Thu, 23 May 2013 09:40:53 -0800WeeblyTue, 15 May 2012 16:41:54 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2012/05/new-ep-update.htmlHey friends,

To start, the band has decided on a title for the new EP.  The new record will be called Waiting to Begin.  The title comes from the name of a song that will be on the EP, but that's not our only reason for us choosing it.  We also feel as though it describes our situation as a band.  Like so many other bands out there (some great, some not), we are putting out what we believe to be high quality songs, in the hopes that other people will hear them and that they will catch on to some extent.  I don't think we are pioneering any new territory by wanting to play to a larger audience.  That's kind of the idea.  Music is a form of art and expression, and for us, and likely for most bands, we would enjoy the opportunity to express ourselves to as many people as possible.

With that said, Waiting to Begin is coming along great!  To give you some background information, here are the steps we needed to take in order to get this record out to you, the listener.

1.  Recording - For this album, we went for more of a live and natural feel, as mentioned before.  Thus, we recorded everything simultaneously, rather than one instrument at a time.  Of this recording session, we keep the drums, bass and keys - not guitar.  The reason for this is simple.  When recording live, the rhythm guitar and vocals are recorded through the same microphone, making it impossible to turn the guitar or vocals up or down separately.  Not only that, but rarely are vocal performances ever recorded live, while the singer is playing an instrument.  Strumming a guitar and singing at the same time would cause the vocals to be bouncy and not a true measure of the singers potential.

2.  Editing - After the initial recording session is done, drums, bass and keys are edited.  The band recorded each song several times, so editing consists largely of combing through the different takes for each instrument, picking out the best performances and putting them in place. 

3.  Recording Part II - Once step two is complete, we move into a second bout of recording.  This is where, as mentioned above, we re-record the guitars and vocals.  Since this is the last of the general recording that is done, editing will be done as we go, not at a later time.  However, the process is the same: we pick the best takes and use them.

4.  Tinkering - Alas, my favorite part of making a record!  This is where we go through each song thinking, what else could I add to this song?  This part is fun, but kind of tricky, because it's easy to go overboard.  When adding effects to a song, it's imperative that it is done with good judgment, because, at a certain point, these things stop making the song better.  Instead they start overwhelming the song, making it worse.

5.  Mixing - Once everything is seemingly in place the way we want it, we start mixing.  This consists of a lot of things.  Part of this includes adjusting the equalizer settings to make each instrument/vocal track sounds as clean, clear and full as possible.  This is also where we adjust the levels of everything to insure that nothing is too loud or too soft.  For example, we wouldn't want any one instrument to be so loud that we couldn't hear the others.  This may sound simple, but it is anything but that.  It involves going back and forth between different sets of speakers and headphones, trying to make sure that no matter what the listener is listening to us on (i.e. laptop speakers, car speakers, headphones, etc.), it sounds as good and even as possible.

6.  Mastering - This is out of our hands, for the most part.  Once the mixing is done, we send the songs away to a company that specializes in mastering.  They employ various complex techniques that are really too difficult to explain, but in a very general sense, what they do is they make sure that the album sounds good as a whole.  They insure that when you flip from one song to the next, it's a smooth transition and nothing jumps out at you.  This includes everything from making sure that no track is louder or softer than the rest, or that no track has a lot more bass than the rest.  Again, they do a lot of things.  This is just an attempt to give you a vague idea as to what all they do.

7.  Artwork - This, for us, will occur simultaneously with the mastering step.  Basically, an artist will be drawing up some examples of what our album could look like.  When they design something that all of us like, we agree to that design and the manufacturing begins.

8.  Manufacturing - This is where the artwork is brought to life.  It is printed onto CD cases and to CD's themselves.  Then everything is packaged together, wrapped in plastic, put in boxes and sent to us.

9.  CD Release - Those of you who helped fund this project by donating to our Kickstarter account will be shipped your copy of the CD (along with any other gifts you donated for) as soon as we have the record in our hands.  There will be no delay.  As for the rest of you, you will have to wait until the CD Release date, which has yet to be determined.  In the near future, New Inhabitants will be booking a show, probably, but not necessarily in Lawrence, KS.  The show will be designated as a CD Release show for this album.  At that time, you can purchase your copy!

