There Is Nothing That The Road Will Not Heal...

My favorite album of 2011 (so far)...

2011-04-22T16:37:00.000-06:00

I just downloaded the new album from Alexa Woodward today, and am already declaring it my favorite release of the year, so far. This is just a gorgeous and moving album from start to finish. Plus, you can pay what you want for it, or download it for free. If you do download it for free, Alexa asks that you please turn ten of your friends onto it as well. Listen here, and then download:

<a href="http://alexawoodward.bandcamp.com/album/its-a-good-life-honey-if-you-dont-grow-weary">It's a Good Life Honey If You Don't Grow Weary by Alexa Woodward</a>

Flashback photos: April 20th, 2007 in Oklahoma City

2011-04-20T14:27:00.000-06:00

In April of 2007 I was on a tour through the south (by southwest), which included shows in IA, MO, AR, TX, OK, and KS. Exactly four years ago today, I was in OKC...

spent the morning driving up from Texas, and I must have been amused by the back of this semi-trailer

Oklahoma State Capitol

The Blue Moon on Paseo closed shortly after I played there, but it was a pretty cool venue on the second floor of this building.

The Paseo, a cool little artsy district in OK City.

shared the show that night with Judson Layne, a really great songwriter from OKC. Check him out at his myspace page.

And yes, it was 4/20, stupid stoner's holiday, then too (obvs.). I remember crashing that night at some house somehow associated with the venue, and trying to sleep while people in the next room giggled and satisfied their munchies. Thanks for the memories, OKC.

Oh yea, and I think there may have been, like, five people in the audience at this show. Still, a fun night.

"1898" - new song

2011-04-13T00:20:00.000-06:00

1898 by John Statz

It was carnival, 1898,
when they blew up the Maine in Havana.
The young across the country, they all called for blood,
but the elders they remembered.

'Cuz they'd fought a Civil War,
they'd seen the bodies piled.
They were in no rush to send young men to die.
But them yellow journalists, they got the nation riled,
and the war drums kept on a-beatin'.

Chorus:
The world it never knew what hit,
the American century begun,
and that short, little war that they had themselves with Spain,
Old Glory never was the same,
oh, after 1898.

Well they raced the Riders down,
was Teddy at the helm,
and they set their sails for Cuba.

Was Dewey in the east,
with his white, shining fleet,
and he took them Philippines in a day.

(Chorus)

Stuff From Other Blogs That Turned Me On (My Ears) - #1

2011-04-11T23:39:00.001-06:00

Latest tracks by mightyoaksmusic

Found this through one of my favorite music blogs (one that has covered me before) - vocal nerd rodeo. The Mighty Oaks are a band based out of Berlin, one of my favorite cities, and one that I hope to get back to real soon. Listen to this song, it had me tapping my toes.

Then from another blog I really enjoy (another one that has given me coverage - favoritism?) - Slowcoustic. He posted this beautiful, beautiful music video, "Wore It Deep" by The Tree Ring, a band out of San Diego. To be honest, I generally don't enjoy the medium that is "music videos" much anymore. It just got old. That being said, this is the most enjoying music video I have seen in a long time. You would do well to watch it, for serious.

Flashback photos: 2 years ago, March 2009 in Amarillo, TX

2011-03-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

ramblings from an airplane

2011-03-03T23:54:00.001-07:00

wrote this last week while preparing to land in Minneapolis in a plane, on my way to Wisconsin...

Out my window. Bright. Almost blinding, the reflection from the snow-covered ground, far far below. How is it that land came to be parceled out in such neat, square-shaped packages? I mean, I know how, really, it just seems odd to have taken so much of the country and divided it up. The natives would have never thought of land so geometrically.

The plane is banking hard left, now. Some 50 miles from Minneapolis, I believe. The pilot announced that we may have to circle above for a bit due to heavy air traffic. I suppose I should be able to see my home state, my final destination (Wisconsin) while circling above the Twin Cities. In a few hours I will touch down in Milwaukee. Not exactly the "pearl of the midwest", but no Toledo, either. Tomorrow: Madison.

