We'll hopefully have more good news prior to the release date.  Thanks as ever for your support and your kind attention.

Best,
Patrick

We're currently holed up back at Studio Litho, laying the final tracks for Dreamers and getting some pleasant surprises. We wrote a new song just a few days ago, and somehow managed to wedge it into this final tracking session much to everyone's delight. It's called "Michigan," and we can't wait to play it for you.

We had an excellent photo session with our esteemed photographer friend Seth Wonner, so we can mail out those 8x10 glossies for all you talent scouts out there. No train tracks or brick walls were harmed in the making of these promo shots, we promise. And in a few hours, we'll commence shooting our first-ever video, for "St. Yesterday."

If you're a socially-networked individual, you may have noticed a blizzard of tweeting and other activity in the past couple of days. Thanks for following and keeping up on the continued adventures of our band. We really feel like the completion of this album is in sight. It has been a long haul, but we're on the home stretch...

cheers,
Patrick

I admit it’s been a messed-up scene for a lot of this decade, in terms of the big picture.  We all know the inventory: terrorist attacks and wars, environmental irresponsibility, an economy hurting from all the bills finally coming due, and a lot of political incompetence. 

But as I prepared to wind down the decade, none of these things were foremost in my mind.  And when I started looking back on the years in personal terms, I discovered I had a hell of a lot to be thankful for.  I have my health, and the health of my family.  My dad fought a battle with prostate cancer and won.  My mom continues to amaze me with her strength and courage, keeping her spirit strong while her body struggles with an insidious and relentless disease.  She is my truest source of inspiration and an inexhaustible well of kindness and love. 

I played a shit-ton of good music in the last ten years, and had a generally great time doing it.  I made some of my strongest friendships out of these musical relationships, and enjoyed a lot of good times with these friends.  Meeting people through music is a sure way to connect with the coolest people, and to see their best side and most generous nature.  I’ve been lucky enough to have great friendships bestowed on me, just by doing the thing that also makes me most happy as an individual.  Truly a win-win. 

I worked at a great company, and experienced way more ups than downs during the almost ten years I’ve been with Allyis.  My job has changed more times than I can remember, but it’s always been challenging, interesting and rewarding. 

I wrapped up the decade by meeting a great girl, falling in love and luring her out to Seattle from the east coast.  Trade deficit in my favor, I say. 

Anyway, the point is that in personal terms, the 2000’s were really good to me.  I tend to stress out about the state of the world sometimes, as most people do, but to dwell on it too much just makes me feel powerless.  Yet when I look inward and try to focus on what matters to me immediately, and on those closest to me, I find so many things to be grateful for. 

As for the new decade, it’s starting off perfectly: with a couple of great shows.  First, Explone plays the Crocodile this Thursday night, with three other fantastic bands: Eighteen Individual Eyes, Elba and The Globes.  We play first at 9:00 PM sharp.  Don’t miss this chance to catch the newly-supercharged Explone lineup at Seattle’s best club. 

Then on Friday night, Red Jacket Mine plays at the High Dive with Richmond Fontaine.  It will be a pleasure and an honor to share the stage with the Fontaine guys, who I’ve admired greatly for many years.  We kick it into gear around 10:00 PM. 

February will see Explone get back into the studio, so we can hopefully wrap this record up and get it into circulation.  More on that in a future update.

Happy New Year!

--Patrick

Now that Explone is a tidy four-piece rock and roll machine, we were eager to break in our new, expanded lineup with a couple of out-of-town shows.  If you’re just getting your first band merit badges, there’s nothing better than getting out of your hometown to play a few shows.  You get to work it out in front of an audience of strangers, and if you’re lucky you might find out a few things you didn’t know about your music.  Like, it makes college football fans throw up on your shoes.  Or it makes the door guys at clubs want to shower you with free pot.  But I digress.

Explone saddled up The Holy Van for our weekend excursion with high hopes.  Mostly these hopes centered around getting over Snoqualmie Pass without crashing into a snow bank.  The weather report was solidly crappy, so much so that I went out and bought a set of chains for the van.  Not that I have any freaking idea how to put them on, but I figured that’s what drummers are for so I bought them and away we went. 

