arbouretum

Some shows in March

2012-01-20T13:24:00.003-05:00

Thursday, March 8
Secret Mountains, Arbouretum, Sri Aurobindo
Baltimore, the Ottobar.
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Friday, March 9
Arbouretum, Meg Baird
Philadelphia, The Station

Saturday, March 10
Arbouretum, Rhyton, PG Six
Brooklyn, NY, Death By Audio

Southern Shows With Celebration 10/25-10/30!

2011-10-21T23:07:00.005-04:00

Here are some shows we're doing really soon with our good friends from Baltimore, Celebration, from Oct 25th through Oct 30.

Tuesday, October 25- Arbouretum+Celebration+White Tiger and the Bed of Roses
Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern, Wilmington NC
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Wednesday, October 26- Arbouretum+Celebration
The Tin Roof, Charleston SC
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Thursday, October 27- Arbouretum+Celebration+Back Pockets
The Earl, Atlanta GA
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Friday, October 28- Arbouretum+Celebration+The Moaners
World Famous Milestone Club, Charlotte, NC
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Saturday, October 29- Arbouretum+Celebration+the Judas Horse+The Moaners
The Get Down, Asheville NC
Facebook Invite Page

Sunday, October 30- Arbouretum+Celebration+The Moaners
The Nightlight, Chapel Hill NC
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October Shows with Eternal Tapestry!

2011-09-19T19:30:00.001-04:00

Tue Oct 4 Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery w/ Eternal Tapestry

Wed Oct 5 Columbus, OH - Bourbon Street w/ Eternal Tapestry

Thu Oct 6 Cincinnati, OH - MOTR Pub w/ Eternal Tapestry

Fri Oct 7 Chicago, IL - The Hideout w/ Eternal Tapestry

Sat Oct 8 Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class w/ Eternal Tapestry

Sun Oct 9 Buffalo, NY - The Mohawk w/ Eternal Tapestry

Mon Oct 10 Boston, MA - O'Briens w/ Eternal Tapestry

Tue Oct 11 Portland, ME - Flask w/ Eternal Tapestry

Wed Oct 12 Winooski, VT - The Monkey House w/ Eternal Tapestry

Thu Oct 13 Ithaca, NY - Angry Mom Records w/ Eternal Tapestry

Fri Oct 14 Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands w/ Eternal Tapestry

Sat Oct 15 Philadelphia, PA - O'Reiley's Pub w/ Eternal Tapestry

Three shows this coming week

2011-07-10T16:01:00.002-04:00

Durham, NC- Casbah with Free Electric State and Stag

Charleston, SC- Tin Roof with Caltrop

Wilmington, NC- Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern with Caltrop and TBA

A reminder about a slightly older project- Coil Sea

2011-07-10T15:46:00.004-04:00

Coil Sea - Waking the Naga from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

For those who are new to Arbouretum, Coil Sea is a project and album that features Matthew Pierce and Dave Heumann from Arbouretum, and was released over a year ago. It's composed of four instrumental improv-based tracks that are the result of documenting a band whose members had never previously played together as a group. It was recorded over the course of two sessions, the results of which were edited together to create a seamless whole.

Recently it has come to my attention that there are still quite a few copies of this LP-only release at the Thrill Jockey Store, and well, I figured it was as good a time as any to mention this...

Here we are on German National TV

2011-05-27T11:44:00.001-04:00

Rockpalast

New Show Added! May 11 at Nightlight in Chapel Hill NC, with Caltrop and Hiss Golden Messenger

2011-04-27T15:18:00.003-04:00

Hope all you North Carolinians can make this one. It will be awesome.

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The Gathering Song Lyrics

2011-04-19T14:41:00.001-04:00

The White Bird (Heumann)

there's somewhere that I have been meaning to revisit
in and among all, even as its true nature is hid
here, in the gloaming and black night
here, in the dawn and the golding bright

there is a design with the larger in the smaller
I found it in time and the lethargy of matter
sing, as would a white bird of mine
here, in this hall of a thousand rooms

I've seen it at night tessellating and unfolding
sheer gossamer threads, delicate and sacred shimmering
and if you reached for it, it would shatter
as things that you'd hold quickly fade away

there's something that's grown, spreading underneath through each inside
go see for your own, more and more the air is rarefied
now that the spires are crumbling down
and new holes appear where there once were none

if you should become separated from the restless herd
and you're hearing that hum, know that to this place you may return
wandering alone in a city of towers
one with the leaves and mycelia

When Delivery Comes (Heumann, Wilson)

there's a hollow on the right
might be wise taking cover for a while
won't be long until it's night
and some may not make another mile

we made talk and walked a road
made the climb up and over angel's crest
left dsaster down below
and all the unfailing and the good

by night's falling, by a fire
lines are drawn and divided in the dark
who stands watch and who retires
and who gets to break the silence

well my vote's as good as yours
and it don't matter who you were before
of all things, just two endure
high heaven and the howling wind

All the birds took flight at once
just before the thunder roared in
sprung the sirens and alarms
and walls and bridges fell
Oh the fault was opened up
and let in a surging ocean
Oh and all the western parts
were lost below

were they left there, are they still?
well it's something to ponder in the pines
there's no truth that can be spillled
no reason that can be divined

there's a black crow on a line
looking down at the basin far below
but I've left that life behind
to wander among the vertigo

when delivery comes
I'll be waiting for it
on the high ground, in the sun
there underneath the billowing

Destroying to Save (Heumann, Wilson)

there's a righteous band that's marching
they're beating on drums, and even speak in tounges
they're passing plates around

clothed in garments of the sun
bringing the weight of everything to bear
they're calling everyone

out to comb the fields for stones
eyes casting for harlots and for heretics,
heels worn down from the road

onstage rocking back and forth
the choir's rattling swords, they stomp and shake the boards
the rest, they sing along

Cheering for a firefight, praying for the end
praisers of oblivion go round a bend
not to be a downer here, but I have my doubts
see here a tide and river turned about

you, who sought the water's purity
drank deep as the voices of the virtuous rang out, aloft in air

come, and I'll take you outside
walk with me to out beyond the barriers of what is said and known

bones and lodestones might be found
on ground that's not sown nor plowed, but opened up
like eyes to sight and sound

All around, through all the towns, word spread of a fire
a blaze had brought the building down, but who conspired
right out in the daylight, none saw him there
the ashen rider on a shadow mare

Orbits bend and ages end, soon may come a time
when nothing that remains of this is recognized
people don't you wait around, won't be no train
best go inside before it starts to rain

Highwayman (Jimmy Webb)
not written here.

