Happy Trotter's Day!

That is to say that another tiny memory with a BIG sound attached to it has been splayed on this here intra-nets at this very ever-loving moment.....

The dream revealed herein today brings us back to a windy-er wintry day in Chicago. IL... well... actually to Rock Island first, then to the smokiest of basements second. Love you Malachi!

ANyhoo.... El Dragona made an early morning swing through Rock Island and the studios of Daytrotter.com. We smoked a smoke, ate a fig, and strummed the good chord for a bit! The result...? Well, i highly encourage you take this journey back with us here........

Hope ye likey ;)
laura

Greetings, Hi, and Hello....

There is a heavy haze that surrounds our collective minds in regards to our winter tour of two-thousand and nine. As the haze slowly begins to lift, beautiful things are being revealed to us in tiny, byte-sized packages..

In this current lifting, we are reminded of the gorgeous city of Portland, OR, where we had the pleasure of stepping in to the box - the Jambox, that is! All terrible word connotations aside, it was a great time playing music and chatting with host James Dineen about laura...


Check it: www.sessionsfromthebox.com Follow this to the session...!


Along with the amazing artists rendering of the group, hearing this set and some of the banter lends itself very nicely to a big smile on all of our faces, and hopefully yours as well.........


Stay tuned for more misty watercolor memories

So here we find ourselves again, friends...

As we dwell (and by dwell i mean live, and by live i mean create) here in the Valley of the Sun this spring, we find ourselves feeling very optimistic and accomplished. Having just toured the country, being here amongst our very bestest friends is just the way it needs to be while we work on our second record!

While in Phoenix, we are always trying to find new and innovative ways to get our music to our fans... i think this time we've struck digital GOLD:

Visit WWW.THETRAINTRACKS.ORG and check out our contribution to this unique Valley endevour... vote for us if you have time and like us best!

Thankssss /////
Mitch & Laura

d: credit cards, laminate cards, note cards, postcards, schlep cards...the great sum of all parts brought us to my favorite stop so far on the tour: new yorker city. great virgin i be of the grandy, i fell deep for all the little things hiding in the cracks of this city. our first trek down the subway hatch, if i can remember, we stood face to face with a giant cookie monster and a...well, what was it again?

j: i am fairly certain it was a pink gorilla. but that is neither here nor there daniel my brother. so much times haves passed sinceour visits to Minneapolis, Ames, Chicago, Clevererland, Lansing, Pittsburgh, good ol'Bean Town USA, NEW YORK CITY! and Philadelphia (the birthplace of (American) freedom). So many frozen lands between these top and bottom dotted lines with oceans on each end. Commendations to the heavens on this gorgeous.. (checks thermometer) ..AMAZING degree-day in the Sonoran desert

jcub: Spotting and dotting this literally non-proverbial duper-highway have been faces and faces flushed with blush, and on the hush hush... real, live joy and kindness! What are places without faces? And out of the woodwork have these folks come, to join in some foot-stompin' truth talkin'. Something real is happenin' out here.

g: ah git over yourselfs men, this time its for real! Stages’ sound, sized, and lit! Are you seeing these folk take a quick walk in our shoes as they shout upwards 'send us s'more'?!? (the short, explosive set being the genuine staple of the opening band's livelihood) yes we've taken a step ma'friends.

m: ... thats all well and indeed good, but yes, the peeps make me smile with their smiles! So many people to thank this time around – perhaps we shall wait till later for that?? Lucky for us - as we are the proprietors of a percentage of this tour's muzak and are always on this side of the 'coin' - that we have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing what they do, thanks to all of the guys and gals that send the creativity right back at us in digital form... is it time for the SHOW part of show-n-tell yet?



Minneapolis, MN

(photo: g. muller)



(photo: j. behm)




Ames, IA



(photo: e noll)




Rock Island, IL
(photo: t kitmitto)


j: check out www.daytrotter.com to hear your favorite indie bands performing indie-mate sets in this phenomenal studio, us included eventually.. i promise!




Chicago, IL

(photo: g. muller)

(photo: n.radford)


Lansing, MI

(photo: t. kitmitto)




Boston, MA

(photo: g. muller)




New York, NY

(photo: s brennan)

(photo: r. campbell)

(photo: s. brennan)


jcub: you (well, everyone) can go to www.nyctaper.com and download our full set from The Bowery Ballroom in NYC!