The Holy Van had developed a rather pungent stench over the last few weeks of sitting idle, so it was good to get her out and warm her up again.  Pretty soon we were humming along, loaded to the gills with rock and roll machinery and sleeping bags, and eager for our show at The Brick in Roslyn that night. 

Then the snow started.

At first it was a few gentle flakes, but within a couple of minutes it was like driving in a video game depicting space travel.  The snow was harrowing enough, but much higher on the anxiety scale were the plows, which came speeding past us at a distance of bare inches.  We had the chance to bond over bags of stale pita chips as we spooled through the night in a near-death caravan of semi trucks and 4x4’s…and one big white van. 

When we pulled off the highway in Roslyn I was relieved to say the least.  We just had to wait for a small road closure and another plow encounter before we pulled in to The Brick.  Downtown Roslyn was under 4 of 5 inches of snow, so when we skidded The Holy Van in to a parking space, I was glad we wouldn’t have to move again until the next day.  The other guys commenced unloading while I ordered a double whiskey to soothe my nerves.  (And I needed it, believe me.)

The Brick turned out to be a solid if not spectacular gig.  We rocked as well as we could, and even had a decent little crowd despite the snow keeping most of the area on lock down.  Afterward we enjoyed a fine set from our friends Will Wakefield and the Congress Hotel, and spent as much time as possible cozying up the band apartment above the club.  Things ended the usual way they do at The Brick: with a whole bunch of people out on the balcony at 3:00 AM, and me strumming out hack-ass covers songs on the house 12-string acoustic.  Somewhere in there we passed out and tried to get some rest.

The next day we started the drive to Moscow, Idaho with high hopes—mostly due to the fact that the snow had almost entirely melted.  We ended up savoring what turned out to be a long, sunny drive through some absolutely beautiful country.  People like to cap on the southeast corner of our state, but the fact is it really is awfully scenic.  Put it this way: it’s NOT Nebraska.  And some of those stretches of road leading across the Snake and Columbia Rivers are flat-out breathtaking. 

For those who have never been there, Moscow is a college town, closely affiliated with Washington State University.  This particular show happened to fall on WSU Dad’s Weekend, when every dad was visiting.  Hence every hotel within 30 miles was booked solid, so we were staying all the way down by the border in Clarkston.  Kind of lame, but it worked out okay as we had plenty of time to chill at the hotel and get cleaned up from the long drive.  We supped at a local Mexican joint (greasy mess, but Josh and Kyle seemed to enjoy the burgers), then got to the club in plenty of time to load in and get situated. 

John’s Alley is a longstanding venue in Moscow, and has been a good experience every time I’ve played there.  The sound guy is a very genial 7-foot-plus dude named (I am NOT making this up) “Vertical Dave.”  Dave is a mellow guy and a sweetheart, and he hooked us up with a fine soundcheck and a generous monitor mix, which was much appreciated.  (Always nice to get some decent monitor action.) 

We were a little worried that the crowd might be surly, given that the WSU Cougars got pummeled by UCLA that afternoon.  But they weren’t surly at all; maybe “dejected” is a better adjective.  Anyway, we had the full attention of a room full of patrons, several of whom were clad in Cougar crimson from head to toe.  Perhaps not coincidentally, they seemed to be the guys who were in the most generous mood, with compliments, with CD purchases, and with shots.  As it turns out, we played much better on Saturday night.  I guess it might be a function o the fact that this was our third gig with Kyle, so now we were 33% better.  But whatever, we were having fun, and it seemed like Moscow was having fun, too.  Dave surprised us after the set with a CD recording of the show, which he had been concocting at the board while we rocked out.  I’ll listen to it sometime…but I like to wait a while, so as not to spoil the memories. 

