Ownership is a heavy anchor.

Our year end class trip in grade 8 was to an amusement park called Canada's Wonderland. Paul, Emeri and I went on a ride - I don't remember what it was called, but to this day Emeri was convinced that he was sliding out of the harness. In the past I've been known to doubt the strength of his conviction, but needless to say, it was a close call.

Rob, Paul, Emeri and I went to high school together. We were in a band then too. That was almost a decade ago. We used to salivate collectively about buying a 'band house'. A few years ago, we bought the house on Victoria street. We lived in the house for 3 years and produced almost no music. We got into debt and life got murky and though we didn't quite get 'sucked into the machine' - it reminded me of Emeri's experience at Wonderland - it was a close call.

We've since vacated such house on Victoria street for loftier pastures - parent's basements, girlfriend's houses, our bandhall and soon, our bus; Thor and a combination of floors and beds across the continent. We still own the house - ownership is a heavy anchor. Renting it out has proven to be quite the task. We've met and delt with a lot of sketchy people. We've been royally fucked over. It's a drag, but you pick up the pieces and you move on. Last week we spent a day cleaning up about half a ton of garbage from the property. We've got some quality people, that we know, moving into the place. All appears to be proper in this department.

If you've been out to a show since the release of 'Blanket Sky', I certainly hope you've seen our good friend, Jamie Usas, mixing live video in tandem with our music. We've been friends and working with Jamie since 'Come On Get Real'. He has recently left us for a short while for schooling in Rome. He'll be back though. Farewell Jamie. You are missed already.

There is a lot going on in Vacuity Land this week. Our friend (and my roomate) Elena has locked herself into her sweatshop while she manufactures bags and patches for us. They are going to be very cool. Stay tuned for more on that. We also met with our 'marketing guy' - Dan - yesterday. Now that we can say 'our marketing guy' we're hotshots. In all seriousness though, Dan is going to help us get the most out of this tour. He is helping us help ourselves. Great guy, great insights. Tomorrow at 8am, we are meeting another friend of ours, John Schmitt. Schmitty, will be helping us get Thor ready for the toil and strife on life on the road. He has an amazing bus himself. I haven't seen that ungodly hour of 8am since my father took me shopping for a suit a few months ago. it is early, but the coffee will taste great. (I hate suits.)

Another day I'll tell you about the time I saved Emeri from drowning - nearly at the cost of my own life!

Night.

G

Ownership is a heavy anchor.

Pete's Pick

I've just been bludgeoned out of bed. What the hell happened to the day? Late rehearsal + late rehearsal + late rehearsal = tired.

I was dreaming that we were backstage at a massive show, eating tacos. Subsequently this lead to messy hands. I thought I wouldn't be able to play guitar and washing my hands wasn't an option. You know dream logic. Sometimes you can't do certain things. Anyways, I was terrified to go onstage with greasy taco fingers.

The Pete's Pick article by Pete Nema was picked up by USA Today and Rueters.

So hello to anyone who ends up here as a result of being there.

Cheers.

Greg

Pete's Pick

The Eagle has landed.

Saturday August 30th we'll be kickin' it at the Boathouse in Kitchener. Should be a fun night, it always is.

I guess this should be the last show in Kitchener for a bit. While you all wait patiently for our return, I will be stuck in a bus with 3 unkempt men...
Somebody suggested that we'll just buy a huge bag of apples and just eat apples for the next 2 months... that sounded like an okay idea, I do like apples... however that's a lot of apples man.
Someone else suggested we paint a huge bald eagle mural on the side of the bus... it would look sweet!

Either way we have been working hard getting everything together... losing more and more sleep and soon to be losing even more.

I hope everyone is well and in good spirit... and I hope to see everyone out on the 30th, maybe hear some newish oldish stuff we have been diggin up for the past 3 weeks.... maybe if you ask nice we might even have a cover tune ready for ya.

night.
p.

The Eagle has landed.

Pete's Pick

Good morning... errr, afternoon.

At the Command of the Blanket Sky is one of Pete's Picks. Thanks Pete!

Also, JD from The Free Press had some very kind words to say about us.

Thanks for listening everyone.

G

Pete's Pick

Goodnight Sweet Prince....

