Behind the Tracks

Here's some info behind the tracks off the new album in no particular order.

Vapor Street - I wrote this song in my teens for one of my first bands Green Canteen. There are some clips of us playing it live and a 4-track demo that can be found on youtube. The Velvet Ants also gave this a shot on our first b-sides album Pixie Junk but it was never mixed properly.

Audio Sunshine - I wrote this around 2008/2009 for a band I was in called Lost in Stereo. I recorded a home demo which can be found on youtube but we also recorded a studio version for the band's first full length that was never released. The title comes from a local Boston DJ's way of describing Weezer's music.

Nothing - This song was written in my twenties for a band I was in called Malfunction of the Head. We recorded a 4-track demo of it but I thought we could do it better now in the digital age. Sort of an ode to early Foo Fighters.

Prop Me Up - I recorded this between 2009 and 2011 for a side project called Post Exchange. Probably one of my favorite tunes so far. It was originally called Vale. The original demo is kind of spacey but we pumped it up a bit.

Another Planet - I wrote this song during the demise of M.O.T.H. and the beginning of Dream LAX (another side project) and just before forming The Velvet Ants so we included it on Pixie Junk but it was never recorded with a band. Failure-esque.

Kitsch - Found on Pixie Junk as well but we left it off our first album Lunatic Frame because it lacked bass. Early Nirvana meets the Pixies.

Two Sox - Another one I wrote in my teens about breaking up with a girlfriend. Not sure if this was ever recorded before the acoustic version found on Pixie Junk so we're re-recording it. I used to play this quite a bit in coffee shops around Virginia.

A Thousand Yards - Bing co-wrote this with an old friend of his. He's got a few different demos of it and we're giving it another shot here. Reminds me of Led Zeppelin a bit.

No Tomorrow - I wrote this for Green Canteen but it wasn't recorded or played live until Lost in Stereo in the late 2000's. There's also a demo of it on youtube. The song is usually mistaken for being about suicide. It's more about wanting a night to never end.

Dead Rose - The only track never previously recorded in any band or project. Dead Rose was written in the early 2000's for Malfunction of the Head. Unfortunately and fortunately for us, the song never made it to tape and I decided it was time to get it down properly.

-Ian

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PIXIE JUNK: Track by track

So Close (alternate version) 
Ian Margolycz on vocals, guitars and bass / Trevor Hart on drums and back-up vocals
This was an early mix of the song from 2006 without guitars. I always loved the bass line. I wrote this in one of my first bands but we never used it. Sort of Weezer meets the Cars.

Pin On A Dime (b-side)
Ian Margolycz on vocals and guitars / Trevor Hart on drums and back-up vocals
This riff was inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It didn't make the cut for 'Lunatic Frame' partly because it lacked bass but it was also sort of a black sheep when it came to style. Might not have fit with the songs on the main album but I'm glad we recorded it. We almost always added it to our live sets.

Evergreen (alternate version)
Ian Margolycz on vocals, guitars and bass / Trevor Hart on drums
This is one of my favorite Velvet Ants songs. I wrote Evergreen specifically for 'Lunatic Frame' and it's very fun to play. Simple and effective. This version again, has no rhythm guitars but you can hear the 'slow echo' or 'reverse' lead guitar effect I got using Boss' ME-50. I forget which one it was. It sounds like an e-bow effect but it's not. It's also one of my favorite drum patterns by Velvet Ants' original drummer Trevor Hart. Definitely some Bonham in there.

Two Sox (acoustic)
Ian Margolycz on vocals and guitar
I wrote this song in one of my first bands Green Canteen during high school. It was a staple at the open mics at the local coffee shop for many years. I had recently received a PreSonus Firepod interface as a gift and was testing it out. I doubled the guitar and added some vocals and that was pretty much it. This was previously released as a single on a compilation under the name Dream LAX.

Light Up (alternate version)
Ian Margolycz on vocals, guitars and bass / Trevor Hart on drums
Another one of my favorite tracks by the Ants so far. This version didn't have the signature call and response vocals in the chorus and is more how I'd originally written the song. I eventually added the "I'll light up when... you light up" parts and a whistle before the solo which really made things pop. Some great drumming by Trevor Hart again on here.

