vacant songs records: home
6.28.10 - CONGRATULATIONS are in order...FELL's bassist bryan romero and his lovely wife fawntel recently gave birth to a beautiful boy. also. guitarist michael dewey was accepted into med school in chicago. these plans will not derail fell, actually the recent news has made to band even stronger. while on hiatus fell plans on recording a fourth full length record in addition to completing recording for the nyx hemera vinyl.
3.26.10 - the ONION's AV CLUB was kind enough to allow listeners to preview A SILENT GOODBYE prior to its official release. please visit their site and enjoy. http://www.avclub.com/denver/articles/fell-a-silent-goodbye,39432/
3.19.10 - recording has begun for NYX HEMERA. this track will push fell beyond their comfort zone and stretch every boundary thought possible. NYX HEMERA is single track that reaches the 30 minute marker. influenced by bands such as pink floyd, old man gloom, mogwai & godspeed you! black emperor, NYX HEMERA will take you on a dark journey and leave you aching. the band hopes to release this track in late 2010 on VINYL.
2.15.10 - fell has been confined to their basement studio all winter and so far the results are very satisfying. the bad has completed sessions for their 13 minute epic track A SILENT GOODBYE, plans for the release are still in the works but this track will likely be released in the spring as a single. fell is also collaborating with a film crew to record a short film featuring A SILENT GOODBYE, more to come soon.
12.21.09 - we are happy to announce that all 10 tracks from FELL's album A FAREWELL TO ECHOES is available FREE to download here at vacant songs. Just click on our music link and download away! Physical copies of the album containing lyrics, liner notes, ect. are still available at CD BABY for just $5. Enjoy the holidays and the new year!
10.20.09 - fell is excited to see that we made the TOP 10 on the BULL TONGUE charts at ARTHUR MAG...thank you bryon coley & thurston moore for rating INCOHERENT LULLABIES as #2 and for the wonderful review.
CHECK OUT.
http://www.arthurmag.com/contributors/byron-coley-thurston-moore
9.19.09 - fell appearing on THE PUREST BLUE soundtrack.
we received our copies of THE PUREST BLUE and we could not be more thrilled. not only is this film extremely emotional but it also captures the futility of life in a profound way. dustin, we can not thank you enough for making us a part of this film....to hear/see your music in a film makes you truly appreciate our affinity for this sad art.
also. we have added a song to our myspace profile that josh scored for the film.
ABOUT THE FILM:
"The Purest Blue" is the debut feature film from writer/director Dustin Lane; starring Olivia Alaina May, Michael Finn and Kelly Gault. Filmed with no crew other than Dustin Lane and Sherry Lee, The Purest Blue is truly an Independent Film in every sense of the word. Made for only $17,496, The Purest Blue" takes place over a month in the life of "Zoey" (Olivia Alaina May), a bit of a flower child who has turned to prostitution in order to put herself through school, as well as care for her little brother who she must keep in the care of a mental hospital. Zoey is not affected by the sexual nature of the lifestyle of a prostitute ("Sex only means something if you are in love. Otherwise it's just, sex") . She sees it as means to an end; as a way to get to where she wants to be.
Along the way, Zoey meets Christopher (Michael Finn, making his feature film debut), a " john " who she quickly falls in love with. A man who she thinks she sees a future with. A man who may, or may not be ready to journey into that future with her.
Even though "The Purest Blue" was produced on the smallest of budgets, it pulls no punches visually or aurally as Zoey encounters the many "johns" she services on a nightly basis. From the extreme brutality of The Verbally Abusive Man (Ray Lucey) and the sad and disturbing existence of The Shy Man (Greg Boyd), to the unnerving, but all too familiar portrayal of The Dirty Husband (Michael Uhlman), one gets a feel for what Zoey has to endure each night she walks the streets alone. Equally telling are scenes with Kevin Starr (Motorcycle Boy), Jeremy Williams (Frat Boy), Scott Dewey (Hummer Man) and Pete Freeland (Back Seat Man). Isabella Bonaduce also makes her feature film debut as a 14 year old homeless girl.
The Soundtrack of "The Purest Blue" is made up of an amazing collection of independent bands. Songs by Fell, The Meeting Places, Should, Coastal, Foxtail Somersault and For Against give the film the emotional soundscape needed to push it from guerrilla indie into an accomplished feature film. Josh Wambeke (of Fell) contributed 2 new instrumental pieces that completely capture the tone and feel of the scenes for which they were written.
