Brian here, I'm sorry to say that Divergence has split up. We've always had minor issues with scheduling conflicts and the commitment level for some of the guys in the band. Until now we've only played a show every two months, most of the stuff we did was writing/recording, so it never got to a point where the band commitment was too much for them.
The problem came when things were going to pick up this month, I had 5 shows either booked or in the works through February. I told the other band members about them and got a less than enthusiastic reaction. A few days later, they decided that the band wasn't something they were looking to continue in a more demanding capacity, which it was going to become if we booked all of those shows.
The timing for all this is really unfortunate, we were about to step up to the next level. None of the shows we were going to play were opening spots, and we had two out-of-state gigs planned.
I'm not sure if any of the other guys plan to continue their musical careers in less intense projects, but I am planning to relocate to New York as soon as possible and get a new band together right away. I'm definitely looking to keep up with the style of music we made with Divergence too. I'll make sure to post updates about my new project once it gets off the ground so we can stay in touch and rock out together again real soon.
Also, we're going to finish the recordings for the new songs, "Bulltproof" and "Break The Mold" and put them up online so you can download them. We're almost done with them anyway, and they're great songs, so there's no reason to keep them hidden just because the band broke up. They will be the last hurrah for a band that's been a part of my life in one way or another for 7 years.
And what great years they were!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Greetings From The Studio
We've been hard at work in the recording studio laying down the instrument tracks for the two new songs we've debuted live, "Bulletproof" and "Break The Mold." We recorded the drums for them back in July at NYU's super-nice Studio 510. You can check out our pictures from the session too, if you want.
If you're following along on our Twitter or Facebook status updates, you'll know that we already finished up the bass and guitars for both songs, and the vocals for "Bulletproof" too. You can check out some videos of us recording on our YouTube page.
Bass is typically the easiest thing to record, once you find the sound you want you just need to record the parts once and your done. Guitars take a lot longer because you have to play each part at least twice, one for the left and one for the right speaker, and sometimes as much as six times depending on how many layers you want. In the biz they call playing a part for a second time "doubling".
Sometimes Shane and Garrett play different riffs during the same section of a song, like in the choruses where Shane usually does some type of lead part with a counter-melody to the vocals while Garrett plays chords. If they each played their parts once we would have the two guitars we need to pan to the left and right speakers, but we wanted these songs to be as thick and heavy as possible, so any time there were two separate parts for a given section of the song we doubled each part separately. That means each chorus has 4 layers of guitars!
Add to that any any doubled harmonies to the lead, or doubles on single hits/accents that we want extra heavy and you will see how we wound up recording as many as six guitar parts (rhythm, lead, harmony, all doubled) in some sections of these songs. Then Shane has to lay down his solos. He does some sick lines in these songs, so they took a decent amount of time as well. Tally all that together and guitars are probably the most time consuming thing in the recording process for us.
Now that they're out of the way it's on to vocals. Vocals can take a while also. Because they're the first thing people pay attention to when they hear a song, there can't be any weakness whatsoever in the delivery. Some people double vocals too, but we usually just do one pass of lead vocals except for individual words where we want extra emphasis. We feel that we can get a fatter, in-your-face sound with one vocal track and a good blend of effects to create depth. If you double a vocal it will add some dimension, but if that double lacks any energy/passion then it will subtract from the lead rather than enhance it.
Once lead vocals are done we'll see about putting some harmonies in, "Bulletproof" doesn't really seem to have any fitting places to add them, but "Break The Mold" might. We double the background vocals so we can pan them to the left and right speakers just like the guitars, but usually they are only a few words long so they don't take much time.
Keep following our Twitter/Facebook for in-the-moment updates, and we'll make sure to give you another detailed update here in the near future.
EDIT: Sorry that the link to the YouTube videos was broken, we fixed it now.
If you're following along on our Twitter or Facebook status updates, you'll know that we already finished up the bass and guitars for both songs, and the vocals for "Bulletproof" too. You can check out some videos of us recording on our YouTube page.
Bass is typically the easiest thing to record, once you find the sound you want you just need to record the parts once and your done. Guitars take a lot longer because you have to play each part at least twice, one for the left and one for the right speaker, and sometimes as much as six times depending on how many layers you want. In the biz they call playing a part for a second time "doubling".
Sometimes Shane and Garrett play different riffs during the same section of a song, like in the choruses where Shane usually does some type of lead part with a counter-melody to the vocals while Garrett plays chords. If they each played their parts once we would have the two guitars we need to pan to the left and right speakers, but we wanted these songs to be as thick and heavy as possible, so any time there were two separate parts for a given section of the song we doubled each part separately. That means each chorus has 4 layers of guitars!
Add to that any any doubled harmonies to the lead, or doubles on single hits/accents that we want extra heavy and you will see how we wound up recording as many as six guitar parts (rhythm, lead, harmony, all doubled) in some sections of these songs. Then Shane has to lay down his solos. He does some sick lines in these songs, so they took a decent amount of time as well. Tally all that together and guitars are probably the most time consuming thing in the recording process for us.
Now that they're out of the way it's on to vocals. Vocals can take a while also. Because they're the first thing people pay attention to when they hear a song, there can't be any weakness whatsoever in the delivery. Some people double vocals too, but we usually just do one pass of lead vocals except for individual words where we want extra emphasis. We feel that we can get a fatter, in-your-face sound with one vocal track and a good blend of effects to create depth. If you double a vocal it will add some dimension, but if that double lacks any energy/passion then it will subtract from the lead rather than enhance it.
Once lead vocals are done we'll see about putting some harmonies in, "Bulletproof" doesn't really seem to have any fitting places to add them, but "Break The Mold" might. We double the background vocals so we can pan them to the left and right speakers just like the guitars, but usually they are only a few words long so they don't take much time.
Keep following our Twitter/Facebook for in-the-moment updates, and we'll make sure to give you another detailed update here in the near future.
EDIT: Sorry that the link to the YouTube videos was broken, we fixed it now.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
September '09 Metal iMix
This month’s Metal iMix is up! There was really no rhyme or reason to the songs we picked this time. We just tried to find a bunch of bands that we haven’t put on previous playlists, but they have a good mix of our influences.
Dark New Day and Soilwork both have strong, melodic choruses like we try to write, and Sinergy has the heavy palm muted verses just like most of our songs do. Shadows Fall’s “Another Hero Lost” is an awesome ballad with a cool arrangement. Everything through the first pre-chorus is just vocals and acoustic guitar. Then instead of going right into the chorus from the pre-chorus, they go into a guitar solo and back into the verse. The guitar solo/interlude part is also when the drums come in, but they still leave out the bass. After the second verse the drums pick up with the side-stick on the snare for every beat in the second pre-chorus. This starts building up for the chorus, and then the bass comes in during the second half of the pre-chorus, which makes the build-up twice as huge. Staggering the entrance of the drums and bass like that leaves room in the arrangement, and each time you add a new instrument it brings up the energy another level.
Here’s the Metal iMix for September ’09 – Enjoy!
[EDIT: No idea why there are the white outlines in the iMixes, tried to get them to go away but they won't...sorry!]
Dark New Day and Soilwork both have strong, melodic choruses like we try to write, and Sinergy has the heavy palm muted verses just like most of our songs do. Shadows Fall’s “Another Hero Lost” is an awesome ballad with a cool arrangement. Everything through the first pre-chorus is just vocals and acoustic guitar. Then instead of going right into the chorus from the pre-chorus, they go into a guitar solo and back into the verse. The guitar solo/interlude part is also when the drums come in, but they still leave out the bass. After the second verse the drums pick up with the side-stick on the snare for every beat in the second pre-chorus. This starts building up for the chorus, and then the bass comes in during the second half of the pre-chorus, which makes the build-up twice as huge. Staggering the entrance of the drums and bass like that leaves room in the arrangement, and each time you add a new instrument it brings up the energy another level.
Here’s the Metal iMix for September ’09 – Enjoy!
[EDIT: No idea why there are the white outlines in the iMixes, tried to get them to go away but they won't...sorry!]
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Summer Wrap-Up
It’s the first day of September, Mike is back in college, and with fall right around the corner we figured it’s a good time to get you caught up on the busy three months we just had, in case you missed anything. And while we’re at it, we’ll give you a sneak peak at what we’re planning for the next three months, too!
The summer opened strong. We played two shows in just over two weeks, one on 5/30 at the Ivy in Princeton, NJ, and the other on 6/16 opening for The Dirty Pearls at Crash Mansion in NYC. The Dirty Pearls show was a bit of a surprise last-minute performance, which we explained when we announced the gig the day after it happened. After that we took a break from playing out for a while, but we ended the summer on a high note by picking up a sponsorship from Sold Out Tour for a month of free radio promotion at the Gotham Rocks showcase on 8/8, again at Crash Mansion.
If you missed any of the shows, or if you had such a good time you want to re-live the experience over and over again, you can check out the media section of our website for pictures and video from this summer’s shows.
While we were on our short hiatus from playing live, we worked on new material and recorded drums for two of the new songs – “Bulletproof” and “Break The Mold” – with highly regarded producer and engineer Rod Hui. Roddy was Brian’s college professor for his lab on mixing records, and we wrote a nice long blog post about how we put the session together with him and what we were hoping to accomplish.
Now that the summer shows are over, we’re going to head back into the studio soon to record the rest of the instruments and finish up those two songs. We’re aiming for a winter release, if all goes well.
That brings us to two weeks ago. Right after the Gotham Rocks showcase Brian got a new computer for the studio for a few reasons, most importantly to be able to run the newest version of the recording program Pro Tools. It has been a very rocky transition, to say the least. Between losing all of the live recordings from the Gotham Rocks show, to problems with new video software, he’s been spending all his time trying to get everything in shape. Thankfully it looks like we’ve finally got everything back under control.
In the middle of the new computer disaster, Brian was interviewed by Dr. T from iLike2Rock.net. We were offered a featured spot on their site because of our performance at the Gotham Rocks show, and we were asked to do an interview so that they could put together a podcast featuring the band. We are this week’s "Band Of The Week," and a podcast, including two songs from Standing Over Shadows and the full interview with Brian, is up on their site. You can also use the direct link to download the mp3 for the podcast.
That pretty much covers everything that went down during what we feel was a productive and eventful summer! Here’s a peek into what the fall holds:
Right now we’re working out an arrangement to get a small distribution deal finished for Germany and Western Europe. The details are still being worked out, but we were contacted by a company that wants to help stock and promote Standing Over Shadows overseas. This isn’t a major distribution deal, so don’t expect to see our album sitting in the checkout isle of Tesco, but it’s definitely a good first step to reach a foreign market.
We’re also looking to expand our audience in the homeland. We’re planning to play more shows in our area during the late fall or early winter, but also keep your eyes peeled for a few shows that may be held outside of the northeast too! Again, nothing is finalized, but so far things look pretty good!
The next thing up is recording the new songs. Because each of us has a lot going on this week individually, and then we have a holiday weekend, we don’t plan to head back into the studio until next week. Soon after Labor Day we’ll start putting the finishing touches on “Bulletproof” and “Break The Mold,” and we’ll be posting our progress on our Twitter Feed and Facebook Status, so friend/follow us if you want to stay in the loop!
That’s all for now! We give you our sincerest thanks for making this summer so successful for us!
The summer opened strong. We played two shows in just over two weeks, one on 5/30 at the Ivy in Princeton, NJ, and the other on 6/16 opening for The Dirty Pearls at Crash Mansion in NYC. The Dirty Pearls show was a bit of a surprise last-minute performance, which we explained when we announced the gig the day after it happened. After that we took a break from playing out for a while, but we ended the summer on a high note by picking up a sponsorship from Sold Out Tour for a month of free radio promotion at the Gotham Rocks showcase on 8/8, again at Crash Mansion.
If you missed any of the shows, or if you had such a good time you want to re-live the experience over and over again, you can check out the media section of our website for pictures and video from this summer’s shows.
While we were on our short hiatus from playing live, we worked on new material and recorded drums for two of the new songs – “Bulletproof” and “Break The Mold” – with highly regarded producer and engineer Rod Hui. Roddy was Brian’s college professor for his lab on mixing records, and we wrote a nice long blog post about how we put the session together with him and what we were hoping to accomplish.
Now that the summer shows are over, we’re going to head back into the studio soon to record the rest of the instruments and finish up those two songs. We’re aiming for a winter release, if all goes well.
That brings us to two weeks ago. Right after the Gotham Rocks showcase Brian got a new computer for the studio for a few reasons, most importantly to be able to run the newest version of the recording program Pro Tools. It has been a very rocky transition, to say the least. Between losing all of the live recordings from the Gotham Rocks show, to problems with new video software, he’s been spending all his time trying to get everything in shape. Thankfully it looks like we’ve finally got everything back under control.
In the middle of the new computer disaster, Brian was interviewed by Dr. T from iLike2Rock.net. We were offered a featured spot on their site because of our performance at the Gotham Rocks show, and we were asked to do an interview so that they could put together a podcast featuring the band. We are this week’s "Band Of The Week," and a podcast, including two songs from Standing Over Shadows and the full interview with Brian, is up on their site. You can also use the direct link to download the mp3 for the podcast.
That pretty much covers everything that went down during what we feel was a productive and eventful summer! Here’s a peek into what the fall holds:
Right now we’re working out an arrangement to get a small distribution deal finished for Germany and Western Europe. The details are still being worked out, but we were contacted by a company that wants to help stock and promote Standing Over Shadows overseas. This isn’t a major distribution deal, so don’t expect to see our album sitting in the checkout isle of Tesco, but it’s definitely a good first step to reach a foreign market.
We’re also looking to expand our audience in the homeland. We’re planning to play more shows in our area during the late fall or early winter, but also keep your eyes peeled for a few shows that may be held outside of the northeast too! Again, nothing is finalized, but so far things look pretty good!
The next thing up is recording the new songs. Because each of us has a lot going on this week individually, and then we have a holiday weekend, we don’t plan to head back into the studio until next week. Soon after Labor Day we’ll start putting the finishing touches on “Bulletproof” and “Break The Mold,” and we’ll be posting our progress on our Twitter Feed and Facebook Status, so friend/follow us if you want to stay in the loop!
That’s all for now! We give you our sincerest thanks for making this summer so successful for us!
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Sound Of Silence
We know things have been quiet around here for the past few weeks, and we feel like we owe an explanation. Here’s what’s been happening:
Right after the Gotham Rocks showcase Brian got a new computer for the studio for a few reasons, most importantly to be able to run the newest version of the recording program Pro Tools. It has been a very rocky transition, to say the least. He’s been spending all his time trying to get the kinks worked out, which is the primary reason things have been so dead over here.
The first nightmare happened with the live recordings we did at the Gotham Rocks show. We tried to do a multi-track recording of our whole set, but the hard drive couldn’t keep up with how much information was being sent to it, so we only got the middle three songs. Those three songs sounded great though, so we thought we could still use them somehow. While Brian was setting up the new computer he was mixing the live songs straight from the external hard drive that we used to record the show, so there wasn’t another copy of it saved anywhere.
Once Brian finished getting the new computer ready, he went to save a backup copy of the live recordings over to it, but he copied the wrong folder, which wound up erasing the live recordings from the show instead of saving a second copy. He tried for days to recover the deleted files, and found everything except Shane’s guitar, but unfortunately that file seems to be lost forever. Luckily he burned rough mixes of two songs onto a CD to show the rest of the band before the files got deleted, and we still have the CD, so we can release those mixes if we want. They won’t be as good as the final mixes Brian had before the files disappeared, but they still sound pretty damn good for live recordings.
After sorting through the live recording disaster, Brian went to get the video from the show edited and posted to YouTube. Then he found out the new version of iMovie, which came with the new computer, is completely different than the version he used to have. Besides having a completely different workflow, which took a few days to learn and get used to, it also processes files a lot differently.
We use your run-of-the-mill miniDV camera to record our shows, like most people use for making home videos, but the new iMovie changed how it processes DV footage and the results look much worse than they used to. It took a while to figure out how to navigate around this issue and arrive at a final video that doesn’t look terrible. There are still a few things we’re going to try to improve the quality of the videos, but at least we now have something that’s good enough to post.
