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December 16, 2002

"That's enough stuff to fill a normal Okie's whole life."

So said Steve Ripley when we told him of of our recent trip to New York City. We had a great time in NY, but it was quite the whirlwind trip. In less than 48 hours we took 4 flights, 6 trains, 3 subways, 4 taxis, 1 monorail, 4 shuttles, 1 ferry, saw Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, 5th Ave, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the Virgin Mega Store, Greenwich Village, Broadway, ate at John's Pizzeria on 44th, a Middle Eastern deli on Houston street, some hole-in-the wall diner, McDonald's, Burger King, several street vendors, and played a 30 minute show at Arlene Grocery in lower Manhattan. The show went very well, and with a very receptive audience. We hope to get back up to New York and play again sometime soon. Our airport and hotel was actually in Newark, New Jersey. We discovered that the Newark airport wins the award for "most complicated layout" next to maybe Atlanta. We should also mention that it was positively chilly our entire trip. Which actually helped to create a Christmas like atmosphere in Manhattan. We rarely slept, but we had a splendid time. It was also a little surreal to be in NYC playing a gig on the anniversary of John Lennon's death. Perhaps we should've covered something by The Beatles. We had hoped to go by the Dakota Apartment building. But alas we ran out of time.

Photos by Hanna Ferguson

Photo by Hanna Ferguson

On a side note, the Prince impersonator (Vince Gibbs) pictured with us in the October 16, 2002 news entry is currently featured in a new Missy Elliot music video that is in rotation on MTV.

The new Admiral Twin record is nearing completion. There are three lead vocals left to record as of this time. Mixing has already commenced on many of the songs. We hope to stay on target and be mastering the record in late January. During the mastering process we will be finalizing the album artwork. Hopefully everything will be ready to go to the duplication plant by the beginning of February. However, bear in mind that things can fall behind schedule and/or other commitments can divert our attention and thus change the timeframe a bit. But we're hoping everything stays on track so we can enter phase 2 by March. What's phase 2? Stay tuned...

November 22, 2002

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin', you gotta have somethin', if you wanna be with me!" --Billy Preston

Well guess what? We got somethin'. We can't share the details just yet. But it does involve broadening the scope of our reach on a national and potentially global level. However, we are sorry to say that the aforementioned Christmas EP has been dropped. We will however put a Christmas EP on the recording schedule for next year. Current events and opportunities have prohibited the extra time we needed to do that project. So in it's stead we're moving headlong into the latter half of production on our new album. This is good because it means that we might actually get it out on time. The projected release date is sometime in February 2003. We would like to extend a special thanks to Santa Clause for sending us early Christmas cheer in the form of a care package filled with candies, candles, and other accoutrements. It helped spruce up the studio and it helped make us feel guilty for dropping the Christmas EP this year. But at least we're working. Please return to the official Admiral Twin headquarters frequently. All may seem quiet on the AT front, but just you wait...

October 16, 2002

Last Saturday we somehow managed to snag our third Tulsa World Spot Award (Spotnik) for "Best Pop Act!" We owe much gratitude to the diligence and loyalty of our many fans stretched across the USA as well as in Tulsa County. We enjoyed the fun-filled evening at the Brady Theater here in Tulsa. Besides the ceremony and musical performances, it was quite splendid to spend the evening mingling with our friends and colleagues. Including our very own version of Prince (Vince Gibbs).

Photo by Zuri Louis

Next week the brand new Steve Ripley (The Tractors) CD hits record store shelves. As stated in a previous post, we provided backing vocals for the song Night Time Lover, Jarrod plays drums on Mr. Jingle Jangle, and our dear friend and AT alum Brad Becker provides an un-credited backing vocal performance (the artwork was already finished) on Down, Down (I Don't Believe You). Do yourself a favor and buy this disc the day it comes out.
Mainly because it's fantastic!

