friends,
we have just announced our 300th show.
it will take place on december 29th, 2009, at 9 PM
we hope you will save the date, and join us.
best
chris
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so the cd was released at the end of june. the tour happened, and the public was made aware of the offering.

have you heard it yet? your copy is waiting at the chestnut tree records online store.

the next songwriter night is october 28th. i havent booked anyone for it yet. if you want to play, let me know.

and have a good rest of the summer!

greetings!
  it is now our pleasure to unveil our newest offering. in the form of nine songs, we bring to you our fourth full length album.
  we called it 'arm yourself with perspicacity', and strayed slightly from our acoustic sounds of the past....but not too much. take a listen to a song here....Bad Decisions
if you like what you hear, continue onward to chestnut tree records , and pick up your copy today!
  the recording for this project started in a cabin in missouri, in late july, 2008. eleven months later, after much toil and trouble, we have something which we are all very proud of.
  it comprises 9 songs, and clocks in at 45 minutes in length.
  from now, until the 23rd of june, when you buy this cd, it will only cost you $5. after the 23rd, the price goes up to $8. all pre-orders will be shipped on the 20th of june, so that you will receive it by the 23rd, if not a day sooner!
  we wish to extend a special thank you to the following people; bile greene, ben summers, justin birchard, brent toland, and scott gibson, for playing on the album. steph davies, for creating another masterpiece for the cover. chestnut tree records, without whose support, this album wouldnt have been made. and justin birchard, again, for his incredible patience and understanding in mixing and mastering this project.
  and thank you, anyone who purchases the cd! we dare say, we have never made a better recording.
all the best
chris darby and rolland gairroes
------------------------------------




 

Arm Yourself with Perspicacity
        an album of music
                     by
          Them Damn Kids 

The Program:
1.    The Phantom's Shroud
2.    Keep Fighting
3.    It's Almost Monday
4.    Bring the Rain
5.    Genevive
6.    Bad Decisions
7.    Sing to Sleep
8.    Dream Mine
9.    The Deposited Life
 
The Players:
Chris Darby- Vocals and Guitar
Rolland Gairroes- Guitar, Vocals, Bass
Scott Gibson- Drums
Bile Greene- Lead Guitar
Ben Summers- Bass
Brent Toland- Banjo
Justin Birchard- Vocals 

the cd release show will be june 23rd at uncommon ground, in chicago.
following that will be nine additional shows to promote the album.
steven leaf will be opening the chicago show.
spread the word

we are very close to presenting this album...
9 songs....
our first full length since 2006.....
its really exciting to be so close.....
and the record is awesome.
did someone say june 23rd?

Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago
Alina Simone- Everyone is Crying out to me, Beware
Nathaniel Seer- Songs of Hate
The Mountain Goats- Heretic Pride
Ryan Suzuka- Orange Hues and Backlit Blues

  well, the tour was a rousing success on every front! our best to date, a tiring whirlwind of shows, with many, many stories to tell.
  in case you hadn't been following, we recorded a video blog for every day we were on tour. if you head over to youtube, and search for 'them damn kids', you'll get that to come up. some are funny, some silly, others are probably just plain boring to most- its a document about the life of one touring band in the summer of 2008.
  we wish mostly to extend our dearest thanks to all who helped us with shows, all who came to shows, everyone who purchased a cd, vinyl, button, or bookmark. everyone who donated gas money so we wouldn't go broke with fuel prices. everyone who helped us with directions when we were lost on the backroads of michigan, wisconsin, alabama, or indiana. to everyone who gave us a place to stay or fed us a meal along the way in between towns. to all the incredible people we were able to visit with along the way, and all the new friends made.
  from the bottom of our hearts- thank you. this summers travels would not have been possible without your help. we love you!
  the months to come will see us preparing our new album- the recording, the mixing, the mastering, the duplication. we are quite excited about the new material, and are looking at an early 2009 release for these recordings!
  thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you , thank you , thank YOU!!!!!!

Chiggers, still.  Chiggers.

West Virginia is pretty neat, too. 

Nice micro brew in the town of Thomas, West Virginia.  Oatmeal Stout. 

Good people.

