3Ts, the EP.

I wanted to post a short blog about the songs on the EP we're currently pushing. It's a live recording done in May in Denver, some of the songs are up on the myspace. But being as we don't really get to talk about the songs much, I figured I'd give a little insight as to what we're on about....

Amanda
This song, we usually note, is about the female lead in the Saw movies, who made some bad decisions and then had her life "saved" by becoming Jigsaw's assistant. It's about the weird "quick fix" attitude that exists in the world, like... oh, my life sucked, but now I have a girlfriend, so it's better. Or...oh, my life sucked, but now I've got this job, so it's better. Or..oh, my life sucked and I have no friends...but now I've joined a Canadian Nudist Arsonist Cult, so it's better... that one's really hard, because you can't decide which is the worst part. In any case... be wary of quick fixes.

Also, Mike plays some wicked guitar on this track. And Neil swings. How many drummers swing, nowadays? Not many.

Back To Earth
Ah, whiteboyfunk. That was the working title. Maybe. This song is all about Willum's bass. Ohh, that bass. It's a cool groove track, I'd be lying if I said we had any notion of it being really deep... but it's basically about that feeling of knowing you'll never be good enough for something or someone, but liking it enough to keep trying. It's a bit how I feel in this band, come to think of it. Someday we'll do a version where all 3 guitars have some wah happening. Hehe.

Play It Safe
The root of this song came from a conversation I had with a friend in college who considered dropping out or changing schools, they just couldn't take the pressure. They then said that they couldn't do that, though, because it would be "giving up" or proving the naysayers right. If this is you, if you're overwhelmed, tired, stressed, have so many responsibilites that you don't have time for anything else in your life.... drop a few. The world we live in, you're told you have to get the job that pays the most. Or go to the school that will get you the job that pays the most. Or get the grades in high school to get into the school that will get you the job that pays the most. But none of it's true. Yeah... try your hardest, chase your dreams. But if you're destroying yourself at the same time... that can't be right. "You're not that far ahead if you're half dead when you get there." Indeed.

Something Bigger
This song was actually two different songs, but they joined together to form some kind of genetically modified song-child, or something. It's kind of chasing the same lyrical theme as Play It Safe, this idea that there's something better out there than having money and comfort and stuff, there's something bigger we're all reaching for. "Don't let your heart steal your soul" is my favorite line out of it... people say that all the time, "follow your heart." No...don't. I know what my heart is like, it's indecisive, fickle, overemotional, and generally not trustworthy. But all through history man has been chasing something... something keeps us going, outside of the pleasures of life. Something bigger.

There's also some very nice backing vocals from Neil on this... and Will does a bass fill right at the start of the chorus that gets me every time. It's weird to have a "moment" over a bass fill, but I really like that one. People who heard early versions of this (like the first one ever at a Boy Scout Troop Meeting... ah, the places we've played...) might remember the terrible guitar solos that used to ruin the middle of the song... it's now much tighter. Heh. And bonus points to anyone who can identify the "snippet" at the end of it.

I Fall Down
Those last four sure were downers, lyrically, weren't they? There's no quick fix to life, some things you'll never be perfect at, life's not all about money, there's something bigger that we need to find... This one's the happy conclusion in our little suite here. This has always been our big singalong number, and I love it for that. We've been playing it since December of 05, and there's nothing like a room full of people shouting out that when they fall down...they fall at His feet. Even if some of them don't know what they're singing about... I'm ok with planting an idea in someone's head with the music. Let it fester and grow until you wake up at 3am, when it's quiet and dark, and go "oh! hold on to the son. I get it now."

But this all makes much more sense if you listen to it... so grab it from a friend who has it, or pick one up at a show. And then the next time we see you, sing along. LOUDLY. :-)

T

Updates and stuff...

Things of late... have been pretty good :-)

I played a short acoustic set at Everyday Joes the other night, thanks for everyone who came out for that. I meant to play a brand new song, but time constraints meant that I didn't. Sorry about that. But we have one to play! Haha. You'll hear it soon.

Speaking of soon (and very soon), Wednesday July 25th, we'd like to invite you to Christmas in July with Expiration Date... at Cornerstone Community Church in Ault. We're gonna kick out your favorite Christmas tunes, as well as a few ED numbers, random songs, throw up a tree, some mistletoe (I'm kidding. But Jess wants to. Whatever that means.), maybe do some food, just have a random night to reminisce about the time of year when it's not 100 degrees, and remember the day God came to earth to change our lives forever. It'll be a party.

Slightly less soon, but equally exciting, is ROCK YOUR FACE OFF 2007! The Garage is hosting this amazing night of music, the last at this particular venue, which will feature such amazing bands as

Crossfire
Safety First
...and THREE CORD WONDER. And we'll be kicking off the proceedings (after the amazing Garage Worship Team), I think. So look for us there, it should be an awesome night. I'm so incredibly excited. Oh, it's August 31st, by the way. 6pm. that's 6pm. Is when the music starts. So get there earlier than that and get a spot at the front. It's gonna be an exciting night, and it will let us all put off the fact that summer is over for a few more minutes.

Also at both shows, you can pick up the 3Ts EP that we're currently selling - it's 5 songs recorded live in Denver, some fun sounds on this thing. There's another blog available about it posted just above this one.

In case you got lost in my ramblings, then points were:

July 25th, Cornerstone Community Church, Ault, CO "Christmas In July!", 7pm
August 31st, The Garage, Wheat Ridge, CO, ROCK YOUR FACE OFF 2007, 6pm.

Blessings
T

Bookkeeping

I'm tired
I can't hear much
My fingers hurt
My throat hurts from *breathing*
And I'm so incredibly happy about it.

