Hey all-

Just wanted to take some time to update you all on what we have been up to lately.

So, you probably have noticed that we have not played a ton of shows this fall, except for the Tavern at the End of the World.  (Side note:  Big Shout out to Tim, Tom, and Steve at the Tavern.  You guys are rock and we love playing in your cozy pub.)  

What we have been doing instead is spending most practices working on new material for our next album.  We're up to about ten songs now that are in various stages of completeness.  You can hear one of them, Black Car, on our myspace page.  We're thinking about getting a little bit artsy fartsy on the next release, possibly a double EP, one of them themed, one of them not themed.  One of them straight up darker hues indie post garage-core whatever you want to call it, one of them the darker hues, but with more production, overdubs, egg shakers and cowbell and all that jazz.

So we'll be taking Dec and Jan off from doing shows.  Joe will be vacationing in Japan, Scott will be heading up to the great white north to partake in sliding around in the snow, and morgan will be busy outfitting his basement with guitar amps made from old washing machines, and vice versa.  When we're not doing that we'll be writing more new stuff while working out a game plan for getting back into the studio.  Exciting times to come!

Oh yeah, and thanks to everyone who was able to join us for our CD release show back in October.  We hope you like listening to our CD.  We loved recording it and playing it live for all of you.

You stay classy, friends.  And have super fun happy holiday time!

-Joe, Morgan, Scott

So, we played at 119 gallery on Friday night.  It was our first time rocking up in Lowell and all I can say is, wow.  wowsy wow wow.  You Lowell kids sure do know how to bring it.  This was the most enthusiastic crowd we have ever played to, with people screaming, dancing, singing along, goin nuts.  It was really a blast to play for all of you.  One guy even screamed FUGAZZI!!!  during our set, and... I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to get across, but we're going to take that as a compliment.  So thanks to everyone for coming out to see us, and the people at 119 who let us have shows there, and especially to our friends and family from out of state that came to see us too. It was great hanging out with ya.

In other Darker Hues news...  we've just recieved round two mixes of our LP that we recorded in Novemeber.  The mix is really shaping up nicely and sounding awesome.  One more round of final mixing and tweaks and hopefully we'll master that up and get it out to you all.

Oh, and drop by Tavern at the End of the World on Thurday, March 19th to say hi and take in your RDA of rock and roll from The Darker Hues machine of madness.  Seriously, this bar is really freaking cool, especially if you are a beer lover you're going to love "the Tavern."

Later all-
-Scott

Come on over and check us out at the Abby lounge tonight with big big bucks and the red quiet, this will be the final installment of the red quiet's October residency at the Abby lounge. Tonight is the closest thing we will have to an actual Halloween event so we are going to nerd out extra hard for you guys, we have a couple pretty good "dumb ideas" planned out and I am very excited about playing with the red quiet again, it's been too long, anyways.... shit get's rolling around 9 ish get there now!!!

in other news reguarding the band we will begin recording a full length album on halloween eve up in V.T. with the one and only Steven Williams, the album will be co-produced by the band and Steven as well as Jay, a local musical genius who we admire tons. We are aiming for around 13 songs and are willing to accept about 10.....we will see, I will keep you all posted...

we have shirts!
go check out the photos! Sayo is modeling up the new design with encouragement from local fan Annie the pug! they are 10$ at the show or 15$ mailed to your door! buy them!!!! christmas and shit!!!

ok enough of this stuff, there will be photos and another blog for this show later like around midnight!!! hope you all can make it!!!

xoxoxoxoxXXXoXXOOOO xxo
joseph boo
4 strings of fury
the darker hues
over and out

