Picture by Carl Begai

JON OLIVA'S PAIN drummer Christopher Kinder has checked in with the following studio update:

"Coming 'atcha with another round of JOP studio antics!

....and trust me, it's never a dull moment with this band.

We took sometime this week to really reflect on what Greg 'Super G' Marchak meant to all of us and our music. I have a picture of him right over the Pro-tools rig to constantly remind ourselves of what he will always mean to us.....and we are always looking to him for inspiration and guidance. How we miss you G!

Onto the recording sessions: Monday was an awesome day at Morrisound. Kevin had 2 weeks prior to review his initial performance and some of the changes Matt 'the musical note police' Laporte inflicted on these new songs. Kevin was of course very prepared and his new vintage Ampeg bass rig, along with a new fretless bass, allowed him to lay down some of the best performances he has done to date. His bass tone is without description and will be a feature highlight on the new CD. It's f*cking thunderous. Nice job Sir Rothney!

Oliva rounded out the day by completing his final guitar rythym tracks and his grand piano performances. The rest of the key tracks will be done here at our studio, now properly named Shabbey Road Studios. Pretty cool, huh?

Tues-Weds were just me and Laporte continuing to lay down his massive amount of lead guitar work. I have to say that nothing amazes me about Matt anymore....he just comes to the table with the most unpredictable idea's and a real talent for distorted melody. He makes everything, even the most basic of riff's sound exciting and most of all...memorable. He has completed about 6 songs worth of leads....just 8 more to go!

Oliva was here on Friday and will be back today to continue on the journey of keyboard, string, and special effects. His ability to create unlimited counter melodies within every song is awe inspiring. He plays violin and cello like a real player would, and while we will have some live string players on this CD.....no one will be able to tell the difference between the actual player and his expert keyboard string tracks.

We should begin vocals in the next week or so. Oliva's voice is once again in perfect shape and the amount of backing vocals that we have to record will make us all dizzy before it is done. But god-damn is it cool! Zahner will be coming in at the end to add all the bells, whistles, B3 organ and whatever else we need.

So it's back to the grind. Touring news will be available very soon. Expect a spring tour almost immediately after the release in April!"

Cheers and beers to you all.

..m/