... and all I got was this t-shirt.

Is your name Michael Diamond?

2009-04-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Oh Captain, My Captain: Stranded in West Virginia

2009-03-30T14:46:00.001-07:00

SDC11402, originally uploaded by joshuaspacek.

Oh Captain, My Captain's van died on the road back home from their east coast tour and they are now stranded in West Virginia. They need some help (at least $2000) to get back home. You can donate to their paypal account on their myspace page.

Disturbing footage

2009-01-31T18:48:00.002-08:00

Gary & Chris

2009-01-31T18:48:00.000-08:00

Tiny Lights

2009-01-31T18:47:00.001-08:00

Passenger

2009-01-29T15:43:00.000-08:00

My rideshare passenger is bringing colorful fabric and lights.

Fanny Pack

2008-12-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

Kim, Andy and I hit up some post Xmas sales today and found some finds.

Snow Days

2008-12-25T23:16:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate enough to be joined by the lovely Brittain Ashford for
these last few crazy snow days in Portland and Seattle. As always she
was a wonderful road companion as we ran back and forth between the
two cities for our shows.

I encourage Seattle friends to join us at the Josephine in Ballard
this Saturday as we play with Levi Fuller, Yonderlow and Luminous Craft.

Sunset on Alpine

2008-11-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

On our way back from dinner in Harrisburg we pulled off the road to
appreciate a gorgeous sunset. Individual rays of pink stretched out
from the horizon like the spokes of a wheel. Too bad my iPhone camera
wasn't able to capture the image with much fidelity.

Green River

2008-11-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

I was perusing the concert calendar looking for an entertaining show
for my out of town guest. I was more than surprised to see grunge
legends Green River listed in the evening's shows. I went to the show
and it was pretty fantastic. They were/are a force of nature.

Kim & Malcolm

2008-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

The cat's meow

2008-11-15T08:19:00.001-08:00

I was pretty tired and sad to leave my good friend, but the good folks
at Delta Airlines knew just how to cheer me up.

Grey Dog Cafe

2008-11-15T08:14:00.001-08:00

We had a late last day lunch at this place called Grey Dog. The
grilled sandwiches we're amazing and the pie was to die for. We
happened to grab a table that featured a handpainted map of Washington
& Oregon. We took a couple of photos of each other at the table but we
are both making funny faces in the photos, so I chose to show this
upside down image of Seattle. Brittain noted that interstate signs
shouldn't be printed in comic sans

New York Public Library

2008-11-15T08:07:00.001-08:00

For my last day in New York, Brittain took me out to the library (as
featured in Ghostbusters) and Grand Central Station. It was about all
that we could squeeze into the final fleeting hours of my two-week
visit.

The library is beautiful. My roommate had suggested I visit the
reading room and I wish I had taken her advice. It seemed like a great
place to read or simply update one's facebook profile.

Kitten Cookies

2008-11-10T15:02:00.001-08:00

Actually they are molasses crinkles.

Laundry Day

2008-11-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

I really hate the laundromat. I think someone should invent a gym /
laundromat / bar. That might be alright. I suppose you can catch up on
reading at the laundromat but otherwise your time there is just a wash.

Sexy Kitchenware

2008-11-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

Brittain and I ran some errands in Soho. I got in trouble for taking
photos in this kitchen store.

Election Day

2008-11-04T06:51:00.001-08:00

Today is day four of my visit to Brooklyn. We've been trying to keep
busy and working in making the most of these couple of weeks together.

Brittain is working today, an intern gig with a pretty cool music
distributor. It's election day so I tagged along with her to the local
polling place in Bushwick. It was a typical school basement room.
Hardly the kind of place that you'd expect to make important decisions
that affect the future of our country but it seemed efficient and the
voters were visibly excited to cast their votes. The woman pictured
above said, "is it only 9 o'clock?". They have a long day ahead of them.

I have a long day ahead of me as well. Brittain and I are meeting up
later this evening to get some beers and watch election results. Until
then I will try to get a few things done and maybe catch up with the
Loch Lomond kids who also happen to be in town for a few days.

Another NY Vacation

2008-11-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm on the plane that will take me to Brooklyn to Brittain for one
last time this year. It is bittersweet. I have had the time of my life
these last few months and I spent more time then I could have ever
imagined in NY with some of my favorite people, but now appears to be
the end of that chapter and the start of a new one.

