The Maine Head to Denver With New EP

Tim Wenger | January 6, 2014 | 0 Comments

Not ones to ever be caught stagnant, Arizona’s The Maine are gearing up for another release – this time, their first ever all acoustic EP entitled Imaginary Numbers. The EP comes hot on the heels of their 2013 full length Forever Halloween which dropped recently this past June.

Imaginary Numbers features five brand new acoustic songs recorded by the band in the recently constructed 8123 Studios. Speaking on the recording process, the band’s drummer Pat Kirch says, “recording this EP was very relaxed and I think it shows in the music. We went and built a studio in a few days and then decided to record some songs! We did all the engineering and recording ourselves so we were able to try whatever we want and really experiment with techniques.” The EP, currently available to fans for pre-order will be released on vinyl in a special limited edition pressing, in the form of a physical CD, and for digital download.

Earlier this month, The Maine released the first song off Imaginary Numbers – “Raining In Paris” in the form of a lyric video capturing the essence of the EP itself – raw and stripped down. The video, a play on the album artwork, features the band’s frontman John O’Callaghan cutting and serving his fellow band members cake. The album reflects a long time goal of the band’s. “We have always wanted to record an acoustic EP or album,” Kirch says, “so when the timing finally aligned we jumped on it.” Full tracklisting of Imaginary Numbers can be viewed below.

Though the band is far from putting Forever Halloween on the back burner, the independence of not working with a label allows The Maine the creativity and ultimately freedom to create the music they want at their preferred pace. This year, saw the band take Forever Halloween across the globe – with a headlining summer tour through the US and Canada, fall run co-headlined by Anberlin, and European tour featuring dates on the UK/Europe Vans Warped Tour in between a slew of headlining shows.

Along with the EP, The Maine recently announced their next touring venture which follows their headlining show in the Philippines. In early 2014, the band will be heading out on a short acoustic tour. Fans can expect to hear songs from Imaginary Numbers along with acoustic renditions of other favorites off the band’s previous discography. “The plan is to play songs that don’t find their way into the full band set often and put a twist on other songs.The acoustic tour is something that has been tossed around for years. We can’t wait to give a different experience to our fans!” Kirch continues. The full tour dates are included below.

Closing out an active 2013 with Imaginary Numbers, The Maine are already looking forward to what next year has in store.

BIO

The Maine is an American rock band from Tempe, Arizona formed in January of 2007. Their first full-length Can’t Stop Won’t Stop was released on July 8th, 2008 to incredible fan reception.

With the momentum of their first release, The Maine dropped Black and White in the summer of 2010. It was instantly clear that what the group had was something special – it was this release that the fans and industry started to see their growth and maturity expand as creative artists and musicians.

When it came time to release their third album in 2011, Pioneer, it was clear that the record needed to be released independently without the input of anyone but the band members themselves. After making the decision to part ways with their major label, The Maine decided to film the experience and released the documentary Anthem For A Dying Breed.

On June 4th of 2013, The Maine released their fourth full-length album, Forever Halloween. The album was recorded live through analog tape without the use of computer editing techniques which have become the standard in modern recordings. This gave the album an energy that cannot be captured any other way than 5 people performing in a room together. “The tape machine was like having an older, wiser, intimidatingly glowing woman in the room” says frontman John O’Callaghan on the experience. “We were all meeting her for the first time, but she already knew everything there was to know about the five of us. In no single way judgmental, but she sniffed out the bullshit and wouldn’t allow us to be anyone we are not. We are now better men for meeting that woman.”

TOUR DATES

1/12/2014 Manila, Philippines Skydome SM North EDSA

1/23/2014 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall

1/24/2014 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction

1/27/2014 Richfield, UT Snow College

1/28/2014 Denver, CO Moon Room

1/30/2014 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory

1/31/2014 Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall

2/1/2014 Austin, TX Stubbs Jr

2/4/2014 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad

2/7/2014 Tempe, AZ The Tempe Centre For The Arts

LINKS