About:

Landing is a group of 5 friends that are based in Connecticut, USA. Formed in the summer of 1998 from the ashes of a musical project that Aaron and Adrienne had been fooling around with, the band quickly grew to include original band members Dick Baldwin (guitar, bass), Adrienne Snow (vocals, synthesizer) and Daron Gardner (bass, drums) in the fall of that year. Many weird shows took place throughout the next few years including a punk rock tour in the summer of 1999 in their smashed up, crappy van and many underground, semi-secret "Home Shows" in the Snow's living room. Throughout those first few years, Landing released some cd's that documented their beginnings. "Centrefuge ep" (Music Fellowship) was released in 1999 and included many of the home recordings that Aaron did before the band was formed, along with the very first music that Landing made as a group.

 

After re-locating to Connecticut, Landing began the busiest year of their existence in 2001. They released the full lengths "Circuit" (Music Fellowship) and "Oceanless" (which was actually recorded before "Circuit" but came out after on Strange Attractors Audio House) and also put out a split tour ep with Windy & Carl (Music Fellowship). Landing toured a few times in 2001 including a summer tour with the amazing Windy & Carl! During this time period, Adam Forkner (Yume Bitsu, VVRSSNN, White Rainbow, World) came into the picture and Aaron, Daron, and Dick started making music with Forkner and Phil Jenkins under the name Surface of Ece(y)on. Their first album "The King Beneath the Mountain" (Strange Attractors Audio House) was released in 2001 and their first and only tour took place in the winter of that year.

 

2002 found Landing slowing down a bit and settling into their home studio in Middletown, CT named Hi Mid Recording (for High Street in Middletown... get it?). In that year, the band only released one full length (the moody "Seasons" on Ba Da Bing!) but managed to record and release three ep's of new material- the mostly acoustic 2002 tour ep (Vast Arc Hues), the improvised psych/drone "Fade In/Fade Out" (Strange Attractors Audio House), and a three way split with Yellow 6 and Rothko entitled "New Found Land" (Music Fellowship). During the summer of 2002, Landing did their most extensive tour of the United States which led them everywhere from Atlanta to Portland. Much fun was had in their yellow short bus which got 6 miles/gallon but slept 3 big dudes (and one petite redhead). 2002 ended on the highest note possible when Landing was asked to play the Terrastock festival where they played for the biggest and most enthusiastic crowd they'd ever seen.

 

Exciting changes were in store the following year, culminating in a move to the venerable K records for the release of "Passages Through". Surface of Eceyon came out of hiding and released the "Dragyyn" full lenth (Strange Attractors), and two ep's- the three way split "Crickets and Fireflies" with Kinski and Paik (Music Fellowship) and "Tussyan Ruins" (Three Lobed). Landing toured again and continued to have fun making music and playing shows here and there.

 

2004 was bittersweet for the original group of four close friends and tourmates. Dick Baldwin moved back home to help his family who were in a tough situation and Daron Gardner decided to sit out their annual summer tour. Ned Clayton (who had helped record some of "Passages Through" and "Centrefuge") filled in for Daron on drums during the tour (and did a great job), but changes were afoot. After languishing in the dusty attic for the better part of 6 months, the master tapes for "Sphere" (K Records) were finally brought out of storage and the album was finished early that spring. Without Dick, however, Landing was in limbo. They soldiered on as a 3 piece, playing a few shows with Calvin Johnson before taking an extended break.

 

Finally, in the spring of 2005, the band made some tenative steps toward re-birth. Their close friend and frequent tourmate from the early days in Utah, Peter Baumann, was asked into the group to play synthesizer and Landing began a new phase of songwriting and recording. The result is "Brocade" (Strange Attractors Audio House), which marks the beginning of a new period for Landing... one in which these long-time friends continue to experiment with new ideas and have tons of fun making new music together.

 

FAQ's (or: questions that aren't really asked all that frequently but might be asked someday...maybe)

Is Dick still in the band?

Dick Baldwin IS still in Landing, but in a different capacity. Although he doesn't appear on "Brocade", he still tours with the band on occasion and will be a part of Landing's future when he and his wife Sara move back east... hopefully sometime soon.

How did you guys get your albums released?

Luckily, Daron Gardner runs the fantastic Music Fellowship label and agreed to release "Centrefuge" even before he was in the band (he was still in the fantastic, and much more talented 49 Hudson at the time). After that intial step, we met Adam Forkner who helped us meet Ben Goldberg (who released "Seasons") Chris Scofield (who runs Strange Attractors Audio House), and Calvin Johnson (you know who he is). We got REALLY lucky and have no right to be associated with such fine labels.

Are you guys allergic to cats?

Yup. Totally.

Do you plan on touring outside the U.S. anytime soon?

Sadly, Aaron is petrified of flying and starts "Brian Wilson-ing" at the thought of it. We would LOVE to tour overseas, but so far have been unable to do so.

Who does your artwork?

Aaron Snow has been designing most of the albums since the beginning of the band. He also did the artwork for all of the Surface of Eceyon releases. He likes to make collages and thinks it's funny to make the band wear sunglasses.

Who does your recordings?

We all help with recording, but for the most part Aaron sets things up on the old 1/2" reel to reel 8 track. We use a bit of computer recording from time to time, but for the most part it's just really basic. Nothing fancy.

Who's the dude on the inside cover of "Oceanless"?

That's Peter Baumann!! He's our super awesome buddy and new synthesizerist!

What does "Rial Veed Fiir" mean?

We're not telling.

Are you guys Mormons?

We were all raised Mormon in different parts of the United States, but none of us have stayed active within the church.

Has anyone besides Pete, Dick, Daron, Aaron and Adrienne played in Landing?

Actually, yes. Adam Forkner (Yume Bitsu, Vvrssnn, White Rainbow, World, Jackie O, Surface of Eceyon) has played some shows and recorded with the band, Ned Clayton (Star No Star, 49 Hudson, Sunshine and the Biffs) has toured as Landing's drummer twice, Dave Lifrieri (Urdog, Manbeard, Ferox Head) contributed to "Centrefuge" and "Oceanless" and played with the band for a while, and John Burdick (49 Hudson) played drums for a bit before Daron joined.

Do you guys still have those weird old tapes for sale?

We don't have any more copies of those. Rumor has it that neither Aaron nor Adrienne even have any of those things. We might get around to issuing some sort of rarities comp someday, but for now you (and 2/5ths of the band) are out of luck.

Whatever happened to that old school bus that you guys used to tour in?

Sadly, the "Tryyps Van" died about three years ago- just before Terrastock actually. We tore some posters out of it and sent it on its way to the junkyard. It was sad. We aren't so sad about losing out on the 6 miles/gallon or the lack of air conditioning or the deadly seating arrangements or the constant noise and gas fumes, but it was still a good van.

Are all of your songs about trees, flying or sleeping?

No, one of them isn't.

If you have any questions that we didn't cover here, don't hesitate to contact us at info@landingsite.net or call Aaron at (860)324-3579.

Adrienne and Aaron play for Pete (bottom left) and Daron (bottom right) as "The Non" in 1997 -Provo, UT

 

Flyer for the very first Landing show- 10/98

 

Rare photo of a very young band on their second summer tour. Taken at Stormy Records in Dearborn, MI- 8/00

 

Dick, Daron and Adrienne at Terrastock V in Boston, MA- 10/02