Poster Design idea

Thanks for the killer feedback so far guys. Here's another possible idea for merch that's kicking about. It's a full sized movie-style poster 24X26 inches in size. This is just one quick design that's not centered properly, but you get the idea.

It'd sell for around $20 + shipping. Do you guys think this is something you'd be interested in? Would you enjoy this on your wall? Reason I'm asking all this now is because now is the time to order this stuff for the release.

Your feedback is really appreciated here guys thanks soo much =)

-Sever
TM

UPDATE: Looks like the best way to do this is for us to eat the cost. So, therefore, poster should sell for about $20 with $5 shipping to US and around $13 shipping for Europe.

Couple quick important questions for you

Hey guys we have an opportunity to make a special limited edition run of 50 Hoodies with A Tribal Machine design. They'd be black with white imagery/lettering (Sleeve , Back and Lapel). The thing is these are very expensive to order so we're not going to go through with it unless we hear that you're interested. It's a big decision so chime in either way. If we did go through with it we'd have to sell them for around $85-100 each.

For merch for the new record we're looking to go with a run of CD's, stickers (new cool ones), possibly shirts and/or hoodies. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see for Tribal Machine merch?

Let me know either way and thanks =)

-Sever
TM

I shot a purple elephant! He trampled me to death!

I shot a purple elephant! In my mind's eye, there I am, the wicked hunter in the African wilderness, it's 1912 and hunting is encouraged. I look up, and, lo and behold, I see a purple elephant! I take out my double-barrel elephant gun (with a double trigger of course) and Let him have it! Shock! It has no effect! Then, to my utter horror, the purple elephant stampedes my way and tramples me to death!

And that's how my daydream ends. Trampled to death by some sort of purple Barney elephant creature. Sigh.

It's really hard waiting. A reference of the master has come back from Tom Baker (he's the mastering engineer) in LA and it sounds amazing. Truly. It's odd though because there is a technical glitch that needs to be addressed, so the album is still in LA (as you recall it should have been manufactured by now). The Reference master is what the mastering engineer sends the artist for approval. To sign off on his work. A Mastering Engineer's job is to finalize the mix, meaning adjust volume and tweak the frequencies. Essentially, to make it playable on anything. So it should sound great and volume-equalized on every format.

It's interesting to work with a guy like Baker because he's mastered the fathers of my music. NIN, Marilyn Manson, etc. Part of me is in awe and part of me finds it funny. It's difficult to judge his work in this respect because in the back of your mind you're thinking "this guy Masters Reznor's shit man, of course it sounds great". But then the other side of me says "it doesn't matter who does it, you better just make sure it sounds the best it can possibly sound". I'm subscribing to the latter, but you know what? The fucking mix DOES sound good! He really cranked the volume and emphasized certain frequencies. Those magic ears of his...

Because so few people have listened to the album so far, I am curious what he thinks. But I don't want to ask. After all, he masters the best there is out there, day in and day out. Like 7 hours a day! His poor earsies must be really tired. Mine would be. And they are to a degree. I've been blasting this album for years. Must have lost 10 percent of my hearing to it. Sacrifices sacrifices. When you hear it, say a prayer for my poor earsies too. I guess you'd have to be religious for that to work don't you? Do I have to be religious for it to work too?

So here we are, and I'm left to deal with the back-end of things. You know, the not-so-fun behind-the-scenes stuff like register the works for publication, fill out forms, paperwork paperwork paperpkloidfnmisdf. Blah. I'd rather fuck it all up and just tour already. No I don't. I want to get it right don't I? =P

Ahh the indie route.

But anyway, it doesn't matter. Because all of this is really for you. It's you who must enjoy it and will be the final judge of almost four years of work. You've heard me talk about it for ages, and it's been post-poned for over a year now. Tantalizingly close aren't we?

Hey you know what? I found i can do something new that will really help TM. I discovered I can edit videos! So, very soon, you'll see a promo clip for TM. Let me toot my own horn a bit here and say it's a fucking exciting little video, and I had a blast making it =)

In a way i find making videos is easier than making music. See, with music, I have to imagine the visuals. And that takes work. But in videos, it's all there, right in front of me! It's like cheating! Does that make sense? Took me only a day and a half to finish the video. Then two days to figure out how to export it lol.

But I'm waiting to finalize the release date before I can release the video. And for me to finalize the release date I need the record in my hands. The circle never ends!

Today i published a short biography of Tribal Machine here on myspace. Come to think of it, we've never had one on here before have we? So stop by and give it a read when you have the time, let me know how it feels.

Coming schedule:

Completion of Mastering Process and return of Master - 2nd week of Feb
Manufacturing / Replication of CD - 3rd & fourth week of Feb
Pre-release promotion / publicity - March + April
So that puts the release date in early-mid April.

HOWEVER.