The next morning I chickened out on the pass, and decided to take the long way home: down the Columbia Gorge on I-84 to Portland, then north on I-5 back to Seattle.  A few more hours maybe, but the snow experience from Friday had me pretty apprehensive about a repeat voyage over Snoqualmie Pass in bad weather, chains or no chains.  The other good part of this route was getting to stop in Portland for dinner with our friends Andrew and Sonja.  We had a great meal at a cool joint called The Observatory (highly recommended), after which I could have just sunk into a bed very easily.  But duty called, and thus I piloted the van the last few hours back home.  Road trip complete, mission accomplished.

Explone is going on a bit of a holiday break, but we’ll be back in January with new shows, and hopefully a new record soon enough.  Red Jacket Mine will also be back in the saddle in January, so stay tuned for updates and be good to each other this season. 

Well, we went ahead and did it: in one fell swoop, we doubled down the amount of guitar in Explone. 

For a while now I’ve kicked around the idea of adding another guitarist to the band, but I’ve always hesitated.  Bands are pretty delicate relationships.  If you’re lucky enough to have a band where everyone gets along and enjoys what they’re doing most of the time, then you need to handle it carefully. 

Another reason is that I’m a fairly picky guitarist myself, and I know what I like and what I don’t like.  So it’s been hard to conceptualize letting go of my stranglehold on all the guitar territory in Explone. 

This meant that, in order to bring another musician into the band—and another guitarist in particular—it would need to be someone we really like and respect, both musically and personally.  And we got lucky, because just such an individual came along in the person of our good friend Kyle Stevens. 

Kyle should be no stranger to anyone who has followed my musical endeavors over the years.  Josh and I met Kyle when we were playing in Crystal Radio, and Kyle was gigging around with his old band Layman’s Terms.  Despite a bit of an age difference, we hit it off right away, and over the years we’ve always stayed in touch and kept up with each other’s doings.  Kyle has a full plate these days as a professional songwriter (which means he actually does this stuff for a living), as a solo performer and most recently as the frontman for self-proclaimed geek rockers Kirby Krackle.  The dude is busy, yo. 

Given the many demands on Kyle’s time, I was somewhat taken aback when he threw his hat in the ring to be the fourth member of Explone.  But one night over beers he told me: “if you ever decide to do it, I’d love to be the guy.”  I quickly admitted that whenever I thought about the concept, his name was the one that always popped into my mind.  After we both put our cards on the table, it seemed silly not to at least give it a shot. 

I should state up front that I really didn’t know what to expect.  And Kyle surprised us all, in the best possible way.  The rock songs got wilder and more rocking, while the pretty songs got prettier.  By playing with a ton of energy and never looking over his shoulder, Kyle sort of punked up our songs while adding a new dimension to the sound.  Three practices later we played our first gig as a four-piece band, and it ruled.  At the High Dive, opening for Low Vs. Diamond (who were excellent), we kicked off the Explone V4.0 era in fine fashion.  Thanks to all our friends who attended, and gave us such a warm response. 

Low Vs. Diamond were excellent, and I’ve been digging their album for the past couple of weeks.  Along with the new Metric disc Fantasies and The Disciplines’ joint Smoking Kills, it’s been a good run of new music to keep my ears happy. 

Red Jacket Mine finished our last road trip with a great gig in Provo and a nice visit with out Utah friends in The Devil Whale and Band Of Annuals.  Every time I play at Velour, I marvel at how great and supportive the Provo crowd is.  They really make the long drive seem easy.  Thanks to Brinton, Trever, Jake, Cameron and Corey for taking such good care of us. 

Explone takes off in a couple of weeks for a van excursion of our own: heading back to The Brick in Roslyn, and then out to Moscow, Idaho for a gig at John’s Alley.  We’ll be pulling a caravan with our friend Will Wakefield and his group, which should make for a really fun weekend.  After that I have a solo show back at the High Dive, opening for Grant Hart.  Yes…*that* Grant Hart…the one from Husker Du.  This will be the subject of a longer post in the near future, once I wrap my head around it.  Suffice to say that I’m pretty thrilled to be sharing the stage with someone whose music has had such a profound impact on me in so many ways. 

One more thing: APPROVE REFERENDUM 71.  If this thing doesn’t pass, I’m going to be so ashamed of my state.  Please do whatever you can to fight hatred and discrimination and to support equal rights for everyone in Washington. 

