The Haunting and The Haunted: Weblog of O Jerusale

Aaaand we're back...

2008-08-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted on this since Ichthus and I apologize.
I'm not gonna go into details and update everything that has happened since then, you can read the news section on our MySpace.

Instead im just dropping by to say hey, and update you on some cool records i've been listening to, books i'm reading, and movies i'm watching.

RECORDS
-------------

Wrench in the Works- Lost Art of Heaping Coal (out August 19th on Facedown Records)

Means- To Keep me From Sinking

Take it Back- Can't Fight Off Robots

Emarosa- Relativity

Radiohead- Greatest Hits 2 Disc Deluxe Edition

I'm Not There Soundtrack- Various Artists (Bob Dylan Covers)

Misery Signals- Controller

Death Cab For Cutie- Narrow Stairs

BOOKS
----------

Wolverine Evolution Graphic Novel

The Dark Knight Returns Graphic Novel

Marvel Civil War 1-7

Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis) [Just started this]

MOVIES
------------

The Dark Knight (if you haven't seen it)

Chapter 27

Shine a Light (Rolling Stones Movie)

That's pretty much it for now.
I may do this more often than not, but with playlists and stuff because i'm a nerd.

Tomorrow, I love ya, Tomorrow

2008-06-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

Oh wow...
so, we're one day away from Ichthus Festival, and we're getting extremely excited.
It was great to see everyone at practice yesterday, it had been far too long, but we're back in the OJ flow.

Our merch is in, our boxes are semi packed, equipment is semi working haha, and things are moving along just fine.

As for us...
Most of us will be at the festival everyday, or at least I will be. We'll be around watching some music, hanging out with friends, and obviously hanging out at our merch table.

IF you've never met us, or wanna come hang out with us, PLEASE I beg you come say hey, we'll go get some food or watch a band together.

Make sure you stay tuned here for all the updates. THIS is our primary blog now. We'll have pictures throughout the whole weekend, and videos.

HOPEFULLY, we'll have a video uploaded tonight. A little pre-cursor to everything...
anyways, God Bless, we'll see you at the festival!

Closing in...

2008-06-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hey peoples.
It's been a while since an update, and I/we are going to try to keep it pretty frequent over the course of the next few weeks, because they're big ones (that's what she said).

We are less than a week away from Ichthus, and let me just kind of update you on our stress level, and the issues we're facing.

The most obvious is forgetting the songs haha...
I have trouble remembering words to songs we haven't recorded, but I think I got it.

Equipment issues
We're having our fare share, but we have a plan.

Merch issues
Our new shirts still aren't here...
ummm

Stage stuff
I have to go steal pepsi crates this weekend, 32 to be exact, if I get 12 i'll be happy :-/
Also our amp covers are scattered across KY, and me finding them is a task in itself, but it WILL happen.

I guess i'll leave you with a few tidbits...
One..
Stay tuned here because we will be posting some videos off and on of stuff.
Us getting ready for Ichthus, at Ichthus, and also Cosmic Invasion stuff.

Two...
I'll leave you with some pictures from Josh's wedding.
Notice OJ boys, and our friends from Trumpets all joining in on the wedding goodness!!! haha.

Boo Reigned Ed

2008-05-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

We finished writing today. Not quite sure EXACTLY what it means, basically we're done writing 4 new songs that we will be jamming this summer.

It's hard to pinpoint, and describe exactly what the new material is like, simply because there are so many dynamics that make up the material.
Overall I would say it's a lot more mature, darker, and more melodic.
Obviously all staying true to us being O Jerusalem.

On a more specific level, I guess i'll go a bit deeper into detail about each new song.

PAINTED BLACK WITH PRIDE
The song was the first song we wrote with the new lineup, and man are we stoked on this one. The song introduces right off the bat a more darker side to us as a band, yet still melodic. The song drudges along nicely, and picks up with a constant "pissed off" feel. An Extremely driving song.

Lyrically this song is just a lyrical interpretation of various forms of evil in mankind, but specifically points out hipocracy mainly.

