Yesterday was the last day of recording for the new album. It's pretty weird. I don't think it's hit me yet. I'm sitting on the couch in my living room drinking a cup of coffee, watching the Manchester United-Middlesboro game on mute and listening to Neutral Milk Hotel, trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do next. I'm sure thing are about to get so busy for us that this feeling of nothingness wont last very long. The last 4 months of my life has been writing and recording this record. I guess, I need to know the meaning of my life for the next 4 months now.

We practiced last night after we left the studio and we're practicing again today. We leave for tour tomorrow so that should be awsome. I gotta do m laundry and pack eventually. We're leaving for a short 9 day tour in the morning. I've been so busy with the record for so long that I haven't gotten to spend any time with my friends so this tour will be a good opportunity to hang out with my buddies in Bombers, who have been my best friends since elementary school. Through all the things I've been through, people I've met, places I've seen etc.., I've kept the same friends since I was a little kid. I think that's had alot of effect on the person I've become. I love my friends. I'm excited to spend this tour with them.

So this is supposed to be the studio journal, so I'll stop rambling and talk about the studio. I will try my best to describe what to expect from this album....

First off, I want to assure anyone who may have been concerned and may be worried about what I say, I would not call this record "experimental" and I would definitely not say that we have strayed far from what we and our fans have always loved about Bayside. While there are of course, differences and progressions, everyone can rest assured that it's not a crazy left turn that alot of bands seem to take after tasting alittle success. So with that said, there are full orchestras on this record, violins, violas, cellos, trumpets, saxophones, xylophones, clavs, tubas, clarinets, oboes, double basses and timpanis. There are also accordions, pianos and marching drums.  I have always been very into musicals. I wanted to see what happened when we took Bayside and "the Walking Wounded" concept and  made a musical out of it. There are certain writing techniques that are used in writing songs for musicals and plays that usually aren't used in rock music or pop music. Extreme highs and lows, advanced instrumentation, reprises and things like that. I spent alot of time listening to some of my favorite musicals like Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Phantom of the Opera, Grease, Grease II, Cabaret, Wizard of Oz as well as songwriter/composers/singers like Leonard Bernstein, Judy Garland, Neil Sedaka etc..I would listen to them and study what they were doing. Even taking notes sometimes. I figured out what was making that stuff sound the way it did and I applied it to my own writing.

So in short, if you listen to this and want to listen deeply and read into it, there are so many things happening on this record and so many doors and layers, however, if you don't want to, it's still sounds like Bayside. I can't imagine someone listening to this and asking "what the hell were they thinking". I think we've succeeded in making an album that will appeal to people who are looking for different things from music.

Lyrically, this is the next progression in the Bayside story. Sirens and is very depressing with no sign of light anywhere. Self Titled was about founding out what I was depressed and wh my life was going the way it was. Looking for the light, so to speak. The Walking Wounded is an album about surviving. It's about survivors of life, of depression, lost love, the music scene and anything else. This is about finally finding the light. It's about going from the depths of a black whole and wanting to make things better and ultimately getting there. I think the only thing you wont get out of our new album is any pessimism. If you're content being unhappy and want to listen to someone who hates thier life and doesn't want to do anything about it, I can see the Walking Wounded as being a disappointment.

On February 6th, everyone can decide for themselves though. I just hope that people are listening with open ears and not just judging based on what they think it's supposed to be. I would hate to think that people wouldn't like our album because we tried to be better at what we do, worked to hard on it or were too optimistic about bad situations.