"It's More Like an Homage to You" - A Tribute to Jeromes Dream

Zegema Beach Records, known for their compilations, is back at it again with Coniine Records and an all star line-up for their upcoming Jeromes Dream tribute compilation, "It’s More Like An Homage to You". It's limited to 500 cassettes and will be up for pre-orders May 1st. The digital release date is set for May 16th with the orders shipping out. The proceeds are going to Flint Rising. 

Newcomers, Our Wits That Make Us Men, covered "Remembering the Sea of Tranquility" with their own unique spin, extending the short minute and thirty second track to around six minutes. An ambient/post rock intro plays on the song's suicidal lyrics, creating a bleak, yet emotional atmosphere before ending with the original structure of the song.

1. How were you first introduced to Jeromes Dream?
I believe I was introduced to Jeromes Dream when I was about 15 years old. I was a huge fan of Thursday, to put it mildly (still am), and, through them, I became aware of this genre called "screamo." Being the nerd that I am, I read extensively about it. At the time, screamo was a term that had some mainstream cache, in the sense that any sort of music with screaming was being called screamo (i.e.: A Day to Remember, Avenged Sevenfold, etc.). I knew there had to be more to this genre than that, and, through reading, I learned about bands like You and I, Saetia, Orchid, Off Minor, and Jeromes Dream more-or-less simultaneously. This was at a time when I was discovering new types of music quite rapidly. It was extremely exciting. Because of that, it took a couple years before I actually listened to Jeromes Dream. I immediately dug them, naturally, though I won't pretend that they ever became one of my all-time favorites in the genre. I appreciated them more for their aesthetic and the way they approached vocals. My other band (Massa Nera) still refers to screaming without a mic as "Jeromes Dream-ing" it. 2. The song Our Wits That Make Us Men chose was, "Remembering the Sea of Tranquility". Was there a reason y'all chose this to be your song for the comp? Yeah! So, I had neglected to involve Our Wits in the comp due to a) our relative lack of skramziness, and b) my bandmates unfamiliarity with JD. Dave Norman (owner of Zegema Beach Records) mentioned around March 19th or so that four songs were still available, with the catch being that the files had to be submitted by either the 29th or 31st. Our Wits was scheduled to practice on the 22nd, so I figured what the hell, I might as well see if one of the tracks could work with us. "Remembering the Sea of Tranquility" immediately stood out, largely because of its incorporation of spoken word (spoken word being a huge component of Our Wits style). When I heard that, I knew we could do something...well, maybe not interesting (that's not for me to determine), but I knew we could at least do something different with it. I hope people find it interesting. 3. The original version, in typical Jeromes Dream fashion, is a short one minute and thirty seconds. Our Wits extended that to over six minutes. How did you approach this song and what was your thought process behind extending the track? Hahaha well, we knew we had to be pretentious, hence the decision to extend it to 4x its original length! In all seriousness, we knew that this recording gave us an opportunity to use some of my favorite field recordings, ones that, for one reason or another, didn't make it onto our full-length (mostly because they were too dark). Before practice, I worked on a collage of sorts, using field recordings that fit the vibe we were going for (funereal I guess), doing my best impression of the Eraserhead soundtrack. I sent that to the band. They dug it and figured it would be interesting if we used those recordings as the backdrop to a drone. At that point, I had already recorded my best friend and I performing the spoken word part. We knew that we wanted our contribution to mirror the structure of the original (spoken word followed by chaos), and that we wanted the actual heavy part to be faithful to the original. That's about as much planning as we put into it. Come the 22nd, we spent 40 minutes learning the song, followed by another 15 or so recording it. After that, we (along with our guitarist's brother) spent a few minutes improvising a drone until we found something that we liked, the only certainty being that we would use chords from the song when constructing it. Honestly, the length was incidental. I knew the song would be extended because, well, we're long-winded (look at these answers!), but the actual length was determined by chance and feeling. We prefer leaving a lot of things to spontaneity and intuition. The meticulous arranging came once my guitarist and I mixed my Lynchian soundscape with the drone and the spoken word performances we had recorded, during which we added a couple more recordings, chopped up the spoken word, added some effects to it, etc. By we, I mean mostly him haha. 4. For those that don't know, you play drums in both Massa Nera and Our Wits. How does it feel to be on the comp with so many other great bands? Who are you most excited to be on there with? It feels amazing!! Honestly, it's difficult to put into words how wonderful it is to be part of a scene filled to the brim with such amazing, talented people. It's become an extremely important part of my life over the last year. The lineup for this comp makes me excited every time I read it. I hope the people who decide to check it are similarly floored. Well, being on a comp with Coma Regalia is extremely special. I've been listening to them for a while now, so to say both my bands are on a release with Shawn is fucking surreal. I absolutely adore Commuovere, Thisismenotthinkingofyou, and Lessener. Their contributions are sick. More people need to check them out. I'm really into Senza as well. They're doing a lot of things that most other people wouldn't attempt. In terms of approach, they aren't too dissimilar from Our Wits, actually (even though we don't sound alike). I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Mrtek (Dave Norman's band). There's another artist that my Massa Nera bandmates and I have been fond of for quite a while. I'm sure I'm forgetting some bands, which is a testament to how exciting this comp is. I'm very lucky to be a part of it.

See the full track listing below:

Side A:
1) KOMAROV – “My Most Recent Right Left Brain Argument”
2) COMMUOVERE – “What Other Adjective Would You Have Me Use For The Word Good?”
3) MASSA NERA – “The Monologue Of The Century”
4) THISISMENOTTHINKINGOFYOU – “A Second Grade Art Project”
5) UNDER GLASS – “Unreleased #1”
6) Мятеж – “Exit 29 Collapsed As I Drove By”
7) WOLF TEETH – “His Life Is My Denim Paradise All Day, Every Day”
8) APT SUT EIC OCO – “The Last Time We Talked”
9) SLEEPER WAVE – “A Present For Those Who Are Present”
10) COME IN, ACTION TWO. CAN YOU COMPLETE THE MISSION? – “And Just Like That The Year Is Gone”
11) MONOCHROME NAUSEA – “The Teacher Says To His Pupil”
12) YEARS PASS LIKE SECONDS – “Untitled #2”
13) SENZA – “How Staggering Is This Realization”
14) мища – “It’s More Like A Message To You”
15) AN ANT AND AN ATOM “What I Learned At This Years Regional Optometry Convention”

Side B:
16) ALGAE BLOOM – “Just Down The Hall From Room 526”
17) EAGLEHASLANDED – “No Matter What You’re Always There”
18) PIG LATIN – “It’s Right Where You Said It Would Be”
19) SENKETSU – “Rock Song”
20) APOSTLES OF ERIS – “Double Who? Double You!”
21) FARSEEK – “I Won’t Stop Wondering Until You Stop Breathing”
22) OUR WITS MAKE US MEN – “Remember The Sea Of Tranquility”
23) LACKLUSTER – “Do We Write To Write Right”
24) MASALLE – “Life Is What You Make Of It”
25) LESSENER “A Well Documented Case Of Severe Autism”
26) GLITCHGIRL – “Thirty Dollar Bill”
27) COMA REGALIA – “True Thinkers Will Stop Time To Think”
28) BLACK KNIGHT SATELLITE – “Everyday At 3:06”
29) MONOGAMY – “The Big Fuck You”