Philadelphia, PA

(photo: a campbell)




Carrboro, NC

(photo: j spence)




m: this is but a small sample of the media available, as time and space are at a minimum at this point in time… and we’re still receiving various things from the southern portion of our journey (keep ‘em coming!), so stay tuned for part too………..

With all of the newness being spread around us these days, an explanation - or at the very least a skimming - of these happenings seems quite in order!

Numero uno: 2009! The newest year has begun to unfold in the most delightful of ways... laura was able to soak in the sun for a couple of weeks whilst hanging and chatting with all of our peeps in Phoenix.. best of times indeed, we love you, appreciate your undying support and will see you sooooon!
(february 17th @ the rhythm room....)

B) In case you missed it on your way in to this blog, laura is ON TOUR! This newity comes in the form of our first official trip around our fine country... if your particular neck-o-da-woods was or is not included this time around, please BITCH BITCH BITCH.. its the only way to get what you want, right?!  Hopes are high with regard to all the great music to made and friendships that shalt be forged.. come see......

#3) our brand-spanking NEW single will be released on a split 7" vinyl(remember those?)  in February, and is available to listen to now! "if i cannot see yo eyes" - or "YO EYEZ" as it may be seen on a set list - was cut at Flying Blanket Studios in Mesa, AZ and is being brought to you fine folks by the fine folks at Common Wall Media! Other topics or keywords to investigate in these regards: Gospel Claws, Bob Hoag, Ewan Michael Riley, Dear and the Headlights, BLUES!!

Well that just about gets it all into the open, right? Oh, and a big "GO GET 'EM" goes out to our NEW prez, Barak Obama..... it is truly a new day:)

See you soon, and check in often for more!!
Los Laura Boys

abridged

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, we tend to reflect on what exactly it was that filled our collective time while not asleep. We here at laura are lucky - er, fortunate - enough to have fine folks on the "inside" recalling some of this filling!

Follow the links to check out a couple "Best of 2008" lists that be reppin':

AVCLUB ////// YEAR IN BAND NAMES 2008
http://www. avclub. com/content/feature/2008_the_year_in_band_names/2

JUST PRESS PLAY //////////  TOP 10 ALBUMS
http://www. justpressplay. net/music/music-news/4465-top-10-albums-of-2008. html

We have no one to thank but ourselves for creating the need within ourselves to be creative, along with every single person who listened to our record and attended the shows.. he he.... but seriously.  We have begun to record songs for our next record, which should have that golden brown crust sometime around summer 09! Also, in case you didnt check the calendar we are gearing up for our first US Tour with our Annuals and the lovely Jessica Lea Mayfield.... not to be missed !! Speaking of..... . .

WHO WANTS TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER WITH LAURA?? seriously.... we are looking for places to stay in most of the cities we're playing.. so if you think you can stand (6) extremely polite, engaging gentlement for an evening, drop us a line. Thanks!

Resolutions to come... as is or split 7" rekerd with phoenix band Gospel Claws :)

Happy Holidays

James: So Mitch, what shall we write about our tour? I'm not sure where to start....
Mitch: Well if you had to sum up our first tour experience in say....three words... what would they be?
James: rain or shine.. you?
Mitch: Hmmm.... Hot and cold? Nah... Better luck next time.. wait, thats four words....
James: How about "that was fun"? Not real original.....but effective...
Mitch: You were always the one with the words....
James: What was your favorite show?
Mitch: Definitely the Casbah in San Diego.
James: Two sets in the back room? Singing half a set without microphones? I'm with ya... I really dug the vibe of the 12 Galaxies in San Fran.. coolest balcony/stage setup.
Mitch: Oh wait, i've got it.. "EATING FROM BOREDOM"?!
James: Perfect.. I guess if a body wanted a show review they could go here BLOG 1 .... or here maybe.....BLOG 2
Mitch: Yeah yeah, how bouts we gives em some pics?
James: Good call. Here's a visual recap....


Grateful Dead House 710 S Ashbury San Francisco, CA



we caught Mr. Andres Amador adding to nature's grand designs at the beach near Golden Gate Park More of Mr. Amador Here



The Echo - LA, CA





The Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, CA



Ocean Beach




Laura's Last Supper



Rockin the Casbah, as it were...



