PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Next stop was rainy, rainy, rainy Seattle, Washington. Yah, it rained. But, we had a superb time doing the touristy stuff like waltzing around Pike Street Market and visiting the Experience Music Project, a most excellent museum located at Seattle Center near the Space Needle. The building itself is a massive, labyrinthine, sculptural composition designed by Frank Ghery.

Immediately upon walking inside, Ghery's unique architectural style is eminent. The centerpiece of the main lobby is occupied by a tornado of guitars, bass guitars, and miscellaneous drums. Some of the instruments contain automated playing devices. The museum consists of two themes: music and science fiction. There is a wonderful portion exhibiting the history of guitar which contains many rare relics of this mystical instrument, including Jimi Hendrix's legendary white Stratocaster which he used at Woodstock. There's also a section dedicated to the music scene of the Pacific Northwest as well as an interactive area, tons of Hendrix shit, and plenty else to preoccupy one's rainy self on a rainy day.


We enjoyed visiting the Troll under the bridge in the bohemian atmosphere of Fremont. When visiting this ominous under-dweller you will notice that he is grasping an old Volkswagen Bug in the crushing grip of his left hand. And of course, we visited Jimi’s grave, and Jon did his thing as always. It is quite the vibe in Seattle, we dug it.

DOWN THE 101

After our Seattle experience it was time to make our way south back to Los Angeles. We took the opportunity to make a trek down the 101 freeway through some of the most stunning natural beauty this great country has to offer. First, the rocky cliff coast of Oregon. We spent our time driving and stopping sporadically to take pictures and soak up the incredible sights.

We stopped in a small town called Newport, Oregon for the night. We were welcomed and joined by very kind, hospitable Oregonians. We performed at the open-mic night at the Café Mundo and proceeded to get appropriately drunk.

Onwards, our journey brought us through Northern California and the majestic Redwoods. And wow, what an amazing experience it was to mingle with these coniferous giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. And mingle we did, for amongst these botanical beasts, one feels immersed in a mysterious community of aged spirits. The air feels calm yet intense around you and it reeks of wisdom. But esoteric rambling aside, this is an area of the country which is a must experience for anyone who has not been here.












At this point we had used up all the time we had for gallivanting and it was time to get back to L.A. for the completion of our recording. We had an incredible winter vacation that we will remember forever. Cheers to everyone and the New Year, let's make it the best yet!

A LITTLE WINTER VACATION

We have been living in Los Angeles since July. There is only so much incredible weather that you can tolerate right? So naturally we decided to point our compass north and head to some of the coldest places with the shittiest weather in the country. Granted, it has been, so far, one of the worst snow seasons in the past many years for most mountain towns, so our dose of weather was considerably tame.


Our trek to Missoula was packed with gorgeous scenery, especially through Idaho, where we did encounter a snow storm for a stretch. Fortunately, this was the only real storm we had to endure. The only other "obstacle" we ran into involved waiting for a herd of cows to clear the road, unless you consider keeping our eyes on the road instead of distracted by the surrounding beauty, an obstacle. We stopped in Jackpot, Nevada for the evening and had an authentic night of tomfoolery in this gambling ghost town.

Missoula’s environment was brimming with beauty; rugged yet serene, with rolling hills and rivers. We enjoyed hiking around the parks on our time off. We began our 2012 with a gratifying dose of J.J.’s chicken-fried steak from the Oxford Café. Most everyone has indulged in chicken-fried steak and certainly nearly all meat-eaters are privy to the excellence of the greasy, fried awesomeness that is the chicken-fried steak. But you haven't had one this incredible, unless you've been to the Oxford in Missoula. It's a monstrous treat that could only be forged by the appetites of the robust. Among other activities we did to kill time was a healthy dose of billiards. None of us are any good, maybe lucky sometimes. And we had to pay a few fines according to the rules clearly stated at the bar.











Stay in tune for more about our trip down the coast.

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."