Below you will find some journal entries and news updates taken from old wheat pages.
October 2001 Introducing Wheat in their own Words
It is with great pleasure that Wheat introduce a new journal feature in which Wheat provide, in their own words, and entirely in the third person (since there are three of us, er, that is, them) an up close and personal glance at the goings-ons involving the band. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot going on right now, and in general you won't actually find them getting all that personal or up close at all really, but there are a few things worth mentioning for anyone who may be interested.
As some of you know, Wheat have completed our, I mean , their third album, which is entitled Per Second, Per Second, Per Second, Every Second. It will be released by Nude Records. Stay tuned right here for official the release date and other info as it develops. (Sorry it is is taking so long. Believe us, if Wheat could get it out any sooner it would already be available. Your patience is greatly appreciated.)
In the meantime, it looks like there will be a single released before the album, and hopefully that will happen by the end of the year, but at this time there is no definite date. Wheat will keep you posted.
Other than that, Wheat are in the process of putting together a few shows for late November/early December (these are not officially confirmed yet but it looks like they will happen):
November 30 Boston/Cambridge Middle East Downstairs
December 1 New York Knitting Factory
December 2 Philadelphia Khyber
Sorry, Wheat won't be venturing out much further than that until after the new record comes out. And that's about all for now. Check back from time to time as we will be adding more information once there is more information to share. Wheat will be adding a new B-Side very soon, and are planning on adding a merch page in the near future as well. Finally, there is a new journal page that you can check out for news updates, gossip and more cleverly hidden toungue in cheek humor. Until next time, thanks for listening.
Wheat
(Ricky, Scott and Brendan)
12/04/2001 --- December 2001
The Saga Continues...
Well, as you probably know we just played three shows, in Boston , NYC and Philadelphia. The results were a bit mixed, Boston was great as we were fortunate to have an elaborate light show, courtesy of some friends of mine at High Output, which everyone seemed to enjoy. We are experimenting with ways in which to augment our live show, so stay tuned for some surprises down the line ...
Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows. Despite smaller than usual turn-outs in NYC and Philly we managed to have a good time, and hopefully you did as well.
Now for the bad part. The day before the weekend of these shows we received some very disappointing news. (and since it is being reported in NME there is no sense in trying to hide it). Nude, the label we recently signed with , is closing down. Without going into details, what this means for us is that we don't know when Per Second... will be released. In the meantime, we are pushing forward and are already working on a new batch of songs for the next album. I will keep everyone posted as to the developments. Thank you for your continued support and patience.
We wish that we had better news, but these things happen. Thanks for listening.
February 9, 2002 - Feb 2002
Hello everyone ...
I feel like everytime I go to update this it's been several months since the last entry ... sorry about that, it' s been kinda a weird time, to say the least. (see previous entires for background.) But mostly there just hasn't been much to report, really.
We are still trying to reacquire our record, and hopefully that will all be squared away soon and we can begin to plan how we are going to release it and when and all of that. Meanwhile, we are recording new material for the next record. We're also throwing around the idea of releasing a single or EP sometime before the album is released. No definite plans yet, but we will keep you all informed.
We were mentioned in Spin magazine as Jimmy Eat's World's #5 album of 2001, even though the record isn't actually out. But it was kind of nice to see the album title in print, especially in Spin. Pretty nifty. Made us feel like maybe there's a glimmer of light at the end of this murky hallway ...
We are thinking about possibly doing some shows in the spring. Again, no definite plans, but we will let you know. Stay tuned here for all new developments as they develop. :-) We're going to try and add some new stuff to the site soon, so stop by every once in a while and check it out. Thanks for listening.
February 21, 2002
Wheat appear on the new V2 compilation 'Acoustic'!
Check the releases section for further details.
Wheat appear on the new Wishing Tree compilation 'Amos House Volume II'! Check the releases section for further details.
Two new live shows in March and April!
There isn't a whole lot to report, but here's where we're at. As you may or may not know, Wheat signed with Nude records in the fall, but unfortunately the label folded before we had a chance to do anything with them. We are now in the process of reacquiring our completed third record "Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second" and figuring out who will release it and all of that fun stuff.
