So we realize that we haven’t really been outwardly doing too much lately, but there’s a reason for that.
A couple of months ago Matt St. Jean left The Hollow Sound. It was a difficult decision for both parties, but to be honest we’ve never been that good at keeping drummers anyway. Since we started this band we have had five drummers and not much luck holding on to any of them. So instead of just finding another drummer we decided that maybe we should just play without a drummer, move in a different direction, and start to look at how we write songs in a different way.
So for the past few months we’ve been writing a number of more stripped down drummer-less songs, but we’ve also been working on getting a set ready for our CD release. Yes, that’s right. The CD that we recorded last summer is finally going to be released and we will be playing it live and electric, with the help of former drummer and current brother of The Hollow Sound, Jarrod Poirier. As for the date of the CD release, we’re still trying to nail that down, but it will be one of the last times for a while that you can see The Hollow Sound play live and electric with a drummer. We will probably play a few more electric shows this summer, but after that we’re going to be transitioning to a more stripped down set. This is nothing new to us, we’ve played a number of shows acoustic and absolutely love it, it’s easier to hear and a lot easier to tour!
In the next few weeks we will be releasing the first single from the album as well as giving out more information about the title, track listing, cover art and release date.
But for now come and see us play with a drummer while you still can! Our next show is on May 14th at Plymouth Memorial Hall and it’s for a great cause.
Our new video for ‘Panopticon’ is up now for an early sneak peak on our Facebook page. You can see it now by clicking HERE!
The song ‘Panopticon’ started out with the working title of ‘Dinosaur Fight’–which sounds ridiculous, but we heard it sonically as the musical translation of what would happen during such a fight. The verses like raptors, pre-choruses like the calm before the storm, a massive blowout at the end of the bridge and the massive foot of Godzilla slamming down on everything in it’s path as the breakdown kicks in.
While this original idea was not incorporated into the final product for the video, the roller coaster of contrasting energy was, and that is what the color explosions are meant to convey. In moments when the song really explodes, the color really explodes onto the screen. The decision to make the video in black and white was part of this idea because it not only made the colors look better, but afforded us more versatility in what we could do with the footage.
We made this video ourselves, like all our video to this point. We shot the whole thing using a Canon 5D mk 2 in one day, did primary editing in Final Cut Pro, and did compositing touches in Adobe After Effects.
We used the multiply blend mode throughout the video, most of the time to make the background consistent, but also to create the “echo” effect while Maddie sang, although it is actually two different clips, as opposed to one that was offset by a few frames. We used the closeup to convey the sense of intimacy with the subject, and the the wide to give context. Also, no two people were ever filmed at the same time, so any shots where there are multiple band members are composited.
We wanted to make a video that matched the explosiveness and energy of the song, and we hope that you find that we succeeded.
Also, if you have not yet, you can download the song on iTunes by clicking HERE!
As children we all had dreams. Some of us wanted to go to the moon, others wanted to be President. Some wanted to ride dinosaurs into an exploding burrito star, but the members of The Hollow Sound had a different dream. They wanted to open for KISS (the dinosaur dream being a close second).
Currently The Hollow Sound has been presented with a chance to make their dream a reality, but they need your help. All you need to do is visit this website: http://www.eventful.com/competitions/kiss2010/boston
From there, click on the Demand It! button next to The Hollow Sound to vote for the band. It is that easy! All they need to win is to make it into the top five. Then KISS will listen to those top five bands and decide who gets to open for KISS at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA.
Also, if you forward this message to ten of your friends’ email addreses and copy thehollowsound@gmail.com you can win too! You will recieve a digital copy of The Hollow Sound’s new single ‘Panopticon’ and be entered to win a free guitar from the band. You can receive extra chances to win the guitar for every ten friends you send this message to.
The guitar was featured in The Hollow Sound’s music video for ‘Of Arms & Ocean’ which can be seen on the band’s YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/thehollowsound).
So we haven’t reached out and asked for you guys to help us in a little bit.. but here is something we would definitely like your help with! We entered a contest to open for Justin’s favorite band, KISS at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA.
Please CLICK HERE and click the “Demand It” button next to The Hollow Sound. It will ask you to fill out some simple information, but it is pretty easy. KISS will personally pick their favorite band from the top five. So PLEASE take the time to vote and spread the word by telling your friends through e-mail, phone, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instant Message, Tumblr, whatever.
