NTB Archives II

There is nothing fancy here, just the first repository of old No Turning Back news items that are no longer very relevant to the main News page. I did not want to erase any part of our history, so I decided to throw whatever was not needed anymore in here. This should allow the main News page to load quicker and allow for easier access to the most current information.

10/29/06: The midnight oil and both ends of the candle have been burning for a week straight, getting the site ready for the big day on Tuesday. Just in case you missed the update below or may be a new visitor (in which case, welcome!), Tuesday, October 31st will see the official release of "Die Blutsbrüder" (the very best of Bluefire & No Turning Back), a 2-disc CD full of 8 years worth of material, from the very beginnings of Bluefire up to the last week before No Turning Back went on hiatus. Along with getting everything prepared on that front (uploading music, finalizing the cover/insert, checking links, etc.) I went ahead and cleaned up a lot of the old pages around here as well, trying to make for a more consistent experience. In addition to that, since "For All Intensive Purposes" is now out of print, all of the songs (except one) are now available in their uncompressed glory (with no DRM!). The original 128k mp3 files are still available for those without access to broadband.

Speaking of Die Blutsbrüder (since that is the big news around here), each song will have two options available for download. Again, the best option is the uncompressed (with no DRM!) file. This time, however, the mp3 files will be 256k instead of 128k. The size is still small, but quality is much improved over what has been offered in the past. You will be able to share these files with anyone. You will be able to burn the songs as many times as you wish. You will even be able to host them on file-sharing services. We only ask a couple of things. 1) Please download all songs. 2) Please respect the listed song order when burning CDs. 3) Please do NOT exchange these songs/CDs for money.

Speaking of Erik, he will be coming back to visit us little people this December! We plan on making a lot of noise for a long time while he is here. There is a lot of pent-up emotion that needs to be released by all of us right now. I think we will be recording (video and audio) the whole thing as well. I am really looking forward to it.

10/23/06: This past weekend found Kristi & I about 80 miles north of Wisconsin Dells to relax at my aunt & uncle's cottage in the woods. It was a much-needed break from the every day, allowing us to recharge, refocus, and learn how to smile and laugh all over again. It has been a long time since I have been able to see that many stars so clearly and breathe air that clean.

Now that I am back to almost normal, I am able to really get back to working on all of this stuff again. Tonight finds more hidden site updates, preparing for the 31st. I also got a green light for the cover and insert. Finally!

10/12/06: Sad news, once again. The announcement made on 9/26 appears to have been made a bit prematurely. Kristi & I found out this past Monday that a baby at this time is not to be. I will not go into details, but we will be trying again when we get the go-ahead from the doctor.

On the days I find myself in a better mood, I continue work on the cover (work is progressing nicely) and I just submitted a design idea for an insert. The cover and insert are my outlet for now until I come to better terms with what all just happened. It keeps my mind occupied and focused. I found myself at work the other day with not enough to do and my mind wandered and filled itself with all of the things I do not need to think about right now. I found myself becoming more and more numb as the day wore on. We both have our moments of guilt, kicking ourselves, trying to find that one thing done wrong, knowing full well that it was nothing that we did or didn't do. This is strike two, so we are hoping the third time is the charm.

Anyway, Chris has his hands full right now. He is currently looking for a part-time job, but he needs to do it while on crutches. This past weekend, while working at the haunted woods (@ the Bear Den in Waterford), Chris was walking through fire (he is a cast member there, doing his best to scare anyone who dares to enter his domain) when his foot found a nice, long nail in one of the pieces of burning wood that worked its way through his foot. He is now burning through vacation days at his day job, waiting for the doctor to say he can go back. In the meantime, he is working on finishing his portion of the Die Blutsbrüder project. We are almost there...

10/4/06: More behind-the-scenes tweaks and a little cleaning up on the site tonight.

Chris & Erik sent me their feedback on the cover so far. I have been working feverishly to get that done to everyone's satisfaction (not at all an easy task). At least we are another step closer to the finished product.

Not much else terribly exciting is going on right now, so I will sign off. Till next time...

9/26/06: I have been slacking in my duties as a webmaster and as a creative, productive part of this team. My apologies. It seems that when you find out you are a father-to-be, priorities get rearranged very quickly. Yes, that's right, I am going to be a daddy! We just found out at the beginning of this month and things have gone completely crazy ever since. The doctor says late May (May 26th, to be exact), but I still have my money on early June. Regardless of what anyone says, however, when it is done cooking, it will come out of the oven.

