The Johnsonian

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Entertainment

"Just about every Livalie song has an alternate funny chorus that most people don't know about," said guitarist Paul Wright. During recording, singer Drew Cyphers would sing idiotic words that were extremely humorous instead of stopping when he messed up during studio time.

For seven long years, local rock band Livalie (live-a-lie) has been dreaming of recording and releasing their own album. Since the composition of their first original song, the members of the band have been relentlessly pursuing this goal.

"I think it's every band's dream to record a legitimate CD," guitarist Paul Wright said, "Whether or not that becomes a reality is solely up to the band."

After many disappointing at-home recording attempts, the band decided to try professional studio recording in the summer of 2006. Only able to complete a few tracks, they received good feedback from sound engineer Jamie Hoover, who later became responsible for the mixing and engineering of the band's EP.

"It ended up being a learning experience more than anything," sophomore music major and drummer Pat Gerasia said, "We weren't completely satisfied with what direction we were going in musically."

By the time Livalie was ready to record again, nearly a year later, a very different band walked back into the studio. Their sound had changed significantly, especially with the addition of junior business administration major Kyle Sanderson on keyboards and synthesizers. After years of experimenting and exploring various types of music, Livalie had finally found what they were looking for, and established their own distinctive sound.

Livalie began laying down tracks for their much anticipated debut album in the summer of 2007. Each track took an average of 10 to 15 hours to complete, with each member of the band recording his own part separately.

"Putting all of our parts under a microscope allowed us to really clean up our sound," Gerasia said.

The entire process took about six months and was finally released on February 22, 2008, as an 8-track EP entitled "A Perfect Compromise." According to Wright, the title was chosen mostly in reference to the band finally locking into a style and sound that they are all satisfied with. Each musician brings something very different to the table, and "A Perfect Compromise" is an expert fusion of these differences into an exceptionally cohesive album.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools