oh boy, i don't even know where to begin. the past month has been a whirlwind,
the only thing i know for sure is that we finished a record.
we had two weeks to write and record and the kicker was that we did everything ourselves.
people keep asking what the record sounds like and i'm not really sure of the answer.
i can say that it has a very organic and real feel to it. i hate to use the word organic but it is the right word.
it seems like lately the music world has been on a crash course making records. today they can make anyone sound good.
so we thought let's use the tools of todays technology but lets also make the record sound like we would really sound.
almost everything on the record is a first thought or idea. there was no time to second guess what we did.
an idea was born and then it was immediately recorded. so maybe you could call this an impulse record. we went with our instincts and that is what shows up on this record. i could go on and on about this record but to tell you the truth i am extremely burned out on it right now. we recorded for about 15 days straight and then i went directly to california for a week for the mixing and other related issues.
so now here i am back in oklahoma decompressing. it is extremely strange to go from that fast paced lifestyle to having nothing to do. i am really trying to adjust and get my life and personal relationships back in order.

we are also in the process of setting up tours for june and july. it looks like we will be hitting most of the country the whole month of july so that is exciting. i don't think i'm allowed to disclose the details just yet, but i am excited and it will be a good tour.

the process...

so much to say but i only have a second.
recording is under way. we have some drum tracks done, but we are still working away at getting the songs arranged where we want them. we are doing everything ourselves. it is crazy, but fun. the guys were off yesterday so i enlisted my friend jay to come in and engineer an acoustic song i had been working on. we got the whole thing done and i like it, so i think it will end up on the record. oh yeah, we are recording this thing in an old comedy club. i recorded that acoustic song yesterday in the old beer refrigerator. it is was weird, but it sounded cool. i'm hoping to post some pictures soon.

baby, did you forget to take your meds?

hey there cool peoples,
i have been pretty ill this week and i'm on a lot of meds so this might sound weird.here we go... i mustered up the strength to fly to houghton,ny yesterday and play a solo show. i'm glad i did, nice people. i'm pretty sure my voice sounded like the mouse we just caught in our mouse trap... but hey it's art. (sorry to all the avid mice lovers out there. he was eating all my food!) he just had to go.

okay, back on track. we now begin the recording of the second record for umbrellas. as to what it will sound like as a whole is a mystery as of right now. i have a million and one ideas i'm bringing in, but after that we are leaving everything up to the creative gods. we our doing it ourselves with our keyboard player (chad copelin) producing. we also have a bunch of friends coming in to play on this thing. i'm worrying myself to death over how it will come out. but that is just doing me no good. i'm trying not to worry, i really am, but it is just my nature.

stay tuned till the next episode.

it's green day

it's the 17th of march and i don't think i have any irish blood in me. but i am drinking some irish whiskey in support of the little green guys. i just finished practicing with the guys cause we are playing with tracks now, so we have cool intros and stuff so we sound like, kinda, almost like a real band. tomorrow we play in plano,tx with like 500 other bands. but brandtson is playing so i'm stoked.

last night a friend told me that i've played a show with hawthorne heights at this little club in dayton,oh. ha.great. it is the same club we played on tour with the all american rejects. so to recap, both hawthorne heights and all american rejects have opened for me and now they are on tour together playing arenas. so where does that put me? i'd rather not think about it.

we begin recording in about 10 days right after i get back from playing a solo show in new york. and i just realized that it is still snowing up there and that makes me sad. snow is my worst enemy. anyone who knows me, knows the hatred i have for that cold white stuff. it is nasty.

oh and i believe the new record will be called "illuminare"--it is chineese for "best record ever" okay it isn't but that is what it will be called anyways...

that is enough bla bla bla bla bloggin for now

art

life is serious but art is fun

oh news

i don't want to hear of those who are losing everything
when i'm just throwing it all away.

texas

we got back last night from our little run in texas. i really enjoyed myself. the shows were good and we met a lot of nice people. since we didn't hit dallas we are going back on saturday to play. it will be good to play dallas again.

we still don't have anything nailed down for recording and i'm a little worried. but that is just my nature to worry a lot. i just really want to do things right with this one and i'm not sure that is going to happen. maybe we will just have to move the times back some. i guess we are in the hands of the record label. it is their money. so they will have the final say.

