NOPAYNE

New York

2010-05-13T11:27:00.015-04:00

R.I.P | Guru

2010-04-20T22:06:00.005-04:00

WTF?! Should I just turn the blog into an obituary?

I have a deep love for music. All kinds. All genres (for the most part). I don't discriminate. If I sense something unique, genuine or real I tend to gravitate to it. That goes for rap music as well. A lot of it I don't like, but every so often something comes along with a deeper message embedded in the rhymes, something with substance that goes beyond bragging about meaningless material things. Guru had this gift. Back in the day I went through a phase that heavily involved Gang Starr. This track in particular I listened to many times. It seems quite fitting today.

R.I.P.

2010-04-11T09:35:00.010-04:00

Really promising band I've been into lately, HTRK. The heart of their sound, bassist Sean Stewart, took his own life a few weeks ago. This is sadly becoming a common thing amongst some great musicians lately. I guess we will never truly know why.

MP3: HTRK - Fascinator (via unpiano)

Snowden | Slow Soft Syrup EP

2010-03-15T13:35:00.003-04:00

New Snowden music. Just a taste of what's to come. You can download the EP for free at www.noisetrade.com/snowden. Thanks to everyone for being so patient and showing support. Hope all the ATLiens can make it out to The Earl tomorrow night for the show.

RIP

2010-03-12T14:53:00.003-05:00

Morning Benders

2010-02-15T12:43:00.002-05:00

Really love this clip.

When Your 15

2009-11-16T12:25:00.003-05:00

My girlfriend's six year old niece asked her if I could write some music to go along with some lyrics she penned. That's right, she's SIX years old, but apparently writing songs from the perspective of a 15 year old!? Needless to say, I think we have a future pop diva in the making on our hands. Click the pic to enlarge.

Musicvision | Phoenix

2009-10-22T13:39:00.003-04:00

An interesting look at some of Phoenix's favorite records, as told by them.

IDM Kid

2009-09-09T10:09:00.001-04:00

Hellhole Ratrace

2009-07-16T18:31:00.002-04:00

Just became aware of Girls (the band) from San Francisco. This song has been on repeat ever since. Looking forward to their full length when it comes out in Sept. Definitely worth checking out.

MP3: Girls - "Hellhole Ratrace"

Cat Power

2009-07-13T10:35:00.003-04:00

Saw Cat Power at The Earl here in Atlanta last night. It was like night and day from the first time I saw her perform at The Earl years ago. It was a Thanksgiving day show in 2001. She was a mess. She set up her amp on the floor in the middle of the room and sat next to it on a chair. There was one other guitar player to accompany her on some of the songs. By the end of the night she was berating him badly for the way his guitar sounded and he eventually got up and left. She stopped and started songs, mumbled into the mic and barely looked up and faced the crowd all night. Her hair was intentionally long and covering her face the entire show. The room was half full and had emptied out considerably by the time she was done torturing herself. As much as I loved the covers record she had put out around that time, it was painful to watch.

Cut to last night and it's like watching a completely different person. She's still quirky when she sings, but she has taken her craft to a whole other level. Her vocals sounded amazing and the band she has backing her now is one of the tightest group of musicians I have ever seen perform live. It was like getting a crash course in the power of restraint. It's obvious those dudes can play their instruments along with the best of them, but the bulk of the night was just them looking at each other and grooving on simple tight flourishes of sound that were the perfect back drop for her vocals. The drummer in particular was playing so simple and quiet in some moments, mostly with brushes, then out of no where would come a loud crack of the snare as the band would amp up the sound. It was really powerful to watch. The sound in The Earl was flawless too. Every sound was in its right place. There were many great moments, but I was especially blown away by a very raw stripped down rendition of Fortunate Son by CCR. Overall, I came away with the feeling that I had just witnessed a performance by an artist who will most likely be looked back on years from now and be held in the same regard as singers like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, etc. I was glad I got to witness it up close, and in such a small intimate setting as The Earl.

Sand Painting Amazingness

2009-07-08T11:37:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty much blown away by this...

No Words No More

2009-07-01T13:43:00.002-04:00

Over at the Snowden myspace page we're streaming the Love & Rockets cover we did for the upcoming tribute album I mentioned a couple posts down. The song is called No Words No More. Jordan basically just took the lyrics and made up a whole new song. Hope ya'll like it.

Snowden @ The Earl Friday

2009-06-29T14:29:00.002-04:00

Snowden On Twitter

2009-06-15T11:14:00.004-04:00

www.twitter.com/SnowdenMusic

Ya'll should twitter dat.

Love & Rockets Tribute Album

2009-06-03T12:14:00.005-04:00

Snowden has a track on an upcoming Love & Rockets tribute album along side Frank Black, Flaming Lips, A Place To Bury Strangers, Dandy Warhols, Film School and others. Here's a snippet from the Pitchfork post today...

In the mid-80s, Love and Rockets rose from the ashes of goth overlords Bauhaus and put a stamp on their own brand of scuzzy alt rock that would go on to influence everyone from the Pixies to Stone Temple Pilots. And now some of those in debt are paying it back with a tribute album dedicated to their cult heroes, due July 28 digitally and August 18 physically via Arsenal Rock N Roll/Justice.

New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets:

01 Black Francis: "All in My Mind"
02 Puscifer: "Holiday on the Moon"
03 War Tapes: "Love Me"
04 Blaqk Audio: "No New Tale to Tell"
05 Dubfire: "I Feel Speed"
06 The Dandy Warhols: "Inside the Outside"
07 The Flaming Lips: "Kundalini Express"
08 Sweethead: "Life in Laralay"
09 Film School: "An American Dream"
10 A Place to Bury Strangers: "The Light"
11 Monster Magnet vs Adrian Young: "Mirror People"
12 The Stone Foxes: "Fever"
13 Frankenstein 3000: "No Big Deal"
14 VEX: "It Could Be Sunshine"
15 Better Than Ezra: "So Alive"
16 Chantal Claret vs Adrian Young: "Lazy"
17 Ian Moore: "Sweet F.A."
18 Snowden: "No Words No More"

Stop Your Bleeding Typography Video

2009-04-13T11:20:00.002-04:00

Here's another really well done fan video for Stop Your Bleeding. It's kinetic typography based around the lyrics. Very clever.

So Right & So Wrong

2009-04-10T12:42:00.011-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. The blog might seem dead from time to time, but it will always come back to life at some point. Here's a post for all the recording geeks out there (probably disregard this if you're not one). For those unaware of Tape Op, it's an excellent magazine which features interviews with a wide range of producers and engineers discussing the various projects they've worked on, different recording techniques they use, how their studios are setup, etc. Tape Op is absolutely FREE to subscribe to. Just go to their website to register and soon enough each new issue will start showing up in your mailbox. Very cool. I recommend it highly.

Anyway, the current issue has a fascinating interview with Sufjan Stevens that has sparked an interesting dialog or two online. He describes how he used dated gear and cheap mics to produce his albums, such as recording Michigan and Illinois on an old digital eight track machine, setting it to a lower bit rate setting because he didn't know what the button was for, painstakingly overdubbing drum parts by eye, etc. Basically, he does everything opposite of how a seasoned producer would approach recording, but is able to produce very big / lush sounding records. It's a really great interview if you're into that sort of thing. Hopefully I won't get in trouble for posting this, but here it is for those interested. Enjoy. (click the images)

New Snowden Tour Video

2009-03-04T00:05:00.002-05:00

I finally got around to editing down some home movie footage from our last tour into another silly little video clip. All this is from our east coast tour this past December with Twin Tigers from Athens. It's pretty random. The highlight for us was the stop we made in Jacksonville, FL at Chandler's Grandfather Ceylon's house. He had a large property with an eclectic array of stuff, and orange trees all over the place that he let us pick fruit from to load up our van with. He also showcased Foundation Hospital Train, one of the many songs he has recently penned. Did I mention he is in his 90's! For the soundtrack I sprinkled in some bits and pieces of unreleased Snowden demos that may (or may not) be on the next record. Ha. Enjoy.

Kittens Inspired By Kittens

2009-02-15T11:28:00.002-05:00

Counterfeit Time Lapse Video

2009-01-26T16:53:00.003-05:00

I just came across this video on vimeo that was posted a while back, but this is the first time it's come to my attention. Two brothers took a road trip from Chicago to Orlando and made a time lapse video out of over 9,500 pictures and set it to our song Counterfeit Rules. I have to say, this is probably cooler than any video we could have come up with on our own for this song. It's an awesome concept and I think the Snowden track complements it really well. Check it out...

Bella

2009-01-12T10:46:00.005-05:00

Sorry things have been quiet on the blog front lately. The past few weeks of my life have been consumed by the adorable little one in the photos below. Her name is Bella and my girlfriend and I unexpectedly inherited her over the holidays. She's a handful, but she's already melted our hearts and become a big hit at the puppy park at Piedmont Park here in Atlanta (and anywhere else we take her).

