March 11th – Eugene, OR We start our tour off in good spirits coming off of our CD release show at The Alibi. Seeing so many friends and fans who have been supporting us over the years come out and celebrate another milestone in our tenure as a band makes us feel ready to bring our music to many cities we’ve never been before. We begin our travels listening to Lila Nelson’s latest CD.

As Lila and Ian have just moved out of town, and as we’re leaving town for tour, this seemed like a fitting soundtrack to start off our drive. Following up Lila we listen to Jolie Holland’s album, Escondida. Holland has such a stirring voice it can be beautifully haunting at points. Next is The Throes by The Two Gallants. We got turned on to 2Gs by Bret Bailey and the Que La Chinga guys, and this album is one of their best. It will make you feel justified burning with righteousness after heartbreak, but somehow convince you that you’re too damn good to set your heart on fire and throw it at your lover’s face. This album probably saved my life last year.

This is followed by Modern Theories Applied by none other than Que La Chinga. This is one of our favorites by these guys. A great song with great lyrics. It reminds us of our last show in Eugene at Sam Bond’s Garage with QLC. We move on to an album by one of the members of Porcupine Tree. I still don’t know the name of the band or the album, but Jay was right on for throwing this in the CD player. Finally we hear an album Colin just bought from a band called Dead Confederates. I believe Jen Savage turned him onto this band.

We met up with our good friends Power of County at the venue and the celebration begins. We have known these guys for years now and play with them every time we head through Eugene and Portland. We’ve had great times on the road with these guys, and everyone’s all smiles and laughs before the show. This was our third show in Eugene, and to date our finest. With Jay now on drums with us, we’ve really hit our stride and some of our songs are really getting some full-throttle kick with Jay’s style.

As we were packing the trailer just as POC was setting up, we had to stop a guy from beating his ex-girlfriend outside the venue. The police showed up and everything. After taking our statements and positively identifying the guy, he got handcuffed and disappeared. We were under the impression that rock bands were to start trouble, not stop it.

After a great set by POC and locals Right Left Grand, we say goodnight to Eugene and POC and then drive up to Portland to stay with our good friend Amy.

March 12 – Portland, OR Sleeping in is grand at Amy’s. We all wake up somewhere around noon, and Amy cooks us up a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. A great woman. We then get into Amy’s new (old) Land Rover and head to a music store to look at equipment and do the “musician thing”. Colin’s purchase of a new guitar stand is followed by Portland bar hopping with Amy acting as our tour guide. We hit up a few bars celebrating our arrival back to Portland and again, spirits are soaring.

We then meet POC at The Tonic Lounge where we’re all playing that night. Everyone’s glad to get another show in together and with the arrival of Drunken Prayer, we all realized it was going to be a great night. Drunken Prayer started off the show with Brazil, and never let go after that. A great performance of What it was that Made Me Kill had the crowd really tuned in and we were already looking forward to our April 4th show with DP down at The Alibi.

We took the stage and took it hard, starting out with our louder more intense songs. The crowd took it in, and we didn’t let up from there. POC took the stage as well with force and we had a blast watching them play as we hung out with our Portland friends and Humboldt transplants (Keight from Blue Lake, Big Play Ray and Julia of Broken Hearts fame, and Brandon of Eureka).

After packing up, Brandon gave us some homebrew that he made up in celebration of our show and CD release. Our Portland crowd is really a fantastic group of people. Then onto another bar with Amy where we meet a bunch of folks from The Flying 15s (her motorcycle club). We are then invited to hang out at The Flying 15s clubhouse, which we of course do not decline. After much celebrating and partying, we return to Amy’s and collapse at six in the morning. March 13 – Seattle, WA This was a hard morning to wake up.

The previous night/early morning left us a little less than 100% (myself in particular). We treat Amy to biscuits and gravy (of which I was unable to enjoy at that time), regretfully say our farewells, and then hit the road for Seattle. We headed straight to The Comet Tavern and knew the show was going to be great once we walked in. The Comet is a brilliant dive bar. It’s small and has a tiny stage. It’s hard to explain, but we knew we were going to kill it that night. We often times play our best at small dive bars when people are jammed up right next to us cheering and slapping us on the backs while we’re playing. The show this night was no exception. We played hard and it paid off, the crowd loved it.

