SXSW again

why do we never post here? well, thats all going to change, right now.

i'm sitting on our hotel in sunny austin nursing a motherfuck of a cold. this is year two in a row where i was felled with some affliction upon arriving here. why does this occur? last year it was an impacted tooth. this year, the cold i should have had in january. no doubt i would trade the tooth for the cold, but come on, there are tacos to be eaten that i now can't taste, and gigs to be played that i might be croaking through. plus, how can i drink?

oh, i whine. the tour has been going well, though. 4 shows before this that were all realy good, felt good, and the drives, though long, are somehow just fine. i love the rolling plains of texas, and the flowers everywhere. i finished reading Murakami and debating what i will read next. Fitzgerald, maybe. we watched Jesus Camp on the iBook in the van, and the Dixie Chicks movie, both very good. we've been listening to everytthhing under the sun, from King Crimson to Arcade Fire.

i gotta get up and get ready for a radio thing. WOXY. live at noon on the internets. this is our longest day here, with 3 appearances. we arrived last night and did a live on KOOP thing that was really fun though very haphazard, and had some of the best tacos i've ever eaten at a place whose names escapes me.

showertime. -- philip

in the maybe world.

hi all.
there is plenty of news in winterpills land.

first off, we finished recording our second album!
we are very excited for you to hear what we made.
it is being mastered as we speak in phoenix, az.

we are having a difficult time coming up with a title, but
rest assured that we will find it soon. so far, the
album artwork looks beautiful.
it will be released in late feb, 2007.

we made some strange little vlogs while we were in the studio.
you can view them here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=winterpills&search=Search

they start getting really good after day 3.

i want to tell you all about our mini-tour with the
incomparable lisa germano. i've been such a fan of
lisa's for many years now, so it was a thrill to
be able to watch her play for 4 nights in a row.
it was mesmerizing actually. the whole band felt that way.

lisa writes some of the most emotionally raw songs i've
heard. they are also self-deprecating, seethingly sarcastic,
stark, fragile, and lonely. she played with craig ross who
added eerie electronic autoharp, lap pedal steel, and electric guitar
colors each night. it's hard to describe how much her music moves and
affects me. i'm still in a bit of a daze from it all.

please please go see her if she comes to your town.
here are the rest of her tour dates:

Fri 10/13/06 Beachland Tavern Cleveland OH
Sat 10/14/06 Publico Gallery Cincinnati OH
Sun 10/15/06 Little Brothers Columbus OH (8pm early show)
Tue 10/17/06 Buskirk-Chumley Theater Bloomington IN
Thu 10/19/06 Cactus Bar Milwaukee WI
Fri 10/20/06 Turf Club St. Paul MN
Sat 10/21/06 Beat Kitchen Chicago IL
Mon 10/23/06 Stormy Records Space Detroit MI
Tue 10/24/06 Quiet Storm Coffee House Pittsburgh PA
Wed 10/25/06 Gravity Lounge Charlottesville VA
Thu 10/26/06 Iota Cafe Arlington VA
Fri 10/27/06 Barbes Brooklyn NY

her new record is called "in the maybe world".
i want to make a podcast mix of all my favorite lisa g. songs
for you. maybe i will investigate how this is done...

hope you are enjoying the colors and the pumpkins,
~flora

festivities

Oh, how neglectful we've been of the blog! Bad Winterpills.
But, at least I can tell you that we've been busy- we're gearing up to record number two next month, and we're also excited to play some summer festivals and watch the enthusiastic dancers and lovely kids who always make up a large percentage of these crowds. I can't wait.

I saw an amazing band called Devotchka play at the Iron Horse a few weeks ago. It was one of the best shows I've been to- beautiful instrumentation (bouzouki, tuba, violin, upright bass, drums) and sweeping vocals. Sweeping is such a cliche in many band press kits, but Devotchka really has one of the most sweeping lead singers I've heard... Have a listen for yourself or just take a chance and go see them live. They sound like the most romantic brooding soundtrack to a 1940's film about french gypsies, mixed with a kind of Calexico-ish indie rock sensibility.

Devotchka

I've also been listeng to The National non-stop.
Some lyrics of theirs:

Break my arms around the one I love
And be forgiven by the time my lover comes
Break my arms around my love

I don't have any questions
I don't think it's gonna rain
You were right about the end
It didn't make a difference

I'm here to take you now

Out among the missing sons and daughters of the SoHo riots
Out among the missing sons and daughters of the SoHo riots

What else should I be listening to?
Enjoy the sun and the berries,
~flora

re-entry

hello. slowly re-entering into not on tour life. i'm finally feeling the ability to focus somewhat, so i thought i'd say hello. our little tour was a good one. shared bills with some wonderful people like rosie thomas, the fervor, smallwire and quiet, kentucky. thanks to everyone who came out and said hello, bought our music and t-shirts, and made us feel welcome in these new to us cities. louisville, where have you been all our lives? thank you WFPK for playing our record and a very special thanks to everyone who came out to Uncle Pleasant's...you made it a truly memorable and fantastic night. we felt like such rock stars.

