TurboJugend. The Best Thing To Happen To Us Since Mayonaise.
*also we saw a crappy band.
July 8th, 2004
Steve and I met this wicked awesome man at the Clocktower last week, who I happened to mention in a few diaries past, who was the president of Ottawa's Turbonegro chapter of the Turbojugend. He wore an awesome jacket, which we've learned is the true symbol of Scandinavian rock power, and it was all very much the movie, "The Outsiders". He let us know that the Ottawa chapter was a club, and that they had barbecues, and drank beers, and were all very good and nice friends. We were thrilled.
So we joined.
This royally kicks ass to the max. Not only are we totally looking forward to rubbing elbows with our fellow brethren, but these BBQs apparently rule to the max like the band itself. I have a soft spot in my heart for Turbonegro, especially after seeing them rock the shit outta Phil and Ape's house in an episode of Viva! La Bam! I fondly remember Don Vito surfing to the tunes. The best part about joining this club is checking out the website, which is very obviously run by pure Scandinavians. They have exclamations on everything, and their vocabularies are cutely sometimes unsuitable for the sentence arrangements that they choose.
We'll keep you abreast of further developments concerning our new membership in the Ottawa chapter. We are royally stoked, and the president seems to have taken a liking to us. He is a cool and nice dude.
We went to go and check out Alabama Thunderpussy last night at Babylon, and were greeted by this hot babe at the door wearing a Nashville Pussy T-shirt. There is something about beautiful women decked out in sheared leotards and tattoos that is a real humdilly with me. We sauntered into the bar, and checked out a local band made up of surprisingly enough, people we knew. After this, we were entertained by a musical fiasco. The following band was so terrible, that I actually exclaimed they sucked, and it happened to occur right at the moment that there happened to be a break in a song, echoing the entire statement throughout the club. I really didn't care because they sucked really really bad to the max. It was like German metal or something, but they sounded like they were attempting to pull off some Primus...I dunno. All I know is that suckage x 4000000.
In other news, our records are taking their sweet time to the max at the facking plant. We are all awaiting as patiently as we can, but the next week will be harrowing.
c
Encouraging Words...
July 7th, 2004
Everyone I've been testing our new album on, One Track Mind, has been very receptive. We are roughly a week and so away from hopefully getting these from the plant, so I've been forcing my burned TDK copy of the album on people, and forcing them to listen to the drum parts, even though there is obviously a lot more than just the drums that is apparent here. The words have been encouraging, and I've heard comparisons to everything from AC/DC and The Darkness to The Backstreet Boys and Sade. The Backstreet Boys and Sade I dunno about, and usually I discount those people because they also think that Barry Manilow is cool....ahem....parents.....but I make like I value their opinions anyway.
Latest encourgaing words, my 6 year old cousin hearing a few tracks, and exclaiming that her ears hurt! Judging by the tears that our album induced via sheer volume, I'd say we had a winner.
c
My questionable sausage on a bun, True Crime for the Xbox, and a really interesting rock show.... we go
July 5th, 2004
Hello All,
This past weekend was a very interesting one. The day off that everyone had on Thursday was actually a little bit of a nightmare. I promised Steve that I would help him move, and he agreed to buy everyone who would help him and his grilfriend, a hearty breakfast at the Royal Oak. I went out the night before, stayed up super late, and then showed up about 3 hours late for his Canada Day move. Luckily he was not mad, as he was focusing on the broken back window of his VW, attributed to a melange of sorts with his golf clubs and trying to slam them into his car. I arrived looking like Mel Brooks in all the funny episodes of Mad About You, with a length of my hair matted about 7 inches from the side of my head. I looked as if I had just woken up, which I had...We moved some stuff, Steve pointed out the sex chamber of his old apartment, and we ended up sipping cold 50's on the door step of his new pad. I unfortunately spilled a whole lot of beer in my car as I stooped on the passenger side attempting to get matches....my car smells bad enough, and the Labatt brew stench only added to what people already mistake for an IBS pizza party in there. Funniest part of this move, was Paul Townsend. He brought his truck, and had to deal with our friend Brett advising on the best moving plans, which include a flatbed truck, and literally balancing everything in the center of the truck with no tie downs or fasteners.
