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Deadliftin' it
Yikes, I haven't posted here in awhile. Apologies, &c. Lots has been going on around here, though. We've welcomed a new Arch Enemy into our midst -- one Mr. Lem, international man of mystery and faithful servant of Ormazd, in the capacity of drummer. Patrick has moved over to the electric guitar, which he plays with the passion of ten Arabian princesses.
We've been playing a lot of shows! Some have been awesome, and others have been less awesome, as is the way of shows in this ever-changing world in which we live in. We played M'korstock in Cherry Hill. It was fun to rock out with the parents of everyone I went to high school with. We played NYC Popfest in NYC. It was fun to rock out with lots of pop kids at 3 in the afternoon. And last night we played at Kung Fu Necktie with Telekinesis and An Horse, which was just badass all-around, save the unfortunate migraine which beset me after we were done. Big thanks to everyone who came out!
At the moment we've got one more scheduled date, and that's July 5th at Pianos in NYC. I hereby promise to update more often and put up some new pictures, IF you promise in turn to come to a show and have a beer with us. Because relationships are all about give and take, baby. See you soon!
We've been playing a lot of shows! Some have been awesome, and others have been less awesome, as is the way of shows in this ever-changing world in which we live in. We played M'korstock in Cherry Hill. It was fun to rock out with the parents of everyone I went to high school with. We played NYC Popfest in NYC. It was fun to rock out with lots of pop kids at 3 in the afternoon. And last night we played at Kung Fu Necktie with Telekinesis and An Horse, which was just badass all-around, save the unfortunate migraine which beset me after we were done. Big thanks to everyone who came out!
At the moment we've got one more scheduled date, and that's July 5th at Pianos in NYC. I hereby promise to update more often and put up some new pictures, IF you promise in turn to come to a show and have a beer with us. Because relationships are all about give and take, baby. See you soon!
SXSW Diaries Pt. IV
(Note: in case you missed it, here's the entry where I posted the content of our SXSW EP, which includes two new songs. All of the newer home recordings will be going on the music page soon.)
SXSW Day 5
At Brandon's house
Yesterday we practiced, we planned, we got pumped. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant. We went to a place called Home Slice Pizza and caught some bands. We ate at Whole Foods and got recognized by someone who saw us play at the cycle shop on Friday. What are the chances? Don't ask me, I'm not a statistician.
We loaded into the venue and warmed up some more. The staff at the church were perfectly friendly and helpful. They carried our gear around, got us water, and did everything we needed. After attending shows at the church on Wednesday and Thursday night and seeing the place absolutely packed, it was hard not to have high expectations. But there's so much going on at any given time, I suppose it's a bit of a crapshoot whether anyone's going to come listen to a bunch of bros they've never heard of before. We ended up playing to a crowd of 30 or so people, which is about what we're accustomed to. The sound in the church was amazing. It had a beautiful natural reverb. The audience was silent and attentive, as they had been for the other shows there. As sometimes happens when I get really into what I'm doing onstage, I don't remember everything about our set. I remember feeling like we filled the room with sound. I sweated a whole lot and dropped my glasses several times. I was very tired when we were done.
Steve Burns and the Struggle followed us, putting on a multimedia show that was a lot of fun. They distributed laser pointers to the audience and projected a video on a giant screen while they played. It was a choose-your-own-adventure affair, with the audience expressing their collective will via their laser pointers. The whole thing was very well put together and quite a spectacle. However, our names caused a bit of confusion for some audience members. After Steve Burns finished I went back to the lobby to push our free CDs on people. Several people took our CDs clearly thinking they were Steve Burns CDs. A few folks picked them up and then dropped them again after realizing that they were not Steve Burns CDs. Regardless, we distributed about 150 of them in our time here, most of them last night, and that pleases me. We also received very kind compliments from several audience members. One guy told us our sound was full and massive, describing it as "thunder on the mountain." We should hire him to write our bio.
Today we will be chilling and tomorrow we will be returning home. And thus concludes this little SXSW diary. I hope you've learned something and enjoyed yourselves. I know I have. Take care of yourselves -- it's a crazy world out there.
SXSW Day 5
At Brandon's house
Yesterday we practiced, we planned, we got pumped. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant. We went to a place called Home Slice Pizza and caught some bands. We ate at Whole Foods and got recognized by someone who saw us play at the cycle shop on Friday. What are the chances? Don't ask me, I'm not a statistician.
We loaded into the venue and warmed up some more. The staff at the church were perfectly friendly and helpful. They carried our gear around, got us water, and did everything we needed. After attending shows at the church on Wednesday and Thursday night and seeing the place absolutely packed, it was hard not to have high expectations. But there's so much going on at any given time, I suppose it's a bit of a crapshoot whether anyone's going to come listen to a bunch of bros they've never heard of before. We ended up playing to a crowd of 30 or so people, which is about what we're accustomed to. The sound in the church was amazing. It had a beautiful natural reverb. The audience was silent and attentive, as they had been for the other shows there. As sometimes happens when I get really into what I'm doing onstage, I don't remember everything about our set. I remember feeling like we filled the room with sound. I sweated a whole lot and dropped my glasses several times. I was very tired when we were done.
