Tiny Hats: Now Open Late!

Salamé!

Well, we’ve recently returned from the East coast and are finally healed and rested from four straight days of 4 a.m. bar close and two 24 hour drives. As such, we’ve got some stories to report and a few treats to share with you all.

First off, though, a bit of news is in order before we hit the stories, as tour recaps get long and in the current age it’s hard to hold someone’s attention for more than about 2 minutes, so if you want the story, continue ahead. Otherwise, here goes some info:

First off, we’re going to be playing Mercurial Rage’s big CD Release Party June 7th at the Fineline in Minneapolis. It’s going to be a fantastic show and you all should be there (if you’re over 18).

Secondly, we just recorded eight new demos (in addition to the first six we’ve already done), so we’ve got some new tunes in the grinder. Don’t expect to hear anything too soon; just know they’re in the works and we’ve got some great new ideas going. Personally I’m very excited about all the songs, and I think the next album’s sound is starting to congeal a bit. It’s a bit darker, more ambient, more experimental, more varied – everything a good sophomore album should be. But perhaps I speak too soon . . .

As far as video blogs go, we should have a new one up by Sunday, so be on the look out for that. There is some amazing footage from NYC – consider yourselves warned.

Lastly, we’re really going to be hitting the net hard with promo as well as scrapping a Midwest tour together, so anything anyone can do to help with some promo would be great. Join the street team, tell your friends, etc. And keep watching for more dates!

Oh, we’ve got Dan’s Philly History Tour up – watch it here:



Before I start, I’d like to bring to your attention something interesting I learned today: If you’ve ever driven on Chicago’s Skyway Tollway or Indiana’s entire toll system, it turns out you’re actually paying Spanish and Japanese investors who’ve leased the roads for some 99 years, not the state governments. I found this to be obnoxious, especially considering the current economic situation, as it seems very unwise to be handing money overseas like that. If that wasn’t enough, here’s a video that outlines an interesting trans-North American highway system . . . again to be owned and controlled by overseas investors. Watch and be amazed:



Alright, on to the tour recap:

I suppose I should preface all of this by saying that, once again, our great friend RyAnhorn joined us on the trip, as well as my little brother Jimmy who you can thank for the Out of Sight and Charlatan videos. We ostensibly chauffeured him out to NYC so he could hitch a ride out to Western MA to work on an organic farm all summer . . . crazy kid. Oh, and there’s a bit of repeat in the middle as Mike already relayed the Cold War Kids story, but the rest is fresh.

Anyhow, we began the daylong trip at about 6:15 p.m. on Friday night. We gathered some supplies, hit the bank, and got on our way. We hadn’t planned on I-394 (our gateway to I-94 and thus East) being closed down, so we had to take a sketchy alternate route that put us about an hour behind schedule. We grabbed Ryan about 7:30 from St. Paul and were finally on our way. Once we hit Wisconsin we realized it was well past dinnertime so we hit up the old standby – Subway. It was not so glorious.

We continued on through Wisconsin watching Seinfeld DVDs (of note: We finally realized we can hook our laptops up to a power converter to keep them charged and then run a 1/8” jack to cassette adapter into the stereo system for a cinema experience that is very adequate. Why we didn’t come up with this sooner I couldn’t tell you, but it makes the slow times more tolerable. Sadly, the VHS kick might be on its way out). Dan and I traded about 1 a.m. and he took the nasty middle of the night shift we all dread.

After a little snack stop for overpriced beef jerky, we continued on through Chicago and Indiana, paying crazy tolls to foreign investors, and enjoying Gary, Indiana’s odor (well, most of us slept, but I’m sure Dan took that scent in deep). Some Tim and Eric Awesome Show! Great Job was a nice treat before bed as Ryan brought the Season 1 DVD, and over the course of the next five days we probably watched each episode about 13 times. That number is not an exaggeration.

Mark took over in the morning times and the rest of us continued to get some restless sleep. About 2:30 we hit up some lunch on one of Ohio’s many scenic tollway stops, and before we knew it, we were in the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. Pennsylvania is hands down one of the prettiest states to drive through come spring, with western Massachusetts being its only real rival so far. Maybe one day we’ll remember a camera and take some pictures.