Canada Day was fun and cool, and I enjoyed a sausage on a bun that I purchased from a local street vendor. As he asked what kind of sausage I was interested in consuming, I coulnd't help but think of Trevor, our beloved guitar player, exclaiming his newest crass statement..."Slit Or Sausage"....in reference to the respective male and female genitalia. I think its hilarious, but visualized his saying that repeatedly while I munched away, and it began to bug me.
Friday's work day was like tumbleweeds in my office, like som desolate western. I actually saw a cowboy standing in reception asking where everyone was. I went to lunch with Steve and our friend Brett, and we went to our favorite Indian buffet, the celebrated restaurant in the heart of the market, Havelli. The food here is exquisite. Unfortunately, we all ate our asses off, and were hearing Hindi music and Bollywood soundtrack scores as we passed the rest of the day. I actually picked up the phone, and heard Bolly. That's how full I was.
Friday night, we all went to Disorganised, which is a really neat and nice party time. Its a series of nights that my friend holds at the Clocktower pub in Ottawa...and it spans all this cool ass electro and 80's stuff...lots of people, and best part of the night hands down, was meeting this dude with this awesome Turbonegro jacket. We began hamming it up and discussing things with him, and we found out that there is a Turbonegro "club" in Ottawa who all get together and pound beers and be friends. We all thought that this was incredibly cool, and we proceeded to discuss the possibilities further with him.
Saturday night, we all went to see Icarus Line at Babylon. I dunno who was who...and to be honest with you, was kind of only 1/2 into the show....based entirely on an extremely versatile and amazing drum lineup from the two bands that I saw there....and then went to play True Crime on my friend Todd's XBOX.
This game is amazing, and they swear in it.
Sunday night, I got bombed at Montana's. I feel like shite today.
Yes...another Canada Day weekend in the life of a Setback.
P.S. I am getting my wisdom teeth carved out of my head on July 27th. I am absoloutely terrified of this, and am considering not going at all, and stiffing the dentist. Do you think this is wise? If yay or nay...feel free to drop us a line, and tell us/me....
band@thesetbacks.com
-chris
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion sautees our faces
June 30th, 2004
Hello All,
As an update, our new record is officially being pressed as we speak. I am stoked to the max, and you will all explode when you see the artwork. It is courtesy of Ottawa's best graphic designer, Steven J. Palmer III.
We rehearsed last night, and it was good. Although my snare drum has now officially passed the point of no return in terms of a potential repair. This is because I never cleaned out the 50 McCain cakes that I had smeared on my face and head at my birthday show last year. The last time I took the snare into song bird, Matt, the trustiest drum buddy in town, gave me a stern lecture about cleaning the icing sugar and cake out of the shell. He said he'd even do it for free. I nodded and acknowledged his sound advice, and proceeded to buy a series of Sabian pencils and other knick knacks that I didn't need. Well now I am screwed because my snare sounds like shite. I'm going to hit Trevor up to smack it on his credit card because I sold him my guitar and amp in grade 13 for $20. The way I see it, he owes me.
Steve and I went and check out The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion last night, and were forced to kind of negotiate ourselves into the show. Good show, for what we saw....anyone remember when JS did that stuff with Beck? It was good....very raw and dirty...heads up...Southern Culture On The Skids is playing Babylon on July 2nd, (this Friday). This is a Birdman show, and I suggest going...very good band. They have the trailer/hillbilly thing down, with a touch of the B52's.