Ok so we played church of Boston, or just Church, or the ol' Linwood, but we played there and all I gotta say is FUCKIN WOW!, if you are a in a band and want to play a classy joint that has it 's shit together go play the CHURCH!!! if you can squeeze in there it is awesome , shit, we made no money playing there but it was wonderful. Ok, let me list some shit for you rock and rollers and you tell me...
1 PARKING IN THE BACK!!!!! THAT'S FUCKIN RIGHT!!!!!! PARKING IN THE BACK!!!!
2 GREEN ROOM FOR GEAR STORAGE HAS 2 DOORS, ONE IN FRONT OF STAGE, ONE ON TO THE STAGE!!!!! (great for keeping your shit outta the way and getting it on to the stage as quickly as possible)
3 AWESOME FOOD TILL 11 PM, WITH A 5 DOLLAR MENUE FOR YOU CHEAP ASS DRUNKS!(like me)
4 REAL STAGE WITH A REAL P.A. SYSTEM !!!WOOFERS SHOOTING OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE STAGE AND A BIG OL MONITOR FOR YOUR DRUMMER!!!! AND THREE WEDGES OUT FRONT FOR THE AX MEN AND MIC MARY'S
5 IF THE PARKING LOT IS FULL THERE ARE LIKE 3 PARKING GARAGES IN A BLOCK'S DISTANCE FROM THE CLUB!!!(PRAY THE SOX ARE NOT PLAYING A HOME GAME)
6 CHURCH IS RIGHT OFF STORROW DRIVE BANG A RIGHT OFFA THE FENWAY EXIT GET ON BOYLSTON, BANG A LEFT AND YOUR THERE!!! THAT SHIT IS EASY!!!!!
7 FRANKIE THE SOUND GUY IS AWESOME AND DESERVES A FRIGGIN RAISE!

ok so I can go on and on about this place,so if you get the chance to rock at the church DO SO!!!
so we played with a bunch of RANDOM bands this show and one that I liked a bunch were the Bright Hours right outta Boston Ma, so I see these guys and I am thinking, "ok these here are some indie rock dudes and I am trying to think about what they are gonna pull off for sounds and shit like that, and all I gotta say is that you really can't tell a book for it's friggin cover cause these kids are in tune to some real cool retro shit!!! so somewhere in New York city around the early 70's there was alot of cool rock shit going on with the likes of the Velvet Underground and even dare I say John lennon's solo stuff I think of Warhal, I think of hippies getting more street smart and arty and less flaky and spacey, I think William Burroughs, Jackson Pollock, and now I think about "the bright hours" I think this band is going to get somewhere someday, the original music is great, a loy of the "retro comback" shit these days sounds way to contrived, you can tell just watching these guys play that they really love what they are doing and they are having a blast playing it. Over all a very fun band to play with and a great band to see, they are playing the on oct 31 as the Velvet underground(big suprise) and I am sure it will rock your retro socks the fuck off! go hunt down there myspace page!!!
ok so another band we played with was EDDIE JAPAN once again outta Boston....


ok

well, anyone who have rocked out to these guys before will tell you there really is not anyone doing this sort of music here in town and if there was I think there would have to be a show down or something!!! My lovely wife Sayo is ... well Japanese, and her parents enjoyed this sort of music back in the late 70's early 80's. If you ever watched a Samurai television series in Japan and the song at the end.... while the credits were rolling....and there was a still of the lone Samurai guy walking the windy path all buy himself....it could be an Eddie Japan song... though Eddie Japan sings the songs in English the whole vibe is totally nostalgic and heartfelt. There was a hint of "spy film soundtrack" in there as well as detective television series as well. This 6 piece were all pros and I was wondering if the guys at Church were just throwing darts at a list of Boston bands to see who to book for a tuesday night! as the transition from Eddie Japan to the Darker Hues would be about as smooth as smashing your penis in an old car door. TWICE!
never the less they were awesome!!! they too have a myspace page!!!

We had a great set, and tried some new stuff that night that went over well with the remaining 9 people who were not totally freaked out by said transition. I had a minor technical failure as my chord somehow shorted my Boss delay pedal and the whole thing sorta shit out for 15 very quiet seconds... the longest 15 seconds a musician could ever have looking like a complete ass on stage in front of the 9 brave die hard fans willing to stay into the wee hours of a tuesday night to support local music.

The show was all in all a great time, with really fun people and everyone I talked to were very cool and friendly people. I feel like this church place is a well kept secret for great live bands... that or I have been living under a rock for the last 3 years and need to get my head out of my ass! I feel like if your into rock and roll, supporting local, or really any bands, you owe it to yourself to go check this place out! they also have a myspace page!!! and happen to be in our top friends currently so yeah go out there on a rock date or something!!!
thanks and have a good night
joseph boo
4 strings of fury
the Darker Hues
P.S.
check out our new shrts!!!!! We already sold 14!!!

