Topshelf Records

Into It. Over It.

Bio

Write and record one new song every week for the span of an entire year: the concept sounds simple enough, but the execution? Maybe not so much. Most bands can’t produce ten or eleven tracks in twice that amount of time. Hell... I’ve been Earth-bound for more than 12,000 days and I have yet to produce even one hummable tune. Couple the difficult time constraints with the fact that if those 52 songs aren’t really really awesome, the intriguing experiment isn’t worth a hill of beans.

Insurmountable obstacles be damned, Evan Weiss — aka Into It. Over It. — produced exactly one song every week for a full calendar year. The fruits of his efforts, the aptly titled 52 Weeks, is what you now hold in your hands and without a doubt, it’s an ambitious, infinitely listenable and sorta-kinda insane 356-day undertaking that may eventually go down as the only recording project of its kind. Unless of course he decides to do it again, which is a distinct possibility.

Weiss, who is currently a member of Damiera and has also played in The Progress and Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start, originally conceived Into It. Over It. as a means to break free from a musical rut, as well as a brutally honest autobiographical outlet to document that quickly passing thing we call “life.” The first offering was posted on Weiss’ website on his 23rd birthday (09/27/07) and for each of the following 51 weeks he tackled the ambitious task of writing, recording and releasing one new song for the span of a year.

52 Weeks = 52 songs: a stat even more impressive considering that nothing was composed in advance. With occasional variances, music was written over the weekend, lyrics were penned on Monday or Tuesday and the songs were recorded Wednesday with Up Up Down Down’s Steve Poponi at the Gradwell House, although a few were also recorded on an Olympus WS-100 Voice Recorder. The finished track was then posted on the Into It. Over It. website on Thursday and offered to the masses for free download... and the cycle began again. At the end of a year, Evan Weiss’ “little” project received over 300,000 unique downloads and the venerable No Sleep Records had offered to release all 52 songs, remixed and remastered, in beautifully packaged 2xCD format.

Still, as I mentioned before, it’s the substance of this record that really matters. With amazing indie rock songs on full display — ranging from tender to tough, sweet to stinging, dynamic to downtempo — 52 Weeks isn’t simply 52 tracks randomly thrown together. Rather, each offering tells a uniquely autobiographical and often deeply personal story documenting Weiss’ life during the year. And while it’s all filtered through the pressure cooker that are the parameters of the project, nothing sounds rushed or insincere. Whether he embraces the full band set up in a bombastic, acerbic song like “The Liquor Your Older Friends Bought” or the driving, punchy “Blaaarrgh!!,” or he’s strumming his acoustic guitar into a voice recorder while sitting on a bed in Chicago (“ChiKeyGo”) or even laying down the electronica-tinged “Rapid Shitty SD” in the back of Damiera’s van on tour, Into It. Over It. is always real and heartfelt, and it always draws you in completely.

From front to back — the concept, the execution, the finished product — 52 Weeks is worthwhile in every possible way. Evan Weiss has created something in Into It. Over It. that you won’t likely stumble across again. And if you do, it won’t be nearly as good.

Bio courtesy of the fine folks at Beartrap PR.

Press

“This is a pleasant, definitively enjoyable collection from a musician who proves that quantity and quality aren’t necessarily respective ideas.”
-Punknews.org (on 52 weeks)

Music

<a href="http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/twelve-towns">Twelve Towns by Into It. Over It.</a>

Video

Recent Tumblr Mentions

Into It. Over It. recording their Audiotree live session. Photo... Fri, Jun 14, 2013

Into It. Over It. recording their Audiotree live session. Photo by Hilary J. Corts.

Pre-order Life Is Suffering, the�200-page, full color, hard cover book featuring photographs from Hilary Corts and an accompanying Into It. Over It. live 7? record to commemorate the fall 2012 Into It. Over It. full band tour.

Owen Mallon, myself and Matt Jordan enjoying the fruits of Taco... Wed, Jun 05, 2013

Owen Mallon, myself and Matt Jordan enjoying the fruits of Taco Bell?s Feed the Beat.�Photo by Hilary J. Corts.

Pre-order Life Is Suffering, the�200-page, full color, hard cover book featuring the above and hundreds of other photographs from Hilary Corts �along with an accompanying Into It. Over It. live 7? record to commemorate the fall 2012 Into It. Over It. full band tour.

