Watch the video for "Sacred & Mundane" - YouTube - or - Download
April 29, 2008
News Item #1: Tiles returns to the stage Saturday, May 3rd at the NewYork/NewYork nightclub in Chesterfield, MI (northeast of Detroit).
Joining the bill are the pedigreed Send More Cops and Detroit metal favorites Ray Street Park. Hosting the evening will be the staff from WRIF (101.1-FM) with free
swag, contests and prizes. Tiles will take the stage at 9pm and play a 60-minute set featuring plenty of tunes from "Fly Paper."
News Item #2: Now is your chance to get the "Ultimate Fly Paper Collectable." We have three (3) copies of Fly Paper signed by the band, legendary producer
Terry Brown, and special guest Alex Lifeson of Rush. The first three people
who post under the special Ultimate 'Fly Paper' Collectable thread will be eligible to purchase a copy and will
receive ordering instructions shortly thereafter. The cost is $35 for residents of the continental USA/Canada; and $45 international. **Disclaimer** Are we shamelessly
profiteering? Well, no... this exercise is to simply cover the expenses of securing Mr. Lifeson's signature on a number of cds; most of which will be auctioned off at several
charity events. So we, Tiles, will net zero profit (in case anyone wonders... or actually cares).
News Item #3: Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Rarick II who entered into wedded bliss March 29th!
News Item #4: We are pleased to announce that we've joined the roster at BackStreet Booking and are planning a
few shows throughout the Midwest and Northeast later this summer.
News Item #5: Here's another round of reviews & interviews designed to entice you into purchasing a copy or two of "Fly Paper" - if you still haven't gotten around to it
;-) ...(remember, CD InZane still has a few signed copies):
1) We've sent another batch of signed "Fly Paper" booklets to our friends at cdinzane for another special promotion.
Quantities are limited (since our stock of extra booklets are now gone)... so if you're still waiting to purchase a copy this is a great opportunity to get a little something
extra for your money.
2) We'd like to thank everyone for the great turnout on March 9th in Detroit for our first 'real' show since CalProg in June of
2005. It was great to get back on stage with the new "Fly Paper" tunes - and a variety of older songs that we haven't played much over the years. We apologize for running out
of time and cutting "Landscrape" and "Patterns" from the set; and for our limited availability after the show... we'll do better next time! Click here for a few photos...
4) We're looking over some bootleg videos from the March 9th show. We'll chop things up and post individual songs during the next few weeks... stay tuned.
5) And finally, back in February we traveled to Toronto for the Canadian "Fly Paper" release party... We were virtually the only non-Canadians / non-Torontonians (yes, people
living in Toronto are Torontonians, we looked it up ;-)) involved in the making of "Fly Paper" so it seemed only fair that we cross the Detroit River into Canada and make the
journey east to celebrate. Although a very ill Alex Lifeson was unable to attend, we had a great turnout from our supporting cast and special guests including Terry Brown and
Family, Kim Mitchell, Alannah Myles, Hugh Syme, Peter Moore, Russ Mackay, and many others... here is a selection of photos.
March 14, 2008
Ian Anderson of the legendary Jethro Tull offers his recommendation for Fly Paper:
"Tiles' best yet! Hard-edged sounds from the Michigan Prog-rockers show off their prowess as maturing, well-formed music-makers for the new age of inventive, guitar-based Rock.
Sharp, precise vocals tell tales and set scenes. Thundering drums and bass lines connect weaving melodies. Strong stuff from a band who must soon find long-deserved
success." - Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull
March 6, 2008
Tune in to Solar Guitars this Friday, March 7, 2008 from 10pm - 11pm (EST) for a special feature on "Fly Paper" and a bit
of general progressive rock chat. Joining Tiles will be Matthew Parmenter of Discipline and hosts Daryll Dobson and
Eric Harabadian. You'll be able to call in and join the conversation. Click here for spotlight on Tiles courtesy of the Detroit Free Press.
It's time to break away from rehearsal mode & catch up on some business....