Currently, we are embarking on step #3, the second bout of recording.  That may sound not very far, but let me tell you, the first three steps are much more time consuming than the rest.  Steps #4 and #5 will likely take a total of two days in studio and steps #6-8 happen simultaneously over the course of a couple weeks, if that gives you any idea.

Anyway, that is where we are at!  I hope this gives everyone some insight.  I leave you with a couple videos from the studio.  Enjoy!

Thanks for listening,
Tyler (New Inhabitants)

]]>Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:24:23 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2012/04/new-ep.htmlHey friends,

I am pleased to announce that New Inhabitants has started the recording process on our new EP, which will contain 4 or 5 songs.  We are recording the record at Blacklodge Recording in Eudora, KS, where we are working with David Chutka, who also helped record a small portion of our debut album.  We are hoping for a release date sometime in May...yes, 2012!

This EP will sound almost nothing like Shot Across The Bow. As you know, the band has changed over the past year, so the sound has also changed. Where our first album was fairly poppy and piano-centric, this EP will have a lot more guitar and it will be a lot more rockin'. We are also trying to record as much of this album in a live environment, which means that most of the tracks (minus vocals and guitar solos) will be done at the same time, to give a more cohesive, natural feeling to the recordings. Shot was recorded in pieces, which is why it took so long to release. We're really excited about the tracks we've already recorded, and really can't wait to finish the rest and get this out to you.

Now, the hard part.  There are a lot of financial hurdles that come up when attempting to put out a record.  It's not just the cost of recording (which is, in fact, quite expensive).  It is also the cost of mixing and mastering the album, having artwork created for the cover, having the record manufactured and so on.  With that said, there is no way that we can get this album out on our own.  Three of the band members are students and two are happily married...so we have very little money at our disposal!  In order to help make this album possible, we are starting a Kickstarter page.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Kickstarter, please read this blog entry (written by Josh, our drummer), which explains Kickstarter in full detail:

http://allnewcheapmusic.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/how-kickstarter-is-changing-the-fan-experience-and-the-current-music-business-model/

Even though you will see that $350 is our goal on our Kickstarter page, we are hoping to garner $1000 in donations, because that's how much we think we would need to get a quality final product out to you, the listener.  To put this into perspective, a single day in studio costs $450, and, as mentioned above, recording is far from being the only expense of releasing an album.

Here is the link to our Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/763846376/new-inhabitants-recording-new-ep

Thanks in advance for helping us out. Any and all amounts are welcome. Again, we cannot wait to get this new EP out to you all!

Best,
Tyler
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:22:54 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2011/11/new-pianist.htmlEver since Adam left for Boston, New Inhabitants has been attempting to find a replacement on piano.  We have had some very talented people interested that did not pan out.  Then we auditioned Tim Clark.

Since the initial audition, it's been obvious that Tim was a great fit for us.  He knows how to play the keys, but of equal importance, he knows how to play rock music.  Just because someone is a great pianist, does not necessarily mean they know how to play rock music, but he definitely does.

With a few pracitices under our belts now, Tim will make his debut appearance with New Inhabitants at our Friday December 3rd show at the Riot Room in Kansas City, MO.  Come out to support us and to hear our new addition that night if you can make it.

See you there,
Tyler ]]>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:27:56 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2011/08/cd-release-new-members-t-shirts-videos-shows-etc.htmlHi everyone,

It's been awhile.  New Inhabitants has gone through some pretty serious changes - but hey, that's what bands do, I suppose. 

For starters, we would like to wish Adam Norris a grand farewell.  Adam has played piano for New Inhabitants since it came into existence in 2009.  He was the staple that held together the New Inhabitants style.  Though he was not the songwriter, he was certainly the front man of the band - without a doubt.  The only good thing about Adam leaving is his reason for doing so.  You see, Dr. Norris received his PhD in Microbiology at KU and has recently accepted a teaching position at Harvard University.  That's right - HARVARD!  He also made the very wise decision to marry one of the biggest New Inhabitants fans that ever was - Meg Razak (now Meg Norris).  Adam is a great friend and was also a fantastic band mate.  His charisma and undeniable talent was always a pleasure to experience.  For all of these reasons, we wish him a lifetime of happiness and personal fulfillment.  You will still be able to hear Adam play on our debut album, which I will talk about more in just a bit.  Thank you, Adam!

