Rock Canyon Studio Live is a studio that has a stage, and is as big as a concert hall. It is not only equipped to record audio and video, but do livestreams. This was our first Facebook livestream. We were more interested in having professional live video sessions like we did last year at Full Fidelity Studios, but we decided to do the livestream just for fun. We didn't expect anyone to watch, but we had over 200 live viewers. We promoted it quite a bit; because this is Nate's last public show with us. Also, we have a diverse geographical fanbase, and this was the first show that they could be part of. We had friends and family in Brazil, Washington State, Idaho, and Louisiana who were all tuning in to the stream.
Gaynor is the owner, and main sound engineer. He was very friendly and experienced. He brought his video crew, which included Ronda the producer and video switcher, and 3 videographers. They were a lot of fun, and they did an excellent job. Ronda was cheering us on and pumping us up throughout the entire performance.
We were very happy with how this turned out and we hope to use these guys again! I'm a huge proponent of capturing memories in the form of media. We've learned so many covers, and we've definitely made them our own, and we can now remember forever how we performed them.
We regret to announce that we are losing one of our esteemed band mates... Is it Aaron? Is it Mark? Is it Daryl? Is it Nate? Is it Allison? ****Dramatic duh duh duh***** Drum roll please...
Nate got a great job offer in Arkansas and he is going leaving early July. We sure are going to miss him. He always showed up to every practice and show 5 minutes early. He put a lot of work into his musicianship. We could always count on him to play on time, and on key. He was always looking to be challenged, and he was always working on improving his technique, sound, and talent. He brought a lot of positive energy to the band.
He was part of the band from the very beginning. We put up a KSL ad in the Summer of 2013. He had left behind a successful band in Brazil, and he had only been in the country a few weeks before responding to our ad. He had the skills, he was easy to work with, and he had one quality that many guitarists didn't have: a willingness to play modern pop hits, classic rock favorites, original music, and everything in between.
We've played a lot of shows, released some good music, and it's been a great journey. He was a driving force in making this band the success that it is today. We'll miss you Nate! Good luck in Arkansas.
This Tuesday, June 27th, will be our last public show together, and it will be livestreamed for the whole world to see! We're shooting a music video of one of the songs from our upcoming album, and we have an awesome Independence Day party that we'll be performing at.
We've already started auditions for another guitarist, and we plan on booking starting in September. We will still continue our shows at the Utah State Fair, Sept. 8, and Club 90, Nov. 3, and 4.
The city of South Jordan hosted their first annual Battle of the Bands competition, at their SummerFest celebration. The Summerfest had food trucks, carnival rides, and a large number of events such as a 5k race, a tennis tournament, etc... They had several judges, who looked at various factors, such as originality of songs, crowd participation, stage presence, etc... Their were two categories of performances, those under 18, and those over 18, and each category had 4 bands. Everybody that performed, had to submit 2 videos of live performance, and the top 4 submissions of each category were selected.
The first band, 7Bridges, were a Brazilian country acoustic duo. They were not only musicians, but performers. They dressed up. Their banter was scripted, and did a great job connecting with the crowd. It was more of an entertaining show, rather than a couple guys playing a bunch of songs. They harmonized on all of their vocals. I think that in general it is hard for an acoustic group to compete against a full band, because the full band has a more full sound with bass and drums. They were confident, and they did awesome.
EIGHTH DAY
Aaron, our drummer, is away on National Guard duty, so my high school friend, Trevor Ockey filled in on drums. He did an awesome job, especially since we only practiced with him once, 4 days before the show. We struggled in selecting the perfect set list; we weren't sure what the judges would find the most appealing. We ended playing 2 originals, and 4 covers. The covers were selected based on which ones would highlight different attributes of the band, such as guitar solos, and vocals.
Cephas
Cephas, a folk/pop band, was really good. Instead of each member learning their parts to the songs, and playing those parts in unison, they took a step back and really focused on the quality of the overall sound. They played along to pre-recorded audio, which requires that their drummer play to a click track. We tried that route a few years back and it didn't seem to work with us. Also their bassist sang harmonies the whole song, every song, which Mark tells me is difficult.
