site news: first of all, i wanted to apologize that i haven't been putting as much effort into this site recently. i've been working on launching a music site and i'm really excited about it. you can check out the graphics that i have done so far here. i'm definitely getting way better with photoshop, so when i make some new MAH graphics i promise they will be awesome. expect to see see icons from the new photoshoot soon.
band news: Larry has posted another video blog from the studio:
2.22.07 - Finally...Another Update
band news: the band update their site for the first time in a week.
February 21st 2007 - 11:08pm:: Posted by Jesse
Listening to: Project Runway?
BIG BIG BIG update. First.. I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates this week. We've been doing a bunch of stuff and have been WAY exhausted. Biking 4 miles a day gets tiring. ANYWAYS - We just finished electric guitars on all the songs on the record. Very excited about the parts.. and now were starting to mess with other instruments like: keyboards / pianos / acoustic guitars / loops and samples. We're in the magic making portion of the process.. i guess you could call it. James is working wonders. Alot of the songs are keyboard and harmony heavy which is always funn right? I THINK SO! anywho larry is working wonders as well.. he has about 4 songs left to track i believe. And then we start mixing early march. Expect something huge. OH and here is a video of practically.. what we do every single day. hope ya'll are having a fine and dandy week.
2.18.07 - Upload To The Gallery
site news: i've configured the gallery so that you can upload your own photos to certain albums: photos with the band, autographs, and drawings. there is also an album where you can upload live photos that you've taken. you have to create a new account, but you can use the same username as on the forums. if you upload live photos, please send me an email or post something in the forums telling me the info for the show so that i can make a new album for it.
2.16.07 - New Photos
band news: there are some sweet new promo shots up here in the gallery. Larry got a haircut.
Last night we had a close friend of ours in Orlando stop by our hotel and take a few photos.. hope you like em:) <3
2.16.07 - Valentine's Day
random: i hope everybody had a happy Valentine's Day. the band posted a myspace bulletin:
Heyy guys,
just wanted to say happy valentines day. hopefully you all went out with your lovers and had a smashing night together.. If not, remember it's just a day;) We miss you guys.. We'll put up some brand new Photos and Promos tomorrow with some more updates from Orlando and the New Record:) love love
dustin
and Dustin had a story to tell in his blog:
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentines
Current mood: working
I walked by the lobby of our hotel yesterday and David(the owner) got my attention and told me he had something for me. Maybe he wanted to be my Valentine and got me a present? Guess again.. Instead, He handed me a red envelope with my name on it. Someone had gotten through and it looks like i had a valentine after all.. Although 98% of my day was spent sitting in a studio and then back in bed for Conan (LIKE EVERY NIGHT;) Someone delivered some love in the mail and that was more than enough... So, i opened the mystery red envelope, read through a long/loving message and then got to the end...
"Love, Mum and Dad"
I appreciated that. That's the real deal
dustin
2.14.07 - Gallery
site news: i've been working a lot recently on the gallery. i still have plenty more photos to upload, but i think it's finally in a condition where i can tell people about it. so go check it out: mahfans.com/gallery.
there are 768 photos at the moment.
random: my college radio station is doing some crazy shit for Valentines Day and you can watch it all online at wmre.fm from 8pm-2am tonight EST. (that's 5pm-11pm Cali time) i'm doing a segment at 11pm. just a shameless plug.
2.13.07 - New Blogs
band news: Dustin has posted a new blog on his myspace:
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Day 9,10? Lighters
Current mood: naughty
Things have been pretty structured lately.. Early bike riding, studio from around 1 pm to Midnight, then i go back to the hotel and cook an enourmous meal and watch Conan before sleep. Last night, there was a little surprise. im guessing it was around 12:30 or 1.. i was watching Conan interview the girl from "Heroes" i think her name is Hayden.. Anyways, there was a knock at our door. Kindof random? so i checked the little eyepiece to see who it was and i saw a kid who looked to be about 15 wearing a red shirt. Curiosity got the best of me and i answered..
