NEW YEARS IN MONTANA

We had a grand ole time ringing in 2012 in Missoula, Montana at the Top Hat. We received a warm welcome and were provided a most excellent night of partying for our first time through this beautiful town. We can’t wait to come back. Thanks to Ian and all at the Top Hat for taking care of us. Happy New Year!!

In The Studio with David Kershenbaum

Oh how we love the studio, one of our favorite places to be. And it's even better when we get to record our best batch of new songs with the legendary producer David Kershenbaum. It's been two days in the studio now and everything is rolling along as smooth as pie. Our experience in pre-production rehearsals informed us of the inspired, clear vision that David possesses and our time in the studio instantly made us aware of his impeccable ear. The groove is alive in his mind, his ability to immediately recognize the smallest details and quickly edit them is unbelievable.



The studio where we have been working is Matt Sorum's (Guns 'n Roses, Velvet Revolver) Drac Studios in West Hollywood. It's a beautiful spot with a vast assortment of drums, amps, guitars, and all the outboard audio gear you would ever want. Ty was in heaven just oogling at the all the incredible snare drums available, and Mike thoroughly enjoyed the Guns 'n Roses themed pinball machine. A couple of adorable little dogs keep us company too.



All in all, the songs are grooving, thumping, and shining like funky acrobats in suits of polished armor. We cannot wait to share these new tunes with all of you and we'll keep you in the loop.

Pre-Production with David Kershenbaum and Mitch Perry

In the past weeks we have been diligently rehearsing the songs we plan to record this winter under David Kershenbaum’s (Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Joe Jackson, Bryan Adams, Supertramp, Cat Stevens) direction. Mitch Perry (Cher, Edgar Winter, MIchael Schenker Group, Deep Purple), David’s right hand man and guitar extraordinaire, has been assisting us with crafting these songs into finely tuned, bastions of fortress 28 North. Every little detail is being intricately analyzed in order to serve the essence of these songs. Reworking, repeating, and reconstructing until nothing else makes them better is our main objective.

Up to this point the focus has been on individual instrument parts and simultaneously the dynamic arc of each song. We began, on Mitch’s insistence, by having the guitar sounds stripped down to their barest form: no pedals, minimum reverb (you can never have no reverb), in general no additives that can potentially “cheesify” (definition below) a song. One by one and little by little, the effects were added which were considered intrinsic to the emotional landscape of the tune. In result, Mike and Taylor have removed much clutter from pedal-world and purified their tones into wailing angels of six-string glory.

Ty and Jon have been approaching drums and bass parts with similar intent. For this the respective instruments are isolated, the drum part being stripped to only the kick and snare drum pattern. After insatiable looping of the parts and cutting and adding we will have the rhythms sealed tight as a drum (pun intended as always should be, or was that just a play on words, I'm not sure). The same applies to the guitar parts, which are given the surgeon’s knife treatment. With each song there have been endless stops and starts and looping and deliberating with David. We absolutely adore working with David and Mitch. They have both contributed to vastly improving our songs already in these early stages and we cannot wait to share these beautiful compositions.



Overall we have probably played these songs approximately a bajillion times in the last month. It is actually quite draining work and we will continue until our songs are ready to present to the world, which won’t be too much longer.

*Cheesify (cheez-uh-fye) - to purposefully or inadvertantly produce something of substandard

Pink's

In continuation of informing you of our questionable gastronomic adventures, we hereby offer you Pink's Hot Dogs. Yes, another classic Los Angeles staple in the late night eatery and unhealthy, novelty food category.




Starting as a mere hot dog cart by Paul and Betty Pink in 1939, Pink's is now a famous location in Hollywood. The Great Depression rendered most with tight purses and light wallets, but a chili dog with mustard and onions could be purchased from Pink's for just ten cents. Over 70 years later, Pink's is still going strong with long lines out front every day. Pink's now has a location in Las Vegas and Pink's hot dogs are also sold at Cedar Point amusement park (hell yah!) in Sandusky, Ohio.