We also had the pleasure of being joined by our old friend, and Humboldt transplant, Alissa Morris on vocals for Mad Rain. We started playing the song, and then stopped to ask her if she’d like to join us on this song, as she used to sing it with us when she lived in Arcata. Whether or not she really wanted to perform with us was beside the point, she was pushed up by the crowd to the stage, we restarted the song, and she pulled off her vocals brilliantly. You can’t plan stuff like this. The spontaneity coupled with Alissa’s voice made the night for us and a good portion of the crowd. Seattle’s The Curious Mystery put on a fantastic show after us, and we made plans to play with them again soon, whether in Seattle or Humboldt.

After loading out our gear, we headed over to stay with Colin’s (ex?) girlfriend Rachel. It was great to see Rachel again, as she had just moved up to Seattle recently. After some catching up, another day ended for us somewhere around four in the morning.

March 14th – La Grande, OR We slept in again and had a slow start to our day. Rachel made us a great breakfast and some coffee got us all a bit ready to hit the road again. After some more sad farewells, we left for a hardware store to pick up supplies to build a new sustain rod for the Rhodes keyboard (the previous sustain rod I had apparently left in Portland), and then got on the freeway. We headed south and then east as we began to climb in elevation and enter the snow.

In a matter of hours, we had left Seattle and entered a total “winter land” of sorts. The snow was falling, and there must have been around two to three feet of snow on the ground. After a brief spinout in the truck, we continued on towards La Grande, slowly and with caution. We entered La Grande without knowing much at all about the town. We had gotten great radio play on KEOL with Drunken Sky, and booked a show there as it was along the way from Seattle to Boise. The venue in La Grande was more than accommodating, and run by genuinely great people.

We had apparently been billed as a “major label rock band”, and were being treated as such. Free food and drink, and requested autographs on CDs before we had even played. We didn’t have the heart (or modesty) to admit to the fact that we were not at all a “major label rock band”. With all the royal treatment and press we had gotten in town, we were getting ready for another great show. Nothing could have prepared us for the reception we got while playing.

Because of the fact that we were the only band on this bill this night, we had decided to play two sets of music. After the first song, we knew this was going to be a rough night. Of the sparse crowd, not a single person clapped after Carson Iceberg Wilderness. Not a single person clapped after Mad Rain. They all just sat there and either stared at us, or completely ignored us. It was completely surreal. To come from a packed, well-received show in Seattle, to a show where we had been billed as rock stars but received as total musical aliens was intensely confusing. We kept playing, but nothing was coming across.

At one point Jay stood up from the drum set and began clapping himself to more silent stares from the crowd. We finished the first set and went outside to take a break. By this point we were all beginning to have a really good time due to the sheer strangeness of what we had found ourselves in. The show had been going so horribly, that we could help but revel in the oddity of it. We then got back on stage for the second set, and we decided to play some of the more rocking songs to see if any of those would translate.

We played our hearts out, and eventually we started to win a few handful of people over. People started paying some attention, and even a few claps and cheers were heard out in the bar. We finished the set with a few new friends and fans. We hardly considered the show to be a success, but due to the fact that we even kept playing was reason enough for us to celebrate. We were offered a place to stay by our new friend Vanessa. She took us back to her beautiful house and some of her friends met us for an after party.

For what was truly our worst show, the night turned into a really amazing and wonderful one due to Vanessa, Casey, Tim, Cody, and Katie and their friends that really took us in that night. We danced, sang, and walked the streets of La Grande until four in the morning. These total strangers had taken us in and celebrated with us, and this turned into a completely wonderful night.

March 15th – Boise, ID We took Vanessa, Casey, and Katie all out to breakfast in the morning after we all recovered from a truly fantastic night. Hugs were given and it was sad to say goodbye to these three great people who had really shown three musicians a great time. A short drive to Boise put us at The Bouquet in downtown. This venue was gorgeous and had just been restored.

The stage was huge, and the sound system showed that this was a professional venue for bands. We left for a short while to meet some of Colin’s extended family for dinner before returning to the show. The family asked us many questions about our music and our tour, and it was great to explain to them the life of an independent band. To see them start to understand that touring bands aren’t famous, don’t make a lot of money, and don’t necessarily even have the privilege of showering every day was the creation of shared ground among us.

We arrived back at the venue and got to meet the local band, Play Like Randy. These guys were truly kind, and had apparently also heard the “major label rock band” rumor going around. They were so nice to us, and so excited to be opening for us that we again didn’t truly know how to handle the situation. Our tours in the past had led us to get used to the fact that a lot of people don’t really care about you or your music, it is a bit of a new sensation to have some sort of reputation precede you and be treated accordingly.

