Glad Hearts

What Is Our One Demand?

2011-11-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

For the duration of the Occupy Movement, all the proceeds from the sale of our song "Your Heart Is A Muscle The Size Of Your Fist" will be donated in support of the Occupy Movement.

Cheers,
Ryan

Ryan at World Cafe 10 Nov

2011-10-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'll be playing solo acoustic at...

World Cafe Live at The Queen
500 N Market Street
Wilmington, DE

On Thursday, 10 November from 5-6.

Looking forward to it! Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Ryan

Happy Birthday, Mallory!

2011-10-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

We played Mallory's birthday party Saturday night, and it was great. Cass spent the last month building an amazing stage in their backyard for the party, and we were lucky to be a part of the great bunch of bands who played. There was food, fun, and friends, and it was a beautiful night.

I was extra psyched because Mal sat in with us for a few songs, singing and playing accordion, and Cass, Mal, and John all played with Steve, Bill, and I on "Your Heart Is a Muscle The Size Of Your Fist." It was great to have everybody up on stage together again.

The rest of the night was excellent as well, with music from The Civil War Buddy Hollies, Dark Moses, The Free Radicals, and The Great Afternoon. DJ Feathers was there spinning records, too.

You remember that car commercial with Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" in it? I'd say this was a real-life version of that good a night.

Sadly, my camera was not working. If anyobody who was there has pictures, I would be very grateful if you'd send them my way.

Cheers,

Ryan

Occupy Together

2011-10-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

In the past two weeks, I've been lucky enough to be able to attend Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Philadelphia. Very exciting; very impressive.

In Philadelphia I was able to take part in the General Assembly, and it was very cool to see real democratic decision-making in action. I know I'm lucky to have a job, but part of me wished I didn't, so I could be more involved.

I will be back to both, though. Hope to see you there...

Cheers,
Ryan

Back At The Rac

2011-09-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to let you know I'll be playing solo at The Raconteur again! For those who've never been to The Raconteur, it's an amazing independent bookstore in Metuchen, New Jersey, and well worth a visit, even when there's not an event there.

I'll be playing with Hope For Agoldensummer (lovely, folky tunes from lovely, folky Athens, Georgia) and Anthony Walker (a fellow Jerseyian singer songwriter).

Here're the details:

Tuesday, October 18
The Raconteur
431 Main Street
Metuchen, New Jersey
8p

Here are some nice things people have said about my showmates:

Hope For Agoldensummer
"Part junkyard orchestra, part campfire song circle, Hope For Agoldensummer conjures luminous, moody balladry." -Time Out New York

Anthony Walker
"An intelligent, introspective singer/songwriter" -Encore Magazine

There's a Facebook Event, of course. I'll be posting videos, songs, and pictures to that Event in the coming days.

Hope to see you there! As always, thanks for listening.

Cheers,
Ryan

Milo Teaches College?*

2011-09-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

I saw Descendents in Philly this weekend. With them going on and off hiatus I wondered if I'd ever type or say those words again, but there they are.

My tastes in music might have changed since I first heard Milo Goes To College at 15, but I really enjoyed this show. Descendents was the first "big" show I ever went to with my friends^, and I was able to go to this show with a lot of the same friends. That was definitely the best part.
Descendents played exactly as I remember them, which I think is pretty impressive. The only major difference was Milo invited his children on stage to help with the rules of the bass master general. Pretty adorable to hear a 5 year old girl saying, "Thou shalt not partake of decaf."

Plow also played and played really well. Their music was on in my car a lot during high school, and it was great to hear them again with my old buds.

Afterwards, we went to Tattooed Mom, where Nirvana was in heavy rotation on the jukebox, as you might expect for this weekend. Around 1am, people still in costume and make-up from a zombie prom also started showing up, which was real rad.

Thinking about it now, that's a lot of nostalgia for me for one weekend, but that's good every once in a while. Besides, Sunday I did a little bit of forward-looking, practicing with Bill and Steve to get ready to do Glad Hearts as a three piece for a while.

Cheers,
Ryan

*So, after minutes of internet "research," I couldn't find any evidence of Milo Aukerman actually teaching college, but most sites I found seemed to agree he has his PhD. So, it's theoretically possible he could adjunct from time to time, and from there I couldn't really resist the play on words.

^To be fair, the first show I ever went to was when my parents took me to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Live! The show was almost ruined when Shredder showed up right after the first two songs, but the Turtles were able to fight him off and still rock the house. Pretty impressive, even for ninjas.

The first show I went to on my own was a DIY benefit show for the local first aid squad where people from my high school played. It may sound cliche, but it did change my life.

The UpDog to The Delaware

2011-07-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was rad. We played the last show at The UpDog, then went swimming in the Delaware River. Cass even jumped from a tree onto a trampoline.

We're sorry to say the UpDog's time is at an end, but I don't think this will be the last show Greg hosts.

Here's the bill from the show:

A Fucking Elephant
El Drugstore
So Is The Tongue
The Vandelles
(Us)

Many thanks to Greg and Lauren from the UpDog for hosting us, to all the other bands, and to everybody who showed up and threw down!

Cheers,
Ryan

Thanks, Brooklyn

2011-06-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Photo by John Valencia

Thanks very much to everyone who came out to The Charleston the other night and to everyone who helped put the show together. It is great to be back to playing live, and that was an amazing night for us! Here's to many more good times.

Cheers,
Ryan

Live At The Golden West

2011-05-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a live recording of me playing solo at The Golden West in Baltimore! You'll hear accoustic versions of some brand new songs off of our upcoming record as well as beautiful sets by Among Wolves, Sarah Pinsker, and Brian Adam Ant.

Many thanks to Alex Champagne for making this night, and this recording, happen!

Cheers,
Ryan

If It Wasn't For The Last Minute, Nothing Would Ever Get Done

2011-03-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

So, the deadline is super close, but you still have time. Here's the deal...

Doodle Drag wants you to draw something for Screaming Females.

I sent mine in last night. You should, too.

Cheers,
Ryan

Karma Critic

2011-03-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Good bud and former Glad Heart, Jimmy Valentine sent me a link to Karma Critic today. I could see me getting really into this.

Cheers,
Ryan

Friends With Benefits

2011-03-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

Cover art by Jess Rees

"Nothing If We're Not Moving" and a lot of other great bands are featured on Love/Hate Records' newly released Friends With Benefits compilation CD!

Cheers,

Ryan

Getting There

2011-03-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

photo from hiphopsnobs

We've been working on our next record for a long time, now, longer than any of us thought we would have, but we're getting close to being done, and it has been so worth it! We started tracking vocals and the other day a violinist and cellist came in and played on a few of the songs. It is very cool to hear the songs begin to take their final shape.

-Ryan

It's Not Every Night I End Up At The Philadelphia Tattoo Convetion Afterparty by Accident...

2011-02-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

..but it sometimes does happen and totaly reminds me why it rules to be alive. I went go see Blank Dogs at the M Room. They rocked, and while I was hanging out with my buddy, Craig, after the show, this happened:

Dude with plastic Halloween Jack'O'Lantern: Yo, you guys want to get into the raffle? The afterparty for the Tattoo Convention is coming here. You can win free tattoos, the money all goes to pay for my friend's medical bills, plus there's going to be a show. I'm not saying exactly what's going to happen, but I'm going to get hurt real bad later on.

Us: Definitely.

After about 15 minutes, it wasn't totally clear if any of the above was true. So I said to Craig...

Me: Either we just got taken by the most creative line of bullshit ever thought of to scam two people out of $7 or we should stick around and see what develops.

Craig had to go, but he gave me his share of the raffle tickets. I stuck around, and it turned out all was well, and the party most definitely was happening. I texted Craig:

Me: If I win with your tickets, I get to pick what you get tattooed with. Which is your favorite Ninja Turtle?

Craig: I want Krang, on the belly, so I can be like the giant robot.

Sadly, I didn't win the tattoos, but the party was everything you'd imagine it to be. I'm not sure who won the human flesh tug of war, but it was definitely not the guy who had to clean up the blood. Every time I think I've pretty much seen all there is to see, I am joyfully proven wrong.

Cheers,
Ryan

Pollifax Wanderer Sessions

2011-02-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

photo by Pollifax

If you're reading this, there's a very good chance you will like this. Enjoy!

-Ryan

School Street Artists Commune

2011-02-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

Mallory and Cassidy have opened their own Etsy shop where they sell some of the very excellent crafty projects they make. Check them out here!

Cheers,

Ryan

Solo show at The Golden West

2011-02-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

I'll be playing a solo show at The Golden West in Baltimore on Fri, 11 Feb! More details here.

Cheers,
Ryan

You Will Hear My Heart, And The Circuit Will Be Complete

2011-01-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

image posted by builtonaweakspot.com

It would be hard to top DJ Shadow's recorded version, but live might be a different story. Here's Juno playing "High Noon" in real life. Enjoy!

-Ryan

Thank You!

2011-01-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who bought one of our records during the holiday season! Your support enabled us to make a donation to UNICEF.

