Is That A Light We See?

Last night we me with Joe at a Starbucks in Milford to discuss the record and plan out the rest or tracking.
First we went over what parts we have left to track, followed by what we need to do in order to be ready to track those parts, and then when we would actually track said parts.
I am happy to report that we have a schedule now that, if we keep to it, will allow us to finish tracking by the end of this month. Mixing will start the 2nd week of March and hopefully, we will get this bad boy mastered and pressed in April!
We start this schedule this coming weekend with back to back days of recording Saturday and Sunday. We are forgoing our normal Wednesday schedule while Luke spends the evening wrapping up writing a couple of parts for different songs. The plan is to have guitar all finished Saturday and move on to organ, synth, bells, chimes, cello, etc on Sunday.
We can't wait to hear these songs finished and then share them with you!

RAT

Luke got a new toy. We welcome the '88 RAT to the Canoes family.

Studio Trip 6: The Recording Workshop

And so it has  passed. We are very excited to say that all the piano for the record is tracked! This is big thing.
Sunday morning we headed out from The Bongo Tree around 8 to The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe. This, as I am sure you know by now, is where we tracked all the piano. You might ask, why go all the way to Chillicothe to track some dumb piano? Well, let me answer that with a picture. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I am already bored of typing.

My baby for the day.

So now that we've cleared that up....Upon arrival, we walked into the studio and I just stood there taking it all in. Brian (Muth), the studio engineer made a comment to the effect of "well, aren't you going to play it? It is what you're here for". It was the perfect introduction to Brian who has a very dry, sarcastic sense of  humor. I loved it. I played around for awhile, during which Brian set up all the mic's and Joe and him uploaded all our sessions to the computer in the control room.

Control room, looking into the tracking room.

Tracking went pretty well. I don't think I could have been more prepared. There is only so much you can practice for a session like we did. The analogy I used (gosh, I love analogies) was that of a baseball player going to the batting cages and hitting every single ball on a line. It helps you lock in mechanics etc, but in a game setting, its a whole other story.
We tracked seven songs for the record and then a b-side single that we are going to release on the side.
It went by real quick. We were wrapped and heading out of there by 3:30. I feel very good about the parts and how I played them. I think they are really going to set this record off.

In front of the sign. Luke really wanted this picture.

We are going to try and finish all the tracking in February. This is exciting. Cleary.

Studio Trip 5

Another trip to the studio in the books.

We headed out straight from our work downtown and arrived just before 7. We tracked guitar for a non ep tracked called Alive (working title, probably will change). Luke laid down just about all the parts, minus a lead line on the bridge. From there we entered prep mode for Sunday. It really didn't end up taking that long. Sunday is going to be great. I think I will be able to really crank out these piano parts. Tonight I am spending a good hour or two running through all the songs.

Studio Trip 4

I picked up Luke at his place at 3:45 and we headed  out to The Bongo Tree. With a fresh pot of coffee just made, we drank from mugs while conversing outside in what was one of the most beautiful days of the year so far. 

Luke tracked an additional guitar part on the first track before turning his attention to the guitar parts for the last track of the EP. The end of the guitar work is in sight, and that is crazy to think. All that is left are parts for the two transition tracks, which are relatively minimal. That was all we really did, as we had to leave by ten to get home since we both worked early this morning. We are planning to go out Wednesday and maybe Saturday in preparation for the tracking of the piano on Sunday. Anticipation is building to an all time high. This is such a big step for us. 

For those few people that support us, it means more than we could ever say or type. For the rest of you, thank you for your lack of support. It drives us and motivates us in ways we cannot explain. 

Patience

Eventually I will import all the posts from our tumblr. I have not been able to access tumblr for whatever reason so I decided to re vamp this old blog and start updated here! If you are reading this, thanks for checking it out. We are really excited about things that are going on in the Canoes camp. We have been in the studio 3 days, and head back this coming Monday for an evening session. On Sunday February 5th, we are heading out to The Recording Workshop to track all the piano for the record. I must admit, I am really excited about this.
Through the recording so far, the only thing I have done (besides a few scratch tracks) is produce. While I love doing that, the thought of tracking is making me giddy. I have been practicing these parts like crazy, and they are really coming together.
We decided to call the EP "No More Waiting Around". This was the name we had for the full length, and even even though this is technically only seven of those songs, we decided it was very appropriate. The second EP will be the rest of the material from the aforementioned defunct full length. We haven't come up with a name for it yet.
Patience is the key. I hate that. I want this to be done now. I want everyone to hear it. I want to play shows.
But right now, this is where we are, and I am learning to be content with that.

