Tuesday, December 21, 2010

UGLY = MERRY

This past Saturday December 18 we threw our UGLY (or Just Misunderstood) SWEATER PARTY at the Mad Hatter in Covington, KY.

Between the amazing line-up, the Rudolphed noses, the XMAS TREE CANVAS, and the sweaters...

it got ugly.








Friends and volunteers helped decorate and man the Rudolph station, and audience members added their personal touch to the XMAS TREE.











Meanwhile amazing indie bands performed -



among them Lions Rampant...

Eat Sugar...

and our friends Louisville's THE PASS.

and finally WALK THE MOON.



the holiday joy in the room was RADIANT.





Thanks so much to everyone who came and was a part of the show, and thanks especially to Dottie, Keith, Joe, Ben, Anna, Claire, Katie, Maggie, and Lauren for all your time and effort! Cheers to the Mad Hatter for letting all of us transform you.



See you in 2011. In January we'll be back in Cincinnati as well as Columbus, Dayton, Philly, Cleveland, New York City, Indianapolis, and hopefully a few other places in between. Have a Happy, Ugly, Merry New Year.

love,
Nicholas, Sean, and Kevin
(photos in this post courtesy of Jeff Burkle and Allison Ventura)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

giving thanks!

thank you everyone who has made themselves a part of WALK THE MOON this year... that is, by dancing at shows, dancing in your rooms, donning facepaint, frolicking in french park and mockbee, sharing with friends and moms and neighbors, every song is for you.

enjoy "Gobbledigook" by Sigur Rose. some parents may not approve... whoops! it's a beautiful expression of being human.

give thanks for being alive!!



happy thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

i want! i want! (photos by D. Walker, J. Burkle and B. Bartel)





can't describe to you the unbelievable energy and love inside the Mockbee on Saturday night.



nearly sold-out crowd - we counted over 450 painted faces.




it began quietly...


and soon raged.




zombies onstage during Thriller...




so many painted faces...





the photographer Jeff Burkle.





Everyone who made it out - THANK YOU so much for truly being part of the event and making it an incredible night. It was amazing to see so many throwing paint at our wall canvasses, taking pictures by the Lost Boys fort, and dancing their facepaint off in the main room during the show.

find the Anna Sun Official Music Video on YouTube. i want! i want! available NOW in Cincinnati at Shake It! Records and Everybody's Records, and online at walkthemoon.bandcamp.com and iTunes.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

yeeeooowww JOIN us tonight at the MOCKBEE (2260 Central Pkwy) for so many reasons!

-painting the walls is stupid amounts of fun.
-painting faces is even better.
-"Anna Sun" Music Video and WALK THE MOON's debut album!
-Harlequins, Gold Shoes, WALK THE MOON, and Pones Inc performances!
-all this while dressing up as a Lost Boy or Girl... !

DETAILS

doors are at 9pm,
music begins at 10pm with the Harlequins - followed by Gold Shoes, then WALK THE MOON and Pones, Inc.
DJs DUSTIN CHOW & DEVON CHERRY keep the beats big and phat after the MOON is done.

PARKING @ THE MOCKBEE
park your car along the Mockbee-side of Central Pkwy; more parking is available on Central AVE parallel to the Pkwy.

DIRECTIONS TO THE MOCKBEE (2260 Central Pkwy)

from downtown:
take Central Pkwy north away from the city. The MOCKBEE will be the giant brick building ON THE RIGHT just before the Western Hills Viaduct, has MOCKBEE CO. painted in white on the facade.

from I-75 S:
take the Hopple St. exit 3 and turn RIGHT on Hopple. Turn RIGHT at Central Pkwy. The MOCKBEE will be the giant brick building ON THE LEFT just after the Western Hills Viaduct, has MOCKBEE CO. painted in white on the facade.

from I-75 N:
take the Ezzard Charles/Liberty exit and follow Winchell Ave. Turn RIGHT on Liberty, LEFT on Linn, LEFT on Central Pkwy. The MOCKBEE will be the giant brick building ON THE RIGHT just before the Western Hills Viaduct, has MOCKBEE CO. painted in white on the facade.

see you there!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

i want! i want! is coming NOV 13th @ the MOCKBEE. 2260 Central Pkwy, Cincinnati, OH.



