Forget and Not Slow Down
Encyclopedia
Forget and Not Slow Down is the sixth full-length studio album
by American rock
band Relient K
, released on October 6, 2009. It is the band's first album since the departure of longtime drummer Dave Douglas at the end of 2007. Ethan Luck
was his replacement as the drummer for the band. The album is also the first Relient K album with Mono Vs Stereo
and their first on Jive Records
. The album was produced by Mark Lee Townsend
and mixed by Andy Wallace
.
, secluded from the rest of the world in Winchester, Tennessee
, began to write music for three months on an album to be released later in 2009. About being isolated Thiessen stated, "It was awesome. You could think about something, and keep thinking about it, and no one would interrupt you for six or seven hours. You could keep your brain on one train of thought. I’ll never want to write another record any other way." An influence for the album was the band's lead singer, Matt Thiessen, and his fiancee, Shannon, breaking up in late 2008.
Thiessen stated that they were keen on finishing the album for a 2009 release and had begun recording the new album with their "favorite" producer, Mark Lee Townsend
and mixer Andy Wallace
Guitarist Matt Hoopes stated about Mark Lee Townsend that, "We’ve got an almost telepathic relationship." On March 23, 2009, the band started recording at Dark Horse Recording Studio
in Franklin, Tennessee, which Hoopes states is his "favorite studio." The band had used the likes of synthesizers and MIDI before; but Thiessen stated that every instrument on this album "It’s organic. I know a lot of bands do that now. But for us, it was really the first time we made it the real thing."
On May 5, 2009 the band announced via the Air 1
website that The Almost
and Relient K were in the same studio and stated the band members were swapping gear to record both band's albums. With the bands in the studio together, Aaron Gillespie would record vocals for the album which was confirmed with the release of the track listing and the guest vocalists.
at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, they announced that the album should be released around October.
On July 9, 2009 Gotee Records announced on Twitter that Forget and Not Slow Down is to be released on October 6, 2009 and provided a flyer via TwitPic. On August 4, 2009 the announcement of the album's completion was made via Thiessen's Twitter account which simply stated "Ding! Album's done."
On August 20, the track listing and cover art were released to AbsolutePunk.net
, in addition to the information that the first single is the title track, and that it in fact had already been released to some Christian radio stations. When Thiessen released the track listing, he announced that the missing numbers on the track list are interludes. The interlude titles were posted on Gotee Records' pre-release page for the album. The song "Therapy" was released to Hot Adult Contemporary radio stations on October 19.
Four webisodes were released weekly via the band's MySpace
and Facebook
pages, showing the recording progress in the studio.
It has been confirmed by both Jon Schneck and Ethan Luck that the album will be released on vinyl record (to be pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN) sometime in the near future, but a release date has not been set. (The Vinyl Record is currently being sold on their tour with Paramore
and fun.)
and Foo Fighters
. Matt Thiessen stated in an interview with Pollstar, "We definitely wanted to make a rock record. We wanted it to be uptempo and energetic. As far as the sonic aspect, we wanted to make it less modern sounding, with classic rock textures – Counting Crows, Foo Fighters, those kind of ‘90s albums. That was a good time for rock ‘n’ roll." Matt Hoopes has also stated "The songs that tend to be the fan favorites in the past are the ones about making mistakes but ultimately moving past them and this record has a lot of that feeling. No matter what trials you encounter in your life, it doesn't have to be the end of your story. You can move on and be happy and experience joy."
before track 1. It is Thiessen's dad singing a line from Sahara.
, #1 in Christian Albums, #2 in Digital Albums, #4 in Alternative Albums, and #5 in Rock Albums.
.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Relient K
Relient K
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...
, released on October 6, 2009. It is the band's first album since the departure of longtime drummer Dave Douglas at the end of 2007. Ethan Luck
Ethan Luck
Ethan John Luck is a guitarist, photographer, and drummer who has played in many bands, most prominently, the ska band The O.C. Supertones....
was his replacement as the drummer for the band. The album is also the first Relient K album with Mono Vs Stereo
Mono Vs Stereo
Mono Vs Stereo is an independent record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded in 2003 as an imprint label of Gotee Records. While Gotee signs mostly rap, hip-hop, and pop-rock artists, MVS leaned more towards indie music.-2003–2006:...
and their first on Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
. The album was produced by Mark Lee Townsend
Mark Lee Townsend
Mark Lee Townsend is known best as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk, playing with them from 1996 until their hiatus in 2001. Mark's career started as a member/singer/guitarist/songwriter for the 80's Pop/Christian band Bash 'N The Code from 1986 through 1991. In between dc Talk tours,...
and mixed by Andy Wallace
Andy Wallace (producer)
Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
.
Background and recording
In early 2009, Relient K's vocalist Matt ThiessenMatt Thiessen
Matthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-American musician, known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released six full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that...
, secluded from the rest of the world in Winchester, Tennessee
Winchester, Tennessee
Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, began to write music for three months on an album to be released later in 2009. About being isolated Thiessen stated, "It was awesome. You could think about something, and keep thinking about it, and no one would interrupt you for six or seven hours. You could keep your brain on one train of thought. I’ll never want to write another record any other way." An influence for the album was the band's lead singer, Matt Thiessen, and his fiancee, Shannon, breaking up in late 2008.
