04/05/08 - An Unnecessarily Complex Update

First, an apology for the long space between updates, but there was nothing positive to remark upon. We acquired an amazing guitarist in October and an amazing bassist just a week ago today.

Trapdoor, as it stands now, is (in order of seniority):

Jonathan Brodsky - Vocals, Keyboards                                                             Matthew Drewnowsky - Drums, Percussion, Backup Vocals                                  Robert Di Bartolomeo - Electric Guitar, Backup Vocals                                       Dakoda Sannen - Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Backup Vocals

I've actually known Dakoda for a while, but that's a story for another time (See "History" below).

This was the most informally assembled lineup in that everyone involved essentially fell into our laps. This is no result of professional hunting or paying session people. It's the first time since we first had a complete line-up that there was such a purity of origin, and it's the first time in general that everyone involved likes and respects each other. And yes, they do know me well, so unless something bad happens to anyone here, I can say with more confidence than ever before that when you go to see Trapdoor, you'll be seeing these four people onstage. Maybe eventually we'll have the odd additional musician to supplement a piece (or maybe one of our heroes will perform with us), but I will say it again: Trapdoor is Jonathan Brodsky, Matthew Drewnowsky, Robert Di Bartolomeo, and Dakoda Sannen. Period.

We're very happy to announce that we - Jonathan, Matthew, Robert, and Dakoda - will be entering the studio in exactly a month to record four originals to shop around to labels that we feel will nurture our growth and development.We have no desire to sign with a big name just to get dropped after our record fails to sell what they consider "enough" units and be considered "untouchable" this early on. The songs to be recorded span from 2004-2008 and I can say that one of them has been released on a demo prior, though this will be an entirely new recording.

As band practice has turned into a hassle-free place of happiness and glee (and complete and utter sublimation of their wills. Play on, jellyfish, play on), I feel confident in updating this thing with some regularity as the fear of the personnel changing between lineups has dissipated. If you heard this band and saw the personal chemistry, you'd know exactly what I meant. I can say with full confidence that the band has never sounded better, and anybody that knows me well knows that I avoid hype and am hypercritical to stupid degrees: this is the best band ever assembled under the Trapdoor banner. It's such a good band that we're even considering changing the name. Har har.

However, it is not the only band that has operated under the Trapdoor banner, and regardless of who came and went, it would be doing a disservice to these people's time and effort to pretend that Trapdoor has not been an ever-changing beast in terms of personnel, and a comprehensive and accurate history of the band would not be complete without their mention. Of course, those who have been here longer and are currently here are going to get more time than those who were here for a short time, but I am not a revisionist, and those involved at any point deserve their story told.  

The point is, for anyone who was a part of this band, whether it was as a member or somebody who auditioned once or a few times, we wouldn't be in our current configuration if it weren't for you, so I sincerely thank you for the time you spent with us: you potentially saved us from wrong choices of more permanence.

New parts for the history will be added as they're written with little fanfare here.

Jonathan