THIS SATURDAY at 9pm the doors will open at the Mockbee. Come to see the Harlequins, Gold Shoes, and yours truly, come to get your face painted, to express yourself on the graffiti canvasses, to get down with your kid self.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW from Urban Outfitters in Clifton, Shake It Records in Northside, or by e-mailing walkthemoonband(at)gmail(dot)com and save $5 on your purchase of the album!

facebook event



see you there.
<3,
WALK THE MOON

Thursday, November 4, 2010

EVERYONE MUST SEE THIS





also, OUR RECORD RELEASE PARTY @ THE MOCKBEE IN ONE WEEK
Saturday NOV 13
9pm doors, 18+, $5

BUY TICKETS EARLY AND YOU WILL GET $5 off YOUR PURCHASE OF "i want! i want!"

Friday, October 29, 2010

HALLOWEEN PARTIES.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

get your freakish freak on with us this weekend.

FRIDAY Oct 29
WALK THE MOON & GOLD SHOES
Mainstay Rock Bar (5th & Plum, downtown)
11pm FREE 21+
Our Costume: F. MERCURY, J. CASH, & friends

SATURDAY Oct 30
WALK THE MOON, HARLEQUINS, CHARLIE HUSTLE
Grammer's Bar (Liberty & Walnut)
10pm FREE 21+
Our Costume: ZOMBIE MARGE SCHOTT


and coming soon: RECORD RELEASE PARTY

NOV 13th
RECORD RELEASE PARTY
the MOCKBEE (2260 Central Pkwy)
9pm $5 18+

Monday, October 25, 2010

WORLD UPDATE. extra! extra!

Cincinnati Indie-Pop quartet WALK THE MOON releases their debut album entitled i want! i want! on CD, iTunes, walkthemoon.bandcamp.com, and limited edition cassette tapes on November 16th, 2010.

Check out the SNEAK PEEK on YouTube of the music video "Anna Sun", which will be premiered at the record release party @ the Mockbee in Cincinnati on Nov. 13th (the Mockbee, historic factory-turned-venue with barrel-vault ceilings and secret passageways, was also the location of the music video shoot, which involved some 70 volunteers and several local organizations).


__RECENT PRESS__________

"...formed in college over a mutual love of Talking Heads and twisted, inventive Pop. The resulting band reflects those two elements beautifully - WALK THE MOON makes fascinating, danceable Art Pop laced with vintage synth riffs... creative rhythms. ...And the band's captivating live show has grown its fanbase thanks to regular tour dates in NYC and beyond. This fall's i want i want EP should rocket them even further."
-CityBeat Cincinnati, Sept 2010

"The young band was a bundle of energy and crowd responded in kind. And you have to respect a group unafraid to wear its influences like a badge of honor... as if to say, 'Yes, we do love Talking Heads, what are you going to do about it?'"
-Mike Breen, CityBeat, review of Midpoint Music Festival 2010

"One of the best young bands I have seen in a long time... various influences, lots of fun..."
-Denise, GNYCTV/Highline Ballroom, New York City, July 2010

"Walk the Moon’s set contained some of the finest orchestrated indie rock, leaving everyone’s attitude in the stratosphere, delighted by the sounds."
-Sean Peters, The News Record, Cincinnati, May 2010

__TOUR________________

WTM will be travelling NE to Boston and NYC, SE to the Carolinas, West to St. Louis, and many places in between throughout Winter 2010-2011. Always find updated Tour dates on myspace.com/walkthemoonband.

__other NEWS___________

WALK THE MOON was recently added to rotation on the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Tristate station 89.7FM WNKU, as well as Artists On Demand internet radio and Kent State's blacksquirrelradio.com.

In September, the band joined great acts such as Tom Tom Club, Caribou, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, and many others from around the world at Cincinnati's Midpoint Music Festival. The show was well-received by fans and press.

