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The end of the year is nigh. What does Red Door Exchange have to show for it? It was one of those years that flew by and yet looking over it you realize plenty has happened. A retrospective is in order I think.
January - After introducing Jim as RDX's bass player a month prior, RDX plays a show on the coldest night in the history of everything at The Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge. Only the boldest ventured out on what was truly a bone-chilling evening. We were fortunate to share the bill with Dead Jazz Heroes, a project that Tim of Taxpayer has had going on for years that you don't get to hear too often. Some Western Massers might recall a show we played with them at The Eagles last year...great improv-based jazzy rock fusion, organically spacey, primal. It's good to experience music not entirely preconceived.
February - In between shows in the Valley, Providence, and Cape Cod, RDX works as hard as possible to record 12 songs with engineer and friend Aric Nunes. Much of the recording was completed in a makeshift studio in secluded Conway MA, which was really just Kate's and my home at the time with some extra equipment brought in. It was February, and that's a rough month anywhere, but rougher in the rough, if you know what I mean. By the end of the final rushed vocal session, inspired by chaotic work schedules and people leaving town etc etc, cabin fever was in full swing and we were all ready to STOP. A lot was learned during this particularly challenging recording process. We were shooting for a full-length masterpiece in a very short amount of time, but our aim was off, many of us were on the verge of personal transitions, and it seemed like we never found our footing. But there's a beauty to uncertainty, even the kind that leaves you flapping around aimlessly. We were left with a sense that some evolution needed to go down, and a challenge to make it happen. Five of the twelve songs would be released as an EP later in the year.
March - Mike leaves the state to begin his traveling job, so RDX takes a breather while Aric heads to Chicago to start work at a studio out there, while beginning to mix the tracks we recorded. I think Kate and I played a show at the Flywheel that month, as a duo. I remember feeling lame and exposed without the full band. I think I snapped at someone that night, or gave them a cold shoulder. Sorry about that, I was in a stupid mood.
April - A couple more shows with just Kate and I, to keep the vocal chords (cords?) warm and the illusion of continuity intact.
May - Mike returns from trip, we rock The Zeitgeist Gallery again. The world begins to open up and rehearsals are more experimental. RDX does a live radio show at The Fallout Shelter, UMASS Lowell.
June - After a brief two-day, three-show tour in the earlier part of the month, RDX knocks up the Iron Horse with The Swords Project from Oregon. Anticipation of hearing mixes from the forthcoming EP is reaching a fever pitch.
July - A show at Bishop's Lounge kicks off another hiatus for the band. That show, though, was significant. It followed a string of practices marked by a looser yet more focused approach, and the urgent necessity for me personally to find a way to connect to music viscerally again, and not be so mental about it. Mike's drumming is invigorated, and he and Jim gel like never before. Kate and I find our voices congealing into one, and another dimension of the band is ballooning outward, upwards. We have a final practice in Conway, dubbed "Conway Finale," as Kate and I are leaving our beloved house in the hills to return to civilization, and a more practically than fantastically oriented existence. I remember that day, it was like we were surfing the wave of neutrinos off a solar flare...what a stimulating, transcendent experience, to be confident standing at the precipice of change, to be without gravity and not nervous at all, to be injected with vision after a long stretch of fog. And we recorded it too.
August - The website you are currently parked at is finally up and running, and I work feverishly getting its pages in order over the next few months. The EP arrives, complete with the slick artwerk Jim slaved over. We're already looking ahead to the next one, our standards having been raised, and having had a realization that this recording was a precursor to something yet undefined. Correspondence with Paul Buckley of Lunch Records is undertaken, and ultimately he decides to include RDX on Volume 1 of his 4X4 split CD/EP compilation series. The timing is good, and Paul is awesome. Good guy with great vision, and we are glad to be a part of it. Kate and I settle in Northampton and Easthampton, respectively. After living in the woods so long (literally), daily life seems a lot easier, and more dynamic. I take pleasure in walking to buy prepared food, rent stupid movies, drink draught beer, and commune with fellow humans, while visions of the band's future--together with a host of new songs--begin to take shape.
