Thursday Kills The House Lights!

Written on 12/15/2007 but post dated to 11/09/2007 to keep it with the other post in the archives.

I'm finally making this post after a long time since I posted my last post about Thursday and their Kill The House Lights DVD/CD they put out.

I must be honest and say that I've made some big mistakes in that post and believed too much about what Keith said regarding Kill The House Lights. And I must say that he was so totally wrong about it!!

I stopped at Best Buy the other week and picked it up just to see what it was all about... and - quite frankly - to support Thursday, because I want them to stick around... (And to follow my own advice in my other post)

If you didn't take my advice to get Thursday's Kill The House Lights DVD/CD then you better go and get it right now!

Kill The House Lights

This release highlights all the best of Thursday, and is well deserved of the respect given in the title - Kill The House Lights... and is well worth the twenty bucks or whatever it will cost you!

If the new songs are proper indicators of what Thursday is now up to, then it is great to know that the Thursday we all know from War All The Time and before is back!

That's right Thursday's back! And their new stuff is amazing!!

Since Thursday has a higher regard for their fans than their bottom line:

They are more concerned with what the fan wants and less concerned about the bottom line or the constraints of the modern day music business.

And they're currently working on their next CD:

Once the DVD and CD are complete, we will be starting work on a new album soon after...

Though, having watched the DVD, you kidna gotta feel a little sorry for Thursday being kicked around so much by their labels, abandoning them on touring - pulling their touring support.

And it really stinks for those of you fans who got the raw end of the deal if you were planning on seeing Thursday after they cancelled their dates...

But Thursday isn't quitting anytime soon, they won't stop for anyone!

They'll be back in your town soon enough!

And I hope that I can see them again when they start touring again.

Seriously, if you haven't got Kill The House Lights... You should!

I would've probably spent the money just to get the new CD, it's that good. But you get a whole DVD about their first 10 years... Officially:

Kill The House Lights

The release... consist[s] of a full length feature DVD and a full length Album. The DVD will tell Thursday's 10 year career story from the beginning to the present. It will contain interviews with the band and their team, archived show and behind the scenes footage spanning the band's career to date and hints to the band's future. The DVD will feature enhanced menus, a "Making of the song" and "The Making of Full Collapse" featurettes, the original version of "How Long Is The Night" with visuals, an audio-enhanced photo gallery, laminate gallery and more. The CD will contain three, brand new and unreleased songs along with a collection of live tracks and b-sides.

That's a whole lot of bang for the buck!

And the live songs are simply amazing... maybe even better than their recorded stuff:

Everyone always says we're much better live than on record -- now you can decide.

Here's what I think about everything:

The DVD is a total must have and a must-watch for any hardcore Thursday fan... lots of great stuff to learn about how they formed their band and made it to where they are!

The music and songs... all of it on the CD is awesome - like I said before.

Now here's some thoughts on each song:

1. Ladies And Gentlemen: My Brother, The Failure:    This is probably my favorite of the new songs, and is more like "old" Thursday!

2. Dead Songs:    Another amazing new track... this stuff is great!

3. Voices On A String:    This is another favorite of the new songs and is simply an outstanding display of Thursday's talents

4. Signals Over The Air (Live At Starland Ballroom):    This was on the DVD too, and is probably better than their actual studio recording!

5. How Long Is The Night (Original Intro):    The original intro is pretty cool, and if you're used to them jumping right into the lyrics - like I was - this will fool you a bit!

6. A Sketch For Time's Arrow:    A nice acoustic song, a little different but good nonetheless

7. Panic On The Streets Of Health Care City:    This was the song that Other Side Of The Crash in War All The Time came from

8. The Roar Of Far Off Black Jets:    This is cool... some of the music from the menus in the DVD - really sweet!

9. Paris In Flames (Demo):    It's Paris In Flames... it's a great song, what else needs to be said?

10. Telegraph Avenue Kiss (Rich Cotey Mix):    An interesting version of Telegraph Avenue Kiss from A City By The Light Divided

11. Wind Up (Demo):    Another great demo for another great song!

12. Music From Kill The House Lights (Demo):    Some more of the music from the menus in the DVD - really cool too!

I haven't checked out the demo disk that's included with the Kill The House Lights DVD/CD, but Keith said there were some pretty decent names on there...

I'll have to see for myself soon since Keith totally bombed on what he told me about Kill The House Lights before.

Kill The House Lights

Oh, by the way the quotes were from Thursday's and Victory's press release on Kill The House Lights dated June 29, 2007.

