January 28, 2009
So, Saturday’s show ruled. Thanks to everyone who came out, thank you to the Hemlock for having us, and thank you to Anna and the Deli SF for co-presenting the night. Teeeth opened up and were great, playing a quick and tight set of wiry, rocky post-punk. Ketman, friends on the road from Boston, brought along their horn section, and this was the first time we had seen them as a five-piece. They brought a healthy Boston contingent with them in the crowd, too, and got everyone going early. Their set was great, and seeing them play live again did more to further my theory that Eric Ketman and James Appomattox are two halves of the same person. (I’m too lazy to link any pictures. If you think this is interesting enough to explore on your own, have at it.) We appreciated seeing our friends out at the show, and it was great to meet some new folks (thanks, Dink and Kiley, for sending some east coast transplants our way). We had a blast playing our set, though we’re still trying to work out the kinks of playing with earplugs. We’ll work it out, though, because we must protect our hearing, mustn’t we?
Jen and Andy, the folks behind the awesome Band In Boston podcast and Flophouse Sessions, have posted another set of ours. As with our previous session, we were invited into their Somerville home, given instruments, tea, coffee, and a plate of snacks, and told to have at it. They recorded us, did some mixing, and posted it. Last time, we recorded everything on acoustic instruments, so we switched it up this time and played on some of the electric instruments they provided. It was sweet. The phone rang at the end of “Hawks Die,” I decided to use a fretless bass and totally ruin the first few songs because I am a huge jab and I hate the idea of us ever sounding good ever, we tried our hand at across-the-room tuning, and we covered Mission of Burma. All in all, a great time was had by all. We highly, highly recommend performing for Band in Boston. They are sweet people doing an awesome thing for Boston and touring bands.
1. Hawks Die Hogstyle
2. Battles
3. Dog’s Hymn
4. Weight of Nations
5. That’s When I Reach For My Revolver (Mission of Burma)
6. Gunfighter’s Afternoon/The Duke
7. Queen Esther
See? There’s a picture of me totally blowing it with a fretless bass played solely because I thought it looked cool.
As I oh-so-slyly hinted in the last post, we have a big show coming up. It’s at Slim’s here in San Francisco, and it’s with Sacramento’s recently-reunited Far. As you may or may not know, Far’s beard and bassist, Johnny, is a member of the excellent Two Sheds, and he mentioned the opportunity to us when we were in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago. That guy is the man. It came together beautifully, and we’re pretty excited. We had a blast the last time we played at Slim’s, and this time promises to go off. The date of the show is Sunday, February 22nd. Mark your calendars.
We are also booking our spring and early summer tours. Keep an eye on this page and our MySpace page, as dates will be posted as they are confirmed.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. Take it easy.
January 21, 2009
We recently played a block of Northern California shows with Idaho’s always-stellar Finn Riggins. They were just starting their tour, and joined us on bills in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Sacramento. They brought along a friend, Rachael, and it was great to meet her. We love those kids to death, and it was great to spend a few days with them.
We started off playing Monterey Live, a spot we’ve played once previously. The first time, we were booked with Paper Airplanes, and they broke down (and proceeded to drink heavily) in Los Gatos, so we ended up being the only band that played. This time, we had local support in the form of the band Beezle, who stepped in for the palindromic Yell or Trolley, who had to cancel due to some inner-band turmoil. Good luck to those guys. Thanks go to Ben, Seth, the rest of the staff, and the folks who came out to see us again, the new faces, and Christy for making the trip with us.
The following night, we hit Santa Cruz for our first show at the Crepe Place. Everyone there was great, from the staff to the audience, and they were showing the original King Kong and Mothra vs. Godzilla above the bar. Not that we watched during any of the bands. No. We played first, the Rigg played second, and Chico’s March of the Mannequins closed out the night. Fun show, boring story.