Thanks so much in advance and we leave you with this photo:
So, as some of you probably know, we are well into the process of recording our album. We chose which ten songs we wanted to do and then this past weekend Matt tracked all of his drums. It was epic. Took a little bit to tune the kit and set everything up, but when everything was said and done, he probably finished the actual tracking in six hours. Pretty intense! Jon Perri, who is producing the record for us (check out his band The Keeping), used about 15 mics just for drums. They are sounding great.
Bill also finished his bass parts for two of the songs and will get back to the bass station this weekend, whatever that means. So yeah, we are still busy.. tracking a full length album, Maddie is finishing up vocals for the acoustic EP, Justin is editing our video for ‘Panopticon’ and getting ready to start tracking guitars with Evan once Bill is done, and Matt, well, he’s sitting back and sipping some lemonade. His work here is done. Boo yeah!
And with that, here is our first recording update video, check it:
So this past weekend we did some preproduction for the album. This involved us spending a lot of time indoors when we probably should have been outdoors because it was beautiful out. Bill was happy, he hates the sun. I love the sun, but I don’t tan. I once went to the beach and was asked if I was from Twilight. But anyway, Saturday we tracked 12 demos of the songs we have written. We tracked the music live and then tracked Maddie’s scratch vocals over it separately. Then Sunday we got some brunch and went back to the studio to listen to all the songs a few times, take some notes, make some changes and rerecord some parts. So that leaves us where we are now, spending this week listening to the demos a bunch and trying to figure out which of these songs are going to make the final 10 that we will record. THEN this weekend we will start tracking drums! …and maybe some bass if we get crazy?
Check out some photos we took in the studio this weekend below and the rest of them on our Facebook by clicking HERE.
So, as some of you probably know, we have been keeping super busy. Last weekend we shot a music video for our new single ‘Panopticon’ in Boston (download the song now if you haven’t yet, CLICK HERE!!!). It is currently be edited now, but the raw footage looks amazing in all of its 1080p HD goodness. We’ll let you know when it is finished, until then, here is Justin filming overhead footage of Matt playing drums:
Onto the acoustic EP we’ve been working on for the past couple weeks. So, it is going to be 5 songs, not sure on the order yet, but they will include: ‘It Never Was Me,’ ‘Cope,’ ‘Bloodlines,’ ‘Sweaters’ and ‘Home.’ We just finished all of the guitar tracks, all we have left to track are some vocals and other random small stuff. Then it’ll be mixed, mastered and sent off to iTunes and Amazon MP3. We can’t wait for you guys to hear it!
And the last bit of news, preproduction for the full length starts on Saturday!! We are beyond pumped. We’ve been a band for 5 years and everything up until this point has been us working toward this. This will be our debut full length. It will be 10 songs. We wrote more than that, so the ones that don’t make the cut will probably be reworked and end up on something else in some form. So, keep checking back, we’ll be posting photos and videos to document the whole process. Follow us on TheHollowSound.com, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, MySpace, PureVolume and YouTube.
P.S. If you are in the Boston-area we are playing a sweet show outside to benefit Haiti relief at Simmons College. Show goes from 4 – 8PM. Be there.
Yo! In case you missed it our fifth acoustic cover video is now up on our YouTube. Check it out below. It is ‘The Crane Wife 3′ by The Decemberists. Also.. in case you missed our April Fools gag, our fake new Hollow Sound tune is also below!
Today is a great day! Our new single ‘Panopticon’ is available now on iTunes and will soon be available from all the other major digital outlets. This song was recorded in Philadelphia last summer.
We’ve been super busy writing and demoing new songs for our debut full length, which we are happy to let you know, we’ll be recording beginning in May. We have been writing for months and didn’t want to neglect you guys any more!
So go ahead and download the song now by clicking HERE I dare you. Tell your friends. Spread the word. We are hoping to raise a little money with this to pay for the record, so every little bit helps the cause.
Also! Not only are we writing and recording an album, we are also recording an acoustic EP in the next couple weeks. This will also be available on iTunes as soon as it is finished. Keep your ears to the ground. We’ll let you know.