Waxing Crescents (Heumann)

what lens is offering to give blurred things clarity?
what influnce is this, that compels me to you?

night was thick, and jasmine deep
by a stream that was all right
there was talk in ancient tones
silver, sparkling, and new

these lines go on for miles
in the distance, they converge
but you'll hear none of this
so I keep it aside

when your secret was exposed
smooth and shorn of adornment
gripping fingers pulling close
crescent hoofprints in snow

one more imagined slight
and I'm going internal
gonna make it there tonight
to the crest of the hill

The Empty Shell (Heumann)

this place is curved and copper-tinged
I'm aquamarine, measured in fathoms
he has no tounge to taste the brine
because he's an empty shell

she holds on to his arm and leans
he sips his drink and says the right thing
sometimes a fuzzy plan succeeds
hatched out of an empty shell

it's like that swindle on the streets
the one that everybody loses
the thimblerigger hides the pea
they're betting on empty shells

the vacuous and the esteemed
walk hand in hand into the distance
the battlefields and beaches gleam
all covered in empty shells

Song of the Nile (Heumann, Wilson)

wandering down in Egypt
dressed in beggar's clothes
I lost my direction
in a lotus grove

well I must have been distracted
to forget about the pearl
but it's strange how time unravels
in the navel of the world

I put on a mantle
stars were shining through
there in my reflection,
a kingdom split in two

well the fruit it was inviolate
and was hanging from the bough
and the sepent there was sleeping
so I took it as allowed

blinded by a prism
seen in second sight
caught between the breastbone
by a lance of light

well I stopped because a woman
was lying in the road
it was then that I remembered
which way I was supposed to go

European/UK Tour Dates

2011-03-15T09:14:00.000-04:00

Wed Mar 16 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique

Thu Mar 17 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso

Fri Mar 18 Brighton, UK - Jam

Sat Mar 19 Penryn, UK - Miss Peapod's

Sun Mar 20 Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute

Mon Mar 21 Glasgow, UK - Captain's Rest

Tue Mar 22 Newcastle, UK - The Cluny

Wed Mar 23 Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds

Thu Mar 24 London, UK - The Borderline

Sat Mar 26 Bonn, Germany - Crossroads Club Festival

Sun Mar 27 Utrecht, Netherlands - Ekko

Mon Mar 28 Paris, France - La Maroquinerie

Wed Mar 30 Schorndorf, Germany - Manufaktur

Thu Mar 31 Schaffhausen, Switzerland - Tap Tab

Fri Apr 1 Padova, Italy - Unwound

Sat Apr 2 Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti

Sun Apr 3 Pescara, Italy - Monospazio

Mon Apr 4 Vienna, Austria - Arena

Tue Apr 5 Dresden, Germany - Beatpol

Wed Apr 6 Berlin, Germany - White Trash

Thu Apr 7 Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang

Sat Apr 9 Brugge, Belgium - Cactus

Mercury Lounge, March 13- Arbouretum, Endless Boogie, D Charles Speer

2011-03-10T02:19:00.001-05:00

Corey finds out Ray from Castanets is his long-lost brother

2011-02-26T17:39:00.001-05:00

Portland, OR

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"Destroying to Save" video

2011-02-16T20:41:00.001-05:00

Today, our fourth record was released.

2011-02-15T21:45:00.004-05:00

It's crazy looking back and realizing Arbouretum has been around this long. It still feels like we're at the beginning, but I suppose that's how it should be...It's about not becoming so satisfied with where you've been that you get complacent, you know? You have to hold onto whatever it was that got you started down the path in the first place. If anyone saw me post "to always begin" on our facebook a while ago and wondered what that meant, well, this is what I meant.
We had an excellent show the other night in Baltimore to celebrate this album's release. So many people came out to share the music with us and the vibe and sound in the room were conducive to us playing at our best. Secret Mountains opened and were fantastic.
We'll be in San Diego Thursday night, then up (and back down) the coast, and after that, a lot more places.
See you soon.

Soon, we will be on the West Coast

2011-02-05T17:17:00.003-05:00

Thu Feb 17 San Diego, CA - Tin Can Ale House w/ Endless Boogie

Fri Feb 18 Big Sur, CA - Maiden Publick House w/ Endless Boogie

Sat Feb 19 Santa Cruz, CA - 105 Pioneer w/ Endless Boogie

Sun Feb 20 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern w/ Endless Boogie

Tue Feb 22 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret w/ Endless Boogie, Kikiilimikilii, Nathan Wheeler

Wed Feb 23 Olympia, WA - Northern w/ Endless Boogie, Eternal Tapestry

Thu Feb 24 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios w/ Endless Boogie, Eternal Tapestry

Sat Feb 26 Seattle, WA - Comet Tavern w/ Endless Boogie, Eternal Tapestry

Mon Feb 28 Oakland, CA - TBA w/ Endless Boogie

Tue Mar 1 Los Angeles, CA - The Satellite w/ Endless Boogie

Video Flyer for our Next Show

2010-12-27T20:31:00.001-05:00

R.I.P. Don Van Vliet

2010-12-18T19:26:00.003-05:00

a new video of an older song

2010-12-17T14:43:00.005-05:00

This was from a secret show/video shoot we did a while back above Holy Frijoles in Baltimore. The song is from "Rites of Uncovering", which came out in 2007. Enjoy.

nice words over at Bmore Music

2010-12-16T14:36:00.002-05:00

"It's a perfect example of how this band is able to enforce heavy gloom while at the same time fanning a swift breeze of melody and entrancement."

post here.

Free Download from our new (upcoming) record, "The Gathering"

2010-12-11T18:32:00.006-05:00

Hope you all like this new Arbouretum song; it's called "Destroying to Save".

Live video for a new song, "waxing crescents"

2010-12-10T13:57:00.003-05:00

Our Next Show

2010-11-19T00:13:00.004-05:00

will be Friday, December 3rd at Cameo in Brooklyn, NY.

we are playing with Cliffie Swan (formerly LIGHTS, Drag City Records)

and Up Died Sound.

Arbouretum plays at around 9:30.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Nice words from John Mulvey at Uncut's Wild Mercury Sound

2010-11-05T14:37:00.002-04:00

link here

a solo acoustic version of a song from our next record

2010-10-26T12:29:00.012-04:00

"When Delivery Comes", a song from the forthcoming LP, The Gathering, which will be released February 2011.

Thanks to everyone that came to our secret show/video shoot last night.

2010-10-22T18:34:00.004-04:00

That shit was a lot of fun.

Last Week

2010-10-15T19:33:00.008-04:00

Here are some photos taken at last Wednesday's Baltimore show at the Metro Gallery, taken by Valerie Paulsgrove.
An excellent show overall- Pilgrim opened the night and were great, then Caltrop (who I hope will be seeing some wider recognition soon as they really deserve it), then us.
As some of you are aware, Matthew Pierce is out of the country for the next couple months, so for that show we had excellent drummer/percussionist Michael Kuhl sitting in with us, playing a floor tom, various shakers and a cymbal. We ended the set with
"Waxing Crescents", a newer song, and Buck and Mike played a full-on double drum solo at the end.

The following night's New York show at Union Pool in Brooklyn was pretty goddamned epic, if we may say so ourselves.
Caltrop opened, then we played afterward, followed by Endless Boogie.
We opened with a newer arrangement of "Song of the Pearl" and I broke a D string halfway through.
Corey then got a bass loop going and I layered a two-note guitar loop on top of that to play while I was changing the string. We then went into "When Delivery Comes", a song from the new record, and that was the end of the "actual songs" portion of our set.
We then began a version of the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray", a song that was to ultimately last about two hours. Hans Chew from the D.Charles Speer band joined us at this point on keys. We played it for around 30 minutes, allowing the structure to build, dissolve, then come together again, at which point the members of Endless Boogie began replacing us on stage one by one as our set segued into theirs.
Watching them play after we had finished was truly amazing. Those guys are at the top of their game these days, having toured so much in the recent past. Their command of the long-form rock jam is nothing short of extraordinary, and "Sister Ray" is about as appropriate as any song they could cover, being Lower-East-Siders themselves that are prone to, well, boogieing endlessly. I really wish someone had recorded that set, but to my knowledge no one did.

