Electives

Christmastime is upon us, and so we pause by the fire to reflect on recent events. Cue the soundtrack.

Let’s see.

1. On a lark we did a couple songs at an open mic at Phantom Power, our favorite local venue. It was part of a series of open mics, from which eight (-ish?) acts would be selected to compete in a battle of the bands in early December. To our surprise, we were chosen to compete! The range of styles and talents involved in this battle was humbling. Glad to be there—win, place, or show. Winners’ circle included Emaylia and Before the End, who both delivered musically rich and intense performances.
2. Did a super last minute fill-in gig at Zoetropolis for an event celebrating Lancaster’s own Mr. Suit Records. The legendary music shop is packing up the turntable after 15 years. Very cool to hang with some old friends and share the stage with The Flying Faders, who are keeping the surf sound alive with a fine indie style.
3. Released Average Risk Adults, our musical document from COVID Times and the third official release from the band. Physical discs and streaming.
4. Finally (really, truly, once and for all) released our first album, Transcript, for streaming services. The original came out in 2016, but it took 6 years of intermittently caring about it to get it right. Mistakes were made. The cover art has changed and so has one title. Whew.
5. Preparing to soon record a batch of songs that emerged over the last few months.

All in all, pretty good couple of months.

Here’s Average Risk Adults for your consideration.

Available on other streaming platforms if Spotify isn’t your thing.

Over the past year++, Electives slowly recorded and released tracks that we’re calling, collectively, Average Risk Adults. The band agreed on the title before COVID set in, but now it’s stupid to care about the timing. It worked then, and it still does.

Two Decades was the first thing we produced in this slow-cooked batch. Here are some other songs we wrote in the alley and recorded in the basement between then and now.

The title Two Decades was originally meant to suggest something about a convergence of two musical styles we heard in the song as it was developing. Now, nearly a year into the pandemic, it’s taken on a new dimension. Felt right as our first release from a body of material that we started work on long, long ago.

Released February 1, 2021.
Stew Bradley, drums; Josh Cusatis, bass; Ian Schaefer, guitar. Miscellaneous other sounds by the band. Recorded and mixed at the new Rare Nest.

Listen to the second full-length studio album by Electives.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Dave Patterson at Black Bandanaland in East Earl, Pennsylvania. Design by Josh and the band. Cover collage by Josh.

A slow project to complete, Chemistry Set was released digitally on Bandcamp on April 5, 2019, followed by compact disc and additional streaming services in July and August of the same year.

Stew Bradley: Drums
Josh Cusatis: Bass
Ian Schaefer: Guitar

The debut, full-length album by the eclectic, instrumental band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Released March 16, 2016.

Recorded in Stew’s garage on School House Alley, Lancaster, PA. Mixed and mastered by Ian at Rare Nest, Lititz, PA. Design by Ian and the band. Cover photo by Karen Jenkins.

This album is currently not available on most streaming services because the album artwork was rejected for distribution—multiple times—by CDBaby, the company we used to publish this record. Apparently the “Tx” symbol that we devised for Transcript is being considered as typographic (not entirely wrong), and because the typographic element doesn’t spell out a something that matches either the band name or the name of the record, it’s a no go. Who knew?! Eventually, we’ll revise the artwork and re-release to get digital distribution. But right now (10:08PM on 2/13/2021), we’re focused on recording a new record.

Stew Bradley: drums
Josh Cusatis: bass
Ian Schaefer: guitar

The Buy War Bonds EP was Electives’ very first release. It was comprised of quick and dirty mixes of three songs that would eventually appear on the full length album, Transcript. We ripped a handful of CDs and handed them out at shows for free or $5, whichever worked.

Released October 28, 2015

Stew Bradley: drums
Josh Cusatis: bass
Ian Schaefer: guitar