Punching Out

As promised, here is our last and final post.  UFN has been non-existent for the last 8 months, but that isn't to say that Jake, Josh, and I haven't been very busy with music.  We began our new project wanting to try something new.  We zigged and zagged quite a bit, but we finally found our niche and are currently in the studio recording an album.

For those of you who are at all interested in this new project of ours, it is called "in color."  It's an alternative piano rock genre that is somewhere between Keane and Muse.  I realize that's a pretty big gap, but I haven't heard our music compared to many bands yet.  We are recording our album with producer Joel Pack of Rigby Road Studios.  Joel is the front man of Broke City, and he is now doing a solo project called Joel Pack and the Pops.  He's an amazingly talented dude, and I've looked up to him for years.  We are all completely stoked to be working with him on this.

Our album will be free through download or hard copy once it's completed.  If you'd like the hard copy you can message us on Facebook and we'll mail it to you.  And of course, there will always be a stack at shows.  We have a new Facebook band page, website, and bandcamp.  If any of you UFNers want to continue following us, 'like' us on Facebook.

Thanks everybody.

incolormusic.com
facebook.com/incolormusic

- Sam

Farewell, Robert Verl Mayne

As Jake mentioned, we're moving onward and hopefully upward. We're not exactly sure where that is yet, but we're working on it. I imagine the next (and likely last) blog post on here will be directing you readers (all 3 of you) to our new band.

Yes, unfortunately it is true. Bobby is no longer with us. As I mentioned, we are not sure exactly where our music is going yet, but it has become apparent it is headed in a different direction from where we've been for eight years. To make a short story long, Bobby wasn't on the same page as the rest of us. His heart doesn't lie with the music we are pursuing and he's decided his time with our band should appropriately end the same time our UFN name does. And that's that.

I speak for the whole band when I say we will miss him. He's a solid bassist and our best friend. It seriously sucks that the very thing we all love -- music -- has created a musical wedge between us. I never thought I would be the one to use the "artistic differences" line, but here I am.

Anyway, it's a bummer, but not all is lost. We're putting out two final recordings for Until Further Notice in a few weeks, and Bobby will be featured on them. The songs were originally planned to be included on our new album, but that was before we pulled a Courtney Love and blew off UFN's head with a shotgun.

We'll keep you apprised.

Sam

Until Further Notice, Closing Its Doors

Hey Everyone,

So a week ago UFN got together to talk about the band. This included Sam, Bobby, Josh (Maurer) and me (Jake). We had a great discussion and came to the conclusion that we should close the doors of Until Further Notice and move on to something else - a different sound, a different name, a different band. Over the past 8 years Until Further Notice (pioneered and held together by the amazing Sam Decker) has made a TON of music, played a lot of shows, sold a lot of merch, had a TON of members, and made-out with a buttload of girls. Well, those days are over, and we all feel that we need to come together to make something new.

As I pointed out during our discussion together, if Bobby, Josh and I were to quit the band and leave only Sam, UFN would still exist. If, however, Sam quit the band and left me, Bobby and Josh, UFN would be no more. Sam didn't like this, and I vouch for him - I wouldn't like it either. Sam doesn't want the band to be about him but about the music and our friendship.

We are all excited for this move into new territory. We will be leaving our old UFN "style" behind and creating new parameters for our music, we will have a new name, and, most importantly, we will be a new band. This new band will start with Bobby, Josh, Sam and me and it will end when we stop playing together.

We don't have a new name yet, we only have one song so far in the making and we are planning on recording our new, full-length album next spring/summer, 2012.

To all of our undying and valiant fans, we love you guys. You have stuck by us for a LONG time and have kept us going this long.

Change is good.

Hugs,

Jake the Jrummer

Where in the world is Josh Maurer?

I feel this story merits a blog entry...

