Suffice to say that my passions have moved on to different endeavors, and the boys deserve someone who can truly offer their all in moving such an amazing group forward. I hold far too much respect for such friends to simply give anything less than my best, and so made the very difficult choice that i have come to. The album is indeed on it’s way, and you are going to love what you hear! And keep wearing those RdR shirts with pride! They will move on to do great things and I wish them all the best in their successes to come! For me though, the time has come to move on. So, rest assured, you have not seen the last of me, and rest assured, the same can be said of Run Devil Run!

Band line ups change. Truth be told this is the norm; stable band line ups are an anomaly. This band (including its former incarnation as Poets and Pornstars) has enough former members to form (almost) two bands (though they’d be heavy on the bass). Some bands change members more often than they change their socks (which, come to think of it may be why people leave. )

I think the band would prefer it if you didn’t freak out and melt down in public forums like social networks. It’s okay to freak out in the living room in front of your dog. The dog will understand. Jackie would prefer it if you didn’t come after him with pitchforks and torches.

I was initially totally flummoxed by the timing of this announcement; after all the album will drop soon. But upon further reflection I realized that if Jackie wanted to leave the band to pursue his myriad other projects, this was about the only time he could do it without totally screwing over his bandmates, which he wouldn’t want to do.

There’s no good time to leave a band, especially one as busy and popular as this one, but some times would be much worse. If, say, you leave a band when they’ve got gigs booked. Or if you bail out of a band while they’re in the middle of recording an album. This would be very bad.

Run Devil Run has been recording the upcoming album for over a year. The past several months they’ve been recording and gigging almost continually. The album is done and right now they’re in the throes of post-production, pre-release stuff. If he’d waited another couple of months they’d be in the middle of gigging and selling the album. This brief lull (which isn’t, really) is the closest thing to a break in band activity as he’s ever gonna get. If he’d left any time before now the band would’ve been totally screwed.

As it is, the album is done, the band is tweaking the mix and working on things like album art, liner notes and generally preparing for the album release. So. You don’t need to wonder what the band is going to do because…you know what the band is doing: they’re working on getting an awesome album to you as soon as possible.

So. Eyes on the prize, people! The new album is on the way! There’s no need for a freak out or melt down…And don’t go after Jackie with torches and pitchforks. We cool? Cool!

From Facebook:

Hey all! This is Jackie Joyride making my official goodbye to Run Devil Run. It’s been a blast, and I look forward to seeing you all again in the adventures to come, starting tonight night On The Rox Thank you all for such amazing memories! All the best to my boys in their adventures to come!

From Twitter:

@RunDevilRun GoodBye! Been a Dream, <3 u! Nu fun starts 2night OnTheRox! Best to my boys in their success to come!

Sorry for the misunderstanding but the band’s been quiet and I’ve been semi-unplugged over the holidays.

Hope the new year will be great for everyone! The band’s new album is still being mixed. Rumor has it that it could be ready for release sometime between Groundhog Day and Easter.

Does that sound like facile hype to you? Well, think back to some bad times (just briefly) and think about great rock albums and remember how there are bands and music that got your through those sticky patches of Life. This is why 2012 absolutely must turn out to be a great year. No matter what else happens, we’ll have a great album. A great album to see us through the rough patches, a great album to dance and sing and love throughout all the great times ahead because great music makes good times even better.

I’ll post as soon as I hear about any gigs in the new year, album release date, etc. I’ve been quiet lately, but something tell me that things are about to get LOUD! Happy New Year, everyone!

Your faithful blogger,

Gymshoes

RECORDING IS COMPLETE!!!:

That’s right, we are officially done with the recording of our upcoming album!!

(Pause for thunderous applause)

The tracks are now in the hands of our talented engineer, Marc Jordan, of the production team Social Security, the combined forces of ex-Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock and veteran LA producer Marc Jordan himself.

Prepare your ear drums… It’s about to get loud. More as this story develops! Including announcements of official release dates and our cd release show!!

So the album is finished, though not “finished”. WoooHoooo! I’m all for going ahead and starting the party now.

I know you’ve been waiting patiently–and not so patiently—for the new Run Devil Run album. I know because so have I. Making a album takes time and it always takes more time than you think it will. (I speak from experience.)