In the middle of the new computer disaster, Brian was interviewed by Dr. T from iLike2Rock.net. We were offered a featured spot on their site because of our performance at the Gotham Rocks show, and we were asked to do an interview so that they could put together a podcast featuring the band. We are this week’s "Band Of The Week," and a podcast including two songs from Standing Over Shadows and the full interview with Brian is up on their site. You can also use the direct link to download the mp3 for the podcast.
Now that all of this stuff has been sorted out we’re going to go back to posting regular updates again. Sorry for the down time!
Right after the Gotham Rocks showcase Brian got a new computer for the studio for a few reasons, most importantly to be able to run the newest version of the recording program Pro Tools. It has been a very rocky transition, to say the least. He’s been spending all his time trying to get the kinks worked out, which is the primary reason things have been so dead over here.
The first nightmare happened with the live recordings we did at the Gotham Rocks show. We tried to do a multi-track recording of our whole set, but the hard drive couldn’t keep up with how much information was being sent to it, so we only got the middle three songs. Those three songs sounded great though, so we thought we could still use them somehow. While Brian was setting up the new computer he was mixing the live songs straight from the external hard drive that we used to record the show, so there wasn’t another copy of it saved anywhere.
Once Brian finished getting the new computer ready, he went to save a backup copy of the live recordings over to it, but he copied the wrong folder, which wound up erasing the live recordings from the show instead of saving a second copy. He tried for days to recover the deleted files, and found everything except Shane’s guitar, but unfortunately that file seems to be lost forever. Luckily he burned rough mixes of two songs onto a CD to show the rest of the band before the files got deleted, and we still have the CD, so we can release those mixes if we want. They won’t be as good as the final mixes Brian had before the files disappeared, but they still sound pretty damn good for live recordings.
After sorting through the live recording disaster, Brian went to get the video from the show edited and posted to YouTube. Then he found out the new version of iMovie, which came with the new computer, is completely different than the version he used to have. Besides having a completely different workflow, which took a few days to learn and get used to, it also processes files a lot differently.
We use your run-of-the-mill miniDV camera to record our shows, like most people use for making home videos, but the new iMovie changed how it processes DV footage and the results look much worse than they used to. It took a while to figure out how to navigate around this issue and arrive at a final video that doesn’t look terrible. There are still a few things we’re going to try to improve the quality of the videos, but at least we now have something that’s good enough to post.
In the middle of the new computer disaster, Brian was interviewed by Dr. T from iLike2Rock.net. We were offered a featured spot on their site because of our performance at the Gotham Rocks show, and we were asked to do an interview so that they could put together a podcast featuring the band. We are this week’s "Band Of The Week," and a podcast including two songs from Standing Over Shadows and the full interview with Brian is up on their site. You can also use the direct link to download the mp3 for the podcast.
Now that all of this stuff has been sorted out we’re going to go back to posting regular updates again. Sorry for the down time!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
August '09 Metal iMix
The Metal iMix for August '09 is here! This month features songs by most of the bands that are playing our Gotham Rocks Showcase on August 8th.
We figured this was the perfect way for you to get to know some of the other bands that we're going to be sharing the stage with at Crash Mansion in a week. We also threw The Dirty Pearls in there because they got us our last show at Crash, and also because without Tommy's help we never would have gotten this one. We put their song "Icarus (Hollywood la la la)" on there as a token of our appreciation for all the help we've gotten from the Pearls. Thanks guys!
Here are the songs for August!
We figured this was the perfect way for you to get to know some of the other bands that we're going to be sharing the stage with at Crash Mansion in a week. We also threw The Dirty Pearls in there because they got us our last show at Crash, and also because without Tommy's help we never would have gotten this one. We put their song "Icarus (Hollywood la la la)" on there as a token of our appreciation for all the help we've gotten from the Pearls. Thanks guys!
Here are the songs for August!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Recording New Songs
This post has a long and a short version.
Short Version: The basic information, who, what, where, etc.
Long version: Details of our approach to these recordings
Average Read Time (Short Version): 2 Min
Average Read Time (Long Version): 8 Min
Sorry it's been so dead around here lately, we've put up some updates on our Twitter account over the past few weeks, but haven't had anything major to write about, until now!
We're headed into the amazing Dennis Riese Family Recording Studio at New York University today to record for a class run by a production legend, Rod Hui. Rod was Brian's professor for a mixing lab when he was in college, so when he heard Rod was looking for bands to record this summer, we jumped at the chance to get into a studio with a large format console, a solid compliment of outboard gear, and a highly decorated producer.
We're going to be recording two new songs, "Bulletproof" and "Break The Mold". We've played "Bulletproof" live a few times, so some of you may know that one, but "Break The Mold" has never left our rehearsal room, so we're excited to be able to lay it down before Mike leaves for college. We haven't decided exactly how we plan to release these songs yet, a large part of the decision may depend on how the recordings turn out.
Our plan is to focus on nailing the drum sounds and performances while we're there, and do the rest of the parts back at Brian's studio like we did for the last record. There are a few reasons we're going this route. The first is the simple factor of time, we only have 4 hours to set up, record two songs, break down, and get copies of the session files made. The second is space and transportation: it would be impossible for us to fit a full drum set, a 4x12 half stack and head, a bass amp, guitars, and a bass into one car and still have room to carry the band members.
If we had more time we probably would have found a way to get all of our gear in, but because we only have four hours, it isn't worth it. Even if we came in with our amp settings dialed in exactly how we want them, trying to nail the perfect guitar sound, bass sound, and drum sounds would probably require at least 3 hours of set up alone. By focusing on the drums, we can utilize the most important aspects of the studio without over-extending ourselves and trying to do too much.
--Stop here for short version--
Drums, more than any other instrument, require the kinds of tools you can only get at a big studio. The first, and possibly most over-looked, is the live room. For you non-studio people, this is the room where the drums, amps, and anything that's being recorded goes. It's separate from the control room, which is where all the recording equipment, like the mixing console, is. There are two reasons the live room in a full-size studio is important for drums, more so than any other instrument.
The sound of recorded drums on almost, if not every, album ever made uses microphones placed out away from the drum kit, so that it picks up all of the drums. These mics are called "room mics", since they're placed out in the room away from the drums. If you think about it, this makes sense, when you listen to a drum set, do you put your ear right next to the snare drum to hear it? No, you stand back and listen to the kit being played as a whole. These room mics give perspective and depth to drum recordings.
The problem with room mics is that how good they sound depends on the acoustics of the room they are in. If you have a shitty sounding room, your room mics will sound like shit. Fortunately a full size studio should have at least a decent sounding room, which is one reason why it can help a lot to record drums there.
The other big advantage of using the live room in a full-size studio to record is the actual space, and how it's designed for isolation. Without this it's impossible to effectively pull off "live" recording. Live is in quotes because live studio recording is different than live recording from a show. Live recording is when all the instruments are being recorded at the same time, rather than doing the drums first, then the bass, guitars, etc. In order to record live you need to a) have the space to put all the people performing in the same room, and b) have a way to keep their instruments from being picked up in the wrong mics.
The big bonus of live recording is that the musicians all get to play together, feed off each other's energy, and perform the song as if they were on stage. If you just have one person sitting alone in a room playing to a metronome, it winds up sounding pretty sterile and robotic. However, if you can get the band together to play in the same room, using the metronome as a guide to keep them from straying way off tempo, all of a sudden they can push and pull the beat together and really add some energy and life to the recordings. If you get the drums recorded with this energy, it's permanently captured in the timing of the drum parts. If you then want to go back and re-record instruments, like we are planning to do, that feeling and groove will still be there so the other instruments will be able to recreate it during the re-recording.
Another problem with live recording is that you also need a way to keep the instruments separated from each other. If you've got a room mic up on the drums, but the guitar player's amp is in the room with it, you're going to get some guitar in the drum's mic. This unwanted sound from another instrument is called "bleed," and you want to have as little of this as possible. Preferably none at all. It's for this reason that big studios build "iso booths" (short for isolation booths) where you can put a guitar amp and close it off from the rest of the studio. With the guitar amp off in the iso booth, you won't be able to hear any guitar in the live room, this ensures that you don't get any bleed on the drum mics. You may ask, how does one hear the guitar then? Since the guitar is being recorded, too, it has mics on it, so you just take the signal coming from the guitar mics and send it to the headphones everyone is wearing while they record.
