sicksickbirds

[sicksickbirds]

  Here lies the SSB They Fought the Good Fight 2004ish - 2014 REST IN PEACE

Well, the SSB's played our last show on Saturday night. It was a great (but somewhat bittersweet) night. It was great to see so many familiar faces. There were a lot of people that I wanted to acknowledge at the show, but once we started playing, I decided that I was going to have a hard time holding it together, so I chose to instead focus on discussing Carrie Nation and the prohibitionist movement, tuning issues, Lee being tired and needing to rest between songs, etc. 

We were not exactly a popular band. And that's okay. I am proud of the songs that we put out there, and honored to have gotten the chance to work with some of the best people I know.

Buck and Faye: you guys were there in the beginning.  I will always remember enjoying vititus (sp?) and the creation of "solid gold."  That was the most fun I ever remember having at band practice!

Matt: a great drummer who really solidified us. I have really enjoyed watching you become a great songwriter with Dead Mechanical and I hope you keep it up. I'm sure you will.

Jimmy the Truth: We only played one show with you (FEST!), but it was a good one and you are one of the coolest dudes ever.

Eric: An amazing person and the best super-utility player ever, switching back and forth between guitar and bass depending on what was needed at the time. You did great stuff on Gates of Home.

Kerry: Another great guy who should have stuck around longer! You have a great feel for music and how to put a song together.

Tim Baier and John Irvine: Thank you so much for taking the time to contribute to our records. One of our visions when we put the band together in the first place was to build the framework for good songs, and then capitalize on all of our good friends to come in and add their talents and make the songs great. You are both an example of this. I can't imagine some of these songs without the additions that you made.

Tanuj: Thank you for your patience and helping us get the rhythm section recorded!

Dan Black: In all of my years of doing this stuff, you are the first engineer/producer to really throw yourself into what we were doing and treat it like you were a member of the band (which is what we always considered you to be). I am pretty protective of the songs that I write, and I was able to trust you completely. I will always appreciate your willingness to take risks.

Andrew (Ghostbot), Dave (A.D.D.), Alex (Art of the Underground), Mike (Killing Horse) and especially Mike Riley (Toxic Pop): Thank you so much to all of you for putting out records that may not always make the most sense financially. One thing that I think you all have in common is that you put out music that you like, regardless of how you think it's going to sell. You represent the best thing about independent music. Thank you for putting SSB records out there.

Our families: Heather, Regan, Eric, Joe, Brooke, Maddie, Mason and Ramona (and the pending additions)... Thank you for all of the amazing support and for indulging us in our time-consuming pursuit of... you know, whatever. I love you all and am confident we will still see each other often. (Well, I'm pretty sure I will see Joe, Maddie and Heather a lot, but you get the idea).

Bobby: We started this thing together a long time ago. The intention was to build something where we could keep creating songs after the Thumbs, and fit it into our lives as best we could. You are a great friend and one of the best songwriters I have ever known. I don't think you are done yet and I hope to hear more of your stuff someday soon.

Melissa and Lee: Seriously, it has been an honor playing with you both. Paring down to a 3-piece was a challenge born out of necessity, but I am proud of how we adjusted to it and in the end it turned out to be my favorite lineup. Melissa, you went from someone I barely knew who came in and diligently learned bass lines to someone who became a full partner in the band. Lee, we were lucky to find you and pull you out of semi-retirement. The way that that you play turned out to be a perfect fit for what we were trying to do. You were both such a huge part of making this band  something that I will always be proud of. I could not ask for better bandmates and friends.

Thanks, everybody.

Mike Hall

[sicksickbirds]

We are playing our last show on Saturday, December 27 at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore. We are disbanding on the best of terms. Our families are getting larger and older, and it's getting more difficult right now (in a good way!) to set aside the time necessary to be the band that we want to be.

We hope that you can make it out to this show and see us play one more time. Personally (this is Mike!), I have been in a band almost every day of my life for the past 27 years or so, so this is going to be a major change. I'm not sure what the future holds, exactly, but as this show approaches, I can't help thinking this might be the last time I play a show. Come out if you can. We will have fun!

Thanks for listening, everybody.

Mike, Lee and Melissa

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154891200305486&set=gm.528401743929997&type=1&theater

[sicksickbirds]

Sick Sick Birds "All the Fins in the Sea" is available for pre-order starting Tuesday (11/19) over at Ghostbot Records (www.ghostbotrecords.com). Get 'em while they're hot!