"The Purest Blue" is a film about sadness, disappointment, tragedy and the strength it takes to keep moving forward. "The Purest Blue" is about life. A Life , Somewhere , Everywhere...
The Filmmaker
Writer/Director Dustin Lane's debut feature "The Purest Blue" comes after 3 short films ("If You Are to Bloom", "Blue Skied an' Clear", and "Ouija") and music videos for Saint Low Joy, Tahir Jahi, Fight Dirty and Kip Green. Through writing, directing, filming and editing, Dustin clearly exhibits his ambition and drive to tell a visual story. An accomplished musician, Dustin has also been playing/producing music for over 20 years.
The Cast
Olivia Alaina May (Zoey), in only her 2nd starring role, gives a performance well beyond her years. Playing the sexually charged role of a prostitute by night as well as the polar opposite personality of the sweet innocent, full of life girl by day; Olivia shows the depth and emotion that actresses many years her senior wish they possessed. This is a star making turn, which will place Olivia firmly in the minds of many filmmakers and film lovers throughout the world.
Michael Finn plays "Christopher", a newly divorced man looking for nightly rented companionship, and getting much more in the sweet smile, the sweet soul that is Zoey. With the looks and talent of a seasoned actor dedicated to his craft, Michael Finn is a name is destined to become recognized in the future.
Kelly Gault is mesmerizing in the role of "Jordan", Zoey's friend and neighbor. A beautifully sad young woman (with the mind and mouth of a sailor), Kelly paints "Jordan" as a tragic soul, forever choosing abuse and neglect over loneliness.
Production
December 2008 June 2009
"The Purest Blue" was filmed in Burbank, Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Coronado Island, Winnetka, Malibu, and North Hollywood, CA.
No Crew No Permits
A Main Cast of 3 (with extras picked up along the way)
Truly Guerrilla
Truly Punk Rock
Post Production
June - September 2009
"The Purest Blue" was Written, Directed, Filmed and Edited by Dustin Lane.
Sound (dialog editing, foley, sound FX, mixing, etc) was tweaked by Bastien Benkhelil.
Color Correction /Timing was performed by Sherry Lee.
Special Effects Makeup was done by Camille LaBry.
Music by Fell, The Meeting Places, Should, Coastal, Foxtail Somersault & For Against.
Additional Music was written, produced and performed by Josh Wambeke (of Fell).
Photography and Art Design by Sherry Lee.
Promotional Materials Designed by Sherry Lee & Dustin Lane
"The Purest Blue" will premiere at Film Festivals beginning in early 2010.
8.18.09 - on a side note FELL is pleased to advise about the release of INCOHERENT LULLABIES, theoretically the band's 2nd release, released TODAY on Austrialian label CAMERA OBCURA RECORDS. visit CAMERA OBSCURA's website for more info or to purchase the album.
www.cameraobscura.com.au
taken from camera obscura's website....On their second album, Denver, Colorado outfit Fell have planted a flag at the intersection point of post-rock, dream-pop and psychedelia, and claimed this unique place in the music continuum as their own. They have done this without expensive studios, name producers or extravagant budgets just a dedication to achieving sublime sonics, and a recognition of a very important guiding principle: "it's the song…stupid". The dark, post-Joy Division, post Disintegration-era Cure tonalities of their debut have been replaced by a shimmering, gorgeously-melodic trips that recall the more blissed out moments of bands like The Telescopes, as well as the space-pop of driving force Josh Wambeke's earlier project Phineas Gage. "Incoherent Lullabies" is all the more remarkable in that it was recorded part-time between 2004 and late-2007 largely by Wambeke himself, with occasional help from friends who cycled through the band at various times in that period.
As Josh says of the recordings, "Incoherent Lullabies is a record about memories. Each song on the record represents nostalgia about a person or place in time that I felt had a deep impact on me personally. Although the lyrics don't necessarily tell stories, they more or less explain the feelings of what I experienced. It is melancholy; however, there are a lot of hopeful moments in there as well. It was written and recorded during a time where I was beginning to shed the skin of my pre-adulthood adolescence. "Incoherent Lullabies" is a record about reflection".