Me: whats up?
Red: Hey, you gotta light?
Me: ????? nope sorry man
Red: i'll just try the next room down.
If i stop by a gas station later tonight, i think i may just buy a lighter in case my new friend Red decides to make another visit at 1 am. People are nuts.
dustin jeffrey
and there's also an update on the official site, along with 2 videos of Matt & Jesse playing guitar and a few photos.
February 13th 2007 - 11:08pm:: Posted by Jesse
Listening to: Fallout Boy (amazing)
Guitars Guitars Guitars. That's basically what's been up the last 2 days. Oh and Mr. Larry is throwing down some vocals as well. The stuff is sounding bigger than i ever could imagine. That's basically the only way i can decribe how the songs coming out. My laptop is burning the hell out of my thighs.. what are the people making these computers thinking?! anywho. here are some new vids and some sweet shots.
2.12.07 - First Video Blog
new media: so i saw this last night but i completely forgot about it when i updated today. thanks for the reminder in the shoutbox. here's the bands first video blog. it's done by Larry and posted on the band's new YouTube account. apparently you can get an "artist" account. anyways... here it is for your viewing pleasure.
2.12.07 - Studio Quiz
band news: i sent Jesse a quiz for the band about being in Florida and living together. here are the responses:
Who in the band...
brought the most stuff with them to FL?
dustin cause all his clothes.. and larry. larry brought like his blanket and everything on the plane. he's ridiculous!
is the messiest?
all of us pretty much. but me and larry like to keep stuff clean.
is the neatest?
larry
spends the most time in front of the mirror?
dustin and jesse. haha!
showers the least?
dustin and jesse
eats the most?
dustin and jesse
will eat any gross concoction you make them?
not necessarily gross. but steven makes the weirdest meals sometimes. like pasta sandwiches. haha.
watches the most tv?
Matt and dustin
talks on the phone all the time?
larry
misses their parents the most?
ALL OF US!
misses their significant other the most?
jesse. i'm the only dude in the band who has a girlfriend as of right now.
listens to music that everyone else hates?
not going to say.
discovers bands that you all love?
larry likes to do that sometimes
spends the most time by themself?
i think i do?
thank you Jesse for responding :)
2.12.07 - Studio Update
band news: another studio update is up. check out the pictures of the house...it's absolutely gorgeous. i want to live there.
February 12th 2007 - 1:05pm:: Posted by Jesse
Listening to: Dangerous
WOO! it's a late night here in the studio. I'm sort of just writing to give you another quick update on everything. Cause everyone loves updates right? RIGHT! steve just finished up his tracks today and mr. hook is finishing up his bass tracks. all i can say is that the drums sound GODLY and the tones were getting are phenomenal. I took some sweet pictures today that i'd like to share.. AND! another sweet video of steve dropping some hot beatz. once again thanks for coming and checking the site out. P.S THE GRAMMY'S WERE LEGIT. let's give it up for john mayer. woo.
as always, the photos and video are on the website.
2.11.07 - Studio Update, Larry's Myspace
band news: there's a new update over at myamericanheartrock.com, but this time it's posted by Matt. i think this is the first time i've seen anything posted by him, so that's cool. head over to the site to see the video.
February 11th 2007 - 3:42pm:: Posted by Matt
Listening to: The Beach Boys
Hey everyone , This is Matt, aka, the new guy, aka, little red riding hoodie. So we've been in the orange state for the last week getting our material ready for this new record. Its been amazing. Mr. Wisner is wise beyond his years, like a young buddha. Steven and Dustin have began tracking and are well on their way to sipping lemonade by the kiddie pool while they watch the rest of us grunt out tracking for the next 4-5 weeks. All jokes aside, they're doing awesome and really stepping it up for this record which eveyone is stoked on. Here are a few videos and pics from tracking that you guys can check out.
band news: Larry has created a new myspace for fans, so go be friends with him!
