Mortimer Returns!!!

I can’t even believe that I’m writing this, but SHE’S BACK! Our regal defender Mortimer just arrived in the mail today, safely cushioned by packing peanuts. I have yet to give her a kiss, but when I see her…let’s just say I’m going to have to restrain myself.

For those of you who don’t know the story, on our first summer tour we played a show in Chicago. We stole the goose from Ezra’s mother, and played with her on stage in Evanston. Turns out, we got a record deal after that show. Some say it was our luck, some say it was our skill, but we say it was because of Mortimer. She has been our fearless leader ever since. Ever since some unnamed, evil, cold-hearted woman STOLE her from the Harpoons in Chapel Hill.

We haven’t played the same since that moment. Our shows have been fun, well-attended, and they sound great. But, something has been missing. Well folks, this will last no longer. We have Mortimer, and nothing can stop us.

South Carolina

South Carolina

Originally uploaded by adamabrutyn

Listen up. I fixed the “Here’s to William Blake” link, so scroll down and press play.

We played an art space called “Eyedrum” in Atlanta last night. It had the best bathroom poetry we’ve ever seen. As they say, the pen is mightier…if a hipster is feeling angsty (see picture above). It was a nice show, and afterwards we went home to my cousin’s apartment. Jahn regrettably slept in Eleanor (our van) and Ezra stayed up late quizzing Job on Oscar trivia. I was forced to drank a fifth of Jack Daniels just to balance out the lameness of our band. Living the dream folks, living the dream.

Here’s a new song for you. I’m actually afraid to tell you about it. Job has developed a rather unhealthy obsession with Vampire Weekend. He stayed up until 4 a.m. conquering his emotions in order to write this short, alarming song. Maybe it’s a cry for help, maybe it’s just true love. You decide.

SxSW is over

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Originally uploaded by adamabrutyn

What a week. SxSW was a blast, we played with some great bands at the Lou Reed tribute show. For those of you who don’t know, Austin is basically American Idol with tighter jeans, more Ray-Bans, and less Clay Aiken. All of our shows were great and well attended, and we got to cause some trouble too.

Everyone was happy to leave Austin, for some reason a 10 hour car ride to Arkansas makes everyone feel at home. We made it to Hot Springs where an unnamed man didn’t know what Maine was. Jahn told him Maine was home, and this citizen responded with “Maine…is that spelled M-e-e-n or M-e-a-n?” Jahn then told him the state was above Massachusetts, and he resorted to calling Jahn a dang Canadian. Well, thank god Jahn is a true American patriot, because we wouldn’t stand for a Canuck in the Harpoons. Kidding.

We recorded “Here’s to William Blake” during one long St. Louis night.

Here’s a video of the Lou Reed event. It was my favorite moment of SxSW!

Rigamarole

Rigamarole

Listen, just because we have a day off, does NOT mean that we will spend it drinking. But, if we were to do that here would be some videos.

St. Louis

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Originally uploaded by adamabrutyn

So, we arranged Lou Reed’s “New Age” all day at the cost of arriving in St. Louis a mere 4 hours late. But, it sounds beautiful and punctuality has never been our thing anyway. We met up with Zach, Ofer, and Sam Ezra’s best friends from home.

Over breakfast we realized that Ezra’s friend making skills haven’t really changed much since, oh lets say 2nd grade. Circa 1992 Ezra’s only friend Zach brought him to Sam’s house for a sleepover, and Sam couldn’t kick him out. They’ve been best friends ever since. 14 years later, Jahn brought Ezra to watch a movie at a dorm at Tufts, and he lurked in the dark, unbeknownst to the movie-watchers. Those lucky few became Ezra’s best friends at Tufts. You can’t teach Ezra new tricks.

This is the aftermath of Ohio’s fury.

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We made it to Chicago!

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Originally uploaded by adamabrutyn

After 2 treacherous days we made it to Chicago. We played a great show the Hideout tonight. Tomorrow we’re starting our first ever cover song, in preperation for Fader Magazine’s party for Lou Reed. We’ll see how it goes, maybe we’ll post some of our practice for you to hear. Then we’ll be off to St. Louis.

First Few Days

Driving to Chicago is the norm these days. We left bright and early at 1:30 p.m from Boston, but hit a massive storm in Ohio and have been stuck near Cleveland for 2 days. We’re all happy though, Job got the motel hot tub he desired, Ezra offended some 8 year-olds with his “no bathing suit approach to swimming,” Jahn got free coffee, and I started a blog. I’ll be taking pictures and posting them here, check back.

We will be recording some songs from hotel rooms for your enjoyment. Here’s the first one called “Photograph”

Here’s our new (self-proclaimed) mascot since Mortimer flew away.

Job learned wearing sandals in a blizzard is no fun, so he joined the indie rock elite with some new Chucks. Sellout.

p.s. Job can’t believe Vampire Weekend is on SNL