The i want! i want! release party on Nov. 13th at the Mockbee (2260 Central Pkwy Cincinnati, OH) marks the culmination of nearly two years of work in the studio and on the road. Be a part of the event in Cincinnati - be a Lost Boy/Girl, get colored at the facepaint station, graffiti the giant canvasses, and enjoy performances by WALK THE MOON, Gold Shoes, DJs Dustin Chow & Devon Cherry, and special guests Pones, Inc. dance company.

Thank you and see you soon!
Love,
Nicholas, Katie, Erica, Jamie, and WALK THE MOON.

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Thursday, September 30, 2010

more CityBeat love, NEW MEMBERS, and this weekend

last weekend @ Midpoint Music Festival here in Cincinnati, unbeknownst to us, the editor of Arts & Entertainment at CityBeat made a point to come to our show. he wrote:

And you have to respect a group unafraid to wear its influences like a badge of honor, ...as if to say, "Yes, we do love Talking Heads, what are you going to do about it?"
-Mike Breen, CityBeat Cincinnati

read the entire article here: CityBeat MPMF


this weekend we play for the first time at Northside Tavern @ 11pm, opening for Charlie Hustle as they release their "Fall EP". come early for The Western.


and FINALLY without FURTHER ADO i would like to officially announce the NEW SEXY MEMBERS of WALK THE MOON:

Kevin Ray, bass
Sean Waugaman, drums & samples
Chris Robinson, guitar


pictured (from L to R): Kevin, myself, Seanny, Chris

aren't they pretty? and they all sing.

FIND US ALL at our party of the year i want! i want! NOV 13th @ The MOCKBEE, where we will release our debut full-length album and the "Anna Sun" Music Video.

Monday, September 13, 2010

A Man Who's Lost His Wisdom... and THIS WEEKEND>>>



Underneath there, I look like:
A. a chipmunk
B. Harry Potter, after he got fat
C. Scott Stapp ca. summer 2010
D. all of the above


WALK THE MOON does not condone the unprescribed, recreational use of Percoset Oxycodone. However, it did provide for a very unusual case of the Mondays. I fell asleep almost everywhere, including the dinner table; it felt as though 1000 hummingbirds were kindly fanning my skin all day; and when my mom served me tomato soup I smelled it and said, "I just want to put my face in it."


THIS WEEKEND>>> there are some important things coming up that we would like you to know about/participate in.

The ANNA SUN MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT PART II is happening Sunday the 19th and we need your beautiful faces! All are welcome to join us for a barefoot romp at French Park (Cincinnati 45237) from 9am-1pm this Sunday. E-mail nicholaspetricca -at- gmail -dot- com for more info, or check facebook.com/walkthemoon.

LALAPALOOZA for LEUKEMIA, a great night of music for a great cause, takes place Saturday the 18th, the night before the shoot. Starting at 5pm at the Village Green in Glendale, there will be food, BEER, and original music by local Cincinnati artists including WALK THE MOON and our beautiful singer-songwriter friend Serenity Fisher.


keep in touch.
quarks and sharks,
Nicholas

Thursday, September 9, 2010

it's been a minute.

and regrettably it'll be a minute more.

VIDEO SHOOT Part II happening next Sunday at French Park, CD Release being planned for November, CD final mixing happening RIGHT NOW... meanwhile we are playing in Indy tonight, Covington on Friday night, and Clifton on Saturday night.

much more to say; kindly stay tuned...

Nicholas

ALSO we cannot thank you enough, everyone who was involved in ANNA SUN Part I. what an incredible turnout, what amazing performances from EVERYONE. we've been going over the footage and we are pooping ourselves.

Monday, August 30, 2010

DETAILS for ANNA SUN VIDEO SHOOT this Tuesday 8/31 @ 6:00PM at the MOCKBEE 2260 Central Pkwy

I’m coming to the shoot! What do I wear?

In the video there will be THREE ROOMS with specific costumes for each. We’ve assigned each of you to a room. BRING what you can for your room, and if you don’t have what we’re asking for, bring something that fits another room or please CALL US 513.317.1759. **and see IMPORTANT NOTES at bottom**
...
COSTUMES
Below are costume suggestions for each room, and below that are your room assignments.

