Gamenight does the splits with latest EP

Knoxville band Gamenight leaps onto the scene again with a new split-release that also features Philadelphia band Bacio.

KNOXVILLE — For the past three years, Knoxville act Gamenight has gone through a period of low production. Its last release, a split EP with Mouth Movements called "Blue and Green," was unveiled in 2008. Now the band has prepared yet another split, this time with Philadelphia's Bacio, that is currently available for free download at www.splithappens.net.

The EP "Split Happens" has been formally celebrated with a show on Bacio's turf and will have its day locally on Saturday at Longbranch Saloon.

Gamenight recorded two tracks just over a year ago that were intended to be the beginnings of a full-length album. The tracks, recorded by Travis Kammeyer (of Mouth Movements) at Fahrenheit Studios in Johnson City, were ultimately shelved as Gamenight's members succumbed to educational and occupational demands.

When the opportunity came along to make use of the tracks without extensive and immediate recording, the band snatched it, pairing with friends and touring allies Bacio.

"We hadn't really planned on releasing this split," explains Gamenight front man Joshua Manis. "We recorded 'An Idea' and 'Trip Socialite' in March of 2010. When we did those songs, we were planning on going to Johnson City maybe one weekend a month until we had enough material for a full-length release. Conflicting work schedules and some other situations kept us from doing that. I feel like we had fallen into a lull creatively because of our lack of practice, writing and performing.

"We planned a trip to Philadelphia in March sort of as a vacation. It wasn't originally meant to be a band trip; we were just planning to see a Flyers/Sabres hockey game and hang out with friends. When we told Bacio about the possibility of our trip, they got excited and wanted us to play a show with them while there. A couple weeks later, they asked if we might want to put out a split just for the fun of it. They had a couple new songs that they wanted to release. We decided to do three songs each. Since we only had two recorded, we had to write 'All You Want' really fast. We didn't have time to record in a studio, so we just recorded it in my room."

While pleased with the outcome of the self-recorded track, which deviates into acoustic territory, Manis asserts that the next Gamenight outing will realize the band's original mission of recording an album in Johnson City with Kammeyer's assistance. But first the group intends to devote the next six months to writing enough material to comfortably fill out the eight to 10 projected tracks. Unlike "Split Happens," the planned full-length, targeted for release next spring, will see physical distribution as well as digital.

"Not pressing physical copies allowed us to offer (the split EP) for free, and honestly, we just wanted people to hear some new songs from us," says Manis. "The decision to do the split sparked something in us, I believe. It gave us something about which to be excited. We're gonna try to ride this momentum into another recording session very soon. Hopefully we'll keep it going."

Reflective of the band's revived enthusiasm is the nature of its newest songs, which are optimistic, even poppy at times.

"Recently we've been trying to write songs that are more mood-oriented from start to finish," Manis says. "Lately the mood has been happier. We want our songs to make people have fun. Including different instrumentation in these songs has led to a different sound, I think. We haven't wandered too far, though."

n Pass it on: Robby Bratta and the Passing tones perform with Wolf at the Door and Plainclothes Tracy at Preservation Pub on Tuesday night. The show is slated for 9:30 p.m. with a $3 cover.

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