A little bit ago, I was discussing with some friends about the old "choose your own adventure" novella series that circulated in the days of yore. I personally loved this concept and read me a dozen or so in my middle school days. I said to my friends, "Friends", (I called them friends because that's who they are to me), "wouldn't it be cool if they made 'choose your own adventure' movies? They could just film all the options at once and have some way to switch the reels in the theater based on an audience vote at some critical decision in the movie."

For instance, the action freezes with Jeff at the edge of the cliff and the question pops up on the screen: Should Jeff base jump and hope his newly acquired relic of a parachute opens, or turn and take on the 12 aborigines determined to reap vengeance for the purity of their Chief's daughter, princess Abugaboo? It would be quite and undertaking for a film maker I know, but no more of an undertaking than making a trilogy. It would be great for a DVD anyway.

Well, it seems to me that now-a-days (yes, I said now-a-days) this band of friends have staring roles in that very idea. The whole thing started with some buddies, some songs, and a few places that would let us play music. The only reason it is still happening is because each time our screen freezes and the options come up like, "Should Jared take the serving job at Mark Pi's or go play the show in Spring Arbor?", all of you keep voting the latter. Along the way, we have made new friends (which include a lot of you), written new songs, and played in more places now then we can count. We turn around and all of the sudden, these adventures have been an exciting first act in what has become a good chunk of the decade. The even more exciting thing about it all is that these years seem like they have merely been plot exposition and character set up. As the disc keeps spinning, scenes keep playing out, and the plot begins to thicken, we are stepping into whatever roles you decide for us. All I can say is . . . please don't stop. The scene is freezing once again and it is up to you to make yet another selection.

I'm excited to share with you that we have been working on recording new songs and recording old songs that have never had a real album on which to exist. We are planning on doing an independent release this October in the form of a 5-song EP as a sampler of what we hope will be our first full-length album. It will be up to you to decide if the adventure continues. I know it has been a while since you've had a choice to make, but if you feel like you are still connected with this whole thing and you connect even further with this new stuff, then we will make sure our writing, recording, and playing is reaching your ears in some way.

We will be following this newsletter soon with another that explains all the details of where the CD release shows will be happening and how to get your hands on a copy of the new EP. In our past, we have released a 4-song demo and a second disc called JAM Sessions on which we burned a collection of fan selected favorites. This new EP is the real deal though; a real recording effort attempting to capture songs, a sound, the texture of the melodies and chords that play in my head everyday. And, I must say, I feel like we just keep getting closer.

I realize this is a mass blog but I would sincerely love to hear back from any one of you or all of you for that matter. If you have any questions or just want to catch up, email me back. The only way for me to know your selection is for you to tell me what you think should happen next! Peace.