Happy New Year,
Ryan

UNICEF Benefit

2010-12-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

In observance of the holiday season, we will be donating $1 from every Glad Hearts album sold through our web site between now and New Year's Day to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

If you would like to support UNICEF directly, you can do that most efficently at their web site. If you've been meaning to get a Glad Hearts record, but haven't got around to it yet, here's your chance to do that and help others at the same time:

Glad-Hearts.com/store

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Ryan and Glad Hearts

Jeff Mangum Live!

2010-12-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

According to International Tapes, Jeff Mangum played at The Schoolhouse in Bushwick the other night. Going by the set lists posted online and the live recordings posted on International Tapes, he played a lot of great Neutral Milk Hotel songs. Enjoy!

-Ryan

The Ugliest!

2010-12-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

I showed up to an ugly holiday sweater contest the other night in this little handmade number...

While at the party, I also learned this:

My Bud: Oh, tongue out for good luck, I see.

Me: Huh?

My Bud: Tongue out means good luck. When a hunter takes a kill photo after shooting an animal, if the animal's tongue is out, that is good luck. A lot of hunters will pull the tongue out for the photo, but the best luck is if the tongue is already out when you find the body.

Me: Ohhhhh!

My buddy must have been right, because me and puffy-paint Rudolf took home first prize. Those with a keen eye for fashion will recognize a similar puffy-paint motif in my onesies from last season. Puffy-Paint=Second best $5 I ever spent*.

*First best $5 we ever spent was getting a second key made for the van before leaving for tour. We would have been locked out of the van at least three times otherwise.

-Ryan

The Antlers

2010-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

I swear before I was in a band I kept much better tabs on this stuff. Now sometimes I get so wrapped up in practicing, recording, and playing shows that I miss a lot of really good music. And so it is that only today I find out about The Antlers, and their awesome, new (to me) record, Hospice.

This is a record I know I'm going to have to listen to over and over again, probably while driving alone at night.

Update 3 December: So good it makes my stomach hurt.

-Ryan

Pie Fight

2010-12-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

Awesome.

-Ryan

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-30T10:28:00.000-08:00

Tofurky photo by quarrygirl.com

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I go for the Tofurky myself, but whatever you ate, I hope you spent some good times with family and friends.

Whatever your diet, though, the story of the Tofurky is actually pretty inspiring.

-Ryan

The Hardest Math

2010-11-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

As much as I don't like to think about my life in this way, I broke down the math today...

168 hours per week

56 sleeping
45 working
10 eating
10 doing chores
10 recreating
7 in transit

leaves...

30 hours for music, which is both a great gift and nowhere near enough.

-Ryan

No One Said It Would Be Easy

2010-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I got to see Cloud Cult put on a beautiful show last night! The movie about them, No One Said It Would Be Easy, is amazing, too.

-Ryan

Enjoy Your Rabbit

2010-10-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

photo from yocheckthisjam.com

I am a total sucker for a good lyric. Frightened Rabbit got me today:

"I am armed with a past and a will and a brick...I am armed to the teeth and I'm heavyset."

Of course, you have to hear it.

-Ryan

The Brass Ring

2010-10-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

photo by Brooklyn Vegan

photo from WHYY

Holy crap! I heard Screaming Females on NPR. In the nerdiverse I consider myself to inhabit, I'm pretty sure that means they have offically "made it." Congratulations all the way to the Females!

-Ryan

Hunchback And The Ergs Reunite For A Benefit Show

2010-10-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

The mighty Hunchback and The Ergs back together at Asbury Lanes for one night only to raise money to help the Nixon family with Jackie Nixon's battle with cancer! Tickets go on sale Monday, 25 Oct; show is Sunday, 5 Dec.

Amost 500 people have already RSVPed on Facebook. I will see you there. (Edit: or maybe not? Tickets sold out before I could get one! Maybe they'll add another show?) (Edit: They did; I went; it rocked!)

-Ryan

This Saw Can Sing

2010-10-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

photo by Anthony Battiato

John Valencia, who played in Glad Hearts for a long time, could play a mean singing saw (among a lot of other things). In 2009 he even played in the world's largest singing saw ensemble. Today, I came across a video of it. (John's in green in the back).

Here's John playing the saw on "The Tired Doctor."

-Ryan

A Question:

2010-10-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Who wouldn't be a wicked clown for $1o million a year?"

Our Band Could Be

2010-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Back when I had no bandmates, no idea how to record music on my own, and no idea if I could actually write a song anyone would want to hear, I kept this book next to my bed permanently.

No matter how exhasted I was after coming home to a house with no heat after 10-14 hours of working my day job, I would be sure to practice for at least one song and read at least a few lines from this book every night. Sort of like how I imagine pioneer famlies saying their prayers and reading from the Bible every night before bed.

The first few chapters of Michael Azerrad's biography of Nirvana was one of the first things that made me want to be in a band, and Your Life kept me on the path when things got rough. So: thanks, Michael Azerrad.

Some of what Phil Freeman says about this book may be true, but I still love it. Any criticism of the book is best answered in the introduction when Azerrad says something like, "There are plenty more books to be written about this subject; I invite you to write one of them." I look forward to reading all the books and hearing all the music inspired by this book.

Cheers,
Ryan

Jake Swearingen, You Did It Again

2010-10-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Another hilarious journal. Three-way tie for my favorite line in this, but the contenders are:

"Anything worth stealing has already been stolen by people braver than me."

and

"If you had told me four months ago I'd be overjoyed to be sleeping with a bunch of armed rednecks that I'm like ninety percent sure are soaring on meth, I would have laughed and laughed. Life, it comes at you strange sometimes, you know?"

and

"And here's how everything can change."

-R

Are You There, God?

2010-10-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite zombie story since Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

-Ryan

Baby Clothes

2010-10-05T05:36:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends are having babies, so Alex and I made some clothes for those babies.

If you are a baby and you would like some clothes like this, send me your size (Watermelon, Breadbox, or Medium-Sized Dog) and the name of your favorite cocktail/late 80s experimental guitar band, and I'll see what I can do.

xoxo,

Ryan

Target Practice

2010-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

We took a break from recording to help control the local Pabst beer can population.

Bob and Patty

2010-09-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

I know summer's almost over, but I came across this photo in the libarary the other day and wanted to post it. I miss having a fire escape. I used to have a really good one, too. Excellent view and extra scary.

On The Spot

2010-09-21T11:02:00.001-07:00

Spotify seems like it's going to be pretty cool when it finally becomes available in the US. Apparently you don't really have to wait, though.

In a few years (months?) I guess filling multiple hard drives with downloaded MP3s will be the equivalent of carrying a Discman (and spare batteries, natch) with you everywhere you went. I am still really glad I did both of those things, though.

-Ryan

Blessed, Blessed, Ludwig Van

2010-09-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by 2create

I got my first synthesizer! We borrowed a Microkorg to use on The Oak and the Acorn, but we only really cracked the surface.

It's cool to be able to edit sound with such detail, but with ultimate power comes the ultimate responsibility: to not be cheesy.

I'm psyched to see where this goes. Any tips?

-Ryan

Ears To The Western Soil

2010-09-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

photo by Nicolas Genin

So, I know I'm repeating what 50 million record-buyers worldwide have alreday said, but I still gotta say: OMG, Ennio Morricone.

-Ryan

Communipaw And A Cat Called Cricket

2010-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Communipaw

A Cat Called Cricket

I was pretty excited to learn our New Brunswick buds, Communipaw, will be playing with our Baltimore buds, A Cat Called Cricket, at A Cat Called Cricket's record release party at Charm City Art Space in October.

It's going to be a great night, and I would probably not know any of the people involved if it wasn't for touring and playing shows. So, three cheers for touring and playing shows!

The Beechfields, the collective that is putting out the Cat Called Cricket record, is an amazing Baltimore-based community of musicians.

If you're interested in going to the show, drop me a line.

Cheers,
Ryan

You and Your 424, Thank You!

2010-09-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank all the people I know personally who have recorded their own music and made it available to me. When it's still dark in the morning and I leave the house to drive to another ten hour stretch at work, nothing keeps me hopeful like music made by somebody I know in real life.

It's an important reminder to me that the really important part of life, the part beyond just going to work and consuming, is really possible and accessible. Thanks.

xoxo,
Ryan

Examined Life

2010-09-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

We watched this after recording one night; it was really good. Cornel West's segment was the most fun, but all of the segements were interesting. It's always exciting for me to see philosophical questions overlaid on everyday life, and the movie did a good job of that.

I wish there'd been a segment of someone talking about whether a person has a duty to cultivate his or her natural talents, and how far it's right to take that pursuit.

It was inspiring to watch, though, and for me a good reminder of the fundamental reasons I'm in a band in the first place.

-Ryan

Neutral Milk Hotel

2010-09-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

photo by Will Westbrook

I just finished rereading the 33 and 1/3 on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea for the third time. An amazing story of an amazing record.

I drove to Alaska and back, once, and during all night drives, when everyone else in the van was asleep, I'd just listen to Aeroplane over and over. If I have anything that could be called a religion, it is music, and records like this are part of the reason why.

-Ryan

We Are Now In Space.