Those of you that pre-order WILL get the album sooner, and won't have to wait. Plus, you're going to get a little permanent memento from the album. A piece of it, if you will. Something I used to make the album with, whether it's scrap paper edits or pre-printed materials. All of which will be signed and numbered. A little souvenir for you, as a bonus for pre-ordering. A number of you are already going down this road. The weirdest/coolest stuff will be given away on a first come / first serve basis.

Again, that's ONLY for PRE-ORDERS, and only from www.tribalmachine.com

OK so you got this far. I have one last surprise for you. Sometime soon tonight, i am going to upload a track form the album, one that's been mastered by Baker (it's a preliminary Master, but it will work for this purpose). Might be in a few minutes, or might be in a few hours. Enjoy =)

With love,

Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

New song + New look + Taking pre-orders now + Personal notes

Hey hey. So here we are, and I can finally put up a sneak-peek of a song that is one of the headliners of the album. So I invite you to swing by and give it a listen. It's only been like a year since the last new song was posted =P better yet, listen to the first three all in a row. That way you'll get an impression of the new album. The first consecutive impression. Then come back and give me some muchly-needed feedback.

I'm curious. What do you think of the new look? The new song? When you hear the first three all in a row, do you get the vague idea of where this album is heading?

The album has sixteen full-length songs (It will be over 70 minutes in length!).
And when you at last hear it you'll understand where the last few years have gone. I am just so sorry I couldn't get this to you before Xmas. i tried, I really did *Sigh*.

Oh and the new logo, of the guy in the hat, is a character called "Mr Corporation". That's all I can say, till you hear the song of the same name that is.

In addition, we are now taking pre orders on "The Orwellian Night". This is a way for the band to off-set the cost of this album, and the fact that we're going to lose a lot of money by missing Xmas. Those of you who go this route will get a little extra something special - pieces of the making of this album. Notes of edits, loose-leaf, etc. Just stuff that I used to make the record. It will be signed and numbered, because of course, there isn't much of it and I want it to mean something. Just a little enticement =P

So once Tom Baker (NIN, Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, Matrix Soundtracks) masters the record it will go to press and then be available for ordering. New estimated drop-date is Feb / Mar 2010. This time around we will only have the Hard Copy available through our myspace page and homepage. And it will be an even more limited number than Soldiers was.

Oh yeah and before I forget, if you are one of those people that bought "Soldiers in a War of the Mind" through iTunes do you think I can get you to throw up a review of it on there? We could use a bunch more on iTunes, i don't know when they started the whole review thing but it's an awesome feature that we could use some help in :)

Anyway guys, now that all the blunt stuff is out of the way I can ask about you. So how are you? How are you spending your Xmas? I'm spending it at home, going to have a cozy dinner with friends and curl up with a good book or two. Watch some new films and stuff. Avatar. Sherlock Holmes. The Grinch that Stole Xmas. Keep it quiet. That kind of thing.

It's been a very stressful year and I don't feel I've taken any time really to sit and take it all in. The last couple weeks have been very strange for me. Once the record was shipped off for mastering to LA I found myself sitting around and twiddling my thumbs, in a state of high anxiety and strange worry, simply because I don't have any editing to do. Almost like I lost my purpose. Going through an orientation phase.

There is a tremendous amount of very hard work ahead. And there is absolutely no way in hell I am going to be able to do it on my own. In order for this whole thing to work, we're going to have to do it together. This band does not have a record label. It only has you really. You've shown TM great support over the years, and I am supremely grateful. I hope it continues.

The plan is to release all the songs on myspace in due time, one by one, cycling them through (back-to-back days, so every day a new song comes up). Then you'll get an idea of what this album will sound like. But you'll have to wait a bit longer for that to happen. The versions up right now are all unmastered (Gah!), and i don't feel great about putting them up in their current state. (Though I do realize you need something to go on!)

Once the band is up-to-speed and rehearsed we plan on touring for the first time (I know, three records in and no tour? How crazy is that?) Such is the sacrifice of the indie route.

And then I plan to remaster and lengthen and re-release "The Awakening of the Animal", possibly as a double CD release. Man, i really didn't know how to mix back then (2002). I didn't even really know how to mix when working with "Soldiers in a War of the Mind" (2006). That's why it sound that raw. But I've learned. I was able to put everything into "The Orwellian Night". For the very first time in my life I feel I put everything in and didn't slack. And it sounds great. It could not have gone any other way, and I am proud of the work.

I am also very grateful to my colleagues Brian Hartlen, Brad Wutke, James Furlong and Dustin Fleming for the much needed help. Each added their own touch in their own way.

But I digress. I'm tired and a little hungry. Did I leave a spare muffin in the fridge?

With love,

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

Why the damned delay!?! This is a dispatch.

