vol.one
written by r.tilly - guitar

the recording of i-defy's 'guides to action'.

 August 24:  SESSION 2 - we went in again for a few hours and tracked two more songs, Mercenary & Just Beyond. Just Beyond will more than likely be the first single from the album (if there is a single) but it's still too soon to tell anything yet. (as time went on, it almost didn't make the album) It just grabs my ears and won't let go. Things are coming along great, though... Anyhow, nothing else much exciting yet... but we're over half way done tracking the album now. The next session won't be for a lil' while...so we wait.

September 22:  SESSION 3 - we did a few overdubs, including an improvised tribal percussion section on id (i:e; maracas, tambourines, egg shakers, bongos, and a detuned floor tom!), a few guitar lines on just beyond (just for added flavor), and tracked preliminary vocal tracks for salt, if mourning doesn't come, suburban dream, and your america. It was an extremely short day, but we're that much closer to finishing up. We'll have two additional dates this coming weekend, in which we hope to finish recording the basics....!!! (fat chance...)  

September 26: SESSION 4 -Brent and Dave went in for a few hours to record some more vocals. Brent did some alterations to "if mourning doesn't come", which is different than the DEMO version we have available online. We can't decide what style we liked better, so we're put the original version up on mp3.com and do something else on the album version.

September 28:...SESSION 5 -48 hours later... Dan, Dave, Brent and Ryan began recording the last five tracks and succeeded. Ten Percent, face the day, Building Stairs, coward, and Lights out were completed... minus vocals, and Jeffs guitar tracks. (In Jeff's absence, His guitar parts were temporarily replaced with Dan's vocals, "duh duh duh du da!" I wish we had those versions released, They made me laugh out loud.  Only a few more sessions and it should be completed... thankfully, the hard part is done. All fourteen tracks that will comprise the album have been recorded....We have no idea which ones will make the album cut though.. The raw-recorded versions of these songs sound damn good. It would be nice to stop right here and release it as is, but that probably wouldn't be in our best interest.   The still untitled album will be released late June 2002, (reprise x2) along with a few other Medea bands, so keep a look out.

October 26: SESSION 6 -  Jeff and Brent went in and finished their respective parts. Brent has only a two songs left to record vocals for... 'coward' and 'ten percent '. As it turns out, Brent decided to rewrite the lyrics for 10 percent, so it will now be dubbed, "in the line". Maybe we'll use the old lyrics on something else. He wants to rewrite the lyrics for 'lights out' and 'suburban dream', because those lyrics were written when he first joined the band, and he did not intend on sticking with those words. He says they are too 'obvious and amateur'. I must agree with him, but we'll see if we have time. but Anyhow, We plan on heading back to record TWO or THREE additional songs for inclusion on the album. It all depends how they turn out.

November 04:SESSION 7,more vocal reworks and guitar dubs. Ahh.. it's just one of those days. nothings is going right. I'm too damn frustrated to write....

November 18: SESSION 8 -was our final day for recording (the music). We managed to completely record our latest song, "ending a life in mid-sentence" and "Never Break". "Never Break" was going through multiple changes, so it never really saw the light of day. We were able to glue the song together into a more coherent form, we were surprised it came out so well. Who knows, it might actually make the cut. (it actually did) Also, we managed to write AND record music and lyrics for another song called, "Wax Monument". Capturing the spontaneity of a song was definitely achieved here. (and that's what we were looking for). It's different that's for sure, but who knows where it will end up. The remaining vocal parts we recorded for the rest of the songs, and everything went as planned. We recorded a total of 17 songs during our many Tempermill sessions... It is unknown what songs will appear on the final product. but more than likely, 14 will make the album, and the remaining 3 will be on compilations. I have a feeling picking them is going to be a pain-staking task...

December 01,SESSION 9 i-defy began and FINISHED the mixing process, we were able to mix the 17 songs in around 9 hours. We made sure we didn't spend too much time in the mixing process because we are looking for a very raw sounding album. We're gonna have to wait until we here these songs mastered, before we can form an opinion. Brent recorded vocals for one of our newer songs called, "wax monument" that will appear on the album. It was the only song that was basically written 'in' the studio. It's pretty different. Now that the mixing is done, mastering and artwork are the only things left. (aside from remixing a few tunes) WOO HOO!

January 04:2002-
SESSION 10 - The five of us went in to start the mastering process and discuss different aspects of the album. Thirteen of the Seventeen songs recorded were finished by the end of the day. The remaining four songs need various touch-ups. (to be recorded at a later date). but overall we're pleased with the results thus far, We're just undecided as far as what songs will go where, if anywhere.

 January 20, SESSION 11 - Three hours of frustration resulted in finishing up vocal touch-ups. Only on four songs though. So be it, it is set in stone, no more fixes, just remixes. We experimented a little bit with overlaying vocals with 'if mourning doesn't come' and 'just beyond'.
I decided to write a spoken word part throughout the verses to add to the flow of the song. There has been so many different recorded versions of those two songs, we should put out an EP called, 'What could have been.', But overall we all happy with the end results. Well, I shouldn't really say that because we haven't mixed down those songs...yet. 'gulp'. 'If mourning doesn't come' was yet again changed, so don't be surprised if there are a few different versions floating around the internet one day. Looking forward to the final day of mixing/mastering next week.

January 25, SESSION 12 - With only a few hours booked, we remixed and mastered lights out, if mourning doesn't come, in the line, coward, and just beyond. We were very happy with the results of the remixed versions. Soonafter, The Tracklisting was  set, and the 14-song CD was then compiled, adding various intros and outros that i made in my home studio. (as heard on 'lights out', 'in the line' and 'wax monument'. We left the studio that day with our debut album for Medea Records finished. (we also left the studio with our engineers back window blown out, but thats a completely different story).  Beginning August 18th and ending January 25th, it is done! The Artwork was completed in the first week of March...and the album finally hit stores on JULY 16th, 2002.

FUN FACTS:
- Number of sessions it took to finish the album: 13
- Number of guitars broken during the making of the record: 1
- Number of strings broken during the recording of the album: 2
- Number of times the release date changed: 7
- Number of car windows broken during the post-production: 1

Recorded at the Tempermill Studios in Ferndale, MI

Produced by i-defy.

Dan Rose-drums, guitar, percussion

Jeff Love-guitar, backup vox,

Brent Vandekerkhove-vox

Dave Sessor-bass, backup vox, percussion

Ryan Tilly-guitar, Percussion, backup vox

TITLE:(the lessons of life's brutality become) guides to action

LABEL:medea records
MR-112

RELEASE DATE: July 16th, 2002