Sincere Thanks to You All
I know it has been a while since our last blog… Please accept our humble apology. However, that is no longer the case with this current post – so rejoice dear people.Okay enough of that. We just wanted to take a brief moment to thank every single person who made the release of our All Souls Steppe EP such a success. We obviously would be no where without everyone’s humbling and wonderful support of the arts and general and us specifically – so once again, thank you truly!
Here are a few write ups on the EP:
http://www.thesunshinehousemusic.net/press.php .
Feel free to read and continue to tell your friends about it if you wish. We realize there was initially a bit of confusion with the name your price thing (in which people could and did put $0.00 and just enjoy the free download). Nonetheless, our bad on that and we switched it to just a permanent free download on both our Bandcamp and our Noisetrade page. So again, feel free to continue to spread the word about it if you so desire to friends and family – it will be always be free from here on out. That’s our gift to you, so thanks dear friends.
We have some pretty exciting things coming up for our band, including new pictures, new website, and most importantly new recordings. We are preparing to go in the studio and track out Sound and Small and release it as a streamable single only (sorry – no downloads at this time – we gotta keep you wanting more, right? 
Tracking for Sound and Small begins July 16 and we will release it shortly there after for your (hopeful) enjoyment. We are also taking a step back in booking so many shows to focus our time, efforts and energy on writing for our full length record, which we should hopefully begin tracking by the end of the summer.
We are very excited for everything coming up for us as a band and we hope all of you are with us as well. Again, just to make it perfectly clear, we would be nowhere without the love and support lavished on us by our dear fans, friends and families. So one last time for.. perhaps, posterity sake thank you so.
Feel free to check out our website for updated info on things coming up for us as a band, new music, shows and press. As always, we would truly be honored to hear from anyone, anywhere and anytime – just contact us. Thanks again and you are sincerely loved.
TSH
A Brief Intermission: All Souls Steppe
I am sure you are all itching to hear the next post in the “real page-turner” blog series. All I can say is: dont worry dear friends – its coming.
But first I wanted to take a brief moment and promote/let people know about our brand new website [yes - click the link and it will take you on a magical journey through cyperspace and radiowaves to the website] we just launched (as well as redesigned all of our old social media outlets – myspace, bandcamp, etc…).
We are basically promoting for the release of our 2nd EP – All Souls Steppe. We also have tons of shows coming up and so much else happening. And of course we wouldn’t even be a band if it werent for all of you who listen and support us – so we are eternally thankful to you. Along those lines, we wanted to thank you for listening, so our gift to you is the All Souls Steppe EP will be free for the first 200 downloads (and then only $1 after the first 200). We sincerely hope you all enjoy it and it will be released on June 1. Also, on June 1, we are going to have a small house show at Seth Braverman’s (contact us if you need directions or info on that) to celebrate the release and completion of this EP. That will also be free – so much free stuff.
As I said before we have a lot of shows coming up and would be honored to see you at any that you could make. Several of the shows are free and there are still a couple unannounced shows in the workings. But the next biggest show we have coming up is the Crystal Fire Benefit show at Road 34. Its only $5 and all of the money from door sales will go to the victims of the Crystal Fire that recently occured. That starts at 9pm. Also, the next big show we would love to see you all at, we just recently booked, is June 10 and it is at Everday Joe’s. It should be a wonderful night. We would be honored to see you there if you can make it. As I said earlier we also have our EP release party free June 1, and a few more. Check out the link above and make whatever (if any) you can.
Thank you again so much for your continued love and support. We truly would not be anywhere without all of you – so once more for posterity sake, thank you sincerely.
a real page-turner: color
hi there dear friends. this is part II in the ever-enthralling blog series i started called “A real page-turner.” With this little series if you could elevate it to that level, I was basically asked a while back to discuss some of the seemingly (and usually appropriately) strange, nebulous and ambiguous lyrics that i write. Ostensibly, I am just trying to provide a bit more of a connection for those who listen to our music. with that, I hope you enjoy part II: color . (by the by, a guy approached us a while back who makes youtube videos and asked if he could make a video to our song, Color. So if you are interested in his great work : click here)
When we play this song at shows, we usually get the most wide-ranging comments on this song, more than the others. People either take the words I sing at face-value or ask if there is any personal significance or cathartic experience associated with them. perhaps both are true. As I have stated numerous times, when i write songs (specifically lyrics) I write them certainly from various experiences in my life. Yet I typically try (and sometimes, without trying) to write them in a manner that is open to interpretation from the listener – in this case, thats you, and thank you for listening even if its only once. With that stated, the song begins with a series of three couplets surrounding three primary colors and their various personal significance:
Blue blue is all I can see,
When You’re right in front of me.
Green green is all I can be
When I have to be alone in my weak.
Red red is all of the dread,
That pours out of me, in my head.
