Picture by Carl Begai

JON OLIVA'S PAIN drummer Christopher Kinder has issued the following update:

"Now that the spring touring is finally in the can, we thought it was time to update you with some detailed info on JOP #3...coming soon to a store near you! Actually it will be January/February 2008, but that's not really that far off. For JOP, the record has to be delivered by late October so we don't really have much time to dick around before we begin the high-energy, comedy filled recording sessions we all live for... (Frode, leave your evil twin in Norway...hehehe).

Now before we get into the actual record, we'll fill you in on some of our plans for this CD. AFM has picked up the option for the next release. In other words, we must have sold enough records to put some cash in AFM's pockets so they'll try another one with us and see if we can raise the roof even higher this time. We are thrilled to be working with them once again. They believed in the band, and the music and they did their jobs. It is a win-win for everyone including the fans.

So in light of that development, Oliva wanted to raise the bar with the packaging of the new disc. We have no say over the number of different releases or decisions that the label has the rights to. What we can do is try to bring something fresh and give you the fans every reason possible to go out and buy JOP's music. We have decided on a multi-media presentation that should blow everyone's minds. Sorry, we can't give you the sorted details just yet, but if memory serves us right we can only think of one other band that has ever done what we are going to do for all of you. We will say this....there will be plenty of studio footage available for your viewing pleasure as well. It is our sincere intentions to bring as much of the recording experience to you as possible. Anyone who has had the chance to witness one of our sessions knows exactly what we are talking about....it's simply priceless and we could easily make a hit reality TV show out of it!.....It's that funny!

Now the CD: we have settled on a sort of 'theme' and are awaiting the official OK from AFM. It's not a concept record (yikes!) but each song will tell a story that binds it all together. It's going to be a very dark presentation! Oliva is not a happy man, and he is going to write all about it. Expect some of the darkest lyrics he has ever written, but the messages are important and real! Experimenting musically a bit more on this record seems logical for us. We all have a great many idea's to add to Oliva's already brilliant songwriting, and we are purposely going to look at anything and everything we can to make these songs as interesting as possible. Oliva's music will always sound like Oliva....so no matter what crazy idea or sound we come up with, the end result will never be sacrificed.

We are working on a 10 minute opening opus that will clearly set the tone for the rest of the CD. Currently we have 15 working titles, more Criss Oliva riffs to add and massive amounts of arrangments left to do. But the framework is there, and tonight Oliva, Kevin and I will begin the daunting task of sifting through everything we have so far...chopping, dicing, and mixing whatever is necessary to achieve another 60 minutes of magic.....as best we can. You are going to hear some things from Oliva that you probably never heard before. But that is the genius of his writing skills....he is finding new ways

to incorporate different elements but always managing to preserve his unique style.

Matt and Zahner will probably begin working with us again later this week. Pre-production at Audio should officially commence in the next month or so and once we have the final arrangements and basic recordings, Kevin and I will begin preparing to cut our tracks sometime in July or early August. JOP dealt with alot of unnecessary turmoil and anxiety during the first few weeks of the recording of MR. We will never put ourselves in that position again. Rothney and I want ample time to come up with the best performances we can.....because we know it's not going to be easy matching or beating Maniacal Renderings.....but we sure are going to try!

Get back to you all asap!....And thank's once again for believing in this band....JOP! As some of you have passionately stated, it is ALL about the music and nothing else. And if the rest of you cannot understand and accept that...then too f*cking bad for you....'cause your the one's missing out!"

Cheers and beers,

Christopher Kinder

Go to this location to read BW&BK;'s recent interview with Kinder, bassist Kevin Rothney and Jon Oliva.