Backstory: Joe Adams

Early in 2014, keyboardist Joe Adams joined The Kiera Plan, bringing a wealth of experience on the keys as well as an incredible vocal range.  His commitment to both getting that perfect synth sound and to bringing all of the studio vocals to life in the live show have already made a huge impact.
Here's Joe with the band performing "Time Flies" and Weezer's "El Scorcho" live on Philadelphia's Radio 104.5:



We can't wait to get Joe into the studio to hear him work his synthesizer magic!  Stay tuned for more on that in 2015!

Backstory: Kevin Brown

Drummer Kevin Brown had been performing with several Philadelphia area bands for a number of years, drumming for Tormented Genius (who had opened for Rage Against the Machine), and playing guitar with The Hydrogen Hell Horses, so he brought a lot of rock and roll to the table when he first joined The Kiera Plan in the summer of 2011.



While Kevin has been bringing the thunder behind the drum kit on stage, he showed his versatility in the studio for The Kiera Plan's sophomore LP Right Now, shredding through guitar work on "Starting Over Today," "You Are Not Alone," and "We're Gone."



You can hear Kev rocking the soaring lead guitar riffs during the two verses on "Starting Over Today."

Backstory: Tim Zaprala

Bassist Tim Zaprala officially joined The Kiera Plan in 2011, bringing not only his ferocious bass work but great vocals as well.  A long-time friend of TKP frontman Shawn O'Brien, TIm actually made his first appearance several years earlier on the outro of 2009's "Cross My Heart" (from The Kiera Plan's debut LP Dedication) - you'll hear Tim along with Ann O'Brien and Dana Heinz Zaprala at the end of the track:



Tim was a huge contributor to The Kiera Plan's sophomore album Right Now, delivering bass on "Right Now," "You Are Not Alone," and "Starting Over Today" as well as background vocals on "Starting Over Today" and "Whenever I Close My Eyes."






An accomplished songwriter and frontman in his own right, Tim released a wealth of material with his former group Seducing Eve, and has performed with a number of other musical projects.

As an author, Tim contributed to the New York Times best-selling graphic novel anothology FUBAR: Empire of the Rising Dead, and has a number of other projects in the works. For more on all things Tim, check out his blog.

And, of course, look to see Tim in the mix the next time The Kiera Plan hits the stage or the studio.

Backstory: "We're Gone"

Knowing how much I normally rely on power chords to make it happen, I was excited to try something different with "We're Gone."  I was hoping for a sparser arrangement that had each new instrument packing a punch when it made it's entrance. 

The Pixies "Dig for Fire" has one of these really cool sparse arrangements, and if we're lucky, you'll here their influence on this.

When we get to the breakdown on "We're Gone," I hope that's where you'd get a little early-Weezer coming through.  Vince Ratti, our producer, knew exactly what we were going for there, and worked his feedback magic to get the tone and the pitch of that just right.

Vocals make or break a song for me, and I always heard a group of vocals closing out "We're Gone."  Choruses never quite pack the same punch for me though when all I hear are 7 versions of the same dude, so I was excited to have old friends Shawn Gamble and Alison Cloud, from the band Kick Back Tomorrow, in the studio to help really give "We're Gone" a strong, diverse vocal finale.


I'd met these two with our bands playing a number of shows in and around Philly together over the past few years, and I really admire their passion.  Whether they're in the crowd, on stage, or in the studio, you can tell how much Shawn and Alison love music, and it made them really fun people to collaborate with.

Both are tremendous vocalists, and it was so great to see them doing their thing.   They first make an appearance during the breakdown, and I'm psyched to hear their voices every time I listen to "We're Gone."

I hope you guys all enjoy the track!  We'll be excited to hear what you think.

Shawn (O'Brien)

New Album (Out February 19th) to Benefit The Whole Planet Foundation

Our new album, Right Now, will be released  February 19th, 2014.  We wanted this music to help make a difference, so through March 31st, our CD will be exclusively available at Whole Foods Market stores, and all proceeds will benefit the Whole Planet Foundation.

The Whole Planet Foundation is a non-profit organization working to alleviate poverty worldwide.  Through micro-lending, Whole Planet works to give people the chance to change their lives, and their families', by starting their own businesses.

For every $10 Kiera Plan CD purchased, over $7 (100% of the profit) will go directly to the Whole Planet Foundation.

Help us to do something special.  Help us to change lives.

On February 19th, head to Whole Foods Market and pick up our CD.  Your purchase will help make a difference.



Thank you so much for your support!

Please help us spread the word: share this video, link to this blog post - even just telling a friend about what we're doing will help.

Check out the Whole Planet Foundation website for more on the great work that they do.

The new CD is already on its way to Whole Foods Market stores in the Philadelphia, PA and South Jersey areas for the Feb. 19th release.  We'll continually update the following list of stores that have the CD here on this blog.

If your favorite Whole Foods is somewhere else, please just e-mail us at thekieraplan@gmail.com to let us the location of the store you shop.  We'll make arrangements to get them a CD for you so that you can support this great cause and get your copy of the new album.

Participating Whole Foods Market locations:

WFM Glen Mills
475 Wilmington West Chester Pike Glen Mills, PA 19342

WFM North Wales
1210 Bethlehem Pike North Wales, PA 19454

WFM Devon
821 W. Lancaster Ave Wayne, PA 19087

WFM Plymouth Meeting
500 W. Germantown Pike Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

WFM Marlton
940 Route 73 North Marlton, NJ  08053

WFM Princeton
3495 US Route 1 South Princeton, NJ 08540

WFM Jenkintown
1575 The Fairway Jenkintown, PA 19046

WFM South Street
929 South St Philadelphia, PA 19147

WFM Callowhill
2001 Pennsylvania Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19130

WFM Wynnewood
339 East Lancaster Ave Wynnewood, PA 19096

New Single Out Now!

After a year and a half in the studio, new music is finally here!  We've just released a two song maxi-single featuring two songs from the soon to be released sophomore Kiera Plan album.

We're so excited for you to hear these songs!  Here is "Right Now"

And here is "Annie" Both songs are available on iTunes, Amazon, and just about anywhere else you'd think to download music.

I'd like to thank all of the amazing people who you hear performing on these songs, we are so grateful to everyone involved for their time and talent.  Here is the full roster for each song:

Right Now
Shawn O'Brien - vocals, guitar
Tim Zaprala - bass
J.J. Davis - keys
Daniel Pawlovich* - drums
Alison Cloud* - backing vocals
Shawn Gamble* - backing vocals

* Fans will recognize Dan as former drummer for Valencia, and current frontman for his new band Mosey.  Alison and Shawn appear courtesy of their band Kick Back Tomorrow.

Annie
Shawn O'Brien - vocals, piano, bass
Vince Ratti* - guitar
Daniel Pawlovich - drums
Andrew Meoray* - cello
Rachel Minton* - backing vocals

*Fans will recognize Vince and Rachel from their amazing group Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer.  Vince has produced, engineered, and performed on both Dedication and the upcoming Kiera Plan album. Fans will find Andrew hard at work in both the Q Family Band and with up and coming hip-hop group Astronauts Really Fly.

The cover art for the single contains a fragment of the new album's cover, drawn by Matt Tyree, and colored by Val Staples.

The release date on the full album is still to be determined, but these won't be the only songs coming your way before the album drops.

So much more is on the way. For now, thank you so much for your interest and for your support!

Shawn
 

Putting the Pieces Together

We've been in the studio for several recording sessions per month, putting the pieces together for Kiera Plan: Album two.  Here's a rundown of what's been happening:

My Kiera Plan bandmates J.J. Davis, Tim Zaprala, and Kevin Brown have each been in tracking material. J.J. had some layers of synthesizer to put down, Tim came in for some backing vocals, and Kevin added some guitar riffage.

TKP drummer Kevin Brown, laying down some guitar.

Guest vocalists have also been dropping in.  Ann O'Brien and Dana Heinz, who fans will remember from their guest vocal appearance on Dedication's "Cross My Heart" were back in for another round of vocals.  Our friends Alison Cloud and Shawn Gamble from Kick Back Tomorrow came through, each making a stellar debut TKP vocal appearance.

Shawn Gamble and Alison Cloud

Mulch-instrumentalist Andrew Migliore from Idle Idols was also in the studio with us, adding some amazing string arrangements.  This is a first for The Kiera Plan, and we're really excited to have had Andrew in the mix.

Andrew Migliore, dropping some serious cello

As for me, I've been doing a variety of tracking on guitar, synth, and brass.  I was really excited to put down our fullest brass arrangement ever, reprising my role as trumpeteer and - for the first time since fourth grade - putting in some work on trombone as well.

A familiar face behind the trombone, yours truly, Shawn O'Brien

Meanwhile, comic book artists Matt Tyree and Val Staples have completed the cover art for album two, and we are so psyched for you to see what they've put together!

I'm headed into the studio with super-producer Vince Ratti for what could potentially be the last day of recording.  At this rate, we could have a single for you to hear as early as February, and the full album will definitely be coming your way in 2013.

For now, thank you so much for your interest, and for your support!

Shawn