Cassavettes

Here’s a video clip of Cassavettes playing at the Sonicbids party during SXSW 2010 in Austin, TX. (Here’s our EPK on Sonicbids.)

Yes, that is a lizard lounging. Get down with a fun night of music at the Lizard Lounge. Cassavettes play with friends The Longwalls and Confederacy of Dumpsters — doing some old songs, some new songs, some standard songs, and some cover songs. Promises to be a fun night!

CASSAVETTES w/ The Longwalls and Confederacy of Dumpsters
at the Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA
Saturday, May 1
8:30 p.m. doors, 21+
www.lizardloungeclub.com
Buy tickets at Brown Paper Tickets

Say you’ll be there on Facebook and Riotvine!

The LSAT doesn’t scare me, but what it implies for the band does frighten me a little bit. I take the test in June. I would enroll in a law school (somewhere) next fall. I know that the demands of law school’s first year are so high, and that playing in this band simultaneously is nearly impossible. I also know that this plan may require a move. Does this all put an expiration date on the band? A ridiculously close expiration date? Well, I’m not giving up that easily, nor am I delaying my future. In fact, I think it should fuel us to work even harder than before. Look at it this way: We have one year to see how far we can get, and then re-evaluate (who knows what happens at that point? If things within the band are going great, then maybe I delay my first year — but it all depends on what we do now). That’s why my work ethic needs to change. That’s why we all need to recommit to the band. We owe it to ourselves and to each other. There’s a lot invested in this band, personally and financially, to not try to see what the potential pay-offs can be.

I suppose the good news about this LSAT prep class is that when I get busy, I keep myself even busier. This is true: the most productive years of my work in the band’s business side coincided with a hectic schedule of college classes, a part-time nights and weekends job, an unrelated editor’s job at the college paper, and, of course, the regular duties of a hard working, big dreaming rock band. This isn’t to say that my post-college life hasn’t been busy, but it hasn’t kept me fueled my passion in the same way. That’s for certain. If anything, I have just felt bogged down, and have found trouble mustering the mental energy to work my ass off again. Well, consider that changed.

This band needs to get back on track. That’s why on this day I’m blogging an original blog for the first time in months — not merely some show announcement or press release. The principles that we enacted very early on in this band seemingly worked: believe in yourself, in each other, in your hard work and, most importantly, put yourself in a position to succeed and see what comes of it. In this fickle industry, nothing is guaranteed. Talent and hard work are more often than not unrewarded. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Therefore, this is about getting the four members of Cassavettes back together.

This has been a difficult, weird few months and I think we all felt more estranged from each other, and our collective goals, than ever before. And it’s hurt us professionally. Despite putting out arguably our “best” work in November, we find ourselves at a crossroads just a half-year later. We started putting the pieces back together during our great SXSW trip this year, which was the result of a lot of hard work (by me, and by Creamer) and paid dividends interpersonally that I think we continue to enjoy. But a lot to needs to change still. We need to consistently play well — obviously, you may not play every note correctly, but that’s music. But we need to play for each other, and play for the band. The selfishness that hinders us is creeping back into our playing, and often makes me feel like this whole thing isn’t worthwhile. Anyone else? Playing these songs is about putting the song first, and everything and everyone else taking a backseat. We made considerable progress at that for awhile, but the problem is that bad habits sneak back in a lot. We need to get people excited about the band, and that starts with US getting excited about the band again. I’m there, and I trust that my cohorts can be as well. We need to diversify and show off our versatility at shows, if it’s indeed true that our live shows have grown stale. Fine. We need to increase our web presence, and also get back to the traditional means of promotion — word of mouth, flyering, flooding bloggers’ inboxes, Facebook invites. That’s how you get people through the door. That’s how you get people excited. It’s harder when you’re older, and out of college, of course, because there isn’t that “community” anymore. But it’s not impossible. We need to approach the schedule as a series of steps again instead of a random smattering of shows, as it has been. That one’s on me. I got it. We need to build up regionally, and the steps are being taken for that to happen. And finally, we need people to believe in us again. That’s the hardest thing to accomplish, but it comes from believing in ourselves. At one point, it was a top priority for me to have everyone who hung out with us and came to shows to feel connected to the band, as if they were in the band themselves. I think the fracturing within the band has led to a divide with our friends, fans, and audience. It’s not an impossible chasm to cross, but it will require another leap of faith. I’m willing to work for your trust again.

