The Mines ~ Blog

We’re making progress everyone… the last few weeks producer Joel has been cranking out mixes of each song and emailing them to us.

Then of course, each of us listens and puts our 2 cents into reply’s to him which he then addresses.  Who knows if each of us is telling him opposite things like “turn Greg’s guitar up!” and “Greg’s guitar is too loud!”, but it seems to be working out.  Somehow Joel is able to make sense of it.  With each fresh mix it’s sounding better and better:  Tighter, gooier, warmer, more exciting, more like the songs we hear in our heads when we play them together.

Hopefully we’ll wrap this up in another couple of weeks, then we’ll head to Lansing to master the CD at GBP Studios and finalized the artwork.

Still a bunch of work to do before release, but it’s nice to know we’ll be able to get this in your hands “soon”.

~The Mines
Greg, Troy, Ethan, Todd

A very long time ago you might have interacted with a band call The Mines, and from time to time The Mines would release new music on CD and a popular digital format, which you might purchase, and The Mines would play shows all around Grand Rapids and the midwest, which you might attend.

Given that a very long time ago (17 months in fact) The Mines started recording a new full-length CD, which has taken waaaayyy longer than The Mines ever could have expected, The Mines played less and less shows and released no new music.

Finally, The Mines are nearing the end of that long time and are putting the finishing touches on the new CD, finalizling the album artwork, prepping a new website, working on a new music video, and booking some new shows.

This announcement is about an upcoming show, in the Chicago area of all places!

So those of you in or around Chicago… or those of you who love to drive great distances because road trips are fun… this show is for you:

The Details:

WHERE: Penny Road Pub
WHEN: Friday, March 25, 2011 - 10:30pm
STAGE: The Rock Room Underground Stage
WHO:   The Mines 10:45 - 11:30pm, Thalium 11:45 - 12:45pm

Tickets are $6 and available at the door.  Attendees have to be 21+.

We have more details regarding the venue and directions on our website at this link:www.theminesonline.net/dateDetail.aspx?DateId=152

If you’re interested in seeing some of the recording process, visit our youtube channel: youtube.com/theminesonline.

If you like Facebook, visit our page at: facebook.com/theminesonline.

I know, I know, stop talking about the new cd and just release it already!  I would if I could, believe me.  But hear me out…

First of all, to bring everyone up to speed on what I’m talking about… We, The Mines, have been working on our 3rd CD, “Fear Is Easy”, for over a year now.  We had no idea it would take us this long when we started, but when you’re a part-time band like we are, and the intent for this CD is to take more time to experiment with sounds, parts, etc… in the hopes that the quality of the final product will be that much better, then it’s bound to take longer, and the hope is the final product will be worth it.

So anyway, on or about mid-November, I personally had had enough of this cd: the songs, the recording process, the mixes, thinking about what else the songs needed, listening to each part over and over and over, etc… Basically I was fried and really needed to step back and take a deep breath.  So I stopped.  I told the rest of the guys I just needed to step away from the process — and they continued working with Joel (our producer) without me. 

So for most of November and all of December, I didn’t listen to any of our music… didn’t play it… didn’t really even think about the band.  And that’s a strange thing for me since we’ve been living and breathing this thing since March of 2004 when we first started jamming together, and I tend to always be thinking about it in some way or another. 

Well not only did I step away from the band for awhile, I also got to step away from work, and the good old United States, and even North America for awhile… How’s that for a change in perspective? My family and I just returned from almost 2 weeks visiting family and friends in South Africa, where I did happen to hear a couple of Mines songs when they played on my brother’s ipod while we were out driving one day — but those were from People Music. Other than that, I’ve heard nothing of The Mines recently… Until tonight.  So my veins were completely Mines-free when I climbed into my car with no intention of listening to “Fear Is Easy” and decided to put it in the CD player, to give it a fresh listen.

On the way home from the movie theater tonight, having finally gotten a chance to see “The Social Network”, I popped in an old mix of the 9 songs we’ve been working on for so long — not even the latest, most worked-on mixes — (I haven’t even heard those yet actually).  The mixes in my car, weren’t even “mixes” really, just output from the computer that happened to have all of the parts for each song on it, with not a lot of effort to make the individual parts work together to paint the picture, the sounds were just all there, blobbed together.  And I listened, and listened, and listened…

Well, I wish I could say “wow” and you’d believe me.  I wish I could type “you’re really gonna like this” and you’d get it.  I really wish I could say, Merry Christmas, the CD’s getting duplicated as we speak, or head on over to http://store.theminesonline.net and download the new songs right now!

But I can’t, because we’re still working on it. 

Let it be known that the official line from us, The Mines, is that “Fear is Easy” is the best collection of music we’ve ever done!  And, really that’s not just a line.  We really believe it — or at least I do — but I bet the other guys would say it as well.

After stepping away from it for a month and closing my eyes and ears and just letting it sit for awhile, even just listening to the not-so-mixes, I can tell.  Even with my guitar too loud, or burried, or Todd’s drums not eq’d to melt your face yet or whatever… it’s still really exciting, and I think you’ll think so too. 

So sit tight people.  Please bear with us during this “under construction” period.  Traffic will start flowing any day now.  Or next week… ok more like bear with us for a few more months.  We’re going to do our best to wrap this up neatly ASAP — certainly before the next holiday season approaches us!

Download a few more tracks from iTunes while you wait.  I hear you can get the Beatles on there now!  If you like that sort of thing.

Greg
(for the rest of The Mines)

For those of you keeping track, it has been over a year since preproduction began on our album “Fear Is Easy”.  Never in the past have we taken so much time to get the music right, and I can proudly say, never have we been so proud of what’s happening. 

And….

Tracking is almost complete!  There are a few auxiliary pieces left to layer and tweak, but we are nearing the final stretch of the recording process.  In a few weeks we will begin mixing and then it’s on to mastering and duplication!

For those of you who have eagerly awaited its release, I’m so happy to say that it will have been worth the wait.  During the recording process it’s easy to feel like a slowly wilting houseplant, reaching deep for that 23^rd take, but after listening to some preliminary mixes I can see that the work has not only paid off, but this will definitely be the most monumental Mines release.  The magic we were digging for has indeed been found, and we can’t wait to bring this stuff to the surface to share with you.