I still need a job and I honestly hope to find one soon. I also want
to achieve a few more things before winter comes and goes. I have
plans and this is good, but I'm taking a moment to celebrate all the
good fortune that these last months have brought ... and then I'll
move on.

"Sometimes you eat the bar and, well, sometimes the bar eats you."

Wooly Bear

2008-10-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

We found him at Alea's parent's house.

A helpful hint

2008-10-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

Just when it seemed completely hopeless, I found a helpful hint.

I just overheard

2008-10-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

"Is it a vampire who became a Nazi or a Nazi who became a vampire?"

Mountain Goats at The Wonder Ballroom

2008-10-21T22:10:00.001-07:00

PDX: Stolen Gear

2008-10-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Anne had all of her music gear stolen this weekend. Here's her post about the theft:

It was a weekend of parties.

Of parties, and dropping off people at places.

And somehow, an unlocked car door.

And, hence, a missing...

1) Off-white/yellow Luna hollow-body electric guitar with f-holes in a black case with a red Where The Wild Things Are monster sewn on it.

2) Busted up accordion with one brown tooth, and one wire-fixed strap. Blue straps. A busted case with blue velvet inside that says the following on one side in gold ink: "She seemed to throw off heat like a big iron radiator. She was appallingly human.
~ Vonnegut"

3) Boss 20 looping pedal--originally in a gold-and-white checked square zip-up cosmetic case.

4) bag of cords, with stickers with my face on them (so they wouldn't get lost.) Bag is blue and white zip-up with blue handles and kittens on it.

5) Pretty busted Shure microphone.

If you want, pass this along to other Portland music people. And if you see these instruments or their cases, or if somebody tries to consign them, I guess call cops. And email me.

Can't play now. Feel very stupid, and so, so, sad.

~Anne.

No Soap

2008-10-14T11:34:00.001-07:00

There was no soap at this party.

Uni

2008-10-14T11:31:00.001-07:00

I dropped by the post office to mail off a couple of packages. When I
arrived the place was completely empty, but by the time I had my
packages prepped there was a line out the door. It took about a minute
for a dozen people to file in. Anyway our postal clerk is a talkative
one. While I waited I listened to him vent about life behind the
counter to a succession of hapless customers. He eventually admitted
that he was suffering from shorttimer's. He's leaving the company and
finishing his education. It was kind of inspiring.

Live From Portland

2008-10-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

I caught a couple of performanes a week ago at Dekum Manor that were
part of a live DVD taping session featuring a ton of Portland's finest
bands. I suppose it'll be similar to the Burn to Shine videos except
we didn't getting burn down the house at the end.

P.S. House shows make me feel ten times older.

Oregon Coast

2008-10-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

We spent the last couple of days on the coast and it was wonderful.

More kittens and owls!

2008-09-20T20:30:00.001-07:00

Kitties made of felt

2008-09-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Sewmanycats.com I just met this lady selling kitties at Doug Fir Fest.
She loves Suicide Kittens! So do I.

Chapman Elementary Swifts

2008-09-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

I brought my mom and sister out to see the migrating swifts. It is
pretty amazing but a swift deficated on my head.

Kitten Time

2008-09-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

I stayed with my good friends Kim and Andy and their two adorable
kittens, Echo and Banjo, yesterday. I love kittens but they make me
sneezy. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford a hyperallergenic kitten.

Seattle

2008-09-12T10:18:00.001-07:00

We played Seattle's Nectar Lounge on Sunday night. The turnout was
light but we killed that night. It's a huge pleasure to play with
Matt's band.

Doug Fir Green Room

2008-09-11T21:06:00.001-07:00

Here's all that was left of the complimentary refreshments at midnight
on Saturday in the green room. The kind MFNW staff stocked the tube
with near beer at the end of the night. I'm not sure if they did that
to sober us up, to make a joke or because they ran out of booze.

Perfect From Now On

2008-09-11T14:38:00.001-07:00

I loved MFNW but I ended up missing a bunch of shows so that I could
learn Matt's songs by Saturday night (Matt invited me to join the band
on Wednesday).

One show that I was happy to catch was Built To Spill at the Wonder. I
just barely got in to see the sold out show. The band played Perfect
From Now On in its entirety and it made me very nostalgic.

Telemegaphone!

2008-09-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

I just heard about this on PRI's Geo Quiz. There's this megaphone installation up on a mountainside in Western Norway that YOU can call! There's a cellphone connected the megaphone and it is uncensored. Apparently they get a lot of singers on the line. Give them a ring: +4790369389.