In Snowden news, there's another new song Jordan just finished (really good one) and now we're about to start shopping some demos around. The whole album is basically written and now we're just looking for the right option in regards to releasing it. I know it's taking a long time to come out, but we didn't want to rush this one. The sound has evolved quite a bit with this batch of songs and I think people will dig it. Thanks to everyone for havining patience. New music from Snowden will definitely drop this year!

Photos From The Tour

2008-12-18T22:40:00.005-05:00

So we made it back from our recent tour unscathed, except for a few parking tickets and one whopping speeding ticket that was completely bogus and only given to us because we had out of state plates. Don't believe me? Read about this little trap that we fell into and make sure you never drive this stretch of FL unless you have FL plates. Jordan is the most cautious driver of the whole band and he was following all the visible speed limit signs. This blatant abuse of authority is probably going to jack up his insurance rates, not to mention the ridiculous amount of money the ticket ended up being. A real bummer.

There were also positive moments in FL though. In Jacksonville we got to meet Chandler's 90 year old grandfather Ceylon! He gave us a grand tour of his estate and let us pick an assortment of fresh fruit right off the trees in his backyard. He also let us preview some of his own unique musical endeavors. I have a whole segment of video footage from our visit with Ceylon that will definitely be part of the next little tour video I'm putting together. Jordan's mom Isabel took us out for a wonderful lunch on the water somewhere near Tampa, and the folks at the Bottletree in Birmingham really know how to take care of bands. Many thanks to them. It was also great touring around and hanging out with Twin Tigers. They're a crazy crew but definitely a lot of fun. Once I have time to go through all the video footage I took I'll post another one of my little tour vids. It should be a good one. Bye for now.

Licorice EP

2008-12-14T19:48:00.003-05:00

Although these tracks are a few years old now, I think they are still worth posting for the holidays. It's a Snowden twist on some classic Christmas songs of the past and one acoustic original. Feel free to post these all over the web and spread the gloomy cheer.

LICORICE EP DOWNLOAD:

1. White Christmas
2. Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
3. Christmas Time Is Here
4. China Light

Screening T's For The Road

2008-12-02T16:18:00.013-05:00

We're technically already on the road now, but I took these pics last week of us being all "diy" and screening our own shirts to sell on the tour. The show Saturday night at The Earl was really great and it was cool to see so many familiar faces out. Thanks so much to everyone that came out. We're in DC tonight and NYC the next couple nights after that. Check the dates and come out if you wanna hear some of our new jams.

Snowden @ The Earl Saturday Night

2008-11-28T14:26:00.002-05:00

This is most likely our final local show of the year and we plan on unleashing a lot of new material. If you're in town for the holidays and have nothing to do Saturday night come out to The Earl and hopefully we can make it worth your while. The openers should be good too. Abby Go Go sound great from what I've heard online. I'm looking forward to checking them out live. It should be a fun night all around. Hope ya'll can make it out.

Meteor Over Edmonton

2008-11-25T13:33:00.002-05:00

Wow.

SwitchBurn Snowden Live Vids

2008-11-20T14:01:00.005-05:00

This is pretty cool. A while back I made a post about some live videos the folks at SwitchBurn had put together from a show we played in Austin a while back. They have been kind enough to post five more videos from that show, including three new songs that we've been playing live recently. These all turned out really great and I can't say thanks enough to Shawn and the whole crew involved with SwitchBurn for making these available. Definitely check out their site when you have some time. Here are the links to the new Snowden vids:

Candy For Eveyone
Keep Quiet
So Red
Innocent Heathen
Filler Is Wasted

Cheeze

2008-11-19T13:16:00.004-05:00

A Saturday in ATL

2008-11-18T12:38:00.010-05:00

We played a show this past Saturday at the Atlanta Downhill Challenge soap box derby thing. Unfortunately, there was a bad accident during one of the races. More details here. Apparently the guy is going to fully recover. That's good to hear. A paypal donation page has been setup here. I didn't take many pics. Here are some good ones on flickr though. The show itself was a bit weird. We were last to play, way after the racing had ended, and we followed a band that dressed up as mummies and played funk songs. They also showed up in a full tour bus with a trailer in tow. Go figure.

Mini Hummer! He actually fit inside that thing. Coolest one all day in my book.

Jordan gets down to the mummy funk.

BMI interviews us in the mens restroom after the show.

photo via BMI

Chandler drives off into the night.

The Bookhouse Pub.

Yum.

Snowden Holiday Tour

2008-11-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

Tis the season for us to tour around and stuff. We'll be doing a short east coast run in December with our Athens buds Twin Tigers. We'll be trying out some new material and visiting some cities we've never played before, so spread the word to your whole posse. Here are the dates...

Nov 29 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl (w/ Abby Go Go | Carnivores)
Dec 1 - Raleigh, NC @ Duke University
Dec 2 - Washington, DC @ DC9
Dec 3 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Dec 4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw
Dec 6 - Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox Laundro Lounge
Dec 8 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Dec 9 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
Dec 10 - Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
Dec 11 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Respectable Street
Dec 13 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree

(all dates w/ Twin Tigers except the first two)

History

2008-11-05T12:21:00.004-05:00

Drowned In Sound

2008-11-04T11:48:00.004-05:00

Jordan talks politics with UK's Drowned In Sound on election day. Read it here, and as if you haven't heard it enough already... go vote please.

Vote!

2008-11-02T15:10:00.003-05:00

America... Let's take a look back at some of the finer moments of the person you chose to run the country for the past eight years. As you're watching think to yourself which one of the current presidential candidates represents a new direction from this absurdity, which candidate has kept a clear and level head throughout their campaign, without making sporadic decisions or using negative ads that play into the fears of ignorance, which candidate carefully chose a qualified running mate for vice president, and would probably do the same when it comes time to fill cabinet positions? I could keep on going like this, but the choice already seems quite clear to me. I hope it does to you as well. Please go vote Tuesday, and lets make history... one that we can actually be proud of this time.

Boo!

2008-10-28T15:27:00.010-04:00

It's been quiet on the blog front here lately. I'll try to post more soon. In Snowden news, we have a small east coast tour coming up in December with Twin Tigers. I'll post more about that when all the dates are finalized. Check the dates confirmed so far here.

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Here's the sound of a scream that's probably buried deep inside your subconscious mind and you don't even know it.

MP3: Evangelicals - The Halloween Song (via Ohmpark)

A Weekend In NYC

2008-10-15T14:55:00.022-04:00

click here to see how she would use that experience

Snowden @ Atlanta Downhill Challenge

2008-10-09T14:29:00.007-04:00

We're going to be performing Nov. 15 at the Starlight Drive-In as part of the annual Atlanta Downhill Challenge festivities. What is the Atlanta Downhill Challenge? It's a kick ass soapbox derby!! Yes. We're headlining the BMI stage, where a bunch of other bands will be performing throughout the day also. The whole thing goes from 12-6pm, and we go on around 5pm. Apparently last year drew over 3,000 people. It seems like a pretty cool way to spend a Saturday. For a great set of photos from last year check out this flickr set.

FAQ from the downhill myspace:

1) Are we making our own go karts with lawnmowers and shit/ renting them? going to a place? low-tech and crazy?
yes... you can use anything you want to build your cart but it just has to be built by your team. No Motor Vehicles.
2) Oooh oooh can we have like PIT CREW and stuff?
I want you to have a pit crew...if needed, cheerleaders and more.
3) Can we still race if we are over 250 lbs?
Yes, but the judges will take that to heart.
4) What time do I need to be there?
Please be there at 10:00am every year to check in your cart.

Photo via flickr

Free Album | Long Knives

2008-09-26T14:31:00.005-04:00

Long Knives is one of my favorite undiscovered gems in the ocean of Atlanta bands. The man behind the music, Michael Kane, is celebrating his birthday today by giving away their record for free. If you're into stuff like Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes, Will Oldham, Elliott Smith, etc. you will probably really like this. In my opinion this guy is one of the best songwriters in this genre around Atlanta, and it's a crime that he isn't getting more attention. If you like what you hear spread the word.

DOWNLOAD: Long Knives - Long Knives

Monolith Recap

2008-09-19T14:11:00.010-04:00

photo: Laurie Scavo

Our trip/show at the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks last weekend was a lot of fun. In the chaos of packing and moving things from one backpack to another at the last minute I forgot my camera though, which I didn't realize until we were at the airport. I had planned on taking a lot of pics and vids, so I was pretty bummed about that. If you want to see some photos though, the Denver Post's Reverb blog posted some great pics and coverage from both days. Check them out here: Day 1 & Day 2. No picture can really convey how breathtaking the view/scenery is around Red Rocks though. The amount of work that must have went into carving out an amazing open air music venue in the side of those mountains is quite impressive. Of all the outdoor concerts I've ever seen this is by far the best place I've ever been to see an outdoor show.