Now for something completely different... I am going to spill the beans on a long-kept secret here. As you know, we started recording a "Greatest Hits" package a couple of years ago, just before Erik moved to L.A. I finally finished the mixes not too long ago and got Chris' and Erik's approval. Here are some of the things we have kept under wraps for a while, now... The release will be called "Die Blutsbrüder" and will span two discs! This is a collection of the very best original music by Bluefire and No Turning Back. The current plan right now is to release everything to you on Tuesday, October 31st. We were going to have everything professionally pressed/printed/duplicated/folded/starched, but the reality is that none of us has the capital to fund such a venture. So, in keeping with the No Turning Back tradition, you will be able to download all of the songs for free, right here from this site! To make the deal even better, these will be uncompressed, non-streaming, fully downloadable, fully sharable, un-DRM'ed, ready-for-CD .aiff files! Everything will be set up on the Releases page when it is ready. I am just waiting on a few things from Chris (again) and I need to finish the cover. If nothing else, be sure to check back on October 31st!

Oh, yeah! Damn, am I late to the party on this one... If you are wanting to know what Erik has been doing with all of his time off in Tinsel town, check out Not Mainstream Typical Videos or, NotMTV, for short). This is a project he and a video producer have put together, with the help of a few other like-minded geniuses. There is some pretty interesting stuff going on over there. Stop on over and spend some quality time looking through their offerings. And, if you file through the Vault, you can find a little No Turning Back nugget. Keep downloading it and put us at the top of the front page!

Well, it's time for me to get back to the cover art (in between picking out baby names)...

9/11/06: If December 7, 1941 was "...a date which will live in infamy...", September 11, 2001 is another. Today we mark the fifth anniversary with our heads bowed, not in defeat, but in respect for those taken from their families and from this great nation as a whole. We mourn not for an event or date but for the individuals lost on that horrific day. We then lift our heads in pride that we were strengthened and united as a country.

I remember waking up that morning, turning on CNBC for a quick financial update before taking a shower. When I got back out, I switched to another channel and saw the North Tower on fire. I woke up my wife (girlfriend at the time) and said "you may want to see this." She did not grasp the full extent of what she was seeing. I don't think many of us really did at that moment. Then, I watched a plane fly deliberately into the second tower in real time. That was one of the few times in my life in which I found myself in shock and at a loss for words.

While driving to work and listening to talk radio running continuous updates, my wife called my cell phone and said that the Pentagon was hit. This was confirmed within seconds by what I was hearing on the radio. I could not believe what I was hearing. What was going on?

When I arrived at work, I found everyone huddled around the rarely-used TV. Not a whole lot of discussion occurred as we were all focused on what was unfolding in front of us. Then, the South Tower collapsed. Then, a portion of the Pentagon collapsed followed by another crashed airliner. Finally, less than 20 minutes later, the North Tower fell to the ground.

I remember footage of small airports with scores of planes, parked with no terminals.

I remember F-16's and F-15's flying overhead, just above the bottom of the clouds.

I remember watching thousands of people running from a monstrous cloud enveloping a city while others walked into a cloud a death, hoping to find just one survivor.

I remember the look on peoples' faces: of fear, of panic, of confusion, of shock, of disbelief, of pain, of loss.

I remember the walls plastered with posters of missing loved ones, hoping for that call that they were fine. Many of those calls were never made.

8/21/06: Work has been taking a toll on me these past few weeks leaving me with little ambition to even look at my computer at home let alone check my email, work on the layout, update the site, or anything. The layout for the CD is still progressing but the final details for the release may divert from the original plan. More on that when things get finalized.

Also, more interesting news has made its way to my tiny brain today. In fact, it is so interesting, I can not tell you any more about it. It is another of our big surprises.

As a side note, Chris has set up a new MySpace page. This time, it is for Rainbird Studios (where we do all of our recording). Check it out here.

Chris has almost finished with some of the things I had requested of him to be posted on this site (as well as the most important piece of the packaging puzzle!). Once everything is in my hands, the big update to the site will at last be revealed. Don't hold your breath but keep your fingers crossed that it will happen sooner than later.

We thank you for your patience. You will be rewarded for keeping the faith. Till next time...

7/27/06: Well, I am back from vacation. We actually got back last night, but after Chicago traffic and other dipshits closing the freeway on us and forcing us to take the back roads, no motivation was left in me to do anything accept zone out in front of the TV. I updated a couple of details below regarding Bella's stats. Speaking of Bella, I am the last person to say "Oh, he/she is the most beatiful baby I have ever seen." In fact, I usually can't tell one baby apart from another. This is different. She is beautiful. She is tiny. She likes to sleep and when she is hungry or a little upset, she lets everyone know it. She packs a whollop when she screams (she squeaks, too).

I can confirm she has big feet. They are ticklish, too. I am a sucker for kids with ticklish feet. Being the first neice born into my family, she holds a very special place in my heart. It was very difficult for us to leave everyone and return to our little world, but like all good things, it had to end.

Anyway, work will continue this weekend on the layout. I got a couple more ideas while away that I have to figure out how to incorporate or if they are even any good.