In the meantime, we have begun recording new material, and are considering the possibility of putting out a 5 song EP or single sometime before the album is released. (We are almost done with demos for the five songs now!) Likewise, we will soon begin recording demos for the fourth album, and hopefully it won't take so long for that one to to be released! Keep an eye here for new developments and any shows or tour dates that happen to come about. There is the possibility that we may do some dates in the early Spring. We'll let you know. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for listening!
March 7, 2002 - March Update
Howdy everyone,
We are now at Dave Fridmann's studio, Tarbox Road, beginning work on some new material. There is still, unfortunately, no news about the status of "Per Second, Per Second, Per Second, Every Second" , so we are plowing forward and working on the next album. There is the possbility that we can complete a new album sooner than we can release "Per Second", but we'll see what happens. Stay tuned for more details. Thank you for your patience.
Other than that, we just have a show in Boston coming up on April 5. We don't have any further planns beyond that right now. We will keep you posted. Thanks for listening.
July 19, 2002 - July Update
Hello, and Happy Summer.
As you may already have heard, we finally got our label situation straightened out, and we will be signing with Aware Records. With any luck, the new record, Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second will be released early next year. We are trying to string together a few tour dates for the fall as well. We will let y'all know as soon as we do. But finally, it is all coming together, and the record will see the light of day!
Right now, we are preparing to remix a few songs and record several new ones. You can check out one of the new songs, called "I Met A Girl", on the Aware 9 compilation.
That's all for now, but we'll be trying to update the journal section more frequently, so keep an eye out. Also, if you haven't already , go to our contact page and sign up on either our mail or e-mail lists, and we will send you updates about what we are up to. As always , thanks for listening!
Ricky, one of the Wheat guys, on behalf of Wheat.
September 4, 2002 - Roadtrips
The latest issue of Roadtrips (Volume 3, Number 1, Summer 2002), the official publication of Aware Records, mentions the band briefly in two different sections. From left to right in the press photo: Ricky Brennan, Scott Levesque and Brendan Harney.
A Closer Look at the Aware 9 Artists
Hailing from Boston, Wheat recently signed to Aware and will release a CD on the label in 2003. The band previously released two CDs on their own: Hope And Adams and Medeiros.
Coming Soon On Aware Records
After releasing two independent CDs, the band signed to Aware Records in the summer of 2002. Wheat will spend the fall putting finishing touches on their next record to be released in 2003.
September 23, 2002 -- October 2002
We have just completed Phase 1 of the final stages of album completion. We spent the last three weeks at Room 9 from Outer Space studio in Boston, recording six songs with Ducky Carlisle and Rob Gil, and three more with John Fields. Several are new songs, and we also recut a number of others from the batch of songs that was supposed to have been released a year ago by Nude (before they went under). In two weeks we will bring them to Dave Fridmann and he will add his magic fairy dust to them.
So it won't be long now. Hopefully the new record will be released early next year. It will be released on Aware Records. Stay tuned for more details on that.
Also, we will be announcing a few tour dates for November very soon. Basically we will be heading out to Chicago and back. We will gradually begin touring more and more as we get closer to the record coming out.
That's all for now. Thanks for your support!
April 1, 2003
We just finished a fantastic three week tour with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Bleu. Thanks to Toad for an amazing opportunity and thanks to Bleu for being all around bad-asses. Before that we were in Europe with John Mayer for two weeks, which was equally as exciting. Thanks to everyone involved for making it such a fun experience.
And most importantly thank you to everyone who joined our mailing list and brought something home with you. We truly appreciate it and we hope to see you all again very soon!
ow that we are finally beginning to have things to talk about and post on the site, we are constantly updating it and will be adding lots of fun stuff including several new pages of photos from some of our recent shows such as our January show at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA. Much more to come, so keep checking in!
Wheat tour with Guster!
