The Whale's Tale

News!!!

2011-10-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! Been a while.

So, here's the deal: after a few months of "hiatus" we are playing a show at the Independent in SF. We are splitting the bill with Victoria George and there will be some collaborations in each set. Information can be found here

In other news, after this show, the future of the band is completely up in the air. Chances are we will continue to be on hiatus - there is a small chance that we will completely cease operation. This is not a unanimous decision, so perhaps there will be a future for OTW - but in the meantime come see what is definitively our last show for a while.

I'll post more as I learn more about the situation.

Kind regards,

Kenny Bloggins

Chico and Davis this weekend!

2011-05-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Its been a quiet couple of months since we got home from our epic world wide tour - but we are firing up the machine again this weekend in Northern California:

Friday May 27th, 2011
Sophia's - Davis, CA
129 E Street
with Olin and the Moon and Bye Bye Blackbird
21+ - $5

Saturday May 28th, 2011
Cafe Coda - Chico, CA
265 Humboldt Ave

Hope to see some of you nor-cal friends up there!

Tour Wrap Up

2011-04-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

Its been a long time since we've seen the beautiful skyline of our home city! We pulled back in friday afternoon and then played our last show with Chamberlin and Steve Taylor at the Rickshaw Stop. It was a lot of fun, but also kind of bittersweet because after 2 months of touring its "back to normal". Whatever that means.

We have some West Coast dates in the spring which I will post up here soon. Also, we are officially going to begin working on our new (and very overdue) record.

We'd officially like to thank everyone who came out to see us over the past two months in the UK and US. We love you all! And we will see you soon!

Close to home

2011-04-06T20:13:00.001-07:00

One quick stop in Reno and then we return to SF Friday night. It's been an amazing 2 months but we're ready to come home and play for our hometown fans.

See you all at the Rickshaw!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Whales across the Prairie

2011-04-02T12:53:00.001-07:00

We have officially made it back to the West! Tonight we'll be playing at the Walnut Room in Denver. It's a long haul from Lawrence KS to an early soundcheck in Denver, and there's not much to eat.

Luckily we have some friends to keep us company along the way.

Only a week to go and we are back in San Francisco for our end of tour show at the Rickshaw Stop with Chamberlin and Steve Taylor!

See you all soon!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Twin City Goodness

2011-03-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

This is my Nephew Sam, and he is our most adorable fan.

And we took matters into our own hands at First Avenue.

Iowa bound.

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Points east tackled, headed west!

2011-03-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

We have really enjoyed our week in the Midwest with Chamberlin. Man, after a week of 80 degree weather in Austin it took some getting used to the cold. Luckily the Midwestern diet of meat beer and cheese has softened the blow a bit.

Last night in Grand Rapids, MI marked our furthest point east on this leg of the tour. Technically that means we are exclusively driving west, and therefore finally heading home!

But not before a few last shows in the Midwest: we've got tonight in Madison, Tuesday in Minneapolis, and then we head over to Iowa.

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Rolling through the Midwest

2011-03-24T12:15:00.001-07:00

We have officially left the warm weather and a few timezones in our wake as we take the show to the Midwest. Last night in St. Louis marked our first show of 15 with Chamberlin - a tour which will eventually land us back home in SF April 8th. Tonight we're in Newport Kentucky at the Southgate House.

A few scenes from the Old Rock House in St Louis.

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

SXSW in our rearview

2011-03-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

With SXSW behind us, we have started our regular national tour. We packed up and left Austin Saturday morning after hitting up the gospel brunch at Stubb's BBQ. Wow did we eat a lot - and Eli Paperboy Reed killed it!

After brunch, we sat in 6 hours of traffic all the way to Denton where we played last night with Ok Sweetheart.

Today we have a day off - we have been spending time with some new friends in Midlake and enjoying the town. It's hot here! Hard to believe in a week we'll be back up north in cold late winter weather.

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

SXSW Update

2011-03-18T12:23:00.001-07:00

It's a special balance between schlepping gear, circling the city with the trailer, and kicking a little ass at shows that reminds us that it's halfway though our SXSW week. So far it's been a great time for us. Last night we had our official No Depression showcase and we played a sweaty fun set to an enthusiastic crowd. Our friends in Olin and the Moon came up and joined us on Call and Response. We raged it so hard our amps got unplugged. Oops!

Speaking of unplugged - we had a pancake related power meltdown at our first day party (long story) which led to this article featured in Wired:

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/03/scenes-sxsw-music/?pid=3091&viewall=true

A brief moment of rest between shows yesterday. That grass was not soft!

More soon!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

SXSW bound

2011-03-14T10:29:00.001-07:00

SXSW is like the playoffs - you roll in with whatever you've got. In our case, we didn't let a flat on the trailer stop us at 3am leaving LA.

Also, old habits die hard - we had to get late night post show tacos from our favorite LA taco truck with our favorite late night taco connoisseur.

We'll only settle for the best, or whatever gets us to our friends in Texas and we hope to see some of you along the way.

We'll be in Tempe tonight - see you there!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Back home, ready for CA shows!

2011-03-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

After one hell of a long trip from Manchester, England to San Francisco yesterday, we are back in our native state and time zone and ready for some bay area fun!

We will be in Sacramento tomorrow night, Fresno on thursday night and Santa Cruz on friday at the Crepe Place. After that we begin our SXSW run and National tour. Fun!

Heading home

2011-03-06T01:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in the Manchester airport enjoying the last few moments of our trip to the UK. It's hard to believe that almost 3 weeks ago we were just getting off the plane and heading into London at this time. There has been so many great shows and new friends since then!

Thanks to everyone who came out and saw us while we were over here - we had a great time and hope to be back soon.

See you on the other side!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

UK tour winding down

2011-03-04T04:39:00.000-08:00

We only have two more shows folks! Then it's back to SF for a few days and off to SXSW and our US tour. Tonight we'll be in Liverpool soaking in musical history, and then Saturday we wrap things up in Ripon.

Thanks to everyone who made this tour awesome - and we hope to be back on this side of the pond soon!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Final 5 UK shows

2011-03-01T02:57:00.000-08:00

We are in the home stretch! Our final 5 show run in the UK starts tonight at the Bull and Gate in London. Then we return to the states to begin our SXSW run in the sun. See you there!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Good weather, good shows

2011-02-27T06:30:00.001-08:00

We have been blessed with some sunshine. Yesterday we had time off in Leeds to explore. There were several rainbows overhead all day long.

Other than playing shows we've spent a fair amount of time in the pub getting to know the local accents and drinking our share of fine ales.

And a little of this, whatever this is.

Tonight we play an early show in Barnsley and then we are off to London for a day off and our show on 3/1. Time is flying by - we'll be home in a week!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

New friends and merch

2011-02-24T06:05:00.001-08:00

Great show in Manchester last night. And the new shirts look great! Thanks Dave!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

UK road warriors

2011-02-23T11:19:00.001-08:00

After a week touring over here we've found our stride. So far so good! Shows have been well attended etc... But what about food and beer? Yes, that's been fantastic! Highlights include mussels at Brel in Glasgow.

Also we had a proper breakfast in Edinburgh.

Tonight we are in Manchester at Night and Day and tomorrow have a well deserved day off. (ie, more eating and drinking with a slight possibility of laundry)

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Kids in a candy store

2011-02-22T04:27:00.001-08:00

This is just a quick post to let the world know that dreams have been fulfilled here in Edinburg. Over 100 malt whiskies - and we tried as many as we could before the bar shut down. Feeling a bit cloudy this morning.

Off to Glasgow for more!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Scotland Bound

2011-02-21T02:35:00.001-08:00

After a wonderful night in Leicester (pictured) we are making the long haul up to Edinburg for our show tonight. So far we've had a wonderful time and all is good!

We don't get much Internet access - but when we do I'll keep updating the blog. The only good free wi-fi access is at service areas on the freeway. We are pretty spoiled in the US with our free Internet everywhere.

Anyway - next post from Scotland!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Day off in Wales

2011-02-19T11:10:00.001-08:00

First we stopped by Avebury to check out the stone circle and grab a few pints at the pub. Then we drove down (or over?) to Wales for the night.

Today we spent a lot of time running around the castles. What an epic day!

More soon! And shows!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

All is well in the UK

2011-02-17T07:45:00.001-08:00

We arrived in London yesterday morning to a very pleasant spring like day. Once we figured out how to drive and where we were going (and how to power on the gps) we were off to our first gig at The Garage.

The show was great! This was our first international audience and we were kind of blown away with how many people came to see us. We were also impressed with the delicious assortment of snack foods the UK has to offer.

Such as these. After the show we demolished just about everything because missed dinner. Then we slept. And slept.

Tonight we head down to Ascot for show #2 and then we get a day off. I'll post more when I can.

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

Happy Valentine's from OTW

2011-02-13T16:38:00.001-08:00

Are you feeling the love? We are! We are under the 48 hour mark to catch our flight to London. This is very exciting, because its the first time we will have traveled that far east. Usually we halt at the western edge of the Atlantic but not this time - this time we are skipping over the whole thing like a stone (with jet engines on it).

The final list of UK shows is on the website.

I will be updating this blog regularly from the UK - and then again when we return to the states (we have a national tour coming up starting march 8th). No promises that it won't all be about food... you know how we like to party.

