Going to bed at 9PM is not conducive to sleeping through the night, it’s 3AM now and I’m out of bed and completely awake. Surprisingly things with the band finding a Jam space seems to be going pretty good. Between my Ad in the SEE Magazine and contacting every musician in Edmonton that I know, I got some call backs and found two really good possibilities that we’ll hopefully have hammered out by the end of the week. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much cause Jam spaces always seem to fall through, but this time it looks like we may be good to go. Yay!

Something else worth mentioning, this weekend I got a chance to go to the band Lipht’s CD Release Party at Jet Nightclub. They put on a great show and had wicked chemistry on stage. Their new album “A Generation Removed” (which I picked up a copy of) has freaking astounding production and some really great songs. It was recorded at the same studio we’re hitting up this winter and is a testiment to Kevin Hoskin the Engineer/Producer and the guys from Lipht. It’s nice to see those guys doing so well after all the time and energy they’ve put into their music and the new record, great job guys.

Aside from that there’s not a whole lot to report. We’ve all been keeping busy working hard and dealing with life outside the band. It’s good that things seem to be coming together for us and we should be rehearsing regularly with enough time to get ready for the studio in the coming months.

Either way, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this all pans out.

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

Wow, I can’t believe its been three weeks since my last post, and that was when I was in Cleveland. Since I’ve been back, the distractions of life and difficulties of pulling the band together have hit again. Now that fall has come to an end and winter is pretty much here, our unheated jam space is no longer an option for rehearsing and we are falling behind. Having a place to rehearse is a huge road block (if not the biggest) especially since studio time is right around the corner.

In the last few weeks I’ve frantically been trying to find us a new place to rehearse, which you’d think wouldn’t be that hard, but it’s quite difficult when the real estate market in Edmonton is utterly stupid and none of us own a house. Sometimes I feel like the economy works against artists and musicians, but then again, whether it be housing or gas price fluctuation’s I think we’re all affected equally. With that said, we’ve come up short with finding a new rehearsal space and everything is on hold until we get one. It’s almost to the point where I’m going to need to buy a home on the outskirts of Edmonton just so the band can have a place to practice.

So I guess this isn’t so much a rant as it is a plea. Do you want or know some one who wants to make some extra coin that has a heated garage or space that won’t be getting used this winter in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, or Leduc (seriously we’ll drive out to Ft. Sask if we have to)? LOL, Who in there right mind would give up their heated garage in Edmonton over the winter, we are so fucked.

“Looks like the band is really ‘in a jam’ this time. Will they possibly be able to avoid a ‘jarring’ conclusion? To find out, tune in again next week, same L.I. time, same L.I. channel!”

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

What can I say, it’s just been messed, this whole summer I’ve been having experiences which make me re-evaluate my entire life. From the passing of the first girl I ever loved, to attending the wedding of a friend I have known for over 20 years… this has been a summer of deep contemplation. One for the history book of my life, and it has, without a doubt, given me inspiration to play my guitar.

That’s pretty much all I have to say for now, I just wanted to give a quick update seeing as I haven’t posted in over a month. I’ll be posting another note soon, with an update for our next gig which is going to be at the Starlite Room on the 19th of September. The show will feature some of the best progressive rock Alberta has to offer so check back soon.

“Summertime and the livin’s easy”

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress

Yup, I am definitely burning the candle on both ends, DJing, Working, Rehearsing, etc… But as Ronnie Johns would say “You need to harden the fuck up!” haha. In the last 6 days the band has had 5 rehearsals, got our set list together for the Ashes Divide show (with 4 new tracks from our upcoming album), and have been rehearsing in what feels like the heat of Hell (our new jam space is above a convenience store in downtown Edmonton and this plus thirty heat is a bitch when you don’t have an air conditioner). All of our focus has been going into getting ready for the show next week, which if I haven’t already mentioned is going to be fucking awesome.

