We think this bonus track Make Us Grateful Again pretty much speaks for itself. The moral of the story is that life is all about striking a balance. “Some seek harmony, some seek revolution. A bit of both is quite alright to me.”
ZOOM PARTY!
This video for our bonus track Zoom Party was a fun one to make, a hat tip to the virtual social scene that defined much of 2020. We tracked the song remotely and then lip-synced the video live MTV-style over a Zoom, while getting a little crazy with Snap Chat filters. There’s no need for pants at this party, enjoy!
Our Ode to Austin
Check out the video for our summer song from the In the Vapor EP called Straight Line to Austin, featuring crowdsourced photos from both current and classic Austin haunts. Most of us in the band have been living here for over 20 years - check it out to see if you’ve also been in Austin long enough to recognize some of the icons that we’ve lost along the way. So many changes over the years, but as the lyrics say, “It’s true you’ve changed, but you’re still the same place I love, you’re still home anyway.”
Tech Fostering Creativity During COVID
2020 has proven difficult in terms of not being able to connect with friends in person, both for fun and to play music. However, tech tools can play a role here, too — check out this blog based on my own recent social experiences and as a musician in Belldiver. I hope it inspires others to realize their creative potential during trying times like the COVID pandemic.
No doubt, technology will never fully replace the importance (and downright human need) of connecting with people in person. However, during this new normal, digital tools serve as an important enabler, especially if you get creative, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. These sorts of technologies not only enable musicians with a way to survive in a time of need but also thrive through an entirely new path to reaching a new global audience.
- Jason
Me in the bath/control room tracking Tara on sax
Elijah the “Supermeowdel” hanging behind the scenes
you had me at Whiskey
Fun times last night at this private whiskey tasting event that turned into a group jam until 4am. This was Sean’s first show with us - check out his spacey echo at the end of ”Carolina”. Aftermath in the last pic… granted there were a good number of people there, but that sure is a lot of empty whiskey bottles.
DRIVE ANOTHER DAY
We pulled together our first official video, for Drive Another Day, remotely - par for the course for 2020. Jason wrote the song in a hotel lobby in St. George, Utah while hanging out with the night manager. It was during a stop on a cross-country road trip that he took with his dad as part of the “Corvette Caravan” that happens every five years, in which thousands of Corvettes from across North America (including Hawaii!) descend upon the factory in Bowling Green, KY. The lyrics are inspired by all of the scenes and history along the way from LA to Bowling Green, and many of the photos in the video are from the trip. The band also contributed photos from their own endeavors on the road and we each took our video footage on our camera phones. We sent all of the above to Sean who did an amazing job with his video editing wizardry.
Sh!T just got real
Last night the band was hanging out in the kitchen during a break from rehearsal and Jason’s wife Meitra came down to tell us the breaking news. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have Coronavirus. Kind of sad that this made the already concerning situation seem so much more real to us, but it did. We realized then and there that we weren’t going to be seeing each other for a little while.
in the vapor livestream and SIMS benefit
We had a great time at our first livestream show last night, celebrating the launch of our first EP In the Vapor. Better yet, we raised close to $1500 for the SIMS Foundation which helps local Austin musicians get help when in need. A few technical kinks up front, but things got humming as we went along. “Shots Rang Out” at the very end really cooked.