the great betrayal V

...paul and i were discussing lyrical content for the next [n/a] album about a week ago..."half life" came up in the discussion, which i thought was a good example of one of the potential paths to explore more lyrically...

...the idea of "half life" is reflective on my individual perception of the outside world, especially in today's society...over time, [n/a] has collectively shared the "against the grain" type attitude, that's always been a common strong point among us all...not going along with the standard, consistently questioning what's going on in our surroundings and hardly believing "that's just the way it is"...in my opinion "half life" is a direct lyrical reflection of that...it's always been much more satisfying to resist, rebel against and question situations that don't seem quite right...

"why do you let them kill you willingly?!"

_t

TGB IV...

i recall standing in a grocery store check-out line one night... it was late and i was very tired and irritated after a long couple of weeks on tour... i remember two girls, obnoxious girls... frothing at the mouth over some fashion magazine... their bodies and faces, draped and trimmed in every single product that the previous issues tips and tricks had vomited out to them... all of its glitz and glamor had them all fucked up, and it amazed me how much they were obsessed with getting out the following day to each get matching designer hand bags from god-knows-what over inflated mega-retailer.

watching them worship someone... some "thing" that theyd never met, would likely never meet, and were about to hand over hundreds of dollars to... in the name of mirroring the status quo...damn...

all the while im reminded that there was a point in history where none of these things were necessary... there was a time when you could discover some open plain with fertile soil, claim it as yours, find your place within that local eco system and live happily ever after. the dollar... the euro... these things had never existed...

it became upsetting to me how much 'money' has become the end all/be all of the human condition, so much that its more important to spend time making money than it is to spend with your family, friends and loved ones. even more sickening was the billions of people driven by the industry of "fashion and fame" in a non-stop cycle of trying to impress each other... buying shiny cars, clothing and houses strictly for the purpose of feeling complete.

do we really need all of that...?

over the next few days at the studio, i sat with a track tentatively titled 'nevermind', which was nothing more than a rolling drum loop and 2 tracks of filthy guitar chords. a few days later, it was 'half-LIFE'...

fuck those people.

-pm

the great betrayal III

....i had left my previous endeavours with a band that i dedicated over 6 years of my life to...blood, sweat and fucking tears.  my emotions of betrayal, disappointment and fear on what would be next, were still very very fresh when i first crossed paths with paul and dave at a local restaurant...we had shared stages through our previous bands and we knew of each other...dave broke the ice (which he tends to be good at from time to time) while paul proceeded to express that he and dave had been writin' solo for a period of time and had almost an album worth of material....after a brief recap on what we both have done musically in prior years, paul invited me down to take a listen....they needed a guitarist....

....one thing i remember distinctly about our first song presentation at the studio was the haunting drive and passion to do something real and legitimate in this business....for those of you who are foolish enough to ever play in a "band", it will be a painful lesson to learn that you don't cross paths with people who actually give a fuck very often....i gave a fuck and so did they....that was obvious....

....while scrolling through the rough tracks of "intervene", "no heaven", and "taste of a tear" i was glad to actually hear "songs"....and what i mean by a "song" is something you're not gonna forget in the next 5 minutes after listening....music to sink your teeth into....material that stands the test of time, holds water and would be relevant to the masses a decade from now....but, i felt as if there were qualities that weren't quit developed at that stage....that there was defiantly a "turn it up, push the envelope" attitude that hadn't fully presented itself on those rough tracks....that attitude is my musical religion and i heard the potential loud and clear of what i could bring to [neveragain]....

...."consequence"....that was "the song" and i was sold beyond it all....here is a song that harnessed my primary musical religion of "less is more"....the "tragic loop" is where my love of music started when i was a child....without naming particular artists, it took me back real quick to the heart of it all....lyrically, it is a biography to people I know....and as far as dave and paul are concerned, they can obviously relate to that....

_t

the great betrayal II

'consequence' was the first song i ever finished... in a single day actually, from concept to conclusion... now anyone that knows me well enough knows that "conclusion" came years later, however i went into the studio one sunday morning and left that same sunday evening with the basic 'tragic' loop, as i called it (the drums and the falling, decaying chords), and the vocals, with the lead guitar part and everything...

as i understand it, thats the song todd really latched onto and got him into the idea of signing on as a guitarist...

-pm

the great betrayal I

where does one begin... i think the first tracks i ever began to work on were 'Intervene', 'the Taste of a Tear' and 'No Heaven'... i began writing those just working through from one track to the next. if i got bored with one, id move on... learning how to sing had been the other issue. i had really only done backing vocals up to that point, so figuring that out; just where i was coming from, was probably the hardest part...

one day i caught this TV show Intervention... and it really latched onto me. how people become so dependent on all kinds of shit in their life, even beyond substances; like dependency on other people. that really felt like something i could relate to, both with the rest of the world and personally. that oppressive vibe of banging your head against a wall, digging your way out of a hole with the blackest soil just pounding back down on your face... screaming at God to throw you a fucking rope. its most terrifying when you realize you've dug the hole yourself... all you want is to get the fuck out... whatever the cost. in the back of your mind, theres this thing; this itch. you remember scratching it will bring relief, but you realize its a different kind of relief that you need now... and thats the the fucking battle right there.

freeing myself from a dependency on a particular relationship was one of the toughest things ive ever had to do... after clawing and digging, begging for that moment in the end where the sunlight finally kisses your face... damn... even a 40 day flood would be a release. just flush it all away and let me begin again, please...

-Paul

about the album...

i thought it might be cool to write a little history about 'the Great Betrayal'... hows that sound?

-PM

welcome...

Hey everyone... welcome to the n/a Update Blog. This is where we can keep tabs on each other in a more informal fashion... It's opened up so anyone from the band can just drop a line and you'll be able to comment back as well... Keep your eyes on the Official Website for all major info...