Here's a very short update on a very short recording seesion where we basically got most of a fast paced rocker called "Bed of Nails." I think I'm going to want to do some additional touch-ups on the vocals, but mostly everything went pretty smoothly, and very quickly.

This one just kind of came together musically. Power chords, a killer lead on the verses. It's one of the angrier songs that will be on the new CD I guess, on a CD that hopefully will be less angry than Burning Through Nowhere.

I'n other news, on Tuesday Ryan and I will be checking out No Doubt and Blink-182 in Indianapolis with Ryan's brother (my cousin) Tom and his wife Tricia. I'm really looking forward to the trip.

God Bless!
MAL

5.26.04 - message - matt
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How much do I love Rock-N-Rolls? Apparently enough to brave quite a thunder storm and some terrible road construction in Southern Indiana. We did have a great session tonight though. I can't wait for you guys to hear this record.

Tonight we recorded a catchy ballad called "Left You Behind" that I wrote on my last night at school this year before coming home for the summer. A very interesting arrangement, and we also record the acoustic guitar a little differently, using the vocal mic instead of lining it directly in.

Anyway, stay safe, play well, and get in touch with us/me!!!

Thought of the night: Film maker Michael Moore is a lying idiot, and an embarrasment to the American people (as well as humanity in general).

I'm out...literally, it's past 3am and time for some sleep.

MAL 

5.22.04 - message - matt
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Hey Thoughtbrakers!!! (Can I call you that?)

Tonight we watched NBC's 10 minute presentation of "The Adventures of Seinfeld and Superman," and we Loaded up on Mountain Dew Livewire and Doritos (Cooler Ranch if you MUST know)...and...oh yeah...We played a little Rock-N-Roll too!

The task of the evening was to tackle the emotionally hopeful rocker "Something Real," and I'll be damned if it wasn't the hardest song to sing I've ever written. The musical part of the recording went unexpectedly smoothly, but the vocals were a tad frustrating. The alleged light at the end of the tunnel is that I think this will be one of the better tracks on the new record, and even though we still need to tweak it a little on a technical level, it's light years ahead of anything from our first album.

Here's a few thoughts from the night...
-I'm a much better writer of songs than I am a singer of them
-Jerry Seinfeld is ALWAYS funny
-Advice of the day guys: If you think a girl can break your heart, don't ever try recording a song on a shoe string budget..lol.

P.S. If Mountain Dew or Doritos feels like kicking some cash into the TB budget for the plugs I just gave them, we'd take it with open arms...lol.

So, in closing, I'm rocking out with my band, working a part time job, and counting down the days until Eastern Kentucky football season...life sure could be a lot worse than that...oh yeah...and on Sunday Ryan's little brother Craig will graduate from high school as the valedictorian of his class (there's a member of my band that did that, and his full name is NOT Matthew Anthony Lega). I'm looking forward to his speech, and the Billy Madison reference he claims he's gonna throw in. We may even sneak away from the party to do a little band work

Take care of each other, I'll post again soon

MAL 

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5.18.04 - recording begins - matt
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What's up boys and girls!!!

As I write this, I've just returned from the first session for our new record, Speak Only in Lies. It was very productive, and in only five hours we got two songs done. This is the best work we've ever done, and an enormous leap forward from Burning Through Nowhere.

The first song we recorded was my ode to a boring evening...better known as "Sit & Spin." It came out really well in a bizarre mixture of folk and some modern studio effects. Song #2 was a quickie, that I had been questioning how to arrange. We basically accidentally happened upon the guitar effect we ended up using, and recorded "Too Little, Too Late" in about 30 minutes with just a guitar and some echoed vocals. It basically sounds exactly like it did when I played it live for Ryan who had never heard the song until tonight.

So, it was fantastic start to the sessions for this new record, and I can't wait until I can get some people to listen to the music we're making now. In the mean time, keep checking back right here as I continue to chronicle the making of this record.

See ya, stay in touch!

Be cool - lots of love to everyone!

MAL 

5.15.04 - message - matt
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What's up guys?

Ryan just finished up an intense stretch at work, and I just finished up a very tough semester of college, and in both cases I think we came out pretty well. Anyway, we're gonna get going on this record in another week or two...still with the hope of having it finished sometime in August. We have, at this point, about 21 songs that at least will get a second look before we cut them from the record. We're going to try to get to as many of them as possible.

As for me personally, with school done for the year, I'm back in Louisville for the summer, but on my last night in Richmond, KY for the year I wrote what I think is one of the better songs I've ever written. I guess you could call it this record's "Semi-Sweet" even if it is thematically very different. It's called "Left You Behind," and it's just one of those songs that I can't wait to get in the studio and work with.

Keep checking back for updates, and eventually we'll have a preview song online hopefully.

God Bless!

I'll stay in touch, and all of you should drop us a line!

MAL