Holy crap do we have a lot of new stuff going on. . . and a lot of fun things that have happened.

The last two weeks, we've had some of our best shows ever in Gainesville, Orlando, and Tampa. We played in Tampa and Orlando w/ Look Mexico. . . those bros are so fun. The played a couple new songs, and I have to tell you, I think you are going to like them. After the show in Tampa some of us (ok, Kyle, Matt, Josh, Ryan, Ryan, and Dave- along with our pals from Tallahassee Mike H. and Mike R.) wandered down to Czar and had some fun after our show at Crowbar, before heading back and crashing at Mike R's house. Thanks so much dude.
The next day we stopped by Matt's parent's house, and they treated us to some Arbys! Love Arbys! Then we drove back to Orlando.
Skyline Underground opened, and we have to say, we were really impressed, and want to thank them for working so hard to promote the show. Dignan was good again (and definitely worth a listen, hope to see them again) and Look Mexico was even better than the night before.
We played one of our best sets ever. . . and sadly, one of our last sets ever with Andy Matchett. Like, really sadly.

Truthfully, we kind of knew all along we were on borrowed time with Andy. He has been steadily recording his own album, and has already performed one show with the new project, Andy Matchett and The Minks. The lineup is stellar, and you need to check them out, but more on that later.

Our last show with Andy will probably be August 7 at Propaganda in Lake Worth. I say probably because who knows what could happen? One day he may get bored, and jump on stage with us. Or, someone can't make a show and he could stand in. He is still our favorite dude ever and we will always welcome him in with open arms, at any show any time.

On that note, we have been working with people who will be taking over for him. Our thought process right now is that we may end up as a five piece again, with a new keyboard player and a second guitar player again. But again. . . nothing is set in stone. (if you are a strong guitar player who can contribute strong vocal harmonies, and like to have fun, email noahkussack@gmail.com.)

In the mean time, we actually start recording our new EP August 13 with James Paul Wisner. Needless to say, we're pretty excited to work with the guy, and are currently planning out the release of this EP. We're also doing our best to get the current EP out there to anyone who will listen, so download that stuff at reverbnation.com/xoxofl. It's free. If you want a physical copy, go to our store.

So, that's all of that.

We've got some shows coming up this month, and honestly each of them should be worth catching. Here they are:

08/07: Lake Worth @ Propaganda w/ The Notary, The Grecian Urns & Retrocities
08/21: Brandon @ The Porch w/ Look Mexico and Alexander & The Grapes
08/28: Orlando @ The Backbooth w/ ANDY MATCHETT AND THE MINKS, The Beuvilles, TBA
08/29: Sarasota @ Box Social w/ ANDY MATCHETT AND THE MINKS, Maid Mosephine and The Equines, Superband (? we think this is correct ?)

So. . . while you may or may not get a chance to see Andy play with us again, you absolutely will get to see his new band play with us in August, and I'm sure plenty often thereafter in various FL cities.

Also, in the mean time, Andy and I (Kyle) will now be working together on my blog. I do interviews and other things, and Andy will be doing some album reviews and who knows what else. Our primary focus with this is on friends and Florida bands, and promoting people we care about, really, although we will periodically touch on other people, too. Check it out.

Man. We're going to miss you, Andy.

 


See you soon. . .

This past Saturday, we drove down to Lake Worth to play at Propaganda with fellow Orlandoans Mumpsy. . . They decided they enjoyed our music, and made sure to note we do not dress "rock band chic." I'd say that's a good thing?

"The band proceeded to dish out some seriously chirpy tunes that were heavily reliant on their M-Audio keyboard. Throw in some chiming guitars and driving basslines, with just the right amount of ooh la las interjected, and you've got an infectious 30 minutes on your hands. "

It's summertime in Florida. Generally, I associate this with the AC running full blast in my car, afternoon rain showers, cutoff shorts and some hangouts at the springs. So far this summer we get something new- our hometown team (The Orlando Magic) in the freaking NBA Finals. It probably isn't something you would expect musicians or a band to care about, but we do. Seriously, Go Magic!

Hey, we recently did an interview with Orlando Weekly's Justin Strout.

"The highlight of C’est la Vie is the midpoint track “Life … in General,” an anthemic, Townshend-windmill-strumming epic about three fictional characters – Jack, Di and Tim – and their various everyday struggles that leave them unhappy. “Remember, time waits for no one,” Kussack belts. The track is immediately followed by the Beatles-by-way-of-Chili-Peppers ballad, “A Song for the Reminiscent,” a cloud-bound heartbreaker of yearning and regret. That it takes several listens to pinpoint the moments of sorrow is a credit to the four-piece band’s inherent pop gift. And on a day like today, when happy pop has proven a mediocre medicine, those hints of mourning are the best kind of gifts."

