life in the catacombs

Wings to the Sun

2008-07-25T07:21:00.002-04:00

...listening to a song we recorded during Blanket Sky. I suggested axing it from the final cut... it sounds good right now.... I want to say I regret my suggesting it, but you know how these things go...

G

refreshed

2008-07-19T21:41:00.004-04:00

Every summer we go to a hum free zone in Quebec. A pretty incredible man, named Scott built the cabin we stay in. It is beautiful. Feel free to check out his book.

It is truly a majestic place.

Back to the grindstone.

G

Cd Release review

2008-07-08T15:48:00.005-04:00

Here is a review of our set at The Horseshoe back in February courtesy of DEMO magazine.

El Mocambo

2008-07-06T23:15:00.003-04:00

It blinked when you blinked last night at El Mocambo.

The crowd was awesome. The Party bus from KW was out in full force. The Elmo and it's staff were super friendly. (Thank you Yvonne for having us!). Epigramme and Make Your Exit were both excellent as well.

We love you all.

Toronto - see you in the fall.

I've posted a few pictures taken by the lovely Anamaria D. Enjoy.

- Oberson

5:09am

2008-07-02T05:08:00.002-04:00

rob says:

.. can just focus on the where the songs came from.. now that they aren't coming from somewhere so desperate

oberson says:

I wrote this song when I got home from work and wanted to kill myself.

rob says:

exactly

oberson says:

"That man is der."anged

IT BLINKS WHEN YOU BLINK

2008-06-25T18:56:00.004-04:00

On July 5th we are showcasing at El Mocambo in Toronto. We hit the stage at 11pm.

Make Your Exit and Epigramme will be sharing the stage with us.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the door the night of the show.

For those of you in KW - the party bus will be up and running. It departs from Waterloo Town Square (behind Angie's Kitchen/Duke of Wellington) at 8pm sharp. Tickets are $15.

It's fun, green and affordable. What could be better?

In other news: 'The 5th of November' has been chosen as the first single from 'At the Command of the Blanket Sky'. What the fuck is a single to an indie band? Well... stay tuned and you'll find out.

Best,

Greg

It's not everyday two men share an apple...

2008-06-18T16:11:00.003-04:00

I am going to try to keep my shit together on this one...

We have been playing music together for a long time…and we have been friends for even longer. Some people find it hard to work with their friends and I understand that completely.

But playing music is a remarkable thing… and for some it’s the only thing… It is up there with breathing.

Playing as long as we have, we have met a lot of bands and individuals and it’s a rare moment in time when you meet people that actually understand your dynamics as a band and as friends.

One night in Montreal we met a group of guys that were not just remarkable musicians but incredible friends.

After being rocked off the stage, and them not taking no for an answer to crashing for the night, beer was had… (A lot of beer)…jokes were said, and more friendships were made.

We had to repay this favour by bringing them down to play our neck of the woods and drink some more beer… of course.

If you are reading this and you were lucky enough to see Fox Fraser play, then you saw what we saw… amazing musicians, amazing songs, amazing people and a band of friends.

Vacuity will miss you Sean,
Rest in Peace

foxfraser.ca

www.myspace.com/foxfraser

what's the fucking point???

2008-06-11T15:02:00.001-04:00

it's all bullshit anyways.

these are strange times indeed

2008-06-09T02:14:00.010-04:00

Blog references in real life make for interesting conversation. Very cool to know a lot of people read 'life in the catacombs'.

Happy 1 year Qatalyst. Thanks for the party. Can't wait for year two.

Our set at Non Violence was unfortunately canceled. Mother nature and her rain have bested us this time. I would suggest some sort of violent reaction is necessary, but that would contradict the whole Non Violence theme. We can instead be thankful for the hydration.

In constant limbo,

Greg

Grad House

2008-06-06T05:41:00.003-04:00

Thanks for giving us a sweet night KW. It's always good to play the homebase.

Now go bitch at Sexdwarf to finish their fucking record.

g

Y108

2008-06-04T23:54:00.003-04:00

Hey all,

If you missed the interview on Y108 with McFee, you can download it here.

Andre mentioned that out of all the bands they have had on 'Get Hammered' he had by far had the most requests for Vacuity.

Do you know what that means?

It means that you guys fucking rule.

Thanks.

Love ya.

Greg

Grad House rehearsals

2008-06-04T16:13:00.009-04:00

We're playing at The Grad House this Thursday with our friends SEXDWARF and CHILDEBEAST.

Rehearsal. Count those strings.

Some kind of monster frequents Purgatory.

Us Juicin' it up in front of an SUV limo.

More ducks. This time alive.

Y108 will be airing a short interview with McFee tonight at 1130. Tune in.

demos

2008-05-28T19:12:00.001-04:00

Greg and The Animal Kingdom

2008-05-28T03:08:00.003-04:00

So Dude.....what's with you and all the dead animals? First the duck....now the bird? I seriously hope you have nothing to do with the deaths of these animals... We have already been down this road...and we are not going down it again. Leave the creatures alone....you're sick.

Get some sleep.
p.

baby bird and hungry cat

2008-05-26T22:31:00.004-04:00

Today Rob, Emeri and I we were setting up microphones to record a few demos. We're working on a bunch of material - all of it resting somewhere between a wide spectrum of complete and incomplete. Paul wasn't with us as he was checking out a Rickenbacker bass in Mississauga. He loved it, but it was not meant to be so he didn't end up purchasing it.

At one point during the day. I had to head back home to grab a pair of headphones for the session. I hoped onto my ebike (I'm soooo fucken progressive) and set off down the street. After about 10 feet I noticed a bird on the road, directly in my path. Seeing as it wasn't about to move I slammed on the brakes and almost spilled the bike. My father would kill me for doing that, but it was my first reaction.

