The new album "Enjoy OUR Deeceness" in fine stores January 26th 2009.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Lead Alone
Hey what's up Fans,
A week or so ago, Mlevels and I were hanging out, not doing too much. We were talking about sports, and beers, and women. I said, “It’s been so long, since we’ve been palmed, M.” “Yeah” M agreed. “Maybe it’s time to have some fun”, I said. “Yeah”, M agreed again. We both decided that we were bored and it was time to mix it up. It was time to ditch all responsibilty, and head out on the open road. “Gather up your gear, it’s time”, said M. So, we grabbed Ben's RV, and loaded up our equipment (one guitar, and a few Teethers). He was the Experimenter, and I was the Instigator.
12 hours and 800 miles later, we stopped in Valdosta, Georgia. We weren’t looking for trouble, but boy did trouble find us…..
On our first night there, we got a call from the Suits demanding to hear something new. Apparently they weren't satisfied either Creeper (Vocal Edit), or Phat Girl Shout. They said that we've been on their dime long enough, and it was time to make sense of the money they were paying us. Well, where Mlevels and I come from, we don't do so well with demands. We told the Suits to go piss off, and that we sneeze art, not business proposals. The Suits didn't take too kindly to that, and told us that we had 24 hours to produce a brand new hit, or they were going to pull the plug, and put a hold on our credit cards (little did they know, that Ben had already maxed out the cards by purchasing the RV).
Now, normal folk would be terrified by this demand. Not MLevels and I. We looked at each other, and nodded. We didn't need to speak. We each knew what the other was thinking.....
Achoo, Suits,..........A-fuckin-choo.
So, we set out to get some inspiration. And, what better place to find inspiration than the local watering hole. We stopped at the first one we saw – The Wooden Nickle Pub. From the outside it looked normal enough, but sometimes you can’t judge a book by its cover….
We walked in, and took a seat at the bar. “Everyone’s so pretty” M observed. “Yeah, everyone’s so sure” I said. M ordered a “whiskey neat”, and I ordered one shot of blinding light. We got our drinks, and toasted to the only thing we both know: “Here’s to being deece” I said. We raised our drinks. And, right about the time our glasses touched, we heard the jukebox kick in: “When the skies are overcast. We will do our best.”
“What the hell?” I said, stunned. We looked over at the jukebox, and saw the most beautiful site either of us had ever seen. Two favorite-ages were standing at the jukebox, both wearing Arsenal of Fools tube tops. Our jaws dropped. You see, despite what the record executives told us, we knew the AoF Tube Top and Panties sets would be a hit. We just didn’t expect to see any fans this far south.
Mlevels looked at me and said, “And, now my friend the time has come.” “Ok”, I said knowingly. I had seen this side of M before.
“Lace them up they’re growing” he said.
TO BE CONTINUED..........
A week or so ago, Mlevels and I were hanging out, not doing too much. We were talking about sports, and beers, and women. I said, “It’s been so long, since we’ve been palmed, M.” “Yeah” M agreed. “Maybe it’s time to have some fun”, I said. “Yeah”, M agreed again. We both decided that we were bored and it was time to mix it up. It was time to ditch all responsibilty, and head out on the open road. “Gather up your gear, it’s time”, said M. So, we grabbed Ben's RV, and loaded up our equipment (one guitar, and a few Teethers). He was the Experimenter, and I was the Instigator.
12 hours and 800 miles later, we stopped in Valdosta, Georgia. We weren’t looking for trouble, but boy did trouble find us…..
On our first night there, we got a call from the Suits demanding to hear something new. Apparently they weren't satisfied either Creeper (Vocal Edit), or Phat Girl Shout. They said that we've been on their dime long enough, and it was time to make sense of the money they were paying us. Well, where Mlevels and I come from, we don't do so well with demands. We told the Suits to go piss off, and that we sneeze art, not business proposals. The Suits didn't take too kindly to that, and told us that we had 24 hours to produce a brand new hit, or they were going to pull the plug, and put a hold on our credit cards (little did they know, that Ben had already maxed out the cards by purchasing the RV).
Now, normal folk would be terrified by this demand. Not MLevels and I. We looked at each other, and nodded. We didn't need to speak. We each knew what the other was thinking.....
Achoo, Suits,..........A-fuckin-choo.
