#72 On The Rox on 12-12-11

This was the holiday party for High Voltage Magazine. I had come across their announcements for the event on Twitter and reached out to see if we could play. They said yes. It rained like Hell which definitely had an impact on the number of people, but there was still a crowd. I had never seen Sunset Blvd. look so dead!

The evening was opened up by Zero One, the band fronted by actor/comedian Hal Sparks. He was not joking in how seriously he took his metal, decked out in Kiss-worthy dragon pants. They even covered Spinal Tap. MPC forgot some drum stuff, so we borrowed it from Bethpage Black's drummer, a tall dark figure named Steve. Our set was enjoyable, including our Christmas song we wrote. We even wore Christmas lights. Bethpage Black were an eclectic 'rock' band, who chose to cover The Darkness' "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" and their singer nailed all the high stuff. Suddyn was an alt-piano-rock band who closed out the evening.

The ladies of High Voltage were very approachable and we had some good conversations with them. They also gave out Christmas gifts to everyone who attended.

#71 Redwood Bar on 11-11-11

This was the release of our new album 11, and proved to be an unforgettable evening for all the wrong reasons. Except for Blond Goblin, we hand picked the acts who played with us. Dark Furs were kind enough to open the evening, only this time minus keys for a bit more of a stripped-back sound. New Room had been on our list of people to play with for quite some time, and their music proved to be deeper and darker than I had remembered, but (I felt) fit us perfectly.

Strangely enough, a friend of a friend was having a going away party at the venue, so I kept running into people I knew. They kept saying "Oh, I finally get to see you play!" When we took the stage, one of these friends was beyond drunk and insisted on coming on stage. I did my best to shuffle her away, but time after time she kept returning to dance, bump into things, unplug things accidentally and pull my mic down to talk. My blood was boiling, and this was not getting any better. The rest of the band seemed amused, and I was pleased that they weren't phased, at the very least. The show ended, not a moment too soon.

New album - 11

After much struggle and a final triumphant push to finish getting it tracked and mixed, we are proud to announce the release of our new album, simply titled 11. It is 11 songs, and we have the benefit of being able to release it on 11-11-11, which gets us all excited, numerologically speaking.

It was mixed by long-time collaborator Jason LaRocca and mastered by the ever-giving Erick Labson. To make it even cooler, the artwork was made by amazing actor/artist Joe McKay, who happened to have done the artwork on Broken Social Scene's Rock Forgiveness Record. Joe has made us look very good.

You can buy the album on iTunes or Bandcamp, but we make more money off the latter.

#63 The Down and Out on 6-15-11

When we got back from tour we started to book a bunch of shows to keep the momentum going. We quickly withdrew from this plan, looking at the fact we still have an album to finish, the biggest priority. However we had one show booked with the Hangout Group, who had booked our Mezz show.

The Down and Out apparently used to be called Charlie O's, and is on the bottom floor of the Alexandria Hotel. It is very spacious and has pool tables in the middle and booths all along the side. There was a nice amount of people who seemed to just be there for the bar, a 'built-in crowd' if you will.

Bell Ringer opened the show, but it took us forever to get there, so we missed them. We walked in while Backdrifter played. They were an alternative rock trio. Cruz and Wright followed, who were dressed half glitz/half street. playing dirty rock and roll. I met the singer, who was Cruz. He informed me that Wright was no longer with the band, so they would probably be changing their name soon.

Our set was enjoyable, with extra song requests and even some dancing audience members. It felt like a good performance, and for having been a little uncertain about playing again right away, it was worth it and then some. Everyone was on their game.

Now we break for a bit, to finish the record and write some new stuff. And get ready for a video release...

t-shirt

(Is it a 't-shirt' because it's shaped like a 'T'? As opposed to what? A k-shirt? A p-shirt?)

We have the first Active Set t-shirt now available in a range of sizes. One of the earliest associations I had for the name 'Active Set' was people playing tennis, so Michael Castro ran with this and found us a great vintage shirt design, which we modified, color-schemed and voila! 

Buy one today.

The Active Set, ON TOUR.

Yes, we have booked a very nice tour up and down California. It originally had Portland as its northernmost destination, but Portland proved very difficult to book a show in. Over saturation of indie rock is our guess, so we'll have to visit another time.

The tour (appropriately christened the "It Multiplies Tour") will include the following dates:

May 17 - Anaheim - Doll Hut

May 18 - San Diego - Ruby Room

May 20 - Los Angeles - Mr. T's Bowl

May 21 - Visalia - Cellar Door

May 22 - Santa Cruz - Metavinyl

May 23 - San Francisco - Brick & Mortar Music

May 24 - Sacramento - Naked Lounge

May 25 - Redding - Maxwell's

May 26 - Eureka - Little Red Lion

May 28 - San Francisco - Brainwash Cafe

May 29 - Fresno - Tokyo Garden

We have some special surprises planned, so those interested in seeing a 'different side' of the Active Set should definitely come out to some of the shows.

Photo Shoot, doubled.

We did another photo shoot with Tami Bahat. This was my concept, and she executed it well. It fits rather nicely with the dark theme of It Multiplies.

New single: It Multiplies

The second single leading up to our new album is out today. It is a song about infidelity. In fact, a specific incidence of infidelity, and the consequences. Listen to it here.

The artwork was done by local Jolly de Guzman, who has created some incredible art.

Our goal was to release something entirely different in theme and mood from our last single. It's going to be a great year...