- KB

Gearing up for the UK

2011-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

No?
We don't even fly over Africa?
Well, its close enough for guitar work.

Clearly we have our work cut out for us as we tour the UK for the first time. We leave in less than 2 weeks!

See you soon, duty free shop...

- KB

Happy New Year!

2011-01-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Or, the Whale's first tour of 2011! These will shows will be our first to try out new material and sell new t-shirts and totebags in preparation for our debut UK tour and the release of our self-titled album in overseas! This will also be the first local tour with Lia Rose (Built for the Sea, solo) and Sean Barnett (Cabana Boys, OK Sweetheart) as part of the OTW family. Come give them props and say hello!

Jan 26th-Uptown Nightclub-Oakland, CA
Jan 27th-Crepe Place-Santa Cruz, CA
Jan 28th-Cafe Coda-Chico, CA
Jan 29th-The Partisan-Merced, CA

Phase 1 Complete!

2010-11-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

We've had a great first week on the road with Chris Pureka and her awesome band. The northwest had some rain and cold for us, but it was good to us as it always is.

Starting Saturday we do the California portion of the tour. It's a beautiful drive from northern Oregon to LA, but a bit long, so we'll be stopping over in SF for the night. Jesse Bonn from the Maldives will be joining us as we paint the town.

Life is good!

- Kenny Bloggins mobile

News, Video, Etc...

2010-10-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

We're just a few weeks away from our November West Coast tour with Chris Pureka. Its our last tour of the year, and we are really excited to hit the road before the long rainy winter sets in. We are currently working on some new songs and planning our strategy for 2011. We are going to be doing a lot of touring next year so we will see you all soon!

We also have a new video from the Hoes Down Festival:

Fall Tourdates Announced!

2010-08-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

We've got a bunch of shows lined up for the fall along the West Coast. Every single one of them is going to be awesome!

Sep 16 2010 8:00P The Independent with Langhorne Slim San Francisco, California
Sep 17 2010 8:00P Brookdale Lodge with Langhorne Slim (FolkYeah Presents) Santa Cruz Mountains, CA
Oct 1 2010 8:30P Powerhouse Pub with The Mother Hips Folsom, CA
Oct 2 2010 2:00P Hoes Down Harvest Festival Guinda, CA
Oct 8 2010 8:30P SOhO with The Mother Hips Santa Barbara, CA
Oct 9 2010 1:00P Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival with These United States, Langhorne Slim, and more Joshua Tree, CA
Nov 8 2010 8:00P Wild Buffalo House of Music Bellingham, WA
Nov 9 2010 8:00P The Tractor Tavern Seattle, Washington
Nov 10 2010 8:00P Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
Nov 11 2010 8:00P Axe and Fiddle, Pub and Grill Cottage Grove, OR
Nov 13 2010 8:30P Spaceland with Chris Pureka Los Angeles, CA
Nov 14 2010 8:00P House of Blues-San Diego San Diego, CA
Nov 15 2010 8:00P Muddy Water’s Cafe Santa Barbara, California
Nov 16 2010 8:00P The Catalyst Santa Cruz, CA
Nov 18 2010 8:00P Downtown Brewing Company San Luis Obispo, CA

One from the road

2010-08-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Matt snapped this great photo after our last show with These United States in Santa Fe. We had such a great time playing with them! Thanks to everyone who came out to see us and we will see you all soon!

Latest tour videos online!

2010-08-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

The last few dates with These United States were a lot of fun - especially our weekend in Vegas! Check out Jesse's latest videos:

Day Two Video now up

2010-08-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

So far so good - we're in Las Vegas at our suite at Caesar's getting ready for the show tonight with These United States. This video is from our San Francisco and Los Angeles shows - check it out!

These United States and Or, The Whale - Day 1

2010-08-12T14:49:00.001-07:00

August run with These United States

2010-07-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

We had such an amazing week in Colorado earlier this month - thanks to everyone who came out to see us! Now that we have caught our breath and cooled down a bit (it was hot out there) we are gearing up for our August tour - every show is with our good friends These United States:

Wednesday August 11th, 2010
Crepe Place - Santa Cruz, CA
1134 Soquel Avenue
with These United States
21+ - $10

Thursday August 12th, 2010
Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
1233 17th Street
with These United States and Boxcar Saints
21+ - $12

Friday August 13th, 2010
Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA
1717 Silverlake Blvd
with These United States
21+ - $10

Saturday August 14th, 2010
Bunkhouse Saloon - Las Vegas, NV
124 South 11th Street
with These United States

Monday August 16th, 2010
Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ
1019 East Indian School
with These United States

Tuesday August 17th, 2010
Santa Fe Brewing Co - Santa Fe, NM
with These United States
21+

Wednesday August 18th, 2010
Low Spirits - Albuquerque, NM
2823 2nd Street Northwest
with Bellemah and Pierre
21+ - $5

Thursday August 19th, 2010
Plush - Tucson, AZ
340 East 6th Street
with Courtney Robbins and Leila Lopez
21+ - $5

Colorado, here we come!

2010-07-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

We are hitting the road this week - driving out to beautiful summertime Colorado via Utah. Stay tuned to The Whale's Tale for updates from the road. And hey! We'll see you out there!

Wednesday July 14th, 2010
Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
241 South 500 East
with Fox Van Cleep and The Highbeams
21+

Thursday July 15th, 2010
Hi-Dive - Denver, CO
7 S. Broadway
with Andrea Ball and The Hollyfelds
21+ - $8

Friday July 16th, 2010
Triple Nickel Tavern - Colorado Springs, CO
26 S. Wahsatch Avenue
21+

Saturday July 17th, 2010
Private Show - Aspen, CO

Sunday July 18th, 2010
Carbondale Summer of Music Concert Series - Carbondale, CO
Sopris Park
All Ages - Free

Heading up north! New Video!

2010-06-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Check out this great video Jesse made during our rehearsal a few weeks ago:

Also, we are heading up to the Pacific Northwest this weekend to play some shows and hang out with some good friends. (and definitely to eat at the Oxacan place next to the Sunset Tavern in Ballard)

Here is a list of the shows:

Thursday June 17th, 2010
Axe and Fiddle - Cottage Grove, OR
641 E. Main Street
with Anticipate Pie
21+ - $5

Friday June 18th, 2010
Sunset Tavern - Seattle, WA
5433 Ballard Avenue Northwest
with The Horde and Harem and Jack Wilson & The Wife Stealers
21+ - $8

Saturday June 19th, 2010
Berbati's Pan - Portland, OR
231 SW Ankeny Street
with Beautiful Trainwrecks and The Lower 48
All Ages - $8

See you up there!

Rickshaw!

2010-06-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

We're really excited to announce that we'll be headlining an ALL AGES SHOW at The Rickshaw Stop SF on Friday June 11th. It's been a while since we've played The Rickshaw, and it's gonna be great! Joining us on the bill are San Diego's alt-folk rockers Get Back Loretta, and local surf-rockers A B and the Sea. We'll be trying out some new material, slated for our next album, pulling out songs from the vault, and maybe a couple of surprises...?

Here are the details:

Friday, June 11th
The Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell St (@ Van Ness)
San Francisco, CA

Doors: 8:30/ $10/ ALL AGES!

Socal weekend coming up

2010-05-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

We will be coming down to LA and San Diego this weekend:

Friday May 28th, 2010
Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA
1717 Silver Lake Blvd
with Parson Redheads, Olin and the Moon, and Whispering Pines
21+ - $7

Saturday May 29th, 2010
Casbah - San Diego, CA
2501 Kettner Blvd

Come on out and see us debut some brand new material!

OTW Twitter

2010-05-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Its a simple concept: 7 days in a week, 7 members in the band, 7 days of different people twittering on the Or, the Whale Twitter page. Check it out!

Tour Diary #2

2010-03-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks for an awesome tour friends.

Updated SXSW schedule

2010-03-17T11:08:00.001-07:00

Here is our complete schedule in Austin this week. All shows are free! We will be hanging out all week, so if you're in town look us up for a beer!

Wednesday March 17th, 2010
ZonePerfect live.create lounge - Austin, TX (SXSW)
503 Neches Street
Free - 5pm

Wednesday March 17th, 2010
Dominican Joe's - Austin, TX (SXSW)
515 S. Congress Avenue
Free - 8:30pm

Thursday March 18th, 2010
Brooklyn Vegan/AnSo Party - Austin, TX (SXSW)
2908 Fruth Street
with Thee Oh Sees, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and more!
Free - 1pm

Thursday March 18th, 2010
Bay Area Takeover - Austin, TX (SXSW)
617 E. 7th Street
with Sleepy Sun, Birds and Batteries, Wallpaper., more!
Free - 4:40pm

Friday March 19th, 2010
Mother Hips Party - Austin, TX (SXSW)
2538 Guadalupe Street
with The Mother Hips, Chuck Prophet, and more!
Free - 2pm

Saturday March 20th, 2010
Force Field/Hometapes Party - Austin, TX (SXSW)
815 E. 6th Street
with Bear in Heaven, Pattern is Movement, Bowerbirds, and more!
Free - 3:40pm

Saturday March 20th, 2010
Cheer Up Charlie's Party - Austin, TX (SXSW)
1104 E. 6th Street
with tons of amazing bands!
Free - 6:30pm

Tour Diary Volume One Now Online!