So, we set out to get some inspiration. And, what better place to find inspiration than the local watering hole. We stopped at the first one we saw – The Wooden Nickle Pub. From the outside it looked normal enough, but sometimes you can’t judge a book by its cover….
We walked in, and took a seat at the bar. “Everyone’s so pretty” M observed. “Yeah, everyone’s so sure” I said. M ordered a “whiskey neat”, and I ordered one shot of blinding light. We got our drinks, and toasted to the only thing we both know: “Here’s to being deece” I said. We raised our drinks. And, right about the time our glasses touched, we heard the jukebox kick in: “When the skies are overcast. We will do our best.”
“What the hell?” I said, stunned. We looked over at the jukebox, and saw the most beautiful site either of us had ever seen. Two favorite-ages were standing at the jukebox, both wearing Arsenal of Fools tube tops. Our jaws dropped. You see, despite what the record executives told us, we knew the AoF Tube Top and Panties sets would be a hit. We just didn’t expect to see any fans this far south.
Mlevels looked at me and said, “And, now my friend the time has come.” “Ok”, I said knowingly. I had seen this side of M before.
“Lace them up they’re growing” he said.
TO BE CONTINUED..........
Monday, February 04, 2008
Better Off...
At some point in 2006 M.Levels acquired the keys to studio space. This came about after signing a contract with Utah based Fur Security Records as a band called Bumper Crop. Bumper Crop would get two full weeks of studio time to create what was billed as the Deecest Sneeze Ever. The band immediately made themselves at home.
After two weeks, a dozen empty E Pizza boxes, various empty bottles of liquor and wine, lingerie left behind from groupies, and several empty boxes of facial tissue lay strewn throughout the studio. As you can imagine when the record executives came for the finish product they were shocked by the display of debauchery and deeceness.
What else was left behind? A hand written note: "you've been saved by AoF." There was also a demo tape left behind and the two fake mustaches. The same mustaches HC and ML had worn during their meetings with the label. The tape soon made it to the airwaves and history was made. The Arsenal was back on top.
Better Off Alone
Hey fans.
I was going to write this post with an apology,........I was going to apologize for not updating the blog in a while. I was actually going to apologize for leaving you guys hanging,......
But, then I realized that it's YOU who should be apologizing to Mlevels and me. Through our hits, we give you identity. We sneeze, and therefore you are. Without us, you would be listening Nickleback.
But, you know what, fans? We don't expect any apologies. We don't expect any gratitude. We can't control the hits that we sneeze out. It's a bi-product of our deeceness. Revel in it, fans, and enjoy this new hit.
--Hollow Cheek
Friday, February 01, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
What Happened?
Often the band is asked what happened in 2007. It's not uncommon for a band to take a year or more off in between records. With AoF the amount of musical output and pure deeceness that was pouring out suddenly came to end near the end of 2006. The fans were astonished and disappointed. Some even contemplated burning their music collections aka iPods.
Rumors of all kinds surfaced: The had broke up, Hollow Cheek grew a beard and moved to Sweden, M.Levels left and started his own band, Life Size Animals, they quite to pursue acting careers, etc. The list goes on and on. After spending six months on the road with these cats and seeing them perform zero shows and record no music I knew something was up. When I finally got up enough courage to ask what happened, the tour van screeched to a halt. They looked at each other. Hollow Cheek shook his head yes and M.Levels reached into the glove box. He looked me dead in the eye and handed me a cassette and said, "here you go. this should answer all your questions."
Best I can figure, this is the recording (link below) that single handedly broke the band up and got them back together.
Tom
SocialEngineer
Twice.
Twice.
In the history of the Arsenal, M.L. and I have opened our staging area to outside peeps only twice. Sure, we've recorded material under different guises, such as Urban Shocker and The Company, but as far as the Arsenal of Fools go, it's only happened twice.
The first time featured a friend and a cowbell, and the second time is the focus of this post....
Most bands are nervous to introduce outside influences, as the potential to disrupt the creative process is simply too dangerous. However, on very rare occassions, said outside influence can bring something to the table that's so awesome, so raw, and with such auditory deeceness, that it deserves to be in the original band's catalogue.
Friends, this was that time. I'm proud to call this an AOF original.
For now, we'll call our guest "Fake", but as you'll see, there's something very "real" about this sneeze....
Enjoy: FireMountain
--HC
Achoo! God Bless Us.