Many tracks will create deep endorphin flows within the listener, and we recommend the haunting "Dust on Countertops", the coruscating psychedelic haze of "1997" and the explosive dynamics of "A Million Miniscule Christmas Lights" for your listening pleasure.
7.29.09 - thank david from LOSING TODAY for the superb review of A FAREWELL TO ECHOES.
taken from: http://www.losingtoday.com/reviews.php?review_id=5179
After listening to Fell's third album, it may seem easy to lump the group into the shoegaze category, thanks to their love of guitar pedals, reverb, and lyrics that are hard to understand. I wouldn't blame you for doing it either, since some of their songs do bear a distinct Slowdive/Ride stamp, with inventive guitar sounds and an ethereal quality being two of their most obvious assets. However, there's a lot more to this Colorado bunch than just the typical shoegaze moves. They've also got a space-rock thing going on, largely indebted to Pink Floyd. Singer Josh Wambeke (who was also in the hugely under-rated Phineas Gage) can be reminiscent of Roger Waters circa Dark Side Of The Moon, and the songs drift past your ears with languid spacey tempos that have you expecting Gilmour's slide guitar to come sailing into the mix at any moment. It's that slowness that gives the band their most defining characteristic, as they let the songs on A Farewell To Echoes unfold in an unhurried and relaxed fashion, which is quite refreshing to hear. Although I find myself listening to the album's ten tracks as a whole, rather than just picking out certain songs for repeat listening, "Low At Dusk, Distance At Dawn", the majestic and mournful "Eros" and a six minute ambient instrumental aptly titled "Like Moving Glaciers" rank as some of the finest moments not just on this record, but on most record I've heard in 2009. by david mansdorf.
7.22.09 - thank you matt from WWW.AVERSION.COM for the wonderful interview with josh from FELL. visit the bands myspace page for show dates, new youtube videos and plenty more...
7.15.09 - we would to thank jason heller and everyone at the westword.com for the splendid review of FELL's album A FAREWELL TO ECHOES.
taken from: http://www.westword.com/2009-07-16/music/fell/
For a CD titled A Farewell to Echoes, there sure are a lot of, well, echoes. Fell recorded this during the delay of its upcoming Incoherent Lullabies. Sure enough, there's a raw, rushed aura here despite its ethereal layering and exquisite eruptions of distortion. "Low at Dusk, Distance at Dawn" comes on like an alcoholic astronaut, dribbling druggy funk and murmurs of white noise; the lead line that winds throughout is so sinuous and blissful, it sounds like Josh Wambeke is showing more than platonic love to his guitar. Thankfully, the busy shimmer drifts into a psychedelic somnambulance that's more wet dream than hand job. And if that sleepy majesty ends up being echoed on Lullabies when it's finally released in August, so much the better. by jason heller.
6.30.09 - so far the release for FELL's lastest album A FAREWELL TO ECHOES has been quite succesful. the band's release show brought in an impressive amount of fans, not to mention the band has sold and distributed around 200 copies of the album, including a few outside the states. on june 12th FELL graced the airwaves of boulder's RADIO 1190 where they band played a live set which included three tracks from A FAREWELL TO ECHOES...the album stayed in 1190's top charts for weeks and is now in steady rotation at the station. vacant songs would like to thank katherine at 1190 for all her support. a week prior josh and michael were interviewed on denver's INDIE 101.5 with dave herrera who also helped the band get a wonderful interview in the denver WESTWORD. thank you dave for everything. vacant songs would also like to thank everyone at the denver ONION for their wonderful interview the decider. FELL then played two shows near the end of june to support album releases for local friends apathetic drive and i sank molly brown. june was the definately the month in denver to release an album but overall we were pleased with the release of A FAREWELL TO ECHOES.
6.5.09 - VACANT SONGS is pleased to announce the release of the latest album by FELL entitled 'A FAREWELL TO ECHOES'. the album is available here on VSR or at the following sites:
www.amazon.com . www.cdbaby.com . www.itunes.com
please visit FELL's myspace for links to interviews in the WESTWORD, ONION, ect.
5.10.09 - FELL's latest album entitled 'A FAREWELL TO ECHOES' is due to be released JUNE 5, 2009. for denver locals the release party is scheduled at bender's tavern that evening around 9pm.
5.6.09 - welcome to VACANT SONGS RECORDS official website. visit back soon for info on NEW RELEASES. in the meantime visit our myspace page at www.myspace.com/vacantsongs