A lot of this is up to me, and I am willing to meet the challenge. But this is a band, and it’s not about what I do as an individual. It’s about how we work together, how we play together, how we dream together. Because this whole thing started as a dream. It’s time to start dreaming big again.

Hello friends,
This weekend we are coming home! During a two-week mini-tour we will be hitting our hometown of Lewisville (Dallas/Denton), Texas, as well as the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin. I’ll be blogging (and possibly filming) the whole thing for boston.com. So, come say hi! Here are all the details… we hope to see you out there!

Friday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m.
Cassavettes w/ Informant — hometown reunion!
At Tequila’s, 2300 Highland Village Rd, Ste 1100, Highland Village, TX
Link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=341819099762&ref=mf
Notes: This will be a flat-out fun time — as close to our old stomping grounds as I think we’ve ever played. Which means: Were they really our stomping grounds in the first place? Soon-to-be old stomping grounds, perhaps.

Saturday, March 13 at 1 p.m.
NX35 Day Party
At Cool Beans (rooftop), 1210 W Hickory St., Denton, TX
Link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=391470522891&ref=mf
Notes: This show is the warm-up for the day’s headliner: The Flaming Lips! It’s also totally FREEEE!

Thursday, March 18 at 1:45 p.m.
Wente Vineyards Discover the Music Wine Bus (Glenn Yoder & Todd Thibaud)
At WFM (Whole Foods Market) gateway, 9607 Research Boulevard, Austin, TX‎
Link: http://www.wentevineyards.com/discover/promo/wente_at_sxsw/
Notes: This show will be simulcast live to the Whole Foods in Illinois on a 96 inch screen as well as on the Whole Foods website, Justin TV, and Blip FM.

Thursday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Show TBA
Notes: Sorry for the ambiguity. This one is taking a bit to nail down the specifics, but I wanted to give you a time and date, in case this is the only time and date that works for you. We should have this figured out soon!

Friday, March 19 at noon
Sonicbids & Planetary Group SXSW party
At Maggie Mae’s (downstairs), 323 East 6th Street, Austin, TX
Link: http://www.sonicbids.com/SXSWParty/
Notes: Two colossal powers, Sonicbids and Planetary, are throwing the biggest party of SXSW. Well, close to it. Please RSVP for this free show — even though it should be no problem for you to get in, they just want to know what to expect.

Friday, March 19 at 2 p.m.
SXSW Day party
At Guero’s Taco Bar, 1412 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX
Link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=359433086536&ref=mf
Notes: This is a free day party, all ages, just come by and rock out, drink some margaritas in the Oak Garden.

Saturday, March 20 at 8 p.m.
Cassavettes w/ Girls Guns & Glory, Oh No Robots, Savage & The Big Beat!
At J&J’s Pizza, 118 West Oak Street, Denton, TX
Link: http://www.myspace.com/jjspizzaolddirtybasement
Notes: One last (free) show in our old hometown, bringing back our best buddies from Boston (GGG) and pairing them with an old friend (Rob of ONR) and new friends (S&TBB). This is what it’s like when worlds collide!!!!!!!

Howdy friends,
As many of you know, each year we play a musical event called Rodfest, which means quite a bit to us and several of our closest friends in the local music community. All the money that comes in goes to a Stonehill College scholarship fund established in the name of Greg “Rodney” Moynahan, the life of the party to many who died in an accident several years ago. His annual “Rodfest” event has been carried on literally in his name, and is a celebration of life that truly is the biggest party of the year. No joke — this night gets WILD. People, including us, have come to expect the best night of the year from Rodfest. This Saturday, Jan. 30 at The Paradise Rock Club will be our fourth Rodfest, and the eighth overall, and each year this thing just gets more spectacular. It ALWAYS sells out, so my suggestion would be to get your tickets early from either the box office (no surcharge), online (link below), or at the door (just make sure to be there early!!!). Full details, and the fine line-up, are below…

Rodfest 8 w/ Three Day Threshold, Cassavettes, Quixote, Death and the Dance Machine, Sam Reid and The Riot Act, Chatham Sessions, Colin Toomey & Kevin McDevitt
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 at The Paradise Rock Club
967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston (Green B Line, Pleasant St. Stop)
Doors at 8 p.m., $15, $18+
Tickets here
Directions and more info here

We hope to see you at this year’s Rodfest! Also, don’t forget that you can buy our new album, Shake Down the Sun, CHEAP on iTunes and Nimbit!