Progress on the new AT album has been a bit slow lately due to us taking a little time off and shopping some demos around the industry. Early prospects look good, but we'll make a post when anything really substantial happens. We hope to be forging ahead on recording next week. No matter how you look at it, Winter 2003 is going to be the projected target period for the new album release. And to whom it may concern, there will be a final paper issue of our fan club newsletter, The Secret Decoder Ring coming soon. On another note, after extensive research online, it would appear that many online CD outlets have Mock Heroic in stock. We are still out of stock on it, but hope to have it back in the future. However, if you're wanting a copy now, you should check out Wal-Mart, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, and other online stores.

September 19, 2002

Hello folks! Last Wednesday at Barkley's Uptown Dive we got together with some friends of ours and recorded backing vocals for a song that will be on our new album. It's a melancholy, circus-like song called The Fool's Brigade. The recording went off pretty much without a hitch. In fact, it was fantastic. Although we did have to borrow a couple of items at the last minute from our good friend Dave Lon, who happened to be on hand singing with us. The experience was great and a fun time was had by all. Many thanks go out to everyone who sang along: Nathan Brant, Jennifer Chancellor, Thomas Conner, Michelle Davis, Mark Furnas, Ashley & Mindy Greyson, Danielle Gueck, Isaac, Taylor, & Zac Hanson, Rachel Kemp, Dave Lon, Brian Parton, Elvis & Angelene Ripley, Michael Soucek, Steven, Esther, & Maayan Stafford, Jeff “Swany” Swanson, Wanda Watson, & Jonny Wright. Thanks also to Zuri Louis & Michael Wyke for taking photos of the event.

Photos by Michael Wyke. Courtesy of Tulsa World

We are currently in the process of mixing a 3-song demo to shop around the industry. We have decided to trim down the number of tracks on the new album from 15 to 12. The song titles are: Wait for the Bang, On & On, The Fool's Brigade, Dreamer, I'm Talking 'bout Me, That's Alright, Already Gone, Stay The Course, High Away, Misunderstood, How Long?, & You Get What You Pay For. The other three songs that are/were in production are Fairy Tale, Hey Now, & New Life. We'll also be taking a brief hiatus from album production to record a handful of Christmas songs in October.

In addition to the backing vocals that we recently recorded for the new Steve Ripley CD, Jarrod has now laid down a drum performance as well. Although on a different song. And John recently composed the string/Mellotron section for the opening track on the upcoming Simon Starbuck CD (featuring former members of Royal Crush). And, still in progress is the new CD by Dave Lon, which will feature our backing vocals on the track Love Song.

All these things are in addition to the usual overabundance of "dues paying" that we continue to do on a regular basis. Oh, but we are quite grateful. It keeps us in Spam and overalls. Or is that Spam and overhauls? It's all a blur now...

September 1, 2002

Well, for the fourth year in a row we've been nominated for "Best Pop Act" by the Tulsa World Spot Awards committee. The last two years we actually took the award home. If you'd like to see us take it home for a third year, then you can cast your vote here. Being nominated gives you a nice sense of approval by your community. And for that we'd like to thank the Tulsa World and everyone else involved in getting us on the ballot. The Spotnik Award show is on October 12, 2002.

In other news, we're still in the studio working on our new album. Vocals and other final touches are in progress as of this writing. We also have a working title for the new album. As soon as we have the artwork decided and the title is finalized, we shall post song titles and everything else. We do not have a release date as of yet though.

On August 15th we went into the Church Studio (our Mock Heroic stomping ground) and recorded backing vocals for a song that will be on the new Steve Ripley (The Tractors) CD. The song is called Nighttime Lover.

We shall be making the trek to New York City in early December to play the next installment of the International Pop Overthrow. We do not have a specific date just yet, but it should be sometime between the 3rd and the 14th. Keep checking our concerts page for updates.