The following evening we were in Philly at the Danger Danger house, a DIY spot on the West side of town. For some reason one of the local bands had canceled and the gig started an hour late. We were upstairs in the green room trying to generate enthusiasm for playing at all, which never really happened. As Caltrop began their set, it became apparent to us that we weren't going to bring the kind of experience we are best at delivering to anyone, not that there was much of anyone present anyway. There was a small handful of people that had mainly been there to see the local opener, and a few people who were friends with Caltrop.
By the time Caltrop finished (we told them to feel free to play as long as they wanted to), there were maybe 4 or 5 people standing around, it was coming up on the venue's midnight curfew, and we were tired and looking forward to being in our own beds asleep. The only person that came out to see us was Meg Baird, and we were having a really good time hanging out with her upstairs watching a mutual acquaintance appear on Letterman with a 90 lb squash he'd grown. The night before had been so incredible anyway that there was really no topping it. Best go out on a high note...
This was the first time we ever chose not to play a gig once we were there, but it's a decision we stand behind. Caltrop had played an excellent set, and for us to go onstage after them and play to 4 or 5 stragglers just didn't seem as much of a viable option to us as simply going home did. An hour and a half later we were back home in Baltimore, unloading the van.

Shows This Week- Baltimore, Brooklyn, Philly

2010-10-04T15:25:00.002-04:00

We are pleased to announce three regional shows, all with excellent North Carolina band Caltrop-

Baltimore, Wednesday 10/6- Metro Gallery with Caltrop and Pilgrim

Brooklyn NY, Thursday 10/7 Union Pool with Endless Boogie and Caltrop

Philadelphia, Friday 10/8- Danger Danger with Caltrop, No Extra Tounge, and Dr Scientist

Looking forward to seeing you.

so we have recorded a new record

2010-10-01T15:11:00.002-04:00

The fourth proper full-length Arbouretum record is now recorded and mastered. We're expecting it will be released in February...without giving too much away, I can tell you that it is quite epic in nature and has a thick, buzzy, resonant sound. That's all for today...peace.

Arbouretum to open for Roky Erickson

2010-08-28T22:44:00.003-04:00

At The Ottobar in Baltimore, November 7. More show news soon!

Coil Sea Record Available for Preorder

2010-08-13T15:24:00.002-04:00

Coil Sea, the new improv LP featuring Dave Heumann and Matthew Pierce from Arbouretum, is now available from Thrill Jockey to preorder. It is a limited edition LP that will likely go pretty quickly....check here to read about it, check out some tracks, and preorder it.

Oh, yes- and here's a video advertisement for the record-

Coil Sea advertisement from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

At long last- Song of the Pearl Lyrics

2010-08-07T13:11:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I had a link here to our myspace blog where the lyrics are posted, but, as buggy as myspace tends to be, the link didn't work right unless you were at present logged in, and led to some kind of internal server error. So here's the myspace blog post cut&pasted in its entirety, stupid mood status indicator and all.
Saturday, August 07, 2010

Song of the Pearl Lyrics
Current mood: fermented
Category: Music

False Spring (Heumann, Wilson)

come along, we'll ride together
not far to go but it's too far to turn back
voices are calling our names from the top of the hill
we'll raise a glass to appease them all
there, a stark and corroded memoria-
it creases the day into separate noon and night
how streaks of blight mar the long and rolling green

comes the stride of the bold explorer
he made his name sailing 'round the golden horn
"I'll tell you that ashes are never envious-
the first to lose and the last restored"
a deal was struck and the room grew silent
lending its weight to the new misgivings
in air too still to support any fragrances

how did time become so careless?
where, the ivory stairs and the river of pools?
where, the early blooms and the dawning?
it's hard to remember arriving here at all
stranger shapes coalesce in the deepening light
an owl obscures, then steals, the sun
it's colder now than it was some moments ago

Another Hiding Place (Heumann)

on this highway
with the sunlight in my eyes
and the cities gliding by
thoughts are unprotected
there's disorder
with the insides all exposed
and I'm trying to watch the road
and the radio's playing

last night found me
with a woman in her bed
who was new to me instead
of the one who's waiting
I slid softly
into warmth and amnesia
derelict and drunken
softly overtaken

O from here to nowhere to go
better find another hiding place
I can't find no worries sometimes
when I get a feeling I can face

now it's broken
and a foreign afterglow
fills the skies with what is known
and what is kept hidden
I'll discard it
and the rest I'll disavow
I'll disguise myself somehow
right out in the open

daylight blazes
there's a carcass on the side
of the road and still I ride
as the high birds circle
my mind's wandering
as so oftentimes it does
with the cirrus clouds above
and the miles I've covered

Down by the Fall Line (Heumann, Varsalone)

the leaves are waving the sun down
they're whispering that it won't be long
O I can see the peidmont
cascading to the fall line

there is a watchman on the moon
and lies are here and liars too
but they won't ever find us
if we keep ourselves apart

the wolves were driven from the town
but in the leaves they're still around
O I can see their yellow eyes
past the edges of the fire's glow

tonight I hold her fast and slow
and tell her things that can't be known
I'll wait until she falls asleep
and go outside to watch the black

Song of the Pearl (Heumann, Wilson)

nights were spent waiting for days
back in the brown times
and there in the rising midwinter's sun
was abraham's ram caught in the thicket
and what appeared
was told in turbulence on the water
when she was near
there could be no home apart from this
but now its gone, long gone-
when I look out across a clearing
it is obscured

out on an ocean dark and vast
two fishes tied, at alpha are bound
waving a pole and waking the dead
the goatherder turned the shining stars
and so turned she,
and there awoke a staring eye
but not a mouth-
I'd become as passerby
O in a world long gone
she waits, she waits for me
horizons sing

I saw her last
in a hazy, dark, and crowded room
stramlined and fast
shameless with everyone
and when the last song's playing
here she comes, carring a pitcher
to fill the flood

Thin Dominion (Heumann)

here comes a wave big as a building
there goes the firm unyielding ground
and I won't, believe I won't fall headlong- that would be
ill advised and pernicious

last night, the ceiling cracked and spidered
and sleep did not befriend me
I suppose that anyway it's best in darkened rooms
left to spies, and in secret

just need a bloom, a fire and no grief
gonna bring 'em back, right back to you
and the end, the losing end, won't find me anywhere
in the gales I'll not weaken

you were apart, but not away long
I sought you out at midnight
there are those who seem oppposed to opening chamber doors
I am one of a different order

Infinite Corridors (Heumann)

garrolous laughter echoes through the streets and recedes
headlights glare brightly, then pass, as the wet pavement gleams
but no one is calling for you, all those voices are gone
a humming, reverberant sound fills your head with new song

the foot of the mountain looks up to a perilous climb
(with) symbols engraved in the air of an alien sky
here, there is no loneliness, no reflections allowed
and no one to cover your form and its nakedness now

morning breaks in at right angles, with edges and seams
the cloud forests vanishing now, all these shapes from a dream
the world of the wide open eye doesn't offer a thing
but newspapers stacked to a ceiling where dim cobwebs cling

The Midnight Cry (Heumann, Wilson)

time was short, and with autumn coming on
William watched for word and searched the skies
watched for word and searched the skies
and a million pairs of eyes
waited for the darkening of day

soon we'll sing, and if not we'll watch and pray
surely '43 or '44
'43 or '44, but not a moment more
he will come and take us to the throne

one more day, and one more night
then he's gonna come in on the clouds
gonna come in on the clouds
and every head will bow
lit with power and great glory

now it's late and the hour's come and gone
William hung his head and heaved a sigh
hung his head and heaved a sigh
then out went the midnight cry
his broken hearted flock just walked away.

