I'll Race You

Quick, everybody go on tour at once! As soon as we got back from SXSW, Scissors For Lefty, Goldenboy, and Great Northern each took off in different directions, prompting a flurry of posters and flyers and well-wishes. (And dire threats to blog and hipcast.) Expect good stuff from Great Northern's lovely new blog: http://greatnorthernmusic.blogspot.com. We had fun hanging out with them at their video shoot for "Home" last weekend, as well as all the shows at SXSW, so we know they'll make you smile.

(Rachel with a new friend @ the Redeye Party, SXSW.)

Goldenboy is off till the 21st, but this week, we've got:

TONIGHT 3/29:
Great Northern @ Fat Cat
930 11th St., Modesto CA
w/ Division Day & Solar Powered People
8pm $5 21+

TOMORROW 3/30:
Scissors For Lefty @ Galapagos
70 North 6th St., Williamsburg NY
11pm $10 18+

SAT. 3/31:
Great Northern @ Art Bar
1511 S. Main St., Las Vegas NV
9pm $8 21+
w/ Division Day

&

Scissors For Lefty @ The Ritz
Rochester Institute of Technology
34 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester NY
9pm ALL AGES! FREE!

SUN. 4/1
Scissors For Lefty @ Knitting Factory
74 Leonard St., New York NY
8pm ALL AGES! $8 adv/$10 door
w/ Locksley & Monument

For next week, check the shows page on the EMR site. Like last night's South Park, we are "cross-referencing our myspace with google maps and eharmony" to bring you guys more and more fun stuff online. That's right, we are plugged in, people. (Just a minute, I got a text.) Irving's on Go TV, Great Northern's on M+TV, and Scissors are on Mania TV. :)

Here's our playlist for the day:



Cheers!
Schimonie

Making the Video

Solon holds the spooky IV with Scott from Little Radio


Day One:

It's 10:30am in Hollywood, CA on the fourth floor of one of the only brick buildings I've been in since I moved here last year. The crew have been here for hours and the band is rolling in carrying various energy drinks, wardrobe selections, cell phones and props from their own personalities that will undoubtedly fit right in. In glancing at the shot schedule, scenes of seances, dead bodies and portraits in dusty carved frames remind us that Great Northern's video legacy echoes creepy portraits from early themes of the occult from the 1800s.

Director, Josh Forbes' vision imagines our GN walking through a wonderland of spooky turn-of-the-century images including shots that seem to be portraits come-to-life using green-screen technology. With an ancient IV drip, the story begins with the band in all black caring for an ailing Solon and then in the next shot, a deceased Solon lies still while bandmates now in all white mourn him. Next, around a table the band recreates a seance like the one seen in the photos that provided the inspiration for video in the first place, particularly this one from the Albert de Rochas collection of prints take of a seance conducted by John Beattie.


Other techniques used include an early 19th century toy known as a wonder turner or a thaumatrope used to give the illusion that two images are floating together, most popularly recalled in the "bird in cage" effect. After today, the crew will have amassed a collection of individual performance and still shots of the band working without seeing their counterparts against a green screen and with minimal props. Josh creates his world in his imagination alone keeping the final product a secret from everyone involved asking players to hold chains, perform simple magic tricks and dance. In a variety of costume changes, the tone is set with mostly black, white and greyscale pieces hinting us to the possibility of a sepia-washed world.


Day Two: Today I walked in to discover that the crew spent the earliest hours of today's shoot taking stills of tree branches and cutting two or three inches off of each of them for each photo in an effort to play it back in reverse to give the illusion that those trees are growing. After the sticks were all swept away, the band was back in place to do more individual shots and small group shots. Ronald Dzerigian came in to offer his face and acting skills starring as all of the members of a string ensemble. Costume changes today include the additon of red into the mix and a number of odd shots including a kissing scene where both Solon and Rachel are wearing hoods only contributes to the growing anticipation of what the animation will reveal.
Director Josh Forbes and Great Northern






















Here's an Imeem photo playlist of pics from the rest of the Great Northern photo shoot!
Thanks again to Josh Forbes, Winch & Pulley, and the crew on the shoot and the lovely folks at Expert Insight.
We can't wait to see the final cut and share it with all of you!


Ciao!
CR

A photo diary of the rest of our EMR SXSW experience

Ciao!
CR

Great Northern from Spiderhouse Cafe

Check out this clip of Great Northern's performance at the Spiderhouse Cafe on Saturday March 17th. This was their last performance at SXSW!

SXSW day two part two

The Eenie Meenie Records showcase was a major success!! The Soho Lounge was PACKED to the brim with acoustic and indie music lovers, dance-band fans and L.A. local supporters turning out to support our own showcase featuring Matt Sheehy (Gravity and Henry), Goldenboy, Scissors for Lefty and Great Northern! Words cannot describe the fun had by all, so here are some photos:













































































































































































































































































More about days three and four as we compile our photos and videos!
We're very excited to enjoy the rest of SXSW!
We'll be calling in soon!

Ciao!
CR

SXSW day two part one

WHOA what a whirlwind we've been on here in Austin!

Our itinerary was FULL with intended plans to see a great many acts, but the rain let us down a little as we left the hotel to our first destination.

First up was the Gorilla vs. Bear/Gothamist/Austinist "Gonna Gonna Get, Get Down!" party featuring: Architecture in Helsinki, Headlights, Earl Grayhound, Loney, dear, and (L.A. pals) Hello Stranger (below).