As we were loading the van for our show at the Jimmy Jazz, it occurred to me that we might not be loading it again for quite some time. THOR is in the process of being ready enough for us to load it instead. So.. I say to you our close burgundy friend, our time has been good. Through broken transmissions, and overheated engines, to ball joints that crack on the Gardener, you've been with us. From the confederation bridge, to the Santa Monica Pier, to police escorted exits in North Bay, you have served us well. Surely you will stay with us..... in our hearts... in our memories.... and in Emeri's parent's driveway.

Please pause for a moment of silent homage.

- rob

Goodnight Sweet Prince....

not quite flashing lights

Thanks Hilary.

G

not quite flashing lights

i was digging around my computer and found this old video... thought it was neat, maybe you will too.

- Emeri

FRance

Set up and ran through some songs tonight. It was hot in there. Paul almost fainted. It must be his thick chops.

The good word on the street is people were digging the track we closed with Saturday. It's called France and it's been lurking around since we were working on Blanket Sky.

(I love the graffiti behind Emeri in this picture. What a classy place.)

G

FRance

Good night, Good Morning

Sometimes I think people hate on wherever they're from for no real reason other than because it's where they're from. So I don't like to slag downtown Kitchener, but when you play a place like Guelph, with it's superb nightlife, it's hard not to wonder "Why does Kitchener seem to suck by comparison?"

Despite a rather cramped stage setup and us ambitiously trying out some rough material, we had a great night. Guelph has always been the city we want to play more, but tend to play less. We will try to change that. My guitar kept shorting out due to some uncovered adapter plugs. If they touch metal, zzzzzzztttttt, no guitar. I must get around to fixing my board up.

The Free Press sounded awesome last night, so come and check them out at The Boathouse on the 30th. We will be sharing the night with them again. If all goes as planned we'll even have our bus up and running by then. We're actually seriously looking into converting it to veggie as a long term project.

Rehearsal. Midnight.

We own the moon. The sun is much too bright.

G

Good night, Good Morning

tour rehearsals

We should be posting the first of the tour dates shortly. Keep checking back!

tour rehearsals

coast to coast

A proper tour is in the works. This is certainly something we have been wanting to do for a long time. (since grade school?) However, it's increasingly complicated to get a band out on the road for a duration of time without coming back to a pocketbook in ruin. Sounds kinda lame, but rock and roll has cheques and balances to make too.

Right now it looks like we'll be doing about 40 dates coast to coast. The details will start coming in soon - so for all of you national Vacuitants out there - keep an eye on the blog/site as we'll be posting dates as they pour in. That being said, if you or anyone you know has a couch, floor, or hallway we can sleep in - email us. Everyone except Emeri is housebroken and we'll bring a spray bottle to keep him in check.

A lot of new material is in the works. We plan to debut a good deal of it on the road. Lyrically it's pretty dark, but in a much more figurative/fictional sense than Blanket Sky. We're all reading a lot (fiction and non fiction) about the collapse of civilization. Picture Times Square on New Year's Eve - except the countdown is for the launching of the bombs. Everyone is happy and thrilled, but for all the wrong reasons... i can't sum it up proper, but it'll translate itself in time. As far as the music goes, everyone in this band is at their best and as always I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

See you out there.

Oberson

coast to coast

happy birthday emeri

Skipping, fireworks, and alcohol. Quite possibly a lethal combination.

happy birthday emeri

Wings to the Sun

...listening to a song we recorded during Blanket Sky. I suggested axing it from the final cut... it sounds good right now.... I want to say I regret my suggesting it, but you know how these things go...


G

Wings to the Sun

refreshed

Every summer we go to a hum free zone in Quebec. A pretty incredible man, named Scott built the cabin we stay in. It is beautiful. Feel free to check out his book.

It is truly a majestic place.

Back to the grindstone.

G

refreshed

Cd Release review

Here is a review of our set at The Horseshoe back in February courtesy of DEMO magazine.

Cd Release review

El Mocambo

It blinked when you blinked last night at El Mocambo.

The crowd was awesome. The Party bus from KW was out in full force. The Elmo and it's staff were super friendly. (Thank you Yvonne for having us!). Epigramme and Make Your Exit were both excellent as well.

We love you all.

Toronto - see you in the fall.

I've posted a few pictures taken by the lovely Anamaria D. Enjoy.

- Oberson

El Mocambo

5:09am

rob says:

.. can just focus on the where the songs came from.. now that they aren't coming from somewhere so desperate

oberson says:

I wrote this song when I got home from work and wanted to kill myself.

rob says:

exactly

oberson says:

"That man is der."anged

5:09am

IT BLINKS WHEN YOU BLINK

On July 5th we are showcasing at El Mocambo in Toronto. We hit the stage at 11pm.

Make Your Exit and Epigramme will be sharing the stage with us.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the door the night of the show.

For those of you in KW - the party bus will be up and running. It departs from Waterloo Town Square (behind Angie's Kitchen/Duke of Wellington) at 8pm sharp. Tickets are $15.

It's fun, green and affordable. What could be better?

In other news: 'The 5th of November' has been chosen as the first single from 'At the Command of the Blanket Sky'. What the fuck is a single to an indie band? Well... stay tuned and you'll find out.

Best,

Greg

IT BLINKS WHEN YOU BLINK

It's not everyday two men share an apple...

I am going to try to keep my shit together on this one...

We have been playing music together for a long time…and we have been friends for even longer. Some people find it hard to work with their friends and I understand that completely.

But playing music is a remarkable thing… and for some it’s the only thing… It is up there with breathing.

Playing as long as we have, we have met a lot of bands and individuals and it’s a rare moment in time when you meet people that actually understand your dynamics as a band and as friends.

One night in Montreal we met a group of guys that were not just remarkable musicians but incredible friends.

After being rocked off the stage, and them not taking no for an answer to crashing for the night, beer was had… (A lot of beer)…jokes were said, and more friendships were made.

We had to repay this favour by bringing them down to play our neck of the woods and drink some more beer… of course.

If you are reading this and you were lucky enough to see Fox Fraser play, then you saw what we saw… amazing musicians, amazing songs, amazing people and a band of friends.

Vacuity will miss you Sean,
Rest in Peace

foxfraser.ca

www.myspace.com/foxfraser

It's not everyday two men share an apple...

what's the fucking point???

it's all bullshit anyways.

what's the fucking point???

these are strange times indeed

Blog references in real life make for interesting conversation. Very cool to know a lot of people read 'life in the catacombs'.

Happy 1 year Qatalyst. Thanks for the party. Can't wait for year two.

Our set at Non Violence was unfortunately canceled. Mother nature and her rain have bested us this time. I would suggest some sort of violent reaction is necessary, but that would contradict the whole Non Violence theme. We can instead be thankful for the hydration.

In constant limbo,

Greg

these are strange times indeed

Grad House

Thanks for giving us a sweet night KW. It's always good to play the homebase.

Now go bitch at Sexdwarf to finish their fucking record.

g

Grad House

Y108

Hey all,

If you missed the interview on Y108 with McFee, you can download it here.

Andre mentioned that out of all the bands they have had on 'Get Hammered' he had by far had the most requests for Vacuity.

Do you know what that means?

It means that you guys fucking rule.

Thanks.

Love ya.

Greg

Y108

Grad House rehearsals

We're playing at The Grad House this Thursday with our friends SEXDWARF and CHILDEBEAST.

Rehearsal. Count those strings.


Some kind of monster frequents Purgatory.


Us Juicin' it up in front of an SUV limo.


More ducks. This time alive.

Y108 will be airing a short interview with McFee tonight at 1130. Tune in.

G

Grad House rehearsals

demos

demos

Greg and The Animal Kingdom

So Dude.....what's with you and all the dead animals? First the duck....now the bird? I seriously hope you have nothing to do with the deaths of these animals... We have already been down this road...and we are not going down it again. Leave the creatures alone....you're sick.

Get some sleep.
p.

Greg and The Animal Kingdom

baby bird and hungry cat

Today Rob, Emeri and I we were setting up microphones to record a few demos. We're working on a bunch of material - all of it resting somewhere between a wide spectrum of complete and incomplete. Paul wasn't with us as he was checking out a Rickenbacker bass in Mississauga. He loved it, but it was not meant to be so he didn't end up purchasing it.

