The members of Kaslo have risen from collapsing romantic relationships, and the band will release its first album this weekend. Watching the Carousel Collapse is a collection of songs that details a sophomoric relationship that blew up
said guitarist Teddy Humpert. The dark, emotional songs reflect the indie rock band's journey through disappointments and how they walked away from the ashes, he said.
The band began writing three years ago when Humpert and Clay Flaherty started jamming in their freshman dorm rooms. They added drummer Luke Brevoort to the band after working with him on an audio production project. Then they wrote Hospital Nights which made it on the album. Bassist Max Wagner was the final member.
The band began recording in December 2006 when Flaherty's parents gave him birthday money to start working on an album. The band went to 3 Elliott Studio and met with owner Josh Antonuccio, who helped engineer and produce the record.
[Antonuccio] had great ideas for us after he heard us playing a couple of the songs ... He was like a force of nature said Flaherty, He is like our fifth member.
The band hoped to release their album in February but got delayed because they became bigger perfectionists than anticipated and ran into a few technical problems, Humpert said.
While recording Sun Spot
the band broke three strings on three different guitars over the course of five takes.
During the summer, the band finished the final cut of the album while Flaherty was in Washington, D.C., and Brevoort was in London. Humpert worked closely with Antonuccio making the finishing touches in Athens.
Throughout the recording process, the band even called on local musicians to collaborate with them on the album. Why We Lost The War features solo artist Jake Householder.
During a Spring Quarter concert at The Union, Kaslo brought other musicians on stage to perform with the band and knew it clicked
Brevoort said.
We loved the vibe of having that many people on stage and stuck with it
Brevoort said.
The band has since added Michele Bartos (cello), Tom Holmes (piano and trumpet) and Vaughn Stewart (trombone), all of whom perform with the group during live shows.
After months of work, the band put the album to rest
when the completed CD arrived, Humpert said.
Minus the physical pain
releasing a CD and seeing the final product is like giving birth
Humpert said.
This weekend's CD release party will be a celebration of the record, but half the show will actually include unreleased material.
We're equally excited about what we're doing and where we're going
Flaherty said. If you like the album
you haven't seen anything yet.