In the words of the immortal Fritz, responding to why he stopped maintaining his blog, “I got Twitter.” True, it’s faster and reaches more folks, which is why I’ve been lazy. So, here’s a little mass PR pitch…ahem, last minute plea…

Thanks for sticking with us, it’s the home stretch now! We’re not far off our huge CD release party — this Friday, Nov. 6 at the Middle East Downstairs with our good friends Movers & Shakers, You Can Be a Wesley, Quixote, and Jookabox (Asthmatic Kitty Records). It’s going to be a momentous occasion for us and a big celebration for everyone after a lot of hard work on our new disc, “Shake Down the Sun.” We really hope you are able to join us for the party!

CASSAVETTES CD RELEASE PARTY
Friday, Nov. 6, 2009
Middle East Downstairs, 480 Mass Ave., Cambridge
w/ Movers & Shakers, You Can Be a Wesley, Quixote, & Jookabox
18+, $10 advance/$12 at the door

TICKETS…A friendly reminder: You can avoid needless surcharges by purchasing tickets from the Middle East Box Office, (617) 864-EAST ext 221. However, if you are one for instant gratification, you can buy them online here.

DIRECTIONS: Red Line T stop (Central Square) or click here.

Facebook invite.

To listen to songs from our new CD, please visit our MySpace page.

Thanks and we really hope you are able to join us Friday!

Hello, friends. I wanted to briefly write you for two reasons: 1) Our CD release on Nov. 6 at the Middle East Downstairs is lurching closer by the second, and 2) We are headed to New York City for the CMJ festival tomorrow, Friday. Read on for details…

On that CD release, we now have an extraordinary five-band bill: Cassavettes, Movers & Shakers, You Can Be a Wesley, Quixote, and Jookabox (Asthmatic Kitty Records). We’d love for you to be there, too, as this is going to be a big night for us. This CD, “Shake Down the Sun,” is hopefully a big step forward for us, and this release show is going to literally be a party to celebrate that monumental (at least in theory, as of now) step. Grab your tickets today, as this thing is gonna get nicely naughty in a hurry!

Also, see a cool CD release show poster, designed by Chris Cerrato (who did the CD design). Print some out, hand them to friends/family/strangers, hang it in your room and fall asleep looking at its intricate design, and wondering if Chris Cerrato is man or myth.

Now, as for this thing tomorrow at CMJ, we are playing Pianos at a Planetary Party headlined by (who else?) Superdrag, featuring some esteemed musicians, like Boston’s own Will Dailey. We play as early as the rooster crows for these musician types, 1:40 p.m. If you’re interested in coming out, give us a shout via email, cassavettesband (at) hotmail (dot) com. We’ll see what we can do. Full details, click here.

That’s about it. We hope to see you out at the CD release show, Friday, Nov. 6 at the Middle East Downstairs. It’s going to be fun!

The night before I started recording my solo album, wandering off into the expansive, lonely wilderness without my friends, I serendipitously watched “Into the Wild.” It was not planned, but it hit home and made me relate in a cheesy fashion. Before this tour? “The Perfect Storm.” Again, seemingly apt, considering that there’s a lot of teary goodbyes before the ragtag group of misfits hits the open sea (or road, in our case). However, considering the ending, hopefully it’s not a harbinger. Then again, the end of my recording process wasn’t at all like the end of “Into the Wild.” So I think we can write our own ending to these stories.

Last Toad Tuesday tonight. I’m pretty pumped because I think it’s going to be pretty darn wild. Lots of good times, lots of good friends. I want to start early, and stay late, and make sure we soak up as much time with the important folks as possible before we hit the road. I know it’s not a long tour, but this is our LAST local show until our CD release on November 6 at the Middle East Downstairs (speaking of, tickets just went on sale and the first 50 people to pick them up get a special prize — I mean it. So, I just want to enjoy this one.

Here’s where we’re headed, starting with a stopover in Buffalo, NY tomorrow. And since I got a new phone yesterday, you can follow this whole shebang on TWITTER — whoo!