As PLR set up, we met Seattle’s The Apple War who had been added to the bill fairly last minute. We had much to talk about with these guys as they had played at the Lil’ Red Lion and we had heard about them from our good friend Monica. It turned out that they were on a very similar tour to ourselves and that we’d all be in Austin around the same time as well. Play Like Randy put on a great show, and we could tell these guys loved what they were doing. We couldn’t have met nicer folks than these guys. The Apple War were great themselves.

Their show was extremely tight, and their cover of Queen’s Under Pressure was phenomenal. We knew we’d have to cross paths with these guys again soon. We then took the stage and really played well. Although it was a slow night at The Bouquet, and all of us bands were pretty much just playing for each other, all of us played our hearts out. Every band would listen, clap, and cheer for the band performing. This energy from PLR and The Apple War (and the few other folks listening) was more than enough to get us to put on a great performance.

We ended with Winter ’63 and got a great cheer from everyone. All the bands joined together to congratulate each other and talk about what we like of the other’s sound. We made plans to try and see The Apple War in Salt Lake City the next night, and to meet up with them in Austin. This turned out to be an all around great night, and we are all in great spirits again as the clock strikes 4:40 a.m. in Boise. We all say goodnight and hope for some rest before phone interviews in the morning.

~ Andy Powell

Y’ou know, when we’ve hit an era of war, high gas prices, scarce commodities, and a global economic meltdown that scares the bejeezus out of over the most stalwart of the white-haired, money-grubbing elite, you would think pop music would be better by now. Until now, history has shown us such; 12 years of conservative administrations and paltry, for-nothing military exercises in a myriad of third-world nations thankfully had the added side effect of giving us a reason to like Nirvana and Sonic Youth. The converse also seemed true, as eight years of Slick Willie gave rise to a new crop of boy bands, teen pop stars and soaring subscriptions to Tiger Beat. If I thought it would have helped to avoid all that, I would have told my parents to vote for Bob Dole.

Now with the end of the Bush era being gladly tucked under our belts, we have yet to experience any sort of similar cultural phenomenon. Really, where is our Reagan Youth? Where’s our John Lennon? I want music that stirs up passion and puts me on the streets with a protest sign. I want music that will make me want to break stuff without sounding like Limp Bizkit. And now, we’ve elected “the change we can believe in.” How’re we gonna write protest songs against that kind of slogan? Well, putting my love for Mr. Obama aside, there’s only one thing I can say:

Thanks Mr. President-elect, you just killed Rock’n’Roll.

But it’s not like he didn’t have any help. We all built the coffin before Obama hit the final nail. So in the theme of such things, and as it is the end of the year, I am going to list the best and the worst of 2008. Not only those that helped dig that grave, but also those brave musical EMTs that still hope for that 11th hour resuscitation.
Please remember, even though this list is an opinion, it’s probably right.

Worst shows of 2008

5. The Zygoats, Jan. 26 at the Alibi. I feel like over the past couple of year I might have unnecessarily picked on these guys, so I think I’ll stick them at #5, making them the least bad of all the worst. When you’re playing at a bar, the safe listening distance to avoid ear damage should not be outside the bar. People can’t buy drinks that way. There’s an underlying principle in all this: LOUDER does not equal BETTER.

4. The Baby Arms/Delinquent Order, May 4 at the Alibi. Sorry guys, punk’s dead.

3. The Beat Nun, July 6 at Mosgo’s. Next time I want to hear a bunch of children’s toys rattled around as an excuse for music, I’ll go visit my 14-month nephew and watch him pull the string until “the cow goes ‘moo.’”

2. 31 Knots, June 8, Big Pete’s. This is a band Chuck Klosterman would have a field day over. Pretentious overwrought hipster trash that, like any other band of this nature (think Gang of Four, T. Rex, Pixies), will only gain any sort of stature after they break up. So if there’s any advice I can offer these guys, it’s to please, please keep playing and stay obscure.

1. Forcefed Trauma, June 29 at Hum Brews. Never before have I been able to compare a band performance to the pervasive white noise of a despondent television. Not to damn a genre entirely, but when what you say becomes an afterthought compared to how you say it, nothing significant can arise. I would say that we could use Forcefed Trauma to torture, I mean interrogate, some Gitmo detainees, but our Murderer of Rock-elect is supposed to close that place.

Best shows of 2008

5. The Absynth Quintet, Dec. 13 at Hum Brews. Not only do I appreciate a band that writes good music, but I appreciate a band that writes a good fan letter. There’s something to be said for a group of individuals that can come together, produce a tight bit of music, and still not take themselves too seriously. Here’s to Romano jazz.