7/20/06: I just wanted to pop in here to post a couple of quick tidbits. First, I would like to officially welcome Bella Louise, my newest niece, to the world! Born this morning around 11:19, she weighs 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and is just a bit over 19.25" long (tall?). She has red hair and blue eyes. I am told she has big feet, her mother's face, and a head full of red hair. Her mommy is doing well, and daddy is overjoyed. The wife and I will be taking the next few days off to go visit with them and the rest of the family and help out where we can (and stay out of the way where we can't).

On to the music news... Final mixing is complete! Song order is complete! Hidden trac... oooops. I shouldn't have said that... Final mixing is complete! I have been working on mock covers, some more interesting than others, but nothing quite right just yet. Each revision gets closer, but there is still a lot of work to be done. As stated earlier, I think the mixing was actually easier than coming up with good packaging designs. With mixing, all of the important raw pieces are there. You just need to adjust, refine, tweak, and polish until it feels right. Graphic design is another beast entirely. You start with a blank page. Sometimes, a blank page is your best friend. If you don't like how it looks (which is most of the time), you simply fill it in with what you want to see on it. Other times, however, that same blank page can beat you into submission. Either it dictates what appears (not always a good thing) or it stares back at you, taunting, teasing, laughing (never a good thing). Then, if you actually hear the laughing, that is a very bad thing. Fortunately, at the moment I am stuck somewhere between the first two. I am applying my vision, but it is a bit disjointed. It may as well still be blank. My muse has been on vacation since the beginning of June. I am not positive where she went or when she will be back, so I have to just fend for myself until she returns to offer that last stroke of genius. OK, lack of sleep and too much going on at my day job have finally gotten to me so I will end this section now.

On to one other thing... As mentioned below, Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD was released last week. I bought my copy on the 12th, brought it home, immediately dropped it in the player, and began watching it while eating dinner. I had witnessed that tour when it stopped off at Camp Randall in Madison, July 3, 1994. At the time, I went to the show just to say that I had seen Pink Floyd. I knew a few of their songs, but never really got into the band in any way. By the end of the night, I was a fan. I bought the VHS (and tape and CD) when it came out and watched it many times over the years. I introduced a few of my friends to Floyd by way of that video. After watching it, they too were much more interested in the band (or at least the music).

Now, many years later, Pulse has arrived in shiny DVD form. Ummm... WOW! Granted, the concert was shot on video (instead of film) so the resolution is nothing to write home about and it is in 4:3 aspect (no widescreen here). OK, those are the only two bad things about this set. The picture does look much better than the VHS version (it has been a while since I last watched it, but I do not remember the show looking this good). There are sections where the colors are overblown and whites are crushed, but that is the source (the same thing happened on the VHS version). The sound is something else entirely. You are given the option of 440k or 640k Dolby Digital 5.1. If your player supports it (most made in the past few years should), choose the 640k option, sit back, and relax. The first set of the show is on disc 1 (along with several bonus items). Disc 2 contains the entire Dark Side of the Moon, plus a couple of songs for the encore (along with several bonus items). One of the most interesting bonuses on both discs are the full movies projected behind the band during certain songs. Also included are several bootleg videos from that tour. Great idea. Overall, about 4 hours of material is split between the two discs (concert + bonus material). I watched all 4 hours in one sitting (something I rarely do) and was blown away. This is how concerts should be released. If you happened to catch the airings on VH-1 Classics, maybe half of the show was presented and the songs were not in the order of the DVD. If you have any interest in Pink Floyd at all, this will probably be the last full-length show you will be able to see (David does not want to put the show on the road anymore). Here's to hoping that Delicate Sound of Thunder sees the light of day on DVD someday in the future as well.

6/15/06: More behind the scenes updates (about 4 hours worth) to go live at a later date. Just getting things ready for the big reveal, later... I have also been busy gathering needed bits and pieces for the packaging and brainstorming some new ideas. I have to laugh when I think back to when I believed the mixing was going to be the hard part of this project.

I took Tuesday night off to unwind and focus my attention on a new purchase. Really, how many times can you listen to the same songs, repeatedly, in 4 months and still enjoy it all? :) I am now the proud owner of Rush's Replay X 3 set. It is a box set of the Exit...Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure Tour, and A Show of Hands concert videos on DVD (finally!). You also get a soundtrack CD for the GUP concert and mini tour book from each of the shows. Exit...Stage Left was the first Rush (audio) tape I owned (10th birthday present) and I had not seen the video until a few months ago. That tape really started it all for me. A Show of Hands was the first concert video I had ever seen, but my tape is a 3rd (if not more) generation copy in mono (left channel only). There will always be a soft place in my heart for that video. I don't even want to think what generation my GUP concert video is, but it is the televised airing, complete with Coors commercials and all (edited for time, meaning several songs were cut out. Grrr...). For those who are interested, I have a few gripes. Not much money was spent cleaning up the video. Granted, these were shot on video and not film, but come on. All of these are basically direct transfers from the original releases (no extra footage, no extra songs, no changes to anything). The good thing about these DVD's (besides the fact that they have actually been released) is the sound. Oh, the sound. You are offered the choice of PCM stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital, and 5.1 DTS. The DTS tracks were amazing. The bass (guitar/synths/samples/drums/etc.) is tight and reaches very low. The Dolby track is louder, but the low end seems a lot sloppier. Overall, I am very happy these have finally been released on DVD. Now, I have to save up for Pink Floyd's Pulse (my benchmark for any live recording) DVD next month.