Wheat will be doing a few weeks of dates in April with fellow Boston area natives Guster:
Sat 04/12/03 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
Sun 04/13/03 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Tue 04/15/03 Austin, TX Stubb's Barbeque
Wed 04/16/03 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Fri 04/18/03 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
Sat 04/19/03 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
Mon 04/21/03 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's
Tue 04/22/03 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Fri 04/25/03 Hamden, CT Quinnipac College (sorry, students only)
Sat 04/26/03 Smithfield, RI Bryant College (sorry, students only)
Too Much Time
We now have a five song EP called Too Much Time which is available only at shows and at the Aware Store which we will also offer here on the webstie as soon as we get back, featuring a song or two from the upcoming new album Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second as well as some demo verions and unreleased material.
The new record will be out VERY SOON, we promise ! It's looking like sometime around May or June ... we will also be announcing more tour dates in the next week or so, so stay tuned. we will let you know as soon as we know!
As always , thank you for your support (and patience!)
May 11, 2003
Our new album Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second will be released late summer 2003 on Aware Records.
New show announced!
June 20
TT the Bear's Place
Cambridge, MA
Wheat is currently auditioning bass and keyboard players for future touring. If you live in MA or RI or nearby and would be interested email us or call 401 253 7761 and ask for Brendan.
2004 - I Met A Girl - The First VIDEO from Per Second, Per Second, Per Second, Every Second
Check out the video for I Met a Girl! The Wheat* guys completed filming the video this spring in LA.
It was directed by Ericson Core, who has worked as director of photography on movies such as Daredevil, Fast and the Furious, and has worked on music videos with The Mavericks, Stevie Wonder, Run D.M.C., and The Rolling Stones .
It was filmed at the Ambassador Hotel, a once glamorous LA hot spot, now long shut down and used primarily for film, tv, commercial and video shoots. (one interesting tid bit -- it's where Robert Kennedy was assasinated ... )
We have some new T-shirts available.
There are three designs available: Medeiros, Hope and Adams, Smoking Lady
T-shirts are $16.00 US. Shipping is $4.00 for US residents. Non US residents please e-mail us to calculate shipping. You can pay via check, money order or PayPal (US customers only at this time). We will expand our payment options as soon as we can.
Send checks or money orders along with your shipping address to:
Wheat
P.O. Box 842
North Dighton, MA
02764-0842
If you have any questions please contact us.
Please note: for the time being, if we happen to be on the road at the time we receive your order we will not be able to process your check or money order until we return. Eventually we will be more versatile ... please bear with us!
May 22, 2007 - Empyrean Records
WHEAT announce the release of "EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER FOR KATHY AND MADE A ONE INCH SQUARE" on 5/22/07!
A few things WHEAT fans should know:
*That wait is over!! Empyrean Records will release "EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER FOR KATHY AND MADE A ONE INCH SQUARE" from WHEAT in North America on 5/22/07 on both CD and digital formats!
*Deluxe LP version on colored vinyl with bonus tracks will be released on 8/21/07 along with the first single "I Had Angels Watching Over Me" (track 4 on the album - single will be released on CD with 2 exclusive bonus tracks and a video)
*The first video from the album "I Had Angels Watching Over Me" will exclusively premier on PITCHFORKmedia.com in April (check empyreanrecords.com soon for details)
*Band will tour North America in June. They will also be playing a few select dates before the tour:
3/31/07 at TT The Bears in Boston, MA - order tickets
4/28/07 at North Star in Philadelphia, PA - order tickets
4/29/07 at Mercury Lounge in New York, NY - order tickets
About the new album: "We didn't know what the hell we were doing," Harney laughs. "We were the least career minded band I've ever come across. Everything was about magic. Like children. We just let it fly, the rest be damned."
Formed by two students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth - Scott Levesque (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Harney (drums), soon afterwards joined by Ricky Brennan (guitars, vocals) - WHEAT was originally conceived as an art project. About the only thing that was known for sure about their 1998 debut MEDEIROS at the time of its release was that it was mixed with Brian Deck (Red Red Meat): the band's official bio was little more than a chronology of the band's various line-ups, first names only, and the album's artwork gave away even less. Despite this, however, the mysterious, hazy, low key debut yielded an NME Single Of The Week, Death Car, as well as a bumper crop of superlatives from the press on both sides of the Atlantic.