Pink's menu is chock full of artery clogging, indulgently attired items such as the bacon chili cheese dog, the mushroom Swiss dog (grilled mushrooms, mayo, Swiss cheese, what!?), and the epic Three Dog Night (3 hot dogs, 3 slices cheese, 3 strips bacon, chili, onions, wrapped in tortilla, wow). Adorning the walls of the dining area are many signed photos of celebrities, some of which have signature dogs named after them. The Martha Stewart Dog is a 10" dog with relish, onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut, and sour cream. The Ozzy (Osbourne) Spicy Dog has nacho cheese, American cheese, grilled onions, guacamole, and chopped tomatoes. Nutritious and fun, right? It's like our manager Jerry Heller says, "I used to go to Pink's all the time in college. You go get a chili dog at three am, get sick, and go home."

Philippe's!!

Los Angeles has much to offer in the category of cuisine and dining. A place where people migrate to follow dreams and revolutionize history with gastronomic creations. You can find just about anything that suits your fancy; from sushi to In-N-Out Burger, and tacos to Thai.

So in Chinatown, one would naturally think Chinese cuisine to be the standard fare (and it is). But there is one place that stands out, boldly serving up what it claims to be the original French dip roast beef sandwich. That place is Philippe's. Since 1918, this famous establishment has been serving this staple of lunch time fare to citizens and visitors of downtown Los Angeles. Another restaurant, Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet in Los Angeles, also claims to have started the trend of the French dip, but that's another story and another lunch.

Philippe's is a must for any fan of the French dip. The only mistake I made was not getting the "double dip", which I plan on getting next time as this is definitely a place to revisit. And the hot mustard is unbelievable.

Happy B-day Ty @ San Diego Zoo

We took the day off on Ty’s birthday to visit the San Diego Zoo. The polar bear showed some love, Jon got real friendly with a statue, and we discovered that Jaguars eat ribs very rare. Totally epic zoo. In fact, the best zoo. Other highlights include the tacos in San Diego. Happy Birthday Ty!

Fall Tour: Young the Giant in Denver

We had a fantastic fall tour through the desert and mountain regions this month. There were stops in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Aspen, and two shows in Denver. It all started with Taylor’s 21st birthday in fabulous Las Vegas. It was our first experience taking on the challenge of rocking Sin City, we did not fail. Vegas was a blast and Taylor’s birthday was spent amid the lights and swagger that are sure to remain happy, yet slightly blurry memories for a lifetime. After Vegas we went off to Salt Lake City, Utah. The drive was gorgeous and the city was warm and welcoming. Another first time city for us, we had a great show at which we made many new friends and fans. Special thanks to Matteo for taking care of us, hope to roll through again soon. The following day was off for us so we stopped to visit friends in Carbondale, Colorado. A day off in the Rockies amounts to a heavenly experience; beautiful scenery, hiking, and rafting on the Mighty Colorado River. Next stop on the tour was Aspen, Colorado. Again, it was another new town for us, but not to worry, we discovered this beautiful Rocky Mountain town is abound with enthusiastic music appreciators. We were also very fortunate to share the stage of the beautiful venue Belly Up with two fantastic bands: Chamberlin and St. Bernadette. The venue was truly one of the best we’ve ever experienced. After Aspen it was time to hit Denver for a huge sold out show at The Bluebird with Young The Giant. All we can say is wow. We had an incredible night at another fantastic venue with a stellar band. It was truly an honor to share the stage with such a talented group of young guns who are taking the world by storm. It was truly an epic night. The following day we took a trip up to the stunning Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado to soak in what is touted as the best venue in the entire world.

The tour ended with another show at Denver’s Larimer Lounge. It was great to see repeat customers from the previous night’s show amidst friends and fans. Denver is, like all of Colorado, a place where music is consumed with great appetite and appreciation. We can’t wait to return, rest assured it will not be long.


On a more scary note, during our ride back to California we had the exhilarating experience of a tire popping off of our van on I-70 just outside of Grand Junction, Colorado. At around the 3 am, those sleeping were jolted awake by a sudden POP and a resulting grinding noise accompanied by a sliding, skating sensation. Fortunately there was no surrounding traffic as it was the middle of the night, so the van was safely guided to the shoulder where we stepped out to investigate. As you can guess we were baffled to see the left rear tire….missing. Overall we were extremely lucky to be just outside Grand Junction and not in the middle of an isolated pass through the Rockies. More luck was encountered when the van was able to be repaired next morning in the matter of a few hours. Overall the tour was a great success and a lot of fun.