Catching up

2008-09-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

I typically update this blog from my iPhone. There's an email-to-blog feature that works pretty well most of the time. Last week it suddenly stopped working fir me for reasons beyond my understanding. I stopped posting after a few failed attempts.

Since then, I was invited to play Musicfest NW at the Doug Fir as well as a Seattle gig with my good friend Matt Sheehy. We only had the benefit of one full band rehearsal in Ryan Dolliver's spacious, foam-lined practice room.

Palin in Comparison

2008-09-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin isn't quite the savvy attack dog the GOP is promoting.

Musicfest NW 2008 Picks

2008-08-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

I happened upon a free Musicfest NW bracelet this week so I've been thinking about which shows I'll attend. As with any music festival there are some serious decisions to be made.

Looking at the performers, I'm glad that I passed on Bumbershoot this year. Nearly every band that I would have wanted to see at B-shoot is playing MFNW.

[WEDNESDAY]

Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm The 1900s
10:00 pm Norfolk & Western
11:00 pm Langhorne Slim
12:00 am Old 97's

Crystal Ballroom
9:00 pm Griffin House
10:00 pm Xavier Rudd

Roseland Theater
9:00 pm Fuck Buttons
10:30 pm Mogwai

[THURSDAY]

Ash Street Saloon
9:00 pm Sharpening Markers
10:00 pm Pure Country Gold
11:00 pm Coconut Coolouts
12:00 am Scared of Chaka

Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm Love As Laughter
10:00 pm Port O'Brien
11:00 pm Pseudosix
12:00 am Nada Surf

Crystal Ballroom
8:20 pm Eskimo and Sons
9:00 pm Calvin Johnson
10:00 pm M. Ward

Dante's
8:00 pm Ian Moore
9:00 pm Richmond Fontaine
10:00 pm Sleepercar
11:00 pm The Blakes
12:00 am The Whigs

Doug Fir
9:00 pm Hungry Ghost
10:00 pm The Thrones
11:00 pm Iommi Stubbs
12:00 am Red Fang
1:00 am Steel Pole Bath Tub

Holocene
8:00 pm Silver Summit
9:00 pm Oxford Collapse
10:00 pm Bodies of Water
11:00 pm Starfucker
12:00 am Deerhunter

Roseland Theater
8:00 pm Animal Farm
9:00 pm Cool Nutz & DJ Fatboy
10:00 pm The Cool Kids
11:00 pm Del The Funky Homosapien

Wonder Ballroom
5:30pm No Age
7:00pm Battles

[FRIDAY]

Ash Street Saloon
8:00 pm TK Webb and The Visions
9:00 pm Graveyard
10:00 pm Akimbo
11:00 pm Danava
12:00 am Witchcraft

Backspace
7:00 pm The Rainy States
8:00 pm Southern Belle
9:00 pm Typhoon
10:00 pm Best Fwends
11:00 pm Matt and Kim

Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm Nick Jaina
10:00 pm Portugal. The Man
11:00 pm Alela Diane
12:00 am Langhorne Slim
1:00 am The Builders and the Butchers

Crystal Ballroom
8:30 PM Lackthereof
9:30 PM John Vanderslice
10:30 pm Vampire Weekend

Dante's
8:00 pm Rapids
9:00 pm The Muslims
10:00 pm Colour Revolt
11:00 pm These Arms Are Snakes
12:00 am The Night Marchers

Doug Fir
8:00 pm Micah Blue Smaldone
9:00 pm Laura Gibson
10:00 pm Dolorean
11:00 pm Death Vessel
12:00 am Crooked Fingers

East End
9:00 pm The Whips and the Whales
10:00 pm The Bugs
11:00 pm Hey Lover
12:00 am Cafeteria Dance Fever

Hawthorne Theatre
8:00 pm Gray Matters
9:00 pm Living Proof
10:00 pm Sandpeople
11:00 pm Jedi Mind Tricks

Holocene
8:00 pm Joshua Morrison
9:00 pm Dyme Def
10:00 pm Pwrfl Power
11:00 pm Truckasauras
12:00 am Throw Me the Statue
1:00 am U.S.E.