August 8, 2002

We're back from Los Angeles where we played a wonderful show for the IPO at The Joint. Among the many smiling faces in the crowd was none other than super singer/songwriter Michelle Branch.

Quick and unrelated note: If you like eerie and fascinating things, you should check out SharkCam. You'll sit there watching blackness for a while, but every so often you'll see some chilling images.

While we were in LA, we shopped on Melrose, Hollywood, & Venice Beach, ate at Senorita's on Sunset, had cocktails at Yamashiro, saw Jon Brion perform a fantastic show at Largo (where Fiona Apple was in attendance), saw David Poe perform a set just before Jon Brion, ate at AstroBurger, got sunburned on Zuma Beach, saw the wonderful new film Signs at the very ornate and majestic Graumans Chinese Theater, stayed at the Magic Castle Hotel (a time honored tradition), visited a modern art museum, bought groceries at Ralph's, and visited Chinatown among other things.

There are some photos from Los Angeles and more on our newly revised Images page!

While these are not official items, and are not available from us, you should check out the groovy Admiral Twin buttons available from HTP magazine.

The new album is coming along nicely. Guitar recording was finished before we went to Los Angeles. Vocal recording will begin soon. As well as percussion bits and any other "noises" we may find inspiration for. Stay tuned...

August 1, 2002

All things must pass

Photo by Kelly Kerr. Courtesy of Tulsa World

Here is a transcript from the press release going out to media:

For Immediate Release

Admiral Twin now a Trio

After many fond years of performing together as a quartet, Tulsa rock group Admiral Twin and guitarist/singer Brad Becker have agreed to amicably part ways, due to new career opportunities for Becker outside of Oklahoma. The remaining members; bassist/singer Mark Carr, drummer/singer Jarrod Gollihare, and guitarist/singer John Russell will continue writing, recording, and performing as Admiral Twin. Meanwhile, Becker is moving to San Francisco, California to pursue a career with a computer software company. In a joint statement from the remaining members, the band said that Brad’s dynamic contributions to their history were plentiful, and his camaraderie will be sorely missed. They all remain friends and wish the best for one another.

Currently Admiral Twin is in the studio working on their fifth release since 1998. The yet-to-be titled album should be completed by fall and made available to the public shortly thereafter.

Admiral Twin can be found on the Internet at: www.admiraltwin.com

And so it goes. Rumors have been around for quite some time. However, for a considerable amount of time the four of us were not sure about the state of things. Brad has a wonderful wife and daughter and recently he received a great job offer in San Francisco. This opportunity could considerably enrich the lives of him and his family. As such, the rest of us give him all of our blessings and deepest prayers. Brad has been an integral part of our music since its inception. So this does not come easy for us. But seasons change and life goes on. Good luck Brad, Kristina, & Tuesday. We love you dearly. Of course there's always the possibility for the obligatory reunion tour in our future! Send Brad your best wishes here.

July 22, 2002

At long last we now accept online payments safely and securely through PayPal. So, feel free to test out this hot new feature by placing an order on our merchandise page today! In other AT news, guitar recording is just about finished for the new album. In fact, guitar recording should be complete sometime in the next two or three days. We hope to start vocal recording after we return from our trip to Los Angeles next week.

In the near future, New Pop Revival will be listing auctions on ebay for original AdmiralTwin artifacts. These auctions will consist of original wardrobe, personal effects, rare items, and other random stuff. Proceeds from these auctions will go directly to our own debt-reduction efforts. What's more is that you can pay for the auctions with PayPal as well! We'll put a notification on this page when the first auctions go up.

July 2, 2002

Well, we just returned from a whirlwind trip to Muskegon, MI where we played two concerts for the Summer Celebration. Thanks to Mel Boughton & the committee for Summer Celebration for making the shows happen. This trip was the maiden voyage of our new "band" van. It's a green, Ford Club Wagon. Many thanks go out to our assorted friends from the newsgroup alt.fan.admiral-twin for lending their support, and their gift basket laced with a stunning variety of meats and cheeses, wine, CD's, toys and other interesting items.

Photo by Lauren Utter

Very special thanks to Sara & Amy Splitgerber who put us up in Sara's home for the weekend. It's not everyday that you get to meet Miss Michigan 2002, so we were delighted when she personally autographed a picture to the band. Of course we provided her with one of our CD's. And, thank you Lauren Utter for these great photos from the performances.

Photo by Lauren Utter

We rated a few of the restaurants that we ate at on the trip to Michigan. Here is a crude summation of our experiences:

Steak & Shake - Rolla, MO
Subway - Joliet, IL
Racquets Downtown Grill - Muskegon, MI
Kilwin's - Saugatuck, MI
Wendy's - Clinton, IL
KFC - somewhere outside of Springfield, MO
Sara's house Grand Rapids, MI

Thanks also to our good friend, Isaac Hanson, who joined us onstage last Tuesday at Barkley's for four songs (Ever Lonely, MMMBop, and a couple of brand new Hanson songs).

On the "new album" frontier, bass guitar recording is now finished. Guitar recording begins today. We hope to wrap the rest of tracking (guitars, vocals, etc.) by the end of August.

Photo by Lauren Utter

June 7, 2002

Drum recording is finished. Bass guitar recording begins today. Well, that and shopping for a new van. We've decided to take the Nestea plunge and replace "old blue." Our little van has seen much better days. And with the notion of trekking around the country becoming more of a reality, we need some new wheels. All the lyrics for Odds & Ends are now up. Be sure and check each link. Our good friend Jenny Labow is in town this week. We played an impromptu concert with her last night at the Voodoo Room. A new club here in Tulsa. Jenny moved to Los Angeles last year and returns to Tulsa once in a while to do a few shows. On June 14, Royal Crush, Tony Romanello Band, Fanzine, and Nathan Brant will join us for a concert of all original music at Curley's here in Tulsa.

Better Than Nothing video shoot - January 2001

June 1, 2002

The new record is underway. Of the 15 songs in production, drums have been recorded for 11 of them in the last two weeks. We are hoping to finish drum recording on Monday or Tuesday of next week. The number of songs in production was whittled down from a list of about 40 new songs or sketches for songs. The process of recording the drums involves the band being set up and playing live together. However, the drums are isolated in a separate room, and are the only thing that has to be captured really well. After that, the next step in the process will be re-recording the bass and guitars for better refinement of the parts and sounds. While we've decided to make a pact of non-disclosure as to the content and sound of the new album (until it's completion), we will simply say that it is unlike anything we've ever done before. Although, it is still very much us. And... we're very excited about it!

Photo by Zuri Louis

May 14, 2002

So last night we were having dinner at the Osaka Fantasy Steakhouse of Japan, and a couple of tables over were none other than Country-music superstars, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Well, of course we took the opportunity to put one of our CD's in Garth's hands, and talk to him about ourselves a little bit. They're both super-nice people. After Garth & Trisha left, we finished our dinner and then spent the rest of the evening over at our old stomping ground, The Church Studio, chatting with Steve Ripley of the Tractors. Currently Steve is working on a new solo project, which is still untitled. Steve was gracious enough to play us a few tracks of his new music. All we can say is that we are anxiously awaiting the completion of this new disc. The tunes we heard were very pop influenced and were quite catchy. A couple of days ago we set up the drums in our new recording environment and did some mic-testing. The room we're recording in has a very unique and different sound than what we've had before, which is very inspiring. We hope to be hitting the record button in the next day or two. Listening to Ripley's recordings has helped stir up the excitement even more on our new record. A few weeks ago we went into Dave Lon's studio and put down some backing vocals for a song on his new record which will hopefully be out soon. It's an acoustic album titled Woodsongs. As always, thanks for checking out our website.

