History HeadenD

By any measure, the creation of their debut album [sensoria] has been a labor of love for the members of Headend. Ray (guitars, bass, keyboards, and vocals) and Joe (drums, percussion, bass, and vocals) had spent their early formative years playing in a number of different bands, though neither of them felt fundamentally satisfied with the music that had been created.

Ray was a founding member of the band "Beyond Blue," which had gone on to build a sizable fan base in the NYC metro area in the late 90s. Joe played in a number of bands throughout high school and college during the 90s including outfits such as "Wave Theory" and "Cool Hand Luke." The pair were introduced through a mutual acquaintance in 2001 and immediately found that they shared similar tastes in music and, more importantly, a common vision for an album they had each hoped to create someday. Discussions would often involve their favorite albums, artists, and songs, and the two would often cover these tracks during their various jam sessions.

The two began jamming together with various combinations of band lineups over the next several years as they sought to form the band that would satisfy their musical ambitions. All of these early incarnations had varying degrees of success. And then late one night in their makeshift recording studio, Ray and Joe were jamming some of their favorite classic rock songs when the sessions turned a corner into the realm of pure improvisation (in the middle of a Tom Petty tune of all things!). Luckily, the recorder was rolling and the two had captured their first unrehearsed exploration into spontaneous musical creation.

After listening to the tapes from these sessions, they had discovered the first traces of the sound and style that each had been searching for in a band, and the pair decided that they would proceed forward as a writing duo and went on to form the band now known as Headend.

The range of influences each member brought to the band are vast and diverse, but Ray and Joe have used these not to define, but rather to shape their own unique musical vision and lyrical sensibility. "Joe and I agreed from the beginning that we would only release our first album once we were completely satisfied with the results," Ray had once said, and it has taken nearly three years, numerous rewrites and revisions, and some innovative techniques in the studio to capture the album as both members imagined it.

"The material is definitely not mainstream rock," said Joe. "The songs are structured differently from your standard verse-chorus-verse arrangements. We wanted to write songs that would benefit from repeated listenings and more importantly provide breathing room for exploration in the live show."

After trying out several producers in the studio, the duo ultimately decided to self-produce [sensoria]. Placing a premium an artistic and creative freedom, Ray and Joe set out to make -their- record. The two started to assemble a full-time recording studio and began several crash courses in audio engineering, recording, and the use of digital audio workstations. A series of demo tracks were used to debug the studio as well as provide the duo with additional opportunities to develop their collaborative chemistry. Once the studio was up and running, the pair set to work writing songs together.

The multi-layered tracks span from six to fifteen minutes in length and feature a wide array of sound effects, time signatures, dynamics, and melodies, but also have a certain accessibility that was often lacking in the grandiose progressive rock albums of the late 70s and early 80s. Lyrically, the album tackles themes ranging from concepts of time, perceptions of reality, and self-evolution to more pointed discussions on relationships and the state of the music industry. Demo releases of some of the album's tracks including "Nine Days Wonder" and "Twilight" had become staples on some internet radio stations prior to the official release of [sensoria].

Fans from around the world have given kudos to the band for their unique and distinctive multi-faceted compositions and intelligent approach to songwriting.

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