#sick sick birds #sicksickbirds #ghostbot #ghostbot records #baltimore #indie #indie punk

[sicksickbirds]

Playing in NYC soon. Attend!

[sicksickbirds]

#Baltimore #shoegaze #club k #indie #indie punk #sick sick birds #the veldt #heaven #heaven nyc #phantom lanterns

[sicksickbirds]

I used to be in a band called The Thumbs. Mark Minnig (great friend and original Thumbs bassist) just put together these clips from the first few Thumbs tour into a video for one of our oldest songs. It's from the first Thumbs 12" (s/t), and all of the footage is from various shows on tour and a few local shows... Among others -- The Loft in Baltimore, Gilman, Bluebird Theater in Denver, an outdoor show in DC, Quebec, and a few other spots in Canada.  All this stuff is from 1995-98.

#The Thumbs #Baltimore #Punk #Mark Minnig #Bobby Borte #Randy Rampage #Randy Davis #Phil Spence #Jason Gambrell #Mike Hall #Chris Landers #Sneezeguard Records

[sicksickbirds]

Excited to play two shows this weekend with Title Tracks from DC. Come on out, people!

#washington dc #dc #baltimore #indie #indie punk #sick sick birds #title tracks #jaabs #the mantles #comet ping pong #Metro Gallery #punk

[sicksickbirds]

Test pressings for Sick Sick Birds "All the Fins in the Sea" ep are in! Should have limited test pressings available (with hand-done covers) at the Insubordination Festival in Baltimore on June 28. Come out to the show and get one of these records! We're playing with NightBirds, Screaming Females, Dead Mechanical and Paper Dragons to name a few!

#sick sick birds #baltimore #indie #punk #Insubordination Fest #dead mechanical #nightbirds #screaming females #paper dragons #pop punk #indie punk

[sicksickbirds]

Child labor!  Also, come see Lemuria, War on Women and Sick Sick Birds at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore on May 28.

#sick sick birds #Lemuria #War on Women #Metro Gallery #Baltimore #Indie #indie punk

[sicksickbirds]

Happy birthday to Ms. Melissa Jacobsen: awesome bassist, bandmate and friend.

#Sick Sick Birds #Melissa Jacobsen #Baltimore

[sicksickbirds]

Birthday Suits are an amazing band...

Often, when I hear someone say that (insert band name here) is a great live band, I take it with a grain of salt. Usually, it is a band that people go absolutely ape shit for, and the shows involve tons of people singing along to all of the songs and generally going bonkers. There is an energy in the room that is contributed to by everyone in that room, not just the band. That is not to say that popular bands can not also be great live bands. I'm just saying that it is much easier to be a "great live band" when the band is just a part of the energy.

Last night, Birthday Suits (Twin Cities dudes) came through Baltimore and played a set in front of Sidebar staff, members of Sick Sick Birds and Stop Worrying/Love the Bomb, and maybe a half dozen paying customers. They blew the doors off of the place. It was the best live performance that I have seen in a long time. Their songwriting is full of really interesting choices and unexpected turns, without it sounding like an exercise in wankery or self-indulgence. They are simply a rocking band. There was nobody there tonight. They easily could have phoned it in and hoped for a better turnout the next night. But they did not. They left me thinking that they are happy to play their songs in front of anyone who happens to be standing there, without any sense of bitterness about the turnout. They put a smile on my face, and then melted  it. Well done, Birthday Suits. I only wish that more people in my town got to experience it.

If these guys come through your town, don't miss them. I implore you.

#Birthday Suits #sidebar tavern #Baltimore #Twin Cities #Punk rock

[sicksickbirds]

Sick Sick Birds T-shirt Sale through April 12, 2013

Hey folks -

The box of 7"s is getting full. Let's move some dang units! From now until April 12, buy a Sick Sick Birds "Bromo Seltzer Tower" tshirt (pictured below) and receive your choice of one of the following 7"s for free. That's $10 for a shirt and a record. 