We got to Philadelphia about 5:30, loaded in, wandered, and watched Dan expertly park Betty and the Bullet into quite a tight space. Ryan admitted he’d never really been east of Illinois before, so he checked off his third new state of the day. We played a fun set at Dr. Watson’s and took in some pool and Jukebox action (which hilariously came over the main stage PA while the band after us was playing . . . awkward but it all worked out in the end) afterward with our friends Theresa and Heather who were also nice enough to let us party at their place until all hours of the morning. We drove into Jersey for that, so Ryan got state four, and between Bacardi, Guitar Hero, and some bizarre existential discussion, a great night was had. Cheers you two for the place!

Next day we had some greasy breakfast at Cracker Barrell, said good-bye to our Jersey friends, and headed up to NYC. Check off Ryan’s fifth state and our easiest entrance into Manhattan ever (some 35 minutes compared to the 95 last time), and we were in our favorite city. Faced with a free day on Monday and a 4 a.m. bar close, we knew Sunday night would be fantastic.

Jimmy met up with his friends after we settled into Mike’s friend Veda’s place in Brooklyn, so us 21+ers sipped some Carlo Rossi and hit the city. We found a great little blues bar somewhere in the East Village after taking Ryan to Times Square and Central Park (tourists), and watched some tunes and drank some PBR (why people in NYC think PBR is kitschy and awesome is beyond us all). I headed to the next-door bar for some $3 rail deals and discovered what might be the only bar in Manhattan that encourages beer pong playing. Go figure. We made some friends, drank til their 3 a.m. close, and headed back next door for some sketchy dancing and more PBR. I obliviously began dancing with some girl who was there with her boyfriend, but I’ll just say it all worked out in the end. Again, we stayed til the regular 4 a.m. close, and somehow found our way back to the subway to Brooklyn. It was the second of the 5 a.m. bedtime nights, but it didn’t quite take the cake.

Next day we got going (slowly) and called our buddy Ari Herstand who was staying somewhere in Manhattan. Before meeting him we hit up an “all you can eat all you can drink for $30” sushi place, and the night began (this was after we finished up that jug of Carlo. Absolutely delicious . . . right . . .). After some three and a half hours we finally got booted (it was apparently only supposed to last for two hours), and we started handing out fliers and CDs to everyone who walked by to promote our show the next day. We visited our friend Michael to see some GTA4 action then met up with Ari and his friends. Thankfully, the video camera was brought out, Tim and Eric quotes flew and swarmed from our mouths, and everyone else was thoroughly confused. We wandered a few blocks to a Karaoke bar and commandeered the place, singing Minnesota hits like Semisonic’s “Closing Time,” Mark tried to sing the Strokes (he was maybe a little toasty by this point . . . video is coming), and we sang our hearts out for a few hours. After trying to find another bar (like it was necessary) and getting booted from some late night eatery, we miraculously got home again and were ready for some sleep.

Tuesday afternoon was fairly quiet. We got up in time to get ready, watch some Seinfeld, and make the surprisingly long drive from Brooklyn to the Annex in Manhattan. We got some skanky Cantonese food, hung out with our publicist Dayna and the band Mayfield from Australia (super nice guys with very decent tunes to boot), and got ready to rock. The show was a blast and we met some new folks, and though the club was cool it was a bit out of our price range. As such, we headed to a club our friend Zach told us about that served free Newcastle. Naturally, we headed in that direction as free is our price range.

After a bizarre encounter with Kirstin Dunst (our friend Michael lit her cigarette and we all failed to realize it was her until we’d walked a distance too awkward to retrace), we got the last of the Newcastles. The club was a bit trendy/crowded for us, so we headed to Rebel Rebel at Lit Lounge to party with our old pal Joey Nova. Between more drinks, go-go dancers, and some more new friends, we had a great time at Rebel Rebel. The rest of the boys headed back early for some White Castle and High Life, but I stayed out into the wee hours. After making some friends from Taipei in the subway station and getting my head caught in the subway doors, I managed to get back to Brooklyn, only to realize I’d gotten off at the wrong station. I knew where I was, and it wasn’t exactly near my final destination. I had no money and no more rides on my Metro Card, so it was a nice long walk home in Brooklyn at 5 a.m. At some point it turned into an early morning jog (I got impatient), so at least I got some exercise out of the ordeal. Go figure.