The set at JC's went really well, I played

I Fall Down
Stuck
Just Hold On
Outdated
Never Ending Battle
Out of this World
Amanda

....first public performances of NEB and Amanda, went pretty well. Was in better voice than I was expecting, so that was nice. The crowd were pretty responsive, seemed to like it. Interesting venue, I don't know that we'll make a return trip but it was fun this once. Had a rasberry chai before going on stage, that was a new one. Tasted fantastic actually.

Went from JC's to Higher Ground in Evergreen, where the whole band got to play. It was amazing to get to use their equipment, it's a great venue. I seriously want to play there when there's a crowd sometime.. tonight it was just the people we had brought with us (and they were a great audience, thanks for coming if you are reading this).

Now, the set we just sort of decided as we went, so the order is a mystery to me, I remember how we started and how we finished...

Out of this World
Haze
Pinball Wizard
Just Hold On
--------
Another Destination
Stuck
Shout
Bargain
Nothing But the Blood <----I have no idea on the order of this part.
More Love
Outdated
Backizzle
--------
Something Bigger
I Fall Down
My Generation
ITEOTWAWKI(AIFF)

In any case a great night. And I can now confirm opening for Three Cord Wonder on April 20th... see you there!

T

Saturday Night's Alright...

After JC's, we're headed to open mic night at Higher Ground in Evergreen. Should be a good night for all... leaving the church at 4:30 if you want a ride... 2 shows in one night is a pretty good deal ;-)

T

New Logo! (But not a replacement)

For those of you who hate change, sorry, although this isn't much of a change anyways. And if you hate change you probably shouldn't be listening to this band anyways.

We're turning screamo.
Yep.
It's true!
From now on Thomas will be singing screamo style and we will all be wearing lots and lots of thick eyeliner. Mostly Will and Neil, anyways.

Not really. But I did make a new logo at about 11 pm last night using a new piece of software. Well, it's not quite new, I've had it for a while, I've just never really used it. It's more powerful than it looks too.

Anyways with out any further hesitation, I present to you the latest and greatest from the screwed up mind of me, a fantastic multimedia event, filmed in wide-screen with the greatest of actors, a more-pleasing-to-the-eye-than-this-rambling-post type picture! Click on them because I screwed up the thumbnails so now they look like crap. So please, PLEASE click on them.


Here is a white one, I don't know which one I like more...

25% of Expiration Date = Expi

So two things of note, both displayed in the side bar for your viewing pleasure: First off, Expiration Date will be playing Keensburg's Summer Festival on Saturday, June 16th, from 1-2pm. It's in the park in Keensburg, so come rock with us and help us show Keensburg how awesome this Hope is that we sing about.

Second slightly more urgent thing: March 10th!! That's a week from Saturday. T is playing a short (20 minute) acoustic set opening for Mark Phillips at a place called JC's Ground in Denver. Per Mark:

The location is JC's Ground, in between 15th and 16th on Champa in Downtown Denver. If you need directions, just Mapquest 1531 Champa. Parking down there isn't free, but there's a lot right there on the corner of 15th and Champa that's pretty cheap and along Champa are some meters if you want to feed the meters (I don't know if they have them off all weekend or just on Sundays).

Anyway, if anyone reads this, we need your help! The more folks we have come, the better the chance of being asked back (hopefully with the whole band next time). There's a $5 cover, but if that's what would stop you from going I'm sure we can work something out.

Give one of us a call or leave a comment if you need a ride or want to coordinate plans, this could be an awesome chance to get ED into a new market.

Rock!
T

Oh! Right, that thing we did....

So I completely forgot to update after the Battle of the Bands in Weld Central... ha.

We played six songs total (3 in each round), and tied for first with a very talented group called Serpent Slayer.

Set 1:

Out of This World
Back to Earth
I Fall Down

Set 2:

Outdated
Just Hold On
Shout!

We played fairly well, I thought... lost the mic cord at the beginning of Shout and didn't figure it out until after the first verse... smart one, T! *shakes head* Oh well. It was a great day, heard some great songs, and sang a few of our own.

And, courtesy of Nikki, some pictures:

*crickets*

Ah! The ole blog... it's been a while. Last night I played a short set at 3Js in Johnstown, doing acoustic versions of Just Hold On, Stuck, and Out of This World. My better judgment won out and prevented me from trying Back to Earth acoustically ;-)

It was fun to strip those songs down a little and do something a little gentle, but at the same time I really felt odd without the whole band up there... hopefully, we will remedy this tonight... word on the street is that we're playing Everyday Joes at 7pm for about ten minutes... but still waiting for a couple of pieces to fall into place on that.

Also last night I got to hear the fabulous October Darkness play their first show... they're a new band and will grow just like we had to, but from what I saw last night they have huge potential.

Oh! and check out www.myspace.com/markephillips to hear one of Northeastern Colorado's finest acoustic acts... some really catchy songs and the best message around. He's a really nice guy, to boot.

And I hear rumblings about something exciting in April...but that's about all I can say.

Love, peace, and bananas
T

Speaking of "one year ago..."

It was just over a year ago that a little number called I Fall Down made it's live debut. Most of it was written the previous August, but the second verse was proving a huge problem, namely that we couldn't come up with one. I was determined to play the song one way or another, cos I really thought it had potential, so I told Will and Neil to hold on a second, I was gonna go write out the chords so it was easier for us all to rehearse... and in about thirty seconds, I wrote down anything I could come up with that rhymed to fill out that second verse.

I feel like it's hard to breathe. Are the walls closing in on me?
It's something that they say will pass with time.
Make it sound so easy, saying "Just go and find your calling"
But it seems like I'm gonna wait forever for me.

... and seeing as we're still singing it a year later, it can't have been all that bad.

Feels like we're a band at the moment, more news on the BoTB as soon as I get it, and something else in the works... watch this space.

T