Thank 'Em (Unions and Teachers)

2011-02-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

Though I no longer live in the wonderful state of Wisconsin (out in Denver now, if you hadn't heard), my thoughts rest entirely there this week. I am so proud of all of the state employees, teachers, and workers in general who are standing up for their rights and not backing down. This is not a "budget bill", this is an attack on organized labor, on employees. If you have no clue what I am talking about, this New York Times article will fill you in nicely.

Since I can't be in Wisconsin right now taking part, I wanted to do a little something from afar. Wrote this song last night, "Thank 'Em", with the theme of thanking teachers, and thanking unions. It is available at that link for free streaming and download, please feel free to use it however you please.

“It is essential that there should be organization of labor. This is an era of organization. Capital organizes and therefore labor must organize.”
--Theodore Roosevelt

Thank unions,
Thank teachers

Joe works hard from morning to night,
gets home and kisses his beautiful wife.
Watches Fox News, thinks he's got it all figured out,
curses the labor unions, not knowing about...

Thank the unions,
do you like your weekends?
thank the unions,
for minimum wage,
thank organized labor.
Joe don't even know how lucky he is

Joe bitches about his property taxes,
hates the school board and the IRS.
His kids they get a quality, free education,
and the teachers they still get paid shit.

Thank a teacher,
that you can read and write,
thank a teacher,
you can multiply,
thank a teacher,
thank your education,
count your blessings and get organized.

No Memories

2011-02-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

a collaboration with poet Joe Briggs (work in progress, this might see some changes yet)

words by Joe Briggs
music by John Statz

performed on the banjo

No Memories by John Statz

The snowlakes falling slow & bb size,
covering our roof, covering this tomb where I must live
My wife, my love died on the cusp of December,
She's painted in the walls, and makes the floor boards cry.

Need to go outside and feel the snow on my face,
Need to have the wind hit me like a morning alarm,
Want a light to turn on on this empty street,
Want to have...
No memories.
No memories.

Car is low on gas so I take the neighbor kid's bike
Pink with bad brakes, not looking to impress anyone.
Clouds in front of the sun like gauze over a wound.
Turn down main street, where the traffic lights flash and die.

Need to be outside and feel the snow on my face,
Need to have the wind hit me like a morning alarm,
Want a light to turn on on this empty street,
Want to have...
No memories.
No memories.

Staring down the flood

2011-02-14T16:36:00.001-07:00

Budapest, Hungary - Feb. 2009

Staring down the flood...

at first, more like casually glancing at a trickle.
Patience.

New Live Photos - Meadowlark (Denver) - 2/09/11

2011-02-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Photos taken by Ryan Cutler (www.theshowlastnight.com) at a 2/09/11 show at The Meadowlark in Denver.

Like Jack Johnson

2011-02-12T21:24:00.002-07:00

Like Jack Johnson by John Statz

Gonna write a song like Jack Johnson,
sittin' on the beach.
Writing songs to all da college girls,
feeling happy and free...

Well they got this and we got that,
and I don't mean to tit for tat
and Let's sit under the apple tree
and make a pie for you and me
mmmmmm (make apple pancakes)
(maybe its the weekend)

well the sun is out and so are we
and we are fun and happy free
pretend that I am talented
record the same song over again
mmmmmmm

Now this is the chorus, here
we'll make it sound more serious.
When you're gone, girl I miss you
and make sure that you always recycle.
mmmmmmmmm

well Times Like These, and times like those,
dreams be dreams and bubbletoes
gone going give a damn
cookie jar and middle man,
sweeping the floors, open the doors,
turn off your wars, don't go to da stores.
so many things rhyme with simple words,
and when they fail you can always mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Neglect (Instrumental)

2011-02-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Neglect (Instrumental) by John Statz

my friend Mark asked me to come up with some music for a documentary to this idea:

"a seedy part of town down on it's luck---undeveloped low-income housing facing more neglect from city legislation

Tired of Telephones

2011-02-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

Tired of Telephones by John Statz

Wrote most of this song back in mid-January, but I finally settled some of the lyrics and the chorus melody.