The festival organizers were really nice and made sure we were taken care of. They provided us with a driver who picked us up at the airport and shuttled us back and forth from our hotel to the festival. Although our show was on Sunday, we arrived on Saturday to enjoy the festival and hang out. When we got there mid afternoon we went to get our credentials and immediately run into some of our buds from Colour Revolt who had just played earlier in the day. It was great to see those guys. They haven't really stopped touring since we came off a tour with them back in May and they did look a bit worn down from the road. Once we got our artist laminents and wristbands we aquianted ourselves with the layout of the festival grounds and found the artists tent where they were providing free food and drinks all day long. It was a nice little tent with tables setup inside and out with some sofas scattered around too.

Throughout the day I just walked around and checked out some bands and took in the scenery. It was a lot of fun. The first band I saw was Cut Copy, who really had the crowd bouncing. They ended their last song abruptly though after being told they were out of time by the stage crew. They seemed pretty pissed, as did the crowd. Ouch. Next up I saw A Place To Bury Strangers, who were playing at one of the underground indoor stages. They were fun, but loud. During the last song an extra wave of feedback was unleashed on the unsuspecting crowd and quickly cleared half the room, myself included. I caught some of Vampire Weekend's set. I can't really hate on them, which seems to be the hip thing to do lately. Their tunes were an ok way to take in the sun setting around the mountains. Watched a bit of Del The Funky Homosapien, who was sitting next to us and Colour Revolt in the artist tent for a while wearing headphones and banging out some beats on his laptop. Seemed like a cool dude. Walked in and out of some sets by other bands that I didn't know. Some good, some not. It started getting cold and rainy that night and of course we didn't pack accordingly. We ended up heading back to the hotel with Colour Revolt who crashed on our floor and watched the ridiculous Bear Grylls eat all sorts of insane things before crashing out.

We woke up early and enjoyed a La Quinta breakfast with Colour Revolt, who had to drive out early for a show that night in Witchita. Around noon our driver picked us up and we got to the festival to load in the little gear that we brought with us. Luckily they had a great backline with nice amps and stuff. It was weird being there that early. People were just starting to show up. Our show wasn't until a little later that day, so we just enjoyed some food and drinks in the artists tent until we played. The show went great. We just had a 30 minute set, so we banged out all the hits and a new song too. The crowd was great and we ended up selling a bunch of Snowden merch and signing autographs and stuff. Saw a bunch of bands throughout the rest of the day. Tilly And The Wall were a lot of fun. The Whigs had a huge crowd going nuts at one of the indoor stages. The Kills bad mouthed the stage crew and generally came across like they were pissed off about having to be there. Handsome Furs were supposed to play after us, but apparently couldn't get across the Canadian border. There was talk thoughout the day that TV On The Radio's bus broke down in Salt Lake City, but they rented cars and made it just in time for their set that night. It was great seeing them at Red Rocks. Last time I saw them was years ago at the old Lenny's on a Thanksgiving night after their first EP came out. There was maybe 30 people tops at that show. This show had a slightly larger crowd. :)

Even though they were plauged with some technical problems, the one act that seemed to sound the biggest at the whole festival was Justice. They closed out the festival Sunday night and were the only act that seemed to make full use of the mammoth soundsystem on the main stage. Throughout the festival when I was towards the back of the amphitheater watching bands on the main stage the sound would tend to get muffled and muddy, as is the case with many large outdoor concerts, but towards the back when Justice was on the sound was crystal clear. They seem to have mastered the art of making those huge soundsytems work to their advantage.

We actually got to share a van ride back to the airport with Justice the next morning, as our flights were both leaving around the same time. They are by far the nicest people we met all weekend. Xavier in particular was very chatty and talked to us about differences in NYC and Paris, diffrent recording software he uses, a big name artist they produced but later backed out on and other random bits of small talk. Throughout the festival in the artists tent we hung out in there were many bands hanging out that I didn't even know who they were but were acting like they were the coolest thing on the planet, and then there's Justice, the actual biggest act of the whole festival, and they turn out to be the most down to earth people we meet all weekend. After we got out of the van at the airport I thought they had already walked off as I was unloading our stuff from the back, but then I turn around and Xavier was just standing there waiting for me to finish so he could shake my hand and say bye before going off to catch their plane. What a cool dude, and how refreshing to see a band at their level who haven't let it all go to their heads. It was a nice ending to a great weekend at Red Rocks.

Snowden In The Studio Vid

2008-08-27T15:39:00.002-04:00

Here's another little clip I made. I'm getting quite proficient in iMovie now. This is by no means footage of us recording our next album. We've just been trying out some stuff in different studios around town to see if anything clicks. This clip is from a couple different studios. We cut the same track at both places to see what the differences would be, but have since tweaked the song beyond recognition of the original. Perhaps it will end up as a b-side one day or something. Anyway, this is mostly just footage of us goofing off as usual. Enjoy.

Thanks + Cao Fang | In Summer

2008-08-26T22:19:00.006-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to The Earl Sunday for the breast cancer benefit, and to all the bands and everyone involved. It was a great turn out for a rainy Sunday night and we raised a bunch of money for a good cause. Thanks again.

Completely unrelated... I never thought a GE commercial would cause me to become obsessed with a song, but after seeing the ad a couple times during the Olympics I am now completely hooked by this tune. It's called "In Summer" by Cao Fang, a Chinese singer/songwriter. The whole song is only one minute and ten seconds long, but the melody has permanently lodged itself into my head and will not let go. It's like Cat Power, Iron & Wine, Kings of Convenience, Nick Drake and Feist all rolled into one and re-interperted by this Chinese girl. I don't know much about her, but apparently her nickname is Icy. Um, ok. Here's the rough English translation and mp3.

MP3: Cao Fang - In Summer

Listen to the children playing
Listen to the children playing
Listen to the children play in the summer
I've got something I should say,
but it won't come out my way
Summer's slipping away,
let me stay in your heart today

Snowden @ Titty-Titty Bang Bang

2008-08-22T12:59:00.005-04:00

We've added a last minute show this weekend to help out some friends raising money to help fight breast cancer. I think this is a cause we can all get behind. If you're in ATL come out and help support the cause. We know this is sorta last minute, so if you could repost to help get the word out that'd be nice of you. Here's the info...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: A secret 5th band was just added. If you know Atlanta bands, you will know this one. We also have over 50 items in the raffle!!!

Please come out and support Team "Give 'em Hell, Maxwell" raise money for the Atlanta 2 Day Breast Cancer Walk at the Earl on August 24, 2008.

Doors are at 7:00.

$10 Cover. Raffle Tickets $5/each or 5 tickets for $20.

4 BANDS: The Danny Family, Valentina, The Preakness and the Bandettes (and now Snowden too)

HUGE RAFFLE including gift certificates from Loca Luna, Quattro, Clothing Warehouse, Front Page News, Apres Diem, Criminal Records, Aurora Coffee, EAYC, Trinity Gym, Urban Body Fitness, Five Roses Tattoo, Salon and Spa packages and MUCH MUCH MORE!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snowden Tour Randomness (Summer '08)

2008-08-12T11:18:00.001-04:00

I finally got around to editing down some of the video clips I shot on our last tour. I didn't have as much footage to work with as last time, but still managed to throw together a decent little vid. For the music I used some snippets of unreleased Snowden demos that may or may not see the light of day at some point. Enjoy.

Snowden @ Monolith Festival

2008-08-04T18:09:00.003-04:00

We just added a show at the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in Colorado. It's a cool festival with a really impressive lineup. If you happen to be going we'll be playing the New Belgium Stage at 2:45pm on Sunday Sept. 14. That day alone has an impressive lineup with TV On The Radio, Justice and many others. View the lineup here.

Believe The Hype

2008-07-21T16:12:00.004-04:00

I was lucky enough to see it on IMAX this weekend. Luckier than these folks.

AudioSurfing With Snowden

2008-07-15T20:13:00.003-04:00

I just stumbled across this on YouTube. Funny.

AudioSurf is a music-adapting puzzle racer where you use your own music to create your own experience. The shape, the speed, and the mood of each ride is determined by the song you choose.

The Walkmen | You & Me

2008-07-14T13:53:00.006-04:00

For the past week or so I've been listening to the new Walkmen album that recently leaked on repeat. It's one of the best records to come out this year, in my opinion. They seem to have taken all the elements I love about the band and magnified them with brilliant studio production and great songwriting. I've always loved the reverb drenched guitar tones they get and on this record the guitars really stand out. Hamilton Leithauser's vocal delivery is top notch as well and gives the songs an emotional urgency that most vocalists lack. All around this record is just a breath of fresh air in the current indie music landscape.

