Panicakes and Serum was recorded in late 2005-early 2006. The lineup was Jon Navarro (synth/vocals), Jon Grothman (drums) and myself (bass/guitar/vocals). Most of these songs were written as expansions upon some earlier demos that Navarro and I had recorded. Our friend Reni Tulsi recorded us for the bass, drums and synth at our practice space in downtown Pomona. I recorded the guitar and vocals and did the mixing at my uncle’s house in Reseda, where I was staying at the time. The CD was released at a show at the Smell on April 14th, 2006.
I think we burned about 25 copies of this album on CD-Rs. The mix was a bit rushed, in order to have the album finished in time for the release show. I basically finished mixing these songs and burned the CD-Rs on the day of the release. At the venue, we were literally gluing the packaging together and assembling the albums as they sold. The other guys in the band never had a chance to hear the final mix before the release. I remember Grothman wasn’t too happy with it after listening, and I never really felt it was finished either. We took a break from the band a few months after the release, and never got around to more mixing. When Navarro and I eventually got back to writing new tracks, we decided not to play these songs anymore.
Although there are still some things I’d like to change with the mix, I do enjoy listening to the album the way it is. Without trying to describe how it sounds too much, I find it has some really great moments and a janky vibe. -DK
HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM 