#anewyear

[fatbikeamerica]

And to all of you beautiful souls here on the west coast! Happy New Year! #fatbikeamerica #happynewyear #fatbikelove #anewyear #2023 (at Vista, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm3Xbn7OmZs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mtchereistheplacetobe]

🦃 Day 10: I’m so thankful for #birthdays 🎉 it’s always a blessing to see a new year! So today I want to just shout out all those November babies! 🥳 Happy Birthday to you from M.T.C. Here Is The Place To Be! Be sure to subscribe to our M.T.C. Experience to receive a free gift 🎁 from us on your Birthday!! Link In The Bio. #happybirthday #thankfulwednesday #anewyear #anotherday #blessedtoseeit #birthdayvibes #novemberbabies #followus #subsribe #giveaways #hereistheplacetobe #mtc #cake #candles #celebrate https://www.instagram.com/p/CWHGykvF4E7/?utm_medium=tumblr

[ceneresufoglidicarta]

Oggi ho deciso che non voglio scrivere niente di triste o di malinconico, perchè voglio dedicare questo giorno ai nuovi inizi, a questo nuovo anno che finalmente è arrivato e spero porti con sè tante novità. Buon anno a tutti ❤🌍

2018🍀

- Bianca neve🌍

[jumphq]

A New Year, Part Three

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When we sat down to the band meeting on January 2nd, I knew for the most part what we were going to be discussing, and was excited about getting to it. 

It felt a little like we were hiring each other for new jobs. Vance the Manager had the year planned out; at the meeting he was organized, concise, realistic. He had a manilla folder full of notes, and on the name tab of that folder was written “Chapter Two”.

It does feel like a new chapter, for us. It feels familiar, but very different. I think we’re all smarter than we were ten years ago. I think we care more; I think that we want to be a bigger part of what makes a band a business, and share what we’ve learned in the past decade, and do things more efficiently and intelligently. I’m not about to break into corporate-speak here, but…it’s not always sexy, you know, being in a rock and roll band. It can be sexier than some other jobs, but as soon as you leave the “just playing at the local bar for fun” phase, it’s a business. We were very happy in 2005 to give it a good, long, break. 

However, it is not lost on us that this “Chapter Two” that is happening is rare, special, seemingly meant to be, and we would all be stupid if we didn’t see where it leads. 

So where does it lead? I asked that question half a year ago, and didn’t have many answers. I have more, now. We are going to create something new, and we want to then be able to put that thing out and see how the world has changed. We know that you care, but what about people that didn’t know us 10 years ago? Maybe we can find them, too? I’ve heard a lot over the years that this band was “around at the wrong time”. I’m not sure that I agree, but I understand the sentiment. We became a band just after radio died, just before social media became something you could harness, we lived between the death of grunge and the (re)birth of boy/girl bands and rap-rock. Bands like the Decemberists and Mumford and Sons and even the Avetts didn’t flourish until after we started our hiatus. I could see how it would seem like we “missed the boat” by taking a break in 2005.

Would it have made a difference to have started earlier or later? I don’t know, and I don’t think that it matters, to any of us. Moving on. Jump’s first chapter was important to the story, had great character development and strong plot choices. But now we have the chance to start writing on a blank page. Once we started leaving the feeling of being a “reunion band” behind, there was only one other option: to start writing the story where we left off. 

This means we spend the next three months writing songs. Then we’re going to go into a studio with someone we know and trust, do some pre-production work (choose songs, re-configure parts, maybe write more things and decide how they’ll sound). The songs we write have to mean something to us - that was the only stipulation we have. I know that sounds obvious, but it isn’t always (says that guy that seems to only write songs about sex). The songs won’t sound like “old Jump”, and they won’t not sound like “old Jump”. They will sound like us, and we’ll just have to wait to see what that sounds like.

Speaking of old Jump, and to those that have been asking, we probably won’t go through archives and record songs written ten years ago. We know that you would love to hear some of them officially recorded. We’d love to hear some of them officially recorded, too. But please understand that the goal this year is to create new things. Thank you. 

