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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GRASSHOPPER TAKEOVER'S The Official Grasshopper Takeover Email Newsletter Greetings Hoppers, If my life is as long as the day is short, I'd die a happy man. Never have I been a part of a love so exciting and real. Take a look around and tell me of one person you know who doesn't long to be loved beyond their wildest imaginations: to be a part of something so grand that it can only be remembered in dreams and poetry. To be included in the lives of others that surround and accept you unconditionally is freedom. And, though, within that sanctity comes sacrifice, it is only so that the rewards can be more fully recognized and appreciated. Look around. You can see this in the earth. Smell it in the air. Feel it through speech and music. It is in your family. It is in your friends. Your God. Your passion. Your needs. But most of all it is within yourself. So go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all people. Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself to others you may become vain and bitter. For always there will be greater and lesser people than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own passions and career. However humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Many people strive for high ideals and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection, neither be cynical about love. For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
The Open Road: It was so good to see so many people out at the August shows in Omaha. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, but your support is incredible. It is always our pleasure to play for the friends and fans who have supported us from the beginning and we can't wait to do it again in November. We bought a new tour vehicle while in Omaha and for the first time we own a van that is not littered with rust and doesn't burn a quart of oil every 50 miles. As a result, our comrade in arms, Redd, has been officially retired. Currently, she sits sadly cock-eyed outside our house in LA awaiting a flatbed truck to take her to that salvage yard in the sky. We had a great and safe trip back to LA from Omaha. Utah was amazing, with its purple mesas and rock-of-Gibraltar-like formations everywhere. As James aptly put it as we entered into Green River Canyon, "Man, Grubb, that's a big rock." Bob I had a candid discussion about whether or not he could survive being dropped off in the middle of the arid mountains with nothing t all but a buck knife. He still believes he could do it. James (who reigns as the King of Impatience) wondered how the early settlers of the West could have possibly withstood the drudgery of a slow moving wagon train headed for the coast. (I don't think he would have liked being alive in the mid-1800s -- especially since they didn't have rock 'n roll or bass guitars then.) Once through Colorado and Utah, it was nothing but desert... hot, desolate, unspeakable desert. After miles and miles of sweltering heat we peered into the distance and then, we could see it, in its blaze of illuminated glory, it was Vegas -- the biggest strip mall in the world. Nothing but miles of overpriced merchandise and under-dressed girls. Sin City. The armpit of America. Some might even say, the future of society as we know it. Of course, as any red-blooded American would, we had to support the system. So we threw down our last dollars on the blackjack table and, if you couldn't have guessed, 30 minutes later we were done. At least the free drinks and cocktail waitresses were nice while they lasted. The following morning we were up early with nothing on our minds but LA, our home and the comfort of our own beds. What sweet dreams we all had that first night back.
Recording: We have completed the final mixes of "Esta Vida" and "Pick it Up," recorded and mixed at BJM studios in Omaha, and we have also completed the final mixes to the re-recordings of "Noel" and "Purpose" done at 311's Hive Studio in Burbank with Nick Hexum and Chad Sexton. We are very pleased with the outcome of all the tunes and can't wait for their release. Currently, we are recording 3 more new songs at Asylum Studios in Los Angeles under the direction of producer/engineer Gabriel Mann. The songs being recorded are "Forever Young," "Wanted to be There" and "Hit Song." Once they are finished, we will be releasing all 7 tunes on an EP/CD scheduled to be out by Thanksgiving and tentatively titled, "Chinese Radio Days." We may even be putting out some limited edition vinyl issues of this release, too, so keep your eyes peeled. This will be our third major release in 3 years and we are just as psyched to get it to you as you are to hear it.
Merchandise: Email Ryan Kuper at rediscs@aol.com or visit www.redemption.net if you are interested in Grasshopper Takeover merchandise.
Final Word: (true story) His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said
the nobleman. At that moment, the farmer's own son
came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?"
the nobleman asked. And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Someone once said: What goes around
comes around. Take care of yourself and others. Grubb / GTO |