Archive

A preserved copy of a web site that stopped being updated in 2007. Nothing here is live — the band broke up, no address is monitored, and nothing is for sale. How this was recovered

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blythe

Ludington, Michigan · 2005–2007

blythe was a Christian rock band of five high-school kids who played battles of the bands, church basements, and a harvest festival in Walkerville. This is their website, rebuilt from the original database twenty years later.

the black e.p.

the black e.p. cover art

Four songs, recorded around Ludington in 2006. These are the original mixes, exactly as they were served from the band’s Flash player.

the e.p.

the e.p. cover art

Four songs mixed down on June 26, 2007 — two new (the beginning, when we fall) and two re-recorded from the black e.p. with ollie on vocals. This is the last work the band finished.

It never made it onto the website. By mid-2007 the audio player was returning server errors, and the site came down before these were posted. They sat as WAV masters on a hard drive for nineteen years. This is the first time they have been online.

one more · not a blythe song

when you’re no where you’re now here

3:10

joshua dumas — solo recording, 2007

Two weeks after dumas joined, the band’s March 10, 2006 news post said he “even showed us one of his own” and put a preview of it in the audio section. That preview is gone, and this is probably not it — as best anyone remembers, the song he played for them was egotistic lover, which blythe went on to record for the black e.p. This is a separate submission of his, written and recorded by him alone, not by blythe. The file that came down to us is a 2007 recording, and it spent the last twenty years misfiled in another band’s folder. It is here so it stops being lost, and credited to the person who actually wrote it.

the band

Written by the band, in their own words, in 2006.

joshua dumas

lead vocals, rhythm guitar

erik hartley

lead & rhythm guitar

jacob redman

lead & rhythm guitar

brandon martinez

bassist, media designer, producer, co-manager professional mexican

after joining the band in january, 2005, brandon has worked hard and long to make his contribution to the band. currently, besides playing bass for the band, he is trying to maintain any related media aspect - logos, designs, and even this web site. along with jacob, he helps manage and produce the band's music.

from
ludington, mi
influences
green day, tool, rage against the machine, coheed & cambria (these are the most recent ones, everything gives inspiration at some degree)

joshua mogerman

drums

news

Every post from the band’s news feed, February–April 2006.

March 25, 2006

audio!

alright everyone, blythe is finally getting some serious recording done. with ollie on vocals, we've been able to record two songs so far (and he's only been in the band for 3 weeks or so; not too bad) which will be put up in the audio section; the two songs being sth and now!.

also, sadly (kind of), the battle of the bands audio is being taken down. with new tracks at a higher quality being available, there is no long a need for the older, worse recordings. if, however, you are still interested in hearing an old recording, you can email us anytime.

March 19, 2006

website updates (again)

once again the web site has gone under revision. new banners are at the top of almost every page to give you, our viewers and fans, a more graphic browsing experience. also, the photo section has been updated with a good amount of pictures, and has been redone so those of you without flash can view our pictures. as always, our thank yous page keeps growing (as many people help us out on a daily basis). a calendar section has been added to keep everyone up-to-date of when and where we are playing next, and a booking page has been created for those of you who want us to play at your events. the site is going under a lot of revision, so keep on checking back!

March 10, 2006

band update

the status with dumas, now known as ollie, is very good. today we practiced and everything is going great! he's catching onto the songs very fast and even showed us one of his own (you can hear a peview of it in the audio section). it's looking like ollie should work out well with the band - he brings a lot to it. also, he adds another guitar to the mix, evening out the rhythm section and backing up erik and jake's harmonies. more updates coming soon, stay posted!

March 7, 2006

general updates

practice tomorrow (technically today). we'll be working on some new stuff, improving the old, and getting stuff ready for the next couple events, which include: playing at the body gallery (we're going to rock some socks), and the next battle of the bands (on april 21). as always, i'll keep everyone up-to-date and try to update this site as often as possible. thanks for keeping track!

March 3, 2006

thank you's

blythe has started a thank you list. they felt the need to recognize the many people who helped them along the way. check it out, maybe your name is on the list.

March 2, 2006

t-shirts for sale

blythe t-shirts are still available! if you would like to order one, contact us.

March 2, 2006

guestbook problems

lately, due to technical difficulties, our guestbook was having a problem with some people submitting posts. please, check to make sure your post is left; it should be updated right after you post it. we have tried to correct this problem and we believe we have, but if your post is not there, please e-mail the band and tell us what browser you are using. thank you.

blythe

February 28, 2006

a new vocalist

as many of you may know, nick has taken a temporary leave of absence from the band and has headed down to florida. sadly, he won't be back until june. however, blythe may have found a possible (temporary) replacement. josh dumas, scottville, will be interviewed this next friday. check back for details.