We write. Then we record, and have fun doing so. Mix, master, and send it out. We chose PledgeMusic for crowdfunding because Jay and Vance had used it before and they seem to be a classy operation. We like the fact that they have the ability to distribute the album digitally, when it’s ready. One of the nicest changes in the past decade to the music industry is the resources independent bands have at their disposal. Startups now handle most aspects of what a label is supposed to do for you. You can truly be your own label, by both name and function. 

We will see if anyone is interested in putting these songs on TV/movie soundtracks. We’ll see if radio (whatever that is, nowadays) will play us. We live in a non-denominational world of lots of interesting sounds from all kinds of musicians that find homes in playlists. We would love to be part of many of those playlists. 

Then we tour! Which is exciting for everyone. We’re going back to the Southeast. We’re going to the Northeast. We’re dipping a little bit into the Midwest. And that’s probably where the money (and the interest from venues) will run out. But it’s a very exciting start. We have some really exciting ideas for the end of the year, too. I don’t want to talk about them before we know if it’ll all work, but I’ll just say that 1. we miss the days of doing Acoustic Tours in December and 2. Jay’s orchestrations of our songs need to be heard as often as possible.

That’s a full-ass year, y’all. As I’m writing this, I am aware that this winter is kind of going to be the quietest, most “normal” part of our year. Vance is busy booking dates and other admin stuff, Jay is writing songs full-time, Evan and I are handling design/PR/media and, well, writing blog entries. Johnny and Ward are cheering everyone on, ready to tag in when needed. There will be so many unknown elements to this year. How high with the PledgeMusic campaign go? What will happen when the album is released? Could this be our living, as well as our creative outlet? Time will tell. 

I wrote a couple of years ago that we didn’t want this to be our full-time job any more. I still mean that. I don’t want to back to the way things were before, in Jump’s “first chapter”. Forever on the road, forever penniless, forever fighting record labels for respect, forever worrying about what would happen if the band stopped. Yes, I had something in my life that I was 100% passionate about. I was surrounded by brothers. I got to perform for a living, to be a full-time artist, to see the world, to meet so many amazing people. But the other parts - the parts that have so little to do with all of that - were a drag.

We’re not going to let those parts drag us down again. We’re in control, this time. We don’t need a record label, because we have you. We don’t need this band to be our life, because we already have lives that we love. But…we love this band. Always have. Can you imagine how freeing it is to be allowed to do something that you love doing, again, but this time without a huge bunch of bullshit attached? Where the only goal is to make sure that what you are doing is real, and honest, and meaningful, and fun? 

Yep. It feels pretty great. And we know that if it stops being any of the above things, we can walk away, again, no hard feelings, no big deal. But even if we do walk away, it will have been worth it. We will have learned new things, spent time with people we love, written another chapter in this…book. 

Whew. That’s me, Cheesy McCheezins. You are used to it, and you know what I’m saying. It’s on, people. It’s fucking exciting. A new year! Let’s go!

[blackboyjoy70]

A gently used year will do just fine. I don't need the latest year everytime the world puts out a new one.... I don't need to upgrade every year.

#aperfectlygoodyear #theresnothingwrongwiththisyear #idontneedtoupgradeeveryyear #imhappywithmyyear

#2024 #2025 #retxed70

[kentvancil3]

It’s good to share our wishes, dreams and goals. Have we prayed about it yet? Now is as good as anytime to send those prayers up. #anewyear #thoughtoftheday https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmtpbwhuet0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kimmicase]

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for; perfection is God's business.”~ Michael J. Fox . . . #anewyear #newyearseve #ultimate #optimism #belikemike #end #begin #beyourbest #celebrate #daily #dailydose #godsartwork #thankful #grateful #blessed #bealight #prayersup . #myrtlebeach #sc #myrtlebeachsc #southcarolina #southcarolinabeaches #eastcoast (at Myrtle Beach State Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYKhtl9PzSQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[a-wonderful-existence]

Gone yet not forgotten, although we are apart, your spirit lives forever in my heart

Peter “Giant” Doherty