Dragon Tattoos, Breaking Bad, and Rayland Baxter

So a few random things on my mind.

Just finished the final book of the "Dragon Tattoo Trilogy" by Swedish author Stieg Larsson (very interesting guy, sadly died before any of his "Millenium Series" books were published).  I certainly enjoyed The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest (the final installment of the series and apparently the highest selling book in the US in 2010) and the entire trilogy for that matter.  Sure, it's a trendy book and therefore it is easy to read.  It's dark, it's sexy, it's referential...everything a trendy book should be.  You may even say it could fall under the "Summah Reads" category.  And of course I'm late to the party as always, these books are way passed the trendy realm.

But nevertheless, the trilogy is a wild ride of suspense and mystery.  Of course, I have seen the American-produced movie version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo directed by David Fincher (one of my personal favorite film directors).  But I have not seen the Swedish-produced film versions of the trilogy, so that is next up on my list and I will have comments on that for you I'm sure.

So.

Breaking Bad.

Best show on television.

Again, late to the party, I just caught up with the current season and it presently occupies a disturbingly large fraction of my limited mental capacity.  This show is so f***king good.  I don't know how else to say it.  So if you're not into it, get into it.

Finally, Rayland Baxter.

I literally listened to his song "The Mountain Song" seven times in a row today.  It was during a beautiful late afternoon drive in the Cleveland Metroparks from Guitar Center back to Lakewood.  Maybe it was just the environment but it was a magical drive.  I mean, it was perfect.  This song embodies all that a great song can, it brings goosebumps to the back of my neck, it just says everything so perfectly.  The kind of song that gives you cause to roll down the windows, put your left arm out to flow leisurely through the wind, and smile.



So please enjoy this tune and look him up.  His debut album Feathers & Fishhooks was just released this passed week (hey, I'm not actually late to the party on this one!) and it is really great.

(#WayTooManyParenthesesInThisBlog)

On another note, I got stung by a bee last week for this first time in many years.  That sucked.

Til next time,

Ty

Album of The Month: Langhorne Slim - "The Way We Move"

Time for another edition of Album of The Month 28 North blogspot stylee.

For this month, I am choosing Langhorne Slim's The Way We Move.

What to say about Langhorne Slim.  He's a truly distinct presence in the music world.  Hailing originally from Langhorne, PA with a wailing voice and infectious intent, Langhorne Slim has got some serious mojo brewing.  With four LPs and two EP's under his belt, Langhorne has become a staple in the "indy-folk" movement.

His fourth LP release, The Way We Move, was released earlier this year and Langhorne is currently supporting it on tour.  Sadly I missed his show at Troubadour this month and thus, I will commend him with Album of The Month.

I must admit, this record may be Langhorne's best effort yet, it has everything.  It has the horns, it has the groovy stylings of the Fender Rhodes, it has the delicate bluegrass picking of banjo player David Moore, it has the thwapping, thundering swing of drummer Malachi DeLorenzo (son of Violent Femmes drummer Victor DeLorenzo), it has the thumping, bouncing bass lines of Jeff Ratner, and of course the beautiful, heartfelt song-craft and raucous hollering of Langhorne Slim.

And holler he does as though his voice was meant to be a powerful battle cry for life.

For life just to be life.

To continue on through whatever happens to us.  And it is about US when you're listening to Langhorne Slim.  We work and suffer, but we've got each other.  And that's the point of music, to bring people together, and Langhorne delivers.

So cheers to Langhorne Slim!

Find him here online: www.langhorneslim.com
Find him here on iTunes
Find him here on Spotify

For those of you hungry for some fresh 28 North, here's a little intimate vid of Mike and Ty singing Monster at One Gun Ranch in Malibu, CA:



Ty

Phish, Justin Bieber, and Pittsburgh!

That is right.  We went to see Phish.

Now, I understand that Phish is a loaded topic in the music world, it's a love/hate kind of thing.  And by my ambivalent nature I have claimed to have such a relationship with Phish and their music.  But the truth is this:

I love Phish.

Sure, the scene is a conglomeration of hipped-out-crunchy-adventure-party people, the music is weird, and maybe you just don't get it.  But the fact remains, in my opinion, that Phish continue to be the most fiercely unique phenomenon in music.

No one plays like Phish.  No one has a more loyal fan-base than Phish.  No one consistently sells out arenas across the country for as long as Phish has.  No one else has played nine festivals for tens of thousands in which the only band playing was themselves.

It may not be for everybody but I certainly love Phish.  I guess the point of this post is to essentially declare myself a Phish fan.  However you choose to judge me is your own prerogative.

