THE LOW ANTHEM

2009-05-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

A great run of local shows this week!

5/5 Brad Barr and the Akron / Family at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA, 8pm

5/7 Horse Feathers and Joe Pug at T.T. the Bear's Place in Boston, MA, 10pm.

5/8 Roz Raskin and the Rice Cakes, Shark Eye, Rachel Jorgenson, Chris Rosenquest, Volcano Kings, Jesuscentric at Firehouse 13 in Providence, RI - art opening at 5pm, music at 9pm. Visit firehouse13.org for details.

5/9 Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers EP RELEASE!!!! Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA, 8pm.

5/22 Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers PROVIDENCE EP RELEASE!!!!! at Firehouse 13, 8pm.

SXSW in summation, more or less

2009-04-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

SXSW was great! It sounded a little bit like this:

- Jocie

Top Ten SXSW Must-Haves

2009-03-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

10. Passion Pit's Momentum into the summer quarter
9. A belt buckle that reads, "Made in the republic of Texas"
8. BBQ rib dinner at someplace someone recommends
7. Tickets to the singles-only industry mixer
6. Shiner Bock 6-pack hangover
5. Badge withdrawal when you come to realize that clubs in your hometown will no longer honor your SXSW badge
4. Sunscreen to protect you from the heat produced by your favorite bands, who are on fire
3. A fight with a soundman who is really just a bartender being paid overtime
2. Pillow fight with the whole floor of your office who happen to all be staying in the same hotel room
1. Argument with your boss about the $250 worth of tequila shots you bought schmoozing with the new buzz band of 2009

~jeff

Three Cheers to Lisa Hannigan

2009-03-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

1. Cheers for putting together a great tour, and introducing us to the great bunch of rascals that is your band. We'll miss you.

2. Cheers for being a wonderful person to tour with, and have proper Irish tea.

3. Cheers for making beautiful music (to dance to uncoordinatedly).

~jeff

Mimobots transfer studio session from Austin to NYC

2009-03-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

March 23, 2009 ---- AUSTIN, Texas

The Low Anthem, waiting for their van to be repaired, went into an Austin studio yesterday to record a song. After the session, it became apparent that no one in the band had enough space on their laptop computers to carry the files back to NYC for mixing. Enter the mimobot, the world's only character-based designer USB flash drive. The company's founders had given 2 free mimos to Ben and Jocie as a token of thanks for granting them an interview. Little did they know, the mimos would prove essential in transporting the following day's recording session. Much thanks to Luke Skywalker and C3PO-themed mimobots. Strong is the force with you both.

~jeff

Welcome to Austin, come to play, stay 'cause your van breaks down

2009-03-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gents, here is a classic tale of touring fortune and misfortune.
We left from Dallas, Texas on Tuesday afternoon, with a plan to get to Austin for dinner. Our van broke down en route, about 30 minutes outside of Dallas. Transmission went. Tow truck from AAA arrived within the hour with room for only 2 passengers. "Ben and Graham go with the truck, Jocie and I will wait at this Mexican restaurant." 2 hours, 3 hours, 6 hours passed. The UHaul center in Dallas was closed, so they tried the car rental services at Dallas-Fort Worth international Airport. But none of the rental vans they suggested could fit the gear. Tow truck guy was getting frustrated, he had other calls to take care of. "I've got places to be, boys, I'm about to drop y'all off in this Wal-Mart parking lot." Ben paid him off with a free cd and $50. They found a U-Haul center outside of town, but the guy who ran the place was stoned and drunk and was fumbling as he hooked up the dolly to the back of the truck. "You boys want a beer from the cooler? On me." Was the tour van secure on this tow dolly? Who the hell knew. Just get the van on it and we'll take our chances. Jocie and I were kicked out of the Mexican restaurant as it closed at 10 PM. We went walking down the highway service road stopping in gas stations for as long as we could before they kicked us out for vagrancy. Ben and Graham finally arrived at the Valero station at 11:30 PM. "God, it's good to see your face, Graham. What do you say we get to Austin?" The four of us squashed in the front of this giant UHaul towing our van behind us, going 50 mph, the whole way pounding energy drinks and checking the rear-view mirrors to make damn sure that the van's flashers were still blinking behind us. "We can't park this thing around Austin. Anyone know where we could borrow a van for the week?" We pulled down this narrowing dirt road, the tree branches hitting the windshield of the U-Haul as we passed through. At the end of the road, at a cul de sac, was the van we were to borrow from Jocie's grandparents. "Okay, the UHaul can't turn around on this road. We've got to try to back it up, or we're stuck here. Back her up slowly, slowly. Shit, what's that sound?" The tires were deflating on the dolly. We dumped the old tour van on the side of the road, transfered our gear to the new tour van, a Ford Explorer with handicapped plates, and continued to Austin. We arrived at 4 AM, and our first SXSW gig, of seven that week, was at 7:30 AM. Welcome to Austin, Low Anthem. We came to play, and we're still here waiting on the van.

~jeff

Top Ten things not to say to a cop when you get pulled over

2009-02-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

10. Forgive me officer, for I have sinned.
9. Do you take Diner's Club?
8. I'm addicted to speed.
7. 75, and that's my final answer.
6. Can we hurry this up? I have to get home to watch "Lost"
5. My lawyer will make you cry.
4. It's all relative.
3. Is it that time of the month?
2. Sorry, but I momentarily forgot the rule of law.
1. Is gratuity included? (ben actually said this)

~jeff

Don't wait on Ray tickets!

2009-02-15T11:39:00.001-08:00

Friends, we just got updates on tickets sales for the Ray tour. It appears that all of the shows are going to sell out, if they haven't already! If you are hoping to come as so many of you have expressed, don't tarry! We want you there!

Ben

5 Favorite Musical Moments of 2008

2008-12-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

5. Ben and Jerry's release a new "Bon Bon Iver" ice cream flavor.
4. Tom Petty's Superbowl rendition of "Free Fallin" is dedicated to the Dow Jones.
3. Metallica headlines Bonnaroo as part of "Green Metal" tour.
2. Obama's new campaign theme song of "We are the Champions" offends the right.
1. "Sweet Caroline" Kennedy promises to sing "New York, New York" at Yankees opening day if she's chosen for the senate seat.

~jeff

The Old Ballplayer

2008-12-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

"I think it's time I wrote my book," he said. It will be a chocolate-covered book, not for serious readers, though they may secretly own a copy and hide it behind their Thucydides and Herodotus. "I was born on May 14, 1953," it will begin, "in White Oak, CA." "In 1956, at the age of 3, I hit .357 with 3 HRS, 6 2Bs, and 15 SB."
The biographer, a hired gun, will learn to love the sound of an old ballplayer's voice. And he will accept the transference between psychiatrist and patient, and will urge the old man to dig deep into his unconscious for kernels of baseball truths.
"Who was it you admired? Palmer's delivery? Gibson's brushbacks? Ryan's velocity in the late innings?" And that will suffice to bring on an afternoon's discussion on pitching mechanics, going back to the days of Matthewson and Alexander, and then Marichal and The Catfish. It will be dawn before the two men retire for the evening.
Five years later, when the book is published, a 10-year old boy will take it from the shelves of his local library to use for his 5th grade "hero" report. He will begin, "Smokey 'Gunslinger' McRae was born on May 14, 1953 in White Oak, CA. In 1956, at the age of 3, he hit .357 with 3 HRs, 6 2Bs, and 15 SB's." And all will be well with the world.

~jeff

Top Ten Pitches for a Reality TV Show

2008-12-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

10. "The Not-for-Profit Wars": two esteemed charities compete in a series of events for a hefty grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

9. "Pinot grigio or bust": the life of a depressed wine maker with a penchant for the sublime.

8. "Das Wunderkind": the story of a prophetic german child who has not yet learned to speak, but can draw your future in crayons.

7. "The Enlightenment": a small town girl runs a candle shop and waxes philosophical. she gets burned one night and sues herself for a raise.

6. "Psychodelic tubes": a hippy's lone fight for tubed toothpaste packaging.

5. "You're hired, now duck!": newly hired obama girl look-alikes debate the morality of their profession.

4. "For the love of diamonds": a minor league baseball coach is fired on the grounds of his addiction to horse-betting, prostitutes, uppers, and the two-out hit and run. he is forced by the owner to accept his new role as general manager.

3. "Devastation 88.1": one band's unquenchable thirst to get signed is outmatched by the label's unflagging commitment to profit and loss.

2. "The Search for Dora": on the road with freud's great-great grandson as he searches for the great-great descendant of dora. once they find one another, they talk for a bit, then realize they have nothing in common but for a shared interest in mutual bonds.

1. "Cough it up": memoirs are read aloud by women who have been hypnotized. they are told to cough loudly when they find a passage to be overly dramatic. the data is sent to oliver sacks for analysis. the entire study becomes its own memoir.

~Jeff

Bill Maher's Religilous

2008-10-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

"two thumbs up"

--

TOUR WRAP, THANK YOU

2008-10-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

Hey yall,

We're back home in Providence. The tour was pretty ridiculous. We didn't get arrested, and since we voted not to bankroll Ben's gambling addiction with the band profits, we're not washing dishes in West Virginia. Speaking of West Virginia, try driving a tie-dyed, peaced out hippie-mobile down Main St. during a town fair. While plenty of mothers shielded their childrens' eyes, it would also amaze you to see how ready Main St. USA is for peace. Anyhow...Thanks to everybody who came out for being a part of the tour. We're taking the next few weeks off. Getting ready for CMJ, which should be a wild week in NYC. Stay tuned for a tour photo journal and check out some of the national media that's picking up on the band and the new record!!

love,
Low Anthem

Thanks to the other folks involved.

Annie and the Beekeepers
The Accident That Led Me To The World
Nathan Moore
Dan Lefkowitz
Graham Smith
Ben Pilgrim and the Free Union Band
Cannon Fodder
Twain
Nate Jackson
The Points North
Matt Fox
Rick Berlin
Dr. Gasp

...

Are you registered?

2008-10-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to spend a beautiful Providence day with the band, catching up on stories from the road and planning big adventures for the future. After cooking a family dinner and watching Ben nurse the pump organ back to life, we sat around watching some must-see TV. I'm sure you all caught the VP debate and we wanted to make sure you'll be able to vote with us in this historic year. Whatever your political persuasion, please make sure you are registered--the deadline for many states including RI is October 4th, this Saturday. To check if you are registered, to find out your state's deadline, and to register to vote, please visit Declareyourself.com.

Love,
Kate

NathanMoore.org

2008-09-25T19:54:00.001-07:00

We've just wrapped up our VA, WV, NC portion of the tour with folksman Nathan Moore. You must hear his songs. www.nathanmoore.org

...

touring 1 - Beekeepers

2008-09-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hey yall, we're in Philly. In case you haven't caught them yet, we wanted to link you to our friends Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers. They joined us for our three big CD release shows (NYC, Providence, and Cambridge) and played three incredible live sets. We hope you'll catch on to what they are doing.

http://www.myspace.com/annielynch

love,
us

...

Don't protest outside the Grand Old Party's convention.

2008-09-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

2008-08-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

Darwin Fish Dysgenics Reissue

We're sending out pre-orders

2008-08-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the PO on Thayer St. today. We began mailing out the pre-orders! See you soon for the release parties

LA

...

...

Craigs List, Motif controversy

2008-08-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

There has been an ongoing debate on Craig's List over the Motif review of our new record. Some folks have come to our defense. Others to Vickers'. An interesting mudslinging fest that has taken many tangents.

See RI Craigs List : Musicians

It began August 21

...

2008-08-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hello from Northampton. We've come upon this graph
of oil reserves around the world. Let's not drill.

In case you missed this

2008-08-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Given the week's press theme, observe the master...

Mission Statement

2008-08-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

So, here be the blog. We'll be using this space to let friends know things. All sorts of things. Like records we dig, places we dig, people we dig, holes we dig. Mostly I bet we'll try to turn you on to records, new and old.

BKM

First entry

2008-08-15T09:03:00.001-07:00

test one, two...

check, blog check