Besides the live room, the reason a full-size studio is more important for drums than anything else is the equipment. It's not that it necessarily has better equipment, although some of it may be, it's that it has a lot more of the better equipment.
Remember the example of sticking your head next to the snare drum that came up a few paragraphs back? Even though this isn't natural, if you can imagine doing it you'd probably come to the conclusion that, besides possibly going deaf, you'd hear a very strong impact. By placing mics close up on the drums like this, you achieve a sound with a lot of attack and presence. The mics that go right next to the drums are called "close mics", and you blend them with the room mics to balance the sharp attack with the perspective of the room to get a rich, full drum sound. In order to get a modern drum sound, most people will close mic all of the drums (toms, kick, snare) and even some of the percussion (china crash, ride cymbal). This can lead to sessions with a huge number of microphones set up.
The thing is that there's a bunch more equipment needed, like a preamp and converter, to get the sound from a microphone recorded into the computer. Now, it's relatively cheap to buy enough equipment to process one or two mics at a level that can compete with a professional studio. It becomes problematic when you want to use a top and bottom mic on the snare, an inside and outside mic on the kick, four tom mics, two room mics, some overheads, some close cymbal mics, and a mono room mic. Having enough gear to handle all that on a pro level is why you need to go to a full-size studio to record drums if you want to get the kind of drum sound we're after.
If we get the drums done as close to perfect as we can, using the tools of the big studio to their full advantage, we will be in good shape when we come back to Brian's. He has enough gear to handle at least two mics at a level competitive with the studio we will be in today, and since guitars, bass, and vocals can all be done well with one mic, two or three at the most, we should be fine recording them once we get back here.
We're going to use these songs as a test to see how we should approach recording for the next album. We've been talking about going to a big-name professional studio, like Avatar or Germano, to do drums for the next album for a while. It would be pretty expensive, but still much cheaper than doing a whole album there. Since we're getting these songs done for free, depending on the results, we'll be able to tell if it's worth the money to consider doing it again in the future.
Short Version: The basic information, who, what, where, etc.
Long version: Details of our approach to these recordings
Average Read Time (Short Version): 2 Min
Average Read Time (Long Version): 8 Min
Sorry it's been so dead around here lately, we've put up some updates on our Twitter account over the past few weeks, but haven't had anything major to write about, until now!
We're headed into the amazing Dennis Riese Family Recording Studio at New York University today to record for a class run by a production legend, Rod Hui. Rod was Brian's professor for a mixing lab when he was in college, so when he heard Rod was looking for bands to record this summer, we jumped at the chance to get into a studio with a large format console, a solid compliment of outboard gear, and a highly decorated producer.
We're going to be recording two new songs, "Bulletproof" and "Break The Mold". We've played "Bulletproof" live a few times, so some of you may know that one, but "Break The Mold" has never left our rehearsal room, so we're excited to be able to lay it down before Mike leaves for college. We haven't decided exactly how we plan to release these songs yet, a large part of the decision may depend on how the recordings turn out.
Our plan is to focus on nailing the drum sounds and performances while we're there, and do the rest of the parts back at Brian's studio like we did for the last record. There are a few reasons we're going this route. The first is the simple factor of time, we only have 4 hours to set up, record two songs, break down, and get copies of the session files made. The second is space and transportation: it would be impossible for us to fit a full drum set, a 4x12 half stack and head, a bass amp, guitars, and a bass into one car and still have room to carry the band members.
If we had more time we probably would have found a way to get all of our gear in, but because we only have four hours, it isn't worth it. Even if we came in with our amp settings dialed in exactly how we want them, trying to nail the perfect guitar sound, bass sound, and drum sounds would probably require at least 3 hours of set up alone. By focusing on the drums, we can utilize the most important aspects of the studio without over-extending ourselves and trying to do too much.
--Stop here for short version--
Drums, more than any other instrument, require the kinds of tools you can only get at a big studio. The first, and possibly most over-looked, is the live room. For you non-studio people, this is the room where the drums, amps, and anything that's being recorded goes. It's separate from the control room, which is where all the recording equipment, like the mixing console, is. There are two reasons the live room in a full-size studio is important for drums, more so than any other instrument.
The sound of recorded drums on almost, if not every, album ever made uses microphones placed out away from the drum kit, so that it picks up all of the drums. These mics are called "room mics", since they're placed out in the room away from the drums. If you think about it, this makes sense, when you listen to a drum set, do you put your ear right next to the snare drum to hear it? No, you stand back and listen to the kit being played as a whole. These room mics give perspective and depth to drum recordings.
The problem with room mics is that how good they sound depends on the acoustics of the room they are in. If you have a shitty sounding room, your room mics will sound like shit. Fortunately a full size studio should have at least a decent sounding room, which is one reason why it can help a lot to record drums there.
The other big advantage of using the live room in a full-size studio to record is the actual space, and how it's designed for isolation. Without this it's impossible to effectively pull off "live" recording. Live is in quotes because live studio recording is different than live recording from a show. Live recording is when all the instruments are being recorded at the same time, rather than doing the drums first, then the bass, guitars, etc. In order to record live you need to a) have the space to put all the people performing in the same room, and b) have a way to keep their instruments from being picked up in the wrong mics.
The big bonus of live recording is that the musicians all get to play together, feed off each other's energy, and perform the song as if they were on stage. If you just have one person sitting alone in a room playing to a metronome, it winds up sounding pretty sterile and robotic. However, if you can get the band together to play in the same room, using the metronome as a guide to keep them from straying way off tempo, all of a sudden they can push and pull the beat together and really add some energy and life to the recordings. If you get the drums recorded with this energy, it's permanently captured in the timing of the drum parts. If you then want to go back and re-record instruments, like we are planning to do, that feeling and groove will still be there so the other instruments will be able to recreate it during the re-recording.
Another problem with live recording is that you also need a way to keep the instruments separated from each other. If you've got a room mic up on the drums, but the guitar player's amp is in the room with it, you're going to get some guitar in the drum's mic. This unwanted sound from another instrument is called "bleed," and you want to have as little of this as possible. Preferably none at all. It's for this reason that big studios build "iso booths" (short for isolation booths) where you can put a guitar amp and close it off from the rest of the studio. With the guitar amp off in the iso booth, you won't be able to hear any guitar in the live room, this ensures that you don't get any bleed on the drum mics. You may ask, how does one hear the guitar then? Since the guitar is being recorded, too, it has mics on it, so you just take the signal coming from the guitar mics and send it to the headphones everyone is wearing while they record.
Besides the live room, the reason a full-size studio is more important for drums than anything else is the equipment. It's not that it necessarily has better equipment, although some of it may be, it's that it has a lot more of the better equipment.
Remember the example of sticking your head next to the snare drum that came up a few paragraphs back? Even though this isn't natural, if you can imagine doing it you'd probably come to the conclusion that, besides possibly going deaf, you'd hear a very strong impact. By placing mics close up on the drums like this, you achieve a sound with a lot of attack and presence. The mics that go right next to the drums are called "close mics", and you blend them with the room mics to balance the sharp attack with the perspective of the room to get a rich, full drum sound. In order to get a modern drum sound, most people will close mic all of the drums (toms, kick, snare) and even some of the percussion (china crash, ride cymbal). This can lead to sessions with a huge number of microphones set up.
The thing is that there's a bunch more equipment needed, like a preamp and converter, to get the sound from a microphone recorded into the computer. Now, it's relatively cheap to buy enough equipment to process one or two mics at a level that can compete with a professional studio. It becomes problematic when you want to use a top and bottom mic on the snare, an inside and outside mic on the kick, four tom mics, two room mics, some overheads, some close cymbal mics, and a mono room mic. Having enough gear to handle all that on a pro level is why you need to go to a full-size studio to record drums if you want to get the kind of drum sound we're after.
If we get the drums done as close to perfect as we can, using the tools of the big studio to their full advantage, we will be in good shape when we come back to Brian's. He has enough gear to handle at least two mics at a level competitive with the studio we will be in today, and since guitars, bass, and vocals can all be done well with one mic, two or three at the most, we should be fine recording them once we get back here.