Here are the records for you to choose from:

The Adversives "The Search for Roger Ferris" 7", Farmhouse Records

Algebra One/Tuesday Weld split 7", Firedrill Records

Blondsai/Thee Lexington Arrows split 7", Raped By Records

Dan Padilla/The Timversion/Hidden Spots/Tiltwheel split 7", A.D.D. Records

Dead Mechanical "A Great Lie" 7", Sex Cells Records

Dead Mechanical "Binghamton Calling" 7", Dead Mechanical Records

Dude Jams/Too Many Daves 7", A.D.D. Records

Hidden Spots 7", A.D.D. Records

Rubber Sole "Appetite for Mayhem" 7", Sneezeguard Records

Rubber Sole "Working Class John" 7", Sneezeguard Records

The Thumbs/The Urchin split 7", Snuffy Smile

Turkish Techno/The Anchor split 7", A.D.D. Records

Vena Cava/Sick SIck Birds split 7", A.D.D. Records

Webster double single ("1000 Letters" and "Static"), American Punk Records

I only have limited quantities of these records (in some cases, ONE), so buy quickly if there is a record you have your eye on.

Order the shirt here (http://sicksickbirds.bandcamp.com/merch/tower-design-t-shirt) and let me know what record you would like. It's $1 for shipping in the U.S. - international orders, get in touch! Thanks.

[sicksickbirds]

Hype for the Sick Sick Birds CD reissue show in Jersey City this weekend.

[sicksickbirds]

the making of sick sick birds "all the fins in the sea" ep

3/10/13: Recording began last night for the SSB "All the Fins in the Sea" ep, which will be coming out on Ghostbot Records later this year. Leroy and Tanuj went to the Government Center late last night to track drums. Not sure how far they got yet. It was sort of uncomfortable for me to not be there for all of the recording - couldn't be there last night. Now that I am thinking about it, this is the first time in my life that I have been absent during any part of the recording of any record that I have been a part of. (* Editor's note: see below. I just remembered that this is not true!)

I like being in the studio. There is a nervous excitement that I don't really ever feel when we're playing a live show anymore. Those nerves are still there when someone else comes in and records us.

Recording is always incredibly tedious, and everything takes  a lot longer than you think it will, especially drums. This is one of the reasons why I think I would be a horrible sound engineer. This, and the fact that I know absolutely nothing about the technical side of things. I tend to plug something in, record it, listen back, and if it sounds good, it stays on there. This is a much more workable arrangement when you're dealing with one piece, like a guitar, or a voice. When you bring drums in, there are a lot more variables. That makes me uncomfortable.

I guess it's too early in the morning to call Leroy and find out how everything went.

Postscript: When I record demos of the songs, I usually add in all of these extra tracks that I am experimenting with. Weird guitar lines, bizarre backup vocals. I try the stuff out, and if I like it, it makes it in there. But typically, a lot of these are not intended for anyone else to hear them. If I come up with something that's decent, I play it for Melissa and Leroy.

Since I wasn't present for the drum tracking, Leroy got to hear a bunch of this stuff as it popped into his headphones when he was trying to record drums. I have no idea how he was able to keep his concentration with the crazy loud falsetto cacophone going on. He did well.

3/21/13: At Government Center last night to work on tracking with Melissa. She finished all of her bass tracks. It took some time to get the right sound. This is really my first experience recording bass. It seemed like, no matter what I did, it sounded really thin and empty - even with low end all the way up and high end all the way down. Then we realized that it was probably because Melissa had the tone turned all the way up on her actual bass (I do the same thing with my guitar). It's a Fender, so it's naturally twangy. Once she adjusted that, it was pretty smooth sailing. All of the bass work is complete for this ep. Well done, Melissa.

Afterwards, I started recording guitar, and stripping away the layers of demo-guitar stuff that I had put down on these songs. I am consciously trying to have a more controlled approach to the guitars on this record than I did on the last. The guitars on Gates of Home were much more mushy and fuzzy, especially compared to the previous record. I like both records, and I think the fuzzy warehouse sound worked well with the songs on Gates of Home. But I think I want the sound of this ep to lie somewhere between Heavy Manners and Gates of Home. So, that's the goal. So tonight, I tried to record guitar sounds that are cleaner than I am accustomed to or comfortable with. I do this, knowing that I can always dump some mucky tracks on top of this if it's freaking me out too bad.

I am not an engineer. I have been around people who are able to ask a couple of questions, determine what sound you are looking for, turn a few knobs, and BLAMMO! the sound is there. I can't do this. So, when I record guitar, I go into the room with the amp and fiddle around until it sounds pretty good. Then I record a minute or so of fiddling around and listen back. It's amazing how different something can sound when you are in the room vs. hearing a recording. Then, I tweak (without really knowing what I'm doing), fiddle, repeat.  This is why I'm so happy to have a recording setup at the practice space. This process becomes expensive when you are on an hourly rate.