Why not... Here it is in full:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 29, 2007

Victory Announces New Thursday Release

"Words cannot describe how excited I am to have the opportunity to work with Thursday again. Thursday is a band that people believe in. They are innovators. They are the voice of a generation. Some bands simply make songs that people like. Other bands thrive on gimmicks. The true artists create something that changes people's lives. Thursday are true artists. They have a very special and unique magnetism. They are a band that you can believe in at a time when there is not a surplus of bands with any real substance or meaning. 'Full Collapse' is an album that has influenced so many bands as well as spearheading an entire musical movement. Working with the band on that pivotal and significant album was magical. Thursday and Victory have done great things together. I am so happy and honored that tradition will continue. Some people might want to call this a sort of homecoming. I simply see it as a reunion of passionate people that have done great things in the past getting the opportunity to do them again. This is something that people can feel good about. And to me, that is the best karma for any relationship," said Victory Owner Tony Brummel.

The release, as of yet untitled, will consist of a full length feature DVD and a full length Album. The DVD will tell Thursday's 10 year career story from the beginning to the present. It will contain interviews with the band and their team, archived show and behind the scenes footage spanning the band's career to date and hints to the band's future. The DVD will feature enhanced menus, a "Making of the song" and "The Making of Full Collapse" featurettes, the original version of "How Long Is The Night" with visuals, an audio-enhanced photo gallery, laminate gallery and more. The CD will contain three, brand new and unreleased songs along with a collection of live tracks and b-sides.

The band's long time manager Dave "Rev" Ciancio had the following to say, "February 9th, 2001 - A date that changed my life. It was the first time I ever saw Thursday perform live. I had never seen anything like it. Raw, intense, sincere, driven rock music rooted deep in hardcore but with progressive song structures and melodies. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. I grabbed the band as they walked off stage and begged them to let me and my company, The Syndicate, professionally manage their career. Thankfully, they did take the meeting and I learned what an intelligent, passionate and innovative group of guys were behind the music. It's been six some years since then and a lot of crazy things have happened. And now - three labels, two publishers, several world tours and three records later - the guys are going back to Victory Records. I thought it would never happen but to be honest, Tony and the Victory staff have proven time and time again that they care about music; They are more concerned with what the fan wants and less concerned about the bottom line or the constraints of the modern day music business. I speak for everyone at The Syndicate when I say we are honored to be working with the band and excited about working again with Victory on this DVD/CD."

Most importantly here is the band's message:

Friends!!!

We have some exciting news!!! We know that everyone is wondering what is next for us (New Label? New Record? Touring? Breaking up?). We're proud to announce that we will be releasing a DVD/CD on our former label, Victory Records. Surprise! A lot of the footage from this DVD was taken during the time we spent on Victory and we thought it was appropriate to release it with them. On a more personal note, many of you know that our parting with Victory was bitter on both sides and we're taking this chance to put that behind us. That label really helped us get to where we are and we helped them to establish themselves as well... "coming full circle" and "making amends" are some of the phrases that we could throw around here but we think you get the picture already. Tony's passion for this project and his continued support of the band after all these years has helped to make this an easy decision.

We're really looking forward to this release. The DVD will be a retrospective of our band's career so far(footage from the last nine years) with a ton of live stuff. Everyone always says we're much better live than on record- - now you can decide. The CD will have several new tracks(!) and some alternate versions and demos of older songs.

Once the DVD and CD are complete, we will be starting work on a new album soon after and the home for that has yet to be determined.

- THURSDAY
The DVD/Album package will be in stores October 30, 2007.

Thursday is: Geoff Rickly – Vocals; Tom Keeley – Guitar; Andrew Everding - Keys; Steve Pedulla – Guitar; Tim Payne - Bass; and Tucker Rule – Dr

Kill The House Lights

Click Here To Read The Full Article By Itself.

Thursday Isn't Dead!! (Yet)

No I'm not talking about the day Thursday, but the kicking sweet band Thursday!

A while back when Keith and I were checking some of the sites for many of the bands we liked to see what was going on we took a look at Thursdays band site and saw that they had cancelled their tour dates for 2007.

By the post left on their site it was unknown exactly what was going on and if Thursday was going to break-up or what was going to happen to their band!

This really sorta stunk because Thursday has a bit of sentimental value to me....

Not to mention I love their music, even though they've gotten a little softer in their last CD A City By The Light Divided... though I like their previous stuff (especially War All The Time) and the harder stuff on A City By The Light Divided.

Other than their music, when Thursday came to Rochester in the beginning of the year, they were the first rock concert I had really been to...

And that concert left such a positive impression on me that I have been to many concerts since then.

It was quite disheartening to wonder what was going to happen to Thursday.

But now it looks like their band is really on the verge of trouble... at least with their record label.