In Between

Things have been kinda slow of late. I think this is more perception than actuality. Over the past couple weeks, Luke and I have been working on these songs on our own. A lot of times we work better this way. Sometimes when someone is sitting right there, it is more difficult to come up with parts for songs. Luke sent me some guitar parts for the last song on the EP and it is sounding really great. I am getting close to having solid parts on the piano for these songs. Sunday I was able to sit down at my parents piano (my favorite piano ever) and bang out the ideas I have been working on. February 5th gets closer and closer and anticipation is through the roof. Tonight Luke and I are getting together and I think I am going to try and play through what I've got so far…Also we both recently watched the documentary Dear Jack and would highly recommend to anyone and everyone.

Piano

February 5th we will heading up to The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio to track all the Piano for the EP. This is really exciting as we will be recording on a $35,00 semi grand piano, in a $500,000 studio, with Brian Muth. All of these things combined are going to make this album sing. I am so excited.

Studio Days Two and Three

The captain at the helm, Joe Dunlap.

Luke laying down the riffs.

Joseph Dunlap. Owner of The Bongo Tree, engineer. 

Good pedals + Clark's desert boots = superb tone

Look who came to hang. Brett Gregory ladies and gentlemen.

Studio Update

Days two and three in the studio are done! We headed back the 28 and 29 of December to continue work on our 7 track EP. On Wednesday we focused on drums. Adam Simmons came back out and continued to be amazing. By the end of the day we had tracked all the drum parts for the EP plus a b-side we are working on.

Thursday we decided to attack guitar. I think after all was said and done we finished guitar on two songs plus some acoustic layers on a few of the others. Thursday was also Kile’s birthday and a couple of our friends came out to the studio for the day and we had a great time.

Joe continues to be amazing through the recording process and we can’t wait to get back into the studio for more work! Next we will be working on more guitar as well as getting ready to track piano up at The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio. We are still looking for a spring release and just saying that make us giddy.

Seasons, Setbacks, Studio...

Every time I get on here, I laugh at the amount of time that has passed since our last update and how much things have changed. So here is a little update.

Where to start?

Canoes is, and will be for awhile, Luke and Kile. Having gone through several different stages of what we were and wanted to be, we started writing out songs and tracking demos. Our interaction while writing is pretty awesome. Super creative, yet intentional. So while it would be amazing to have other members, until we can find people who’s commitment matches ours, we have decided to keep it just us.

What was originally going to be a full length album has since been broken down into two EP’s. We tracked out ideas for the first 7 tracks and approached Joe Dunplap at The Bongo Tree Recording Studio. He liked the ideas (probably lying) and we started planning out recording time.

This however, presented an obstacle. Who would come play other instruments on the recordings? After a whole lot of messaging, texting, delays, cancelling, and general chaos, we entered the studio November 26 at 8:30am with Luke tracking both guitars, Kile on piano and lead vocals, Dave Paulet on bass and our old drummer and good friend Adam Simmons on drums. After 14 hours, we left the studio with solid foundations laid for the first two tracks.

We already have 3 more dates tentatively set, and our just waiting on confirmation. We are really excited to finally get this stuff recorded and in your ears. I also plan to keep this tumblr updated with all sorts of stuff. (We will see if this actually happens) Until then, keep your shoes tied and your ears primed.

Looking Ahead

Practice on Monday was amazing! We opened the blinds and practiced as we watched a massive thunderstorm roll in; it was pretty neat and the power stayed on, so that was a blessing! We worked through 7 of the 11 album tracks and it is coming along very well.

Yesterday Luke and I met with Joe Dunlap from The Bongo Tree recording studio and talked about scheduling etc. We are looking to be recording July 18th through the 26th and are excited beyond words.

Joe and I ended up talking until almost 2am and it is really refreshing and exciting to be able to work with someone who looks at music very much the same as I do.

This is going to be a summer that will not soon be forgotten.

Update

Time for an update on whats been going on in Canoes world. We are still gearing up for the recording of our first full length album at the end of July. It looks like it will be about 11 tracks and it is coming together rather nicely.

A big reason for this is after a few weeks of sorting through stuff, we now have our old drummer, Adam Simmons back on the drum throne. He will just be recording the record and possibly playing the CD release show. We are so excited to have him on board for both what he brings to the table on the kit and for the crafting of songs.