After this it looks like we will be planning on playing some more gigs this summer and taking a quick break to finish recording the new album. Things are looking very good for the band and the momentum is building for something huge. Also, our new jam space is pretty sweet; it even has an extra room in it for us to move in all of my pre-production recording gear. Special thanks to my friend for hooking us up, finding cheap space is not an easy feat in Edmonton and I’m damn happy that we were able to get this spot.

Well that’s pretty much it. We have 3 or 4 more rehearsals scheduled in the next couple days then we’ll be hitting the stage at the Starlite Room on Monday the 7th of July opening for ASHES dIVIDE! You best be there…

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

It’s official, Monday July 7th 2008 at the Starlite Room in Edmonton, Living Illusion will be hitting the stage opening for aSHES dIVIDE! For those of you who don’t know, aSHES dIVIDE is an American rock band formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel, who is the founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle. This show is going to fucking ROCK, if you don’t already have tickets I suggest you go to Ticketmaster and get them now!

I am freaking extactic and honored that we are going to be sharing the stage with aSHES dIVIDE, and I can’t wait to get up their and rock the place down. I better see every one out there with fists in the air!

I’ll keep you posted, but in the mean time go buy tickets!

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

I can’t believe it’s been over two weeks since my last post. Time is just flying by this summer; of course it’s probably due to the fact that I have been working 4 jobs, haha. Right now I have my Full Time Job, an eMarketing Consulting Project, a Website Development Project for a friend, and I’m DJing every weekend (Weddings, High School Dances, etc).

At least DJing doesn’t really feel like work, cause I love doing it, especially when the bride and groom are trying to get me drunk. Needless to say, all the Weddings I have DJ’d this year have been awesome! And still, in all of that I have somehow found time to work on music at least twice a week with Jay, which is damn good if you ask me.

Anyway, I guess another reason I haven’t really posted anything is because well… I don’t have anything to post… about the band and music that is. I wish I did. I wish I had something cool and exciting to write about, but I don’t.

On a side note Jay and I will probably be down at The Warehouse (14220 Yellowhead Trail) on the occasional Sunday Night throughout this summer Jamming with all the people there so feel free to come down.

Beyond that, I guess one of these days I’m gonna start my random blogging on the site but we will see when that starts.

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

It’s been over a week since my last post, and I guess I just haven’t really had the drive to write, even though I do actually have some cool things to write about. What’s cool you ask? Well, Jay and I got to hang out and drink with GGGarth Richardson (Famed Producer of Rage Against the Machine, Chevelle, RHCP, etc), the boys from Ten Second Epic (Signed to Universal), and two of the guys from Portal (a kick ass local Edmonton band)… and it was fucking killer! The last few weeks has been a wild ride meeting so many amazing people, it’s truly awesome how this last month has panned out.

Lately with the band we have been spending a lot of time trying to find a proper jam space as opposed to some ones basement, but as anyone in Edmonton knows, finding a place to rent is a rather difficult task these days. I think we will either find something in the next week or else… it will be back to the basement, lame. Also, things on the recording end seem to be going pretty good. Jay and I are going to be scheduling a meeting with Kevin Hoskin, (Engineer / Producer / Member of Portal) who works with Bill Kennedy, in the next couple weeks to figure out details for cutting an album and or EP… we may actually have some new tunes out there in the next few months!

That’s pretty much it for an update, hopefully everything keeps moving forward at the rate it’s going cause that would be a very good thing. You should also go check out Portals new album at http://www.bloodredtape.com/ it sounds freaking amazing and I can’t wait until their CD Release Party at Jet in September.

And… that’s all folks.

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

P.S. If you know of any Jam Spaces available in Edmonton drop me an email, thanks.

