Freedom is Where You Think It is

It's cold outside. Hand-numbingly cold. Is it cold enough, though? I'll leave that to the climate scientists.

Non-facetiously, it's a brilliant time of year to drive all over the midwestern US, which is exactly what we (WoD) did. Snow seemed to follow us or precede us; the tree branches were incessantly and beautifully frosted.

In Chicago a desperate (I assume--it was 5 pm on a busy street in a reportedly safe part of town) individual smashed the window of our minivan and took our suitcases (thankfully the gear had made it into the club minutes earlier). I doubt they're going to be stoked about their haul, that is unless they are really into late 70's Paul McCartney T-shirts, mismatched socks or ancient electric shavers. I hope they can at least use my long underwear; lurking and thieving is mostly an outdoor activity I reckon.

Something is wrong with my camera, or camera battery, so I don't have any documentation of the tour. Such a shame, we cut through some beautiful country and played some cool rooms. Above is a photo I found on Flickr by Daniel Arnold.

We did a DayTrotter Session in Illinois, which was such a treat. I'll post the audio when it becomes available.

More tours to come, I'll post those dates when they're finalized.

I took the LSATs, but I don't have the scores yet. If they're respectable, I'll post those here too.

Shows are upcoming, including this Thursday (12/18) at Johnny Brenda's and the Silver Ages blowout on Saturday.

Home for the Holidays!!!

Second Annual

Scenes from Shadow World from David S Kessler on Vimeo.

Great trailer for a great film about Fishtown/Kensington, music by yours truly w/ Gretchen Lohse

NOld Steady

Hold Steady Tour: Mixed Bag.

Why? Well, they canceled the entire tour on the day of the first show due their guitarist getting pancreatitis. Obviously bad news because:
a) we feel bad for them, they are known as road warriors and wouldn't cancel such a massive tour unless it was very serious, and selfishly,
b) we had just landed in London when we found out this information and had made rather extensive financial/logistical sacrifices in order to do these shows, and
c) we were really looking forward to playing all of those amazing venues.

So, obviously, massive disappointment. But, we luckily have a supportive label/booking agent/etc. and were able to arrange a nice string of headlining/support shows in London and around the UK.

We played a sweet gig at the Borderline in London with the Dudes and Ladyhawk (righteous fellers and full-on rock bands), and a revered old-school psyche-head had this to say about it.

We also really got to know the infinitely-complex megalopolis London. There are some truly wonderful people whose hospitality saved our lives. Thank you.

The show in Valencia on October 25th is still happening, muy bien.

Hasta Luego..



Polaroid photo at the top by Emily Moore

Johnsul, Slith and Hooven, Attorneys at Law

Cap It Again

Overall the European tour was pretty disappointing. Sike. It was a completely righteous and memorable experience. The Lebanese festival was canceled due to "political instability" or something like that.

Word Association:

Amsterdam : bikes, elegant, antithesis of suburban sprawl
Belgium: friendly, rainy, beer, quaint
France: beautiful, ancient, enthusiastic, hospitality
London: expensive, rainy, overhwhelming, history, rock and roll
Wales: green, muddy, happy, lord of the rings, sweater
Dublin: football, rainy, beer
UK at large: tabloids, rainy, music-love, polite, wit, historic

It rained every day we were there, but it never dampened our spirits even slightly. I think we expected it, and everyone else seemed to as well. The appetites of continental Europeans are so appropriate to the human condition. It made me realize how outsized the American dream has become--we have been raised inside an unrealistic and unsustainable bubble. Elegance and moderation seem fundamental to the people I encountered--people speak more quietly and express more with fewer words, everything seems smaller and designed for utility as opposed to flash. Of course no generalization can fully encapsulate an unspeakably complex culture, but there is nothing quite like stepping out of the motherland and taking a gulp of objectivity. America, ditch the 'tude--there is plenty to learn from our bretheren across the pond (and elsewhere).

Here is the News

The War on Drugs is going to Holland, Belgium, the UK, France and and Lebanon. Tomorrow. I'll let you know how that goes.

Dream Documentation PART 1

In an attempt to capture (or at least render concretely) ethereal and quickly-dissolving dream images, I've started an experiment: immediately upon waking from a dream, speak into a tape recorder. A word, a melody, a phrase, a sound, whatever comes out of my mouth--not every night, but most.