I also fucked up my arm beyond belief. It feels like it is on fire to the max. Steve's girlfriend says its my rotator cuff. What is a rotator cuff? It's my arm dammit! My arm and elbow actually. Really hurts. I'm sad. Pure rock and roll will only cure my ailment, and I'll come back to life like Hulk Hogan on the mat at Wrestlemania 3, fueling myself on the chant of the fans as I show them the pythons and ask them what they are going todo when I come for them.
chris
Gettin' Geared For "One Track Mind"...
June 20th, 2004
Hey all.
Long story short. We are finally done our new record. Dave Draves did a great job with the mix, and after mastering the sonavabitch for us, we have spent the last week just listening to the audio CD. I'm sure there have been people wondering what the hell we've been doing driving around town at top volume like delinquents. I personally made the mistake of attempting to order a coffe at a Tim's drivethru, while exteremely blasting the lead off track on the record in my car. Rock'n'roll! We're all pretty stoked....but heed our warning. We've had a few observations that The Setbacks have kind of changed their "tune(s)" a bit in terms of our songwriting. I have to agree....for those of you expecting the volume to be the same as our debut....you are all in for a dose of deafness. This record is a lot louder and more aggressive that the last one...and no kidding around, you crank it in your stereo...be prepared ot get blown out of your lazyboy....that's what I think.
On Friday night, I caught C'mon at the Dom. For those of you who don't know, this is Ian Blurton's new band, with Katey Lynn Campbell from Nashville Pussy, and Randy Curnew from The Swallows. Seriously, this band kills almost anything else that I've seen in the last while. They kick major ass. If you haven't already picked up their new album, I suggest you do. I've added the link to their new website to the links page. I suggest you check out their site, and load the C'mon player. You wanna hear riffage? Load the song "From Where We Started". You'll immediately create horns with your fingers, and start kicking your head back and forth...
I also happened to pound some beers at a local blues club in Ottawa, and caught The Five Man Electrical Band. These dudes rocked the shit outta all of the middle agers chewing chicken wings. It didn't lool like anyone really expected it to be that loud. These guys were older, but they were pros. Some other dude even got up there, and threw himself into a rendition of "Purple Rain" by Prince, and they all followed suit effortlessly. I was surprised to hear the part time guitar player nail the 5 minute solo in that song, which was a pleasant surprise.
Very musical weekend...
Chris
Steve's Open Letter to Chris Saracino
June 8th, 2004
The Saracino Residence
Ottawa, Ontario
Dear Chris,
You've been a good friend to me for many years and I feel that since you joined the Setbacks full-time, our friendship has grown even stronger. It's been great getting to know you better over the last while and I treasure your friendship a lot.
I'd be lying though if I said being your friend hasn't been a bumpy road at times. I'm referring specifically to your rather unusual habit of visiting my home for short periods of time but always finding an opportunity to drop off several giant logs reeking so badly it causes me to seal the bathroom shut and retch uncontrollably for hours after you leave.
Maybe it's my nice collection of music magazines that you like to browse and borrow from before you visit the bathroom, or maybe it's that your trying to tell me you hate me in a not-so-subtle way. In any case, it's terribly inconsiderate and you're testing not only my patience, but the cleaning ability of my toilet brush and the bonds of our friendship.
I hope you'll take this letter to heart and make a positive change for the better. I consider you a dear friend, but if you're not able to shake this nasty habit, I may be forced to reluctantly call a "friends off" on you.
Respectfully yours,
Steven M. Palmer
Announcement: Chris drops using the word GAY.
June 1st, 2004
After some recent indication that my affectionate overuse of the word "gay" might be deemed offensive, I have decided to begin refraining from using the word. Not only do I realize that my friendly use of the word could be deemed offensive, which is unfortunate, but some members of the band conducted an intervention and indicated that they think I might be addicted to using the term. This announcement is here to say, that I have conciously made an effort to stop because I realize that it is childish and unneccesary,as well as only personally funny to me and a few other selected individuals who are also childish and dumb. Regardless, the buck stops here.