2010-08-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Oak and the Acorn can now be found at Spaceboy in Wilmington, DE. They have a bunch of cool other stuff as well, and they do a great job of supporting local artists of all kinds, so please support them if you can.

-Ryan

Satan's B-Day

2010-08-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I love summer. But, as the thermometer whizzes past 100 again today, I'll admit I start to think about fall. Specifically, Halloween, which is totally my favorite holiday.

Last Halloween I went to a place in Philly called The Ox. It was definitely in my top 5 Halloweens yet. This being the night everyone gets to pretend to be someone else, they had a bunch of bands play all covers.

Rapid Cities did an amazing set of Fugazi covers and another band played all Neutral Milk Hotel. I never got to see either of those actual bands, so this was probably as close as I'll ever get, and it was pretty rad.

At midnight they had a demon summoning with candles and a pentagram and everything. They had even hung real chicken's feet from the ceiling of the "summoning room." It was dark except for the candles, so every once in a while one would graze your shoulder. No demon showed up, but there's always next year...

The Netherlands

2010-08-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks very much to radiogirl on Dollard Radio out of Oldambt, The Netherlands for playing us on air.

Ohm...

2010-08-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not a religious person, but I had a chance to spend a few days at an ashram, and it was a pretty cool experience. It was very inspiring to be among a group of people living according to their consciences in a sustainable community outside the mainstream.

I had also heard there was going to be a harmonium performance while I was there, but I think I missed it.

-Ryan

Everything Old Is New Again

2010-07-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

We're so busy working on the new record that, unfortunately, we won't be able to tour this summer. The record is coming along really well, though, and as soon as it's ready to go we'll be ready to get back out on the road.

In the meantime, we have something else for you...

Our first EP, A Year in a Circle, which we released in 2007 as a very limited edition of 50 hand-made albums. There aren't any copies left, but people have been asking about it, so here it is to download:

A Year in a Circle

Enjoy and, as always, thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Ryan

I was wondering how long this would take...

2010-07-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

It looks like we've reached what's become a milestone for music in the 21st century: Our songs have made their way onto the torrents.

On the one hand, I'm glad people are interested in the songs. On the other hand, it would be nice to be paid for the time, effort, (and money) we put into creating and recording them.

But, Internet, I think I have a pretty good idea of how you work, so I guess we'll just have to see where this goes...

-Ryan

We Climbed a Mountain!

2010-07-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

It was awesome!:

photo by Mallory Leonard

photo by Imri Mahmudi

010010110101010010

2010-07-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

John Valencia*, who is awesome, came by our practice space last night to help us get ready for recording. I am simultaniously in awe of and totally leary of the technical end of recording.

First let me say I regard it as something close to a miracle that sound can be recorded and replayed at all. I understand the theory behind it, but I'm still amazed that I can carry around thousands of hours of music in my pocket, let alone record my own songs in my house.

I am super impressed by people who have deep knowledge of the technical aspects of the recording process and are able to use the studio as another instrument.

At the same time, for myself, I just want to press record, perform the song, and have it sound good. I don't want the technical process of figuring out which cable goes where to take time and energy away from the creative process. So...hopefully that won't happen...

-Ryan

*John played in Glad Hearts from pretty much the beginning until pretty recently. He produced and engineered our EP and LP, and at one time or another, played pretty much every instrument in the band. He also played singing saw as part of the largest chorus of singing saws in the world.

Road Trip=New (To Me) Music

2010-07-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I like about road trips with friends I haven't seen in a while is it's a great time to catch up on what they've been listening to. I got to go on a real nice trip with some buds this past weekend, and that's how I found out about We Were Promised Jetpacks.

Also, I know their debut is totally old meme by now, but I just got into Tapes 'N Tapes! Dyn-O-Mite. I need to pay better attention. How did I miss out on them for so long? (If you're going to ask me what happened to the other apostrophy, that's how they spell it. Grammarians should be score-keepers, not rule-makers.)

In other awesomeness, I just came across The Meters and have really been enjoying their stuff. To hear them tell it, "Despite a reputation as the finest New Orleans funk band ever, the Meters didn't get their full due in the first go-round back in the 1960s and '70s."

xoxo,
Ryan

Screaming Females Vanarchy

2010-07-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a good story of an awful thing that happened to Screaming Females out on the road. Marissa is selling a bunch of her artwork to help them get a new van and get back out on the road. So, if you have the money, I'm sure they'd appreciate the help.

We had a brush with disaster ourselves last summer when Nancy Lou, our own beloved van, nearly died in by the heat of a Virginia summer. Through sheer luck, we had a much easier time getting back on the road, but that's a story for another time.

-Ryan

The Blog is Back!

2010-07-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

I'll admit I let the blog slide for a bit. We're working on a new record, and I figured my time would be better spent writing songs instead of blog entries.

But, as we get ready to move forward with the new record, I took a look back at the blog and realized how glad I was to have a record of what we'd done. So, now that the songs are mostly written, I'm going to be more active on here to document the making of the record.

This is the first summer in two years we won't be going on tour, and I have mixed feelings about that. Of course, I'll miss getting out on the road, meeting new people, and the adventures that come along with touring. On the other hand, I am really excited to record our new songs. Doing it in the summer will give us a chance to record for a long stretch at a time rather than squeeze in sessions on nights and weekends around school and work.

We're going to record this new record ourselves at home, and I'm excited about that, too. As grateful as I was to get to work on part of The Oak and the Acorn in the studio, I'm interested to see what we come up with without the money and time constraints of "studio time."

I'll keep you posted...

-Ryan

In The Juke At The Shep!

2010-03-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hot damn, here we are in a real live jukebox, in one of the best bars in Jersey, to boot, The Shepherd and The Knuclehead.

Tape On Your T Shirt?

2009-12-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

I recently learned the masking tape I put on some of our Glad Hearts Elephant T shirts to mark their size may have left a small amount of residue on some of the shirts when removed. If this happened to your shirt, I am very sorry!

Please email or call me, and I will correct the situation.

Thanks, as always, for your support.

Best Wishes,
Ryan Bing

Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com
973-747-8998

Thanksgiving Update

2009-11-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

I hope this message finds you well and getting ready for a happy Thanksgiving and holiday time! Here's what's new with us:

New Shows
------------------------------------------
We had planned on taking it easy on shows to write the next record over the winter, but a bunch of people invited us to play, and we hate to turn down a show, so here we go!

Please note two of these are benefit shows for local food banks, and donations of food and money to feed the hungry will be very gratefully accepted at these shows. We are very happy to be a part of these shows and hope you will be able to join us to have some fun for a great cause.

Sat, Nov 28: The Brighton Bar - Long Branch, NJ
Fri, Dec 4: Arthouse - New Brunswick, NJ
Sat, Dec 5: The Iron Monkey - Jersey City, NJ*
Sat, Dec 12: Food Overdrive Benefit Show at The Spot - Wilmington, DE
Sat, Jan 2: Pantry Party Food Benefit Show at The Wayne Firehouse - Wayne, NJ

*Please note the new start time for this show (10pm)

More info: Glad-Hearts.com/shows

UNICEF Benefit
------------------------------------------
In observance of the holiday season, we will be donating $1 from every Glad Hearts CD sold between now and New Year's Day to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. If you would like to support UNICEF directly, you can do that most efficently at their web site. If you've been meaning to get a Glad Hearts CD, but haven't got around to it yet, here's your chance to do that and help others at the same time at our website:

Glad-Hearts.com/store

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Ryan and Glad Hearts

(This) Friday The 13th; Court Tavern Show

2009-11-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

We got a last minute invite to play at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, NJ this Friday, the 13 of November at 8pm.

We're not superstitious, so it's on like Donkey Kong! Hope to see you there:

Friday the 13th of November
The Court Tavern
124 Church St
New Brunswick, NJ
8p / $8 / 21+

With...

Montagna And The Mouth-To-Mouth
(Indie folk rock from Jersey with guy/girl vocals, harmonica, and a bunch else)
"Not only original, but GOOD too." -The NJ Underground
myspace.com/themouthtomouth

The Groucho Marxists
"Tuneless bombast" -Larry Livermore
myspace.com/thegrouchomarxists

Dinosaur Eyelids
(Lo-fi guitar rock that reminds me of early Dino Jr.)
myspace.com/dinosaureyelids

The Bad Notes
(Bluesy guitar rock that rocks bluesily)
myspace.com/badnotesmusic

Cheers,
Ryan and Glad Hearts

Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com

Glad-Hearts.com

November News

2009-11-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

Here's what's new with us lately!

Pollifax
---------------------------------
The good folks at Pollifax invited us to do a Wanderer Session at The Raconteur Bookstore. Here are the results! Find out more about Pollifax at their Facebook page.

Shows
--------------------------------
Only one chance left to catch us live before we take the winter to work on a new record:

Sat, 5 Dec
IM Automata Chino
99 Greene Street, Jersey City, NJ
7p
with The Delfields, A Cat Called Cricket, and People in Charge

As always, thank you for listening!

Cheers,
Ryan and Glad Hearts

Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com
Glad-Hearts.com

Autumn Update

2009-10-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

I hope all is well with you and you're enjoying the beginning of Autumn. We have some good news I'm excited to share with you, and we have a few shows coming up.

Autumn Shows
---------------------
We're playing fewer shows in Autumn and spending more time writing new songs for our next record. So, these are pretty much your only chances to catch us live while the leaves are still pretty:

Saturday, 10 Oct: Cousin Larry's - Danbury, CT
Friday, 16 Oct: Mill Hill Saloon - Trenton, NJ
Saturday, 5 Dec: IM Automata Chino - Jersey City, NJ

More information always available here: Glad-Hearts.com/Shows

Roadtrip Nation
---------------------------------
We're very happy to announce our song "The Hub City" will be featured in the trailer for Season 6 of the PBS series Roadtrip Nation. Roadtrip Nation is a documentary that follows a group of young people who hit the road to interview those who have made their own paths in life.

Check out the trailer here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6auFklzolA

Reviews
---------------------------------
Here's one of the very kind things people have said about The Oak and the Acorn in the past few weeks.

"Masterful percussion and lively guitar riffs on tracks such as "West Fast Enough" and "We'll Need Our Blood," as well as the anthemic indie folk chanting of "Tinderbox," will make you an instant fan." -Nereida Fernandes, Exclaim!

You can see a bunch more reviews here: Glad-Hearts.com/reviews

As always, thanks for listening.

Cheers,
Ryan and Glad Hearts

Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com
Glad-Hearts.com

August Tour

2009-07-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

photo by Toni Lucatorto

Summer continues to be totally awesome for us. We had a great time playing in New Brunswick and Baltimore, and thanks again to everyone who came out to both shows.

Also, it's not official yet, but it looks like John and the Chorus of the Saws have set the new world record for largest saw ensemble!

On top of all that, we're headed out for tour in August! Here are the details:

------------------------------------

Fri, 7 Aug
Brooklyn, NYC

The Charleston
174 Bedford Ave
Between N 7th Street and N 8th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
21+; 8pm

with
- In Ribbons (Last NYC show, going away party)
- Soft Black (Vin solo)
- El Diablo Robotico

myspace.com/thecharlestonnyc
myspace.com/johncolemusic
myspace.com/vincentcacchione
myspace.com/eldiabloroboticomusic

------------------------------------

Sat, 8 Aug
Highland Park, NJ and New Brunswick, NJ
Two shows in one day!

Daytime show:

(Acoustic set)
George Street Co-op SummerFest
Donaldson Park, Grove 3B
3p; pot luck

Please bring:
A dish to share (alcoholic drinks are permitted)
Outdoor games
Chairs/blankets (if you need them)
Nonperishable food items (for donation to Elijah's Promise)

georgestreetcoop.com

Nighttime show

New Brunswick, NJ
A Night At The The Octopus
Call or email for address
973-747-8998
jv@Glad-Hearts.com

with
The Delfields
People In Charge

www.myspace.com/octopustudios
www.myspace.com/thedelfields
www.myspace.com/peopleinchargenj

------------------------------------

Sun, 9 Aug
Doylestown, PA

R.A.T. Gallery
4723 Point Pleasant Pike
(at the intersection of Rt 413 and Point Pleasant Pike in Doylestown)
Doylestown, PA 18902
3p; all ages; Donations for the space, please

with
Controlled Storms
The Feverfew
and more

www.myspace.com/controlledstorms
www.myspace.com/thefeverfew

------------------------------------

Mon, 10 Aug
Baltimore, MD

Sarah's House
Call: 973-747-8998 or Email: JV@Glad-Hearts.com for more info
6p

***Due to circumstances beyond our control, this show has been relocated to Sarah's house. It will be totally rad. Thanks, Sarah!***

Fearsome Creatures
Pray For Polanski
Glad Hearts
A Cat Called Cricket

------------------------------------

Tues, 11 Aug
Philadelphia, PA

Robin's Bookstore
Moonstone Arts Center
108 S 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA

with
Controlled Storms

robinsbookstore.com
moonstoneartscenter.org
myspace.com/controlledstorms

------------------------------------

Wed, 12 Aug
Washington, DC

The Wonderland Ballroom
1101 Kenyon St, NW
Washington, DC 20010
8p; no cover; 21+

with
The Blue Line

thewonderlandballroom.com
myspace.com/thebluelinedc

------------------------------------

Thurs, 13 Aug
Richmond, VA

The Camel
1621 West Broad St
Richmond, VA 23220
7:30; $5 cover;

with
Lubec, The Bynars, and Gull and Frankzig

thecamel.org
myspace.com/lubecmusic
myspace.com/thebynars
myspace.com/frankzig

------------------------------------

Fri, 14 Aug
Durham, NC

Busking!

We will be playing outside all around Durham. Give me a call at 973-747-8998 to find out where we are.

------------------------------------

Sat, 15 Aug
Durham, NC

The James Joyce
912 West Main Street
Durham, NC 27701
10pm (rain or shine)

with
Jordan and The Sphinx

myspace.com/jordanandthesphinx
jamesjoyceirishpub.com

------------------------------------

More details and updates are always be available at our web site:

Glad-Hearts.com

You can also visit us on Facebook to find out more about the tour, see who you know that'll be at the shows, and find out more about the other bands we'll be playing with:

www.facebook.com/pages/Glad-Hearts/9949165195

Cheers,
Ryan

July in the Glad Heartland

2009-07-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

It's been an exciting start to summer for us, and we are looking forward to the rest of it! Here's what's new with us:

-----------------------------
News
-----------------------------

June tour was amazing! Thank you very much to everyone who helped us out along the way. We had a great time, got to play with a ton of cool bands, and met a lot of people along the way. I kept a tour journal and took photos, and I'll post those to our blog later this summer.

------------------------------
Upcoming Shows
------------------------------

For July, we only have two shows for the whole month, and they're both this coming weekend! We'll be doing one in New Brunswick, as part of coLab's Breakthrough Arts Fest, then driving down to Baltimore for a relaxed Sunday afternoon show at The Waterfront Hotel, a lounge, restaurant, and bar (though not an actual hotel).

In a very special one-of-a-kind event, John will also be playing singing saw in the International Musical Saw Festival in New York City on Saturday, 18 July. He'll be playing in a chorus of singing saws in an attempt to set the Guinness Book World Record for most singing saws ever played together at the same time. We're pretty sure he'll be able to parlay this into at least one free Guinness in every bar he ever goes into for the rest of his life, so please come out to support him and enjoy some really awesome saw playing.

Here's more information on our shows:

Saturday, 11 July
coLab Breakthrough Arts Fest
The George Street Playhouse
9 Livingston Ave
New Brunswick, NJ
Get advance tickets here
$6; 7pm; all ages

Sunday, 12 July
The Waterfront Hotel
1710 Thames St
Baltimore, MD
4pm; free

Saturday, 18 July
John at the Singing Saw Festival
Trinity Church
31-18 37th Street (37th Street at 31st Avenue)
Astoria, NY
2pm; $10; all ages

That's all for now, but an August tour is in the works. More to come on that soon...

Best wishes and thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Ryan

Jersey City Songwriters in the Round

2009-06-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I'll be playing one of only two solo shows for the summer. It will be in a nice small room at a restaurant and bar in Jersey City. I'll be playing with a bunch of friends, and it should be a really chill fun night. Here are the particulars:

Sat, June 27, 2009
Songwriters Circle in Jersey City
Beret's Simple Cafe
174 Coles Street
Jersey City, NJ (MAP)
8p; 21+

Featuring:
Brian Bond (of Communipaw)
Joe Fekete (of The Delfields)
Dibson Hoffweiler (of Urban Barnyard)
Graham Repulski (Drew Zitelli)
Ryan Bing (of Glad Hearts)

myspace.com/beretssimplecafe

Here's a Facebook Event for it as well. Hope to see you there.

Only Two Shows in June and July

2009-06-25T06:12:00.001-07:00

We're gearing up for our big southbound tour in early August. More on that tour later, but in the meantime we will be playing only two shows: one in Jersey City and one in New Brunswick. Both of them are going to be special in their own way, and I'm excited about them. More information on both shows coming soon.

Tour Diaries Coming Soon

2009-06-25T05:46:00.000-07:00

We've been fooling around with different ways of documenting our tours. Back in March we did video and still photos. I like having the videos, but editing them together to make something concise to share with others is more work than we thought it would be.

For the tour we just wrapped up, I went back to the good old fashion notebook and camera. Once I get a second, I'll be going through both and posting the best bits soon.

Glad Hearts in The Deli

2009-06-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

Here we are featured on The Deli NYC's main page for our June tour homecoming show at Goodbye Blue Monday on Sat, 20 June (you may have to scroll down):

thedelimagazine.com

It'll be a free show in Brooklyn on a Saturday night. Hope you can make it out!

June Tour

2009-06-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

We have a new record, a full band, a sweet van, and the weather is warm. It's time to go on tour again!

This June we're taking a van full of instruments, a suitcase full of records, and our four smiling selves on an eight day tour from New Brunswick, NJ to Boston, MA and back.

You can find out more and hear some of the songs we'll be playing here:

http://www.Glad-Hearts.com

Hope to see you out there!

-------------------------------

Friday, 12 June

Southwest Burrito
10 Easton Ave
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Free; all ages; 7p

Tour Kick-Off!
Rapid Cities, Trinitron, Glad Hearts, delicious burritos, and you!

http://rapidcities.com
www.myspace.com/trinitronsound
http://www.riskrelay.com/blog

-------------------------------

Sunday, 14 June

The Dublin Underground
1 South Pearl Street
Albany, NY
9p

Black Mountain Symphony, Glad Hearts, and more

-------------------------------

Monday, 15 June

PA's lounge
345 Somerville Ave
Somerville, MA
Doors at 8:30; 18+
$7 for 21+;
$10 for 18-20

Where Astronauts Go To Hide, Glad Hearts, and more

-------------------------------

Tuesday, 16 June

Lucky Dog Music Hall
89 Green Street
Worcester, MA

with Matthew Craig Benoit
myspace.com/matthewcraigbenoit

luckydogmusic.com
free; 9p; 21+

-------------------------------

Wednesday, 17 June

The Elevens
140 Pleasant St
Northampton, MA 01060
www.elevensmusic.com

-------------------------------

Thursday, 18 June

Cousin Larry's
1 Elm St.
Danbury, CT 06810
9p; $5; 21+

Ginsu Wives, Singing Bridges, and Glad Hearts

-------------------------------

Friday, 19 June

Sad Zombie House
New Brunswick, NJ
Free; all ages; 7p
Call or email for more info
Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com
973-747-8998

Boy with Robot, Delfields, St Sat B, Glad Hearts, Communipaw

Note: This is the same show as this listing:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=97223942663

-------------------------------

Saturday, 20 June

Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11221
Doors at 8p; Free; 21+

Homecoming show!
MaxVernon, ala muerte, Glad Hearts, I Need Sleep, Crowds and Power

Our Court Date

2009-05-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you all very much to everyone who came to see us at The Court Tavern. It meant a lot to me to be able to play there, and it meant even more to me to see so many friends and family in the audience. Your support and enthusiasm means the world to me.

John was right when he said it on Twitter: Playing The Court is a rite of passage in New Brunswick, and I really had a good time doing it. Thanks especially to Andy, Gabe, and everyone else at The Court for making the night run so smoothly and thanks to everyone else who played for sharing the stage with us.

Can't wait to do it again.

Cheers,
Ryan

On The Radio

2009-04-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

87.9 WBMB is playing tracks from The Oak and the Acorn. Thanks very much to everyone over there. Here's how you can listen in:

Naked Monkey Radio
on 87.9 WBMB
Baruch College Radio
wbmbradio.com
12-1 on Tuesdays

The Raconteur

2009-03-26T14:54:00.001-07:00

I was very lucky last night to get to play at The Raconteur. Cass and Mal from Starfish HQ volunteer there and have been telling me what a cool place it is, so it was a treat for me to get to see for myself and play there.

If you love books of all kinds, this place is what you wish every bookstore would be like. No publisher-payed-for displays of 40 copies of the same book. The weird and the wonderful are all lined up in tattered paperback or vintage hardcover, and the hunt is on.

Cerberus guards the register in action figure form, but be not afraid. Alex and the staff of volunteers are super friendly and happy to talk books (and pretty much anything else) with you.

I love me a good club and loud music, but it was very nice in the midst of tour to have a change of pace and play acoustic in the children's section of the chillest store I've ever been in.

On top of all that, they are super supportive of artists of all kinds and regularly host readings and performances.

I left a few copies of of The Oak and the Acorn at the store, and all of the proceeds from the sale of those copies will go directly to The Raconteur. So, if you're thinking of picking up the record, and you live near Metuchen, please consider supporting this very special place.

Cheers,
Ryan

Glad Hearts on 90.5 WBJB

2009-03-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Sean Carolan of Altrok Radio will be playing tracks from The Oak and The Acorn tomorrow night, Friday 20 March at 10pm on WBJB 90.5 The Night: 90.5thenight.org. Thanks, Sean!

The Oak and the Acorn Spring Break Tour + Album release March 21 + New website coming

2009-03-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

Our first full-length album is almost ready for the world. We'll be releasing it on March 21 and doing a "spring break" tour to promote it. If you live any of the areas listed below please come out and celebrate with us. We'll have download cards, CDs and t-shirts for sale. Check the dates below. By the way, new - much cooler - website coming very soon.

Friday, 20 March
Live on Overnight Sensations with Jared and Geoff
88.7 WRSU
New Brunswick
Listen Live: wrsu.org
10pm

Saturday, 21 March
A Night at the Octopus
Call or email for address (973-747-8998)
New Brunswick, NJ
6pm; All ages; Free (Donation for bands)
myspace.com/octopustudios
Glad Hearts, Joseph Fekete, and friends

Sunday, 22 March
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway, Brooklyn, 11221
8pm; 21+; Free (Donation for bands)
myspace.com/goodbyebluemondayinc
Glad Hearts, The Debutante Hour, Urban Barnyard, and Travis DeVries

Monday, 23 March
Charm City Art Space
1729 Maryland Ave
Baltimore, MD 21201
7pm; All ages; $5
www.ccspace.org
Glad Hearts, Tiger Hill, Mike Pursley, A Cat Called Cricket

Tuesday, 24 March
The Wonderland Ballroom
1101 Kenyon St, NW
Washington, DC 20010
8pm; 21+
thewonderlandballroom.com
Glad Hearts and friends

Wednesday, 25 March
The Raconteur
431 Main Street
Metuchen, NJ 08840
8pm; All ages
raconteurbooks.com
Ryan solo

Thursday, 26 March
Krasner's Basement
Call or email for address
Frederick, MD 21701
1:30p(?); All ages; $2
Glad Hearts and friends

Friday, 27 March
The Spot
1908 N. Market St
Wilmington, DE 19802
8p; All ages; Free (Donation for bands)
www.myspace.com/brandywinevillagecollective
973-747-8998
Glad Hearts; Shining TV Screen; Revolution, I Love You; and Ryan Stapler

Saturday, 28 March
Lickety Split
401 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
8p; 21+
www.myspace.com/licketysplitphilly
215-413-3434
Glad Hearts, Controlled Storms, and friends

Four Little Acorns

2009-02-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Here are four song off of our new record, The Oak and the Acorn. I hope you like them:

http://www.glad-hearts.com/the_oak_and_the_acorn_free_mp3s/

-Ryan

February shows + our album The Oak and the Acorn is on the way!

2009-02-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

We're crazy excited to announce that our first full length, The Oak and the Acorn, is totally done and will be available soon - probably mid March but we'll get back with a hard date later. In the meantime, we're playing a bunch of shows in February to start promoting for the album and get the word out. Dates and details below:

Feb 17, Tues
M Room
15 W Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
9:00pm - $8 - 21+ only
-Glad Hearts
-living/breathing/singing/screaming
-Kyle McGill
-Josh Craft

Feb 20, Fri
The Spot
1908 N. Market St
Wilmington, DE 19802
8:00pm - $Donations - All ages
-Glad Hearts
-Controlled Storms (Philadelphia, PA)
-Tiger Hill (Baltimore, MD)
-PJ Bond (New Brunswick, NJ)

Feb 21, Sat
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11221
9:00pm - $Donations - 21+ only
-Glad Hearts
-Starfish H.Q.
-The Feverfew
-Mattress

Feb 25, Wed (Tentative)
Dead of Winter at Middlesex County College - (? - Check back later)

Feb 27, Fri (Tentative)
Villa Capri
51 West Court St.
Doylestown, PA 18901
Time, Cost and Age Limit (? - Check back later)
-Glad Hearts
-The Feverfew
-TBA

Free Ticket for Millcreek on 23 January

2009-01-20T20:41:00.001-08:00

Friday, 23 January, we're playing at the Millcreek in Philly. First person to email me and mention it gets a free ticket to the show. (Sorry, but since the Millcreek is a bar, this one's 21 and up.) -Ryan

Winter Tour...

2009-01-13T18:55:00.001-08:00

...was really, really fun.
---
Many thanks to Laura Harris for the photo and Goodbye Blue Monday for the stage.
---
Thanks also to everyone else who made those weeks what they were.

2009, Here We Come

2009-01-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hiya,

I hope you had happy holidays and are enjoying the new year.

December was great for me. I played a bunch of solo shows across New Jersey and Brooklyn. I got to hear a ton of great new music, catch up with some old friends, and make some new ones. I'm looking forward to more of all that in January, with the added bonus of getting back to playing with Jimmy and John again. Here again, we have a bunch of new shows.

I'll be playing two more solo shows this weekend, alongside my friends in Starfish HQ as they tour their way Down South. After that, the full band will be back in action for a show in New Brunswick and a show in Philly. At the end of the month, I'll be playing another solo show at an all acoustic venue in Brooklyn. Here are the details:

Friday, 9 January
Ryan solo
with Starfish HQ
The Fire
412 West Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
267-671-9298
iourecords.com
9p; $7; 21+

Saturday, 10 January
Ryan solo
with Starfish HQ
The Spot
1908 N. Market St
Wilmington, DE
7p; $7 (sliding scale); all ages

Saturday, 17 January
Bear City
House show
Call or email for address
973-747-8998
New Brunswick, NJ
6p; pay what you wish; all ages

Friday, 23 January
Millcreek Tavern
4200 Chester Ave
Philadelphia, PA
millcreektavernphilly.com
215-222-1255
9p; $8; 21+

Saturday, 24 January
Ryan solo
The 50/50
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.myspace.com/thefiftyfiftyspace
Call or email for more info
973-747-8998
8p (doors close at 8:45, so be on time); $2; all ages

We're always on the lookout for new places to play, so if you're interested in hosting us in your town, please drop me a line at:

Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com

I'm looking forward to a month full of fun. Hope to see you out there somewhere. Thanks for reading this and thanks for listening.

Keep Warm,
Ryan

Get out your camera

2009-01-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

For the past six months or so, we've been criss-crossing several states giving away stickers and pins and selling T shirts. I'm kind of curious about where all that stuff ended up, so here's the deal: Take a picture of what your Glad Hearts T shirt, pin, or sticker is up to right now and send it my way. I'll pick at random from the pictures I get before 31 January, and the winner gets his or her choice of a Glad Hearts T shirt or a pair of tickets to your choice of Glad Hearts show. All the pictures sent in will be put up on at least one of our web sites (unless you ask otherwise).

2008-12-07T14:19:00.001-08:00

2008-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Some random quotes...

"Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have."
~Penn Jillette

"When I was a baby my feet didn't touch the ground for 3 years. Ladies kept passing me around, that's why I'm so confident"
~Ron Bennington

"You don't know what pressure is until you've played for five dollars a hole with only two in your pocket."
-Lee Trevino

"The fundamental problem with golf is that every so often, no matter how lacking you may be in the essential virtues required of a steady player, the odds are that one day you will hit the ball straight, hard, and out of sight. This is the essential frustration of this excruciating sport. For when you've done it once, you make the fundamental error of asking yourself why you can't do this all the time."
-Colin Bowles

Ryan's Winter Solo Shows

2008-12-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

Jimmy and John will be hibernating for December, but I'll be heading out for a series of solo shows. I'll be playing a bunch of new songs from our upcoming record, The Oak and the Acorn. Most of these songs we've never played out before. I'll also be playing a very special holiday cover. Here're the details:

Wednesday, 3 December
Ryan solo
The Burlap and Bean
with Tommy Murray
204 South Newtown Street Rd
Newtown Square, PA 19073
burlapandbean.com
484-427-4547
7p; free; all ages

Saturday, 20 December
Ryan solo
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11221
myspace.com/goodbyebluemondayinc
718-453-6343
8p; pay what you wish; 21+

Friday, 26 December
Ryan solo
Overnight Sensations
88.7 WRSU
New Brunswick, NJ
Listen live: wrsu.org
10p

Friday, 27 December
Ryan solo with Mike Hunchback and friends
The Parlor
Call or email for address
New Brunswick, NJ
973-747-8998
6p; pay what you wish; all ages

Sunday, 28 December
Ryan solo
The Shepherd and The Knucklehead Pub
with Junkyard John and In Ribbons
529 Belmont Ave.
Haledon, NJ
myspace.com/shepherd_knucklehead
973-942-8666
9p; free; 21+

Friday, 2 January 2009
Ryan solo with Fillmore and friends
Fillmore house
Call or email for exact address
New Brunswick, NJ
973-747-8998
6p; $3; all ages; coffee and snacks

Saturday, 3 January 2009
Ryan solo and friends
Octopus Studios
Call or email for exact address
New Brunswick, NJ
973-747-8998
6p; pay what you wish; all ages

Thanksgiven

2008-11-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks be to Brunswick, indeed. This was our second show there in two weeks, plus two days after Thanksgiving, so I was a little worried about how many people would show. I should have known better than to doubt the Hub City, though.

Thanks very much to everyone who came out to The Breadbox last night. Playing was a ton of fun for me, and I got to meet a lot of new people last night. Thanks especially to John Terry for putting the show on, everybody who lives at the Breadbox for having us, and the other bands we got to play with.

Also thanks to Disarmor for letting me play through their stack. I'd never played through a stack before (except in Guitar Hero), and this one was taller than me.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.

-Ryan

Friendly Bears

2008-11-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Good times, good tunes, good folks! There's no show like a New Brunswick show. For me, feeling the energy coming back from the people in the audience makes all the difference when we're playing, and this was one of those nights. Thank you very much! The impromptu dance party after was rad, too.

For more pics and more info, check out our gracious and radical hosts, Bear City!

Thanks very much...

2008-11-19T18:56:00.001-08:00

...to everybody who came out to the show at Goodbye Blue Monday last Saturday. I think that was the first show they'd ever had in that particular space, and I hope you had as much fun as I did. Always fun for me to be part of something new.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of the performance going on on the front stage, since we were playing the back space. It seemed like a good time up front, though, too. If you were able to catch what they all got up to, please hit up the comments section and fill me in. Thanks!

-Ryan

Congratulations...

2008-11-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

...to Lilli Feninger of Pforzheim, Germany for winning the T shirt give-away. Thanks very much to everyone who entered. Keep an eye on your inbox, we'll be doing plenty more give-aways through the mailing list. If you're not on the list and would like to be, please drop me a line at:

Ryan@Glad-Hearts.com

November Shows

2008-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Friday, 14 November
Ryan solo
The Little Big Show in the Small Wonder
1139 West 7th Street (at the corner of North Harrison Street)
Wilmington, DE 19805
6p; free; all ages

This is a monthly acoustic show I host. It's a super small room (about 20 people max), so show up on time to get good seats.

Saturday, 15 November
Goodbye Blue Monday
with Tape and Wire and more
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11221
myspace.com/goodbyebluemondayinc
718-453-6343
8p; free; 21+

I am super excited about this show. Tape and Wire is Jimmy's old band. They recorded a great album, played two shows, then broke up. This is a one-time get-back-together for them. Sure, it will bring back all those old feelings, and maybe they'll regret it in the morning, but for that one night, why not?

As if that wasn't enough, Goodbye Blue Monday now has two stages, and a bona-fide circus will be performing on one while we play on the other. I am totally not kidding about this. I don't even know exactly what they're going to be doing, but I'm totally psyched.

Saturday, 22 November
Insouciant, Lark Hill, The Sloppy Horse, Half Brother, and Glad Hearts
at Bear City
28 Delafield St
New Brunswick, NJ
$5; all ages; 7p

This is only the second show ever at Bear City. Always fun to be part of something new. The flier Steve from Lark Hill made for this show is totally rad. Even if you can't come to the show you should go to their My Space and check it out.

Saturday, 29 November
Glad Hearts, Lady Bright, Disarmor, and friends
New Brunswick, NJ
Venue TBA (house show)
$5 suggested donation; all ages; 6p

John Terry from Rapid Cities put this one together for us, and we're very grateful. Unfortunately, Rapid Cities won't be playing this one, but they do have a record coming out soon called Machinery Saints. I got to hear three tracks off it when John came down and played in Delaware, and I think you're going to like it.

And speaking of things I hope you'll like. I think this show will be a ton of fun. You can check out the folks we'll be sharing the basement with on MySpace.

Wednesday, 3 December
Ryan solo
The Burlap and Bean
with Tommy Murray
204 South Newtown Street Rd
Newtown Square, PA 19073
burlapandbean.com
484-427-4547
7p; free; all ages

Creep Records fans might remember Tommy from his time in The Crash. He's also an excellent songwriter in his own right, and it's always fun to share a stage with him. I've only recently started drinking coffee, but I've quickly seen what I've been missing all these years, and I'm trying to make up for lost time. I saw a sticker once that said "Art is war; coffee is blood." Come on out and have a cup or two with me.

Rest In Pieces: Hunchback

2008-10-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Live, they would frighten you immediately, then melt your face off with a savage guitar solo. Or, they might first get your foot stomping in a solid grove, then rock your face off with a full band assault. Either way, your face was coming off, but that was the point. With your brain fully exposed and that layer of pretense stripped away you were better prepared to appreciate what they were doing.

Sadly, they won't be doing it much longer. Hunchback is calling it quits after almost ten years. They'll be playing three more shows in November, and that will be it. Their last show will be especially sad, since it will also be The Ergs' last show. That will be a sorry night for the Garden State, and when the last shriek of feedback fades the Jersey Devil will no doubt wail for hours before he passes out drunk on a pile of pine needles.

If you don't know who these bands are, you should find out. We were lucky to have them while we did.

I'll remember Mike pushing his glasses back into place in the middle of a guitar solo. I'll remember Miranda killing it with no toms. I'll remember Jay and Mike doing the intro to "Respect for the Dead" together at double speed. I'll remember Craig screaming, hitting his head on something, bleeding all over his keyboard, then blasting out the harmonica on their version of "Heart of Gold."

That's just me, though. Like any live show, you had to be there. Find a way to make it to one of their last three shows. If you absolutely can't, they came as close as anybody to recording it on "Step into My Parlor," the closing track of Ugly on the Outside. In a moment sure to make any punk (past or present) smile, the distinction between the band and the crowd breaks down near-perfectly into a screaming chorus of "I like spiders."

Sometimes other people say it better. Sometimes other people say it better and I can't remember exactly what they said, but I still know they said it better. I read an article about Hunchback where the writer said something like, "Music and art are not supposed to be all easy, and you can tell Hunchback gets that. You can tell they suffered for their music." I know for a fact that they did, too. But when I'd go to see them live, whatever might have been worrying me would get pushed aside. I hope playing live was as liberating for them as seeing them play was cathartic for me.

On a personal level, if there was no Hunchback, there'd be no Glad Hearts, and I'd still be very confused about what to do with my life. While I was croaking into a handheld tape recorder in my dorm room and piling up tapes I was sure no one else would ever hear, they were out playing shows, writing great songs, and making great records. When I'd get discouraged, their example would help me along. When I played some of my first demos to Craig, recordings which were definitely not "fucking awesome," he said they were anyway, and that kept me going and excited about writing more songs.

On an even more personal level, I consider Craig, Mike, Jay, and Miranda my friends. Craig and Mike took me to see Dawn of the Dead for the first time. Miranda and Jay were at my first vegan barbecue. I'm lucky to have such friends, I was lucky to get to see them play together, and I'm lucky I'll have their music for the rest of my life. Thank you all very much.

Hunchback is dead; Long live Hunchback!

http://www.myspace.com/hunchback

Thanks!

2008-10-28T17:45:00.001-07:00

Thanks very much to everybody at the Millcreek Tavern and Wilmington Urban Bike Project shows. We had a great time, and I hope you did, too! -Ryan

October and November shows

2008-10-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here we come again! Brooklyn, Philly, and Wilmington, we're headed your way!

Friday, 24 October
The Millcreek Tavern
with Kettle Pot Black and more
4200 Chester Ave
Philadelphia, PA
millcreektavernphilly.com
215-222-1255
9p; $8; 21+

This is our first time playing here. It looks rad, and they'll have $6 pitchers. $6 pitchers! At that price, you could just get one for yourself and drink straight from it like you're Jack in the giant's castle at the top of the beanstalk.

Saturday, 25 October
Wilmington Urban Bike Project
Benefit show and Open House
with Backwards Breathing and Deaf Not Dead
1908 N. Market St
Wilmington, DE
urbanbikeproject.org
973-747-8998
7p; $10 (all proceeds go to the project); all ages

This is a benefit show for a great organization in Wilmington. They work towards making bicycles available to people from all walks of life, and they just teamed up with the city of Wilmington to help get replacement bikes for kids who get their bikes stolen. There will be a raffle with prizes (including a Glad Hearts T shirt), bike demos, and an open house, Bike Project style.

Friday, 14 November
Ryan solo
The Little Big Show in the Small Wonder
7 Arts Studio
1139 West 7th Street (at the corner of North Harrison Street)
Wilmington, DE 19805
6p; free; all ages

This is a regular show I've been putting together at 7 Arts Studio. It's a small room, so get there early.

Saturday, 15 November
Goodbye Blue Monday
with Tape and Wire and more
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11221
myspace.com/goodbyebluemondayinc
718-453-6343
8p; free; 21+

This should be a blast. We're playing with a bunch of old friends, including Jimmy's old band, Tape and Wire. Plus, there's going to be a literal circus going on while we play! Like juggling and all that. For real.

Octopus Studios Show

2008-09-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine once had an idea for a restaurant called "Octopie" where they would serve a rotating line-up of 8 different pies. On the wall would be a sculpture of an octopus holding all the pies, and coffee would come out the center where ink should come out. This wasn't that, but was a lot of fun all the same.

Big thanks to Joe and the Delfields for hosting us, and thanks also to Half Brother and Fun Machine for playing with us.

-Ryan

2008-09-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are, my first post on my first September 14th as a married man.

N+ is finally out for the DS. Not as slick as the XBox 360 version, but addicting nonetheless.

If you're the type to purchase games, you can find it for under $20 most places.

The Ergs are calling it quits. Too bad. Good guys and a truly amazing band. Final show dates on the myspace page, notables include The Fest 7 and the final show November 15th @ Asbury Lanes.

For you still lingering Sicko fans out there, Josh has put up some videos for you:

Escalator video
The rest of em

Two New Shows

2008-09-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Tour was so much fun, I started booking more shows as soon as we got back. We have two coming up in the next two month. We'll be in New Brunswick in September and Philly in October. Here are all the details:

Friday, 19 September
Octopus Studios
8 Seaman Street
New Brunswick, NJ
w/The Delfields, Fun Machine, and Half Brother
6:30 PM
973-975-2215
All ages
Pay what you wish

Friday, 24 October
Millcreek Tavern,
4200 Chester Avenue,
University City, Philadelphia, PA
215-222-1255
millcreektavernphilly.com
21+

Hope to see you there.

Thanks,
Ryan

Summer Tour 2008: We love you

2008-08-25T10:10:00.001-07:00

We didn't give this tour a name, but, looking back on it, maybe we should have. It certainly took on a life of its own. If I had to chose a name now, it would probably be a tie between "Super Fun" and "Totally Rad." I can't wait to go out again. Huge thanks to all the people along the way who made the tour what it was.

John put up Kevin's photos in the post below this one, and you know what they say about a picture and 1,000 words. But, if you're interested, I also kept a short tour diary, so here's some of that with Kevin's photos mixed in:

The people in the van

Kevin

My brother and traveling companion extrodinaire. Maker of kick-ass sandwiches, late night driver, and champion of Wu-Tang on the van stereo. Tour wouldn't have been half as fun without him.

John

Scourge of keyboards, destroyer of tambourines, kicker of drums. We filled a van with instruments, but I only played two of them for the entire tour. John played all the rest.

Me

Me

Day 1: New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick=Always fun. We got to play live on Jared and Geoff's show "Overnight Sensations" on WRSU. I used to DJ on that station, so it's always a kick for me to play there. We got to go on the air after and take prank calls from my brother, Greg, and his roommate, Dave, who were also nice enough to let us crash at their house that night.

Day 2: The Brunze again: Junkyard Palace

During the day, Kevin and I went to the Route 18 flea market to get Greg some Nunchucks as a thank-you gift for letting us sleep over. If you've never been to the Route 18 flea market, it is totally worth your while. They have basically any sword you could want.

That night, we played at Junkyard Palace with Communipaw and Half Brother. The show was a great time, and I was totally flattered that people at the show knew some of the words and sung along to "Hub City."

Unfortunately, that was one of the last shows they'll be having there, since their landlord is getting foreclosed on. Thanks, Countrywide and Co. Also, real, non-sarcastic thanks to John, Cass, Mal, and everybody else at the Palace for all their work to help make New Brunswick what it is. Best of luck in your new homes.

Day 3: Trenton, New Jersey

Last time we played there was a few months ago, and Samara from Vibe Cafe was just getting started booking Sunday night shows. Since then, it seems like they've built up quite an audience because we played to a full house. Both times were crazy nights and a lot of fun. Samara is totally awesome, very supportive, and working hard to build up a scene in Trenton. Look up Vibe Cafe on MySpace to find out more.

Speaking of Trenton, before the show we had a few hours of daylight to walk the Philipsburg levees. It was cool. I also learned about a special restaurant in Trenton called the Mates Inn. It's sponsored by the NJ Department of Corrections to give incarcerated youth a chance to learn job skills by running their own restaurant. The directions to the place include the phrase, "Don't be deterred by the guardhouse, just tell them you're going to the Mates Inn, and they will wave you through." We didn't get a chance to go there this time, but next time for sure.

Day 4: Providence

We played at a place called Jesus Camp, which is definitely in my top ten of show house names. This was our first long drive. Gas is expensive, but I think the picture above alone proves Providence was totally worth it.

Jesus Camp was real cool. They'd had an art show a few days before, and a lot of the work was still hanging. It was amazing and you can see pictures of a lot of it in the online photo album in the post below this one. One in particular stands out in my mind, though. It was an 11x17 crayon drawing of a family standing in front of a house, but the sky was all huge clumps of red glitter. The tag next to it read, "I found this in the garbage on my street. This was obviously made in some kind of institution, because no one has this much red glitter in their home."

Before the show, Kevin and Kyle from Jesus camp went to the liquor store to stock up for the evening. As they were walking in, Kyle says to Kevin, "Look, this place can be kind of rough. If anybody asks you anything, no matter what, your answer is 'No!'"

At that point, there were only about 5 people at the house, including us. Kyle asked Kevin if he thought 40 beers would be enough, and Kevin said, "For the 5 people at the house, yeah, I think 40 will be enough." To which Kyle said, "Oh, you've never been to Providence before."