Again, take what you will from these lyrics, but for me, as I was writing them, the blue is representative of the sky and subsequently nothingness. This is a feeling born of the abandonment of the self (myself, that is) and the surrendering of my life, however momentary, to whatever may come. This could be despair, pure joy, a spiritual experience, or something random. However the first couplet is representing this sense of freedom within something external. The second couple beginning with “green” was born from a dream my friend from a while back told me about. This dream entailed this open room with a deep hue of green surrounding her. She was sitting in a chair in the middle and while the mood was ominous, she was completely calm. I drew upon this unique image (or scene, if you will – oh i will) and tapered it to my life. Basically, the qualifying line of that couplet is “When I have to be alone in my weak.” Pretty self-explanatory, yet the emphasis there is on a forced occurence – when i have to be alone in my weak state: helpless. The last couplet of the first verse seems perhaps over dramatic and dark, yet it is actually something good. It is signifying this weak and helpless state being released from my mind, through the vivid imagry of blood. However, the qualifying phrase – in my head – is letting you know that its merely a metaphor for pain being released and freedom and peace being garnered.
The chorus then that is repeated several times throughout the song is:
And my heart, has the colors my lips can’t speak.
And my song, has the numbers my eyes can’t see.
In this chorus, the message is ironically self-explanatory if you think of it. I have always been wildly fascinated with the senses. So i wanted to merely write a chorus that captured the deep desire and meaning of love and true feeling through rather unconventional means.
The next verse is the same form, using only two couplets instead of three, however still employing the colors:
Black black is the heart of my feet,
When they seek the things they want to eat.
Gray Gray is here through my day,
It gives me light enough to stay.
Again, this can seemingly be self-explanatory. My thought process as I was writing it was essentially, I only want bad things, because I am a flawed human (even when I think I am good and think what I am pursuing is good to me). Hence, the black is typically associated with darkness or evil. Again, playing with different body parts or sense doing things they shouldn’t: i.e. feet seeking things to eat . The couplet beginning with gray is basically saying how life is hazy, in the sense that we don’t know what is coming: we don’t know what is next: we don’t know for sure where we will be in 10 years, or even tomorrow. Henceforth, the grayness of life is just enough “light” for us to see what next step to take and that’s all we get. We have to trust in something – higher power or not – because by virtue of the fact that we actually get up in the morning and put our right foot in front of our left, proves that we trust something else is out there. That is what the second verse concludes with before entering the chorus (previously mentioned) again.
Then the song concludes with a pretty, melodic bridge, almost cliche. I wanted to put that in there – words and melody that are almost predictable, to juxtapose between the intricate and spacey terminology, metaphors and comparisons made in the former half of the song. The former part of the song is supposed to create longing in the listener and then the clear dichotomy between the former and latter part of the song is supposed to create a sense of relief.:
My arms, are too small to hold
My fingers and my soul.
My heart, can’t grow no more.
But its still here for you to unfold.
I hope this is a bit more illuminating as to what goes behind our songs. For those of you who make it all the way through this, you are a friend of mine.
Keep your eyes our for our release of our next project: All Souls Steppe to be released June 1, for free at our bandcamp to the first 200 people (then for a humble $.99 after the first 200 downloads) Hope you enjoy and you are loved.
a real page-turner: et al.
a few months ago at a show we played at the walnut room in Denver, and i was receiving a bit (ok, a lot) of “feedback” let’s say on how I needed to engage the audience more to create a more familial sense about things and an atmosphere connection between the audience and the performer – in short, i needed to talk more from stage. Brief side note about talking on stage and my personality: for those of you who know me well, you know that I am not the most graceful when it comes to relaying certain thoughts or feelings, and especially when it comes to trying to be creative or engage people from the stage – so prognosis: not a bright future in that realm.
anyway, as I explored the exciting new world of talking more and trying to engage the audience with more than mere musical tones, I thought about how to do this. ostensibly, i landed on attempting to describe what some of my song-writing meant and what was entailed in the writing process for me personally. I don’t remember much, but i was so nervous, I just remember spouting off some jumbled words, and one of them I remember was “ethereal”. other than that, it was just weird. So that is what this wee little series (i guess you could call it) it going to be about – “A real page-turner”. In it I will attempt to provide more of my personal vulnerabilities and thoughts behind why i chose to write what i did, why i picked certain words and rhymes, where i was psychologically emotionally mentally, etc… when i crafted these songs. I am sure you may be thinking at this point, “What a narcissist.” But I can assure you I am not an ego-maniacal-gas-bag. Zac and Jered just told me it may be a cool idea to try and connect with you all on a more personal level and let you know the heart behind somethings that you hear when you hear us play music and do what we love. So here goes – part 1: Et al. (by the by, it may help to click the “Et al.” link and listen to the track while you read this)
I am drowned I’m drowned out;
By this crowd of loud shouts
I am sure i’ve been found out
So I’ll lean on you – my round-about.
This section (the first verse of our song Et al.) seems relatively straightforward – and it very well may be. That is another brief sidenote that is an integral part of our music - specifically, lyrically. I tend to write the lyrics from what I am experiencing at that particular moment, but I write in a very ambiguous, nay ethereal (you might say) form. This hopefully encourages the listener to derive their own personal meanings from what I write (which could be be polar opposite of what I originally intended with that song). Essentially: embrace the ambiguity.
