Thanks to everyone who has given us their love and support through the years. This album is for you.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
This album really sets the story and the foundation for what we are as a band. Going forward, every record we do from now on will probably get better and more complex in terms of song development and exploration, but this particular record is an excellent portrayal of a year of preparation and hard work. It’s a solid foundation of who we are as musicians and what kind of music we like to play. It’s the way we believe music should be played. This kind of sets the tone.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
Off The Floor Damn Fools
Taking refuge with their guitars, a handheld tape recorder and a collection of old LPs, Mike and Andrew
began
their
journey,
writing songs stemming from the most vintage of musical idioms: classic rock, blues, soul and southern groove.
CHRIS
JOVAN
the band
2
GUYS
ANDREW
Their appreciation for the way music was written, recorded and played in the 60’s and 70’s began to show in their songwriting. They recruited keys player Mike Turner and former band mates (Fully Loaded), Chris Ball on bass, Jovan Vujatovic on drums, and lead guitarist, Alex Gordon-Firing, they refocused on their musical roots, ideologies and inspirations, and reformed under the name Damn Fools.
TURNER
Off The Floor Damn Fools
MIKE
6
ALEX
the band
TURN INTO
02:30
shame
“Those natural little errors that give it a human tone are the only room for error t h a t e x i s t .”
1 Off The Floor Damn Fools
OFF THE FLOOR Thoughts On Recording Live
Recording live was an interesting excercise for us because you really had to be on top of your game. Each band member had their fixed parts. We rehearsed like f@#! to prepare, but in the end you had to have faith that everyone would do their part. There was very little margine for error. Those natural little errors that give it a human tone are the only room for error that exist.
03:23
revolution
2
We use very few effect pedals, a little bit of overdrive, as well as vintage style germanium transistor Fuzz pedals. This creates a unique type of distortion that emulates that of a broken speaker... it is a very "fuzzy," warm and bass heavy sound. This is the guitar sound we
REVOLUTION
go for. It is heavily adopted from guitar tones of the late sixties and early seventies. As we all know, guitars play a rather large part in Rock n Roll music, and the way they sound can have great impact in song and music.
“I’ll I read about is fear and doubt. Day in day out, they scream I shout.” Off The Floor Damn Fools
03:48
miss saigon
“Darlin’ we’ll be enemies. Over land and over seas. No one to sing our song. So long Miss Saigon”
3
MAGIC TAKE The Elusive Perfect Take
One of the best feelings when recording live is knowing that you’ve just nailed a song. There were a couple songs on this album that we recorded in as little as one or two takes. “Miss Saigon” was the closest we came to pulling off a ‘magic take.’ We banged it out in two takes, but ended up recording a couple more security takes just to be sure.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
03:51
on your own
4
While in Berlin, Andrew (Guitarist) ended up having an open jam in the middle of the street with a bunch of random people he had just met. Upon returning home, he shared his experience with the band and thus “On Your Own” was born. The song is about travel and those nostalgic moments spent in transit when you reflect back on the people you’ve met and the places you’ve been. It’s about that re-adjustment period when you return home again and all the good times are over.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
Travel
03:27
shoot
5
Off The Floor Damn Fools
STORIES From The Road
After a brief haitus from playing in a band, Guitarist, Andrew, decided to travel through Asia for five months. His stories from his travels eventually became the basis and inspiration for songs such as Miss Saigon, Shame and On Your Own. The earliest version of these songs were written in a Vancouver basement suit prior to the official formation of the Damn Fools.
“If you’re asking me for money I can give it to you honey. But it’s time that I got goin”
RAW
03:11
wild ones
6
Wild Ones was the last track added to the album. When the band began the recording process, the lyrics and melody were only partially developed, the rest was thrown together in the studio. After recording the other tracks, everyone was in sync from all the rehearsals and Wild Ones seemed to ow organically.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
03:15
commotion
7 Off The Floor Damn Fools
ROCK
CULTURE
Paying Homage To The Essence Of Rock N Roll We’ve had many sources of inspiration for this album, one of which has been drawing upon those at the helm of what rock and roll is... The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, CCR. We wanted this album to reect the essence and culture of rock n roll and stay as true to that as possible. At the same time, we really strived to create our own sound as an individuals and as a group.
05:00
this road
MOTTO Work Ethic
The song is the number one priority and has to be served first over anyone’s ego. We all have the mentality that it’s about what is best for the song. We focus on our roles and contributing to a common sound. Our individual talents aid the band as a whole first and on a personal level we aim to develop as musicians.
“If I make the same mistakes. If I don’t learn, I can’t change. Would you help me understand. Wash t h e d i r t f r o m o f f m y h a n d s . M a k e m e a b e t t e r m a n .”
Off The Floor Damn Fools
8
04:42
strangers
“. . . a f t e r w a t c h i n g a f o u r h o u r d o c u m e n t a r y o n To m Petty, the two brothers started jaming together and e n d e d u p c o m p l e t i n g a d e m o o f t h e s o n g t h a t n i g h t .”
INSPIRATION Writting Track 9 “Strangers”
“Strangers” was written before the band was even formed. At the time, brothers Mike (Lead Vocalist) and Andrew (Guitarist) were living together in a basement suit in Vancouver and could conveniently jam together at any hour. This spawned a number of the songs on the album, including “Strangers.” One night, after watching a four hour
9
documentary on Tom Petty, the two brothers started jaming together and ended up completing a demo of the song that night.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
05:30
i’ll remember
REMINISCE Recalling Memories
“I’ll Remember” is a song about the time spent with loved ones and remembering them when they are gone. Written about Mike and Andrew’s grandfather, the song talks about life in South America and some of their granfather’s experiences and the people he met along the way.
“Sippin’ on that Whiskey glass Wishing time didn’t go so fast And what we shared could last M u c h l o n g e r .”
Off The Floor Damn Fools
10
04:15
i’ve been waiting
11 Off The Floor Damn Fools
“Just one look and my heart it’s beating like a d r u m . . .”
I’VE BEEN WAITING “Just one touch and my skin b u r n s h o t t e r t h a n t h e s u n . . .”
“ Yo u ’ r e ke e p i n g m e u p a l l night when you’re on my m i n d .”
05:08
storm
TAKE 1
Live vs. Modern Recording "With modern recording you play to a track and can do as many individual takes as needed to get your part right, but you loose that human touch."
“ R e c o r d i n g l i v e i s l i ke p r e p p i n g f o r a g a m e . Yo u have to start your mental preparation, warm u p a n d t h e n i t ’ s g o t i m e . Yo u g o o u t i n t o t h e room and play your heart out. And hopefully y o u n a i l i t i n t h e fi r s t o r s e c o n d t r y .”
“There’s a storm that’s c o m i n g i n . . .” Off The Floor Damn Fools
12
Released 22 June 2013 Produced and Mixed by Dave Ogilvie. Engineered by Pedro Dzelme. Assistant Engineer: Rachel Ashmore. Recorded and mixed at Mushroom St u d i o s , Va n co u ve r, B C . Organ in Miss Saigon and I’ll Remember engineered by Alex Aligizakis at Nimbus, Va n co u ve r, B C . M a s t e r e d b y P e t e Ly m a n . Mastered at Infrasonic Sound Recording Co., Los Angeles, CA.
Off The Floor Damn Fools
Mike Twining - Vocals Andrew Twining - Guitar Alex Gordon Firing - Guitar Chris Ball - Bass Mike Turner - Keys/ Organ Jovan Vujatovic - Drums Off The Floor Damn Fools