City of Ships Get New Drummer, Bring Home Cash From Amateur Poker

Translation Loss recording artists and post-prog trio City of Ships are incurring a busy slate this fall. "We're stoked to welcome our friend Rob Smith to the band on drums," guitarist and vocalist Eric Jernigan told Noisecreep. "He's played in several excellent bands, two of our favorites being Riddle of Steel and Traindodge. The stars aligned to make this happen and it's perfect."

With a new member cosmically seated behind the kit, Jernigan and crew are able to focus on writing, writing and more writing."[Bassist] Andrew [Jernigan] and I have started writing for a couple of to-be-announced split releases for the spring, which we think will bring some interesting creative energy to light."

The band will embark on a short and sweet East Coast romp with Rosetta and Battlefields in January 2010, followed by a return to mainland Europe in April. But music isn't the only pursuit that City of Ships are embarking on! Turns out Andrew is also on course to semi-pro status as an online poker player! "He's been attending fairly serious live games lately and consistently brings home cash," Jernigan said! Maybe he should contact Scott Ian, who is an avid poker enthusiast himself.

For their most recent slab of rock, 'Look What God Did to Us,' the band worked alongside producer Andrew Schneider, which Jernigan dubbed a "deeply rewarding experience. Before the session he told me he loves to record bands whose live sounds he can bring to life on tape. That hooked me immediately. He knows when to embellish a part and when to scale back on it. And his ear for mixing is ridiculous. He has a subtle genius few other producer/engineers possess."

'Look What God Did to Us' is out now.