Algernaan (Your Daily Bread)

Jingle Jangle Baby

2011-12-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

Fran & Pete Have Their Way with Christmas by Frances Quinlan & Peter the PianoeaterHappy holidays!

Help Gods & Queens!

2011-12-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Some close friends of ours were involved in a serious accident an could really use a helping hand. From their Facebook:

I´m going to try and make this as short as I can. After all these years of touring in unsafe vans, and doing stupid things, I guess I was over due for this... We had a serious van accident in route from our show in Graz, Austria to Dresden, Germany, somewhere along the highway in the Czech.

I was asleep in the back of the van, so I'm unsure of what exactly happened. All I know is I felt the van skidding out and we started to slide and roll over. Not sure exactly how many times the van flipped but it was more than enough. I started screaming for everyone to tell me they were OK. Gertjan check, Ben check, Sara check, and I didnt hear Jeff.

Ben pulled me out through the windshield and I took off running, screaming for help with blood pouring down my face. I honestly though Jeff was dead. A car stopped and a slew of women started screaming at me and I was screaming at them. We were in the middle of no where and as I was running two things came to mind, I think Jeff is dead, and I hope I don´t get shot like Artimus Pyle. A woman pulled me into her house and her husband and son ran to the van crash site. I found Gertjan, and he said everyone is OK. The family started talking to me via Google Translation telling me everyone is safe and that an amublance is on the way.

The ambulance comes takes us to a hospital, we get taken care of...sort of. The police arrive on the scene and inform us that we aren´t leaving until the medical bills are paid in full. The were so kind enough to escort Sara and myself to an ATM machine to pay the entire lump of the bills in full on the spot. Even after we signed some strange papers saying we have 30 day with proof of citizenship, etc. What the fuck ever right? We asked where Gertjan was, and their respone was...prison. 300 phone calls and around €3,000 later we are out of the damned Czech and safe in Germany.

Long short, we are all somewhat OK. Jeff broke his collarbone, Ben got his hand jacked up, I am pretty alright, Gertjan is OK, as well as Sara. The van is destroyed. Booking these tours ourself really made me realize that we are 100% on our own. We had no one to call, no one to "rescue" us. I made 3 phone calles and the entire German punk scene came to our rescue. God damn thank you. Our new friends from Dresden Germany came to get us at the drop of a hat, no questions asked. Thank you.

So here it is, we are 3 grown adult males in our 30´s who play in a punk band. We are all stage hands at R5 Productions in Philly. That´s what we do to enable us to be here in Europe doing this. Never in our lives have we needed help like we do now. If you want to help us, please go to www.godsandqueens.bandcamp.com and purchas a record for $1.99. If you ever laughed at one of my awful jokes, or spend hours talking with us after a show, and you would like to help, please do. I always though our band would have too much pride to ask for help, but I am pretty sure we all agree that this time we need it. If you would like to help in any form please do jamiegetz(at)gmail.com is the paypal address if you are inclined to do so. We will also accept first class upgrades on US Air, Delta or Virgin.

Help them out with a download if you can.

There is also a benefit show this Sunday, December 4th, at Little Bar in South Philly (738 S. 8th St.) w/ A Life Once Lost, Fight Amp, Carved Up, SGNLS, Exemption, Snake Road, and Ominous Black. Starts at 7pm. $10

Not Live Radio Show & Winter Weekend

2011-11-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

Firstly, if you are reading this and it is Thanksgiving Eve, tune into Ynotradio.net at 10PM to hear an in-studio performance and listen to a local playlist we picked out. We'll keep you company if you've got nowhere to go! At least for an hour.

If you're scared of the airwaves or prefer the real thing we will be playing some shows with our colleagues, Band Name, to start the winter off right. Dates are right under your fucking nose!

December 2 in Amherst, MA @ Babetown USA w/ TBA
December 3 in Ithaca, NY Big Day In 3 @ The Haunt w/ The Sidekicks, Parts and Labor and lots more.
December 4 Brooklyn, NY @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge w/ TBA

Pre-orders for Parrot Flies are on their way to their new homes and the album is now available for sale in our mailorder section to the right of this post. Distros and stores can get in touch for wholesale at hotgreenrecords@gmail.com.

How about Algernon Cadwallader?

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

“How about Algernon Cadwallader?”

”They always seemed…”

“They always seemed what? They always seemed really great is what they always seemed. They picked up where your precious Cap n’ Jazz left off, and you’re sitting around complaining about no more Cap n’ Jazz albums. I can’t believe you don’t own this fucking record. That’s insane. Jesus.”

From wehateyourhate.tumblr.com.

Tour Detox, Pre-Orders, & More Tour

2011-10-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Philadelphia with much turbulence, just as we had left from Belgium. The final days of our European tour--of our 3 month, 70 show, intercontinental tour--were trying ones. 10 hour drives in a van that was leaking thick black exhaust under the rear bench left us with dirty clothes, dark boogers, and achy heads. Our spirits showed ware as well after we missed what would have been our third to last show in A Coruña, Spain. Our sincere apologies go out to anyone waited around to see us that night. Now we were only minutes away from being swaddled in the comfort and familiarity of close friends. There is no questioning that this summer will be one that makes all the others shrivel up like a raisin in comparison. Settled into our lives back at home, each new morning brings with it the reminiscence of an event, a conversation, a laugh, an ocean, a mountain, a castle, a cactus, a show, a new friend, an old friend, a face to which I cannot affix a name, a shitty party, a morning slept in, a new beer. Too much to think about all at once less I'd hope to choke. They are best delivered in small manageable doses or reserved for inspirational daydreams. Every day is like smoking a cigarette after you've conquered the world.

None of it would've been the same without the company and companionship of our dear friends, 1994! and Snowing. We shared a blinding glimpse into something that will never ever be seen again. That will never change. Looking forward to whatever comes next.

The Parrot Flies vinyl will finally be in our hands early next month month. We appreciate your relentless interest and patience. This is the first official release of our brand new very own Hot Green Records and we're still getting the kinks worked out. We'll be pressing a limited run of 100 on light green vinyl which we've decided would only be fair to distribute through a lottery system. The Parrot Flies LP is hereby available for pre-order and colored vinyl recipients will be randomly selected from these pre-orders only. Place you orders before the end of the month to be eligible for this drawing. Send $12 via Paypal to hotgreenrecords@gmail.com or concealed cash, accompanied with an e-mail (to confirm the post-marked date), to 1310 N. 5th Street 2B Philadelphia, PA 19122.