The May long weekend this year rocked! I’m still amazed that I was able to have such a good time and didn’t have to leave Edmonton to do it. It was practically a perfect weekend, I played acoustic guitar in the sun while chilling with friends, worked on a new electronic song with DJ Terminal, rocked out on stage at an open jam at The Warehouse (Metal Bar in Edmonton) and last but not least, Jay and I got to meet and hang out with Bill Kennedy (Producer/Engineer of NIN, Megadeth, Motley Crue). Needless to say there was copious amounts of drinking and Barbeque’s involved. It was awesome. Hahaha.

So even though we had a wicked weekend, things are still moving rather slowly in the world of Living Illusion. I titled this blog the way I did cause well, we have been getting requests for gigs but due to a lack of a place to rehearse, and musicians to play with, it is making it difficult to get back into the scene and do anything. Hopefully the new connections made in the last week will change that though… this year has been very up and down for our project that’s for fucking sure.

Anyway, that’s all I really have to write today about the band.

I hope your long weekend was as good as mine.

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

Plans… well more like “Hopes for the Future”. Haha. Well… on a positive note we’re basically done writing the new album, and now it’s just a matter of getting out there and hitting the music scene again. I think Jay and I are going to pick up some guitars and start performing acoustic live sets around Edmonton; it would be a good start to a slow and shaky year. From traveling to multiple cities in North America to getting in car accidents and living the mundane life of the day job worker, this has definitely been a slow year for LI.

This year there has been far too many days that feel like we should just say fuck it all and go teach English overseas. Haha. You ever feel like that? Where you just wanna say piss on it all and go do something else? Cause it can be hard at times to stay motivated and committed to something that doesn’t have a lot of “perks” along the way… but I guess with music, it boils down to the fact that none of the “perks” really matters. The music is enjoyment in itself. I personally think I would be miserable without a guitar and a means to share my creativity… Yup.

So where does this leave us? Well hopefully were going to be performing some where some time soon. Of which I will obviously be posting online. I wish I had more definitive information, but that’s all I got. One cool thing that is happening (kinda unrelated) is the fact that we’re going to go see Dream Theater in Calgary this weekend coming up. They are an awesome band that I have been dying to see play live for years! Not a huge fan of the “Vocal Style” but with musicians as good as the guys in Dream Theater you can see past the 80′s metal singer.

On a side note, I am going to start blogging on a semi-daily basis. It won’t always be about the band or even music for that matter, but it will be insightful and entertaining…. maybe. Haha. Keep in touch and feel free to email me anytime.

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/

Have you ever been to Venice Beach in LA? It’s like being at a Hippy Crafts Festival with thousands upon thousands of people walking along the street buying and selling crap that no one really needs… and oh yah, did I forget to mention all the Psychics and Tarot card readers? Haha, it was awesome! I must admit the beach itself was pretty damn sweet and all in all it was a fun experience. Los Angeles is a really cool place to visit but I doubt I could ever see myself living somewhere like that. The 16 lane highways are a little insane, and there are more people living in California than the entire country of Canada… I’ll pass on living in the population overload.

One cool thing while I was away was that I had an opportunity to take an entire day and write a new song on a George Benson acoustic guitar (Google it, it’s pretty sweet). The wonderful lady I stayed with for a couple days designed the pearl logo on the head the guitar so she got it for free and never really plays it, the axe just sits in the corner collecting dust all year… it’s sad when beautiful guitars never get played. I made up for lost time with the axe and now I too have a song that I can say I wrote in California, haha… lame.

Now that I’m back from Cali and Jay is back from Mexico we have a lot to finish up on, and more new stuff to record. We have made a decision about recording and writing though, and have set our self a time line to get the band back together. After these last few new songs are done we won’t be working on writing material any more, and we will be focusing on getting out there and playing our new material live. Even though it may take a little longer to have the new album out, that just means if you want to hear it, you’ll have to come see us play. Don’t worry though, we still plan on having a new album out this year… you may just have to see us live first before it is released.

And with that I’m crashing.

Shane Lamotte
shane@livingillusion.com
http://www.livingillusion.com/wordpress/