2011 in Retrospect

2011 has been busy for those of us in the Afterlife Parade camp.  We feel like we're closing this chapter with much behind us, and we're thankful for the journey.  More than that, we're grateful to everyone (our fans, our producers, our industry help) who has been such an integral part of launching this band.

Releasing both Death and Rebirth was not an easy task, and we were anxious to see how it would all be received; we're more than stunned by your response and overwhelmed by the support we've gotten so far.  Many of you who are reading this have filled our hearts with joy and put major smiles on our faces.  From reviews and placements to live shows and social media, we've enjoyed getting to know you when and where we have, hearing your stories, and learning how our stories intersect with yours.

We'd like to give major nods to LaFamos PR and Branding (for treating us like kings and for believing in our vision), The Music Bed, Sorted Noise, Brite Revolution, Lightning 100 (for making us a local lightning artist), Moetic (for using our music in such a way as to leave a few of us in tears...literally), Strangebird Media, Lemonade Magazine (for fantastic conversation, reviews, and a really sweet nomination), Kat Acott of The Sound Alarm (for being our very first review and a stellar person at that), The Ken Barry Agency, Jim Santorra, Sniper Rifle Music, Artists on Demand, the Tinshop Art Collective (we're looking forward to hanging out with you more very soon), anyone who has listened to our music and given us an honest review (we value your thoughts for sure), and our friends and families without whom we could not have done anything without!

For those of you who have started marching with us this year, our hearts are full of hope and gratitude because of you.  It is our goal and privelege to hopefully make you feel as much a part of this parade as we are.  We believe that 2012 will prove to be a fantastic year for us, and we have so much up our sleeves and in the works for you!  We hope you'll stick around to “see” and “hear” what happens. God bless you guys!

Cheers,

Afterlife Parade

Birmingham, Bottletree, and Seth Wood

Our good friend and photographer Seth Wood came with us to Birmingham, AL a few months back to document our travels and a show at Bottletree.  Here is a look!

Behind the Show

"Maypole"

"Maypole"

The dirge is draining from our lungs

And a new song's raging on our tongues

So leave your winters at the gate

With those memories of darker days

The past was burned by the threshing floor

And we are all that love searched for

So leave your fears out on the porch

The table is set and supper is warm

No more waiting at the door

Come one, come all

Come on, sing it out, sing it out

Heaven is alive, it's in our hearts

It's in our eyes and in our scars

And we breath it in when we kiss 

When we hold the sights we thought we'd missed

Come one, come all

Come on sing it out, sing it out

"Devil's Dirt"

"Devil's Dirt"


Strobe burns bright in the house tonight

Kick drum cuts through the fear inside

Music comes, a thief in the night

To lift you up, to lift you up

From digging in the Devil's dirt

Digging in the Devil's dirt

Foxholes lit by a morning light

Lines are drawn, we waltz through night

TIme hold steady, we can make it right

We're lifting off, we're lifting off

We're all digging in the Devil's dirt

Digging in the Devil's dirt

If you want to come

Get up 

Get down

Get free

We're dancing for eternity

Strobe burns bright in the the house tonight

When it's said and done

Get up 

Get down

Get free

We're dancing into eternity

"Sequoia"

"Sequoia"


This world, this grove

This planted seed

Our roots stretch deep into eternity

But our love must burn before it grows

As tall and strong as sequoias

The lightning comes

Like a thief

To score our wounds and fuel our dreams

When the soils ready, the kingdom grows

As tall and strong as sequoias

**When I consider the natural phenomenon that is a sequoia and how each one grows so tall, how each one is connected by root systems in the earth, how each one is impervious to fire, and how all of this makes each one taller and stronger, I can only see it as a metaphor for the kind of love I believe in.--Quinn

"Chinese Hand Drum"

"Chinese Hand Drum"


You're the journey 

You're the dance

You're the song of a distance lands

And you call to me

Your laughter fills my heart

Like a kite in Bejing park

Waving to the earth

So I swing my arms like a Chinese hand drum

Beating the wind with love's great cadence

Singing so loud, I ain't got no breath left

And I dance so hard, I can't feel my feet

I'm a feather in the wind blowing to the east

Where the sun comes up, the sun comes out for me

You're the fire

You're the sea

You're the wisdom in my dreams

Will you sing to me?

Oh, come in waves

With soul and grace

Like a newborn summer

Then I'll swing my arms like a Chinese hand drum

Beating the wind with love's great cadence

Singing so loud, I ain't got no breath left

And I dance so hard, I can't feel my feet

I'm a feather in the wind blowing to the east

Where the sun comes up, the sun comes out for me