ok.
  my friend brent and i decided to head out to an open mic tonight, since we hadn't seen each other in over a year. it was time to catch up, and a chicago open mic is the perfect way for two musicians to do just that. we knew that uncommon ground had one at 8, so we headed there first. uncommon ground is a small cafe on the north side, with a good listening audience. its run as a competition, with the winner advancing to the finals, which are held twice a year. well, we got to the place, and it turned out that one of thier semi-annual finals nights was tonight, which excluded all others from performing, so the winners of the 26 previous mondays all had a chance to compete against each other. this was good for them, but a hitch in our plans. so we called around. another good place, subterranean, that usually has an open mic on mondays, happened to not be having it on this particular evening. then brent remembered a place called 'the store' on north halsted. he had been there a couple years ago, and remembered it as being a good experience. he called there, and it was on. on the way over, we stopped by the guitar center on halsted street to kill some time before 9 pm, when the sign up started. brent enjoyed playing a les paul through a huge vox amplifier, a wonderful sound- made even better when someone as talented as this man plays. in the background was a live demonstration about how pro-tools can save your recording career- or something to that effect.
  we showed up to 'the store' around 9:15 pm, and there were two spots open on the sign up sheet. 2 and 12. since brent had to be up early tuesday morning, he signed us both up in the 2 slot. he played two songs, and i played one. things went well, we had a good time, listened to folks play woody guthrie covers and originals about the trivialities of every day life. the host recorded our set, and gave us a cd to take home with us. really a quality operation. we returned to brents car, only to discover that he had received a $60 parking ticket for a zone violation. see, chicago has a million rules about where one should and should not park, and if you dont happen to see the sign behind the tree at the other end of the block, well, tough. its really a good revenue system for the city, but sucks for anyone with the misfortune to have to find a parking space anywhere downtown or on the north side.
  brent chalked that up as 42- the amount of parking tickets he has received in the last two years.
  we spoke of other things, musical aspirations, and good bands. he dropped me off at fullerton and western. there is a bar there called 'quenchers saloon', which has a great open mic, but doesn't usually start until 10:30 or 11. this is the place where i have met nearly all of my musical acquaintances in chicago. by this time it was about 11, and they were just getting going. there was a band there from gainesville, florida, who had just played bonaroo the night before- just passing through on tour. they were incredible. the open mic went about its business, and two am came too all too soon. i started walking home.
  home for me right now is near the intersection of kedzie and chicago, in a neighborhood called west humboldt park. now, humboldt park doesn't have the greatest reputation as it is, and the west side is, well, the west side. i walked south on western and came upon an abandoned fanny pack, in perfect condition, outside the el stop at milwaukee and western. i looked inside, and aside from some makeup, a hair brush, and an empty change purse, the thing was empty. so i took it with me on my walk.
  the evening was pleasant. the temperature probably rested in the low 60's, which feels slightly chilly when starting out, but mid- walk, is the perfect temperature in which to traverse by foot. my new found perspective of walking has manifested itself in this city, and i find that if i have an hour, i can walk nearly anywhere quite easily. these days, i have many hours. i kept walking south on western, fanny pack in my left hand. i figured it would come in handy at some point. at least, someone could probably use it. the thing was like new. at some point, i started heading west, occasionally jaunting south, then west again.
  home stretch was on chicago ave, between the streets of california and kedzie, a bit i have walked several times in the past few days. not thinking a thing of it, i did the same this night. as soon as i passed grand ave, a young man, probably in his late teens, rode past me on his bicycle. as he passed, he asked 'you into gang banging?'. i didn't really know what this meant, i mean, i've heard the term, but never in the way he asked it, so i didn't know what he was getting at. i responded with a short 'no' and kept walking. the kid doubled back and came beside me and asked the question again. i replied the same, and he followed with ' you a cop then?' i knew things weren't right, but said no and kept walking. what else was there to do? no one else was around. then he asked, completely matter-of-fact and calmly ' you mind if i shoot you then?'. i told him i would rather that he didn't, to which he pulled out a pistol and stated 'give me all your money'.
  this is where the fanny pack potentially saved my life. i threw it on the ground. 'thats all of it?' he asked, as i turned the other way and started to leave. 'yup, that's all i got'. he said suspiciously, as he picked the item off the ground-  'wait a minute, don't go anywhere!'
  at that moment, a bus happened to be headed west on chicago ave. i stepped in front of the path of the bus, waking my arms, so i could flag it down. this worked, and the kid who had just 'robbed' me, took off, fanny pack in hand. the bus driver of course thought i was crazy, wouldn't talk to me, and went on his way. i ran the opposite direction, walked a huge circle to the point i needed to be, watching my back the entire time.
  until that moment, i have never felt unsafe walking alone at night in chicago. i still wont, but now i know that when i head back to the place i am currently staying after dark, i will take the bus- no exceptions.  there is a bus stop right outside the apartment, so really, its only two bucks, and it will save me and those i know, a lot of worry.
  now, the way the kid was holding the pistol indicated to me that he had no idea how to use the thing, and probably would not have been able to inflict any harm on me- if the thing was even loaded, which i also have my doubts about. also, it didnt really even look real, but it was dark out, and only flashed my direction, so i didn't really get a good look at it. i wasn't about to call the bluff. either way, the sequence of events that happened, in the way that they happened, was one of the luckiest things that i've ever experienced, and some might wonder if luck had any hand in it at all.
  the moral of the story? don't walk on west chicago ave if you are white and its after midnight. or, if you do, make sure you have an empty black fanny pack with you, a bus right behind you, and some inexperience on the part of the party with the gun.