9/24 Javier’s, Cincinnati, OH (Midpoint Music Festival)
9/25 Brand X taping @ Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH
9/25 Al’s Bar, Lexington, KY
9/26 Barley’s Taproom, Knoxville, TN (w/ The Tenderhooks)
9/28 Hi-Tone, Memphis, TN (w/ The Tenderhooks)
9/29 WDVX Blue Plate Special (radio taping), Knoxville, TN
9/30 The Pinhook, Chapel Hill, NC (w/ The Tenderhooks)
10/1 The Milestone, Charlotte, NC (w/ The Tenderhooks)
10/4 Velvet Lounge, Washington, DC
10/6 Khyber Pass, Philadelphia, PA
10/7 Pete’s Candy Store, Brooklyn, NY
10/8 The Oasis, New London, CT
10/9 The Dive Bar, Worcester, MA

Couple quick things, most of which are (oddly) now covered by Twitter (is this making the blog look long-winded, and perhaps obsolete? That’s what happened to Fritz’s Xanga, as you’ll recall).

First off, for those of you in the digital age who don’t like hard copies of CDs, or are partial to instant gratification, we now have our new CD, “Shake Down the Sun,” available in both MP3 form and CD form. Click here to buy for absurdly low prices (but it’s always cheaper if you come to a show!). Please support the cause!

Next up, we are for some reason (not ungrateful, of course — just surprised since we weren’t notified at all) up for Band of the Month over at Deli Magazine. You can vote for us here, and it would be much appreciated.

Final quick mention, we are close to re-confirming our Philly show at Khyber Pass for Oct. 6. The club switched agents and it was in limbo for a bit, but we are looking pretty good to go now. I will keep you posted as we get closer. For now, let’s plan on meeting in Philly Oct. 6 for a steak-and-cheese (that I can’t eat anymore, since I don’t do the red meat, but you can enjoy) and Shiner (in select places). Yuengling will be the backup.

Last night’s Toad show was looking rocky at the start, but really smoothed out over time. Mike’s amp had some serious issues and I’m still fairly certain, upon listening to the recording of last night’s show, that his overdrive pedal is shot. Lots of between-note squealing going on. Anyhow, after the first four songs or so were wildly unbalanced, we got the knack of things and, best of all, the place started to fill up. It was pretty packed by night’s end. Due to the delay caused by equipment problems, we decided to forgo the set break and play through. Good thing, too, because that’s when we really started “cooking.” Still a bunch of mistakes, and a lot more loudness and showboating than I would have preferred, but all in all, it was OK. Crowd was a bit quiet for being so filled out, but they seemed to enjoy it. And I enjoyed that, clearly. Either way, quote of the night goes to Creamer, explaining to a new fan that Grover does NOT live in a trashcan with Oscar the Grouch, explaining, “Don’t get me wrong, I mean, he’s all dirty and shit, but he doesn’t live in a trashcan.”
SET LIST (I’ll need to check this against the recording): Ordinary Girls / Debts / Research Blvd / Empire Central / Don’t Get Me Wrong / There’s a Reason / Whitewashed / Golden Fleece / Trouble From the Start / St. Anthony / The Nadir / On Our Own / The Devil’s Arms / Valley of Gold / A Hard Rain / Lights On / Carolyn, Don’t Leave Like This / Madeline / Seek Cover / Cedar / I Come From the Water / Shotgun Wedding / Shine a Light

Our last Toad Tuesday before we leave for tour is Sept. 22 — so, yeah, next week is going to be nuts. All I’m saying is you better be at Toad next Tuesday, and early at that. We might just go crazy!

ADDITIONAL NOTE: A wee bit of blog and newspaper chatter, since I haven’t check in awhile, and confirmation that Sean Murray recalls his offer to book us once a month at The Oasis.

Cheap Thrills – For Toad, last night: “Wanted to go to Toad last Tuesday? Cassavettes and Mia returned just for you. From gig to gig, I’ve Cassavettes hit multiple points on the roots-to-rock meter. Who knows what mood they’ll be in, but the room size suggests they’ll be in an easygoing alt-country groove tonight.”

The New Haven Advocate, For I Am Festival, last weekend: “This year that includes New Haven’s avant-skate rock trio The Vultures (who drop their long-awaited, razor-sharp first full-length Chingus exactly a week after I AM) and psych-pop ensemble M.T. Bearington (who had to cancel last year’s festival but have continued to amass audience goodwill through 2009); Boston’s Cassavettes (a band Murray was so excited about “I promised them I would book them once a month — I definitely haven’t done that!”); and, from New London, ukulele-punker Brian Skidmore and his band The Weird Beards (“they’ve been getting a huge following as of late,” Murray says.”

