The good old days

[JakeWorrell]

My, it's very quiet in here these days. I was just having a nostalgic moment and managed to find this:

https://web.archive.org/web/20100414095222/http://www.frost-music.co.uk/?

I like to look forwards rather than back, but I do miss the days of Frost* activity. And try as I might I just can't unlock Jem's magic formula and write my own Frost* 3!

[rogerg]

ah, good times...

[Geetar]

Indeed...............




!!!!

[D S]

Hmm - can't help feeling that if Jem had stuck to his own plan of doing gradual releases, we might have had more Frost* available today to enjoy instead of him getting bogged down in making of a double album which may or may not ever see the light of day (going by his recent tweet of "Never say never and all that, but there is a definite smell of naphthalene where Frost is concerned currently.") 

PS - Geetar! Long time no see on the forum.  How are you doing? 

[Geetar]

Ah, well, long story. Mainly one of re-invention over a period of several years.

I'm fine, as is the family. Kids are growing up, we've been house-hunting down Devon way lately, and I'm setting up a new budget-ish guitar company with product made in S Korea (yes, I've gone quite mad; I'll put something in announcements once we go live, so you can marvel at my insanity). I've been filling my musical space with jam bands, jazz and early 20th C. classical.

Anyway, after so long, I thought: there's bound to be some news about Jem and his merry men. I had a look, and here we all are ....well, some of us, at least.


So, how are all y'all doing (I'm quite concerned about poor Ron right now, of course) ?

[turbo]

And four years later ........... 

[tigermoth]

It's really interesting to look back at someone's intentions years later, whether it be your own or someone elses. It gives you a glimpse in to the mind set of the time. Jem clearly had a specific game plan at the moment or at least some very strong notions, but things happen to us every day that change our outlook and intentions. Sometimes in a small way, sometimes hugely.
Its interesting reading about Jem's vews and insites in to new and different ways of delivering music to fans. I'm a bit tourn on this issue. On one hand I love to get a brand new album and sit down and get lost in it and listen to it all in the old traditional style and it really gets on my t--s when you have to get the album again 6 months later for the ltd edition/bonus/remix/whatever. On the other hand, when you have to wait up to 2 or 3 or 4 years for the next album from one of your favourite bands it can be disheartening and it would be nice to get a couple of new bits available in the way Jem has done. It seems a good idea. Even if it's just a case of issuing songs which were rejected or even unfinished, its something for the fans. I also like what Andy Edwards is doing now. Rereleasing a lot of his older projects on band camp which would be otherwise very hard to get hold of. It might be old to the people who wrote it, but it might be new to the fans. Andy certainly has some great and interesting stuff.
The downside of technology to me seems to be that yes ok we can do so much more and computers allow us to do it quicker and easier, but that means that we now feel we ought to be doing more all the time and keeping up with what everyone else is doing. To take a for instance, I rehearsed with a bunch of chaps for a charidy gig we did last year. I recorded the rehearsals on my Olympus and asked if people would like a copy. They said they thought it'd be usefull. The next day I spent over 7 hours, splitting the rehearsals in to separate tracks for easy sending and referencing, getting rid of all the crap bits we didn't need, sorting out levels to make it listenable, labelling the tracks, editing some bits together, dropboxing it all, then finallyh sending it all of to about 10 people. I felt good afterwards, but in the end I reckon only one or two people listened to the tracks and benefitted from it. So that was most of a working day gone, just because I had the technology to do it all and I felt I should. If I didn't have the means to do it, we'd have all had to take a lot more notice at the rehearsal and just remember what we'd done as in days gone by.
Well, I've definitely gone off topic there, soz. But I suppose what I'm saying is, it's amazing what we can do to spread music, ideas and info through technology, but you've got to be good at it and ideally better at it than the other so many million people who are also trying to get everyone's attention. Lol
Thanks for reposting the blog. Great stuff. Roll on this double album eh. Or owt Jem, just give us owt! Lol

[JakeWorrell]

Hmm - can't help feeling that if Jem had stuck to his own plan of doing gradual releases, we might have had more Frost* available today to enjoy instead of him getting bogged down in making of a double album which may or may not ever see the light of day

Indeed, but I wonder if the idea of releasing music in that way was not met with particular enthusiasm by the record label. Conjecture, of course, but this has been my theory for some time.

[rogerg]

How many of us are ready every six months to put their hobby out for public consumption?

[D S]

Hmm - can't help feeling that if Jem had stuck to his own plan of doing gradual releases, we might have had more Frost* available today to enjoy instead of him getting bogged down in making of a double album which may or may not ever see the light of day

Indeed, but I wonder if the idea of releasing music in that way was not met with particular enthusiasm by the record label. Conjecture, of course, but this has been my theory for some time.

True - I'm sure Inside Out would not have gone with that idea at all.  But Jem's original idea (or one of the many...  ) was to release his new material himself and not be a 'record company slave'.  Hence why I (and I think Jem too) was surprised to find that he'd signed back up to IO and was doing an album in 2 parts, before it became a single album, then a double album and then who knows what and when... ?
It will be very sad if Six Minutes in September doesn't see the light of day beyond the 4 songs which have emerged so far (Heartstrings, Fathers, Lantern plus the new one played at Celebr8.3 - Scientist, was it?).  I've been dying to hear the tracks with Joe Satriani and Jordan Rudess on for starters.  I was hopeful that the good reception at Celebr8.3 might have fired him up to do more but not much sign of that so far sadly. 

[JakeWorrell]

How many of us are ready every six months to put their hobby out for public consumption?

You're right Roger, of course. We're not criticising or complaining though, I for example can't even get it together enough to finish a single track at the best of times let alone whole albums.

[tigermoth]

"I for example can't even get it together enough to finish a single track at the best of times let alone whole albums." True indeed sir. The creative tap is hard to turn on, let alone trying to get people together to record, especially when everyone's doing 10 different projects.

[gr8gonzo]

The best laid plans, etc., etc. We all know Jem has been quick to share his intentions in the past and has always been very generous in sharing along the way, but as we all know, plans change. And his zeal for Frost* waxes and wanes at times. I'm grateful for any output from planet Frost*, however long I may need to wait.

[E.S.]

How many of us are ready every six months to put their hobby out for public consumption?

Especially when it's also your job. There's only so much creativity, and it might be good to get out of the studio when you're having some time off.

[rogerg]

all the above.