HOPE & ADAMS, its follow-up (released in 2000), saw the band shift up a gear, employing renowned producer Dave Fridmann to develop their ideas whilst remaining true to their original intentions. The response to HOPE & ADAMS was unanimous: a truly great American indie rock band had arrived, and in Don't I Hold You - employed to great effect by Cameron Crowe in the movie Elizabethtown - they had one of the most simple but heartbreaking love songs of the year. The band, meanwhile, toured extensively, building up an impressive reputation for both stretching out their songs and their charismatic stage presence - Levesque as frontman was coy but captivating, Harney as pearl-necklaced drummer an eccentric but hypnotic force behind the kit.
WHEAT looked all set for mainstream but unusually uncompromised success. As so often happens, however, fate (or perhaps poor management) conspired against them: the band was advised to leave their European label in favor of another that, unbeknownst to them, was about to fold. Mere days after the deal was signed news reached them that their album was now an asset of a company that had gone out of business. Dense legal battles followed, and though the band emerged intact over a year later to sign with Aware / Sony, the record - the typically cryptically titled PER SECOND, PER SECOND, PER SECOND... EVERY SECOND - had not emerged so unscathed. Instead it had been remixed and in places re-recorded, largely at the label's behest, and was consequently rendered comparatively lifeless (although it still went on to sell over 35,000 copies in the US).
In the end - fortunately, some might argue - it was never released outside of North America. Brennan quit the band while Levesque and Harney retreated into a long silence, exhausted and disillusioned. Rumors that WHEAT had broken up were not too far from the truth.
"We couldn't do the monkey suits and the handshakes well at all," Harney explains. "We were terribly unhappy so we started to play it in a way where we could just get out and get on with life. It didn't work out 'cause it was a completely fucked-up fit. Scott and I started WHEAT as an art project, and the second we let other people's opinions slip in is when it started to come apart. We needed to walk away from the whole thing. The things we loved, the art of what we did, the control of what we were about seemed to be slipping, so we had to jump."
After a while, however, Levesque and Harney began to talk again and, restless to make music once more, they reconvened in the summer of 2005 to try out new tracks just to see where the songs and ideas might lead.
This time they had no label. They had no recording schedule. They had no deadlines. But they remembered the old rituals, and in doing so, discovered they were able to reclaim the supernal sound, ineffable chemistry, and music-magic of Wheat.
"We were in that great spot again," says Levesque. "We make records in our own little world, and that's where we went to. We really tried to get back into the flow with this music, the abstract nature of communicating with depth and detail, communicating what we all feel when we love. We work hard at keeping the spirit of the original thought alive, which is why we try not to "perfect" anything. We wanted to challenge the idea of a professional record. Everything today is made as perfectly as possible, and we wanted to have this feel as real and as human as possible. I think we did that, and we did it without sacrificing the power of the music."
With EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER FOR KATHY AND MADE A ONE INCH SQUARE, WHEAT are back amongst us in our world, right where they belong. What began 10 years ago as a brilliant art project in sound has now been restored to its beginnings, original luster restored. From the celestial shimmer of Closeness, which opens the new album, to the pastoral instrumental poem, Courting Ed Templeton, which closes it, EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER... marks a splendid return to the incandescent form that yielded 1997's delicious MEDEIROS and 1999's indie-pop gem HOPE AND ADAMS.
And the album's curious title? "It's about remembering through a ritual", Harney clarifies. "We lose things we love, sometimes, in life. People turn corners and things change, and we try to remember. We make art, but art becomes stylized. Then we decide to make a square, simply to remember. Or hope, maybe."
WHEAT still don't know what the hell they are doing. They are still the least career minded band you'll ever come across. Everything remains about magic. Like children. They just let it fly, the rest be damned.