Steve Burns and the Struggle followed us, putting on a multimedia show that was a lot of fun. They distributed laser pointers to the audience and projected a video on a giant screen while they played. It was a choose-your-own-adventure affair, with the audience expressing their collective will via their laser pointers. The whole thing was very well put together and quite a spectacle. However, our names caused a bit of confusion for some audience members. After Steve Burns finished I went back to the lobby to push our free CDs on people. Several people took our CDs clearly thinking they were Steve Burns CDs. A few folks picked them up and then dropped them again after realizing that they were not Steve Burns CDs. Regardless, we distributed about 150 of them in our time here, most of them last night, and that pleases me. We also received very kind compliments from several audience members. One guy told us our sound was full and massive, describing it as "thunder on the mountain." We should hire him to write our bio.
Today we will be chilling and tomorrow we will be returning home. And thus concludes this little SXSW diary. I hope you've learned something and enjoyed yourselves. I know I have. Take care of yourselves -- it's a crazy world out there.
SXSW Diaries Pt. III
SXSW Day 3
At Brandon's house
I must rescind a bit of my earlier grousing -- our badges and wristbands did pretty well for us yesterday. The more shows I see, the more thrilled I am about the fact that we're playing at the church. We caught Grizzly Bear there last night, a set which I doubt will be topped by anything else we'll see here.
SXSW Day 4
At Brandon's house
This stuff is tiring. Last night I was too tired to blog! Oh noes! I've been troubled by more strange dreams. I had a dream that we were supposed to play at Johnny Brenda's, and it was a big deal and lots of people came to see us, but we weren't going on because the sound guy or some such hadn't shown up, and everyone was starting to get impatient and angry. It was all very realistic, but at some point I realized that I must be dreaming, and suddenly there was a glass of milk in my hand, and I thought, "I will prove this is a dream by throwing this milk across the room," and so I threw it and no one reacted and I thought "Aha!" and then I woke up.
Anyhow, one thing I should've given more thought to before leaving is the comfort of my footwear. These Chucks were not made for walking, it seems. We played a party yesterday under a little tent outside a bike shop. It was a bit far from downtown, but we met lots of nice folks and gave them CDs. The biggest difficulty was posed by the band playing across the street, and hearing their drums everytime we'd hit a breakdown and get quiet. We persevered though and I think it was a good warmup. Tonight's the showcase! I am excited!
At Brandon's house
I must rescind a bit of my earlier grousing -- our badges and wristbands did pretty well for us yesterday. The more shows I see, the more thrilled I am about the fact that we're playing at the church. We caught Grizzly Bear there last night, a set which I doubt will be topped by anything else we'll see here.
SXSW Day 4
At Brandon's house
This stuff is tiring. Last night I was too tired to blog! Oh noes! I've been troubled by more strange dreams. I had a dream that we were supposed to play at Johnny Brenda's, and it was a big deal and lots of people came to see us, but we weren't going on because the sound guy or some such hadn't shown up, and everyone was starting to get impatient and angry. It was all very realistic, but at some point I realized that I must be dreaming, and suddenly there was a glass of milk in my hand, and I thought, "I will prove this is a dream by throwing this milk across the room," and so I threw it and no one reacted and I thought "Aha!" and then I woke up.
Anyhow, one thing I should've given more thought to before leaving is the comfort of my footwear. These Chucks were not made for walking, it seems. We played a party yesterday under a little tent outside a bike shop. It was a bit far from downtown, but we met lots of nice folks and gave them CDs. The biggest difficulty was posed by the band playing across the street, and hearing their drums everytime we'd hit a breakdown and get quiet. We persevered though and I think it was a good warmup. Tonight's the showcase! I am excited!
SXSW Diaries Pt. II
SXSW Day 2
Austin Convention Center
It seems much of the promised free food and drink has failed to materialize. A doorman I asked attributed it to the economy. Another sad effect of this recession. Help me, Barack Obama! Where's my stimulus package? We did, however, enjoy some delicious non-free tacos this morning.
The lines around here continue to be obscene. The festival seems to have a kind of split personality -- it features dudes like us, without label, management, etc., while at the same time hosting the likes of The Hold Steady, Grizzly Bear, and what have you. Does this festival exist to spotlight worthy unknown bands, or as a place for listeners to catch all of their favorite headlining acts in one week, like Sasquatch and Coachella and the rest? It is a mystery.
I am, however, drinking a free Miller lite right now. Joe is drinking two, that crazy cat.
Austin Convention Center
It seems much of the promised free food and drink has failed to materialize. A doorman I asked attributed it to the economy. Another sad effect of this recession. Help me, Barack Obama! Where's my stimulus package? We did, however, enjoy some delicious non-free tacos this morning.
The lines around here continue to be obscene. The festival seems to have a kind of split personality -- it features dudes like us, without label, management, etc., while at the same time hosting the likes of The Hold Steady, Grizzly Bear, and what have you. Does this festival exist to spotlight worthy unknown bands, or as a place for listeners to catch all of their favorite headlining acts in one week, like Sasquatch and Coachella and the rest? It is a mystery.
I am, however, drinking a free Miller lite right now. Joe is drinking two, that crazy cat.