February 28, 2006

web site update

even though blythe has been on the web for a short time, the progress the band has been making is incredible! currently, blythe has boughten a domain name, http://www.blythe-band.com/, and has been working to evolve the site into a thing of graphical beauty. a guestbook has been added, news feeds have been updated, music has been posted, and a picture viewer has been created. even better, blythe is constantly creating more features and adding more content for their fans and soon-to-be fans to enjoy.

February 17, 2006

recording session

today is an important step for the band, recording. today we are taking the time to put together a few of our songs. we are hoping to get someone to help, now!, and possibly when we fall done today. we'll keep you posted.

February 16, 2006

site update

the site has actually been updated! a design has been established, what do you all think? check back often for updates, it's going to be happenning a lot!

the blog

It lasted two entries, four minutes apart.

April 16, 2006 · brandon

First Blog Entry

So, blythe finally has it's own web log (blog). This is great because we can finally all let our fans know what it is going on in our lives as a band and personally. Sure, the news information would keep you up to date with some of the things going on, and the shows section would tell you when something was going to happen, but this blog will tell you why, how, and any dirt that goes with it.

April 16, 2006 · brandon

Last Night's Show

Last night was amazing! We thought that our show would go down the tubes, with the schedule being all messed up and all; however, we were surprised but the number of loyal fans that we had! We were setting up on stage, turn around, and there are around 50 people waiting for us to play. 50 may not seem like a big number, but it is when the whole nights was barren before that. Wow, I can't believe it went that well.

video

Five full sets, an hour and a half of footage, shot on a camcorder between February 2005 and April 2006. They survived because the band’s bassist burned them to two DVDs at the time and Erik still had them thirteen years later. They were uploaded to YouTube in October 2018 and are embedded here.

The first three predate the website entirely — blythe did not have one in 2005, and the shows list below only starts in 2006. This footage is the only record of them.

Each video’s description carries its own recording date, and four of the five are confirmed by other people’s records — the college’s press releases and events page, the Ludington visitors bureau calendar, and the Ludington Daily News. Those documents are reproduced here in full, so they survive whatever happens to the sites that hosted them. The fifth, the beach show, is noted below as the one date nothing else corroborates.

Feb 5, 2005 · 17:14

battle of the bands — west shore community college

The first one. A pickup lineup, placing fourth — and the show that started the whole thing.

“Bands represented in the ‘Battle of the Bands’ include: ‘Blythe,’ which features Jacob Redman, Matt Lewis, and Brandon Martinez…” — West Shore Community College press release, January 31, 2005

Nine area teen bands, a $100 prize, $3 at the door. This is the only place the February 2005 lineup is written down — Matt Lewis played this show and does not appear anywhere else on this site.

Read the full press release

West Shore Community College · January 31, 2005 · Contact: Thomas A. Hawley, Director of College Relations

WSCC’s First Annual “Battle of the Bands”

“Battle of the Bands” will bring together at least nine area teen “garage-style” bands for a gala band bash at West Shore Community College’s Recreation Center gymnasium on Sat., Feb. 5, from 7-11 p.m. The concert is part of WSCC’s 20th Anniversary 2004-2005 Cultural Arts Series.

Dr. Rick Plummer, Director of the WSCC artist series, says that, “The winter blues and the snow and ice will all melt away as area teen bands blast away with music ranging from heavy metal to hip hop at this first annual band bash.”

Bands represented in the “Battle of the Bands” include: “Blythe,” which features Jacob Redman, Matt Lewis, and Brandon Martinez; “The Irony,” with Jordan Wolff, Dylan Hoffmann, Adrian Carry, and Keegan Shelden; “No Name,” with Tim Fay, Travis Ewing, Kevin Knudsen, and Jeff Buchanan; “Atlantic Pacific,” featuring Evan Martin, and Ben Thompson ; “T.P. Renegades,” with Andy Mazur, Dan Avery, Brock Flewelling, and Mark Sorachi; “Yours Truly,” with DJ Slattery, Josh Sneller, Matt Sneller, and Craig Avery; “White Pacific,” featuring Scott Witkop, Trent Hibbard, Mitchell Harrison, and Cory Harrison; “Surreal,” with David Vanhorn, Brandon Mikowski, and Gerry Skurski; and “Flashpoint,” featuring Dylan Nielsen, David Claire, Jared Fulton, and Scotty Tupper.

A $100 prize will be awarded to the winner of the “Battle of the Bands.” Judges for the band bash include concert emcee Mark Sandstedt of MS Creative Services and radio personalities from both WMOM and WWKR 94-1 K-ROCK.

Tickets for this event are just $3 for general admission limited seating, for standing and dancing. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase at the concert, courtesy of the WSCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges.

Reproduced from westshore.edu, archived Feb 8, 2005. Two closing paragraphs of ticket-office information and the staff email addresses are omitted; the text is otherwise verbatim.

