Randy: Tonight�s short recording session went well.
Erick: Randy, let�s be honest here.
Randy: Ok, it went GREAT!
Erick: That�s what I needed to hear.
In Unison: HA HA HA HA!!

� Lo-Fi back in the studio later this week. The Return of Croden is highly rumoured.

01/31/2004 Bring the vocals on!
More vocals recorded on Saturday. Randy took the microphone and told it to get a haircut and get a real job. This is ironic, as Randy just got a new job and a haircut. But his hair was not yet cut during recording, so I better not get ahead of myself. Recording went well, and we got the job done on a couple of songs. Our choice was this: turn off the noisy space heater, be cold, and record, OR, be warm with the space heater and not record. Since we were in a recording studio, it only made sense to sack up and capture some performances. Thank you thank you thank you Unnamed local engineer for the hot gear. You�ll see pictures HERE of us in action, and please notice Croden, our interim bass player. He says he wants the full time gig, so his probation will be attempting to record the bass lines on the album. He hung out in the studio with us on Saturday to get a feel for the songs and see what he could come up with in his head. Admittedly, we were a bit skeptical about Croden at first, but his ideas were right up our collective alley. We�ll keep you posted on whether or not he lands the job. He doesn�t have internet so there�s no real risk in him seeing this posting the short term. We are going to get back in the studio this coming weekend in hopes that Justin Timberlake will rip off our shirts. Unintentional, my alley!

- Erick

01/27/2004 Excuses Excuses
Well after almost a month off, I have headed back in to finish this so called record. At this point, it just sounds like a collection of instrumentals. After many many idle promises, you can listen to some new stuff by clicking here. It the little know song South America. This is a rough mix with unfixed vocals and some rough ideas, so give me some grace. Erick and I are headed back into the studio this Saturday so check back soon for more info and maybe some more music (hows that for a UN-idle promise).

- randy

12/06/03 By Randy
Well keyboards are pretty much done except for one song. We are holding out the hope that we can use the last of our band money to pay a monster organ player to play the parts. This weekend we actually found Barrett and dragged him to the studio to record percussion. Click here to see us at "work". I have got out of my cloudy-doom-cloudy-mind-set and started recording some vocals. It sounds amazing thanks to a loan of some hot gear from a friend (to protect him, he shall remain unnamed but thanked regardless). Oh yeah, Jason Ingersol stopped by to annoy both Erick (who dressed up for the occasion against my will) and I.

11/15/03 By Randal
What have we been doing for the last couple of weeks you ask? Well we moved to our new home thanks to our good friend Perry. Erick and I have been hammering out keyboard and loop parts. Vocals will start soon also. The vibe is good. To view some picts, click here. In other news, we did get a hold of Barrett.

10/25/03 The Lo Down
Today was the final day of recording at our current studio space. That's right; it's gone, done, over with, kaput. We'll miss you, space. We're taking a week off recording to relocate to our apartments and friends' studios so we can finish recording. Fortunately, after finishing the day today we realized that we have in our hands (actually, it's still in the hard drive) what is beginning to sound like a great album. We are still working on 13 songs and haven't begun hating any of them yet which is a good sign. It's been fun to try to new arrangements and freshen up the tracks. In other news � BARRETT PLEASE CALL US!! We do not know where our drummer is. Honestly. His cell phone is shut off and we don't know any of his other friends' numbers. We have not seen him in about 4 weeks because we've been sneakily tracking guitars without him there. Of course, the chances of this web shout out actually working are not s'hot. The Lo Down is as follows:

1. So far, Randy and Erick (and we think barrett) are stoked on the record
2. We don't have a bass player for shows and we need one. It is important to play shows when you are a "band." We ain't no studio bound XTC, dernitt. Do you want to be our bass player? Email us.
3. Citizens, give us our Barrett back. We know he's out there. Barrett, as a citizen you are allowed to give yourself back. Come home.

Also, R.I.P. to Elliott Smith - his music and presence will be missed.

