All We Need

Hey everyone,

It's been a minute since I've posted. I could write about my life lately, but I'm trying to keep this blog about the music. Today, I have fantastic news.

Bellevue's demo is finished! I haven't really been keeping you all updated about that process, mostly because my head has been pretty wrapped around it and I tend to ramble when I haven't summed everything up. Where should I begin? Walking into this band, I was told they were completing an EP release that was due around November. I have a bit of experience in the recording world, so I offered to help with the process, and simultaneously forgot what happens when I record. You see, a lot of musicians will tell you they are perfectionists, and it's become a bit of a cliche in the entertainment industry to see people like that. I'll admit, I do like things to sound the best they possibly can, but my obsessive side comes out more with regards to leaving a track alone than tweaking every aspect of it. It seems the more I listen to a song, the more layers and possibilities come to mind. I zone in particular areas, and go through about 20 different ways that section could sound, and when I've finally found what I feel works, I realize I've been trying all these different lines for about 15 seconds of the song. I'll go through a bunch of complicated, intricate lines just to end up doing something simple to service the music. The whole concept of making my guitar and melody work musical has been a bit of a challenge, but has made me grow extensively. I'm used to creating searing lead lines and complicated pieces to compliment my fairly flashy approach to music, but this project certainly calls for a new bag of tricks.

Anyways, the majority of the EP was already recorded and had some basic mixes, so I came in right around the time vocals needed to be recorded. I believe Steven would agree with me, that the sessions were a bit exhausting. Not because of a lack of talent or drive, but because I believe we both have rather high expectations for ourselves. Though there were moments of frustration, we managed to retain our sanity and got along much better than previous recording sessions I've been involved with.

After the vocals were finished, I went about the mixing and mastering. Which, to make a long story short, is ridiculous. But I'd like to think that at the end of it all, we came out with some really great stuff. We decided to turn the tracks into a Demo instead of an EP release, as we will be looking for a full-time lead vocalist here in the future.

You can hear the recordings streamed for free here: All We Need Demo
The whole album can be purchased for $3, and we really need all the support we can get. We're planning a tour in the winter and we'd like to do a full release in the Spring, so your contributions will go directly to making those things happen! 

Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Love is love,

-Grant Barnes