Jun 15, 2005 · 16:16

battle of the bands — ludington beach

The beach at the west end of Ludington Avenue is Stearns Park. This is the only one of the five dates nothing outside the band corroborates — it rests entirely on the video’s own description. The obvious candidate was checked and ruled out: June 15, 2005 was a Wednesday, and the Ludington Jaycees did run a Wednesday evening concert series that summer, but theirs was the “Waterfront Park Concert Series,” downtown on Pere Marquette Lake — a different place. The local paper can’t settle it either: its archived site was paywalled, and its entertainment section was never crawled at all in the summer of 2005. That silence is a gap in the archive, not evidence against the show.

Jul 27, 2005 · 15:09

battle of the bands — mason county fairgrounds

The video names only the venue, but the fair was on: the Ludington Convention & Visitors Bureau calendar puts the 2005 Western Michigan Fair at July 26–30, which makes this the second day of it.

“July 26 - July 30 — Western Michigan Fair @ Mason County Fairgrounds” — Ludington Convention & Visitors Bureau events calendar, July 2005
Read the calendar entry

ludingtoncvb.com · events calendar, July 2005

July 26 - July 30
Western Michigan Fair
@ Mason County Fairgrounds
masoncountyfairgrounds.com

The Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions listed the same fair that year with a slightly longer run:

Ludington - Western Michigan Fair
Dates: 7/23/2005 - 7/30/2005
Fair Address: 5100 W. U.S. 10 and 31, Ludington MI 49431

The two disagree on when the fair opened — the 23rd or the 26th — but they agree on when it closed, they carry the same phone numbers, and July 27 sits inside either one.

The calendar also shows the grounds in near-constant use that summer: a Renaissance faire, a saddle club open horse show, the Harbor Classic quarter horse show, an antique show, a Pinto show. It was a working fairground year-round, not just for fair week.

Reproduced from ludingtoncvb.com, archived Apr 6, 2005 and michiganfairs.org, archived Feb 17, 2005. Both listings are verbatim. Neither August 2005 capture of the calendar lists the fair.

The night before — the fair’s opening day — the band practiced late at Prayer & Praise with a couple of extra players sitting in. Photos from that session run to eight minutes past midnight.

Feb 4, 2006 · 19:25

battle of the bands — west shore community college

The second annual. This is the show the site announced below: “blythe will be playing second for those of you coming to watch.”

“‘Battle of the Bands’ will bring together ten different area teen bands which will be jamming through the late hours of the evening with garage inspired indie and emo riffs, death metal, alternative rock, and acoustic rock.” — West Shore Community College press release, December 19, 2005

A year on it had grown. Ten bands instead of nine, prizes for both runners-up as well as the winner, and a separate local organizer taking applications at ludingtonrock@gmail.com with a January 20 deadline. Same emcee, same $3 at the door, same gym. This release does not name the bands, so unlike 2005 there is no outside record of who else played.

Read the full press release

West Shore Community College · December 19, 2005 · Contact: Thomas Hawley, Director of College Relations

WSCC Battle-of-the-Bands 06

West Shore Community College is looking for a few good bands! “Battle of the Bands” will bring together ten different area teen bands which will be jamming through the late hours of the evening with garage inspired indie and emo riffs, death metal, alternative rock, and acoustic rock.

Bands interested in applying for the “Battle of the Bands” need to call 231-852-0952 or email ludingtonrock@gmail.com. All band members need to be under 21 years of age in order to qualify for acceptance. Deadline for application is Jan. 20, 2006.

The gala band bash is scheduled at West Shore Community College, Sat., Feb. 4, from 7-11:00 p.m., in the WSCC Recreational Center gymnasium.

A $100 prize will be awarded to the winner of the “Battle of the Bands.” A $50 prize will be awarded to the first runner-up and a $25 prize will go to the second runner-up band. Judges for the band bash include concert emcee Mark Sandstedt of MS Creative Services, two youth judges, and an area radio personality.

The drug and alcohol free concert is part of WSCC’s 2005-2006 Cultural Arts Series. Dr. Rick Plummer, Director of the WSCC artist series, says that the winter blues and the snow and ice will all melt away as area teen bands blast away.

Tickets for this event are just $3 for general admission limited seating, for standing, and for dancing. Food and beverages will also be made available for purchase at the concert.

The college’s events column carried the same night in one line, unchanged from a week out to the morning after:

February 4 - Battle of the Bands, 7-11pm, Recreation Center Arena, ext. 3318 for information

Press release reproduced from westshore.edu, archived Jan 17, 2006; a closing paragraph of box-office information is omitted and the text is otherwise verbatim. The events column is from the homepage, captured Jan 29 and Feb 5, 2006.

