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I’ve been away from here for quite awhile, but rest assured all is well and busy here at BWG HQ. New songs are coming together. A slightly altered NYC-BWG band is in the works, featuring lots of exotic instruments like bass clarinet and viola. The Daytrotter session we recorded in Nov should be up soon. We have t-shirts, which I will discuss further very shortly. And, we made some videos. Like this one (which most of you have seen) of us singing a Wilco song in Cincinnati. Some photos for the GBtH art have been taken. Some sweet fake GBtH art is up over at the facebook page.

And this one of us singing a Gillian Welch song in Boston.

and this one of a rare parrot making love to the back of a poor BBC Zoologist’s head.

Okay, fine, we didn’t make that last one. But we wish we did.

Yesterday we slept in the van some more, recovering from the…luxuries of the parking lot. We also rolled through a guitar store in search of the perfect amp for my rocket (tremolo ahoy) and wound up picking up some weird free vinyl. The supremes sing country & western and look super uncomfortable on the cover? Sign me up. Will impressed the guitar store dudes with his prodigious technical skill. I did not.

The Green Lantern in Lexington turned out to be a pothead dive bar. It was awesome. The proprietor told us to leave the stage lights off when we weren’t using them because they’re weed-growing lights and they suck up a ton of power. The bartender was baked out of his mind. Some people tried to get us to smoke weed on the back porch while we were loading in. etc etc etc

This post is not particularly philosophical, I suppose. Today is a day of regrouping, of recovering lost sleep, removing unwanted facial hair, eating sandwiches, visiting bourbon distilleries. Tomorrow once again it will be time to rip. But today it’s time to be blank and clean, clear our heads of all the impurities of the last few days (and the well whiskey from last night), and set our feet on the ground once again.

Sometimes, on the other hand, you wake up on top of a pointy duffel bag in the back of a rusty van in a Walmart parking lot in Knoxville TN and suddenly realize that not only did you leave some very important things under a table in North Carolina two nights ago but your only pair of shoes is falling apart. And both your legs are asleep. And your throat feels like you swallowed several housecats.

What is there to do on such days but hoist yourself up, go splash some cold water on your face in the 24 hour Walmart bathroom (nevermind that the faucet temperature is auto-regulated to “pisswarm”), get stared down every which way by suspicious employees, and then leave the van door open when you drive away. Oops.

But still, there are things to be grateful for. Nothing falling out of the open van door, for example. Not everything is in your control, friends. All you can do is sing your stupid heart out, no matter how small the stage.

Dreamcastle was warm and wonderful, just like last time. Our new friends from When I Was 12 came to hang out and we debuted Song For the Singer, which we’re polishing up in the hopes of laying it down at Daytrotter on Monday. We made camp at Ricardo’s and ate some homemade pesto at 3 in the morning and then rolled all the way down to Chapel Hill with only a mild case of van delirium to show for it. There’s nothing like driving against the seasons to make you appreciate them all over again. Just as fall was turning the page into winter up north, we drove down into mid-fall weather, burnished leaves still on the trees, no jackets required. The first breath of air was gorgeous. There’s also nothing like 6-7 hours in a van to make you appreciate everything about not being in a van. Food tastes better, women look more beautiful, the air smells incredible. Even just walking around aimlessly becomes a giddy, celebratory kind of act.

We visited all our favorite CH haunts for necessities (burritos, books, beers) and then proceeded to fall asleep on couches in the nightlight while some kind of theater troupe was having a meeting (remember that thing I said last time about the world being your living room?). I don’t remember too much of what they said, but I know the word “enema” was tossed around a lot, as was the phrase “SWAT team of sterilization.” Ah, creativity at work. I woke up to the sound of someone asking if we’d arrived yet and suddenly there were people there and the show was about to happen. It’s a really great feeling being carried from one moment to the next with such momentum that there’s never any boredom (van boredom is different, it’s boredom while something necessary is being accomplished, like being in the waiting room at the doctors office). It gives an air of purpose and momentum to such things as: sleeping in the van, sleeping in the venue, sleeping on people’s floors, and drinking whiskey.

okay, time’s up. See you next time I find someone with a compatible charger!
yours,
bwg

It allowed us, even on our day off, to stroll into a local bar for trivia night and wind up with new friends and a giddy sense of lightness. Cities are always full of avenues for this kind of unexpected boon. But something about having nowhere to be encourages you to explore it in a way that seldom seems to happen when you are where you live.

The show in Halethorpe (just outside baltimore) was in the basement of a tiny row house jammed full of UMBC students sipping on keg beer. During an opening band a member of the audience was called up to crouch on the ground and act as a piano bench. The crowd was warm and friendly. Hugs were exchanged post-set. Someone told me that he would sleep with my voice (if it were embodied in human form, I assume. otherwise that seems…complicated). We were even coerced into performing When We Pray live for the first time (thanks Sean!) and it was okay. The sky didn’t fall. Take a look, it’s still up there.

The only setback was that we chose a poor time to deploy some silly string. Bands take note: do not do this right at the beginning of 4 minutes of a your quietest, most sensitive song. Some photos were taken. They will hopefully find their way to the internet soon.

Tonight, Dreamcastle in South Philly. We will be debuting another new song. This one clocks in at about 12 minutes, so bring your lighters. Things are going to get dynamic.

Oh, and the best thing I saw yesterday? Well, let me just show you.

everyhing about this is amazing, but I think the stock photo of the hand with neatly manicured nails jotting THE SECOND COMING into her dayplanner really takes the cake. Guess you can use June-December as scrap paper. Doubt you’ll need to remember to get the dry cleaning while you’re basking in the rapture of your eternal reward.

