As I write this I'm listening to my new cd from the band Voice On Tape, whose set i caught last night at one of the Tuesday night residency shows being put on by KSPC 88.7 at The Press in Claremont. Voice On Tape gave a beautiful performance to say the least. The smooth, dark, and ever so passionate vocals of Lou Anda fill the air and cut through the perfectly blended mix of dirty acoustic guitar sounds and the hypnotic drumming style of Isaac. Following them was the equally charismatic So Many Wizards, who had the crowd up on their feet dancing around them as they carried on with their uptempo rythms and bittersweet chord progressions and melodies that when all put together, seem to generate a sense of longing for another time or place. Both bands performances provided me with yet another excellent reminder that great songwriters are continuing to emerge from the underground and are at least getting some palpable form of recognition, at least from the folks at the always ahead of the curve KSPC radiostation. This was my first time attending one of KSPC's weekly events at The Press, but I don't believe it will be the last. It's so nice to see a local radio station actually investing in its own music scene this way. So great job to 88.7, great job to Voice On Tape, and once more to So Many Wizards.
These past couple of weeks we've been getting ready for our official CD release! Im so excited to see all the pieces finally falling into place. The artwork which we designed ourselves, the discpainter so we may print artwork on our cds at our leisure, our cd duplicator all the way up to the blank cd's themselves-all the materials that we ordered or designed in order to press up these cd's have just been arriving in the mail one package at a time. We've already put together a few finished products, so now were just waiting on one final piece (the jewel cases) so that we can continue with the mass production. 
If you haven't gotten the hint already, this Record is the epitome of DIY. Everything about this record is the effort of two people. We've cut corners, haggled for equipment, recorded, produced, and licensed ourselves. We've managed our time to make a record while at the same time worked day jobs, played in other bands, and to a certain extent, maintained our daily lives. So for everything to come out with this level of quality, we are very pleased to say the least. Once a CD release date is set, we will begin taking preorders which will probably include some sort of bonus such as alternate cd artwork and a personal note. Who knows? Maybe even a "gas prices suck cock" t-shirt! In the meantime until all that is set up, feel free to hit us up on facebook or email us at vibraoptic73@gmail.com with a request for a preorder and well let you know when its ready. Other than that we have played a couple shows that I didn't get around to covering until now. One being a second show in Fullerton, and previous to that, an incredible mini-festival put on by the guys from Pursuit Utopia. That was that show in Long Beach, and man, it was dope!
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Gustavo Franco (She Knew It Was There Somewhere) |
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| Paul (drums) and Brion (bass) of Pursuit Utopia |
Amazing sets by our friends from Stay Cool Forever, She knew it was there somewhere, and Pursuit Utopia along with many others. Finally having gotten to witness Pursuit Utopia's live show, i was thoroughly impressed. So much energy, so much soul, and so much sound, and for it to have come out of one band of three people, i was astonished. They even had a conga set up for fans to come join them onstage. Now these people have love from their fans, and rightfully so. "Stay Cool" and "She Knew" both put on the best performances I've seen out of them as of yet. I'm very proud of them as they are my friends from which I've seen such a vast growth and musical development over the years. Great job guys!
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| Rene Carillo (guitar) of Pursuit Utopia |
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Stay Cool Forever (Left to Right): Gustavo Franco, Keith Yergens, Nina, Nicolas Chacon |
We went on stage that night around 830 to be greeted with open arms and open minds. There was definitely a sense of love and respect in the air for one another at that party. We played our asses off and were received very well. Thanks again to Paul of Pursuit Utopia for setting that up and having everything run smoothly. Can't wait for the next one with you guys.
So stay posted and make sure to check for any updates on our FB page as well as this blog concerning our EP release.
-Peace
Christopher
(Vibra Optic '73)