2010-03-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! Our tour with the Maldives has been amazing so far. Our shows in the Northwest and San Francisco were awesome in every way. As usual, we are doing blog posts as we go - but this time its a bit different because we are doing a Video Blog (as promised a few posts ago).

So, without further ado - here is volume one. Enjoy, and we'll see you on the road!

Tour is a beautiful thing

2010-03-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

Here is our official tour schedule, including SXSW appearances. (note, we are still adding and sorting out some details - I will post and major changes if necessary)

Mar 9 Doug Fir Lounge with The Maldives Portland, Oregon
Mar 10 Tractor Tavern with The Maldives Seattle, Washington
Mar 11 Axe and Fiddle with The Maldives Cottage Grove, Oregon
Mar 12 The Independent with The Maldives San Francisco, California
Mar 13 Hotel Cafe with The Maldives Los Angeles, California
Mar 14 Bar Pink with The Maldives San Diego, California
Mar 15 Club Congress with Delta Spirit and The Maldives Tucson, Arizona

SXSW:

Mar 17 Zone Perfect Live.Create Lounge 5pm
Mar 17 Dominican Joes 7:30pm
Mar 18 Brooklyn Vegan/AnSo Party at Spider House 1pm
Mar 18 Bay Area Takeover at The Beauty Bar 4:40pm
Mar 19 Mother Hips Party at The Hole in the Wall (set time tbd)
Mar 20 Force Field/Hometapes Party at Friend Island 3pm
Mar 20 Cheer Up Charlies 6:30pm (in between 2 events)

See you on the road!

Hitting the Beach

2010-02-23T21:50:00.000-08:00

We've had enough rain and wind and are heading south to Solana Beach saturday night to play a show with The Mother Hips and Billy Midnight. Details and tickets can be found here - we hear that the show will sell out, so buy tickets in advance!

Then its a week off until we hit the road for 2 weeks with the Maldives heading down to Texas for the too much fun thing.

Our version of Toxic has been creating quite the stir on the internet - don't believe me? Try Googling it!

Things are insane for us right now - big things are happening, and new music is being created. 2010 is off to a great start.

See you all on the beach next weekend!

Top Secret Toxic Project

2010-02-01T11:41:00.001-08:00

Its finally here! Our very own secret project is ready for prime time, courtesy of the Fantasy Covers Project podcast on the blog Coke Machine Glow. They have given us special permission to release the song to our fans early. You can download it free!

Or, the Whale - Toxic

We encourage you to share this with your friends, enemies, family, roommates... whomever you think would want to hear it. Right click to download, distribute, and indulge, compliments of us here at the Whale's Tale.

In other news, Alex has a feature at The Black Harbor as part of their new Auditory Viewing series. These are very good friends of the band, and they also recently did a video feature on Justin.

Immediately after last week's "List of Lists" posting, we discovered about 10 more lists that we were on. I am not going to post them all here - but needless to say we Thank You all for helping us have an awesome 2009. Things are going to get even better in 2010! Our first show of the year is less than a month away, and our awesome tour with The Maldives down to South By Southwest is less than 6 weeks away!

A list of lists

2010-01-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

I know I promised our top secret project for my next Whale's Tale post - hang in there! Its coming soon! Instead, what I have to offer you is a list of lists: The year end top ten lists which we are really proud and psyched to be on.

We have shows coming up! San Diego at the end of Feb with The Mother Hips, and then a 2 week tour in March through the Northwest and into Texas. All March shows are with The Maldives! Top secret project or no, it just doesn't get any better than that! At least for us - we love those guys.

Without further ado - the list of lists:

Tammies.com

Jayelaudio.com

Atomicned.com

Popshifter.com

7x7.com

Thebaybridged.com

OTW goes Belly Up

2010-01-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

We've added a show to our calendar. Feb 27th at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA with the Mother Hips. Its going to be an excellent show - a little warmup for our tour starting March 9th in Portland, OR that takes us to SXSW with our good friends The Maldives. We are really looking forward to playing with the Mother Hips again! Those guys kicked a little ass at Great American Music Hall last month and I have a feeling they'll kick a little more next month.

Full show details and tickets can be found here.

We are almost done with our top secret project! I have a feeling the next Whale's Tale post will be about that - so check back soon.

In the meantime - happy new year - this is going to be a good one!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

And what better way to bring it in than with new videos, new tourdates, and new toys? The above video comes from our CD Release show in SF last month.

Speaking of video, next year The Whale's Tale is making an ambitious leap to video. Thanks to the gadget endorsing family of yours truly, I will be making videos from the road and intermingling them with our regular blog posts. It will probably still all be about food, but at least you get to watch us eat hot dogs so you don't have to bother using your imagination.

Next item of business - March tourdates! We are making a trip back to Texas for South By Southwest again this year, but this time we are tag teaming the first week westcoast tour with the Maldives. The complete list of dates is posted on our myspace page and on our website.

2009 was an excellent year for us, and we are grateful for sharing it with all of you. Looking ahead, 2010 is going to be even better, and we can't wait to get started!

Rusty Gold Music Video sans nudity

2009-12-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

Looks like LA weekly likes our video. Can you blame them? Now I wonder what their reaction would have been if they'd seen the cut with the cut. You know, full frontal, old testament style. Luckily our actor has been spared the indecent exposure. I am sure he is regretting not being the forefather of hipster porn. Could happen.

We'll be at the Great American Music Hall saturday night in SF to support the Mother Hips. Should be a night of serene guitar tone. Looks like tickets are still available as of now - we advise getting them in advance because the Hips will sell this show out!

Tickets

Next post is to announce March tour dates. See you soon!

Whales in the News

2009-12-07T10:06:00.001-08:00

Did anyone catch this story in the news? Recent data suggets that blue whales are changing their songs for an unknown reason. According to researcher Mark McDonald (probably no relation to Michael) there has been a steep decline in the pitch of their songs since the 1960's. The whales use their songs to create a communication network around the world. This is probably better than what we've got because iPhones can't get wet. Score 1 for the Blue Whales, 0 for the Or, the Whales.

But unlike our giant blue brethren, we are preparing to crank it up a notch in 2010. Nothing to be forlorn about on our end - I can't spill all the beans, but I can say that we have planned a March Tour and will be announcing dates shortly. And maybe some whales in international waters in the not too distant future?

Stay tuned.

December 19th at Great American Music Hall

2009-11-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

We are returning to The Great American Music Hall on Saturday December 19th to support The Mother Hips for their holiday show! Its going to be a lot of fun! Full details and tickets can be found by clicking here.

And of course a little plug - if you are doing a little post thanksgiving holiday shopping, don't forget to visit our online store. We've got everything anybody would ever need, and maybe some stuff they don't even need.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T23:40:00.000-08:00

From all of us in Or, the Whale - here's to you!

Hopmonk Tavern Saturday

2009-11-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks! We're playing up in Sebastopol this Saturday night at the Abbey at Hopmonk Tavern along with Winter's Fall. Should be a fun one! Details

Things have been pretty mellow since we got home from the long Fall tour. Nothing quite like being home, sleeping in the same bed (or just a bed for that matter), showering with hot water, eating vegetables, pooping when you want to - you know, the little things in life. That said, we do have some pretty important things going on before we close out the year. Unfortunately, I'm going to save it for the next blog post so I am not writing about poop two weeks in a row. See you then!

Cafe Du Nord CD Release Saturday

2009-11-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

We are having our San Francisco CD release show tomorrow night 11/14 at Cafe Du Nord. Full details can be found on both our website and myspace page. This show will sell out - we highly recommend purchasing tickets in advance. Here is a link for tickets to the show:

tickets

We will be selling Vinyl editions of the new album at the show - these include digital download cards, are awesome, and are limited edition!

At tours end

2009-11-07T16:09:00.001-08:00

We've made it to the end of the line. Tonight is our last show at Echo Curio in Echo Park. It's been an amazing 5 weeks! Tomorrow morning we head back home to San Francisco. We have some local bay area shows coming up, and we will be announcing some winter dates soon as well.

We would like to thank everybody who came out to support us this fall. Friends family and fans alike - you are why we do this! It's been such a pleasure to see everyone across the US and we will see you again real soon.

Week 5

2009-11-02T20:24:00.001-08:00

We're beat, but we're gonna make it!

Things start late in Albuquerque on a Monday, and it's a haul to Flagstaff tomorrow - but then we come home to California! This is the home stretch folks, and we are gonna finish this thing on a high note.

We survived the meats of Texas, the days off in New Orleans, and the two day trek from Austin to New Mexico. The greener pastures of San Francisco are less then a week away, and they're so close we can taste them. This has been our best tour ever, and we are really grateful to all the awesome people who helped make it possible.

Venue Changes

2009-10-30T23:19:00.001-07:00

Hey folks - we have a few last minute venue changes this week, including tomorrow night's show in Austin. Here's the scoop:

10/31 Halloween in Austin, TX at Cheer Up Charlies, 1104 E 6th st. Free show at 9:30pm

11/3 Mia's Lounge in Flagstaff, AZ, 26 S San Francisco st. Original show was on the 4th, so please note the new date and location. 9pm.