Nighttimers
Absolutely in your face heavy from start to finish. Again, more straight forward, and an actual realization of our more melodic song. The song is chock full of crazy time signatures, in a more honest since, but definately extremely heavy.
The song lyrically is inspired by Chuck Palahniuk's book Rant. There are actual quotes from the book in the song, in which is simply about feeling ialientated for whatever reason. Something I think alot of people can relate to whether it's alienated from friends, parents, teachers, boss' etc.

Losing Balance
I think this is the song that best embodies our most recent progression the most. An extremely epic song, combining extremely melodic guitar work, driving drums, and an introduction to a more ambient O Jerusalem.

The song itself is extremely positive. Examining what it takes to lose your perseverance, but being strong enough to over come that, and stay pushing forward.

I Seek Refuge
This is probably our most diverse song. Starting out fast paced, and super in your face, however takes a turn for extrmely ambient, before having you rekindle the brutality earlier on in the song. Mark wrote some amazing melodies for this one, and i'm very stoked on it.

Lyrically this song has to do with the fact that I think alot of people look at life beyond its enjoyment, and are always dwelling on their convictions, or trials, or negativity in general, but we find solace in knowing that things will be ok, because life offers so much more.

Sorry if you've gotten more info than you were looking for, but yeah...
Ichthus and summer are next!!!

-Jaye

Blood Trail

2008-05-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

We're almost done for this part of the writing process.
Finishing up songs for the first half of our summer schedule which hopes to be pretty active. So far we're extremely excited with these songs. They're displaying alot more maturity that some of our other stuff.

I get the question of how we write our music all the time. Apparently bands that display a sense of technicality are supposed to be sitting in their practice spaces for hours on end doing mathematical equations to figure out crazy time signature patters, rhythm contortions, and shapes their fingers make when playing the guitar haha.
Unfortunately that isn't the case. Writing the way we do honestly just comes naturally. Yes a ton of effort is involved to contemplate various parts with weird time signatures, but by no means do we write them intentionally, it's just the way, honestly, Mark thinks.

Songs start out with him bringing riffs, or arranging different rhythms that take me forever to understand, we work and put together songs almost like a puzzle based on a bank of different parts we've written, and sometimes, and actually more recently things have been written on the spot.
We tighten up playing the actual songs, before I go in and figure out different vocal rhythms, usually based on drum accents. I try to follow the drums before anything else. If I feel like trying extra hard, i'll try to write my vocal patterns on the opposite of the drum rhythms, similar to what I do in "Alone is the Understatement" or some parts in "Facing our Fear of Love."

We all have a part in the writing process, we all throw ideas in and out, and basically it's a good time, sometimes stressful and exhausting, but exciting.

Lyrically on these songs im kind of all over the place. One song called "Nighttimers" which we played live recently, is actually inspired by the book Rant by Chuck Palahniuk. Alot of phrases in the song actually come directly from the book, kind of thrown together with my own interpretation of the loss of of innocence and youth.

Anyways...
that was a really long blog, but maybe someone will read it.

Up next, Josh gets married.
We prepare for our summer schedule.
We record at some point.
Also we're planning something big... not sure what... but something is going on inside my head.

take care
-Jaye

The Giant Sleeps For Now

2008-04-26T10:13:00.001-07:00

So our show tonight was canceled, which sucks, I think we were all looking forward to it. Not only for playing, but for the fact that the lineup for the show was amazing. I don't think alot of people realize that we are at the show as fans just as much as we're a band.

What most people don't know is tonight was supposed to be our last show before Ichthus. I know, I know, ANOTHER long haul, but trust me, it's cool.

Here's the scope of things while we're hibernating.

- We will continue to write new music, AND probably practice some old ones for Ichthus
- Plan out the show itself.
We are planning some pretty awesome things to make this show very special and memorable. I think we all meant it when we said that since we aren't playing on a constant basis, we are going to try and make every show different from the others.
- Record ;-) yeah, your read that right. It won't be a new record as much as a demo, but be expecting new music very soon.
- On May 30th Josh gets married, that's cool
- June 12th, Ichthus Festival... get stoked
- June 21st TBA big show
- Summer shows start in June, a few weeks off in July, end of July we'll have a few shows before planning for fall season.
- Who knows what after that.

Anyways
keep checking the MySpace, and here for more information on things.
STAY TUNED!!!

-Jaye
OJ

I Told You We Were Alive!!!