Sometimes these thoughts and images are fairly conscious-sounding ideas. Other times, when played back, they sound like the voice of another person--I don't remember the source whatsoever. This has been a very interesting process, I plan on using lots of these subconscious nuggets for some upcoming musical projects. *All rights reserved, these may become lyrics.* The following is a verbatim transcription of the past 2 months or so of dreams (note: the ellipses '...' indicate a stop in the tape):



" ... an ant is screaming at a buffalo stampede ... wow, can i try that? ... (sung) grenadine grenadine grenadine grenadine grenadine... ... rabbi putro says, hi frankie ... cinematographer for a film about a super-hero baby, taking photos of babies and butterflies and hipsters in this film ... i forgot my recording gear at the farm, T.G.I.Fridays, roller coaster, a crazy hair salon, yep ... i'm not a murderer. i'm not a murderer. ... licorice cigarette lighter. the licorice lighters are called 'honky', and are being distributed by Dave Wayne Daniels ... Melissa shows up at work with about a six foot tall Great Dane, which is very frightening ... burger with rose petals ... high up on a cliff with the Newman brothers, crying, discussing retirement, throwing beard spears down onto the plain below. little darts made of beard. ... rincon sheely and the jebidiah tomatillo facade ... fixing an old wound with a needle and thread while cleaning out my refrigerator of mash potatoes and liver, and the like ... hanging backstage with the Jonas brothers, and telling one of 'em to go F himself because he didn't like my t-shirt ... (sung) forget the mantra, forget the mantra, forget the mantra, forget the mantra, forget the mantra, forget the mantra ... scrubbing floors at Zach's with Adam Arcuragi and Pat, eating black beans and tofu, discussing summer growing projects and Mount Saint Helens ... beneath light poles the breakers go forth and testify ... laid out on the parapet was the disassemblage of the orphans and the accidental holograms ... it's a bit like announcing your departure from the department of blasphemers in front of the clockwise foundation ... basketball players harvested like plants, looking like dandelions, large human dandelions, harvested in a verdant jungle, filled with such dandelions, specifically Otis Thorpe ... succubus the hunchback ... tracking down beer for an NPR affiliate ... (sung) dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-another one down guy (repeated 3 times) ... micromentary, micromentary ... (atonal singing)... i don't know ... every step you take is forever ... driving down route 40 in Frederick, Chris Briggs screaming 'Marmany Duke!' at me from the Red Horse Inn ... we're no more allowed to feel our blood than the rotation of the earth .... a luggage mix up on the Youngtown express. someone took my bag. i had jon bon jovi written on it, on the return addres for it. inside there were books about Will Ferrell .... (sung) been in now, the vaycays comin... feel up now, the vaycays comin.... (repeated, hummed) ... nothing makes us simple ... a vending machine that dispenses pregnant cats ... water-lemon and cinnamon. water-lemon and cinnamon. ... the only way for the beautiful heroin to save the day and be the beautiful heroin was to turnover apartments with their good looks and charm, much to the chagrin of the bad guys ... just give me a call if you want to go where the nightmares are ... (sung) da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da .... (sung) la la la la la lieeeee plastic rainbows in the sky. ahhhhhhh IIIIIIIIIII plastic rainbows in the sky ... Mike Tyson's white and short. in the mourning he says 'I'm like Shaquille O'Neal because i'm going bald" ... struggles with condition always lead to self-augmentation ... "



***********************************************************

"The blackness he woke to on those nights was sightless and impenetrable. A blackness to hurt your ears with listening. Often he had to get up. No sound but the wind in the bare and blackened trees. He rose and stood tottering in that cold autistic dark with his arms outheld for balance while the vestibular calculations in his skull cranked out their reckonings. An old chronicle. To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his return. Eyes closed, arms oaring. Upright to what? Something nameless in the night, lode or matrix. To which he and the stars were common satellite. Like the great pendulum in its rotunda scribing through the long day movements of the universe of which you may say it knows nothing and yet know it must."

-- C. McCarthy

Cave Paintings

"As we trailed the artists deeper and deeper, noting where they'd broken off stalagmites to mark their path, we found signs that seemed to say, 'We're sanctifying a finite space in an infinite universe.' ... The acoustics magnify every sound, and it takes the brain a few minutes to accept the totality of the darkness--your sight keeps grasping for a hold. Whatever the art means, you understand, at that moment, that its vessel is both a womb and a sepulchre."

--J. Thurman, First Impressions

Reflective

by A.R. Ammons


I found a
weed
that had a

mirror in it
and that
mirror

looked in at
a mirror
in

me that
had a
weed in it

Clockwise Foundation

Last weekend I visited home: Wanda is doing very well. The Chemo--i.e. deliberate poisoning--has sapped her strength and stolen her hair, but apparently the human spirit is not made up of fast-dividing cells. The kittens are thriving. Titus is alternately lazy and frantic, while Penny prefers mostly the latter, although her favorite spot to slow down is mom's lap. Anne was home to let Dad get caught up on work and she of course fell in love with the kittens. I sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow (not the Judy Garland version) and Here Comes the Sun at my old friend Chris Briggs' classy wedding. I also dug through the old Hartley Memorabilia Box and did some archiving, as you can see on Flickr.

Last month I started documenting my dreams in the most effective way I could come up with, by immediately speaking into a tape recorder as soon as I emerge from REM-sleep. I may parlay these bizarre word jumbles into an album's worth of lyrics, or perhaps just post them here. Either way I'm looking forward to listening to the tapes sequentially.

Soon the War on Drugs will be heading overseas for some touring: the UK, Holland, Belguim, France and Lebanon (specifically, Beirut--not a joke). Obviously I'll take lots of pictures and probably have a story or two to share when we get back.

The Evening Redness in the West

"They were about in the morning before daybreak and they caught up and saddled their mounts as soon as it was light enough to see. The jagged mountains were pure blue in the dawn and everywhere birds twittered and the sun when it rose caught the moon in the west so that they lay opposed to each other across the earth, the sun whitehot and the moon a pale replica, as if they were the ends of a common bore beyond whose terminals burned worlds past all reckoning." -- C. McCarthy

Fauxtown; ELOverboard

BC and I sojourned to the north (upstate New York, specifically, near Saugerties/Woodstock) in search of sounds. We found some. We did the basic tracks for the forthcoming EP/Album at the Cobbs' analog studio of chill repute--think roomy drums and groovy piano/bass grooves--and then piled on vocals, guitars and humor at good buddy Zach's Sunnyview estate. Some vibe names: Faux-town, ELO-town, Get up and Go-town, etc. We rented gear (fancy stuff, including a Neumann U-87) and spent all day recording, and all night playing shuffle board and creating bon-fires. Zach and his lovely wife Brandi are the sweetest of hosts, and treated us to delicious meals and the best cookies I've ever had. We'll finish the EP (maybe it will spawn a full length? not sure..) here in Philly, Mike Kennedy is mixing.



In addition to our August Europe trip, the War on Drugs will be hitting Spain in late October as well. Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, muy bueno.

October 4th: LSATs. Preparation has begun. OK, not really, but I signed up for a prep-course, so now I'm committed. Calling all brain cells..

For those of you who don't know, my mom has breast cancer and is undergoing intensive chemo-therapy. She hasn't even showed a hint of negativity or self pity, if anything the struggle has seemed to galvanize her already sturdy spirit. That's why I'm an unabashed momma's boy--she's my hero.

A Terrorist Fist Jab?

-Stephanie won Top Chef. But her dessert was sub par, at best, and Lisa's dishes seemed overall stronger. However, Lisa was one of the least likable Top Chef contestants in the history of the show (as evidenced by her 4% favorability rating) which leads me to a dilemma: either Bravo's savvy producers edited the show in such a way to exaggerate the strength of her dishes, or the judges violated a long standing rule and allowed previous challenges to creep into their deliberations. Let's hope it was the former--between this and the NBA referee scandal I'm beginning to really doubt the democratic intentions of our entertainment corporations.

-Go Celtics. Talk about a laundry list of likable players: Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Powe, House, Posey, etc. And what about Kobe Bryant? Sure, he's as talented as they come, but he patently fails to embody what is entertaining about basketball and team sports in general. Play tennis or something, jerk--you aren't Michael Jordan and you NEVER EVER EVER EVER will be. Interesting corroboration from another superstar.

-The Fall: a very disappointing movie. Wall-to-wall visual extravaganzas and fascinating technique do not a masterpiece make. It's a full length car commercial with a story that feels like a freshman lit-student free associating after one too many bong hits. I prefer Uncle Buck. Vastly.

