DETROIT (by Nate Senge)

It had long been my desire to see the now infamous skeleton of Detroit. The hollowed out facades of abandoned skyscrapers, the peeling paint of unseen and outdated billboards, the endless circular chase of a lone taxi cab. What remains of Motor City did not disappoint.
I was instantly greeted by the towering edifice of the Detroit train depot, once the grand epicenter of the city's transportation network. What remained looked like a choice piece from the set of I Am Legend. A derelict, hulking mass whose peeling metal struck a worthy contrast to the corinythian ornaments of its summit. Razorwire rounded the perimeter, and a single sputtering streetlight gave the scene an effect that would have had Tim Burton swooning. Flanked by a used car lot and a flashing neon bar sign, an uninformed outsider would have guessed this to be the outcasted bowels of the city. Yet these environs were but a brisk, ten-minute jaunt from the banner-strewn promenade of downtown. The unconvincing spangles of the city's light display seemed only to embarrass the trolling urbanites, so aware were they of the legerdemain at hand.
The dusty interior of The Lager House captures it all. The first question put to the sound guy came back with, "no one tells me shit." My overly politely ordered burger was made by a Saw-esque diabolical looking man with an oversized cutting knife and a grease-stained apron in a makeshift barbeque pit out back. The bar was populated by an array of sledneck types, sipping their American Lager and fumbling their french fries in head-drooped silence. You can imagine my surprise when the usual cadre of skin-tight jean-clad and emaciated hipster frames started pouring through the back door. In seconds, The Lager House changed its clothes and the rock show was on.

COLUMBUS OH-IO

i love columbus. having lived here 2 years, i'm glad to report that last night did not disappoint. thanks to all the old friends who came out! it was another show with social studies - and then they came to crash with all of us at my friend josh's - which turned into a dance party until 5:30am. great finish to the tour. Hauling ass back to brooklyn today!

DETROIT

Madison was lovely- fun show at the frequency including tim's dad proudly taking photos. A much needed day off thursday - thrift store-ing, cooking, nerd time for some and exploring the town.

Booked it to detroit tonight - great show w the amazing timothy monger of great lake myth society doing an acoustic solo set, social studies and a band called the juliets- whose lead singer verbally attacked the sound guy, then ran off stage and tried to tackle said sound guy before getting tackled himself - all while the drummer was also spouting off on stage. Other than that, met some great detroit folk tonight. Always an adventure!

columbus tomorrow for our final stop - and a bit of a homecoming for me!
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MINNEAPOLIS

minneapolis is a strange town...and an amazing one. at our show last night joe january, the bartender, gave us $1 raspberry beers, josh from where astronauts go to hide smashed a mandolin during their show, and a fan actually proposed to his girlfriend from the stage. madison, can you live up to minneapolis??

POST FROM MINNEAPOLIS!

here we are at the 400 bar in minneapolis after a long, but beautiful drive from chicago. you get some michelle urban planning thoughts here now.

Most people write about Roadside America - the lost geography of strip malls beside highway exits--the paradox of a landscape that defines so much of the American identity yet is so aspecific geographically. But I love the landscape that lies adjacent to the highway--what you see through the window. That's where I see the history of America--the juxtaposition of farmland against theme parks, abandoned farmhouses abutting corporate islands, outlet architecture that references an imaginary past, the encroachment of assembly line Levittowns wrapped superfically with the motifs of construction that once alluded to craftsmanship (and therefore wealth)...the grandeur of the natural landscape against the harsh verticals and horizontals of manmade highway barriers. Most potently for me is the moment each day when we're on the road, when the sun starts to approach the horizon, in preparation for dusk--the light spreading across the plains, and the steady movement of our van through time. And I know that this life right now is only temporary--of 6 friends traveling across America, making music not just at the shows, but in our van, in parking lots, in highway rest stops...And I know personally that my search for "America" is necessarily a search for that reverse "Other"--to locate a history that is not my own in order to explain this (my) present. What will ethnicity mean anyway after a 2nd, 3rd generation, besides a visual marker of our past that we had no control over? The 2010 census is coming up--what box will you check?

