The wait is over. Cannot tell you how sweet it is to finally have the sword of Damocles out of our Google Drive and into the world.
Our album, What A Waste, is out on all major streaming platforms, and we couldn't be happier. Many of these songs we have played time and time again - refining them, testing their limits, screaming over them - and now they're out in all their ragged glory for the world to hear. I think I speak for everyone in The Midday Skip in saying that none of this would have happened without our friends, fans, and family for their support not only now but through our entire lives, pushing us to spend hours making music and have the confidence to put it out into the world. I know it's not really in vogue to be an originals band (though we do have plans for a Slipknot cover band, The Midday Slip), but we are all honored and thrilled by those who have already heard our dinky little collection of songs.
If you don't want to listen to the full album, I understand. The world is a busy and terrible place. I would start with “Blood on my Sandals” as that is probably our favorite song as a group and the best performing song live. It takes a few compositional twists and turns with some heady - read: pompous - lyrics. I've written a little bit about the song in a few other blog posts, so check those out if you want to know more. The other singles we released would also be a good place to start: “Huffin' Sunshine” for when you want to hear us try cow-punk, “Atlas” for when you're laying in the desolation just before sleep, and “Every Moment” for when you can't find the willpower to do the things you need to do. If you've already listened to “Atlas” and “Every Moment” from the single, I'd recommend playing through them on the album because my original intent was for them to segue into one another as one long song. Of course, we like all the songs otherwise they wouldn't be on the album, so you can choose any you'd like, but we as a group found ourselves listening to the final mixes of “Waiting and Hoping and Knowing” more than we'd thought. I tried with this song to intentionally mess with the listener like starting in what sounds like the wrong key and out-of-time passages, so we have always liked the song and playing it live. The recording though sounds great as Alex did a great job mixing it, and Gage plays a killer guitar solo over the bridge.
If you're looking for a reason not to listen to any of our music at all, there is also plenty wrong with it. In particular, “Waiting and Hoping and Knowing” has some random noises in it we couldn't quite get out, so if you think something sounds like a pedal clicking on or a squeaky hi-hat stand, it probably is. The day Gage came in and recorded the acoustic guitar for the track, he was starting to come down with a cold, so on the first few mixes of the song you could hear his heavy, stuffy breathing being picked up by the mic, especially in the silence during the bridge. We spared you the pleasure and took that out. Waiting and Hoping and Knowing and Huffin'. We also had to change the arrangement to “Apocalypse Blues” because we tend to play it differently live depending on what the set needs, so we tried something new. It has no real bridge, just verses, choruses, and solos, and we wanted to do something a little more adventurous than being suddenly quieter on the last verse. Of course, we added a shit-load of hand percussion. Gage and Carson have been frothing at the mouth to have a guiro in the song, and we also added a couple of different shakers and a cowbell. There may be more I'm forgetting. While it does sound nice, it's less “Sympathy for the Devil” and more the intro to R.E.M.'s “Electrolite" (side note: great song). Not that either is better than the other, but it's just a risk which may turn off some people. Oh, and there's an instrumental break in the middle where I play some really regrettable basslines, so just listen to the nice solo Gage puts down. I think the album truly has more good than bad about it, but if you find something else you do not like about it, please let us know so we can more accurately hate ourselves.
There's so much music out there, so thank you for being here. Listen if you like; I'll understand if not, but we're proud of what we did and have some cool projects coming in the future. We're doing some planning for shows now that the holidays are over, so keep an eye out here and our Instagram for updates. Maybe by the next time I post, the Braves will have made some substantial roster move.
Tyler