Hey all,
I’m one vanilla bean frappuccino deep at the Greenpoint Starbucks, waiting in less-than-masculine anticipation for a visit this evening to Lake Trout, the Baltimore-themed eatery that just opened in Williamsburg. Yes, our hometown is now a “theme.” This must be how Europeans feel when they visit Busch Gardens. Luckily the whole thing is directed by a native Murlander, and they’ll be serving fried shrimp, whitefish sandwiches, and properly done crabcakes – which is a good thing because everyone up here has the strange idea that the proper way to cook crabs is to boil them, leaving everything comes out a soggy, flavorless mess. Steam ‘em that shit or let ‘em go. And it will surely be strange to be sitting in a Highlandtown-themed wood-paneled restaurant with oversize Orioles baseball cards on the walls, eating a crab cake between two Saltines, while the Shot Tower and the nearest Calvert Street tranny are three-and-a-half hours away. No word on whether they’re serving Natty Boh or Pikesville Rye, or whether there’ll be a needle exchange out back.
Today is a significant anniversary for us: Two years ago today, our last album came out. It’s been a helluva ride since then, and it’s long past time for some new poopy – trust us, no one feels it more than we do. To that end, we’ve been deep in the bunker writing and demoing since we came off the road at the end of April, and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting larger as of late. Hopefully there’ll be some big news before very long about who’s putting it out and when, but the smart money says this will be in your hands not too deep into 2013. Before Opening Day, if all goes well.
We have a couple of rad shows coming up where we’ll be breaking some of the new stuff and learning how to play it. On August 11th, we’ll be at the Silopanna Festival just outside Annapolis, headlining the second stage at 8:15pm. Also playing is Cake, so that rules. Those that are coming down from Baltimore should check out the Silopanna Party Bus leaving from downtown…it’s $35 roundtrip, BYOB and does NOT include a ticket to the festival! This is so you can lay down a thick basecoat and get Rip Torn while you’re down there without having to worry about traffic, parking, or how your sloppy ass is getting home.
On September 1st, we’ll be headlining the main stage of Scapescape, taking place in the Station North neighborhood in Baltimore. The actual stage will be in the parking lot next to the Metro Gallery on Charles Street, a short walk from Jon Waters HQ, Club Charles. This is an almost entirely locals-only event, but such kicked-ass merchants as Wye Oak, Celebration, Balkan Falcon, Arboretum and Labtekwon are all playing, along with a second batch of bands being announced soon. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, and the event is going to take place all over Station North from what I understand – Wind Up Space, Joe Squared, the Metro Gallery, etc. This is also Labor Day Weekend and the same dates as the Baltimore Grand Pix, so this is gonna be massive all the way around.
We’re working on a short batch of dates for September that will be getting announced soon. We won’t be traveling too far, but our Midwestern friends will hopefully be stoked.
Lastly, we want to thank everyone who came out to Gonzofest in Frederick, MD and the inaugural Firefly Festival in Dover, DE this past weekend. We had a blast at both, and it was a real honor to take part in such rad times with all involved. Here’s some pics from Frederick, and here’s some pics Brooklyn Vegan took of Firefly.
Hope this finds you all well,
Steve
PS – From “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” by Legs McNeil:
Leee Childers: I think David Bowie’s infatuation with Iggy had to do with Bowie wanting to tap into the rock & roll reality that Iggy lived – and that David Bowie could never live because he was a wimpy little South London art student and Iggy was a Detroit trash bag.