1) For those of you in the metro-Detroit area, Tiles will be featured on the WHFR (89.3 FM) "Motor Live Drive @ 5:00" program
Thursday, March 6th @ 5:00pm. The band will perform a bunch of songs live in the studio & talk about the making of "Fly Paper." The show will also be available via podcast for
three months afterwards at www.whfr.fm.
3) Our February 2nd appearance at Record Time in Roseville, MI was a lot of fun. Thanks to the Record Time staff and to
everyone who came out to help us celebrate the release of "Fly Paper." ....see a few photos below...
February 13, 2008
We are pleased to release the video for "Sacred & Mundane" (single edit). See below for the YouTube version - or - here for the uncompressed
version. Very special thanks to Mathew Kennedy (Discipline) & Magnetic Cinema for stepping in at a moment's notice after
our original producer couldn't get his act together. Although "Sacred & Mundane" features Rush's Alex Lifeson on a host of guitars, he only makes a fleeting two-dimensional
appearance in the video in the guise of his alter ego 'Victor' ...just for fun...
Click here to view the flyer for our March 9th release party at the Magic Bag Theater with special guests Discipline.
Visit the Metro Times - or pick up a copy the 2/13/08 issue if you live in Metro Detroit - for
a "Fly Paper" article.
Still to come... photos and a report on the February 2nd In-Store live set; photos and a (hazy) report on the February 9th "Fly Paper" release party in Toronto; and a variety of
new reviews.
January 28, 2008
Although in modern music industry terminology the new Tiles CD 'dropped' today in Europe and will 'drop' tomorrow in North America - with a title like "Fly Paper" (and cover)
maybe it's best we say the CD has 'landed' instead... (you know, since no one likes planes dropping out of the sky?). Anyway..., to coincide with our new CD we have a new
website design. Sure, we're still missing a few things: "Fly Paper" lyrics; artwork variations; some sort of recording story with in-the-studio videos & photos; etc... but these
will arrive soon. Special thanks to webmaster Mike for taking our random ideas, improving them, and putting it all together!
We've had many inquiries about the announced promotional video for Sacred & Mundane? Well..., we had to change production companies so we're unfortunately (way) behind
schedule. We expect to make up for lost ground and have it finished within the next few weeks though. Better late than never we hope...
Reviews and publicity for "Fly Paper" are popping up everywhere. While we assemble a complete list for posterity (including the nasty ones) here are a few of our favorites...
(in English):
1. Click here for the special advance release of an alternate version of "Back & Forth" (featuring Alannah Myles).
2. We are pleased to announce the official "Fly Paper" CD release party details for Sunday, March 9th at the Magic Bag Theater in Ferndale, MI. Joining us for a special one-hour
opening set will be the return of Discipline - reunited and hard at work preparing for their appearance
at NEARfest X this summer. Click here for the full length "Fly
Paper" press release.
Tiles wsg/ Discipline
Sunday, March 9th
Tickets $10 and are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets & the Magic Bag box office - 18 and over please
Doors open at 7pm - show starts at 7:30pm
The Magic Bag
22920 Woodward Avenue
Ferndale, MI 48220
Telephone: (248) 544-3030
January 15, 2008
We've posted the official press releases for "Fly Paper" and our appearance at Record Time here.
Remember the exclusive Tiles "Fly Paper" contest at www.cdinzane.com.
1) Please visit the Progressive Rock site Ytsejam.com for a new
in-depth interview with Chris.
2) "Fly Paper" pre-orders are now available at Amazon.ca.
3) Be sure and visit our message board - we've started a thread for people to post thoughts, comments or questions regarding "Fly
Paper."
January 2, 2008
"Fly Paper" Pre-flight Checklist #4:
Happy New Year to everyone! As we continue preparations for the January 28th / 29th release of "Fly Paper" we thought it was time to surface & pass on a few bits of news:
1) Tiles "In-Store" appearance Saturday, February 2nd at Record Time in Roseville, MI. We'll be playing a casual 45-minute set at approximately 6pm and signing copies of "Fly
Paper."
Record Time
27360 Gratiot Ave.
Roseville, MI 48066
Phone: (586)775-1550
2) Visit www.cdinzane.com for an exclusive "Fly Paper" contest.
