Cassavettes

OK, kicking this holiday party promotion into high gear, check out this Facebook invite and RSVP for the show. Also, make sure to get your tickets now!!!

Sooz over at the rejuvenated ExploitBoston has some nice thoughts on our holiday photo — and the upcoming holiday show it advertises on Dec. 19 at Church. Check it out.

A week after opening for a reunited Letters to Cleo at Bowery Ballroom in NYC, Cassavettes are hosting a holiday party at Church on December 19th. If their holiday photo is any indication — they are taking this festive party stuff seriously. I’m optimistic that the sweaters, mug and owl in the photo will be on stage during the show. Joining them that night are Age Rings, Rogue Heroes, and Quixote.

What: Cassavettes Holiday Party
Where: Church, 69 Kilmarnock Street, Boston (near Fenway)
When: Friday, December 19th
Time: Doors at 8pm, first band at 9pm
Ages: 21+
Cost: $10 at the door (buy tickets online until 4pm day of show)

I tell you, I’m getting excited for this holiday show. I just saw Girls Guns & Glory and Sarah Borges at Church last night, and I was envisioning the venue, filled with holiday decor. We’ll dress it up – and maybe do a cover of Trans Siberian Orchestra’s version of “Carol of the Bells.” OK, probably not. But maybe. But most likely not.

Speaking of Matt (in a non-Fios commercial way), he made the Thanksgiving edition of the Boston Globe yesterday. In Jonathan Perry’s article about what local musicians are thankful for, Matt gives a good ole Cassavettes shout-out.

Thanksgiving is an important holiday. Loading up on carbs, calories, and tryptophan are all crucial components to hibernation in the winter months – and let’s face it, the latter, nap-inducing property found in turkey has proved essential to our ability to get through a four-hour dinner with extended family members.

Thanksgiving is also a time to take stock; to appreciate what we’ve got. In that spirit, we asked some Boston-area musicians what they’re thankful for, and who or what has inspired them this year. Many were kind enough to take time out from gorging themselves unconscious on stove-top stuffing (or maybe that’s just us) and e-mail us back. Here’s some of what they had to say.

“I’m thankful to the guys in Cassavettes for nurturing my newfound appreciation for Neil Young. I never thought I liked any of his music, as I was only familiar with the same three songs I had been hearing my whole life. But the guys insisted I take a hard listen to his work, and I’m better off for it.”

MATT SNOW, Cassavettes

Actually, that’s only a little bit of what Matt wrote to Jonathan. Here’s all of what he is thankful for, pulled from our band email account…

What am I thankful for professionally? I would say its all of our friends who always come out to our shows. It doesn’t matter if we haven’t seen or talked to some of those people in awhile, they still come out and show their support for what we are doing. Its awesome to look out on a room and see a bunch of people having a blast with you. I’m also thankful for Glenn’s van sticking with us. That great white beast has had some miles put on her in the last year, its a beautiful thing to see that majestic four-wheeled albatross of a car pull out of his driveway without a problem…most days.

I’m thankful to the guys in Cassavettes for nurturing my new-found appreciation for Neil Young over the past year. I never really thought I liked any of his music, as I was only familiar with the same three songs I had been hearing my whole life. But the guys insisted that I take a hard listen to his work, and I’m better off for it. It gave me a better grasp of the idea of the song as a complete work, and I think its helped us improve our overall sound.

Also, included in the article are our buddies like Kier of Three Day Threshold (who’s photo ran with the piece…BIG SHOTS!) and Ryan from Hallelujah the Hills, but also this out-of-the-blue shout-out from Ward, which we appreciate.

“I am thankful for our fellow Boston band Cassavettes! Not only do we share a practice space with them, but they don’t scold us when we leave the door open for weekends at a time or get angry when they find unexplained tissues all over the floor. (Also), Ray LaMontagne’s new album, ‘Gossip in the Grain.’ Just flat-out beautiful music.”

It’s true, we have had some issues with them over leaving the door open (though those evaporated when Matt did the exact same thing — and he’s being too nice, we did scold them a bit), but at the end of the day, they are some of our best friends and we love them like brothers. We’re certainly thankful for Girls Guns & Glory and Three Day Threshold — two bands who have helped us grow, and hopefully we have helped, too. I am quite proud to call them our friends.

Personally, I am thankful for the dudes in Cassavettes. There’s no one else I’d rather be doing this with. It’s been an insane ride, and it will continue to be.

As long as I’m posting look-alike photos of the dog and I, why not end all the rumors floating around the net and admit that our beloved drummer Matt Snow stars in the Verizon Fios commercial? OK, maybe not, and I couldn’t get a good photo of the guy (plus, this photo of Matt may be TOO good — as in, he’s not making a Matt/cable guy face), but the similarities are pretty uncanny.

Don’t like that photo? How about this one?

OK, so I always think everyone looks like everyone. I see people in other people perhaps too much. Or maybe not. Oddly enough, someone over on the NY Mets has a similar idea…

Just found a review by The Huntington News (formerly the Northeastern News, the campus paper of my alma mater, Northeastern University). They’ve got some nice thoughts on our show back on Mike’s birthday, Nov. 11. Check out The News’ full version and our blog on the show.

One, Two, Three Times the Fun

Northeastern bands Plastic Reverie and Eroica took the stage in front of more than 50 students Tuesday during a free show hosted by afterHOURS. Veteran folk rockers Cassavettes, made up of one Northeastern alumnus and three of his friends from his hometown in Texas, headlined the event…
Headliner Cassavettes are not strangers to afterHOURS. The band members joked back and forth about the Curry Student Center, as well as their disdain of the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat their favorite team, the Dallas Mavericks, that night.

