Open up the Fountainhead...

Well, to say that an update to this blog on my part is a bit overdue would be an understatement, as I’m providing the lyrical content for every song on this upcoming record aside from our opening track “Wolf Pack,” which was written by Jeremy. And I certainly would have updated sooner if it weren’t for the fact that I don’t have any regular access to the internet and finally just emailed this to Jeremy, using the filtered internet I have at work, for him to post up here.
So now it’s been over a year since we’ve recorded last and I’ll be the first to say that it’s long overdue, though at this point looking at the songs we’ve produced and what we’re about to record, I can say that the time was almost necessary. We’ve all certainly grown up a lot since the last recording and are all at a fairly different place in our lives. Our songs, as you will very soon see, will definitely reflect that. In my own respect I’ve grown more into my own self sufficiency and expanded and grown significantly in my philosophical and political perspectives. This will be incredibly apparent upon examining the lyrical content of the record which, while not a concept album, is certainly thematically driven.
Much of this comes from my recent discovery of the works of Ayn Rand. First I read The Fountainhead and then graduated to Atlas Shrugged and then Anthem. Her books and Objectivist philosophy made a profound impact on my life as I’ve always been an individualist and in more recent years increasingly Libertarian. These books took these leanings to a whole new level, gave them clarity and even stronger definitions and convictions than were already to begin with. Ayn Rand is considered to be one of the mothers of the modern Libertarian party and her works certainly helped to nurture my own philosophical perspectives. Her works made such an immediate impression on me that I wrote our own song which I entitled Fountainhead while I was only reading the introduction to the book. I hadn’t even made it into the story yet. I’ve since been avidly recommending the books to anyone who’ll listen to me for longer than a second or two. To better illustrate the lyrical direction of this new record I’m including the lyrics to our song Fountainhead which I believe hardest hits to the core of much of the message of this record. Please take the time to read it and share your thoughts with me. I’d love to hear your responses. - Josiah

Fountainhead

Whatever happened to the dreams you held as a child?
Were they all smothered out under the sands of time?
You gave an ear to the people’s degrading cry,
And all the while you let your ambitions die.
You pushed everything that you cared for aside,
As your soul bent and broke under the force of the tide.
But I refuse to surrender each day that passes,
To the rolling blind inertia of the masses.
Refuse to be dissolved into the greater whole.
Fueled by the raging furnace within my soul.
Though I stand to face a much greater force,
In so doing I might find that I can change its course.
I can change the course.
I will change the course.
If only you can rediscover that forgotten drive,
You might discover what it is to truly be alive.
Just open up the Fountainhead you’ve always known,
And let spring forth those creations that are your own.
If only you can rekindle that flame in you again,
You might join a pantheon of truly great men.
Become that Fountainhead.

6/18

We are getting geared up for recording. We are pushing to record in July during the first week or two. We're taking 3 days with our friend Matt at Ledbelly Studios. We are also in the process of getting Juice up to speed with the new songs. He's doing a great job with them and adding his own flavor to what we do. He seems to be working out and hopefully he'll be a great addition to Hard Luck. These next few weeks will consist of us tweaking these songs and making sure that they are top notch and exactly how we want them. We've also had many discussions in regards to the actual production of these songs and believe me when I say we're going to throw people for a loop with this one. That's all I can say for now. Other than working our asses off with these songs, we've now got to make sure we don't lose our practice space. Hopefully we get it worked out. Regardless though, nothing will stop us from recording. That's priority numero uno! Keep checking this blog and checking for any myspace updates and so forth on the recording and when its going to drop. I'd like to say by the end of July it will be ready. At the latest, early August. We're doing this one diy this time. This will be our first solo release. I personally believe this release will let everyone know what we've been up to. Stay tuned....

Nine

Man what a week it has been. we've played two shows this past week and it has taken a lot out of us. it was almost like we were in two different bands. the first show was KLU/Mongoloids at MJQ. in the previous post jeremy went into details about that event. the locals only was our second show and we played as a three piece. the songs we played are the ones that we are recording and i feel that they left a good impression with everyone. it was awkward playing as a three piece again but it was what me, jeremy, and josiah wanted. we've taken a lot of time to write and grow closer as a band and as individuals. it was good to see and hear from people that all of our hard work has payed off. all that's left is to fine tune the songs and record them.

me and jeremy started writing for this band in february of 2006. we completed our line up roughly in September of that year and played our first show in December of 2006. we got the show through matt smith which was at swayze's. this was not only our first show but it was Foundations as well. even though we were both the opening bands, we appreciated the opportunity given to us and felt that it was a good way to be broken in. Overdose hooked us up with several shows after this as well as helped us out in tough situations. on June 7th, they played their last show at the locals only show. i couldn't help but feel that the show was a fitting end to a band that held it together in atlanta for two years in what i would consider one of the more hectic periods in atlanta hardcore. before champ, matt smith, or even neil were booking shows, the last generation moved on before the torch was passed on. during this period, shows were less frequent and there was a shortage in bands. december of 2006 was a turning point in my mind. you had three unlike bands (OD, Foundation, and Hard Luck) coming up and creating variety in a scene that lacked that. throughout 2007 and 2008, Overdose supported atlanta hardcore and HL. I'm sad to see them go now, but now looking back on that band in retrospective, I appreciate them more than ever.