3) Producer Terry Brown talks with metal guru Martin Popoff about "Fly Paper" here.
4) Plans are in progress for an official CD Release Party at the Magic Bag in Detroit - so mark Sunday, March 9th at 7pm on your calendars and we'll have additional details
soon.
December 7, 2007
"Fly Paper" Pre-Flight Checklist #3:
1. Pre-orders for "Fly Paper" are now available at Amazon.com across the world (and other fine music retailers of your choice): US Germany, France, UK and Japan.
2. We've posted the single edit of "Sacred & Mundane" to provide an early preview of "Fly Paper." This version is about 2-minutes shorter
than what's on the official release... And in response to the curious Rush fans, all the predominant guitars you hear are Alex (electric and acoustic). A bit of trivia for this
song is that Hugh Syme played an uncredited keyboard part in the bridge (underneath Alex' celtic acoustic guitar motif). Since it tended to blend in with Chris' keyboard parts
we didn't bother to give Hugh (yet another) credit...
3. Tune in Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 8pm (Eastern Standard Time) for the "Fly Paper" Internet Radio Premiere on ProgScape Radio.
December 2, 2007
'Fly Paper" Pre-flight Checklist #2'
Hundreds of cardboard-sleeved promo copies of "Fly Paper" have been distributed throughout North America and Europe and a few reviews have begun cropping up:
TILES 'Fly Paper' Inside Out (2008)
Tiles return and have producer Terry Brown (Rush) at the production helm and after listening to the excellent opening track, the heavy guitar sound of 'Hide In My Shadow' you can
hear the Rush influence both in the vocals and overall sound. 'Sacred & Mundane' keeps the heavier sound going (with Rush's Alex Lifeson guesting on guitar) although 'Back and
Forth' the next song is fairly ordinary. 'Landscrape' features fantastic drum work and sound, making for one of the album's highlights. Another highlight sees the band stretch
out instrumentally on 'Dragons, Dreams & Daring Deeds' which also features a guest spot from Kim Mitchell.
A very enjoyable and strong musical album that certainly has a Rush feel due to Terry Brown's involvement but Tiles are not Rush copycats and have their own sound, with a large
dose of guitar throughout. Tuneful, melodic and well produced progressive music which is a joy to listen to.
**** (out of 5)
Jason Ritchie
Chris was in Paris toward the end of November and conducted a day of interviews with the French press: "It was great to finally meet up with so many of the French journalists who
have supported us over the years. They had to battle a transit strike, limited parking and some rather unpleasant weather to get the my hotel - everyone asked interesting and
demanding questions and kept me on my toes. Roger from InsideOut had the biggest challenge keeping me on schedule. And for Nicolas at Rock Hard Magazine here's my list of CDs
I've bought recently from bands who are not typically considered progressive rock: Silverchair "Young Modern;" Radiohead "In Rainbows" (and yes, I payed $8 but will also buy the
retail pressing when it comes out ;-)); The Cult "Born Into This;" NIN "Year Zero;" and Vijay Iyer "Reimagining." Unfortunately, this is the one question I always go blank
on!
Thanks to everyone involved for their efforts and friendly welcome!
October 28, 2007
'FlyPaper' "pre-flight" checklist.
We convened at Jeff's house recently to record video footage for the edited version of "Sacred & Mundane." Although Mr. Lifeson was unable to join the festivities to reprise his
many guitar parts (with Rush on tour in Europe) - we had fun playing the song about 15 times and working up a noticeable sweat. Jeff's brother recorded the proceedings and has
shipped the raw material off to Kentucky where Highway Run Productions will work their magic and create a quirky promotional video. Click here for a post-video photo.
In other news... we've begun rehearsals to finally knock the rust off our back catalog and re-learn the songs on 'FlyPaper.' We're starting with a few semi-easy tunes
(Modification, Cactus Valley, and Checkerboards) to get the ball rolling. Live shows will be announced on this site as soon as we have the information.
Promotional preparations for the release of 'FlyPaper' have also started. Click here for a
pre-press interview conducted with Chris.