The Trailer packed up and ready to roll home


....
James: So there you have the photos to prove we were actually there!
Mitch: How bout some thank you's to all those responsible for making it happen...?
James: Like The Album Leaf?
Mitch: ...and Chris Harris, Jen, Kari, Lisa O'Hara from Highroad Touring, Annie from 12 Galaxies..
James: Zach Ross!
Mitch: James and Todd from A Fine Tooth...
James: Tony's uncle Sami, our fantastic tour guide in San Fran
Mitch: ...our dear friends who made the trek from Phoenix to San Diego..
James: ...lets not forget those already residing in San Diego....you know who you are....
Mitch: and all the awesome people we met along the way
James: All this thankin' has got me thinkin'....how bout "Just The Beginning"? eh? eh?
Mitch: ...that'll do nicely.

Well well well.... Where to start?!?!

Laura would like to personally thank all of you beautiful kiddies who were in attendance at our showcase at The Modified Arts on Nov. 16... it was quite a night, and you all made the night a memorable one indeed....

The outcome of our visit with new friend Kari from Esther Creative Group prooved to be positive... thats right, we are now under new management!! After listening to our discs ALOT, seeing us perform live, and meeting us in person; Kari has decided to bring WLST&F under her proverbial wing!! She personally manages the band Annuals, Blonde Redhead, as well as NYC outfit Benzos. The band will be working with Ms. Dexter to set-up our first major West-Coast tour for January!!

We couldnt be anymore excited by the career prospects and opportunities that may be afforded to us by our relationship with Kari, as well as gaining this wonderful lady as our close friend! We'll be sure to keep everyone informed as the situation progresses:)

As for the show... I would use the word "Epic" to desribe the set that we played, but here's a link to some great photos took by our friend Ian:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangiblyawesome/tags/11162007/

Its BLOG,
Its BLOG,
Its big, its heavy, its wood...

Its BLOG,
Its BLOG,
Its better than bad, ITS GOOD!!

Here's some words about us.... Thanks guys:)

http://ickmusic.com/index.php/2007/05/07/local-ickmusic-what-laura-says-thinks-and-feels/

So we had a very able-minded friend (and foe) of ours write up a little bio of the band which we will include as part of our materials we'll be sending to various peoples of varying degrees of importance. What do you think.. an acurate portrayal, or rivaled only by the great Ray Bradbury?!



"In a life spent searching for the one multi-faceted, atypically melodic dirt road that travels across many musical landscapes, I have found quite possibly the one band that not only has traveled this road, but also rocked it's many stories to the slack-jawed hitchhikers along the way. Gospel blues? Classic stomp rock? Indie? Folk? They all have hopped along for the ride on a road this startlingly authentic band has christened "laura".

Hailing from the Phoenix area, the originally acoustic-clad duo of danny godbold (keys, guitar, vocals) and james mulhern (guitar, percussion, vocals) wrote stories that wandered through gardens of lovely melodies, multi-part vocal harmonies and raw, gut-bucket truthness, which undoubtedly stood out and was praised. Claiming "what laura says thinks and feels" as the ultimate word, the boys decided to lay down her tales to tape.

With a spoon, comes a fork, and in the year of the knife, two thousand and six, the duo met, at a crossroads, a rhythm section wrought with tales of sunny nights and rainy mornings: greg muller (drums), mitch freedom (bass, vocals) and jacob woolsey (percussion, various weirdness). Now an outstandingly solid five-piece, the stories were developed, and early the next year a full-length album was born.

Immediately and to great precedence, many local musicians and fans hailed the collection of storied songs as the album of the year (it was released in February, mind you) and just as quickly, the boys' incredible live show has garnered some serious buzz throughout Arizona and across the southwest.

Unwilling to meander down one path, the young gentlemen of what laura says thinks and feels put their inventively unique style and homegrown creativity to every aspect of every note that really leaves me breathlessly assured of good things to come.

The boys continue to make new friends with every show, and no doubt exists in my dire-need-of-a-fresh-breath mind that the word will spread and a certain in-dire-need-of-a-fresh-breath local music scene will get their new wind."



- Brother Gaston Dee