Viper Room this Saturday 4/28!! And going to Target.

We had a lovely little day of practice last Wednesday. We got our set down pat for Saturday's show at Viper Room with the Thomas Nicholas Band. It is sure to kick you all in the pants and then put a smile on your face. We are totally psyched for this show!

 Jon has a spankin' new iPad, which totally rocks. He carries this thing around like it was his infant progeny, sort of like me and my sadness (elbow to the ribs). He's also altered the case he bought in brilliant makeshift fashion to reveal a superior product, in my opinion. It's totally a hipster pad, take a look below.

I know, it's just a little duct tape and shoe lace. But I say fuck the sleek, go for the tweaked.

In other news, we went to Target later that night to run some errands. This is basically what happened:
That's right, we're a bunch of idiots. Unfortunately, I turned the camera off right before one of the cashier dudes came over and told us, in his faux-authoritative way, to basically shut the fuck up. Fair enough. I also got some new hipster glasses. Check 'em out.

More soon. Ty

Viper Room this Saturday 4/28

In preparation for our show this Saturday at the Viper Room, 28 North is in full practice mode. We had a marathon practice session at GC Studios yesterday. A full six hours we practiced. It felt great to review some material we haven't played in a while. We also concocted the most epic and entertaining 28 North set, possibly ever. It includes all the favorites and a couple old gems and a reworked cover that is certain to blow minds into infinity. Saturday is gonna be off the hook. After our draining practice we had a wonderful dinner at Denny's. Always great. It's about time we got a sponsorship from Denny's. So following our wonderful dining experience we took in a movie. We decided on American Reunion. Yep. That's right. The fifth installment in this franchise I believe? Not sure. We chose it partly in support of Thomas Ian Nicholas who will be sharing the stage with us this Saturday at the Viper Room. Either way, I laughed, I cringed, I sighed in mild disappointment, and groaned in awkward revulsion. Stifler was funny, Eugene Levy killed as always. Watching Sean William Scott take a dump in a cooler and Jason Biggs get his ass kicked in a dungeon-slave-sex-suit is undeniably entertaining. Right? The movie was injected with too much nostalgia to really be taken seriously. The late 90's soundtrack songs annoy me rather than make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. But what are you gonna do? Either way, it was cool to see that all the original members of the first film were on board for this one. I guess they needed the cash. Don't forget to share our promo video on Facebook for a chance to get free tickets to our Viper Room show. Find the link on our FB page here. Talk to ya soon. -Ty

After a brief sabbatical back east for a visit with family and such, we are back in Los Angeles to continue our journey to make our best record yet; it's getting closer with every day and every show we play. I myself (Tyler) had a very nice time in Cleveland hanging out with friends and seeing my family. Along with going to the eye doctor for the first time in a million years, I also went to the Cleveland Zoo with my mom, which was lovely. Spent the day observing the zoo of my childhood with all of its improvements and changes from what it used to be. Simply put, the Cleveland Zoo is badass, always has been. I've been to the San Diego Zoo, which is undeniably more dense and diverse and devilishly beautiful all year round. But I discovered that the Cleveland Zoo now has a section, which is dedicated to the treatment of animals. I mean, you can literally watch doctors performing surgery on wounded or sick animals. That totally blew my mind. Do they have that at the San Diego Zoo? Yah, they probably do, but it's still fucking awesome.

I also witnessed this interesting nugget outside the zoo's entrance. I got a kick out of this sign; it left me with several questions...

Last but not least, I had a gargantuan sandwich from a place called Joe's Deli in Rocky River. I always go here when I'm home in Cleveland; it's my favorite deli-style joint in the whole world. Massive sandwiches, incredible matzo ball soup, everything there is super great. Also got to go to Melt in my hometown Lakewood. Very cool, hip place dedicated to artisan grilled cheese sandwiches. Fantastic beer selection. What more could you ask for? I got a sandwich called "The Dude Abides" (oh no he didn't) which consisted of meatballs and mozzarella sticks and more cheese and holy shit that was intense. It was something akin to the picture below, imagine that with cheese-sticks. Cool place, totally recommend.

Anyway, more coming at you soon, cheers everyone. -Ty

South Padre Island

After our exhausting week in Austin for the SXSW Music Festival, we were ready for a little relaxation in the sun. Thus, we traveled south in Texas to beautiful South Padre Island. We spent a glorious four days on this southern gulf island soaking up the sun, swimming, meeting interesting folks, and singing karaoke. It was spring break time for college students so we sifted through the bros and sorority girls going to dance clubs with Real World cameos and awful DJ's. But we found our niche, met some locals and the "fringe" spring breakers, and had a most excellent time.