Carver Louis & Old Lincoln Highway Band
Carver Louis & Old Lincoln Highway Band, a modern country band, was the last band. They're a Tooele band, which got me kind of excited, since I'm a citizen of Tooele now. They are currently finishing up an album at the same studio that we are, and the singer stated that they were going to release their album after it's mixed and mastered later this month, and I was thinking, "Yeah, us too." They had two electric guitar players, the singer played acoustic guitar, a bassist, a drummer, and another guy who played drums, harmonica, and mandolin depending on the song. It's hard to have that many instruments in the mix, but they sounded really good! People were really getting into their music. At one point in their show, they abruptly stopped playing, saying that there was something about the monitor mix not being quite right, and started on the next song.
They played well past the 25 minute limit, and it appeared that they had no intention of stopping until one of the event organizers ran up to the stage and told them to stop. Honestly, that's what we should have done, we had like 3 really good ones that we reluctantly dropped.
Verdict
I was excited to be playing in my home town, and I was very excited at a city government event, especially after watching the television series, Parks and Rec. Every band that played was awesome, and deserved to be the recipient of the award. Cephas was the winner. We were honored to perform with such talented artists, in world's awesomest city. (Although, Rome is a close second.) My wife got a participation medal for playing at SoJo fest tennis tournament, and she may or may not have let me wear it a bit.
We released our single, "What's the Point", from our upcoming album yesterday, and we made it official with a single release party.
Pat's BBQ is a popular restaurant among the local population, known for their delicious food and live music. I had a Brisket sandwich, and it was divine!
The stage was much bigger than expected, and the sound was really good. An added bonus is that the restaurant hired a sound guy to mix us. There wasn't anywhere to hang a banner, making us grateful that we got the stand-up retractable banners.
We got paid on tips, and people who came and listened to us paid a cover charge. (There's many rooms in Pat's BBQ.)
Since it was a sit-down restaurant, we played some of our slower songs.
The highlight of the night was playing with Addy. Addy is the daughter of one of Mark's co-workers. She likes music, and she plays bass. So filled in for Mark on Carry On My Wayward Son, and Starlight. It was her first time performing, and she nailed those songs. Makes me think that we're so used to performing, we take for granted the awesome feeling it is to perform.
It was a great show, thanks to everyone who came to support us, and we hope that you had as much fun as we had!
For the past two years, we've been recording this album, and it is finally finished. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it.
It wasn't easy.
We love every song on the new album, and it was difficult to just pick one single to release. After much deliberation and soul searching, we are pleased to announce the official release of "What's the Point."
But, we gave this everything that we got.
Energetic, honest, melodic. This song is one we can all relate to; Love isn't love if both parties aren't giving it 100%. We hope you enjoy this song and share it with your family and friends.
We were one of 8 bands selected to compete in South Jordan's Battle of the Bands, which will be part of their Summerfest celebration. Today we had a friendly meet and greet concert at the MusicGarage, where each artist showcased two songs. Everyone in Eighth Day was super busy this weekend and nobody but me (Daryl) was able to make it. The show must go on, so I asked my cousin Eric Hughes and his friend Jake to perform with me. I play drums with them sometimes and thought it would be perfect. Check out some of Eric's original stuff: https://soundcloud.com/eric-james-hughes/
We called oursevles "Underpaid". All of the bands were super cool and talented and it was a pleasure to perform with them. Here's the two songs that we performed:
MusicGarage is an after school program for youth, founded by Steve Auerbach. Steve and I go way back, when he first landed in SLC, he was the first director of the SLC School of Rock, and I was part of the first production 13 years ago. We did Pink Floyd's "The Wall".
Remember to support us at the June 3, at the SoJo Summerfest Battle of the Bands! If we win, we'll get $500!
http://www.sjc.utah.gov/event/sojo-summerfest-battle-of-the-bands/?instance_id=155