1/26 oh six

so as of right now we are trying to figure out who and where we will be recording this next beauty of a record. we might be doing it on our own. which could be cool. but also, it would mean a lot of work. but hey, i'm down.

we start our little tiny mini tour next thursday. i'm really excited to hit the pavement again. this guy told us he was getting us a tour bus for the shows. i'll believe that when i see it. i just laughted at him when he told me.

and....it looks as if i will be flying out to california to play a solo show at the end of febuary. the details should be posted in the next day or so on the proper websites. i can tell you it will be in anaheim at chain reaction. this excites me to no end. i can't wait to get back out and see my california people.

peace out.

January 18th 2006

so as of right now it looks like we will be heading back into the studio around april. that would mean an august release date. this is both exciting and also a little scary. i have been working like crazy working on new songs. sometimes i'm happy with them and sometimes i just want to scrap everything. i guess i feel like beginning on this new record means giving up on the last one. and i just don't feel ready to do that. i don't want it to fall through the cracks. i feel it had more potential. but that could just be me.

i played a solo show last thursday. it turned out to be a lot better than i thought it would be. it was kinda weird to go back and play some lyndsay diaries songs. brought back some memories. i also botched a death cab song pretty badly. oh well, ben forgive me.

saturay we played a full band show in norman. i was overwhelmed at the response. it was a good night. although someone stole a whole bin of merch from out back when we were loading out. that makes me frown.

we have a small run of texas dates coming up that i am really looking forward to. after that, i'm not really sure what is going to happen touring wise.

ooooooooklahoma

after taking a considerable amount of time off we were back in the saddle again this past weekend in stillwater and tulsa,ok. it felt amazing to play out again. stillwater was a little frustrating because we were without a keyboard player and my tuner kept lying to me. but it was still a good time. tulsa absolutely blew me away. i can't believe how amazing the people at the show were. it was also great to play songs off the record that we had never played live before. saturday reminded me why i love to play music. it has been really great lately just being creative musically and getting to play some shows again.

on the flip side it is a shame how the music industry can really ruin that vibe sometimes. constantly dealing with the business side of things can really suck out the feeling. dealing with contracts and money and always wondering if you are getting what you deserve. it is hard to know who to trust in the "biz" it is kind of like taking your car in to get it fixed. you never know if they are trying to sell you something you don't need. i'm not trying to sound completely jaded, i just wish for a while i could completely take out the business element and enjoy playing music in its purest form. anywho...

i'm playing a solo show tonight and i think i'm terrified...

so this is the new year

i keep seeing all of these best of 2005 lists and i started thinking about what i would put on my list. so since i have nothing but time i thought i might try my hand at it.

2005 records that kept my attention

Death Cab For Cutie-Plans
I have always really enjoyed this band. My friend casey randomly picked up their first record in 1999 and we fell in love. This record isn't really a huge departure or life changing but i love it. i think i would rate it my favorite record of the year.

Sigur Ros-Takk
Again I have really enjoyed all of the records this band has put out. it is just beautiful music. the video for glosoli gives me the chills everytime.

Maria Taylor-11:11
What can i say, i really want to marry this girl. i love every azure ray record and now i love this. the song leap year made me sad on tour a lot. i think it made brandon sad too. but i don't think he would admit it.

Orenda Fink-Invisible Ones
See above description for maria taylor.

Rogue Wave-Descended Like Vultures
A friend of mine told me check out this band. it took me a while to get around to it, but i'm glad i did.

The Hero Factor-Interactions
the hero factor is basically the step brother of umbrellas. i really love these guys and the music they make. i'm excited to see where they will go with their music this year.

Jacks Mannequin-Everything in Transit
I usually don't admit to many people that i like this cd. why? i don't know. maybe its not cool to like it? well fuck that. i really like this cd. and i don't care what anyone says. it is the perfect pop record. it makes me happy.

The Spill Canvas-One Fell Swoop
I have toured with this band more than any other. and i just can't get enough of them. i'm glad they are starting to get the recognition they deserve.

Bright Eyes-Digital Ash In A Digital Urn
I used to really like bright eyes back in college buy my interest had started to fade. i enjoyed hearing some new types of sounds.

Gwen Stefani-Love Angel Music Baby
It's good so shut it. and she says shit like 38 times in one song. you can't beat that.


there were oh so many more i would add to the list but these were the ones that i remember listening to a lot in 2005.

on music:

it surrounds me. and lately i'm completely saturated in it. i've buried myself in it. so it stands to reason that i am constantly thinking about it in all of its aspects.

: it is strange to think that a song will take a certain shape and force itself on the listener in different ways. the structure or the lyrics can affect people and make them feel. that is what i enjoy the most about music. the feeling it evokes. sometimes it is how you felt when you heard that song in a certain situation or for some reason it just makes you feel. maybe nothing in particular, but just feel. there are so many songs that i have fallen in love with. songs that i want to be the soundtrack to my life. songs that remind me of memories. some sad and some amazing. which brings me to my current thought.

when i write and record a song, there are people out there(if you can believe it) that hear one of my songs and it connects with them. i will talk with them at a show or receive emails of stories or comments that detail how the song has been a part of their life. i know how they feel because i feel that way about other artists songs, but i just can't feel it how they do. i can't appreciate one of my own songs like they do. i am flattered and so appreciative, but i won't ever feel the song like they do. it makes me feel amazing that people connect to the songs like this, i just find it so strange that there is this detachment between the songwriter and the listener. we can't ever be on the same page about a certain song.

i feel like i wasn't able to convey my thoughts at all in a constant manner on this. it may not make any sense at all. it probably just sounds like a bunch of rambling. but it makes sense in my head. i promise:

i guess i am just thankful that people have been able to experience and understand my songs as i have for other artists that have the ability to move me.

lyrics?

well to begin with, happy holidays. i hope everyone is where they want to be. i would like to discuss something that has been on my mind a lot lately. to preface this post i would like to say i'm not angry and i'm not trying to be a dick....
here it goes...everyday i get anywhere from between 3-10 emails from people wanting to know where they can find the lyrics to our songs. the truth is that they are printed in the cd booklet which leads me to believe that these people have downloaded or gotten the record from someone else. i'm not saying i'm against downloading but i think it is really starting to hurt the smaller artists like ourselves. but i think it also helps a lot to spread the word. i guess i am kind of in the middle on the issue. i understand that maybe someone doesn't really like our music that much but wanted to download a couple of songs...what i don't understand is that a lot of the emails say that we are their favorite band. you would think someone would buy their favorite bands record. i know i probably sound like an ass writing all of this. if you have downloaded our record, don't feel bad.we are still really happy that you enjoy our music. i just want people to know that we don't make much money doing this. a lot of times we lose it. i guess i am writing all of this to thank everyone who has gone out and purchased the record. it means a whole lot to us. if you really like a band (even if it isn't us) try and support them in some way. pick up their record at your local record store or go to a show. pick up a t shirt or just say hello. i hope i haven't offended anyone with this long drawn out bullshit. i love you all and i thank you so much for listening to the music.
-scott

eudora,ks

so i'm a little worried that i have been giving in to my internet desires such as myspace and now blogging. i'm just trying to stay hip with the times i guess. i thought it would be good for me to have no tv but now i think that time is now just filtering over to the internet. oh well. there are worse things in life.

this weekend i drove up to eudora,ks to visit my good pals in brandtson while they are recording their new record at black lodge studios. an amazing band. i think i would take a bullet for those guys. maybe. it was really good being back at the studio and seeing ed.it made me really anxious to start recording again. the brandtson record is coming along very nicely. i can't wait to hear the finished product. they even let me sing a little bit on it. appleseed cast was also in the studio doing some work on their new record. from what i heard it is sounding amazing as well. all in all it was a weekend very well spent.

last night back in norman i got together with chad and nathan and we starting talking about song ideas for the next record. i believe we will start recording some demos very soon. it has gotten me a bit excited.

my story

my story

so here it is...my story. after living in southern california for about 3.5 years i have moved to norman,oklahoma. i'm not really sure how long i will be here. i'm just taking things as they come right now. so, why norman, oklahoma everyone keeps asking? for a few reasons: my band is taking the winter off to regroup and live a real life for a little while. i felt like this would be a good time to escape to a small town and just focus on writing new songs. norman is a good town with a lot of nice people. i wanted to surround myself with a lot of different people musically and record demos for the next record. and...norman is 500% cheaper to live in than california. being a musician is not always a very lucrative profession so now here in norman i can afford the finer things in life ie: food, a place to live ect. i've been enjoying my time here and have been doing a lot of writing. i think it is good for me. i did have to leave some amazing people in california and i'm still having some trouble with that, but the fine people in norman have been helping me out.

things were going pretty good until today. it is snowing and it is about 5 degrees. i won't leave my apartment. i'm really missing the beach right now. i'm not really what you would call a cold weather person.

anyways, i'm not really sure why i wrote all of this. i wanted to clear up the confusion for people who keep asking me why i'm in oklahoma. and i'm going a little stir crazy today in my little apartment.

post script: my apartment complex is called keys west and the pool is still open. it is filled with snow. kind of ironic don't you think?....yeah i really do think.