It got a little frustrating because we weren’t able to communicate effectively about little things to do with the sound and whatnot. Pretty quickly, it looked like it would be too tedious of a process to have him do a mix and us comment on it. So, he would make mixes there and then send them to us, and then we’d make our comments. So then, we just shipped all the files off to Toronto, and then our producer/engineer who lives in Toronto began mixing the record. And then, so this was a very different way for us to work. Then some of the restrictions eased a little bit, so around May, not with our original producer (he stayed in Canada), but we went back into a studio in Orange County with our friend Davey who plays in the band Sharp Shock, and he recorded all the vocals for us, and the rest of the guitar tracks, and overdubs and background vocals and all that good stuff. So, I’d begun recording my guitar tracks at my own home studio, just to the bass and drums that were already made, and we got that far with it. And then when we got information it looked like it was going to be more long term and he wasn’t going to be able to get back into the country, we just changed our approach to the record. And then we kinda waited to see how things were going to shake out with the lockdown and whatnot. And obviously, our concerns were for larger things than finishing the record at the time, so we put it on hold and just kinda forgot about it for a little while. And he was lucky enough to get a flight back home and get in, because only a day or two later, he said flights were going to be shut down entirely, while everyone went into that first lockdown.
So, he got on a flight back and we halted the recordings. So, our engineer started getting a little bit jumpy and said, “Guys, I think I gotta go back to Canada.” And just a couple days into it, it looked like they were going to start closing borders to Canada. But our producer is from Toronto, and this was real touch-and-go times, nobody really knew what different countries were going to require and how they were going to handle this. Most of the band lives in the L.A./Orange County area, I’m up in Las Vegas. I think it was mid-March, actually, when it happened.
I think we had maybe a two- or three-week session booked, and I think we got maybe two days into it and had to put on the brakes. So, right around March we had a bunch of material for a new record, and we felt like it was developed enough that we would hit the studio and start working on that. What our plans were initially was to do a tour commemorating the 25 th anniversary of the Big Choice album and that was supposed to be in the springtime, and then at the beginning of the year as well when we were gearing up for that, we were also writing material for a new album and trying to figure out when we would fit all that in. It certainly didn’t end up going the way I was thinking it was going to at the beginning of the year. Yeah, there were actually a lot of things going on this year. I guess it’s a great time since it’s the 30 th anniversary and 25 th anniversary of Big Choice. These weird times, it seems like you’re still busy and being creative with different ways to connect with people.įirst about the book. I just want to hear about the book of lyrics and what you’re up to. This past September, Face to Face frontman Trever Keith released a book of lyrics, aptly titled Trever Keith – The Complete Lyrics 1990-2020 (Antagonist), compiling all the songs he’s written these past 30 years, both for Face to Face and also his other projects.Ī lengthy and informative conversation about the book, what the band’s been up to (writing a new record in the midst of the pandemic, among other things), his hopes for 2021, as well as a fresh take on the band’s 2008 reformation, is featured below. News: Flogging Molly Announce New Album.News: poptropicaslutz! Release New Track.News: UK Subs Announce Final Studio Album ‘Reverse Engineering’.Book Spotlight: ‘Life In The Stocks’ Author Matt Stocks Talks Second Volume.News: Whitbeck Release Music Video for ‘West Coast Love Song’ ft.Album Premiere: Equipe de Foot – ‘Geranium’.