Room #1 (Moulin Rouge-ish theme)
examples: feather boas, masks, glittery apparel, tights, Halloween miscellaneous, eye patches, top hats, button-up shirts, suit-tie apparel, vests, colored makeup, face paint, red lipstick, fake eyelashes, corsets, canes, mustaches, dresses, tutus, heels, feathers in hair, big curls in hair, slicked back hair, buns. we also need STUFFED ANIMALS for a stuffed animal bar in this room.

Room #2 (Social Room)
Black and White clothes – dressy, casual, whatever – just ALL white and black/dark clothes. It can be t-shirts (no graphics please), dark/black jeans, dresses, button-up shirts, hats, purses, jewelry, shoes, etc. Anything that is black & white. If you have red lipstick please bring but wait to apply.

Room #3 (Rave Room)
Think RAVE. This room will be dimly lit with black lights. **Everyone should try to bring a LIGHTER – we will be using sparklers in this scene with each take** Costuming includes neon shirts/apparel/items, glow sticks, sequin items, fluorescent tape, glittery/sparkly items/clothes, or anything that would look sweet under a black-light. Any props/costuming that may be suitable for this room are welcomed!

PARTICIPANTS
IF you don’t see your name below, just pick a room! or CALL US 513.317.1759.

Room Assignments:
Room #1 – Sarah Mills, Katie Wood, Brad Leeds, Dani Craig, Lux Aubergine, Kent Thalman, Jessica Cornetet, Sammie Matson, Brett Opitz, Paul Fannin, Miranda Goley, Mike Heffron, Missy Lyons, Abby Plageman, Sarah Gravely, Arielle Goldberg, Allison Ventura, Carlos Murguia & Family, Gabbia Lanza, Josie Dempsey, Lynda Gerrety, Chris Groh, Lilia Walsh, Jennifer Roehm, Emma Sartini

Room #2 – Tyler Kottman, Brad Gibson, Sean Waugaman, Laura Wahler, Ben Weiner, Blythe Bartel, Katie Grace Carlson, Michael Frank, Ginny Swale, Brett Fields, Kendall Sunderhaus, Arianne Villareal, Lora Garcia, Grace Bertsch, Sarah Cunningham, Andrew Min Rogers, Emily Butterfield, Hanna Lutz, Meghan Cronin, Rohit Sudarshan, Maggie Gray, Chris Robinson, Keith Burke, Natalie Palmer, Mark Berwanger, Megan Kendall, Izzi Krombolz, Allison Muennich, Tim Hein

Room #3 –Alex Sunderhaus, Will Schultz, Keith Burke, Jessica Milavec, Ian Forsgren, Ryan Mullins, Kelly Anderson, Ben Scott, Joe Bredestege, Michelle Von Hirschberg, Maria Cecile, Maggie Ledbetter, John Vaughn Handelsman, Ben Lapps, Amy Mirlisena, Jaynell Booth, Ben Stevens, Erica Rehage, Anney Kincaid Castetter, Rachel Rawe, Samantha Brockman, Sarah Helsinger, Michael Burke, Colin Cooper

***IMPORTANT NOTES***

THERE WILL be a video-release form to sign when you enter. It just says you give us the right to feature you in our video, and you won’t sue us. =) IF YOU ARE UNDER 18, YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PARENT/GUARDIAN SIGN THE FORM. Find and print it at this link: http://www.contrastproductions.net/release.html

IMPORTANT!! Bring a drink and a light snack with you. There will be some food provided, but you WILL want more to sustain you!IF you’re bringing friends and they are not listed above, refer them to this message and have them bring whatever you’re bringing.

LATECOMERS ARRIVING PAST 7:30, feel-free to enter but stay in the check-in area until you are invited into the filming area.

PLEASE LABEL whatever you bring with your last name so we can return it to you if it’s left behind!

And…HAPPY EXTRAS – if you want to make our day, try and bring any of these items with you:
Bag of chips, 2-liters of pop, cookies, solo-cups/paper plates, napkins, extension chords, box/house fans, lamps, lighters, glow sticks, anything in your Halloween box, crack-cocaine, clamp lights, facepaint, makeup, stuffed animals.