We're going to use these songs as a test to see how we should approach recording for the next album. We've been talking about going to a big-name professional studio, like Avatar or Germano, to do drums for the next album for a while. It would be pretty expensive, but still much cheaper than doing a whole album there. Since we're getting these songs done for free, depending on the results, we'll be able to tell if it's worth the money to consider doing it again in the future.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
July '09 Metal iMix
Here's our metal playlist for the month of July! Hopefully it will give you a taste of what bands we're into at the moment. Right now Brian's really enjoying Dream Theater's new release, Black Clouds & Silver Linings so there are two tracks on there from that album. As always, you've got two from your favorite unsigned metal band, DIVERGENCE.
We also put some on there from Alter Bridge and Shinedown, two bands with amazing lead singers that you should check out if you don't know them. Shinedown's third album (their latest, The Sound Of Madness) is starting to make a lot of noise on mainstream radio because of the song "Second Chance." Just because they're on mainstream radio doesn't mean they're soft though. We like them for the same reason we like Sevendust, who's song "Inside" is on this playlist. Both bands manage to achieve a sound that is both heavy as hell and still musically pleasing, which is something we aim for ourselves if you couldn't tell.
Here is the playlist for July, enjoy!
P.S. This is our 100th Post!!
We also put some on there from Alter Bridge and Shinedown, two bands with amazing lead singers that you should check out if you don't know them. Shinedown's third album (their latest, The Sound Of Madness) is starting to make a lot of noise on mainstream radio because of the song "Second Chance." Just because they're on mainstream radio doesn't mean they're soft though. We like them for the same reason we like Sevendust, who's song "Inside" is on this playlist. Both bands manage to achieve a sound that is both heavy as hell and still musically pleasing, which is something we aim for ourselves if you couldn't tell.
Here is the playlist for July, enjoy!
P.S. This is our 100th Post!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Gotham Rocks Showcase August 8th
We booked our next show! We're going to be playing the Gotham Rocks showcase on Saturday August 8th at Crash Mansion!
Saturday 8/8 @ 6:30 PM | $10 Tix
CRASH MANSION
199 Bowery St. (@ Spring St.)
New York, NY 10002
21+ w/ I.D. to Enter
This is going to be a great show for a lot of reasons. First, Crash Mansion is an amazing venue. When we got the last-minute call to open for The Dirty Pearls there everyone was in agreement that we've never sounded better, and that had a lot to do with the amazing PA system the venue has in place. Another reason is that, because it's a Gotham Rocks show, we'll be playing alongside plenty of other really talented modern rock/metal bands, including Diablo Royale and Shadows Lie!
Gotham Rocks puts these showcases together for the bands to get sponsorships with musical equipment manufacturers, music magazines, and radio stations. We're hoping to make a strong impression with not only the Gotham Rocks people, so that we can get more shows, but also with the people from the various companies, which in past shows have included Marshall Amps, Sirius/XM Radio, and LiveNation!
We're really pumped to have this opportunity, so you know we'll be there ready to rock extra hard, hopefully you'll be there to rock with us!
Saturday 8/8 @ 6:30 PM | $10 Tix
CRASH MANSION
199 Bowery St. (@ Spring St.)
New York, NY 10002
21+ w/ I.D. to Enter
This is going to be a great show for a lot of reasons. First, Crash Mansion is an amazing venue. When we got the last-minute call to open for The Dirty Pearls there everyone was in agreement that we've never sounded better, and that had a lot to do with the amazing PA system the venue has in place. Another reason is that, because it's a Gotham Rocks show, we'll be playing alongside plenty of other really talented modern rock/metal bands, including Diablo Royale and Shadows Lie!
Gotham Rocks puts these showcases together for the bands to get sponsorships with musical equipment manufacturers, music magazines, and radio stations. We're hoping to make a strong impression with not only the Gotham Rocks people, so that we can get more shows, but also with the people from the various companies, which in past shows have included Marshall Amps, Sirius/XM Radio, and LiveNation!
We're really pumped to have this opportunity, so you know we'll be there ready to rock extra hard, hopefully you'll be there to rock with us!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thanks For Coming To Crash Mansion Last Night
We just wanted to write a big THANK YOU here to everyone that came to see us play at Crash Mansion with The Dirty Pearls in NYC last night. Yes, we had a show last night, it was totally last minute and we didn't get around to posting a message about it here. We did send an e-mail to our mailing list about it though, so if you're not subscribed yet you should sign up.
Tommy from the Dirty Pearls was originally trying to get us on this show, but the owner of Crash Mansion booked his own bands instead. The day before the show one of those bands dropped out and Tommy gave us a call asking us if we would fill in last minute. We jumped at the chance to open up for such a prominent band in the New York underground music scene.
Mike was in Virginia the day before the show and hauled ass back to NJ the day of, the rest of us took half days at work so we could run through our set when Mike got back. We hadn't played together since our show at the Ivy over two weeks earlier, so we rehearsed quickly and then jumped on a train with our guitars and headed into the city for the gig.
Crash Mansion had easily the nicest sound system of any venue we played at, and the crowd was in agreement that we've never sounded better. We also got a chance to make a good impression with some prominent people in the New York music scene, so we're hoping that will help us land even better shows in the future.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough hands to bring a video camera with us to the show, so we won't be able to put anything up on YouTube this time around. We did have our buddy Artem take more photos though, so we'll at least have some pictures to put up.
Rather than write a one sentence blog post about little things like putting up new pictures, we're going to save short messages like that for our Twitter/Facebook/MySpace status updates. If you want to stay in the loop about that kind of stuff make sure you follow us on one of those networks!
Tommy from the Dirty Pearls was originally trying to get us on this show, but the owner of Crash Mansion booked his own bands instead. The day before the show one of those bands dropped out and Tommy gave us a call asking us if we would fill in last minute. We jumped at the chance to open up for such a prominent band in the New York underground music scene.
Mike was in Virginia the day before the show and hauled ass back to NJ the day of, the rest of us took half days at work so we could run through our set when Mike got back. We hadn't played together since our show at the Ivy over two weeks earlier, so we rehearsed quickly and then jumped on a train with our guitars and headed into the city for the gig.
Crash Mansion had easily the nicest sound system of any venue we played at, and the crowd was in agreement that we've never sounded better. We also got a chance to make a good impression with some prominent people in the New York music scene, so we're hoping that will help us land even better shows in the future.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough hands to bring a video camera with us to the show, so we won't be able to put anything up on YouTube this time around. We did have our buddy Artem take more photos though, so we'll at least have some pictures to put up.
Rather than write a one sentence blog post about little things like putting up new pictures, we're going to save short messages like that for our Twitter/Facebook/MySpace status updates. If you want to stay in the loop about that kind of stuff make sure you follow us on one of those networks!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
June '09 Metal iMix
We're trying a new way of promoting the band - a monthly hard rock/heavy metal iTunes iMix! Each month we'll put up a playlist of 10 songs, including a few of ours, so that we can share the songs we're into at the moment with you. Hopefully it will be successful, and something we will keep up with!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Killing In The Name Video Posted
The last video from our gig at the Ivy Inn, a cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name," is up! In case you missed them, here are all the videos from the show!
Killing In The Name LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Killing In The Name LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Monday, June 8, 2009
Standing Over Shadows Video Posted
The video for "Standing Over Shadows" from our gig two Saturdays ago at The Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ is up!
Standing Over Shadows LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Standing Over Shadows LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Bulletproof Video From The Ivy Posted
The video for "Bulletproof" from our gig two Saturdays ago at The Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ is up!
Bulletproof LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Bulletproof LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Saturday, June 6, 2009
My Prison Still Remains & Devoiden Video
The video for "My Prison Still Remains" and "Devoiden" from our gig one week ago at The Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ is up!
My Prison & Devoiden LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
My Prison & Devoiden LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Friday, June 5, 2009
Crazy Train Video From The Ivy Posted
The video for "Crazy Train" from our gig this past Saturday at The Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ is up!
Crazy Train LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Crazy Train LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Thursday, June 4, 2009
"Eulogy" Video From The Ivy Posted
The video for "Eulogy" from our gig this past Saturday at The Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ is up!