Hi, This is for the fans. If any of you have any questions please feel free to msg, also feel free to add me. I will not deny anyone. :]
site news: we have a new affiliate, Sleeping With Headphones, a music blog. they did an interview with Larry that i will be sure to link to once it's posted. also, pmoreonline.com (Paramore Spain) now has an english version, so check that out.
2.9.07 - Dustin's Day 6 Blog
band news: Dustin's got a new blog up on his myspace. i'm excited for some tour announcements.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Day 6: Progress & Adventures
Current mood: thirsty
We finished up preproduction last night and Steven is tracking drums right now as i type.. they sound like bombs exploding. good bombs though. It's interesting to watch a record form day by day, little by little, note by note.. Steven and i should be all finished laying down bass and drums within the next week or so. awesome possum. Anyways, The bike adventures have continued at morning and night. Jesse pops a tire an average of 1 per day. it's sad. At least he still has the water bottle attached.
Last night we got out of the studio fairly early so i went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa with Larry and some friends. We drove by Disney World on the way.. Last time i was there was on a school choir trip in 10th grade. no shame haha... The hotel was alright. I didn't gamble all of my moneys away for once. good good. They had some goodlooking fountains and lights out front though. thatsss about it:/ On the bright side, It was just good to get out a little bit and see some things cuz the next few weeks will definetely be extremely busy here. We recently got confirmed for some awesome tours going on around spring/summertime. can't wait to announce those.
where the sunshine slows, always keep me close...
-dustin
2.8.07 - Studio Journal
band news: the band has posted yet another update with a video. eventually i'll be getting all of the videos up for download, but for now you can watch them at the website or on Jesse's YouTube account.
February 7th 2007 - 12:48am:: Posted by Jesse
Listening to: hm?
Halfway done with pre-production. We demo'd 3 more songs today. Here's a clip of dustin shredding it up on his 4 string.
OH YEAH! my fuckin tire popped again on the way home.. Larry was kind enough to let me ride on his pegs. i'm giving his little legs a work out. haha.
Jesse also posted a message to us in the forum:
hey friends. after all the shit and drama that's been going on. just wanted to say thanks for the support. recording is going good . if you want a tease. come to our website and check our videos out. we're posting them everyday.. and they usually will have clips of some songs. check it out. love you kids.
we love you too!
2.7.07 - Site Updates
site news: i've been working a lot on the site for the past few days. you probably won't notice most of the changes, but if you head over to the video section you will find no more links to megaupload :)
2.7.07 - Dustin's Blog Day 3 & 4
band news: Dustin has posted a new blog, and i feel genuinely bad for him. i think people shit talking on message boards forget that band members are real people with lives. they just want an excuse to hate them and they don't realize the consequences it has on the people involved. i'm not talking about jeremy, we already know he's an ass, i'm talking about everyone who spreads these rumors. i kind of feel bad about reposting them here, but i hope that everyone looking at this site knows that these are just rumors and they are completely false.
to Dustin and the rest of the band: you're great people, don't let this get you down.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Day 3 & 4: i'm so sick.
Current mood: drained
Sometimes things happen, good or bad. Sometimes you can do something about it, sometimes you can't. Myself and my band have recently been involved in some drama pertaining to our guitar player who left the band 9 months ago. He chose to speak out to create a stir for himself and a mess for us. and he also chose to lie. People chose to believe it though when it was made public on a fairly large music website. I didn't sweat it though. he embaressed himself more than anything. but he was successful in causing trouble for us and its just another obstacle we really shouldnt have to deal with right now.. but whatever, i was over it right away. Unfortunately, this morning i spoke with my dad who sounded unhappy. He then informed me that someone at his work approached him about me. he went to my dad as a "concerned parent" who's son read the "news" the night before. he said "My son was a big fan of your sons band,but it appears he'ss living the sex,drugs, & rocknroll life style". I slept well last night. i can deal with the bullshit said on computers, even if it's 1000 people who probably have never even met myself or my band. but when my dad is calling me upset thinking im a drug addict or whatever else some lowlife said, then something is seriously wrong. For the past 2 years, we've been living a dream. we've been sincere, dedicated, and appreciative of everything. and in the end, that's all we have to show and that's all we need. I just take a lot of offense to someone trying to speak up or about me when they have nooo idea. Some people need to get lives. Some people like myself now get the displeasure of having to convince my family that my lifestyle is legitamate. It's like i'm 17 again. beautiful.
