oh man you're in for a treat...
as great as Ted's records are, live is where he shines best

OH ORLANDO, SO MUCH TO ANSWER FOR...
I just got a call from someone I don't know in the Tampa area that I thankfully didn't answer. In the message he left, he suggested that I owe him $20 because we only played 4 songs when he came to see us open up for Death Cab last year at the arena in Orlando. This isn't the first time that this idea has been proffered by a disgruntled fan. Frankly, I think it's ridiculous, but that's me. What the people who have complained to me don't seem to take into account is that:
1. I had an obvious sinus infection - obvious from the blood that I was blowing out of my nose in between each song.
2. The sinus infection was obviously causing me to lose my voice - obvious from the fact that by the end of the third song, I had lost my voice.
3. The song we chose to play for the fourth one, AFTER my voice was completely gone, I might add, was "The Ballad of the Sin Eater," which, as anyone who had heard before or heard for the first time that night could tell you, is an all-out aggressive, long, screaming, energetic song that obviously takes more out of me than I usually have to give - obvious from the fact that I'm usually lying on the stage in a puddle of sweat and sometimes blood, sucking wind, by the time it's over.
4. By the time the particular rendition of this song was over that night, I was bloody and had apparently smashed my guitar at some point (I can't honestly say I remember doing that, but the proof was in the splinters on the stage at the end), and managed to STUMBLE off the stage, sucking wind.
And 5. since we only had a half-hour set as openers for Death Cab for Cutie, we were generally only able to squeeze about 8 songs in WITHOUT "The Ballad of the Sin Eater," which, as I mentioned, is long, so we actually probably wound up using the majority of our time on those four songs anyway.
Now, some people might think that they got robbed, but what can I say to that? I think they got a pretty good example of just how far we're willing to go to make sure that people DON'T feel robbed. We play Tampa and Orlando all the time - our own headlining shows that are cheaper, more intimate and longer, and we've been doing so for years; AND, if I remember correctly, Death Cab, who were the HEADLINERS, remember, played a good solid full set that night. But beyond that - it pains me to have to say this, but - an actual human being on stage making music can sometimes get hurt - can sometimes have some things go wrong - and you know, this ain't an attraction at Disney World, kids - it's fucking Punk Rock. Deal with it. And if you really think you still deserve your money back, I'll figure out what percentage of your ticket price actually got paid to us, and I will gladly give it back to you.
Start sending the e-mails now, because once we go through Orlando again, the offer is rescinded...

yeah i'm going to see him when he goes detroit way. nice small venue. i wish he'd tour with more than a 3 piece though

26 Feb 2007

ATTENTION: SECRET SHOW CANCELLED!
That means if you bought tickets with a credit card online, you can get a refund through the same outlet.
I feel terrible about doing this everybody, but I also just feel terrible... I guess I should start by spilling the beans on the "secret" show. So, we whipped up this idea about a week and a half ago, to add a small unannounced show in New York because we've been practicing with a former Pharmacist, who's recently come back to the fold, and we figured it'd be a good way to get some more "road testing" in, since we don't have any shows other than Noise Pop between now and when we tour for real at the end of next month. His name is James Canty, and if you don't know him from The Nation of Ulysses, The Make Up, Cupid Car Club, French Toast, or Dust Galaxy, then let's be honest - chances are you probably won't know him from his pre-Hearts of Oak position as second guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist in the Pharmacists, because you probably never saw the Pharmacists pre-Hearts of Oak. But putting that aside for the moment, it should be mentioned as an "in fact..." here, that a few Hearts of Oak songs were first bashed out while James was still playing with us, and indeed, some of them took shape in his very own basement in DC, in the very same house that I once lived as well. So we've been practicing with James again, and it's been great, but there's nothing like getting on stage to work it out, to help you, uh... work it out. So with that in mind we went looking for a show that we could play unannounced, hence the fake name, "The Sons of Cain."

Looks like there is going to be a second guitarist on this tour...?

Can someone link me a freebie or two of Ted and Co.? Pretty please!