We’re happy to announce our next show as part of a formal ball at Sub-T on Saturday, March 3rd. There are a limited number of tickets for sale for only $5 which you can get here.

This will be our SxSW send-off party as we will be playing in Austin this March. If you’re headed to SxSW, stay tuned – we’ll send out our show details as we get closer to the gig. So come out, dress up, have fun and wish us well on our way to Austin. We’ll be giving out a free vinyl copy of Billboard Sun to our own personal best dressed winner. RSVP at the Facebook event.

Over and out.

BMA

We’re happy to report that our next and as-of-yet untitled full-length album is all done. Last night, Engine Studios—where we recorded and mixed the record—was generous enough to allow us a listening party for all those involved. What started as a listening session, turned into an epic hang that went into the wee hours of the morning. We’re all still recovering from the good times.

As is customary with BMA meetings, there was a Spirit Award given. By unanimous decision, the highly sought after honor was handed to producer, engineer, sailfish-wielder Brian Deck. His contributions throughout the process were invaluable, and we thank him for his support. What a mensch.

A round of applause for all the extras that helped make the recording even more special: Mark Yoshizumi, Dan Smart, Max Crawford, Pauly, and everyone at Engine.

We’re looking forward to sharing this music with you as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Billboard Sun EP is still as fresh as a sweet Sunday morning.

And for those who like feeling their music in their fingers, we have a beautiful 10″ vinyl package for you. Purchase at our Bandcamp.

Happy listening.

New Underground. One thing that never changed in all the versions of this song we’ve recorded: the drum and bass feature. Jon and Sam really nail it here. Mark Yoshizumi spearheaded this recording at Studio Chicago—he was boosting the Magic Track the whole session (track 32 is it?). Our cellist friend Alison Chesley channeled her inner Helen Money for us on this one too—a real treat for the ears. In short: A tune for a bomb-ravaged Winston Churchill having tea in his bunker, complete with air sirens.

Comfy. Recorded in Jim’s old loft with the help of Archer Prewitt. First demoed in 2005, this is one of the oldest songs in the BMA catalog. We wanted to keep that same at-home feel, so no click track and plenty of bleed between the live vocal/guitar take. In short, this is the only song in our catalog that unabashedly allows Boston to be Boston. Anyone who’ve sat around a firepit listening to him sing knows what we mean. Kudos to Alison Chesley for her beautiful playing, and to Archer for lending his ear and his 12-string.

V-Day. Debuted at a Matt Kerstein solo show at Schubas, this tune started as a nod to WWII, specifically D-Day, but quickly became a love song subbing a D for a V. Besides the sparse balladry and crooning swagger of the verse and chorus, the bridge was lifted from a song Jim wrote in 2003. Joe Darnaby is heard hear playing banjo nodding to his love of bluegrass, and Max Crawford added a great wurlitzer part early on that became an integral piece of this puzzle. Archer Prewitt helped us out with this one too, and we couldn’t be more grateful for his direction.

Sweet Delusions. Again, a heavy drum and bass feature for Jon and Sam. Plenty of guitar wankery abounds as well—a wah track played by Jim weaves in and out, Joe’s glass-shattering stabs, and of course, the Neil Young-esque solo melts any face that faces it. The not-so-subtle reference to our long-time bud and Civil War historian Tony Sackett’s band Warm Ones closes out the tune lyrically. Always and forever moving on with you dudes.

Fare Thee Well. Probably the most diverse and otherworldly sound we’ve ever achieved in the studio. Besides the light acoustic guitar in the intro, there are no recognizable guitars played until the 3 minute mark. That’s possibly the reason we love the dual guitar solo so much. Joe added his fair share of bits from Ableton, and Jim spliced several takes of stoned-out layered loops including the post-song fade out. Of course, none of that stuff would matter if the rhythm section wasn’t spot on, including the sub-octave 5-string bass Jon played! We always like ending big, and this was our ending.

Like/Love Crowd. For fans of the c. section in Yes’s Starship Trooper (I’m looking at you Geoff Dolce), this stacking of vocal lines and guitar parts is an old idea, but one that finally came to fruition. Jim is always pushing the guys to meet him half way on the jammy—who wouldn’t want to hear a cover of Scarlet Begonias?—and they finally caved. The title is a humorous reference to another song of ours called Love Crowd that will appear on our upcoming full-length. So, in many ways, this is your lead in to that album.

Matt recently answered some questions for a RedEye article spotlighting our EP release show at Lincoln Hall this Thursday. It’s in the paper today, so grab a copy on your morning or afternoon commute. It features some pretty funny exchanges, excerpt below.

With a name like Brighton, MA, I’m wondering how you are with geography in general?

I’m OK.

Could you name all the state capitols?

Probably at one time I could have, but no.

Then why lie and say you’re ‘okay’ with geography?

[Laughs.] I thought maybe I could fake my way through. Maybe you and I just have a different standard. So I guess by your standards, no, I’m not very good with geography.

Read the full article at redeyechicago.com

Listen and purchase this music by clicking the cover art below.

To celebrate the recent Jack Daniels holiday ad that features Good Kind Of Crazy, we’ve posted a couple recordings of O Christmas tree we recently recorded. You can check them out at our Facebook page or above. (Take 2) is composed of equal parts O Christmas Tree, and a song of ours called Comfy from the forthcoming Billboard Sun EP.

Also, for a limited time, we’re giving away our Schubas Residency EP from last year. If you’ve snoozed on getting those recordings, now’s your chance to make it right.

will be featured on a Jack Daniels television ad in North America and the UK. The commercial features barrels of whiskey being rolled out of their Tennessee distillery, trucked into the center of town, and assembled into a giant barrel Christmas tree.

You’ll have to see it – hard to explain, so have a look:

We will be releasing a new EP in January, with an official release show set for Lincoln Hall on Jan 19th. The 7 song EP, titled “Billboard Sun”, was produced by our own Jim Tuerk, and engineered by long time friend Mark Yoshizumi. We were honored to have the helping hand and guidence of the genteel Archer Prewitt on a number of the tunes, and are excited to release it.

We are simultaneously finishing work on a new full length album with producer Brian Deck. It has been an amazing experience to work with Brian, he has produced a number of our favorite records over the years. Falling right on the heels of finishing our EP, we feel he pushed us to a new level. We hope to finish that album by the end of the year and will have more info onthat release soon.

Hope everyone has a nice holiday. Thank you very much for supporting us at shows around the mid-west this fall. We’ve been having a blast playing, and are excited to release more music for you.

That’s all for now.

New shows at the shows page.

jt