Also, as long as I am completely off topic, if you have not already done so, go see Cars. If you are at all interested in cars or racing, this movie is a blast. The voice casting is top notch. As a Pixar whore, I am biased, I know, but I have not seen a bad review of this yet. Be sure to get there early enough to catch the new Pixar short beforehand (One Man Band). It is too good to miss.

6/12/06: A copy of the "Final Mix" CDs are in Chris' hands now. Hopefully, this is it and we can begin working on the next stage.

Last night, I listened to Chris' original mixes for the first time since I began my attempt. I listened to them several months ago a few times to get an idea of where he was coming from and maybe where he was trying to go. Since then, I have avoided them to prevent myself from becoming biased or focused on the wrong details. I have tried hard to make each song become what it was intended to be. When I compared the two last night, it was night and day. Chris agrees full-heartedly. I know now that he is as proud of these as I am.

Work continues behind the scenes. A few details were quickly discussed today and those items will begin tonight. Nothing to be made public at this time, but rest assured, no rust will be finding our wheels anytime soon. Till next time...

6/11/06: As promised, Chris paid a visit to SEPtic Sounds on Saturday afternoon to go over the mix and discuss a few things. We made a few minor changes/fixes to some songs, but it looks like we have a final mix. I will give it a week to settle in and tickle my brain, but I think this will stick. I can not express enough how proud I am of the way this sounds. Chris' smile was beaming from ear to ear when he left. We just have to go over the song order (which I think may be taken care of as of now). The next big project is package design and production. We came up with some interesting ideas for the cover and we will be getting together later to discuss the insert and any other final details. This train is finally back on the tracks and we can not wait until it finally pulls into the station. So, grab your ticket and get in line!

More details will be posted here when they are cleared for general consumption. Till then...

6/6/06: I was going to say something witty about the date, but I will just say it was a day and I hope everyone enjoyed it. My ears are tired, I have a headache, and I promised an update when I heard back from Chris regarding the CDs I gave him. Right then... On with the show...

I was going to do some minor tweaking to a couple of songs last night, when I almost kicked my computer out the window and myself with it. I launched Logic Express, opened Dreams (I really needed to re-EQ the guitar), started the playback and it sounded like ass. I freaked out. I quit LE, ran some diagnostics on my machine, restarted, and repeated the process. Same result. Panic! I checked all of the preferences. I checked the driver. I looked on line for others experiencing the same issue. I checked my QuickTime (it was the most recent update). I had also recently (since the last time I left the mixing alone) installed an update to LE. iTunes played back the same way. Panic! I checked the last bounces I did (used for making the CDs) and played them back in the Finder. Same result. My stomach dropped. As I looked around, I hear a crackle in my headphones. For grins and giggles, I re-plugged the phones into the amp. Bingo. A stupid connection failure. Remember kids, always check your cables and wiring before spazzing out. It is amazing how many times similar issues pop up when practicing and gigging and the cables and connections are always low on the blame list. Needless to say, not much was accomplished last night. So...

I spoke with Chris briefly today. I figured I would give him plenty of time to let all of the music sink in on any system he had available and discuss it with him at that point. He is out-of-his-mind happy with the demo mix. After listening to it myself for a while, I found a few minor things that could be improved upon. Chris had a short list of things to take care of as well. I tackled a few of those issues tonight and things sound even better than before. My main concern was the bass drum, or lack thereof. I went through and strategically goosed a few things where needed. I also looked over a lot of the EQ curves I was using, fine-tuned several and I am amazed at how much tighter and cleaner it all sounds. Remember, kids, a little EQ goes a long way. I also attacked Chris' issues as best I could tonight before fatigue set in. I will continue tomorrow.

Speaking of Chris, he will be coming over to SEPtic Sounds on Saturday to go over the final mixing details as well as some ideas he has for the CD packaging. I will post more about all of that when I find out from him (and get the OK to spill the beans). There is the slightest chance that we are nearing the finish line of mixing, where I am forced to stop messing with it and just accept it for what it is so we can finally offer our creation to the world. The hardest thing for me to do is pull myself away from a project like this, because for people like me, the work will never be finished. We will always find something that could be nudged, tightened, boosted, hidden, tweaked, etc. (George Lucas Syndrome?) However, I think this project is very near to coming to a close. It has to be. We are not Guns & Roses. We don't want to wait another 7-10 years to put this collection out for our fans to enjoy. Anyway, enough of that. It's coming. Soon.