I’m going to try to get some photos up on the facebook page before the laptop dies again. Keep yr eyes peeled!

Your faithful servant,
BWG

Today’s amazing moment, brought to you by toll booth workers:

The story begins with us cruising down the Jersey Turnpike in our vessel. First, a word on the van, which I have dubbed the USS Dan Marino due to its turquoise upholstery and let’s say…venerability (Will’s dad, upon being told the year of the van: You guys know that was fifteen years ago, right?). I will be sure to talk about the Marino more in the future (built in VHS, faux-velvet curtains, wood paneling, leaks in the rain), but for now just imagine us in a big van with so much rust on it that the rust and turquoise combine into an uncanny imitation of the colors of the 1993 Miami Dolphins football team.

Anyway, Nick, who’s subbing on bass for us for a few days, is in the captains chair, and he’s thrown out the statistic that toll booth workers have the 3rd highest suicide rate of any occupation, alongside lawyers and dentists. I point out that you don’t see rock musician on that list, trying to bring a little levity to the aftermath of one of those ultra-bleak future of music conversations anyone in a band not doing Converse ads has to have every few weeks. Nick: This is about professionals. Zing.

Just at this moment we pull up to a toll booth at which there is a small, red-faced man with huge glasses.
Nick (handing over money): Hey, how you doing?
Toll Booth Dude: Great!
Nick: Great? That’s good to hear.
TBD: I’m always great! I smoke a lotta dope, too.

At which point we pull away while he beams at us like a contented turtle. There is one toll booth attendant who is not going to off himself. Score one for pot.

—————–

I guess I should mention the show as well, eh? The Velvet Lounge turns out to be the place where, in early 2008, I played with my roommate and was so flu-delirious I could barely even stand up. I remember people laughing at my banter a lot more than usual, and apparently I spent the last band’s set huddled in a corner shivering.

2010 was a rather substantial improvement. Andrew of the VL kindly delivered our brand new T-SHIRTS to us (they look great, photos soon!). We ate an amazing meal at DC Noodles (hello, drunken squid ink noodles) with our kind hostess Jillian. We shot the shit about Iowa City with the dudes from Seas, who were great. The place was packed to the gills (the bar, downstairs, was also packed, with a totally different clientele. I walked down there to get a whiskey at some point and it was like I stepped into a bacardi commercial). All the bands sounded fantastic. The Loom got there in time to see all of Seas and most of our set and were total sweethearts, played their hearts out even exhausted at 1 AM. Nick and Peter, both playing their first show ever in BWG, hit it so hard that I actually didn’t remember it was their first show until about an hour after the set. This is where tour blogging starts to sound like an award acceptance speech, so I’ll leave off, except to say that if every show on the tour is like this I will consider myself blessed.

Your most obliged & humble servant
BWG

P.S. I should also mention, because it is hilarious, that during “Of Cowboys,” when I sang the line “if I was a beautiful man I wouldn’t worry about love” someone in the audience actually said “aw, you are a beautiful man.”

As a celebration of the impending tour, we are releasing this tidy little single, which can be listened to and purchased (for a measly dollar) here:

Last weekend was but a teaser. The full on tour (featuring a van so ancient & aquamarine that makes it look like we’re about to go down and tailgate with the 1993 Miami Dolphins) starts in DC tomorrow. I’ll be posting as much as possible on the road, so stay tuned!

love,
bwg

your faithful servants,
bwg

You have been seeing bits and pieces of this pop up over the last few weeks, but today is the day on which we officially announce our very exciting November Tour. Am I supposed to name these things? Let’s call it the Raise New Hell Tour.

For this tour, we will have wonderful merchandise (t-shirts, posters, other special things) created by the talented Ty Williams, whose work I have always repped hard because it is wonderful.

Here are the dates, as they currently stand. Updates will be seamlessly incorporated, so check back often:

Preliminary Fun:
10.26 – Pipeline! performance, WMBR
10.30 – Great Scott – Allston, MA w/Hallelujah The Hills, Magic Magic
10.31 – Halloween Party @ Bard College – Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, w/Titus Andronicus, The Nineties, Shapes

The Tour Itself:
11.5 – Velvet Lounge – Washington, DC, w/Seas, The Loom, presented by Les Enfants Terribles
11.6 – House Party – Halethorpe, MD (Near Baltimore), w/Us & Us Only, When I Was 12
11.8 – Dreamcastle – Philadelphia, PA w/Mike Bruno, Hosannas, Banned Books
11.9 – Nightlight – Chapel Hill, NC w/Bright Young Things & The Pinkerton Raid
11.10 – The Pilot Light, Knoxville, TN w/Stolen Sheep
11.11 – The Green Lantern – Lexington, KY w/The Fervor, The Nativity Singers
11.13 – The Schlafly Tap Room – St. Louis, MO w/Blood Pony
11.15 (daytime) – Daytrotter Session!
11.15 – PS1, Iowa City, IA w/Grand Tetons
11.16 – The Whistler – Chicago, IL w/Netherfriends
11.17 – MOTR Pub – Cincinnati, OH
11.18 – The Savoy – Ypsilanti, MI w/Actual Birds, Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good To Me)
11.19 – The Lemon Grove Cafe – Youngstown, OH
11.20 – The Brillobox – Pittsburgh PA w/Boca Chica, Horse Or Cycle
11.21 – TBA – Central, PA
11.22 – TBA – Philadephia, PA
11.23 – TBA – NYC w/The Wailing Wall

Note One: Some of these shows are not shows for which I can post addresses. If you want to come, email boywithoutgod at gmail for the details!

Through it all, we remain,

your humble servants,
the bwg band