Jimmy Mak's
9:00 pm DJ Santo
10:00 pm Trio Subtonic
11:00 pm Velella Velella
12:00 am Rupa and the April Fishes

Mission Theater and Pub
1:00 pm THE GITS MOVIE

Rontoms
5:00 pm Blue Horns
5:30 pm Team Evil
6:00 pm Dakota Slim
6:30 pm The Skinnyz
7:00 pm Invisible Rockets
8:00 pm Autopilot is for Lovers
8:30 pm Kurt Hagardorn
9:00 pm The Love Language
10:00 pm Anders Parker
11:00 pm The Mommyheads
12:00 am Oh Captain, My Captain

Roseland Theater
9:00 pm Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
10:00 pm Jaguar Love
11:30 pm TV on the Radio

[SATURDAY]

Ash Street Saloon
9:00 pm Diesto
10:00 pm Totimoshi
11:00 pm Pierced Arrows
12:00 am Nebula
1:00 am Flipper

Backspace
7:00 pm Strangers Die Every Day
8:00 pm Monica Nelson
9:00 pm We're from Japan
10:00 pm A Weather
11:00 pm An Intimate Evening With Mirah

Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm Black Elk
10:00 pm The Joggers
11:00 pm Trans Am
12:00 am Polvo

Crystal Ballroom
8:00 pm Mimicking Birds
9:00 pm Blitzen Trapper
10:00 pm Fleet Foxes
11:00 pm Menomena
12:00 am The Helio Sequence

Dante's
8:30 pm Looker
9:30 pm The Fucking Eagles
10:30 pm Fireballs of Freedom
11:30 pm Supernova
12:30 am Seaweed

Doug Fir
8:00 pm Matt Sheehy
9:00 pm Weinland
10:00 pm Loch Lomond
11:00 pm Fernando
12:00 am Bobby Bare Jr.
1:00 am Centro-Matic

East End
9:00 pm Monstrous
10:00 pm Logan Lynn
11:00 pm Hazelwood Motel
12:00 am The Upsidedown

Fez Ballroom
8:00 pm The Freddie Steady 5
9:00 pm The Slants
10:00 pm Blind Pilot
11:00 pm Hypatia Lake
12:00 am Outtasite
12:30 am Sir Mix-A-Lot

Hawthorne Theatre
8:00 pm Dirty Mittens
9:00 pm Dykeritz
10:00 pm Copy
11:00 pm Dan Deacon

Holocene
9:00 pm Horse Feathers
10:00 pm Panther
11:00 pm The Shaky Hands
12:00 am Thao with Get Down Stay Down

Jimmy Mak's
9:00 pm Tony Ozier
10:00 pm Barry Hampton & The Triple Grip
11:00 pm Copacrescent
12:00 am The Devin Phillips Band

Mission Theater and Pub
1:00 pm BEAUTIFUL LOSERS

Nemo Design
1875 SE Belmont St (MapQuest) 503-872-9631
Wristband or FREE! at the door.
MFNW 2008 Panels presented by The Recording Academy® Pacific NW Chapter

Roseland Theater
8:30 PM Bitchin Summer
9:30 PM Bouncing Souls
11:00 pm Hot Water Music

Rotture
9:00 pm Carrie Clarke & The Lonesome Lovers
10:00 pm The Wherewithals
11:00 pm Lael Alderman
12:00 am Morgan Grace
1:00 am Blue Skies for Black Hearts

Satyricon
7:00 pm Street Plant
8:00 pm The Strange Boys
9:00 pm Crystal Antlers
10:00 pm Past Lives
11:00 pm Sex Vid
12:00 am Fucked Up

Slabtown
8:00 pm Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags
9:00 pm The Dry County Crooks
10:00 pm Michael Dean Damron & Thee Loyal Bastards
11:00 pm Hillstomp
12:00 am Rachel Taylor Brown
1:00 am Chris Robley & the Fear of Heights

Someday Lounge
8:00 pm Iretsu
9:00 pm Flaspar
10:00 pm The Retrofits
11:00 pm Pleasae Step Out Of The Vehicle
12:00 am Another Cynthia
1:00 am Caves

The Towne Lounge
9:00 pm Paper/Upper/Cuts
10:00 pm Atole
11:00 pm Eskimo and Sons
12:00 am Chicharones

Wonder Ballroom
5:30pm Ratatat
7:00pm Les Savy Fav

Autoharp Maintenance

2008-08-29T14:04:00.001-07:00

Brittain left me in charge of her new Autoharp. She could only bring
one back to NYC, so she took her old faithful axe and left the newer
electric one with me. She broke a couple of strings on tour and I also
noticed some cracks in a plastic piece of the instrument.

