I'm excited to provide you with a progress update on the long-awaited completion of the 2000 recording session for the Faeraby/Unsheltered song, "Criminal."  All the original audio tracks, featuring Don's and Brad's vocals, as well as Brad's and Chris' rhythm guitar tracks, have been meticulously remastered.

Now, here's the thrilling news: we're taking this opportunity to enhance the song further. 

• Patrick Payne is currently recording the bass line, a part that was unfortunately missed during the original session due to a computer crash. 

• Brad Harwood is also hard at work crafting a captivating solo for the song. 

• Since our original drummers (Robbie, Todd, Danny, and Brian) have moved on and no longer play, we've reached out to Jimmy Poplin from Borghal, who has kindly agreed to step in and infuse his musical magic into the track. Jimmy is in the process of setting up his recording rig.

Once all these new additions are complete and seamlessly integrated into the session, this 23-year-old recording session will finally be finished. I can't wait to share the result with you!

Taking you back in time with a snapshot of the original 'Criminal' recording session. Powered by the nostalgic Cool Edit Pro software and running on the classic Windows XP operating system. 

The fresh 2023 'Criminal' recording session in action. Powered by Reaper recording software and running smoothly on the Windows 10 operating system.

By the way, for any fans who might be concerned that a different drummer could compromise the authenticity of this project, rest assured, that's not the case. Jimmy Poplin is not only historically accurate for the period, but we've also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with him on several occasions, including performances alongside Borghal. Additionally, Jimmy and Brad have a shared history that dates back to their high school days when they collaborated in a group called 'Raisin.'

For a nostalgic treat, I invite you to take a trip down memory lane and enjoy a glimpse of North Stanly High School's 1995 Talent Show, featuring their unforgettable performance.

I'm excited to provide you with a progress update on the long-awaited completion of the 2000 recording session for the Faeraby/Unsheltered song, "Criminal."  All the original audio tracks, featuring Don's and Brad's vocals, as well as Brad's and Chris' rhythm guitar tracks, have been meticulously remastered.

Now, here's the thrilling news: we're taking this opportunity to enhance the song further. 

• Patrick Payne is currently recording the bass line, a part that was unfortunately missed during the original session due to a computer crash. 

• Brad Harwood is also hard at work crafting a captivating solo for the song. 

• Since our original drummers (Robbie, Todd, Danny, and Brian) have moved on and no longer play, we've reached out to Jimmy Poplin from Borghal, who has kindly agreed to step in and infuse his musical magic into the track. Jimmy is in the process of setting up his recording rig.

Once all these new additions are complete and seamlessly integrated into the session, this 23-year-old recording session will finally be finished. I can't wait to share the result with you!

Taking you back in time with a snapshot of the original 'Criminal' recording session. Powered by the nostalgic Cool Edit Pro software and running on the classic Windows XP operating system. 

The fresh 2023 'Criminal' recording session in action. Powered by Reaper recording software and running smoothly on the Windows 10 operating system.

By the way, for any fans who might be concerned that a different drummer could compromise the authenticity of this project, rest assured, that's not the case. Jimmy Poplin is not only historically accurate for the period, but we've also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with him on several occasions, including performances alongside Borghal. Additionally, Jimmy and Brad have a shared history that dates back to their high school days when they collaborated in a group called 'Raisin.'

For a nostalgic treat, I invite you to take a trip down memory lane and enjoy a glimpse of North Stanly High School's 1995 Talent Show, featuring their unforgettable performance.

It's been almost three months since I've had the chance to devote my attention to the Unsheltered website. During this period, my mother bravely fought Mitosis Fungoid, an uncommon cancer. I won't go into all the details, but her battle was marked by immense courage. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy treatments did not work, and she passed away on August 11, 2023. Here is a link to the slideshow I created for my mother's visitation: Pamela Jane Harris

(My mother with several fur babies)

I've been grappling with the challenge of navigating life without her. We all understand that life has its ebbs and flows, and that someday we will face the loss of one or both of our parents. However, when something as profound as this loss occurs, it hits very hard, and it is incredibly difficult to process. I can only imagine what my father is going through.

Thankfully, Christie has been my rock. Her father passed away a couple of years ago, and she knows all too well the pain of losing a parent. She has been terrific throughout this entire ordeal, and I don't know how I would have handled it without her.  

A special thank you to Nick Wiggins, Devron Furr, and Donald Parrish for being pallbearers at my mother's funeral.