"tomorrow is a long time" is a Bob Dylan song and has been published elsewhere,
so it was not included here.
Currently listening:
Song of the Pearl
By Arbouretum
Release date: 2009-03-10
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This Past Friday

2010-07-26T22:37:00.006-04:00

Buck, Corey, and I were on our way to the Cakeshop in Manhattan for a show with a friend of ours' band, sitting in Holland Tunnel traffic. The temperature was in the mid to upper 90's, and with no air conditioning in Buck's van, we were reduced to manually oscillating a small-ish clip fan, which was designed to oscillate, but had lost that function several hours before.
I was sitting shotgun, and with the window open I heard a man's voice calling from my right.
"Hey, you've got a leak there".
At this point, traffic was completely stopped and I got out for a look. The fluid was dark red and gushing. Transmission fluid- not good. We were about 500 feet from the mouth of the tunnel and there was only one turn-off point left before the toll booth. Somehow we managed to signal to the drivers on our right to let us through and the van limped its way in to the parking lot of the Holland Motor Lodge, an aged but otherwise nondescript-looking brick hotel whose lot was continuous with that of the Burger King to its right.
We sat outside in the heat as winds gathered and the sky darkened, making phone calls and just generally trying to figure out what to do. The transmission had completely cracked open and there was basically no hope of fixing it that would have been worth the money or effort. I was on hold with AAA to try and get a free tow to the gig when Buck told us he'd found a guy with a van that could pick up us and our equipment and take us there. Not free, but if we'd have sat around and waited two hours for the AAA guy, there was a good chance we would miss our set. I hung up. Still, the guy coming to get us lived in Williamsburg and Friday night traffic was heavy, so we were going to be waiting a while.
I went over to the Burger King and got cokes for everyone. Leaves, dust, and bits of paper blew over the concrete and opaque purple clouds drew closer. After a few minutes of this, thunder cracked and heralded a ferocious downpour and we were back in the van, using the last of its battery to power the non-oscillating oscillating clip fan as we watched through the rain for approaching headlights.

Waking the Naga

2010-07-06T21:41:00.002-04:00

Here's a video I made for a project I put together that has a record coming out next month. The band (Coil Sea) is Michael Kuhl, Michael Lowry, Matt Pierce, Walker Teret, Jimmy Clay Wallace, and myself. Enjoy.

Coil Sea - Waking the Naga from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

This Weekend and Next Week

2010-07-02T17:05:00.005-04:00

Haven't written here in a while. We actually have a fairly big and action-packed week coming up. Tonight (fri 2nd) we are heading down to Ocean City Maryland to mess around by the water and to get ready for a show we have there tomorrow. We're playing at Pepper's Tavern, right at 16th street and the boardwalk. Being that it's the 4th of July weekend and 16th street is known as "the party block", we expect nothing less than absolute insanity. We're sharing the bill (on the two that follow later in the week) with This Frontier Needs Heroes, a duo from Brooklyn NY who are really good friends of ours. They are a great time to watch and to hang out with. That's why they're coming.

Wednesday night finds us in Wilmington NC at Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern, and Thursday we will be at the Tin Roof in Charleston.
This trip is going to be awesome- things are gonna get wild, it's going to be very hot, we're all going swimming, and we're going to film it all. Hope you can make it.

New Release of Live Recording

2010-05-28T16:35:00.004-04:00

We were selling this on tour as a limited-edition CDR called "Sister Ray", as it's based on the Velvet Underground song of the same name.
Aural Slate, the label subsidiary of auralstates.com, is also selling it as a digital release.
In a nutshell, it's a 53 minute jam that was recorded live at a party at a loft space in Baltimore called Granfalloon. We were invited to play and thought we'd do something different than just perform our songs. It was a pretty amazing experience to do the gig, actually. It would have been completely adequate, from our perspective, if the gig HADN'T been recorded, as the whole point for us was to challenge ourselves by jamming for nearly an hour and not bore everyone in the process. But there right in front of us was David Carter with his recording gear. When we listened back to it later, we were more than satisfied with both our performance and the recording quality, and figured that, what with the May tour approaching, it would be a great opportunity to have something new at the merch table. A friend of mine that I grew up with, R.A. Monaco, did the collage work that we used as cover art. You can buy the $5 download HERE.

Shows, Updates

2010-05-05T00:40:00.002-04:00

So there are some new things fast approaching-

A project featuring myself and fellow Arbouretum player Matthew Pierce will have our first (and perhaps only) show at the Windup Space in Baltimore on Saturday, May 8th. We have finished a record, and the project is called Coil Sea- it is instrumental improv project. It has also been known as Dragoons, although that name was in use so we had to change it.

The lineup at the show-
David Bergander- drums
Michael Kuhl- percussion
David Heumann- guitar
Matthew Pierce- keys
Walker Teret- bass
Jimmy Wallace- guitar

also playing at the show is Barbez and Susan Alcorn.

And on May 12, our Spring Tour with Pontiak starts!
At the merch table, we will have reissued Song of the Pearl LPs, out of print Rites of Uncovering LPs (while supplies last), an incredible live performance tour CDR we really have to hustle to get done in time, probably some new shirts, and some other stuff.

Please check out our tour dates here!

Shows This Week

2010-03-09T11:04:00.002-05:00

We'll be playing two shows this week with our new lineup, which is Corey, Buck Carey, and Matthew Pierce, and myself.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10-

At the Golden West in Baltimore with Scout Niblett and Sri Aurobindo.
Show starts at 10, and there is a good chance it will sell out- getting there early is recommended.

THURSDAY, MARCH 11-

At The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn with Iran (a Kyp Malone project).
I hear great things about the new Knit and we're excited to be playing it.

A live review plus free downloads of our most recent show at Bmore Music

2010-02-17T20:48:00.004-05:00

Find it here.

A January Show

2009-12-17T16:06:00.002-05:00

Now Available for Session Work

2009-12-16T19:27:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to put it out there that I'm available for session work, should anyone need some guitaring on their upcoming record.

Other artists I've worked with in the studio besides Arbouretum include:

Human Bell
The Anomoanon
Television Hill
Spectre
Jody Jean Marsten-Arellano
Michael Patrick Smith
Mickey Free

My rates are variable depending on the project...if interested, please leave a comment with your email. I won't publish the comment; I'll just copy your email address so that I can get back to you. Thanks.

Baltimore Show Tonight at Windup Space

2009-11-16T16:22:00.003-05:00

Monday, November 16th at the Windup Space (north Ave between Charles and Maryland)
music starts at 9 or 930.

With Lights and D Charles Speer and the Helix, both well worth seeing in their own right.

Perhaps later I'll be able to post some sounds or sights from the show, or maybe some insightful commentary. We could get a real nice discussion going.

See you soon,
DH

The Other Night in Charlottesville

2009-10-28T20:07:00.003-04:00

Good times. The show got moved to the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar at the last minute, which was fortunate, because although Random Row would have been a great place to host a larger, louder show, the Tea Bazaar is a perfect place for small ensemble stuff. Ned Oldham joined me for a few songs, including a couple Anomoanon tunes that we'd played together back in the day.
Thanks to Jacob Wolf for setting up the show, and for Jane Herships for inviting me to play in the first place. Photos by Bob Travis.

Random Show at Random Row

2009-10-23T17:49:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the short notice, but I'm doing a solo set at Random Row books in Charlottesville, VA on Monday, October 26th.

Appearing with me on the bill is Spider (my good friend Jane Herships), and Magdyn Osh.

The address is 315 W. Main st in Charlottesville, right across from the greyhound station. Cover is just $5, and I should be playing at around 9 or 10.

part of "Tonight's A Jewel" from Nantes, France

2009-10-06T16:03:00.002-04:00

...the tail end. many thanks to whomever filmed this.

