Hope your new year is getting off to a great start! We haven’t forgotten about you. Thanks for thinking about us.
On January 16, 2008, we uploaded “Dark Lotus” to OurStage.com. The next day, we shared “Automatic Doors”. OurStage uses judging software to allow its users to listen, judge, and rank artists’ music. If you haven’t used their service to discover new bands, we’d highly recommend it. Full disclosure here: we may be a little biased. Per this month’s report, 5 years later, “Dark Lotus” and “Automatic Doors” remain in the top 20 in their respective genres.
5 years.
Thanks, guys. That’s quite an accomplishment and we share it with you.
I realized it had been a while since we posted about what we’ve been up to, so I wanted to take a moment to share some news with you. First, 2011 was one of a’tris’ most productive years. Last year, we wrote and demoed 22 new songs, over 2 albums’ worth of material. As many of you know, each song was released in the form of a music video on YouTube. Some of these videos featured public domain footage while others were conceived and created by our friends at Bouncing Ball Films. Each song featured an original logo by either alphabetica design or the band and we wanted to thank every one who purchased one of our logo shirts at the a’tris merch store. While we set out to do all of these things once every week, when the dust settled, we averaged one demo every two weeks. We’re totally cool with that.
Did you miss some of our videos? Click the above image to see an archive of our work.
Last year, we had the pleasure of collaborating with Tiger Darrow on a few songs. One of our favorites was a cover of Jonathan Seet’s “A Million Hungry Eyes,” which you can check out here. Tiger recently released a new music video for her song, “Machines.” We’re big fans of what she’s doing and have already begun collaborating with her on something new. We think you’re going to really like it and will keep you posted.
This year is already off to a great start. “Dark Lotus” was the second most popular rock video on Ourstage last month. That puts an a’tris song in the top 10 for 12 months. Craziness. Seriously, thanks for all of your support! Until the next post, we hope to see you on Facebook and Twitter.
This Saturday, I’ll be playing a solo set to kick off J-Rock at SoHo Gallery for Digital Art. While a’tris’ sound is different from much of the music you’ll hear during the evening, I’ve always been influenced by Japanese art and it’s an honor to open an event that will bring some seriously talented Japanese artists to NYC. If you live around the area, I hope you’ll join me in welcoming them. Throughout the night, there will be a fashion show, live music, and animation. You’ll be in for a real treat. Details below. Hope to see you there!
A week of so ago, I had the pleasure of having a phone chat with DJ Raine of HomeGrown Radio. In case you missed it, DJ Raine kindly sent us a recording which I’ve included below. I had a blast discussing everything from past a’tris tours to our current #songaweek project and hope you’ll enjoy the interview.
We have a new video in our fan videos channel on YouTube and this one really reminded us of why we make music. McKenzie, the artist, is the creator of Mack and Bill, an upcoming autobiographical comic designed to broaden the knowledge and understanding of mental illnesses, and to lessen their associated stigmas. This is a powerful clip and we’re honored that she shared it with us. We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.
Do you have a video that you’d like to share? Let us know!
To download free music and a karaoke version of this demo, visit a’tris HQ and sign-up for our mailing list.
To submit a cover, please post a video response on our YouTube page.
Here are the lyrics and chords to this week’s tune:
What it Really is
We’re all hunting for an animal we don’t know.
When we bag the game and we catch it,
we’ll know what it really is.
What it really is.
I have colleague who can answer any question.
We communicate through equations.
I just need to frame the question to get him to reply.
He’ll know what it really is.
What it really is.
After years of searching in the dark
and living in confusion,
there will come a time
when I’ll know what it really is.
What it really is.
And great waves of color will crash before my eyes.
Brilliant, vague, and beautiful.
Beautiful.
There’s a voice inside my head,
a spiritual technology
that keeps me going,
keeps me going.
It keeps me going -
as frail, flawed and fallible as I am.
As always, T-shirts and ringtones can be purchased at our web store.
This week’s song is a cover tune originally penned by Jonathan Seet. We highly recommend you check out what he’s going at http://www.seet.ca/.
The above video features scenes from the 1943 film, This is the Army starring Ronald Regan. You can learn more about it here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036430/.
To download free music and a karaoke version of this cover visit http://www.atrishq.com and sign-up for our mailing list.
To submit a cover of our cover, please post a video response in our comment section.
A Million Hungry Eyes [Jonathan Seet Cover]
I remember in Red Square, the monuments to us.
A little toxin in our drinks had turned our tongues to rust.
It’s so hard to believe you’re a swan.
The curtains hang half-drawn.
You wait for earth or sun to bring you dawn
A million hungry mouths would strip you to your bones
And every note would still be perfectly in tune.
A million hungry eyes would strip you to your clothes.
And everyone would still, they’d say you hung the moon.
They’d say you hung the moon
You brought me pages of hardcore torn and casts of lovers yet unborn.
You carried me across the room in a swoon
to soon forget you hung the moon.
A million hungry mouths would strip you to your bones.
And every note would still be perfectly in tune.
A million hungry eyes would strip you to your clothes.
And everyone would still, they’d say you hung the moon.
Be quiet on the set.
Take one
Be quiet on the set.
Take two
Be quiet on the set…
‘Cause a million hungry mouths would strip you to your bones.
And every note would still be perfectly in tune.
A million hungry eyes would strip you to your clothes
and everyone would still, They’d say you hung the moon.
As always, T-shirts and ringtones can be purchased at our web store.
Courtney from our favorite web series, Hollywood Girl, sent us this pic of her rocking an a’tris shirt. You can get yours at atrishq.com. They make you hot.
This week’s song features the incredibly talented Tiger Darrow [Official, Myspace]. We’d highly recommend checking out what she’s doing. We’re big fans.
To download free music and a karaoke version of this demo, visit a’tris HQ and sign-up for our mailing list.
To submit a cover, please post a video response on our YouTube page.
Here are the lyrics and chords to this week’s tune:
Letters From Home
Your mother would like you to visit.
She hasn’t seen you in a while.
When are you coming down?
She isn’t angry. You know she tells us that you’re trying.
You are not alone. You know she’s here for you.
You are not alone. She’s just a call away.
You are not alone. You know she thinks of you.
She just wants to know that you’re alright.
She can hear you through your keyboard.
She can hear you in the choice of your words.
She knows you’re in the middle of a grueling renovation
And, if you need her, she’ll be there when the dust settles.
You are not alone. You know she’s here for you.
You are not alone. She is a call away.
You are not alone. You know she thinks of you.
She just wants to know you’re hanging in there.
And she can help you clean in the corners,
in the cracks and the crannies.
Don’t be afraid; it’s a natural reaction
to panic when you’re standing in fire.
You are not alone. You know she’s here for you.
You are not alone. She’s just a call away.
You are not alone. You know she thinks of you.
She just wants to know that you’re alright.
It’s okay to cry.
We’re proud of you. We love you so very much
As always, T-shirts and ringtones can be purchased at our web store.
Our instruments can’t type so Mason is responsible for most of what you’ll find here. If you like what he’s doing, we hope you’ll take a moment to subscribe by clicking the icon below. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you could even explore our other social networks too. It’s up to you; but we hope you’ll take a moment to get to know us and leave us a comment so we can get to know you.