Friday, August 20, 2010

WALK on the cover of Club Fringe!



=) we're a cover band now!

WTM will be playing at the Indianapolis Fringe Festival TONIGHT at 8pm. The stage will be on the corner of N. College and Massachusetts, near 748 Massachusetts Ave. Come out for live music, drinks, and some great indie theater.

ALSO our friends in Pones, Inc. (who are choreographing and starring in the Anna Sun music video) have a show at Indy Fringe "The Four Food Groups" showing tonight at 6pm at Comedy Sportz, 721 Massachusetts.

FINALLY there is much much to talk about - Anna Sun video filming in downtown Cincinnati at the end of August, Midpoint Music Festival in Sept, i want! i want! RELEASE in October and tour dates to follow. Come back in a few days and we will provide the skinny.

Love,

Saturday, August 7, 2010

MIXING THE ALBUM and Stubby the Hangover Cat

good evenings.

i am comfy on the olive green couch in the condo of Chris Dobbs, fantastic audio engineer, in Indianapolis. zombied-out after a long day of mixing...

what are you doing? why are you mixing? aren't the tracks already mixed? what is mixing? who is stubby the hangover cat? are some questions you might have.

just in case, cause hey i didn't know til i spent lots of time in a studio, mixing is where we take all the bagillion tracks we recorded for a song (vocals, guitars, each individual part of a drum set...) and put them together in one huge session, screw with how everything sounds, make it all fit together, make sure everything has room to breathe. recording is one thing, but mixing is where a record becomes a record. others may argue.

this weekend marks the final stretch of "i want! i want!". tracks like anna sun, the liftaway, quesadilla have been tossed around at shows for about a year now but we are finally going to be releasing a full-length disc... hopefully October (though the tracks will be done in the next couple weeks!!). it's been a long haul with so many obstacles... ask me and i'll tell you sometime... but it will at long last be out in the world for you and for us and for all very, very soon.

we're doing some re-mixing because we want you to get the same feeling from listening to the music on the record that you do hearing it live. you may have noticed our live thing develop some over the last twelve months... so we're updating a little.

and lastly... Chris' wife Erica has had the same cat for the last 17 years. her name is Stubby, she has no tail, she sits very still like a tiny gargoyle, and she sleeps in a way... for instance, in a way that i might after a night of heavy drinking...



or after 17 years of heavy being-a-tail-less-cat.

kness. face down. floor. Stubby.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

UNISEX TOUR log IV: the drive west, OH times, my dog sings

what the eff is this?? you might say.

on our way home from New York City and we stop in Donteventellme, PA to fill 'er up. walking into the shop inside the gas station is like being hugged by a caricature of Sarah Palin. the love for America is palpable and thick. there is a log-cabin-style diner that looks warm and welcoming, though adjacent to the entrance there is a fluorescent-lit gun rack which kind of cancels that out. however amidst all the Bald Eagle hats and raccoon pelts is the magnificent situation that is pictured above.

i won't say much more than this: first i noticed it was a deer. then that it was wearing a deer hunter's hat and jacket. then i realized it was clutching a bottle of wine like a newborn human child does a baby bottle. i gagged and had Mikey take that picture with his phone.

later Dolores got us lost trying to find a Burger King, but thank goodness she did. through the Avalonic mists and across the tops of ye Shiny Sedans we saw the most majestic MFing Sheraton built to look like Camelot, and i guess to withstand the assault of barbarian hordes on their way from 5-star hotels.



Thursday we played the Rumba Cafe in Columbus, though not before bidding Mikey farewell (as i mentioned earlier, his skeellls were needed in South Bend) and welcoming Ryan (of Columbus' Bonneville) back into the fold for a night. we were joined by old friends and Austin, TX natives Chris and Gentry (Chris Hawkes online), who we met at Rumba in 2009 at our first show in C-bus, as well as Columbus' own Way Yes - think Paul Simon's Graceland/if Passion Pit were repopulated by the cast of Sesame Street - and Maza Blaska - like if George Harrison got lost in the American desert and wrote a concept album about it.