"Another Hiding Place" From Nantes, France

2009-10-06T15:58:00.005-04:00

More European/UK Images (post tour)

2009-08-03T14:24:00.007-04:00

What a great tour. The shows themselves were much better-attended than the last time we were in Europe(Oct/Nov '07), we sold a lot of merch, made some new friends, and just generally worked hard and had some really good times. As for me, I'm just going to be working on a bit of writing, some photography... whatever it takes to make the transition back to domestic life fulfilling, really. In any case, it feels good to be home.

Some European Images (mid-tour)

2009-07-21T04:40:00.004-04:00

digital for now, with slow upload speeds at the hotel preventing me from putting up more...

European Tour- July 14- Aug 30

2009-07-10T00:39:00.004-04:00

July 14- Paradiso, Amsterdam NL

July 15- Bar Mondial, Antwerp BE

July 16- Le BPM, Nantes FR

July 17- Le Mecanique Ondulatoire, Paris FR

July 18- Dour Festival, Dour BE

July 19- Boomtownfestival, Gent BE

July 21- Parklife Festival, Milan IT

July 22- Porcupine Pub, Rovigo, IT

July 24- Miss Peapod's, Penryn UK

July 26- Supersonic Festival, Birmingham UK

July 27- The Lexington, London UK

July 28- The Railway, Winchester UK

July 29- The Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester UK

July 30- Night& Day, Manchester UK

Note to Glasgow friends- we're really sorry about canceling that one. We were looking at the maps and thinking we wouldn't want to drive from there to Amsterdam at the end of the tour(where we're flying out of) and then we read about the Hull-Rotterdam ferry...after we'd already canceled. So we might have sort of shot ourselves in the foot with that one. Next time for sure...

Hey Joni put it all behind you

2009-07-10T00:25:00.006-04:00

Low-res cell phone shots, but you get the idea.

Corey at Carnegie soundcheck

2009-07-07T18:17:00.002-04:00

Photos from June tour with Band of Horses

2009-06-25T23:40:00.010-04:00

All photos by Alyssa Robb. Click to enlarge.

the past couple of weeks

2009-06-23T00:06:00.004-04:00

We just got back Saturday night from the shows we did with the Band of Horses. All in all, it was a pretty amazing experience- the shows were all very well-attended, the B.O.H. dudes were all super-nice, and their audience seemed genuinely enthusiastic about what we were doing up there. It was also pretty incredible how well we were treated by the venues, and I'd like to thank everyone involved with them for that- the sound crews, hospitality people, management, security people...pretty much everyone who worked at every venue was pleasant to deal with.

Soon I will post some photos. In the meantime, some short bursts-

HIGH POINTS-

The Carnegie Hall experience was completely fucking amazing. Holy Shit was it awesome.

The show at House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach. Our best electric set of the tour, and it was super fun to join the Horses on their encore.

Getting to play in front of a bunch of people that had never before seen us in Baltimore, our hometown, who totally loved it and had no idea we'd existed until then.

Playing "Underneath the Arches" as our set closer in Asheville.

Post-show night swimming in North Myrtle.

SHOUTS AND THANKS

Meg Baird, Dave Hadley, and Walker Teret for their wonderful playing and singing with us at Carnegie, and before that, the Patterson Theater in Baltimore. Truly magical.

John Lant from Carnegie.

Jimmy, who lives in Asheville now, but is a really good old friend of mine from Maryland days growing up. We stayed at his place and it ruled.

Leslie, another dear friend of mine, with whom we stayed in North Myrtle for two nights. At her parents' BEACH HOUSE. It was amazing.

Raf, who put us up in Wilmington, and his friends that didn't wake us up when we were sleeping and they were still partying on the porch.

Alyssa, who traveled with us, worked the merch table, and took photos. She was absolutely invaluable on this trip and was super mellow and easy to get along with.

Beth, who also helped at the merch table some at a couple of the shows and hung out with us at 3 or 4 of them. Totally chill vibe and lots of fun.

All the dudes in the Band of Horses. Great bunch of guys, and their music kept growing on us as the tour went on. Also, a big shout to their road crew.

Matt Sweeney, who was there for the Carnegie show and lifted the spirits of all.

Mike, Suzie, and Travis (Asheville)

Ron, Wendy, Xhenet, Bettina, Dan's family members, Steve's folks, Millicent, Francesco, and all of our other friends who came to see us at Carnegie.

Ashford, Mark, Kevin, and Emily (North Myrtle).

MY DAD, who came to see us in Baltimore and totally loved it.

Recording of the Creative Alliance/Patterson Theater Show

2009-06-10T00:10:00.002-04:00

The Patterson Theater show was a really enjoyable gig for us. We had a rare opportunity to do our songs in a different style than usual, and except for minor problems relating to an un-soundchecked guitar, everything pretty much came off without a hitch.
Special thanks to Adam, Natasha, Sarah, Megan, and especially Wye Oak, who pulled off a spectacular set on short notice due to a sudden contingency.

A recording of our set can be heard/downloaded here

spoiler alert- for those planning on attending the Carnegie show, you might want to wait until afterward to listen.

Thursday, June 4th in Baltimore

2009-06-01T23:42:00.001-04:00

Here's what I spent several hours on tonight

2009-05-29T04:26:00.004-04:00

It kinda sucks I missed Victoria's surprise birthday party for this, but it needed to be turned in asap, and anyway I've been going out too much as of late. It's for the Carnegie Hall playbill.

Arbouretum, a band known for its epic, folk-driven songs underscored by ferocious, acid-drenched guitar breakouts, brings a slightly more pastoral side to the fore tonight with its first-ever performance at the legendary Carnegie Hall.

This past March, Arbouretum released its third full-length LP, the internationally-acclaimed gem Song of the Pearl. The album eclipsed expectations and transcended genre with its grand and melodious songs driven by surging rhythms, otherworldly twin-guitar explorations, and band founder David Heumann's compelling and emotive vocals. It is from this record that they draw the bulk of their selections tonight, as well as unique re-tellings of choice earlier material.

Having been invited to play a series of East Coast shows with Band of Horses, the members of Arbouretum have had their sights set on the Carnegie performance in particular as an opportunity to bring out a different aspect of their musical expression and songcraft, augmenting their core membership of Corey Allender, Daniel Franz, David Heumann, and Stephen Strohmeier with special appearances by some of the Mid-Atlantic region's finest. Guest vocalist Meg Baird, pedal steel ace Dave Hadley, and erstwhile full-time Arbourist Walker Teret lend their singular talents to the proceedings for this uncommon event, helping to start the evening with music that radiates as well as resonates. Tonight's a jewel indeed.

Arbouretum radio appearance

2009-05-20T11:14:00.004-04:00

Steve and I did a thing for WYPR's "the signal"(88.1 in Baltimore) yesterday, to be aired Friday the 29th. It was easy-going and laid back, didn't feel as if I "ended up alone with a microphone", or anything to that effect. It consisted of some interview segments and a bit of acoustic guitar playing. When it airs, it will also be archived on the web, at which point I will post it.

Imminent Trajectories

2009-05-14T00:33:00.004-04:00

I thought it would be a good idea to let people know about things we have planned for the warm season that's approaching. We're entering into a relatively busy period now, with these near-future doings that loom precipitously before us. The events that are to come have motivated us to put a lot of time into our playing and arrangements as of late...something that will be reflected in our live sets for sure.

