WRENS WATCH

Wrens Watch, May 4, 2009

May 4, 2009
wrenswatch921111111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Michael Dunn.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—15 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 12 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Seven weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Six weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who five weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again two weeks ago and last week, we speculated the Wrens were actually recording or preparing for upcoming shows in George, Wash. (May 24) and Chicago (July 24 and 25). Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he finally emailed us, saying he'd have a new Wrens mp3 for us, possibly as soon as next week. We've heard that before.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, April 27, 2009

April 27, 2009
wrenswatch921111111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Hop-Frog.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—14 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 11 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Six weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Five weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who a month ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. Bissell has again become completely unresponsive (we've emailed him close to 20 times since last week), so maybe the Wrens are actually recording and preparing for upcoming shows in George, Wash. (May 24) and Chicago (July 24 and 25). Or maybe he’s still just being a jerk.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, April 20, 2009

April 20, 2009
wrenswatch92111111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Verne Troyer.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—13 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell two months ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Five weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. A month ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who three weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn't. Bissell has again become completely unresponsive, so maybe the Wrens are actually recording and preparing for upcoming shows in George, Wash. (May 24) and Chicago (July 24 and 25). Or maybe he's just a jerk.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, April 13, 2009

April 13, 2009
wrenswatch9211111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Phil Fondacaro.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—three months ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell seven weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. A month ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Three weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who two weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for last week. After not delivering, he said he'd come through this week. Guess not. We're starting to take this personally.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, April 6, 2009

April 6, 2009
wrenswatch921111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—11 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell six weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Three weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Two weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who last week apologized (profanely), told us the band is playing a show on April 10 and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for today. Well, guess not. But there's always tomorrow.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, March 30, 2009

March 30, 2009
wrenswatch921111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Gul Mohammed.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—10 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell five weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Two weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions about the Wrens’ recent show in New York City and their three SXSW gigs, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Last week, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell's attention, who apologized (profanely), told us the band is playing a show on April 10 (its first in Brooklyn since Dubya's first term) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 next week. Do you really think he'll come through?
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, March 23, 2009

March 23, 2009
wrenswatch92111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Deep Roy.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—nine weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell a month ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Last week, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions about the Wrens’ recent show in New York City and their three SXSW gigs, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. This week, he didn't even bother responding to our calls and emails. Who does Bissell think he is, an unprolific Ryan Adams?
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, March 16, 2009

March 16, 2009
wrenswatch9211We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Lois Gerage-Lamb.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—eight weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell five weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Anyway, Bissell informed us he was "too busy" to respond to our questions this week about the Wrens' Friday show in New York City and their SXSW gig this Thursday, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned. The waiting is the hardest part.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, March 9, 2009

March 9, 2009
wrenswatch921We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Tinnie Tyler.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—seven weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell four weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. :: Wrens Watch, March 9, 2009 So you guys are playing the Bowery Ballroom on Friday. It’s your first NYC show in ages. It’s sold out. I’m guessing you guys haven’t been recording, since you’re so busy practicing for the show. Yes? Yes, we haven’t been recording at all. Because you have been practicing so much for the show. We are getting together to practice before the show. You haven’t yet? The show is on Friday. That’s OK. We’ll just do a last-minute cram session to get prepared for it, maybe fake-up some new songs. Jesus Christ. What the hell have you been doing? Well, I’m on Facebook now. I have more than 100 friends, and I’ve been sending Super Cocktails and writing on peoples’ walls and commenting on photos. I’m even a fan of MAGNET. And coffee. Facebook is really a lot of work. And time consuming. So you have been dicking around on Facebook instead of recording? Uh, yeah. Isn’t that what people do when they should be working? Instead of doing it in some office somewhere, I do it at home. Or in Kevin’s basement. You are incredible. I don’t know what to say. That’s OK. I need to go anyway. I changed my kid’s diaper and want to tell all my Facebook friends about it.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, March 2, 2009