G’night,

Patrick

Red Jacket Mine is on the road this weekend.  I’m sitting in a coffee shop called Nobrow in Salt Lake City, which means I’m at one of my favorite places in the world.  It’s a beautiful morning, with nary a cloud in the sky and sunshine streaming through colored panes of glass over the door.  The National is playing on the stereo, and everything is right with the world.  I got a full eight hours last night in the comfort of The Holy Van, after I volunteered to guard our equipment with my life.  (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.) 

Last night we pulled into SLC after a disastrous (and I do mean DISASTROUS) gig in Boise at The Bouquet—a place I hope never to set foot in again.  The Bouquet, for those who have never had the pleasure, is a beautiful and somewhat cavernous bar in the heart of downtown Boise.  It’s very old, having been around since the pioneer days, and at first glance it seems to be perfectly equipped for a rock show: huge stage, giant sound system, good sight lines and lots of space for patrons to enjoy the show.  Red Jacket Mine was passing through Boise on our way to Utah, and our friends Thomas Paul and Matt Hopper were cool enough to set up a show for us.  Now, the established center of Boise hipsterdom is one block away at the Neurolux, but I guess the ‘Lux was booked for the night…so we ended up at The Bouquet.  No problem, right? 

Wrong.  Way wrong, as it turned out. 

As we started carrying our gear into the bar we were greeted by the owner, who immediately began lecturing us about the perils of loud guitar amps on his stage.  He urged us to “just run the guitars direct” as it would “just work a lot better for everyone.” 

Now, a brief digression: I used to be a professional sound engineer.  By “professional” I simply mean that I got paid to run sound for bands, usually in clubs very much like the one I’m describing presently.  While I never scaled to the heights of this profession, I did this kind of work off and on for more than a decade, and in that time I worked hundreds of shows for many hundreds of bands.  And while I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on all things sound reinforcement-related, I have learned a few things over the years.  Here’s one of the things I absolutely, completely, 100% know to be true: direct guitar sounds like shit.  Electric guitars are meant to be played through amps.  This is why electric guitarists show up with amps instead of direct boxes. 

One other generalization which I’m pretty comfortable throwing out there: if a sound guy is lecturing you about stage volume before you’ve even unpacked your van, he probably doesn’t have a fucking clue what he’s doing.  This has been proven out a few times in my life, although never quite so clearly as in the case of this particular clown at The Bouquet. 

Anyway, we stated our intention to run our guitars through our amps, and this seemed to upset our host.  But as we went on with the business of setting up on the stage, I figured it would just sort itself out and everything would be hunky-dory once we checked the levels and started playing our set. 

Wrong again. 

After our first song, Mr. Sound Genius approached the stage and informed us that the guitars were “completely deafening” and “people were complaining.”  This was kind of a mystery to us, as it seemed like the people in the bar were listening and having a good time—everyone except this guy, that is.  But being the nice guys we are, we turned down a bit and played our next song, after which the exact same drama played out again.  After our third song, Lincoln and I were literally inaudible, and I was playing air guitar with my own band.  Normally I enjoy a healthy bit of air guitar, but this wasn’t cool.  I asked dude to come back to the stage for a pow-wow, and I just put it to him simply: did he want us to play, or not?  When he started whining about the guitar volume again, I did something I’ve never done before: I unplugged my trusty Starfire and walked off the stage. 

Admittedly, this was a prima donna move, and I’m not really proud of it.  But I really thought he wanted us to quit, and I couldn’t keep going through a whole set pretending to play guitar.  Anyway, somehow he and Lincoln talked for a few more minutes, and we ended up getting back on stage and playing the rest of the set.  We turned our amps in from the side of the stage, and turned them back up to a modest yet reasonable volume, and kept going.  At this point it was unfettered aggression from our sound guy, as he proceeded to intentionally feed crap into our monitors for the rest of the set.  Between each song the monitors would drone out long howls of feedback as our patron gleefully and intentionally fucked with us. 