Thiessen stated that they were keen on finishing the album for a 2009 release and had begun recording the new album with their "favorite" producer, Mark Lee Townsend
Mark Lee Townsend
Mark Lee Townsend is known best as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk, playing with them from 1996 until their hiatus in 2001. Mark's career started as a member/singer/guitarist/songwriter for the 80's Pop/Christian band Bash 'N The Code from 1986 through 1991. In between dc Talk tours,...
and mixer Andy Wallace
Andy Wallace (producer)
Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
Guitarist Matt Hoopes stated about Mark Lee Townsend that, "We’ve got an almost telepathic relationship." On March 23, 2009, the band started recording at Dark Horse Recording Studio
Dark Horse Recording Studio
Dark Horse Recording Studios is a 4 studio complex located in Franklin, Tennessee, 15 miles south of Nashville. Originally opened in 1993 with the Cabin studio, Dark Horse's early client base consisted of Neil Diamond, Faith Hill, and Martina McBride...
in Franklin, Tennessee, which Hoopes states is his "favorite studio." The band had used the likes of synthesizers and MIDI before; but Thiessen stated that every instrument on this album "It’s organic. I know a lot of bands do that now. But for us, it was really the first time we made it the real thing."
On May 5, 2009 the band announced via the Air 1
Air 1
Air1 is a Christian music radio network in the United States, operated by the non-profit organization EMF Broadcasting. Air 1 is essentially a Top-40 station with Christian Music - so many of the rules that commercial Top-40 stations use for musical rotation apply.-History:In 1986, KLRD began...
website that The Almost
The Almost
The Almost is an American alternative rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005, and is most notable for being the side project of former Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie.-History:...
and Relient K were in the same studio and stated the band members were swapping gear to record both band's albums. With the bands in the studio together, Aaron Gillespie would record vocals for the album which was confirmed with the release of the track listing and the guest vocalists.
Promotion and release
On May 8, 2009, Thiessen announced on his Twitter account that the new album would be called Forget and Not Slow Down, which will also be the title of a song on the album. The following day, while at Glory at the GardensGlory at the Gardens
Glory at the Gardens is a Christian music festival that is annually held in May and June. It is in both Busch Gardens locations, Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Florida and Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Virginia...
at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, they announced that the album should be released around October.
On July 9, 2009 Gotee Records announced on Twitter that Forget and Not Slow Down is to be released on October 6, 2009 and provided a flyer via TwitPic. On August 4, 2009 the announcement of the album's completion was made via Thiessen's Twitter account which simply stated "Ding! Album's done."
On August 20, the track listing and cover art were released to AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk is a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate . The website mainly focuses on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it has been known to feature artists who have eventually achieved crossover success, including Fall...
, in addition to the information that the first single is the title track, and that it in fact had already been released to some Christian radio stations. When Thiessen released the track listing, he announced that the missing numbers on the track list are interludes. The interlude titles were posted on Gotee Records' pre-release page for the album. The song "Therapy" was released to Hot Adult Contemporary radio stations on October 19.
Four webisodes were released weekly via the band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
pages, showing the recording progress in the studio.
It has been confirmed by both Jon Schneck and Ethan Luck that the album will be released on vinyl record (to be pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN) sometime in the near future, but a release date has not been set. (The Vinyl Record is currently being sold on their tour with Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
and fun.)
Influences
Influences for the record are bands like Counting CrowsCounting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
and Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
. Matt Thiessen stated in an interview with Pollstar, "We definitely wanted to make a rock record. We wanted it to be uptempo and energetic. As far as the sonic aspect, we wanted to make it less modern sounding, with classic rock textures – Counting Crows, Foo Fighters, those kind of ‘90s albums. That was a good time for rock ‘n’ roll." Matt Hoopes has also stated "The songs that tend to be the fan favorites in the past are the ones about making mistakes but ultimately moving past them and this record has a lot of that feeling. No matter what trials you encounter in your life, it doesn't have to be the end of your story. You can move on and be happy and experience joy."
Track listing
When Matt Thiessen sent a message to AbsolutePunk readers he stated "It's a bit weird because there are some untitled outros and intros throughout the album. Basically, if the track list skips a number, something is up. There are eleven songs, but the whole thing runs about 43 minutes." There is a hidden trackHidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
before track 1. It is Thiessen's dad singing a line from Sahara.
Personnel
- Matthew Thiessen – lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, steel drumsSteelpanSteelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
, bellsBell (instrument)A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
, nylon string guitarClassical guitarThe classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
, Rhodes electric pianoRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, Wurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer 200A|250px|thumbThe Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Corinth, Mississippi, U.S. and Tonawanda, New York... - Matt HoopesMatt HoopesMatthew Ryan Hoopes is the lead guitarist of Relient K, a Christian rock band that was formed in 1998. Hoopes has played guitar and performed backing vocals for Relient K for twelve years. Hoopes has slowly developed into the band's lead guitarist over the years, despite Matt Thiessen playing lead...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, omnichordOmnichordThe Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument, introduced in 1981 and manufactured by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate, and buttons for major, minor, and diminished chords... - John WarneJohn WarneJohn Warne is an American musician who has been active in the Christian rock scene since 1996. He is best known for being the bassist for the Christian rock band Relient K as well as being a founding member of the Christian punk band Ace Troubleshooter...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Jon Schneck – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Ethan LuckEthan LuckEthan John Luck is a guitarist, photographer, and drummer who has played in many bands, most prominently, the ska band The O.C. Supertones....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Mark Lee TownsendMark Lee TownsendMark Lee Townsend is known best as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk, playing with them from 1996 until their hiatus in 2001. Mark's career started as a member/singer/guitarist/songwriter for the 80's Pop/Christian band Bash 'N The Code from 1986 through 1991. In between dc Talk tours,...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
Album art
The cover art is an oil painting on canvas, by Linden Frederick, Matt Thiessen's uncle.Chart History
The album debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, #1 in Christian Albums, #2 in Digital Albums, #4 in Alternative Albums, and #5 in Rock Albums.
Awards
In 2010, the album was nominated for a Dove Award for Recorded Music Packaging of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards41st GMA Dove Awards
The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at the The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard....
.