BIGASS NEWS

dear folks,

we’re playing too much in Montreal:

June 17: Fringe Pop @ Parc Des Ameriques (corner of St-Laurent and Rachel) 8:00 or 9:00…I forget.

June 23: Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival w/ Chad Vangaalen & Nat Baldwin, Il Motore (179 Jean Talon E.)

June 24: super low-key solo or semi-solo show w/ James Irwin, Cagibi (5490 St-Laurent)

Also, not sure how much I’m supposed to say right now, but the record has found a home and will be coming out early October. It’s called Flickering Flashlight and I can’t wait for it to come out (on vinyl esp.) check out a track here.

also, dear Toronto, expect us in August.

also, did I show you this? i made a remix for Young Galaxy who are a great band and also delightful friends who just had a baby: LINK

xoxoxoxo

The New Record is Mastered

Okay, so the new record was just mastered by Harris Newman at Greymarket Studios here in MTL.

Don’t ask me what comes next…

 

Also my sister posted a preview of the album art on her blog. It’s looking amazing and I can’t wait until the whole thing is finished.

 

Exciting!

 

I’ll keep you posted on everything.

light at the end of the tunnel…

well, i’ve said it before, but this time it’s true. the record’s almost done. it’s getting mastered in less than two weeks, and i’m frantically putting the finishing touches on it. exciting!

i was in toronto this weekend and spent some time with my sister carly working on the album art.

 

here’s rebecca doing some last minute cello overdubs.

 

and here’s what i look like when i’m mixing in headphones on the couch.

Night Dancer

Hi all. A few items of business. Firstly, Adam & The Amethysts will be playing Pop Montreal this year, but the details are still being hashed out. I’ll keep you posted. I can say that one of the shows will be later in the evening on Sept 29th.

Another thing, I posted a new song from the upcoming record on Myspace the other day that you can listen to. It’s called “Adam Called Me Over Christmas” and is kinda sad. Sorry to post a sad one.

carly waito

I’d say the record is about 95% finished. I really thought that it would be done before the end of August, but it’s not, and such is life. I always end up accidentally writing new songs while recording the other ones. It should be finished in the next two weeks or so, but who knows when or how it will be released. I guess that depends on a lot of things.

One thing you can count on, though, is that I will be posting more new songs soon for download. Another thing I can tell you about the record is that I will be collaborating with my amazing sister Carly on the artwork. Carly, if you’re reading this, we need to get on this

Also, I think it is going to be called Primrose & Pinecones and will contain about 11 or 12  tracks. Excitement and uncertainty abounds!

He blew his mind out in a car

Hey gang,

Sorry for the lack of content. It’s been a hectic month. I was in a car crash (everyone’s okay) and (perhaps too) soon after built a deck with my family on the roof of my apartment.

Another feat that was accomplished despite post-concussion headaches and rib contusions was a successful Blogotheque Takeaway Show. I’ve seen some of the footage and I can’t wait for the finished version to get online. Finally everything will be made right after that failed attempt last fall.

There are some fun fun fun shows coming up for you folks in the Montreal area.

June 25: DUCKSTOCK

First is up at a cottage in the Laurentiens, Sainte Agathe des Monts to be precise. It’s a fun little festival called Duckstock. Our shoe-gazing buddies  Receivers are playing too, as well as a bunch of other bands. Full line-up and details can be found here. I think it’ll be tons of fun. You should come and camp out with us! See me with my shirt off! (Facebook event)

…

June 26: YOUNG GALAXY & LITTLE SCREAM & ADAM & THE AMETHYSTS

For those of you without the means to leave the city, we’re playing a celebration of Spring with the dreamy Young Galaxy and the ineffable Little Scream. Sure to be epic. It’s going down at the Belmont (4483 Boulevard Saint Laurent). (Facebook event)

…

June 27: Maybe something outside somewhere. Details TBA.

That’s about it. The new record is coming along slowly but surely. Maybe I’ll post some new stuff eventually. I’m going to see dear pals The Luyas tonight at the Rialto Theatre. Maybe I’ll see you there.

xo a

P.S.

Progress

Recording problems

I recorded most of the instrument tracks for a new song today but am having a seriously hard time getting started on the vocals. I think I may have written this song in a bad key for my singing voice. There’s this one part that’s just too high for me to sing and it sounds like I’m coughing up something gross when I sing it. And if I sing the same melody lower, it gets into this awkward register that’s too low. Perhaps with some tea and whiskey I can pull off a good take. Trials and tribulations! Rather than re-record everything in a different key, I’m considering getting someone else (i.e. a girl) to sing the too high parts. Any takers?

Some Documents of Recent Performances

Photo by Carly Waito

Hey gang,

Someone recorded Rebecca and I playing “Bumble Bee” at the Toronto Island show last month and posted it on his blog, Mechanical Forest Sound. It sounds like a soundboard recording. A little bit shabby, and Rebecca’s cello is thin and almost inaudible, but it’s an interesting document of this intimate show. Check it out. You can also check out his review of the show.

There’s also a video floating around that someone shot of us playing at Pop Montreal last October. It depicts us gleefully butchering a brand-new song from the new record called “I’m a Medium.” It’s pretty dark but luckily there are a lot of camera flashes. Here it is:

Also, we might be playing a pretty cool show here in Montreal in early December. I’ll let you know once it’s confirmed.

Back in Business

We were offline-ish for a little while there, as the tech team was working on redesigning the website a little bit. Now in addition to the blog we have some other pages about the band for you to browse.

In other news, the new record is coming along. I’m really excited about how some of the new songs are sounding. It’s shaping up to be less ethereal, more immediate-sounding. But still with cool sounds and spring-verb on everything (I can’t help it). I guess that all could change as the mixes evolve. The picture to the left is of this cool old public address tube amplifier (Made in Chicago) from the ’50s that’s been modded to act as either a guitar head or a pre-amp.  The tubes are all original RCA coke bottle shaped beasts that are on the verge of death which sounds noisy and amazing. I picked it up for cheap in Toronto last year and it’s been a staple piece of versatile gear for me since. Great for making guitar sound bad ass, or a tambourine sound like crap. Awesome crap.

I’d never recorded a cello before, but the sessions I did with Rebecca sounded amazing, and hopefully she’ll come by again soon to sprinkle some more brooding sad fairy dust all over this record.

I’m also starting a seven-day herbal cleanse this week. No salt, sugar, alcohol, refined grains, processed foods, coffee, etc. plus a bunch of herbal mumbo-jumbo supplements.  I want my colon to be in tip-top shape while I work on this record. Wish me luck.

xo a