*Deluxe LP version on colored vinyl with bonus tracks will be released on 8/21/07 along with the first single "I Had Angels Watching Over Me" (track 4 on the album - single will be released on CD with 2 exclusive bonus tracks and a video)
October 2001 Introducing Wheat in their own Words
It is with great pleasure that Wheat introduce a new journal feature in which Wheat provide, in their own words, and entirely in the third person (since there are three of us, er, that is, them) an up close and personal glance at the goings-ons involving the band. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot going on right now, and in general you won't actually find them getting all that personal or up close at all really, but there are a few things worth mentioning for anyone who may be interested.
As some of you know, Wheat have completed our, I mean , their third album, which is entitled Per Second, Per Second, Per Second, Every Second. It will be released by Nude Records. Stay tuned right here for official the release date and other info as it develops. (Sorry it is is taking so long. Believe us, if Wheat could get it out any sooner it would already be available. Your patience is greatly appreciated.)
In the meantime, it looks like there will be a single released before the album, and hopefully that will happen by the end of the year, but at this time there is no definite date. Wheat will keep you posted.
Other than that, Wheat are in the process of putting together a few shows for late November/early December (these are not officially confirmed yet but it looks like they will happen):
November 30 Boston/Cambridge Middle East Downstairs
December 1 New York Knitting Factory
December 2 Philadelphia Khyber
Sorry, Wheat won't be venturing out much further than that until after the new record comes out. And that's about all for now. Check back from time to time as we will be adding more information once there is more information to share. Wheat will be adding a new B-Side very soon, and are planning on adding a merch page in the near future as well. Finally, there is a new journal page that you can check out for news updates, gossip and more cleverly hidden toungue in cheek humor. Until next time, thanks for listening.
Wheat
(Ricky, Scott and Brendan)
12/04/2001 --- December 2001
The Saga Continues...
Well, as you probably know we just played three shows, in Boston , NYC and Philadelphia. The results were a bit mixed, Boston was great as we were fortunate to have an elaborate light show, courtesy of some friends of mine at High Output, which everyone seemed to enjoy. We are experimenting with ways in which to augment our live show, so stay tuned for some surprises down the line ...
Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows. Despite smaller than usual turn-outs in NYC and Philly we managed to have a good time, and hopefully you did as well.
Now for the bad part. The day before the weekend of these shows we received some very disappointing news. (and since it is being reported in NME there is no sense in trying to hide it). Nude, the label we recently signed with , is closing down. Without going into details, what this means for us is that we don't know when Per Second... will be released. In the meantime, we are pushing forward and are already working on a new batch of songs for the next album. I will keep everyone posted as to the developments. Thank you for your continued support and patience.
We wish that we had better news, but these things happen. Thanks for listening.
February 9, 2002 - Feb 2002
Hello everyone ...
I feel like everytime I go to update this it's been several months since the last entry ... sorry about that, it' s been kinda a weird time, to say the least. (see previous entires for background.) But mostly there just hasn't been much to report, really.
We are still trying to reacquire our record, and hopefully that will all be squared away soon and we can begin to plan how we are going to release it and when and all of that. Meanwhile, we are recording new material for the next record. We're also throwing around the idea of releasing a single or EP sometime before the album is released. No definite plans yet, but we will keep you all informed.
We were mentioned in Spin magazine as Jimmy Eat's World's #5 album of 2001, even though the record isn't actually out. But it was kind of nice to see the album title in print, especially in Spin. Pretty nifty. Made us feel like maybe there's a glimmer of light at the end of this murky hallway ...
We are thinking about possibly doing some shows in the spring. Again, no definite plans, but we will let you know. Stay tuned here for all new developments as they develop. :-) We're going to try and add some new stuff to the site soon, so stop by every once in a while and check it out. Thanks for listening.
February 21, 2002
Wheat appear on the new V2 compilation 'Acoustic'!
Check the releases section for further details.
Wheat appear on the new Wishing Tree compilation 'Amos House Volume II'! Check the releases section for further details.
Two new live shows in March and April!
There isn't a whole lot to report, but here's where we're at. As you may or may not know, Wheat signed with Nude records in the fall, but unfortunately the label folded before we had a chance to do anything with them. We are now in the process of reacquiring our completed third record "Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second" and figuring out who will release it and all of that fun stuff.