I'm settling in back home and anxious to be productive. While waiting
for laundry, I decided to replace the plastic piece. It was a fairly
easy fix but it made me feel better.

I'm also dealing with my finances and looking for work. Feel free to
send me leads. I have been looking for work for some time, but I am
not giving up hope.

Le Voyeur, L'Etranger

2008-08-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to spend a little QT in Oly today on my way back to PDX. I
haven't been here in years on my own time and I don't think I've ever
been here completely alone.

It's a little after noon and a burger at Le Voyeur sounded like a good
idea. I remember liking their food back when I was an omnivore, and I
remember hating playing music in the back room. Regardless, here I am
feeling a little road-worn and restless.

I wish you were here.

End of the line

2008-08-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

The tour is officially over but I have one more drive a head of me
before I'm settled back into my regular civilian life.

I'm currently resting in my Honda Civic in the Capitol Hill
neighborhood of Seattle. It makes me feel like a hobo or something.
Napping midday in the middle of the city. I don't know quite what to
do with myself.

It was nice to have purpose over the past few months, even if the
purpose was only a few handfuls of shows.

It was an amazing experience to be out visiting the world and
performing music with some of my favorite people. It was fun,
stressful, relaxing, boring, exciting and so much more.

Now, that I have dropped Gary off at his West Edge apartment and
Brittain at Seatac, I feel kind of deflated.

I suppose it'll pass once I'm back in PDX. That city always makes me
feel better. I'll probably head back tomorrow so I can catch The
Parsons Red Heads at the Artistery.

Old Ironsides

2008-08-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Last night we rocked Sacramento with Angel/Devil, a hard rocking band
of really sweet guys from Los Angeles. The pairing of hard rock and
folk pop was unexpectedly refreshing and fun.

We stayed the night with my old friend Liz who I hadn't seen in
probably 6 years! That one thing I really have enjoyed about my time
touring this year, reconnecting with old friends and making new friends.

San Luis Obispo

2008-08-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

We drove the 1 and 101 from Santa Monica to Santa Cruz today. We took
a short break at the beach near San Luis Obispo for a makeshift lunch
of cheese sandwiches and chips.

Last night we swam in the ocean by moonlight, but today we didn't go
past the waist.

Breakfast on I-5

2008-08-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Ritual Coffeee

2008-08-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

We are about to start our drive to LA, but we stopped by Ritual Coffee
to grab a coffee with our good friend Maggie.

Tour Posters!

2008-08-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

We are in San Francisco on tour today. We are playing in the street for free in front of City Lights Books in the next hour. Later tonight we are playing at The Hotel Utah (4th and Bryant) at 8pm. Come out and join us. Buy a screen printed tour poster for $5 (we only made 25 and they are going fast.

Tour Sedan

2008-08-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

We jam Honda. This is the second tour that we are taking in my 1992
Honda Civic.

It is a tight squeeze for two and almost womb-like for three of us.
Gary is right at home in the back seat.

I'm about to take over the drivers seat for the next 250 miles.

Downpour

2008-08-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today seems like a great day to get out of Portland. I woke up this
morning feeling slightly ill from all the free Dead Guy Ale that I
drank at last night's show at the Someday. It was raining cats and dogs.

The show was great. Lael & Grey Anne are class acts and both gave
inspiring performances. The sound engineer was really easy to work
with and he really knows how to make music sound good in the room.

Songs For Moms

2008-08-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we shared the stage at the Boiler Room in Port Townsend
with Songs For Moms (San Francisco) and Benjamin Blake (Oly).

It so happens that I know and have met (many in the last week) a lot
of common friends of the ladies of Songs For Moms who's effervescent
pop/folk/punk is not to be missed. You might have a chance to catch
them on tour as the head south with two shows in Seattle in the next
couple of days, a show in Olympia, a show at the Coop in Portland with
our good friends Meyercord & Y La Bamba and much more, check their
website for all the deets http:// www.myspace.com/songsformoms

Waiting for the ferry

2008-08-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

We are on our way to Port Townsend. We cut into line (partially on
accident) but we were still subjected to a 2 hour wait for the ferry.
I think we'll still arrive at the Boiler Room with time to spare for
tonight's show.