To the man with the 45 caliber, what goes around comes around tough guy. get a life.
And to the website who couldn't just drop it. I'm glad you guys could be apart of my personal life:/ nott really.
Aside from feelings, The record is really shaping up great. The sun is shining in Orlando and i really enjoy being here.
Sorry for venting. it's usually not like me. i'll probably delete this when i chill a bit.
-dustin
drama: as a result of all this bullshit, i will not be posting any news about Jeremy's new band. he's already gotten himself enough publicity at the expense of others.
2.7.07 - Studio Update
band news: there are 2 new videos and some photos over at the official site
February 7th 2007 - 2:00am:: Posted by Jesse
Listening to: ----------
We have some stories..
#1 Last night at about 1 o'clock AM we decided to take a trip to walmart to pick up bicycles(cause we don't have a god damn car). So we called a taxi up took a trip 3 miles down the road to a walmart and scoped out some bikes.. Me, Larry and Steve ended up getting the cheapest bmx bikes in stock. Dustin got this sweet ass mountain bike with crazy gears and all this futuristic crap on it and Matt got the girliest beach cruiser(it's cute). We paid for them and jetted out..We were all so stoked and 20 seconds into the ride.. My fucking tire pops(just my luck). So we ended up spending an hour there fixing my tire. and then rode our bikes home at 3 in the morning. it was a a fun adventure.
#2 We started recording scratch tracks today - drums / guitars / vocals. The songs are really starting to take shape. We tracked 3 songs today and will be continuing this process for the next 3 days. You can hear a little clip of a song in this vid.
2.7.07 - MAH Responds
drama: in Jeremy's ridiculous thread on absolutepunk.net, some lawyer demanded that it be taken down due to all of the criminal accusations. the thread was removed and AP.net and they posted this in response:
The Last Post AP.net Will Ever Make About This Band
Due to threatened legal action (see the replies), the original thread about Jeremy's myspace bulletin discussing his exit from My American Heart has been deleted. Due to the racist comments made by Jeremy and the ensuing threats made by the band's proxy toward us: the third-party (disregarding legal precedent and our TOS), this will be the last time for the foreseeable future that we post about either entities.
jason, this is jesse from my american heart. none of us individually or anyone apart of our management/label/team had anything to do with the posts/replies. we were not even made aware of the situation until 30 minutes ago when a friend from home called. After which we submitted a reply in the news section so things could possibly be cleared up. you may think we're assholes or whatever, but please dont hold us responsible for something we're not involved with. we had no control over any of this. we have no intent to put this website at risk. we are active readers and love the site. whoever posted something posing as a law figure has no relation to our band and if anything is just trying to cause problems for us.
and then they posted a myspace bulletin with the statement that had been buried in the replies of a massive thread.
You can only brush things off for so long...
Some of you had the chance to view a thread that was posted about us earlier this evening on AbsolutePunk.net submitted by our ex-guitarist Jeremy. This is our only way of responding to the matter...
We're not fans of drama like this but after seeing that post, we really ahve no choice but to give our side to whatever story there may be...
The slanderous remarks Jeremy made were out of anger and were really unnecessary, but to each their own. The problem we have is that everything stated was either false or irrelevant to anything. He used trash talk to shamelessly promote himself. Sorry if any of you got the wrong impression of us. If we try and fight back though to whatever accusations Jeremy made, then we'd just be stooping down to his level. If you're curious about anything, just message us on Myspace or shoot us and email. We'd be more than happy to answer. Everyone's entitled to their own beliefs. It's yours. Keep it. That's your personal right as a human being, but if you're going to condemn people, really know them personally before you voice your opinions. We appreciate every day we have together and the people we get to meet and play for. They know this and that's what's important to us. That's the only story here. Thanks everyone.