DAY 4: chicago to minneapolis

Great show last night in chicago with raise high the roof beam (awesome kids) and shams band. There was a sign by the bar that had our band name confused: kitchens ablaze. We laughed about that for a while. Very pleased with the friendliness of chicagoans and one dollar tacos! Got to see a little of chicago too this morning and now we're on the road again to minneapolis for a show with where astronauts go to hide at the 400 bar tonight.

Currently listening to: rural alberta advantage and nick/grant doing book reading of moby dick.

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Ascot

Today's joke from the road: an ascot makes an ass out of you...and scott. - nickyd
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Tour Day 2 and 3

We set off for Chicago last night from Philly - made it as far as somewhere near the Pa/ohio border, listening to the national and blondie...with nick doing a dramatic reading of grant's article for work. We're now in Ohio - following the requisite band tradition of going to every thrift store we can find. Great finds today. Currently stuck at "tom's tire" getting the van fixed (again).
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TOUR DAY 1!

Day 1 of tour is inevitably an adventure. It began auspiciously, we cleaned out the van for the first time since March and set off on the road according to schedule. Then we accidently drove past Philadelphia and ended up outside of Baltimore...Luckily, Andre from Bang Camaro who booked us last night is the bomb. The crowd at the bar was awesome and we got free beers all night. Did I mention it was also a Halloween show? We quickly made friends with a bunch of amazing people in costume - and made a mummy costume for Tim out of toilet paper from the bathroom and a dance party commenced. A brawl broke out between Nate and the brother of the slutty Snow White, but that was countered by meeting a tattoo artist in training who offered us his pad for us to crash - which was a lot more enticing than our plan to sleep in the van or get ripped off at the nearby hostel. He needed $20 to pay his rent, so we gladly chipped in and got into our sleeping bags. His parting words were, "I'm sad to see you guys go, I feel like I'll never see you again!" and "If you get offered crack on the street, just say no." Yup, we were deep in the South Side of Philly. With our hiking packs, it felt just like we were back in South America.

After an amazing walk through Philly - checking out brick alleys and stomping on leaves - we got a rather inauspicious phone call during breakfast. There was a suicide at the bar we were supposed to play tonight in Philly - so the show was cancelled. So, we'll head back out and drive overnight to Chicago today. Overall, warm fuzzy feelings for the people in Philly.

- Michelle/Tim/Jenny reporting from the Philadelphia Java Company Coffee Shop.

BOWERY BALLROOM!

photo by Christoffer Delsinger

yikes it's been a while. we all made it back from our various summer adventures alive, involving several international border crossings by foot, multiple run-ins with interpol and other bizarre police enforcement officials, and lots of animals.

some big pieces of exciting news -
1. BOWERY BALLROOM on Nov 7th! Buy tickets here.
2. Midwest Fall Tour is happening: check out the cities on our website.
3. We signed with The Musebox PR. Exciting times...
4. We'll be playing a bunch of shows for CMJ here in New York in October.

it's a little early in the year for thanksgiving, but we wouldn't be here playing such awesome shows if it wasn't for all our fans supporting us the last two years. so thanks! hope to see you soon.

MERCURY LOUNGE TOMORROW!

we head back to the mercury lounge again, this time it will be midnight spin's record release. if you haven't seen them live, well they're awesome. and better looking than us. tickets have been selling fast, so make sure you get your tickets now!

we'll all be taking the month of august off and traveling around the world. follow us on twitter to get the updates from nick as he bikes down the west coast from washington state to mexico, michelle and tim bus-ing through south america, hopefully not getting hijacked by pirates or involved in a left-wing coup - and the prodigal son/wild card nate who has not decided where he will be going yet!

happy summer. we love you!

Pit Stop...

Awesome show at NXNE yesterday - torontoans are awesome. Thanks to the
rivoli and radio CUIT!!! We've driven through ontario, new york,
vermont and new hampshire today. We're crashing dartmouth tonight -
this could get interesting...Show tomorrow at santos party house -
sponsored by vice and colt45 - with natalie portman's shaved head!!

