Having a website called Addicted to Vinyl has its perks and luckily those “perks” don’t involve emails offering me the prospect of kinky nights out while wearing vinyl clothing (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Instead, I found an email from Because Sound Matters, the vinyl arm of Warner Brothers, asking me if I’d be up for doing some vinyl giveaways here on the site. In fact, the email said “why don’t you go through our catalog on the website and choose a few titles to give away.”
It wasn’t very hard to twist my arm on that idea and as a result, we’ll launch with a few giveaways over the next couple of weeks and then the plan is to cherry pick at least one album a month for future giveaways.
Where to begin?
That choice is easy. I chose to start with the new and spotlight On Approach, the latest album from Los Angeles-based up and comers Everest, one of my favorite newer bands currently making the scene.
I’ll admit that it wasn’t love at first sight between me and Everest – I was initially underwhelmed when I saw the band open for Neil Young in Detroit in December of 2008, and told my buddy Rob exactly how unimpressed I was with their live show. He advised me to keep listening and told me that he’d send along a copy of their latest album (which at the time, was Ghost Notes) for me to check out for further reference. (I’m pretty sure Rob also might have told me “pay attention while you’re listening to the band this time and you might learn a few things!”)
And as you can probably guess, Rob was right about Everest as he so often is. I heard great things listening to Ghost Notes and it suddenly made a lot of sense why they were on Neil Young’s Vapor Records – if you sample just a bit of their roster (see also: Jets Overhead), you’ll find that good ol’ Neil still knows how to pick ’em.
With the release of On Approach earlier this year in May, Everest was elevated to the big leagues and upgraded from the Vapor farm team to the Warner Brothers roster. When I saw Everest a few weeks ago at the Beachland Ballroom here in Cleveland for the first time since that Detroit show in 2008, it was like seeing a completely different band on stage. It’s probably no surprise that seeing Everest live is an experience best enjoyed within the intimate confines of a cozy club instead of a cavernous arena, but there was definitely huge progression in their overall performance as well. They came to the Beachland armed with “Let Go,” categorically labeled by my friend Pete as “a jam,” and hell yeah, you’re damn right it’s a jam – one of many that they laid down on the night within a tight 45 minute set opening for Matt Costa.
From the crowd reaction, I’d say that Everest nabbed a few new fans from the Costa fanbase during their first visit to Cleveland. Midway through the Beachland set, Everest frontman Russell Pollard said “we’re just warming you up,” and on one of the first chilly nights of the season in Cleveland, it did feel just a bit warmer after their set. It was a worthy first visit – please come back soon.
So yeah, how about that On Approach album? How about a chance to win a copy of that album on 180 gram vinyl? Lovingly mastered by Chris Bellman (you’ll recognize his name from a lot of the Neil Young vinyl pressings) from 1/4 to the black wax, it’s quite the listening experience and the band had this to say about recording On Approach:
Nestled in the rolling hills of Sonoma County California, On Approach was recorded in a town called Cotati in a converted ex-chicken farm gone belly up to full bown eat your heart out studio called Prairie Sun. Home to many but know by few, the studio gave us all we needed to bring these songs from ideas into realization. Each song representing a complete and different idea and head space, bringing the listener stories and feelings different from the last. Some of these songs had been around for while, being a secure part of the set during the touring seasons prior, while others were a surprise of the moment and captured as such.
Produced by the band and engineered by Fritz Michaud, the basic tracking was done at Prairie Sun with as much attention and precision as possible. Then, back we went, to the neighboring car lots of Van Nuys Blvd, where New Monkey Studio once again became a familiar home to us as we put the final touches on what would be our second full length record. Rob Schnapf mixed the record at Sonora Recorders on a cream colored API. We drank beers and smiled.
Listening to On Approach, you’ll smile too. Drop a line here with “Everest” in the subject line for your chance to win a nice slab of vinyl from ATV and Because Sound Matters.
Check out a couple of vinyl-tastic shots of your potential loot below and submit your entry immediately. Good luck!
(And by the way, you can download a copy of the Beachland set and other shows from the band’s current tour for free by visiting their official website at EverestBand.com.)
