Hi everybody! We are currently in Buffalo, my home away from hometown… Sitting in Spot Coffee drinking some chamomile tea because my voice is kind of wrecked. Over the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about my voice a lot, and how to better take care of it so that I don’t lose it half way through a tour. Back when I was in Needle Up, it seems as though I lost my voice every other day. Despite all that, tour has been a lot of fun. The Bar4 show in Brooklyn was killer, and I got to see a lot of familiar faces. My friends Ariel and Erick let us crash their beautiful apartment, and we brunched like kings and queens the next day.

We then headed to Seneca Lake. Patrick’s family has a beautiful home near the lake and they offered it to us for a couple of days. It was a really great way to spend a couple days on tour… On the way, we got to listen to some really great mix CDs that William Holloway made.

On Monday, we played Boulder Coffee Co. in Rochester to a very, well, intimate group. Regardless, it was a great show. My brother and aunt came, and my old friend Sara was there as well… In addition, we got to share the stage with the talented Andrea Dodge, who I have known for years.

After Rochester, we took a day off an hung out on Seneca Lake. We had a really great time wine tasting, whiskey drinking, making lots of bacon, and watching reality TV. I heard the term ‘honey hole’ more times than I care to admit.

Then, it got a little shitty… On Wednesday, our show in Philadelphia was cancelled. It was beyond our control and we were super sad about it, but then we realized that it was Alex’s birthday and maybe it was kind of a blessing in disguise. So, we drank some more, ate more bacon, and switched from watching American Pickers to Pawn Stars. We finished off the day with a bonfire.

Yesterday, we trekked to Fredonia – my old stomping ground – to play during the Diversity concert. There were student performers (choirs, jazz ensembles, poets, and one other band) and we closed out the show. This was the space we performed in:

Biggest stage so far. We looked really tiny. Also, because it was a recital hall and it was acoustically perfect in terms of room design, it also meant that any set-up that had amplification was probably going to be a little weird. I’m not sure how we sounded in the space, but the students were really into it and at least it was a pretty space…

Tonight, we are in Buffalo. Apparently, so is Morrissey. How the hell can I compete with that? Perhaps I’ll play a Smiths cover in good sport…

ever so, Joseph

Tonight we are playing Bar4 in Brooklyn (444 7th Ave.) at 8pm on the dot… I will write another blog after that show… I’m really going to try to keep up on things, because I care, and I’m not going to be scared of blogging any more, but just in case that’s a total lie, here’s a run-down of the rest of our tour:

Saturday 10/13 @ Bar4 in Brooklyn, NY (444 7th Ave.) – 8pm SHARP – Free

Monday 10/15 @ Boulder Coffee Co. in Rochester (100 Alexander St.) – 7pm – Free

Wednesday 10/17 @ Mt. Thrashmore in Philadelphia, PA (5461 Pine St.) – 7pm – $5 suggested donation

Thursday 10/18 @ Fredonia State in Fredonia, NY (Rosch Recital Hall – 92 Brigham Rd.) – 7pm – Ticket required but free

Friday 10/19 @ The Vault in Buffalo, NY (702 Main St.) – 8pm – Unsure of cost

Saturday 10/20 @ Alfred University in Alfred, NY (Powell Knight Club – 1 Saxon Dr.) – 10pm – Free

Sunday 10/21 @ Metro Gallery in Baltimore, MD (1700 N. Charles St.) – 8pm – $7

I hope to see some more of your faces out at these shows. If last night’s turn-out was any indication of how tour is going to go, I’m pretty excited! Keep your powder dry and your pickles fresh. Ever so, Joseph

It’s currently up on bandcamp as a free download, so have at it!

The most exciting part of this whole thing is the fact that I have a MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE SONG!!! It will be released on August 7th, and I must say, it is a great video. I’m super honored to have worked with the very talented William Holloway to create such a great visual for my crazy soundscape.

The concept for the video started very simple. A young man gets up in the morning and goes about his daily routine. He gets out of bed, brushes his teeth, takes a shower, sings while staring in a mirror, eats his breakfast, and then heads out of the house… Only this guy has a little extra baggage. I’d like to give a special shout out to Michelle Clesse for the great costume!!!

The thought behind this video was to make visible some of the unseen burdens we place on ourselves, expectations we place on others, and the disappointment that occurs when we can’t set our burdens down or let go of expectations. There’s more to it than that, but I’ll leave the rest of it up to your imaginations… The video ends in an eruption of back-alley craziness, as every music video should.

Be on the lookout for the “Garbage” video on August 7th! We will be releasing it on the website so check back then!