Hello Dorothy,
How many moons? How many stars? It’s been quite a while, but here we are.
I find myself once again at a point where I have to explain myself to you. It seems that’s all I ever really do, but I don’t mind. I owe you that much for everything you continue to do for me.
What to address first? Perhaps the absence between correspondences? Yes, lets…
2015 was a magical year. The boys and I were just getting our footing into the world of live performance. We hit the ground running in our attempts to bring the music of SUADADE to the masses. There were no expectations, just the task itself and our undying will to best it. From our first show in April to our last in December, we noticed a steady increase in not only our turnouts per show, but our tightness as a group, as well as our overall effectiveness at conveying the message. That message was simply the musical portrayal of the emotions displayed throughout the story of SUADADE. We even ventured outside NY, playing shows in New Jersey and Connecticut. By the end of the year, our progress and ascent was at an all-time high.
We rang 2016 in with an epilogical performance of sorts for our run of SUADADE. It was held in none other than the legendary Bitter End. That show in many ways was the zenith of everything we were working towards for all of 2015. The crowd, the room, the energy, the sound; everything was on point. It may have been cold outside, but we warmed everyone up real nice in that room, and I can honestly say that it was a wonderful night that will remain with me for the rest of my life.
After that show, we went into recording mode for the new EP. Without getting into specifics, it was around this time that new methods were being experimented with. Methods not only for recording, but for planning and delegating a large part of the recording duties. Simply put, none of it bore the results I was expected. Before I knew it, it was April and the opportunity to play to an audience of 10,000 people fell onto my lap. Still being without any finished recordings, and perhaps due to some sense of frustration, I accepted the offer and lined up a few more shows for the year. I figured I’d be able to perform the shows and handle my recording duties in between. This turned out to be easier said than done.
I realized that our live shows, while being excellent, haven’t evolved to a point where I’d like for them to be quite yet. It’s one thing to be able to perform on stage with a band and hold an audience’s emotions in the palm of your hands, but it’s another to toss those very emotions all the way up through the heavens. I wasn’t satisfied with our shows just being great, I need for them to be the best. However I was unable to fully focus my time and attention on improving them the way I saw fit due to my recording responsibilities. That’s when it dawned on me that I’ve reached something of an impasse; essentially, I’d be unable to re-tweak any aspect of my live performances if I’m also operating in a frame of mind for songwriting/producing. These are two very different neural pathways that I access, and with both duties on my plate, I'd be unable to give one the attention it deserved without having it take away something from the other. Now I think those same improvements we made in our live performances were further improved upon this year, but again, that’s not enough for me.
So with that said, I can confidently say that I’ll be going back into recording mode 100%. There are too many songs on the queue waiting to be recorded and released (because while performance + recording need to take precedence over one another, songwriting is a light that’s never turned off). This means there most likely won’t be any big show to announce until we have an EP release party. There are other implications as a result of this; I might be a bit more radio-silent on our social media than usual. If you’ve been following Spells and Curses on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., you’ve probably noticed how there has been at least one post a day pretty regularly. This won’t stop entirely, but it will slow down significantly in order to focus + expedite the recording process a bit more.
Additionally, there will be more content coming out than simply music recordings + music videos. There is more being worked on than simply improving our stage shows + live sound. There will be major restructuring within Spells and Curses dealing addressing a range of topics from the music, to live shows, to the business side of things, and more. All will be revealed in due time, but just know that the next time you will see Spells and Curses, it will be a v2 upgrade. While I anticipate us being offered a show here and there (one that we might even accept if the price is right), know this: YOU WILL KNOW WHEN YOU SEE VERSION 2 INITIATED. #TheV2Initiative
2017 will be a new year and a new start for Spells and Curses. Everything will either fruitfully multiply, or fail + die miserably in a pathetic, burning wreck of a grave, and I have no intention of letting the latter happen. On this journey there are chances to take, and those chances have significant risk. Yet I take those chances not only to improve on my craft, but to deliver to you the experience of a better class of art from a further realized artist that you deserve. But again, all in due time…
I shall maintain correspondence with you on a regularly basis once again.
I shall remain,
theRave