You can read the whole thing here.

I'm pretty freaking excited right now, I guess that is why I am writing XOXO blogs at 12:30am. Tomorrow marks our first of three days of shows with Relondondo. Those guys are pretty much awesome, and these three days are going to be awesome, and the shows are going to be awesome, and seeing all of our mutual friends in three towns is going to be awesome. Maybe this should be the "Awesome Tour," or something.

Relondondo is Auggie Hansen (One Small Step for Landmines), Ian Powell (Cream Abdul Babar), and Phil Martin (Awesome.) Phil and Auggie recorded the new Look Mexico EP, Gasp Asp. You should check it out.

Thursday April 30, we will be getting down at Will's Pub, with fellow Tallahassee friends, Only Thieves. Also playing are The Royal, and The Working Dead.
Doors are at 8pm, and are only $5. We've got that new EP available. . .

Friday we are cruising down to Tampa to play another CD Release party for the EP @ Crowbar. Also playing will be Geri X and Blair Crimmons & The Hookers. This show is $7, and we may even work out a deal with you on that EP since you are paying a lil extra to get in. Maybe.

Finally, Saturday we are driving down to the Fort Lauderdale/ Oakland Park area to play at Fox & Hounds. This is a bit of a homecoming for our lead-singer, Noah Kussack, being that he is from Coral Springs. Additionally, Auggie Relondondo is from that area. Should be a good time, and we have a lot of friends down there we cannot wait to see. This show is starting around 10pm, and features The Shakers playing with us.

I wanted to add ONE more thing, before I finish. As you may have noticed, we have a really tight new myspace layout. I wanted to thank two people for this: JLP and Steven Kopacz. JLP designed all of the artwork on the myspace (as well as our t-shirts and EP,) and Steven Kopacz did all the grunt work assembling JLP's art into a great myspace profile. We really appreciate what you guys have done for us, and we owe you one.

"XOXO - say "hugs and kisses," or don't, depending on your willingness to indulge - crafts an equally earnest and quirky sort of indie-pop that's really too original to describe via the usual comparisons to Weezer . Shades of everything from the Elephant Six collective and Of Montreal to disco, go-go and edgy post-folk are evident in the band's sound, without ever sounding cluttered. Mostly, it's just beat-happy and innately catchy, with a melancholy scrim of clouds sometimes obscuring its inherent sunniness."

You can find it here.

I have been totally slacking on our updates since we got back to town. Pretty much. . . overall . . . we have been kind of laying low, with just one show in Vero a couple weeks ago (awesome, by the way. . . we LOVE Vero, Cocoa, Merrit Island. . . those beach towns RULE!) and nothing else happening until our show April 30 at Will's Pub w/ The Royal, Relondondo and Only Thieves.

Well, anyways, Jim Abbott of the Orlando Sentinel published a couple of our tour blogs, written by me (Kyle) and they may be moderately interesting reads to a few of you. Thanks a ton, Jim. Here is the first one. And here is the second one.
You will have to go there to read about it all, but I will tell you that it concludes like this:


Other excellent news that we wanted to share with you is a special version of our EP that we are releasing with the help of the super nice people at post*records. The initial run will be on cassette, and will include a free digital download with purchase. Very pocket friendly, as it is lighter on your wallet, and it actually fits in a pocket:


Also, if anyone takes an old Disco Duck album, and dubs Donald Duck's vocals onto one of our songs from our cassette EP, ON A CASSETTE, we will give them a free CD and shirt, too, for their efforts. Because that would be amazing. But it has to be on a cassette. I used to do crap like that when I was a kid. You haven't lived until you hear Donald Duck singing in the background on Tone Loc's "Going Back to Cali."


Other than that, come hangout with us at the shows. My birthday is Monday May 4, and nobody wants to go out on a Monday, but the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before we will be playing shows.

Thursday April 30 Will's Pub Orlando
Friday May 1 Crowbar Orlando
Saturday May 2 Fox & Hounds Fort Lauderdale

All three of those shows will be with August Hansen, Phil Martin, and Ian Powell's new band Relondondo, which I mentioned earlier. The show Thursday April 30 will feature another face familiar to some Orlandoans, Jimmy Murphy, as he plays with Only Thieves.

Other than that, we are super excited about May 16 w/ Slow Claw and more @ Orange You Glad? Fest, a yet to be officialized show with Kitty Party in late-May/ early June, a Tallahassee date, as well as June 18 with The Explorer's Club. We are also adding on some more dates in between, but. . . we'll let you know.

In the meantime, follow us on twitter and you can get a heads up on free stuff and discounts on our merch.