In the meantime, we have begun recording new material, and are considering the possibility of putting out a 5 song EP or single sometime before the album is released. (We are almost done with demos for the five songs now!) Likewise, we will soon begin recording demos for the fourth album, and hopefully it won't take so long for that one to to be released! Keep an eye here for new developments and any shows or tour dates that happen to come about. There is the possibility that we may do some dates in the early Spring. We'll let you know. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for listening!
March 7, 2002 - March Update
Howdy everyone,
We are now at Dave Fridmann's studio, Tarbox Road, beginning work on some new material. There is still, unfortunately, no news about the status of "Per Second, Per Second, Per Second, Every Second" , so we are plowing forward and working on the next album. There is the possbility that we can complete a new album sooner than we can release "Per Second", but we'll see what happens. Stay tuned for more details. Thank you for your patience.
Other than that, we just have a show in Boston coming up on April 5. We don't have any further planns beyond that right now. We will keep you posted. Thanks for listening.
July 19, 2002 - July Update
Hello, and Happy Summer.
As you may already have heard, we finally got our label situation straightened out, and we will be signing with Aware Records. With any luck, the new record, Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second will be released early next year. We are trying to string together a few tour dates for the fall as well. We will let y'all know as soon as we do. But finally, it is all coming together, and the record will see the light of day!
Right now, we are preparing to remix a few songs and record several new ones. You can check out one of the new songs, called "I Met A Girl", on the Aware 9 compilation.
That's all for now, but we'll be trying to update the journal section more frequently, so keep an eye out. Also, if you haven't already , go to our contact page and sign up on either our mail or e-mail lists, and we will send you updates about what we are up to. As always , thanks for listening!
Ricky, one of the Wheat guys, on behalf of Wheat.
September 4, 2002 - Roadtrips
The latest issue of Roadtrips (Volume 3, Number 1, Summer 2002), the official publication of Aware Records, mentions the band briefly in two different sections. From left to right in the press photo: Ricky Brennan, Scott Levesque and Brendan Harney.A Closer Look at the Aware 9 Artists
Hailing from Boston, Wheat recently signed to Aware and will release a CD on the label in 2003. The band previously released two CDs on their own: Hope And Adams and Medeiros.
Coming Soon On Aware Records
After releasing two independent CDs, the band signed to Aware Records in the summer of 2002. Wheat will spend the fall putting finishing touches on their next record to be released in 2003.
September 23, 2002 -- October 2002
We have just completed Phase 1 of the final stages of album completion. We spent the last three weeks at Room 9 from Outer Space studio in Boston, recording six songs with Ducky Carlisle and Rob Gil, and three more with John Fields. Several are new songs, and we also recut a number of others from the batch of songs that was supposed to have been released a year ago by Nude (before they went under). In two weeks we will bring them to Dave Fridmann and he will add his magic fairy dust to them.
So it won't be long now. Hopefully the new record will be released early next year. It will be released on Aware Records. Stay tuned for more details on that.
Also, we will be announcing a few tour dates for November very soon. Basically we will be heading out to Chicago and back. We will gradually begin touring more and more as we get closer to the record coming out.
That's all for now. Thanks for your support!
April 1, 2003
We just finished a fantastic three week tour with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Bleu. Thanks to Toad for an amazing opportunity and thanks to Bleu for being all around bad-asses. Before that we were in Europe with John Mayer for two weeks, which was equally as exciting. Thanks to everyone involved for making it such a fun experience.
And most importantly thank you to everyone who joined our mailing list and brought something home with you. We truly appreciate it and we hope to see you all again very soon!
ow that we are finally beginning to have things to talk about and post on the site, we are constantly updating it and will be adding lots of fun stuff including several new pages of photos from some of our recent shows such as our January show at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA. Much more to come, so keep checking in!
Wheat tour with Guster!