Chorus:
We could make this place our own,
and I'm so tired of telephones.
Stay awhile and rest your bones,
this lonely heartsick needs you home.

It's been half a year,
the mercury has dropped.
Winter lasts too long, and I've been,
Waiting for you dear.

I'm a patient man,
but I've filled a page or two,
with thoughts on how impatient I get,
when I think of you... waiting to see you.

(chorus)

I still mark the days,
it helps me pass the time.
Winter's end, it brings good news,
it will be just fine... it will all be fine.

(chorus)

Well we could make this town our home,
and I'm sick of bags and telephones,
stay with me and rest your bones,
and we could make this place our own.

Rust Belt City

2011-02-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

Rust Belt City by John Statz

Heavy smog hung over east,
where three rivers came to meet,
United Steel could not compete.
Now its a sad rust belt city,
Pittsburgh lost to 'cross the sea.

On the banks of Lake Erie,
where the river's flames burned free,
all the people they did flee.
Another sad rust belt city,
Cleveland burned and so did we.

Hark back the glory days,
when steel mills paid a living wage.
But now the nation only sees,
between the sea and shining sea,
a trail of sad rust belt cities.

Down the trail, down the stream,
will our cities still shimmer dreams?
Or will they dry up from underneath?
Like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati,
another sad rust belt city,
another sad rust belt city.

One Night Stand - Rick Franz

2011-02-03T14:04:00.003-07:00

One Night Stand (Rick Franz) by John Statz

Words by Rick Franz

Music by Rick Franz and John Statz

You’re wise to tell this cowboy goodbye
The mountains between make it
hard to be seen, by you… … … …

I wish I had,
the hombre in my hands,
who took you to the cleaners

Made yer heart such a wreck
Im glad I cant find him
cuz Id shake him up hard by the (his) neck … … … … … … …

Guess I’ll be movin on
Out on my own
You sure are lovely
You make me feel home

If timing was better aligned
(well) We mighta had better times
It’s probably, about time a man… ..
Knew the sting of a one night stand.

Ain’t it always a lady who writes the song
The one where the fella,
Ends up all alone, in the end.. … … …

Well I’ll hit the highway
and just ride it my way
And think on you fondly my friend.. … … ..

I hear them sing
Yippy yo yippy yay
Toward the sun, toward the moon
And day after day, of
wrestlin a dollar
from dried out seed.. … ..

Yer the finest thing
Ive ever seen.. ..
I hope that you’re happy
And get all you need.

I’ve heard them sing
Yippy yo yippy yay
Toward the sun I’ll be ridin
And another fine day… … … …

It’s probably, about time a man… ..
Knew the sting of a one night stand.

It’s probably, about time a man… ..
Knew the sting of a one night stand.

Young and In Love

2011-02-01T20:28:00.001-07:00

Young and In Love by John Statz

Chorus:
I remember being so young and in love,
the foolishness of thinking that we were above,
and when it's time came ended, I'd be so broken up
but now it seems so silly, looking back at us.

Young man, I know, that you are freshly out of school,
and you think that you know where this world is headed to.
Draw your line in sand and refuse to step across.
You got all your years ahead, don't waste them on a loss.

(Chorus)

Young man, I'm sorry that she tore your heart in two.
Learn here, a lesson, 'cuz a woman's likely to.
Hold your back up tall and breathe a sigh relief,
'cuz you have more to live for now that you have been released.

(Chorus)

Now you just keep moving, and see what happens next.
You can go to England or maybe south of France.
What I'm trying to say to you is just have a blast.
Don't worry 'bout the women, let them fall into your lap.

(Chorus)

exercise: adjectives and nouns and verbs

2011-01-19T16:07:00.002-07:00

adj. noun

frantic attraction

breathtaking arrangement

fortunate fool

troublesome luck

trashy tourist

noun verb

train tracks whistle

pavilion settled

old gate moans

Ford lurched

clouds painting

I'm so tired of telephones...

