Back Home!

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Well that was quite an adventure….three and a half weeks of fast food, Sleep Inns, gas station restrooms, loading in, playing shows, loading out, skill cranes, a lost pea coat, a broken guitar, a broken PA, a lost ukulele, a frisbee on a roof somewhere in Nashville, a couple of 3AM Waffle House visits, a lot of world domination, and much much more….and just like that, I’m back home in Brooklyn.

I must say, Tally Hall has some incredible fans.  The kind most bands (myself included) dream of….loyal and hardcore….posting tons of pictures, videos, blogs, spreading the word all cause they love the band and the music they make.  Of course the fact that they are great guys helps, but it starts with great music and great songs.  Hopefully their new album will be released soon, cause there’s plenty of that on there!

Speaking of albums, I just finished the 110th version of mine….and no, I’m not joking.  I really think I’m closing in on this track listing thing though!  Sadly (and probably fortunately) it looks like the album release along with the new website and Elephants video will be pushed back to May…..it shall be an exciting day when this is finished.  ALMOST as exciting as the return of The Margarita Club next Saturday at Pianos! It’s time to celebrate a successful tour!

Happy Passover, Easter, or whatever else you may be celebrating this week!

Tags: tally hall, the margarita club

SxSW…Week 3 Begins!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Life on the road has me constantly pondering the age old questions – what day is it, and what’s for lunch? Days, meals, and shows are all starting to blur together, and we’re only 2 weeks in??! Oh the confusion…

Last night, after a great show at The House of Blues in Houston, we retired to our hotel rooms, gathered around a laptop and watched the LOST episode we’d missed earlier in the night. I can’t tell you how important it is to have friends who have similar tastes in television…

I think it’s pretty clear now that the show is really just about a chess match being played between the forces of good and evil (note the Tally Hall reference). I think Ross is with me on this, but the others have their doubts….but they are completely confused and wrong. Mark my words…chess…feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

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It’s an unbelievably beautiful day here in Texas, and I’m currently in the back of the van driving to Austin for my first SxSW ever! Looking forward to a busy week…one solo show and three with Tally Hall. Should be quite exciting!

Turns out the Tally Hall-ers (or at least Rob and Zubin) are going to return the favor and play on a few of my songs during my solo set on Friday…should be fun!

If you’re in Austin this week or have friends there, here’s our schedule for the week…

THURSDAY MARCH 18
Tally Hall
12:15AM – Emo’s JR – official SXSW showcase – 603 Red River

FRIDAY MARCH 19
Casey Shea
2PM – The Dizzy Rooster
The Orchard / Family Records dayparty 306 East 6th

FRIDAY MARCH 19
Tally Hall
3:45PM – Six Degrees of Chain Reaction dayparty – District 301 – 301 West 6th

SATURDAY MARCH 20
Tally Hall
4:30PM – Carrera Escape – The Cedar Door – 201 Brazos (acoustic show)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Tags: sxsw, tally hall

Pics From The Road…

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

One week ago today I left for the tour with the gentlemen from Tally Hall. It’s been an incredible ride so far!  Their fans are awesome and have been very supportive, so that’s made it all the more enjoyable.

I’ve tried my best to capture some moments from the road….here’s a bit of the tour from my eyes…

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Zubin and Ross clean out the Skill Crane while waiting for dinner!

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The view from the back of the van.

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Some fans gathered during the radio interview in Ithaca…autograph and picture time!

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Jukebox The Ghost fighting through the sickness and dominating at Toqeut Hall in Westport, Connecticut.

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Somewhere in the middle of nowhere….this is a big part of touring.

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Skybox from the balcony at the great Mr. Smalls just outside of Pittsburgh. Been really great guys to hang with so far and have put on great shows every night!

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Amazing crowd at Mr. Smalls. I took this one while setting up my guitar just a few minutes before destruction!

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Zubin finally breaks out the Playstation 3 to play Pacman! I could be wrong, but I don’t think he ever got past the blue boards.

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The boys return to their home town Ann Arbor, Michigan. We started the day off with a radio interview with the people’s DJ, Martin Bandyke, on 107.1 that included the world premiere of their song “You & Me!”

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After an incredible lunch at Zingerman’s, Andrew and I went shopping for vinyl. We each left with 11 new records. I got an amazing deal….11 albums for 11 dollars….Andrew was not as fortunate.

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Andrew and I found a great alley, had to take pictures…

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And it looks like I’ve found my next album cover!

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Probably the biggest snowman I’ve ever seen outside of the law library at University of Michigan.

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Wonderful picture during the acoustic set taken by our Tour Manager, Mike. I’ve got the electric out, so this must be during “Who You Are.”

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Tags: jukebox the ghost, mr. smalls, skybox, tally hall, toquet hall

Welcome To Tally Hall

Friday, March 5th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Last night I made my triumphant return to The Bowery Ballroom. It had been about a year and a half since THIS happened!

This time around I had the pleasure of playing with the band Tally Hall. A group I met way back in 2006 (note: I was just notified it was the end of 2005 actually….thanks Jennie) when I opened for them at a show in New Jersey after digitally meeting them on myspace.

That was back when they were still unsigned and still lived in Michigan. Fast forward four years, and things have changed….they live in Brooklyn, they’re signed to Atlantic Records, and they have knocked out a 10 episode season of quite possibly the best Internet show EVER!

Due to some unforseen circumstances, one of their members (Joe Hawley – red tie) is unable to go on their March tour, so here I am filling in!

It’s been a bit crazy learning a whole set of pretty complicated material in a very short time….my brain feels like their album cover. I’ve survived so far….I’m filling some pretty big shoes, but their fans have been very supportive, so I’m quite thankful for that!

Last night was awesome….packed show and an amazing audience! The other two bands on the tour, Skybox and Jukebox The Ghost, destroyed! Then we kept the complete and total domination going, starting with an electric set and then moving off the stage and down onto the floor for the acoustic set where all 550 people in attendance sat while we played unplugged.

Today we begin three weeks of madness! Looking forward to it, though it’s quite sad to leave Langhorne on the day of our 5 year anniversary!!!???!! Yes, I agree she’s awesome, and no, I don’t know how she puts up with me either.

I’m currently in the back of the van…we just had Wendy’s…those junior bacon cheeseburgers may be the end of me.

PS – Do yourself a favor and check out their Internet show!

Tags: tally hall