Daytrotter

2009-10-29T14:21:00.001-07:00

Our session from Rock Island is up on the daytrotter website. Check it out!

Beautiful Georgia

2009-10-25T16:34:00.001-07:00

Last night at the drunken unicorn - so much awesome! The south has been great to us, and it's very beautiful here.

Tomorrow we're off to Mobile Alabama, where it will be even warmer. I think we have officially outrun the cold.

Hot Dogs for Breakfast!

2009-10-23T09:52:00.001-07:00

Yes we can.

After another awesome night in Chattenooga, a new beautiful southern day begins, and it began with hot dogs courtesy of Good Dog. Or, the Whale recommends it.

Songs in the South

2009-10-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

We've been having a great time in the south, playing with some great bands and meeting new friends.

We are half way through this thing - it's hard to believe how fast it's been going, and how much ground we have already covered.

Tonight is our last night in Tennessee. It's getting sunnier and warmer every mile south we go. What a beutiful part of the country and what an amazig time of year to be here!

What did we do?

2009-10-19T10:38:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun in Huntington, WV last night. Maybe too much. 3 more weeks of tour, the beards will grow back - but I think we are all kind of digging this look.

And puppy!

Winners

2009-10-15T18:12:00.001-07:00

Leaving New England

2009-10-12T11:27:00.001-07:00

It's been an awesome run of shows in beautiful New England. Tonight is the last one at the Middle East in Boston. After this we head south, out of the cold. Tonight marks the farthest show from home at about 3090 something miles. So, in a way, you could say that after tonight we are on our way back home. However, we still have 4 glorious weeks ahead of us! We're just getting started!

Bushwick Music Studios

2009-10-10T13:14:00.001-07:00

Hey folks - we have changed venues for our brooklyn show tonight. We are now at Bushwick Music Studios at 55 Waterbury st. Should be a fun show with great bands!

Hot Dogs!

2009-10-08T09:24:00.001-07:00

Rolling through the Midwest

2009-10-07T12:18:00.001-07:00

The Midwest has been really good to us. We have spent the last few days hanging out and playing with These United States. After our first show together in Minnesota we had a day off together, which we spent bowling. We had some high stakes bets, which we mostly lost because it turns out that we stink at bowling.

But it was punk rock Monday so there would be no winners or losers. About half way into the second game the alley turned ultraviolet and the lanes turned into a psychedelic spectacle of flashing disco lights. After enough PBR to drown a horse the band sounded pretty awesome, and the bowling game disentergrated into punk rock angst, most of which we could identify with. Oh Youth, with all of your follies... Put a blast beat behind youself and some feedback and you'll have my attention.

Purpwhale Rain

2009-10-05T11:29:00.001-07:00

It's pretty awesome to be hanging around the place where Purple Rain was filmed. The neighborhood seems to have changed a lot since the 80's - it's much more corporate now, but 1st Avenue and 7th Street Entry looked familiar. If you listen closely you can still hear the echoes of Prince's motorcycle in the alleyways.

Other perks of the Midwest: cheese curds. Julie and Tim bought a bag and everyone got to enjoy these squishy squeaky salty little clumps of delicious dairy.

And no, the orange color did not kill anybody, as one might think. (you know, those east coast cheese purists who scoff at orange coloring... yours truly for example)

Today we are enjoying a day off in Minneapolis with These United States. I'll post results of the bowling games - but I think we're gonna kick their asses! (keep your fingers crossed for OTW)

Mr Glen Sims

2009-10-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

Perhaps the greatest bartender one can ask for on the first night of the tour. I was lucky to capture Glen smiling and having some fun with us before the show last night.

St Louis treated us well, and we are currently at a pizza joint in Rock Island, IL awaiting our load in for our daytrotter recording session. Tonight we are at the Rock Island Brewing Company as we make our way through the Midwest towards Chicago.

More soon!

National Tour Begins Tomorrow in St.Louis!

2009-09-30T11:38:00.001-07:00

Little Sam can barely contain the excitement to see his uncle play in New York the the weekend of the 10th. We like to start them off young!

Tomorrow is the day it all begins - over 5 weeks, 30 cities, and thousands upon thousands of miles will be covered. We have our new record in tow, some new T shirt designs, and lots of music to share with everybody.

The final tour dates are posted below. Full details of each show including other artists on the bill are on both our website and myspace page. We are looking forward to seeing you all on the road - keep checking The Whale's Tale for photos, news, updates and stories about OTW in transit.

Updated Tour Schedule:

2009-09-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hey folks - we have added some more dates to the tour. Below is the new complete list - you can find full details including what bands we are playing with at our Myspace page.

We have vinyl editions of the new record which we will be selling at our upcoming shows. These come with a digital download card, and they look and sound gorgeous! Its a limited edition run so make sure you get one while you can!

Oct 1 - 8:00P Billiken Club - St. Louis, Missouri
Oct 2 3:00P Daytrotter Session - Rock Island, Illinois
Oct 2 9:00P Rock Island Brewing Company - Rock Island, Illinois
Oct 3 6:00P Chicago Country Music Festival - (Grant Park) Chicago, Illinois
Oct 4 9:00P 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 6 9:00P The Mill - Iowa City, Iowa
Oct 7 9:00P Subterranean - Chicago, Illinois
Oct 8 9:00P Lava Lounge - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Oct 9 9:00P Piano’s - New York, New York
Oct 10 9:00P Shea Stadium - Brooklyn, New York
Oct 11 8:00P Metronome - Burlington, Vermont
Oct 12 9:00P Middle East - Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 14 9:00P Milcreek Tavern - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 15 9:00P Comet Ping Pong - Washington DC
Oct 16 9:00P The Bridge - Charlottesville, Virginia
Oct 17 9:00P The Rocket Club - Asheville, North Carolina
Oct 18 6:00P Mountain Stage at Keith-Albee Theater - Huntington, WV
Oct 19 9:00P The Garage - Winston/Salem, North Carolina
Oct 20 9:00P TBA - Nashville, Tennessee
Oct 22 9:00P JJ’s Bohemia - Chattanooga, Tennessee
Oct 23 3:00P Paste Magazine In-Studio - Decatur, Georgia
Oct 23 9:00P Caledonia Lounge - Athens, Georgia
Oct 24 9:00P Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 26 9:00P Alabama Music Box - Mobile, Alabama
Oct 27 9:00P One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 30 8:00P Revolution - Bryan, Texas
Oct 31 9:00P Hole in the Wall - Austin, Texas
Nov 2 9:00P Burt’s Tiki Lounge - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 4 9:00P Hotel Monte Vista - Flagstaff, Arizona
Nov 5 9:00P The Casbah - San Diego, California
Nov 6 9:00P Hotel Cafe - Hollywood, California
Nov 7 9:00P Echo Curio - Echo Park, California
Nov 14 9:00P Cafe Du Nord - San Francisco, California
Nov 21 9:00P Hopmonk Tavern - Sebastapol, California

Or, the Whale is out!

2009-09-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

The new album is finally out! You will be able to find it at most music stores and online retailers.

In other news - congratulations to Alex and Melanie, who got married Sept. 13th here in San Francisco. We love you both and are so happy for you!

We are really getting close to the first national tour in over a year. There are details listed below, but for a full list with all details (including who we are playing with) please check our Myspace Page

See you all soon!

Fall Tour Announcement

2009-08-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since we have done a full blown national tour, but we promised we would return to the east coast and to the south and we are about to deliver in October. Also, we are really getting close to releasing our new record which is simply called "Or, the Whale" on september 15th! Thats only 3 weeks away!

Here is a full list of tour dates - more details can be found on our myspace page:

Oct 1 - 8:00P Billiken Club - St. Louis, Missouri
Oct 2 3:00P Daytrotter Session - Rock Island, Illinois
Oct 2 9:00P Rock Island Brewing Company - Rock Island, Illinois
Oct 3 6:00P Chicago Country Music Festival - (Grant Park) Chicago, Illinois
Oct 4 9:00P 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 6 9:00P The Mill - Iowa City, Iowa
Oct 7 9:00P Subterranean - Chicago, Illinois
Oct 8 9:00P Lava Lounge - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Oct 9 9:00P Piano’s - New York, New York
Oct 10 9:00P TBA - Brooklyn, New York
Oct 11 8:00P Metronome - Burlington, Vermont
Oct 12 9:00P Middle East - Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 14 9:00P Milcreek Tavern - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 15 9:00P Comet Ping Pong - Washington DC
Oct 16 9:00P The Bridge - Charlottesville, Virginia
Oct 19 9:00P The Garage - Winston/Salem, North Carolina
Oct 20 9:00P TBA - Nashville, Tennessee
Oct 22 9:00P JJ’s Bohemia - Chattanooga, Tennessee
Oct 23 3:00P Paste Magazine In-Studio - Decatur, Georgia
Oct 23 9:00P Caledonia Lounge - Athens, Georgia
Oct 24 9:00P Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 26 9:00P Alabama Music Box - Mobile, Alabama
Oct 27 9:00P One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 30 8:00P Revolution - Bryan, Texas
Oct 31 9:00P Hole in the Wall - Austin, Texas
Nov 2 9:00P Burt’s Tiki Lounge - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 4 9:00P Hotel Monte Vista - Flagstaff, Arizona
Nov 5 9:00P The Casbah - San Diego, California
Nov 6 9:00P Hotel Cafe - Hollywood, California
Nov 7 9:00P Echo Curio - Echo Park, California
Nov 14 9:00P Cafe Du Nord - San Francisco, California

Northwest Tour begins August 13th

2009-08-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

We are gearing up for our small summer tour which begins thursday the 13th in Cottage Grove, OR. All details are available on our brand new website www.orthewhale.com.

There are four brand new songs on our myspace page, ready to go! Its a small taste of the new record, brought to you through one of the wonders of the modern world: the internets.

All this new stuff makes one wonder "isn't anything built to last anymore?" and it turns out that yes, it is. You can use your skill of recognizing object permanence with Or, the Whale dry goods available at our Big Cartel store.

Black Rabbit

2009-07-30T13:50:00.001-07:00

Its been a great month of slowly leaking songs from the new record, and yesterday, being the final Wednesday of July, means that the final song has been posted on the myspace page.

We are playing a few shows in the bay area over the weekend - you can find all details on our new website!!!

We will be posting fall tour dates soon, and the record hits the street on September 15th!

Redefining Never

2009-07-22T17:39:00.001-07:00

To those who might have been offended by my original choice of photo - I apologize. I literally googled "Never Coming Out" and that popped up. Or out. Or whatever. Here is something a little more PC.

Its another Wednesday in July, so we added another song to our myspace page.

This week, Never Coming Out is featured. I really have no idea why I chose this photo to promote the song... probably because there are things that should come out, such as "Never Coming Out" and there are things that should actually never come out to see the light of day. Just take a listen and decide for yourself!

Week two - the power of intention

2009-07-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

The second weds in July can only mean one thing - another new song from the upcoming album posted on the myspace page!

This week, we take a spirit journey with Datura. Whoah no what did we accidentally smoke? Or was it intentional? Its matters not: just get your fix until we post another new song next week.

Myspace update will feature weekly rollout of new songs!

2009-07-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Our myspace page is going to feature a new song from the upcoming record every Wednesday in July. This week, let the eagle inside you fly with "Rusty Gold".

The new myspace page is just the beginning - sometime during the summer we will unveil a brand new website and, of course, on September 15th the new record hits the streets followed by a national tour!

Livecast at Chessvolt studios!

2009-07-06T21:54:00.001-07:00

Back in May, while we were in LA we had the great pleasure of doing an in studio recording for the Luxury Wafers blog. Its been edited down and posted on their website and is now ready for public consumption. Besides the video posted below, there are additional MP3's which you can listen to. Check it out!

Or, The Whale - Never Coming Out - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.

Summer Tour Dates!

2009-07-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

Before summer love, there has to be a lot of summer dates! Here is the list:

7/30 Starry Plough in Berkeley, CA
7/31 Verdi Club in SF, CA (acoustic set to benefit Bay Bridged - the good guys!)
8/13 Axe and Fiddle in Cottage Grove, OR
8/14 Tractor Tavern in Seattle, WA
8/15 Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR

Our new record hits the streets in 82 days!!!

Until then, try not to blow off any fingers and happy Independence Day!

Science and Technology

2009-06-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

The world is an amazing place. Many years ago, the internet left the dank caves where it evolved and allowed for users of social networking sites to choose their own username or avatar - now in 2009 this technology is back!

Ladies and gentlemen, let me officially introduce the Or, the Whale official Facebook URL:

facebook.com/orthewhale

Here you can find fresh photos, posts about shows, and connect with other fans of the band. Its the most exciting thing to happen since sliced myspace.

Bay Area shows this weekend, and only SF show of the summer!

2009-06-02T20:13:00.001-07:00

Ok, I realize the cheddar bunny thing is dead.

We are playing three shows in the bay area this weekend, including a special show in San Francisco this saturday night at the Independent, with our good friends from Seattle, The Maldives.

We are playing at the Crepe Place in Santa Cruz Thursday night, Sophia's in Davis on Friday, and then coming back to SF on Saturday for our last hometown show of the summer.

We'll be doing another trip up north in August, and then we get ready for the big one: a 5-6 week National tour to support our brand new record, which is released at the end of September. Things are really starting to get exciting!

Big Cat, Street Meat, and the long ride home

2009-05-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

Friday night in Seattle and it can only mean one thing - street meat after the show! We usually don't do too much experimentation with meat, but this guy really knew how to dress a hot dog in an interesting and creative manner. Putting our trust and faith in him, we were able to soar to new heights of hot dog deliciousness.

Yes, I realize that the majority of the tour blog has been about food, but its a really important part of playing in a band, I promise.

Lindsay took this awesome shot of a jaguar at the Seattle Zoo. To this guy, we were the street meat - walking hot dogs with interesting adornment. Luckily he was behind a wall - lucky for us, but we are not going to begin an ethical debate. We'll just take it at face value that its pretty amazing to be that close to the mystical jaguar.

We are heading back to San Francisco today. The tour is over! We are playing a few Bay Area shows at the end of the week, including our big hometown show at the Independent in SF on saturday night with our heroes the Maldives from Seattle.

Bunny Map Update

2009-05-27T09:43:00.001-07:00

As promised, here is the updated version of our mutant Cheddar Bunny map. As you can see, in the past week we have covered a lot of ground. We are on our way up to Boise tonight from Salt Lake City. So far the shows have been excellent, and we have been enjoying every minute of the tour.

Today marks the home stretch - maybe not geographically - but in just a few days we will make our way back to San Francisco and celebrate with a few shows in the bay area next weekend. But lets not get ahead of ourselves - we are still coming to Idaho, Washington, and Oregon!

Sausage Christmas

2009-05-26T00:04:00.001-07:00

The Pantry in Santa Fe was hands down the best breakfast place we have ever been to. The green chile single egg breakfast burrito was incredible, and we are forever grateful to Will for introducing us to what will become our new joint. Even though we did not have a show in Santa Fe, it was on our way and we spent our night off there among friends, dogs, and the stars in the night sky.

We have a new mascot courtesy of Matt. He lost his little white cowboy hat after about a mile and a half. I was wondering who might find that little white hat on the road and what they might make of it. Yes, there are cowboy prairie dogs.

The Art of Snacking and Distraction

2009-05-24T10:32:00.001-07:00

First, ponder the Corn Nut. Place it gently into your mouth and reflect on its salty deliciousness. Then, accept it for what it is: chew it, swallow, and feel good about snacking. Alex demonstrates this nicely in this photoset.

We had a long drive from San Diego to Tucson yesterday. Needless to say, a large amount of snacking was done. We are driving a fancy new van with a Playstation 2, GPS, and basically so many screens that you can't even see the road at all:

Add a heap of iphones, laptops with 3G connectivity, books, and maybe some conversation to the mix, and you've got a recipe for surviving an 8 hour drive with absolutely no discomfort or want for the fruits of the modern world.

We have a day off tonight which will be spent in Santa Fe. Tomorrow night we'll be at the High Dive in Denver - see you there!

Kittens in the backyard!

2009-05-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

While staying with friends in LA, we discovered that there were two families of kittens living in the backyard! We just had to get in on some cuteness! This kitten was the most friendly and the cutest.

Last night's show at the Viper room was great, and today is our last day in California for a while. Out into the great unknown!

We'll be at the Beauty Bar in San Diego tonight - if you're in the area, come check it out!

Day 1

2009-05-21T11:16:00.001-07:00

We left our home in San Francisco and made it to LA last night in time to see a fire on the highway and great gobs of traffic as a result. Luckily it was on the other side of the road and did not affect us. Our show at the Silverlake Lounge was a lot of fun!

I have created a map on a mutant Cheddar Bunny that I pulled out of the box yesterday while snacking on the ride down. As you can see, leg one of our tour is pretty short geographically, but we have a long way to go and I will do my best to keep the blog and cheddar bunny updated over the course of the next two weeks.

Viper room tonight. A lot of history in that place!

Tour Excitement!

2009-05-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Tour is imminent. We leave our beautiful home of San Francisco weds afternoon and begin 10 days of fun, music, and reconnecting with friends (pictured).

The tourdates are listed here, on our myspace page, and on our website. Also, you can contact us and check out what we are up to on our new Facebook Fan Page!

We will be updating the blog as we make our way through the southwest and up into the northwest, so if you are on the east coast or unable to make it out to see us for any reason you can relive the highlights right here on the Whale's Tale.

See you on the road!

A Very Special Show

2009-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

We are playing a special show benefiting Jack Julia Center for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Friday May 15th at 111 Minna in San Francisco. If last year was any indication, this will be a lot of fun and all the money goes to this great cause at Children's Hospital of Oakland.

Our good friend DJ Poppa Wheelie closes out the night after our set.

The event begins at 9pm and will fill up fast - get there early!

Mystic Theatre Show Cancelled / Tour announcement!

2009-04-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately our show this Sat. night in Petaluma was cancelled. One of the members of Cornmeal (the headliner) had a family emergency. We apologize for the late notice and we wish the band and theirs well.

We're very excited to announce that on Sat. June 6th we'll be headlining The Independent with The Maldives (Seattle) and Built for the Sea! This is our first time headlining on a weekend night and we hope you can make it out! We'll be playing some songs off Light Poles and Pines, as well as the new album, out for release in the fall, plus some surprises...

