Hard to believe that it’s been 10 years…
This was a long time in the making. Brent showed me the basic song idea for “How Long’s It Been” in early 2007. Once the arrangement was hammered out, we recorded the basic tracks in October at the Blasting Room, along with the rest of what became the “Tears Before Breakfast” album.
Through some kind of magic, we were able to secure and afford Room A at the Blasting Room for the basic tracks. The studio is owned by one of my heroes, Descendents, All, Black Flag, etc. drummer Bill Stevenson. Jason Livermore, our engineer and the studio’s co-owner, put together a drum kit for me to use for the album featuring some of Bill’s gear. Fan boy city!
Due to various circumstances (read: we were broke), the basic tracks sat unfinished for almost a year before we were finally able to complete the rest of the album. A new record deal was hammered out with I Scream Records through Onno Cromag (RIP) and Laurens Kusters.
Early 2009, we finally had a final mastered version of the album, all the artwork was put together, we had a release date in July, and we had an amazing summer festival tour of Europe booked.
When it was time to promote the album, “How Long’s It Been” was chosen by the band to be our first music video. Justin Hermann was the man selected for the job, a student at the Art Institute who had great connections and some cool ideas.
The video was shot in April and May of 2009. We got our friends and co-workers involved for the bar scenes at 3 Kings and then shot the footage of us playing at Bender’s on a separate day. The video turned out great. I remember banging my head and swinging my hair so much I had whiplash for days afterward. All in the name of rock and roll, right?
Ramblings of a Retired Rockstar 