May 3, 2002

Greetings from AT World Headquarters! We're still playing numerous shows around our part of the country. In addition to that, our Odds & Ends CD's should be getting back to us soon. The release date is May 14. Then we'll be able to forward them on to those of you who have already ordered a copy. The new album is practically underway now. We know, we keep saying this. Well, buying the equipment that is needed has not been cheap. And, our company vehicle (the old van) was put in the shop this week for new brakes and rotors. And that won't be cheap either. This is why working musicians are always broke. Maintenance and job-related expenses eat our lunch. Which is often why musicians look as though they haven't eaten any lunch. Anyhow, thanks for stopping back by here now and again. We're trying to keep our updates timely for everyone interested. And yes we're excited that Spider-man (directed by Sam Raimi) is out in theaters today! We'd like to thank Michael Wyke for some wonderful photos that he took of our performance at the Majestic on April 6, 2002. These photos and the new photo on the Main page were all taken at that concert.

Photos by Michael Wyke

April 11th, 2002

Alright already, sadly we've had several e-mails wanting to know if the News post from April 1 was an April fool's joke or not. Well of course it was an April fool's joke. My, my, these kids today. Anyhow things are shaping up at the Admiral Twin recording studio. We've been fine-tuning our new songs a bit more. Truthfully, we have not sparked the ignition on the old tape recorder just yet. But whilst polishing up the arrangements for our new material we have been amassing more equipment from various parts of the galaxy to utilize on our new aural excursion. New mics, stands, cables, speakers, guitars and guitar toys, and a flux-capacitor. We're looking for a Westinghouse blender to add to the array of new gear as well. It's kind of a sophisticated device and is good for making banana daiquiris. We've also been rehearsing a few new cover songs for our club gigs. Oh yeah, Odds & Ends is being pressed as of this writing. So, just a few more weeks and copies should be shipping out to those who have ordered it. A Tulsa World photographer just shot a ton of photos at one of our recent shows, so it is possible that some new pictures will be coming to the website very soon. In the meantime...

Photos by Zuri Louis

April 1st, 2002

Well, recording began on our new CD last week. And what a week it was. What are the odds that in one week we would chance upon a few guest performances on our new CD by the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson? Stop, we know what you're thinking, there's no chance of that. Well, as it happens we were invited to a big soiree at the home of some friends of ours (you know, the blonde ones that are known around the world) Anyhow, Paul and Jacko happened to be there trying out a new salsa recipe that one of the boys was working on. We talked a bit of shop whilst chomping down chips and dips and then one thing led to another and then suddenly everyone was gathered together with instruments and having a good time. Well, we caught the whole thing on tape. But, you'll just have to wait until the album comes out to hear the track, part of the agreement we made with our big name guest artists, was to not share anything on the Internet or otherwise until the release date, which has not been set yet. We think it might be exactly a year from today's date though. Oh, and will someone please stop the rumors that one of us is seeing Jennifer Aniston behind Brad Pitt's back. It simply is not true. He knows all about it. We told him at the party last week.

March 7th, 2002

"Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends..."* Many apologies for the dormancy of our website over the last few months. Life has an interesting way of keeping you busy even when it seems like you're not. During November and December (between playing concerts, and playing Empire Earth) we played a few instruments and recorded a Christmas EP that we sent out to our fan club (it's now available along with some other new stuff on our Merchandise page). The entire month of January was spent writing songs for our next album, which we are currently in pre-production for. The actual recording process will break ground sometime this month. Imminent is the release of Odds & Ends, a CD compilation of various demos, unreleased music and rarities from the AT vault, spanning the period from 1996-2000. Among all the concerts that we'll be playing in Tulsa and the region, we have sincere hopes of getting around the country a bit more after our new album is completed. In July, we'll be returning to the International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles. In the meantime, please keep checking back for updates. For starters check out the pages that have been updated today! Main, News, Merchandise, & Concerts.

*excerpt from lyrics by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

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