Currently listening to: nirvana, yeah yeah yeahs

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TO CANADA!

We've been on I-81 headed to Toronto for our NXNE festival showcase,
sponsored by Radio CUIT Toronto. There was actually a sign for the
land of make believe! And of course our favorite gas station chain,
Sheetz!! The quickest way to Toronto is NY-NJ-PA and back to NY. Just
crossed back into the home state and its just green hills for miles.

Current tunes: the ramones, the pixies, sonic youth

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SUMMER! AND TICKETMASTER!

we're on ticketmaster!! this is so exciting:

the kittens love summer. like last year, we're finding our way to as many rooftops, backyards and fun places as we can both to perform and to just hang out. our shows at flytrap, hillstock, shea stadium, elastiCity have been awesome. between now and july there will be tons of opportunities to see us in different formations - acoustic, DIY, bowery presents...

6/11 NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL (Pete's Candy Store 11pm)
6/12 BROOKLYN INVITATIONAL at DUMBO LOFTS (155 Water Street 10:30pm)
6/16 SPIKE HILL on Bedford
6/18 NXNE FESTIVAL (The Rivoli, Toronto Candada 11pm)
6/20 SANTOS' PARTY HOUSE w/ Natalie Portman's Shaved Head & Home Video (7pm - we're sponsored by VICE and COLT45 --> FREE BEER if you come early!). Buy tix here.
6/22 MAKE MUSIC NEW YORK (check out Time Out New York for locations)
7/24 MERCURY LOUNGE w/ Midnight Spin (Record Release). Buy tix here - this is going to sell out!

FUN STUFF

we're currently planning out our summer schedule - it's going to be a fantastic couple of months so stay tuned for the show list. and of course, we have two shows coming up this weekend - a bushwick music studio party and the flytrap festival, both in brooklyn. both are going to be rowdy and awesome.

next tuesday 6/2, i'll be playing with our friends, murder mystery, at mercury lounge with art brut. tickets are almost sold out but you can get them here.

and finally, nate's back this week from his crazy argentinean and chilean expedition - kittens ablaze will be complete again!

DIYDIYDIYDIYDIY

Photo by Christoffer Delsinger

for the next few months, that's the name of the game. come see us play rooftops, backyards, music studios, lofts, warehouses, you name it. catch us one of these shows:

5.29.09 Bushwick Music Studios Party (286 Scholes Street, Brooklyn off the Montrose L)
5.30.09 Flytrap Festival (594 Court Street between Hamilton and Bush, Brooklyn)
6.05.09 Hillstock Rooftop Kickoff Party (967 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, 40+ bands, 3 days!)
6.07.09 ElastiCity Festival (at Goodbye Blue Monday in Bushwick)
6.12.09 Brooklyn Invitational (at DUMBO Lofts with Motel Motel & Eskalators)

Then we get back in the van for NXNE festival in Toronto and a northeast tour!

We also have amazing photos by Christoffer Delsinger of our last 2 shows. Check them out on facebook or at his personal site.

NXNE, BANG CAMARO and MEET THE BAND PART II!

writers, like will from starved magazine, have talked about how we are unlikely friends and utterly different from each other. this blog entry is dedicated to our guitarist/keyboard player, nate senge. in his own words about the band, "there is definitely a clear force trying to rip it all apart, and a clear force trying to cohere it back together, and they are always in opposition. Sometimes one or the other wins out. I think the best work that has come out is a balance." nate & i both share a deep distrust of complacency and a need to travel - we are either completely in sync or completely out of sync with each other. nate's an extreme skiier who has been filmed skiing the line in the photo above in jackson hole and skied the Alaskan Chugach with Olympian jeremy nobis this year. he's about to start a masters in anthropology, but did i mention he got from his dad mad physics skillz as well? right now, he's off backpacking argentina. which leads me to my next point -

on may 14th, kittens ablaze & bang camaro will be reunited at the jezebel feature show, featuring my buddy bryn bennett of bang camaro as our lead guitarist. if i have my way, we will be covering revolution at this show.

we'll also be headed to toronto as a showcasing artist at the NXNE festival in june! pretty excited for our first appearance in canada! finally, rob paterson of maNYC records and my good friend from high school (a veritable factory of musicians and artists, it seems) will be joining us as our live show sound engineer go forward. other than that, we just had another fun show at mercury lounge involving nick crowdsurfing and the entire front row jumping on stage for wandering song. we're looking forward to playing a bunch of fun DIY shows on brooklyn home turf and planning out a midwest tour for the summer.

