Yay! Snow snow snow...... snow days! And snowballs! and freezing hands! and hot chocolate! YAY for SNOW.
Snow on the car in the morning. Snow falling off of houses hitting me in the head with giant icicles. Slushy boots full of dirty snow. Frost on all the windows.

.... and there's STILL THREE MORE MONTHS OF IT!!!!! YAAAAY!!!!

 

in any case, ohioans, gather round and prepare yourselves for the onslaught from the sky of white stuff. not nuclear fallout, but rather the bleak darkness that is winter time, but we here at northern spy are used to the cold and would invite everyone for curl around the fire night, naked knitting escapade night (completely platonic, of course), let's make fruity girlie frozen drinks and turn up the heat-run around in tshirts and pretend we live in southern california night, oh, or frank's ladies night where if you have a vagina you can get totally wasted for under 5 bucks aaaand have some delicious sweet potato fries, or stop by around new years for the lighting of bethani's house party. At midnight, the electric company will finally turn on the lights to the house and we'll all cheer and drench each other in champagne. Fun fun.

So snow, here's to you! And finding inventive ways to avoid you with copious quantities of firewood, booze, and friends with booze.

... or better know a spy.

this is jon.

i admit that i'm a pretty regular pitchfork reader, although to be honest i've lost a fiar amount of faith in the site over the last few years, but that's another post.

anyways, on pitchfork (pitchforkmedia.com) they run a weekly column called "guest list" in which a band or band member answers certain stock questions.  it's interesting to see what people from certain bands choose/suggest/reccomend.  this week it's the ladies from free kitten, pretty good choices.  a few months back they interviewed john and toko from enon, interesting enough.  and so on.

so, i thought it would be fun if the band did their own guest lists. 

looks like i'm starting:

favorite new songs of the past year: i've been listening to a lot of new things lately so this is kind of hard, but i really like why?'s alopecia album, especially the opener "vowels pt. two" and their cover of the cure's "close to me".  vampire weekend and cocnut records have been big hits with me over the last few months, i guess "oxford comma" and "west coast" would be my top picks respectively, but both albums are phenomenal.  i'm really happy about the nineties party rap renaisance being helmed by the cool kids, "black mags" and "what it is" are already my summer jams.  i could go on and on but i'll wrap it up by mentioning the new black francis records, specifically "your mouth into mine" and "the seus".

favorite older songs at the moment: anything by the pixies are first choices, but since i've been re-learning how to play surfer rosa lately i guess "something against you", "bone machine", and "cactus" are the most fun to play and sing.  i'm in love with the kinks' "this time tomorrow" and peter sarstedt's "where do you go to my lovely" from the darjeeling limited soundtrack.  and tom waits' "i don't want to grow up".  so really it's the songs that i've been learning to play on my own lately.  but they're great regardless.  and i've been really into the jesus and mary chain lately for some reason, so anything off psycho candy.

favorite venue: to see shows?  the beachland ballroom/tavern.  i love the feel of those two rooms and the sounds is always good.  to play?  a crowded basement is nice, and so is annabell's in akron, the sound's always decent and the sound guy always plays liquid swords while bands are setting up and tearing down.

favorite new band: following my favorite new songs of the moment, i really like why? right now, their weird indie-pop-rap thing grabs me in the right place, like the islands' "where there's a wish there's a whale bone" extrapolated over an entire album.  coconut records and vampire weekend, even though they're not that new anymore.  and i'm pretty psyched about el guincho and the mae shi right now.

favorite song ever: this is really hard to answer, but a few options might be "letter to memphis" by the pixies, "i don't want to grow up" by tom waits, or "hotwax" by beck or aesop rock's "no regrets".  i think four is pretty good since i could make a huge list right now.

best recent show: child bite and the kyle sowashes at used kids was pretty great, so was bookmobile later than night (may seventeenth).  and playing with the sons of adray a few weeks ago in akron was awesome, too.

last great film i saw: i haven't seen a truely great film in a long time.  seeing the ruins witht eh band last night was pretty great.  it was gross and silly and over the top.  i haven't seen a good gross-out horror movie in a long time.  the new indiana jones movie was good, too.  but nothing great.  i'm excited about son of rambow and the gits documentary but lord knows if and when i'll ever see them.  that young at heart looks promising, too.

last great book i read: i just finished vonnegut's breakfast of champions a few days ago and loved it, not surprisingly.  i'm mad i haven't read more of his stuff at this point in my life, but i've still got time.  i'm in various stages of finishing a few others right now, the best so far seems to the secret ingrediants which is a collection of the best food writing from the new yorker. 

favorite piece of musical equipment: as the drummer for northern spy my favorites are either our new snare stand or the drum key.  more personally it's by danelectro dc-three in sparkly blue finish.

favorite record store: there've been a lot over the years, ultrasound in mentor was key to my high school/punk years.  mad hatter's (r.i.p.) was the only place to shop in bowling green.  and now i really like used kids in columbus or record den in mentor.

