Tour recap, upcoming shows, and other news.

Hey, everyone.  We’re back from our shortened trek of the Northwestern states.  It was wicked fun, though we were a bit unprepared for the weather.  Late winter/early spring in San Francisco doesn’t exactly translate to other states, so we left our sunny, mild home and entered snow and sleet land.  No matter.  Our east coast roots served us well, and we layered up (read: we wore all of the clothes we brought, day and night, for seven days) and soldiered on.  The van handled the weather like a champ, new gas tank and all.  It was great to be back on the road, even for just a week.  We started in La Grande, OR, and played shows in Spokane, WA; Missoula, MT; Moscow, ID (twice); Boise, ID; Rexburg, ID; and Pocatello, ID.  Thanks go to everyone who came out to the shows and the folks who set things up and took great care of us: Wayne, Annie, Bill, and the whole La Grande crew, Rhea, Matthew, and the Caterina Winery; Nathan, John, Asher, Ethan, Mark, Dave, Ian, Andrew, and everyone in Moscow; Chris, Mike, and the folks at the Palace; Ford and the folks at the Locus; and James, Lindsey, Jamie, the Testers crew, and all of the familiar faces at the First National.  Thank you, also, to the great bands that we got to meet and play alongside: Test Audiences, Sons of Guns, Sleeping in Gethsemane, March of the Black Queen, Bart Budwig, Rhythm (something), In The Shadow Of The Mountain, The Universal, To Russia, Warbonnet, and, of course, the mighty Finn Riggins.

We had a great time enjoying the hospitality of others, and there was a great deal to go around.  The folks in Moscow are pretty much the sweetest ever, but that’s not to say that we didn’t appreciate the rest of the people on the trip.  Each night was great, from hanging out, to the show, to more hanging out.  And it’s always good to hang out with the Finn folks, because they’re like family, and we have a great time around them.  We got a little crazy in the hotel pool after the last show (but, by the looks of the multiple piles of bloody towels strewn across the area, not as crazy as the people who were in before us) but the desk clerk didn’t seem to mind, and somehow Gary ended up with cheese in his pocket and his wallet.

So, now that we’re back from tour, what do we have going on?  Well, since you asked, we have a show this week in San Francisco at one of our favorite spots, the Bottom of the Hill.  On Wednesday, April 29th, we will be opening for Fake Problems and William Elliott Whitmore, and we are pretty excited.  We have been writing some new material, and we’re itching to perform it, so we’ll be debuting another new song at the show.  Be sure to get there early, as we go on first.

We have a number of shows lined up for the coming months.  Here’s what we have, so far:

05.22.09 at the Sun Valley Brewery in Sun Valley, ID (with Finn Riggins and Tartufi)
05.23.09 at the Deb-Da-Doo Ranch Fest in Hailey, ID (with Finn Riggins, Tartufi, and a bunch of bands)
06.08.09 at the Elbo Room in San Francisco, CA (with Mr. Gnome and others TBA)
06.19.09 at the Radio Room in San Diego, CA (with Writer and others TBA)
06.20.09 at the ??? (venue TBA) ??? in Fresno, CA (with the Fay Wrays…we’re pretty sure)
06.21.09 at Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay, CA (acoustic set with another band TBA)
07.04.09 at El Rio in San Francisco, CA (for the always-awesome 4th of July blowout)

As you can see, details are still being worked out for several of the shows (except for the 4th of July, as that one is already set, but we’re going to wait a bit to unveil the bands), so keep an eye out for more news as it arrives.

Before I head out, I want to mention a couple of things that have recently been completed by some friends of ours.  First, our friend Taylor has posted a mini-documentary on YouTube as part of his work at the New School (awesomely, it features tracks my LRL and Dame Satan).  You can check it out here.  Second, our friends Adam (for the keen ears, he’s the second banjo on the first acoustic EP) and Sean (he’s the guy who helps us with this site…for now) have finished up “Streak to Win,” the documentary on Hamilton College’s very own Varsity Streaking Team.  Check that out here.  It features gripping performances by many of our friends, and Mark even makes an appearance (alongside the always-nude Bort).  Lastly, we don’t know the guys, but Red Fang is pretty sweet and so is their video for “Prehistoric Dog.”  Check it out.