tv/impressions/strings/moranis/fries/dicks/twins

a.k.a. tour

NYC+

WEBSTER HALL TONIGHT / 8 pm
TOMORROW: SHOPPING
THURSDAY: FOOD
FRIDAY: BOSTON / PARADISE ROCK CLUB
SATURDAY: PAWTUCKET / THE MET

all with Delta Spirit and The Fling, except for Tomorrow and Thursday, which are with J. Crew and Rob's mom & dad, respectively.

Oh Brother!

the results are in

Behold the fruits of our labor on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic yesterday! If you stick around long enough, you'll hear a brand new song called "Rain Down South," and another song that's not quite new but which you've probably never heard before.

Set list:
1. Backseat
2. Split Minute
3. New America
4. Maple Day Getaway
5. Trail the Line
[interview]
6. Dear Author
7. Cry On Me Woman
8. Rain Down South
9. 'Tis a Great Art To Saunter
10. June Bloom

Seriously huge thanks to everyone there for having us in - they're so important to us, in fact, that they're the only broadcast entity to have their own keyword on this blog. It was a real joyous occasion for us, which we topped off with our first (!) trip to Canter's on Fairfax, which not only has Babe Ruth's favorite pickles, and is not only where Saul Hudson earned the nickname "Slash," but has the only reuben in town you can eat and not feel like a zeppelin after. Legend'ry.

And yes, Jason Bentley talks like that all the time.

live through this

And now, selections from the remainder of the film from Ye Olde Britannia Tour, circa June 2010. Relive the summer fun:




on the Irish Sea






Irishmen


North Sea. You'd think we spent the whole tour at the beach.




Bob & Laura. They've since eloped.








on Dean's farm, Leighton Buzzard


Band of Horses, Wolverhampton






tour photo. Featuring our most gracious hostess Elaine, and the Brothers Lynch (far right).



photos by will

the moral of the story

things learned from SXSW:

Is it a complete waste of time, money and energy? The only way to find out is to go, then sit back and wait and see if anything that subsequently transpires is traceable back to one of your 18 free-malt-liquor/free-bloody-mary-fueled appearances. There were 1,981 registered bands this year, which means there's a 1-in-1,981 chance that somebody important was watching you play.

Whichever show you're least into and still half-asleep during is the one everybody's gonna go to.

The Hot Dog King's a real dick, and doesn't care if everybody can hear him screaming.

It takes your body 45 minutes to digest food after eating, and it takes your body 45 minutes to generate a hangover after consuming Colt 45.

Thee Oh Sees are most likely the best live band in whatever town they're playing. Also, The Black Angels' new songs are really good.

The Taco Bell/KFC in Fort Stockton, Texas, remains both the worst Taco Bell and the worst KFC in America, by a mile. After going there 3 times, to Sonic twice, and K-Bob's Steakhouse (home of the Salad Wagon) once, all that's left in Fort Stockton is Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and Wal-Mart. And it's the only town within like 6 hours of itself. Next time, we're just not eating.

If you choose to drive, your van will break down within the first 100 miles:

sunday sunday sunday

We're playing a show/publicly rehearsing before we go on spring break. It's this Sunday at Long Beach's only gold rush-themed steakhouse, The Prospector. Come get steak'd out and watch us play our new record!



Doors at 9
21+ / $5
with DJ Bill Gazer

for real.

only in L.A.

where the water tastes like wine

In which we commuted to Prairie Sun, up in Cotati, about 45 minutes north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, to finish our record. We were still staying in the city (except for our last 3 days) and driving up and back down every day. Our van's accelerator requires an inordinate amount of quadricep strength to operate, and after a few round trips, we got tired and caved in and rented a Chevy Cobalt, whose factory stereo proved invaluable in listening to mixes. Will's aunt came up to play oboe and English horn and brought a bassoonist friend, and thus, some class to the whole thing. Tom Waits sang about Red's Recovery Room down the street, but they lost their lease last summer and now there's nowhere to drink. So we stuck to playing cards and watching every episode of Celebrity Rehab.




we got to drive thru this twice a day, which means we got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge twice a day, and did you ever realize what a badass bridge that thing is?


there was an In N Out, and it was time to eat.








told you




actual musicians!









these Minimoogs once were the property of Michael Jackson, whose keyboard player ran it through a keytar on stage. until the keytar was stolen from his car.






photos by will

Europe: Days 1-15

Won a sweepstakes for a free monthlong trip to Europe for you and your 4 closest friends, so to make some extra spending money we put a band together and made up some songs and played a buncha shows with a band called White Lies in many old European theatres for many European teenagers and/or their European parents and the rest of the time did this:


Day 1: Amsterdam. Killing time until it gets dark so we can go to sleep.


Day 2: Driving to Eindhoven. First show. Late.


Day 3: Paradiso, Amsterdam. Still trying to learn songs.


Day 4: Jail, Rotterdam. This was where we figured out that we don't like putting sheets on our own beds.


Day 5: Dan makes a friend in Alkmaar (celebrating 750 years!)


Our picnic in Alkmaar. Thanks to the fine folks at Subway.


Day 6: Teylers Museum, Haarlem. Working hard.


(see above)


St. Bavo's Cathedral, Haarlem. 10-year old Mozart played that organ. So did Handel, except he wasn't 10.


Day 7: Brugge (Bruges). Frites'ed up before we even left the train station.


Brugge Cruise


Day 8: de Noordzee in Oostende, where Marvin Gaye wrote "Sexual Healing." You can see why.


French hackin', outside McDonald's, somewhere in Picardie (look closely).


Day 9: us in like 5 years.


Day 10: Paris. Tim thought the housekeeper stole his iPod. Turns out she didn't.


Day 11: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, home of Jim.




Parisian bum eating McDonald's

Day 12: previously documented here


Day 13: Luxembourg


Day 14


Halloween in Luxembourg


Band photo, featuring unknown creepy guy, possibly Gene Simmons (at left)



photos by Will