Status: I try to update once a week :) comment please
Letters
"Did You Just...?"
Once the album recorded, they started working on everything else. The visual, the publicity, even the price. It took them a long time to decide how much they would sell it. The whole thing was costing them a lot, since they weren't touring while making the album. So they would like to sell it a little more than an usual album, just to have money back. But at the same time, it wouldn't be sell like an OMAM album, and it only had 7 songs...
For the visual of the album, they asked people they knew. Eli was the one to have the idea of the cover: the ring Alan was wearing around his neck all the time, the one he had given to Zoey for her birthday. The picture was all black, with only the ring on the right corner of the picture. Eli had rested it on a table covered in black, to do that. There was a light spot illumining it, from the top left corner and since the background was also black, the light beam was apparent. The blue stone of the ring, a Turquoise, was the only color of the picture, since the ring itself was silver. The ring was facing the camera, so only half of the stone was lighted up, creating nice shadows. On the right top corner, Alan's signature was printed in a dark grey ink, just clear enough so you could see it clearly on the black background. The three A's next to each other, as if it had been written with a sharpie. In the middle, in a pretty clear grey font, "Haze Beads" was written. It was the name they had chosen. They felt like it suited well the album, as if each song had been a bead, put together, but all different, and somehow mysterious.
Most of the visual would be black, on this record. The jacket was a plastic one, the most basic one. They didn't have much money, and honestly, they didn't see the importance of having a cover in plastic, or in cardboard. But they still wanted to have a small book in it.
On the back, there would be the list of all but one song. The very last one, by Alan alone. it didn't have any name, and none of them knew how to call this song. So, they had chosen to let it, without any name. That way, the back cover was listing:
1.Fuck Off
2.Petite Dress
3.Back home
4.Grey Sky
5.Freedom
6.Last Ambition
7.The Squirrel And The Tree
8.
It was written in grey, on a black background. It was really simple, almost empty. But they felt like it suited well the record: it was just Alan's feeling without much artifices.
On the CD itself, the ring was printed, huge, right in the middle.
The booklet contained all the lyrics, as well as the thanks. There were a lot of people in that part, even if Alan was the only one to have wrote it.
The thanks went that way: For first, thanks to the guys in my band, Aaron, Austin, Phil, and Tino. Thanks for agreeing to work on this album with me. I want to thank also the most important: Sandra, my parents, but also Justin, Eli, Carol, Amanda, Jenna, Anouk. Thanks to anyone who worked on the album, thanks to everyone who brought this. Thanks to Sheryl and Jerry. Thanks to anyone who opened their arms to me, at any point of my life. Thanks to Zoey. You created my life as I know it right now, thanks also for Katelynn. You will never be forgotten. Thanks to you, who is reading this. Without you, I would not be who I am now. Thank you.
Finally, they finished the album, on April the 25th. They were all happy with every songs, with every details of the album. They only had to wait to have the CDs printed. That would take about two weeks. So they decided that they would start the selling two weeks later, on the 10th may.
They published it everywhere, trying to get it a little known. Then, by the end of April, they publied a song. They choose Back Home. Many fans liked it, even if some kept complaining because it wasn't like OMAM. But no one really cared about those.
During all this time, Alan was staying with Katelynn. She was the best baby ever. He was playing with her everyday. He even brought her to studio one day, so she could see all the instruments. She was fascinated by the drums, much to Tino's pleasure. He took her on his knees let her play on his drums. She was more used to guitar, because she was used to see Alan playing.
during the week waiting for the album to be done, Alan stayed home most of the time, just playing with her.
She was laying on his bed, on her back, while he was hovering over her, resting his weight on his forearms. He esquimo-kissed her, and she laughed. He kissed both of her cheeks. She put her hand on his cheek.
"Paaaaa" She tried to say.
"Yes! Papa" He told her, showing her.
"Paahaa"
"You can do it!" he cheered kissing her nose. She was almost saying small words now. And she was already talkative: She was faking discussion with sounds.
She tried again, but is wasn't really close. Alan sighed, and rested on his side, next to her. In the warmth of his room, she was only wearing her diaper. She looked so cute to him. Her red hair were going everywhere, much like his own. He was such in deep observation, that he almost didn't hear her. Almost.
"Daaada"
Alan's eyes went wide. He turned to her.
"Did you just...?"
"Dadaa"
He covered her face with kisses, as she repeated over and over the nickname. His heart was running in his chest. Katelynn wasn't stupid, she knew her dad loved hearing those two syllabus so she was repeating them, to see him smile, and kiss her.
