some people have been asking: "hey koester, where's the new record at?"

this is a valid question as it's been about 3 yrs since "the high highs, the low lows" was released. but the answer is rather complicated and only gets more so as time marches on. so let's just say, "almost there. . . almost there." we've been down at between the bridges studios in DUMBO brooklyn for the better part of the last six months, slaying this beast. when i say we, i mean me, don piper (who owns the studio & plays lap steel) , matt durant (on purple wurlitzer), jason mills (on the cans), craig schoen (pretty singing & some gitbox), len small (bass), dave "willie" baines(bass) and a few other friends. . . we've been recording old school: off the grid, no click track, real time, all of us in a room together, looking at each other, trying to find that feel. and i think we've found it. we're gonna call the record "My Mother the Stereo", cuz that's where we all sprung from. . .

recently, joe bennett from oxford england's finest rockinroll band, goldrush (http://www.myspace.com/goldrushmusic), has been lending his skills to the project. i met joe when i was on tour w/ maplewood in germany and was blown away by his musicality, general good vibes & excellent beard. the boy can play everything and when he offered his services should we ever need string arrangements, i took him up on it STAT (in medical terms). he's added mind-blowing, soul-stirring strings to several of the new tunes: "when i sleep i dream of you", "cut down to size" and "pernod blues". he also added a very crunchy brass arrangement to "shoot the freak." i assumed joe would do the modern standard for string arrangement -- ie, samples w/ maybe just maybe a real string tossed in for flavor. not this fella - he played every violin himself. 11 parts on pernod blues. much in the au naturel spirit of the recordings. . .yr gonna flip. . .

so please stay tuned. . . it's just around the corner.