The Northern

Good Morning, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays! 

It’s been an eventful year for us (Jon, Graham, Aaron, and Dave) as we’re sure it has been for you. With all the changes we’ve been making and time we’ve been taking, it truly is a blessing to have the support of so many of you. In the spirit of reminding you of how amazing you are, and how we have been working to honor what you’ve done, how about a stroll through memory lane 2011?

March.

The beginning of the year for The Northern. 

I (David) sat down with the always wonderful Ryan Patch to brainstorm what exactly it might take to finish the album that Jimmy Chalk, Jonathan Seale, Jason Burger, Aaron Craig and I started now over four long years ago. It was decided that in order to finish this album project with quality, we (whoever that would be) would need to commit some very hard work, and commit a few thousand dollars that I did not have.

June - July.

The Kickstarter Project

Several good friends, old bandmates, and people who just happen to like the music logged in to Kickstarter and turned the dream of reinvigorating this music into reality. Watch Ryan’s video and see how much you raised here.

***Special thanks are due to Kickstarter backers Nancy Druva Patch, Rick and Judy Chalk, Rus Wooton, Johnny Adams, Julia Buchheim, Jimmy Chalk, David Dedeyan, J.J. Proodian, Joy Thiele, Chloe O’Conner, Nick Burch, Daniel Martin, Meredith Janke, Kristopher Haughton, Allie Andrews, Mike Donovan, Taylor Stakes, Henoc Cova, Jason Burger, Matt Bednarsky, Alex and Aaron Craig, Brittney Wilcox, and Ofelia Loret de Mola. ***

August.

The New/Old Band

Armed with the excitement of having a nearly finished album and people who want to hear it… It was time to bring out the big guns. Aaron Craig, the masterful man who was our very first drummer and recording buddy agreed to join up on a permanent basis. Any of you who know Aaron know that his ability to bring excitement and energy to everything he works on is unparalleled. None of this would be happening without him. Next, we recruited the  fantastic Canadian, Tele-wielding Jon Ho and soon-to-be famous trombonist/bassist Graham Gibson. I forsook the acoustic guitar for a special little guitar of the electric variety, and The Northern was a real breathing thing once again.

August - November.

We rehearsed. A Lot.

November.

The Triumphant Return, brought to you by Fontana’s and The Kings College!

Debuting three new songs and two new bandmates at Fontana’s was honestly one of my (David’s) favorite shows. A really great turnout and some hilarious crowd interaction (Thanks Grace!). King's was also a great time... Absolutely wonderful people. Thanks for having us out. It is so incredibly good to be back. Catch a few minutes of the Fontana’s show here.

December - this coming January.

After getting some great mixes back from Brian Taylor and Mason Jar Music, we realized that one of the songs set for the album just didn’t match the magic of the rest, so we’ve decided to re-record a new arrangement of the song. We can’t tell you which one… don’t want to ruin the surprise. But it’s different, and benefits from the influence of a lot of great music that has come out since the song was originally laid down.

Jon, Aaron, and Graham will be laying down their parts in Jan 2012. 

We’ll be finishing up the album after that. Can’t say exactly when it will be done, but it won’t be long, and when it is ready, you’ll be glad you waited. We know we will!

- Dave, Jon, Aaron, and Graham

PS - If you didn’t download it last year, we have a Christmas gift for you here.