Mending Wall Records

11/03/2023

🥳🥳🥳 Today is the day folks! Our new 3-track E.P., 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, is available on all streaming! Links for Spotify, Apple Music , and Amazon Music are in our profile!

This E.P. is all original songs and our first release of original songs since an instrumental B-side we released in 2018!

The band photo was taken back in September by Laura Manchester. (Thank you Laura!)

Track listing:
1. Five Four Girls
2. Drone Bomb You
3. To Jenny

All songs by Lawrence Joseph.
Cover Photo by Laura Manchester.
Mastering by Howie Weinberg Mastering.
All tracking and production by V.E. at Mushroomtopia unless otherwise noted.

“Five Four Girls”
Tricia: Drums.
Lawrence Joseph: Guitar, Bass, Vocals.
Mixing: Allen Bergendahl.
Drums recorded at Rabid Ears Studios by Allen Bergendahl.

“Drone Bomb You”
Tricia: Drums.
Lawrence Joseph: Piano, Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals.
Kyle Lewis: Lead Guitar.
Allen Bergendahl: Additional Mixing.

“To Jenny”
Lawrence Joseph: Vocals.
Allen Bergendahl: Additional Mixing.

10/04/2023

V.E. have a new release!

The cat’s out of the bag… Our new 3 track E.P. is coming out on November 3rd! It’s also up and live on Bandcamp already because, well, I messed up. Anyway, I’m thrilled to finally have released Five Four Girls.

We started working on these songs at Rabid Ears Recording back in 2019 with the intention of releasing them as this E.P. From those recording sessions, only the drum tracking for the title track has made it to this release. Tricia and I recorded (or re-recorded) everything else at our own homegrown studio that we refer to as Mushroomtopia. The reason for that nickname is obvious if you’ve ever seen my moss-covered yard after a rainstorm.

"Five Four Girls" and "To Jenny" are songs written as a character. They aren't me. They aren't Tricia. But, it was fun to go to such unsavory places for some pretty creepy songs.

"Drone Bomb You" is an attempt to write something of a geo-political song. And, boy, that is a difficult thing to write. The song ended up a critique of another songwriter's attempt to write an urgent song about the state of politics. Kyle from Book of Wyrms guests on lead guitar on this song!

I thank Tricia for continuing to work with me and for enthusiastically jumping into the role of production partner. I thank Allen Bergendahl for his ongoing support, friendship, expertise and advice. I thank Kyle Lewis for many hours of shredding. I thank Laura Manchester for embracing my visual ideas and running with them to fantastic results. And thank you to Todd, Ben and Jake; “Five Four Girls” wouldn’t be what is without you.

-LJ

All songs by Lawrence Joseph.
Cover Photo by Laura Manchester.
Mastering by Howie Weinberg Mastering.
All tracking and production by V.E. at Mushroomtopia unless otherwise noted.

“Five Four Girls”
Tricia: Drums.
Lawrence Joseph: Guitar, Bass, Vocals.
Mixing: Allen Bergendahl.
Drums recorded at Rabid Ears Studios by Allen Bergendahl.

“Drone Bomb You”
Tricia: Drums.
Lawrence Joseph: Piano, Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals.
Kyle Lewis: Lead Guitar.
Additional mixing: Allen Bergendahl.

“To Jenny”
Lawrence Joseph: Vocals.
Allen Bergendahl: Additional Mixing.

07/22/2022

V.E. have a new single!

https://mendingwallrecords.bandcamp.com/track/i-started-a-joke

It’s really nice to get a new release across the finish line. Back in 2020, I was steadily working towards getting some new songs completed at Rabid Ears studios. But, like everything else in the world, this was disrupted by COVID. And, with the added social upheaval surrounding the murder of George Floyd, it seemed unimportant and tone deaf to think about my own projects. For the longest stretch of time since I began making music, I did nothing: Didn’t write. Didn’t practice. Didn’t play.

Eventually, Tricia and I had the itch to pick up playing. We resumed playing with no agenda and started writing some complicated keyboard and drum pieces. We started recording these sessions to capture good stuff in the improvised parts. Concurrently, we started getting serious about re-establishing a recording environment around ourselves. Tricia bought new drums based on what she loved in the studio and I bought new microphones, monitors, etc. Our cozy wood-paneled hunting lodge started looking more and more legit. This song became the test of the viability of our new recording environment.

The completion of this song is a little bit of redemption for us. We originally attempted to record this back in 2015 with Todd on guitar, Ben on bass and Allen behind the boards at the now defunct Scott’s Addition Sound. The recording session was a great learning experience, but it wasn’t a success.

Though it’s just me and Tricia on this recording, it was created on the shoulders of giants: this cover wouldn’t be what it is today without the input of Todd, Ben and Jake.

-LJ

Songwriters: Barry Alan Gibb and Maurice Ernest Gibb
Bass, guitar, vocals: Lawrence Joseph
Drums: Tricia Kupec
Mixed by Allen Bergendahl at Viking Recording
Mastered by Mark Trewella at Full Circle Mastering
Cover photo by Laura Manchester

10/10/2019

we did some sprucing up on Bandcamp!

Genres are boring. Pick your own box.

10/03/2019

Man are we slackers... did we never even mention that this song is on Spotify?
..This song is on Spotify. There. We did it.

https://open.spotify.com/track/2X8jpdWpA9MUT6oqzBClC4

V.E. · Song · 2018

06/10/2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d_wCUNlZ3I

Available on all digital platforms.
Bandcamp: https://goo.gl/4oiQEk
iTunes: https://goo.gl/pBMfgp
Spotify: https://goo.gl/bKQQxt

03/30/2018

V.E.'s latest release, "I Only Have Eyes For You" b/w "Your Face Is On My Wall (Instrumental Version)," is out today on Spotify, Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, etc.!

sptfy.com/EcH
sptfy.com/14dC
https://mendingwallrecords.bandcamp.com

“I Only Have Eyes For You” (H. Warren, A. Dubin)
Bass: Todd / Lead Guitar: Ben / Drums: Tricia / Vocals, guitar: L.J.

“Your Face Is On My Wall (Instrumental Version)” (L. Rafalko)
Guitar: Todd / Bass: Ben / Drums: Tricia / Clarinets: L.J.

Recorded at The Bird House.
Mixed by Allen Bergendahl of Viking Recordings.
Track 2 mixed at Rabid Ear Studio.
Mastered by Mark Trewella of Full Circle Mastering, Philadelphia.
Cover photo courtesy of Courtney Hans.
Band photo by Sarah Offenbacher.

released March 30, 2018

Mending Wall Records
Something there is that doesn't love a wall.
P.O. Box 7372 Richmond, Virginia 23221

©2018

03/23/2018

https://youtu.be/-d_wCUNlZ3I

Super proud to have made this video, but shortly, it won't be our newest release!

Track available for download or streaming at: https://variouseggs.bandcamp.com/track/gold https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gold-single/1327604153 https://op...

01/26/2018

Have you given it a listen yet? It's on iTunes and Apple Music

Listen to songs from the album Gold - Single, including "Gold". Buy the album for $0.99. Songs start at $0.99. Free with Apple Music subscription.

01/21/2018

https://soundcloud.com/variouseggs/gold

“Gold” was recorded by V.E. for Mash Notes Vol. 1, a compilation album of Richmond bands covering other Richmond bands. Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d_wCUNlZ3I Words and music by Dor

01/21/2018

We've done some website sprucing!

Mending Wall Records, Richmond, Virginia