Btw, you can actually see me in this picture from the concert at Long Beach Arena, can you find me? (Hint: I'm wearing a yellow shirt):

You can check out some sweet video footage from the Long Beach show we attended on YouTube here.  If you're into lengthy improvised music you will enjoy this:


Also, even more importantly, Justin Bieber was at the show.  You can read about it here.  Apparently Bieber had a hankering for some mushroom chocolates and glow sticks.

In other news, we are super-psyched to announce that 28 North will be returning to play a show in Pittsburgh!  It's been far too long so we are extremely excited to be playing at Thunderbird Cafe on Saturday September 1st.  It is going to be an epic evening, mark your calendars Pittsburgh!

More sooooooooon.....

Ty

TYENCE!

Throughout our travels across this beautiful nation we inevitably have run across an abundance of wildlife, whether it be insects, plants, or dog-based critters.  I myself am very fond of discovering new types of plant and animal life, I enjoy taking pictures of them and reading about them and basically being a bona fide geek.

I call this section of the blog: TYENCE.  For the kick-off TYENCE edition I'm going to cover a few different weird bugs I've run across in the passed few years.

I'll start with one of the insects I found most interesting, the Velvet Wasp or Velvet Ant as it is referred to occasionally.

I stumbled upon one of these at a campground in North Carolina.  I had never encountered one of these insects before and it was quite a sight.  It's a terrific bright red color and looks like a giant ant, the size of a large wasp.  The female Velvet Wasp does not have wings while the male does.  There are roughly 3-5,000 species of this insect and it typically lives in very warm, dry, sandy climates.  Most commonly it is found in the Southwest in North America, but apparently there was at least one in North Carolina.  So I came across a female and fortunately I did not attempt to pick it up, apparently it has a devastating sting and is even nick-named the "Cow Killer".  Yikes.  Here's some footage of its stinger.



Another of my favorite rare insects to stumble upon is the Praying Mantis.  Hands down, in my opinion, the Mantis is THE coolest.  How bad-ass is a Praying Mantis?  The answer is very.  And how ambiguous is its name?  Is it "Preying" or "Praying".  They are both applicable and sound exactly the same.  Whoa.  The Mantis is somewhat elusive in the States, at least I have very rarely stumbled upon them.  There are about 20 species that are native to the U.S. and two (the Chinese Mantis and European Mantis) were introduced specifically to control unwanted pests that were damaging crops.  So the Mantis is like the Enforcer.  Totally bad-ass.

Here is one I encountered a few years ago in Atlanta.  It happened to land directly on my shoe and remained for a few minutes just hanging out.

I also came across a little baby mantis a few weeks ago at the studio.  Never seen one quite so small and adorable.

So there you have it.  The first edition of TYENCE evah!  Hope you enjoyed it and I apologize if you are creeped out by bugs 'n at, but hey, it's not that serious.  Really this is just a chance for me to post some goofy photos.  Anyway.  Don't forget we've got the Viper Room show next Monday, August 13th, it will be a kickoff party for the Sunset Strip Music Festival and it is guaranteed to be a hell of a show.  Hope to see you all there!  Facebook event page


P.S.  The link to Alex Kelly's website in my last blog post was not current, so in case you did or did not visit his site, here's the site I strongly encourage you to visit: www.harvardink.com.  He's got a kick-ass post about a reupholstery project he's doing, great stuff.

Til next time,

Ty

The Master Has Arrived!

That's right folks, the master audio of our latest record has arrived in our hands!

And we could not be happier, it's been a long, tedious process but we have achieved what we set out to do from the beginning: Create our best record ever.  In honor of this moment here is an exclusive behind the scenes of making "World On Fire".



Very soon we will have the first single available, we'll do the video, and the record will move and rock the masses for all of history.

We are currently in the process of completing the art work for the record with our brilliant, dear friend Alex Kelly.  You can find samples of his work at harvardink.com.  You may recognize some of the art as pieces we have used in the past.  It is an honor to have Alex as part of the team and an enormous pleasure as he is one of our best friends.  And if you are in the Cleveland area, please check out the Proximity Art Gallery which Alex runs with his fiancee Beth Whalley.  It's a beautiful space, always with an amazing show.  Check out the website at proximitycleveland.com/home.

Oh, and I did choose my Summah Gum.  I'm going with the wildcard, I did not include it as an option in my Summah Blog, but sometimes life throws a curve ball.  Either way, I am excited to announce that my Summah Gum is...

Wrigley's 5 Prism.  It's watermelon flavor and it is delicious.  I hope everyone is still havin' a summah out there and enjoying themselves.

Talk to ya soon.

Ty