Sincerely,
chris
Tits and Beers
May 31st, 2004
Actually tits and beers have no real significance in this entry, but I figured they'd make a solid and attractive title. Speaking of titles, our new album is in the midst of getting one, but we are finding it a lot harder than we thought. Our original title was shot down by everyone we know, even though a solid 3/4 of us liked it. After hearing our friends tell us we were bordering on extreme gayness because of our choice, we tired of the gay comparisons, and switched our minds like teenage poseurs. We're still trying to hash it out, but we are in the studio this weekend wrapping up mixing and mastering with Dave Draves.
In other news, the past weekend was an intensely fun one.
Trevor was absent from our show with The Red Arrows at the Lion's Balls Pub on Sparks Street. We asked my former bandmate from understorey, Todd Matsunaga to fill in and learn the songs in a jiff. After some initial nervousness on Todd's part, and us tolerating his extremely gay rock referrals like calling the rock sauce...Molson 50....we ended up pulling off a great show, and we were thankful that all went smooth. Thanks again to The Red Arrows.
Steve, Paul, and I went and saw The Heelwalkers, Shikasta, and Le Nombre on Saturday night. This extremely killed everything else going on in the city. We could have been dancing to some gayness at a place like Aqua or On Tap, but we were all glad that we went to another solid Birdman Sound production. The Heelwalkers ruled, Shikasta extremely fuckin ripped up the joint with arguably one of the tightest sets I've seen in a while....Le Nombre was a performance all into itself. Completely franco-french, and no frills. These dudes were so un-anglophone, that they were speaking to the audience in quebecois. The lead singer was quick to thank John Westhaver for the gig...."John...we play 4 time here now, thank you Birman Soun." Between joking about what times bars close in Ottawa versus Gatineau and telling us not to vote for the francophone candidate in the federal election, Le Nombre made an impression on me for performace standards.
Yesterday, I had a pop-tart for brekkie, and then walked around Mooney's Bay looking for some ladies who were showcasing the no-need for over the shoulder boulder holders. Unfortch, no fun bags were found, and the only glimpse I got of the tittlage was a birthing dog with multiple teets.
Chris
The Setbacks' Studio Adventures - SUNDAY MAY 2nd
May 3rd, 2004
For the past few days, we've been in the recording studio, laying down some meaty and delicious tracks for consumption by you, our voracious fans. The first two installments are below, so it makes more sense to read those ones first, then this one.
SUNDAY MAY 2:
This morning was going to be tricky. It’s one thing to have to play music first thing in the day, but it’s another all together to try to sing shortly after waking. I knew I would be doing some vocals today, so I tried to wake up early and get my voice going by talking non stop. I talked to my Frosted Mini Wheats, I talked to the shampoo in the shower, anything to get those morning froggies out of my throat.
When I got to the studio, Steve was again already there, still reading the same page from the Rolling Stone magazine as the day before. How long does it take to read a full page picture of Britney Spears pulling down her skimpy panties? Apparently the answer is: all weekend.
Two of the songs we were recording were brand new, and as such didn’t have full sets of lyrics. So it was decided Paul, Chris and I would do some backup vocals on the songs Steve did yesterday, while he went off to finish writing the lyrics. We nailed our parts pretty quickly, using the “gang” backup vocal technique. Kind of like all three of us pumping our fists in the air and singing the exact same parts. The idea is that at some point, people in an audience would like to sing along with these parts. Again, you’ll have to hear it to understand.
Next I did my one lead vocal song, straining my voice to the edge of the abyss. I had to do a few takes until we got one where my voice didn’t crack. Solid.
Recording vocals can be pretty boring. It’s basically just one guy recording while the other 3 lounge around. There are lots of magazines and books, and a basketball net set up outside. This can kill some time, especially for people who don’t normally play basketball. A game of PIG can take hours, as no one seemed to be able to make any shots. Soon cabin fever begins to set in. Chris was the worst. He’d nap, then wake up and bother us with drum sticks, make rude gestures to whoever was attempting to record, then go for a Hobbit Cigarette.