best purchase of the last year: if i had bought it i would say my ipod, but right now it looks like it will be the car i will buy some time in the near future.

best thing i did this year: toss up between the weekend at old man's cave and my spring break road trip.

favorite tv show at the moment: now that the office and thirty rock are off for the summer, i don't know.  top chef i guess fits the catagorey, or the eleven pm re-run of good eats is pretty great.  but really nothing is tickling my fancy right now, i need to get netflix or a dvr.  actually netflix reminds me, i've been watching various seasons of northern exposure with my parents lately.  those are amazing.  what a good show, although it's little wonder it got cancelled, too weird for network tv.  great wrting and charcters even if some of the actors are a little stiff at times.

favorite radio show: ha!  right!  the radio!  i barely listen to the actual radio anymore, though i do use it to listen to my ipod in the car.  i guess morning edition on npr is one thing i listen to the most, in the morning while making my lunch and eating breakfast.

my ringtone: ever since i got a cell i've been terrified of being "that guy" whose phone goes off at inopportune times so it's almost always on vibrate.  when it's not, and this will sound really lame, it's this weird drum solo thing that was one of the pre-programmed rings on my phone.  it's not because i'm the drummer or anything, it was the most different ringtone on there and some horrible townie had my previous ringtone when i was in the post office one day, some faux-reggae thing.  actually my phone records things so i was hoping i could make my ringer this wolf eyes song i recorded but it didn't work.  not that i feel i have to defend my choices to you or anyone.

there it is, our first guest list.  hopefully you enjoyed it and hopefully the rest of the band will follow suit.

later.

     <3,
        jon

northern spy will be playing in cleveland, at the grog shop on the 19th,
we will be playing with cleveland own lefturn, and northern spy's former drummer joe"s and current guitarist norms's other band bad speller!! it will be a night of true chaos and mayhem!! and if all the stars and planets align properly our own little bethani will cover acappella style tom waits no pussy blues, that along makes the trip worth it!! thats the 19th of feb at the grog shop in cleveland ohio. please come out and dance dance dance with some fun bands!!! see you then!!

my name is jon and i became the drummer after joe moved on to bigger and better things.  i was just granted access to the band myspace account so i guess that makes me official.

if you're curious about me i'm six'three", an aries, and i like long walks on the beach at sunset and spooning by the fire on snowy nights.  i like music (too much), tv, movies, and books and will talk about them ad nauseum if you get me started.

musically some of my favorites are: pavement, les savy fav, beck, pixies, and an endless slew of other bands and artisits.  you check out my individual profile for specifics.  the last great concert i saw was peter, bjorn, and john at the beachland with besnard lakes.

as a musician i had been out of practice for a while before janee' posted a myspace bulletin looking for a drummer in the northeast ohio area.  i was primarily a guitarist but i played drums from fifth grade until my freshman year in college so i kind of know what i'm doing.

last weekend we played a show in detroit, michigan, and it was amazing!  the other band we played with, sons of adray, were killer and the people at the old miami were rad as hell!  thanks detroit!

we have a few shows comming up soon:
the next show scheduled is for december eighteenth at the beachland tavern.  it's a holiday show with a band of kids i went to high school with.  they're called the helper t-cells and they're phenomenal!  if you're in the cleveland area make time to see them!
we're also playing towards the end of january at the hi-fi in lakewood, ohio.  i don't know who we're playing with but it's a double birthday show so it's probably going to be great!

come on out and see us sometime, we miss you!

that's all i can think of now, but now that i've got the log in and password i'll post a lot.  probably too much.

later,
jon

So I guess when Northern Spy decided to hit up Detroit for a show, the motor city fought back.

And here is the story....



It's 5 o'clock on a Saturday night and I was just getting off work (this is Janee by the way). I get home, frantically load up Jason's subaru with the help of Jason and Pj who were also hitching a ride to catch the show. I grab a turtleneck, chugged a beer, put a couple of band aides on my fresh cuts from work and hit the road. Or, kinda hit the road.
In the process of loading up the incredibly space-thrifty station wagon, the trunk wouldn't shut. Well, what do you do when a trunk doesn't shut... of course you shut it harder. Two thuds and a crash later, our back windshield was smashed out.
I can't even begin to explain how hard it is not to laugh in a situation like that. Jason made that noise like he just got punched in the gut and tried not to cuss, but Pj and I are trying sooooo hard not to giggle. I knew it hurt. When you've got no money, the last thing you want is somethingon your car to break. Or shatter. Whatever.

So anyway, after a bit of discussion, we decided to still hit the road. 15 minutes up the way we realized we forgot something. Went back to my place. The cat got out. Chased her around the house for a half an hour. Cursed all felines and safety glass and hit the road.

Upon arriving in Akron, I walk into Norm's house and he says something that I never thought I'd hear him say....
"let's think rationally about this, do we really want to go?"