2011-01-12T23:41:00.002-07:00

I'm a patient man,

but I've filled a page or two,

with thoughts on how impatient I get,

waiting to see you.

(in the works...)

The Budapest Sessions - EP Available Now, Free!

2011-01-10T13:23:00.002-07:00

The Budapest Sessions will be released on January 10th, 2011 for “pay what you want download” at johnstatz.bandcamp.com.

In the early months of 2009, singer-songwriter John Statz embarked on his first European tour, playing shows in five European cities, including Budapest, Hungary. He was fortunate there to meet Adam Szabo, a local producer (Budabeat Studios), and during the few days in town they recorded some new songs, hoping to use them on a future album release. In November of that year, tracking started back in Wisconsin for Ghost Towns, John’s first full-band album. Though that project was already underway, another recording session was undertaken at Budabeat with Adam, from which two tracks made it on to Ghost Towns: “Julija” and “Night Train to Sarajevo”. After that album’s release, there remained six unreleased tracks from the “Budapest Sessions”, comprised of two new songs, unheard on any other recordings, and four alternate, acoustic versions of released tracks.

Though the recordings are sparse in production, a couple of them feature some local Hungarian musicians on electric guitar and percussion, and even a child’s harmonies on one tune. Budapest is an amazingly resilient and beautiful city, having been utterly destroyed in World War II, yet rebuilt, lovely on the banks of the Danube, and fascinating in its differences to most other places in Europe. Those influences were constantly internalized during the two visits, and projected outwardly during The Budapest Sessions.

Track Listing:

1.Call Me Last (new song) – 2010 session
2.Jackson Hole (Budapest version) – 2009 session
3.Our Love Was Made For Canada (Budapest version) – 2010 session
4.Dear Friend (new song) – 2009 session
5.Disclaimer (Budapest version) – 2009 session
6.Everything To Me (Budapest version) – 2009 session

*cover artwork by Heidi Keyes (www.heidikeyesart.com)

Rome (superrambleshouldhavehadmycoffeethismorning)

2011-01-06T14:03:00.002-07:00

The church bells seem constant, that is one of the first things you notice. This is a very "Catholic" town. Duh. It does not seem constrained by conservative thought, though. Everywhere couples engage in public displays of affection, the faint smell of marijuana on the street is not a rarity (though not a constant as in Amsterdam or San Francisco), and fashion and excess are the rule. When I am there, I simply walk for hours. Walk past the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Coliseum, etc. Sightseeing is always free when all you need to do is walk. I've been there three times, now. The first was a 3-week study abroad trip in college, the other two times were short visits. Still, I walked my ass all over that town, even during the short visits. Walked to pizza, to gelato, to grappa and wine and beer. I walked while holding hands with a date, walked by my lonesome, taking in sights, walked with my family, acting as tour guide. Rome is eternal, Rome is for walking.

mountains

2011-01-05T12:02:00.001-07:00

skiing; sky; bears; John Denver; overlook; dry air

Skiing down a mountain brings you closer to the sky than flying.

The sun must stay longer in the sky before the bears will come out of hibernation.

Bears should have eaten John Denver, he deserved a mountain death.

John Denver's over-the-top songs never fail to come to mind at every mountain overlook.

At the overlook, I paused, and breathed deep the dry air.

cup of coffee

2011-01-05T11:59:00.002-07:00

It has finally cooled down, though at first it was burning my tongue. It tastes rich and strong, as it always does here at the Gypsy Cafe. What a weird mish-mash of cultures this place is. Reggae dub beats are playing from the speakers... a Buddha-like figure is painted on one wall, an Egyptian carpet hangs from another. The old gypsy woman running the place has a thick eastern European accent. I would guess that she is Romanian, or perhaps Hungarian. She does palm readings and tarot card readings in back. I just noticed oriental lamps hanging from the ceiling. This place is crazy. I like it, though I am getting a little sick of the reggae. My coffee is delicious.

Resurrecting This Blog - Writing Style

2011-01-04T23:57:00.003-07:00

This blog is once again open for business. It is on of my 2011 resolutions to become more disciplined at writing (music specifically, but in all facets as well). Yes, some travel stuff will still get posted as it happens, but for now, I'm going to use this to keep myself honest and writing. Mostly, you will get to read my exercises, thoughts, and rambles, rather than complete works.

Enjoy!

my apartment -

hardwood floors, pretty, but I wish my desk chair wouldn't have scuffed and scratched that section. the futon, tiny and uncomfortable (so my brother claims), it was, nonetheless, cheap. on it sit a bunched-up pair of blue jeans that I just removed before bedtime, my cell-phone charger (which my girlfriend annoyingly :) likes to leave plugged in when she is here), some folded-up comfy blankets, and a small pillow. My guitar sits upright in its case, next to the futon. Earlier today, apartment smelled of sour milk after Heidi poured it down the drain, but either my nose has gotten used to it, or the combination of febreze and disinfectant spray which I hit the sink with actually worked. If the heat were on at this moment, I would hear the steam-like chugging from the pipe in the bathroom, which is often as loud as a high-pressure stream of water, even with the door shut. The windows have a small amount of moisture in the corners, which I am sure is from the humidifier (Denver is very dry). I sit cross-legged on my bed (in its cave), back hunched over this notebook. My small, studio apartment.

Dutch "Alt Country Forum" Review - Translated

2010-08-17T20:18:00.003-06:00

Ghost Towns received a nice write-up from Dutch blog AltCountryForum, and you can read the entire piece (if you can read Dutch, that is) right here. If you are like me, and don't know that fine language, you are in luck, because my Belgian friend Shanna translated it for me:

"After a couple of successful solo albums, which were released between 2006 and 2008, with heartbreaking songs in the acoustic modern folk genre, the American singer songwriter John Statz approached a couple of musicians to accompany him on his new album. Inspired by run down, war-damaged cities in the Balkans and dying, disintegrating American cities is “Ghost Towns”, the brand new album of John Statz. It is the result of years of intensive touring through the US, Canada and Europe. The album consists of a collection of beautiful songs, regularly completed with the wonderful harmonic vocals of his supporting band. They also make excellent use of electric en acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass and violin.

Fans of Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Drive-by Truckers will appreciate the strumming roots rock and typical alternative country and folksongs. Beautiful, lingering music which never feels affected. On “Ghost Towns” John combines raw, exciting songs which drown in electric guitars (Best Girl and Ghost Towns), the sparkling west coast sound (Jackson Hole and Come Down), with songs which are only accompanied by acoustic guitar (Julija and Night Train to Sarajevo). “Ghost Towns” is an album which stands out because of the strong songs, musical firework, enjoyable voices and a recognizable sound."

Blogisode: "Ghost Towns" (the song, not the album)

2010-07-23T01:22:00.004-06:00

Asbury Park, NJ. A veritable "ghost town" of its former self.

track name

about
written in the late winter/early spring of 2008, this is the oldest song on the album.

written in the late winter/early spring of 2008, this is the oldest song on the album.
Inspired by touring around the United States and seeing dead and decaying towns, killed off much of the time by moving American jobs overseas, such as some mentioned at the beginning of the song: Clevleand, Janesville (WI), Camden, East St. Louis, etc.
lyrics
Like Cleveland, Janesville, Camden,
or East St. Louis, where they used to make,
the things that we would all use every day.

Now we've shipped it to Korea, China Indonesia,
left like Ghost Towns, of the old west laid to west,
and left decayed.

They say, "lets get with the program,
there's nothing like the globalization"
of our paychecks, bank accounts, and place to stay

Lets give free trade to the masses,
cuz Americans have assets,
like satellite tv's, big cars, iPods, and fancy dress.

Left you drowning in the street,
bills a rope around your neck
and that big ole flatscreen tv,
wont mean a thing to me when you're dead.

We're kept separate by the waters,
cut off from one another, where we used to play,
in fields as kids at night time with the moon.