Never once in all my years playing music have I been treated so disrespectfully, and in such a bizarre fashion.  It was like a cold war had broken out between the band and the sound engineer, never quite tipping into violence but rather just lingering hostility.  So bizarre, and I felt so terrible for the people who came to see the show and got this nonsense instead.  It’s one thing to have a hostile vibe going with a sound engineer, but it’s even weirder when the sound guy is also the owner of the bar. 

After our set was through, we watched as the whole script repeated itself with Thomas Paul’s band.  As Lincoln and I sat in the front of the room trying to enjoy the show, Thomas and his guys were repeatedly browbeaten into turning their guitars down, and down, and down yet again, until they were completely inaudible.  They were better sports about it than we were, and subsequently were spared the barrage of feedback and incendiary soundbombing between songs that we had endured.  But it sure would have been nice to hear some guitar during their set. 

Anyway, one bad gig is just one bad gig, no matter how strange and shitty it was.  Thomas very generously put us up at his place, and we slept it off and enjoyed s sunny morning in Boise before departing for Salt Lake City.  When we got in last night we were all pretty roadweary, and our SLC host Brinton Jones helped us stretch our legs with a walk around the neighborhood.  It was gallery stroll night in SLC, and we checked out some very cool art before landing at Eva’s for a late dinner.  After copious amounts of food and wine, I retired to the warmth and comfort of The Holy Van for a good night’s sleep. 

Tonight we head to Provo for a show with The Devil Whale at Velour.  Velour is one of my all-time favorite venues, and it’s good to know I won’t have to get entangled in any passive-aggressive guitar wars with the sound engineer there.  It should be a great show, and a nice capper to a long weekend on road tripping. 

Next week Explone plays a big show at the High Dive, opening for Los Angeles buzz band Low Vs. Diamond.  This show will be momentous for one very important reason: it marks the debut of Kyle Stevens on guitar.  Kyle, as many of you know, is a longtime friend and an excellent singer and songwriter with many good bands to his credit.  (Layman’s Terms, Collider, and most recently nerd-rock sensations Kirby Krackle.)  When I mentioned the idea of possibly adding a second guitar player to the Explone lineup, Kyle threw his hat in the ring.  This was convenient, because I couldn’t really think of anyone else who might fit the bill—Kyle was definitely the right guy in terms of personality and the respect I have for him as a musician.  Fortunately, after a couple of practices it became evident that Kyle is also the right guy in terms of his ability to shred with a savage abandon on six strings. 

Anyway, come to the High Dive and welcome Kyle into the fold.  I’m not sure how much time he’ll have for Explone, given all his other commitments.  But we are delighted to have him on Thursday, and we intend to let it rip.  Just a warning: the guitars will be pretty loud, and we aren’t going to turn them down.  So tough it out. 

--Patrick

Explone will be back at the High Dive later this month, when we open for the marvelous Low vs. Diamond on their Seattle tour stop.  This show takes place on 10/22, and the cost is $10.  Advance tickets are available here, and are recommended.  LVD has been getting quite a bit of well-deserved buzz since the release of their new album, and we are delighted to share the stage with them for the night. 

This week my focus shifts over to Red Jacket Mine, as we celebrate the release of our new album Lovers Lookout.  The big party happens Thursday night, 10/8 at the Tractor Tavern, where we’ll be joined by our good friends Downpilot (who also have an album release to celebrate!) and erstwhile openers Sweet Secrets.  Show start at 9:00 PM, and tickets are $8 bucks. 

After the party, RJM will be back in the van for a few out of town shows.  We travel to Boise for a gig at The Bouquet on 10/15, and then to Utah for a gig at Velour in Provo on 10/17.  We might have a Salt Lake City show in between, so stay tuned for news on that.  You can always check the RJM MySpace page for up to the minute details. 