On a more positive note, I would like to welcome two new additions to New Inhabitants: Tatev Amiryan and Zach Johnson.

Tatev, who will play piano, moved to the United States this past January.  She is originally from Armenia.  She graduated from Tchaikovsky Special Music School with her degree in Composition and Music Theory and then attended Yerevan State Conservatory for her Composition, Musicology BA, MA and Piano minor in Armenia. Currently she is working on her Doctorate in Music Composition at the UMKC Conservatory.  If you think she sounds like she might be good, you are correct!

Zach is a long time friend of mine.  We actually played in a band together in high school - our only gig was the school talent show!  When New Inhabitants first began, Zach was a student at the University of Central Missouri, working on his bachelor's degree in Music Technology.  He wrote me asking if I would be interested in letting him record the first New Inhabitants album - free of charge!  Anyone who has ever had to pay for studio time knows that this offer is a no-brainer!  I gladly accepted his offer.  The project took far more time than I had anticipated.  Eventually, Zach graduated and we no longer had free access to the the studio at UCM.  That's when studio time started getting costly!  However, Zach stuck by his word and never charged New Inhabitants a penny for working on the project at home.  He even played on parts of it (i.e. the trumpet in "Second Thoughts" and the electric guitar solo at the end of "Moving Boxes").  With that said, when Adam (who also played guitar for the band) left for Boston, Zach was the natural choice for a replacement on guitar.

Now, on to the DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE!  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the very first album to have ever been released by New Inhabitants.  It is a full-length album titled, "Shot Across The Bow" (a nautical term that is synonymous with the phrase: warning shot - seemed an appropriate title for a debut album).  It contains ten tracks and is a little over 40 minutes in length.  The CD release show for this album will be at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS on Saturday September 10th.  That's right, 9-10-11!  Also performing will be one of the most talented musicians in Lawrence, in my opinion - Katlyn Conroy.  The cover charge will be a mere $3, but you have to be 21+ to get in.  This will be the very first opportunity anyone will have had to purchase our new CD, which will be sold for only $5 per copy at the show.  In addition to this, we also have cool new t-shirts.  They are American Apparel, so very high quality and they were printed by ACME in Lawrence.  Shirts will be $12, but if you purchase both a CD and a shirt, you can get the whole package for $15.  At the end of this blog post you will find a picture of both the album art and the new t-shirt design!  We hope you like them!

New Inhabitants is also in the beginning stages of creating two new music videos - one for the song "Thirty Years" and another for "Get You Wrong".  These will be made possible by the help of Zach Johnson and another good friend of mine, Bryan Morgan.  I will release more information about these when we get a further along in the production.

New band pictures are obviously on their way as well, considering the band has completely changed!  Keep your eyes out for those too!

Another bit of exciting news: 105.9 the Lazer (of Lawrence) has invited us to play at the Lazer One Lounge on Wednesday October 26th.  It will be an acoustic set and we will be opening for a band or musician that is far more famous than ourselves!  I do not know when tickets will go on sale or when the station will announce the headliner, but I will be sure to keep you up-to-date on this as I continue to get more information.

Please feel free to join our e-mail list if you would like to directly receive important updates from us.  I personally promise not to fill your inbox with meaningless information.  To do this, click the "Mailing List" tab above and type in the e-mail address at which you would like to be reached.

Lastly, thank you everyone for your continued support.  Things seem to be going better and better for us the longer we play together and we owe all of that to people who have helped us out and supported us along the way.  Lets continue this trend of improvement!

Best,

Tyler (New Inhabitants)

]]>Sat, 06 Nov 2010 05:27:12 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2010/11/new-drummer-new-songs-new-shows-new-photos-etc.htmlHey guys and gals,

There are a lot of good new things happening right now.  First off, I want to introduce our new drummer, Joshua Frisch.  He just moved to Lawrence from the east coast, and we are very pleased to have him!   

Our first show with Josh will be at The Jazzhaus at 926.5 Mass St. in Lawrence on Thursday November 18th.  If you can make it, please come support us and make his first show with us an amazing experience!  Check the "shows" tab for other show  dates, as a few new ones have been added.

Also, if you haven't already noticed, new songs from our soon-to-be-released debut album have been posted on this website, the Facebook page and MySpace.  Take a listen to those and feel free to let us know what you think.  All comments, including criticism (constructive only, please) are welcome.

