The Best Songs Write Themselves by Stuart July 7, 2011

Usually the best songs write themselves.  I don’t understand why that is, but it just is.  I was in this funk one day, and I just couldn’t shake it.  Last time that happened I talked to my friend Chris and he advised a get stoked session.  I tried getting stoked but it wasn’t working.  I usually write every day.  I can’t stop really, its just a way of being for me I guess.  Anyway, this one day, I was hating everything and especially everything I was doing.  I was having a nasty stand off with the muses.  I got mad and told them that I wouldn’t be writing today and for them to leave me alone.  I was seriously serious, I really didn’t want to and wasn’t going to write.  Several hours later I had this Idea for a song, and it just came out.  Swept Away is the tune I speak of and its become an important part of the set for us.

As much as I understand about creative things, there will always be a piece of it I don’t think I will ever understand.  Maybe I should refuse to write more often.

Stuart

Q and A by Stuart May 20, 2011

So, I never quite know what to say in a blog post. My life seems so mundane to me because I live it every single day. Does anyone have a question that they would like me to respond to? You know about music, songwriting, guitar playing, bass playing, singing, life, love, health, etc. etc. I know several things about several things. If you do have questions, quickly send them to info@fictionist.com and I’ll hit you back with a my best answer.

U R ALL 2 COOL

Stu

A Huge Thank You by fictionist May 18, 2011

Dear Fictionist Friends,

We’ve said it a lot, but throughout the Rolling Stone contest we’ve been amazed by how great you are. We’ve seen fans come out of the woodwork in support of the music we’re making, and we’ve made thousands of new friends from Utah to New York to Holland to Brazil. Who knew a small band from Provo, Utah, could bring so many kinds of people together from across the world? We’re humbly aware that it never could have happened without your support.

Today Rolling Stone announced that the final two in the Choose the Cover contest are The Sheepdogs and Lelia Broussard. We’re excited to see two fantastic artists take their music to one of America’s premier music festivals, and we wish them heartfelt congratulations.

So you may be wondering, what’s next for us? First, we can’t adequately express how much we appreciate all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into supporting us. From handing flyers out to strangers on street corners, to sending out countless personal requests to friends and family on our behalf, and even hanging banners over busy overpasses – you’ve displayed how truly lucky we are to have a community of fans like you. So we’ll do our best to show you our gratitude — watch for some special announcements soon.

Second, if you’ve enjoyed the music we’ve been releasing lately, be ready for more. We’re continually writing, and we think you’ll like what you hear in the coming months.

This is only the beginning, friends. Our future is bright, and this contest has been a tremendous opportunity. It’s moved us closer to our goal to bring our music to the world. Now, onward and forward.

Thanks again and keep listening — we have much more in store for you.

Aaron, Brandon, Jacob, Rob, and Stu
Fictionist

A few pictures from the East… by brandon May 4, 2011

Taken with my little Diana Mini, fanks Weswee!! I’m open to composition/technique suggestions…but these were the best I got in NYC during Round 3 prep.

Sweet NYC by Jacob May 2, 2011

Last week we were pleasured with a trip to the big city for the Rolling Stone competition.  We flew in last Tuesday night and immediately went to Brooklyn for some eats.  We ate at a pretty hip restaurant in Williamsburg called the Blackbird and a photographer from Rolling Stone joined us.  I had a delicious burger that was supposedly made on a George Foreman Grill.

We then skedaddled over to a pretty cool record store down the street from the restaurant.  They had some nice vinyls available for purchase.

The next day we recorded another live video of us playing.  We played our classic tune “Invisible Hand.”  The panel of “judges” loved it and were very impressed with our performance.  We were obviously glad that we ended up playing that tune and look forward to seeing the footage pretty soon.

Then the next day we went around the island with a film crew and they captured us in our natural element – well sort of.  We played an acoustic set in front of this giant cube.

We then went to another cool record store and perused around the store looking at cool records (I think I liked the Brooklyn record store a little more; don’t tell anyone).

Then we finished the day at the High Line, a nice little park in the meatpacking district…awesome view, quite peaceful.

To then finish off the trip we recorded a brand new song with producer David Bendeth.  We enjoyed our time at the studio (mostly because of the Adams Family pinball machine.)

Overall it was quite a nice trip.  We hope to be back soon.  Here’s a video that I took on the way to the airport.  Not the best camerawork but you get the gist.

Jacob