For the purposes of nearly-full disclosure, just wanted to post some of the goings-on in the Shaimus camp. If you’re on our email list (as you should be) you probably know some of this. Here is what we’ve been working on lately when we’re not simply trying to keep our sanity:

- Our second album has obviously been our main project. We started recording it almost a year ago. We took a little break, but these things take time. A lot of time. Just refer to a couple posts back for a snippet of the experience. We are doing everything we can to get it to you by around December. It’s not easy. But we want you to have it.

- Last spring we shot a music video for “Turn the Other Way,” which will be on the album. We don’t quite have a finalized version yet, but we plan on releasing it before the album. It’s pretty awesome.

- Around the same time, we’ll be giving you a taste of the album by letting you download a free track. Mmmm, tasty.

- We’re hoping to re-launch our Street Team to promote the album and give you the chance to win cool prizes. Maybe one of those prizes will be one of Phil’s sweaty, used gym socks. You know you want one.

- Dave and I made instructional guitar videos for three songs (two new ones and “All Of This”) that will be available from iVideosongs.com.

- Speaking of videos, we’re gonna be giving you a fine collection of behind the scenes footage of the making of the album via our YouTube channel. Go ahead and click there to subscribe. The last post in this blog includes a teaser vid.

- Our website looks dated, so we’re gonna redo it in the style of the new album artwork, maybe even add a few new features.

- We keep saying there’s something we’re not allowed to talk about yet, and that’s still true. There is still something, and we are still not allowed to talk about it. We will be able to very soon, though. Then you’ll understand.

We’re happy to say that we recorded a significant amount of video footage while we were recording our new album. We’ll be releasing it bit by bit on our YouTube channel, which you should subscribe to. Here’s the first teaser video. It’s time to start the buzz.

As pretty much everyone knows, we have been hard at work on our sophomore effort for quite some time. I felt it my duty as recording and mix engineer to provide some thoughts and information on what “recording” actually means (to me at least). Basically, the process goes like this:

• Record all the instruments
• Compile the best performances of these instruments for each song, comping and editing as needed
• Record Vocals
• Tweak everything until the songs sound like songs (which they now do since most of the parts can be played together)
• Starting mixing/finalizing the songs
• Add little extras as needed (percussion, background vocals, etc)
• Keep mixing until the result is approved and accepted by Shaimus
• Master the finished mixes
• Send the completed product out to get pressed
• Start distributing the brand-spanking new record to the public

Piece of cake, right? While all of the above is going on, we have also been working on the artwork and strategizing the promotion of this product once it hits the shelves (of our closet).

This time around our budget limited us from going into a recording studio full-time for a month and banging out the majority of the album right away – hence the many-month schedule. In the mean time we have also been playing a lot of shows and taking care of all the other good stuff (like paying rent and remaining well fed).

Despite the amount of time and effort required by all parties in order to complete this considerable task, it’s been a great old time. Naturally, when the album is 100% complete and I’m holding the finished product in my hand I’ll utter a fairly long sigh of relief. Having listened to the same songs day in and day out for almost a year, I won’t be likely to leave this CD on repeat in my car once it’s done. It’ll be sweet though since a “real” engineer is doing the mastering – it’ll provide valuable perspective for me, instead of second-guessing all my own choices in the mixing for the rest of time

People listen to music for many reasons. What I hope is that the sonic imprint of this upcoming record immediately piques the interest of the listener and continues to intrigue and stimulate upon subsequent plays, hopefully numbering into the hundreds. Think of a movie, book, or painting you enjoy. It’s very similar. The idea is to create a vehicle by which the listener can, for the duration of the listening period, escape from his or her reality and experience something visceral. By creating something honest and intentional, we hope to do just that with this record.

Please remember though that aside from music, the 5 members of Shaimus are physically incapable of taking anything seriously. I guess this balance (or imbalance depending on how you see it) is what brought us together in the first place.

–johannes