the worst blogger in the world...

Somehow I'm going to get back into the swing of this, I swear.

Quick catch up, shall we?

The release party for The Lights new album "Failed Graves" is this Friday (Feb. 26th) at The Funhouse. The album will be available on vinyl and digital download from WANTAGE USA. Partman Parthorse opens. Oh, and I'm playing, too.

Click here are read what Hannah Levine has to say about it.



On March 4th, I'm doing my first headlining show at Neumos with Siren Sister, Exohxo, and Poland. Doors are at 7pm, so don't be late.

That afternoon, me and the band are hitting KEXP for our first in-studio performance. Tune in at noon to 90.3 FM in Seattle, or go to www.kexp.org to stream it from wherever you are in the world.

My next album is coming along in it's modest demo form (I think we're doing at least 3 songs from it at Neumos) and I'm getting pretty excited about it. I'm also very excited to be scoring a film by indie filmmaker Steven Richter of Portland via Sao Paulo called "Center of Gravity". More to come on that as it unfolds.

Shabazz Palaces is playing Sasquatch!

In the works are new The Little Penguins (who are playing the matinee show at The Comet this Saturday, Feb 27), new THEE Satisfaction, new Coulter, and hopefully a crazy ass art project with my wonderful friend and former collaborator on SloAsions, Phil. Again, when shit starts going down, you'll be the 2nd or 3rd to know.

xo

A new album by The Lights is going to hit you over the head with your own arm!

Keep an eye out for what I believe is the finest musical moment of The Lights thus far. Everything I talked about in a previous post about the sound of this album has been rectified.


Now my only concern is the mastering. I'm hoping that Kramer gets the gig, but it's now in the hands of Wantage Records. Maybe we should start a letter writing campaign?

In other news, Coulter's album is starting to get some press overseas. How can I get on that boat?

From The Congleton Chronicle:

Coulter ‘Sent to Coventry’ The only one of this bunch of new releases you won’t have heard of, Coulter is pretty good in a low key way.He’s from Seattle but must know something about England because the album title is not a well-known phrase over there. He writes well crafted, gentle, atmospheric pop tunes that had strings that swell and choruses that echo.It took us a while to pin down the sound but eventually it clicked: Cosmic Rough Riders on a good day (though there are shades of Orange Juice’s “Rip it up” on the first track).First play through, you think it’s good enough to give a second spin; second time is enough for a third go and by about the fourth or fifth play through you’re hum-ming the tunes.Fans of The Smiths might liketo know that Gary Day, bassistwith the boy Morrissey, plays onthis. Out on 20th July.JMC

Word.

Back to Life

It's been too long. I'm sorry for neglecting you, but computer failure (something I'm far too familiar with) has prevented me from making any updates. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

In the days to come you will read my musings on recording The Redwood Plan, trying to book shows, mixing The Lights new album, losing a few months of my iTunes library, and getting all gay and proud this month. Tonight, I just want to tell you all that I'm still around and not leaving anytime soon.

PS Keep your eyes peeled for THE COUNCIL.

xo

Work vs. Sun

Being a producer in the Pacific northwest, you have to sacrifice a lot of beautiful days to sit in a dark, smelly, windowless room staring at monitors and pushing buttons and moving faders and remembering to stand up and stretch. It's worth it when the music comes out good.


Today, final Black Daisy mixes were completed while the sun gave a new life to Seattle residents who suffered through last week's horror and a couple of nasty storms earlier this week. Next up, I will be hiding out in the studio to tweek the fuck out of the new Lights album. So close, by the way. KEXP apparently has some secret leaked mixes (I'm not even sure they have titles) that get played every once in a while. Like I said before, the mixes we did when we left the studio were great, but they will soon be spectacular.

This summer, I will be heading into the studio with Redwood Plan to make my contribution to their upcoming album. Not sure who else they're working with, but I'm sure it's going to be a fabulous record. Haven't set dates with Devices yet, but I'm hoping that happens sooner than later.

During all this, I will also be working on new Erik Blood material and a collaborative effort between me and Altspeak. Speaking of Altspeak, if you haven't downloaded "It's Up to You" yet (it's fucking free!!!) you better get your ass to www.altspeak.com and download it. That's one slept on record, my friends.

Tonight at Lo-Fi in Seattle, Andy Rourke from The Smiths is DJing after performances by Romance, Altspeak, Coulter, and Pedestre. That's quite a line-up and well worth the price of admission, whatever it is. I'll be there until I go celebrate a certain awesome-colored friend's birthday.

More to come...

Easter with The Lights (or "it's not you, it's me!")

Thankful for a lack of religious and or familial obligations on Easter, I spent that rainy Sunday at Mysterious Red X with three of my old friends. After two rounds of coffee, a cookie, a trip to Uwajimaya's food court, and three (or four) trips to Shell for potato chips and beer, thirteen hours passed and an album was completed. Technically...


Not yet titled, though several hilarious options were tossed around, there's a new album by The Lights that's basically done and ready to be mastered. Alas, I don't feel like I'm done with it yet. I'm being an overprotective mother. "It's cold outside and this album ain't got no gloves on!" I can't help but be like this when I think the songs are so amazing. So I'm going to sneak off into the studio over the next couple of weeks and try to complete it to my satisfaction. I'll let you know what comes up once I get started.

Go listen to their live performance from April 11th on KEXP's Audioasis by clicking here and selecting Saturday April 11th @ 8pm. It's a pretty amazing performance, and they play all new songs from the album of which I speak.