Speaking of coming soon, NTBMusic.com's 2nd anniversary is creeping up (at the end of July). Another sizable update to the site is planned to go live around that time. This one will be a bit larger than last year's so it may not be completed by the end of July, but it will be well underway (providing my schedule remains as I foresee).

Well, that about does it for tonight. What we have learned tonight: Check the little things when problems arise; Don't overdo a good thing; Learn when to step away. Until the next time I need to learn those valuable lessons... Take care.

5/22/06: I have completed the (close to) final mixes of all of the songs. What started about 18 months ago has evolved into something none of us thought possible. To my ears, the songs sound as close to how I always heard them in my mind as I think they possibly can (short of stepping into a full-blown studio and working with an over-paid engineer and producer). Tonight, I gave a copy of the CDs to Chris. I planned on delivering them last night, but I celebrated a bit too much and found myself unable to stand, much less drive. The mixes are now anxiously awaiting review and we should be one step closer to the final product soon.

I have to admit, this is a bitter-sweet moment. After dedicating myself to, and working intimately on, this project since Chris offered it to me (along with a pair of huge boots to fill) for so many hours, weeks, and months, it feels wrong not having to work on them until midnight or later every night, making every song sound its very best and forcing myself to remove my bass hat and put on my mixing hat (avoiding the wrath of Chris being the motivating factor). I have poured my soul into this project, from the first bass note to the final fade out and now things are almost uncomfortably relaxed.

At the same time it is a relief that I can now spend more quality time with my wife, veg in front of the TV, watch movies, or (insert recreational activity here) and not have to worry about how much time I have in the evening to mix a song or two. It will take a little time to get used to again, but I welcome the change of direction and the refocusing of my priorities.

Speaking of the wife, she deserves a lot more credit than I have been able to offer for a long time. She has put up with so many nights of me working in silence, staying up much later than she really wanted to, listening to me ramble on about things she had not yet heard, watched my scribble various notes at random times, etc. Through all of that, she always found time to offer encouragement and support. She also found ways to talk me into stepping away from the mixing duties every once in a while, reminding me of where my priorities begin. I had a goal to have this project as close to finished as possible before the end of the month. Our first anniversary is this Saturday (May 27th) and I did not want any distractions. Mission accomplished. If things need to be tweaked, they will just have to wait until June.

I will post again when I hear back from Chris. Hopefully, it is a glowing review. Cross your fingers. Till then...

5/8/06: Work on the recordings is progressing quite nicely, now. A few weeks ago, I gave Chris a copy of what I had done up to that point. I told him that what was on the disc was a close approximation of what I heard when we play together with a touch of what I imagined the song should sound like as a finished product added in. I did not hear his response that night or the next day. I became quite worried. Either he did not have a chance to listen to it yet or he hated it so much he was waiting to cool down before confronting me. On the night of April 22, I went to see a Spendthrift Sai performance. During the break, Chris asked to come over and talk. He then proceeded to gush (enthusiastically) over what he had heard (as did a select few friends who had a chance to listen). I was on cloud nine. I finally had the green light to continue what I was doing.

I was very happy with the mix I heard on my headphones. Things even sounded good in the car. However, when I finally popped the disc into my main system, My fears became real -- the sound stage collapsed into the center of the speakers. Not what I was looking for. I spent the next week searching and researching for a solution. I finally found a (free!!!) plug-in that did exactly the one thing I needed. I still have not auditioned the new material on anything but my 'phones, but what I hear right now is a vast improvement over what I had done previously.

Currently, 14 songs have been imported and many of those are close to being done. A couple even have a neat... well, I'll just wait until everything is done in case those things do not make the final cut.

I am still really excited about what we have captured on tape. I still have not gotten through every song but of those that I have heard, there are a few that make me stand a little taller and smile a little brighter knowing that I was a part of the process. Chris and Erik should be equally proud.

Erik got his hands on Chris' mixes recently and was thrilled to finally hear what he has been far removed from for so long.

In the last post (see below), I mentioned paying attention to details. Well, I got caught again (more than once). Near the end of Carpe Diem, I looked over and saw another meter dancing away (apparently through the entirety of the song) and I had no clue what was going on. Re-importing the song, I found that I did some vocal tracking as well. Then, on Anthem, I found Chris double-tracking his vocals at the end of the song. Luckily, I did not have to redo the whole thing as that take was quite short and I was able to piece it in on its own.