For each song add the total number of band members. (If the vocalist also plays an instrument, add one.) That’s the minimum number of tracks that must be recorded for that song. Then multiply the length of the song by that number. Multiply that by the total number of songs on the track. That’s a bare minimum. Then there are overdubs. Don’t think bands overdub? Wrong. If you hear anything “extra” in a track, chances are it’s overdubbed. Sometimes you can’t even hear it. Backing vocals are often overdubbed even though there are plenty of band members to sing backing. Hear any percussion? Well, unless the band spontaneously forms a drum circle in the studio, chances are each bit of percussion was recorded separately. That’s the thing you’ve got to keep in mind: everything is recorded separately. Though there are a few bands who still record “live in the studio”, most songs are constructed one instrument and vocal at a time then mixed together. This takes an excruciating amount of time and is not nearly as much fun as playing a gig. So, let’s say it’s a band with four members and the vocalist plays an instrument, it’s a 3:30 minute song, so multiple that by 5 and pray to God that absolutely everything about the set up, and take is perfect on the first take (it won’t be), then double that to cover overdubs and flubs (that won’t be sufficient to cover it, no matter how good the band is). Then multiple that by the number of tracks on the album.

That’s the absolute minimum amount of time it takes to get the basic tracks down. This doesn’t included set up and sound checks, and getting everything just right before “rolling tape” on it. It doesn’t include doing new arrangements of the songs because what a band does live is (and to some extent has to be) essentially different from the studio version. You can do things in the studio that are simply impossible live and some of these things make the songs better. But you’ve got to work all that out. In the studio. (Though some discussion will take place before you actually start recording.) And of course, some things won’t turn out as well as you think. Listening to a playback in the studio is different from listening to yourself in a monitor in front of a screaming crowd at a gig. Suddenly that guitar solo you’ve been doing sounds a bit thin, less wicked. Maybe lame. Doubt creeps in. So you’ve got to work up something else for that spot in the song. Try it. Go back to what you had before. Give up and move on to the next track. Multiple by 10. Or 100. Depending.

Then there’s the mixdown. The engineering, the mastering. Making what you’ve done sound as good as it can, making it sound like you hear it in your head. This is very difficult. Sometimes producers, engineers, etc make this easier, sometimes they just make it more maddening by imposing their own ideas (which they somehow contrive to seem like they’re your ideas). What’s done to the tracks after they’re created can take a mind-numbing amount of time. I don’t want to say it can take as long as it took to lay down the tracks, but, uh, yeah, there have been bands and albums where that’s very nearly been the case. It shouldn’t take that long, but remember that someone after the songs are “done” has to metaphorically pass their hands over every single track of every song at least once, usually far more than that. If there’s a patron saint of studio techies, go ahead and start praying now for his/her intercession.

Time. Well, you say, optimistically, I’ve done the math. I could knock out a brilliant album in nothing flat. It’s true that there have been brilliant albums in the history of music that have been recorded in a week or less. I don’t know how they did it—except that in most cases these albums were done back when all bands played live, together in the studio, so there were few, if any, individual tracks (drums are problematic and often have to be recorded—or rerecorded—separately). Also, back in the day, there wasn’t as much you could do to a track once you laid it down. Throw in a few backing vocals and call it done. Digital technology and the sophistication of a 21st century studio make anything and everything possible. There’s a danger in this because you can tweak the sound endlessly without re-recording a track. Yeah, you’ll do multiple takes for each instrument, but often that’s because the performance and feel may be different from take to take. Little things can be fixed digitally. But it takes time. Do a little fix here or there for each instrument on each song and it adds up.

Then there’s the whole thing of studio time. Until the band become so rich and famous that they can give up their day jobs and noodle around in the studios built into their respective mansions, they have to find time to record. That means booking studio time which will not conflict with any band member’s day job, will not conflict with rehearsals or gigs, and the time slots must be open at the studio. LA has a lot of studios and if they just wanted to lay down a track here and there at whatever studio they could get at whatever time they could get, it would be messy, but they’d have less juggling of the schedule to do it. But this album is being recorded at The Bomb Shelter and I’m thinking Le Bomb probably takes a bit of scheduling well in advance. So, that takes more time between the band member’s schedules and the studio’s schedule. Also, since time is money (and nowhere more so than in a recording studio), to optimize the dollars from the Pledge Music campaign they probably tried to get “off” hours which traditionally give a bit of a price break. (Given our 24/7 society, is the concept of peak and off hours even valid anymore? I hope so, because it’d help with the band’s budget.)

