An interesting corner of the web...
http://tiny_cheese.tripod.com/mboro/

(Edited by cyrusomalley at 1:04 am on May 1, 2002)

yeah i've seen it before. its pretty cool...lots of info!

I've seen it, too, and it is pretty cool.

What's interesting to me is that it's old news and a big deal across the street on the Self board (which I occasionally read and post), but over here there is no real interest--and the Features are still ACTIVE IN MURFREESBORO (unlike Self and all those others)

It makes me appreciate this board for not going into the whole hero worship thing that Self fans do.  The Features' fan base is much more closely connected.  Part is that Self has a record deal and actually produces full-length albums that are released nation-wide, and thus they draw a nation-wide fan base.  

I don't know where I'm going with all this, though I don't want this to start another thread of dividing lines between people who like Self and those who don't.  

It is definitely a plus that the Features play a live show more than once a year, though, isn't it?

Yes!

I LIKE SELF.......

i'm probably opening myself up to ridicule here, but hey! that's what life's all about. i was thumbing through old DATs & decided to burn off the FEATURES recordings we did almost 2 years ago to the day.
mind you, i have not heard these in a long time. however, upon revisiting, i must say, i'm proud of these recordings. those of you fortunate enough to hear these in any format other than mp3 would prob. agree. yeah, they are produced kinda like a SELF album. but when we had production meetings about how to approach the recording process, i was told by the band that they wanted it to sound produced. like a record. not like a live taping. & the final result is MY interpretation of a produced album. let's also take into account that the budget for these recordings was $0. & that's fine, i went into the hole on pretty much every spongebath project i put my name on. it's just a bummer to me that these tracks will never see the light of day. i know that the band is extremely prolific & you , as fans, are very lucky for that very reason. but i hope that in these new recordings with craig krampf (hi craig!) they will put their collective foot down & say, 'damn it, this is who we are!' & the world will be a better place. thanks, *mm.

So, for how long have you been a lurker, Matt Mahaffey? Will you be sticking around?

(Edited by deevol at 12:51 am on June 19, 2002)

all i can say is thank you matt mahaffey!!! personally i thought the recordings that were done with matt were very good and represented the band very well and this was before i knew MM had produced them. but what do i know....i'm sure these recordings will one day see the light of day in some form or fashion....

I respect Matt Mahaffey and Self (Breakfast With Girls is an amazing album which I still listen to semi-regularly), and I am glad to have any recording of Features stuff, but I still don't really like 'The Mahaffey Sessions' nor do I think it is representative of the band. Rollum's awesomeness is overshadowed by his drums sounding fake, and the guitars are buried by keyboards. I love Parrish's playing, but in general his parts should be more icing than cake IMO.

Again, all due respect to Mr. Mahaffey, but just because he starts posting here doesn't all of the sudden change my opinion on that particular project. Now I'm probably opening myself up to ridicule, but hey! that's what life's all about.

concerning the keyboards on the mahaffey sessions...
did parrish play all of the keys on those tracks? don't get me wrong, i'm a huge fan of mr. yaw's playing. he's my favorite keyobard player (rivaled only by ryan norris of character and jay bennet, ex-wilco) but some of the melodies on the recordings have neve popped up live. they also seem to be something that mahaffey might do. can anyone shed soem light on this? mahaffey?parrish? anyone?

The Features songs tend to grow quite a bit after their initial birth, and some of those were pretty stinkin' new, such as 'See You Through', 'Excorcising Demons', 'Serious', etc

Also I forgot to mention that his post (assuming it's really him) made my respect for Matt Mahaffey jump up several notches.

I believe Mahaffey mentioned once that on some of the tracks that required more texture, he did infact layer some more keyboard parts on top of Parrish's. these lines are not typically played live because, well, Parrish only has two hands!

yes, i agree. the drums do sound perfect. & parrish & i did spend alot of time layering keyboards. i understand that these recordings are not necessarily how the features sound live. however, at the time, we were all happy with the sound. & i was worried about getting lumped into a pile of other producer/engineers (jim faraci, richard dortch, joe baldridge, brian carter, richard dodd, etc.) who have dedicated countless hours to make entire records with this band, only to receive, either no acknoledgement, or ridicule on the internet as a reward. mind you, you don't have to like it cause i do! that, my friends, is what music is about. everyone is more than entitled to opinions, & yes, i too have one. i think the features are great. smart guys & smart musicians. i just hope they someday document their work in a fashion that they are proud of. that's all.

Of what I have heard of them, the Mahaffey sessions are alright, although I do like the original 'Features' sound better, of course. I have had it pointed out to me that I had a particular song from the Mahaffey sessions before I even knew it. And, even then, I thought that the sound was different.
As for Self, I really enjoy that music as well. I agree with YDDD in that my respect for him has doubled now.

i still think the mahaffey recordings are flawless.....i think people just think its 'over produced'.....the drums are amazing....the keys sound wondeful...everyhting is blended well together and the result is a very professional top of the line record........

i agree...i think the so-called 'Mahaffey Sessions' are exuberant and warm, and are a GREAT representation of who the Features are (or were two years ago.) i do, however, think that 'The Beginning' EP has more of an organic feel to it that stands in stark contrast to some of the more 'produced' tracks by Matt. however, i love both records and think Matt did a fantastic job.

Wow.  I didn't know that they had worked with some of those people.  What did they do with Joe Baldridge?

I stand corrected.

if hot stix are the perfect snare sound you do.