Well, its time to get back to work. As always, updates will be posted here as they are ready.

4/4/06: Just a quick update to the site tonight, adding a Spendthrift Sai logo/link to the bottom of each page and some other minor tweaking behind the scenes.

No work has been accomplished on the recordings recently. I have been entertaining my in-laws from out of state for the past few days and I have been trying to squeeze in some nightly walks to help work off my winter pudge. I will be resuming work in the next couple of days, once I start feeling up to the challenge again. I should be able to pencil in some time by the weekend.

I was listening to Chris' demo mix of the songs tonight and I heard something that I thought we recorded, but did not come across when working on it here. I had a vague recollection of recording a second guitar part for "Take Me Home" that consisted of an acoustic guitar that would be faded out near the end of the song. For whatever reason, I completely missed that track while importing it, but heard it again on the CD from Chris. Thank goodness, because I am not too fond of the track I did get. So, I get to throw away all of the work I did on that one so far and start over. That is the second time I messed this recording stuff up. You can be sure I will be paying a lot more attention to the details from now on.

Well, it is time for some sleep. Goodnight and keep in touch. Until next time...

3/26/06: We hope all is well with everyone out there. Things are getting a bit busy around here again and that is good. Chris called me last week and asked me to take over the mixing of the last No Turning Back recording sessions so that these songs may see the light of day before the next ice age (for those of you playing along, you will remember that it has been over 2 years since we started tracking these songs). On the same day I picked up the 8-track and session tapes, I was honored to sit in on a shortened Spendthrift Sai practice. The boys have progressed nicely. I am very impressed with what I heard and I can not wait to see them play again. They have a couple of shows coming up, the first is on April 22 and the second is June 10, both at the Steaming Cup coffee house. For those of you who may have missed the link above, Sai now have their very own official site! Please take a moment and visit. Joseph Ng did a very nice job with it.

Chris also gave me a couple of CD's with his rough mixes that he was not completely happy with. They sounded really good, but needed a little bit of TLC to clean up a few things. Overall, I really liked what I heard. It has been so long since I last heard any of these songs as they were recorded (over a year since Chris and I finished tracking the vocals) and I had forgotten that we had recorded a couple of the songs and how good they really were. For those who remember me saying how excited I was to have these sessions finished, let me reassure you that the excitement is back! This is just going by the CD's. I have only worked on two of the songs so far (see below) and there is still a long way to go, but things look very promising.

This past Friday found the wife and I in Madison to see one of our favorite bands play. Caroline Spine mounted a short (20 date) reunion tour and we had to see them back in action after so long, and maybe for the last time. Hooch opened the show and were very musically interesting, if not impressive, even if their music is not fully my cup of tea. Next up was a solo guitarist/vocalist that I did not catch the name of. She had balls of steel to get her tiny self on that stage and play her (improvised) set in front of so many Spiners. When she had finished, Eleven Mile Climb took the stage. They are a great, rockin' band from La Cross with a great sense of humor and musical hooks, once they got past a few technical glitches that they took in stride. I'd have to say that they were my favorite of the night. When they were finished, Spine finally took over to end the night. Unfortunately, I could not find myself enjoying the show. The biggest problem was the sound. Someone thought it would be a good idea to jack up the bass guitar and make everything sound like ass. Yes, I can see the irony of a bass guitarist saying there was too much bass guitar. Go figure. He even asked for his level to be lowered, but it never happened (at least not while I was there). To make a long story short, adding the horrendous sound to an exhausted me equals an early departure back home. I made it through 5 or 6 songs and finally called it a night.

So, yesterday, I spent about 7 hours studying for my re-certification test, took the test around 7:30 at night, had dinner, and then started working with the recordings. I spent hours dicking with my computer, the sound card, drivers, settings, the application, mixer, tapes, cables, everything, and I could not get anything to work. I finally gave up around 2:00 this morning and went to bed in a very foul mood. This morning I tried a few tweaks here and there and finally got something to happen and it was good. Between importing and working on things here and taking some time off to deal with real life matters for a while, I have gotten the beginnings of two of our songs roughed out in a good-sounding form. They will be fleshed out later with fresh ears and a clear head in the not-so-distant future, once I get some more songs imported. These things are sounding great (so far). In the coming weeks or months, I will share what I have finalized with Chris and Erik to see what they think.

2/27/06: I just wanted you all to know that I have completed encoding The Beginning of the End for iPods with video capability (and iTunes). It is a very large file (138+MB) but it is optimized for iPod playback (.m4v file type, at a resolution of 320x240). You can download it here. Feel free to download this version along with those listed below and share them with your friends and the world at large. Enjoy!

2/24/06: Once again, I am a little late with the latest news. My computer has been sick and I have been spending some time nursing it back to health. It does not help that I have been completely consumed by the evening edition of the Olympics. Have you seen that crazy little thing they call snowboard cross? It has to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen in the world of sports.