Tour Announcement

May 20th–Silverlake Lounge–Los Angeles, CA
May 21st–The Viper Room–Los Angeles, CA
May 22nd–Beauty Bar–San Diego, CA
May 23rd–The Hangar(t)–Tucson, AZ
May 25th–Hi-Dive–Denver, CO
May 26th–Kilby Court–Salt Lake City, UT
May 27th–Visual Arts Collective–Boise, ID
May 28th–Red Room–Kennewick, WA
May 29th–Tractor Tavern–Seattle, WA
May 30th–Doug Fir–Portland, OR
June 4th- The Crepe Place-Santa Cruz, CA
June 5th–Sophia’s–Davis, CA
June 6th- The Independent- San Francisco, CA

FOR TIMES, PRICES, AND FULL LINEUP, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR REVERB NATION CALENDAR.

Mystic Theatre in Petaluma Saturday

2009-04-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

We have been asked to join Corn Meal at the Mystic Theatre this saturday night May 2nd. The show starts at 9 and we are on first!

In the Studio!

2008-11-13T18:23:00.001-08:00

We've spent the last two weeks inside San Francisco's Tiny Telephone Studios, recording our second album, entitled...? due out in early spring. At the helm is Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Erase Errata, Cody Chestnut). Here are a few photos from the sessions so far. By the way, the cat's name is Marvin.

Belated Tour Wrap Up

2007-11-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks. Two weeks ago we returned from an 11-day West Coast tour. We realize that we’re incredible slackers whilst on tour as far as blog updating goes; However, we will try our best to piece together some highlights for you:

Firstly, we’d like to thank Tim Marcus for taking off a week of work to come on tour with us. This was our first tour with Tim who is an amazing pedal steel guitar player, and an extremely hilarious and knowledgeable dude. We learned quite a bit from him about how mushrooms and American Bison will one day save the world.

Thurs. Nov. 1st. To kick off the tour, we played 12 Galaxies in the Mission with Matt Bauer (SF/NY), Shortstack (DC) and The Parson Red Heads (LA). Musically speaking, we were really excited about this bill. The night felt relaxed and was paced well. Matt Bauer’s set was haunting and captivating, Shortstack picked things up with their loping, jangly, rustic sound, and the family band, The Parson Red Heads, rounded things out with their psychadelic folk pop. Our set included three new songs that we’ll be recording over the coming months.

Friday Nov. 2nd. The Pearl Lounge in Eureka, CA. We played with Strix Vega, and Side Iron. Both projects include former members of beloved Que La Chinga. We always have a good time at the Pearl. They give us free drinks (which includes Great White beer!) and the crowd is always nice and rowdy. This was our third time playing the Pearl Lounge and definitely our most successful night at the venue. The place was packed and we noticed that there were people in the audience who were singing along to our music. Thanks to everyone who came out, especially to Graham and Elizabeth (and the belly), Mullaney, Curtis, Damion, Chris, and Kyle. We had breakfast at the Wildflower the next day. They have amazing local honey and the Marvelous Muffin is just that - marvelous! The drive up to Portland from Eureka is something everyone should see. The redwoods and the ocean views are truly magnificent.

Sat. Nov. 3rd- The Tonic Lounge in Portland, OR. This place is divey - REAL divey. Neon signs, wood paneling, mozzarella sticks, and the distinct smell of smoke and stale beer. One great thing about the place? Their taste in music. They book great bands and the sound was surprisingly wonderful. We shared the stage with Drunken Prayer, and our BFF’s Bark, Hide, and Horn, This show was a lot of fun. We love coming to Portland. We recognize that most people in the crowd are either artists or musicians themselves, or at least are truly there for the music. People really listen- and DANCE! Thanks to Andy, Brian, Dusty, and Peter from BHH for being awesome and getting on stage to play our last song with us. And then later for inviting us on stage to help sing “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac. Also, thanks to Paige, Jessie, and Leon for putting up with our antics. Our Jesse is real sorry about the broken lamp. Thanks and love to the Chabots and Yona and that girl doing that very involved photo-shoot in the park.

Sun. Nov. 4th- Healthy Times Fun Club, Seattle, WA. I think collectively our favorite thing about this night was Grr, the dog. He is a full-sized poodle with polar bear paws. He gives doggy-hugs by putting her face in between your knees and he looks sort of fake - like one of those old-timey stuffed animals with the wooly hair. Rebecca and Jake were our amazing hosts at this basement live/art space. They made us burritos and opened up their whole living space to us for the duration. The show was intimate - it being a small space. But the people who were there were incredibly attentive and supportive. Alex lost his voice the night before at the Bark, Hide, and Horn house singing Michael McDonald songs at the top of his lungs, so we improvised - Matt, Julie, and Lindsay took over some of the leads and it worked out OK. Thanks so much to Daisy and her roommates for housing half the band and for generally being awesome. Thanks to Scott McChane, who opened the night with dark, dreamy folk, and to MiniVan, an acoustic duo just coming home from a five-week tour. These guys were captivating. They used mics on only a handful of songs, and pranced around the room with their guitars, singing tight poppy harmonies, and occasionally beating a drum with maracas or whatever they could find. The next day we went to brunch at the Coastal Kitchen. They do a rotating regional menu every few months and this time, they were featuring food from Basque. Julie and I (Lindsay) split crawfish crepes and French toast with dates, figs, custard, and pistachios. It was pretty freaking great.

Monday Nov. 5th- Someday Lounge, Portland, OR. This venue is fairly new and is the sister endeavor of brothers Kris and Eric Robison. Their first business located next door is called backspace - a cyber/gaming café complete with vegan prepared food, coffees, and a live dj. The cool part about playing this venue is that we got a discount on food, free gaming (Matt got computerface from many free hours of Portal playing), and we could generally relax in there with friends before the show. They also have a shower! (not that we used it, but we COULD have used it). Our soundcheck was long and slightly chaotic, however when we eventually played, both the on and off-stage sound were really great. We shared the night with The Meredith Brothers Band (who have a member in common with Drunken Prayer, with whom we played at The Tonic) and The Clampitt Family. Thanks to Erik Clampitt, Jessie and Andy, Yona, and everyone else who made our Monday night feel more like a Wednesday or Thursday.

Tues. Nov. 6th- The Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA. The Tractor is a pretty well-known and respected venue in Seattle, so we decided to pull out all the stops and put on the best show we possibly could. The set order was switched at the last minute, which was kind of a bummer since we had some friends coming out, but there was a healthy audience to hear us. We shared the night with local artist Carrie Biell, Dax Riggs (formerly of Deadboy and the Elephantmen), and Beaten Awake. Carrie put on a great show - she has a heart-piercing raspy twang, and her lyrics are poetic, but accessible. Dax Riggs is a creature all his own. Coming from a punk and metal background, he has matured into a rock/blues style, but has still managed to keep the metal aesthetic apparent in his lyrics (lots of blood and death), and his fanbase (lots of black clothes). His voice is unlike anything we had ever heard. Love it. Thanks so much to the Sam and Ben from Ghosts I’ve Met for hanging out on Wednesday and for introducing us to some people at KEXP (and for sharing that weird blue cheese, potato, and jalapeno concoction with us. You saved us from our impending digestive doom). And also thanks to members of Conrad Ford and family April and Molly, Jordan, and Andy, for coming out, housing/feeding us, and carting us around town.

Wed. Nov. 7th- ABC House, Olympia, WA. We had been hearing about the house show scene in Olympia for some time, so we booked a show with Margaret at the ABC House. This show was weird, but fun. Apparently there were a host of other events going on as well as an anti-war protest happening on this particular night. We shared the night with two other acts - one guy singing songs on his ukulele and a really cool/trippy cello and violin duo making odd sounds through distorters as a live soundtrack to projections of shapes cut into old film. It was really cool and made me wish I were into psychedelics. Our crowd was “intimate” and extremely appreciative. We had a little jam session with our host Margaret at the end of the night, and then a little jam session the next day at the New Moon Café (they make their own homemade blackberry jam, and we were pounding it.)

Thurs. Nov. 8th- Stonehenge, Eugene, OR. Picture a college party house with its dingy furniture, empty beer bottles and food containers, bongs and pipes, mountains of dirty clothes, and lots and lots of college-aged people milling about. That’s Stonehenge. They put on basement shows almost every week and usually bring in some pretty impressive acts. On this particular night, we shared the stage with Muke, a local girl/guy duo and World’s Greatest Ghosts from Portland. The crowd was really great. They were really into it. One guy was playing along on his acoustic, trying to figure out the songs on the spot. Thanks to Jim, Rebecca, Ben, and Katie (happy 7th!!) for making the trip out. We actually ended up crashing at the house….it was interesting. In the living room there are two huge spiderwebs complete with gigantic house spiders. Some of us had to sleep in this room. I slept in a room with a broken window. There was one of those dirty clothes mounds on the floor, so I just stuffed the window with some jackets. Oh college…

Fri. Nov. 9th- Crux Arts Collective- Chico, CA. This day was probably the most grueling drive-wise, so when we pulled up to the Crux Arts Collective, we were a bit road-beaten. We had heard good things about the live music scene in Chico, but it was still early and seemed slightly deserted. The Crux is a really interesting venue. It’s also an art gallery and artist collective. After the live music, they hosted a 48-hour art-making event, open to anyone with a paintbrush. We assume lots of coffee and other substances (like soda and cookies) were probably consumed to help keep the creative juices flowing. We got tacos next door, read the paper, and snoozed in the car until the show started. Around 8 PM, more and more people started filing in. Local bands Sleazy Earl Ray and the 2 Drink Minimum, and the Shankers book-ended the night. Thanks so much to Brian Kreb and Christy for coming out to the show (and for buying up our merch!).

Sat. Nov. 10th- The Prospector, Long Beach, CA. What a quirky venue this place is. At first glance, it looks sort of like a sports bar with hokey cowboy paraphernalia on the walls, but like The Tonic Lounge in Portland, this neighborhood spot comes to life at night. The staff was wonderfully accommodating and the sound was pretty decent. We played with Jessica from Deep Sea Diver (solo set) and Greater California. Both bands were incredibly interesting. Deep Sea Diver is sort of like moody pop, and Greater California plays surfy, folk-pop with amazing harmonies. Go check out these Long Beach bands!! Thanks to Matt’s friends Greg and Lindsay and Greg’s parents, and to Julie’s pals Leah and Chris for coming out and housing/feeding us.

Sunday, Nov. 11th- The Robins’s (Alex’s parents’ house) Del Mar, CA. So after lots of back and forth between San Diego bookers and bands, it turned out that we could not get a show together in Alex and Matt’s hometown. We decided to take advantage of the fact that Alex’s parents are awesome and suggested we play in their living room. Alex’s mom invited neighbors, friends, and family, and some of Matt and Alex’s friends who happened to be around came by for this impromptu show. Also our friends Parker Street Cinema, an awesome instrumental band from San Francisco who also happened to be on tour in Southern Cali, showed up for the show/party. Before the party, we relaxed and watched America’s Next Top Model, where for half of the show Tyra Banks talks about how great she is. Julie and I relaxed in the hot tub while the guys went out to see Darjeeling Limited. The show was pretty laid back. Julie played the piano and Jesse stripped down his kit. We played a mellower set and the carpeted warm room lent itself well to our adapted sound. Afterwards we had drinks and food, and everybody basically cleaned us out of merchandise. Thanks to Amy and Mitch Robins, and everyone who came out!

Monday, Nov. 12th- The Echo, Los Angeles, CA. When we arrived at the Echo we still weren’t sure if we were actually on the bill or not. We originally booked the show with a local band that had to drop the show at the last minute, however they assured us that we were, in fact, on the bill. We showed up and the sound guy told us that four other bands were scheduled to play that night. The thing is, we had like 30 or 40 people headed to the show. We found a Performer Magazine that happened to be sitting outside the venue. We flipped to a blurb on us with our LA show listing and showed it to the sound guy and he called the booker. It was all very strange. Eventually we got confirmation from the booker and were granted a 25-minute quick and dirty set. The other bands on the bill included The John Walter Johns- an experimental/improvy group. Their singer stood in back, and their drummer sat in front. They had a bassoonist, and other odd instrumentation. They gave out their CD, which consisted of about 30 or so minute-long songs (more like sonic ideas). Before they played, there was a solo act. I forget his name, but he sang to beats and played one song on guitar. At one point he put a Louis Vuitton scarf over his head and sang a cappella. Later in the night he went around asking if anyone had seen his Louis Vuitton scarf. Weird. The headliner was a bluesy/garagy duo called Restaurant. The lead singer had an incredibly raspy New Orleans twang. They were pretty captivating. Thanks to all of our friends and family who came out. Especially to Matt’s dad and and Lori for putting us up and feeding us, and sis Autumn for being our t-shirt model.

--Lindsay and Or, the Whale

SF Weekly Music Awards 2007

2007-10-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the awards show for the annual SF Weekly Music Awards. We've been nominated for the Alt-Country/Folk/Singer-Songwriter category. We're up against some pretty stiff competition in Emily Jane White, Willow Willow, and Greg Ashley (of the Gris Gris). Honestly, it's just great to be nominated. There was a really nice little blurb on us in the Awards segment of this week's Weekly. Should be a fun evening regardless of who wins.

We finished a new song last night; it sounds really cool. Sort of a pseudo Bobbie Gentry/Dusty Springfield blues song. Can't wait for Julie's organ on it. I have a tattoo appointment I must get to. Adieu!

Love,
Alex and Or, the Whale

News, News, News

2007-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

So we sort of got caught up in the long drives of the end of our tour and suddenly, it was over. And we didn't even update the blog! Needless to say, from the last post until now, we've played some unbelievable shows and met some incredible people. Our homecoming show at the Great American Music Hall was one of the most wonderful experiences of my (and our) life(s). Many thanks to all of you who made it out and to the other bands (Birds and Batteries and Social Studies) for being wonderful and making great music.

Since then, we've played the Tour Kickoff for Low Red Land (hope the road is great, dudes!) and, just last week, a great show with Nina Nastasia & drummer extraordinaire/mad scientist Jim White. Coming up, we have a tour kickoff of our own at 12 Galaxies with the Parson Red Heads, Short Stack, and Matt Bauer. Then we embark on a 12 day, 11 show West Coast Tour up to Eureka, Portland, Seattle, Olympia, Eugene, Chico, and down to Long Beach and Los Angeles. Details can be found at www.myspace.com/orthewhale.

We're writing new songs and will be heading into the studio at the end of the year and beginning of next year in preparation for our new record. It's good to be back.

Also, Julie is out on the road with Birds and Batteries (www.myspace.com/birdsandbatteries) right now. Please go out and support them or give them a listen and say hello.

Love,
Alex and Or, the Whale

notes from the eastern seaboard

2007-08-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

Despite our rather abrubt arrival and departures to most of the cities we have gone through we try to experience one local thing that the area or city is well known for. . . in Texas it was BBQ, in Memphis it was BBQ, in Chattanooga it was fireworks, in Louisville it was baseball bats and whiskey, in New York it was bagels and pizza, and in Philadelphia it was cheese steaks. After scrambling around NYC trying to find some replacement tuning hardware for my bass we stopped for some bagels in the outskirts of Brooklyn. The service was typically New York . . . i was convinced the "gentleman" behind the counter was going to kill me if I said something wrong and the "gentlewoman" at the register looked annoyed that we were trying to get bagels. Despite the apparent gruffness and thick new york accents we were served and the bagels were oustanding. "Oh", i thought. . . "so this what real bagel tastes like." Alex was so taken by the delectable bagels that he devoured two and as we pulled away lamented that he had ordered, "six, no twelve, no, a bakers dozen!!!!!" (anyone???). Our drive to DC was mostly uneventful. . .we did see Baltimore in the distance and decided that Gram Parsons had never actually been there. . . it didn't seem as beautiful as he had claimed. As we pulled into DC and saw the memorial piercing the humid sky I felt a fleeting twinge of patriotism. . . then Matt suggested that we go launch bottle rockets at the white house and we all laughed and my building sense of national pride crumbled as quickly as it arose. Actually folks. . . this tour has built a certain modicum of national pride for all of us. We live in a great country that is full of some wonderfully supportive and genuinely caring people. It is refreshing to pull into a new city and feel so welcome. Enough sappy drivel. . . lets get to the meat of this blog. That meat, folks, is the meat of Pat and Gino's in Philadelphia. . . Pat and Gino's are the mecca of cheese steak fanatics. . . they have both been around for decades and are involved in a bitter feud that has created a classic rivalary in the hearts of sandwich fanatics. . .think Red Sox Vs. Yankees, butter side up or butter side down, Montagues Vs. Capulets, werewolves Vs. vampires, Army Vs. Navy. . . the list goes on and the allegiances are generations deep. So I ask you this. . . are you a Pat's man (or woman) or a Gino's man (or woman)??? We all had both which was a big mistake. . .it was like "crossing streams" and the resulting combination was toxic. The volatile sandwich feud continued through the entirety of our digestive tracks. . . i won't go into details for the sake of everyone reading this but the following hours were not exactly fun. The show in Philly was great, however, and the venue treated us like proper rock stars. . ..nothing wrong with that. We all wished we could have explored a bit more as is usually the case. . . .next time. Boston was a like a homecoming and it was awesome to see so many family and friends out at the show. . . thank you so much for everyone that made it out. . . it was much appreciated and we look forward to playing for everyone again. . . as we drove from boston we realized that we will no longer be heading east and today we begin the homeward leg. . . . Great American Music Hall here we come. . .
justin fantasy and OTW. . . . love you all

The Cracks

2007-08-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

So much has slipped through them. Much time has passed since we last joined you. To tell you the truth, we've been very busy and have had some great times in the past few days. Louisville, Athens (Ohio), Pittsburgh, and New York City have infiltrated our hearts, minds, and maybe some other parts not worth mentioning. There were some amazing highlights in all of them:

--Shoney's and Billy in Louisville
--the amazing crowd and bands at Casa Cantina
--the amazing tofu fries at Casa Cantina
--the Athens County State Fair and Roller Derby
--Misha and Ryland's wonderful families and hospitality
--power outtages in Pittsburgh
--sandwiches with fries and slaw on them
--Local Honey and front step jams at the Thunderbird
--the smell of Jersey
--all of our wonderful, amazing, incredible friends in Brooklyn and Manhattan who made our stay there absolutely unforgetable
--the beautiful weather we were granted in NYC

The only real lowlights were the oppressive heat and humidity of the Midwest (which ended in Pittsburgh), our unsuccessful first attempt at entering NYC through the Holland Tunnel, and all the goodbyes we have to make to more new friends and plenty of old ones as we head down to Washington DC in the morning. The shows have been great and we can't wait to get back to these towns and enjoy more debauchery and rock.