For the third night, we played at one of our favorite places ever, El Rio. Shows there are always awesome. Thanks to Lynne for helping out and for taking such great care of everyone. Thanks to the staff (the sound was awesome), and thanks to everyone who came out. Caves (they who shall not be linked) bailed at the last second, but it’s cool, because the slack was picked up by The Provisionals, who played a fun opening set. Nice kids. Check them out. The second band on the bill, Seattle-cramento’s By Sunlight, wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected them to be, despite having this guy in the band. (Seriously, you can’t even get a dot com?) All joking aside, they’re all wicked nice dudes, and this was my first time seeing them play. They were great. Finn Riggins played third, we closed out the night, and then it was time to bro-down and pack up. Robert and I had a moment, laughs were shared, tears were shed. A truly moving night. Thanks to all of our friends for coming out.
Sunday found us relaxing and recuperating. There was a lot of sleeping, a lot of TV watching. It was a good day off. Monday’s show, our last (for now) with Finn Riggins, took place in Sacramento. It’s always fun to play Club Pow! at the Press Club, and this was no exception. Thanks to Ira for having us. The night was double-booked and the whole room smelled like puke (for some reason…probably because someone puked), but that didn’t matter. Finn Riggins started it off and got a great reception, and then we played. By Sunlight was in town, still on tour, and it was Robert’s birthday, so they brought the crew. Thank you to everyone who came out: John and Caitlin Sheds, Jeremy Goodness Gracious Me, Cara and her crew, Turtle, and everyone else. Love Like Fire and The Definite Articles rounded out the night. After some dance floor action, we said goodbye to Finn Riggins and By Sunlight, wished them well on their remaining shows, and headed home to San Francisco.
Now we’re gearing up for our next show, which will take place this Saturday at the Hemlock. Check it out:
Our friends from Boston, Ketman, are in town, so make sure to check them out. They crush. San Francisco’s Teeeth are opening, we’re headlining, and it’s all presented by the Deli SF. Don’t miss it.
We have a Berkeley show coming up next month, too, for all (two) of you East Bay kids. It’s at the Starry Plough, and we’ll be joining Butterfly Bones and The Aimless Never Miss. Should be fun.
Do you want to order our newest album, Dog’s Hymns, online, but want more than just mp3’s? Here’s some great news for you! You can head on over to CD Baby and order up one, two, 12 copies, whatever, of the record and they’ll send them to you. Simple. Awesome.
Lastly, we have something very cool on the horizon, and details will be posted shortly. There’s still a “slim” chance that it won’t come together, but that possibility is pretty “far” off.
December 30, 2008
Here we are, two days from 2009, and this seems like the most appropriate time for us to post about the things we thought were awesome in 2008. You know, because you really care and are interested in what we think. BUT FIRST…
Word has reached us that we’ve made a few year-end lists ourselves, which is awesome and quite an honor, considering who wrote about us and who we were up against. Here’s what’s what:
Nevermind the fact that the last three things all had to do with Tartufi, it’s still awesome that our band and our new album is getting these mentions. Actually, mind that fact. Tartufi is an amazing band and even more amazing people. They have gone out of their way to mention us to anyone who will listen, and that goes a long way. Those two are the best, and they have been such amazing supporters and friends that they get Low Red Land’s “Top of 2008″ award that I just made up. Check it out:
Low Red Land’s “Top of 2008″ Award goes to…
TARTUFI
Congratulations to them for putting together an amazing new album, Nests of Wave and Wire, which will see release in 2009 on Southern Records. Be on the look-out.
Now that all of that is out of the way, here are our lists of things that totally ruled in 2008. Please keep in mind that we are (mostly) totally irresponsible and forgetful and there are probably a million things that were left off unintentionally.
Ben’s top albums of 2008:
Birds & Batteries, I’ll Never Sleep Again (and the people in the band, in general)
Dame Satan, Beaches and Bridges (ditto)
Tartufi, Nests of Wave and Wire (ditto)
Appomattox, A O (ditto)
Harvey Milk, Life…The Best Game in Town (and their show at the Great American Music Hall)
Earth, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull
Young Widows, Old Wounds
Boris, Smile (Japanese version)
Cursed, III: The Architects of Troubled Sleep
Opeth, Watershed
Trap Them, Seizures in Barren Praise
These Arms Are Snakes, Tail Swallower and Dove
Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lie Down in the Light
The Black Angels, Directions to See a Ghost
Disfear, Live the Storm
Spiritualized, Songs in A + E
Neil’s top stuff of 2008:
Birds & Batteries, I’ll Never Sleep Again
Tartufi, Nests of Waves and Wire (wink wink on the pre-release listen)
Cook Out
Dame Satan, Beaches and Bridges
Sears photos
new apartment
our new record
The Hangar and Robert Cheek, Wizard of the Faders
touring on a new record
Barack Freaking Obama
my lady
finishing Moby Dick
Top Chef Season 5
HBO’s John Adams
Wallace Stevens, The Palm at the End of the Mind
acoustic shows
Mark’s “Molto Bene 2008!”:
a-pizza
a-pasta
some-a nice-a gelato
That’s it for now. Happy New Year. We’ll see you soon.
