A month or so ago, the band finished recording and mixing our third, yet-to-be titled album. We are really happy with the way it turned out - and will credit our friend and producer Mark Orton for not charging us a million bucks, but still making the record sound like a million bucks. You will hear it soon - as we are in the process of figuring out how and when it will be released. We are hoping for later this year.

What else has the band been up to? Well, during the creation of the album, Mark and his fiance Megan bought, and moved into a new house and had a baby named Max. Mark's house is what is sometimes referred to as a "fixer". While Orton toured with Tin Hat or worked on the many things that keep him busy (including our album) Jesse and Scott provided hours of unskilled labor to this project. Most importlantly, the two found time to instigate many arguments between Mark and Megan about whether yellow is yellow, or if yellow is antique white. Never get in the middle of a couple and their paint color choices!

Everyone has been staying busy, with fun and less-than-fun pursuits. Everyone is writing songs and looking forward to playing as Amelia soon. The next show is scheduled for August 30th at Sauvie Island. We will see some of you there and appreciate all of your support and interest!

Amelia

That's the drink Jesse ordered in New York that stumped the bartender completely. The poor guy had to go get a piece of paper and take notes as Jess ticked off the ingredients and proportions. It isn't really the bartender's fault though... because Jesse reads old bartending books and resurrects the libations that appeal to him. From time to time he forgets that Humphrey Bogart was the last person to order some of these things and he will spring them on poor unsuspecting people. Not surprisingly, the Bronx with Bitters was a disappointment. But New York was not.

We have been back in Portland a few weeks and settled right back into recording. So, we are remembering our trip to New York fondly.

Our first show was in a club called Barbes in Brooklyn. The owner/booker is a very nice man named Olivier who is also in a band called Los Rubios Del Norte. The room was packed with Scott's New York uncle and cousins (there are many) but also many Brooklyn people that frequent this super cool venue. One couple read the schedule wrong and road their bikes over to hear some Tuvan throat singers. They stuck around. Teisha discovered whiskey - does not cure colds, but makes the symptoms not matter as much.

The reason we went to New York in the first place was to play a party for our friend and supporter Molly Cliff Hilts. She is a Portland painter that had her first New York showing and she asked us to follow her out. Her show was in Chelsea and the party at an Italian restaurant next door to the gallery. We ate family style (as we always do). We made Teisha order something that sucked.
There was a large white statue of a monkey in the back yard of the place we stayed. He was holding a giant marble or it might have been a crystal ball. His paint was coming off and it was quite creepy but oddly appropriate. One night Jesse's snoring was so bad that I considered dragging his ass outside to sleep with the monkey. He would not have noticed (the monkey) Jesse's snoring.

Our third gig was at a place called the Living Room on the Lower East Side. It was a ridiculous club... super good sound and relaxed mood. We had a good show - spoke with the three die-hard friends we have in New York and then went out to eat at this awesome French restaurant. We sat at a long table and Jesse ate steak tartar which disgusted everyone. DONT EVER GET IT! The waitress was super French and we all wanted her to read the specials over and over. We met a friend of a friend named Stan that is going to trade us some chocolate/caramel covered marshmallows from his parents chocolate store on Long Island for a couple of cds!! You got a deal, Stan! New York rules... except for the coffee. Bad coffee in New York.

Any of you that have ever been to Portland know that it is more rural than say, Seattle... or some of the other booming megacities on the West Coast. But, it is still very much a city. There is lots and lots of concrete, some massive highway overpasses, two kinds of public transportation - there are even some taxi cabs! Now, I should say that I am clearly not the best source on the topic of what defines a city since compared to where I grew up, Portland might as well be Mexico City. But you will have to take my word for it. Anyway, last week before we left for our trip to Los Angeles Teisha saw a coyote walking across the street! That is unheard of around here - almost unimaginable (for many of the reasons mentioned above). So we are siezing upon the wildlife incident as a positive sign!! (if anybody happens to know that seeing a coyote in the middle of a city is a BAD sign - please don't tell us) By way of an explanation, one of the few things I know about coyotes is that they have a reputation for being super adaptable. Unlike some animals that need their living conditions to be just right in order to survive - the coyote just makes due. They might scare up a field mouse for one meal - and eat the rest of a box of half-eaten powdered donuts (or worse) out of the trash for desert. They are tough little wolf-looking dogs... and it is without a doubt sad that we humans are making it so they have to eat our discarded donuts. But, the point of this blog is to say that it is important to adapt. And it is important to look for positive associations - especially after coming face to face with coyotes. It is a convenient omen for us because lately we feel like we may just be adapting long enought to live another day. We have all been doing this for about 5 years and after it all, we are still friends. We are working on our new record and we like the way it sounds. But our greatest feat of late is figuring out how to play as a trio (with Teisha on the vocals and drums). Pass the donuts! S