Oh, yes, there’s one more very important thing that I forgot to figure in…the band members have lives. If they spent every hour of their lives, gigging, rehearsing, working, recording, eating and sleeping, and did absolutely nothing else—-that way lies madness. Some of rock and roll’s most spectacular band breakups and meltdowns have happened in the studio or as a result of the band being cooped up in the studio day and night.

Getting some distance from the work in progress is good, not just for the band’s mental health, but also to get perspective on the work-in-progress. You can see both the flaws and brilliance of something better if you let it cool off a bit from that moment when you created it. Also, life informs art. The band needs to have a life outside the studio and rehearsal space in order to experience life which will result in writing more wonderful songs.

Finally, all I’ve written here about being in the studio is speculative (and to a great extent simplifed). Nothing I’ve written should be taken to indicate anything specific about the band recording this album (eg: crap guitar solo, percussion overdubs etc.). I’m just talking in general about the obstacle course known as recording an album. What I’ve written here doesn’t sound all that difficult or time-consuming, not enough to account for how long it actually takes from the time the band starts recording until the album is released. (Oh, and there’s album art, liner notes, CD manufacture…all after the album is “finished”. This also takes time.) What you’ve got to keep in mind is that with a few asides what I’ve written here is an absolute optimum and nothing is ever as fast, perfect and easy as this. They want to make the best possible album with the best possible music using the best possible technology. Technology has made our lives better and easier, but sometimes it seems to me that it isn’t working out quite as well as a time-saving device.

I hope this little imaginary excursion has helped curb your impatience. I know how much time and energy goes into making an album and yet, honestly, I’m impatient too. So I just remind myself of all the work I did on my albums and how crazy-making it can be and take a deep breath….and wait, knowing it’ll be worth that wait.

When:
Sun Oct 30, 7:00 pm-2:00 am
Where:
The Foundation Room
House of Blues, Sunset
8430 Sunset Boulevard

It’s a HALLOWEEN BLOW OUT and your favorite devils are haunting THE FOUNDATION ROOM at HOUSE OF BLUES, SUNSET, w/ a line-up that will make even Michael Myers scream… RUN DEVIL RUN, GUNPOWDER SECRETS, INVERSE, WICKER, FREAKSHOW, the beautiful Dj MISS NINJA & MORE TBA!!!

PLUS: DANCERS hot enough to make Hell look frozen & mind-searing PSYCHICS to take this party an event to die for!! (Sick of the Halloween lingo yet?)

Remember, it’s HALLOWEEN, so come dressed to impress for the COSTUME CONTEST!! Winner get’s a very special prize Grab your ticket from any band member and get in for just $10!!

$10 w/ Discount tix, $15 @ Door | Doors @ 7PM | 21+

The Constant
Super Black Market
Run Run Run
Steel Panther

at

The House of Blues
8430 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tonight!!!  Gig starts at 8:30pm (don’t know what time RDR will hit the stage).

I think RDR were a late addition to the bill. I didn’t hear anything about it until a few minutes ago and it hit the band’s Facebook page about an hour ago. Unfortunately, according to the Event page on Facebook, it’s too late to RSVP for $5 tickets.

Big gig with a lot of bands in the line-up: Bullets & Octane, Gunpowder Secrets, The Knives and Sex and Violence. This is a 21+ show. It’s $15 with RSVP (see their Facebook page/event to RSVP). Doors open at 8pm. This gig is gonna be massive, so it might be better to get there early than late. Definitely RSVP. You don’t want to miss out!

Saturday, September 24 at 8:00pm – September 25 at 2:00am
The Viper Room
8852 West Sunset Boulevard

Also…..

Pics from SSMF:

The Examiner has a slide show of red carpet photos which includes one of 3/4 Run Devil Run members. (Where’s Domo??)

Rocket Queen Photography has posted a set of pics of the band on Facebook (the album is public).