On the Explone front, Josh has been settling into married life while Scott has been moonlighting as the touring bassist for Kirby Krackle.  KK is the nerd-rocking ensemble led by my good buddy Kyle Stevens, and they fill the cosmic void as Seattle’s only comic book rock band.  It’s the brainchild of Kyle and his cohort Jim Demonakos, and since the release of their album these guys have gotten a lot of press within the comic con/geek rock community.  Last weekend KK traveled to sunny California to play at the Long Beach Comic Con, with Scott once again manning the bass duties.  I must say, any time a band of guys in Sasquatch outfits open the show, it’s practically guaranteed to be good times.   

One final note: for those who live here in Washington State, please remember to register to vote in the election this November 3^rd.  If nothing else, your vote is *really* needed to help get Referendum 71 approved, and to fight religious discrimination in our state.  Please tell all your friends: vote YES on Referendum 71. 

Cheers,
Patrick

Anyway, the change of seasons is underway and I’m rolling with it.  There may be a few bumps in the road, but at least that means I’m still moving. 

Red Jacket Mine is gearing up to celebrate the release of our new CD Lovers Lookout, which hits the streets on Thursday, October 8^th.  We’ll be celebrating with a massive CD Release Party at the Tractor Tavern in Olde Ballard, joined by our good friends in Downpilot.  After that we pile into the van and head out on a two-week sojourn across the western states, visiting old friends and making new ones.  You can check the tour dates on our page to see if we’ll be coming your way.  Please do come out and say hello if we are stopping in your town (or anywhere close).  Lovers Lookout just came off the presses, and I’ve been listening to it with a great deal of pride and satisfaction.  It’s a record that was made both fast and slow—fast in the sense that we didn’t spend a large number of total hours on the project (at least compared to other records I’ve been involved with), but slow in the sense that there were long gaps in the process, where we weren’t working due to schedules or (more frequently) lack of money.  Anyway, I intentionally avoided over-listening to the tracks while the record was in progress, and the result is that I have what I think is a decent amount of perspective left now that we’re putting it out.  And I’m loving it.  It’s a really nuanced record, and at times I can barely remember playing on it, but I certainly feel familiar with all the songs and they greet me like old friends. 

Speaking of long recording processes, I know a few folks have been wondering just what the hell is going on with the next Explone album.  I’ve been wondering the same thing.  Sadly, it all boils down to a lack of money to push this baby across the finish line.  Right now times are a little tight, and I don’t want to finish this record weak when we started it strong…so I’m learning some patience and scrounging up the dough a little at a time. 

On a very positive note, I recently enlisted the assistance of Mr. Ken Stringfellow for some keyboards and even an odd backing vocal or two.  Ken, as you probably know, produced and played on RJM’s Lovers Lookout, and thus when I was scratching my head trying to figure out how to get some sweet keyboardification on the newest Explone tracks, his name formed in the ether of my subconscious.  (It was really cool—like the letters “K-E-N” were all spelled out in glowing lights.)  Ken lives in Paris, but we’ve been able to exchange files successfully in the past on several occasions, as I’ve done some guitar and pedal steel work for a couple of other albums Ken has produced.  So I zammed him over some rough mixes of the songs, and a week later he zammed me back some delicious tracks all polished and beautiful.  Ken played some organ, some piano and sang a bit on three new songs, which are all slated for inclusion on Dreamers when it finally emerges from the aforementioned ether.  For this I owe him many thanks, which I intend to deliver personally when he visits in October with his new band The Disciplines.  (Check ‘em out!  They rock!)

In other Explone news: Scott was just in Ohio, and Josh is now in Colorado.  Both of these voyages are related to the blessed institution of marriage…in other words, Scott and Josh are both recently hitched.  You can offer your hearty congratulations when you next see them in person, perhaps at the big show we have at The High Dive on Wednesday, September 23^rd with The Devil Whale and Elder Mason.  I’ve gone on and on about The Devil Whale before, but let me just reiterate one more time: these guys are a fantastic band, and Brinton Jones is an amazing songwriter and singer.  If you need proof, just look here, and here, and here.  Very few people can inspire me the way Brinton can with just a few notes.  We will bring our very best to the stage on this night, and missing this show would just be a damn shame.  So please join us if you can—the music starts at 9:00 PM sharp, and Explone is up first. 

Subconsciously yours,

Patrick

So much to say, so much to do...