4. Panther Attack, Apr. 27 at The Pearl Lounge. I usually cringe when I see bands with two drummers. Anyone from Modest Mouse to the Grateful Dead to King Crimson to Genesis; they all provided a sonic nightmare that shows that it’s never better to substitute two half-ass drummer for one that’s perfectly capable of using the whole thing. Not this time though; this powerhouse of instrumental might gave me the soundtrack to my workout/mushroom trip routine. Thank you, Panther Attack.

3. The Common Vice, May 25 at Aunty Mo’s. These are the guys I want to play at my bachelor party. Funny, musically knowledgeable and full of enough spunk to pull off an impressive cover of Pink Floyd’s “Pigs.” I have yet to see them with their newest guitarist, but I’m sure that addition can do nothing but add to their aristocratic blend of self-redemptive rock music.

2. Trigger Renegade, Jan. 26 at the Alibi. Flying V guitars and Wolfmother antics encapsulated the spirit of what these guys were about. Adrenaline combined with magnified technique makes for nothing short of pure enjoyment. I want to thank them personally for the headache I got from all that head banging.

1. Strix Vega/Or, The Whale, Feb. 14 at Jambalaya. For as awkwardly cute as Strix Vega likes to bill itself, their persistent problem has been finding a band to bill them with that fits their brand of lukewarm-soggy-toast lethargy. For Hallmark day, San Fran’s Or, The Whale provided the perfect foil for our local boys. In an evening that annoyingly cascades us all in cards and flowers and chocolates, these two bands injected a dose of reality that serves as the soundtrack of our lives. While The Common Vice would play my bachelor party, these groups could play my wedding/bar mitzvah/funeral/divorce proceedings/whatever.

Josh Duke is a music critic.

The joys of graduation are many a splendorous thing. You wear a funny hat, you walk down an aisle with other people in funny hats and then some other guy in an even funnier hat hands you an empty folder before booting you into the real world, kicking and screaming.

By the end of the week, the reality of the situation will settle in that there are no more financial aid checks coming, and you begin to wonder if the wad of cash Dad slipped into your wallet after his fifth Scotch at your graduation party is enough to cover rent. After the joke of full-time work in Humboldt County delivers its somber punch line at around the same time you have to start paying back all those student loans, grad school starts to sound like a tempting, yet temporary, solution to the lifetime problem of actually being a grown-up. But what do I know? I just review music that costs you money. Here Dad, have another Scotch.

For one of the most celebratory of weekends this town sees, the live music scene was quiet but for one place. Moonalice played their psychadelic blues rock set led by the famed G.E. Smith. For those not in the know, G.E. Smith was that guy that led the Saturday Night Live Band for about 10 years in the ’80s and ’90s, giving us some of the best filler music that I’ll at least kinda remember.

After realizing that I was one of the youngest people there, I felt like I wandered into the parents’ area of a theme park, as though Hum Brews was the hangout spot for Mom and Dad while Junior does a keg stand with his friends that are still “taking a couple classes” at CR for the fifth year. But as the unadvertised $15 door cover hit the pocket book in more ways than one, I knew this was a show for the likes of out-of-towners who are used to being bilked without noticing. Well, them… and people like me, since I paid as well.

As for the music, Moonalice was actually pretty decent, in a “Tom Petty Discount Night” way. It was standard and enjoyable, and had all the nice blues guitar solos that made me feel I was only owed five dollars back, and not the whole $15. At times it was light and jazzy, while others were raucous and bluesy.

Others still felt like I had just listened to “The Sultan of Swing,” for 25 minutes straight and somehow my foot kept tapping.

I actually saw another show this weekend – Strix Vega at the Wave lounge. Since you’ve all repeatedly read my feelings on the SV boys and their anti-rockstar personages, I didn’t feel that writing about their overly pretentious cover off The Virgin Suicides soundtrack would be neither pertinent nor amusing. What I did find amusing is that I think those bands should’ve switched venues. Strix Vega would’ve made a much better graduation night show. They’re kid- tested and mother-approved. Everyone would come to see them.

Conversely, Moonalice would’ve been perfect at the Wave Lounge, pandering to those lined up at the buffet.

Have them up with any other has-been like Three Dog Night that rides the casino circuit, and that place will be raging like a British soccer riot. I would say I should give up this gig and become a booking agent, but given the thankless rigors of handling egos and placating anyone and everyone, that is that sort of job I would rarely wish on anyone, especially myself.

If you would like to comment on Josh’s reviews, send an e-mail to fun@arcataeye.com. A full name and a phone number required for publication. (Phone numbers will not be published, but we need to know you are whom you say you are.)