So it's been probably about a month since we've played together. It's the combination of being busy, not having any shows, and other unpredictable events. Anyway, after going through some sweaty nights of withdrawals I decided it's time to get ourselves into gear and do something. So I called up the guys, we worked around our schedules, and planned for a practice. There was just one problem. I couldn't get a hold of Josh. I sent him about five texts over the course of three or four days with no response. This was totally unlike him. I finally called him and was sent straight to his voicemail. I realized there were only two possibilities. Either he lost his cell phone, or he's dead. Finally, I decided it was time to resort to desperate measures. After contacting pretty much every mutual friend to find out where in the world Josh Maurer is (he'd give Carmen Sandiego a run for her money), and having one particular friend call another friend, I finally had an answer.

Let me just say, to all those who don't know, Josh is a geology nut. He's majoring in it and is obsessed with rocks, the earth, and other nerdy stuff. Okay...apparently he is currently in the Caribbean for a geology expedition. No one knows when he is coming back. I can't help but laugh at this whole thing. It's so...Josh. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough, but the fact that he just disappeared without really telling anyone is pretty funny.

Sam

It's been a long time comin'!

I can't believe it's almost been four years since we released the self-titled album. "The Rules of the Game" EP was released almost two years ago, and it feels like we just finished it. It's crazy, time just seems to disappear. One thing I can say for sure is I am itching to release another full length album. The current line-up is the most refreshing thing in the world. Sadly, we have a ways to go before our next album happens. We're in the process of writing a bunch of new songs, and accumulating enough cash to head into the studio.

We are doing everything different this time around. Our former recording engineer is no longer in the game so we'll be shopping around in that department. Our vision for the music and everything about marketing it has changed. The addition of Josh (number 2) is huge. This band has been around for seven years now, and there have been a dozen different members. We've recorded two albums, two EPs, a single, and a ton of demos. I've been here the whole time, so it's easy for me to say that this coming album will be our best work.

- Sam

Over a year later...

Wow, I really suck at this blog thing. It just goes to show how often I feel like jotting down my thoughts about the band. We aren't as engaged as we once were. Every coming year our lives seem to get busier and there is less time to jam. We're all married (minus Josh), going to school, and working towards a career. We all hold UFN close to heart and if our busy lives mean we can't play as much, that's fine, but there is no way on Earth it will ever mean we can't play at all.

Over the past year we recruited a second guitarist. It's been forever since we've had another guitarist, and I can't tell you how great it is. The icing on the cake is that he is, and has been, a close friend since high school. His name is Josh Maurer. Josh and I created our first band together our senior year of high school. We were called The Stumps. Our music mainly consisted of poorly performed covers, and some original songs that weren't so great. Ever since UFN was formed I have wanted Josh to be involved. There were plenty of opportunities but for some reason it never happened. Six months ago Bobby and I remedied that, and things are better than we could have hoped.

Currently, we are all really excited about the direction the band has taken. We're writing some of the best songs we ever have, and we're working towards our third full length album. Our genre has been redirected towards pop rock, which should have been a no-brainer for us. We all write, perform, and gel better together with that kind of music. While we still love heavier riffs and harder songs, it doesn't seem to be where we belong.

We've also reformed our outlook on the marketing aspect of the music. First of all, let me just say that anyone can be in a band these days. There are a ridiculous amount of bands out there, many of which came to be because it's the "thing to do." The 21st century musician can literally sit at a computer and be successful without even picking up an instrument. There are millions of bands selling their music online, and it's difficult for us to stand out when our price tag is the same. This is why we've decided to distribute our music for free. Ultimately, all we care about is people hearing our music. After all, that's why we're doing this.

You can download our music for free at http://untilfurthernotice.bandcamp.com

- Sam

Jake Returns!

Jake Pettigrew is playing for us again, and I am so happy my good friend is back. He is the drummer other bands want. He has the energy and talent to make the music better than it really is. I still remember our first show with him. A couple of guys came up to me and asked me "Where did you find him?!" I owe it to Erin Pettigrew. Just one practice with him made me realize that the last two years we have been missing a huge part of UFN. I instantly felt that "high" you get when you plug in with your friends from high school for the first time. We have that chemistry again that every band needs to survive. Time has literally taken us there and back again, and we couldn't be happier with how things have panned out.

- Sam