SPIRITS AND THE MELCHIZEDEK CHILDREN IS PROUD TO PRESENT "So Happy, It's Sad" ---Lullibies for War ---Song Bird's Grave ---Land Tied ---Throw Me To My Knees ---Lost & Found ---So Happy, It's Sad ---Copper Feather ---Past, Present, Future SO HAPPY, IT'S SAD was written and performed by Spirits and the Melchizedek Children Jason Robert Elliott (Vocals,Guitar) Chris Case( Keys and Roland Space Echo) Joe McNeill (Bass) Bryan Fielden (Drums) Andrew Burnes (Guitar) Produced by Benjamin Price Engineered by Benjamin Price Mix Engineered by Benjamin Price and Jonathan Rhum Mastered by Glenn Schick Recorded and Mixed at Studilaroche in Atlanta GA Mastered at Glenn Schick Mastering in Atlanta GA Additional Players include: Mel Parsonz (Backup Vocals on Lullibies for War, Song Bird's Grave, Lost & Found, Copper Feather) Matt Jarrard (Cello and Roland Space Echo on Lullibies for War, Song Bird's Grave, Land Tied, Lost & Found, Copper Feather) Ryan Gregory (Viola and Violin on Lullibies for War, Song Bird's Grave, Land Tied, Lost & Found, Copper Feather) Taylor Mummford (Trombone on Lullibies for War, Land Tied) Benjamin Price (Shakers on Song Bird's Grave and Roland Space Echo on Copper Feather) Jonathan Rhum (Roland Space Echo on Copper Feather) Photography by Amanda Emmo thank you to YOU! IAN ROBERT ELLIOTT, AMANDA EMMO, KATHY EMMO, MONICA SEIDE, BEN PRICE, JONATHAN RHUM, GLENN SCHICK, KEMP STROBLE, TITO SANDS, WATSON ATKINSON, TAI VAN, ROOKSYE, MLNY PARSONZ, ROYAL THUNDER, FALLEN ARROWS, KRIPPLED PROPHETS, TWINESTREET, AND ALL THE WONDERFUL AND AWFUL ELEMENTS IN OUR LIVES TO MAKE US GROW!!! ...DONT WAKE ME WHEN IM DEAD... ...FOR I WILL BE MAKING LOVE TO THE SKY... Forged in late summer nights surrounding a dying bonfire at Camp 1538, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children began as Jason Elliott’s acoustic rambling. SATMC has since grown to include keyboardist Chris Case (Samadha, Adron, Little Tybee), drummer Bryan Fielden (San Agustin, Oryx and Crake), guitarist Andrew Burnes (San Agustin), bassist Joe McNeill and the newest addition of guitarist Ryan Odom (Iron Jayne, Damon Moon). The band will be releasing a new album entitled So Happy, It’s Sad March 4, 2014. SATMC, or Spirits as both are commonly used abbreviations, first released We Are Here to Save YOU! with current members Elliott, Case, and McNeil alongside former members Darrin Harrison and Craig Henderson, guitar and drums respectively. Recorded in 2010 with Ed Rawls at The Living Room and mixed by Jason McCullough, it – complete with its salvaging title – was released in 2011. Afterwards, SATMC membership went through changes including a brief materialization made up of only Elliott’s vocals and guitar alongside Case’s keys. This span of controlled burning provided renewed vision and purpose for the project and (insert Phoenix rising from ashes reference here) the current lineup emerged. Moving from a tumultuous place to a strangely peaceful one, the band ventured forth releasing LOOK!, a single that debuted and embodied this new “spirit”. Recorded by Ryan Peoples (Oryx and Crake), mixed by Jonathan Rhum and mastered by Joel Hatstat, LOOK! was released in 2012 as a split 7” with Atlanta’s Order of the Owl. Continuing to build their Atlanta tribe, SATMC honed their sound and received praise from Creative Loafing Music Editor Chad Radford, who wrote of the band as “[creating] a sparse, ghostly, art-folk din that moves from a 4 a.m. whisper of distant, lonely strumming and moaning to a roar of tape hiss.” So Happy, It’s Sad was recorded at Benjamin Price’s Studilaroche, where Ben engineered and produced the collection, boasts a new and boldly refined, yet deeply primal and organic sound from the group. Additional players joined the fold, helping round out this special place in time: Mel Parsonz of Royal Thunder contributed her powerful vocals while Matt Jarrard, Ryan Gregory, Taylor Mummford, Benjamin Price and Johnny Rhum beautifully complimented with strings, brass, percussion, and additional electronics. The band has recently road tested the new songs on a few regional tours as well as a handful of hometown shows. They released, with the support of Atlanta’s Fallen Arrows, the single Song Bird’s Grave on a limited-edition 7” with the B side featuring a remix by Magicicada. Envisioned as an opening act for the main attraction, SATMC deeply anticipates sharing the entirety of So Happy, It’s Sad as a complete work with the world. In Elliott’s words, “This record is quite the celebration of the bitter/sweet experiences that we all face throughout our lives…somewhat of a letter from us to you. I would hope that you can take the wonderfully awful elements in your life and make them into pretty ones!” Coming into light on the other side, So Happy, It’s Sad bears the weight of life in all of its trials, tribulations, and wonder, but undeniably imbues a feeling of completeness and unity. Evolving from crackling static into sonorous melody and back again, SATMC has a melodic sensibility woven into the chaotic fabric of their haunting arrangements. Unapologetically unexpected and comfortingly familiar, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children’s tangibly ambient appeal continues to provide the soundtrack to lost summers, new loves, and the hopeful yearning of beginning again.