Parker Theory - Leaving California

Remember this post about my first band, Roosevelt?  Well that was my first experience in a band of any sort (outside of church).  I joined Parker Theory after playing with Roosevelt for a couple years.  Though I wasn’t unfamiliar with Parker Theory when I joined the band.

Years ago, way back in the day when there was a venue in San Diego called Canes (and when they did 16+ shows), I went to see a small local band called Switchfoot.  I ultimately have seen them close to 50 times, but that’s a whole other story.  The show was opened up by 2 other local bands.  Reeve Oliver (in one of their first, if not the first show they did) and Parker Theory.  Both openers impressed, but I was there for Switchfoot.  At one point, my brother even drove to LA to see this Parker Theory band play.

Jump forward a couple of years.  I was at a show at another venue called Soma and as I was leaving there was a guy handing out free sample cd’s of his band.  Guess who?  Parker Theory.

Jump forward a few months.  I had listened to this cd, introduced my band to it, and found out we were in the works to play a show with them.  Over the course of a couple years, we played a ton of shows with amazing local bands such as This Holiday Life, Reeve Oliver, Parker Theory and a ton of others.  One day, Jesse Pruett (singer of Parker Theory) called me up and told me their bass player had quit to go to school.  They had a show coming up opening for Unwritten Law’s reunion show.  Nervous as ever, I said yes and had just under 2 weeks to learn the songs and get tight with the band.

Over the time I was in the band, we got to open for Motion City Soundtrack at a super intimate show in Boulder, CO and we got to go play shows in Japan with our buddies Waking Ashland.  Such great times with Parker Theory.  The song above is called Leaving California and was featured on The Hills and I’m sure a few other shows.  It’s from the cd I recorded on, so I have a special tie to it.  :)  Enjoy and buy it on iTunes!!!

On November 25, 2007 … history was made.  Your favorite Christmas song was recorded in a simple form.  Garage Band.  My great friend Rob is a talented musician.  He played some electric guitar (which may or may not have been an acoustic guitar), some keys, and some BGV’s.  That’s background vocals for you non-musical types.  I sang, played some keys also, in the form of a bass line, and we made this masterpiece.

I promise it will be your new favorite Christmas tune.

Saw a few guys from Dryve, one my favorite bands growing up, play a benefit (mostly) acoustic show tonight.  Just like the old days.  Sounded better than ever.

Here’s a full band version of their song Rain. Recorded on my iPhone but good enough to share here.  Photos to come soon.

Molly is a person I have known for years and years.  I knew her before she knew me.  She sang at a camp I went to in High School.  We had mutual friends.  We very distantly worked together helping the Switchfoot boys.  Then one day it all came together.  We officially “knew” each other.

Knowing her as a singer, I was pleased to hear that she was going to record and play some shows.  I remember the first time I saw her play.  It was in the first handful of shows she had ever played.  To be honest, she wasn’t really literate on her guitar.  She would clumsily play her songs while pausing between notes to readjust her fingers.  All this time, her voice was flawless.  I would always tell her she had the best voice in San Diego.  No offense to all the other voices in San Diego, but seriously, Molly is fluid.  Her voice is like a fine tequila, it just goes down smooth.

I’m not exactly sure when this recording is from (however, the photo accompanying this post is from a wedding I shot that Molly attended, and partied hard at).  I believe it’s from December 2009 when she performed at a Suicide Prevention concert.  Please enjoy, she is fantastic live.  As far as I know, she doesn’t have any shows scheduled right now, but look her up here: MollyJenson.com and keep up with her.  She blogs, she sings, she creates art, and so many other things.  Some people are talented.  That is an understatement for my good friend, Molly Jenson.

Roosevelt - Valentine

How about a glimpse into my past?  You know I’m a photographer.  This blog is direct proof of that.  One other thing that I am is a musician.  I play bass first and foremost.  I play acoustic guitar and I sing when needed.

In this specific instance, I played bass.

One day I got a call from a stranger.  Eric, a drummer.  He had gotten my name (as a bass player) from my friend Nick who was the bass player for the Christian group Something Like Silas.  After saying no, twice, to starting a band, I gave in.  Eric was persistent.  He and Brett, lead guitarist, met with me for months writing songs without a singer.  That was a whole other story.  We tried out a handful of singers from pop-punk boys, to rock rappers, to a reggae dude who had toured with No Doubt.

One of my best friends, Rob, joined the group on rhythm guitar and then we met Daniel.  An Australian who sounded good with an acoustic guitar, and would learn his way through singing with a band.  And we had the lineup.

We played shows.  A lot of them.  I believe we played over 30 shows locally in our first year.  Big shows, little shows.  We kept busy!  We recorded a bunch of songs with a guy I know, and released them on a cd.  Not long after, we got an email.

Every band gets an email like this at some point in time, but sometimes they stand out a little more than usual.  This was an email from a man named Tobias Miller.  One of the founding members of The Wallflowers.  We met with him, had him do some minor producing on 2 of our songs, and then we hit a real studio for some real demos.  That’s what this is.  It’s a result of a couple days of studio time, a bunch of friends, and a man who knew the industry and what they were looking for.

Now I’m not looking for you to tell me that this song is bad, or that this song is good.  I’ve heard it all.  This recording is from YEARS ago.  Lots of years ago.  I’m just opening the window of who I am, and letting you look in.  :)  Enjoy.  Thanks for listening!

Reunion shows start this weekend.  3 only!  Go!

This recording is from the very moment they all sat down together again.  Excuse the mistakes and the roughness of my iphone recording.