March 2, 2009
wrenswatch921We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Clarence Swensen.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—six weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell three weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. :: Wrens Watch, March 2, 2009 You mentioned last week the other guys got together without you to practice. Did you at least call them while they were doing so? Of course. I was at home, barking orders into the speaker phone: "More kick! Make the chorus come alive, you old women!" I was kidding when I asked about you calling them, but I guess I should have suspected as much. Actually, I have a new theory: I think you guys are actually done with the album and this whole not-recording thing is a ruse. That's funny. That's one of the reasons I made a big deal about "starting" recording. Because if we just started and then announced an album was done later this spring, no one would believe we hadn't been working on it the whole time. Let me get this straight: You want to make sure people realize that you guys haven't spent six years on the record, but only a couple months, even though it's been six years since the last one came out? Don't you think people will think, "What the hell have these slackers been doing?" Well, it doesn't sound so good when you put it that way. You realize that at the rate you're going, there's going to be more time between The Meadowlands and the new album than there was between (1996's) Secaucus and The Meadowlands? Again with the negativity. Anyway, I have to go. Kevin, Greg and I have been working on a song together, and we have a conference call set up to discuss the direction we want to take the third verse.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | 1 Comment

Wrens Watch, Feb. 23, 2009

February 23, 2009
wrenswatch921We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Billy Barty.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—five weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell two weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. Last week, we were anxious to discuss the recording progress the band had made, as well as its new YouTube channel and March 13 show at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom. But despite repeated calls, emails and texts, Bissell never got back to us. We thought that he was still pissed at us or that the Wrens were actually hard at work. Turns out that it was neither. :: Wrens Watch, Feb. 23, 2009 Thanks for finally getting back to us. So have you guys been recording? We've only gotten together twice since we recorded that song you all put up on your site: once without me and once with the four of us, but we just ran over a bunch of Kev's songs rather than try to record anything. We were supposed to get together again, but one of Jerry's kids was sick, so he wasn't able to come and we cancelled practice. Of course. Has the band been doing anything else? Well, we had conference calls. Conference calls for what? To go over crap since we never see each other. Jesus Christ. Your band communicates via conference calls? If we rehearsed or recorded as often as we conference called, we'd make Bob Pollard look like he has writer's block. Anything else? Yes. I'm finally, after about five years, assembling all my pedals. I know that doesn't sound like much more than a chore, but for me, that was the thing I saved for last, kind of as a reward. A reward for not recording? Sure, why not. Anything else? We are playing SXSW. Maybe we should try to rehearse once before that. If we have time, that is. I'm not done assembling all my pedals yet.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, Feb. 16, 2009

February 16, 2009
wrenswatch921We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Admiral Dot.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—four weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell last week, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. (You can imagine how those "creative" types can get.) This week, we were anxious to discuss the recording progress the band has made, as well as its new YouTube channel and March 13 show at New York City's Bowery Ballroom. But despite repeated calls, emails and texts, Bissell never got back to us. Either he's still pissed (there's a lot of that going around these days—we're even in Bob Pollard's doghouse because of this; thanks a lot, Roob) or the Wrens are actually hard at work. Stay tuned.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | 1 Comment

Wrens Watch, Feb. 9, 2009

February 9, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Tony Cox.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—three weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). We checked in with Bissell to see what the band has accomplished since. :: Wrens Watch, Feb. 9, 2009 MAGNET: Last week when we talked, you pretty much said you guys hadn't done anything other than the one new song, aside from breaking the computer you use to record. Bissell: If you want to look at it that way, then yes, I guess so. I know you recently had a birthday, so I'll cut you a little slack about the lack of recording. So any other news? Hmmm. I heard this Coltrane song for the first time the other day. It was really good. All his stuff is really good. That's why he's John Coltrane. Plus, the man made more than 100 albums, and he only lived to be 40, which is younger than you are now. So what are you trying to say? Nothing, other than some people are slow starters, I guess. Geez, come to think of it, you've already outlived John Lennon by a number of years. Your point? Don't really have one. I mean, Paul McCartney was already at Press To Play when he was about your age. And my friends and I thought he was a has-been then. If you even so much as mention George Harrison's Cloud Nine or Ringo Starr's Old Wave, I'm hanging up. How about Billy Preston's You Can't Keep A Good Man Down? I think he might have been older than you when he made that. No, I think he was actually younger Later, asshole. [Hangs up]
Posted in WRENS WATCH | 1 Comment

