I want to start out this open letter with a very heartfelt and sincere thank you to those who attended transRelic's performance at Wit's End this last Friday. I was overwhelmed by the immense response and attendance. As I looked past the lights glaring in my eyes I saw a full house. Each and every person there had taken the time, spent the money, and fought through labor day weekend roads to be in that room together. It was amazing, the electrical feeling the energy cycle through the room during an event that took a lot of energy to put together. The thanks runs all the way down the line, starting with Joseph Cabrera and his amazing staff at Dallas Metal Scene (Kalee, Heather, and Kelcy) to Wit's End and their top-notch staff, (Bartenders, Door, Security, and Sound Engineer) and the other venues involved in the Deep Ellum Metal Festival. To all the bands that shared the stage with us at Wit's End and the other venues. I would be faulted if I did not express my sincerest gratitude to those who deserve this due credit.
Now I must mention two things that humble me to a degree that in all honesty is very hard to express in words. First, there are 4 other guys that were up on stage with me Friday, Andrew Kelly, Nick Klinger, Miggy Rocher, and Justin Bannister. These guys have taken a very difficult and ambitious project, and have put in the work to make this a reality. Most of you know, even without saying the amount of work behind the scenes, what it takes from these guys to ensure that what you all see is only 100% the absolute best we can give. It is inspiring to me as the original creator of this band to see these amazingly talented individuals take hold, execute and believe in something that came from such humble roots. I am eternally grateful to these guys who have become a part of my family. I will never be able to repay you guys for this and I thank you for believing in transRelic.
The idea for transRelic started years ago in a small town in Colorado. I was going through High School and dealing with severe mental issues that I did not know how to handle. I had always loved music deeply, and it was the only thing that my life possessed that I still found beautiful. My one goal was to make an album before I died. I wrangled together a bunch of sub par equipment, borrowed instruments, and acquired some low quality software to make this dream a reality. I started doing my best to put these very difficult feelings and uneasy sounds that were in my head down into a tangible form. About a semester into my senior year I had put three songs into demos. These songs would later be known as Dreamless, Closed Gates, and 1=Nothing. With the way the songs sounded and the words they contained, it became fairly apparent: "traces too deep to see," the dream album I wanted to create, was actually my suicide note.
This dream so nearly came to a premature and tragic end....
In the earliest hours in the morning, while putting down some basic guitar tracks to what would become Dying Will, the fourth song I wrote for the album, I set my guitar down and walked down the hallway to my bathroom. Once inside I locked the door and looked at myself in the mirror. I felt absolutely hopeless, and it was written all over my face as I gazed into my own reflection. I will not go into detail at this time, but that night was so nearly my last night alive. I am not sure how my own suicide failed that night. I awoke in a bathtub of my own blood, dizzy and weak. I managed to drain the blood, clean the bathroom and myself, patch up the horrid wounds, and went to school the same day. The days, weeks, and months that followed were just a haze. I had a hard time coming to terms with the question, "why didn't I just die?" However, I continued recording, track by track, line by line. Eventually, I finished the demo, and started moving towards getting a more professional product. That question slowly subsided into, "what is this song going to sound like?" and, "What is transRelic about?" I found a purpose in the songs, and in the project that had derived from a very dark time in my life. Throughout the years I have held on to this idea, these songs, and the purpose I found in creating this band. Friday night I saw a crowd that in one way or another connected to transRelic, and it reminded me once again why I do what I do.
Whether or not you were seeing us for the first time, or have seen every show to date. Whether you related deeply to the sound and the words you experienced, or you were just simply entertained. Whether you came of your own free will or were dragged there with a friend. I thank you deeply for being there. I thank you for being a part of what I have sold my life to. I think you for even just for one night experiencing something that almost never was. I thank you for being a part of transRelic, because I truly believe, together we are never alone.
So very sincerely,
Stark Morrison of transRelic
Now I must mention two things that humble me to a degree that in all honesty is very hard to express in words. First, there are 4 other guys that were up on stage with me Friday, Andrew Kelly, Nick Klinger, Miggy Rocher, and Justin Bannister. These guys have taken a very difficult and ambitious project, and have put in the work to make this a reality. Most of you know, even without saying the amount of work behind the scenes, what it takes from these guys to ensure that what you all see is only 100% the absolute best we can give. It is inspiring to me as the original creator of this band to see these amazingly talented individuals take hold, execute and believe in something that came from such humble roots. I am eternally grateful to these guys who have become a part of my family. I will never be able to repay you guys for this and I thank you for believing in transRelic.
The idea for transRelic started years ago in a small town in Colorado. I was going through High School and dealing with severe mental issues that I did not know how to handle. I had always loved music deeply, and it was the only thing that my life possessed that I still found beautiful. My one goal was to make an album before I died. I wrangled together a bunch of sub par equipment, borrowed instruments, and acquired some low quality software to make this dream a reality. I started doing my best to put these very difficult feelings and uneasy sounds that were in my head down into a tangible form. About a semester into my senior year I had put three songs into demos. These songs would later be known as Dreamless, Closed Gates, and 1=Nothing. With the way the songs sounded and the words they contained, it became fairly apparent: "traces too deep to see," the dream album I wanted to create, was actually my suicide note.
This dream so nearly came to a premature and tragic end....
In the earliest hours in the morning, while putting down some basic guitar tracks to what would become Dying Will, the fourth song I wrote for the album, I set my guitar down and walked down the hallway to my bathroom. Once inside I locked the door and looked at myself in the mirror. I felt absolutely hopeless, and it was written all over my face as I gazed into my own reflection. I will not go into detail at this time, but that night was so nearly my last night alive. I am not sure how my own suicide failed that night. I awoke in a bathtub of my own blood, dizzy and weak. I managed to drain the blood, clean the bathroom and myself, patch up the horrid wounds, and went to school the same day. The days, weeks, and months that followed were just a haze. I had a hard time coming to terms with the question, "why didn't I just die?" However, I continued recording, track by track, line by line. Eventually, I finished the demo, and started moving towards getting a more professional product. That question slowly subsided into, "what is this song going to sound like?" and, "What is transRelic about?" I found a purpose in the songs, and in the project that had derived from a very dark time in my life. Throughout the years I have held on to this idea, these songs, and the purpose I found in creating this band. Friday night I saw a crowd that in one way or another connected to transRelic, and it reminded me once again why I do what I do.
Whether or not you were seeing us for the first time, or have seen every show to date. Whether you related deeply to the sound and the words you experienced, or you were just simply entertained. Whether you came of your own free will or were dragged there with a friend. I thank you deeply for being there. I thank you for being a part of what I have sold my life to. I think you for even just for one night experiencing something that almost never was. I thank you for being a part of transRelic, because I truly believe, together we are never alone.
So very sincerely,
Stark Morrison of transRelic