Once again, right on schedule, the Fest cometh! In liu of Algernon Cadwallader touring our way down to the shit show known as Fest 10 Joe and I will be heading down as the backing band for Philadelphia's worst kept secret known as Mike Bell & the Movies. Joe and I are the Movies! Mike and I collaborated to record his new album which we will have for sale and which you can also download here now so you know the words and stuff. Come out to the show and see if you can drink more than us. Here are the dates:

October
20 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Hop Along and Little Black Rainclouds
21 Baltimore, MD @ Golden West Cafe w/ Sick Sick Birds and Dead Mechanical
22 Richmond, VA @ Isaac's House w/ Double Rainbow and Josh Small
23 Charlotte, NC @ Lunchbox Records w/ Pullman Strike and Blossoms
24 Atlanta, GA @ The Cottage w/ Memes
25 Birmingham, AL @ The Speakeasy w/ Mose Giganticus
26 Talahasee, FL @ The Shark Tank w/ Big Eyes
27 Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery w/ Algernon Cadwallader and more

Mike Bell & the Movies would love to play a house show at Fest if anyone knows of any. Get in touch! Burntfoot@gmail.com.

We don't say it enough. Thank you to everyone who makes this band the most important thing in our lives. We are the luckiest band on the planet because of you.

Parrot Flies & Mid-Tour Update

2011-08-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

I mentioned it before but yea, this shit is done and available. We're overseas and unable to do mailorder ourselves at the moment but you can the CD now from Rorschach Records, Vinyl Junkie Distro, and No Idea Records. The LP will be out soon or if you're in Europe you can pick it up now on LP or CD from Big Scary Monsters or at one the shows coming up. Check out our remaining dates to the right.

Thanks a ton to everyone who has booked us, put us up, and come out to the shows so far. This tour has been incredible and we feel very fortunate to be over here again kicking out the jams the way you like 'em. Hugs and kisses to everyone back home. We miss you and can't wait to tell you all about it.

It's Closing Time...

2011-06-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

With only 2 days left on our tour I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. We're all very excited to see our friends, family, and pets at home. Though it's the end of the tour it's only the beginning of our summer. We are now playing the Mitch Dubey benefit in Philadelphia on the 26th in addition to our actual home coming show on the 30th with Joyce Manor. I'm also incredibly stoked to announce that we'll be going on our second European tour next month with 1994!. Dates are below!

June 26 Benefit show for the family of Mitch Dubey @ Danger Danger Gallery in Philadelphia, PA w/ Slingshot Dakota, The Book Slave, Lion Club, The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, 1994!, and Snowing.

June 30 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire in w/ Joyce Manor, 1994!, and Snowing.

July 2 Washington DC @ St. Stephen's Church in w/ Bomb the Music Industry, The Max Levine Ensemble, Cheap Girls and the Wild.

July 3 Richmond, VA @ The Bike Lot in w/ Joyce Manor and Tiger Tail.

July 6 Williamstown, NJ @ 1619 House w/ Imperial Can, Onsind, and Fashanu.

July 19 Antwerpen, BE @ JC Den Eglantier w/ 1994! and more.

July 20 (matinee show) Cambridge, UK @ The Cafe project w/ 1994! and more.

July 20 Sheffield, UK @ Penelope's w/ 1994! and more.

July 21 Folkestone, UK @ Stones Bar w/ 1994! and more.

July 22 Tunbridge Wells, UK @ The Forum w/ 1994! and more.

July 23 (matinee show) Birmingham, UK @ Wagon & Horses w/ 1994! and more.

July 23 Manchester, UK @ Kro Bar w/ 1994! and more.

July 24 (matinee show) Newcastle, UK @ The Chillingham Arms w/ 1994! and more.

July 24 Glasgow, UK @ 13th Note w/ 1994! and more.

July 25 Leeds, UK @ The Well w/ 1994! and more.

July 26 Derby, UK @ The Old bell w/ 1994! and more.

July 27 Kingston, UK @ The Peel w/ 1994! and more.

July 28 (matinee show) Southampton, UK @ Planet sounds w/ 1994! and more.

July 28 Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store w/ 1994! and more.

July 29 Aachen, DE @ AZ w/ 1994! and more.

July 30 Kiel, DE @ Lessingbad w/ 1994! and more.

July 31 Copenhagen, DK @ New Lades w/ 1994! and more.

August 1 Hamburg, DE @ Rote Flora w/ 1994! and more.

August 2 Wiesbaden, DE @ Schlachthof w/ 1994! and more.

August 3 Bielefeld, DE @ AJZ w/ 1994! and more.

August 4 Berlin, DE @ Schokoladen w/ 1994! and more.

August 5 Prague, CZ @ Chapeau rouge w/ 1994! and more.

August 6 Dresden, DE @ OffSpot w/ 1994! and more.

August 7 Trier, DE @ Exhaus w/ 1994! and more.

August 8 Sarzana, IT @ Juxe Tap w/ 1994! and more.

August 9 Toulon, FR @ Jolly Rogers w/ 1994! and more.

August 10 Barcelona, SP @ Sidecar w/ 1994! and more.

August 11 Madrid, SP @ Nasti Club w/ 1994! and more.

August 12 Galicia, SP @ TBA w/ 1994! and more.

August 13 Bordeaux, FR @ Les Lectures Aléatoires w/ 1994! and more.

August 14 Paris, FR @ Belushi's w/ 1994! and more.

August 15 Leiden, NJ @ Sub071 w/ 1994! and more.

Tour Blog

2011-06-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

I've got blisters on my fingers, my nails are split and my knuckles are bruised. Woke up at 4 am today on a porch in Denver. A wild dog was 2 feet from my face barking it's face off at me. At first I got scared but quickly realized the dog knew I wasn't from Denver. I wrapped myself in my quilt and laid back down on my air mattress which was inflated to 28%. I've gotten the chance to sleep outside alot on this tour. I really love it. How come the sky is so big when I'm away from home? We are now on route to Lincoln, Nebraska. We've been drivin' about 5 hours and have another 3 to go. I'm not stressed because I'm hangin' with Bob Marley. It's been over 3 weeks since Ive seen home. I don't miss home. I forgot to take my medication today, I'm glad I just remembered. Next stop I'm going to buy a Sobe Apple pear drink. They rule. So far my favorite city is San Francisco again. I miss my drum pad.

-Tank

West Coast Destroyed!

2011-06-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Still killing it after all these weeks! We are sad to be leaving the west coast today. It's been an amazing leg of tour. Thanks again to everyone who set up a show or just came out, did a dance, and said hello. You've made this tour the best any of us have ever been on. And now, into the wild.

Here's video of our set at Gilman. You fucking know it!

Gone Tourin'

2011-05-29T21:10:00.001-07:00

Hello friends. Tour is swell and everyone is in good health. Thanks to everyone who has come out to the shows so far. Just updated the remaining TBA dates to the right. Write us if you need further info on any of them. Cool!

Recording Week Umpteen, New Album, & US Tour

2011-05-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

We've got a lot to cover here. A culmination of half a year's effort. I'm going to move fast so pay attention.