Here I am. I need only turn around and look at the gear all setup, looking ultra cool and professional. A life-time's work sitting and waiting for release. If my computerized studio system could show facial expressions it'd scowl at me right now. It would also say "fuck you asshole, I ain't lettin' you finish this fucking album because I need a defrag. Asshole. You're so fucking lazy."

It thinks I'm going to lose. It thinks you, the listener, is never going to hear it. It thinks my procrastination is greater than the sum of its parts. Well rest assured its wrong, and no, I'm not going crazy. Some of you may recall that years ago I'd blog and actually communicate with you. Talk to you as people not as numbers on my screen. I have a secret to tell you. I've been withholding communication. I've been saving it for post-release. But I must let the genie out of the bottle a little. Here we are. Me VS Mr. computer screen number two. So fucking faceless. You know, in the future computers are going to talk back, talk smack, and talk human. It might be you on the other end, or it might be a bunch of numbers and equations pretending to be human, fooling the simple circuitry evolution provided.

The fucking truth is, I miss you guys. I miss communicating. I've sequestered myself to finish this damned album for too long. Call it cabin fever. So what if two shots of vodka are involved? I swear ociffer my house is just around the corner.

You know, when inspiration strikes the greatest gift you can have is follow it through then and there, on the spot. Procrastination, waiting, hesitation, is the death of millions of good ideas. I'm not going to abscond on you. You know how much is left to do? 0.2%
That's just a few final edits on the in-betweens (continuation / flow or what-have-you). I have a few new toys lined up to help me finish the job. Tomorrow is a very very big day. It might be the last. And guess who gets it? I'm sending it to the best mastering engineer our genre has. The best in the world, in my opinion =P
His name is Tom Baker and he has mastered every Nine Inch Nails album since Broken, all the Marilyn Manson albums, Judas Priest, Beastie Boys, the Matrix soundtracks, Alice Cooper, Ministry, Rob Zombie, and countless others. So the next guy to hear this thing in full will be him, besides the band of course.

And soon you'll hear the final product, not in decrepit evolutionary stages of harrowing destructive editing as I've heard, but the final mastered works. I envy you, oh so much! If I was fifteen and was able to listen to this, aside from the fact that i am the creator, aside from my ego and the weight of rocks it carries, I'd be complete. I'd have a blast, like when i first heard Downward Spiral for the first time.

As a musician it's so difficult stepping outside yourself to enjoy the work. To enjoy it as a listener. It's next to impossible. All I've been hearing for over three fucking years is mistakes. What a terrible price to pay for this monster, for this beautiful work. I feel like a FOX news reporter always covering crime scenes. "And here folks we have the bullet fragment of the actual killer! What a terrible tragedy!"'

And then we have to manufacture the hard copies. Digital will be available as well of course. But I highly recommend the hard copy [CD] because this thing is TOTALLY designed to be listened in the best quality possible, front to back, as a concept album.
If you really hate CD's you'll be able to purchase a high-quality download from our website, www.tribalmachine.com [incidentally it'll have a face lift soon]. Anyway, don't waste the last four years of my life with mp3's! I'd much rather you listen to the real thing, in high fidelity. You'll thank me later.

So what's the fucking bad news? We might not be able to release it in time for Xmas. Which is terrible news because when a band releases an album after Xmas they... *drum rollll!!!* go broke! Combine that with the fact the music business is about as profitable as selling ice to eskimos these days. Fuck it. All of this is worth it.

So you may have been wondering. Why no samples in forever? Why no demos or single song uploads to whet our appetites? [it's been like a year since the last song upload, yet still so much interest!] I'm saving it for one big explosion. One release after another, day after day. That's all i can say, but when the time comes, you'll know. So hang in there. Stay subscribed, do what you got to do to get these dispatches. And don't be afraid to say hello.

I'm staring down the barrel of a shotgun. The shell is made of doubt, anxiety and worry, but I must persevere. I have absolutely nothing to lose so that's why this fucking project is going to finish. Only 0.2% to go. Tomorrow is a big day, like I said. A very VERY big day. I'll stare at my destiny in the mirror and we'll have a fight. A conversation, if you will. To persevere. Tomorrow the toys and the final round of completion. Then it must fly away, or I'll go crazy for real.

I won't leave you in the dark for such long stretches anymore. [Years!? Really?!]

I'm here and doing well. Pushing forward on my life's work. A work I'm proud of and grateful for. And when you at last hear it, at last feel the nuance, story, chaos, humanity and destruction, you'll understand. You'll see the why of it all. The reason. The method behind the madness. And until that moment, the moment when you hear it in its totality, these must remain simple words on your computer screen.

Not long to.

For now, over and out.

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

P.S. For the die-hards. We still have some hard copies [CD's] left of the second record "Soldiers in a War of the Mind". You can order them from HERE. They are limited edition, and very special to us. Or you can get it from iTunes if you like digitals.

P.P.S. Myspace is not dead. You can hear me. We have each other.

P.P.P.S. There are videos coming too =P