Love,
Alex and OTW

Midwest Leg

2007-08-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

Cracker Barrel. Sounds a little scary, doesn't it? Well fear not, good people. Or, the Whale will eat at said establishment and report on it. Driving up from Knoxville through Kentucky, we had to stop at this 8th Natural Wonder of the world. Our wonderful server, Becka, helped us peruse the extensive menus.

"Does this have meat in it?"

"Yes"

"Is this cooked with butter?"

"Mmhmm"

Ahh, oh well. Turns out their salad is plenty good sans bacon and a plain baked potato with some BBQuay sauce hits the spot. Alex is fed! Mmmm. The gang got meatloaf sandwiches (Jesse and Justin, typically together), chicken and dumplings (Julie, typical), grilled catfish (Lindsay), and some chicken sandwich thing (Matt). Everything was surprisingly good, especially the endless Diet Cokes (floating away....) and the wonderful service. Then, Jesse and Justin played checkers afterward. Fun!

After a long drive, we arrived just in time to set up for our radio show on WEFT in Champaign. We have the set recorded and if anything is decent, maybe we'll put it up on the site. Afterwards, we hung out with Mike Ingram at Cowboy Monkey (the venue we're playing at in two weeks) for some beers. Lindsay and I ended up singing a couple songs on stage with Matt, Jesse, and Justin heckling us. You get up here and try it, pricks!

We'll be playing in Muncie, Indiana with a couple great bands tomorrow at Village Green Records. Should be fun. Then on to Louisville, Ohio, and Pittsburgh. I'll get someone else to blog next.

Love,
Alex and OTW

A Day Off

2007-08-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

But before we get to that, let's recap a bit:

August 1st--Denton

Thanks to Jimmy, Scott and Spitfire Tumbleweeds, and 100 Damned Guns for a wonderful North Texas evening. The show was fun, the beer was cheap, and the weather was hot. Thanks to my buddy Ian for showing up and for the old lady from the post before this who informed us that in 1947, Floyd Tillman was "hot." Yeesh. Also, thanks to my Aunt and Uncle in Irving for putting us up at 3am and feeding us a wonderful breakfast in the morning. And, of course, to Pepper.

August 2nd--Memphis

Young Avenue Deli is a wonderful, wonderful venue! Thanks to Giant Bear (especially Mike for the floorspace) and Arma Secreta for playing great sets and showing us the Tennessee we've all heard so much about. Just as nice and hospitable as advertised! And the BBQ! Let's just say that Logan has a bottle of The BBQ Shop Hot Sauce coming his way when we get home (courtesy of Gabe).

August 3rd--Chattanooga, TN

What a great town! The Blue Ridge Mountains really look blue and they really smoke! As does literally EVERYONE in the South. We were persuaded by the large "FIREWORKS!" signs and bought many, many bottlerockets and M-90s as well as several "Tennessee" trucker hats. A gigantic thank you to John from the Black Diamond Heavies for helping us out with our Chattanooga show. This led us to JJ's Bohemia. "JJ" stands for John and Jenny, the wonderful and accommodating couple that run the place. The initial "5 Band Bill!" was nothing compared to the rock that would ensue within its little room. Great bands from Tennessee (Knoxville, Memphis, and Chattanooga) and another band from Brooklyn filled the place up and PBR Tall Boys reigned supreme. After chasing the bats from the trees with loud shouts of "Horse Apples" and "WHEY!" we took the stage and everyone went nuts. Most of all, George sexy-danced throughout the room and made everyone feel like they were at a family reunion: familiarity, drunkenness, slightly awkward conversations, hilarity, and total embarrassment. All that was lacking was the Potato-Sack Race. The other bands (Westside Daredevils, Ghosts I've Met, the Glass Mondays, and Antenna Shoes) were all awesome and lots of dancing would take place throughout the night. We all swapped eternal love and email addresses and hopefully will be playing shows with many of them at later dates. Thanks to all of them and to John and Jenny for having us on the show and letting us sleep at their house (and their neighbor's unfinished house).

August 4th--Athens, GA

After a late morning and into the afternoon in Chattanooga (a beautiful river city we must get back to very soon), we rumbled down the highway towards Athens. Athens is a college town, usually hit or miss in the summertime when school is out. This night would be a hit and the Caledonia Lounge would be lots of fun. We had some friends come out to the show (Ryan McCullough) and one of them, Hunter, would be the host of our debauchery for many hours after the show. I'll get to this in a second. Amanda and Jeremy from Tin Cup Prophette are incredible and playing with them was a big highlight of the trip. The opener, Vulture Whale, were also awesome and we hope to get together with them in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama on our next tour. Thanks to Kevin for making the sound the best we've had so far on tour. After the show, we headed over to Hunter's house where we proceeded to light off all of the fireworks we had previously bought the day before. Between the bottlerocket duels and my bandleader firebombing, it was tons of fun. And no one was hurt! Yay! Well, besides Jesse who has a little burn on his neck from a rogue bottlerocket. Chin up there, buddy. Then we formed what will now be the great noise rock band of all time, HORSE APPLES. Look for us to open up some shows starting in the fall. Damn! Oh, and Lindsay recorded an album. And we ate vegan/vegetarian food (finally!) for breakfast.

Today, our first day off since we started, we drove up to Knoxville, Tennessee to stay with Jess's dad. We traveled through the Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee Reservation of North Carolina and let me tell you, I have rarely seen anything so beautiful. Mountains and rivers and truckers, oh my! We're now laying low and trying to get to bed before 3am for the first time since we started the tour. We have officially finished our Southern leg and I can confidently say that we did rather well and had a blast doing it. We all miss our significant others and friends dearly and we hope they are thinking of us too. Sorry for the brief recalling of the first few days since the last blog (too much grain alcohol I guess). Anyway, we'll do our best to do this more often. We're driving up to Champaign, Illinois to start our second week and our Midwestern leg of the tour tomorrow. Cracker Barrel and Wafflehouse await. I'm gonna go sit on the porch and watch the fireflies. Enjoying the South.

Love,
Alex and OTW

A Vegan in Texas

2007-08-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday night, prior to the gig at Dan's Silver Leaf in Denton. This place is charming in that sort of "I knew you were coming, so made you a delicious dinner of spam fried in bacon grease on a piece of white buttered toast" sort of way. Tommy likey. But we all recall, Tommy is a very large boy.

The boys just had a conversation outside with an adorably drunk 76 year old woman who, from what I could gather, was telling them about some hookup of hers 35 or so years ago on a houseboat. After the punchline, where she discovered the man was the best friend of her son, she said "Take care, children!", and then more than lovingly tousled the curly mane of lucky Mr. Semler, the (older) ladies man. "Ma's been drinkin' again," was the response from a man out the window of the bar. I hope she sticks around for the show and gets rowdy.

We left the cradle of Ausin, and of dearest cousin Shelley today at midday after one last lingering dip in the pool. That stay was sort of a reward for the first two days of our trip. Shelley was a most fabulous host, and we will miss her! And I will miss sleeping in a bed where I can practically make a snow angel, and I touch no one and nothing besides Egyptian cotton. Oh sweet King size.

We got in the car (not van, it's hard to adjust to the new terminology) around 2, and headed off to fix the trailer connection. We've discovered the night lighting on the trailer doesn't work, so we've been driving with our hazards on at night. It's a quick fix, but the all night drives with flashing lights are bringing me back to the days of DJ Dan and Green fuzzy pants, and it's a place I made myself promise I would never go again. We happened to stop right next to the store of Gram Parsons' daughter, Polly Parsons, and we went inside for a peek. It's a vintage clothing and more store, and we discovered the "and more" involves a back yard porch-like stage. The nicest lady in the world greeted us, and offered us a 20% discount on everything in the store. She even told Jesse if he didn't have the cash, he could mail it to her later. We were all pretty excited to be talking to THE daughter of Gram Parsons. We shortly discovered, however, that this was a new owner, a woman named Kelli. We still gave her a CD and said we'd like to play there the next time through Austin. She may not have been Polly Parsons, but she was still the kindest woman any of us have met in a long time.

The rest of the drive to Denton was fairly straight forward. A sign of homemade beef jerky lured us off the freeway to yet another BBQ meal, but the rain and traffic kept us on track for time reasons. This is our last show in Texas, sadly. Alex may be happier about it than some. There was literally ONE thing on the menu at our lunch time stop that he could eat, and that was a plain baked potato. The cream was corned, and the string beans were in something super tasty that had to be made from some sort of delicious animal fat.

We should be taking the stage soon. We'll be housed tonight by Alex's aunt, Nancy, and then tomorrow the training wheels are off, and we'll probably be sleeping in the gutters of Memphis. Just kidding, mom.

Julie and OTW