After fifteen minutes, listening to her word, Alan ended up taking his phone and calling the first person in his repertory. Aaron.
"Hey, Al, how are..."
"SHE JUST SAID HER FIRST WORD!" Alan shouted, laughing and smiling.
"Really?!" Aaron shouted back. "What was it?!"
"Dada!" Alan turned to Katelyn, who was observing him. "Come on, say it again." He asked her, his voice much softer.
She made some noise, no 'Dada'. Alan pouted. "Come in baby girl, say it. Dada" he showed her, pointing at himself.
"Dada" she repeated.
"You heard? you heard?" Alan asked in the phone, overtaken by joy and excitement.
"Yeah, I did." Aaron said, amuses by his friend's happiness.
"I'll call the other!" And with that he hung up, not leaving any time for Aaron to answer.
Then went Austin, who was almost as excited as Alan. Then Justin, his mom, Phil, Tino, and Sandra. He even ended up recording her first word while filming her, and posting it on internet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the album was out, it sold a lot, and fast. The album rose a lot of question about Alan's life. As much as he wanted to answer, he didn't felt comfortable. How could he open his heart out, talking to someone he never met? And who to choose? He knew the interview would be over-viewed, so the interviewer would probably make money.... How could be choose? And how could he know the person would be nice, and not ask too much?
He shared his thoughts with the guys, and that's where the idea of Sandra being the interviewer. It would just help Alan talk and be easier than it would be if it was someone he didn't know.
So Alan and his sister sat on his apartment, him on the couch, with in front of him a camera they had borrowed to a friend. They had talked, and prepared the questions, on what he would say.
"You ready, bro?" She smiled to him.
"Yeah, Let's do this!"
She turned the camera on, and sat down next to him, the microphone in her had. She took a deep breath, before starting. "Hello, everyone, I'm here with Alan, for his very own Youtube channel." She turned to him. "So, Alan, how did the release of the album went?"
"Good, I wasn't expecting so many people buying it! It seems like people are really liking it, I'm really glad."
"Maybe it was because of how they identified to it. I mean, the album is heavy with meaning, it's obvious, so maybe that's what people like."
"I guess it is. Music that has been made with sense, with meaning, made by someone who loves music is always more likable than music made by someone who only wants money."
"So money is not the key of the album, right?" She smiled. It was going well.
"Not at all. The producing, mastering, printing... We all payed for it, and honestly I don't think the sell of the CD will ever repay it. I want to thanks the guys for that, I would never have been able to do that album with their help, on a musical level, of course, but on an economical one, too."
"So this album was made together?"
"Kind of, we did like we usually do, but the difference was that I took more decisions, even if it was weird. and I also wrote every song, even if they helped me."
"You did every song?"
"Yes, I decided to put on songs my feelings... King of like a therapy, you know? Some people are painting, or doing whatever they like, I did this album."
"Really? This are all your feelings? Then I'm really wondering about what they mean. I guess most of the fans are too."
"Well..." He searched for words. "It's the story of my life, at least of the last three years or so of my life. I needed this album... As a therapy" He laughed. "I'm rambling about the therapy thing, but it's true, I lived difficult things. It wasn't even my idea. The guys came to me and was like 'you feeling sad? Make an album with this!' And I agreed."
"I'm sorry but some of the songs seems... Really depressive, so, are you okay?" She sounded truly worried.
"Yes, yes, I am, but... i guess it's story time!" He dryly laughed. "So, You all know about my girlfriend, Zoey?" Sandra nodded. "We were together for over two years... And then she got pregnant."
"Congrats!" Sandra smiled. She was just acting as if she didn't know anything.
"Yeah, well, it wasn't so happy. In fact, it was a pretty sad news. She... She had a sickness in her heart, kind of like Austin's in fact. Her heart wouldn't take a surgery, it was too weak. They could have tried to fix it, but since she was already pregnant, that meant possibly loosing the baby. And she refused. So she got through the months of pregnancy, already loving the little girl who was growing there. But her heart didn't make it. She gave birth, and her heart stopped." His voice was low, and he wasn't looking at the camera neither than at Sandra. she had sad eyes, and had tears in her eyes.
"So yeah, I had a pretty hardcore time, getting through all of this... Now I got Katelynn, you probably already seen her on internet. She's what keeps me sane, now. But at first it was hard. That's why I feel into drugs, that's why I left Of Mice And Men... It was really hard. It took time, but I'm coming back."
"That's... A lot." She said. He nodded. "So can we know more about Katelynn?" She asked, slightly changing the subject.
