4/5/11 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who sent love, prayers, and positive vibes my way during my time of need. As many of you know, my father was very ill for a long time and passed away a little under two weeks ago. I took a temporary break from the band in order to be closer to my family and to help out with whatever he needed. Although it's still very painful, I'm calm, collected and ready to make beautiful music once again. There is nothing on this earth that brings me more joy than making music with the people I love, for the people I love. I just want to play my guitar and see the joy on your beautiful faces.
Aaron
11/5/10 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
That is who I was two years ago. Stuck in a perpetual state of emotionless existence. Near death, overweight, unhealthy, living a life of total recklessness, on my hands and knees praying to a god I didn’t believe in that I would disappear completely. I’ve destroyed countless relationships and left a trail of wreckage through the lives of people I so deeply care for. Aaron: A pathetic fraction of a human being.
Nearly two years ago I said farewell to my best friend: A friend who was there for me, who loved me unconditionally, who nurtured me, who allowed me to feel like a complete human being. A friend I learned so much from, a friend that lied to me, a friend that took everything from me, a friend who duped me into believing I was insane, a friend who tried to kill me. Aaron: An awakening
As I stand on the cusp of my two-year anniversary, I look at all of the gifts of life I once took for granted. I can smile and laugh again. I can love someone with sincerity. I can process thought and emotion. I can accept myself for who I am. I can live inside my own skin. To those of you who stood behind me during my troubled times, I thank you. Words cannot express how I feel about you. I want to tell you that I love you. Aaron: Alive and living
10/19/10 | Posted by Dan comments | Standard News
What an honor!
http://fuseblog.typepad.com/fuseblog/2010/10/video-of-the-day-standard-thompson-fireworks.html
10/19/10 | Posted by Dan comments | Get Involved
8/31/10 | Posted by Standard Thompson comments | Standard News
Minneapolis based indie/pop/rock band Standard Thompson have released the music video for "Fireworks," the first single off their latest full length release "More Noise For The Broken Hearted." The video is directed by the esteemed and sought after Justin Staggs. Video Summary: A young couple, engaging in a day's worth of mid-western teen romance, fall asleep together in the middle of a field. The boy is woken up by the girl and chases her through the woods. He finds her aggressively morphing into a werewolf; eventually attacking him as he tries to escape.
Justin Staggs is the go-to director when it comes to enticing visual effects (think the recent Melismatics’ video for “Digging Deep”), and now he’s got another stunning video to tout around courtesy of Standard Thompson. That video is called “Fireworks,” and you won’t be able to tear your eyes away.
Staggs sets up the video in two scenarios. The first is Standard Thompson playing in a nightscape surrounding, with the full moon illuminating them from behind. The second follows a young couple who start off frolicking around in an empty field in the middle of a warm afternoon. While Standard Thompson performs, you witness the clear fireworks between the guy and girl as he picks up a daisy for her and they lay on a picnic blanket, watching the clouds pass by, and falling asleep in each other’s arms. Although It turns out that once it hits night, this budding love isn’t so innocent; as the girl wakes up and plays a wicked game of hide and seek with her suitor. Little does the guy know what he’s going to find as a twisted ending leads to the girl shifting to a werewolf with her eyes on the prize.
With the rest of the entertainment industry capitalizing on the vampire-werewolf craze (from Twilight to True Blood) you would likely be preparing yourself for some overdone CGI or overall dramatized effects. However, Staggs has impeccable timing when frontman Mike Hjelden belts, “It’s not so bad, oh my god, take a step back and look what you have,” and the way he hones in on the silhouettes and the aftermath makes it hard to group his vision with anything else out there.
Indeed, Standard Thompson found themselves the perfect team when it comes to their video for “Fireworks.” This Minneapolis quintet plays their power pop at the forefront of the clip with tons of energy. Surely, Standard Thompson has all the confidence in the world to pull this off. The band started way back in 1996, and despite the member shakeups, they still have accolades to their name. Standard Thompson’s music has been played during the 2006 Super Bowl halftime highlights, in addition to having numerous MTV plays on the network’s shows. They even once shared the stage with Dogstar (the band in which Keanu Reeves played bass long ago). And now that Standard Thompson’s fourth album is out, they’ve got a lot to look forward to. As WeTheChamelen.com noted about More Noise For The Broken Hearted, it “is the right meltdown of a certain pop punk a la Quietdrive with some hit parade adult alternative like The Calling. This record will make you sing for its whole (short) length.”
The "Fireworks" MP3 can be download for free on the "Fireworks EP" at http://download.standardthompson.com along with 2 other sample tracks from Standard Thompson's latest full length release "More Noise For The Broken Hearted."
For more info or a broadcast ready copy of the video, call Andy Gesner at 732-613-1779 or e-mail him at HIPVideo(at)aol(dot)com. You can also visit www.HIPVideoPromo.com and www.StandardThompson.com to find out more about Standard Thompson.
