listening to Rage Against the Machine. Punch your vocals with the kick drum, scat to the repetition of the snare. If you have trouble thinking up scat words to say, just grab a book, or open a newspaper and grab a phrase and repeat it different ways. I recommend Not using phrases that you recall from other songs, "Every Day is a Winding Road" or "Everybody Must Get Stoned" for instance; it is easier to use phrases that aren't already locked to a melody in your head.

Sometimes Words come first. Listen to the rhythm and wonder what the song is about, as if the song were already written and your job is to guess what the lyrics are. Start with the mood and speed, that should be easy. Then think of the music as the soundtrack for a piece of video. What words describe the scene? What words can be used to describe what's happening? I always like to start out with a theme for the song in mind before I start doing scat lyrics, ususally the band will come up a temporary name for the song so we have a way to reference it, and I will use that as a springboard for lyrics.

Rarely do people write lyrics for a song before a rhythm is set down, but it is possible. As an experiment, I came up with a melody line and wrote an entire songs worth of lyrics for even going into the studio. Then I picked up the bass and wrote a bassline rhythm to go with the melody. It turned out really well. The song is called "Push Me", and sounds awfully "Pop" for Jagged Spiral, mostly because of the heavy vocal hook. Don't forget that if you ever need a source of lyrics, you can always go back to your old unused lyrics from other songs! (That's why you shouldn't throw them away!) If you are poetic, or tend to write stories or poetry, there is another valuable source for lyrics.

If you are foolish enough to attempt a Concept Album, then the work of deciding the story/theme of the album will help you greatly by giving some direction to the song before you write a single lyric. In the case of "Days From Evil" the album concept developed after 3 or 4 of the songs were finished. As the other songs developed, we would consider where they would best fit in the overall concept. Some of the songs were difficult to fit in, and it took an artistic handgun liscense to coerce them into position. For instance, the song "Monsters" sounds like it is told from the perspective of a child. So it only made sense to have it at the start of the album, but unfortunately, it's not a very powerful start. It was moved to the second track, and considered a 'flashback to the hero's youth'.

For those brave few souls who have read this far, I give to you my best kept secret: Burn a CD or load your MP3 player with a version of the song and take it in the car with you. I do my very best lyric writing in the car, while on the way to or from work. Yes, I am the fool you see uncaringly screaming at the top of my lungs on the way up 169N. Even better, if you have a long distance to drive, just loop the song over and over. If you get stuck or frustrated, turn the music off, or sing along with other songs, and come back to it later. Planting the seed of the song with unwritten lyrics into your subconscious may have some interesting results. I have pulled the car over to write lyrics on a napkin because a sudden lyric jumped into my head that was completely unrelated to the morning DJ talk...

Oh yes, always carry something to write with, so you are ready when lyrics happen. I've actually used my cell phone to call and leave a message at home of the scat vocals before they slipped away.

Persistence is the key. Even if you think you have something, keep singing it, and be critical and honest with yourself. Get a second opinion from someone who is going to be honest and objective with you.

Probably the two best pieces of advice I can give: 1- Don't be afraid to let lyrics stay that you aren't happy with. I've dropped some random words into a song line and kept them there "till I think of something better" and actually grew to like them. 2 - Don't be afraid to let go of lyrics that you like, or that you worked Really Really Ridiculously Hard on. Yes, it was a difficult road to the second rewrite of "Hallowed Ground" but it just knew that it still wasn't right, even though everyone said the lyrics were 'just fine'. It was almost painful to completely scrap months of hard lyric work and start over a third time, but in the end (on the DAY before we went into the studio to record the lyrics) I rewrote the song, thinking that we could use the new lyrics if the band liked them better. In the end, we all agreed the new vocals made the song much better.

-Zero

Labels: Days From Evil, Useful Tips

Alas, a couple minor glitches are keeping the Version 1 master of "Days From Evil" being declaired as Finished. Surprisingly, the issues don't have to do with the sound, they have to do with the track markers; where each track starts. The track markers for Monsters and The Last Song had to be nudged around a bit.

The version 2 master was completed on Friday the Thirteenth, 2007. We are giving the version 2 master a thorough listen, and have even uploaded some of the songs to myspace (www.myspace.com/jaggedspiral).

Once the "Days From Evil" master meets our exacting standards, we will stamp it with the Jagged Spiral Seal Of Approval...um, that is, after we design the Seal, and once the Seal meets our exacting standards...

We still have to design the cover art / liner notes, as well as select the official Jagged Spiral Band Logo.

Work, work, work. Oh well, even though the pay sucks, we don't complain too much, since we can all drink on the job and the dress code is pretty lax...

-Z

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update

I feel the need to dispel some rumors about Jagged Sprial, and the lack of blog postings in recent weeks.

1) I (Zero) have Not been abducted, drafted, admitted or committed to any mental institutions. Any recent visits to foreign countries on my part were completely voluntary.

2) Josh has not jumped on the Rehabilitation bandwagon, nor checked himself into Hazelton, nor shaved his head, although I can neither confirm nor deny rumors that he shaved his armpits.

3) Colin has not left the band to start a secret, underground society in attempts to overthrow all other secret, underground societies.

No, No, and No to these and many other silly rumors, I assure you that Jagged Spiral is not only alive and kicking, but feeding the musical fuel tank with beer and burritos and generating on average two new songs per month. If we ever finished the songs, that would be noteworthy.

Also, the album Days From Evil has come out of mastering and we have given it several listens in different venues, including in the car, in the studio, in the living room, in the bathroom, in the bedroom, and that one time we tapped into the PA system at Southdale Mall, which caused lots of fighting, riots and oddly enough; breakdancing. All in all, we are happy with the results and should have the album declaired as "Finished" any day now.

We have also narrowed down options for a band Logo, and sketched some ideas for cover art.

Stay tuned...

-Zero

Labels: As the Jagged Spirals, Days From Evil, Recording Update

The Premaster for "Days From Evil" is complete.

Let me repeat that, because it is significant. (And slightly louder, for the reading impaired)

THE PREMASTER FOR THE PHENOMENALLY UNCANNY, OVERLY-AMBITIOUS DEBUT ALBUM "DAYS FROM EVIL" BY JAGGED SPIRAL IS FUCKING COMPLETE!

I felt more emotional about a month ago, when we *thought* we were almost done. Over and over. There must be a dozen CDs laying around here that say 'Premaster?' on them. The differences between them are not obvious. Nit-picky, you might say.

But if there is one thing I've discovered in the past (nearly) two years while working on Days From Evil, it's that the project is never Done until you proclaim it to be Done. It could always be edited more. It could always be re-recorded and tweaked and adjusted a little more. And it might even be improved. And it might not. At some point in the process, you gotta realize that no one else can even hear the 'improvements' you are making, and you are wasting your time re-re-recording tracks that were fine on the first take. At some point, you have to decide that you have done your very best, and sometimes the best you can do is get rid of everything you simply cannot live with.

At some point, you gotta take your hands off the wheel.

So the performances for Days From Evil are hereby proclaimed to be finished. And the mixing. And the effecting. And the arranging. We now move into the uncharted backwaters of Black-Magic-Mastering. This is new ground for all of us. We've never been this far before. Virgins in virgin territory. Now, we have to turn our work over to someone else, someone who has not had two years of constant contact with the music. Someone to listen to our mixes with a fresh ear and an accurate sound system. Someone to tweak, polish, buff, shine, high-gloss, fold, spindle, mutilate and polymorph our songs into something better, and turn a collection of 9 songs into an album.

I warned you. The end is near.

-Z

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update

It's un-ironic that 'The Last Song' is not, in fact, the last song we will be working on for Days From Evil. The Last Song is finished, as in "mixed to Cigar version" Josh said it was more like a Cigarello. Regardless, that is eight down, and one to go. The song 'Run' will actually be the last song, which should be finished next Saturday.

I can't tell you how exciting it is to be so close to completion. I mean, we are discussing shit like liner notes and where to get the CD's duplicated. How many do we order? What should we wear when we take the stage at the Minnesota Music Awards ceremony? What about a CD Release party?

CD Release party? Come again? Yikes, you mean we will have to learn all those songs? Songs we have NEVER played together live before?

Oh boy.

Maybe we can just have a real Listen-type listening party, and Jagged Spiral can sit in the audience and listen to the album in its entirity. Or hide backstage like Metallica did with The Black Album. Pussies.

Whatever. The cigar mixes for all songs should be done on Saturday, and then we go into mastering.

God save the Queen,
-Zero

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update

Saturday The Spiral decimated the studio, and slaved away at the last two songs. The first, (ironically called The Last Song) is sounding much better after running over it will a huge pallet of Level and EQ. Starting with just Drums and Bass, we built the song up to a non-overwhelming chaos. We re-recorded my vocals, and that song is coming together nicely.

Josh had to leave to visit some emo bands (something about needing hardware for his drum kit, don't ask me...) so Eleven and I worked on the lead-in for Run. Let's just call it High-Maintenance/Low-Payoff, but it was progress nonetheless, and even if it's baby steps, I won't call it a waste of time.

Tonight, I worked on the last of the lyrics for Run, and I will subject them to the scrutiny of the Spiral on Tuesday night. If they pan out, that could be the END OF WRITING FOR DAYS FROM EVIL. The first of many Lasts, and one of which you could consider a sign of the forthcoming of the album.