Apr 21, 2006 · 25:18

war of the rockers — the tiki

The longest set of the five, and the last show on this page. The site announced it for the Stearn’s Motor Inn ball room and the tape calls it the Tiki — the Tiki was the room inside Stearn’s. This is the one show the local paper covered. The Ludington Daily News ran a photo from it the following Monday, which fixes the date, the room, and something the band’s own site never recorded: the night was a benefit.

“Debra Bethell-Romer sings ‘Stay with me’ during Friday night’s Battle of the Rockers at the Tiki. Tiki owner Randy Bowden donated the use of the club for the Battle of the Rockers to raise money for Ludington’s new skate plaza, to be built north of the Jaycee Mini Golf at Stearns Park.” — Ludington Daily News, front page photo caption, Apr 24, 2006. Photo by Andy Klevorn.
Read the sources on the Tiki

ludingtondailynews.com · front page, Apr 24, 2006

Rockers raise money for skaters
Debra Bethell-Romer sings “Stay with me” during Friday night’s Battle of the Rockers at the Tiki. Tiki owner Randy Bowden donated the use of the club for the Battle of the Rockers to raise money for Ludington’s new skate plaza, to be built north of the Jaycee Mini Golf at Stearns Park. The plaza is expected to cost between $150,000 and $200,000 dollars to complete.
Photo by Andy Klevorn

April 21, 2006 was a Friday, and the capture is from the Monday after. The paper calls it the Battle of the Rockers; the band called it the war of the rockers. The photograph itself was not archived.

stearnsmotorinn.com · “Tiki Lounge & Nightclub”

The hotel’s own page for the room, which settles the naming and explains how a band of high schoolers came to play a nightclub:

Ludington’s premiere nightclub
Music videos · Dancing · 10-foot video screens
Wednesday is Teen Night! Under 21 welcome. No alcohol. Smoke-free.
Thursday is College Night! 18 & over welcome.
Open 9:00 pm, Wednesday – Saturday

Four months later the paper reported another benefit in the same room and the same campaign: “Local bands will play an all ages show Sunday night to raise money for the proposed Ludington Skate Plaza. The concert will be at the Tiki Lounge 6 p.m. and the charge will be $6 a person.”

Reproduced from ludingtondailynews.com, archived Apr 24, 2006, its entertainment section, archived Aug 22, 2006, and stearnsmotorinn.com, archived Aug 4, 2003. All three are verbatim.

shows

photos

Battles of the bands, practices, and shows, 2005–2006.

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thank yous

A list the band kept of everyone who helped them. Left exactly as written.

God

let's face it, we wouldn't be here without Him. He has given us the strength to keep moving and to prosper like no other force in this world. thank you. thank you.

our families

some of our biggest supporters out there are our own flesh and blood. they've had to sit through the hours of hearing us practice at home, stand by our sides through thick and thin, and help us out whenever we truly needed it.

our friends

our supporters, our followers, our head bangers. thank you to all that have sat through since the beginning, and thank you for those that are coming to join our crowd of musical bliss.

prayer & praise of ludington

the central hub of our band practice, prayer & praise has kindly allowed us to jam and wreak havoc in their facility, giving our band an ideal place to practice. thank you everyone!

kyle mathews

without him, this web site may not exist right now. he graciously has allowed the band to park their web site on his server space and allow their domain to direct to his servers. thank you, kyle!

adam james

thanks for letting us use your equipment. you've made erik's sound that much better. also, thank you for the numerous times of filming us.

mr lacombe

a large thanks for letting us use the resources you provided us. thank you for the ability to print the many flyers, shirts, and other materials for the band. you truly are a great supporter! graphic arts rocks!

john redman

if ever there was a greater supporter to us, we don't know who it would be. he was at every show, screaming and cheering for his favorite christian rock band in the world. not only has he given us his never-ending rock support, but he also helped us with some finances. this is not only a thank you, but a dedication - we love you, and you'll always be in our hearts, strings, and sticks. in remembrance, 2006.

the story of this page

blythe put a website up in February 2006 and bought blythe-band.com that same month. It ran on Ruby on Rails 1.1 with a Flash audio player — a genuinely ambitious thing for a high-schooler to build in 2006, and the band’s bassist built it.

By mid-2007 the audio player had started returning server errors, and the site was replaced by a single image pointing at the band’s PureVolume page. On February 9, 2008 the domain registration was cancelled. It expired that month, and blythe was gone from the web for eighteen years.

Everything above — every news post, show, biography, thank you, and song — was recovered in 2026 from the site’s original MySQL dump and its deployed files, both of which had survived on a hard drive. Nothing here was rewritten. The lowercase is theirs.

the e.p. is the exception, and the reason this page is more than a restoration. Those four mixdowns are dated June 26, 2007 — the same summer the website’s audio section broke. They were never posted, never pressed, and never heard outside the band. The WAV masters were sitting in a Logic archive the whole time. They were converted for this page in 2026 and are otherwise untouched.