Thursday, August 2nd

2648 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL
8:00pm | 17+ | $5

Directions | Facebook Event

To commemorate the release of our follow-up LP, Separation Anxiety, on CD and split-color Mending Wall vinyl we’re visiting all (or most) of our favorite Midwestern spots to play throughout August.

We’re happy to kick it off with Hidden Hospitals, The Empty Spaces and Audiences at Fireside Bowl in Chicago.

From there we head to Fort Wayne, Madison, Milwaukee, Wausau, and more. Check here for updates.

Preview and pre-order the CD here. You’ll get a couple tracks right away, and we will mail your copy out on August 3.

The LP comes on split-color “Mending Wall” vinyl with a lyric sheet insert poster. The CD comes in a matte finish digi-pack with a poster as well.

For those of us without cash to spare, it’ll be a free MP3 download here on release day, August 2, 2012.

We’re previewing a new song from Separation Anxiety each day on the Updates blog, as well.

I suppose I should be grateful that the US Congress has my back. But I know that they aren’t proposing this bill for me (because I don’t “bolster the economy” or “pay taxes” or “contribute to Super PACs”).
Anything that could potentially prohibit my silly little tunes from reaching the ears of someone who might enjoy them, especially at the behest of conglomerate media corporations, is garbage.

Sure, SOPA seems like artistic altruism, protecting inventors and writers. But the only ones it’ll end up protecting are the conglomerates who chew up and spit out the inventors and writers they profit off of.

It could potentially put an end to Twitter, Vimeo, Flickr, and many other ways we have come to love sharing and discovering honest and genuine art. Art for the sake of art… and maybe making a buck or two to pay the rent and eat a sammich a day. It’s us little guys who will be caught in the shuffle. And all I want is to play piano and hope it’ll pay for my sammich a day. mmmm, sammich. It’s almost lunch time…

Anyway. I protest the passing of SOPA, and with the full knowledge that this bill’s purpose is to “protect” my financial interest as a professional musician. If you believe that art-for-the-sake-of-art can benefit from free transfer of information on the internet, you should protest too. Wikipedia will help you, they’re blacking out their own site today in protest with information on what you can do.

And by the way, our music is free.
Click here:

Hear Pray for Rain Here:

We’re proud of how our first full-length album turned out, and that it even turned out at all… (see the recording journal here for further explanation). Also to our surprise, it charted on the CMJ Top 200 for 6 weeks, peaking at #107 twice, made some Best-of-2011 lists including Huffington Post and was recently featured in national magazines The Deli and Alternative Press.
Here’s what some kind online reviewers have said about it:
“… with so many angles—so many stories, so many tones and sounds—ragged, raw, explosive, all these words are just a taste, a first-bite, a start to describing something so human.” – Hiawatha Review

“To say that an artist is “coming forward with a truly unique sound” is a cliché that, more often than not, doesn’t even truly apply, as there is very little ground that hasn’t been traversed before. However, that is the most accurate way to describe this album and its feel.” – Lumino Magazine

Give it a spin and let us know what you think! Thanks for listening.

Thursday, June 16th

1035 N Western Ave. Chicago, IL 60622
9:00pm | 21+ | FREE *

Directions | Facebook Event

It’s our first time headlining Empty Bottle, and it’s FREE * with RSVP: just send an email to rsvp@emptybottle.com with your name and ours, otherwise it’s $8 at the door. First band goes on at 9, we hit at 11. Summertime Thursday night rock show – spread the word, invite friends, hit up the Facebook Event page. Thanks, and see you there!

2nd Friday each month, starting June 10

2105 S. State St. Chicago, IL 60616
6pm | 21+ | FREE

Directions | Facebook Event

The first Unplugged Mutts show went great, and we’ll be doing it monthly starting on June 10th. Our first Mutts & Friends set featured Ben from This is Cinema on clarinet and bass clarinet, while Mike played acoustic piano and Bob switched to upright bass. We’re looking forward to welcoming more friends from the Chicago music community, playing more covers and writing new Mutts tunes for this arrangement.