My Teenage Stride

I realized that I've never posted about My Teenage Stride (though I have mentioned them) and now is as good of time as any. They are playing a really fantastic show this Saturday at Cake Shop that has an incredibly strong line up. I definitely recommend getting there early at 8 pm for the first band, The Human Hearts. I've never seen Knight School or A Classic Education but based on their myspace pages I am looking forward to a pretty damn solid night of music!

Back to the band at hand. I first heard MTS in 2001, I believe. Both of us were on a compilation that launched a record label that we both ended up being on. I first met Jed in 2002 on a visit to nyc a few years before I ended up moving here. I've been a fan of ever record he's put out and I'm happy to report that the music is as catchy as ever. Not only is it as catchy as ever, it is also better than ever.

One thing I find interesting is the fact that his songs will often change from the demo version to the final version. He has a studio set up which gives him the luxury of doing this, I suppose. Before Ears Like Golden Bats was recorded he gave me a cdr of some demos of the songs that ended up being on the record. Some of them changed slightly from the demo version to the final version and some more drastically. I still prefer some of the earlier versions to the album versions but that just may be because I got so used to hearing them. Overall, the third record is by far the strongest and I totally recognize that! When he went into the studio to make that record he recorded more than enough songs to choose from and my favorite song didn't make the record. Here is the earlier previously unreleased version of easily one of my favorite songs ever. The Loud Confessor (alternate version) (A note, it's tagged "demo" but really this is more than a demo. It's a studio recording that truly is an alternate version of the song.)

Before posting the above I e-mailed Jed to ask him if it would be alright. He responded that it was and apparently the song was re-recorded so the band had a chance to play on it. I'm thinking that the band at the time consisted of Jed, Brett, Mat, Jeff, and Dak but I'm not positive about that. MTS released the ep Lesser Demons which was another very strong release. I was surprised to hear a new version of my favorite song! I think that it's very interesting to hear a song change over time. Hopefully you will feel the same.
The Loud Confessor

If you go to the My Teenage Stride myspace page you can learn more about their song a month series for eMusic that they are doing. I will leave you with the song that started my love for My Teenage Stride all of those years ago. It was released on a 7" single but I don't have that. In fact, that may be a different version! This is the compilation version. Can anyone tell me if they're the same? I'm curious now!
I'm Sorry