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January 7th, 2011: New album, website re-launch, new single download Quoth R.E.M., "Dear readers, I'm not sure where I'm headed..." And I may not, given that I've found myself back in Asheville yet again for another new year, somewhat unexpectedly. I can't seem to shake this city, so I shall fight it no more. I'm here, and I'm making new music. I'm about halfway done recording album #2 (!!) at Landslide Studio with my old confidant Andrew Schatzberg. We've trekked through 8 songs so far, embellishing several with glockenspiels, cellos, trumpets, a Wurlitzer, a Rhodes, and a Hammond organ with a Pacman console stuck inside of it. Though it's difficult to judge what the album is going to end up sounding like this early in the process, I can safely say there will be a wider variety to the songs on this one compared to Journal of Retreat. An acoustic waltz stands next to an unabashed dance track- the challenge will be making it all work together. Speaking of that, there will be a spiffy new Saint Solitude website launching in February to coincide with the release of a new single entitled "Deliverance." The brand new song will be available for a free download here and at the Alive and Well Records website. It will only be available here (and it won't be on the new record), so make sure to stay tuned for the release date! Just a treat for your patience. Until then, I head back into the studio at the end of the month to work on a new batch of songs that are so young I can hear them say "are we there yet?" dup August 29th, 2010: Photos from the tour Can be seen here and also some live shots! Enjoy! August 27th, 2010: Tour blog 2: "Is that a mountain?" Brooklyn is always less stressful than Manhattan, though the severity at which Manhattan chewed us up and spit us out that day (after such a nice entrance, too) via tickets and parking and low morale had us truly STOKED to get off the island. Beautiful friends and drinks and my god, yet another good NYC show (and venue) under our belts! I'm amazed- we managed to play 2 great NYC venues in one tour. Nevertheless, still felt good to be driving to New England the next day. In Boston we played TT the Bears (!!), a venue at which I've seen The Cardigans, The National, and countless other amazing bands over the years. Suffice to say I was honored to play the stage, and we had family members in attendance so it felt comfortable all the way through. Spouse incited the crowd tonight, even roused up an encore and some dancing. We split off from Spouse for a night to make the homecoming gig in Portland happen the following evening. Got we some family time, ocean, and anticipatory musicmaking to prep during the day. The show that night was legendary in its heat and intensity...best crowd of the tour so far and we really reigned it in onstage, though the humidity had us sweating bullets. Afterwards we all ended up puking from heat exhaustion, actually...don't ever say we don't mean it onstage, dammit... When you spend all night doing that, though, the following night's show can't help but be hindered. We played safe and subtle in Easthampton, MA, with the highlight being a dedication cover of Spouse's "Knob" to the boys we had just spent a week with on tour. It shall not be the last time we do this, gentlemen... Pittsburgh. Last night. Feeling A-OK. Our set was a great sendoff, and we set new records at the merch table. I even managed to find 4 Sunny Day Real Estate fans in the same room. Our hosts walked us around the city and as we drove home Kevin and I saw fireworks exploding over the city. Felt some closure. We slept under a massive, ornate shrine of Pittsburgh sports memorabilia and drove home in peace the next day under miles of sun and sky blue sky. Good tour. August 3rd, 2010: Tour Blog 1: The Power of Now, or was it Then? I've grown so used to touring by myself over the past few years that the prospect of this summer tour- in tow with both my rhythm section and our tourmates Spouse- is truly exciting for me. Still travelling in a Saturn though! Some things never change. Also, we have rope light this time around. It's serious. Old haunts and familiar sights in Raleigh and D.C., and we played in an old police/fire station in Richmond that pre-dated the civil war. Such a cool venue. It also had a giant banjo spider on the ceiling and a gargoyle overlooking the stage. Made for the best set of the tour so far. Spouse killed it too- and though JJ keeps asking me why Harry Anderson of Nightcourt was in our new video, I've kept him in the dark for now- just for the suspense. Maybe in Brooklyn, JJ! hahahaha... So far we've managed to overuse the following words in the car to the point of utter meaninglessness and turn them into ridiculous jingles to get us through the 4-hour traffic blocs: malleable, transcendent, honky (we are but three white boys playing rock music), akimbo. Whatever it takes to keep you sane on the road (which is sometimes insanity). If only we had walkie talkies so that we could have heard Spouse sing Huey Lewis acapella to ward away the traffic for us (it