2008-04-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Our first show back was amazing. All our friends showed up, and it was amazing, as it always is, to play with Life in Your Way. I love those dudes so much. The rest of the bands were amazing too.

We have a new show posted in Winchester KY on the 26th with Saints Never Surrender and Through Trials, hope to see alot of people out at that one, we'll be playing some more new ones that we didn't play last week.

On another note, I know gas prices are high, so if you can't come out to a show and pick up a shirt, make sure you check out our webstore. We could really use the money right now because WE ARE BROKE haha, and we would really like to play some out of town shows, but we can only do that if we have the means to do so.

SO BUY SOME STUFF!!!
Ha!

Later
-Jaye

Save yourself! The Beast has shown his face!

2008-04-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

ICHTHUS FESTIVAL

2008-04-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

We're very excited to announce that we are playing this years Ichthus Festival in Wilmore Kentucky. For anyone that doesn't know about the festival, it is one of the premier Christian music festivals in the country, and one of the longest running music festivals period, and we have the privilege of playing the Hardcore Night Showcase on June 12th.

The Hardcore Showcase is one of the most popular showcases at the festival ever since starting only a few years ago. The night features 5 of the Christian hardcore and metal music scenes most prestige up and coming bands, who have included in the past Gwen Stacy, Inhale Exhale, and The Handshake Murders to name a few.

It is a dream come true for myself considering this will be my 7th straight year attending the festival, and while some of my band mates have played in the past in other bands, this is my first year, so I am extremely stoked.

So...
We play at 9:10 P.M.
Come out and support!!!
-Jaye

We'll Never be as Young...

2008-04-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

So update time.
It's crazy to think that we haven't played a show since October. That's 6 months or half a year. Insane.

Nonetheless we have a big show coming up next week with our friends Life in Your Way, and some other amazing bands. We'll be playing a short set, but debuting some new songs, so it will definitely be worth it to come out. Also we'll have some of our new merch, so bring some money and pick up a new shirt.

Lastly, at the bottom of this post, we've got a new visual tidbit for everyone to see what we look like haha.

The Writing Endeavor

2008-03-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

We have fully entered the writing phase, and have a song completely done, as well as bits and pieces here and there. We're exploring different ways of writing, and we're all pretty excited about that. I can't say enough how diverse this new material is, or will end up being. You can definitely tell our various influences are showing through.
I guess all I can say is be prepared for new things.

We have some shows finally posted, and we're stoked about them. I know alot of people have been waiting for us to get back in the swing of things, and we thank you for your patience. We're hoping to make each and every show different from the other, but most definitely be expecting us to play new songs.

I guess i've rambled for too long.
If you're interested in this sort of thing, check back frequently, I hope to have everyone in the band post on here periodically.

Lastly
We have a new shirt up in our webstore for pre-order
If you buy it online, you will save $2, and it ships April 8th.

Here's the link...

New Drummer and Other Info

2008-02-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

If you didn't notice, we did find a new drummer.
Josh Stuban (ex-95 Theses) is now a part of the OJ family, and we couldn't be more excited. Josh is a good friend, and an amazing drummer if you've ever heard the 95 Theses E.P. Josh also toured with us last summer, so picking him was extremely easy.

As for the future, if you've ever followed this band, you will know that we are constantly changing, growing, and evolving as a whole, and with that said, we're always trying new things to push whatever limits there are, whether it be giving our msuic away for free, or the simple approach of how you look at this band.

We've started writing new music for whatever comes next. We don't want to do things they way they are SUPPOSED to be done. We're probably not going to record a full length, or even an E.P. for that matter. We're investing in some type of recording equipment so we can CONSTANTLY offer the public new music.
This means if we have 4 good songs, we're not going to forcefully write 6 filler songs just to say we have a full length record because that is what's SUPPOSED to happen.

We're excited to try these new things, and over time we will see what unfolds.
We will have new merch soon, and most likely will NOT be doing any kind of touring of any kind, AT ALL. There may be a run of shows here and there, but no touring, at least not until the time is right for that, but who knows right?

Why Do We Sing?

2008-02-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

the most amazing song for the saddest people
these are the words I speak, now sing
for your life is short, but your love is forever