I’ll drop more links to RDR pics as I come across them. If you’ve got a publicly available album of Run Devil Run photos at SSMF, drop a comment with the link. (Yes, I know there were other cool bands there, but this is an RDR fan blog, so I’m only interested in Run Devil Run pics.)

This is Sunset Riot’s last show of their “Mama Said” U.S. Tour. It’s presented by Twin Talk—you remember them…Run Devil Run has been on their podcast/show a couple of times. Nice guys. Let’s give them a BIG shoutout for putting RDR on the bill with Sunset Riot.

I don’t have ticket info, but the gig will be:

Sat Sep 3 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm

Joe’s Great American Bar & Grill, Inc.
4311 W. Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505

PS: I should have a post with some links to pics from RDR’s other Sunset gig soon.

I’m expecting to post links to pics and video of Run Devil Run in the near future (depending on how long it takes the fans who shot the pics to recover and how long it takes the band to recover), but in the meantime take a look at this piece from Sugarbuzz magazine. They skim over the bands and events one by one, BUT…Run Devil Run (unlike all the others) rated two full paragraphs of effusive adoring praise. Impossible not to grin from ear to ear while reading this and—at the risk of seeming uncool—do a Snoopy happy dance. I love reading people who love the band I love as much as I love them. (Is that enough love for you? All you need is love!)

If anyone else comes across raves of Run Devil Run, pleeeeeease let me know! Drop me a line, mssg me on Facebook, post in comments (preferable on an appropriate thread, like SSMF-love on this post). I’ll be posting more about SSFM as I come across it. I hope everyone rocked out and is recovering well. Stayed tuned…

What’s all this in aid of? The Sunset Strip Music Fest! Run Devil Run kicks it off next Tuesday at the Key Club. This vid is maybe their longest yet at nearly 9 minutes. A lot of that are credits—all the bands that will be playing, all the great people that made this video possible—but you may not want to skip the credits ’cause there are “girls, girls, girls” (and some guys too) mixed in with the credits.

“Wanna be in our next video? $50 for 4 hours work! Just leave a comment (on Facebook Page) and we will get back to you immediatel​y with details!.”

Word is the band will be filminga Music/Promo video tomorrow night 9pm-1am. If you want in, hit the band’s Facebook Page ASAP and reply to the status quoted above.

The band will hit the main stage at the Key Club, August 16th for an 18+ show. Doors open 8pm. $5.

Key Club
9039 West Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA

This annual music fest is a great way to see a lot of bands. There’ll be as much music as it’s possible to pack into one space…so plan to hit the Strip! For more info, tickets, etc. check out
http://www.sunsetstripmusicfestival.com/. They’ve got an ever-growing list of bands participating, so after you’ve kicked off the fest with Run Devil Run, you can plan who else you’re going to see. Is it just me, or does anyone else think the 18th–20th just isn’t enough time for all the great bands? This event needs another day or two.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off this great fest than Run Devil Run. Start it off right at the Key Club, Thurs Aug 18th.

Bardot, this Friday. Be there or be square.

FREE SHOW @ BARDOT!!
Fri Jul 22 from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am

Bardot (Enter to the right of AVALON, no line, USE PASSWORD you get from RDR’s facebook day of show)
1737 North Vine Street (Hollywood Blvd)
Hollywood, California
— — —

But wait there’s more! The band is playing Cruefest! If you don’t know…it’s a musical event organized by Motley Crue fans to benefit the Skylar Neil Foundation (Like the Facebook page!). And one of the lovely things about benefits is that it’s All Ages. Run Devil Run plays free shows and they’re doing benefits too, so, take the money you would’ve spent on tickets for one of the free shows and lay it out for Cruefest. You still come out ahead and it’s good karma.

Cruefest

Jul 30, 2011 7:00 PM
The Whisky a Go Go
8901 West Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, California

$20 Pre-Sale/$25 Day of Show | DOORS @ 7PM Pre-Sale Tickets: http://cruefesthollywood.fetishfiendfashions.com/tickets.htm

Finally, if you follow the band on Facebook, you can peek over their shoulder and whisper in their ear as they work on a new logo design!

Thursday, July 14 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm

BEACHFRONT 301
301 Main Street Suite
Huntington Beach, CA