-Titus and Penelope have their reproductive organs rendered useless on Monday.

-I'm taking the LSATs October 4th, after the War on Drugs get back from our European tour. Really? Yes. Then What? Depends how well I do.. those logic games are squarely in my wheelhouse, however. What about music? Well, what about it? Will you still play? Of course. Tour? In the immediate future, yes. Indefinitely, probably a lot less. Record? Absolutely. Forever. Be a corporate attorney? Never. Use my powers for good? Always.

Shampoo is Better

Ruminations:

-Billy Madison is the defining film of my generation. Here's why: it is the only film that both perfectly encapsulates the joys, pitfalls and ennui of the vastly over-privileged children of the 80s and 90s and belongs solely to Generation Y. The other closest contender is probably The Big Lebowski; it's certainly a better film, and it, too, paints a lovingly absurd portrait of the isolated, leisurely United States of Americana. But my dad loves Walter, my mom loves the Dude and your little sister has probably said "shut the fuck up, Donny". In other words, this movie is transcendent and has fully, inexorably entered the 21st century pop lexicon. It doesn't belong to us anymore (it did, once)--it belongs to everyone.

Billy Madison, on the other hand, will always be ours (even if no milk will ever be our milk). That film, with its endless string of non-sequitors, infuriated critics, baffled my parents and is, I suspect, just plain boring to the youngsters of today. And though I doubt Adam Sandler and his overgrown adolescent cohorts had any idea, it is fit for a time capsule. Over a decade after it's release, it's message is clear: being rich and American is fun and almost entirely without responsibility. Any threats on the horizon are vague and can be conquered with a healthy dose of absurdity and luck. Billy is our protagonist and we are asked to root for him not because he is virtuous or possesses anything other than charm, simply because he is preordained as the good guy. Nothing is more American than that. He lives in a wealthy, protected bubble and spends his days wallowing in privilege and exploring the nuance of baby talk and pornography. Billy Madison is the hood ornament at the apex of the Industrial Revolution, a mascot for a country that traded substance for fast-food chains and sacrificed erudition at the alter of money.

So, you see, the puppy was like industry in that they were both lost in the woods and nobody--especially the little boy ("society")--knew where to find them. Except that the puppy was a dog, and the industry... that, my friends, was a revolution.

And while comedy has historically been a respite from the horrors and realities of existence (some evolutionary biologists hypothesize that we developed our humorous tendencies to deal with the added burdens of an over-developed frontal lobe), Billy's world of the impossibly fortuitous 90's is pretty damn comfortable. With nothing to seek shelter from or be consoled about, the human comedic brain apparently turns to pickle races and binge drinking. Hilarious, hilarious absurdity. Oh Billy, Billy boy... when will you find whatever it is you're looking for?




Updates:

-The inaugural War on Drugs tour was an adventure (and a success, by my count). Here are some lessons learned over the two weeks or so we spent on the road:

1. A Volvo station wagon with 240,000 miles on it is not a good vehicle to tour in.
   
2. It is illegal to drive a Volvo station wagon in Cleveland, OH without a muffler.
3. If the Celtics can win on the road, so can the War on Drugs.
4. A 404 Sampler is capable of destroying a high end monitor system.
5. It's not a good idea to tell a band that drove all the way to Detroit for a show that they will receive "no hospitality, no drink tickets and no special treatment whatsoever".
6. Hawkwind is some trippy, trippy space rock.
   
7. When the catalytic converter finally falls off of a Volvo with 240,000 miles on it, the resultant fumes can cause severe dizziness, carbon monoxide poisoning, and possibly even death.
   
8. NEVER eat an old tuna sandwich from a poorly lit truck stop in Akron. Unless you like food poisoning.
   
9. Chicagoans are a friendly, hospitable bunch. So are Detroitians, Clevelanders, Bean-towners, and New Yorkers. Thanks to everyone who put us up.
   

As a Young Man

"In a few moments he was barefoot, his stockings folded in his pockets and his canvas shoes dangling by their knotted laces over his shoulders: and, picking a pointed salteaten stick out of the jetsam among the rocks, he clambered down the slope of the breakwater.

There was a long rivulet in the strand: and, as he waded slowly up its course, he wondered at the endless drift of seaweed. Emerald and black and russet and olive, it moved beneath the current, swaying and turning. The water of the rivulet was dark with endless drift and mirrored the highdrifting clouds. The clouds were drifting above him silently and silently the seatangle was drifting below him; and the grey warm air was still: and a new wild life was singing in his veins.

Where was his boyhood now? Where was the soul that had hung back from her destiny, to brood alone upon the shame of her wounds and in her house of squalor and subterfuge to queen it in faded cerements and in wreaths that withered at the touch? Or where was he?"

J. Joyce

Kittens! Music! Pollen!

First of all, I finally bit the bullet and adopted two beautiful, 5 week old kittens. I spontaneously named the male Titus and the female Penelope. Penny's eye was badly infected when I got her, and had to be immediately removed. She is ridiculously energetic, though, and shows absolutely no ill effects whatsoever. Sadly, she'll never drive a car, but I will save a fortune on contact lenses. Titus has eyes that are set at nearly a 45-degree angle, and is the much more relaxed of the two. He likes to eat until he falls asleep with his face in the food and then sleepily fend off Penny's manic attacks with his hind legs. They're great.

Again with the music. The War on Drugs is getting some deserved press and praise, I think we're going to be in some magazines this month and next, I'll let you know. We have some tours coming up to! Like, Europe and stuff! Woohoo..

Here's a really great video that our new friends Hope and Ben made of Adam Arcuragi and his band in New York last February. It's charming and creative.

"Beware the terrible simplifiers." - J. Burkholder

Information is received in inverse proportion to its predictability.

The Silver Ages had a massive amount of fun last night w/ Rogue Wave. For their encore, they came out into the crowd, had the entire audience sit on the floor, and played their last 5 songs acoustically with us backing them up. Unfortunately the show got moved downstairs from the chapel, but it didn't change the overwhelmingly great vibes. Such nice guys, I'm looking forward to singing with them again the next time they come through.

Here is a link to the Secretly Canadian webpage where you can get the War on Drugs' Barrell of Batteries EP.

This Saturday Adam Arcuragi and co. will be at Piano's in NYC. The band is continually growing, so come check out the show so there are more people in the audience than on stage.

Dann Pudish and his girlfriend, Aubrey, are moving into my spare bedroom in a few days. To prepare, Dann has been completely renovating it. They don't call him Dann the man for nothing. You can see his craftsmanship on my Flickr.

Spring is here. Yay for outdoor activities. I want to go camping and forget something really important like matches or a flashlight.

Pennsylvania primaries are going down next week. Kinda a big deal, according to the news-media. Barack's advertisements are uber-inspiring, and given my present level of political disillusionment, that's enough for me.

Updations

BC Camplight tonight with the Capitol Years and the Swimmers. This is such a great bill, with tons of friends and gear sharing. I am getting bronchitis or something, so come out and see me do my Larry Bird impersonation and play through the pain. Whiskey is an antioxidant, right?

The War on Drugs have a bunch of stuff on the horizon, starting with a "secret" show Sunday night at the Khyber. We're trying new things, live.

Adam Arcuragi and his wily band is going back up to New York City next weekend for a private party in Brooklyn and a show at Piano's across the bridge. Mr. Rob "Mandolele" Bennett is now part of the gang, which is good for everybody. You ain't heard treble like this in decades.

The Silver Ages is moving forward with its plan to record some stuff for a 7" to be released in the summer or fall. On Tuesday we're backing up Rogue Wave at the First Unitarian Church (upstairs!). Those guys write some catchy numbers, I tell ya'.

Paying the Price for our Golden Lives

"Life was charmed but without politics or religion. It was the life of children of the children of the pioneers--life after God--a life of earthly salvation on the edge of heaven. Perhaps this is the finest thing to which we may aspire, the life of peace, the blurring between dream life and real life--and yet I find myself speaking these words with a sense of doubt. I think there was a trade-off somewhere along the line. I think the price we paid for our golden life was an inability to fully believe in love; instead we gained an irony that scorched everything it touched. And I wonder if this irony is the price we paid for the loss of God." --Douglas Coupland, Life After God

Seasonal Stuff

I'm ready for spring. Not this intermittent, neon-orange, proto-apocalyptic spring that winter has continually flirted with, but actual spring. Sunlight, vitamin d, Mr. Blue Sky, the swampy schuykill smell; yes please I'll have those.