Sure enough, people started showing up, and the show was awesome. For the first part we sat outside in a circle on cinder blocks and milk crates, while Kyle and Derek played in their yard. For our set we moved inside and played in one of their bedrooms with everybody who could fit and everybody else in the kitchen. The show was a ton of fun, everybody was really close, and people listening started grabbed John's tambourine and hitting the drums to play along. For our last song, they shot fireworks out the window behind us while we were playing. It was rad.

Day 5: Brooklyn

This show meant a lot to me because so many of my friends and family came out. This was also the first time I've played for my parents. I really can't say how much it meant to me that so many people came out to the show. I hope you all had a good time.

We played at Goodbye Blue Monday, which was great. It was really nice mixed bill, and we played after Suzy Almond from the UK and a free jazz band.

I don't know, but I had heard getting a show in New York City can be sort of a pain, but everybody at GBM was great. Very supportive and helpful. Thanks a ton to Drew for the drinks, Matt for the sound, and everybody else at GBM for everything else.

Day 6: Wilmington, Delaware

We played at Stoney's Pub in Wilmington. We had a good time, and everybody there was very nice. I actually got to meet Stoney after our set, too.

After we played, a keyboardist got up and played, among other things, this hilarious song called, "She Made a Monkey Out of Me," the chorus of which was, "Ooh ooh ooh ooh ohh (or however you'd spell the noise monkeys make)."

We also shared the stage with a comedian, and I always like it when shows mix it up a bit like that. As Jim Munroe at No Media Kings said something like, "People need more than music in their indie diet."

Day 7: Frederick, Maryland

This was another show I booked strictly through MySpace that turned out awesome. On the way there, we drove into a thunderstorm, then out the other side, and for whatever reason, that always says, "Road trip" to me.

David Krasner hosted us in his awesome basement and cooked delicious pasta for us. We got to hear a bunch of very talented singer songwriters from Fredrick. A very cool scene. Also, they all rolled their own cigarettes. I know it's bad to romanticize smoking, but I have to admit I find that just a little bad-ass.

Day 8: Philly

Ryan vs. Ryan in Philly. Ryan McShane hosted us on her show "Tarantella Ora" on WKDU. It was great, and they have a super cool studio, complete with old school Nintendo and a huge army man battle scene glued to the ceiling. They even have the Power Pad, although we didn't bust it out this time around.

Ryan was very gracious and let us play a full set on air. Also, a very talented folk band from Indiana called Wilson's Reservoir played on air that day, too. We got to chat with those guys a bit, and they are super cool.

Kevin had to leave us here to catch a plane to San Francisco. He was much missed, but John's girlfriend Sharon joined us here, as did my girlfriend, Alex, so the party continued apace.

Day 9: Wilmington (again)

The original plan was for us to play in Newark, DE this day, but when our hosts' landlord caught word of that plan, he apparently threatened to evict them if they had live music in the house. I had no idea we were such a threat to property owners, but so it goes, I suppose.

At fist I was very bummed, but all ended well. Almost everybody who was going to play the show ended up playing live on my front porch for a few close friends. We got to enjoy the music of Mason Barto and Kyle Swartzwelder; no evictions necessary.

Not the end

We will be out on the road again as soon as we can. I feel like I can't adequately describe how great tour was, nor can I adequately thank the people who made it so great. Still, one more try:

Huge thank yous to:

My bandmates, for rocking, Kevin for coming along with us, my Dad for loaning us his van, all our parents, families, and friends for supporting us, everybody who let us play in their place or sleep on their floor, everyone we played with, everyone who came to see us, all the people we met along the way, and you for reading this.

xoxo,
Ryan

Summer '08 Tour Pics - (Everybody's Gotta Love Em!)

2008-08-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Most, if not all, of these totally radical pictures were taken by Kevin Bing ... recognize.

(Click any of these pics below to view the full photo album)

Back to finishing the album + Thanks for the help on tour

2008-08-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

We're done with tour so now it's back to finishing up our record which we hope to have out by October [earlier actually but we'll play it safe and say October]. It's been delayed a little but I've been listening to what we have so far and I think it's damn good - worth the wait. I'm excited to finally have other people hear it.

Thanks to everyone who helped us out on tour. Including:
-Jared and Geoff at WRSU [New Brunswick, NJ]
-All the people at Junkyard Palace (Cass, Mallory, John) [New Brunswick, NJ]
-Samara at the Mill Hill Saloon/Vibe Cafe [Trenton, NJ]
-All the people at Jesus Camp (Monstery, Milo Greene) [Providence, RI]
-All the people at Goodbye Blue Monday [Brooklyn, NY]
-Stoney's Pub [Wilmington, DE]
-David Krasner and the whole Frederick community [Frederick, MD]
-Ryan (Tarantella Ora) and everyone at 91.7 WKDU Philly [Philadelphia, PA]
-Mason Barto and Kyle Swartzwelder [Wilmington, DE]

Thanks also to all the other artists/bands we got to play with and everyone who gave us a listen. We had a blast. Hope to see you again next time around.

BTW, *MONSTER* thanks to Kevin Bing for joining us on tour and helping us out immensely. There's a chance things could've sucked without you, broadie.

-JV

Summer Tour!

2008-07-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Summer Tour 2008
Here we come! See you out there in the great wide world.

New Brunswick, NJ
Fri, 1 Aug
Overnight Sensations, 88.7 WRSU
Listen live online: www.wrsu.org
10p

We kick off tour by playing live on Jared Migden’s Overnight Sensations! First we play, then spin records with Jared. Call in and say hey: 732-932-8800

New Brunswick, NJ
Sat, 2 Aug
Junkyard Palace,
331 Somerset St
all ages; Pay what you wish.
w/Communipaw
6p

Sadly, one of the last shows at this excellent house. Come out and help us say thanks to John, Cass, Mal, and everyone else who made this place a home for DIY art.

Trenton, NJ
Sun, 3 Aug
The Mill Hill Saloon
300 S. Broad Street (on the corner of Market & Broad Streets)
21+; No cover; cheap drinks
9p

Samarra, from the Vibe Cafe is helping us out with this one. Last time we played here, the bartenders had to spray people in the crowd with water, then the bartenders themselves started fighting behind the bar. We fully expect, at least, a repeat of this level of antics. Check their MySpace: "We all have demons, just drink the whiskey."

http://www.myspace.com/millhillmusic

Providence, RI
Mon, 4 Aug
Jesus Camp
Call or email for address (house show)
7p

Easily among the top ten best show house names. This one will be outside. Should be lovely.

Brooklyn, NY
Tues, 5 Aug
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
(718) 453-6343
21+
Pay what you wish
8p

Brooklyn is beautiful in summer. Come join us for a drink or two.

http://www.goodbye-blue-monday.com/

Wilmington, DE
Wed, 6 Aug
Stoney's Pub
Open mic night
3007 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE 19803
Free; 21+
9p

Frederick, MD
Thurs, 7 Aug
Krasner's Basement
9413 Bridgewater Court West
Frederick, MD 21701
All ages, pay what you wish
1:30p

This will be my first time in Frederick, MD. Looking forward to it.

Philadelphia, PA
Fri, 8 Aug
Tarantella Ora with Ryan McShane
Live on 91.7 WKDU
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
4-6p

Listen online: http://www.wkdu.org/
Call and say hey: 215-895-5917
or
IM: RequestWKDU

Last time we played Philly was a blast. The bar we played in was also a polling place for the primary election. They pushed all the voting machines to one corner (after the polls closed) for us to play. Rock, democracy, and ridiculously cheap drinks. Hopefully those three things will continue for us in Philly this summer.

Also, the symbol of Drexel University is a fucking dragon. 'nuff said.

Newark, DE
Sat, 9 Aug
125 House
125 West Main Street, Newark, DE;
973-747-8998
all ages
pay what you wish
6p

A house show in the Small Wonder. With: Mason Barto, Kyle Swartzwelder, and Patrick Hannon. I put this one together, so I'm extra excited about it. This place is right downtown and an easy walk/bike from most of Newark. It'll start on time, and trust me, you won't want to miss anybody.

Last Weekend

2008-07-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was our last weekend in the studio for the new record. We put in some long hours and got a lot done. We also took a break on the Fourth long enough to climb up to the roof of the studio for a killer view of the NYC fireworks. They were totally sweet, and I'm very excited about how the record's turning out, so, all in all, a very good weekend.

A few friends dropped by during the sessions and were nice enough to play, sing, and shout on the record, so you can look forward to hearing from Craig Hunchback and Marcellus Hall when all is done and mixed. Thanks, guys.

In the coming week, me and a microphone will be traveling all over the tri-state area collecting contributions from some other very special guests. More on that later, though.

Almost there...

2008-07-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

After a month of recording during pretty much every spare moment we collectively had, we're almost there. It has been a lot of work and money, but also a lot of fun and very satisfying. I've wanted to make a record since I realized it was possible when I was 13, and now it's finally happening. I'm really proud of how the record is coming out, and how hard we all worked on it.

We'll be going into the studio one more time this weekend (Yes, Fourth of July), and by the end of the weekend we should have all the tracking done!

I'd like to thank all of you who've helped and encouraged us through the writing and recording of this record. It has meant a lot to me, and I am very excited to share the record with you all when it's done.

OK. Back to work for me!