August 2003 - Recording with Wilbur
We recorded basic tracks for about half of what we anticipate will be a full-length album with the amazing Josh Wilbur. We were quite content to do the self-recording thing until Josh came along and charmed us into letting him have a shot at the helm. He has always been great about acknowledging that we're basically a self-producing band; we don't need an overseer so much as a chaperone to smooth over the rough edges and keep us from making self-destructive choices. Which is sort of what we were always looking for, someone who trusted us but could make the 'adult' decisions where neccessary. Its funny that he's the adult of the band considering he's younger than all of us. More than anything, Josh's enthusiasm and belief in the band eeked some amazing takes out of us in what can only be described as a fast, painless recording. Pre-production lasted 2 weeks and the recording itself took maybe 15 days total. The tracks we did with Josh have so much about us in them, and they sound so good. We felt great the whole time and that's how everything went to tape. Nothing sounds sterile or overdone (which can be a big-studio recording's downfall) it sounds like a really cool live band tripping balls. Anyway, of the 6 songs we did, four are practically in the can: Paused Upon the Rewind, Carbon Freeze, Arnd So My Troubles Began, and the Escalator Song. There are some vocals we'd like to recut and maybe some ear-candy overdubs, but it's basically all there. We're hoping to push Josh into some even more aggressive mixes than what we have already. Stay tuned.

The Heavy E.P.
With the lineup complete, early 2002 saw the Negatones off and running. While paying the rent as recording engineers for post-Strokes producer Gordon Raphael, the Negatones took matters into their own hands: with their own savings and a $500 nonprofit arts grant, the Negatones released the Heavy E.P. in May. It debuted on nationwide radio stations as CMJ's #10 most added to rotation (US and Canada week of 6/11), beating out David Bowie's Heathens and coming in just behind major label acts the Flaming Lips and Nashville Pussy. It remained on the CMJ Top 200 playlist for four weeks, and on the Top 30 playlists of over 35 stations ranking as high as Weekly #1 most played on stations both nationally and in Europe. Not bad for a self-recorded and self-released collection of 8-track reel-to-reel recordings.