other highlights: meeting rosie thomas and her wonderful band. they had all their instruments and gear stolen in philadelphia the night before our show. despite this, rosie was able to laugh about it and give so much to her audience and was just as generous to us... also, stumbling upon that wonderful cafe in w. va (cathedral cafe, was it?), the beautiful drive from w. va to knoxville, the monkey cup at bob evans, getting giddy and rowdy at the steak and shake, and lastly, the winterpills christmas miracle at the red roof inn in elkhart, indiana. you can ask me about that one anytime..

it has been bright and warmish here in western MA all week.
i hope to play some baseball this sunday and plant some mint and
thai basil in the backyard. i'll also post some tour pictures
here or on our site very soon.

love.
~flora

soon

we leave early this saturday for a tour that will bring us to pittsburgh, knoxville, louisville, nashville, goshen IN, and chicago. we are renting a very big van. it's pretty exciting to think about the space upgrade...

this will be our 3rd show in pittsburgh, a city of many bridges and friendly people who insist on buying you yuenglings after your show. it's also home to WYEP, which is a great community radio station. their new building was built on "green" design principles so their air conditioning doesn't use freon and their carpets are made from recyled materials. things like that. i'm looking forward to hearing rosie thomas play in pittsburgh. she has a beautiful song called "2 Dollar Shoes" there's an MP3 of it waiting for you here: http://www.rosiethomas.com/albums_when.php

i just discovered a great internet radio station to listen to at work: www.woxy.com. they have a very eclectic mix, without being too indie-er than thou.

this week i will load up the ipod with new songs to explore, make sure i have enough of my favorite hair product to last the tour, pick up our new band t-shirts, and check in with some old college friends who live in chicago. hope to see some of you at a show...

xo, flora

i am home...

i'm happy to be back. i was only gone for 9 days, but it feels twice that. there's nothing quite like being on tour- it's both very freeing and ultimately repetitive, but i love the feeling of anonymity in different cities, the wandering and exploring before it's time to sound check. then it's usually dinner time... then we play our hearts out. afterwards, we talk to people we'll never see again, or realize what a small world this is as people introduce themselves as a friend of a friend of a friend.

the shows went well. my favorite one was starr hill with rainier maria. what a great live band.. and it's inspiring to see one that has been together for almost ten years, going strong and doing it
with palpable intensity and joy. and pela was awesome as well. i don't think i've ever met a nicer rock band.

this was my second sxsw so i knew what to expect, but it was still overwhelming. it's hard to let yourself relax and take it all in because there's SO much going on and there's the constant nagging feeling that you're missing out on the best show ever.... philip, dennis, and i did manage to get into the secret flaming lips show for a few songs.. other highlights were great north, jose gonzales, lisa germano, mates of state, nada surf, death vessel, and matthew sweet & susannah hoffs who have a new 60's covers album coming out soon. i can tell you that susannah somehow looks even hotter than she did in the 80's. oh my.

our own main showcase had just the right mix of intensity and uncertainty that i like... the sound was a bit murky and distant on-stage, but i think we did well, despite it. even though sxsw is immensely crazy and chaotic, it's still grounding once you realize that everyone is there for a simple love of music. it doesn't matter if you're neil young, or belle and sebastian or a band from Kansas that only a handful of people have ever heard of-- no matter what level you're at it's an honor to
be able to play songs for people. it's a pretty basic thing.

ate some amazing food in austin at a place called Habana. had a truly beautiful tamale with one of the freshest and most intense corn tastes i've ever experienced... i started the dinner with a havanatini, comprised of both silver and gold rum, a fresh mango puree that was shaken over ice and served straight up in a martini glass... perfect. and ironworks barbeque is famous for good reason. separate winterpills food blog coming soon, perhaps.

on our last night, we went to a party hosted by Sauza Tequila so the margaritas were free and flowing on a high-rise rooftop in downtown Austin. Gang of Four played, but by that point our feet were in such pain from all the standing and walking that we left a bit early... Elijah Wood was there. he's tiny and cute and seems to be a true music fan.

jose and philip and still driving back from TX, like the real road dogs that they are.
i miss them... more soon.
love.
~flora

sxsw experienced, showcases played, tooth impacted.

the whole thing has been lovely, save for the fact that the tooth i ignored for too long decided to go south on me while on tour. ah the timing. have you ever had a toothache? its a pain that completely consumes you. everything else going on around you becomes a shadowy, blurry affair; a world full of dim shadows while you struggle to keep your eyes from watering, your mind on whatever conversation, your eyes on the sidewalk and your feet one in front of the other. it required a call to my dentiist back in massachusetts who, through modern miracles and within 15 minutes, had me with a prescription of antibiotics that should knock this all out within 24 hours. and while i was picking up the pills, there was josh ritter, also picking up some pills at the same pharmacy. small wee world.

sxsw, this being my first, is mayhem of a high order. no way can you do all the things that yiou want to do, see all the bands you want to see. kinda set my sights on about 3 events a day to try for, and then go with the flow. 6th st last night at 2 a.m. was a parade of drunken hipsters on a carless st, every club blasting out strange and familiar musics. after the painkillers kicked in, tacos and whisky were required, whisky only found, tacos to be had later.

its cloudy and a little cool, but lush here. i like it. i would love to ride out to the country some and walk through a cow field. where are the bluebonnets?