Their set was great! Our friend Cristo was doing sound and we met some great folks at that party! The rain subsided and we moved on to our next location (and FEATURED day event on our schedule) the GenArt Party @ Beauty Bar with an AMAZING line-up: Snowden (shown below), Suffrajet, Dirty on Purpose, and Menomena. Snowden's set was STELLAR. We're going to try to find ourselves at their event tomorrow (4pm at the Urban Outfitters day party!!) for our second visit with them since the start of the festival. Jordan was extra kind and the rest of the folks were grateful we showed up early enough to catch their whole set.
Here's a cropped shot from a polaroid the nice ladies at Beauty Bar took for us!

We left right after their set to hit the streets with our GENIUS promotions machine: SLAP BRACELETS with the Eenie Meenie Records showcase info printed right on the bracelet!! People were chasing us down in the streets to get one of these babies!

On the avenue, I ran into some old friends from back east, including DJ Tommie Sunshine and Ultragrrrl. They had time to chat for a bit and pose for a quick photo before we all scurried off to change for the main event that nite: the Eenie Meenie Records Showcase!!

We're compiling a TON of photos from that event, so we'll have a more complete post for you tomorrow! For now, signing off from Austin!

Tomorrow we've got two Great Northern events and we're hoping to get a spot to see the Stooges at Stubb's so be on the lookout for the EMR girls with their great hair and polaroid camera!!

Ciao for now!
CR

Miny Moe from SXSW!

We're here in Austin and we're keeping you up on all things Eenie Meenie!! Keep checking back for more audio, video and pictures from the big event!




MP3 File

SXSW day one

We're finally here!

Schimonie and I walked off the plane last nite at around 7:05pm CST and were driven to our hotel by Robert 519, the self-professed official SXSW tour guide. We awoke today (way too early for our watches, but around 9am Austin time) and had a waffles and cereal breakfast (I made the waffle myself on a fancy little swivel waffle iron!) and we were off to the festivities downtown.

Here's a shot of our hotel room, posh right?

















We got the lay of the land down, although it's a very different scene during the day than at nite. Ran over to Waterloo, which was pretty much business as usual despite the impending busy days ahead.

We headed over to Tara's Thai (AMAZING Thai, and very inexpensive!) and it was THEN that the rain started. It POURED for a while and now, thankfully, it's stopped. We're heading down to the NRDC party tonite to see Scissors for Lefty perform. If you're in the Austin area, you should come down and check it out!

We're off to load-in now and we'll be calling the blog shortly so check in to find out the latest info!


Ciao!
CR

the stars at night are big and bright...

deep in the heart of Texas!!

That's RIGHT we're off to SXSW!!

Schimonie and I (Chief Rocka) will be going to the big show as of Monday morning, so be on the lookout for us at some of the finer events at this year's conference. In the spirit of blogging and SXSW we've decided to pack up our laptops, digital and video cameras and bring them WITH us!! So with our new audio technology, you'll be hearing from us as the action happens!

Stay tuned!




Here's a sneak preview of some of the amazing bands you'll see and hear at this year's SXSW!!
Ciao!
CR

Is anybody out there? Check one, two...

Hi friends!

We've just received word that our pals over at Indie 103.1 want to have a little Sunday evening get together with Great Northern over at their studios!
Mark Shovel's Check One, Two will host the band to play a few songs live on Sunday March 4th live 6-8pm PST (you can listen online from ANYWHERE!) and then Great Northern will play live at the Viper Room as part of Indie 103.1's weekly event on the following day, March 5th. The Pity Party, Venus Infers and The Front will also be on hand to perform!

Listen on Sunday nite and come see the band on Monday!!





Ciao!
CR

Irving Update: Video from Germany!

On an average day, I wake up with my digital alarm, log on to my lightweight laptop, change clothes while my Music Choice alternative all music station (guilty pleasure, yes I wake up to the "alternative" station -- tease if you must) plays on my digital cable in the background while I get ready for work. Then I plug in my nano and head off to work where I log on to the web with my OTHER lightweight laptap, while my cell phone sits on vibrate next to my desk and my VARIOUS sites (MOG, Imeem, blogger, eeniemeenie.com, AIM, myspace, etc.) keep track of all my online affairs. Ain't technology grand?

It's hard to remember life without Myspace, Youtube, blogging, text messaging, and the MYRIAD of other ways the techno age has made our lives easier/more intense. I take it for granted most days, but today I was really amazed at the power of the tools that have become available in even the last 5 years. You'll see what I mean in the video below which features our own Steven Scott of Irving on a press tour of Germany. He made a stop at popular German TV video show Pop10 (this is the one you guys voted for the top videos online) and played a few songs on his acoustic guitar. But he wasn't alone, at least not when he could have the rest of Irving play with him live via webcast from their place in Los Angeles. Spanning 6 time zones, thousands of miles and all this without buffering issues, the band played "Situation" together. The mix could not have been better if they were all in the same room and the image of Steven playing along with the image of three other guys on a laptop computer is one that is the very embodiment of how technology can truly change the way we share music.

The performance is stellar as well. The guys carry the tune a totally different way with the acoustic, stripped down approach and the simplicity of it has renewed my love for this tune.

Enjoy!





Ciao!
CR