-Larry, Dustin, Jesse, Steven
2.6.07 - Dustin's Day 2 Blog
band news: thank you to Dustin for keeping everyone in the loop :) here's his latest blog:
Day 2: Bicycle races, sun chips, and the genious
Current mood: satisfied
day 2 eh! i couldn't fall asleep again last night/morning until 6:30 but it's A-OK. I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable here for sure.. I woke up today around 11 with energy so i decided to take a jog to the studio and groove some jams on my ipod at the same time.. today was definetely PopRock Day. it makes me want to move quickly. Anyways, we did pretty much the same thing as yesterday with James.. lots of ripping apart songs and putting them back together. always a good thing. We got back to the hotel around 6:30.. Dinner time Duh! I made chicken sandwiches, tomato soup, crackers, sun chips, and vanilla pudding... All from scratch. even the sun chips. i got the recipe from Mr. S himself. I had to take a nap after the big meal but i kept waking up to a really good episode of Fullhouse. Danny tanner just didn't want me sleeping..
a few hours ago we decided it's time for us 5 to all go buy bicycles at walmart. I got a green one with 6 gears, Jesse got a red one with a water bottle, Matthew got a turquoise bike with clover stickers on it, and Larry and Steven both got orange BMX bikes with pegs. We just got back home a few minutes ago. Bike riding is our new hobbie for sure. If you live in Orlando, please come join our new found gang lol.. I also bought 2 valentines day cards for my mum and dad today. pretty eventful day.. how was yours?
dustin
2.6.07 - Drama Overload
band news: so much shit is being talked that i don't know what to think.
first there's Jeremy's blog:
NEWS! Feb 6, 2007
First off, I'm sure everybody and anybody knows me from being a former original My American Heart member. To get the story straight, I couldn't stand being in a band with big headed, money hungry, drug addict, untalented, unprofessional people. That's what brought me to my decision of leaving MAH once and for all. I hated the chains of not being able to explore my musical interest. Being in MAH I couldn't do so because all they wanted to do was write a hit and make a million. Thats the main difference between me and them I can say. It would hurt how none of them would care about the fans. MAH also had numerous corrupt mangers and tour managers that stole thosands upon thosands of dollars from the band. Thats not including the money stolen from the band to buy narcotics, clothes, or to take their gf out on a little date to jack in the box. The band is also being bought out by a horrible label called immortal records. Good luck MAH. God bless their souls. I was the only person who personally cared and ambassadored our fans. Dustin is still a new member and he learned well from what I've taught him about fan support. On the other hand, all the guys wouldn't give a shit about any fan, all they wanted was their fans money to spend on marijuana, alcohol, hookers, fire works, hotel damages, and cocaine. Sounds crazy right? I wish I was lying. But yeah I had to sum things up to a simple explanation to answer alot of questions.
ON THE OTHER HAND..
If you guys could send out bulletins asking to check me out you have no idea how much I would appreciate that.
My Jeremy space is messing me up and I can't send out messages but thank you so much for all of your support, time, and kind words. I appreciate it more than anything.
I'm still putting together an amazing band and I'm going to start playing southwest shows here in a few months. I'll keep everyone posted.
Also, I'm going to be re-recording "please find your heart" and putting it up next weekend with another song that will be more in the vein of beloved/circa survive/NEWunderoath but still with my own unique touch. Weird mix of music to be blending huh? I just have to turn my aggression into music and thats how I'm going to do it to it. I look to have guest vocals from some of your favorite local SD bands in my new demos as well. I'll keep you posted for sure. Don't be too excited ;]
LOVE,
Jeremy Mendez
and then there were a bunch of his replies to the absolutepunk.net thread with some really awful accusations. Jeremy eventually got banned b/c he was insulting people left and right. it's a shame to see him acting like this b/c he's really a nice guy. here are 2 of the worst things he said:
did anybody know that steven raped a girl in vancouver at taste of chaos in his van? how gross is that?.. how does everyone feel about that?
i really don't know what to think about that cause i was there when it happened. i'm still a little traumatized from the steven raping some drunk bitch ordeal :(
does anybody know that ernie ball dropped MAH because I left the band? so sad. this is just too good. all the dudes in this waste of a band are probably crying in florida trying to figure out how to write songs. those muh fukaz.