The light at the end of the tunnel was growing exponentially nearer. With only a few weeks left before tour we began sacrificing personal liberties such as sleep and a regular diet. We were machines working on schematics a better us had written. Joe announced a quota of mixing one song a day. They were long days. Mixing the record prompted us to add a bunch of auxiliary instruments to fill any pot holes in the songs. We finished everything with a day to spare before mastering but rather than taken a desperately needed rest Joe and Tank took the mixes over to our mastering engineers house to listen to everything on his speakers. A different pair of speakers can expose the most well kept secrets. Listening to your recording on your stereo, in the car, and on headphones is of course an important perspective but what they heard come our of those speakers was so dark and deep that they stayed there working through the night and morning. This began the marathon of sleep deprivation. Joe brought the mixes home at 11 AM and told me we had some recording to do. Some missing guitars, sour vocals, and a few other small things. We had until 5 PM when we were do back at Ryan's to begin mastering.

We brought our own computer and set up adjacent to the mastering room to tweak mixes up until the second he needed them from us. He'd finish one and come in for the next as we were printing the bounce. Our heads would pop into his side every once in a while to make sure we were happy with what he was doing. We listened to everything and wrapped up around 5 in the morning. We cannot thank Ryan enough for putting so much work into this and staying up until the wee small hours 2 nights in a row while still waking up to manage the studios at Drexel University in the morning.

Tank, Joe, and I headed to an all night diner in Center City for our obligatory celebration of this momentous completion. We were pretty cracked out and even made the regulars at this dive nervous as we shouted gibberish and failed to understand the plea of an outgoing local political candidate. Then it was back to the warehouse to finish packing, putting together records, and printing t-shirts for tour. We would never have finished getting all the merch for this 5 week tour ready without the help an amazing group of hand-selected friends. Still, this ended up in a 2nd night (3rd for Joe) of zero sleep but we were driven by a force far more compelling than comfort.

We met the rest of the crew from 1994! and Snowing in Lancaster, threw our schwag in the van, and hit the road. Finally shut our eyes for longer than a blink on the way to Hagerstown and then floated psychedelically on stage for our first show. Purgatory was ending and we were entering the dream.

So, here it is. The second album by Algernon Cadwallader entitled Parrot Flies. We've gone through a lot of changes and difficult times since releasing our first album. It feels like a new band sometimes. Or just been flying through our adolescence. I think it would be fair to measure band life in dog years. CDs are being rushed to us so we should have them by the west coast leg of our tour. The LPs will come in when we get home and we'll be able to start mailorder again. Until then you can come out and pick it up at the show. Here are the dates. All with 1994! and Snowing.

MAY
18th Hagerstown, Maryland @ Right Choice Ministries w/ LOUD
19th Blacksburg, Virginia @ JAX 130 Jackson St w/ Diarrhea Planet
20th Charlotte, North Carolina @ Treasure Fest
21st Greenville, SC @ w/ Days Become Months
22nd Birmingham, Alabama @ Spring Street House w/ The Max Levine Ensemble and Fewer Moving Parts
23rd Jackson, Mississippi @ Doc 36 w/ Les Doux and Pockets
24th New Orleans, Louisiana @ Dragon’s Den w/ Marathon
25th Houston, Texas @ Vinyl Junky Records w/ Football Etc.
26th Denton, Texas @ Lion’s Den w/ Final Club
27th Oklahoma City, Oklahoma @ Brass Bell Studios w/ Concussion Waltz
28th Albequerque, New Mexico @ Dad’s House w/ lots of bands
29th Phoenix, Arizona @ The Fixx Coffee Bare
30th Tucson, Arizona @ TBA
31st San Diego, California @ Che Cafe

JUNE
1st Los Angeles, California @ Women of Crenshaw
2nd Santa Barbara, California @ Biko Garage w/ Lumber Lung
3rd San Francisco, California @ Sub-Mission
4th Berkley, California @ 924 Gilman St. w/ Joyce Manor
5th Reading, California @ Sue's Java Cafe
6th DAY OFF
7th Portland, Oregon @ Backspace w/ Duck Little Brother Duck
8th Seattle, Washington @ Healthy Times Fun Club w/ Jason Clackley
9th Spokane, Washington @ The Cretin Hop w/ Girlfriends, DLBD
10th Rexburg, Idaho @ TBA
11th Cheyenne, Wyoming @ Crawlspace w/ Spraynard
12th Boulder, Colorado @ Astro-Land
13th Lincoln, Nebraska @ Mad Ave. w/ The Dads
14th Wichita, Kansas @ The Naked City Gallery w/ Information Welfare
15th St. Louis, Missouri @ Cranky Yellow w/ Orion Pax
16th Bloomington, Indiana @ The Bishop w/ Good Luck
17th Louisville, Kentucky @ Mowgli's House
18th Chicago, Illinois @ Strangelight w/ Sohns and Innards
19th Grand Rapids, Michigan @ The DAAC w/ the Reptilian
20th Columbus, Ohio @ Carabar
21st Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania @ Helter Shelter w/ Means to an End and Edhoculi
22nd Rochester, New York @ The Bugjar
23rd East Hampton, Massachusetts @ Flywheel
24th Scranton, Pennsylvania @ Redwood Art Space w/ Trainwrecker and Halfling
25th New York, New York @ Archeron w/ The Greek Favourites

Our First Bootleg

2011-04-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Finally, an alternative to a crappy desktop folder full of mp3s, our friends at Sex Cave Records are releasing a neatly packaged cassette of a professional live recording from the show we played in Vernon, CT in January 2010. It was a particularly rowdy show that really captures the live setting and showcases our fans ability to sing louder than our music. They have our permission to release it. You have our permission to buy it. Here is a link where you can purchase it. There will also be a release show this friday at UMASS in Amherst with our buddies, Band Name, Pachangacha, and Ape Up. Cool!

Recording Week 4 (Born Again)

2011-01-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

Good morning campers. We had too much fun on our west coast tour with Big Kids and forgot about the cold sterile world of the internet. Here's what you've been missing.

We left off with our tapes now dumped onto the computer. This is usually the fun part. Overdubbing this and that, extra percussions, noises, and experimenting. We barely got that far. To save time we were now working in both Studio A and Studio B (Joe's bedroom). I would be working on vocals in A while he was doing some editing in his room and when we got bored of the scenery we would switch. It wasn't long before the cat was out of the bag; Joe and I both had reservations about the recordings. He thought this was too slow and I thought that was too fast and we both agreed that this other one just didn't feel right at all. We sat and stared at one another stroking our mustaches for few tense minutes before dropping the guillotine. We would have to re-record.

Sadly, we are no strangers to the concept of re-recording. To date every single recording we've done as a band has been scraped at least once and then re-done. It's an ugly streak but at the end of the day we rather have our record come out 6 months later than have a finished product we are unsatisfied with. Sometimes these things happen for a reason.

