Author: nelson

One of the more bizarre instruments that we hope to use in our recording sessions is the Smigel Styrofoam Soprano Guitar, created by Nelson’s friend Mr. Smigel, possibly by accident. This guitar can be tuned up to an octave higher than a regular guitar without any ill effects, but we usually tune it only 7 half-steps higher than normal. As the name implies, it uses large styrofoam crates as resonators, producing an odd lo-fi sound that we enjoy.

If you want to hear the SSSG in action, check out the original jam that Nelson recorded, and then the remix that Karen made called Regret (lyrics), which will probably end up on the official album in some form, perhaps after some re-writing and re-recording.

I went to an open mike night at the Folk Project several weeks ago to play some WSoD songs, and they were nice enough to record my performance for me and send me the DVD. I finally got the video up on Revver, so if you’re curious feel free to give it look ^_^ Here’s the flash version:

If you hate Flash, you can try downloading the Quicktime file instead.

I played Flight / Crossing the Bar, Contained, and Break Free… I’ll have to see what other songs I can polish for public consumption. This was my first public performance in a while, so I was a little nervous! I also didn’t retune my guitar properly for Break Free, I’ll just use an electronic tuner in the future to make sure I get it right the first time around from now on. I hope to play more open mikes in the near future so that I can get used to playing live again, ideally together with more WSoD members 😉

This picture was taken, ironically, from the “right side” of dawn, in that I actually woke up at 6am to take it instead of staying up all night.

Speaking of the wrong side of dawn, you might want to check out the latest and greatest version of Running Out of Time (version 3 for those who are keeping track), and its updated lyrics:

Light appears at the edge of the sky
It reveals the problem for me
It’s just what somebody looking toward his day should see.
I see it now, from the other side; I’m about to go to sleep.
Got nothing done today but I’m thinking maybe sometime next week…

No sooner did I make that last unpromising post than I found myself recording some more music with Brian, and planning to book time in a studio for the first week of January. Hopefully sometime over the next semester we will find a @#$%ing drummer!

Until then, check out this new demo song that we have uploaded:

* The Grinder’s Tale – An old recording of one of Brian’s songs that finally got vocals. I’m kind of proud of the piano part I wrote for it, and I really like the main guitar riff… it’s a lot of fun, both to play and to listen to ^_^ That said, we didn’t always manage to stay on the beat, and the song does drag out a bit in parts… it could use a little condensing and re-recording. I’m not putting it on the “demo CD” right now, at the moment it’s a “bonus track” on our download page.

Unfortunately, I must deliver the sad news that Wrong Side of Dawn is on hiatus for the indefinite future. Karen has flown home to Minnesota, and Brian is preparing for law school, and it is uncertain how long I (Nelson) will be in the area myself. We will all no doubt continue to write, play and record music separately, but geographical distance, time constraints and lack of a drummer conspired to make our goal of recording together in a professional recording studio this summer impossible. (Ironically, a drummer finally responded to our Craigslist ad two days ago, but it was too late.)

We will probably continue to use this site to document our musical activities, and if we record any more demo tracks they will probably show up here.

Until then, you’ll have to remain satisfied with our demo CD as it stands today.

We’ve stitched together a demo CD from tracks that we’ve recorded individually and a few tracks that we’ve managed to record together… we hope that you like it! Feel free to download the songs and burn a copy for a friend, especially if they play drums or bass and might want to join the band ^_^

UPDATE: Between Brian, who owns and plays bass, and some of our friends who are more talented at bass than he is, we have bass covered. We are still desperately seeking a drummer, and our recording project is permanently stalled until we can find one. Please help us in the drummer search!

Well, back to the drawing board… our tentative bassist Ty picked up a second job and therefore has run out of time to play with us this summer. This means we are once again in the market for both a bassist AND a drummer. We’ll be posting to Craiglist and other forums soon. If you’ve heard our music and liked us, tell your drumming and bassing friends and maybe we can join forces!

Karen Rustad (11:23): What kind of band are we again?
Nelson Pavlosky (11:23): good question
Nelson Pavlosky (11:24): classic rock + punk/ska/emo + whatever you listen to?
Nelson Pavlosky (11:24): or rather whatever you write/sing/play
Karen Rustad (11:24): rock/post-rock/pop?
Nelson Pavlosky (11:24): we cover a lot of territory
Karen Rustad (11:25): Pretty much.
Karen Rustad (11:25): All we need is a rapper…

We had our first practice the weekend before last, and it went pretty well… we recorded a few songs and took some pictures, and generally rocked out. We also discovered the one thing Friends is good for.

Unfortunately, Brian’s in New Brunswick, while Nelson and I are in the western Philly suburbs, so that has been an obstacle to getting practice time in. On our own, though, Nelson and I have been hitting up open mikes in the area. We went to The Coffee Club in Media on Friday, which was a lot of fun — lots of blues-influenced musicians and REALLY good hot chocolate. And on Wednesday we went to Delaware for the first time as we attended Stoney’s open mike in Wilmington. That was a different crowd — as many stand-up comedy acts as musicians, with beer-fueled crude humor. ‘Twas lovely.

We still need to find an open mike that has its own piano, so I can play some of my stuff. Or maybe I just need to haul Nelson’s keyboard around…

In other music news, on Saturday Tryad [Karen’s internet band] officially released “Beauty” as a single. Check it out. The way it’s looking, Tryad’s sophomore album (“Listen”) should be coming out in August or so. Woo!

Cross-posted from Karen’s blog with edits.

If you are a drummer or you know a drummer who lives near Philadelphia or New Brunswick, NJ, and you like our music, please get in touch with us! (just leave a comment or e-mail us at band@wrongsideofdawn.com) Until we have some percussion our rockingness will be sadly curtailed.