Wrens Watch, Feb. 2, 2009

February 2, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Danny Woodburn.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—two weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here), causing the fine folks at Pitchgum and Stereofork to make it headline news. So we were pretty optimistic that the band was well on its way to finishing up its LP when we checked in with Bissell. :: Wrens Watch, Feb. 2, 2009 MAGNET: First off, a belated happy birthday. So when are you shooting to be done with the new album? Bissell: Shooting to be done? [Laughing] We’re still at the shooting-to-get-started point. We barely have anything working in the studio—our computer died, among a million other things—and we've only done the one song. Nice. Not to sound like a broken record—you do remember what a record is, right?—but maybe you shouldn’t be doing all this stuff yourselves. Maybe you can find a professional who actually knows how to use a computer, etc. We know how to use a computer. We spent most of the week fixing a glitch on our website that was telling people we couldn’t ship our new T-shirts to U.S. addresses. Don’t you think you could have spent that time on something more important, like, you know, recording music? Like I said, the computer we record on broke. The computer I use for browsing the web is fine, thank god, so I could read all the stuff written about our new song. We do need to get a new computer for recording, though. I wonder if anyone has a Power Mac G5 they wanna give us. Ha ha. What’s next? You’re going post a news item on your site asking fans for a new computer? [Long pause] Hmmm. That's actually not a bad idea. I was kidding. You can’t do that. Why? I mean, it's our street corner of the Internet. Why can't we panhandle on it? Uh, I gotta go. I need to update our website.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | 1 Comment

Wrens Watch, Jan. 26, 2009: Download Brand New Wrens Song Below!

January 26, 2009

We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Kenny Baker.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin's basement—last week to begin work on its new album. We checked in with Bissell to see how things are going.

:: Wrens Watch, Jan. 26, 2009 MAGNET: We've said mean things to each other in this space, but people must realize we're friends. Wrens Watch exists because we love you guys as a band, but also as friends. We were so happy for you when you got married and had a kid. And—hint, hint—we're sure you'll eventually let us meet the family, right? Bissell: What? Oh, uh, yeah sure. I'll totally let you know about that. Now's not really good. The band has been so busy recording and stuff. And, you know, I don't really involve them with Wrens stuff or meeting music writers or anything. Well, we couldn't do it now anyway. The wife broke her foot and can't really leave the house. She is desperate for new music. She actually said a new Wrens album would make her feel better. Well, I'm here to heal. Bring your wife closer as I croon songs of love. Hold on, I'll tell her that ... She said that she would rather have Kevin croon to her, because at least he has more than two new songs written. And that she doubts you guys recorded anything last week, if you got together at all. Tell her we did convene in the basement last Monday and recorded a song. Not only that, I just finished a quick mix of it. Phew. That was exhausting. Wonder what I'll do next year. [Laughs] You see? That's your problem right there. Not only do you guys take forever to do anything, you joke about it. Totally unprofessional. I forgot I'm talking to Mr. Professional. Thank god you're a pro. Both of MAGNET's subscribers are counting on you. And here's a little something special for both of them: a downloadable mp3 of the song we recorded Monday.

[audio:voxfx.mp3]

Also posted in FREE MP3s | 16 Comments

Wrens Watch, Jan. 19, 2009

January 19, 2009

We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Eddie Gaedel.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys—guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald—who released “Pulled Fences,” their first new song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Granted, it was a track they recorded last year for a radio broadcast—and one they basically made up on the spot—but with these dudes, we’ll take what we can get. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something new, the band is convening this week to begin work on its new album. We checked in with Bissell to see how things are going.

:: Wrens Watch, Jan. 19, 2009 MAGNET: All of your albums were slow to get started, recording-wise, because you don't live close to each other and you record at your own leisurely pace in home studios. Surely you guys have been getting together regularly to work on the new album. Bissell: Uh, all four of us will be in the same room this week to record for the first time in a decade. Although that Jerry hasn't replied to my email asking what time he'll be up here probably means he didn't pay his AOL bill again and doesn't know we're supposed to be recording this week. How professional. So what studio are you recording in? No matter where it is, it will be better than having to do the album at Kevin's house. Let's see ... It'll be at Kev's house, because there's the full basement to have drums and stuff. Where will you do overdubs? I remember you used to do them at your house in Jersey, but now that you live in Brooklyn, I'm sure you have some state-of-the-art place in New York lined up. I've got stuff at my house to do overdubs on these recordings. So it's still Jersey produce. Huh? Still Jersey produce? Actually, never mind. I'm sure you're just a little loopy from having been writing non-stop for the new record. You told me this summer you planned on having twice as many songs ready to record as Kevin. But he actually told me that he has done demos for more than 100 songs. I know you don't have 200 songs ready, right? [Unintelligible] What? I couldn’t hear you. I have a little under two songs. Two hundred? No, just plain two. But that's only a slightly greater spread than going into most of our records. But I thought this new album was supposed to be different. You said you were going to start acting like a real band and record on real equipment and not fall back into the same routine. All of the equipment is new. Much of it is used and bought on Craigslist and eBay, but it’s still new … to us. So absolutely nothing is different this time around? Not true at all. This one is going to be recorded totally differently than all our other records. That's part of what took so long to get started.

Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, Jan. 12, 2009

January 12, 2009

wrenswatch922We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Charles Sherwood Stratton.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, last Friday marked a huge milestone for the guys—guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald—who released “Pulled Fences,” their first new song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Granted, it was a track they recorded last year for a radio broadcast, but with these dudes, we’ll take what we can get. We checked in with Bissell to discuss “Pulled Fences.”

:: Wrens Watch, Jan. 12, 2009 MAGNET: We hadn't had to do a Wrens Watch Special Report since 1997, when Jerry was caught in the Mercury Lounge bathroom with those two underage NYU lacrosse players. Bissell: On the advice of our attorney (Greg Whelan), we still have no comment about that. Besides, Jerry was cleared of any wrongdoing. His wife and kids must be so proud. Anyway, congrats on "Pulled Fences," the first new Wrens song in five years. On initial listen, I thought it was great. So Kevin sang and wrote it? Yes. And thanks. It was a lot of work finally getting it out. I mean, I have a kid now, and my wife just went back to work. A lot of late nights. So you keep saying. Listening to "Pulled Fences" a second time, I realize it's almost like Kevin brought in some half-finished demo for the rest of the band to try and play along to. That's not actually the case, is it? The main thing with the song is that we made it up on the spot, more or less: parts, approach, arrangement. A song of Kev's but only he knew it or ever heard it. He copied the chords down, and the recording is that first time any of us are hearing it, too. So we waited five years for a new Wrens song and you guys just decided to wing it? Jesus, I spent almost a dollar on it. I mean, Bob Pollard sends MAGNET cassettes full of songs more thought out than that. And for free. We'd vowed years ago that if we ever played on The Tonight Show, we would make up a song on the spot. As that hasn't happened yet, we thought a live radio/internet broadcast from Abbey Road with multi-track recording would be pressure enough. The Tonight Show? You've got to be kidding me. Maybe when you get off your asses and finally start recording your new album, you can invite Jimmy Kimmel over and pretend to jam with Pete Best. If it's not too much pressure. Have you heard the "Pulled Fences" hidden bonus track? It sounds like this. [Hangs up]

Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch Special Report, Jan. 9, 2009: New Wrens Single Out Now!

January 9, 2009
wrenswatch922We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Hervé Villechaize.) Each week, we check in with guitarist/vocalist Charles Bissell to find out just what exactly the quartet hasn’t been up to. :: Wrens Watch, Jan. 9, 2009 We were duped. It's now obvious that the man who said he was Bissell’s father in Monday's Wrens Watch was actually Bissell himself using a fake, overtly homophobic voice. He knew that we were close to breaking the story about a new Wrens single, and he just couldn’t let that happen. Well, Tricky Bissell almost got away with it, but he wasn’t accounting for our mole at Apple, S. Paul Jobs, tipping us off at the last minute. (Job well done, Jobs.) Available now on iTunes is “Pulled Fences,” a great midtempo number sung by bassist/keyboardist Kevin Whelan. The Wrens recorded it last year at Abbey Road Studio in London for satellite radio's Live At The WorldSpace Sessions At Abbey Road. When we contacted Bissell to let him know that we aware of “Pulled Fences” and planned to stream it on our site, he had guitarist Greg Whelan (a former judge) hit us with a temporary restraining order. When we told Bissell that we have photos of a certain incident that occurred in the bathroom at the Khyber in Philly back in 1995, he promised that he would be providing Wrens Watch with “plenty” of exclusive audio for the MAGNET site in the very near future. Bissell also said that fans might want to go to the band’s website later today, as he and wrens.com webmaster William H. Gates are implementing some major changes. About freaking time.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | 1 Comment