"Of course!" His face lit up at her mention. "She's the best! I dunno if you've seen, but she said her first word some days ago!" He grinned. "She's so awesome and she's..."
Sandra smiled at her brother's rambling. He was always happy when it comes to Katelynn. She was his life, now.
For the visual of the album, they asked people they knew. Eli was the one to have the idea of the cover: the ring Alan was wearing around his neck all the time, the one he had given to Zoey for her birthday. The picture was all black, with only the ring on the right corner of the picture. Eli had rested it on a table covered in black, to do that. There was a light spot illumining it, from the top left corner and since the background was also black, the light beam was apparent. The blue stone of the ring, a Turquoise, was the only color of the picture, since the ring itself was silver. The ring was facing the camera, so only half of the stone was lighted up, creating nice shadows. On the right top corner, Alan's signature was printed in a dark grey ink, just clear enough so you could see it clearly on the black background. The three A's next to each other, as if it had been written with a sharpie. In the middle, in a pretty clear grey font, "Haze Beads" was written. It was the name they had chosen. They felt like it suited well the album, as if each song had been a bead, put together, but all different, and somehow mysterious.
Most of the visual would be black, on this record. The jacket was a plastic one, the most basic one. They didn't have much money, and honestly, they didn't see the importance of having a cover in plastic, or in cardboard. But they still wanted to have a small book in it.
On the back, there would be the list of all but one song. The very last one, by Alan alone. it didn't have any name, and none of them knew how to call this song. So, they had chosen to let it, without any name. That way, the back cover was listing:
1.Fuck Off
2.Petite Dress
3.Back home
4.Grey Sky
5.Freedom
6.Last Ambition
7.The Squirrel And The Tree
8.
It was written in grey, on a black background. It was really simple, almost empty. But they felt like it suited well the record: it was just Alan's feeling without much artifices.
On the CD itself, the ring was printed, huge, right in the middle.
The booklet contained all the lyrics, as well as the thanks. There were a lot of people in that part, even if Alan was the only one to have wrote it.
The thanks went that way: For first, thanks to the guys in my band, Aaron, Austin, Phil, and Tino. Thanks for agreeing to work on this album with me. I want to thank also the most important: Sandra, my parents, but also Justin, Eli, Carol, Amanda, Jenna, Anouk. Thanks to anyone who worked on the album, thanks to everyone who brought this. Thanks to Sheryl and Jerry. Thanks to anyone who opened their arms to me, at any point of my life. Thanks to Zoey. You created my life as I know it right now, thanks also for Katelynn. You will never be forgotten. Thanks to you, who is reading this. Without you, I would not be who I am now. Thank you.
Finally, they finished the album, on April the 25th. They were all happy with every songs, with every details of the album. They only had to wait to have the CDs printed. That would take about two weeks. So they decided that they would start the selling two weeks later, on the 10th may.
They published it everywhere, trying to get it a little known. Then, by the end of April, they publied a song. They choose Back Home. Many fans liked it, even if some kept complaining because it wasn't like OMAM. But no one really cared about those.
During all this time, Alan was staying with Katelynn. She was the best baby ever. He was playing with her everyday. He even brought her to studio one day, so she could see all the instruments. She was fascinated by the drums, much to Tino's pleasure. He took her on his knees let her play on his drums. She was more used to guitar, because she was used to see Alan playing.
during the week waiting for the album to be done, Alan stayed home most of the time, just playing with her.
She was laying on his bed, on her back, while he was hovering over her, resting his weight on his forearms. He esquimo-kissed her, and she laughed. He kissed both of her cheeks. She put her hand on his cheek.
"Paaaaa" She tried to say.
"Yes! Papa" He told her, showing her.
"Paahaa"
"You can do it!" he cheered kissing her nose. She was almost saying small words now. And she was already talkative: She was faking discussion with sounds.
She tried again, but is wasn't really close. Alan sighed, and rested on his side, next to her. In the warmth of his room, she was only wearing her diaper. She looked so cute to him. Her red hair were going everywhere, much like his own. He was such in deep observation, that he almost didn't hear her. Almost.
"Daaada"
Alan's eyes went wide. He turned to her.
"Did you just...?"
"Dadaa"
He covered her face with kisses, as she repeated over and over the nickname. His heart was running in his chest. Katelynn wasn't stupid, she knew her dad loved hearing those two syllabus so she was repeating them, to see him smile, and kiss her.
After fifteen minutes, listening to her word, Alan ended up taking his phone and calling the first person in his repertory. Aaron.
"Hey, Al, how are..."
"SHE JUST SAID HER FIRST WORD!" Alan shouted, laughing and smiling.