Even though we lost another good band, i feel that the state of hardcore in atlanta isn't in bad shape. i don't see this as another recession. the locals only show let me see that even though Overdose is gone there are bands that are up and coming. the cycle keeps going and we live another day. i'm happy with where i'm at for once.

Prelude of what's to come...

The show last night was a blast! Justin "Juice" Smith is due a big thank you for filling in for us. We also thank Justin in advance for helping us out because he might very well soon become a part of Hard Luck. I'll spare you the details but, we will be trying him out and teaching him the new songs and hopefully, if it all works out, we'll have a second guitar player. We are still short a bass player. I think its safe to say at this point that a bass player for Hard Luck is also in the works. Things are looking up!

Tomorrow is the locals only show. I'm not really sure what I'm expecting out of this. Nothing really. Kevin and I talked alot last night about it and I really don't care at this point what people think about us or about Hard Luck. I really don't mean that in a negative way either. It just seemed to me that after we played last night that many people came up to us to let us know we had a great show and that's the best they've seen us. Which is fine and we are glad when people tell us that. We're happy that we have supporters here. I think what people don't understand is that we've been playing the same set FOREVER!!!! Seriously, since 2006! And with the progress we've been making as a band and musicians, we just get so irritated playing the same old songs. We've come a long way as a band whether anyone realizes it or not. And no one can argue that Atlanta is a fickle ass city with fickle kids. Love you guys but, you're fickle as hell. If a band doesn't fit a certain mold, many people are very quick to not pay any attention to that band (in this case, us). So all I have to say really is this....come out tomorrow. We're playing only new songs. A showcase if you will. I think everyone is in for a big surprise. We've worked so hard on these songs and put our heart and soul and sweat into them. And I think people will either love it or hate it. And that's fine. Because ultimately we do this for us. We're not trying to please anyone except ourselves. We've just come to that point where we realize that not everyone is going to like our band and that's ok. But with that mind set, we've also realized that its very important to us that WE love what we're doing and that WE love the songs we're writing. If people are into it and like us more than before, awesome! If its the exact opposite, that's awesome too! I think what no one will be able to deny tomorrow is how hard we've worked. This time in my life with this band is the most that I've cared about doing a band ever. And I love Kevin and Josiah for doing this with me. There is still more to come. We're not going away. If anything, we're stronger now. Stronger as a band and as individuals. We'll see you Saturday. Bring an open mind with you.
-Jeremy Luck

There's more hard luck....

June 5th @ Drunken Unicorn...be there. We've also got the locals only show coming up next Saturday, June 7th. I don't think anyone really knows we're playing, which is fine with us. We are for sure only playing new songs though. I think people will be surprised at what hits their ear holes. We've put a lot of time and effort into trying to create something new. We really try to push the envelope and do things that no one would expect out of us. Hopefully everyone will be into it. Let us know what you think afterwards. We'd really appreciate some feedback. Lates.

-Jeremy

18

Right now i'm sitting in the birmingham airport awaiting my flight to Houston. the drive from atlanta to birmingham was long and gave me time to think about a lot of things. 1. when will i actually graduate school. 2. how am i going to pay my bills next month. 3. the plans for this band ( and there are too many to detail).

we're getting ready for the kids like us/mongoloids show on june 5th. our friend justin smith from the murder is helping out by playing second guitar considering we still don't have a bass player. this will be the first time this band has ever played with two guitars and i'm interested to see how it turns out. we won't be playing many of the new songs because of the time frame between now and the show, but the old songs sound like they do recorded which is the first i've heard live. 

As far as new material goes. we hadn't planned on playing any shows until we finished the recording. we also didn't want to play any of the new songs until the cd was out, but we're making an exception. June 7th, we're playing a small bit at the locals only show. all the songs are new and we're not playing any old songs off the split. i felt like since overdose gave us our first show, we should be apart of their last show. also we are only playing as 3 piece because that is what we are at the moment. Jeremy, Josiah, and me spent the last 4 months writing these songs and trying to progress this band. we didn't want to put out the same cd twice. June 7th will be HL playing as the 3 piece that we've been for the past 6 months. i wouldn't have it any other way.

-Kevin

ATL Hardcore!

So, just a quick update. We've got a show booked for June 5th with Kids Like Us and The Mongoloids at MJQ/Drunken Unicorn!! We're pretty damn excited about this. First of all, if you've ever been to a show at the Drunken Unicorn, you will know and understand how amazing that venue is. In my own personal opinion, its the best venue in Atlanta for hardcore shows. The sound there is great. Its not too big and not too small. Shows there definitely get loose. It kind of reminds me of the Under the Couch days. Kevin is damn excited because this will be the first time he's played there with a band. That's the second point I had to make. As a band, we're excited to play Drunken Unicorn just because its a kick ass venue and you get a good feel for how you sound (which is important to us since we don't have any new songs recorded yet). Stoked about playin with KLU and Mongoloids too! Last time we played with KLU they played "Underground" by Life Of Agony and it was amazing! The Mongoloids are always fun and show us love! Big shouts to both bands. We always look forward to playing with these guys. And just the fact that the show is actually IN Atlanta and at a killer venue, I feel like real Atlanta hardcore is quite possibly making its come back. Thank you to Champ and Matt Northpoint for booking the show. See all of you there.

-Jeremy Luck