Relieved of the exaustion that would have been packed into the week leading up to tour we let our worries melt and fully embraced the Christmas spirit. We had another potluck at the warehouse and exchaged gifts under the physcadelic pine tree. The greatest gift truely came from above. Joe weaseled us 5 days to record in a church a mile away from our place. Our friends Jess and Josh run a non-profit rock school out of one of the rooms and arranged for us to record in the chapel. It snowed the day after Christmas. The next morning we packed up half of the studio into our van and drove it over to the church. We shoveled out a parking space and loaded in. The studio was set up in an extra room on the second floor. Transporting the tape machine would have messed up it's calibration and broke our backs so we decided to go digital for this session. This was also the quicker and more convenient option. Day one was spent getting the most glorious drum sounds we have ever heard. Tank and his kit were set up in directly in the center of the room. Stained glass windows cast colored light across them. It was dead silent in the church except for the sound of Tank's drums echoing through every room. In another effort to save time and to ressurect a live feeling that could not be found on some of the first sessions's recordings we would track the bass right along with the drums and ditch the click track. For this we used my usual bass set-up; An Acoustic 450 head and a Peavey 2x15 cabinet. We stuck this in a side room to give it a little bit of isolation and also ran a direct line into the computer. It sounded like it always does and we were happy with that.

Every morning we would meet up with Josh or Jess at the church, listen to the drum sounds, tweak anything that had shifted overnight, and track songs until we thought they sounded right taking breaks along the way for the AA meetings and to eat soup and drink coffee. When we started this session we had about 5 songs that we really thought needed to be done again. By the time our 5 days were up we had done 9 songs and would've done the rest if we could because we loved the sound so much. But we had what we needed. It was a new year and still no new Algernon Cadwallader record but we shrugged that fact right off the airplane and it landed somewhere in the mid-west. We knew our clean slate would be waiting for us when we returned.

Check out the Big Kids Blog to hear about our tour adventures. Apologies for the lapse in journalism. We are back online.

California, Here We Come

2011-01-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

P.S. Locked ourselves out of the house while taking this picture.

1/4 San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe 3112 Midway Drive
w/Big Kids, Koalacaust, Joyce Manor

1/5 Chino, CA @ The Warehouse 13390 12th St.
w/Big Kids, Koalacaust, Joyce Manor, Summer Vacation, French Exit, Peanut Butter and Jamage

1/6 Garden Grove, CA @ The Cabin 12101 Gilbert St. 7PM
w/Big Kids, Koalacaust, Summer Vacation, Joyce Manor, Tiny Lungs

1/7 San Francisco, CA @ Cloud City 3201 3rd St. 8PM
w/Big Kids, Koalacaust, Summer Blondes

1/8 Berkeley, CA @ 924 Gilman 7pm
w/Big Kids, Summer Blondes, Sourpatch, Yi

1/9 Santa Cruz, CA @ Kickback Cafe 1222 Soquel Ave. 7PM
w/Big Kids, Koalacaust, Calculator

1/10 San Jose, CA @ Texas Toast 15560 Woodard Rd. 6PM
w/Big Kids, Comadre, Calculator

1/11 Santa Rosa, CA @ North Bay Art and Film Collective 7pm
w/Big Kids, The New Trust, Semi Evoloved Simians

1/12 Medford/Eugene/etc. (woops! looking for a show)

1/13 Portland, OR @ KPSU Radio @

1/14 Portland, OR @ The Artistery 4315 SE Division 7PM
w/Big Kids, Lee Cory Oswald, Duck Little Brother, Duck

1/15 Olympia, WA @ Chez Puget 1139 Puget St. 7PM
w/Big Kids, Livingston Seagull

1/16 Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge 8pm
w/Big Kids, Jason Clackley, Livingston Seagull

Recording Week 3 (Guitar)

2010-12-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to the third installment of the Algernon Cadwallader studio journal. We'd like to thank you for keeping an interest while we take care of the boring "behind the scenes" part of the band. Think of it as though we are open during renovation. I assure you we are doing all that we can to make things as entertaining as possible for you. We're especially fond of the feedback that you leave in our comments. It's nice to keep in touch with the outside world. Without further ado, Joe Reinhart on the guitar.

Things began quite like they did for bass tracking with three premium amps standing at attention to prove their sonic worth. These three were the Orange AD 30 with Mesa 2X12 cabinet, the Vox AC 30, and the Fender Twin Reverb. Though all fierce and unique we managed to weed out the Twin fairly quickly and began focusing on the remaining soldiers. Joe fell in love with Vox when we toured in Europe and he played a rental every night for a month straight. The way it breaks up like earth under a bulldozer causes the soul to cringe with pleasure. He bought one almost immediately after we returned home and just finished paying it off the other day. It's little brother, the AC 15, can be heard on our Fun 7". For anyone who has ever played out of an Orange I need not try to sell this one at all. In touring band terms, it is the Mercedes Sprinter of guitar amps. It is the brightest (looking too) and heaviest sound you can ever expect to hear and the knobs are even labeled with goofy little cartoon icons! It doesn't take much to get this pair singing like Hall and Oates in the boys room. We start putting some stuff down but soon get a suspicious feeling that maybe that was too easy. Everything sounds great but maybe a little to great? With a bit of A-B'ing it becomes evident that the offensive tones of teenage rebellion and 20-something frustrations we are looking for in a lead guitar are coming by and large from the AC 30. Rather than cluttering tape with multiple tracks of each guitar take we decide to use the Vox for the dirty stuff and have the Orange provide us with very intimidating clean parts. So with the easy stuff out of the way, on to the hard stuff.

.
And so it was, in the honor of great sound, that Joe escalated the gauge of his strings to 12's. His finger tips would soon look like deep canyons of dried super glue. His care-free temperament would follow. As we entered the month of December it was getting quite cold in Philadelphia as it usually does. We are no strangers to winter here in the warehouse. The big open warehouse with 12 foot tall windows, skylights, brick walls, and concrete floors. In fact we are like bitter, scornful brothers of the bastard season as we are forced to live in immediate proximity to it day and in and day out for 4 to 5 months out of the year. We played the game of balancing the quantity and intensity of space heaters in the studio with the frequency of breakers we were tripping in our fuse box. The morning routine includes rolling out of bed and quickly snuggling into a winter coat before leaving the bedroom. The studio was still warmer than the common area and so that was incentive to stay in there and keep working. Joe's writes parts that are no less than miniature guitar solos that he sometimes repeats and to watch him play them is to be very confused. Now, to watch him write them, alter them, and/or add to them is to be completely dumfounded, aggravated, and/or slipping in and out of consciousness. We could basically measure the time it took to finish a song in days. Somewhere around this time Tank and I found it best to leave Joe in the studio and pop our heads in now and then to see how things were going. A lot of times things were going like Joe bouncing up and down and playing jangly Operation Ivy songs on guitar and other times things were going like Joe curled up on a coat in the middle of the floor sleeping. And in between that recording Algernon Cadwallader songs. With the extra time on my hands I adopted a big puppy named Drake. He has proved to be very helpful around the studio. Say hi Drake. Moving onto the clean guitars was a welcomed milemarker and soon enough they were done.