- erick

09/24/03 By Randy
Obviously I should be reading Erick's posts. I mean only about 75% of this stuff is funny (error margin of +/- 20%). From someone who has started calling himself "the solution", I expect more funny. Hey "the solution" why don't you make me laugh, huh? Any way check out some photos by clicking here. I think we have guitars done for one song?

9/20/03 By Erick the Solution
I just got home from the studio after a solid day of recording. We made major headway on a few songs, cranking out a lot of the electric guitars on "tonight is alright", "closure", and "dressed up in red". Our friend JR was in town to mix a record for a band and we all hit the casino last night pretty hard. I am amazed we got so much done after such a late night of high rolling. I was stoked to win $1,545 on roulette after only starting out with $50. "Staying power, gentleman, STAYing POWer." That's what the old guy at our table kept telling me and I apparently gleaned a lot from his wisdom. This is comes at a good time because now I can afford to purchase some desperately needed gear � like replacing my now busted Champ amp. The story: Since our studio overlooks a busy street we thought it would be cool to try some new techniques today with guitars. Randy has a lot of tools and tool bags and assorted belts and stuff so we actually rigged and suspended my amp outside of a window and recorded a take of guitar just blaring out into the street for "tonight is alright". It was a double track to my guitar solo, and we wanted a fresh sound. We got the amp out the window fine and left a room mic in the studio to pick up the sound. But the first take proved to be the last, and the amp crashed down onto the ground when we rolled take two. No one was hurt, but the amp had to be tossed. Since we have recorded virtually none of the guitars that we wanted to use the champ for, I need to buy a new one with my winnings. That's okay I guess, but I really loved the one I had. We'll think twice about innovation from now on. Thank goodness for gambling, guitars, and second chances.

9/11/03 By Erick the LongWinded
Last night acoustic guitars were recorded. There is wisdom in using crappy guitars. Bad makes Good. String Cheese, pepperoni, and safeway Chinese tasted better with that big jug of pinot noir, and the recordings began to sound quite warm as well. At this point I think we are actually making a record instead of talking about making a record. Randy and I decided to really change the vibe of 2 of the songs because the arrangements were worn out, and we know that by the time we start to tour on this record we're going to want the songs to be fresh. We're finding that being musicians is about selfishness just as much as it is about giving music away to "the people." I'm not convinced that we will ever really learn to share. While we were recording, one of our ex-girlfriends (who shall remain unidentified) called the studio looking for a pair of claves she'd left at our old location. For those of you who don't know, it's bad luck to hold on to stuff like that so alas, she was up a crick.
[Editors note: Happy Birthday Erick]

8/30/2003 By Randy
Drums are done! Thats right, all 13 songs (that we are recording at this time) are recorded. View some pictures here. Guitar tracking will continue. I will post a MP3 soon (and by soon I mean sometime before the record is done like in October or November or you know soon). You have to hear these drums, they are out of control.

8/28/2003 By Randy
After recording 7 songs of drums last Saturday, Erick and I started tracking guitars. Bad news - I currently suck at guitar. HA! At least the recording sounds hot. Samples soon, I promise.

8/14/2003 By Randy
After yet (another) break we wrapped up pre-production for the record. Good news - we are ready to throw down some music on tape. Look for stuff to really start rolling now...

7/29/2003 By Randy
Well recording didn't start, but I will summarize what work DID happen. We upgraded our studio and cleaned it. View some picts, here. We also decided to sell a bunch of stuff on ebay that we never use. Help us out and buy this stuff. We plan on tracking some drum stuff to get used to the new gear on Thursday.

07/22/2003 By Randy
This is the official place to find out any and all info on the new lo-fi fiction record Friends at Gunpoint. Stay tuned for updates, MP3s, picts, and more. First I will let you know the plan (as of July 2003). We are starting tracking this Saturday at The Audio Boutique. Aaron Sprinkle is lending us a hand to record the single, Buy a Vowel, on August 16. Some of the upcoming songs will include album versions of Five Days and Moments Later, The Drive Home, Tonight is Alright, Talker and Closure. Expect to see Don't Count Me Out, Buy a Vowel, South America, Dressed Up (extended version), The Second Time, and a few unnamed tracks as well. We are currently planning on releasing it ourselves unless some label feels lucky.