2.5.07 - Tour Blog #2
band news: i'll admit it, i wasn't expecting MAH to follow through with the daily updates, but they've proved me wrong. here's Jesse's post. head over to the website for some photos and a video tour of the "My American Grocery Store."
WE began pre-production yesterday with James and are starting to really dig into these songs. He's busting out all these amazing ideas like piano parts that gospel choirs should be singing to. I don't know what to expect in the next few days. The man's a genius. ANYWAY. We start tracking some scratch tracks tomorrow to see how the songs are shaping to sound like. And then I believe we start tracking drums on the 8th.
2.4.07 - Recording!
band news: My American Heart has flown to Florida to record their second full-length album! they have a new layout over at their website to keep everyone up to date.
here's Jesse's first post on the site:
February 3rd 2007 - 6:46pm:: Posted by Jesse
Listening to: Robin Thicke - A beautiful World
WELCOME to our brand new studio site. This will be up for the duration of our whole studio experience. We will be updating you on the progress of the new record daily with photos videos and all sortsa crazy shit. ----
So I am writing this a bazillion miles in elevation (somewhere over texas i believe) because we are on our plane heading to Orlando to record our sophomore record with producer James Paul Wisner(Underoath, Dashboard Confessional). We are very excited to get these songs recorded and out for you folks to dance and sing to. We couldn't be more happy with how the songs are coming out. We've learned and gone through so much these past two years and feel this is a huge step for us musically. We can't wait to share it with you. So please keep visiting back to see how everything is going. It'll be a fun month. Seeya
and Dustin's myspace blog:
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Day 1 in Orlando
Current mood: mellow
Soo I'm going to try and do a journal entry here every single day for the next 6 weeks... will i pull through? maybe haha. We arrived at Orlando Airport last night at 10 pm (est). we checked into our hotel at around Midnight. it's weird knowing that we'll be sleeping here every night for the next 6 weeks... I like it though. big kitchen:) a big +. Since we were all jetlagged or whatever you want to call it, we took a trip to Walmart and we each dropped about $100 on food so our big kitchen now looks like a small grocery store. i've recently gotten into apple cinnamon oatmeal. try it dude/honey! and the usual steak, chicken, turkey sanwiches.. etc. etc. I fell asleep at 6 am because my new pillow case is fluorescent green. it hurts my eyes even when im asleep. So, today was the first day of preproduction. James Wisner is an extremely smart man. I think we made a very good decision having him produce the record
Right now im watching the Superbowl.. i like Chicago so i vote Bears. Prince was amazing. I remember my brother went to see Prince when he was like 12 and i was 10... anyways, showertime. head to myspace.com/myamericanheart and myamericanheartrock.com for pictures, videos from the studio. you'll get a tour of the My American Grocery Store.
dustin jeffrey hook
Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather ;)
2.4.07 - Drama Alert
band news: i was looking at MAH's myspace page today and found a whole bunch of this not-so-nice comment from former guitarist Jeremy Mendez. what's the deal? can't we all just get along?...
4 Feb 2007 5:39 P
Let it be known that My American Heart is too ashamed to let everybody know of the music Jeremy Mendez is writing on his own without the help of the untalented wanna be musicians from MAH. If you don't believe me check him out for yourself if you have a second...
>>http://www.myspace.com/jeremymendez1
2.2.07 - Guitars Are Dangerous
band news: i've been working on filling in the show archive. i found a bunch more shows from 2003. while looking for those i came across this funny story from 2003 about Steven getting hit in the head.