The Rest - We have seven shows booked from October to the end of the year, and it is dubbed a playoff series for RDX. We agree to rock hard and without reserve, sipping JD from the same paper cup before shows. The series has its ups and downs, but we come out on top. UPs: CD Release at TT the Bears in Cambridge, for the Lunch 4X4. All four bands--Taxpayer, Morning Theft, The Fever Monument, and RDX--show up and lay down. The Hook in Brooklyn treats us kindly, and we get to perform well in a big room. People seem to listen, and that's always so appreciated. The Iron Horse Valley Sounds Showcase goes on with RDX headlining, and people are warm and receptive, and it fuels the fire. Finally, The Brass Cat show with Republican National Convention and Big Bright Sun is a chance to play in our area with and for people we love, and it hadn't happened in a while, and it was beautiful. Way to end the year, but it wasn't done yet. The following week at The Cat, all of RDX and a slew of fine musicians contribute to the annual Hot Buttered Elves christmas concert, an absolute blessing, equally for the people playing and the people listening. It was really a fun night for everyone. I personally felt fortunate to play alongside several talented musicians whom I respect wholeheartedly. Thank you Mike Wyzik and Eric Poulin for spearheading the idea and including me in it.
Sometime in October, Night Owl Records celebrates its one year anniversary, and I am honored to be invited to play during the celebration with so many other of the great musicians around. Moving to Easthampton grants me the chance to see these people a lot more often, and to be inspired on a regular basis by their talents and dedication. I am grateful to them for that. As a band, RDX feels a part of a community of artists that make this a special place to be, and that will hopefully continue that trend throughout the next year and beyond. And lastly, and by no means least, we meet Norm. We'll leave that nice and vague for now. Just know there's a record on its way, and we're working hard to make it a beautiful thing. We can't wait to offer it up. Thank you to anyone who has ever blown smoke up our asses or made us feel welcome and appreciated in any way . We soak up even the slightest shred of support and it helps keeps us hydrated. Looking forward to giving it back in '05. [jesse]
even the vaguest sketches of ideas are sometimes worthy of being posted. if nothing else, they help keep the mp3 vault invigorated, but more importantly they document a song's evolution. we're generally accustomed to hearing only the finished product, but it's the process that gets you there, no? the first offering--we'll call it "first to midnight"--is available to stream on the media page. have a listen to the birth of something. [jesse]
Hey, good stuff happening. RDX will be at The Iron Horse on December 2nd to headline the Valley Sounds Showcase. Tickets are available ahead of time or at the door and are only $5, nice price for a nice space with good sound. We have tickets to sell, so email us ,or go to NBO Tickets to purchase online. See the shows page for more details. The 4X4 compilation has been seeing some press of late, check out the press page for a link to an article in The Boston Phoenix. Nice blurb in the November edition of Northeast Performer as well. But hey, we've been recording a whole lot recently, in fact most of our time and energy has been going into that, but let me tell you, we are fired up about this thing. That's all I'm going to say because it's early in the process, and I don't want to get all jacked up ahead of time. Just know that we haven't been sitting on our asses by any means, and we can't wait to give you what's coming. [jesse]
........greetings friends,
we had a great show friday at The Hook in Brooklyn. we must extend our warmest gratitudes and regards to everyone at The Hook because they were kind and gracious hosts who are doing it for all the right reasons. if you live in and around brooklyn, or if you have a band this is a place you must check out. Also we must thank Apostle of Hustle, our northern neighbors who put on a most captivating show as well. hmmm.... the future. check the shows section. and finally, a big shout out to RDX's new best friend Norm, whose brilliant mind has melded with our collective in hopes of an album future. until then..... sloppy kisses. [mike]
Thanks again to those in attendance this past Thursday at TT the Bears, and to Taxpayer, Morning Theft, and The Fever Monument for contributing to the severe rocking that went on, and of course to Paul Buckley at Lunch Records who put the whole thing together. Left that night feeling like something had happened, and that's all I really ask for in this world. Grant me that illusion please. Give me the mirage in the middle of my desert. Thanks. Pictures to follow. [jesse]
Hey. We put up a new shows page, courtesy of the services included with an Onlinegigs account. If you're a musician and you're booking shows, this company will help immensely, we recommend it fully. Notice on the shows page as well that there are some new dates added, with a few more to come to round off 2004. We're especially excited for next week's Lunch Records 4X4 CD Release show at TT the Bears. Also, it should be well-attended and well-rocked. If you're in the area this Saturday, Oct. 9th, come by Night Owl Records on Cottage St in Easthampton MA for their 1-year anniversary celebration. I'll be there, along with several of the Valley's artists/songwriters/musicians/people, and it's a good opportunity to support an honest local business. As an aside, I don't think I've ever thought about "supporting a local business" before in my life. Something's going on here. I'm becoming a person. [jesse]
I sat in front of this computer for 11 hours yesterday, learning how to make websites go broom broom, and I've exhausted any interpersonally effective part of myself in the process, so this update is merely going to do what it ought to: inform you of something, that being that things have changed on the pages contained herein, please look at them, and flood me with emails about how everything looks screwed up in your browser, so that I can lock myself in my apartment (sans worms) for another round or two this week. for real, do let me know if you're experiencing any problems viewing it, especially those of you with slow internet connections. i've tried to keep filesizes down without compromising quality, so that everyone can hear and see everything equally. aren't i the philanthropist of the week. by the way,...never mind.
