This project actually started a year ago when we were asked to contribute a song for a Long Island band compilation. We went into My Low Studio in September of 2014 and recorded “Planet X”. A year later, the comp still hasn’t seen the light of day so we included it on this release.
Eric Hoffman was the drummer on “Planet X”, but our schedule of getting together once a year proved to be too demanding so he bowed out for the ( ( ( transmissions ) ) ) session. His logical replacement was Steve Johnson (Eggplant Queens, Whatsoever). Steve was already our engineer (and owner of My Low Studios) and probably our biggest fan. Plus…he’s a pretty good drummer to boot.
For the most part, the songs on ( ( ( transmissions ) ) ) are in keeping with the traditional South Oaks sound. Two songs, though, are a bit of a departure…or break new ground (however you choose to see it). “Reflection On The Sea” is kind of pop oriented…sad pop, that is. It’s a little out of our comfort zone but yet it totally sounds like us. Our last outing had “Echoes of Laughter”, which was also a departure, so maybe that’s our thing.
The other new-type of song is “APOLLO IV”, a bass solo (essentially). Jim brought that one to the table and he’s also the performer. It’s named after his Apollo IV bass, which he composed it on and only feels comfortable playing it on. The thing is, the electronics inside the bass crapped out a while ago so we were forced to record it with a mic, acoustically. Alone, it was a little compromised sonically and didn’t sound like the rest of the album. But then we added some atmospheric noise in the background and it just gelled – that electro/acoustic thing.
My opinion; this is our strongest recording yet. But I always fall in love the the last thing I worked on. What do you think?
You can download ( ( ( transmissions ) ) ) for FREE at our bandcamp page or by clicking the link below…
01- APOLLO IV (†)
02- Planet X *
03- Last Laugh
04- Sword of Damocles
05- Belief
06- Reflection On The Sea
07- Grand Design
08- Forever and Ever After That
We always like to celebrate our new releases with a video for each song. Here they are…
"APOLLO IV"
"Planet X"
"Last Laugh"
"Sword of Damocles"
"Belief"
"Reflection On The Sea"
"Grand Design"
"Forever and Ever After That"
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SOUTH OAKS
Jim Burns - vocals
Frank Fusco - guitar
Kevin Purcell - bass
Steve Johnson - drums
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| Steve's crazy drum chart |
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