At this point we were ready to take what we had on tape and dump it into the computer. Joe utilized connections he made when going to college to get us into Drexell University's studio to do this since they had a bigger and better digital interface which would save a lot of time and trouble. I could tell I was coming down with something flu-like so we went to our favorite nearby bar and got really really drunk. We celebrated how far we'd come and got the courage to think about how far we had to go. I had nightmares that night and woke up feeling like a trash can. We would have to put off doing vocals and move on to editing or adding axillary instruments. I wondered for the first time if we'd finish this recording before we left for tour.

Ladies and gentleman, and unexpected gift from old man winter; trash soup!

Shirt

2010-12-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

I just came across this blog on which our friend Duncan from Louisville spurts a little history about band shirts he has acquired over the years. A really neat idea since the best part of crappy DIY band-printed shirts is obviously the memories that follow them home from the show. Algernon Cadwallader made the top 12! I found the origins of our shirt particularly moving. Maybe because I was there to experience them too. Cool!

Recording Week 2 (Bass)

2010-12-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

Obviously Thanksgiving is the most deceptive of American holidays but I'll be darn'ed if I don't enjoy myself back at my mom's warm house cooking, drinking, eating, and watching movies all day. There is still the lingering feeling that we could be celebrating something better and honest.
And so there is Hanksgiving, where we give thanks to one of the greatest actors whose mug has ever graced the silver screen, Tom Hanks. This tradition started several years ago by friends of mine and we've been carrying the torch ever since. After a grueling week and a half of tracking drums we felt well deserved to relax, laugh, and get fat.

Feeling rejuvenated and anxious to move this recording along and comforted that we still had enough Dogfish Head 90 Minute to last us at least a few more days we entered the studio bright and early to attack the bass tracks. With plenty of heads and cabs to choose and not really being any good at reaching any sort of decision we set them all up at once to let them duel it out in the battle of the bass amps. At the end of the battle the winners were 2 mics on the Ampeg SVT through the Acoustic 405 2x15 for the punk rock high end as well as the doomy low end and a close mic'd Acoustic 450 head through a Peavey 2x15 to pick up the slack with it's punchy low-mids. We also learned to re-cone a speaker at this time. There's nothing like brand new strings on a freshly set-up bass to make you feel like your holding god's dick in your hands. And so we began knocking out tracks, backing up a few times for missed notes or fucked up rhythms. There's alway things that pop out of a song once you record it for the first time that you've never noticed while writing and practicing it. Moving at an increasingly fast pace the golden brew poured freely in and out of our pint glasses. By 1AM we had finished all the main tracks and the last couple were done in single takes, including a scorching Elvis Costello cover. That night we celebrated the virtual half way point.

The next morning or afternoon we found the studio and put bass on all the "B takes" of the songs just so we had options of which to use later on and then that was that. Bass done. Our beaming accomplishment was transient though as we all knew that the next peak we had to climb would be the most treacherous.

How to Write a Song with Peter & Craig

2010-12-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

Recording Week 1 (Drums)

2010-11-16T08:53:00.001-08:00

After a summer of writing, months of practicing, years of procrastinating and weeks of aggressive facial hair growth Algernon Cadwallader is finally back in the studio working on our 2nd full length album. I will be documenting this process here. This will be the first Algernon Cadwallader recording done from start to finish in our warehouse studio. More info on the studio and it's engineers can be found at headroomphiladelphia.blogspot.com. The studio is very comfortable and familiar to us which should ensure relaxed sessions and plenty of time to experiment (with drugs) but there is a looming fear of our sense of timing entering a black hole and the record taking way too long to record. We've set a mastering date we aim to keep it. Just about everything will be tracked to a 24 channel 2" tape machine and then dumped into the computer to mix and touch up.

First things first, the drums. We begin with brand new heads on everything, WD-40'ing and cleaning all the lugs along the way. The kit is a 60's Slingerland that Tank bought and restored. He then called every drummer he knew in the city asking to borrow their snare drums so we have options. Meanwhile Joe took his Guitar Center credit card to get us a nice pair of overhead microphones. Conveniently Guitar Center has an awesome return policy that allowed us 11 days with our new toys before we could return them without paying a dime. We have our first deadline. 11 days to track drums. With 13 or 14 songs to record we are confident this will be an ample amount of time. Drums are up and mic'ed and sounding great as ever. We got the fattest snare sound of all time. Like Fat Albert's stomach after doing crunches for a week straight and beat with a small child's arm. We track a song and agree that it doesn't exactly fit the style of the new jams. This decision turned into 3 long grueling full days of of hunting the perfect snare sound. Admittedly we panicked. We tried snare after snare with every combination of microphones we could think of. Hours and days passed and we weren't getting any closer. Our roommates who are an earshot away were giving us dirty looks and wouldn't give us any of their cookies. We took 1 step forward and 2 steps back until we finally made it all the way back to square one. Tank's Rogers snare with the almighty Shure SM-57 aimed for the center.

At this point Tank is sick as a dog and also under pressure to study for 2 nursing exams. We drink to relieve the stress which brightens our moods but hinders our productivity. Tracking is slow but we're happy with the results. It's the 5th or 6th day of recording, we've finally got things underway and we run out of tape. We get our tapes used from the infamous "The Studio" a few blocks away but they aren't picking up our phone calls. We lose another day and a half because we are tapeless. Eventually we get in touch and take a field trip over there. It's a comically amazing studio. Joe was drooling over their outboard gear that we've only seen replicas of in programs like Logic and ProTools. There is a 30 foot long hallway covered in platinum records that were cut there by some of our favorite artists like R Kelly and Boys II Men. The people there are super nice and it chronically reeks of weed smoke. Montez is on and off of the phone arranging a midnight session for Sean Kingston and Justin Beiber who are in town for the night. We buy 3 more tapes and get back to the warehouse. We finish all the songs for the record in the next day and a half as well as a couple other jams and a cover since we have everything set up. We wake up around noon the following afternoon and give everything a listen with fresh ears. It sounds good but brutal honestly prevails. Joe has sonic issues. I think tempos are off. Tank vents about school and taking his dogs out. We have about 5 hours left to return the overhead mics before we get charged for them. In less than high spirits we proceed to re-record just about every song. We fill up the last of the tapes with worthwhile takes, Joe returns the microphones in time, we sleep well and hard. Until next time...