Wrens Watch, Jan. 5, 2009

January 5, 2009
wrenswatch922We've been fans of New Jersey's finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let's just say we're used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Danny DeVito.) Given their propensity for not even updating their website (the most recent entry is promoting a Charles Bissell solo show on December 11), we decided to take matters into our own hands to keep fans up to date with the latest Wrens news. Each week, we'll check in with Bissell to find out just what exactly the quartet hasn't been up to. :: Wrens Watch, Jan. 5, 2009 MAGNET: Hello, Charles? Mr. Bissell (Charles' dad): No, this is Chuck's old man. Oh, hey, Mr. Bissell. We met at Wrens show in Philly once. Been friends with Charles for a long time now. Charles doesn't have friends. He's fat and he's stupid. Uh, excuse me? That's from Throw Momma From The Train. Funny fucking movie. That Danny DeVito is from Asbury Park, you know? Funny as fuck on Taxi. You never saw DeVito in Throw Momma From The Train? Not artsy fartsy enough for you? What, you like those Jim McGreevey Brokeback Cowboy movies, do you? Fucking figures. That's the kind of crowd Chuck's band gets. It's a fucking shame. OK then. Well, is Charles around? I have to talk to him for this week's Wrens Watch. Is that that gay thing you do on the computer? I saw that one where you were talking shit about Chuck's kid—my fucking grandson, mind you—on the computer. I should come over there right now and kick your ass for that shit. Well, no offense, Mr. Bissell, but I can see where Charles gets his mouth from. Is that so, pussy boy? Go take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut. Call back here again, and I'll kick your McGreevey ass. [Hangs up]
Check in next week to see what's going on in the wild and wacky world of the Wrens.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, Dec. 29, 2008

December 29, 2008
wrenswatch922We've been fans of New Jersey's finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let's just say we're used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Peter Dinklage.) Given their propensity for not even updating their website (the most recent entry is promoting a Charles Bissell solo show on December 11), we decided to take matters into our own hands to keep fans up to date with the latest Wrens news. Each week, we'll check in with Bissell to find out just what exactly the quartet hasn't been up to.
:: Wrens Watch, Dec. 29, 2008 MAGNET: I thought after how poorly things went the last time, we could start with an apology. Cool? Bissell: Cool. [Silence] I'm waiting. Waiting for what? [Singing in a dead-on Lou Gramm voice] For a girl like you to come into my life. [Pause] For your apology, Charles. What do you think? Hold on a fucking sec. You said you were gonna apologize. No I didn't. Fine, don't apologize for being a jerk. But you can apologize to your fans for taking so long between albums. I mean, the first seven-year gap between records was kind of endearing and cute. This one is just kind of pathetic and sad. You mean pathetic and sad like it taking MAGNET until almost 2009 to have something that resembles a real fucking website? Welcome to the '90s, douchebags. You kiss your son with that mouth? You probably do, because I can certainly see that you aren't using that mouth to sing any new Wrens songs. [Pause] Wait, you hear that sound? Know what that is? That's me hanging up on you again. Go fuck a duck, cocksucker. [Hangs up] Check in next week to see what's going on in the wild and wacky world of the Wrens.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | Leave a comment

Wrens Watch, Dec. 22, 2008

December 22, 2008
We've been fans of New Jersey's finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let's just say we're used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Gary Coleman.) Given their propensity for not even updating their website (the second most recent entry is promoting a Charles Bissell solo show on September 4 to raise money for Obama's bid for the White House), we decided to take matters into our own hands to keep fans up to date with the latest Wrens news. Each week, we'll check in with Bissell to find out just what exactly the quartet hasn't been up to. :: Wrens Watch, Dec. 22, 2008 MAGNET: Charles, this summer you told me that the new Wrens album would be done this fall. Now that it's been more than five years since The Meadowlands, can you tell me if the follow-up is finally done? Bissell: [Defensively] When we start recording—or when we're about to—I promise, you will literally be the first outside the band to know. Wait, so you mean you haven't even started recording yet? [Silence] Charles, are you still there? [Silence] Hello? Charles? I need to go. I have a fucking kid now, so I don't have time for this bullshit of yours. I have to go to the fucking music store and buy some new fucking cords for my guitar. And I have to move the fucking van to the other side of the street before it gets a fucking ticket I won't be able to fucking afford. [Hangs up] Check in next week to see what's going on in the wild and wacky world of the Wrens.
Posted in WRENS WATCH | 4 Comments