A general overview-

A May 22nd show at the Webster Hall Studio in NYC
-playing with D.Charles Speer and TK Webb&The Visions.
I hear this space is nice, and we're looking forward to the bill as a whole.

A June 4th show at Baltimore's Creative Alliance (Patterson Theater).

It'll be an acoustic set, with guest appearances by Meg Baird (vocals), Dave Hadley (pedal steel), and Walker Teret (various instruments). The Violet Hour opens.

I think this one will be especially cool. In some ways it will be a warm-up for the set we are to play at Carnegie Hall a week afterward, but there are some aspects that will be even cooler because we'll be able to stretch it out a bit more and really explore the concept of doing such a format.
Plus any time spent listening to the Violet Hour is time well spent, in our opinion.

June 11 through June 18- several East Coast dates opening for the Band of Horses, with a little break in the middle. Details here.
Really looking forward to these. It'll be nice to play some big rooms to a bunch of people, and particularly to their audience. I think there's really something to this Band of Horses/Arbouretum thing. Sure, the kinds of songs that each band writes are fairly different than one another and so are the two bands' approaches to arrangements, but there's a lot of common ground too- both bands have some really tuneful songs that get rocked out live, and both bands put a lot of stock in guitar interplay. I saw them this past New Year's, actually, where I met them for the first time, and they put on a great live show- One gets the sense that these guys really believe. We're extremely grateful that they invited us for this upcoming run and are looking at it as an opportunity to strengthen what we do and play some really well-thought out, well-executed sets.

Then there's a show in Wilmington, NC on our way back from the last show with B.O.H. on June 19th.
I need to get the name and address of the venue so I can post it...but it should be really fun- they want us to play a really long time (by our standards, at least), and this, I think, will help us get some ideas together for some of the longer sets typically expected of bands headlining European shows.

which brings me now to...

European and UK Shows, July 10th-ish through July 31.

Details of these are being posted on our myspace page as we get confirmations. They include 4 festivals and a bunch of club dates. Some of these festival gigs are looking awesome, especially the UK's Supersonic Festival (we get to play the same day as Pontiak!), and I also have a good feeling about the club dates. Seems our record is doing pretty well in the UK and parts of Europe, so I'm anticipating seeing more people at the shows than we did last time we did a full tour over there, that being the fall of '07.

More updates soon- will try to update this thing more frequently.

Arbouretum Image from a fan of ours who does graphic design work

2009-05-14T00:24:00.006-04:00

Mark Kunac from Australia randomly/not so randomly sent us this image via the blog. I like it- it really seems to capture a certain aspect of our recent stuff, as well as referencing some of my recent photos.

Click on it to embiggen- it's worth it.

DH solo set- Saturday, May 2

2009-04-30T13:01:00.001-04:00

Another Live Clip- Down by the Fall Line

2009-04-24T12:09:00.002-04:00

Recorded by Tim Kearly!

False Spring live in Tampa

2009-04-21T23:24:00.006-04:00

Recorded by Jeremy King. Thanks man!

some random florida pictures

2009-04-14T00:22:00.008-04:00

Most of these are from Fort Desoto and Shell Island.

The road to Tallahassee

2009-04-13T23:04:00.005-04:00

We have a night off and are in a Tallahassee hotel. On the way here, we drove on smaller roads from Orlando, where last night's show was. The plan was at first to get a room on the way to Tallahassee in a small town that would be within 20 miles or so to a beach we could go to tomorrow. Looking at an atlas, the town of Perry looked like a good candidate. It turned out not to be when we drove through it. No hotel options that we could see, and no food that looked like we wanted to be eating it. We kept moving toward Tallahassee.
On our way, a tremendous thunderstorm hit, the likes of which none of us had experienced in quite some time. A storm of storms that lit up the trees and created patterns on the windshield that looked like flecks in galvanized steel and were continually erased by the wiper blades and created anew twice every second. We pulled off into gas station in a riverside town amidst the torrents and talked to the blond girl behind the counter who smiled when she spoke. She said she'd be walking a mile to her house in a wetsuit when she got off at 6 in the morning. Said that where she lived was waist-deep in flood and that she'd be wading home. We got back in the van and drove another hour into town.

Southeast tour starts today

2009-04-07T01:32:00.003-04:00

Here are the shows:

Tues April 7

Square One
Greensboro NC
Free Show

Wed April 8

Tasty World
Athens GA
$6

Thurs April 9

Cafe Eleven
St Augustine FL
$8

Friday April 10
New World
Tampa (ybor city) FL
$8

Sunday April 12
Will's Pub
Orlando FL

Tuesday April 14

The Engine Room
Tallahasse FL
$8

Wed April 15

Tin Roof
Charleston SC

Friday April 16

The Emerald Lounge
Asheville NC
$8

Friday April 17

JJ's Bohemia
Chattanooga TN

Saturday April 18

Milestone
Charlotte NC
$8

Sunday April 19

Wilmington NC
Soapbox Laundro Lounge

Looking forward to seeing everyone at these!

We'll be tending to avoid hotels, so if you have room for four please don't be shy. We make fun houseguests.

Zodiac Show on Archive

2009-03-30T13:44:00.001-04:00

It's up, thanks to Jeff Mewborn who recorded and posted it. To listen or download, go here.

An open invitation to tapers everywhere

2009-03-28T17:02:00.002-04:00

So we'll be doing a fair amount of touring in the spring and summer, and I'd just like to take a minute to tell interested parties what our stance on taping is.
In essence, we are into it, as long as it's done with sharing as the goal. We have several shows already posted already on archive.org. All of these have been recorded locally by Baltimore Taper Jeff Mewborn, a huge music fan who has been very generous with his time spent recording not only us, but lots and lots of other bands.
If you are someone who tapes shows and would like to record us, that's great- the more, the merrier...ESPECIALLY if you you don't mind uploading it to archive.org afterward, or just making us a copy so that we can. I will be happy to give you the setlist after the show, and will do my best to update this blog with our setlists as well.
Last night's show at the Zodiac was recorded and will be up on the archive soon, as will the 3/03/09 Talking Head show.
Thanks for everyone who came out last night- it was a lot of fun playing. Although there were sound issues at times that prevented the vocals from being heard in the forefront of the mix, as well as technical issues relating to guitars and pedals, the show had an awesome vibe to it overall...

the set:

Extended Intro Jam
Another Hiding Place
The Rise
False Spring
Down by the Fall Line

5 songs, 40-45 minutes.

Also thanks to everyone who came to the Talking Head last night as well for Rob Girardi's birthday show. I had a great time playing with Television Hill.

Weekend Shows

2009-03-27T17:45:00.003-04:00

I should have perhaps gotten to posting this earlier, as I'm hoping to get a couple more people to the shows tonight by having posted it....but anyway:

Tonight, Friday 3/27

Television Hill plays a secret birthday party at the Talking Head Club(10pm)
lineup is Marc Berrong (drums), David Heumann (guitar, backing voc), Walker Teret (bass and backing voc), and of course Rob Wilson (songs, singing, and guitar)

also with Mopar Mountain Daredevils (9 p)
the Violet Hour (11 ish)
and Vincent Black Shadow (12 ish)

Then, I pack my stuff in the car and head to the Zodiac to play with Arbouretum (12p)
On the bill with us here are Happy Salmon and the Exitstencils. I think it's a donation-encouraged type of situation.

Sunday the 29th-

I'm playing at the Talking head club solo, opening for TK Webb. That one is at 9 or so.

All the above listings are in Baltimore.