Fest 9 Feelin' Fine

2010-11-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Photo: Chris Teti
The Fest is kind of like the bus from Speed. Once it's started there is no stopping or getting off until the end of the ride. It's always seems like it's on the verge of exploding and killing everyone in Gainesville. That's why we get there bright and early on the first day to soak up the November sun in the Fest pool at Holiday Inn. We all want to have a healthy smile and a little color on our face when we go out. Fest 9, our third Fest, was no exception. At the pool we were reunited with our buddies 1994! and Big Kids who left from Philly two weeks prior as well as a bunch of other awesome bands and people from around the globe we'd not seen for much longer. Around dusk we split up and wandered off to see some shows. We hopped on a warehouse show that started about 2 am and at 5 in the morning scrambled to the last unsanitary motel in town with a vacancy. Check out was at 11 so our rest was merely a necessity. We headed to Common Grounds where our real fest show was and where we would drink for free today. I liked seeing bands at the venue in previous years but I was not as stoked to be playing there. The stage is pretty big and there's less of the DIY vibe than at the Kickstand where we had played the last 2 years. Fortunately Annabel played before us, borrowed all of our stuff, and sounded amazing so I felt better about the lack lustre sound on stage. At the end of the night Joe was elated to hear he had drunk more band beer than anyone else at the show. We started our Sunday at the holy Reggae Shack with a delicious meal for 11. Joe went back to the pool and got wasted on cheap craft beers for 8 hours. Needless to say he was difficult to find when we finally were ready to make the drive back to Philadelphia after the last of the shows had ended. Some other sick band I was able to catch this year were the Max Levine Ensemble, Chinese Telephones, the Underground Railroad to Candyland, and the Catalyst. 18 hours later we pulled into the driveway and walked inside only to find a tapped keg and a group of friends gathering for our roommate Greg's birthday. The party never fucking stops.

2010-10-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

The holiday season is here once again when satan makes his way down your chimney shoot at night to leave you choclate and other treats and only asks for your worthless soul in return. Hazzah! Overcome by the holiday spirit fellow heathen, Greg Labold, and I created a soundtrack for your most desirable nightmares. It is horrific fun for all ages. Play it on your porch for trick-or-treaters or in your diy haunted house to scare the jeans off your hip to death friends. Hand screened and assembled packaging available for a limited time only. Get your copy today before they are OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! Only $4 postage paid via paypal to burntfoot@gmail.com or concealed cash to 1310 North 5th Street 2B Philadelphia, PA 19122. Don't be a scaredy cat!

The Fest Cometh!

2010-10-14T18:09:00.001-07:00

Right on time! Hope you will be joining us in Gainesville for Fest 9. There is a slew of great bands playing. Not to mention this is also in general just the funnest weekend of the year. Check Thefestfl.com for the list. Seriously, don't miss this shit. You will regret it for the rest of your short life. We'll be playing a couple shows on the way down the coast as well with some friends in DC and ATL. Sadly, we couldn't find the time to do more and we are hustling home afterwards to begin recording a new full length which will be finished come the new year. Then we will be back to playing shows on the regular. Keep an eye out for dates, especially if you're on the west coast!

Virginia Is For Lovers & So Is Ohio

2010-08-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

All you need is love... and Algernon Cadwallader. Pouncing at the opportunity to expand our maturing highbrow resume we accepeted our friends' surprising invitation to provide the live music for their wedding. With utmost respect we spent weeks whittling our raw energy into classy pop instrumentals for the event. We hand picked a few of our favorite love songs to cover and learned the Peanuts theme song which was to be the bride's music. With our best t-shirts on we headed to Virginia to create the soundtrack to the joining of Cory & Courtney Bise. These two sure know how to party and we are happy and thankful we were there to celebrate with them. We also couldn't help but throw up a few mics during our wedding band rehearsals to document these re-workings of our songs and some of them turned out alright. We had our friend Francis Quinlan of Hop Along come over to sing on one of them and it will be on a cassette compilation put together by the Long Island kids at Lifeonanisland.org sometime this summer.

We were also privileged enough to be invited to play this year's Berea Fest along with the likes of Delay, The Sidekicks, Good Luck, Tin Armor, Pink Houses, New Creases, and tons of other really amazing bands. Berea Fest was started 5 years ago by the Eilbeck brothers from Delay and friends to celebrate the vibrant scene going on in Berea, OH, a suburb of Cleveland. They no doubt inspired and captured the hearts of everyone who grew up in the scene there with them and when they made the move to Columbus unsurprisingly just about everyone followed. While the excitement continues in Columbus they still return to Berea each year to pay homage to the place where it all began. I shouldn't expect anything less from these guys but I was still overwhelmed at the amount of positivity at this fest. Everyone here was friends even if you'd just met. There were plenty of volunteers helping the fest run smoothly. Free food not only for the bands but for everyone at the show. Wholly a very fun, inspiring, and encouraging get together. Thanks to Ryan, Austin, and Pat!

Last night Tank made a special appearance on stage with one of our favorite bands from Texas. With Fergus & Geronimo already booked to play Philadelphia, and Chris and Daniel visiting for the weekend, it only made sense that we would force Teenage Cool Kids to play a short set as well. Sadly, Bradley couldn't make it but Tank stood up the plate and channeled his energy to give the kids what they want.

This weekend we are looking forward to being in Richmond for the 8th annual Best Friends Day. From what I've heard over the years it's about the closest you can get to being at Camp Nowhere... for punks. We are playing the Saturday afternoon show at Hadad's Palisades Waterpark with Off With Their Heads and Negative Approach. The rest of the weekend we'll be seeing Field Day, Propagandhi, Andrew WK and enjoying the company of best friends. Cool!

Some Thing Last A Long Time

2010-06-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Since this 7" was released in April of 2008, righteously re-born later that year and repressed again in 2009 I have screenprinted the front and back of about 1,300 of these. Not to mention the hundreds of spray painted CDRs that also wore screenprinted armor. There was the occasional helping hand from Be Happy Records CEO Craig Woods, fellow bandmates, and EJ, Scumhand of Grizzly Records. I am more than excited to say announce that the very last cover has been finally been printed. We now have the remaining 200 of these available for mailorder. This will be the final pressing of this old old record.

While we're on the subject of 7"s, here are a couple that also have branches on the Cadwallader family tree. The first, a split between Tank's solo project, Matt = Tank, and good buddies, J. Fox. When Tank broke his foot in the winter of 2008 he was limited in movement and unable to play drums for about 6 months. His dad bought him a ukulele so he could still play music during his recovery. He took to it like a little girl in a field of diamonds and pumped out about 20 catchy tunes before anyone could even ask him how it was going. Included on the record are a couple that I produced with him in the studio along with the help of plenty of friends. The J. Fox numbers are the best yet from this Philadlephia 3 piece. Bouncy indie rock jams that bring the party vibe.