At one point during the day. I had to head back home to grab a pair of headphones for the session. I hoped onto my ebike (I'm soooo fucken progressive) and set off down the street. After about 10 feet I noticed a bird on the road, directly in my path. Seeing as it wasn't about to move I slammed on the brakes and almost spilled the bike. My father would kill me for doing that, but it was my first reaction.

A closer look at the bird. Young and injured. Not going to make it. Movement from the corner of my eye - a cat under the nearest car. Stand in the street looking confused for a few minutes. Guide the bird to the boulevard and let nature run it's course.

G

baby bird and hungry cat

sunrise vs sunset

i've been scootering through the park around sunrise everyday this week. always an enjoyable and slightly sureal experience. earlier in the week I didn't see a single car and the world was completely silent. During the night the geese and ducks had made their way close to the edge of the park/road.

I felt like I was cruising through a world where the population of humans had just vanished. That, coupled with all the post apocalyptic novels I've been reading made it quite the ride. I had been watching the park to my left and when I returned my attention to the road I saw a crow feasting on the still steaming breast of a mallard duck. The crow didn't flinch as I passed by, it just met my gaze, and followed.

We keep weird hours. Emeri and I have mused that perhaps there are less brain waves, cell phone signals, etc floating around between 12am-6am. If anyone gives you a hard time about sleeping until 230 in the afternoon just ask them where they were when the sun came up.

g

sunrise vs sunset

Red Rooster debrief

Had a great time at the Red Rooster last night. Everyone at that place is so friendly: crowd, staff, bands, roosters.

Next show is June 5th in Waterloo. A few weeks off to work out some new material will be quite nice.

Cheers!

G

Red Rooster debrief

cat got your tongue?

why dont you comment?

...we have google analytics... we know you read it.

we believe we're not monsters

g

cat got your tongue?

Red Friday

So we'll be playing The Red Rooster on Friday night. It's always fun and they actually promote bands... yes I said promote.

It's a funny word... "promote." See I am going to try not to go off on a big tangent ...but I am pretty sure everybody knows the meaning of promote. For example... Your birthday is coming up... you host a big party... you tell no one... maybe people who know you enough show up... but that's it. Now say you told people... now do you think this might help the party?

My next question.... say your working title was Wedding Planner and the only actual planning you did was book the hall... now should you have to change your title to something like...um I don't know... Directer of Hall booking? and should you still make the wage of a Wedding Planner?...

See music is a funny industry too...

Anywhooo like I was saying we are at the Rooster on Friday and it'll be a good time had by all. Always a great crowd and if you were around for that crazy Mr. Rogers endeavor... you might have just heard a few new tunes wees bee workin' uprron. Saying that we might end up unleashing these bastard beasts on Friday.

Burlington is fun!!!
give us your money...

p.

Red Friday

Hosed

Last night we played the Rogers Spring Music Festival. We weren't televised, which was their angle for harassing us to promote like hell, and we were treated with a lot less respect than the other bands we were sharing the stage with. It was your typical crooked bullshit.

I won't go into anymore detail, because I don't like to whine. Needless to say, it was a stressful night.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the shit trenches I lose my head, but once we start playing it all makes sense again. Even with the fire alarm going off for half of our set was charming at that point. Playing to a wicked and enthusiastic crowd is a must too. You guys/gals all rule. We love you and thank you for the support.

BLR Entertainment has promised to make it up to us by guaranteeing us another show with them. Until then, I'll just sit tight and look forward to making them some more money.

Big shout out to Pete the soundman from last night. What a trooper. And as always, thanks to Jamie for bringing his fine visuals to the set.

G

Hosed

ITodd Lounge

This past Friday we hung out with Todd Donald from the ITodd Lounge. We talked about Cajun Sauces, Indie Music and a bunch of other stuff. Todd's a cool dude and feel pretty relaxed around him (because we're typically uptight twats, right?).

Click here to check out the live performances and interview. We even convinced Todd to join us for 'Beckoning'.

Also, hassle Todd about releasing his Wilburys cover CD. It's goddamn amazing. The man has played all the synth/key parts using a QWERTY keyboard as a MIDI controller.