THE LATEST

we recently did a podcast with GigMaven where among other things, we discussed the loft party where the cello died and half the band was bleeding from unrelated incidents during our set. GigMaven.com is a cool website for any musicians looking to book gigs around the country.

we also just got back from playing some fun shows in connecticut, which involved roadies/band-aids, a stage the size of warped tour, eating rotisserie chicken at a goodwill parking lot, and enormous beer towers on stage.

come join the fun with us this saturday at MERCURY LOUNGE for a great night of music (9:30pm, houston and ave A) - we've got new songs!, and cool bands are on the bill (ravens & chimes, xylos). i'll be giving out free hugs to all. your presence will help us book bowery ballroom in may, so stop by and make us famous! followed by afterparty at home sweet home into the wee hours.

BAND OF THE MONTH & MEET THE BAND PART UNO

Much love to everyone that voted – we’re officially Deli Magazine’s BAND OF THE MONTH which means, we’re famous! Just kidding – but we’re super excited about the free shit which will lead to new music for you all!

Tomorrow we embark on our roadtrip to the faraway state known as Connect-icut. As usual, we’re converging on Stamford in six different ways. We’re not really sure what’s going to happen this weekend or if we’re going to make it back alive from UConn.

Our first installment of “Meet the Band” will be Nick Dalton, bass/harmonica player. He drew our album cover and does all sorts of stuff in the art scene. I think the best descriptions may be from his own words, all the below which have been taken from the signature of his emails:

- Nicky Whizzleteats
- Nick "Pretty Panties" Dalton
- Signing Off, Old Whizzled Snowbeard III, Esq.
- With Undying Love, Nicholaus of Tomorrowtown
- Signed, Eternally Yours and Forever Greatfully Indebted to Your Solemn Grace, Sir Nicholaus of the Unruly Beard
- The Late and Infrequent, Nicholaus "Touch my boat and I'll cut yor arm off" Dalton
- Your Guiding Light in these uncertain Gloom-Doom Times, Sir Nicholaus Alfred Dalton the Last
- Bearded Brother Number Two, Sir Nicholaus Du Glorytown
- Love and Praise The Great Beard, Nicholaus the Red
- The Old Bearded Whizzleteet of the Great White North, Nicholaus Alfred Dalton of the Brooking's Institution, Ltd.
- Old Whizzle McBeardskins
- Love Always and Forever, Your Redbeard of Perpetual Grace

RA RA RIOT WITH BALLS

at SXSW, someone described us as Ra Ra Riot with balls. might be the greatest description we've gotten so far.

busy times for the kitties! voting ends tonight for the DELI MAGAZINE POLL - gracias to everyone who has already voted. we're recording a podcast for GigMaven on Wednesday and we'll be celebrating our cover story at the STARVED MAGAZINE issue release party this Thursday @ Ace Bar - come hang. we're headed to connecticut this weekend to play two philanthropic shows. one for 107.1 and Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Stamford & at UCONN for the Human Rights Awareness Tour (also featuring Dead Prez). back in da van!

finally of course, get pumped for our spring fling @ MERCURY LOUNGE 4/25!

OFFICIAL WEBSITE UP! VOTE FOR US! SHOWS!!

no, i don't have turrets as the post title may suggest but we have some serious updates for y'all!

we're in the running to be the DELI MAGAZINE'S BAND OF THE MONTH! for the brooklyn kids, this is a pretty sweet honor. plus we get some free shit like studio time (so i can fulfill my dream of recording my favorite song that didn't make it on to the album). so vote HERE! If that link doesn't work - go directly to www.thedelimagazine.com, the poll is on the righthand side, and click on "vote."

next our OFFICIAL WEBSITE IS UP! designed by our very own janet kim

our next mercury lounge show is 4/25 - this show is even more important than the record release because it's our ticket to shows at bowery ballroom and the music hall of williamsburg where there is free beer backstage. we promise some surprises!

