Interview on Strangeglue

Here.

Song of the Pearl

Our new full-length has been recorded and will come out in early March '09.

Moroccan kif-smokers like to speak of "two worlds", the one ruled by inexorable natural laws, and the other, the kif world, in which each person perceives "reality" according to the projections of his own essence, the state of consciousness in which the elements of the physical universe are automatically rearranged by cannabis to suit the requirements of the individual. These distorted variations in themselves generally are of scant interest to anyone but the subject at the time he is experiencing them. An intelligent smoker, nonetheless, can aid in directing the process of deformation in such a way that the results will have value to him in his daily life. If he has faith in the accuracy of his interpretations, he will accept them as decisive, and use them to determine a subsequent plan of action. Thus, for a dedicated smoker, the passage to the "other world" is often a pilgrimage undertaken for the express purpose of oracular consultation.

Paul Bowles, from the preface to A Hundred Camels in the Courtyard

CMJ Showcase!

We play at roughly 10:30.

Some random photos from the Arbouretum/Pontiak tour of New England- 9/08

So if a picture is worth a thousand words, that means I don't really have to editorialize here that much, do I?
I will say this much- we had a lot of fun, those Pontiak guys are great (musically and otherwise) and we had a blast watching the other bands we shared bills with, chiefly Pontiak (of course), the Psychic Paramount, and Thalia Zedek's band.
See you all soon!

September Tour Dates

Soon we shall be embarking on a brief tour of the Northeast US with our good friends, Pontiak, as well as some of our other friends' bands that will be joining us along the way. Can't wait for this trip- it's been way too long since we got out on the road, and it will be our first time in New England in quite a while.

We'll be promoting our new split 12" with Pontiak, Kale, and of will be playing some of that material, as well as new songs, old songs, whatever seems to fit the night, really. Anyone with a song request can leave a comment and we'll see what we can do.

Long live the Heavy Jams!


Friday, 9/5 Baltimore, MD-the Talking Head Club w/Pontiak, the Psychic Paramount, Sri Aurobindo

Saturday, 9/6 Philadelphia, PA- Johnny Brenda's w/ Pontiak and the Psychic Paramount

Sunday, 9/7 Brooklyn, NY- the Glasslands w/ Pontiak, Endless Boogie, and Noble Lake

Monday, 9/8 Manhattan, NY- The Cakeshop w/Pontiak and American Buffalo

Tuesday, 9/9 New Haven, CT- Cafe Nine w/Pontiak

Wednesday, 9/10 Burlington, VT- Red Square w/Pontiak

Thursday, 9/11-Wilderness Adventure Day

Friday, 9/12 Waterbury, ME-Colby College w/Pontiak

Saturday, 9/13 Boston, MA -Pa's Lounge with Pontiak and the Thalia Zedek Band

Rare Screenprint by David Heumann

A print of a photo by Arbouretum's David Heumann, screen printed with the aid of Matthew Riley (the Moss Collector, Human Bell), then hand colored by Heumann, this is the singer/guitarist's first public foray into the realm of visual art, an intriguing world which he barely understands, yet feels strangely compelled to take a crack at.


Highly limited, this is the first in a series of four.

ebay item# 330258919368

More Summer Jams

Endless Boogie: Move Back!
from Focus Level, 2008 No Quarter
Pontiak: White Hands
from Sun on Sun, re-released 2008 Thrill Jockey

Summer Jams for Your Enjoyment Part 1

Here's a song I've been turning people onto every chance I get. When the chorus hits, it opens up in the most glorious way. It's by John Cale, from Vintage Violence.

I've been a fan of Sandy Denny for a while. If you're not familiar, you might want to give Blackwaterside a listen. Expect a live Arbouretum cover version in the next few months featuring a totally great female guest vocalist.

And of course, what would summer be without Gordon Lightfoot to sing about it? Longtime fans of Arbouretum might recall us covering this one.

Friendstival Re-Cap

Many Thanks to Jennings, Van, and Lain Carney for making this happen!The whole thing was awesome, despite, and in some ways, because of, the intermittent rains that moved the musical aspect indoors. The music started off with Field Athletics, then a triple-threat set by Bow 'n Arrow (Mickey Free), Height, and Jones. After that, Wye Oak got things moving live-band style with a stellar set, which was followed by Arbouretum, and then an absolutely bone-crushing performance by a shirtless and fluorescent green-painted Pontiak. Tasty barbecue, endless beer, and a late-night green laser made things even more great. If anyone has more photos to share, by all means, do hit us up!

6/17/08 at Mercury Lounge

We'll be playing with Endless Boogie (their Record Release) and Meg Baird (of Espers) at Mercury Lounge in Lower Manhattan, 217 E. Houston St (corner of Houston and avenue A)

Meg kicks things off at 8:30, We play at 9:30, and Endless Boogie plays after us with a set that should hopefully stretch late into the evening. We hear that their new record is epoch-shatteringly good.

Advance copies of Kale will be available for sale. Get 'em before the release date!

Live recording from 6/4/08 is up

Audio from last week's show at the Talking Head Club has been posted on the blog Aural States. You can hear Arbouretum's performance here.
Television Hill's performance has also been posted. You can hear it here.

Arbouretum Alums Back Scarlett Johansson!!

Check this out: David Bergander and Walker Teret (featured extensively on Rites of Uncovering) back up the super-hot actress in her latest career move. In this clip, Walker plays Banjo and David plays drums. Pretty wild.

Rites Lyrics Posted

You can see them here.

Welcome

Thought it might be cool to keep fans abreast of our activities via blog, so here it is. We'll be posting photos, some mp3s, and general updates on here, so you might want to check in every so often to see what's happening in our little corner of the world.
First, an update: We did some recording a while back with our good friends from the band Pontiak and the results will go on an Arbouretum/Pontiak split LP called Kale.
The release date is July 22nd (Thrill Jockey Records), and we're really excited about it. There will be a limited pressing of 1000 copies in the LP format, as well as high-quality Mp3 downloads available. The split will feature songs by excellent Welsh songwriter/instrumentalist John Cale and new original songs by both bands.
Joining us on our side is recently-added guitarist Steve Strohmier. He moved back to Baltimore a few months ago after living in Brooklyn for a few years, and we're really happy to have him around to play music with us. He's an incredible guitarist and a damn fine singer to boot.
Anyone wanting to get a live peek at what we've been up to can catch us at the Talking Head Club in Baltimore on June 4th. We'll be playing with Pontiak, Rob Wilson/Television Hill, and a really cool new band from Italy and Chicago called Blake e/e/e.