December 23, 2008
Thank you to everyone who came out to our two recent San Francisco shows. After three months away from playing in the city, it was great to play in front of hometown crowds. Thank you to everyone at the Eagle for their hospitality, thank you to our friends for attending, and thank you to Them Hills and Tartufi for playing and being awesome. Since the night was in celebration of Lynne’s 30th birthday, and because we’re hilarious jerks, we spent the days leading up to the anniversary of Lynne’s birth secretly learning Tartufi’s “If We Had Daggers, They Would Fly” to honor and embarrass our dear friend. There is nothing quite like watching the members of the band you’re covering realize that they’re being covered. Expressions change from general interest to confused discomfort, and then to something resembling joy or happiness. (Usually. Sometimes, things go in a different direction.) The night ended at Brian and Neil’s new apartment, where a “party” (eight or so people hanging out in the kitchen talking about things that only get talked about at 3 in the morning) featuring “snacks” (a cardboard box filled with leftover produce) “raged” (was held at a low volume out of respect for the neighbors) until “sunrise” (when Mark started talking about slicking hair back). Lynne said “L M N O hotdog” a lot and told us about all the things she didn’t believe a word of now that she was 30.
The next night found us hosting a show at the Ghost Mansion, my house, featuring acoustic performances by Biagio Biondolillo, Birds & Batteries, members of Dame Satan, and Neil and myself. There was plenty of intermingling, which was awesome. We joined Dame for a few of their songs, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire,” Michael “Fourth Meal” Chopko sat in on a bunch of our songs, and Andy and Jumpy joined in for a cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years.” Biagio and Anna were great, and so was Birds & Batteries. It was great to hang out at home and host a show. There will be more in the future, so we’ll keep you posted. The night was also recorded, so, with any luck, we’ll have some listenable audio to post at some point in the future.
That’s it for now. We’ll probably get one more post in before the end of the year. There have been some reviews of “Dog’s Hymns” trickling in, and we’ll get those up on the site at some point in the near future. Thanks for reading.
December 9, 2008
Hi. The tour blog is up. You can read all about our fall tour, and though it’s all that’s up there, it’s a lot, so it should give you an adequate dose of reading “it was a great time” and “thanks for coming to the show.” Soon, I’ll post a recap of the September tour with Finn Riggins.
Our friends over at Band in Boston posted our first Flophouse session, which took place during our fall tour in 2007. There are four songs up, all in one convenient track, and they don’t sound nearly as bad as I remember them. Ha. They also renamed “Hawks Die” as “Hogstyle,” and though I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, I don’t care, because the new name is far superior. You can listen to it and download it here.
We’ve got a couple of shows happening this week:
Thursday, December 11th at 9:00 p.m.
@ The Eagle Tavern
Low Red Land
Them Hills
Tartufi
Friday, December 12th, at 9:00 p.m.
@ Ghost Mansion
Low Red Land
Birds & Batteries
Biagio Biondolillo
Dame Satan
The first one is Thursday and it’s an electric banger at the Eagle Tavern in honor of Lynne’s birthday. She and Brian, known together as Tartufi, are opening the night so that she can spend the rest of the evening getting smashed. Nevada City’s Them Hills play second, and we get to close out the night with some standard rock and some special surprises.
The second one is Friday and it’s an acoustic throw-down at the Ghost Mansion. 4 acts, 5 or 6 songs each, and a party after. Dame Satan will be performing as a duo, Bellingham’s Biagio Biondolillo will be performing solo, Birds & Batteries will be stripping it down, and Neil and I will be performing as a duo. If you know where the Ghost Mansion is, come on by. If you don’t…well, there may be a reason for that. We’ll be recording the night, and, with any luck, it will be released through Ghost Mansion Records as the first in our series of “Live from the Ghost Mansion” (or something like that) CD-Rs or digital downloads.
Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the holiday season. That’s about it for now. Feel free to get in touch with us, unless you’re a drunk ex-pat living in China.
November 30, 2008
We’re in the process of making some changes to the site. There will be new content added in the coming weeks, from photos to lyrics to new pages (maybe). It’s going to be awesome. For now, you may notice some changes. Namely, most of the old posts that were chronicling our various tours are no longer up. That’s because we’ve created a blog specifically for tour updates, with the intention of using the space for more day-to-day information. Don’t worry, Stue. Nothing is changing. You can still read all about our hi-jinks and shenanigans. You’ll just have to click a link and read them on another page.
Speaking of tour, we made it home safely. San Francisco was more or less as we left it. We’ve been practicing and writing new material for our upcoming shows. They’re all listed on the right of the screen. Check them out.
We’re excited to be playing the Eagle again, this time for Lynne’s birthday. We haven’t played in San Francisco since the middle of September, and we’re excited for this bill. We love Tartufi and Them Hills. Love them. It’s going to rule. We’ll have copies of our new album, “Dog’s Hymns,” available at the show, along with copies of the new (and free) Thread Productions compilation, “Dragon Slayers, Volume III.” I also found some copies of “Dragon Slayers, Volume II” while cleaning out the Ghost Mansion archives, so they’ll be there, as well.
Speaking of our new album, it’s also available all over the web (iTunes, eMusic, aMazon.com, other lowercase-uppercase-lowercase sites) through our friends at Thinker Thought Records. So, if you want a copy but you aren’t going to be seeing us any time soon, go ahead and buy it online. Thanks to Jared for being a number-one pal, and for picking one of the douchier photos we’ve taken to use as our promo shot.
That’s about it for now. We’re going to be hard at work, promoting “Dog’s Hymns,” playing shows locally (January sees us playing a bunch of shows with awesome out-of-towners, Finn Riggins and Ketman), and planning our next tour. Keep checking back. Take it easy.
November 5, 2008
Hope Floats. It also wins. Go Obama.
October 14, 2008
We have been waiting for the right time to announce this, and now that everything has been squared away, we have some big news to share. After several years of hard work and dedication, Low Red Land has agreed to a record deal. That’s right: from here on out, when you see us on tour and you buy a copy of “Dog’s Hymns,” you get a copy of “Weight of Nations” for half price. That’s a freaking record deal if we ever heard one!
Tour update coming shortly.
October 6, 2008
We got home from tour (you can read all about it soon on our tour blog) and had a couple of days to rest before we had our CD release show at Slim’s. The night was great, and we got to share the bill with the always-awesome Tartufi and new friends Built for the Sea. The night saw us officially release “Dog’s Hymns,” Built for the Sea release a new EP, and Thread Productions release the third “Dragon Slayers” compilation, featuring some of the best San Francisco and greater Bay Area bands around. Thank you to everyone who came to the show and thanks to the folks at Slim’s for having us and for treating us so well. If only every show could be that cool.
The latter half of September was spent gearing up for our national fall tour, and so the three of us set about working as much as possible, emailing, promoting, booking, printing, pressing, practicing, and all of the other stuff that goes into tour preparation. Now that we’re out on the road, we get to relax a bit and enjoy playing music and spending time together. It’s about time.
September 29, 2008
Hey! It’s a new site! Thanks, Sean! What a great friend you are, and what a great company you have! There’s going to be a lot posted to this site in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled. Especially considering…
We’re heading out on tour in a couple of days, heading all over the U.S. (except the northwest). We’ll be on the road from October 2nd until November 14th. We’re touring in support of our recently-released new album, “Dog’s Hymns.” If we’re coming to your town, please come out and say hi. We’ll have copies of the new album, some new shirts, some more new merchandise, and, depending on how long it’s been since you’ve seen us, some new music.
I owe some updates on our recent northwestern tour with Finn Riggins, our album-release show at Slim’s with Tartufi and Built for the Sea, and some other stuff. Things are kind of hectic right now, so just lay off and be patient.