Thanks to the faithful folks who came out to El Corazon a few weeks back, for the remnants of the Amanda Overmyer show.  Apparently Amanda got cold feet about the bill, because she cancelled the day before the show.  Then one of the other acts on the bill cancelled the day of the show.  That left us holding down the opening slot on a very early, very decimated night of music.  And yet a gang of our friends showed up at the (ungodly) hour of 8:00 PM, and so rock we did.  It was a little strange to play a show, load the van, haul the gear back to the studio, then grab some beers and a late night meal—and still be in bed by midnight.  First time that’s happened in a while.

Next up is a much-anticipated visit from our friends The Devil Whale.  Brinton and company will be wrapping up a western state tour with us at the High Dive on September 23^rd, joined by our pals Elder Mason.  As anyone who reads my rambling updates knows, The Devil Whale is one of my favorite bands in the whole world, and Brinton Jones is a songwriter I have so much respect and admiration for.  I had the privilege of playing on their fantastic album Like Paraders, and I even got to join them for their CD Release Show back in their hometown of Salt Lake City.  So welcoming them back to the Northwest will be a real pleasure. 

Scott pressed up some spiffy CD singles of “St. Yesterday” and “Best Friend,” which we’ll be distributing FREE at the show.  And many, many thanks to the wonderful Ms. Amy Redmond for the excellent show poster to your left.  All in all, this will be one helluva night of music, and is not to be missed. 

Red Jacket Mine is looking forward to the release of our new album Lovers Lookout in October.  Our CD Release show will be at the Tractor Tavern on October 6^th, with our good friends Downpilot.  Mark it down.  We wore the tires off the van last weekend, playing gigs in Eugene, Boise and Portland—in that order.  Lots of driving, but well worth it as we furthered the cause of rock. 

See you on the 23^rd!

--Patrick

Looking back:

Explone had a totally righteous show at The Brick in Roslyn.  Thanks to Lucky and the gang for having us out, and to Will Wakefield for playing with us.  Josh blew up his bass drum head, so we borrowed one from Lucky's drum kit backstage--which of course we then forgot to put back.  I got a phone call on Wednesday, to the effect of "where the hell is my bass drum head???"  So off to Roslyn I went, for an impromptu visit to deliver the missing part.  Whoops.  I felt like a complete ass, but fortunately Lucky was more than cool about it, and even treated me to dinner for making the trip. 

Red Jacket Mine had a superb gig at the Sunset with the recently reunited Radio Nationals.  We also had the pleasure of meeting the most excellent Michael Dean Damron (formerly of the band I Can Lick Any SOB In The House), who blew us away with a fantastic opening set of gritty, Steve Earle-esque country rock.  MDD was awesome, and a good night was had by all.  Our set was webcast on SyncLive; you can check it out here if you like. 

Lauren and I took a trip to the east coast, to attend the wedding of my good buddy and former Explone bandmate John Merkel.  John and his bride Kerry had a lovely little shindig on a farm in Connecticut, and we were delighted to attend.  No more rock and roll for John, but he seems to have things well in order with a great new life ahead.  After the wedding, we made our way to Boston where we rendezvoused with Lauren's family and had a nice stay.  Five days on Cape Cod, lots of seafood, a few thunderstorms, bike riding on Martha's Vineyard (where I saw no evidence whatsoever of grapes, by the way), and a visit with some friendly alpacas.  Life is rough. 

On the recording front, I am sad to report that not much is happening, mostly due to a lack of funds.  I figure we're about five or six studio days away from having this baby ready to master, but until some money magically appears in my bank account, we're on indefinite hold.  (I applied for a personal stimulus package, but Barack said no dice.)  Nobody wants this done more than I do, so please believe me when I say this is killing me. 

In the meantime, I'm booking a few more Explone shows for the summer/fall, and looking forward to a good stretch of shows with Red Jacket Mine--including our appearance at the Tractor on Saturday, July 18^th, opening for The Minus Five.  This will be a great night of music if you can make it out. 

That's it for now.  Stay warm.

--Patrick