you may have noticed that the roanoke show on the 19th has been cancelled. maybe some other time, eh? we will be crossing the pond to holland and norway and belgium on the 24th, and no we can't bring y'all any contraband, unless of course it's by accident, in which case we promise to share in the unlikely event there's any left when we come back to your town.

we plan to do some recording with our good friend and part-time hackensaw, thomas olivier, so be on the lookout for some new tracks

cheers

ward!

as you may know the hackensaws have been off the road a while and are itchin' to get back out in front of ya. we've got a bunch of shows coming up over the hollidays -baltimore, VA beach, morgantown, dc, ohio, the carolinas, etc... why not, instead of going to the big box stores on the mall side of town and buying some token gift for this manufactured holliday season, why not give the gift of music and bring yo' butts and some friends to a hackensaw boys show? the grey eagle show is a food drive; bring a can of soup and a bag of trail mix (non perishables, please). hell, bring a can for salvage's charismo (rinsed please).
the point is, and i'm fond of makin my point, let's not forget what this season is about, which is stuffing our face holes with roasted things and gramma's green jello with cream cheese nut balls. seriously, for us, it's about spending the chilly (hopefully) winter solstice with our immediate families and loved ones, and our extended family, which is YOU.

also, be on the lookout for the video for "oh girl" soon. brantley, a VA boy gone LA hooked us up with a gorgeous 1970's looking video that he is doing the finishing touches on as i write this. i think i speak for all of us when i say we had a lot more fun making it than our faces let on. we are all so serious looking. strange.

happy hollidays

let's be people and citizen's BEFORE consumers

spits hackensaw

a special thanks to everyone who joined us in knoxville on thursday and friday, and at the purple fiddle on saturday. and a HELL YEAH to Red and Nita at WDVX for being the the prettiest, most stylingest, delicious cookingest hostesses any band could ask for. MD, you too, though slightly less pretty. we're working on getting to florida in december, and back to the left coast in march. thanks for the love everyone. we'd be home dreaming of the open road without you!

spits!

the hackensaw boys are back home in sunny virginia.

one of the things we brought back from holland is a website link with a video of a hackensaw session. in an elevator.

our friend sara sets-up these elevator sessions with folks playing at this place called the patronaat, in haarlem, near amsterdam. we were there in november. this is our elevator show.

it features appearences by our friends casey and steve from the band elliot brood and t-mobile hackensaw, our friend and tour manager in europe.

http://3voor12.vpro.nl/3voor12/player/video.jsp?videonumber=28324716

that is the actual address. the site is 3voor12.vpro.nl we are on there somewhere.

so, the hackensaw boys made it to ireland. kilkenny specifically. and what a fine place. you can play music in a bar, on the street, in a hall and the occasional stage. the numbers have not come in yet, but i bet we have spent more time playing music here than anything else: sleeping, breathing....

and it just gets me to thinking about how great it is to do what you do. there is the "love what you do" sentiment in our camp, but these rainy, ireland streets remind of the importance of just doing what you do. then we can love it.

so, we are getting along okay here in ireland. the kilkenny rhythm and roots is a big affair. tiny pubs all-over a cool town covered with music loving folks. spits and salvage ate at a place called "abra-kebob-ra," baby J and myself, four, played some music on the street and in the rain. you can spot mahlon walking the same streets and the kooky-eyed-fox may very well still be in the bed. it is six-o-clock in the evening here. i think i still heard his banjo the last time six came around...this morning.

we are about to go play at the pumphouse pub.

if i have any energy, strings, fiddle bows or thirst for beer when it is all done, i will be surprised. hey, it is what i do.

please, give 'em hell!

The work of the human race! that's the explosion that lights up my lower depths from time to time. "Nothing's vanity. Move ahead with science!" shouts the modern Ecclesiastes, which is to say everybody. And yet the corpses of the wicked and the lazy plop down the hearts of others....Ah! hurry, hurry a bit! Out there, beyond the night, those future rewards, everlasting....are we missing out on them?
-What can I do? I know what work is. And science is too slow.
Prayer gallops along and the light rumbles...I see that too.
It's too simple, and it's too hot. They'll do without me. I've got my job. I'll take
pride in it the way others do-by laying it aside.
My life's used up. Come on! let's gold-brick, for pity's sake! And we'll go on enjoying
ourselves, dreaming up monstrous disguises-acrobat, beggar,artist,outlaw-priest! On my
hospital bed, the smell of incense came back to me, so potent: custodian of sacred
aromatics, confessor, martyr...
I recognize in that the filthy education of my childhood. So what....!
Here's my twenty years, since others put in twenty years....
No! no! I revolt right now against death! Work looks too lightweight to my pride: being betrayed to the world would be too brief a torture. At the last minute, I'd attack right and left...Then-oh!-poor dear soul, wouldn't eternity be lost for us!

2005 was a year much like any other. Some good things happened and some bad things happened and the world kept right on spinning. Only the details differentiated 2005 from the years that came before. Hunter S. Thompson killed himself but Brittany Spears had a baby – perhaps not an equal exchange in the opinion of some but life is life damn it and it’s reassuring to remember that for every one snuffed out another is right in line to take its place. There was the glory of Brad and Jen’s marriage and tragedy of the quick divorce that was nothing if not entertaining. There were earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes but there were also perfectly nice sunny days where nothing bad happened and the temperature was just right for a cold beer after mowing the lawn. The American president continued to push the envelope of his office and will as a result be judged by history to be either a complete fool or among the best. But that’s a matter for history and we’ll leave well! enough alone here. For the Hackensaw Boys 2005 looked a lot like an interstate, which is where we spend most of our time, but it also looked like a peaceful Dutch landscape and a busy London market. It witnessed the release of our new album on a new label and some great tours with everybody from Camper Van Beethoven to Trey Anastasio. Most of all 2005 turned up the heat on a band that was already roasting hot from five years of relentless touring and hard work. But we Hackensaws say: “Bring it on 2006” because life is for the swift and the risk takers and time is precious. Best to keep moving and don’t look back. We’ll see you down the road. Best, Mahlon Hackensaw

The Hackensaw Boys will be on the Weekend Edition of NPR this Saturday, Nov. 26th. Full transcripts are available at NPR.org. Make sure to check your local listings and tune in!!

We just got this banner for the upcoming dates we're playing with Trey Anastasio, if you want, you can post it where ever you'd like. With many thanks! http://www.nettwerk.com/webtools/hackensawboys/