MERIDIAN RELEASES MINERVA
(from the December issue of Connections Magazine by David Himes)

After a number of pitfalls that threw a wrench in Blue Meridian's original plan for an earlier release, the band recently completed the long awaited record. There has been some speculation as to why the album should cost so much or take so long to complete. "For us, the answer is simple", stated guitarist/singer/songwriter Donovan Lyman. "If you're not evolving or working towards improving your craft, you're going through the motions or even worse, rotting."

Minerva ended up being recorded from the ground up at Phat Planet Studios this past October and November with Mark Mason behind the knobs. With Lyman taking a shot at self-producing, the record took nearly a full month to record. Containing 14 previously unreleased tracks, Blue Meridian had been promising Minerva to their fans for some time. By the end of the summer the band grew very impatient and anxious. " I was tired of the frustation and decided to just pull out all the stops and get it done," said Lyman. "It wasn't cheap and it wasn't easy...But the important thing is that it's finished and it's easily our best recording."

In November, Lyman & Co. held a Minerva Album Listening Party on the third floor of the Central Station Bar Building. A few volunteers helped decorate the rooms and converted it into "Club Minerva." "We played the album for our fans, associates and some members of the local press," said Lyman, "but mostly we just had a blast."

With the band's current lineup of Lyman, longtime drummer Kevin Kirkwood, guitarist Manny Rivera and bassist Dean Pichette, Blue Meridian had their CD release party at the Social on November 29, 2002. The album is available in limited distribution as of December 3rd. Look for it at Park Avenue CDs in Winter Park, FL.