The Hiram Terriers

We had a really lovely time playing in Hiram, OH last night. After rehearsing it for the first time Friday, we decided to play a new song called The Scene And Herd. I'll be tracking the vocals this week, and I'm excited to see how it turns out.

Secondhand Serenade joined in as well, and it was a joy to meet and hang out with those dudes.

We did a fun woodsy photo shoot during the day (hopefully some of the shots will make it into the Bird And The Bee Sides packaging).

Also, I got to congratulate the Hiram Women's softball team for advancing to their tournament, and I got to wish my friend Nina a 24 hour belated happy birthday.

And this is my nephew, Hudson.

In a hat.



Matty

Dear Everyone That Pays Attention To Our Band,

Hello. Hope everyone is doing well.


We're doing well. Amongst other things.

One of which is recording.
We are not recording the next full length Relient K record, however we have tracked thirteen new original songs that will be going on an EP. We're calling it The Nashville Tennis EP. We know its a lot of songs for an EP. Whatever.


As well as the EP, we're going to put out a B sides record. I'm not totally sure of how many tracks we're going to put on there, but we're aiming for 20+ for sure. As of right now, we're calling this The Bird And The Bee Sides.


The two albums together are going form a new release also called The Bird And The Bee Sides. We're hoping to release it on the earlier side of the summer.


In addition to this, we've got a bunch of other tricks up our sleeves. We just gotta run it all past the suits first. God bless 'em.

Hopefully this gives all of you a little idea of what we're up to. I wish we had a little more confirmation on the details, but we'll clue you in when that happens.


Relient K





Details


The Nashville Tennis EP

I'm really excited to release this EP. We're recording it with Mark Lee Townsend (MMHMM/Deathbed) and JR McNeely (Underoath/Anberlin) is going to do the mixes.

We're calling it The Nashville Tennis EP because there's a bit of a alt country flare to some of the tunes, and because a lot of the songs have ties to the city of Nashville, TN.

One of the cool things about the EP is that its going to have the feel of two separate EPs. Seven of the songs are rock and roll tunes complete with some fun curveballs. The other six lean more towards our acoustic side. I can't wait to finish it.
Matt Hoopes, Jon Schneck, John Warne, and Ethan Luck have all written songs and are singing lead on them. I'm really happy with the results. You will be too.


The Bird And The Bee Sides

This album is pretty predictable. We're compiling a lot of remixed/remastered songs that did not appear on our five full length releases. Anything from the acoustic version of Up And Up to the demo of Sadie Hawkins Dance (my voice cracks really bad on it... pretty funny/stupid). It will contain a bunch of songs from The Vinyl Countdown, The Employee Of The Month EP, The Creepy EP, and a ton of other stuff that you can't even find on the internet. At least not yet.

We'll post track listings and all the other good stuff when they're done. Just thought it'd be nice to give everyone a heads up.


Sing It.


Matt's Favorite Hat. (Top Hat)


I Am A Human Water Bottle


Slip Slidin' Away


PSP-oed

Much love,
Matty T.

Studio

So, we're in our favorite Nashville studio, S-S-Studio, recording some new jams.

Why?

We'll fill ya in soon.

Much love, Matty

Morocc Obama

April Fools. Canadians can't vote.


My friend Andy (who is in Morocco) sent me a little interview. Thought I'd share. I do reply to good myspace messages once in a while. :-)

(Obama) Tracy Morgan's recent Saturday Night Live commentary was pretty silly.
No link. Find it if you like SNL.

Sorry about the smiley faces and capitalization issues.

Cough cough...

ANDY!!!! Ha.



1. who's your best friend of all time?
Hoopes.

2. any chance i could replace him?
Nope. Sorry.

3. how about is there any chance of me taking matt hoopes's place as guitarist for relient k?
Sorry.

4. how do you pronounce "pwned"?
Yuck.

5. what do you think there's more of...stars in the sky or grains of sand on the earth?
Cool question.

6. what is your favorite flavor of skittles?
Strawberry, but I try to steer clear.

7. if you were trapped on an island and could only bring one book, what would it be (apart from a hollowed out farmer's almanac filled with the bare essentials for survival of course)
Without stating the (I hope) obvious :-). The Shack. Oh yes, oh yes, The Shack. (When I finish I may deliver a blog book report)

8. in a fight between a grilled cheese sand
wich and a taco, who would win?
Depends on what mood I'm in.

9. did you ever find bugs bunny attractive when he put on a skirt and acted like a female bunny? (i didn't either just for the record...just a harmless wayne's world quote)
I didn't remember that line. Good flick.

10. how do you prefer your hamburgers done?
Medium Rare Plus. :-) But for my birthday, I'll have a Filet at Morton's with Shannon, James, Steven, and Kevan, please. I love steak.

11. how would you like to come to morocco for a little jam session sometime?
Hmmm.

12. which bear is best?
Friendly.

13. what is your name?
Matthew.

14. what is your quest?
Love and Grace.

15. what is your favorite color?
Blue.

16. what is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Not fast if swallowed by a mighty Monty Python.

17. what is your favorite type of pop tart?
Nope. Special K breakfast bars.

18. what is the average time it takes you to write a song?
15 minutes for the part that counts, but that 15 minutes can take a week.

19. what is the average time it takes for the band to either go with it or say "back to the drawing board"?
We always finish what we start. Everyone plays their part in making sure the song is something we all enjoy.

20. who is your favorite super hero?
Great question. John The Baptist.

21. what is the best movie you've ever seen?
Harold And Maude.

22. more importantly, what movie was the biggest waste of 2 hours of your life?
The Stepford Wives or some crap?

23. when you reach the age of retirement down the line and are looking for someone to carry on the relient k legacy, what would your criteria be?
Weird. I guess we'll talk then. I hope that its not for a good while though... A good long while.

24. have you ever gotten sick of playing sadie hawkins dance at every one of your shows?
Yes and no. It just has a campfire sing along feel. There's not much art to it. Who doesn't like a little Kum Ba Yah?

25. did marilyn manson really eat your girlfriend?
This girl I liked bought into some of the lyrics. She didn't understand the theatrics of Manson's work. She was consumed by the words in a literal way. Its just good music, honey bee. Ha.

28. what does a half-dead flower have to do with MMHMM?
We were pruning and flowering at the time. We grew some new guys, new labels, new management, and new audiences. We also replaced a bass player and old management. It felt pretty symbolic.

29. last but oh most certainly not least...will you remember me on july 18 at the warped tour in detroit and let me hang out with you for a while?
I would hope so. My girlfriend has a lot of family in Detroit, and I'm often going out to dinner or something with them to escape the occasional monotony of the hot, dirty, summercamp-awesomeness that encompasses everything I love and like about Warped Tour. I'll be hanging out.
Much love,
Matty T.