Tonight we have just our second practice with Adam, but things have went really well last week and we are excited to see what progress is made tonight.

Keep up to date with what we do by following us on Facebook, tumblr, and twitter!

We are so excited for what is to come. - Kile for Canoes

Alsoooo…..be sure to go check out our really good friend, Joe Plante, he just dropped a new record last week. He recorded at the same place that we are recording, The Bongo Tree, with Joe Dunlap. It is hot and will most likely be your new favorite record of the summer. 

Hiatus

As many of you may have heard, Canoes is on hiatus. What does this mean? I must admit I do not really know. None of us really do. Here is what has been going on with some of us (as best I know).

So after our last show at the underground (May 21st), We decided to take a few weeks off, do some writing, maybe some recording and just hang out without playing shows. We had kind of saturated the local scene playing a half dozen shows in just a few months so we thought this just made sense. Meanwhile God was working in my heart and I began evaluating what it was He had in store for me and why I was playing with Canoes. Through that I just kept hearing hiatus. I prayed for peace concerning this and I received it in abundance, and the guys were understanding and awesome about it. We talked one night at Starbucks and I really felt good after our talk.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to play in a couple of other musical endeavors including playing worship at a local church. Jarrod started a new band called Youth in Asia. I haven't heard them yet but if Jarrod Geary is in it, you can expect nothing but the best. Adam is up to his own stuff, getting involved in all sorts of ministries and impacting the world for the kingdom (always). Our guitar player Rob married the love of his life Abigal, and our fill in guitarist John, is tying the knot in October. Thats kind of where we are at this juncture. I would not rule out the possibility of a show this fall, but we will see.

Thanks for your support through the spring, we all had a blast. Maybe we can do it again sometime soon. Thanks for reading, Kile for Canoes

we played the underground on saturday night. not one of my favorite venues and we couldn't hear the guitar but overall i think the show went well. we got to meet joe who just so happens to like great music and has the same humor as me and kile also he helps run the underground. we got to talk to him for a while and i am excited to see what he can do to help turn the underground around and make it into a place that everyone loves to go to. we also made new friends with the band o discordia, some great guys from the beavercreek area. we are excited to play some more shows with them in the future.

we have a show coming up on march 6th at The Venue in Kidd Coffee with Remember When, Kelsey Skaggs, All This Time and Misunderstood its $7 at the door and doors open at 7:30 come and hang out with us

jarrod

Futures

So we have three shows booked for the upcoming months. Go to our Myspace or Facebook page and check them out. We have to opportunity to play Made Avail and Mark from Cool Hand Luke at two of the shows. We are looking to get some recording done in March, and have some cool merch available in the upcoming weeks/months. If you haven't already, add us as a friend on MySpace, become a fan on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. I cannot type how excited we are to be a band and to play for you all soon. Come say hi. Love, Canoes

www.myspace.com/canoesband

www.facebook.com/canoesband

www.twitter.com/canoesband

Canoes is a band.

Canoes started in the early summer of 2009, when I met a kid by the name of Jarrod Geary. While having a ton of differences we quickly found a lot of common ground, including our parallel beliefs in God and a common passion for music. We met through a mutual friend and after hanging out once or twice I asked Jarrod if he would be interested in playing bass for a project which I was then calling Everest/Atlantic. We played a lot of the same songs that Canoes plays now, just not nearly as well. Despite the difference in the music I was playing and what Jarrod normally listens to/plays, he joined up as full time bassist. Without even knowing it at the time, Canoes was born.

In August, through a set of circumstances that can only be traced to a Higher power, we asked Adam Simmons to come drum a show with us. After practicing and hanging out with Adam, we could not see our band playing without him. Despite our piano pop style not being his past experience, Adam committed and officially joined shortly after our August show.

Autumn was filled with getting tighter as a band and closer as friends. In November we asked our friend Rob Chipman to come play guitar for Canoes. The dynamic of Canoes changed greatly with the addition of Rob and our sound became more full as the result of his guitar.

The lineup now complete, Canoes is anxious to play for everyone and anyone who will listen. We'll do our best to keep you updated with everything that is going on in the Canoes camp via our online social outlets. Keep an eye out for what is upcoming. We are humbled by the support we have received thus far, and cannot wait to meet everyone who is out there. Kile for Canoes