The Process

It don't come easy, this creating things thing. Oh sure, slap a guitar on me and I'll write three new songs before you can say "supernumerary dishtowel". The music part, that is. But the words part, that's harder. Finding the emotion, the pattern or sometimes just the patter, the jibber-jabber that brings those threshing chords alive, that takes some serious work. And then there's working up the music, building a song that's more than some jangles and a tremulous voice.

I wrote my last blog post when we were starting work on our new EP. That was in August. It's now December. That time just got sucked up like a whirly-gig cow, all moos and spastic limbs in a tornado's tumult. Except I barely noticed the time slip away. Three months later, the work's grown, deeper, broader. What started as a 3-song demo is now a cool dozen tracks in various gestative states, this one nearly fully formed, that one a speck scarcely visible to the human eye, with all variations between. But they're not frozen, preserved, floating in jars just yet. These babies are in flux.

We're working on a track "Young Love" that's gonna be pretty cool. But damn if we don't change the opening to the song every day. Subtle variations, pulling things in and out like a manic switchboard operator. We're booked for mastering in about 10 days, and there's a crazy amount of detail to sort out, just for four little songs. Striving for masterpieces in miniature, that's the beauty of pop music.

I'm really looking forward to sharing these songs. They're epic, personal, charged and meticulous. Zack's drumming is urgent and intense, Marc's production layered and rich. If you haven't already, check out the demo for "Desdemona" at our MySpace Now if we can just glue those last corners in place, go easy on the sprinkles, and get some fucking music out there. Sweet Jesus it's about time. It's always about time.

Men at Work

Well it's been awhile, I know. Things have been seeming quiet in Sneydville. But trust me there's work afoot, under the surface, out of view. Zack's back from his tour with the Kelly Girls, and Marc's cleared the decks, and the three of us are cobbling together our new musicology. There's some new tracks coming, and a few extra surprises along the way. These are going to be some pretty wicked songs, which is all I have to say about that for now.

I'm not in the habit of posting drafts, but I can't resist posting a peep here and there. Here's a spate of lyrics to tide ya, for a number called "The Defiant Ones":

No way home
The crossroads they came
And they showed me the way
But they faded before I could see

Once we were whole
But it seems like a dream
That fades with the rain
A chill morning that beats on the glass
A face from the past

Turn your back
Just leave me alone
With the blood on the floor
My footsteps will stain every door
Through which I pass

I've paid for my crimes
And served a lifetime
But I can't forget all I've done
I've laid at your feet
And I've prayed for relief
But nothing can change what I feel
The cold steel of love

We've made our beds
Now let's sleep for all time
Drown our sorrows with wine
Forget there was even a word
Forget

I've paid for my crimes
And served a lifetime
But I can't change the man I've become
I've laid at your feet
And I've prayed for relief
There's no breaking this bond, no release
From the cold steel of love

The Toronto One-Timer

Tomorrow night on Thursday, June 4th we'll be playing our only Toronto gig this summer. Gonna be a wicked night at Lee's Palace, with the Watters Brothers and Ladybird opening, and Exxxtra Juicy closing it down. We're on at 11pm, doors at 9pm and cover's $5.

After that we're playing a few more shows through the golden horseshoe. And then drummer Zack Mykula hops on the bus with Kelly and the Kelly Girls for an extended Canadian and UK tour through July and August. We'll miss Zackula Thundersticks, but we'll be hard at work without him, tracking in the studio with Marc Koecher for our fall release. The new tracks we're working on are pretty fantastic. The moody sweep of the Salvo EP is still there, but we're bringing more verve and crackling energy to these songs. They're gonna be pretty damn cool.

So if you're in Toronto, don't miss tomorrow night's gig. We're working a couple of different things into the set - it's gonna be a blast!

"Fightsong" video online now!

From Paul Thompson, the director of "The Prisoner" video, comes our latest for "Fightsong". A great vid of a couple's relationship unraveling, the story's told backward a la Memento. Lensed by Juan Montalvo and shot on a high-end RED Camera, it features the full band plus a sexy debut from Deniz Reno. There's even two different cameos from Elena Vardon, star of "The Prisoner" vid. See if you can find her!

Salvo Review on Fazer

Some fine words for the new EP! Check it out here.

HomeGrown Video show

Airing in New York City, and now syndicated to the Dish Network! Fun little interview over the waves we did with this show, featuring me and the band, and Elena Vardon from "The Prisoner" video.

The Best of HomeGrown - Luke Sneyd and the Deed Interview

Making “Fightsong”: The Shootist’s Adventure

Alright. No shootists were involved. Although I suppose you could say I was a shootee.

We shot the video for “Fightsong” on Friday, March 13th (not being a superstitious lot). The video was a great chance for Paul Thompson and I to renew our Martini MacGuffin film collaboration. Paul shot my first video, for “The Prisoner”, and together we’ve made a few short films with him directing, and me throwing words together in a semblance of writing.

The “Fightsong” concept is pretty cool. The song’s a moody, apocalyptic love-song. In the video, we watch a relationship unraveling as a musician (that’d be me) succumbs to the trappings of success. Except that the scenes play like Irreversible or Memento, occurring in reverse. So we begin with me alone in my now empty apartment, and work our way backward through the relationship in crisis to happier days to when the couple first views the apartment together. The video’s being edited right now, but that’s what we’re going for, and I think we got it.

We had a lot of luck getting the video off the ground, and got to work with a bunch of great people and familiar faces. Juan Montalvo was our cinematographer, back after lensing our short Quarantine. Album producer Marc Koecher joined my bandmates Scott Hannigan and Zack Mykula to round out the onscreen band. And Elena Vardon, featured in “The Prisoner” video, was a huge help, connecting us up with both the studio where we shot the film (Walnut Studio), and our gorgeous leading lady, Deniz Maria Reno. A great bunch of friends and newly cast strangers rounded out our cast, and the crew was capable, efficient and a pleasure to work with. Our art director Rahema Mohamed did a wonderful job creating the apartment, with much help and driving around from Carmela Versace.