SXSW Re-Cap

SXSW. Love it or loathe it, it is an undeniable social phenomenon of carnival-esque proportions. Wandering through a sea of faces & sound bombarding you from every open enclave, one could easily forget to breathe. This was our third year attending, and the energy was much crazier than before. Maybe it was due to our ever-expanding circle of friends, our cell phones tugging us in more directions than we could ever keep up with. At any given minute, whatever awesome show you are catching, you are missing out on something. Guaranteed. Acceptance is key. You get in whatever your legs will allow.
Two shows this year for us. We have always been of the mind that we’d rather play one that counts than ten that don’t. Seeing brothers of ours wearing themselves out playing three sets a day seemed counterproductive. Our first show was at a joint called Whiskey & Ink on Wednesday night; classic Austin vibe with the front of the venue open for music to reach the streets. We were using their backline, and it’s a good thing they were ahead of schedule because when Jon plugged Jen (his beloved Fender Precision Bass) in he found the bass amp to be bunk. Taylor & he booked up the street, up seven floors of parking garage, and back again with his bass rig. Covered in sweat before the down-beat, this set was one of catharsis from adversity.
We had a few nights off before our Saturday showcase to take in the festival, and so we did. Thursday night was filled with wandering until we reached Skinny’s for Marvin Etzioni’s extremely intimate set. He started off the show standing on top of the bar with mandolin, silencing the room. Finishing the first tune, he set the tone saying ‘Here’s the deal, I’m gonna play. If you wanna talk, go outside’. He played another song ‘the mandolin man’ unplugged and prowling the floor before joining a string quartet on-stage. The arrangements were subtle and the evocative lyrics about lovers past were tear-jerkers. We left in a sort of post-greatness awe, touched by the honesty and fragility.
Friday we caught Counting Crows at Auditorium Shores. What a fucking band, man. So seasoned. So emotive. Adam Duritz is a phenomenal artist. It was amazing to see him improvising and having the whole band match his ebb & flow. Huge for Mike, who has been a massive fan of their music forever. We left early and high-tailed it to Far-out Home Furnishings for Tea Leaf Green. Place was sort of a hippie-haven (much love hippies) with hula-hoops and dogs off leash. Jon got to talk shop with Reed Mathis of TLG, one of his biggest bass influences. Their set was super-groovy, we all stood right in the front following the flow. Reed is really the groove-anchor of the band, and the bass was way up in the mix! Before we could say good-bye to the TLG crew we were racing to catch Sami the Great, a song bird from NYC, at The Lodge on Sixth. Ty & Jon played on her record which was recently released, and we were psyched to see the material interpreted by other cats. The bar was packed with friends, and was an excellent way to end the night.
Saturday was all about the Live Nation showcase at Lucky 13. We had the convenience of being able to rehearse all week, so we were snarling dogs waiting for the stage. The whole thing was sponsored by Pizza Hut, and being children of the 90’s, we were tickled doing interviews for them and reflecting on “Book Its” significance in our development. Our set was raucous. Simply put. Mike was a ferocious animal throughout the show, owning the stage and staring down the crowd with the intensity of one thousand suns. Everyone digs “Whole Lotta Love”, and people always flip when Taylor nails the Page licks. We crushed and in a flash, ‘work’ was over and it was time to party! Free drinks from Lucky 13 got us going for SXSW’s last night. We got miracle front row spots for White Denim, Austin’s own psych-rock powerhouse. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and check out their latest offering, “D”. They played everything off it we wanted to hear… at about ten times the bpm!! Their set was a triumph, and we strolled the rest of the night in shock from the rock. There was music till sunrise on Saturday, and we got it in with late-night sets from Cherub and Two Fresh. Taylor’s cousin and his Army buddies were in town, and we did a ton of dancing. Austin is weird and so is South By, but weird is awesome and so are you. We are slowly making our way back to LA and back into the studio. We have several shows over the next month or two, so you better get your ass to one of them. Oh, and LEAVE YOUR CELLPHONE IN YOUR CAR! Jack White had a mandate at his show that anyone taking pics, audio, or video was ejected from the venue. They offered downloadable pictures of the show the next morning. We all like were he is coming from with this. It is about being there. There is so much competing for our attention these days, distracting us from the visceral nature of the live experience. Imagine seeing the Dead or Zeppelin in the 70s, no one was fucking around on a pocket computer. All eyes, ears, & energy were directed towards the artist. Lets hope this becomes a new trend…or even a law! Peace <3 28 North

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!