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: EKK THE THIEF.
Date: Oct 2, 2008 11:04 PM


what's the bird guy about? is he significant to the band, or just a cool design element?



Quite honestly the bird guy represents a small handfull of things
A. it's really hard to find an icon that can represent a band that is not a metal, hardcore,punk,hip hop,country,pop band. so the Birdman does not hint that the darker hues sound like any of that... which is soooo important to the propaganda machine
B. the birdguy is falling, and if he would just get over his bad self and realize he is a bird, he could just take the damn clothes off and fly away to safety but no, he clings to his Human appearance and falls to his doom, like a fool, It's a metaphor on norms and standards, politics and religion and humanity in general. We are killing ourselves.
C. it looks rad!
hope that's helpful
xoxoxoxox
boo

ok so if you have been living under a rock there is a huge event going on in Salem mass this weekend... actually Sunday it is called the zombie walk, so get this crazy shit, Folks from all over are going to show up in Salem , all dressed up like zombies and I mean like a thousand people!!! and kinda creep their way through the town. Kick off is round 2 ish I think, the actual details are on the Zombie walk site but shit, it get's better!!!! after all the zombies wander round Salem a good chunk of them will bounce on over to Dodge st bar and grill, a local live music spot, and catch some beers and rock and roll
Enter the Darker hues

we are fortunate enough to have landed a spot on the line up and will rock your zombie ass off! shit kicks off round 6pm nice and early!
to say the least we are totally fuckin pumped about this
please come support you local zombies, now dig it, show up early, there are going to be a lot of people. and if you do come on out, behave your bad zombie self so this whole thing don't end up getting shut down

rock on

ok so don't go run out into the streets and start a friggin riot, we're just taking August off cause the rhythm section are taking some much needed vacation time. Scott is blazing through Alaska! I am hoping he does not play with any of them man eating grizzled bears up there!!! and I will finally be reunited with my wife after 13 months of visa bureaucracy/ bullshit. At this point the darker hues have about 20 songs, and we are looking into recording a handful of them all proper like up in Vermont with the mighty Steven williams and his inevitable life partner Jay. These are some busy guys doing lots of neat stuff so I do not see an album or whatever coming out for a bit, however we are at this point thinking about the songs that will be going onto the album, album art, themes, shit like that. we are also thinking about pressing a small batch of vinal maybe 7 inch as we always wanted to be in a band that did that sorta thing and analog is the sack.... anyway, we will be looking into shows for september, and we will keep you posted if we get anything rolling see you soon!

boo

hey there kids! joe boo here it's like 1 am and I am in my underwears writing up a lil blog action for you all... sexy no? well anyway we just got done playing a show over at the legendary TT's and wow it was a good time! I would like to thank everyone who came out on behalf of the band especially all the repeat offenders! (you new guys are totally awesome too please don't get me wrong but it is great to see friends in the crowd) to me TT's is one of those sacred clubs that have the big rich history of great rock shows so to play there was very exciting but also a little intimidating too, so you guys and gals who made it out on a friggin wends night are my personal heros!
So, we are the sacrificial lambs of the evening opening up the show, Mike, ( i think that was his name) was a real nice sound-guy, super friendly and very easy to deal with, the A.C. at TT's is great so summer shows there are comfortable. Any traveling bands bee-boppin on over to TT's are in for a treat. I think the space could maybe use a little soundy- foam to get the boom outa the room but besides that,( and I am being a nit pickin lil bitch) the whole experience was wonderful. the set was a short one tonight, being openers we got the 35 minutes. We tried to pick out a set that would be a little more friendly for the gig as we were not playing with punk or hardcore bands for a change. I belive the set went a little something like this...
waiting
curse of the ride
DDIY
satalite
life of the party
check all that apply
another winter without you
forgotten ghost
breaking cooperate news
new vibration
I would have to say a highlight of the night was hangin out with the red quiet guys who managed to steal the show without playing a note! yep they are that good!
Conversations reguarding swollen purple hands, Mexican tours, shitty wah wah pedals, and basses with too many strings, were all over the place!!! as well as Tom's quest for tone! and Colin's billy ocean singing.... I think it was billy ocean.... then there was Glenn fry stuff too! anyway I felt like a 9 year old kid with all his buddies sittin on BMX bikes at the end of the street in the neighborhood that you grew up in. if you don't know what I am talking about.... I feel sorry for you.
this show was super fun!