In addition to the new tunes, we also have some new photographs up.  For those, we would like to thank Chelsea Donoho, who did a fantastic job, especially considering that she was called on at night at a moments notice!  To see more of her work, check out www.chelseadonoho.com, and if you ever need pictures, I would recommend her to anyone.

This is only the beginning of our line of new things, so please keep your eye out for more to come soon.

Thanks,

Tyler (New Inhabitants)
]]>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:43:17 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2010/08/a-new-chapter.htmlI am happy to say that the first New Inhabitants album, which will be full-length, is coming along well.  Most of the recording is complete, with the exception of vocals on a handful of songs.  The record is expected to have 11 tracks, and though we would love to say it will be finished within the next month, it's really impossible and not very wise to say for sure, until the finished product is practically in our hands.  However, I assure you that the time is drawing near.  The album has been primarily recorded at Chapman Recording in Lenexa, KS with Zach Johnson as our engineer.  Zach is a long time friend, a very nice guy and an excellent engineer.  I personally feel that he has captured the New Inhabitants sound, more than I ever thought possible in a studio environment.  It is likely that the first opportunity any of you will have to purchase your copy of the album will be at our CD release party, the date of which will be announced in the near future.

Now for the sad news...the beloved Jayne Henson has moved on to bigger and better things in New York.  Jayne has been the drummer for New Inhabitants since the beginning of our existence.  Though she was never big on punctuality, she made up for it with skill, motivation and being a great friend!  She will be missed by the remaining New Inhabitants and our fans, I am sure.

When a decision has been made on who will replace Jayne (not that she could ever be truly replaced), we will let you know who that person is.  Until then...

Thanks for reading,

Tyler (New Inhabitants)]]>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:16:17 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2010/06/progress.htmlHey all,

Though we haven't been playing as many shows lately and we may seem as though we are making no progress at all - that is NOT the case. 

New Inhabitants has been working on a few new songs and recording an album (a far more time-consuming task than we had hoped.)

We are currently booking shows again, and would like to have the album done and available within the next couple of months. 

Until then, feel free to come to a show and dance with us!  Who knows, we may even play a couple of those new tunes for you.

Cheers,

Tyler (New Inhabitants)

]]>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:45:57 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2010/03/new-inhabitants-t-shirts.htmlIt's the moment you have all been waiting for...the opportunity to sport a New Inhabitants t-shirt!  Our first order has been placed, and we are waiting for the shipment to come in.  We will try to make these available online ASAP, but if anyone would like to pre-order, send us an e-mail and stake your claim!  Shirts will be $10 and can also be purchased at shows.  Thanks.

-Tyler (New Inhabitants)

]]>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:18:39 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2010/02/demos-videos-etc.htmlA quick update...

Rough demos of "Such Great Heights" (a Postal Service cover) and "Leave You" have been made available for your listening pleasure on this website and on the MySpace page.

Also, as promised, I have posted some videos of New Inhabitants playing live.  You can find those videos under the "Media" tab or on the MySpace page. 

In the near future you will be able to watch New Inhabitants videos on YouTube.  Our channel can be found here.  At this point, the page is pretty empty, but that will be changing soon.

Last, but certainly not least, recording for the debut album will soon be in the works.  I will update the blog as that progresses for anyone who is interested.

Thanks as always,

Tyler (New Inhabitants)]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:00:42 GMThttp://www.newinhabitants.com/1/post/2010/02/new-inhabitants-update.htmlFirst and foremost, thank you to all of you who have made it out to a New Inhabitants show!  We are having a blast playing our music, and we're very happy to see that everyone else is having a good time as well.  Because of your support, things are beginning to move forward. 

Currently, the band is trying to finish recording demos for our debut album.  When the demos are done, we will then record them  professionally and go through the strenuous process of having them mastered and so on.

In addition to  new songs/recordings, we are also making changes to better this site.  One thing we're trying to do is make better merch available to our fans.  I will leave updates when that happens, but you can also keep checking under the "Shop" tab for new merch.  Also, there are a few videos floating around of New Inhabitants playing live.  When those finally land in my possession, they will be on the site under the "Media" tab ASAP!

Thanks again to all of you who support us - we sincerely appreciate you!  I will post more updates as they come.

Take care,

Tyler (New Inhabitants)
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