Eulogy LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Eulogy LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
First Video From The Ivy Gig Posted
We just posted the first video from our show last Saturday at the Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ. Rather than embed the video into the blog like we used to do, we're just going to post a link. It made the blog load really slowly when we embedded all of the videos we had last time.
Rock Bottom Again & Collapse LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Rock Bottom Again & Collapse LIVE @ The Ivy Inn 5/30/09
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thanks For Coming To The Ivy
We just wanted to write a BIG THANK YOU to everyone that came to see us at the Ivy last night. We especially want to thank End Of Daze for playing with us, and Rich & Justin from the Ivy for letting us use their place to hold this show. Despite the venue's limitations (it's not really designed for live music) we still had a blast and hope you all did too. We really do appreciate the support we get, so thanks again, and we'll work on getting some more shows announced real soon!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Ivy Show Today + Live Twitter
Our show at the Ivy is TONIGHT! We're also going to be trying to update our twitter feed with the day's events, from our pre-show routine all the way until the end of the night...if we can even form complete sentences by that point. Consider than an early apology for any unintelligible tweets we send in a drunken stupor. Follow us @divergencemusic and you'll be able to get in on the action!
Saturday 5/30 @ 8:00 PM - $3 Cover
The Ivy Inn
w/ special guest End of Daze!
248 Nassau St.
Princeton NJ, 08542
Specials ALL NIGHT
$1 Miller High Life
$2 22oz Bud Light
21+ w/ I.D. to Enter
Friday, May 29, 2009
Ivy Show Tomorrow
Get out your earplugs, we're going to be rocking at the Ivy Inn in Princeton TOMORROW! Doors are at 8:00 PM, all the info is below:
Saturday 5/30 @ 8:00 PM - $3 Cover
The Ivy Inn
w/ special guest End of Daze!
248 Nassau St.
Princeton NJ, 08542
Specials ALL NIGHT
$1 Miller High Life
$2 22oz Bud Light
21+ w/ I.D. to Enter
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Ivy In One Week
Sorry for the lack of updates lately, we really haven't had much going on to talk about besides getting ready for our gig at the Ivy Inn in exactly 1 week! There are some other things besides the Ivy show in the works, but nothing is official yet. We will, hopefully, have at least one big announcement to make after the holiday, stay tuned for that. Hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, we'll see you next Saturday at the Ivy ready to rock!
Saturday 5/30 @ 8:30 PM - $3 Cover
The Ivy Inn
w/ special guest End of Daze!
248 Nassau St.
Princeton NJ, 08542
Specials ALL NIGHT
$1 Miller High Life
$2 22oz Bud Light
21+ w/ I.D. to Enter
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Ivy In Less Than Two Weeks
Just a quick reminder that we're playing the Ivy Inn in Princeton in less than two weeks! We had the address wrong on our last post, but we've fixed that.
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Saturday 5/30 @ 8:30 PM - $3 Cover
The Ivy Inn
w/ special guest End of Daze!
248 Nassau St.
Princeton NJ, 08542
Specials ALL NIGHT
$1 Miller High Life
$2 22oz Bud Light
21+ w/ I.D. to Enter
Thursday, May 14, 2009
New Help/FAQ Topic - Subscription Options
We just added a new topic to the Help/FAQ section of our website. It answers the question "I love you guys, how can I stay up-to-date with the band?" Here's the answer:
We have a ton of different social networking sites that you can follow us on, just click on the links page on our website and you will find a complete list. In addition to becoming our friend on those networks, you can follow our blog, which has both RSS and e-mail subscriptions, our a mailing list, and our micro-blogging platforms. Here is a breakdown of the differences between each of them:
We have a ton of different social networking sites that you can follow us on, just click on the links page on our website and you will find a complete list. In addition to becoming our friend on those networks, you can follow our blog, which has both RSS and e-mail subscriptions, our a mailing list, and our micro-blogging platforms. Here is a breakdown of the differences between each of them:
- The Mailing List - We only send out our major updates to our mailing list. Announcements about upcoming shows, a big review, or anything else that we consider high-priority news we will e-mail out to everyone signed up. Even if you plan on getting more frequent updates from one of our other notification services, you should still join the mailing list because we provide exclusive deals and content to our mailing list members. Most recently we gave everyone on our list a discount on the new album at the album release show, as well as the link to a "secret" web page to download live mp3s from the gig. Make sure you sign up so you don't miss out on these exclusives. You can subscribe here.
- The Blog - Our blog is where we post the bulk of our news updates. Anything we consider significant news goes here, like if we post a new video to YouTube, add features to our website, or join a new social network. We will also re-post the major stuff that we send the mailing list here. There are two different ways to get updates from our blog, besides the obvious way of checking the page everyday, which we think is kind of annoying.
- RSS Feed - RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary." It is a way to deliver a stripped down version of a website to your computer, so instead of having to go and check a site everyday for new posts, you can just wait and it will automatically notify you when there is new material. A feed looks something like this. Pretty much every site has a feed these days, so all you have to do is go around to your favorite websites and subscribe to their feed. To subscribe you save a bookmark to the site's RSS feed in what people call a "reader" or a "feed reader." Your reader will regularly check all of the blogs and RSS feeds you subscribe to for updates, and all of the new posts will show up right in your reader. Most readers are free, Google has a popular free one called GoogleReader, and there is one included with the Safari web browser for Macs. Instead of having to go to all of the sites you want to follow everyday to check for a new post, you can just open up your reader and all of the new material will be right there for you to read.
If you want to learn more about RSS check out this video and this site. You can find a list of popular feed readers here too. When you've got your RSS reader all setup don't forget to subscribe to our feed, or click on the RSS icon in our blog or our website. - E-mail Updates - This is different from our mailing list. Our mailing list is only for major updates and exclusive content we want to share with our fans only and not post publicly on the web. If you subscribe to our blog via e-mail updates then every time we write a new post you will get a message with the content of the post in the e-mail. You can subscribe here.
- RSS Feed - RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary." It is a way to deliver a stripped down version of a website to your computer, so instead of having to go and check a site everyday for new posts, you can just wait and it will automatically notify you when there is new material. A feed looks something like this. Pretty much every site has a feed these days, so all you have to do is go around to your favorite websites and subscribe to their feed. To subscribe you save a bookmark to the site's RSS feed in what people call a "reader" or a "feed reader." Your reader will regularly check all of the blogs and RSS feeds you subscribe to for updates, and all of the new posts will show up right in your reader. Most readers are free, Google has a popular free one called GoogleReader, and there is one included with the Safari web browser for Macs. Instead of having to go to all of the sites you want to follow everyday to check for a new post, you can just open up your reader and all of the new material will be right there for you to read.
- Micro-Blogging -This is where you'll get every single last detail about the band. If Shane farts at band practice, you'll know. If Brian is eating a bacon cheese steak from Hoagie Haven, you'll know. If Garrett is drunk...well Garrett is always drunk, so consider that a permanent update. You get the point, we'll put up all the day-to-day stuff we think you might care about, like if we're working on something cool at practice, listening to a song we really like, or watching a cool movie. Right now we use our Twitter page as the foundation for our micro-blogging, so if you want to follow all of our conversations and our updates subscribe there.
We also have our Twitter account set up to update some of our other social networks. On ReverbNation, all of our tweets will show up there besides replies (i.e. a tweet beginning with @username). Any tweet that we end with #fb will post our Facebook page. And of course MySpace has to be the big pain in the ass, so anything we want to show up as our MySpace mood we will copy and paste there. Sound confusing? Good. Then just go and follow us on Twitter.
Devoiden Bass Tablature
One of our fans on YouTube wrote us a note asking for the bass tabs for "Devoiden," the instrumental from our latest album Standing Over Shadows. Brian wrote up the tabs, and then we decided rather than just send it to the one person, why not throw it up on our site just in case other people are interested in seeing how to play the song. Here is the official Bass Tab for Devoiden. The tab not only shows the frets and strings, but also the rhythms for each note in musical notation, for those of you who can read. Enjoy!
If you want any more bass tabs you can e-mail brian@divergencemusic.net. Let either shane@divergencemusic.net or garrett@divergencemusic.net know if you want any guitar tabs. We will do our best to write them up as soon as possible!