Anyway, here is the big reason for the post. Erik has finally released his long-awaited, much-anticipated premiere documentary about the silly people standing in line for seven weeks to see Star Wars Episode III. That's right, people, The Beginning of the End has finally arrived! Here is the press release straight from Erik:

It's here and ready for your viewing pleasure. The Beginning of the End, Erik Deutscher's new highly anticipated documentary that shows the true essence of LingingUp.net's Star Wars line from the fans' point of view, has been released! Here's what Erik had to say about it:

"As a member of LiningUp.net, I got in line in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater on April 2nd, 2005 for the final installment of the Star Wars saga: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In addition to having the experience of a lifetime, I documented as much as I could, capturing why we were there and what we we doing. During those 45 days, I met Tom Rowles. At the time, Tom was working for G4TV and was interviewing us for the Attack of the Show program. After learning that I was shooting a documentary, Tom offered his producing and editing talents to the project."

Like with almost any situation, there's a "good news" and a "bad news" to all of this. The bad news: BOTE is not on DVD. Due to the fact that this was a "no budget" film, it just wasn't possible at this time. That brings us to the good news: It's free. FREE?!?! Yes, free. It's available at ErikDeutscher.com. It's free to watch. It's free to download. There's even a version for your iPod.

We are asking for one thing in return: Help us spread the word! Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your dog. Talk about what you saw on all of your favorite online forums and blogs. Forward this newsletter to as many people as you can possibly get away with. Plus, check out the following sites:

The Animal Instinct Studios website has received a major face-lift. Be sure to check it out. The site, as per usual, is still being updated. There will soon be more pages added as well as a larger variety of Erik's photography and digital art work. Be sure to bookmark and check back often. That about concludes this addition of the AIS newsletter. In closing, a big "Thank you!" goes out to all of you for your continuing support.

To help Erik a bit with the bandwidth, ntbmusic.com will also host the documentary. You can download the entire (94+ MB) Quicktime movie here (QuickTime 7 or higher is required -- For OS X 10.3.9 or higher -- for Windows 2000 or XP). For those who would like a zippier download, we happily provide for you a smaller (~20MB) file here. Please download the movie, watch it, be entertained, tell all of your friends and neighbors about it, and don't forget to visit Erik's site for more fun things do and see.

1/22/06: We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 2005 holiday season. Busy does not begin to describe the last few months in my personal life, as can be seen by the lack of updating done to the site and its general lack of functionality (the problems seen by the site should be resolved at the moment). I have heard from many people that 2005 was not a good year for them. I have to say it was the greatest year of my life. So much was done and even more was accomplished. I have wanted 2006 to be even better, but it got off to a slow start as my grandfather passed away last Thursday. It has been a very sad few days for anyone who had the opportunity to even meet him. There will always be a small hole in my heart now, but he will never be forgotten.

Erk has been extremely busy with whatever it is that has consumed his time. I have not had a chance to speak with him lately, but other than being consumed by work and other personal obligations, he seems to be doing well (according to those who have happened to hear from him, if only for a moment or two at a time).

Chris has kept himself entertained and busy with yet another musical endeavor. He has gotten together with a friend of ours and they are working on a lot of original acoustic pieces. It is not folk music, but far from rock or even blues. I have seen them perform at a local coffeehouse once and really liked what I heard. Erk had a chance to video the performance and is working on editing the video (along with footage from our last jam/practice/pseudo-performance, my wedding, and several other projects). The duo is called "Spendthrift Sai" and you can contact them at the following email address: spendthriftsai@yahoo.com

Well, that about does it for this quarterly update. I hope to have some very good news in the months to come. In the mean time, take care, stay safe, and make this the best year ever.

While Erik Deutscher's photography continues to get great reviews at Groundwork in Hollywood, CA, there's a new buzz in the air catching everyone's attention: The Beginning of the End. BOTE is Erik's new documentary movie about the members of LiningUp.net, co-created by Tom Rowles. And for the first time, you can now see the first official trailer at the Animal Instinct Studios website. Plus, a clip of the movie directly from the documentary. Both for FREE!

BOTE has been getting a lot attention lately and everyone is excited. In addition, the fans have been very supportive. To keep this engery going, we're asking for everyone's help. BOTE is due to be out this fall and the more exposure it gets, the better. This where you come in: To continue this gain of support and popularity, we have the following suggestions:

1. ErikDeutscher.com is being worked on and updated every single day. When you get there, bookmark it and check back as often as you can.

2. Tell everyone you know. You can forward this email to everyone in your address book.

5. Sign up for the Animal Instinct Studios newsletter to recieve all of the latest news. Click here and put "Signup" in the subject line.