Wednesday (our last day) was all about more recovery, more Tim and Eric, and an arduous journey into midtown Manhattan carrying our guitars/pedal boards/and Mark’s cymbals (we carried them all through the subway system and down many blocks . . . it gets tiring lugging all that gear around . . . but again, it was good exercise . . .?). We played a four song set for Fearless TV which should air in the next few months (we’ll let you know where and when for each city later on), met some nice folks, and headed home. The journey home was basically the same as the way out there, but in reverse. The only plus was a stop at our favorite Illinois oasis, Belvidere, and some delicious Taco Bell.

I’ve got to start doing these blogs as they occur so they don’t get so long. Cheers and congratulations if you made it through the whole thing – more power to you!

Until later,

Joe

New York, Philadelphia and How Cold War Kids Unknowingly Ruined A Set

What's up friends-

We are coming to you direct from lovely Brooklyn, NY and holy shit are we having a good time. It's always so good to be back in New York, and everytime we leave with a bit more knowledge of the city than we previously had! We got here yesterday after a long night of partying in Philly and a greasy Cracker Barrell breakfast (not a great mix), but we still made it out on the town last night. We brought our friend Ryan with us, because he's never been out here before so we had to show him Times Square, Central Park, and the other usual tourist attractions, but then we headed to the Lower East Side for a few drinks, which was great, especially when the sun is coming up when you finally make your way home!

Anyway, getting to the Cold War Kids story, we had just played in Philadelphia at Dr. Watson's Pub, which was really fun, and we made some great new friends and fans! We wanted to unwind a bit after our set so we headed into the adjoining pool room and racked up a game. We wanted some familiar tunes to wake us up so I threw some Cold War Kids on the jukebox. Little did I know that the music was also being pumped through the PA in the other room, while the band after was playing!! No wonder we started hearing people yelling in the other room when I started the music. I, of course, slipped into the shadows to avoid detection and luckily I did. But now it's public, so to the Danny Lynch band, I apologize as I'm sure the quiet harmonies you were singing would have sounded better without Hang Me Up To Dry pumping through the same speakers!!

Well, we are off to go promote around SoHo for our show tomorrow at The Annex, which we are really excited to play. We'll catch up with you soon and let you know how everything goes! Until then, it would be fantastic if you could help us out by clicking on the pic below and voting for us!!

Cheers,
Mike

Ringtones and Videos!

Hey everyone!

We've got a little love we'd like to send your way in the form of free stuff. Here's what you gotta' do to get yours. Chug on over to http://www.zude.com/whitelightriot and click on our Fanbase badge to sign up for Zude.

Now you're wondering why we want you to join Zude, eh? Well, once you have a registered account you'll be able to click on the RINGTONES button on our home page and start downloading FREE White Light Riot mobile ringtones! That's it, pretty simple.

If you already registered for a FREE Zude account, sweet! You're one step ahead of the game. For those of you who haven't, get your butts over to http://www.zude.com/whitelightriot.

By the way, once you're there, and you've registered for an account, you can also check out the SXSW videos we recorded by clicking on Live at SXSW Music and check out the AMAZING time we had!

Oh yeah, want to hear something else pretty cool? Well, Myxer.com has selected one of our tunes as the Pick of the Day and it's going to be available on Tuesday, May 13th on the HOMEPAGE! Yep, that's right, if you want the special Ringtone, then head on over to Myxer.com on Tuesday and download it to your mobile phone.

Also, check out this new vid we made for our Charlatan video! Enjoy.

The Warmth of the Spring Sun Brings Us Northeners Out of Hibernation...

Hello friends-
Finally, we no longer fear the winter walks from our houses to our icebox cars. Spring has arrived. And with it, we have been inspired to write a bunch of new tunes that we are working very hard on! Although we haven't gotten much of a chance to really tour our current full length, Atomism, we want to get a head start on the next one. We are going to continue touring this summer and fall as much as we possibly can to get the word out on White Light Riot, and we can still use all of your continued support to do so. But, as we tour, we will slowly work new songs into our sets here and there to show fans the direction we are heading in, and I must say, we are really liking it. We are going to be heading out East for a week soon, starting with a show in Chicago at Subterranean on May 14th, and we would love to see all of our Chicago friends and fans there! We will then be heading to Philadelpia for a night at Doc Watson's, and then back to New York on May 20th, our favorite of places that we've toured thus far. While in New York, we are going to film a live performance for Fearless TV as well as for Yahoo.com, which should both be a blast. We are really excited to get out and play this summer, and if you know or are in bands around the country, we would love to play with you in your neck of the woods. Until then, check out our latest video blog. Cheers!

Mike