Occasionally, when we're mixing a song down, we find that one of the tracks is noticeably better than the others. Be it the recording, or the strumming, or the singing,....some kind of intangible justs makes it (and us) feel "alive". It leaves the other tracks in its dust, and therefore deserves to stand out on its own merit.
Today's track was one of those. It came about in late '06. It was orignally part of a multi-track sneeze, but after we heard it, we decided that it needed to be presented solely.
The volume of the recording is a little low, so be sure to adjust your speakers.
Here it is, in its entirety:
TRACK008
Today's track was one of those. It came about in late '06. It was orignally part of a multi-track sneeze, but after we heard it, we decided that it needed to be presented solely.
The volume of the recording is a little low, so be sure to adjust your speakers.
Here it is, in its entirety:
TRACK008
--HC
Company Time
This tune is a prime example of "long distance collaboration." In the 21st century technology can change the way things are done. This song was written in almost thirty seconds while the song writers were nearly 20 miles apart.
Call it luck
call it fate
call it karma
we call it the HIT MAKER!
enjoy
What Did You Say?
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Pontiac Streator
I think it's about time that we come clean......
(inhale)..........(exhale)........
Long before Arsenal of Fools, there was a string of bands that strung along hits like cotton candy at the county fair. Too Shaves, The Company, The Fabulists, Standpipe Inhalants, Crooked Wire, Pontiac Streator, Gander Mountain, and maybe a few more i can't currently remember. These bands, while separate in their own write (see how I did that?), were very much an integral piece of the Arsenal's arsenal.
While most of them originated along a particularly fertile section of HWY 55, between Springfield and Bloomington, IL, all of them are still close to our hearts.
So, here's to you, Side Project!
--HC
(inhale)..........(exhale)........
Long before Arsenal of Fools, there was a string of bands that strung along hits like cotton candy at the county fair. Too Shaves, The Company, The Fabulists, Standpipe Inhalants, Crooked Wire, Pontiac Streator, Gander Mountain, and maybe a few more i can't currently remember. These bands, while separate in their own write (see how I did that?), were very much an integral piece of the Arsenal's arsenal.
While most of them originated along a particularly fertile section of HWY 55, between Springfield and Bloomington, IL, all of them are still close to our hearts.
So, here's to you, Side Project!
--HC
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Studio B(side)
Sometimes words can not describe just how the creative process works. Or even why it works. Studio B has set it's self apart as an incredibaly inspirational place to record. Things just come together. After all it is not just a studio but like the band it changes lives. Listen, learn, and enjoy.Careless Gestures
-OTD
NAMELESS/CARELESS
A lot of times, M.L. and I get together and sneeze out so many hits in one session, that it's difficult to assign appropriate names to each and every jam. We don't squabble over pot
ential names at all. Sometimes, as is the case with today's post, we let the lyrics do the naming.
The song's "technical" name is BAXSTOO11,.....but, it's so much more leveled than that,.....
BAXSTOO11
you saw all the clues
confronted those that oppose you
lost in lonely places
figured you'd bow out
bow out without graces
in the room for you
no room for the loser
take it easy
--HC
ential names at all. Sometimes, as is the case with today's post, we let the lyrics do the naming.The song's "technical" name is BAXSTOO11,.....but, it's so much more leveled than that,.....
BAXSTOO11
you saw all the clues
confronted those that oppose you
lost in lonely places
figured you'd bow out
bow out without graces
in the room for you
no room for the loser
take it easy
--HC
Friday, January 25, 2008
.jpg)
Hey what's up everyone!
I guess by now the buzz has reached your hood, and you're aware that we're back. Yes, yes it's true, don't wet your knickers (Mel!)......yet!
We've been on an extended, but healthy haitus. A couple of us have gotten married (Ben!), one of us had a child (LUPE!), and the rest of us are still children (fools!).
We got back together to go through some b-side material with the intention of releasing yet another split 7" with (ahem) Urban Squakbox, and we were simply having too much fun in the studio. So, next thing we know, we've sneezed out 7 new hits, only 8 of which are any good.
The first one is called "Creeper" -- i've posted it here proving that sonic deeceness still exists. http://www.mediafire.com/?fvjkkbyofph
There are also two other tracks as well. ML and I get flooded with fan mail, constantly asking us about our song writing process. the second two tracks are a good insight into how our evenings usually progress.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?fj0zbxdpooe
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?1tl47a0v9vy
Remember, if you're not with the Arsenal, you're against it.
--HC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