If you want any more bass tabs you can e-mail brian@divergencemusic.net. Let either shane@divergencemusic.net or garrett@divergencemusic.net know if you want any guitar tabs. We will do our best to write them up as soon as possible!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Divergence & End Of Daze Rock the Ivy
We're officially going to be playing at the Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ Saturday May 30th at 8:30 PM! Our buddy Ryan is leaving for the Army the following week, so we wanted to send him off right. Not only will we rock the house with $1 High Life and $2 22oz Bud Lights all night, but our friends in End Of Daze will take over after our set and jam out some serious cover tuneage. Here are all the lovely details:
Saturday 5/30 @ 8:30 PM - $3 Cover
The Ivy Inn
238 Nassau St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
21+ To Enter w/ I.D.
Saturday 5/30 @ 8:30 PM - $3 Cover
The Ivy Inn
238 Nassau St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
21+ To Enter w/ I.D.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Bye Bye Wikipedia - XLong Bio Will Be On Website
So our Wikipedia page is already gone. There were two problems, the first was that the page was written by the same person/group that it was about. This, to them, is considered a conflict of interest. The second was that there wasn't enough notable third-party work to provide facts for the claims that we made. We could have gotten around that by having someone else write the article, but we also don't me the criteria for outside sources. You can see the list of possible criteria for a band to get included in Wikipedia, none of which we satisfy at the moment. We're going to take down all the links to our now-deleted Wikipedia page and put up the extended version of our bio on our site. We'll put that link up when it's ready.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Site Updates
Posted May 4 2009
We've added some new features to our websites and we just wanted to give you a rundown of what's new! First, if you go to our blog, besides the new layout you'll notice there are now links to share each post on various social bookmarking sites. We wanted to make it really easy for all of you to share anything that you think is awesome on our site.
Speaking of sharing. We also added links to the discography section of our website that will allow you embed each song with a shortened URL right into your tweets on Twitter! Song.ly is the company that puts this service out, and it's really cool. People click the Song.ly link, and they go right to a web page with an embedded music player where they can play the song. The share button for Twitter on our blog automatically shortens the URL of the post for you too, because we're cool like that.
And finally, we put ourselves up on Wikipedia! We know that we have a bio section of our site, but we didn't want to put all the really specific details there. We tried to keep that bio short and sweet, and then put the extended version up on Wikipedia. If you want to know everything there is to know about Divergence you can check our Wikipedia page: User:Divergencemusic. Because of some of the rules regarding Wikipedia and how they maintain the site, you can't get a main page until enough other people edit the page and request that it be moved off of a user account and turned into a main page on the site.
*Edit: We just went to our Wikipedia page and saw they blocked our account from editing pages, because apparently user accounts are supposed to be for individuals and not groups, and the website is not to be used for "Promotional" articles. Since the post was written by the group it is about, they consider it a conflict of interest. We just sent them a response to try and see what we need to do to properly have ourselves listed. We'll let you know what happens.
We've added some new features to our websites and we just wanted to give you a rundown of what's new! First, if you go to our blog, besides the new layout you'll notice there are now links to share each post on various social bookmarking sites. We wanted to make it really easy for all of you to share anything that you think is awesome on our site.
Speaking of sharing. We also added links to the discography section of our website that will allow you embed each song with a shortened URL right into your tweets on Twitter! Song.ly is the company that puts this service out, and it's really cool. People click the Song.ly link, and they go right to a web page with an embedded music player where they can play the song. The share button for Twitter on our blog automatically shortens the URL of the post for you too, because we're cool like that.
And finally, we put ourselves up on Wikipedia! We know that we have a bio section of our site, but we didn't want to put all the really specific details there. We tried to keep that bio short and sweet, and then put the extended version up on Wikipedia. If you want to know everything there is to know about Divergence you can check our Wikipedia page: User:Divergencemusic. Because of some of the rules regarding Wikipedia and how they maintain the site, you can't get a main page until enough other people edit the page and request that it be moved off of a user account and turned into a main page on the site.
*Edit: We just went to our Wikipedia page and saw they blocked our account from editing pages, because apparently user accounts are supposed to be for individuals and not groups, and the website is not to be used for "Promotional" articles. Since the post was written by the group it is about, they consider it a conflict of interest. We just sent them a response to try and see what we need to do to properly have ourselves listed. We'll let you know what happens.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
New Blog Layout & More!
Posted May 2 2009
If you've been to our blog recently you'll notice we did a major redesign over the past few days. We're still working to add some more features to both the blog as well as our website too. We'll be taking on these tasks in the coming week or so, but since none of us are web programmers who knows how long it's going to take to actually get everything done. We'll be sure to give you a heads up about all the cool stuff we add!
If you've been to our blog recently you'll notice we did a major redesign over the past few days. We're still working to add some more features to both the blog as well as our website too. We'll be taking on these tasks in the coming week or so, but since none of us are web programmers who knows how long it's going to take to actually get everything done. We'll be sure to give you a heads up about all the cool stuff we add!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Divergence Is Now On Twitter
Posted April 29 2009
So we finally got ourselves a Twitter account today. We got an e-mail from Twitter saying one of our fans wanted us to join so that they could follow us, and it was just the push we needed to go and create ourselves and account. You can follow us @divergencemusic!
So we finally got ourselves a Twitter account today. We got an e-mail from Twitter saying one of our fans wanted us to join so that they could follow us, and it was just the push we needed to go and create ourselves and account. You can follow us @divergencemusic!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Torture Me Everyday & Eulogy Video Up
posted April 26 2009
We just put up the last video from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows, "Torture Me Everyday" and "Eulogy." You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
We just put up the last video from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows, "Torture Me Everyday" and "Eulogy." You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Crazy Train Video Up
posted April 25 2009
We just put up the video for "Crazy Train" from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows at Fontana's this past Saturday. You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
We just put up the video for "Crazy Train" from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows at Fontana's this past Saturday. You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Friday, April 24, 2009
My Prison Still Remains & Devoiden Video Up
posted April 24 2009
We just put up the video for "My Prison Still Remains" and "Devoiden" from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows at Fontana's this past Saturday. You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
We just put up the video for "My Prison Still Remains" and "Devoiden" from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows at Fontana's this past Saturday. You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Standing Over Shadows on iTunes & Tread Video
posted April 23 2009
You can officially buy Standing Over Shadows on iTunes and Amazon's mp3 store! Somehow we got listed as "Alternative" in the genre column at iTunes, so you'll have to go and change that after you download the tracks. We spoke to our digital distributor about fixing it but haven't heard back about whether or not they can change things after the tracks have been submitted. You can head to the "Store" section of www.divergencemusic.net to get links to the album at both places.
We also put up the video for "Tread On Kings" from Saturday's album release show. You can find it in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Tread On Kings LIVE @ Fontana's 4/18/09
You can officially buy Standing Over Shadows on iTunes and Amazon's mp3 store! Somehow we got listed as "Alternative" in the genre column at iTunes, so you'll have to go and change that after you download the tracks. We spoke to our digital distributor about fixing it but haven't heard back about whether or not they can change things after the tracks have been submitted. You can head to the "Store" section of www.divergencemusic.net to get links to the album at both places.
We also put up the video for "Tread On Kings" from Saturday's album release show. You can find it in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Tread On Kings LIVE @ Fontana's 4/18/09
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Videos From Album Release
posted April 22 2009
We just put up the first two videos from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows at Fontana's this past Saturday. You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Rock Bottom Again & Collapse LIVE @ Fontana's 4/18/09
Standing Over Shadows LIVE @ Fontana's 4/18/09
We just put up the first two videos from our album release show for Standing Over Shadows at Fontana's this past Saturday. You can find them in the "Media - Videos" section of www.divergencemusic.net as well as on our YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook pages.
Rock Bottom Again & Collapse LIVE @ Fontana's 4/18/09
Standing Over Shadows LIVE @ Fontana's 4/18/09
Monday, April 20, 2009
Radio Show & Pictures
Posted April 20 2009
We just wanted to remind everyone that we're going to be on the air 7:30PM TONIGHT at PowerHouseMix for our album release radio show. They're going to be playing the entire album in order, along with some live tracks from our release show on Saturday and interviews with the band.
