The "Why".

As we inch closer to the halfway mark on our kickstarter fundraiser project, I figured it might be the right time to address a question I know a number of our friends and family might be asking themselves which is "why keep doing this?".

Over two years ago, we released our first CD. Did it bring us fortune? No. Did it bring us thousands of fans? No. Did the major labels come calling? Yes. Did anything come from it? No. And yet here we are gearing up to do it all over again.

So why are we doing this?

After the last CD came out, we did have interest from various labels. Interest to the point we got pages of notes from some of the executives, and feedback from some others, that left us looking at our music in ways we hadn't really thought of before. While some of the stuff was shallow record industry stuff we scoffed at (always act single and don't mention girlfriends on stage), some of it hit a nail on the head that we didn't even know needed hitting... which was: it's about songs, songs, songs. We had a CD with a number of good songs on it, and a number of other songs with really good parts... but then we'd go off and do things that were interesting to us as musicians, and not really interesting to an audience member listening. We had a tendency to do things because we thought it would sound cool, not because the song needed it.

When we sat down to look at the songs we had recorded on that CD, we suddenly saw them in a new light... deconstructing and reconstructing the way we played them. The two most popular songs from the CD-- I Do, and Everything & Nothing, remained mostly unchanged. The other songs ended up with new bridges, new solos, and suddenly they fit comfortably along with I Do, and Everything and Nothing.

This then began to bleed over into the new material we were working on. Suddenly we were writing songs with the idea that everything needed to be there for a reason. The songs finally became about every part working together, playing off each other, as one piece, not 5 musicians playing parts.

And the funny thing that happened was... suddenly the band that was playing out in support of the CD... wasn't the band represented on the CD. And it was at that point we realized, we needed to record again.

And this brings us to the "why" question we mentioned about 500 words ago. Before even launching this kickstarter project, and thinking of going into the studio... we had to each go and individually think about why we were doing this, and what this meant to us. For some of us, it was easy. It came down to a quote from Van "the man" Morrison: "When you make music, not doing it is not an option.”

However, the nature of being in a band does take a toll on many other aspects of your life... it's like having a 2nd job with no paycheck really, so friendships suffer, relationships suffer, your free time suffers. For reasons such as this as well as others, we lost Jeff, a founding member of the band.

Personally, I knew that even if I wasn't in this band, I would be sitting at home writing songs, playing to an audience of my girlfriend, or my cat. The idea of not having music is something I couldn't deal with. Music has been an important part of my life since I was younger, and is something that is going to be a part of my life as long as I can still do it. And the fact I can get up on stage with friends, playing music that we've created, and the fact we can play that music for an audience that supports us, no matter how big or small it is... well that is reason enough to keep doing it. That's why.

Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA, 8/15/09

A loud and energetic audience fueled the latest Quiet stop at the Hotel Cafe. The second to last show before Jeff leaves the band saw us leaving the horn section and light up vest behind, but the rambunctious crowd more than made up for it. We rolled out the newer songs with style, and the audience ramped up Another Heartache to an 11 with our forced arena rock moment of shouting "HEY!" on the designated breaks. We got to feel like Green Day for a shining moment. September is just around the corner, with the big farewell to Jeff show, so we'll make sure it's one for the books.

set:

Caravan (Van Morrison)
Come November
Everything and Nothing
Let it Fall
The Company You Keep
One More Chance
On the Sideline
Another Heartache
Live Life Now
Oh Darling! (The Beatles)

Band News

Jeff Kaptain, founding member of the band Plan-R, which eventually became The Quiet, will be leaving the band next month. He's going to be with us for two more shows, so if you haven't rolled out for awhile, you should come on out and say goodbye with us this weekend. The details and a note from Jeff follow:

Jeff's First (of 2) Goodbye Show!

Hotel Cafe - 10PM (sharp)

1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd

Hollywood, CA 90028

21+, $10 cover

And from Jeff:

Hello, Everyone.

I am writing to let you all know that I have made the incredibly difficult decision to leave The Quiet. I am sure many of you who have followed us through the years must know just how hard this decision was for me. However, in looking at my life right now in the broadest possible scope, I am confident that this is the best decision for me to make at this time.

For all of you who have supported the band and the music for the years of my life I have dedicated to it, you have my deepest gratitude for the love and support you have given. I will always consider myself part of The Quiet family, and I don't believe there are better people than the current group of guys to carry on what we all have put so much into.

My final two local shows with the band will be our August 15 and September 12 Hotel Cafe shows. Thank you again for all of your support...looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming shows.

-- Jeff

Gigography - Lestat's, San Diego, 8-5-09

San Diego twice in one year? Christmas came early for The Quiet!

If that was the kind of thing you wanted for Christmas.

By leaving the full band at home, Brendan and Matt ensured that the 5 people in the crowd outnumbered the 2 band members on stage. The loud, appreciative, and small group was treated to a completely earth shattering acoustic debut of the first ever Quiet Wham! cover.

She Will Have Her Way
Torquemada
It Would Be Funny
Everything and Nothing
On the Sideline
Summers Gone
One More Chance
Another Heartache
Careless Whisper (Wham! cover, first time played)

The Hotel Cafe, 7-17-09

We built this show up as if Jesus himself was going to return in the middle of it. Luckily, it was a good show, so no one formed any sort of disappointment/hate mob after the show. Two new songs, and a new cover, a horn section, a backup singer, all mixed in well to create another solid entry in our monthly visits to the Hotel Cafe.

Live Life Now
Torquemada
Stranglehold
I Do
One More Chance
Another Heartache (new, first time played)
On the Sideline
Let it Fall (new, first time played)
Change Your Heart
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel, first time played)

The OC State Fair

Nothing beats rocking out sandwiched between beers of the world, funnel cakes, and a sand sculpture of Weird Al's head. Also, nothing beats following a senior citizen balloon hat contest, and self-censoring anything that remotely resembles a swear word in your songs because there's a family with their little daughter dancing to your music in the front row.

Our good friend Edgar documented the festivities, so we will have pictures and video uploaded soon.

BUTTON BLOG!!! 2.0

In an attempt to have some measurable progress for the band... a Quiet button was placed in the visitors log case at the top of Mount Baden-Powell yesterday at approximately 12:30PM. Now the highest known elevation a Quiet button resides is 9,407 ft above sea level.

Brendan loves it when I post my "Robert Frost, Walden bullshit."

~Matt