Speaking of which, this current trend of people playing late 80's early 90's hardcore/noise rock and somehow being considered 'fresh' or 'relevant' is really starting to wear thin. Loud distorted guitar riffs and screaming unintelligible lyrics into a microphone while flailing about onstage just isn't cutting it for me. I will admit that I like the No Age record and what they're doing, but some of the other bands clumped into that scene just seem like a joke, or some sort of passing fad. There's only so far you can grow musically in that vein. The Walkmen, on the other hand, are writing timeless songs that seem to be imprinted with a stamp of authenticity that will last far past the short shelf life of whatever trend or fad is considered cool or hip at the moment. Ok, sorry for ranting. Bottom line, this new Walkmen record is a much welcomed return to form and definitely worth checking out.

MP3: The Walkmen - In The New Year

MP3: The Walkmen - On The Water

Something To Do

2008-07-10T13:17:00.009-04:00

Thanks Jeff Bridges

Corndogs + SwitchBurn Videos

2008-06-27T01:04:00.009-04:00

I'm pretty sure all of Atlanta knows the annual Corndogorama festival is this weekend at Lenny's. If for some reason you're local and have never been, you're missing out on quite a spectacle. We're scheduled to play around 9:45pm on Saturday and close out the outdoor stage. Hopefully the rain will hold off. Check out the full schedule HERE.

In other Snowden news, the wonderful folks at switchburn.com have posted some videos of us performing at Stubb's BBQ in Austin last month. If you've never checked out this website you really should. They film bands performing at various venues around Austin and archive them on their site. What's cool is that they post all the videos in a multi-camera angle format and the quality is great. They already have quite an extensive archive of great bands including Black Lips, Dark Meat, Dead Confederate, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Black Angels and many many more. Definitely worth checking out. I was sorta hoping they would feature a couple of our newer songs so people could get a taste of the new stuff, but they went with the better known cuts from Anti-Anti. No complaints here though. The vids are cool and we're happy they took the time to film us and post it. Click on the song names to watch the videos.

BLACK EYES | BETWEEN THE RENT AND ME | LIKE BULLETS | ANTI-ANTI

Snowden @ AthFest This Friday (40 Watt)

2008-06-18T16:06:00.005-04:00

Images From The Tour

2008-06-10T21:34:00.031-04:00

We've been back for a little over a week now. After bouncing all over the country for a few weeks everything just seems like a big blurry fading memory once you get back home and settle back into your daily routine. Here are a bunch of random photos I took throughout the tour. I have some video footage too. I'll get around to editing some of that stuff one day soon. I've mentioned it before but I'll say it again... Colour Revolt are an amazing band. Watching them play every night never got old. If you're in Atlanta they're playing a show here this Thursday (6/12) at Vinyl with Gringo Star. I highly recommend checking them out. Here's a mp3 of what became my favorite song to watch them play each night. There's a lyric towards the end that floors me every time I hear it...

"cause brother you are my weakness

i'll listen and learn from your kindness
your wisdom is very thoughtless
but your window is worth looking out from"

MP3: Colour Revolt - Moses of the South

Varsity Theater. Minneapolis, MN.

A reflection of our van.

My daily view from the van.

Jordan and I enjoy sushi in Toronto.

Chandler & Jordan wait for a storm after a show in Oklahoma City.

It's close, according to Advantage Doppler 3D.

Still waiting.

Chandler controls the Global Positioning System.

In Dallas we stop at the appropriately named Dallas Lake.

Surprisingly, it wasn't until Austin that Jordan suffered a real sunburn.

Corinne reads a book recommended by Jimmy from Colour Revolt.

Chandler learns Sammy Davis Jr. was a member of the Church of Satan.

Jordan is quite strange.

Sean Kirkpatrick. This kind man let me use his amplifier after mine decided to die.

Our favorite place to play in Austin. They make sure we eat well.

A late night (veggie) dog in Austin.

Shane MacGowan napping backstage.

Represent.

Loading out/in

Len & Patrick soundchecking in Houston.

Andrew (aka Petey). Merch guy (aka drinking buddy).

Elvis.

Backstage in New Orleans. Final show of the tour.

Wine Tasting + Water Falls in Finger Lakes

2008-06-04T16:22:00.021-04:00

On our way to a show in Buffalo Jordan made a split second decision to pull off the interstate and drive towards an area in the upstate New York countryside known as Finger Lakes. It's an area with a bunch of lakes, hills, mountains, waterfalls and a surprisingly large number of wineries scattered throughout as well. We had some time to kill and decided to stop off at a winery to sample some of the goods and then stop by a nearby waterfall for a bit before we returned to our normal tour route.

This seemed like a reasonable price.

Cobblestone Farm Winery

Wine snobs... "hmm, that one's very earthy"

We talked this guy into taking us in the back room with all the barrels and concocting our own personalized bottle of wine in exchange for a bunch of Snowden merch.

We watch closely to make sure his measurements are correct.

Done. Decorated with a beautiful Snowden sticker. One of a kind.

We drive a few miles down to one of the falls.

The beauty. The grandeur.

Back to the van. Jordan leads us. Blindly.

Update From The Road

2008-05-19T16:59:00.018-04:00

So, finding time to blog while on tour isn't as easy as I thought it would be. We've pretty much been in constant motion from the get go. Right now I'm in a cafe in Albany, NY. We have an off day and stopped off here on our way to Buffalo. The tour has been going really well. Colour Revolt is an amazing band live and really nice people to hang around with before the shows. I highly recommend anyone reading this to check them out if they ever come through your town.

We just got done spending a few days hanging around New York. Our show at Mercury Lounge on Thursday night was sold out to the point that the fire marshal showed up and almost shut the whole thing down before we got to play. They stopped letting people in at one point, even people who had already purchased tickets or friends of ours that were on the list. Eventually they let some more people in before we played but I'm not sure how they're sorting out the people who were denied entry. Contact Mercury Lounge if you're one of those people. Sorry about that. Apparently that was the first time the fire marshal ever showed up to a show at that venue before. Read more about it here.

Here are some random pics...

Touring + Corndogorama

2008-05-11T13:30:00.004-04:00

I'm currently scrambling to get packed and ready. We leave tomorrow for our tour with Colour Revolt. I think both bands together on the same bill should make for some great shows. We'll be testing out new songs and also have a new t-shirt/design we'll be selling at shows, along with some cds, vinyl copies of Anti-Anti, free stickers, etc. I plan on taking lots of pics/vids and blogging throughout the tour, so keep checking back.

We also just added our show at Corndogorama here in Atlanta on June 28th at Lenny's. It's another great year of local music and corndog related festivities. We missed out last year because of a flight nightmare trying to get out of London. Luckily we'll be in town and prepared this time. Hope to see some of you out at the shows...

May 12 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 13 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Northstar (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 15 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 16 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 17 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 18 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 20 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 21 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Place (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 22 - Akron, OH @ Musica (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 23 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 24 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 25 - Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 26 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 28 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues [Cambridge Room] (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 29 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 30 - Houston, TX @ Walter's on Washington (w/ Colour Revolt)
May 31 - New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks (w/ Colour Revolt)
June 20 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt [AthFest] (w/ Twin Tigers, Iron Hero, Pegasuses-XL)
June 28 - Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's [Corndogorama] (w/ tons of cool local bands)

Snowden @ AthFest June 20th

2008-05-05T15:40:00.009-04:00

It's been quite some time since we've played a show in Athens. I'm not sure why exactly, but we are pleased to announce that we'll be playing there June 20th during AthFest. Our show will be at the 40 Watt during the evening festivities on Friday June 20. Immediately after Dark Meat finishes their headlining set on the main outdoor stage the party will shift over to the 40 Watt where we'll be playing with Twin Tigers, Iron Hero and Pegasuses-XL. I'm really looking forward to this show. I love Athens and can't wait to hang out and enjoy some of the other bands. Come out if you're in the area.

All I Need

2008-04-30T12:51:00.009-04:00

A brilliant new video from Radiohead, partnering with MTV to bring awareness to slave labor and human trafficking. Here's what Thom Yorke had to say about it...

"All power to MTV for taking this on because it's obviously going to be difficult for them in terms of the advertisers. Their lawyers had to beg to make sure there wasn't a single white [sneaker] with a logo on it because the implication would be a little too close. But the implication is still there. If [MTV] are able to break the taboo of enslavement and put it onto the agenda then its a good thing. If they get people to think in terms of the profits we make in the West because of cheap labor, then that's a good thing."

Hoping For a Miracle

2008-04-29T12:48:00.004-04:00

Raveonettes | Lust Lust Lust

2008-04-18T14:37:00.009-04:00

I've become slightly obsessed with this album. The guitar tones this guy gets are from another planet. It's just simple pop song structures drenched in reverb and overdriven fuzz, but they execute it so well. I highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't heard it yet.

Nine Inch Nails Ghosts Film Festival

2008-04-07T13:55:00.003-04:00

I have to admit I'm a fan of Nine Inch Nails. I've seen them live multiple times and have always been impressed with their creative use of film and lights. When I was just a kid I was dragged by some friends to their show at the Masquerade here in Atlanta during the Pretty Hate Machine tour. I didn't even know who they were, but I was blown away. I have a lot of respect for the path Trent Reznor has taken in his career and how vocal he's been regarding the current state of the music business. It was no surprise to me that he chose a variety of unique release options for the recent NIN instrumental album Ghosts I-IV, and that it ended up being a success. Shortly after the release Trent Reznor partnered with YouTube and posted a video asking people to come up with their own visual interpretations of the instrumental tracks from the album. After listening to the album I decided I would try my hand at a clip of two just for the hell of it. I came across some old stock footage of the inner workings of a watch that had some cool use of stop motion effects, and I felt like it matched up really well to one of the tracks. I edited it in iMovie and posted it to the Ghosts Film Fest Group a few weeks back. A few days ago the Chicago Reader posted an article about the current fan remix craze and they posted my video clip in the article. Pretty cool considering I've seen a lot more clips submitted to the NIN thing that I think are way better than mine. Anyway, here's the clip and I'm toying around with some ideas for another one. It's a fun way to pass some time.

YouTube!

2008-04-03T14:04:00.004-04:00

Part 2 | Part 3

Snowden May Tour with Colour Revolt

2008-03-26T16:02:00.007-04:00

We just posted a bunch of tour dates we'll be embarking on in May. Our tour mates this time around will be Colour Revolt. Check them out if you haven't already. Cool stuff. We'll be trying out a lot of new material on this tour, so definitely come out if you want to get a taste of the new stuff, and hang out afterwards to grab a drink and share your thoughts. Hope you all can make it out! Here are the dates...

May 12 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
May 13 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
May 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Northstar
May 15 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
May 16 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
May 17 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street (downstairs)
May 18 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott
May 20 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
May 21 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place
May 22 - Akron, OH @ Musica
May 23 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
May 24 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity
May 25 - Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
May 26 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
May 28 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues (cambridge room)
May 29 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's
May 31 - New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks

Earles & Jensen: Just Farr A Laugh

2008-03-25T13:40:00.007-04:00

Lately, I've been getting a kick out of all these Earles & Jensen pranks calls that Matador are getting set to release, entitled Just For A Laugh: The Greatest Prank Calls Ever Vols. 1 & 2. Apparently these have been around for a while, but Matador has decided to give them a proper release. Turns out that some attorney from Hawaii decided to file a lawsuit on behalf of someone claiming they had been defamed by Earles & Jensen. This resulted in Matador having to push back the release date from the original Feb. 19 release date to the current release date of April 22, as well as forcing Matador to cough up a bunch of legal fees in order to fight the lawsuit and also scale back some of the marketing budget they had planned. This guy apparently also went after youtube users who had posted some of the clips too. Someone setup a blog to track the whole mess. After listening to some of the pranks it seems ludicrous that anyone could seriously be that offended or "defamed" by what these guys are doing. Most of the people getting pranked end up cracking up and having a laugh themselves. I personally think it's pathetic what this guy is trying to do, and if this mess does ever get to the desk of a judge I would LOVE to see the look on the judge's face as he listens to the likes of Bleachy and The Party Doctor. I bet this would get tossed out of court in a heartbeat.

Listen to some of the pranks: Earles & Jensen - Just Farr A Laugh MP3s

Snowden @ The Masquerade Saturday

2008-03-18T15:58:00.015-04:00

We have a show coming up this Saturday at The Masquerade. We haven't played there in ages. The show is early, doors at 7pm. Afterwards Preston will host his weekly Afterlife night. Should be fun times.

For those unaware a tornado touched down right in the heart of Atlanta this past weekend, the first one to ever touchdown in the city actually. A hole was ripped in the top of the Georgia Dome during a college basketball game, areas around the CNN center, Phillips Arena and Ga. State University were hit hard, as was the neighboring Cabbagetown neighborhood (see below).

The Walkmen | Vampire Weekend

2008-03-11T14:04:00.005-04:00

I went to see this show on Sunday at The Earl. It had been sold out for a number of weeks. I bought the tickets a while back, mainly looking forward to The Walkmen. In the weeks leading up to the show the Vampire Weekend buzz began spiraling out of control, so I was curious to see what they were all about too. I have to admit I was impressed. Despite a few technical problems, which led to some clever stage banter, Vampire Weekend played a solid set of their pop/ska/afro/whatever it is tunes. These guys seem genuinely likable and it's hard to deny how catchy their music is. It was a bit strange seeing them in a barely 200+ capacity room when they had played in front of millions of people on Saturday Night Live the night before. They joked about having only played to a room full of ten people the last time they were in Atlanta. I doubt they'll be playing a room that small the next time they come through town.

I've been a fan of The Walkmen ever since their first album. I've seen them live multiple times and have always been impressed. I was really surprised at how much the crowd thinned out after Vampire Weekend played. I couldn't help but think to myself how stupid these people were for leaving before such a great band was about to take the stage, only showing up to see the flavor of the moment then quickly exiting the building. Oh well, their loss. It made it much easier to get close to the stage and have my face thoroughly rocked. The Walkmen played a great set with the perfect balance of old and new material. Hamilton Leithhauser was sporting a classic double breasted blazer and tie that put Vampire Weekend's preppy outfits to shame. This guy basically demands attention from the moment he takes the stage, taking huge gulps of beer between belting his heart out like this is the last time he'll ever be able to get his sentiment across. The older material had the biggest impact, new stuff was good too though. Atlanta show staple Kenny was front and center loving every minute of it, as was the rest of the crowd that made the wise choice to stay and witness The Walkmen.

Sorry I was too lazy to bring my camera and snap any pics.

Atlanta Magazine

2008-03-06T15:59:00.008-05:00

The new issue of Atlanta Magazine has an article about the We Fun documentary and the infamous photo shoot that took place at the Variety Playhouse. I guess they were able to snap a few shots off before all hell broke loose. I scanned the article for anyone interested. My scanner isn't the greatest, but you get the idea. Just click the pics to read the article.

Inside a Snowden Rehearsal

2008-02-25T01:22:00.007-05:00

Our show Friday was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone that came out and sorry to everyone that couldn't get in. We didn't realize it would sellout that early. We're playing again March 22 at the Masquerade and it's going to be an all ages show, so catch us there if you missed the show Friday. There are some clips from the show up on youtube as well.

If you've ever wondered what a Snowden rehearsal is like here's a silly clip I made of us during practice last week. It's rough, grainy and sounds weird because it's just a sony cybershot still camera I used. I messed around in iMovie a bit and this was the result.

A Texan Odyssey

2008-02-19T17:24:00.003-05:00

This video has been making the rounds on the blogs today. It had me cracking up so hard I had to post it here too. Music comedy duo Flight of the Conchords document their 2006 visit to the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

Snowden Pics

2008-02-15T14:27:00.016-05:00

Here are some more pics from past Snowden tours. Corinne actually took all these. I have a folder full of some pics she took and I went through and picked out a few to post here.

Old Shows I've Seen: Uncle Tupelo & Wilco

2008-02-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

I recently went through an old box of photos and found quite a few concert ticket stubs I've accumulated through the years. I decided I would post some to the blog from time to time and recollect as much as I can about what was going on with my music interests at that moment in time. A couple of shows I was hoping I still had stubs for I couldn't find, but I may still talk about those on here at some point.

First up is a Wilco show I attended way back in 1996. This was right after the release of their second album, Being There. I don't really remember the show being that memorable to be honest. In fact I remember leaving the show longing for Tweedy's old band. For those unaware, long before Wilco there was a band from the tiny town of Belleville, Illinois called Uncle Tupelo. Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar formed Uncle Tupelo when they were just teenagers. Their music was a blend of punk rock, southern rock, traditional country/folk music and a hint of the pop sensibilities that would later surface in Wilco. Tweedy and Farrar would switch singing duties from song to song and the harmonies their voices created together were quite powerful. I immediately connected with Uncle Tupelo, being a southern kid who grew up in the country yet was somehow still exposed to underground punk and alternative music. I was lucky enough to see their last two performances in Georgia before they broke up. Back to back nights no less, at the 40 Watt in Athens and the next night at the long since defunct Chameleon Club here in Atlanta (a strange venue choice). The 40 Watt show was the highlight. Unfortunately I didn't save the ticket stubs from those shows.

Uncle Tupelo (circa early 90's)

The breakup of Uncle Tupelo basically involved Jay Farrar quitting and the rest of the band staying together and calling themselves Wilco. The lineup has now completely changed except for Tweedy and John Stirratt. At the time I remember always preferring Farrar's tunes more than Tweedy's and thought for sure he would be the one to move on to greater things. Shows what I know. His band Son Volt never really delivered what I thought he was capable of. Wilco, on the other hand, went on to worldwide fame thanks to their experimental masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the controversy surrounding it's release. For a complete history of Uncle Tupelo check out the wikpedia page. It's quite thorough. Here are a couple of my favorite Uncle Tupelo songs from their album March 16-20, 1992, which was named after the four day period they spent at John Keane Studios in Athens recording acoustic songs entirely live in the studio. The sessions were produced by Peter Buck of R.E.M. Farrar had this to say as to why they recorded an album of acoustic folk songs during the heyday of the grunge explosion...

"This should insulate us from that industry bullshit, people looking for the next Nirvana. I don't think anybody is the next Nirvana, certainly not us. People always talk about the next Beatles, the next Elvis. You can't predict that stuff."

MP3: Uncle Tupelo - Criminals
Jay Farrar's aged voice sounds like it's beamed in from some long lost musical universe, even though he's only in his twenties at the time of this recording.

MP3: Uncle Tupelo - Fatal Wound
A haunting ballad sung by Jeff Tweedy. The violins, pedal steel and lyrics on this are phenomenal.

Snowden @ The Earl Feb. 22

2008-02-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

We're playing our first show in a while at The Earl on Feb. 22. It should be a fun night. This flyer was made by someone at The Earl before the other opening band was added. Twin Tigers is also playing the show that night. They're a new band from Athens featuring Matthew from Psychic Hearts. I'm looking forward to checking them out live for the first time. Matthew is one of the nicest people I know and I always look forward to hanging when we play shows together. I imagine we'll play a few of the new Snowden tunes at this show too. I know it's been quiet on the Snowden front as of late, but there are things brewing. Keep checking back.

Geeky Recording Stuff

2008-01-29T20:45:00.001-05:00

I always love finding out how different musicians record sounds and what kind of toys they use to do it. I've been recording a lot at home lately in my bedroom. I started playing around with Cubase a while back after seeing what Jordan could do with it. I have a very simple setup compared to most people and usually just plug my guitar or whatever straight into the sound interface, then use modeling software and whatever other cool plugins I come across. I love experimenting with different VST plugins. Anyway, I came across this cool video of Jimmy Tamborello showing off his entire setup. He's the dude from Postal Service and DNTEL. I've always loved his production work and it turns out he's a Cubase guy too. Check it out if this type of stuff interests you.

Also, here's a video clip of Chandler talking about his drums. I love the bleed through of the band in the practice space next to ours. Power chord riffs, fresh for 2008. (Quicktime Video: Click Here)

The Selmanaires

2008-01-21T21:12:00.002-05:00

The Selmanaires are another great band here in Atlanta. We've played a bunch of shows together and even share a practice space. I always love watching them perform live. They're second full length, The Air Salesman, is being released tomorrow via International Hits. You can stream the whole album at the label's myspace page and you should purchase a copy if you dig it. The production on this one is definitely a step up from their first album. I also highly suggest checking them out if they ever come through your town. Their live shows are excellent. Locals can catch them at The Earl this Saturday for the dual cd release show along with Anna Kramer and The Lost Cause. I have high hopes for more great music breaking out of ATL in 2008.

Those Wacky Thetans

2008-01-16T16:59:00.000-05:00

I'm still baffled by Beck being all scientologistized. I doubt he'd ever be taped saying this kind of nonsense though.

Photo Shoot Gone Wrong

2008-01-10T14:41:00.000-05:00

This was a pretty surreal moment from yesterday, although many people weren't quite amused by the outcome. Atlanta Magazine was doing a photo shoot at the Variety Playhouse with a bunch of people involved in the local music scene. After being huddled on stage for a demented year book like photo, a fire extinguisher blast quickly clears the stage. I snapped this pic of the aftermath.

All was not lost though. Unphased by the chaos, Matt from Gringo Star serenades me as I exit the building.

Read more about it at Creative Loafing's Blog.

YouTube

2008-01-08T00:52:00.003-05:00

Part 2 | Part 3

Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin

2008-01-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

Their album Broom is one of the most played records in our van on tour. The songwriting is superb from start to finish. It's just hook after hook of brilliantly structured pop melodies. It sounds deceptively simple, but takes real skill to pull off so effortlessly. I would have to say a new full length from them is big on my list of most anticipated albums this year. If you haven't heard them before you should really check out the tunes below, or visit their myspace page. Upon repeated listening their melodies will start to haunt your mind.

MP3: Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - Half Awake (Deb)

MP3: Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - Pangea

MP3: Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - House Fire

Scotch Mist

2008-01-02T12:11:00.000-05:00

I know all the blogs are posting this, but I had to as well. The Radiohead new year's eve webcast thingy. Pretty f'n cool.

Random Photos from Europe (part 2)

2007-12-27T00:10:00.000-05:00

6 Random Things I Was Into This Year

2007-12-20T19:07:00.000-05:00

Figured I would do an end of year list like everyone else. This stuff is in no real order, just a list of things I enjoyed at some point this year.

Heima (Sigur Rós DVD)

I'll start with the most recent thing I saw that really blew me away. It's the new DVD that just came out documenting a 2006 tour of Iceland by Sigur Rós. They visit a lot of remote parts of Iceland and setup in very unusual places (indoors and out). There are some quiet intimate acoustic moments mixed in with their full blown stage setup. Anyone who saw them perform at the Atlanta Symphony last time they came through probably remembers the cool screen/lights/shadows setup they had going. It's filmed beautifully and the look of the whole DVD is gorgeous, vivid colors, great editing and superb sound. I highly recommend this. View the trailer here.

Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem

I'm not even a huge LCD fan, but I have to admit that I was compelled to listen to this on repeat constantly throughout the year. It's one of those songs that connects everything perfectly to me, from how it builds musically to the way it unfolds lyrically. It details a break up better than anything I've heard in a while, and at the same time concedes to the fact that life must go on. I would love to hear them do a whole album of this kind of material. Don't get me wrong, I love some of the dancey/party type tracks they do, but this song just connects on a whole other level.

MP3: LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great

I wish that we could talk about it,
But there, that's the problem.
With someone new I could have started,
Too late, for beginnings.
The little things that made me harassed,
Are gone, in a moment.
I miss the way we used to argue,
Locked, in your basement.

I wake up and the phone is ringing,
Surprised, as it's early.
And that should be the perfect warning,
That something's, a problem.
To tell the truth I saw it coming,
The way, you were breathing.
But nothing can prepare you for it,
The voice, on the other, end.

The worst is all the lovely weather,
I'm sad, it's not raining.
The coffee isn't even bitter,
Because, what's the difference?
There's all the work that needs to be done,
It's late, for revision.
There's all the time and all the planning,
And songs, to be finished.

And it keeps coming,
And it keeps coming,
And it keeps coming,
Till the day it stops.

I wish that we could talk about it,
But there, that's the problem.
With someone new I could have started,
Too late, for beginnings.
You're smaller than my wife imagined,
Surprised, you were human.
There shouldn't be this ring of silence,
But what, are the options?

When someone great is gone.

We're safe, for the moment.
Saved, for the moment.

Disclosure: Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History
I didn't mention this in my post on books the other day because I didn't technically read it on tour, but I did read it this year and found it quite fascinating. This book was actually published in 2001, but I only discovered it recently. Basically, this is the testimony of a bunch of former military, government and corporate types regarding UFOs, extraterrestrials and the alleged cover up of zero point energy technology. I suppose this could fall in the conspiracy theory realm, except that it's all highly credible confirmed ranking officials talking about a lot of this stuff, and even if only half of what's in this book is true it's enough to frighten and disgust. Much of the testimony foreshadows the current deteriorating state of our planet today and suggests that technology derived from extraterrestrial origins, which could provide free clean energy to all parts of the world, has existed for decades. I know this kind of stuff can sound a little out there, but when you have so many credible sources telling virtually identical stories you really start to wonder about the true reality of our situation. There was a press conference held this year by all of these individuals and it even received coverage on CNN. If you are the least bit curious about this type of stuff I highly recommend reading it. If not, it still reads like some of the scariest science fiction out there.

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

Again, here is something older that I just came across this year. It's a documentary that aired on BBC television a while back about a guy named Daniel Tamment. He's an autistic savant who can do incredibly complex mathematical computations, as well as learning foreign languages in a very short amount of time. He can provide answers to decimal points that go even further than a computer or calculator can go. What separates him from most other savants is that he isn't inflicted with many of the autism symptoms that render other savants unable to communicate, making research on them difficult. Tammet can describe in detail what's going on in his mind and the process that takes place as he's forming the numbers. He gained notoriety for a record breaking feat that's documented in the video in which he recited the infinite Pi to 22, 514 decimal points. It took him a little over five hours to recite every single digit and he didn't make one mistake. Over the course of the documentary he travels from the UK to America where he meets up with researches in California to see what they can learn from him. Along the way he stops off in Vegas to test his skills in a casino and visits Salt Lake City to meet with Kim Peek, probably the most well known savant and the inspiration for the character played by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man. A similar documentary about Peek produced by the same BBC channel can be viewed here. All of this is an extremely interesting look into the untapped capabilities of the human mind. Check it out above if you have some time to kill.

The Past is a Grotesque Animal - Of Montreal

This song really came out of left field. I think it's Kevin Barne's finest songwriting achievement. A near twelve minute sprawling confessional from a guy that sounds like he's at his breaking point. A sinister sounding progression that just keeps repeating on top of itself, slowly growing to the point of desperation. It all comes together perfectly and leaves you with the sense that this guy is someone who is truly suffering for his art. I'm very curious to see what direction he goes next.

MP3: Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal

The past is a grotesque animal
And in its eyes you see
How completely wrong you can be
How completely wrong you can be

The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday
Makes you wonder why it bothered

I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met
Who could appreciate Georges Bataille
Standing at a Swedish festival discussing "Story of the Eye"
Discussing "Story of the Eye"

It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you
How can I explain, I need you here and not here too
How can I explain, I need you here and not here too

I'm flunking out, I'm flunking out, I'm gone, I'm just gone
But at least I author my own disaster
At least I author my own disaster

Performance breakdown and I don't want to hear it
I'm just not available
Things could be different but they're not
Things could be different but they're not

The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
She gets hysterical because they're both so mean
And it's my favorite scene
But the cruelty's so predictable
It makes you sad on the stage
Though our love project has so much potential
But it's like we weren't made for this world
(Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was)

Do I have to scream in your face?
I've been dodging lamps and vegetables
Throw it all in my face, I don't care

Let's just have some fun
Let's tear this shit apart
Let's tear the fucking house apart
Let's tear our fucking bodies apart
But let's just have some fun

Somehow you've red-rovered the gestapo circling my heart
And nothing can defeat you
No death, no ugly world

You've lived so brightly
You've altered everything
I find myself searching for old selves
While speeding forward through the plate glass of maturing cells

I've played the unraveler, the parhelion
But even apocalypse is fleeting
There's no death, no ugly world

Sometimes I wonder if you're mythologizing me like I do you
Mythologizing me like I do you

We want our film to be beautiful, not realistic
Perceive me in the radiance of terror dreams
And you can betray me
You can, you can betray me

But teach me something wonderful
Crown my head, crowd my head
With your lilting effects
Project your fears on to me, I need to view them
See, there's nothing to them
I promise you, there's nothing to them

I'm so touched by your goodness
You make me feel so criminal
How do you keep it together?
I'm all, all unraveled

But you know, no matter where we are
We're always touching by underground wires

I've explored you with the detachment of an analyst
But most nights we've raided the same kingdoms
And none of our secrets are physical
None of our secrets are physical
None of our secrets are physical now

New Moon - Elliott Smith
Although he's been passed away for a number of years now, I still gravitate to his music more than any other artist I can think of. I would say I have gone through moments of even being obsessed. Because of this obsession I've heard most of these unreleased tracks in some form or another, albeit in rough or bad quality. Having them all put together for one release in remixed/remastered quality is quite nice though. He could have easily picked and chosen from this group of songs and released an album as good as some of his best work in my opinion. My favorite stuff from Elliott Smith has always been the stripped down acoustic numbers, which really show off the true genius of his songwriting, and that's exactly what this release is comprised of. The highlight by far is the early version of "Miss Misery", with alternate lyrics. "New Disaster" is also a favorite. It's a genuine emotional outpouring from an artist who definitely left the world far too soon. It's so obvious from his lyrics what a desperate state he always seemed to be in, but he always left a glimmer of hope in his music, even if he didn't leave enough of one for himself.

MP3: Elliott Smith - Miss Misery (Early Version)

MP3: Elliott Smith - New Disaster

There's plenty more stuff I really liked this year, but the list could go on forever, and I really don't feel like typing that much. So this is just a handful of things I was into. I realize it's all pretty random, but that's just the way my brain works.

David Byrne | Wired Magazine

2007-12-19T16:11:00.000-05:00

There is a series of great interviews that just went up over on the Wired Magazine website between David Byrne and a number of different music biz people. It's a great read, or listen. There are audio clips scattered throughout the pages of Byrne having conversations with Thom Yorke, Brian Eno, Mac McCaughan (Merge Records) and a bunch of dudes who manage Radiohead. I love actually hearing a discussion between people, as opposed to just reading a transcription of the words. The overall theme of the discussion is the current climate in the music industry and what it's like for emerging artists now as opposed to the past. The people he was able to interview about the subject is what makes this such an interesting read/listen. Check it out:

Part 1: David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars

Part 2: David Byrne and Thom Yorke on the Real Value of Music

Back In The Day

2007-12-15T14:32:00.000-05:00

The most notable thing missing from the above flyer of a show we played with the Unicorns at the old Echo Lounge back in 2004 is the other band that was on the bill that night, Arcade Fire. They were only a couple weeks into the tour, opening for the Unicorns, and at that point were just another unknown band coming through. They didn't even have an album out yet. During soundcheck they had their whole stage setup sprawled out on the floor of the Echo, motorcycle helmets and all. There were ten plus people in the band at that point and we were all a little bit curious as to what they were all about.

The show was cool. All the bands played well but there was nothing really memorable that stuck with me about the show, other than how crazy looking Arcade Fire were on stage. I remember thinking they looked like a bunch of crazy gypsies or something. After the show all the bands were out back loading equipment and it becomes obvious that the Arcade Fire folks have no where to go and they don't know anyone in the city. At this point it's around 2am or so. Jordan offers them floor space at his brother Preston's house in East Point, where he was living at the time. They graciously excepted and headed there to crash out. I should also point out that the entire band was traveling in one van. I remember thinking how insane that was.

The next day they had an off day on the tour before heading to North Carolina, so they ended up staying another day at Preston's and we had a big cookout that night in his backyard. During the day they had all done laundry, hung around Little Five Points, found a pool to splash around in and gone grocery shopping to get a bunch of food for the cookout. At the time Snowden was practicing in Preston's living room and we were there running through some songs when they all showed back up. One of the Unicorns (not the Islands one, but the other guy) came by for the cookout too and we proceeded to grillout all kinds of good stuff. Arcade Fire were on Merge at that point, but their first album was still about three months away from being released. They gave us a CD-R copy of it before they left. I talked to Win a bunch about Merge. I asked him about Mac, as I was a huge Superchunk fan. He told me he couldn't be happier with the situation they were in. They left the next day and about a month or so later sent a postcard thanking everyone for the hospitality.

The next time they would return to Atlanta it would to be to sold out theaters and each time they've been back through Win has given us a shout out during their show. They were extremely nice when we met them and even though they have since gone on to grace the cover of Time magazine and what not, I still like to think of them as the kind of folks who spent the little money they had at the time to go buy food for everyone, in return for a hardwood floor to sleep on and a place to do some laundry.

Books I Read on Tour

2007-12-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

Much of the time spent on tour is in the van. I've tried many different things to help pass the time. NPR, iPod, movies on laptops, PSP, sudoku, scribbling in a journal, etc. Luckily I'm not one of those people that gets sick while reading in a car. I do tend to get tired and doze off though, sometimes mid sentence I'm reading. Here are some books I've read over the past few tours. I tend to lean towards rock biographies while on tour. There have been some good ones lately.

Shakey: Neil Young's Biography
This book is epic. It's a thick paperback that stayed in my backpack while we were touring around with Kings of Leon. The story of Young's journey from a small Canadian town to California to super stardom is the stuff of legends. The amount of detail is exhaustive and you really get a feel for who this guy is. Neil Young gave full approval to the author to write the book and he spoke to all the key people involved in Young's life. As they would all tell their recollection of how events transpired, Neil Young would interject his point of view on whatever topic was being discussed throughout the book. This really helped to get an overall picture of his life.

Excerpt:

I asked Young’s guitar tech Larry Cragg what the hardest tour had been. “All of ’em,” he said. “They’ve all been rough–every one of ’em made workin’ for anybody else real easy. The tours are out of the ordinary, the music, the movies–everything’s out of the ordinary. We do things differently around here. That’s just the way it is.”

Cragg was tinkering with Young’s guitar rig, which sat in a little area to the rear of the stage. A gaggle of amps–a Magnatone, a huge transistorized Baldwin Exterminator, a Fender Reverb unit and the heart of it all: a small, weather-beaten box covered in worn-out tweed, 1959 vintage. “The Deluxe,” muttered amp tech Sal Trentino with awe.