-jlp
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Welcome to Red Door Exchange's website. This is news indeed, because it's been
a long time coming, at least from my perspective. It's funny though how I hold
this assumption that there are people out there waiting, salivating for the day
they can finally access it. I have images of people tapping their feet and drumming
their fingers thinking to themselves, 'that band has to get their web presence
together, how disorganized and unmotivated of them.' Naturally this is a projection
of my own feeling that time is slipping away, opportunities are being missed,
and we're plummeting ever further into oblivion. Well maybe so, but I'm kind of
enjoying it.
I'm enjoying Easthampton. That's we're I live now. I moved here, and these maggoty
grubs started hatching out of the carpet in my apartment. Actually I'm still not
sure if they were emerging from the carpet itself, or just dripping out of another
dimension, because I was sitting there one night, staring with a flashlight, waiting
to witness just one creature making its way out of the rug, but no. not one. hours
passed, and i might leave the room for a moment to take a leak, then upon my return
there'd be two or three fresh, flesh colored larvae wriggling across the floor.
they're the kind of things you'd expect to find eating a cadaver's remains, so
naturally i began to think that perhaps i was dead, and this reality i've been
experiencing was all a trick to convince myself otherwise, and the maggots were
dripping from the true reality, that being the one where i'm in a coffin being
decomposed by these natural means. that was one thought. there were others too,
but the point is i resigned to the helplessness of the situation, accepted that
i would share my living space with others after all, and at that point, or soon
thereafter, i was granted, what's that word? like when you go to a church and
no one can get you? solace? no. something else. you know what i mean. it all turned
around. i found a much more pleasant living arrangement down the road, and there
are no worms. i am ever grateful, and faithful.
To the meat of the matter: I thank Kevin O'Connell for designing the framework
of this site and Vana Trudeau for getting the initial content uploaded and organized.
The intention is for it to be simple yet informative. Currently the 'media' and
'merch' pages are awaiting birth. I am no webmaster, but I intend to keep the
information current and post shows and such as soon as they are confirmed. As
time goes on, if you have any comments or suggestions for the site, drop us a
line. There's a link for 'RDX' at the bottom of the page, see? Great.
Now, this is the 'news' page. Here's the news, in condensed form: Red Door Exchange
has been selected as one of four bands to be placed on the Lunch Records "4X4"
compilation (four bands, four songs each) which will be released in early October.
This is a really good thing. You can get information on the release and on Lunchhere. Also, Red Door Exchange's first recording as a quartet, entitled 'EP', is being
pressed and should be available within a few weeks. When I say available, I mean
they will be in my possession. How to get one is another story. I'll keep you
updated on that. Lastly, after a hiatus, the band members are stationed in the
same state again and are rehearsing for upcoming shows. As you can see on theshows page, the gigs are sparse. That is partly intentional, and partly just an issue
of timing. Plenty of things cooking, not all ready to be served. We're not planning
on a heavy performance schedule for the fall, but what we do plan is to play our
asses off when we do play. In the meantime, we're going to record again. New stuff.
I salivate for that. And I've written enough. This should be the longest bit of
news ever written on this page. Simple yet informative from here on out. Salute
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jesse lee |