That being said, This was a point in my life, where everything was seemingly and outwardly going very well. However, with a bit of introspection and a smidge of self-actualization, I found myself writing lyrics in a cathartic manner on how I am really fronting someone and something that is not truly me. This is most readily captured by the phrase “I am sure I’ve been found out.” However, the imperative stipulation that follows: “So I’ll lean on you – my round-about” is crucial to the story that the first quatrain is illuminating. This is a reference to my Help, my Peace, my Comfort, when I inevitably cannot succeed solomente, or alone if you will. That is of course God. God has this weird way about allowing me to realize how inept I truly am as a mere mortal, and the baffling, yet poignant part of this, is that it always comes about when I feel as though I have it all together. Hence, I am drowned out by the noise of life, and even more pervasive – my own falsity. Oh no! I’ve been found out – but just wait, because God is the ultimate comforter. I only assertain this, because I have been very low (yes, very) in my life and been forced (within myself) to realize my need for something or someone else. I have proven (with certain utilitarian implications of course – and if you wish to discuss this further, please give me an email thing and i would love to chat a bit about how i can empirically prove various claims made here) that God is a philosophical and more importantly – a psychological and subsequently spiritual master at comforting. Its a fascinating paradox, but is continues perhaps a bit more in the refrain:
He came in through the doorway
Holding a sign
And he said, “Boy I was here, long before you’ll find.”
And I know that you tell the truth, so I’ll listen to you.
“I am here for you run – run to Me.”
This refrain is ostensibly a dialogue between me and God. This is fairly self-explanatory, so I encourage you to derive your own meaning (fully utilizing the grammer and punctuation as referrence to expedite your thought process).
The second verse follows the line of thought that was referrenced in the first verse:
Give me your ear, and sound out,
The melody of this long route.
It came up from the water spout –
The voice of Truth has drowned me out.
This verse begins with me talking to my ficticious friend, and us trying desperately to exhume meaning or self-fullfillment from life – its a sort of perverbial quest. However, it is brought, inevitably back to the crux, and that is that we can’t do it alone (see our other song “A Short Vacation” for the self struggle and how questioning God and the existence of God is incredibly pervasive and difficult, yet a common thing more often than not). However, back to Et Al. Given that we will fail if we try to fullfill ourselves on a deeper level if we try things alone, the latter 2 lines of the second verse are supposed to be painting a word picture of a crystal clear spring, and a cool jet of water (sanitized and drinkable – naturally) bubbling up from the core of the earth. This serendipitous refreshment is the Comfort.
I do apologize for the length of this and for the one person who makes it through, i would love to shake your hand. as always, email me with any questions, counter-arguments or anything you wish to discuss – i adore the marketplace of ideas (in the great Aristotle’s words) and would thoroughly enjoy a discussion of this or anything else.
thanks to all who helped sell out our show at the Hi Dive this past Saturday as well.
love to you all,
philip
a house of sun
i began to contemplate what a ‘house of sun’ looked like – nothing. However, upon deeper contemplation, i had this thought of a house, half underground, with music broadcasting from the roof and vast rays of vibrant sunshine protruding from all of the windows.
well as more caffeine arose from this steeping thought within my brain, i began to wonder – what is music? seemingly a simple question, it is the process of playing and/or singing and releasing melodies to create tone.
i beg to differ [with myself]. music is so much deeper than that – music is your soul: your being: you mind the form of a melody: your deepest, most secret vulnerabilities on display for all to receive and hopefully be moved by: your confession to the world – this is what I have for you, do with it what you please.
The inevitable thought followed – what am i doing even attempting music: what are we (the sunshine house) doing even attempting music as a collective whole? It is so far beyond what and who we are as mere mortals – yes music is immortal. It surpasses and transcends all mankind and what we thought we could comprehend. Nonetheless, we practice, we work, we create, we attempt, we share, we enjoy and we glean music. Glean you say? ok friend, what might that mean?
simply put, music is everywhere. we glean it by walking down the street and hearing people talk: couples talk: bees buzz: the patter of our shoes on the sidewalk – all is music, because it is all derived from something deeper than ourselves – sometimes utterly uncontrollable. But that’s the beauty right? it is uncontrollable, yet we are entrusted with the unfathomable task of creating a form of it via instruments and vocal vibrations.
Why am i sharing this (i apologize also for the many rhetorical questions posed in this first blog – probably i shall scare you all away… nonetheless, back to it)? I am sharing this with you who read this far down the page, that we (the sunshine house) are putting our music out there for your hopeful enjoyment – not merely enjoying the chord structures or the melodies (which of course I hope you do enjoy), but enjoying hearing and partaking with us, in a piece of our souls that we are attempting to bare to you.
we love you all and hope that this was perhaps a bit enlightening as to who we are, and how and why we attempt to make music. It really is more than money or popularity for us (clearly) – we just want to share this immortal joy with people – anyone who will accept.
we are also tracking our next project – All Souls Steppe – to be released for free to the first 200 people (and then just $1 after the first 200), on June 1 just on our bandcamp .
click the link above to see a short promotional video for it if you wish. in short, we would be honored to talk about life, god, atheism, grades, money, dogs or anything you see fit, we just want to get to know people – thesunshinehousemusic@gmail.com .
you are loved,
the sunshine house