Bass Tech

2008-08-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Morgan, Brittain's sisters gentleman friend, took my bass apart (at my
request) and spent some quality time troubleshooting my broken pickup.
He succeeded in fixing it and made me so very happy.

PDX Pole: KPSU Presents

2008-08-06T00:48:00.000-07:00

PDX Pole: KPSU Presents

Flipping out

2008-08-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

I just flipped my bike for the 2nd time today! I'm hanging fliers and
not watching the road. PDx potholes 2, Theo 0. Here's some roadrash.

Someday, I hope you'll be there ...

2008-08-04T22:36:00.001-07:00

Brittain is busily putting everything in order before our tour. She managed to crank out some tour posters. Here's the first one; it is for our Portland show at the Someday with Grey Anne & Lael Alderman. It is going to be a great show and you know you'll be kicking yourself if you miss it. So don't! Mark your calendar and come join us as we kick off our west coast tour.

Melodica

2008-08-02T19:50:00.001-07:00

I'm currently rehearsing for my upcoming west coast tour with Brittain Ashford. I play bass, glockenspiel and melodica with Brittain. On our last tour, I noticed that my melodica wasn't completely in tune. Essentially the melodica is a toy instrument, but it goes back about 60 years. Originally it was manufactured by Hohner, but now some other companies make them too.

Typically a Hohner melodica like mine will run you about $100, but I found mine at the Goodwill for $20 about 4 years ago. I didn't play it much until the last year and I love it. It's laid out like a piano keyboard ... which is why I really never got into it (I was unfamiliar with piano). It turns out that a piano is relatively straight forward. And a melodica is incredibly easy to learn. I'm pretty far from expert at it, but I love using it to add a little color to a song.

Anyhow, my melodica has some pretty sour notes, which I've been avoiding in our live shows. I did a little research today and found a website with instructions for tuning a melodica and another website about dub music that had useful repair tips. Both websites had dissection pictures, which scared me a little. I'm sure I'd lose some parts if I took my melodica apart and I'm not entirely sure that I would be able to tune it. I decided to hold off on cracking it open until after tour.

On our last tour we played our first show with a band called June Madrona from Olympia. June Madrona had this incredibly talented melodica player named Micah who's playing gave me a complex. I recommend checking out some of their music if you have a few minutes and catch the band this August on their tour. You can find their tour dates right here!

Surprise Appearance

2008-07-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune of catching an impromptu Ben Meyercord show at
Towne Lounge. A band ditched but Ben was here to save the day.

Peenus, it's a donut

2008-07-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

I picked the cap'n crunch donut. I should have opted for the Oreo.
There's always next time.

Voodoo Donut

2008-07-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

We are at the best donut place. The guy in front of us wants to take
the Tex-Ass Challenge. I'm very exciting.

Wampire!

2008-07-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

Is actually pretty good! This "baby band" has the pleasant, tuneful
droneiness of The Velvet Underground and the drummer plays standing up like Moe Tucker!

Grey Anne wears ninja boots

2008-07-28T12:38:00.001-07:00

Http://www.myspace.com/perse

Y La Bamba at PDX Pop Now!

2008-07-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Portland is pretty amazing. While Seattle is paying for a weekend of
music at their blockparty, Portland is celebrating it's local music
community with 3 days of free concerts at Rotture. Reason number 43
that I love this town.

Travel Hell

2008-07-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

As I write this I have been at the airport (JFK) for over 10 hours.
I've been in a plane on the tarmak for over two hours. I was given one
glass of water. Tired, hungry, and fed up. I probably won't be home
until 4 AM at the earliest. Guh.

Escape from New York, Part 2

2008-07-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

The kind folks at US Airways have me a new flight departing from JFK
today. Remind me to never fly through Newark again.

Today, I'm making a connection in Charlotte. Last time I flew US
Airways through Charlotte, I was bumped from my flight and we spent
the night at a filthy, smelly Microtel near the airport. Hopefully
that won't happen again.

Airtrain

2008-07-22T16:24:00.000-07:00

The Newark Airtrains are extra tiny. I'm sharing an 8x5 car with one
other traveller. Intimate.

New Jersey

2008-07-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

I got a message as my train left NYC that my flight home was delayed.
As I was sorting it out I missed the stop for Newark International. I
spent a little quality time at the next stop before reboarding to go
back to the airport where they most likely tell me that there isn't
another flight to PDX until tomorrow. This pretty much takes the wind
out of my sails.

