Void Vision at Wierd!

I did an interview with these kids that was excerpted on the Vice Blog, check it out!

I also took a bunch of pics from that night, enjoy!

Best text ever...

From Sam Jayne
"Hey love as laughter alumni and heavy hitters there is a show in portland sep 20. Isaac is flying us out its the gp showcase for northwest music fest at crystal ballsroom and its gonna be huge. We can use MM double drums and percussion. We just have to find places to tay, i can help with that. Whos in?"

Translation:
Isaac Brock is flying a bunch of us out for the Glacial Pace showcase for the Northwest Music Fest at the Crystal Ballroom. We can use Modest Mouse's gear.

The line-up is:
Modest Mouse
Love as Laughter
Mimicking Birds
Morning Teleportation

I'll be singing back-up and playing tambo/cowbell. It will be an all-star Love as Laughter show I'm sure, since the group has some seriously awesome alumni. I'm stoked. Individual tickets for the show are already SOLD OUT but people with wrist bands will be able to come in until it's at capacity (which is 1000.) SCARY!

Sam recently let me join in for a show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was free and the afterparty for the Mission of Burma show earlier that afternoon. We played with The Nasties and Violent Bullshit and it was a real good time. The Nasties are fucking awesome and we hope to have them play at the shop real soon.

Anyway, this means I'll be in Portland for a couple of days in September. My broke ass can't afford any more vacations (my most recent ones have been on someone else's dime or paid for by DJing gigs) so this is grand great news! I'm so excited...and this is gonna be way easier than tour.

Gotta practice my harmonies!

Highway Kind

Watched Be Here to Love Me for the first time last night. The doc was so-so, still heartbreaking, but not the greatest film. But the quality of the storytelling doesn't really matter, I love Townes Van Zandt so much that any further glimpses into his story bring me joy. Nothing beats his scenes in Heartworn Highway, though. However, getting to see that much Guy Clark made me so happy. In my circle it seems like everyone knows Townes (and with good cause, he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time) but no one pays much mind to his contemporaries. Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Steve Earle, all great and all I'm going to be listening to in the shop today.

There are two great recordings that I believe are bootlegs. I'll post them on an update soon. There is the "Afternoon Workshop" which was recorded in 1983 at the Vic Theater as part of a songwriter's workshop with John Prine, John Hiatt, Guy Clark, and Joe Ely featuring storytelling and an amazing version of Joe Ely playing Butch Hancock's Boxcars.



Here is Guy Clark playing Rita Ballou on the Texan Connection



And live in Austin, LA Freeway...this one kills me. If you go to the YouTube page there are some crazy comments...



The other record is Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark - Together at the Bluebird Cafe. It's a superb live album that has amazing story-telling and a great vibe between the three (at least deserving to be called) legends. I highly suggest it. It's funny, heartbreaking, and beautiful.

Here's Steve Earle on David Letterman playing his Celtic Appalachian fusion country hit...Copperhead Road...1988


Here's a cool interview with Steve Earle. Can't find a good embeddable video of "I Ain't Ever Satisfied:


And here is the a crazy Desperados Waiting for a Train All-Stars performance:

Cult of Youth

So it's been a while, I know. Been working and traveling. I'll have words soon, but until then, my baby played at Santos Party House last night with Jarboe, Bloody Panda, and IUD. Cult of Youth was amazing, as the sound in this video will demonstrate.

Sometimes I like it easier

Nikki Lane and Pete Molinari played country tunes at K&M. I DJed after. I like country music a whole bunch but only have about 30 minutes worth of DJ-able tunes on my Ipod. Thankfully the crowd didn't leave when I switched to Judas Priest. Note to self: Dead Moon is the best band to bridge country and psychedelic metal.


Back-up babes


Pete Molinari




Nikki


Nikki and Joe. I love this picture.








After telling us every song other song wasn't about Joe, Nikki and Joe played some tunes together. Inspiration in it's own way.

I took video of Pete's and Nikki's sets. Unfortunately the vids of Pete didn't make the transfer from camera to hard drive and got erased. I'll upload some snippets of Miss Lane's performance later. In the meanwhile you can listen to her tunes on her MySpace and Pete's here

Throbbing Gristle!