Into It. Over It. and Make Do and Mend?s Luke Schwartz at... Mon, Jun 03, 2013

Into It. Over It. and Make Do and Mend?s Luke Schwartz at Pat?s King of Steaks (NOT Geno?s). Photo by Hilary J. Corts.

The aftermath of Into It. Over It.?s set at Beat Kitchen... Tue, May 28, 2013

The aftermath of Into It. Over It.?s set at Beat Kitchen in Chicago, IL. Easily one of the more wild sets of the tour.

Pre-order�Life Is Suffering, the�200-page, full color, hard cover book featuring the above and hundreds of other photographs from Hilary Corts along with an accompanying Into It. Over It. live 7? record to commemorate the fall 2012 Into It. Over It. full band tour.

"Life Is Suffering" Photo Book/7" Stream and Pre-order Wed, May 22, 2013

theworldisa:

intoitoveritofficial:

The AV Club has premiered the alternate/live versions of ?Wearing White? and ?Anchor? from the ?Life Is Suffering? photo book / 7?. The 200-page, full color, hard cover book featuring hundreds of photographs from Hilary Corts along with an accompanying Into It. Over It. live 7? record to commemorate the fall 2012 Into It. Over It. full band tour.

+ Order via Topshelf Records HERE
+ Stream tracks via AV Club HERE

:3

Audio Wed, May 22, 2013

?The Ghost of What Should Have Been?. Mike Kinsella... Tue, May 21, 2013

?The Ghost of What Should Have Been?. Mike Kinsella with a Topshelf koozie and a sorry ass excuse for a Halloween costume at Beat Kitchen in Chicago, IL (though, bonus points for sure for playing his whole set with it on and keeping it on all night).

Topshelf tours & news re-cap: Tue, May 21, 2013

Tour Dates:

News:

Listen to two tracks from Into It. Over It.'s Life Is Suffering 7-inch Tue, May 21, 2013

Listen to two tracks from Into It. Over It.'s Life Is Suffering 7-inch:

We?re more into this than over it.

Listen to two tracks from Into It. Over It.?s Life Is Suffering 7-inch over at The A.V. Club!

Into It. Over It. playing their second set of CMJ at the... Fri, May 17, 2013

Into It. Over It. playing their second set of CMJ at the Topshelf Records CMJ Showcase at Suburbia in Brooklyn, NY while Seth and Slingshot Dakota?s Tom Patterson look on.

Into It. Over It. playing the Topshelf Records warehouse... Thu, May 16, 2013

Into It. Over It. playing the Topshelf Records warehouse generator party at Fest 11 in Gainesville, FL. It was shut down by the cops shortly after. There?s video of it here.

Whenever, If Ever Wed, May 15, 2013

Today was an exciting one here at our office as it saw the unveiling of two very special, near and dear records and our first foray into putting out a book (even if it has 200 pages and probably less than 200 words, haha). The humbling feeling of validation when you see something you believe in getting such widespread praise and support is something I hope everyone gets to experience at some point or another, even if in just some simple small way.�The response to these records going on sale today ? the culmination of years of planning, writing, setbacks, collaborating, personal sacrafice, etc. ? is just that. So I’m sure when I say thank you for your support I speak for Hilary, Evan, everyone here at Topshelf and everyone in The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, collectively.

So now, I am faced with the difficult decision of acknowledging that Whenever, If Ever is actively leaking a month before it’s release date. You can probably Google for it right now and get it.

This is arguably the biggest release we’ll have all year as a label and this spoils a lot of planning we had in place over the last few months, but these things happen. This also forces me to acknowledge the real-world truth that yes, records cost money. This oft-avoided subject in our community is a reality for everyone who tours or postpones real life to make music in nearly any capacity. It’s a thing. This record is no different.

So against my better judgement, we’ve made Whenever, If Ever available to:

Anyone who has pre-ordered the record already ? thank you, sincerely ? you’ll be getting downloads as soon as I can get everything set up (we weren’t planning on sending them for another month after all).

So, I’m appealing to you all to please use the above URLs to share, acquire and experience this record. I understand it’s 2013 and you can download and share this for free (and we’re not going to stop you) but I’m not doing my job if I don’t ask. Heh, I don’t have a job if I don’t ask.

Thanks, you guys.