Cluster

2008-07-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the NJ Transit train to Newark for my return flight. The
train takes off from Penn Station. The station was packed with rush
hour commuters, a frustrated mob plugged up the station as
announcements came down that a Manhattan railline was broken.
Fortunately, my train was unaffected.

New York Transit Museum

2008-07-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

You can get there by bus!

Exact Fare

2008-07-21T14:01:00.001-07:00

Brittain and I explored the transit museum the other day. Ironically
the G line on the subway was closed that day so it took nearly an hour
to get from the museum in downtown Brooklyn back to Williamsburg.

A day at coney island

2008-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

I guess it costs $12 for two people to ride the Wonder Wheel. But we
jimmied $1.25 in quarters from the ski ball machines.

Bigger Than Vampires and Demons

2008-07-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Today we are at Forbidden Planet in Manhattan. A store employee can be
credited with the above quote in reference to the new Batman movie.

Central Park

2008-07-15T14:43:00.001-07:00

It was a nice day to sit in the park and eat coco ice.

Graffiti Hall of Fame

2008-07-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to check this out ever since I saw a film called
Style Wars last year. Brittain and I came up here only to find that
most of the wall is covered up at the moment. It looks like the art is
being protected as they do some construction nearby. Boo.

Eat your heart out

2008-07-14T12:49:00.001-07:00

Rats!

2008-07-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

We saw some rats on the subway platform and on the tracks last night
on the way home. This one ran off with a snack pack.

Fix Mix

2008-07-14T10:47:00.001-07:00

Brittain took me to Sound Fix last night for their monthly mixtape
swap. The theme was Food or Eating. I made a mix of songs about fruit.
I called my mix "Fruit Bowl" and Brittain made a sweet cover using
just a piece of chipboard and an exacto knife.

The exchange process was a little bit jumbled, but we all walked away
with a new mix. The mix I received didn't have a cover, in fact it
didn't have any writing on it at all. I'm scared to putnit in my
computer.

Tower of PBR

2008-07-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Comix

2008-07-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Brittain and I visited a comic shop in Brooklyn today to sell them
some Suicide Kittens and to check on sales of her sister's graphic
novel.

Tourist

2008-07-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

I've been in NYC all week with Brittain and friends. We have played a
few shows and slept in everyday. It is pretty cool. Check out Kaz's
blog to read about a show we played with him. I'll post the link later.

Exit row

2008-07-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

It is the best way to fly.

Les Visiteurs

2008-07-03T12:41:00.001-07:00

My good friends, Monique & Claude, are visiting Portland this week.
I'm enjoying showing them the Rose City. We've been pretty lucky to
catch some unexpected musical performances around town and tonight
we're going to the Wonder Ballroom to see the Long Winters and The
Builders and the Butchers!

Tomorrow, we part ways. They are going to San Francisco and I'm flying
to New York. If you are in the New York area, come to see me play at
Pianos in the LES on Sunday the 6th.

Birthday badminton BBQ!

2008-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Pendleton

2008-06-26T16:21:00.001-07:00

I'm on a little road trip today with Brittain Ashford and Matt Sheehy
to Pendleton for a little concert at the Great Pacific.

'nade

2008-06-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

Coming up roses

2008-06-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Brittain and I took some pics in the rose garden.

Flier

2008-06-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

We are drinking fine Cali beers in the California sun at the Zeitgeist
in San Francisco.

Map to Hod Manor

2008-06-20T12:25:00.001-07:00

If you are ever in the area.

Hod

2008-06-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is Hod. Hod played with us at the Perg last night and let us stay
at his amazing home up in the mountains above Santa Cruz. His space
has everything including a nameless cat, deer antlers, a Chinese
dragon head, two drum kits, a loft bedroom and so much art. It was
beautiful and Hod is beautiful.

Santa Cruz

2008-06-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

We just arrived in Santa Cruz after a 9 hour drive from Eugene Oregon.
We are dehydrated, salty and excited to be in California.

Huge thanks to Fred and the fine people of The Wandering Goat for
taking care of us last night.

Now we will eat our veggies at Saturn.

Food Fight!

2008-06-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Vegan jerky makes Brittain smile.

French Toast

2008-06-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

Glock Off

2008-06-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

Meyercord vs. Brittain in Eugene

Day Two: Caterina Winery

2008-06-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

I seem to have left my camera in the car for the Caterina show. Patrick and the Platform Booking crew did a great job of promoting this show. We had write ups in a couple of the local papers and the weather cooperated with us so we performed out on the patio with our good friends Johanna Kunin and Karli Fairbanks.

