i bought a camera

so, i finally bought a digital camera so i can put awesome photos and short videos up. which is what i intended on doing tonight but alas, the camera is in the van and ben is at work with the van. now you all have to wait at least another day. trust me, it will be worth the wait cause adam recorded some guitars today and i got some really exciting videos to show all of you!

in due time.

This direction is the most metal.

This is what we did tonight in my room. Brain Wilson never sounded too good...

Things we got for our van, Eternity, on our baby tour:

A new motor for our windshield wipers. For the longest time we thought it was a fuse issue. Nope Jessi's (Awesome) Dad, Chuck, helped us figure this one out. So we made a trip to Napa Auto Parts and got a new motor. Next thing you know, chuck is going to town under the hood of our van. Our wipers now work. Nice.









We also picked up some other items while at Napa. For instance, a temporary rear view mirror for our passenger side door. We have been driving very dangerously without one for several months now using the buddy system of having the passenger give us the go ahead before making any movers that require changing lanes of turning right. The mirror is not the classiest but it totally works.




Check out this air freshener we got at Napa. Our van since the beginning has had a "wet dog" smell that creeps up from time to time. We figured we may as well fix it. This particular scent was picked by Brandon for two reasons. a) It is called eternity, and Brandon has always wanted to know what eternity smells like (I will admit I was curious too). b) Though you can't tell from the photo, the air freshener is gray and black which led Brandon to say that it was the most "metal" air freshener in the store and that we had to have it. As it turns out Eternity is the Calvin Cline fragrance. It also turns out that we have now named the van Eternity.





The last thing we got was this amazing blown out tire. This went down just 10 miles west of Spokane. Luckily we are AAA members. So we only had to wait an hour before someone could get a spare tire on Eternity. Unluckily it was Sunday and no tire shops are open on Sunday. More unlucky was that it was Memorial Day weekend so the tire shops that were all closed we really closed. But after calling around a bit we found out that Walmart could help us out. So five hours and two new tires later (Walmart has a policy of only changing an even amount of tires) we were back on the road.






But over all I think we had a lot of fun on this trip. Jessi's Family was/is super nice in welcoming us into their home. Coeur d'Alene is a very beautiful place. I am glad that we got to visit.

-Ben of AristeiA


This is what Adam and Brandon look like when they wait for AAA.

There is always one headbanger

So that live video we tried to shoot of us performing last night at the White Rabbits show ended up not working. Apparently , if you try to record like half an hour on photo booth it takes up all of your memory. Anyway, the headbanger didn't show until the second band, Oil of Angels. I did get some video of him though. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

-Ben of AristeiA



Not an actual member of the band

We are about to play a show in Spokane. Wish you were here.

We are about to play to play The Caterina Winery, one of Spokane's finest. It has really high celings so its gonna be a loud one. We are super stoked to be playing with NY's White Rabbits and local act Oil of Angels. Brandon just pointed out to me that we once opened up for Tokyo Police Club. Later he went to see them again when they were a bit bigger and White Rabbit opened up. Now we are opening up for them. It is only a matter of time before we are the big band. Anyway, we are going to try to record some video of the show and post it a little bit later.

Stay tuned,

-Ben of AristeiA

Making crazy sounds in the studio

The new AristeiA record is coming along really quickly. Spent 9 hours yesterday tracking guitar and adding effects and multiple layers. it is sounding really full/beautiful/epic.

also, i finally got a Moog Moogerfooger Ring Modulator. This thing makes the most fucked up crazy sounds i have ever heard. There are some sound samples on the Moog website via the above link. check them out.

we will be posting some sound clips when they start to come together a little more. keep checking back.

Grails

this band really trips me out. yesterday i was at jackpot records and saw that Grails have a new record out called 'Take Refuge in Clean Living.' i can't remember the last time i COULD NOT PREVENT MYSELF from taking a record home. i got into this band around the Black Tar Prophecies era because they make me feel like my brain is melting down (in the best way imaginable). i don't intend to give a record review, that's what these people are for. but just go listen to Grails, doesn't matter which record, and just space/trip/vibe out. they have a sort of crazy middle eastern feel/sound but they are based out of Portland, OR. you don't even need drugs to do it. i promise. although they could help.

highly recommended track (ie my personal favorite): 'Belgian Wake-Up Drill' off of BTP: Vol 2 on Aurora Borealis

Fensepost Review of the last EP

Dear Fense,

We have missed you too. We received your letter (review) and wanted to take the time to reply with a few words of our own. Most of them will verify that we have feelings for you too.

We regret that we haven't made it up to your town to throw down our newest tunes that are sure to destroy your preconceptions of our band (we are trying to tell you that we are better). We will be correcting this problem very soon. A couple times actually. Please feel free to come an celebrate our beautiful noise. Bring that girlfriend you mentioned. Bring your friends.

This summer we will be recording our new songs, so look forward to reviewing some more AristeiA by years end. Perhaps then you will hold some vinyl in your hands? Have I said too much? Probably.

So we will meet again sooner than you might have expecting. Did you mention a year? Way too long. Then, if you must, you may embrace us as old friends and buys us brew.

-AristeiA

Woolly Mammoth Bass Fuzz

this petal handmade by zvex effects


+ Ben Meyercord = BASS FACE!!!!!!!!!!



*unfortunately he is still working on achieving bass face