We mastered last week. MASTERED. Again. For the EP this time. It feels really unusual to spend a full year recording a record, then you mix, then you master, and then you wait nine months to put it out. Then suddenly, you decided to throw some random things you had laying around on a record, and in a week it's mastered and done and you're putting it out in four weeks. And the real weird thing about it, is that it's actually REALLY cool. Something you kind of just put together as a gut move out of cat scraps, and suddenly you have something really unexpected and cool all wrapped up and finished.



We're gonna use a picture of Jay from the studio in New Orleans for the cover. It kind of embodies the ethic of the EP perfectly. This whole EP was recorded at home, almost exclusively by Jay, and our decision to put it out is a kind of statement that we're going to make records EXACTLY how we want to make them from here on out, even if it's technically "incorrect".... the cover photo was taken the day we were spending oodles of money in this big fancy studio and kind of realized what we were doing was kind of a finger in the face of big fancy corporate studios. TO BE CLEAR, I'm not talking about the Music Shed, that place is amazing and I adore the people there; that place has the ability to be really professional, but also to put out really cool music. But the corporate side of things in general has never really treated us right, and it was only a matter of time till we struck out on our own a little. I think it's been the correct artistic move.

So, here we go. In a few weeks we'll start seeing how this new direction carries us.

The last two weeks

1. I've talked about this till people's heads caved in, but I played with a baby bear last week. Changed my life. It's an odd thing to feel such love for something so adorable that in a year would probably pull my skin off if it got the chance.

2. Jay and I just got home from our first foray into the world of movie extras. Some friends run a casting company, so for some extra cash, we signed on to be extras for the upcoming blockbuster smash "Big Momma's House 3." From what we saw, I think the critics are gonna love it. Really, we spent three days, mostly in a gym, with about 600 other people for about 14 hours a day. I think we were aided by our years of experience sitting for hours upon hours in our van while on tour. Others didn't hold up so well. You might see us in the big scene where the main girl discovers her boyfriend is dressed up like a woman on stage at the high school talent show. Or that's what it seemed like from the scene that we saw.

The world of movie extras, that society, is something unlike anything I've ever seen before. There are a lot of people with far more extroversion than talent, and there are weird hierarchies and cliques. You have the aspiring models wanting to be noticed in the movies, the aging actor and actress wannabes who have made their living being extras for years, still hoping for the big break, the dirty old men looking to ogle and fondle all the PYTs, and then there was me and Jay, just there for the money and the experience, taking it all in. Lots of Bluetooth ear thingies, which I have yet to be convinced there is really any need for that can overcome the douchebaggieness that it inflicts on people. Don't get me wrong, we met a few genuinely cool people awash in that sea of delusion, some very sweet and beautiful and smart people that will eventually find their way out of the extras puddle and may go on to do really cool things. Otherwise, it's a weird fucking scene in there. I can't wait to do it again.

3. We mastered the record yesterday. I think it sounds pretty and sparkly but it's got some ass on it, too. Boom boom on the bottom end and twinkle up top. Think Vida Guerra with a diamond tiara. All I ever wanted was to make a callipygian record, and, yessir, we have succeeded.

4. Got Kickstarter up and running (FIIIIIINALY) and have raised over $1000 in the first 24 hours. Rad. Gonna try to keep it coming. We really need this little boost to keep things going. Shameless advert here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1385573544/modern-skirts-new-album-release. Sorry, I feel like a dick doing this, but I'd feel like a slacker if I didn't.

5. Some of my favorite things in the world are happening right now. One is the Golden Hour, which just started really happening in the last two weeks. Every evening before sunset now, everything looks so dramatic, the green leaves washed in deep orange sunlight, the dust and haze illuminated by the faltering day. It makes you feel like you are living a memory you have forgotten, feeling a present sense of that hyper-visceral shine that all of our beautiful memories have, but that feels so elusive when were are actually in an experience. We get to mash these things together for a few months now, so keep your eyes open. We only have so many summers to live... don't spill any of it.

The other thing I am obsessing over is the wall of honeysuckle vines threading through the bushes on the corner of my street and Easy St. I walk around the corner almost every night for a porch sitting with my neighbors before bed, and the last few nights I've noticed a curtain of perfume that I have to push through on the way. Sniff sniff sniff all the way there and all the way home. Yet another fortuitous chance to experience a mundane walk through my neighborhood with my senses open and hungry, greedily sucking in all the stimuli around me.

Here's to this summer being the most delicious so far for all of us.

Clean Kitty Kitty Dot Com

Man, it's gorgeous today. My porch is shaded by a billion little chlorophyll parasols and the breeze is sending torrents of white dogwood petals in little diagonal dances in all directions. I'll go to work later today and go to band practice steeped in coffee-smells. Maybe tonight calls for a bottle of wine and some friends to talk or play music with. Badminton in the back yard? A bike ride? A sunset bonfire? Mmmmm. Feeling good about this.

Today calls for: a clean room, exercise, practice, getting my chemicals back in order (I had some sort of horrific dopamine crash yesterday that I will NOT take lying down), working and making a little prettypolly for bills and rent....... I'd like to buy some art today too; my friend Steven has some little prints he's selling and I hope to run into him.

Look at this: http://www.theleapyear.com/

I know this blog is for the band, but we're in the middle of a lot of the boring part right now. Setting a date to master the record, updating our reverbnation profile, not touring. Blah Blah Yawn Blah Blah. I'll get back to that soon when things get more exciting. For now, just want to keep it going. So I'm just gonna have to write about coffee and my porch and brain chemistry in the meantime.

Anybody want to hire me for some menial work? I'll wash your cat.

On a Sunday

Just got home from a clandestine show at Tasty World. A lot of fun, a lot of drunk people shaking their business, some impromptu honky tonk piano playing, and stripping the skin off of my fingers in the heat of the moment. Yessssss.

Day Zero

Amen, amen, amen. Making the old concerted effort to have our first continuous, long ranging, wide open blog. Ever. People think we're fucking boring. We're pretty eccentric, actually. Just tend towards shyness when we are uncomfortable. You know someone like that, right? We're not performing actors.... some people are sooooo good at soooo many things. I just happen to be good at one thing and then otherwise, let's just have a beer and enjoy each other's company, Ghandi-style.

Fear not. I'll get better at this as we go along. Sea legs aren't shaky legs.

Love,

The rabids, the peacemakers, the band