We are very appreciated for all of your support and would like to thank each and ever one of you. Have a great weekend and we'll see you "in line"!

9/11/05: Today is a very emotional day for many in this country. Not only has the fury of Mother Nature taken its toll on Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida (New Orleans was not the only target, nor was it the hardest hit), but today is also a horrible anniversary. Four years ago today, a powerful wakeup call was made from several hundred feet above the busy streets of downtown New York, NY. As a country, we are still searching for answers that may never be found. Today is not a day to renew the pointing of fingers or the passing of judgement at any level. We all have the images of two silent sentries billowing black smoke, spewing balls of flame, and spitting out various bits of debris and human lives burned into our memory. They stood strong for a few moments before finally crumbling to the ground in a surreal nightmare, allowing as many people as possible to be evacuated. Far too many, however, never emerged from the cloud of dust left floating above an entire city for days.

We all remember those moments when we choose to do so. Please do not ever forget them. Do not forget those who lost their lives in that tragedy, the likes of which this country has never before been subjected to. Just as important, however, are those whose lives were taken in the surrounding area of the collapse, those at the Pentagon, and those of Flights 11 (crashed into the North Tower), 175 (crashed into the South Tower), 77 (crashed into the Pentagon), and 93 (presumed to be heading for the White House but crashed in a Pennsylvania field after the hijackers were contronted by a few brave passengers).

9/9/05: Here is Erik's newsletter regarding the official launching of his new website:

Things have been quite busy at Erik Deutscher’s Animal Instinct Studios. And, there are a few big announcements to be made in this latest newsletter edition. So, without further delay, here they are:

1) It is a very exciting time as Animal Instinct Studios finally has a new and permanent home online. Announcing: ErikDeutscher.com! As of right now, ErikDeutscher.com is live! This site is new and under construction, however, there are some pages available for viewing. The site is being updated and enhanced everyday with info, pictures, downloads, links and more. Plus, online purchases will soon be able to be made directly through Animal Instinct Studios! So go to it now, bookmark and stop back often!

2) With the launch of ErikDeutscher.com, comes new ways to contacting Animal Instinct Studios:

newsletter@erikdeutscher.com - Use this email address with “Sign Up” or “Remove” in the subject line to either receive or stop receiving the AIS newsletter.
webmaster@erikdeutscher.com - Use this email address to send any concerns about the site (page not loading properly, broken link, etc.)
erik@erikdeutscher.com - Now you can contact Erik Deutscher personally by sending a message to this address. Use this address if you are interested about purchasing any of his work.

3) The time has come for Erik Deutscher’s photography and digital art to be displayed at Groundwork Coffee Company (1501 N Cahuenga Ave [@Sunset], Hollywood, CA, 90028). Starting tomorrow, limited 18x20 prints of Reel Life, Paradise, Green Iron, Emperor’s Demise 2 and more will up for your viewing pleasure and purchase! So stop by, have some coffee, check out some art and stick around for Miguel Fierro’s Friday Night Open Mic Comedy.

4) The time is drawing nearer for the release of The Beginning of the End. This is Erik Deutscher’s original documentary of what it was like to stand in line for almost 7 weeks for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith from the fans’ point of view. Erik Deutscher, along with co-editor and co-producer Tom Rowles (FromTheShadows.tv), have been working hard since the release of the movie in May are looking forward the release of The Beginning of the End in late October. Hmmm, if only there was an official trailer out for the documentary…keep your eyes and ears peeled.

That hereby concludes this edition of the newsletter. A big “Thank You” to you all for your on going support and for forwarding this email to everyone you can. Plus, a big “Happy Birthday” goes out to Karl Deutscher (Erik’s father) today.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

9/5/05: It is time once again for a small update. This update is in regards to Erik's latest project. He has been hard at work slaving away on his very own website with his own domain! No more silly geocities for him. No sir. He is one of the big boys, now. The site just went live today and there is a lot of content still to come. He will be hosting his movies, photos, digital art, and more in one easy to find location. that location is www.erikdeutscher.com and all of the Animal Instinct Studios links within the No Turning Back site have been updated with the new address. Be sure to stop by and bookmark his site. Also, be sure to stop by often as he is just beginning his journey into site creation and hosting so there will be much to see in the days and weeks to follow.

Also, there is more wonderful news in the world of All Things Erik. It has been recently made known that he and Rae will be returning home for a short visit in October (the 19th-25th, to be exact). There is good reson to believe that there will be another No Turning Back reunion gathering and this time it won't be a surprise (at least for us)! Hopefully, we can add some even more intense video footage to his expanding library and he can begin cutting a couple of news videos for the band.

Well, kiddies, it is time for me to say goodnight once again. Remember, as slow as it may be, this is the one and only source for your official No Turning Back information. See you next time...

Brought to you in association with Animal Instinct Studios and Spendthrift Sai: