In the Land of Lost Monsters | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
EP by Gatsbys American Dream | ||||
Released | October 5, 2004 | |||
Recorded | The Tank Studio Black Diamond, Washington |
|||
Genre |
Progressive Symphonic rock Indie Rock |
|||
Length | 18:26 | |||
Label | LLR Recordings | |||
Producer | Casey Bates | |||
Gatsbys American Dream chronology | ||||
|
In the Land of Lost Monsters is an EP by Gatsbys American Dream released in 2004. After their second release Ribbons and Sugar, the band grew rapidly in popularity with their fans, but not with record labels. This EP was essentially in response to the hounding they received from record labels after their second release, to write more conventional songs with a verse-chorus-verse structure.
"The Dragon of Pendor" is a reference to Ursula K. Le Guin's novel A Wizard of Earthsea.
In November 2007, the band put the album up for free download on Snakes & Suits, a clothing company and record label. The digital release featured 4 remixed tracks: "Yes, This Is About You," "A Conversation With The Devil," "You Stole My Story," and "The Dragon of Pendor."
Along with the album, guitarist Bobby Darling wrote a letter addressing their fans' initial confusion over the EP's content and the reaction their music received from many in the music business:
I remember we showcased for a record label once. The guy who ran the label sat on a couch and watched us play, and after we finished he said that no label in their right mind would sign us because we didn’t have choruses in our songs. I don’t know if he expected us to thank him for the words of wisdom. I think I was just irritated. I’m still irritated. And not because he was a condescending shit head. I’m irritated because he was right. We were never going to fit into this industry. We were never going to sell a lot of records. For the most part, this business rewards you for conforming, it encourages mediocrity, and it tries to stamp out creative thought. And what we were making was just art, all along. So we were stomping mad. We got tired later, but first we were mad. And I think that’s where In The Land of Lost Monsters came from. I think at the end of the day we just wanted to say, “Okay, we understand that this is the way the industry works. But it’s fucking stupid. So fuck you.” So we said it with an EP.