Last fall, Suzanne, my friend Alex Christensen and I recorded a CD at Brian Carter's the Sound Refuge studio. We've finally got around to getting the CD's made at Discmakers, and we're having a CD release show tomorrow(!).
Here's a picture of the cd:
and if you want to hear some samples, you can go to our ReverbNation page or our Facebook page to listen.
Some really exciting things have happened on the way. After I announced on Facebook that we were coming out with a CD, Steely Mike messaged us asking for a press copy so they could write up a review. The review hasn't been posted yet, but it should be up soon.
Also, since the owner of Steely Mike, Dan Sisco, is the Arts and Entertainment editor for the Scroll newspaper, he assigned Ashley Jayne Osborn to interview us. We're not the first band she's interviewed, not by far: check out her blog, Vinyl Sea. She's even interviewed Modest Mouse! So, I thought I would type up the article that Ashley wrote. Here you go!
Local band prepares to release album
Ashley Osborn|Scroll Staff
Few students can say they had their band's album recorded and produced by former BYU-I audio engineer Brian Carter, but there are four who can.
Daniel Watkins, a junior studying applied mathematics; Suzanne Watkins, a junior studying health science; Alex Christensen, a senior studying English, and Kameron Kavanaugh make up the band Mavis.
Their album, which is going to be released at their show on Jan. 20, is called "Start Over."
The album was recorded in August in sex hours, right before Brian Carter took down his professional recording studio.
Christensen and Daniel have bothh played music with Carter, and Daniel even played on one of his recordings.
Daniel explained the album.
"The songs that we have on this record are really important to me," Daniel said. "The lyrics have real meaning and apply to real people in real situations. It's definitely about getting up and going at things again, even when you've been knocked down."
Suzanne elaborated.
"Daniel has been writing these songs since high school. He really has a gift for word combinations and is always trying to bring out meaning and worth in his songs," Suzanne said.
The band admits to having an uncertain start. Many members came and went before they all finally came together.
"Our band has changed a lot, but we all really like each other," said Christensen. "We're not just useful to each other, we're actually trying to feel something together."
The band also finds it important to stay open in their writing and collaboration process often switching instruments or allowing other members besides Daniel to sing.
They hope to experiment with that approach as they grow.
"I write most of the songs on my own on the guitar," Daniel said. "And I've started to realize just how important the other members of the band are."
Mavis' official release show begins next Friday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
It will be held in the lounge of the Arpad Apartments and will have four other opening bands.
"The basis of why I like music is the fact that music can never be produced the same two times," Christensen said. "When you listen to our album, for instuance, it's really just a sample of what our music is like. It's an instant of Mavis. Music moves around in the same way people move and live, and I think we embody that."
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