Friday we came home. i have never felt more welcome in my own city. i mean i, as WALK THE MOON, have never felt quite so welcomed in by a Cincinnati audience. Baba Budan's bar/coffee shop, nestled more or less on the University's campus, was filled with people having a good time. all the musicians that played that night were fantastic and just great people - Honneycombs, my close friend Serenity Fisher, and Chris and Gentry. in a short solo set, i tipped my hat to former guitarist Nick Lerangis and did a cover of Nina Simone's "Be My Husband" before being joined by an altogether different lineup: F. Castro doppleganger/bassist Parker and talented newbies guitarist Chris and drummer Dave.

quick aside: before i had become reaquainted with them this year, the last time i knew Chris his band Winner's Circle was kicking my band's ass in the Underground Fall Brawl 2006 and the last time i encountered Dave he was ass-naked streaking across his parent's backyard in Milford sometime in high school.

anyway, we finished and everyone got down to Tactical Tabernacle, the dance band that makes everything up on the spot, every time. i got to join them on synth briefly when someone requested the Mortal Kombat theme. GET OVER HERE! ...anyone? Buehler?

we crashed in the wee hours and the next morning i made Chris and Gentry play for my parents, and then we made our dog Giuseppe sing them "Hey Jude". it was a magical time.

Chris Hawkes, Gentry's thigh, my singing dog Guiseppe

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

UNISEX TOUR log III: brave friends, Highline Ballroom, Unisex Salon

(513): we arrived at our motel in the ghettos of New Jersey. there is a half-naked Chinese man in our room. exposed. we go to another room and everything is wet. we are scared.

text from Erica, about 1pm or so, Monday the 19th. apparently our friends who had driven overnight to come see us in NYC booked a brothel. apparently also the half-naked Chinese man was naked on the lower half. i found out later that Erica's dad kindly booked them this motel.

meanwhile, we were still having lunch on the street in Chinatown. after a moment of consideration we returned to our half-eaten pork-buns, tried to finish our lunches and put aside the image of the man in the hotel room. whether it was due to the half-buns or the surrounding multitude of glistening, sweaty Chinese men, we found this challenging.

the night that followed was nothing short of fantastic. the dark staircase up to the venue came to a set of double-doors and opened up into the beautiful Highline Ballroom. Unisex Salon was sound-checking as we walked in and lead singer Kenyon (yes, same as our college.. no, not near Uganda) hopped down to say hello. last time i saw Kenyon he was half-naked (top half), psychedelic tattoos covering his chest, with a headdress perched atop his dreadlocks that looked like a french maid's bonnet dunked in a vat of pirate's booty. today he was wearing a very nice black hat and t-shirt.


soundcheck at HB

the grandfather from Little Miss Sunshine works at the Ballroom. he gave us our passes to the beer-stocked green room upstairs and later announced our show with great relish and conviction. i may have enjoyed his introduction as much as our set. after the show, which felt like somersaults down a hill, the promoter Denise told us we were one of the best young bands she had heard in a long time; i humbly asked if i could quote her on it and she said "yes" =). while Unisex did their crazy thing we had drinks with lovely Anne and mightily-bearded Michael from Wakey! Wakey! who had come out to see our show. i felt mighty blessed to be at a table with old friends from Kenyon and Cincinnati, new friends from New York and the music world, and my bandmates. (and there may be a detail here left out... only those who saw it know what i'm talking at... keyword 'ambush')

and yes! our friends who escaped the brothel in NJ made it safely to the show and even ran merch for us(?!), though not before talking their way out of a speeding ticket (they had to pee really, really bad) and nearly suffocating while a mysterious can of Febreeze gradually sprayed its entire contents from an unknown location in their car. i can attest that they are alive and well, with minimal brain damage.

we after-partied at Beauty Bar (password: "i want to be in Unisex Salon"), hotel-lobbied at Crocodile Lounge (BEER = PIZZA), crashed and burned at Andrea's and set off for OH in the morning.