Even though they released a new CD, I was informed that the type of CD they've released is usually used by record companies to test the market's responsiveness to the band!

By the way their new CD is called Kill The House Lights...

Kill The House Lights

It would be a real shame for Thursday to die... so go and buy Kill The House Lights so they keep their label, otherwise it might be the end of Thursday!

Or at the very least it will mean that it will take them quite a while longer to get a new label and put out a new CD!

So if you're like me and don't want Thursday to die yet, be sure you get a copy of Kill The House Lights

If you've got any comments about Thursday or their new CD Kill The House Lights please let me know by making a comment on this post... I'd be interested to hear what others think about it!

Click Here To Read The Full Article By Itself.

Stat Tracking On OPCRochester.org

It's been a while since I last made my church's website opcrochester.org active again.

But before that it had been down for a long time... which I might say was mostly due to a web-host that I bought a reseller package through and had the my church's - Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church's - website hosted on totally disappearing out of the ether!

But for the most part it was mostly in part my laziness that didn't get it back up despite the pastor & his wife and other people in my church asking me about it from time to time for one reason or another.

Now I have done one more thing with the Covenant Presbyterian Church website to enhance it a little more, and that is to add Google's Analytics tool to it.

Of course it isn't something that anyone looking at Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church's website would notice, but will give and anyone at the church who might be interested in such a better idea of the usage and usefulness of the website.

Click Here To Read The Full Article By Itself.

Browser Oddities... Going Insane

Today I was working on creating a template for the new site I'm creating for my cousin's insurance company, VanScoter Insurance, LLC.

But there were several things about CSS and various browser oddities that were quite simply driving me insane to try to get the stuff to display correctly!

The first thing that was bothering me was figuring out how the heck to get Internet Explorer to center a container "div" tag... a <div id="container"> that encompassed all the of the pages contents.

Obviously <div id="container"> was inside the <body> tag

Through a ton of trial and error and examining other style sheets I finally figured out what was required to get the container to center in the window.... using css:

body {
    /* whatever params */
    text-align: center;
    /* any other params */
}

#container {
    /* whatever params */
    text-align: left; /* for inheritance purposes */
    margin: [top] auto [bottom?];
    /* any other params */
}

The left and right margins can be centered on Mozilla engines using auto... but for some reason Internet Explorer needs to have the text-align: center; property set in the body (which really isn't technically the right use or interpretation of the property).

Also, because of inheritance in CSS, if you don't want everything on your page to be centered you'll need to redefine text-align to be left or whatever else when defining your container id's properties.

I was glad when I figured that out... cause it was a problem that I hadn't been able to figure out since I started re-doing my cousin's website.

The second thing that was bugging the heck out of me was how the CSS float property was interpreted in the Mozilla engine... particularly with nested elements.

Mozilla does a really strange thing when interpreting the nested divs when floating them, take a look...

Here's the basic HTML background:

<div id="container">

<div id="sidebar">
<p>Many</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>Many</p>
<p>Lines</p>
<p>of</p>
<p>Contents</p>
</div>

<div id="main">
<p>Not as many lines</p>
<p>of contents.</p>
</div>

</div>

Now if you do something like this in CSS:

#sidebar {
    /* whatever params */
    float: left;
    /* any other params */
}

As long as there are more lines in the <div id="sidebar"> tag, you will wind up with something that like this when rendered in the Mozilla engine:

As you can see the <div id="container"> doesn't continue to the bottom of the <div id="sidebar">, but merely just ends wherever the <div id="main"> ends.

Thanks to this forum thread / post by Variable, I got the solution to this problem.

All it takes is an extra line or two to get it to work!

Here's the new HTML (changes bolded):

<div id="container">

<div id="sidebar">
<p>Many</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>Many</p>
<p>Lines</p>
<p>of</p>
<p>Contents</p>
</div>

<div id="main">
<p>Not as many lines</p>
<p>of contents.</p>
</div>

<div id="fillcontainer"></div>

</div>

And here's the new CSS (changes bolded):

#sidebar {
    /* whatever params */
    float: left;
    /* any other params */
}

#fillcontainer {
    /* whatever params */
    clear: both;
    /* any other params */
}

And now you will correctly have something that looks like it should:

Internet Explorer would render it like the above picture without the addition of the <div id="fillcontainer"> and the extra CSS code.

At least Internet Explorer correctly nests div tags when they're floated, unlike Mozilla... which is the only one thing I can think of that Microsoft has ever done right!

It might be simple, but you want everyone to see the website you create the same no matter what browser they use -- and it's stupid little browser oddities like this that drive people like me insane!

Click Here To Read The Full Article By Itself.