Steve eventually finished the lyrics and laid them down. It took a bit longer, as singing something just written takes time. In the end, they came out better than I imagined. Another miracle!
Before we left the studio for good, we put together some rough mixes of the songs for the drive test. That’s where you cruise the streets of Ottawa, blasting your own music on the stereo. If the song doesn’t drive well, it won’t stand up anywhere.
Which songs will make it? Only time will tell.
The Setbacks' Studio Adventures - SATURDAY MAY 1st
May 2nd, 2004
For the past few days, we've been in the recording studio, laying down some meaty and delicious tracks for consumption by you, our voracious fans. The first installment is below, so it makes more sense to read that one first, then this one.
SATURDAY MAY 1:
We had agreed to meet at the studio at 11am, and I was determined not to be late this time. As I walked through the doors to the studio, my watch chimed eleven and I knew it was going to be a good day. Steve was already there, reading a well-worn copy of the Rolling Stone with Britney Spears on the cover. Chris and Paul arrived shortly thereafter and we were ready to go.
Our goal for the day was to lay down the “beds” for all six songs. Beds is studio talk for music. For our first record, we did each instrument separately, recording the beds one at a time. This time, with the resources of the studio, we had enough microphones and tracks to do it all at once – assuming we could all play the song together without anyone making a mistake. Sounds easy enough.
Unfortunately, I don’t think any of us are used to playing music during daylight hours. We decided to start with “Born on the River”, a song we figured might be the easiest. The first few takes were awful. We could get through the song, but our timing was all off. Chris began his love affair with the words ‘tempo’ and ‘intensity’ after take #2. As we listened to it, these were the qualities he decided were lacking, and we’d need more of. He must have said each word over 700 times through the course of the day. After every take, he’d ask the following questions: “How’s the tempo?” “Is there enough intensity?”
We soon got a take we liked, so we moved onto the next song. “The Sleuth” is a song Steve wrote when we were still in another band, but it had survived this long and had become our big closing song at most shows. With this much experience playing the song, it was bound to be easier. Thankfully it was, with this song we were able to turn the corner, and get into a better groove. We were relieved.
So we took a quick break, Chris needed a cigarette, and a cool down. Because it was such a beautiful day, the outdoors didn’t offer him much cooling down. But he smoked his Peter Jackson cigarettes. Who buys those? We figured he bought them because he thought they had something to do with the Lord of the Rings.
We got back at it, and put down another song before hunger set in. Fortunately a place called Luciano’s is just around the corner, it’s an Italian grocery store with a deli that makes amazing fresh sandwiches. I made a point of mispronouncing prosciutto (I probably just misspelled it as well, unintentionally) because it bothered Chris. Sadly he didn’t hear me, and the man behind the counter corrected me and shook his head. I assume he then spit in my sandwich for being so white.
After finishing the sixth song, we went back and attempted to best our version of "Born on the River", which none of us were really happy with. In one take we nailed the song, proving 11am is too early to rock.
We ended up finising the beds for all six songs early. So we moved onto overdubs. Our intention was to have very little guitar overdubs, so we did the beds to pretty much be the song. We did two face melting guitar solos and then moved onto the vocals.
Steve sang like an angel descended from heaven. Only the angel was angry, and sang like it was possessed by the devil. It’s hard to describe, but it was miraculous.
He finished the vocals for three songs, and we packed it in for the day. Paul went to a fashion show and got his picture taken with Richard Robinson, Chris went to his father’s birthday dinner and gave him a Fila track suit, Steve and I went to my house to have some pizza and watched Twister on television (not intentionally, it just happened to be on). Later Steve and Chris hooked up at the Kelp Records anniversary party, where Jarrett also happened to be. Apparently a good time was had by all. But would it affect tomorrow’s recording? Only time will tell.
Contact the band at band[at]thesetbacks.com