STARVED MAGAZINE COVER!

we're back on the east coast after an insane, cacophonous, music and beer-filled week at SXSW and fun times in our van. our cover article with STARVED MAGAZINE comes out next week!

here's a video of the cello meeting its death at our SXSW SHOWCASE
consequence of sound SXSW RECAP and PHOTOS
SONICBIDS video interview at SXSW
review in VICE MAGAZINE
a mention in ROLLING STONE
not your typical indie band says MIDWESTERN HOUSEWIVES
bang camaro and kittens ablaze: unlikely but amazing new FRIENDS

Last day!

My crackberry is totally cracked out. We played a super fun show last
night at the consequence of sound showcase. Special thanks consequence of sound, the boys
of nacional, ryan hadley and claire southwick and moth!fight! for
showing their support.

We're chilling at the messwithtexas party today at waterloo park:
cursive, japanther, vivian girls, crystal antlers, the thermals,
monotonix....

Back on the road to new york at 10pm tonight!!

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WE PLAY TONIGHT at SXSW!!!

despite the wait, matt & kim put an amazing show, as always...we moshed, crowd surfed, i lost my flipflops twice, my blackberry and wallet. nate, tim & chrix managed to find my phone, debit card and ID (completely blackened). pretty much everything i need to continue. mothfight was amazing (please go check this band out). met with ra ra riot's producer for dinner... continuing to meet awesome people...

WE PLAY TONIGHT AT WAVE 12AM!!!!

SXCRAZY!

Saw some awesome bands last night: LeLe, starfucker, woodhands, the
seedy seeds, nacional, school of seven bells...
Getting psyched for our show friday night at wave! Hitting the fader
party this afternoon...so many parties...so many awesome bands...can
you tell I feel overwhelmed!
Recent press in vice mag and rollingstone!

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SXSW!!!

Arrived this afternoon!! Its crazy - lots of free stuff - mostly
registering, getting our bearings, taking advantage of the free food
and drinks....so many awesome bands, so little time!!!!!

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Dallas....the final stretch

Discussing the spontaneous firing of neurons, free will, cookie
monster, rabies, awesome band name ideas like big hawk and the
petridish project.
Listening to: modest mouse, susu

200 miles to austin

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Hour 25 of Driving

Hello from Arkansas. We're entering the weird zone - we've been
listening to Delilla to Jenny's chagrin and nick is yelling in
spanish. We may overnight in Texarkana tonight and finally get a
shower....and beds!

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Happy St Pattys!

Afternoon dolldrums in the sun on route to memphis.
Listening to: pixies, johnny cash, the be good tanyas, peter bjorn and
john, queens of the stone age, npr podcasts

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Tennessee!

Delirious drive through pennsylvania, west virginia, regular
virginia... Neon bible cross, a gas station called Sheetz (obviously
we stopped there) and a mix of NPR and titus andronicus. Good morning
TN - a shoneys must be close by....

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24 Miles to Gettysburg.

Playlist so far: metallica, dylan and bowie
Discussed the concept of compost robots and whether they would
hypothetically need to wear pants (do we wear pants because of the
original sin, or because all things that poop need pants?), harvey
keitel, and whether the ladies in kittens ablaze would trust sam neil
in the movie the piano.

24 miles to gettysburg.

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Somewhere in Jersey

Is it bad that I have to pee already?

ROAD TRIP TO SXSW!

Just played a fun show at the bell house with casio kids and the new
wine and immediately jumped into the van. Goodbye brooklyn, hello
austin!! 28 hours to texas....

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ROLLING STONE!

super awesome time at santos' party house last night with TAB the band and BANG CAMARO. I don't think any of us were quite prepared for 15 dudes on one stage rocking out but it was epic. andrew WK was there + joe perry from aerosmith!

we also got a funny mention in ROLLING STONE yesterday

2 more shows - tonight & monday - come hang out!

