House of Fools
Progess.

This is gonna be a short blog.  Just an update.  We have two songs basically completed for the record.  Drums are tracked for two more, bass and guitars this week and vocals next.  We are taking our time and making the record that we want to make and it feels really good.  I really like what we are doing with this so far and I can’t wait to see where it goes.  Like David said in his last blog entry, we are working toward getting a website up and running (something legit..not just facebook, myspace, etc).  Hopefully that will be finished soon….we’ll make sure and let you all know.

Those of you who read this; thanks for caring and thanks so much for your patience.  We really cannot wait for you to hear this record!

Jordan

Also, Matt and I love Battlestar Galactica.  Just thought I would share.

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October

Automatically when the air thins and the nights get cooler, I get excited.  Partly because it reminds me of being a kid and my mom reading me “The Pumpkin Smasher” by Anita Benarde.  Partly because it reminds me of recording the Dark Regard ep with my friend Mike years back….and partly because I made it through another summer without shaving my head.

On the House of Fools camp:

In the meantime between recording and my odd jobs I’ve been playing a ton of shows by myself that aren’t nearly as fun but they pay my bills.  They also keep me from becoming rusty as a player.

Matt’s been recording like crazy.  Both working on our album and some friends of ours in Pacifico.  I believe he’s investing in some new studio monitors.

Jordan’s tackling the task of selling the Far-Less van.

Jack’s working off and on with our friend Ross from Holy Ghost Tent Revival on website ideas.  I think we’re FINALLY going to launch one soon.  Officially that is.

Josh is writing/recording vocals with Matt on the songs that have loose ends.  And wearing out the town.

Joel hates pickles.  Please bring them to him.  Oooooh better yet, dress up as pickles for our Halloween show coming up Oct. 29th at the Blind Tiger!! He’d love that.  Course I can’t talk too much.  He’ll just get on here and say I hate mayonnaise and then everyone would come as pickles and mayonnaise and we’d both be in hell.

We’ve got a few shows coming up, but main focus is still the album.  Slow moving it may be, but we’re getting there.  Stay tuned for more.

I read this in Stephen King’s THE STAND, which is quickly becoming my favorite book, and thought I would share.

“…Thinking of something Barry Grieg had once said to him about a rhythm guitar player from L.A., a guy named Jory Baker who was always on time, never missed a practice session, or fucked up an audition.  Not the kind of guitar player that caught your eye, no showboat like Angus Young or Eddie Van Halen, but competent.  Once, Barry had said, Jory Baker had been the driving wheel of a group called Sparx, a group everybody seemed to think that year’s Most Likely To Succeed.  They had a sounded something like early Creedence: hard solid guitar rock and roll.  Jory Baker had done most of the writing and all of the vocals.  Then a car accident, broken bones, lots of dope in the hospital.  He had come out, as the John Prine song says, with a steel plate in his head and a monkey on his back.  He progressed from Demerol to heroin.  Got busted a couple of times.  After a while he was just another street-druggie with fumble fingers, spare-changing down at the Greyhound station and hanging out on the strip.  Then, somehow, over a period of eighteen months, he had gotten clean, and stayed clean.  A lot of him was gone.  He was no longer the driving wheel of any group, Most Likely to Succeed or otherwise, but he was always on time, never missed a practice session, or fucked up an audition.  He didn’t talk much, but the needle highway on his left arm had disappeared.  And Barry Grieg had said: He’s come out the other side.  That was all.  No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become.  No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell.  There are no maps of the change.  You just…come out on the other side.”

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This video was taken last week when we were finishing up vocals for our latest demo.  After a rough edit and finally choosing a song that would work well with the short length and nature of the video, this is what came of it.

The song is “Downtown” by My Morning Jacket

~Simple Jack~

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Hello HOF fans!  Sorry for the wait there between these two last posts.  I find myself trying produce quality content that people might want to check out and every week it feels like the same sorta blah.  This week is different.  Just a few days ago, we started a new song that is no doubt one of my new favorites.  It took us a good part of a work week to get all of the pieces right, to the point where we didn’t want to gouge our eyes out.  And for the ending, we thought we’d give David and Joel the liberty to write a harmonizing solo to introduce an entirely new melody to take it out.  This video shows them over the course of Monday and Tuesday, hammering these parts out to near perfection, all the while having to deal with intense thunderstorms, flash floods and possessed owls (I’ll explain in the upcoming posts).  For now, sit back and enjoy the shredding!   

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Thunder and Lightning

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“Everybody pays to play” so they say.  So I say.  Lately it’s work work work for me and the boys.  New tunes, stories, studio, and times.  I’ve been working odd jobs, and random part timers trying to keep the bills met, and somehow I’ve managed to keep my afternoon Woodlea sessions.  They’re productive and enjoyable lately.  Joel and I’ve recently been able to spend a lot of time on guitar parts and arrangements, Matt’s got new toys (plug ins) to play with, and Josh continues to impress me with his take on the big picture.  He’s turned into quite the lyricist and band leader.  The “new guys” Jordan, and Jack are always working hard. Probably harder than all of us, and keeping the ball rolling with positive vibes. Things are working, gears are turning, in the House of Fools camp.