We just wanted to remind everyone that we're going to be on the air 7:30PM TONIGHT at PowerHouseMix for our album release radio show. They're going to be playing the entire album in order, along with some live tracks from our release show on Saturday and interviews with the band.
We also posted the pictures from our show Saturday, you can find them in the "Media -> Pictures" section of our website, and also on our Facebook and MySpace pages. We're going to be putting up pictures from the after party soon too, so keep an eye out for those.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Album Release Radio Show Postponed
Posted April 19 2009
First we want to say THANKS to everyone that came out to party with us last night at the album release show! Second, because of some problems PowerHouseMix is having, our radio show is going to be pushed back to tomorrow (4/20) at 7:30PM. Sorry if this is a pain for anyone, we're ready to go but they changed servers today and are experiencing some technical difficulties.
First we want to say THANKS to everyone that came out to party with us last night at the album release show! Second, because of some problems PowerHouseMix is having, our radio show is going to be pushed back to tomorrow (4/20) at 7:30PM. Sorry if this is a pain for anyone, we're ready to go but they changed servers today and are experiencing some technical difficulties.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Standing Over Shadows Is Out!
posted April 18th 2009
It's midnight here in New Jersey, which means Standing Over Shadows is officially out! You can buy the album from CD Baby here if you're not going to see us at the album release show tonight.
We also have an amazing new website at www.divergencemusic.net, special thanks to Dan Orso at KidEclectic Design for making the site! You can use the "Store" link on the site to buy the album too, and we have cool Divergence Standing Over Shadows desktop wallpapers available in the "Media->Downloads" tab, along with Divergence buddy icons. Go take a look around, there's a lot there to keep you busy!
It's midnight here in New Jersey, which means Standing Over Shadows is officially out! You can buy the album from CD Baby here if you're not going to see us at the album release show tonight.
We also have an amazing new website at www.divergencemusic.net, special thanks to Dan Orso at KidEclectic Design for making the site! You can use the "Store" link on the site to buy the album too, and we have cool Divergence Standing Over Shadows desktop wallpapers available in the "Media->Downloads" tab, along with Divergence buddy icons. Go take a look around, there's a lot there to keep you busy!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Album Release & Show TOMORROW
posted April 17th 2009
Tomorrow is our album release, show at Fontana's, and free open bar after party! And the day after is our radio show. Don't miss out!
Standing Over Shadows - ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
Fontana's
105 Eldridge St.
(btwn. Broome & Grand)
New York, NY 10002
21+ w/ I.D. to enter
Special prices for our mailing list members:
Standing Over Shadows CD - $5
Standing Over Shadows CD & Divergence T-Shirt - $12
If you show up wearing a Divergence T-Shirt...
we'll give you the CD for $1!
First 75 CDs will be Limited Edition (Numbered & Signed)
---
AFTER PARTY - FREE OPEN BAR FROM 9-10PM
Down The Hatch
179 W. 4th St.
(W.4th & 6th Ave)
New York, NY 10014
---
Sunday 4/19 @ 7:30 PM (Eastern Time)
Standing Over Shadows ALBUM RELEASE RADIO SHOW
PowerHouseMix Internet Radio
Listen to the entire album, along with live songs from the show the night before, and hear interviews with the band between songs! www.powerhousemix.com
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Album Release & Show - 1 Week
Exactly one week until Standing Over Shadows comes out! Just in case you missed it we've got a show to celebrate at Fontana's again, and we're doing another open bar at Down The Hatch. Remember we're also going to be on internet radio station PowerHouseMix the day after to promote the release. Here's the info:
Saturday 4/18 @ 6:30 PM - $8 Cover
Standing Over Shadows - ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
Fontana's
105 Eldridge St.
(btwn. Broome & Grand)
New York, NY 10002
21+ w/ I.D. to enter
Special prices for our mailing list members:
Standing Over Shadows CD - $5
Standing Over Shadows CD & Divergence T-Shirt - $12
If you show up wearing a Divergence T-Shirt...
we'll give you the CD for $1
First 75 CDs will be Limited Edition (Numbered & Signed)
---
AFTER PARTY - FREE OPEN BAR FROM 9-10PM
Down The Hatch
179 W. 4th St.
New York, NY 10014
---
Sunday 4/19 @ 7:30 PM (Eastern Time)
Standing Over Shadows ALBUM RELEASE RADIO SHOW
Listen to the entire album, along with live songs from the show the night before, and hear interviews with the band between songs!
Friday, April 3, 2009
After Party Guest List
If you're planning on coming to the FREE open bar we have after our show on the 18th write an e-mail to band@divergencemusic.net and we'll add you to the guest list so you'll be able to get in on the free-booze action.
Saturday 4/18 @ 6:30PM - $8 Cover
Saturday 4/18 @ 6:30PM - $8 Cover
Standing Over Shadows ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
Fontana's
105 Eldridge St.
(btwn. Broome & Grand)
New York, NY 10003
After Party - FREE OPEN BAR 9-10PM
Down The Hatch
179 West 4th St.
(West 4th & 6th Ave.)
New York, NY 10014
ONE NIGHT ONLY - MAILING LIST DISCOUNTS
In order to get these prices you must be on the mailing list or sign it that night
$5 - Standing Over Shadows CD
$12 - Standing Over Shadows CD & Divergence T-Shirt
If you wear a Divergence shirt...you get the CD FOR A BUCK!
The first 75 CDs will be "Limited Edition"
Numbered and signed by the 4 of us!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Album Release Info
We posted a little while ago about the album release show, but since then we've added some more stuff to go along with the release so we decided to re-post all the information in one place so no one misses anything.
Standing Over Shadows comes out April 18th, and we're playing an album release show at Fontana's to celebrate. We've got another after-party with a free open bar Down The Hatch too! We're also giving some special prices on Divergence merch to everyone already on our mailing list (sign up here!) or who joins it at the show as a way of thanking them for their support. The first 75 copies of the CD we sell are also going to be limited edition, signed and numbered by the band!
If you're not in the NYC Metro area, and thus can't make it to the show, don't worry - you can still catch Divergence LIVE on the radio at PowerHouseMix the day after! They will be playing the album in its entirety, along with some live tracks from the show the night before, and doing interviews with the band between songs. The album will also be available for purchase online, we will give out that link when the store goes live, so even if you don't live in our area you'll be able to get a copy of the CD.
Saturday 4/18 @ 6:30 PM - $8 Cover
Standing Over Shadows - ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
Fontana's
105 Eldridge St.
(btwn. Broome & Grand)
New York, NY 10002
21+ w/ I.D. to enter
Special prices for our mailing list members:
Standing Over Shadows CD - $5
Standing Over Shadows CD & Divergence T-Shirt - $12
If you show up wearing a Divergence T-Shirt...
we'll give you the CD for $1
First 75 CDs will be Limited Edition (Numbered & Signed)
AFTER PARTY - FREE OPEN BAR FROM 9-10PM
Down The Hatch
179 W. 4th St.
New York, NY 10014
Sunday 4/19 @ 7:30 PM (Eastern Time)
Standing Over Shadows ALBUM RELEASE RADIO SHOW
Listen to the entire album, along with live songs from the show the night before, and hear interviews with the band between songs!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Album Cover
We just got our album cover from our buddy Chris Stewart and it looks SICK!!! (He's also the one who drew our logo for us.) Unfortunately we don't want to ruin any surprises so what it looks like and pictures of it are going to be kept secret until the release, but we love it and think you will too!
Thanks again to Chris for working with us, you did an awesome job bro.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Odds & Ends
We've got a lot going on right now preparing for the release of Standing Over Shadows and we just wanted to fill you guys in on some of the little details. Here's what's up:
We had to make some adjustments to the design of the album, which included revising the headshots we took for the Divergence Desktop Wallpapers. As a result we've taken down the old wallpapers we had up for the time being. Don't worry though they will be back up after the album comes out, along with some fresh new ones, to help promote the release.
We are also coming close to finishing our real website for www.divergencemusic.net, and we're hoping to be able to time the release of the album with the launch of the site.
The album is going to include a bonus track, which will be available as a "Fan-Exclusive" download from our ReverbNation page. On April 18th that song will go live and you'll be able to download it if you're on the mailing list. If not you'll have to join before you can get the bonus song.
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