The PAWNS - First Line Of Defense

January 19th, the Pawns had their cd-release party at Martyr's in Chicago. Yes, the album that was recorded in less than a week (and pared down, mixed and mastered in only a year!) is finally finished. It's titled "First Line Of Defense", and if you happened to come to the show at Martyr's, you were treated to a free copy of the album: quite a special release, since the cd came in a 45-rpm-style sleeve, along with a full double-sided lyric sheet, sticker, and three buttons!

The show was a rousing success - the band managed quite well, even though there was barely enough room on stage for the multiple keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, drumset, bass, vibraphone, cello, and a bunch of amps, let alone the handful of guest musicians!

The Pawns rocked - here's the song "Off Limits" which I recorded at the show (with the help of my binaural aide, Lamont):



And because I'm so proud of the work we did on the album (mixed and mastered here at the Moonroom!), here's a song from the album, "Howard Street":



Now, there has been talk in the band that they may make this album a digital download ONLY release. If that ends up being the case, these cd's in this special package are going to be the ONLY physical release of the album.

If you are interested in getting a copy of this special release while there are still some left, contact Mike Przygoda at mprzygoda#hotmail.com (replace the # symbol with the @ symbol). I would urge you to get one while you can.

The Pawns

Mike Przygoda and Company (aka "The Pawns") and I have been secretly working on a phenomenal audio project - we've been working on mixing this upcoming release for several months now. Originally some TWENTY-NINE songs recorded with up to THIRTY-SIX tracks, it has now been pared down to about nineteen songs, and mixed down to two tracks (that's *stereo*, for you neophytes!).

Here is a hybrid from the sessions: the song is called "The Only One". The mix is a composite of a very early live performance of the song (I believe when the song was only a few days old!), a quick mix of the original recorded tracks, and a more polished "prefinal" mix.

And howbout that groovy/ugly cd cover I threw together? "Pawns? I thought you said Prawns!"...just look closely and nod like you get the joke.

Stay tuned for updates about the exciting release...