It Multiplies video shoot location: FOUND!

(photo by Danit Sigler)

Having sought a perfect desolate location for the It Multiplies video, we happened upon a house in Palmdale, CA that had the remains of a chicken farm behind it. These rotting wooden shacks are incredible, and look very creepy at night.

Seeing as the song is a bit darker and moodier than our last, we wanted something to fit that. Our director Lior Molcho is very pleased with the find and is looking forward to making a bit more of an 'art video' than the last one. Photographer Tami Bahat is going to some makeup/art direction of the shoot as well, so we'll see what that brings.

Shooting takes place on the evening of January 23rd, and the weather is supposed to be somewhere around 30 degrees. Hooray winter desert night shoot!

The song is set to be released on January 31st, a month or so before the video.

#52 Redwood Bar on 1-4-2011

(photo by Danit Sigler)

We were invited to play this show by Cinderella Motel. The lead singer is a bit New Romantic looking, and can play the accordion. Redwood Bar has a nautical theme, and though the stage is small, there is a nice painting with a busty mermaid behind it.

We were pleased to have our video director and cinematographer in town to finally see a live show. I was using new bass equipment, and trying to get used to it. The sound on stage was very odd, and nothing was sounding right. I became discouraged, and after finishing a song I announced that we would not be playing another until we got the sound sorted out. The sound man made some adjustments, which helped a little, but overall the performance felt like a challenge. It was well received though, and we were pleased to have some familiar friends with us.

I left my hooded sweatshirt at the club, but luckily Michael retrieved it. 

#34 Silverlake Lounge on 10-20-09

We played with the Monthlies again (we like them) as well as Megasapien, Melee and Eugene & the 1914.

I don't recall much about this show. But what I do recall is:

1. Megasapien reminded me of Sunny Day Real Estate at times.

2. Eugene and the 1814 looked cool.

#30 Gallo's Pizza on 7-11-09

Happy Birthday to Francis Ramsden! The lad was going to Vegas anyway, so I said, "Why don't I book a show?"

Well, Gallo's Pizza does have a stage, and lights, and a sound system. But it is a pizza restaurant. 

It was uncomfortably warm, even at night, and the lift gate hydraulics on the van crapped out. Playing with us were Light The Black Skye, a mostly Latino 'screamo' band and Screamin' Steel, some older 80s metal guys who played covers of, yes, 80s metal bands. However, they didn't play the hits as much as other album tracks. Songs that made you think, "Wait, isn't that...?" They were a lot of fun though, and the screamo kids knelt down, bowing and saying "We're not worthy!"

The set was, um, not the tightest we'd ever played, and we had dragged everyone to a pizza restaurant instead of more exciting Vegas venues, so there was an air of comedy about the show. We were very well received by the owners and sound guy and welcomed back any time. And, to top it all off, they gave us pizzas to take with us.

#29 California Music Fest @ San Souci on 7-3-09

We were accepted to this festival via Sonicbids, an online submission service for bands. Here is the description for the event:

California Music Fest is the celebration of the California Culture: Music, Surf, and Art. It takes place Independence weekend in the beautiful city of Ventura, CA in conjunction with the already established and very popular Ventura Street Fair. Last years street fair featured a massive turn out of over 45,000 people. This year with the City of Ventura’s inclusion of the California Music Fest, over 150 bands will be featured as well as a surf contest and visual artists from all over the country. The city is expecting an even larger attendance for 2009.

What the event was in reality was a cramming of too many bands in too many venues with the ensuing chaos. There is an outdoor stage with 'bigger bands', but the rest of it is silly. San Souci is a tiny dive bar in Ventura, and the corner we played in restricts the view of most of the crowd from seeing anyone but the person in front, namely me. We were one of 7-9 bands (!) playing, and the set was short and sweet. We played with too many bands to recall most of the names, but one was 80lb Gorilla(?). I sold an EP to a drunk couple at the bar, who insisted paying $20 for it. I was also instructed to come to San Diego.

This is yet another SonicBids disappointment, and has assured our disinterest in continuing using it. 

#28 Silverlake Lounge on 5-12-09

The press for this show read:

"Our celebration of 'Doce de Mayo,' the lesser known May holiday which is customarily celebrated by listening to bands in bars, or groups in pubs."

(psssssst. Hey guys, anyone want to chime in on what happened at this show? I know Vulgar Latin played, as well as the Eye the Ear and the Arm and Modern Time Machines, but that's about all I can remember.)

#27 Earth Day Celebration @ Toluca Lake Farmers Market on 4-19-09

This was actually a half-band acoustic set, but since it was all Active Set songs and a Radiohead cover it still counts. Wayne was incredible, I was okay. The horse nearby seemed to like it.

#26 USC Springfest on 4-4-09

What a show! Great experience. 

This was a big 2-stage outdoor festival at USC (Francis' Alma mater), with music throughout the day. We had incredible sound and the biggest stage we've played to date. It felt good to stretch out. We even had a friend of Francis play keys on Sea Legs. We mucked around most of the day, taking advantage of the hospitality bestowed upon us, such as drinks, food and a green room. Well, it was Iglu & Hartly's green room, but we were allowed in anyway, as they remembered us from SXSW.

Sadly, we had no merchandise to sell at the row of merch tables other than the EP, so new fans were not acquired as they could have been. But we did make some good contacts with bloggers, event planners, etc. and got to watch Pinback and Brand New, as well as shoot some footage for an upcoming self-produced documentary. Or not.