A closer at the bird. Young and injured. Not going to make it. Movement from the corner of my eye - a cat under the nearest car. Stand in the street looking confused for a few minutes. Guide the bird to the boulevard and let nature run it's course.

G

sunrise vs sunset

2008-05-18T16:11:00.004-04:00

i've been scootering through the park around sunrise everyday this week. always an enjoyable and slightly sureal experience. earlier in the week I didn't see a single car and the world was completely silent. During the night the geese and ducks had made their way close to the edge of the park/road.

I felt like I was cruising through a world where the population of humans had just vanished. That, coupled with all the post apocalyptic novels I've been reading made it quite the ride. I had been watching the park to my left and when I returned my attention to the road I saw a crow feasting on the still steaming breast of a mallard duck. The crow didn't flinch as I passed by, it just met my gaze, and followed.

We keep weird hours. Emeri and I have mused that perhaps there are less brain waves, cell phone signals, etc floating around between 12am-6am. If anyone gives you a hard time about sleeping until 230 in the afternoon just ask them where they were when the sun came up.

g

Red Rooster debrief

2008-05-17T16:02:00.002-04:00

Had a great time at the Red Rooster last night. Everyone at that place is so friendly: crowd, staff, bands, roosters.

Next show is June 5th in Waterloo. A few weeks off to work out some new material will be quite nice.

Cheers!

G

cat got your tongue?

2008-05-16T05:38:00.005-04:00

why dont you comment?

...we have google analytics... we know you read it.

we believe we're not monsters

g

Red Friday

2008-05-14T04:22:00.002-04:00

So we'll be playing The Red Rooster on Friday night. It's always fun and they actually promote bands... yes I said promote.

It's a funny word... "promote." See I am going to try not to go off on a big tangent ...but I am pretty sure everybody knows the meaning of promote. For example... Your birthday is coming up... you host a big party... you tell no one... maybe people who know you enough show up... but that's it. Now say you told people... now do you think this might help the party?

My next question.... say your working title was Wedding Planner and the only actual planning you did was book the hall... now should you have to change your title to something like...um I don't know... Directer of Hall booking? and should you still make the wage of a Wedding Planner?...

See music is a funny industry too...

Anywhooo like I was saying we are at the Rooster on Friday and it'll be a good time had by all. Always a great crowd and if you were around for that crazy Mr. Rogers endeavor... you might have just heard a few new tunes wees bee workin' uprron. Saying that we might end up unleashing these bastard beasts on Friday.

Burlington is fun!!!
give us your money...

p.

Hosed

2008-05-10T14:57:00.009-04:00

Last night we played the Rogers Spring Music Festival. We weren't televised, which was their angle for harassing us to promote like hell, and we were treated with a lot less respect than the other bands we were sharing the stage with. It was your typical crooked bullshit.

I won't go into anymore detail, because I don't like to whine. Needless to say, it was a stressful night.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the shit trenches I lose my head, but once we start playing it all makes sense again. Even with the fire alarm going off for half of our set was charming at that point. Playing to a wicked and enthusiastic crowd is a must too. You guys/gals all rule. We love you and thank you for the support.

BLR Entertainment has promised to make it up to us by guaranteeing us another show with them. Until then, I'll just sit tight and look forward to making them some more money.

Big shout out to Pete the soundman from last night. What a trooper. And as always, thanks to Jamie for bringing his fine visuals to the set.

G

ITodd Lounge

2008-05-05T23:45:00.003-04:00

This past Friday we hung out with Todd Donald from the ITodd Lounge. We talked about Cajun Sauces, Indie Music and a bunch of other stuff. Todd's a cool dude and feel pretty relaxed around him (because we're typically uptight twats, right?).

Click here to check out the live performances and interview. We even convinced Todd to join us for 'Beckoning'.

Also, hassle Todd about releasing his Wilburys cover CD. It's goddamn amazing. The man has played all the synth/key parts using a QWERTY keyboard as a MIDI controller.

Later,

G

The Boat (picture format)

2008-05-02T17:39:00.003-04:00

Rockin' the Boat

2008-05-02T14:50:00.002-04:00

So we all had a great time in Toronto Wednesday night at the Boat. It's a very cool place, we definitely want to go back and kill it on a Friday or Saturday night.
I loved the atmosphere the people... it was great.
I like the idea of not having to fill a 350 capacity venue... and I like to see smaller clubs with great systems and great sound guys (Keith you rocked!)

What didn't rock was me leaving the interior light on in the van trying to get the stereo face plate off.... and later Emeri discovering a dead BABY! ....I mean battery.... oops ;) No good deed goes unpunished.

So we will have some photos up of the night...(Greg please insert photos ....i do not know how)
Thanks again to Jamie the "Video Artist" and his love of Dogs... for doing his thang...and shaken it as well!

Anyways we are gearing up for this Rogers Spring thing and we need you people to come to this thing and look pretty while we play an acoustic/electric set on this prehistoric device they call a television set. Yes you read this right... Vacuity on TV...

Come one, come all... get your ugly mug on Satan's Box and see us! May 9th at the Casbah, Hamilton.

P.S ....iTodd interview coming sooooooon....
p.

5th of Nov day 2

2008-04-21T02:30:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we constructed a 12x12 blue screen frame, reorganized the hell out of our band hall, and setup/tested gear for a music video that the fabled Jamie Usas is making for us for the song, 'the 5th of november'.

Today we captured the footage. A very long, but also very productive weekend. Will keep you posted on the arrival of the finished product.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the 'talking' as I am on the brink of collapse.

Night.

G

5th of nov day one

2008-04-20T01:55:00.004-04:00