There is a guy called Pat Fortenbaugh who comes from the most interesting and nightmarishly eclectic family I have ever met. He also happens to be one of the nicest people I've ever met and has a superior taste in music. He has led me to discover some of my favorite bands today. So one day he decides he will start to play the guitar and write songs too. What soon came out were wheel-barrels of the most honest and fun songs I've ever heard in my life. He has literally brought me to tears almost every time I have seen him play live. Tears of laughter and joy. I wanted to be a part of his music as much as I wanted everyone else to hear it so I convinced him to let me record a bunch of his songs and put out a split 7" with me. Here are 2 from each of us recorded in my mom's attic on 4 track back in 2005.

All of these are now available for $5 each, postage paid. See instructions to the right on how to order. You can also download the tracks here:

Algernon Cadwallader Demo
J. Fox/Matt = Tank
Peter the Pianoeater/The Pat Fortenbaugh One

Finally, we will be playing one of our only shows this summer (yea, it's hot so it's fucking summer) tomorrow with Snowing, Boyfriends, and For Serious This Time. It's going to be a scorcher!

Get Tazza'd!

2010-05-18T11:09:00.002-07:00

Our buddy Nick, original drummer of Algernon Cadwallader and current member of Ape Up, has been posting his own personal discography on Tumblr. The recordings range from officially released albums to demos, fun recordings, and practice tapes. There are some interesting projects you probably never heard of and some that never even saw the light of day. Some good, some bad, all worth stretching your ear hole at and getting a glimpse inside the mind of the man himself. Go ahead... get Tazza'd.

tazzography.tumblr.com

Busy Bees

2010-04-11T10:55:00.001-07:00

It is officially sunny in Philadelphia and there is a lot going on as we crawl out of our caves and shed our winter blankets. For one, it is time again for the spring music festivals. We spent last weekend in Harrisonburg, VA at MACRoCk. The fest is officially in its 13th year but was born again last year as it became autonomous from James Madison University giving it a new breath and humbleness. This year's line-up was regional to the surrounding states and focused on up-and-coming talent which made it full of surprises. Many bands came from Philadelphia, Richmond, Washington DC, and the Midwest. My favorite moments were with Monument, Field Day, Antlers, Boys & Sex (house show), and Cloud Nothings. Let me not forget to mention that MACRoCk is strategically plotted to go down on the single nicest weekend of the year. We love you MACRoCk.

Yesterday was the 32nd annual Human BBQ at the Pi Lam in West Philadelphia. The Pi Lam is a University of Pennsylvania "indie frat" that hosts awesome shows year-round including 2 Piece Fest. The Human BBQ offers an all day celebration of the arrival of spring with nearly 20 of Philadelphia's greatest bands, front yard grilling, and 18 kegs of delicious libations. You read that correctly. And we are not talking about Pabst or High Life. Dogfish Head, Dock St., Philadelphia Brewing Company, Sam Adams... the list goes on a needless to say we were excited to be a part of this. In addition to superior beer selection, the bands gathered to play this year's BBQ were a perfect compliment. Dangerous Ponies, Netherfriends, the Extraordinaries, Double Dagger, My Mind, and Amateur Party to name a few.

No reason to rub it in now except to turn you green and make you move to Philadelphia but, a few weeks ago we played a secret Paint It Black house show at the Terrordome. It was especially surprising since just a couple weeks prior the Terrordome had announced it's closing due to increasing publicity and police presence. Somehow this went off without a stitch and everyone who got there in time to fit into the house had an amazing experience. We are glad this house is still around.

While not playing shows or doing school work Tank has been restoring vintage drums that keep falling into his lap. This is a 60's Slingerland snare that I got a hold of years ago but never had parts for. He also did a similar 4 piece kit recently. Pictures soon. note: Sriracha was not used in the restoration.

Joe just finished recording the Boyfriends/Boys & Sex split has just begun the Snowing album. I am very excited about these as I am sure you are too. Ticklebutt is putting out the split towards the end of summer and the Snowing record will be released by Count Your Lucky Stars later in the year. I recently recorded a couple songs for Towers including a GG Allin cover. Won't tell you which one but they will be on a cassette single and you can pick it up on their July tour. Prepare to be offended. Band Name stopped by my bedroom to record a couple tracks on 4 track that will be on a split tape released by Eat A Book Records in the United Kingdom. They turned out very neat and feature the debut of Cat singing. Cool!

We had a very special blood sucking visitor in the warehouse the other day. I heard the excitement and high pitched shrieks of Danny from my room. When i came out to see what the hoopla was I found myself mimicking my roommates, darting our heads from side to side with our eyes fixed on this little vampire flying all over the place. We clapped and whistled and ducked every time this creature of the night made a pass at us. He terrorized our house for about 20 minutes until he found the open window. "I miss him already" Danny said.

Listening to Alex Kerns' Demo. A lot.

Mailgoat

2010-03-26T14:04:00.001-07:00

Got a big old package of goodies from our Japanese buddies today! Is that a CD of new recordings in there? I think so. You are jealous.

myspace.com/malegoat

Harvest of Hope

2010-03-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Fire ants! Probably the only thing resembling a bummer on our brief trip to paradise. St. Augustine in March is about as perfect as it gets. Nevermind the heavy rain and acres of mud on Friday. We were just glad to be out of Danny's station wagon after 17 hours. Joe was barefoot nearly all weekend. Tons of beer and whiskey helped too. That night I was making an emergency exit from the main stage where Dr. Dog set was cut short when I heard the sounds of Japanther coming from a nearby stage. They came late and were bumped to a late night slot. I remember stage diving and lots of mud and then waking up in our tent soaking wet and shivering in the middle of the night. As my drunk wore off and I could no longer stay asleep I prayed for sun. When prayers are answered it is customary to celebrate so we got right on that. Since Harvest of Hope Fest is a benefit we were basically paid in food and beer tickets. Thanks to everyone who came out to our show and made it worthwhile. Other highlights for us on Saturday were the Mercury Program, Good Luck, Anvil, and Billy Bragg who owned his audience and could have played much longer without anyone noticing. We left early Sunday morning so Joe could make it to work on Monday. Wouldn't have minded spending a couple more days or a week down there but the time we had was wonderful. Beats being locked up in this pharmaceutical laboratory!

Wild Wild Midwest Part 2

2010-03-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Our second winter voyage to the midwest began agonizingly like the first one had ended; at the Philadelphia airport car rental lot at 5 in the morning. We have still not found a reliable van worth our hard earned band money and so with this tour already booked and all called favors fallen short, we were forced to rent. Of course our reservations were screwed up and instead of the minivan we expected we ended up with the brand new 2010 luxury SUV you see pictured above. Fully loaded, we were equipped with On Star, a camera for backing up, and a keychain that could start the car from 100 yards away. An hour on the road and a food-poisoned Joe had already spit up out the window and all over the side of it. By the time we reached the first show we had already doubled the miles on this beauty. First up was Ferndale, Michigan at the No Bummer Zone on Leroy Street; headquarters of the aptly named Leroy St. Records. We received a friendly greeting from the most instantaneous of instant friends, Scott. The line-up was almost identical to our show in Michigan last month so I was aware the music was going to be top-notch but halfway through the show came the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed in DIY house show history. The back door swung open and in between the crashing waves of drunken boys and girls rode a knight in shining black polo shirt armor to deliver 20 pizzas! These were gone in a matter of minutes but the benevolent act of god bestowed an unprecedented sense of bliss that would send this show soaring into house show hall of fame.