“Neil’s got four hundred and fifty-six identical Deluxes. They sound nothing like this one.” Young runs the amp with oversized tubes, and Cragg has to keep portable fans trained on the back so it doesn’t melt down. “It really is ready to just go up in smoke, and it sounds that way–flat-out, overdriven, ready to self-destruct.”

Young has a personal relationship with electricity. In Europe, where the electrical current is sixty cycles, not fifty, he can pinpoint the fluctuation–by degrees. It dumbfounded Cragg. “He’ll say, ‘Larry, there’s a hundred and seventeen volts coming out of the wall, isn’t there?’ I’ll go measure it, and yeah, sure–he can hear the difference.”

Shakey’s innovations are everywhere. Intent on controlling amp volume from his guitar instead of the amp, Young had a remote device designed called the Whizzer. Guitarists marvel at the stomp box that lies onstage at Young’s feet: a byzantine gang of effects that can be utilized without any degradation to the original signal. Just constructing the box’s angular red wooden housing to Young’s extreme specifications had craftsmen pulling their hair out.

Scar Tissue
I was a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan back around the Mother's Milk era. Personally, I still think that is their best album. I liked Blood Sugar Sex Magik too, but I feel like that is when they began their downward decline musically and artistically. In his autobiography Anthony Kiedis even admits that they have yet to create anything as compelling since. For the most part though, this is the tale of a heroin junkie in Hollywood finally coming clean. Kiedis spills the beans about all his depraved behavior and his childhood growing up in Los Angeles with a father who dealt drugs to actors and other Hollywood movers and shakers. Sonny and Cher were his god parents. Just imagine all the stuff this guy has seen. He pretty much talks about it all in this book.

Excerpt:

I don't want to give the impression that we were monks the whole time we recorded. We'd often invite friends up to the house and have these elaborate dinner parties. One of the people who was around then was the actor River Phoenix. I met River through Ione (Skye), who'd done a film with him. John (Frusciante) and River had jammed at a party that we all attended, and they got close. I don't want to go off on River's trip, because his family is excruciatingly sensitive about it, but since I'd known him, he had drunk heavily and used cocaine heavily, and it was no secret to me or anybody who knew him that he was quite out of control with this stuff and it would be just a matter of time before bad things started to add up. River was around a lot during the writing and recording of our album (Blood Sugar Sex Magik). He was a big supporter of our band, and I even wrote a whole verse about him in 'Give It Away': "There's a river, born to be a giver, keep you warm, won't let you shiver/His heart is never going to wither, come one everybody, time to deliver."

Our Band Could Change Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991
This is a great book profiling many of the seminal bands of the era. The chapters are all broken up into stories about the specific bands and their rise to prominence. Bands featured include Black Flag, Minor Threat, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and Fugazi, among others. Michael Azerrad has written for SPIN, Rolling Stone, etc. and profiles the subjects fairly well. There isn't the kind of detail like in the Neil Young biography, but you still get a decent overview of all the bands. The Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers chapters were my two favorite. After reading this book I would love to see a more thorough account of those two. In other words, I'm patiently awaiting Thurston and Gibby's autobiographies.

Excerpt:

They (Butthole Surfers) were eventually reduced to scavenging for cans and bottles so they could turn them in for the nickel deposit. It was quite a come down for (Gibby) Haynes, who was all set to be a successful accountant just a couple years before. One day some prankster ran up and kicked all the bottles out of Hayne's bag. "Gibby and the rest of us were on our knees, scurrying to collect the bottles again," says (Jeffrey) Coffey. "And I looked in Gibby's eyes, and he was about to cry. It was just so pitiful - this big, strong guy like Gibby being reduced to tears because here he was on the streets of New York, groveling for bottles. But good god, we needed those bottles."
----------------------------
They were all tripping one day when someone jokingly suggested moving to R.E.M.'s home base of Athens, Georgia (which also happened to have been a notorious drug mecca). "We thought it would be a trip to, for no apparent reason other than it seemed funny, move to Athens," says Coffey. "And stalk R.E.M." They wound up a few miles outside of Athens, in tiny Winterville, where they stayed about seven months, working up new material and playing gigs. And stalking R.E.M.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
The first live concert that I ever attended was Motley Crue at the old Omni arena here in Atlanta. Guns N' Roses was the opening band. At the time I had no idea I was witnessing glam rock history in the making. I was just a little kid with a bunch of my friends, and my mom chaperoning us all. She loves telling this story. We were literally third row center. At the time I was completely naive to the amount of debauchery involved with these bands. In this autobiography of Motley Crue it's basically all exposed. It's story after story of just complete reckless abandon, as well as the consequences. It goes from band member to band member and back again as they each pen chapters, giving perspectives from all angles.

Excerpt:

I (Nikki Sixx) needed to go out on the scene to escape from my own decay and loneliness. I flipped through my phone book in search of old friends. I called Robbin Crosby, then Slash, because Guns N' Roses were going to open for us in America after the European tour. I picked up Robbin at his house in a silver limo I liked to rent and gave him some blow. On the way to the Franklin Plaza Hotel, where Guns N' Roses were staying because they were all homeless, I threw up all over the limo. I wiped the chunks off on an antique beaver-hair-covered top hat I had bought for Slash and gave it to him at his door along with a bottle of whiskey. Some of the guys in Megadeath were also staying at the hotel, so we all piled into the limo. Robbin scored some junk from his dealer, who wasn't too happy about the conspicuous limo in front of his house, and we did drugs until our minds went blank.
----------------------------
Something not as gentle as the hand on my head, something rough and impatient, grabbed my foot. And in an instant I shot down through the air, through the roof of the ambulance, and landed with a painful jerk back into my body. I struggled to open my eyes and I saw adrenaline needles - not one, like in Pulp Fiction, but two. One was sticking out of the left flank of my chest, the other was in the right. "No one's gonna die in my fucking ambulance," I heard a man's voice say. Then I passed out.

Random Photos from Europe (part 1)

2007-12-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Got Burnt

2007-12-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

So, last week we played the big Stomp & Stammer anniversary party. It was a lot of fun. Despite the fact that we hadn't played a show in a while, I think we did ok. Chandler has these drum pads setup now so he can trigger a sampler we have loaded with all kinds of different sound textures. The drummer from Peter Bjorn & John does something very similar. When I first saw what he could do with it in our practice space I became really excited at the thought of how we could expand our live sound using it. It worked like a charm the first time around. The other bands were great that night too. The Selmanaires were really vibing and played a fantastic set. Deerhunter had some equipment issues, but still sounded great I thought. Their whole aesthetic with the lights and presentation is just really tight. Bradford told me backstage this could possibly be one of their final Atlanta shows. I really hope not. Black Lips were awesome as usual. They get doused with so much beer I don't see how they keep from getting electrocuted. Overall it was a great night at a sold out Variety Playhouse... and despite what some people may think of him, you have to hand it to Jeff Clark for putting out a magazine that everyone in the music scene around here picks up and reads on a monthly basis. You either love or hate his brutal honesty, but you still read it regardless. Props to him and Alex from OK Productions

for putting on such a great night of local music.

edit: Some great pics from that night can be found @ Ohmpark

Snowden Tour Video

2007-12-07T17:57:00.002-05:00

I posted this video online a few weeks back, but wanted to post it here too. When we got back from the last tour Jordan gave me a bunch of his DV (camcorder) tapes. I went through the ones I didn't have and backed up some stuff to one of my hard drives that has a lot of old stuff from my camcorder on it too. Unfortunately, my camcorder died last year and I've yet to obtain a new one (soon hopefully). I actually have a whole bag full of DV tapes filled with Snowden stuff dating all the way back to the first incarnation of the band. I even have a vhs tape of our very first performance ever at Lenny's (the old location). Much of the footage I would dare not post here for fear of Jordan killing me. Most of it is painfully embarrassing to watch, but there are some gems scattered throughout a lot of it too. At some point I'll actually begin the daunting task of going through all that stuff, but for now I'm more interested in just collecting footage. Corinne also takes a massive amount of photos and video clips with her digital camera when we're on tour. Some of her stuff is in this vid too, but there's a lot more stuff she has that I need to get a hold of at some point. Anyway, I just cut up some of the more lighthearted moments and got a crash course in using iMovie while I was at it. I hope to post more videos after experimenting with video editing a bit more. Enjoy this one for now.

Born in the ATL

2007-12-07T15:29:00.000-05:00

Another blog is born unto the internets.

I'm starting this blog mainly to document some of the things I've seen or done while being part of the band Snowden. I'll also ramble aimlessly about other topics from time to time as well. I've had some time on my hands after touring quite extensively the past year and decided that I wanted to have some way of documenting some of my experiences, as well as future adventures. I'm also going to post music, videos, photos and what not too.

Hope I can help you waste some time. Enjoy.

Dave