Tonight, after messing with it awhile, I got a guitar sound that I think is pretty cool. And I wasn't confident that I could get it back. It was getting late, but I didn't want to risk losing the sound, so I put down the basic tracks for all of the songs on the ep. Today I am tired. But progress is being made!

  3/24/13: Sunday morning. It feels very strange being in here on a Sunday morning. Will feel strange to leave the building in the sunlight. Brought the acoustic with me today. There are now acoustic tracks on all four songs, though I'm not yet sure if we are going to use all of them. Sometimes, it's cool to have the option of bringing this sort of thing into the mix if it feels right. I like to have options when it's time to produce the songs. To me, it's like building a giant sand castle. It's better to start with a huge pile of sand, and then chisel away at it. It's easier to create a tower by chiseling away at it and removing what you need than to start from flat ground and try to build up. So, you might say, I have created a huge pile!

I also added some noisier guitar tracks to create some more flexibility. These are my security blanket. The cleaner stuff usually ends up sounding better in the end, but in the rough mix stages I like having this stuff around. As I type this, I'm recognizing that my approach to this stuff may not be the most efficient or common. Again, it's good that we are not paying by the hour!

I've always been amused at how awful some individual tracks sound when you isolate them, and then they sound good in the context of the entire song. Case in point:

Barring anything unforeseen, the basic tracking is now done. Melissa and I need to work on the vocals now, which will begin on Wednesday before and after practice.

3/27/13: Worked on Melissa's vocals before practice. We ended up only having time to work on Mad Memo. There were a couple of lines that Melissa was not expecting to do, that I kind of added in for her at the last second. I think it's harder to jump in and sing something someone else has written than something you have written yourself. The unfamiliarity makes you tentative, and it's hard to sing tentative. So, it took a little longer to get this one done than we thought it might, but I think it's going to be really good.

This is Melissa pretending to sing. (I forgot to take an actual photo of her singing)

4/3/13: Finished up some loose ends tonight. Melissa finished all of her vocals, and I touched up a few crummy vocal and guitar lines here and there. Melissa seemed to pick up a strange radio broadcast in her headphones. I couldn't hear it. She believes the transmission came from the past. Then, after practice, we all sat and listened to the songs and thought about any additions/subtractions that needed to be made. It was really cool that we were all there listening at the same time. That's something that doesn't always happen for us. It's not always easy to find time to work on these things at the same time, so it was nice to actually sit and the same room and work on things. Should be ready to get these tracks to Mr. Dan Black next week for the next phase. Woo!

4/7/13: Took the Government Center computer home with me so I can upload it to DropBox to turn the tracks over to Dan for production. We're done with the basic tracking stage. Might be a few additions here and there, but now we see what Dan comes up with.

4/20/13: "Burns in the Middle" has been mixed. Dan says there are a couple eq tweaks and we will have he final version. Then it's on to the other three. The first one is always the toughest - the songs that follow will borrow a lot of the same settings that were carved out in the first one.

I would say that Dan ended up being pretty conservative with his additions to this song. Not a lot of extra percussion or instrumentation. Just a really good mix. It comes across as a loud pop song, which is really what it is.

4/25/2013: Dan sent us the mix for "Rural Route Weeds" tonight. I love this part of the recording phase, because I am always surprised. Like I said before, I tried to create a lot of extra tracks to give Dan a lot of material to work with. The result of that is, I am never sure which stuff actually made it in. During the rough stages, I turn things up so I can hear them, but when it's all mixed in, everything is much more subtle and sometimes I can't tell what I'm actually listening to. But I guess that's the point. In the end, all of the little individual snippets get woven into a song, and instead of "hearing" some things, it's more like you "feel" them in there at some level, but you can't quick pick out what you hear. So far so good. Two songs down, two to go.

We are also making progress on the artwork. Mike Welch (who did the layout for Gates of Home) and Andrew Schubert (Ghostbot Records) are working on it. I am pulling back from the design process on this record, because it is just not my strong suit. I recognize awesome art and packaging when I see it, but I don't have the creativity or skill to actually conceive and create it. Mike and Andrew both have really creative ideas, so for this record, I am almost completely ducking out of the process. I had a few general ideas, maybe, but those guys know what they are doing. I think they are going to create something that matches the music really well. Very excited about how this is coming together.