Next week I will be heading up to my friend Zach's wonderful ranch to record an album with Brian and Mike from BC Camplight. Zach and his wife Brandy have been kind enough to give us the run of the place, so do want to record the drums in the silo, the barn, or the pool house? I can't think of a better way to blast out the winter cobwebs than a nor'easterly sojourn with a couple mind-bogglingly talented musicians to capture Brian's unique songs.

Before I go, I'll be playing a show on April Fools day with Adam Arcuragi at Silk City (see the flyer below). We also have some New York City dates in mid-April that will be announced shortly.

The Silver Ages have been rehearsing a bit lately, we have had some tantalizing developments lately--nothing is nailed down yet, so I'm a bit hesitant to let the cat out of the bag (check back). At the very least we will be backing up Rogue Wave at the First Unitarian Church on April 15th and cutting some tracks for a limited edition 7" shortly thereafter.

The War on Drugs record has been pressed, it looks great. You can get a free download of the Barrel of Batteries EP in various locations (google it, lazy bones!), it looks like a June release date with touring sure to follow.

Things to look forward to: Frisbee golf, bike rides, dissolving depression, river pots, bonfires, beach trips...

No City for Old Men

My high school friend Zach Sowers died yesterday from a beating he sustained on June 1st 2007. He has been in a vegetative coma since that night when he was brutally and senselessly assaulted outside his home in Baltimore. My other high school friend Justin Bright has an emotional and exhaustive blog about the attack here. Zach was such an unassuming and good natured guy, it's just hard to fathom that he was murdered. So, so sad.

Yesterday a 35 year old starbucks manager was beaten to death at an el stop in Center City Philadelphia at 3 in the afternoon.

What kind of society produces an individual capable of these unspeakable attacks?

Posting Bills

It Insists Upon Itself

The Wire ends, Top Chef begins. The Circle of Life.

Still working on the cat acquisition. Anybody have a spare tabby lying around?

Musically, I'm soldiering on.. albums have been made, and will continue to be made this summer.

If you want to buy the Adam Arcuragi EP that I recorded on my laptop, go to www.adamarcuragi.com. If you'd like to stream it to have a listen, do so:



Books: Caeser and Christ, by Will Durant; The Star of the Unborn, by Franz Werfel; Life After God, by Douglas Coupland; and The Nine Billion Names of God, by Arthur C. Clarke.

Movies: Morvern Callar, Be Kind Rewind, Michael Clayton, The Roman Empire in the First Century.

Lots of photos on my flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/davidjohnhartley

Cat Fancy

So I'm ready to take the plunge and get a cat. But I need to name it. Here are some names that I've considered: Chad, Tracy, Richard, Tickets, Nervous Pervis, Rex Chapman, Helmikuu, Barley, Mammal, Seadog, Clyde, Caligula, Frank, K-2, Archibald, Cashew, Deep Impact, Arvydas, Missy, Crystal Magic, Pure Purry League, and Emerson Lake and Purrmer. I'm not seriously considering those last two, but all the others have a shot. Any suggestions?

The Adam Arcuragi EP is done, it's called Soldiers for Feet. I'm so proud of the way it turned out, we assembled quite a team of musicians to play Adam's brave and wonderful songs. It will be available on 12" vinyl next week in time for our mini-tour with the Glorytellers--Philly/NYC/Boston details are on Adam's myspace page.

Recording of a new BC Camplight EP to commence ASAP--chance of Big Pinkesque sabbatical right about 40%. BC works at UCH with me now, so there has been serious mix-sharing going on during company hours. Think Stevie Wonder meets The Traveling Wilbury's meets 'Head Over Heels' by Tears for Fears meets early Bill Withers.



Gianmarco Cilli has a show at Johnny Brenda's w/ the Bowerbirds on 2/26. He has quietly assembled the sickest band in Philadelphia and wrote a record full of great songs, it's a privelage to even play shaker with these guys.

The War on Drugs record is scheduled for June release. Adam Granduciel (also a UCH employee, fyi) is a true artist and his masterpiece Wagonwheel Blues will turn heads. We played at a sold out Mercury Lounge (NYC) two weekends ago w/ the Felice Brothers, it was really fun. Adam broke a microphone and the whole thing devolved into a late 80s/early 90s NBA trivia extravaganza.

Other than that, its keep on keepin' on. Movies, mittens and music to beat the winter blues.