Desert Blues

2009-03-22T12:37:00.004-04:00

Highly recommended: go to last.fm and listen to "desert blues radio". It's the perfect accompaniment for doing just about anything. Right here.

Friday night recap

2009-03-22T12:07:00.003-04:00

First off- Richard Buckner is a hell of a guy. I hadn't really been following his music and didn't really know what to expect, but found him to be an extremely competent performer and a person with a very open and generous spirit.

Another observation of mine is that his fans were really accepting of what we did- I think most of them were unfamiliar with us prior to the show, but for the most part I felt like we won them over...hopefully a good deal of the people that came out will come to see us when we play New York again.

And I'd also like to give a shout to Phil the soundman, and also to Ewa, who came out and filmed us. Thanks so much!

SONGS PLAYED:

Tonight's a Jewel (new "saharan" arrangement)
Another Hiding Place
False Spring
Thin Dominion
Underneath the Arches
Down by the Fall Line

Mercury Lounge Friday

2009-03-18T21:46:00.002-04:00

We're playing the Mercury Lounge on E.Houston st in New York with Richard Buckner.
Richard Buckner plays at 11:30, we play at 10:30, Ruby Throat at 9:30, Lia Ices at 8:30.

Interview piece for New York Press

2009-03-13T22:17:00.003-04:00

I rather like this one. Dude really knew what to ask, and he writes well. There was a lot that didn't make it to print, but I think he kept the better material. Read it here.

Video for Down by the Fall Line

2009-03-11T19:34:00.001-04:00

Down by the Fall Line by Arbouretum from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Song of the Pearl Released Today

2009-03-10T14:01:00.005-04:00

In the states, that is- It was released yesterday in the UK and Europe. It's looking to be a really good year for Arbouretum. Tour dates are filling up, the band is playing better than ever, and the record has already received a lot of really positive press, including 4-star reviews in both Mojo and Uncut, 9/10 in Rock Sound and Strangeglue, and 8/10 in Vice. We're really excited about all the shows, and can't wait to hang out with our friends and fans and share our experiences (and of course, music) with them.

Cheers!

Last Week- Philly, Baltimore, Brooklyn

2009-03-09T13:31:00.009-04:00

First off, thanks to everyone who came out to share the music with us for these regional release-oriented shows. All of them were very different from one another, and in my opinion, all quite good.

PHILLY, MARCH 2 AT KUNG FU NECKTIE- We awoke that morning in Baltimore to about six or seven inches of snow. We'd heard weather reports that the winter storm was moving up the east coast toward Philadelphia, and with the heavy snowfall, high winds, and record low temperatures, it seemed that Mother Nature would not be cooperating with us that evening. We needed to make a call about whether or not we would cancel at around noon so that Corey could get someone to cover his shift at the restaurant and Steve would be know if he would be attending the rehearsal for the play he was taking part in in the early evening. Fearing that the elements were working against us, we at that point made the executive decision to cancel.

Then at around 2pm, reports were coming in that the snow had stopped in Philly, and it had already stopped here. Interstate 95 was, at this point, clear and dry. I contacted everyone a second time with this new information, because in my view, there's no point canceling a show if you actually can make it happen. But alas, Corey and Steve had at this juncture re-scheduled themselves, and it seemed re-re-scheduling would be a logistical impossibility. I then decided that I'd go up and play a solo set. I had nothing better to do that night anyway, and figured I could use the opportunity to challenge myself by playing in a different format.

In the end, I was really glad I did. A fair amount of people came to the show, and the music of Meg Baird and James Blackshaw was nothing short of spellbinding. I stayed at Meg's apartment, which featured perhaps the most comfortable pull-out guest futon I'd ever encountered, plus a fascinating and well-written book about the Grateful Dead's gear, which I thumbed through before bedding down for the evening.

songs I played were (in no particular order):

An improv jam thing in G that was based on a loop I made on the spot
Mohammed's Hex and Bounty
Another Hiding Place
Down by the Fall Line
She Moved Through the Fair
Song of the Pearl
Two Soldiers
Pale Rider Blues

BALTIMORE, MARCH 3-

Our hometown release show at the Talking Head Club. Those who came early got to see first Meg, then James, play; and nearly everyone I spoke to were amazed by their sonic finesse, taste, and virtuosity. By the time we took the stage shortly after 11, the audience seemed like it had doubled in size, and in my opinion we played together as well as we had at any time over the past year, despite out not having gotten to rehearse all that much.
The set was:

Flood of Floods
Another Hiding Place
False Spring
Time Doesn't Lie
Mohammed's Hex and Bounty
Ghosts of Here and There
Down by the Fall Line

BROOKLYN, MARCH 6th at UNION POOL-

This show was to be done as a three-piece, as Steve had a bit of a scheduling snafu relating to the play he was in. It was a gorgeous day for a highway drive, with the high temperature around 65 and the sun clear and bright. Dan drove separately, and on the way up, Corey and I blasted about an hour of a particularly awesome Dead bootleg (5-08-77, for you GD nerds out there), followed immediately by Earthless's Live at Roadburn, which is arguably the best live rock album in recent history. The stated goal was to pump ourselves up a bit by listening to particularly inspiring live jams, and it really seemed to work out for us.
We had the rare treat of being joined mid-set by our longtime friend Matt Sweeney, who had learned the songs by having them emailed to him the day before. If there's ever been a guy who can step right in and give 100% with very little or no preparation, it would be Matt. His contributions have enriched countless recordings by people you've heard of, and he's a live jammer without equal or peer. He's the kind of dude who's so completely there, you can lock eyes for a nanosecond and know each other's intentions...a musical martial artist of the highest order, and all-around good guy to boot.

Songs we played were:

Time Doesn't Lie
False Spring
Pale Rider Blues
Infinite Corridors
Another Hiding Place
Down by the Fall Line

After our set, Pissed Jeans took the stage and tore the place apart.

Live photo taken at the Talking Head Club by bmoremusic

Tonight's release show in Baltimore

2009-03-03T16:16:00.003-05:00

For tonight's show at the Talking Head Club (407 e Saratoga)

Doors at 8

Meg Baird at 9

James Blackshaw at 10

Arbouretum at 11

James and Meg were both really amazing in Philly last night. If you want to give your ears an awesome treat, you should get there early enough to see them!

Monday Night in Philly

2009-03-01T11:18:00.002-05:00

the first of our album release shows. we'll be selling the new record and also new t-shirts.

Earthless

2009-03-01T11:09:00.002-05:00

Played last night in Baltimore and were absolutely amazing.

Update- tickets selling really fast

2009-02-27T18:16:00.004-05:00

So a good friend of mine wrote me today and said she got a ticket for our show at Carnegie Hall w Band Of Horses (June 11th) and they didn't seem to have many left. Not sure how tickets for the other shows are doing, but in general it seems like time is of the essence....

Ticketing Info for shows with Band of Horses

2009-02-27T13:48:00.003-05:00

We'd love to get as many Arbouretum fans as we can at these shows! They're all pretty likely to sell out, so it's probably best to buy tickets in advance.

Please click here for Ticket info. Most shows have either just started selling tickets, or are about to.

June shows with Band of Horses

2009-02-24T19:32:00.006-05:00

We're happy to announce the following shows, where we will open for Band of Horses:

6/10 Norva- Norkolk VA
6/11 Carnegie Hall- NY, NY
6/12 Ram's Head Live- Baltimore, MD
6/16 Orange Peel- Asheville, NC
6/17 Neighborhood Theater- Charlotte, NC
6/18 House of Blues- Myrtle Beach, SC

Carnegie Hall is going to be an acoustic show. We're particularly excited about this because it will allow us to experiment with a new format. And it's at Carnegie Hall.

