Hello friends.

The next record is called Vegan Witch Trials. Probably ten songs. The record after that is Ghosts & Goblins.

Believe it.

More tunes being tracked today and tomorrow. First single “Wars” will be up soon, along with b-sides “Devil/Video” and “Baby Villain.”

More dreams about old friends, dog bites, and demon fiddles.

More info @ www.spy-island.com

New music soon. No old links.

www.spy-island.com

This is something we did for the ‘One Scene to Another’ comp way back in 2003 (Plumline Records). Jale was an awesome band from Canada who played MI quite often.

Tim Sendra from AllMusic.com said our cover of Jale’s pop gem ‘Ali’ is “dramatic and swirling.” I say our cover of Jale’s pop gem ‘Ali’ is a mid-tempo drugged-up clusterfuck of overdubs and lazy riffs.

Spies: Faith (vox), Devok (vox, banjo), RKBeats (vox), George Dubber (drums, vox, guitar), Dale (vox, guitars, etc).

Recorded in a bathroom and stairwell in the old house where George and I lived. Transients all over the damn place. Lo-fi, bitches!

Hear it here: Nevermind, I took it down!

It was shock and sadness when I learned of the passing of my dear friend Robert Kenna. Rob and I were thick as thieves for years and he was one of my closest friends. We made music, broke laws, spent christmas driving around Downriver (three years in a row in the Bronc), threw shitty demo tapes at Blur in Toronto, stumbled through a state police K-9 training field under questionable mental states, challenged each other, argued like brothers, talked a lot of shit, and laughed until our stomachs ached.

We once had a band called The B-Movie Love Affair. We both felt it was some of the best music we've made. We played some sweet shows in Detroit and Canada and recorded a scrappy little LP with our friend George Dubber as engineer. We never finished mixing the LP, as the band dissolved into the Farewells and Spy Island. Rob always nagged me to release the tracks, but me being OCD about mixes being "just right" never relented. Well, I need to lighten the fuck up because Rob would have told me to "quit being a bitch and chill them shits out." In the most loving way possible.


So, here's some B-Movie Love Affair songs. These tracks are almost ten years old (damn!). Rob was bass and voice. I was guitar, keys and occasional voice. Bill Bryan was drums and percussion.

Please download these tunes and pass them around. Rob would love that.

From indie site Delusions of Adequacy:

The Famous Shipwrecks EP is prime indie rock. On it's third release, Spy Island seize inspiration from the finely aged sounds of Mercury Rev and Pavement and capture those rare aesthetics that, for many, define indie rock. The sound screams DIY, where fabricated flaws and seemingly carefree musicianship are just part of the plan. The scruffy but charming end result doesn't happen by chance. The band, led here by songwriter Dale Nicholls, follows inspiration all the way through.

Spy Island is Nicholls and a loose collective playing various instruments. The 5 tracks on the Famous Shipwrecks EP were recorded and mixed in various Portland cubbyholes. Alternately stripped down or layered, these mussy pop songs bleed a quickly fading innocence. Simple chord progressions come to life and choruses bring hooks and occasional harmonies.

Tracks 1 and 3 best show the traditionalists' concept of indie rock. First, "Pink Like Smog" takes off from a simple pop chord progression, using understated vocals at the verse before releasing a bustling energetic chorus, singing, "Yeah, but they're catching on! I can see the shadows across the lawn. / Yeah, but they're catching on! What we gonna do now that summer's gone?" A sax enters at 3:15 to ease through an interlude before the lovely fade out.

In track 3, "Ecorse Fireworks", the bare acoustic guitar invites embellishment. Here, again, the peak is the chorus, featuring the lyric, "Ecorse fireworks are bleeding red and yellow on the floor / Ancient yards, drinking mates burning swing sets in their wake / We shout out from the deep while she drinks and dreams of sleep / Hand on cheek, skin and bones / Ecorse fireworks are bleeding red and yellow on the floor".

The remaining songs are more temperamental, two of them cacophonic and the other somber. Fifth track, "Small Storm", layers instruments and tension, moving from mild aggression to release which builds a strong arc through the song. "Lovely Phonecalls", starring organ keys, is maybe the crudest track of the bunch. It works in a rush. Exaggerated vocals, voluminous keyboard work, and haphazard drumming stir up an electric whir. In contrast, "Avery" enters on a minor key, as male and female vocals mix and instruments fade in and back out to ease or maybe facilitate gloom. The lyrics close with, "Avery, why are you crying? / I promise I'll stop lying / You are my medication, my one-time education / You are my medication, my dying inspiration".

On Famous Shipwrecks, Spy Island's Dale Nicholls makes a convincing show of his musical prowess beneath a crude exterior. Hodgepodge sonics yield catchy results. Shame it all has to end so soon.

Hello friends.

Our new EP, "Famous Shipwrecks" is now available for purchase!

Buy it for less than five bucks from one of these fine digital establishments:

iTunes

Amazon

eMusic

Thanks for your support and look out for upcoming shows,
Spy Island

Derby release show June 6, 08! Wonder Ballroom!

Their new record is one of the best indie releases of the past couple o' years. No joke. The show will feature players from all over PDX (I'm playing synth) and Crosstide is playing too!!! HOLY SHIT, GREAT SHOW. Don't miss it! Cheers, Dale

Get info. here...
http://www.myspace.com/derbyrock