SHOWS! SXSW! VAN!

We leave for SXSW in 4 days with our new baby van, except there's
nothing baby about its size. Taking name suggestions - its got a dark
green hue to it.
We're playing 3 pre sxsw shows here in new york - tonight at santos
party house with bang camaro and tab the band; tomorrow at
metropolitan social club ($5 all you can drink - its an old firehouse
too!) And monday at the bell house presented by ohmyrockness.
Look for updates from the road next week!

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NEW ENGLAND TOUR! MORE PRESS!

hola amantes de gatitos
your favorite kitties just returned from their first new england tour. first stop was boston cantab lounge with twisted rico productions. boltbus delivered grant with just minutes to spare. great seeing old friends and meeting new bands! day off on friday where the crew split between skiing, beantown and new haven. reunited at BAR in new haven for a rocking show.

we're this year's BEST NEW BAND
guess jenny & i are the CAT LOVING WOMEN in our band line up!
we made it! our mp3 is on BROOKLYN VEGAN and the OHMYROCKNESS PODCAST!

we're going to be working on some new material over the next few weeks *cheer!*

our next shows are:
3/13 santos' party house with Lollapalooza band Bang Camaro and TAB the band hosted by Andrew WK
3/16 the bell house (ohmyrockness showcase) with casiokids and the new wine

WE'RE ON ITUNES!

big news everyone - kittens ablaze "the monstrous vanguard" is officially available on ITUNES and CDBABY

get your copy now!

in other news, we were reviewed in this month's VICE MAGAZINE and EARFARM praises our heartfelt, impassionate orchestral indie pop

our new hero

WHY WOULD YOU EVER NAME YOUR BAND KITTENS ABLAZE?

we get a lot of feedback about our name. recently, because of SXSW we've been coming across blogs talking specifically about how offensive it is. we love this!

paste magazine rates us 2nd most offensive sxsw band name

the name gave this writer the "LOL's"

band name terrible or wonderful?

we've got a noteworthy band name

we're headed up to new england this weekend (CANTAB LOUNGE in CAMBRIDGE MA 2/19, BAR @ NEW HAVEN 2/21)! come out and play!

THANK YOU!!!

thank you all for coming out for the mercury lounge record release show this past saturday. it was completely sold out - apologies to those who couldn't get in - we didn't anticipate so much love!

the album will soon be available online via itunes and in hard copy (with the fabulous album art). and you can buy it at any of our upcoming shows of course. we play union pool in brooklyn this coming friday, then a fashion week afterparty (i know, so hip of us), show up in boston, new haven, brooklyn...and then out to SXSW!!

look forward to a revamped myspace, a new official website...if you have photos and videos to share, please email kittensablaze@gmail.com!

ALBUM REVIEWS AND RECORD RELEASE SHOW!

saturday's the big day - come rock with us at mercury lounge, 10pm! we have a sweet set prepared for you which will be like nothing you've seen before!

here are some recent postings and blogs about our album:

OHMYROCKNESS says we are rousingly joyful (in the alcoholic sense, of course)

NYCTAPER thinks we're quirky and intelligent so he's doing a live recording on saturday!

our cover art is brilliant! says THE MUSIC SLUT

THE DELI MAGAZINE attests to our energetic live shows

we promise we had nothing to do with THIS

!!RECORD RELEASE JANUARY 31ST MERCURY LOUNGE!!

look out for a forthcoming post by Janos Marton, of rovingstorm.blogspot.com, which will cover the tour shenanigans. 8 cities in 8 days - it was a little bit of everything.

you can check out the pictures from tour on our facebook page

we're playing some shows in brooklyn (pete's candy store, goodbye blue monday) leading up to our big record release of "The Monstrous Vanguard" at the Mercury Lounge on 1/31. we've already got some music blogs posting about it - we're super excited - and hope you guys will come out to rock with us!!

it will be our last show in new york for a while, as we'll be heading on the road to promote the album and head to austin, TX for SXSW. we'll also have CDs at the show, featuring album art by nick D our fabulous bass/harmonica/banjo player.