Finally, I noticed in my scouring of the net, that we are mentioned on a couple Australian music sites, because we are playing next to Aussie Mia Dyson. I wonder if this exposure will finally make us big Down Under (and no, that’s not a member joke).

Crazy weekend. My buddy Jimmy is in town, so things have been hectic at work as I try to handle not taking off any time (since the band is going on tour next week) with actually seeing the kid and making the most of his stay. As a result, we burned the candle at both ends this weekend, starting with a show Friday at The Beachcomber.

Now, usually, when we play the Beachcomber, we have Girls Guns & Glory on board. They are from the South Shore and a reliable draw. Also, it’s usually summery weather, which is good, because this place is a beach joint and ALL ABOUT summer feelings. In this case, we didn’t have either, and while I was surprised and fairly pleased with the outcome, I’m not so sure the club was. The only thing besides an iffy draw that might have caused ire is that (despite my best efforts), we ran overtime by seven minutes. I know this because when I jumped off the stage, the detail cop grabbed me and said, rather disgusted “1:07 — you’re welcome.” I said, “Thanks?” Yes, a question. Regardless, we had a good time, and had some Alabama slammers and tooters. I’m pretty sure both are just juice. The band was sloppy, but didn’t I just tell you about the Slammers and tooters? We were probably getting a sugar high off those drinks. Besides, it’s the Beachcomber. It’s supposed to be wild. Jimmy had a good time though, and on the way home, begged for Burger King then fell asleep, woke up, and screamed into the BK intercom. Good night.
SET LIST: Ordinary Girls / A Hard Rain / Research Blvd / Lights On / Carolyn, Don’t Leave Like This / Madeline / Golden Fleece / Seek Cover / Trouble From the Start / Whitewashed / Cedar / Shotgun Wedding / Shine a Light

The next afternoon, we all met up in our old stomping grounds of New London, Ct. on a dreary day. Not the kind of day you want to play an outdoors show, but such was the case at the I Am Festival. Weird note: Since we’ve been going to New London, the great thing about it is that it is fairly constant. Nothing changes, and it’s always fun. This time, it seemed like EVERYTHING had changed, some for the much, much worse. Two divorces, one death, several coast guard guys shipped off to other remote areas (Bahrain?). It was a lot to take in. As for the show, it was an impressive set up, but I think the weather dashed any hopes of big crowds. And we may not have been right up most of the kids’ alleys — even if one dude was really into it, headbanging and nudging Jimmy repeatedly. We did sell a decent amount of merch, so maybe folks liked the jams more than I thought? It’s hard to read a crowd sometimes. After all, even when I’m really into something, I rarely act like it. It’s just a thing. A vibe thing, I guess. Anyhow, I officially started my experiment of recording all of live shows (fingers crossed) and have yet to dump the audio, but an initial listen sounded OK. Again, we were sloppy and I’m coming down with a cold, I think, and having some major trouble singing, but some songs were pretty on. So, we’ll see what happens as I undertake Cassavettes’ archives project.
SET LIST: Ordinary Girls / Lights On / Seek Cover / Don’t Get Me Wrong / Golden Fleece / Cedar / Shotgun Wedding / Shine a Light

After the show, Jim and I went south to NYC for a quick 24-hour whirlwind adventure. Some of the highlights: hanging with AJ whose new place and new life are equally fantastic; hanging with Joe Bug, L Ro, and Stephen (and Jimmy and AJ) at Pete’s Candy Store without having to play a show; doing the tourist thing at the Statue of Liberty (where we went through two security checkpoints, one of which inexplicably blows air on you in short, sudden bursts), Wall Street, Ground Zero, Times Square, and Central Park; seeing a dude in the park with a battery-operated blender, illegally mixing margaritas for customers out of a backpack he was carrying about; and finally, having some really good NYC food (sweet deli sandy, awesome late-night za). All in all, good, albeit brief, trip. Looking forward to the tour, as this seemed like an early preview in some ways, of both the good and the bad.

Tonight, we complete our costly, yet fun, tour of New England with a visit to the Patriots game (my first), which has Matt green with envy — making him look very Christmas-y when you add in the red hair. Tomorrow night, we’re back at Toad for week two of our residency. Ought to be a good one!

Finally, hard copies of our CD are for sale now on Nimbit (see below) and I joined Twitter to convince more folks to come to our shows (see right rail). Hopefully both are positive connections!