Holy crap! Can't you see how excited they are? We saw Throbbing Gristle at the Brooklyn Masonic Hall. Sean and I missed the first show because we were on tour, but we made it to the second one. It was amazing. Our only complaint was that the crowd was very mellow and security was way uptight. Everyone was pretty much motionless aside from one couple. The boyfriend was clearly on acid and the girlfriend seemed like she was using that as an excuse to totally let go too. They hollered and yelled and danced and immediately were engaged by Genesis. Unfortunately security carted out the dude, not sure why, and I assume his girl left with him.


We scored a really great spot in the very front to the right. I was wedged in between the stage and a speaker next to a very happy San Franciscan who was dancing his ass off and filming a big portion of the show.






Because of my position the photos were pretty much exclusively of Genesis. The others didn't even come out. Bummer, but still, she's a showstopper.






It's a little blurry but this awesome tiny girl stood next to me for a while. She was wearing an American flag leotard and a pair of old Levi's cut-offs. The tattoo on her arm says, "Love Me Like a Reptile".


It was a good night.

On the road again...

I'm going on the road with Love as Laughter in like 2 weeks! Sean is playing bass and Nic Gonzales is playing drums. It's been awesome listening to the old songs from Sam's back catalogue while Sean is learning them. So stoked I have such a ruling, talented roommate, the one and only Mr. Sam Jayne. If anyone has buddies in any of these towns hit me up and we'll have fun. I'm looking forward to some epic psychedlic journeys and lots and lots of sunshine!

Apr 7 2009 8:00P
Square One with Arbouretum Greensboro, North Carolina

Apr 8 2009 9:00P
Tasty World w/ Arbouretum and Puddin Tang!! Athens, Georgia

Apr 9 2009 8:00P
Cafe Eleven with Arbouretum Jacksonville/St Augustine, Florida

Apr 10 2009 8:00P
New World Tampa, Florida

Apr 12 2009 8:00P
TBA ORLANDO!, Florida

Apr 14 2009 8:00P
The Engine Room with Arbouretum Tallahassee, Florida

Apr 15 2009 8:00P
The Bottletree with Arbouretum! Birmingham,, Alabama

Apr 16 2009 8:00P
The Emerald Lounge with Arbouretum! Asheville, North Carolina

Apr 17 2009 8:00P
TBA Chattanooga, North Carolina

Apr 18 2009 8:00P
Milestone with Arbouretum Charlotte, North Carolina

Apr 19 2009 8:00P
TBA Wilmington, North Carolina

Richard Phillips had an afterparty...

Cult of Youth and Xeno & Oaklander played the afterparty for the Richard Phillips opening. Gagosian opened up the old Knitting Factory space which had been severely devestated by an earlier St Patrick's Day party. Apparently some cable access star had rented out the space for $30,000 and then charged party-goers $100 a head for a six hour open bar. 800 yuppies turned out to drink from noon til six or something. The sidewalk in front of the venue was a sea of vomit before we showed up and the entire place still smelled like puke despite the staffs' best efforts to clean up after the earlier party cleared out.

After soundcheck we decided to live it up in the VIP area despite the lack of alcohol yet available or anyone else present to hide from. Thanks to a green paint pen and a graffiti friendly backstage mayhem ensued. Pretty much everything in green is the work of the fine fellows in Cult of Youth.


Best entry in the fake bandname competition


Close runner up


Glenn went a little crazy with the skin references


Yeah! We had fun with the remnants of the earlier St Patrick's Day party.


What time is it? It's swazi time!

There was also a penis drawing contest. I think it's clear who won.










Irish eyes are smiling (and the beer was finally flowing)


Aww...we're in lurv!


I was proud of my outfit...that's a Mickey Mouse silk cami that my bff Lauren gave me before she moved and a white vest Lisa gave me.


NYHC bathroom photoshoot


Xeno and Oaklander were amazing


Cult of Youth was amazing




Richard Phillips, the man of the evening, seemed pleased











Between bands Jane Elizabeth of Tesco USA and Scott Mou played some brutal tunes the likes of which anyone is lucky to hear DJed over a serious soundsystem. I wish I could have invited everyone I knew, but it was a private event. Both bands blew me away, and I high reccomend everyone in the universe see them immediately.

While Cult of Youth was loading out the cops were arresting someone up the block. It was a yuppie dude who had gotten wasted at the St Patrick's Day party hours before, stripped off all his clothes and passed out naked on Leonard Street. A nice parting gift for a wonderful night.