Kitsch (b-side)
Ian Margolycz on vocals and guitars / Trevor Hart on drums
Kitsch didn't make the cut for 'Lunatic Frame' for a couple reasons: 1) It lacked a bass line. 2) It was recorded at too slow of a tempo which always bothered me. Fortunately, we are attempting a newer take on the song for the fourth album which we are currently recording. Sort of an early Foo Fighters meets Nirvana type song. I always loved Foo Fighters' first album and a lot of my faster songs remind me of that album.

Turning Glass to Sand (b-side)
Trevor Hart on vocals and drums / Ian Margolycz on back-up vocals, guitars and bass
Turning Glass was an ode to Failure one of my favorite bands. We recorded two separate drum takes and threw them through an amp distortion effect then faded the clean drums in at the beginning of the song. I can't remember what I played on guitar for the outro but I like how it all came together. Trevor Hart on main vocals.

Another Planet (acoustic)
Ian Margolycz on vocals and guitar
This was another test on the PreSonus. Probably recorded the same day as Two Sox or the same week anyway. I only ever recorded this once before but that versions lost... actually I think it might have been released as a Dream LAX single on a different compilation back in the mid 2000's. This one had doubled guitars and I think the first one had one guitar stereo'd out. This one held up better anyway.

Havoc (acoustic)
Ian Margolycz on vocals and guitar
I wrote Havoc for Green Canteen in the early 2000's but we never played it. I always liked the song, kind of a spooky Pink Floyd vibe with very simple bar chords and then major chords for the chorus.

Demotion of Pluto (b-side)
Trevor Hart on vocals and drums / Ian Margolycz on guitars and bass
Another main vocal by Trevor Hart. We recorded this the same month it'd been decided that Pluto was no longer a planet. Another of my favorite bass lines.

Lonely (previously unreleased)
Ian Margolycz on vocals, guitars, bass
This was kind of an odd track. It was recorded originally under the name Dream LAX but we were transitioning into the Velvet Ants so I added it here. I think I used a Boss Dr. Rhythm (I forget the model) for the drums. Another bluesy one, similar to Pin On A Dime.

Vapor Street (b-side)
Ian Margolycz on vocals, guitars and bass / Trevor Hart on drums
This one was recorded for Green Canteen's 4-track demo. You can hear the earlier version on YouTube. We thought we'd give it another shot as the Velvet Ants and it came out pretty good. Unfortunately the drums weren't recorded properly and I think something happened where they were bounced off the to side so they became permanently fixed to the right side of the audio. Either way we had some fun with the vocal delay on this one and the build-up was fun to create. Most of the drums are Trevor and then I went back and re-worked the fills for more impact.

Stretch My Legs and Wander (Lucky Face cover)
Ian Margolycz on vox, guitars, bass and other effects / Trevor Hart on back-up vox and other effects
During the Malfunction of the Head and Dream LAX days, The Lucky Face were sort of our UK label mates. $talker Records (UK) released compilations of artists from all over the world and we were introduced to them through that. Tim Mullineaux is an incredible songwriter and I love everything he puts out. So we asked him if we could release this song for free and include it on Pixie Junk because it was recorded around the same time Velvet Ants had formed.

Stretch My Legs and Wander (Lucky Face cover - alternate) [bonus track]
Ian Margolycz on vocals and guitars / Trevor Hart on back-up vocals and drums
A little treat for the true Velvet Ants fan. The original but stripped down. Plus you get to hear Trevor crack during a take for the middle part that we put at the end of the song.

Enjoy!

-Ian

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Free rehearsal clip

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SOLT OLIO Anniversary + Free download

We've added all the lyrics for the album Solt Olio (HERE)

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For the 2nd anniversary of it's release we are releasing 'FIND YOU' as a free download

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Upcoming shows:

11/14 @ Sally O'Brien's in Somerville, MA
1/29 @ Sally O'Brien's in Somerville, MA

Shows/Releases

Just played our first show with the new line up Friday night with Charles Delta and The Dirty Dottys in Somerville, MA.

Our 2012 album "Advantage" is now available on Spotify @ https://open.spotify.com/album/2QvVgef0gdT211zEXE0qj9

Thanks to all who came out to the show!

-I