Jason Sees Band’s A Single Frame Passing… Tribute To Zandy

SEATTLE, WA-BASED JASON SEES BAND HONORS DECEASED WIFE WITH RECORD IN HER MEMORY; CELEBRATES HER LIFE AND THE RELEASE OF A SINGLE FRAME PASSING THROUGH THE LIGHT WITH NATIONAL RELEASE ON OCTOBER 28, 2014

Seattle, Washington-based Jason Sees Band will celebrate the release of their third full-length, A Single Frame Passing Through the Light, nationally on October 28, 2014.

“This album chronicles my journey with my wife. From our ‘honeymoon phase’ though her initial cancer diagnosis, to the last eight weeks of her life, and after she died,” comments Seattle, WA-based Jason Sees on his band’s third full-length, A Single Frame Passing Through the Light, which will be released nationally on October 28, 2014. “So each song was written through a variety of wild and intensely real moments.”

“This whole thing is to honor her life, and I knew this one had to be done right,” he continues. “My prior two albums I wrote, recorded, and mixed myself in my own studio. I’m very proud of those albums, but If I had done this one like the others it would not have been even close to good enough to be worthy of Zandy’s memory.”

Sees enlisted the help of noted engineer/producer Joe Reineke of Orbit Audio and, along with the help of his band – Shaun O’Neill (bass), Dave Campbell (drums), Alex Willson (lead guitar), Julia Sarewitz (vocals/keyboards), and Danny McMahon (guest piano player, who was Zandy’s piano teacher) – the Jason Sees Band set out to make a record that would honor Sees’ wife Zandy’s memory, but also chronicle themes of struggle, loss, and the desire for hope at the other end of the tunnel that everyone can relate to.

“Writing and recording this record was therapy for me, but it also helped me prove to myself how much Zandy meant to me,” Sees says. “Everyone endures loss in their life, so I think this album will resonate with a large number of people. It would be great if this music helped people who are struggling. It is always therapeutic to see something positive come out of tragedies.”

Compared to a cross between Austin, Texas troubadour Bob Schneider, Portland, Oregon’s space-rock act Helio Sequence, and a shot of top-shelf tequila, Jason Sees Band’s A Single Frame Passing Through the Light is a mixture of upbeat, bouncy pop-rock and melodic, swirling space-pop, the lyrics contradicting the hook-laden pop feel of the songs with sorrow, sadness, and mourning, yet a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel hopefulness that compliments the music nicely.

“Joe and I actually toyed a lot with contradictions between the concept of the song and its overall musical feel. We were really enjoying taking a song with insanely sad lyrics and making it an upbeat, catchy pop song or vice versa,” Sees says with a sense of accomplishment. “I think we both felt that it added an interesting dimension that leaves the listener with a bittersweet feeling, which I think is really representative and pertinent to real life. ‘Your Favorite Song’ is a good example of that I think.”

Danceable, hip-shaking, with a rocking rhythm section, “Your Favorite Song” is a prime example of the dichotomy between lyrics of reminiscing and mourning coupled with a melody that will make you dance, smile, and just feel energized. For those that don’t pay attention to lyrics – and there are plenty of those kind of listeners out there – the song will be a fun, summertime romp. While, those that listen to lyrics, will pick up on the subtly of the song, it’s intertwining sadness and happiness, summing up the album nicely.

“Get out now, just get out now, before life gets you to, I’d get out now,” Sees sings on the band’s title track. “It’s one of those moments that comes out of such a dark place, its so honest and raw, human,” explains Sees. “When you experience massive loss, you go through these wild oscillations, one day you are ok, then the next, every step you take is like plodding through three feet of mud, every moment is the most heavy, burdensome thing imaginable. I usually pick up a guitar and write on those days. I don’t consciously want everyone to give up or anything like that, but when you look around and see all the suffering and pain involved with being a human being on this planet sometimes I wonder why we continue to procreate. That line also taps into this idea that when people are truly suffering they want to remove themselves from everyone around them, like a dog that runs into the forrest to die alone. As if your sadness is a disease and you don’t want it to infect the people around you that you care about.”

When all was said and done, Sees was brought to near tears at how good the album turned out, making it a fitting tribute to his late wife.

“I didn’t expect it to be this good, I’m so damn proud of this thing. I really hope my wife can hear it. She was so supportive of my music and loved being part of our band. She loved that so many of the songs were always about her even more,” he says. “I made this album to honor my wife, not to make money. But, if I could break even on this album, I would roll those funds right back into Orbit Audio and do another album with Joe. I have a whole other album of music written and ready to record that got sidelined when Zandy got sick.”

Now, with the record getting ready to be released in October, Sees says that, “I really would like to have one of those albums that people personally identify with on some level.” To help connect with people, he plans to play throughout the Northwest and bring these songs to life, to further honor his late wife’s memory, and to hopefully connect with someone and offer some solace to the pain they’re going through.