didn't work, but...). Those boys can sing some super harmonies- as evidenced on one of their new tracks, "No Sudden Moves". That one's been going through my head a lot... We've sold at least one shirt to a half-naked drunk who claimed to have "a car full of sex" but could not locate his car. What a tragedy! Got some time in on the Jersey shore with Scott's friends, which Kevin couldn't discern from the TV show that I thankfully have never watched. We played a great set in Philly and was sad to hear about the Khyber closing down there (I know the pain of losing your favorite rock club). Some more beach, and then BY FAR the easiest entrance into NYC ever. No traffic, easy parking, and the Mercury Lounge proved to be the best venue I've ever played here. Good crowd, family around, morale high- and we almost- just almost- got on MTV. But we declined. Who watches that these days anyway...right? Let's hope there are more giant arachnids (the kind ones) and no parking tickets in Brooklyn tonight! DUP July 28th, 2010: EAST COAST TOUR w/ Spouse starts today Yup, the first time Saint Solitude has toured as a trio- get ready! Here are the shows with their corresponding Facebook event pages:
Wed, July 28 @ Slim’s, Raleigh, NC w/ Spouse and The White Cascade We'll see you out there! DUP July 4th, 2010: "Let's Try It" video up now
Directed by Patrick Kendall. See if you can find which Nightcourt actor makes a cameo. June 7th, 2010: SUMMER TOUR ANNOUNCED, "Let's Try It" video Dear Friends, May 27th: Recent press and a video update SS was recently featured in the Metro Pulse in Knoxville before a 3-set performance at the Preservation Pub, which saw the debut of several new tracks. We are officially shooting the video for "Let's Try It" this weekend with director Patrick Kendall, who has recently worked with Incubus, Megadeth, and Stella by Starlight. Last time it was time travel, this time it's pandas. News on the upcoming tour coming very soon! DUP April 18th: Summer tour and a new video The band and I are planning a 2-week excursion from North Carolina to Maine and back in late July. We will be doing a handful of the dates with the New England stalwarts (and our good friends) Spouse. Look for dates soon! In the meantime, we will be shooting a video for "Let's Try It" in Asheville in late April. More details to come. Dup March 13th: Album reviews + new shows
Early on, I had learned to be wary of the Ides of March but this year seems to be different. The record has gotten a handful of shining reviews from some regional outlets, including Mountain Xpress, The Daily Tarheel, and Bold Life! More shows are being added every week for the upcoming months, including a last minute support slot for HOCKEY in Charlotte on March 21st. This will be our first Charlotte show since the band joined the bandwagon... I hope to be shooting a video for "Soft Contact" sometime in the next month as well. Details forthcoming. Rumours of a summer tour up the East Coast are true. You've been warned! Dup February 20th, 2010: WNCW airing, radio requests Hi friends. A quick note to let you know SS has been all over the radio lately, be it on 105.9 The Mountain, AshevilleFM, or WNCW (all located here in Asheville). The latter will be airing an interview/performance on their weekly program Local Color this Sunday, February 21st, at 7pm. The show is hosted by Laura Blackley and recorded at Hill Creek Studio, and you can stream it HERE. WNCW and Local Color has been extremely supportive of the record with Journal of Retreat being the album spotlight on last week's show! And don't forget to request Saint Solitude on your local radio stations- wherever you are! We are working on getting the record out to all the major stations in the Southeast (and beyond) but in the meantime you can urge your nearby station to get a copy! You can also request your favorite track on WKNC and WXDU in the Chapel Hill-Durham-Raleigh region. Next week sees the new band hit Chapel Hill and Durham! Come on out for some tunes... DUP February 1st, 2010: CD Release, touring plans, Facebook A new year and so much news for you. Journal of Retreat, my debut record, is officially released tomorrow, February 2nd, through Alive and Well Records (click here to purchase a copy). The release show is being held at the Boiler Room in Asheville this Friday, February 5th, the details of which can be found on the main page. It will mark the first show with my brand new touring band (featuring C Scott of Speedsquare fame) so expect an entirely different show than what I've been doing for the past two years (in a good/great way, of course). Goodbye, loops (for now...) I also plan to be start playing regularly around the Southeast for the next 6 or 7 months and will hopefully be making some longer excursions throughout the East Coast and Midwest in the summer. If you haven't already, make sure to befriend Saint Solitude on Facebook as yet another convenient way to keep up with my happenings. Thank you all for the support as always- 2010 is shaping up to be a very exciting year for SS. Onwards! dup |
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