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Elevator Men

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Tracks remastered and reissued on the Elevator Men / Gentle On My Mind compact disc (with bonus tracks).

Release Info
Cover Art
Band Memoirs

Release Info

Tracks

Intro
Smooth
I Miss You
Cheese
Dreamy Days
Dorsey
The Dignified Freedom Master
A.M. Angel
NewWAG
R.U.N. the Conspiracy?
Coolsville's Back Again
Elevator Man

Related bonus tracks on 2006 CD reissue:

A.M. Angel (Alternate Version)
R.U.N. The Remix?
Coolsville's Back Again (Full Version)

Kar: vocals, guitars, synthesizer, and percussion
Mr. Ed: guitars, vocals, keyboard, bass, and percussion
Ran: bass and guitar
Spike: drums, percussion, and vocals

Produced by The Blanks. All songs written by The Blanks. Recorded at Missouri Studios, Houston, Texas; Prince Studios, New York, New York; and Prospect Studios, Brooklyn, New York. Mixed at Missouri Studios, Houston, Texas. Engineered by Kar. Cover art by Ran. Original and reissue package design by Kar. Reissue mastered by Kar at Lopwood Studios, Cypress, Texas, February 2006.
©1996 The Blanks.

1996: First issue, cassette, Blanks Enterprises
2004: “A.M. Angel (Alternate Version)” and “R.U.N. The Remix?” released on various artists collection The Hotdog Cookbook, double-CD issue, Blanks Enterprises.
2006: Tracks reissued (first time on compact disc), release of previously unavailable “Coolsville's Back Again (Full Version)”, compact disc, Blanks Enterprises.

Cover Art

Click for larger image:

Gentle On My Mind reissue cover

Elevator Men/Gentle Mind CD cover

Elevator Men/Gentle Mind CD liner notes

Elevator Men/Gentle Mind CD label

Band Memoirs

Elevator Men marks a new point in Blanks history. This was the first full-length album where all band members were not physically together in the studio at the same time. In fact, it was recorded with Ed in New York and Randy in Houston. Spike joined multi-city sessions and I made several trips back and forth between NYC and Houston. The only exceptions are “Cheese” and “NewWAG,” which were outtakes from the King Fred sessions. The latter, I added vocals to during the making of Elevator Men.

We spent a little more time crafting the songs on this album and the results show. From start to finish, Elevator Men delivers. “I Miss You” remains one of the most powerful songs of lost love's saddening and maddening effects. In fact, every song was a huge hit. If you want a nice sampler of The Blanks style, this is a good album to start with.

– Kar

This album was a step further in the evolution toward heavier production. We added layers of background vocals, extra guitar tracks, and some sampling of voices from short wave radio for “R.U.N. the Conspiracy?” There were also the bird and ocean sound effects added to “Dreamy Days.” I really like most of additional production on this album. Mr. Ed's guitar lead on “Dreamy Days” is one of my favorites ever.

The album also was different in the recording style, in that none of the new material for the album was recorded with all four blanks in the same place. “Cheese” and “NewWAG” were mostly recorded with all four of us together during the making of the King Fred album. I think Kar did some post production work and vocals for “NewWAG” toward the end of the production process.

Needless to say recording this album was quite an experience. Kar showed up in NY with his and Ran's music to “Dorsey” already recorded. I can't remember if Kar had some scratch vocals down as well or not. It was a very different experience coming up with a drum part for music already recorded.

Once in NY Kar, Mr. Ed and I wrote some music for the other tunes to be included on the album. Ran then later added his bass parts to those songs. At some point in the process I also traveled to Houston to put down some percussion tracks for “Elevator Man.” This was also the start of Mr. Ed and Kar really paying attention to their harmonies. To me “Elevator Man” will always be one of my favorites. It's so simple and yet so expressive.

One of the stranger songs, with an even stranger reaction to it, is “Dignified Freedom Master.” The song was basically our semi-attempt to spoof/pay tribute to rock songs in the style of the band Rush. The song ended up being an early fan favorite, much to our surprise. We only expected people to laugh at the joke of us performing that type of song, but a lot of people seemed to have a sincere appreciation for that tune.

There are also a few really underrated songs on this album. “I Miss You,” is a classic that never really seemed to attract as much attention as I felt it deserved. “Dreamy Days” is another one and one of my favorites.

All in all I would say this album started us down the road of heavier production and putting more long-term thought into crafting each song, that eventually lead to Warrior Ethos. Though the process of recording the album with the four of us not in the same location gave birth to a string of rumors, which claimed that various members of The Blanks weren't getting along, or that the band would soon disintegrate.

– Spike