I am going to start this one off quite simply. This was the best show the darker hues have ever had the pleasure to play.
The show was hosted by the red quiet in an art gallery here in Cambridge ma, the Pierre Menard which is located right in the heart of Harvard square. There was a show up and all the art stuff had a "meat" theme and wow what a far out atmosphere to play a gig in. We were the opening band, we also had to be the test bunnies for the impromptu P.A. set up which we were able to work out all the kinks by the second song, which is about when we had to stop playing as there was some police action outside and well, those guys just don't seem like the kind of guys you want at an underground drinkin arty party with loud rock bands. So, once the cops split we continued to play and finished the set, I am particularly proud of Scott who not only did his "part" but also managed to blow out his Snare drum early in the set,(a true sign of rock and roll talent, ask Jed he knows) I think he was trying to impress his parents who were kind enough to swing by and enjoy this whole experience!
The set went something like this
satellite
waiting
life of the party
DDIY
curse of the ride
check all that apply
another winter
forgotten ghost
breaking cooperate news
the loop
new vibration
After we played, a great local band called "ralph eats dynamite" scrambled up there gear and immediately began to rock the socks off the joint! the music is a little tricky to describe, there are a lot of elements which all come together, there's some 80's 90's stuff going on, there are synths, a micro korg, (I love these things). I wanna say there was a smidge of "P.I.L" and a tad of "Unwound" in the rhythm section, very interesting and original. I was fortunate enough to talk with Bobby the guitarist and not only is he a wonderful person, he rips up the guitar like it called his mom a nasty name. Bobby plays a lot of single notey riffs which fall in the mix just right, he is not trying to steal the show, he's thoughtfully contributing and for guitar guys that's rare! Don't get me wrong though, when the time is right he it's all sonic mayhem! his guitar work is a refreshing change. The vocals range from smooth and comforting to an almost Patty Smith screamy freak out. Lot's of energy here folks, this band is not afraid to move around, get right in your face and tell you it's time to rock, or dance around bare foot. I would highly recommend seeing them anytime, anywhere, even in a field.
Next up were our hosts for the evening. "The red quiet" are almost more of a local phenomenon than a band. Constantly playing any show they can get there hands on in town and playing full bore til the wheels fall off! Not only was I excited to see these guys again, (we play shows with these guys alot now days) but tonight the drummer had a nice new Tama kit and that damn thing was LOUD! he sounded quite awesome, thunderous even! The red quiet guys had the "home court advantage" this night as the space is there practice space during the off hours of the gallery. They tore through a great set blasting though songs with ease and grace, even Tom who smashed his finger a bit, did it with class, I swear!
Now what made the evening so special was the great sense of community and friendship in the air that night. Everyone was cool and everyone respected the art on the walls and the space itself, no one had to be ejected or any of that silly shit. There was no silly "too cool for school" attitudes everyone was just having a great time and really that is the only reason we even do this shit. No one wanted to stop that night it was like we were all part of something really special and we just wanted to hold onto it forever, people were still singing songs and playing the instruments after the bands stopped playing! fucking awesome show

over and out

joseph boo

ok!
hey there everyone it's joe boo from the darker hues here!
sooooo there are two shows on the scheadual that are not happening they would be the obrian's show and the TT's show, both of which are in july... well both are... would have been..? in july anyway neither are happening and though I "cancelled them at the home page they are still kinda there on the civilian page.. which is misleading and a big awkward pain in my anus. on top of all this and I am not too sure if it is my computer or the "me space" or whatever I am having alot of trouble with the page, my computy may have the HIV, not too sure soooo if your a club person looking for rock WE ARE AVAILABLE! if you are a rocker looking for a shoe WE ARE NOT PLAYING THEM THAR SHOWS!!! so come to the saturday arty party with the red quiet and us! over in cambridge and gether rock on there!

sorry for the silly shit we love you guys

THE DARKER HUES

Oh hey! guess what? like right after I wrote this them shows disappeared well I guess that's how shit gets done round here on the interweb!!!