New Moon

2009-02-24T13:10:00.004-05:00

Now everyone go out and make a wish.

Human Bell on the Oscars

2009-02-23T11:28:00.002-05:00

So apparently Human Bell was played on the Oscars last night for like three seconds. Daniel from Arbouretum texted me about it, then just to make sure, I emailed Dave at Thrill Jockey, who wrote back and told me that Jamie from Thrill Jockey had texted him about it. I wasn't watching it myself, but it does sort of make sense, because we had a song used in a documentary short that was played on HBO. So I guess this documentary short was nominated for an Oscar...or some shit to that effect.
Pretty sweet.

Splice Folk Mix

2009-02-18T19:11:00.004-05:00

This just went up. It features that version of "Two Soldiers" I posted the other day, a song by Arbouretum guitarist Steven Strohmeier, Walker & Jay, Phosphorescent, Noble Lake, Wye Oak, and a lot more. It's all old folk tunes and free to download. I haven't heard most of it yet myself, but am eagerly looking forward to it. Check it here.

False Spring

2009-02-18T15:19:00.002-05:00

The first song from our forthcoming release Song of the Pearl has been posted today on Stereogum. You can listen/download here.

Two Soldiers

2009-02-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

RCRDBL just put this track up- it's an old folk song I recorded for a splicetoday.com comp called "two soldiers". Listen and/or download here.

Panoramic Insanity

2009-02-16T22:44:00.000-05:00

This damn near gave me vertigo at first. You will not be disappointed if you click on any of these images, but of course I'm drawing attention to it because he did a panorama of Arbouretum.

Sri Aurobindo

2009-02-16T18:05:00.000-05:00

I just listened to the new self-released cdr by these Baltimore psychedelic freaksters. Holy shit is it good. Even the packaging, which has this hexagonal sleeve over a really cool-looking cdr that doesn't look like a cdr inside a recycled cardboard folding thing upon which things are written in this trippy font that I'd never before seen else we prolly woulda used it on our record, is great. There's no pretense or forced-sounding bullshit here, just a sense of absolute enthusiasm for all that is awesome. You should: a) listen to the first two songs on their myspace(the other ones are rad too, but aren't on the album) b) message them and see if they'll send you one...I'm not sure how much they're selling it for. c) when it arrives, open it immediately, do whatever it takes to get you feeling it, and proceed directly to rocking-out mode.

Southern Skies

2009-02-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

On our shows to and from America's southeast, we will be joined by Love as Laughter.
Details and confirmations will be posted soon, but until then please check out this video directed by Jessica Lauretti, who also directed the video for our song "Mohommed's Hex and Bounty". I love this song, and the video just plain feels good to watch. Youtube doesn't allow embeds for this one, but you can see it here.

Vice Magazine Review

2009-02-12T00:06:00.000-05:00

Vice, a magazine notorious for not only its complete and utter wrongness, but also the extreme (though often amusing) cruelty their writers are capable of dishing out to unfortunate recording artists, has given Song of the Pearl a really good review. Thanks guys!

"Imagine the manic ur-song of fellow Baltimoreans Lungfish welded to the flannel-shirt muscle of Creedence and Crazy Horse played with the fervour of folk rock. This time around, they've unfurrowed their brows a little and turned up the joy. The closing Dylan cover "Tomorrow is a Long Time" sounds as good as anything Richard Thompson recorded in the early 70's. -Tony Molester

she moved through the fair

2009-02-10T11:30:00.000-05:00

Something to listen to- a live version of this quite old song performed by us in the fall of '07 at De Kreun in Kortrijk, Belgium. Thanks to Ayco and Frank for (simultaneously)sending me the files, and to Nathalie Deschacht for hooking me up with their contact info. The band at the time featured Emmett Kelly on guitar, but otherwise was the same lineup as what we have now. I've actually got another version of this song, an acoustic version I did with Walker Teret, that'll come out on a 7" as soon as I can get my shit together and do a photoshoot for the cover. This awesome English dude who runs a small trippy folk label will be doing that one.

You can hear the band's version here.

Also there is a live version of Pale Rider Blues from that show that went up last week on our myspace

early review of "song of the pearl" on uncut.co.uk

2009-02-09T15:46:00.001-05:00

Inneresting how the guy references Bob Mould. I never really heard his post-Husker Du stuff, but maybe that'll be something to check out. He always struck me as this rather "serious songwriter" type, one that someone listens to when they really need some songs that feed the intellect. I could be completely off-base there, but that's at least the impression that I got when I was a kid working at a bland corporate record store and Sugar was in the "featured hit zone", or whatever they were calling it.

Also, I should point out that we won't, in fact, be in London for the show the review references. See the earlier entry "re-adjusting the flow" for reasons why.

art show featuring photo by david heumann

2009-02-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

down by the fall line

2009-02-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

video by Joseph Cashiola to come soon.

readjusting the flow

2009-02-03T00:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks for everyone who came out to and took part in the Aural States Fest the other night. There was a lot of really good music happening, and it was nice to see so many people enjoying it.

So it turns out we won't be going to Europe as soon as we'd hoped. The financial aspects of the trip were looking pretty bleak on our end, so we decided we'd best wait a couple months and hope for more and better offers. I know some people in Europe and the UK have really been looking forward to our coming over there this spring, but it's looking like it'll now be re-scheduled for June.

So seeing as we had this hole in our schedule, we thought it would be a good idea to do a quick trip to Florida and back, in early April. Should be fun, and the band hasn't played there since 2005.
That stuff I wrote in the last post about doing 2 weeks of shows in May in our country's eastern half still stands...right now it's looking like it'll be starting in the Northeast and moving south and west from there.

Also, we've got some new confirmations regionally. On March 2nd, we're playing in Philly at Kung Fu Necktie with James Blackshaw and Meg Baird, the night before our Baltimore show as part of the same bill. That Friday, March 6th we'll be in Brooklyn at Union Pool with Pissed Jeans and Bogan Dust.

These March shows will be the first ones where we'll be selling our new record, Song of the Pearl. The record comes out March 10th, so those at the shows will get a crack at buying it before just about anyone else.

We should have more updates soon, as things are happening quickly in our sphere these days. Keep checking back.

Touring In '09- vague outlines

2009-01-09T08:22:00.000-05:00

For those who may have been wondering when and where Arbouretum will be touring next, here's what we've got so far...

January 30th will see us playing locally at Sonar as the headliner for the Aural States fest.

March 3rd will find us right next door at the Talking Head Club with excellent fingerstyle guitarist James Blackshaw and Espers' Meg Baird.

In March, roughly the 4th-7th, we'll be in the Mid-Atlantic doing some shows. Details to come soon.

Later in March, we'll be heading over to Europe for a tour that will wrap up in mid-April.

In May, we'll be touring for a couple of weeks in those regions east of the mighty Mississippi.
Summer shall find us doing regional shows and perhaps European/UK festivals, and in September we hope to play shows from here to California, then back again.

Booking inquiries may be directed here- For the continental US, angela(at)eclipsebooking.com handles our shows, in Europe, you'd want to get hold of
steven(at)toutpartout.be

May the New Year find you welle.

Interview on Strangeglue

2008-12-08T22:59:00.000-05:00

Here.

Song of the Pearl

2008-11-17T21:39:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-10-24T11:14:00.000-04:00

We play at roughly 10:30.

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

2008-09-22T23:25:00.000-04:00

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

2008-08-28T17:00:00.000-04:00

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