The capper was the Red Camera Paul managed to lay hands on through David Woods. That thing is a **monster**, a magnificent, gleaming black beast with a resolution vastly superior to Blu-Ray. Geeks can feast on its specs here. That camera alone will lend the video incredible cinematic depth and luster.

The shoot was long, brutal and loads of fun. Of course we blew out the power in the studio at one point, frying some fuses in a terrifying old-school circuit box. By fluke, one of our extras was an electrician’s assistant, and helped us to track down the right fuses to replace, which Carm, ever intrepid, had to source at 11pm on a Friday.

In the party and photo-shoot scenes, energy and exuberance were in abundance, fuelled by a little of the ol’ alkey-haul, natch! The people that came out fell right into the spirit(s) of the shoot, and had themselves a blast. Can’t thank them enough for being part of it.

The couple scenes played really well, too. It’s strange, falling into instant intimacy with someone you barely know. But Deniz was a beautiful trooper, and I managed my acting neophyte status the best way I knew, with fits of blazing dorkiness.

The band played great – so what if half of it was pantomime? One of the night’s many magic moments that stood out for me was a scene we shot in the wee hours, when the band was working out “Fightsong” as if for the first time. Scott hunkered on his bass and Zack took drumming notes (evincing the possibility of consciousness in a drummer!), as I played guitar and Marc the accordion. The accordion’s reedy sound drifted haunting over the strains of the track as we played together, gathered on the couch of my fictitious living room, and sang the song together. A perfect film moment, concocted, artificial, yet for a fleeting moment amazingly moving and real.

With the great contributions we got on Friday, and a generous dollop of luck, “Fightsong” will feel the same way.

Now you see it...

So warnings, dear readers, listeners and fellow flies on the wall. Our show at Lee's Palace this Thursday, February 12th has been subjected to a do-over, owing to the Pains of Being Pure Heart taking a bigger venue for their Toronto show. Such are the vagaries of the biz.

But fear not! Luke Sneyd and the Deed bows; we don't break. We've picked up a better night anyway, playing The Silver Dollar at College and Spadina (486 Spadina Ave.) on Saturday, February 21st. Take that frown and turn it upside down, and fill it up with liquid jubilation, 'cause we're gonna break out the new tracks and the old tracks and shake it up till it spritzes all over the stage like hot champagne. (This metaphor's really goin' places I wasn't plannin' on....) Cover's $5, and doors are at 10pm. If you're feelin' Facebooky, visit us here. Come spend the weekend with us. We'll make you breakfast in the morning.

Rok Boutique Tonight - The Heavens Pour Forth Their Frigid Wonder

Yeah. Gigging in the Canuck freeze is always interesting. We're playing Rok Boutique in Toronto tonight, as yet another snow-storm wallops the city. Thankfully this is a hometown gig, so not much running around, and no 401 white-out terror waiting. The show will be a bit different - we're doing an acoustic night with Ryan Christopher, so we'll be kicking off the set with a few purely acoustic numbers. Seeing as we do love it loud, though, we'll be plugging in before the night is done for that full-blown Luke Sneyd and the Deed sound.

Had a great time last night with Rob Spence on SirHijack's the Show at IndieLove.ca radio. Zack and I were in the studio, chatting about recording the Salvo EP and gearing up for what should be a frenetic spring. The best were the constant bleeps and bloops as Rob's various IM windows kept going off during the interview - that man can multitask! I should have a copy of the interview in a few days, which I'll post to the Luke Sneyd Facebook page.

Don't let the billowing frosties keep ya down! Hitch up the huskies, or just make sure there's enough juice in your iPod for that slow streetcar ride. Rok Boutique's at 200 Bathurst, just north of Queen, doors at 9pm, cover's $6.

IndieLove.ca tonight!

On my way to appear on Sir Hijack Rob Spence's show on Internet radio http:// www.indielove.ca tonight. Gonna be on with Zack playing tracks old and new, around 9pm EST.

Fudagraphed

We went in for a photoshoot with Joe Fuda today. Had ourselves a blast! His notion was to have us running in place, making for an imaginary chase scene. I had to be gingerly about it - I had a spot of minor back surgery last week, getting a lipoma removed from near my spine - and I'm very much still on the mend. (A lipoma, if you don't know, is an innocuous fat cyst, that hurts like a sonofabitch if it has the bad taste to take up residence in a crappy place in your body. Fucker.) So I found myself in the studio, bouncing up and down in place to "Always on the Run" (Joe was carrying the theme as far as he could), paying careful mind to every twitch and twinge emanating from my bandaged-up stitches. A rough, unedited sample of the work in progress is here. he got some great shots of Zack and Scott, too.

He also wanted to do an outdoor sequence with us in vintage snowsuits, but sadly, the shop he'd seen them in the day before was now sold out. Guess there was a run on 70s frigid-wear - go figure!

Really looking forward to the finished results, coming later this week. Might end up as part of the Salvo EP package. We shall see....

Salvo EP Preview Vid

Yes ladeez and gents, the Salvo EP is in the can, and trickling through the virtual ether. The follow-up to All of Us Cities features five expansive and melodic new tracks. We're also introducing the live band The Deed on the EP, adding some extra bang and thump to the proceedings. Luke, drummer Zack Mykula, bassist Scott Hannigan, and studio whiz Marc Koecher are all here in this clip of our time in the studio, set to the instrumental rumblings of "Hadron and the Supercollider".