Wheat will be doing a few weeks of dates in April with fellow Boston area natives Guster:
Sat 04/12/03 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
Sun 04/13/03 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Tue 04/15/03 Austin, TX Stubb's Barbeque
Wed 04/16/03 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Fri 04/18/03 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
Sat 04/19/03 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
Mon 04/21/03 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's
Tue 04/22/03 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Fri 04/25/03 Hamden, CT Quinnipac College (sorry, students only)
Sat 04/26/03 Smithfield, RI Bryant College (sorry, students only)
Too Much Time
We now have a five song EP called Too Much Time which is available only at shows and at the Aware Store which we will also offer here on the webstie as soon as we get back, featuring a song or two from the upcoming new album Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second as well as some demo verions and unreleased material.
The new record will be out VERY SOON, we promise ! It's looking like sometime around May or June ... we will also be announcing more tour dates in the next week or so, so stay tuned. we will let you know as soon as we know!
As always , thank you for your support (and patience!)
May 11, 2003
Our new album Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second will be released late summer 2003 on Aware Records.
New show announced!
June 20
TT the Bear's Place
Cambridge, MA
Wheat is currently auditioning bass and keyboard players for future touring. If you live in MA or RI or nearby and would be interested email us or call 401 253 7761 and ask for Brendan.
2004 - I Met A Girl - The First VIDEO from Per Second, Per Second, Per Second, Every Second
Check out the video for I Met a Girl! The Wheat* guys completed filming the video this spring in LA.
It was directed by Ericson Core, who has worked as director of photography on movies such as Daredevil, Fast and the Furious, and has worked on music videos with The Mavericks, Stevie Wonder, Run D.M.C., and The Rolling Stones .
It was filmed at the Ambassador Hotel, a once glamorous LA hot spot, now long shut down and used primarily for film, tv, commercial and video shoots. (one interesting tid bit -- it's where Robert Kennedy was assasinated ... )
We have some new T-shirts available.
There are three designs available: Medeiros, Hope and Adams, Smoking Lady
T-shirts are $16.00 US. Shipping is $4.00 for US residents. Non US residents please e-mail us to calculate shipping. You can pay via check, money order or PayPal (US customers only at this time). We will expand our payment options as soon as we can.
Send checks or money orders along with your shipping address to:
Wheat
P.O. Box 842
North Dighton, MA
02764-0842
If you have any questions please contact us.
Please note: for the time being, if we happen to be on the road at the time we receive your order we will not be able to process your check or money order until we return. Eventually we will be more versatile ... please bear with us!
May 22, 2007 - Empyrean Records
WHEAT announce the release of "EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER FOR KATHY AND MADE A ONE INCH SQUARE" on 5/22/07!
A few things WHEAT fans should know:
*That wait is over!! Empyrean Records will release "EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER FOR KATHY AND MADE A ONE INCH SQUARE" from WHEAT in North America on 5/22/07 on both CD and digital formats!
*Deluxe LP version on colored vinyl with bonus tracks will be released on 8/21/07 along with the first single "I Had Angels Watching Over Me" (track 4 on the album - single will be released on CD with 2 exclusive bonus tracks and a video)
*The first video from the album "I Had Angels Watching Over Me" will exclusively premier on PITCHFORKmedia.com in April (check empyreanrecords.com soon for details)
*Band will tour North America in June. They will also be playing a few select dates before the tour:
3/31/07 at TT The Bears in Boston, MA - order tickets
4/28/07 at North Star in Philadelphia, PA - order tickets
4/29/07 at Mercury Lounge in New York, NY - order tickets
About the new album: "We didn't know what the hell we were doing," Harney laughs. "We were the least career minded band I've ever come across. Everything was about magic. Like children. We just let it fly, the rest be damned."
Formed by two students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth - Scott Levesque (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Harney (drums), soon afterwards joined by Ricky Brennan (guitars, vocals) - WHEAT was originally conceived as an art project. About the only thing that was known for sure about their 1998 debut MEDEIROS at the time of its release was that it was mixed with Brian Deck (Red Red Meat): the band's official bio was little more than a chronology of the band's various line-ups, first names only, and the album's artwork gave away even less. Despite this, however, the mysterious, hazy, low key debut yielded an NME Single Of The Week, Death Car, as well as a bumper crop of superlatives from the press on both sides of the Atlantic.