TGIF and we are hanging out at the Monster House in Columbus, OH with Ryan and Austin from Delay and about 50 other awesome residents. This is a place that you visit and turn green with envy of everything they are accomplishing unless, of course, you are the type who is inspired and encouraged by that kind of scene. I desperately subscribe to the latter. The energy soared as the bands played beginning with the Ground Is Lava who were added as they arrived to enjoy the show and played on borrowed equipment. Steve from the Sidekicks killed it by himself while the rest of the band were held hostage in other parts of Ohio. The twins from Delay formed a 2 piece band called Lightning Yin-Yang to create unprejudiced music amplified through the guitars and drums they play. The result is an energetic and eclectic mix of pop punk, hardcore, and rock & roll. Carefully selected tape samples also enlightened their audience to a number of important topics. Lots of great conversation followed. In the morning we toured the town and ate falafel. I dearly missed this place as soon as we got on the highway.

It's pronounced loo-a-vill Kentucky or something like that. The important thing is that this is a home away from home and I was feeling awfully homesick. Rolling into town presented us with the problem of who to call first. We first located Jake Philly from Mountain Asleep who leaped into our moving 2 week old car and spilled coffee all over himself and the interior. Our show was at Skull Alley which is definitely the coolest venue in this part of the country. Jamie from Bright Skull Records opened this place and has been running it for about 2 years in memory of his younger brother. It has done wonders for a scene that definitely deserves it. This was our third show at the Alley and Wise Blood's first show. They sounded great and their Smashing Pumpkins cover of Zero sounded more like Ink & Dagger song. Mountain Asleep has gained a reputation and seeing them in their hometown was awesome. Rowdy sing-a-longs and crowd surfing were no stranger this room. They also played a number of new songs that were short and super sweet. And afterwards, you know there was pizza and you know there was beer. For the first time at Spinelli's, a local Philly style pizza place, we traded a CD for a pizza which is an offer open to all touring bands. Why did no one tell us this before! Alarm clocks woke us up much earlier than we would've liked from our drunken hibernation so we could make the 7 hour drive back to Pennsylvania.

We arrived in Johnstown just in time to load in and start playing. 709 Railroad is a cool community arts center that open a couple of years ago. Unfortunately we missed most of the bands and our visit was short but it was nice to get out of the car and stretch our legs before the last 3 hour drive home. The town has some creepy vibes and a guy in a gas station parking lot offered me to come "party" with him but I explained that we were on a tight schedule. Then I explained I didn't have 2 dollars for him either. We made it home safe and sadly waved goodbye to our favorite touring vehicle. Tank got some sleep before class and Joe blinked before he hopped on the train to go to work. No matter where our bodies ended up our minds would be elsewhere.

Algernon Comic & Thank God Jeremy Is Alive

2010-02-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Comic book artist, close friend, housemate, and drummer of Band Name Gregory Labold recently illustrated our likeness' during a 24 hour comic project (which he does every Monday). You may recognize his style. He also created the 8 page coloring book that comes inside our Fun 7". Hop on over to his blog Bald Spot Comics to see more rad comics. It's updated bi-weekly. By the way, this was done at the Little Lungs show at the Terrordome on February 1st if anyone's interested. See yourself in the crowd?

In other Band Name news, close friend, housemate, artist, and singer/guitarist of Band Name Jeremy Gecker was in an accident late Monday night. He suffered 3 broken ribs, damaged a few vertabrae, and punctured his lungs and liver. He is finally out of the Intensive Care Unit and on the slow track to a complete recovery. For those who know Jeremy, you know he is as good a dude as there ever was. If you want to send him get well wishes I'm sure they will be delightfully recieved at jeremyjams@gmail.com. To spare him the burden and avoid going into too much detail here if you have any further questions about the accident get in touch with me and I'll fill you in.

Jeremy's Blog: jeremyjams.blogspot.com
Band Name Myspace: myspace.com/bandnameb4tv

On the Road with 1994 & Welcome to this Blog

2010-02-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

A great man once said "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times". He was of course referring to when Algernon Cadwallader leaves home for any amount of time to go on tour.

We recently went on a 4 day graduated weekend with our Pennsylvania buddies, 1994 from Lancaster. Boy, was it a blast and boy, did we run into some trouble. The shows we made it to, which were Cleveland, Chicago, and Kalamazoo were basement stuffed sweaty good times. Even during this modern ice age and in the heart of the midwest. The Strangelight in Chicago, where we played with Grown Ups and Castavet, somehow welcomed hundreds of people into it's bowels. This is definitely one of the most impressive and well organized house venues I've had the pleasure of visiting in my years of touring. Unfortunately I woke up the next morning and found myself wondering why Milwaukee Ave looked different then it had the night before. It was because our 4 passenger mini-van with turtle-top had been towed off of it. Our host overheard our lament and graciously leapt to action to get our buggy back. Thanks Matt. Pizza!

Onward to Kalamazoo where Chris from '94 said he knew the moment we walked through the door at the Deer Blood House that we would not be falling asleep sober that night. He was right. I think. It seemed that way in the morning anyhow. Slowly we maneuvered our bodies out of the crevices of couches and into a nearby diner to replenish ourselves on glorified garbage plates. Feeling 80% we started driving towards Pittsburgh. 10 minutes into the drive it was clear the Grand Voyager was still hungover. It shat and pissed liquids, smoked, and sputtered to a hault in a Shell station parking lot. On Super Bowl Sunday. Luckily we had made friends with the boys from The Reptilian who generously put us up and made us feel very comfortable in their house. Yes, we drank our worries away but no amount of 90 Minutes or Breakfast Stouts was going to resurrect our once golden chariot. With the transmission shot amongst other things we cut our losses, scrapped the motherfucker, and rented a van for our 12 hour drive home. We arrived to the 27 inches of white snow we heard Philadelphia had landed while we were away.

I really can't stress enough how much fun we had and how successful we all felt the weekend had still been. You can't let a little rain get you down. Only a couple of weeks prior in upstate New York we'd had our van cavity searched by 5 police officers and 1 dog for 2 hours (nothing found) and hydroplaned into a concrete highway median. So I guess we are used to these kinds of bumps in the road. Thanks to everyone who helps make them bearable! We can't wait to get our new car and continue speeding into disaster.

So, we are starting this blog to document our adventures and keep you up to date on what the band is doing. Our website expired and was bought by crazy porn distributors and myspace is an eye sore. You can consider this the our official internet identity. I hope that it will be informative and enjoyable. Thanks for reading!