We spent four days last week at Strangeways Studio in Providence with Mike Poorman.  I knew Mike as a touring musician years ago, and stumbled across some of the projects he’d recorded recently (the Appreciation Post etc…) and really dug them.  I thought that his talents would lend themselves perfectly to some of the songs that we have planned to do for the next album.  I was right, as usual.  Mike is an extremely skilled sound technician, he invests himself completely into the recording process, offers advice, is meticulous about tuning and timing, and is lightning fast with Pro-Tools.  If you’re looking to record an album, this is your guy.  He’s also a hell of a guy to hang out with.  I dare you to leave Strangeways and not feel like you’ve made a new friend in addition to having a kickass new recording.  It just won’t happen.

The four songs are called Lucinda, Comes to Blows, Pole Position, and Drop D (yes- this title will change).  I can’t wait to share them with you.  We’re going to go to Verdant studios in Vermont to track four of our dirtier, more lo-fi stuff, and then we’ll be back to Mike later on in the Fall to wrap up production on our new full length.

This Saturday, we say goodbye to our buddies In The Face- the ONLY ska band that we’ve ever been close to.  These guys are phenomenal, so if you’ve got plans on Saturday, drop them, and come out to the Worthen in Lowell.  Come early- this place will be packed to the gills.

Hope all is well with everyone,

Mike

I know I have a lot of catching up to do here.  You’re going to get things out of order, sort of Pulp Fiction style.  I hope you’re OK with that.

We said goodbye to our friends from Spudgun last night.  It was much harder this time, as we have no plans to see each other again in the near future.  Finding friends like this is a very lucky thing.  The stars must have aligned perfectly for this to work out.  Chou and DV’s Records have given us the gift of friendship with a lot of wonderful people- perhaps one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for us as a band.

Fredo and Mu-Mu organized a BBQ of epic proportions last night.  We’re talking prawns and duck-breast here people.  A grille on the Garonne River, beautiful fireworks, a nearly ancient but extremely gorgeous city as a backdrop, and laughter erupting from every direction as jokes and stories are told.  Sarcasm- as deep and deliciously evil as us Bostonians can be with their use of this form of humor, the people of Bordeaux give us a run for our money.   Our new friends from the bands Moonstruck and W-Mute were nice enough to join us, along with all of Spudgun and our homies Fabien and Stef.

We are leaving France with too many memories to count, and enough new friends make a person feel whole for an entire lifetime.   Eddie, Manu, Vincent, Steph, Leo, Cyril, Lauren, Freddie, Audrey, Audrey (yes two of them) - such wonderful people- we are so fortunate to have spent time with you.  We wish you all the best, and thank you deeply for your hospitality.

Eric booked a fantastic tour for us, and recounting it here on our blog will be a pleasure to do.  I can’t thank him enough for the work that he did.  I know how hard it can be to book a tour for another band.  It can seem nearly impossible at times.  For pushing through and making it happen, thank you a million times.