Later,

G

ITodd Lounge

The Boat (picture format)

The Boat (picture format)

Rockin' the Boat

So we all had a great time in Toronto Wednesday night at the Boat. It's a very cool place, we definitely want to go back and kill it on a Friday or Saturday night.
I loved the atmosphere the people... it was great.
I like the idea of not having to fill a 350 capacity venue... and I like to see smaller clubs with great systems and great sound guys (Keith you rocked!)

What didn't rock was me leaving the interior light on in the van trying to get the stereo face plate off.... and later Emeri discovering a dead BABY! ....I mean battery.... oops ;) No good deed goes unpunished.

So we will have some photos up of the night...(Greg please insert photos ....i do not know how)
Thanks again to Jamie the "Video Artist" and his love of Dogs... for doing his thang...and shaken it as well!

Anyways we are gearing up for this Rogers Spring thing and we need you people to come to this thing and look pretty while we play an acoustic/electric set on this prehistoric device they call a television set. Yes you read this right... Vacuity on TV...

Come one, come all... get your ugly mug on Satan's Box and see us! May 9th at the Casbah, Hamilton.

P.S ....iTodd interview coming sooooooon....
p.

Rockin' the Boat

5th of Nov day 2

Yesterday we constructed a 12x12 blue screen frame, reorganized the hell out of our band hall, and setup/tested gear for a music video that the fabled Jamie Usas is making for us for the song, 'the 5th of november'.

Today we captured the footage. A very long, but also very productive weekend. Will keep you posted on the arrival of the finished product.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the 'talking' as I am on the brink of collapse.


Night.

G

5th of Nov day 2

5th of nov day one

5th of nov day one

We come out at night and we never give up

We're recording some demos at the stroke of Midnight tonight. Although there is nothing quite like a sunny day, we're night creatures for sure. Plus, Purgatory is only quiet at night.

Now, I know some of you may be asking yourselves (hell, someone even asked US in 'real' life) Why the heck are we recording new demos when we just dropped a 13 track full length? The answer is simple:

We are monsters.

The writing is on the wall people. Remember Emeri's post about monsters?

Anyways, we are indeed working on new songs. Quite a few too. Since 'At the Command of the Blanket Sky' was so ridiculously optimistically themed we've decided to move even further away from the light. Let's see what kind of material happens when your singer/lyricist reads post apocalyptic science fiction novels for a year. Don't worry, we won't become Muse. We don't like appregiators enough.

Well, this entire blog was just an excuse to post this sweet gif I made. UPDATE: the fucking gif doesn't even work. I guess it'll just be pictures.

I'll report back on the session tonight. Hopefully Rob and I don't get all pissy again. See? We don't always get along.

While I'm gone try to imagine this: someone else in this band posting a blog.

Lazy bitches.

Speaking of lazy bitches. I am working on a new website for our band. Just the other day these Really Important Record Label People came up to me and said, "Man, we were gonna give you guys a million bucks and a bus load of babes, but your website sucks so forget it." I've been checking out some of the sites I frequent and I think we're gonna go for a mix between nickelback.com and avrillavigne.com. I've just got to figure out how to make ads in Flash that speak in testosterone.

Talk about missed opportunities.

g

We come out at night and we never give up

Scene Magazine, London

Here is a review from Scene Magazine in London:

Vacuity definitely contradicts their name on At The Command Of The Blanket Sky, the second full-length album by this Kitchener-based band. Everything about this record is substantial: lyrics that avoid the baby-baby stuff and opt instead for confessional and catharsis, production values that give the proceedings a sort of warmly cozy wall-of-sound at times while leaving room for the silences and hushes that count, and a band sound that is sonically strong in all the right ways, working the dynamics of each track effectively. The overall tone of the album is generally one of dark stoicism and at times things get a little samey because of it; fortunately the musical landscapes are so carefully crafted that the melancholy isn't all that's on offer here. Promising.

-- Rod Nicholson B+

Scene Magazine, London

i keep my i keep my i keep my

10 hours of spycam shooting for Defender....err 5th of November.

I am bushed.

Goodnight.

G

i keep my i keep my i keep my