We drove most of the day for this show, but we took some time off on the road to visit Thorp and pick up some delicious cherries!

Day One: Bremerton Eagle's Hall

2008-06-16T09:03:00.001-07:00

We started our tour on Friday the 13th. Not a good omen, but we had a great time playing with our French friends, Flowers from the Man Who Shot Your Cousin, and our new friends from Olympia, June Madrona. A sweet, young woman named Grace set up the show for us at the Bremerton Eagles Hall. The venue was welcoming and the audience was very receptive.

Day Three: Coeur d'Alene

2008-06-16T08:42:00.001-07:00

We were scheduled to play at Calypsos Coffee in Coeur d'Alene on Sunday evening and we stayed with Brittain's grandparents for the night. Her family's place is so comfortable and it has a spectacular view that overlooks Lake Coeur d'Alene.

I took the picture above while Brittain was tuning her mountain dulcimer on the porch. It was our 2nd chance to rehearse on this tour. We haven't played together much yet, so there were still a couple of rough patches to work out in our set. Also, we were the only act playing Calypsos that night, so Brittain taught me a new song to fill out our repertoire.

Calypsos is a relatively new business and they have a great space. Unfortunately, the papers listed the show for the wrong night and there was no other promotion for the event. We played the set to the small audience and had a great time all the same.

Flowers From The Man Who Shot Your Cousin

2008-06-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Morgan & Erwan came out to Washington state from Paris to share their moody and gentle folk. The PA system at the Eagle's Hall was pretty shot, in fact, it was a small amplifier intended for karaoke which wouldn't have been so bad, but the the tweeters were blown on the accompanying speaker cabinets. So Erwan ended up running the vocals through my Bassman amp. It worked out pretty nicely.

Your Radio Sucks!

2008-06-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Matt's music if featured in the 25th episode of the Portland Mercury's Your Radio Sucks! podcast. This episode is the first episode that features only Portland artists. Check out the podcast page here or click below to listen now. Support local music.

Top Down

2008-06-08T17:34:00.001-07:00

After a great show at the Doug Fir and a breakfast at the Screen Door,
Kaz and Ari caught a ride back to Seattle with my brother. The weather
was perfect for a drive with the convertible top down.

Tigerphobia Press

2008-06-05T02:09:00.001-07:00

Matt Sheehy's debut album got some very nice write ups in the Willamette Week, LocalCut (the WW's music blog), and The Portland Mercury. ~~Matt also did an interview with the Oregonian, so there might be a feature in the Friday issue.~~ Here are links to said press:

Ned Lannamann, "Tanks and Space Stations: Oh, and Some Seriously Good Music", Portland Mercury, June 5, 2008.

It's a beautiful album, on which every tune is spectacularly good; the songwriting is potent, emotional, poetic, and engaging, with catchy melodies and inventive arrangements. You'll find yourself sharing it with friends like a joyful secret, or singing it out loud in the car, or putting a song on a mixtape for someone to whom you need to say something important but can't quite put it into words. Sheehy has done the work of processing all the difficult emotions, and the acoustic-based songs on Tigerphobia are the wholly pleasurable result.

Amy McCullough, Music Listings (WW Recommended Pick), Willamette Week, June 4, 2008.

[NO-SHAME POP] Local songwriter Matt Sheehy has a ridiculous knack for melody. Songs like "Go Missing" and "Lunatics," for instance—both from his longtime-coming full-length debut Tigerphobia—are immediately familiar. But Sheehy's catchiness doesn't feel dirty.

Amy McCullough, "Cut Of The Day: Daily MP3 From The Best Local Bands", Willamette Week, LocalCut, June 5, 2008

I’ve often said that Sheehy’s electro-acoustic stylings remind me of John Vanderslice, with his vocals recalling Chris Martin (Coldplay) and Rob Crowe (Pinback) at times. But “About Piano” takes all those supposed influences and dulls ‘em down a bit—allowing Sheehy to come into his own, loud and clear.

Got Tigerphobia?

2008-06-04T02:13:00.001-07:00

That's right you can buy your copy of Tigerphobia, Matt Sheehy's debut CD, today or if you prefer you can come down to the Doug Fir this Saturday (June 7th) to see Matt and a full band play the release party show and pick up a copy of the CD in person.