Personally’s another story.  Always is.  Wouldn’t you love for me to tell it?? No you wouldn’t. I’m dreaming of ways to go see Thin Lizzy (without Lynott r.i.p.) in London next year.  I think I’ll start playing the lottery again. Even though I gave up that addiction for my recent Mario 64 vice. Go see Gary Moore, meet some Brits, drink some pints, then come back and buy a brand new car, rig, and house for me and my better half.  Keep your fingers crossed for me ay?  Today’s been…strange.  Woke late, exercised, made music, and watched the crazy owl family outside our
studio.  Jack will tell you more about that later I’m sure.  Owl’s are looked at as evil in some cultures and folklore. I don’t know about these guys.  I think they just dig the tunes and wild rabbits in our yard. Maybe we’ll name a song after them.  I heard Zeppelin named “Black Dog” after a black dog that would come up to their studio and  listen to that song in particular when they were working it out. Lots of rain in North Carolina this week.  I hope the weather holds out for our roof jam at Greene Street tomorrow night.
Bring a guitar, or whatever and join us.

~David

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This is the first of a series of video blogs we hope to produce through out the pre-production of our record. Please, bear with me. This is my first time doing any sort of video editing and I had to try three different programs that linux offers before finally getting this short video not to crash. The song featured here is not yet titled and is cut up a bit. Enjoy!

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Farewell Blind Tiger. Howdy Mooseknuckle!

Just this past weekend, the city of Greensboro said its goodbyes to the 22 year old location of The Blind Tiger, a popular landmark that has served as a breeding ground for most of the musical talent coming out of the Piedmont Triad area.  We had the privilege of sharing the stage with our friends in Holy Ghost Tent Revival.  If you haven’t heard of these guys, check em out here.

We got the idea to set a different tone for this show.  Figuring this would really be the last time we play that particular stage, we rounded up every single damn lamp in Greensboro to put around our stuff.  This was a textbook case of a fire hazard and we half expected the sound guy to shit a brick as soon as he walked through the doorway.

Surprisingly, the club didn’t burn down and the whole show kicked ass from beginning to end.  Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support. The following night we went to the “Moose-knuckle” show at Greene Street.  It was fucking awesome.  The crowd was awesome.  The band was awesome.  This is the allstar lineup: 

Garrett Tindol “The Working Class ASs Kicking Motherfucker”

Henry Jones -  “The Burnout Woodstock Refugee”

Gregory Juenger - “The Water Park Shark Attack Survivor”

Phil Richardson -  “The Drinker”

Keith Shaw - “The Lover of All Things Jovi”

Dawson Edwards - “The Biker Who Believes His Stallions in the Lightning Shirt Gives Him Special Powers”


Next week’s blog: Woodlea Sessions

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Building a New Nest

Spring is a time of change, of rebirth and growth.  For House of Fools, this spring has brought us an immense amount of work already.  After a set routine of practices and regional shows for the past year, we’ve decided to start pre-production on a new record.  All of this is made possible with the wonderful facilities at our new home.   

Back in February, the band made a move (we all think for the best) from the old space on Gordon Rd. in High Point, to the Greensboro area.  We are fortunate enough to have Zach Baldwin on our team or else we would’ve never come across an opportunity like this.  So Zach, if you’re reading this, you kick ass.  That being said, we’ve been settling into the new house and getting some amazing results for demoing right out of our living room.

Basically, now all we can do is just keep working and hope for the best.  We will be giving weekly updates (maybe sometimes even twice a week) on our latest HOF happenings, news and even video clips of the new demos.  Feel free to follow us as we embark on this record, as it is an exciting time for all of us right now.  Below are the rest of pictures we snapped today from Joel’s camera.  Enjoy!  

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Spirit of the Bear

A few months ago we were invited to perform a song for our friend and videographer Harvey in his kitchen.  The above video is what came of that day….

Enjoy “Spirit of the Bear!”

Right now we are hunkered down in our home studio, recording and demoing everyday.  Lets hope that will suffice for news……at least for now….

more…info…soon…

HOF

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A couple weeks ago we decided that we wanted to release one of our demos (this one is “Better Days”) as well as some new info regarding what we’ve been up to in the “HOF” camp, so with the help of our lovely and talented friend, Caitlin Haun, we put together this little video blog for your viewing and listening pleasure.  Its the first in a series of blogs that we’ll be working on entitled “A day in the life of House of Fools.”

Enjoy.  And show all of your friends.  And have them show all of their friends :)

love,

House of Fools

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