Of course by this point, there was no going back. We were fucking going. I hadn't seen my friends Tony and Joe in like 4 years and I set up this show to make sure that I didn't back out. Even if it was just me and my big ass piano with an amp covered in safety glass, we were fucking going.
So needless to say, with Jason driving, my big piano on my lap, Pj, Bethani and Norm in the back seat, we were wondering where we were going to put Jon when we picked him up. Hating to drive separate because of gas money, we did it anyway. Two cars, no big deal. The heat was out on the station wagon and with no back window and 6 people, 2 keys, a guitar and an amp, that might have been a long ride.

In any case, it was a long ride. Once we hit 80, the snow started flying. I put my hat on the amp to keep the water out of it and Pj slept the entire way...
What usually takes an hour took 2. I called up Tony and predicting the worst, asked him when was the latest we could get there. He said midnight. This was at 8. Plenty of time from Cleveland to detroit. I was figuring on ten thirty.

Nope. Not even close. The farther we went, the more the snow flew. We were going up 75 into Michigan at an amazing 30 miles per hour. And of course just as everyone's butts were going numb and patience was getting squished, we get there.

Let me tell you, the Old Miami is fucking awesome. I walked in, Jon, Norm and Bethani all had locally brewed beers in their hands and smiles on their faces. I got there at exactly 12:07, which is pretty darn good i guess and it was just in time to catch the Sons of Adray's last couple of songs. Amazing.


The rest of the night was terribly fun. The sound guy bought us shots. After hours lasted until dawn. So many good conversations. So everything worked out in the end... well, except Jason still has a broken out back window, but Bethani got to see Michigan for the first time.


So anyway, I guess this is a lesson in life or aesops fables or whatever. See your friends more often than every 4 years. No matter what.


~j

hello my little angels. how are you all doing.

northern spy would like to invite you to embrace the darkness that is winter, put on a coat because it's fucking cold, and come out to annabelle's this saturday night for something beautiful.
you see, when a band and a bar really love each other, something magical happens... and it ends up a bit damp and it smells funny, but it's the beauty of life and that's how you all were made. you see, if it weren't for bands being so in love with dive bars with cheap draft beer, then the world would just be a sea of BW3's and Frickers and Panini's and ---shudder--- swarmy martini lounges. for the love of god FIGHT THE POWER! Never surrender! Keep the lights dimmed down low, the employees a bit hardened to the world, and the beer incredibly cheap but yet, flavorfully diverse (because they never clean the taps).

don't let the world become a bunch of dudes in Ohio State sweatshirts trying to do it with the chick with cleavage sitting with her three other blonde friends while ordering another bud light or a drink that sounds like some sex act.

come out to annabelle's this saturday to see where the word "bar" comes from. informative lectures on the origin of species will take place in between songs and there may even be a demonstration on how to drink beer... not conducted by norman. and jon might even wear his bow tie, if you all ask him nicely.

 

 

hope to see you all there....

love love love,
janee - undercover bantie.

So, as Northern Spy prepares for another great American holiday with laughter and beer and wearing silly clothes, we'd like you all to remember what this holiday is all about. um.... yeah.

Anyway, let's play a game. It's called -what's your favorite Northern Spy-er dressing up for this halloween. You ready?

Will Norm be...
A) puppies
B) kitties
C) a pony
D) death

Bethani is dressing up as....
A) darth vadar
B) captain kirk
C) a level 288 sorceress from Diablo, the expansion version
D) angelina jolie.... again.

Janee will be
A) a chicken
B) a bunny
C) a chicken riding a bunny
D) ten bunnies humping a rooster running around with his head cut off

Jon's costume this year is....
A) sexy schoolgirl
B) sexy nurse
C) sexy old guy at the gym
D) a sexier version of himself

 

Come out to Joe's bar and grill (though I've never actually seen the grill part but I can certainly vouch for the bar part) in beautiful Canton on 6th street (watch out for the hookers on 5th) around 10 or so with your answers enclosed in an envelope along with 20 dollars. If you guess them all right, you get to watch us drink away 20 dollars worth of good beer on tap while we pat you on the back and tell you that you are swell.

Happy All Saints Day's Eve,
Ja-spy

we will be doing a halloween show, on the 31st in wonderfull downtown canton, at a bar called joe's (best name for a bar ever). we hope people can make it out, and see northern spy all dressed up in costume, and we hope to see you in costume as well, take care-norm

We have a show at Annabells in Akron on the 13th of September, the show starts around 10 and its free. We are playing with Legendary Seagulls, State of Ohio and So It Goes. it's going to be a nice change of pace for us, we have been playing mostly house shows and all ages clubs for a long time now, its nice to finally be back in a bar. So put on your drinking caps, and come out for a fun night with your friends in northern spy!!


Oh and try to sneak norm and jon pre show drinks when janee is not looking, its just our fun new game we play.