"Really?!" Aaron shouted back. "What was it?!"
"Dada!" Alan turned to Katelyn, who was observing him. "Come on, say it again." He asked her, his voice much softer.
She made some noise, no 'Dada'. Alan pouted. "Come in baby girl, say it. Dada" he showed her, pointing at himself.
"Dada" she repeated.
"You heard? you heard?" Alan asked in the phone, overtaken by joy and excitement.
"Yeah, I did." Aaron said, amuses by his friend's happiness.
"I'll call the other!" And with that he hung up, not leaving any time for Aaron to answer.
Then went Austin, who was almost as excited as Alan. Then Justin, his mom, Phil, Tino, and Sandra. He even ended up recording her first word while filming her, and posting it on internet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the album was out, it sold a lot, and fast. The album rose a lot of question about Alan's life. As much as he wanted to answer, he didn't felt comfortable. How could he open his heart out, talking to someone he never met? And who to choose? He knew the interview would be over-viewed, so the interviewer would probably make money.... How could be choose? And how could he know the person would be nice, and not ask too much?
He shared his thoughts with the guys, and that's where the idea of Sandra being the interviewer. It would just help Alan talk and be easier than it would be if it was someone he didn't know.
So Alan and his sister sat on his apartment, him on the couch, with in front of him a camera they had borrowed to a friend. They had talked, and prepared the questions, on what he would say.
"You ready, bro?" She smiled to him.
"Yeah, Let's do this!"
She turned the camera on, and sat down next to him, the microphone in her had. She took a deep breath, before starting. "Hello, everyone, I'm here with Alan, for his very own Youtube channel." She turned to him. "So, Alan, how did the release of the album went?"
"Good, I wasn't expecting so many people buying it! It seems like people are really liking it, I'm really glad."
"Maybe it was because of how they identified to it. I mean, the album is heavy with meaning, it's obvious, so maybe that's what people like."
"I guess it is. Music that has been made with sense, with meaning, made by someone who loves music is always more likable than music made by someone who only wants money."
"So money is not the key of the album, right?" She smiled. It was going well.
"Not at all. The producing, mastering, printing... We all payed for it, and honestly I don't think the sell of the CD will ever repay it. I want to thanks the guys for that, I would never have been able to do that album with their help, on a musical level, of course, but on an economical one, too."
"So this album was made together?"
"Kind of, we did like we usually do, but the difference was that I took more decisions, even if it was weird. and I also wrote every song, even if they helped me."
"You did every song?"
"Yes, I decided to put on songs my feelings... King of like a therapy, you know? Some people are painting, or doing whatever they like, I did this album."
"Really? This are all your feelings? Then I'm really wondering about what they mean. I guess most of the fans are too."
"Well..." He searched for words. "It's the story of my life, at least of the last three years or so of my life. I needed this album... As a therapy" He laughed. "I'm rambling about the therapy thing, but it's true, I lived difficult things. It wasn't even my idea. The guys came to me and was like 'you feeling sad? Make an album with this!' And I agreed."
"I'm sorry but some of the songs seems... Really depressive, so, are you okay?" She sounded truly worried.
"Yes, yes, I am, but... i guess it's story time!" He dryly laughed. "So, You all know about my girlfriend, Zoey?" Sandra nodded. "We were together for over two years... And then she got pregnant."
"Congrats!" Sandra smiled. She was just acting as if she didn't know anything.
"Yeah, well, it wasn't so happy. In fact, it was a pretty sad news. She... She had a sickness in her heart, kind of like Austin's in fact. Her heart wouldn't take a surgery, it was too weak. They could have tried to fix it, but since she was already pregnant, that meant possibly loosing the baby. And she refused. So she got through the months of pregnancy, already loving the little girl who was growing there. But her heart didn't make it. She gave birth, and her heart stopped." His voice was low, and he wasn't looking at the camera neither than at Sandra. she had sad eyes, and had tears in her eyes.
"So yeah, I had a pretty hardcore time, getting through all of this... Now I got Katelynn, you probably already seen her on internet. She's what keeps me sane, now. But at first it was hard. That's why I feel into drugs, that's why I left Of Mice And Men... It was really hard. It took time, but I'm coming back."
"That's... A lot." She said. He nodded. "So can we know more about Katelynn?" She asked, slightly changing the subject.
"Of course!" His face lit up at her mention. "She's the best! I dunno if you've seen, but she said her first word some days ago!" He grinned. "She's so awesome and she's..."
Sandra smiled at her brother's rambling. He was always happy when it comes to Katelynn. She was his life, now.