My mother was my unwavering pillar of support for almost everything, especially music. Without her, Unsheltered and this Unsheltered website wouldn't have come into existence. Without her, I wouldn't have ever met and married the love of my life, Christie, who was also Unsheltered's manager. She recognized my passion for music, and on my 16th birthday, she took me to a music store to choose a guitar. I remember being so excited. The memory of my first red electric guitar still holds a special place in my heart. It's the same guitar that suffered an unfortunate accident at the Poplins' house, but it marked the beginning of my extraordinary musical journey. 

(16 years old playing my first guitar)

Mrs. Poplin, feeling responsible for the mishap that occurred at her house, generously contributed $200, which greatly assisted me in acquiring my black and white Ibanez guitar. Surprisingly, it remains my sole electric guitar, even though I possess four acoustics. The trip to Reliable Music in Charlotte marked my first time driving in the city of Charlotte. I'm uncertain which was whiter, my knuckles gripping the steering wheel or Spag's face in the minivan's rearview mirror. He was seated in the third-row seat and couldn't wait to get out. 

Before my world was turned upside down, I embarked on an unexpected collaboration with someone I had never anticipated working with again – Brad Harwood. Our communication had ceased since a disagreement between us, a discord that ultimately led to the band's breakup in 2004.  He reached out to me via Facebook, expressing his appreciation for my unwavering dedication to the Unsheltered website, particularly the quality of the before-and-after videos. He informed me of a discovery he had made – a video of our band's performance at Rendezvous in Spencer, NC, that could be a valuable addition to the website. 

However, there was a challenge – the video was stored on a VHS tape. Well, I call it a "challenge," but little did we know it was just the start of our journey. After introducing Brad to OBS (an open-source capture software) and suggesting an affordable analog-to-digital converter to digitize the VHS signal, we discovered that the tape had suffered heat damage from being stored in his attic. It would intermittently drag the tape, rendering both the video and audio unusable. The experience was not only frustrating but also painful to watch. 

(Photos that Brad sent me showing the progress of transferring the VHS tape to a new set of reels and housing)

With the help of a donated VHS tape and a sturdier VHS player Brad borrowed from his mother, we worked together to meticulously transfer the entire tape into an undistorted set of VHS tape reels and enclosure. This significantly alleviated the issue of dragging, although some remnants still lingered. Undeterred, we persisted with patience and ultimately succeeded in digitally capturing all eight songs from that unforgettable night. Brad was even able to capture the initial few songs from one of our performances at The Money, which was on the end of the tape. This is especially thrilling because I've already painstakingly restored and uploaded the second half of that performance on the website. 

While there's more work ahead to improve the video quality for the remaining seven songs, I couldn't wait to share one of those eight songs that I've already polished.  Here's "Come Around," an original Unsheltered composition performed live at Rendezvous. Jason expertly handled the camera and Nick Wiggins skillfully managed the lighting.  

•   Simplified the website by merging the Welcome and About sections of the website.   

• New Welcome page.  It combined the Welcome and About. 

•   New band photo page for Borghal Rantipole.  

•   New Unsheltered home video - Project Band Van

•   New home video section on the main Unshletered page.

•   New Borghal Rantipole video for the song "Neptune They Say".  (One of my favorite songs)

•   This video was another labor of love as it seemed like it took forever to complete.  In addition to enhancing the video,  I also duplicated the audio tracks for each band member, eq'd them for each instrument/vocal, and then remixed them.    The three cover songs were removed as they flagged YouTube's copyright policy.  However, I will create a separate video of those and simply make them only viewable through a link, which I will post at a later date.  Until then,  enjoy!

•   I found and posted the Unsheltered flyer for the Amos' and Coley's shows. (click the image above to see all of Unsheltered's flyers)

• Found the original file for the Unsheltered Rookie's show flyer!  The old scanned version is on the left and the new version is on the right.  It has now been replaced on the website.  

• Teaser - I'm currently working on Unsheltered's performance at The Irish Cue.

• The full performance has finished processing and is now live.  Click below to watch

• Before vs After sample

• I found the original Faeraby presskit/website photos on an old hard drive.  I uploaded them to the Faeraby Band Member's page.

This is why this video sounds so amazing.

Scott's DAT recorder/player.  I remember him using this at his shows.  Till this day,  I've never seen another one.

I was thrilled to find out that I had an Incredibly rare digital input on one of my old HP Media Center computers.

Before vs After for the Irish Cue video.  

• Found a short video clip of me filming the Poplin Brothers in their basement.  I'm really glad I found it as I didn't have any photos of Michael.  I felt it needed to be added to the Band Members section.