5/3/2013: Final mixes are done. Uploaded to Dropbox. Andrew will take it from here and get the mastering done. Hopeful that the release date will be the end of June. I'm proud of this group of songs. I have no idea what anyone else will think of them. Thanks for reading!

*Up at the top, I made a comment that Lee and Tanuj's drum-tracking session was the first time that I have ever been absent during one of my band's tracking sessions. I just remembered that this is not true. I just remembered... one time, I guess this would be late 1997 or early 1998, we were working on The Thumbs "Make America Strong" record. We had done most of the tracking, but Bobby needed to go in and work on his vocals. He set up time during the day one day, and I had to go to work, so I couldn't be there. Around dinner time, he showed up at me and Heather's apartment in Greenbelt. He looked haggard as hell. It was like one of those old movies where the guy comes home from work with his tie all askew and goes over the sideboard and pours himself a stiff drink. 

    He was freaking out and said he couldn't get anything done. He had psyched himself right out. Bobby is absolutely one of the best songwriters I know. But he doesn't always have the best sense of rhythm. He has a tendency to change the rhythm and/or meter of a guitar part to fit a particular lyric that he needs to fit in. As a co-writer with Bobby, this was both frustrating and cathartic. I think about music much more mathematically and in terms of structure, which can be limiting. So in that regard, it was great to work with Bobby, because he didn't always know the rules, so he didn't know when he was breaking them. I was envious of that, because it led him to choices that I was not capable of. On the other hand, I was there to rein him in or try to force his songs into a coherent structure when it wasn't working his way.

    This working relationship was always on full display in the studio. Bobby was always tweaking his lyrics until the last possible moment before recording, so often I wouldn't really have any idea what his songs were going to sound like until they started to take shape in the studio. We would sit and crowbar his lyrics into the music. There were times when he simply had too many syllables to possibly fit into that particular bar of music. Sometimes, when this happened, he wasn't sure what the problem was - so he would keep doing take after take, trying to fit the words in, when in reality, there was no possible way to deliver that line in the space to which it was afforded. So we would tweak and try to come up with other solutions (this created a lot of backup vocals opportunities for me, in songs where he really wanted a line in there, but there was no possible way that one person could do it). Though the process could be excruciating, his songs were always my favorite. The guy can tell a story, and he can write a song.

    So, on this day that I am thinking of, Bobby showed up at our door completely beaten down. I think that he had spent 7-8 hours trying to jam too many words into not enough space. I felt bad that I wasn't there to tell him when he was trying to do the impossible. I remember him all slumped over on our couch, telling me that he had just wasted a whole day and had virtually nothing to show for it. What can you say to that? We made him some falafel and we watched "Bottle Rocket." Then we went and fixed his stuff, and as usual, they were my favorite songs on the record. I hope Bobby records some more music some day.

#sick sick birds #ghostbot records #ghostbot #indie punk #punk #baltimore #government center #The Thumbs #Make America Strong #Bobby Borte

[sicksickbirds]

Happy that the Birthday Suits are coming to Baltimore. Great guys, great band. Come out to this show. Spring is on its way!

Birthday Suits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqSMlGU_7-Y

#sick sick birds #sicksickbirds #birthday suits #Twin Cities #Minneapolis #Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb #Whiff #Sidebar #Sidebar Tavern #Baltimore #punk rock #punk

[sicksickbirds]

Killing Horse Records (NJ) is releasing our "Gates of Home" record on cd format. In celebration, we are headed up to Jersey City to play a show with some awesome bands. Hope to see you there!  Even you NYC people who don't leave the city!  There's no cover! Hop on that PATH! Cross that Skyway!!!! Board that covered wagon!!

#Sick Sick Birds #sicksickbirds #Baltimore #New Jersey #Jersey City #Killing Horse #Killing Horse Records #Indie Punk #indie #punk #They Live #Brick Mower #Tijuana Bibles #Lamp Post #Lamp Post Bar & Grill

[sicksickbirds]

Impromptu "music video" for Sick Sick Birds "The Connects." From the Chemical Trains ep. Toxic Pop Records #1.

#sick sick birds #sicksickbirds #the connects #west baltimore #baltimore #toxic pop #toxic pop records