You have been warned,
-Z

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update

Well, the song 'Lament' has reached critical mass and morphed into a Cigar Mix! Seven songs down, three to go....

...um what's that? Oh, bummer... um, sure I'll tell em...

I guess Josh just got a call from Greenpeace and they got a leaked version of "On The Inside" which they found in laboratory tests would kill small, furry animals when played back at average volume. The lethality increased if they solo-ed out my lead vocal track.

Well, we are going to release the damn thing anyway! I mean, it's better than this, and small, furry animals were never really our Target Audience, if you catch my drift. Besides, Greenpeace protesting the release of our album is just the kind of press we are looking for...um, hold on a sec.

...What now? Alright, quit bothering me! I'm trying to blog here, fer crissake. What? Really? NO WAY! Aw, Shit! Did you tell him to kiss my ass? Fine, fine, I'll tell em...

Well, I guess Chris Carrabba from Dashboard Confessional just called, and wants to buy "On The Inside" from us. That Cuts it! I guess that song won't make the Days From Evil album after all. Shame really, all that work for naught, and such a...pretty song too.

So, as I was saying, Seven Down, Two to go!

-Zero

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update

Tonight, we lit the cigar on Hallowed Ground. Six down. Four to go.

Here is the status of Days From Evil on this, the thirty-eth of January, in the Year of the Spiral, two-thousand-and-seven.

Forced Entry - Long Done. Actually done since 1 Dec 2006, when it was entered in a contest for Rift Magazine. The results of the contest should be available in the next couple weeks. A version of this song (Not sure which version exactly) was posted to our myspace page.

Monsters - Done on 23 jan 07.

Hallowed Ground - Done today, 30 Jan 07! I re-writ and recorded the chorus for Hallowed Ground FOR THE FOURTH FUCKING TIME, and finally, it is agreed that the lyrics aren't embarrassing, or stupid, or embarrassingly stupid. We are keeping the old lyrics for posterity, and so we have something to release when we run short of cash.

Run - Needs work. The lyrics for the end aren't quite finished. The lyrics for the begin aren't quite recorded. Josh is going to look into a choir. This might turn out to be the most majestic song since Stairway to Heaven.

Let It Out - Done on 20 Jan 07. Actually, this song was 'done' a year ago. lol. But I'll be honest; at the time we didn't know what the fuck we were doing. We remixed this and it is worlds away from the rough mix you can hear on the myspace page.

Lament - I would say that this is the furthest from done. The guitar is entirely looped from one correctly played section. The vox were recorded while I had a cold, and need to be redone. Badly. Then edit and mix. Serve with a gallon of absinthe with an LSD chaser and a dash of cinnamon.

Not Enough Bullets - Done 20 Jan 07. Right. Actually, this song was done a year ago, along with Let It Out, but again, "we know better now..." and so we remixed it, and the song sounds much better. You can hear the old 'rough' mix on our myspace page.

I Am Death - Done on 20 Jan 07, but some issues with the lower frequencies, so we reduced the bass and drums today (20 Jan 07), and now the vox and guitar stand out where they ought.

The Last Song - Oh boy. Well, lets just say that this song is NOT finished. We actually need to clone an entire team of Bob Rock producers to get this puppy under control, and a 42" plasma monitor screen to see all the tracks at one time.

On The Inside - Very nearly done. I recorded the last of the vox today (30 Jan 07) so the vox tracks need to be edited, and the song needs to be mixed. This will be the next song finished.

Even after all the tracks are recorded and mixed (cigar version) we still have a lot to do. All the 'in between' bits need to be recorded (in some cases, written) and then we run the whole she-bang through the mastering process.

Once the master CD is done, then there is the planning for the cover art, duplication, packaging and distribution. And the party.

You didn't know about the party?

Hmm.....


-Zero
2007 = Year Of The Spiral

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update

Last night J-man, Eleven and myself patched up the holes in "I Am Death", a song MADE to play in the car on a first date. Some day I will take a screenshot of the song as we work on it, it isn't pretty. Actually, the visual is as abrasive as the music itself, and we might consider shipping a screenshot along with the song, to give it more punch.

We could also send a few sticks of Egyptian Musk incense, I think that captures the correct olfactory sensation of the song, perhaps mixed with the smell of burning plastic.

Actually, we could go a step further, and send Lugash along with the CD, and he could kick the listener in the crotch at appropriate parts of the song, so they get the full effect.

Anyway, the song is sounding pretty good, and certainly does not sound like it was recorded in a Turkish Prison.

-Z

Labels: Days From Evil, Recording Update