West Wyalong... and beyond!!!

Ok - So Mark and myself have now made it to a little hotel in a town in New South Wales, called West Wyalong!! Leaving at 5.30pm and arriving at midnight made for an interesting drive in the dark, through country NSW!! For the most part, the drive was eventless and mindless chatter ensued... but somewhere in the middle (we were too scared to ask where we were) we encountered a small General Store in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Needing some food, and needing a quick "call of nature" stop - we ventured into the small shop. After purchasing some snacks and drinks, we asked where the toilet was.... she said she would "take us back in a minute". She waved us back behind the counter, and through the back door into the house!!! We passed a young girl on her computer, that never looked up or away from the computer... and then into a lounge, that smelled like dim sims, cigarettes and other assorted bad smells!!! On the couch in the lounge, there was a big old country guy, wearing a "wife beater" and 'apparently' sleeping... we think he may have been dead... maybe! She then left us in the back of the house to use her toilet, after which we scurried out and left in a big hurry!!!

We took a quick photo of the small general store in the middle of nowhere... Hmm. But now - we must sleep.. get up, and drive further on to Armadale tomorrow... then the next day, travel onto Byron Bay, where we shall lay down the best Aussie Heavy Rock Album known to mankind!!!!!!

So it begins!

Ok, so I'm packed... I think... Marty & Myself will start our drive up to Byron Bay today, we will do it over a few days and arrive the night before set up (The evening of the 2nd of December). Dave will fly up rockstar style on the morning of the 3rd & I think Jeff will arrive at a similar time. So over the next few days we shall drive and I shall be on the laptop saving out guide files to assist Marty & Dave in laying down their tracks. Currently the idea is to lay down drums and bass live to tape, which should sound great. Jeff insisted we not bring to much as he is shipping in a bunch of guitars, he made the mistake of saying 'what is his is mine' so I assume that the '59 gibson Les paul is mine! mwahaha!:) ...I couldnt resist bringing a few toys as you can see from the pic's below, so we are bringing: Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster, an extra Les Paul, 2 Fender Jazz Basses (Thankyou to Karris for the Fender Jazz '76... awesome!!!), Korg Tritan, Chinese Pipa, Mesa Head (Thankyou Hanny!) a bunch of pedals and stands & a lap top with Pro-Tools & Logic, so I can be sorting out files such as Maria's Keyboard files which are coming across from Finland. Once we get there I shall update you with what sexy toys JM brings in, I'm sure I'm going to be a kid in a candy store! Ok thats it for now, we shall hit the road this afternoon! - Mark

So here we go, album number 4!

It seems like yesterday we were in the studio nervously recording our first album 'The Sombre Light of Isolation'. Six years later, with three albums & three international tours under our belts we are about to take a step into the unknown.

From the day we started to write the album we had Jeff Martin in mind to produce. Upon sending him 'Kartika' he agreed to become involved in our new album which was very exciting as we knew someone like Jeff could really bring something fresh to the table as well as years of experience. Also for myself I had been following his career for the last 15 years and for a fan to get the chance to work with one of their true heros is a rare experience in this life, so needless to say we will be enjoying every moment of this experience:)

So with twelve months to write an album, you might think that is a bit rushed, but with such a clear vision from day one it all just seemed to flow out. It's also worth noting that Dave & Marty also contributed in jam sessions and this will be the first time The Eternal have tried this approach to writing. We also managed to write two of the tracks in Los Angeles while we were on tour for two months earlier in the year.

You could say this album has been very influenced by the experiences the three of us had together on the recent tour, seeing the whole world, dealing with things like the loss of members mid tour seemed to only make us stronger. In-fact, I think clarity as a band really came at our show at the Filmore in NYC, I looked around at dave and Marty and new, finally, this was The Eternal! Three guys that have the same vision and have the drive to really make this thing happen, at times in the last six years I faced this band head on and often alone, recording 'Kartika' was one of the hardest and emotionally draining times of my music career and often I felt I was fighting a battle I couldn't win. I believe we are about to make an album that reflects the three of us. This was a team effort and remains to be so.

So upon returning for the recent tour we went about setting up a full time rehearsal room and began rehearsing the new album frantically 3-4 times a week and putting all the fine details of this album together.

'Under A New Sun' was a title I came up with on our first days as a three piece band, we were on the bus to Helsinki, Finland, angry and somewhat confused about some events that had taken place in the previous days. I was looking out the window watching the ice on the lakes melt and it occurred to me, the three of us had stuck together through thick and thin and under this new sun was a new beginning and a new chapter in The Eternal. So the title itself took on quite a strong meaning for us, this was the day we were clearly solidified as a three piece band and we were not going to let anything stop us achieve what we had worked so damn hard for.

So fast forward to November 2009, 10 months of writing, a cross continental tour and months of hard rehearing and we managed to come out with 14 very strong songs. With a few phone calls and some guidance from Jeff Martin, I also feel it is one of our strongest lyrical statements to date. I immersed myself in literature and also took time to reflect on everything that had happened in the last year, so as with the music, the lyrics just seemed to flow out.

With a wealth of experience and hard work behind us, I believe we are about to make our clearest and strongest album yet, this may not be the sound all of you know, but then again those of you who have stuck with us from day one know that we do not like to repeat our selves and like the evolution the band has taken. We grow as people and musicians, so of course we will not want to make the same album over & over again. Expect the next chapter in the bands evolution to be an exciting and diverse one!

In many aspect we are unsure what the future holds for the band, new label? more tours? we don't know. What we do know is we have given everything we have to making an album we are damn proud of, so come back and check this blog through december and join us on this journey that is 'Under A New Sun'.

Peace, love and all those great things!:) - Mark