Led by dual vocalists Mike McCullagh and Glenn Yoder, Cassavettes blended an array of genres to form radio friendly pop rock. Also in the band are bassist Scott Jones and drummer Matt Snow.

“They draw people who enjoy a lot of different styles of music,” said sophomore linguistics major Tina Campbell.

Although Plastic Reverie, Eroica and Cassavettes only play afterHOURS a handful of times each year, they said they are working to schedule more shows in the Boston area.

I don’t recall any of saying that we are working on more shows there, but that’s OK. We didn’t talk to anybody from The News.

A nice posting on Letters to Cleo’s show (oh, with us, too) at the Bowery Ballroom on Dec. 11, with links for tickets and more. Check it here.

Boston-based rock outfit Letters To Cleo will reunite after an eight-year hiatus for four shows this fall.

Original members Kay Hanley (vocals), Greg McKenna and Michael Eisenstein (guitars) and Stacy Jones (drums) will join forces with Joe Klompus (bass, replacing original bassist Scott Riebling) when the gigs get underway Nov. 8 in Los Angeles.

The reunion follows a brief impromptu performance last year during a Boston benefit, which featured the hits “Here & Now” and “Awake.” Says Eisenstein, “We were excited, the crowd was excited, and from that point on, it just seemed like we should try to find a time to do it for real.”

Letters To Cleo sprung from Boston on the strength of the 1993 album “Aurora Gory Alice,” which featured “Here & Now.” The group disbanded in 2000, with Hanley moving onto a solo career and such projects as the Disney Channel’s “My Friend Tigger and Pooh” and voicing Josie in the 2001 film “Josie and the Pussycats.”
-Laura O’Connor, Billboard

Looking for tickets? Get them here.

For Halloween, I went as Boon and Boon went as me. We sort of met in the middle — he took my hair and shirt, I took his eyebrows and goatee. Here are the frightening results.

NOTE: I meant to post this a month ago, but the images were stuck on Scott’s computer. That’s life.

Skipping ahead a few months, from October to December, here are some working cheesy holiday greeting cards, care of Cassavettes.

So, here’s the plan. Why play one place every once in awhile, and hope for people to remember you’re coming at some point, when you can go back to a place with regularity and have folks expecting you? That’s the grand scheme, and we’re hoping to enact it at a few different spots. A key point is New London, Ct., believe it or not, where we played last night, and where we put the pressure on — “once a month,” we told the booker repeatedly. He concurred.

If we could get down to New London once a month, it’d be great (we always have a good time there). We have devoted fans there, and The Oasis still ranks as one of my favorite places to play (even if we had a bit of an odd time last night, with some sickness amongst the crew). But being out with regularity would tighten the band up, and help us build a crucial following. We have plans for New London, Worcester, and possibly somewhere else. We’ll see what happens. But why change a good thing? Sure, we can play other places, but if the crowd knows where you’re going to be, and what to expect, then aren’t they more likely to come out? That’s the hope.

Anyhow, last night did have a somber note (besides the aforementioned sickness): Pat’s streak of flipping off the stage ended. Well, sort of. He still SORT OF did it, but there wasn’t the enthusiasm of previous visits. Must be the frigid weather. Or something.

SET LIST: A Hard Rain / Don’t Get Me Wrong / Carolyn, Don’t Leave Like This / Lights On / On the Lam / Nothing on You / Cedar / I Come From the Water / Shotgun Wedding / Shine a Light

Also, Worcesterite has this post promoting our show there last week (you can also check out our post here). All the posts are quite nice, and we appreciate them, and one reader brings up a very good point…

We played with Cassavettes like a year ago, and thay were really good. That being said, I really don’t get all that “Americana” hype about them. They just seemed like a regular-ass rock band to me, albeit a very good one.

Yeah, we don’t get it either!

I’m feeling good. Since last we spoke, the Mavs haven’t lost. I’ll take a three-game winning streak. I also have hardly slept — not that that makes me feel good, but just an added detail. It’s been a busy week at work, probably my busiest ever. As a reward, I don’t have to go in tomorrow. So I’m meeting with local strongman Todd Thibaud to start some production stuff. Anyhow, finally, what IS making me feel good is the show last night.

A pertinent question: When will we admit that Worcester can be pretty dang fun? We always complain about it, and wonder about its bizarre statue of a man/boy having sex with a seaturtle, and yet we are now on a roll there. We’re like the Mavs, as of late. OK, so we have had a couple clunkers there over the last couple years. So what? Our last two shows have been two of the most fun I can remember. As you may recall, we had the time of our lives at WPI in October. And last night, we played a tiny bar gig at The Dive Bar, and it was such fun, and the people were so nice, and there were steak and cheeses all night (though I didn’t partake), that it very well may become a regular gig. And why not? I’d love to go back to Worcester more. There, I said it. Happy now?

And hey, it couldn’t hurt to build up there a bit.
SET 1 (from memory, I’ll need some help from the other guys on this): There’s a Reason / The Nadir / Madeline / The Devil’s Arms / Someday Darling / Six Hours / Golden Fleece / Research Blvd / Carolyn, Don’t Leave Like This / St. Anthony / Marie / You’ll Be Crying Soon / On the Lam / I Come From the Water / Whitewashed
SET 2: A Hard Rain / Debts / Lights On / Don’t Get Me Wrong / Cedar / Shotgun Wedding / Shine a Light

A co-worked created this photo and sent it to me. Thought you might enjoy knowing what I might look like if I could grow facial hair/went as Todd Palin for Halloween. But alas, I can’t grow complete facial hair — and I was Boon for Halloween.

Finally, my record has been sent to press. It should be done by early December and for sale by January. I hope to play a release show or residency that month. Stay tuned for details…