Wednesday, July 21, 2010

UNISEX TOUR log II: arrival in Manhattan, save Dolores, Chinese secrets

we're all at home, for the moment.

Drummer Seanny is in Columbus, sleeping, certainly. He dropped us off at rendezvous X in Cincinnati at 12am, took a quick shower, and headed north to work the 3am graveyard shift at FedEx. Guitarist and newbie Mikey is back in South Bend (he's hosting a show at his venue there and won't be able to join us for the last half of the tour), and bassist Brad told me on the phone just now that he just got up (it's 5pm).

72 hours ago, we were parked on highway 95 in Maryland.

i had forgotten that in New York City, there is rush hour on Sundays, and it's the worst one all week. people who are returning from weekend vacation or who live elsewhere and work in Manhattan during the week or really just everyone and their mother are all trying to get back into NYC on Sunday evening. so the four-hour drive takes seven, and naturally to celebrate we have a dance party in the WALK van. we listen to the -entire- catalogue of Michael Jackson and feel real good about pretty much everything.

we are slow-grinding to "Dirty Diana" when we get a text from some new friends of ours that they were on their way - from Cincinnati - to see our show in NYC. floored. we ask each other 'would you drive 12hrs to see us play for half an hour?' and are like 'haha, but seriously i dunno if i would man.' thoroughly jazzed, we grind all the way onto the G. Washington Bridge and finally, at sunset, into Manhattan.

we make our way up the Henry Hudson to Inwood (NW side, about parallel to the Bronx) where we will stay with singer-songwriter and Kenyon alum Andrea Daly. her roommate Charlie is a ninja and only returns when no one is looking, so there is room for us to crash. one detail of the evening to share: we might've called it a day, but as it is Brad's first night ever in NYC we decide it was imperitive we go downtown. after dinner at Union Sq. the boys want a drink, so i suggest the Continental - on Astor Place, the long-black-hallway bar where bouncers don't want you to stand, 80's movies are projected on the walls, and, as many times as you want, you can get five shots of anything for ten bucks (they have a sign outside that says "Yes, we're serious."). the boys return to the apartment merrily, if somewhat un-ninja-like, at a wee hour, and we all go to bed.


MONDAY MORNING. we traipse down from the apartment and find that not only do both we and Andrea have parking tickets, but at some point in the night someone apparently tried to break into the WALK van. glass shards make a spikey little frame around the bottom of the rear driver's-side window. Dolores (our sexy GPS) is perched in the cup holder in plain view... evidently someone was really lost last night... i guess after breaking the glass they must've remembered where they were going as the screen was left intact. we resolve to keep Dolores out of sight and head out of Inwood.

the Highline Ballroom is in the heart of Chelsea, business district in the southern part of the West Village. at 11am our plan is to park and leave the van until load-in at 4pm... at 11:30 our plan is to park and leave the van until load-in at 4pm... at noon we are sticking fast to the plan... at noon-thirty we have nearly given up but find a spot a few streets over. famished, we take the train to Chinatown.

TWO SECRETS i have learned about Chinatown in my travels: pork buns and park music.

next time you find yourself on Canal St. in Manhattan, go immediately to Baxter and walk down to the Dragon Land Bakery. there you will find many delights, not the least of which is the pork bun, big fat delicious treat for $1. they also have many stranger things available, including a spiral-y croissant thing with spinach and four hotdogs stuck in it. that is also $1.

after this, follow Baxter down to Bayard and find yourself in a strange plaza with a huge Chinese mezzanine, several stone checkerboards, 200 old people, and Phish. a year ago when we played in New York for the first time (with Unisex Salon) my friend and i spent a day in Chinatown just exploring, and we found Columbus Park tucked away behind the main drag. apparently this was the place where, every day, all the old Chinese people would come to hang out and JAM. old folks brought their beautiful, jangly, dusty musical instruments and gathered around in a circle, just jammin. one gray guy even had a tiny PA and a mic and was singing at the top of his ancient lungs. we thought maybe this was a special event, but every time i have been back to Columbus Park, there they are, jammin. it's gorgeous.