HOPE & ADAMS, its follow-up (released in 2000), saw the band shift up a gear, employing renowned producer Dave Fridmann to develop their ideas whilst remaining true to their original intentions. The response to HOPE & ADAMS was unanimous: a truly great American indie rock band had arrived, and in Don't I Hold You - employed to great effect by Cameron Crowe in the movie Elizabethtown - they had one of the most simple but heartbreaking love songs of the year. The band, meanwhile, toured extensively, building up an impressive reputation for both stretching out their songs and their charismatic stage presence - Levesque as frontman was coy but captivating, Harney as pearl-necklaced drummer an eccentric but hypnotic force behind the kit.
WHEAT looked all set for mainstream but unusually uncompromised success. As so often happens, however, fate (or perhaps poor management) conspired against them: the band was advised to leave their European label in favor of another that, unbeknownst to them, was about to fold. Mere days after the deal was signed news reached them that their album was now an asset of a company that had gone out of business. Dense legal battles followed, and though the band emerged intact over a year later to sign with Aware / Sony, the record - the typically cryptically titled PER SECOND, PER SECOND, PER SECOND... EVERY SECOND - had not emerged so unscathed. Instead it had been remixed and in places re-recorded, largely at the label's behest, and was consequently rendered comparatively lifeless (although it still went on to sell over 35,000 copies in the US).
In the end - fortunately, some might argue - it was never released outside of North America. Brennan quit the band while Levesque and Harney retreated into a long silence, exhausted and disillusioned. Rumors that WHEAT had broken up were not too far from the truth.
"We couldn't do the monkey suits and the handshakes well at all," Harney explains. "We were terribly unhappy so we started to play it in a way where we could just get out and get on with life. It didn't work out 'cause it was a completely fucked-up fit. Scott and I started WHEAT as an art project, and the second we let other people's opinions slip in is when it started to come apart. We needed to walk away from the whole thing. The things we loved, the art of what we did, the control of what we were about seemed to be slipping, so we had to jump."
After a while, however, Levesque and Harney began to talk again and, restless to make music once more, they reconvened in the summer of 2005 to try out new tracks just to see where the songs and ideas might lead.
This time they had no label. They had no recording schedule. They had no deadlines. But they remembered the old rituals, and in doing so, discovered they were able to reclaim the supernal sound, ineffable chemistry, and music-magic of Wheat.
"We were in that great spot again," says Levesque. "We make records in our own little world, and that's where we went to. We really tried to get back into the flow with this music, the abstract nature of communicating with depth and detail, communicating what we all feel when we love. We work hard at keeping the spirit of the original thought alive, which is why we try not to "perfect" anything. We wanted to challenge the idea of a professional record. Everything today is made as perfectly as possible, and we wanted to have this feel as real and as human as possible. I think we did that, and we did it without sacrificing the power of the music."
With EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER FOR KATHY AND MADE A ONE INCH SQUARE, WHEAT are back amongst us in our world, right where they belong. What began 10 years ago as a brilliant art project in sound has now been restored to its beginnings, original luster restored. From the celestial shimmer of Closeness, which opens the new album, to the pastoral instrumental poem, Courting Ed Templeton, which closes it, EVERYDAY I SAID A PRAYER... marks a splendid return to the incandescent form that yielded 1997's delicious MEDEIROS and 1999's indie-pop gem HOPE AND ADAMS.
And the album's curious title? "It's about remembering through a ritual", Harney clarifies. "We lose things we love, sometimes, in life. People turn corners and things change, and we try to remember. We make art, but art becomes stylized. Then we decide to make a square, simply to remember. Or hope, maybe."
WHEAT still don't know what the hell they are doing. They are still the least career minded band you'll ever come across. Everything remains about magic. Like children. They just let it fly, the rest be damned.
*Deluxe LP version on colored vinyl with bonus tracks will be released on 8/21/07 along with the first single "I Had Angels Watching Over Me" (track 4 on the album - single will be released on CD with 2 exclusive bonus tracks and a video)