Now lets get out of the suburbs, these modern sprawling deserts,
and take back all,
the cities, towns and counties we once knew.

Left you drowning in the street,
bills a rope around your neck,
and that big ole flatscreen tv,
wont mean a thing to me when you're dead.
Left you drowning in the street,
well bills a rope around your neck,
and we'll talk about the hard times,
the ones we ain't be leaving yet.

Album Released For Digital Download

2010-07-22T13:12:00.003-06:00

I am pleased to announce that the new album, Ghost Towns, is now available for digital download at johnstatz.bandcamp.com for $10, or $1 per individual track. Along with the download, you will receive all artwork, and can read all of the lyrics and track information at the bandcamp site.

The physical album is currently available at the shows I am playing in Alaska right now, and will be available at the CD Release Show in Madison on August 12th and for order online at that time as well.

Also, I'm giving you two great reasons to keep checking this blog in the coming weeks. First of all, I am currently touring Alaska (in Fairbanks at the moment), and will be posting pictures and commentary as I travel along, as I have for past tours. In addition, I am going to try and post a little bit about every song on the new album, giving you some insight into my inspiration and providing the lyrics.

Thank you for your continued support and interest, these are exciting times!

John

2nd New Song This Week - "To My Dismay"

2010-07-17T23:01:00.004-06:00

Apparently I'm on a roll, two new songs in one week? That is rarity for me.

This is "To My Dismay", which for some reasons seems like a Christmas song to me, but is most certainly a childhood sweetheart song. You know, the kind where the boy annoys the girl because thats how you flirt. Duh.

On my mother's front porch,

In the month of May

You just looked so happy,

To my dismay.

to my dismay.

And the measles came back,

and then they went away,

but you were always laughing,

to my dismay.

Sitting by the ice,

covering the bay,

you would always break it,

to my dismay.

Running through the wheat fields,

to the sounds of trains,

You could always get me,

to my dismay.

New Song - "Sneakers"

2010-07-16T21:45:00.002-06:00

So there will be a couple of big news posts coming up in the next couple of days, as next week I will have copies of the new album, Ghost Towns, in hand, and will fly up to Fairbanks to begin the Alaska tour. But, before that excitement, I wanted to share some lyrics from a new song I wrote the other day while flipping eggs at the diner. I'm calling it "Sneakers" for now, but we'll see, I haven't exactly been on top of the naming game lately. Enjoy!

Well the farm lights off in the distance flicker,

and you're driving home on the 94.

The band on the stereo, begging you to listen,

but your mind is stuck on the night before.

When the summer's half gone and you've beat it to death,

and the days come and go like the feeling in your chest.

Don't you think about what you almost had,

suitcase and telephones ain't bad.

Mmmmmm, and you're up all night.

Mmmmmm.

Mmmmmm, and you're up all night.

Mmmmmm.

You told me you'd be trouble,

you were right, you were right.

and the devil's in the distance,

in the night, in the night. (x2)

And the drive was short,

'cause you weren't really thinking

'bout the road, its straight,

but your brain is a twisting.

And the red lights have all started looking,

like the landing strip if the plane mistook it.

Mmmmmm, and you're up all night.

Mmmmmm.

Mmmmmm, and you're up all night.

Mmmmmm.

You told me you'd be trouble,

you were right, you were right,

and the devil's in the distance,

in the night, in the night...

One Last Single For Free Download

2010-07-05T08:10:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I've put up one more free single for download at my Bandcamp site, an upbeat rootsy number called "Come Down". The album will be available for purchase next week, so this will be the last single released before that time. Enjoy!

John

Help Press the Album... and Get a Free Signed Copy

2010-06-19T15:00:00.005-06:00

I am so very excited when I think about how close the new album, Ghost Towns, is to being released. It is off to mastering this week, yet there is still more to be done. After that it will be printed and pressed, and off to the masses, and you can be a part of it, there is still time!

Recording and releasing an album is an extremely expensive thing for independent artists to do, but we have to to keep the ball rolling and bring new stuff to your ears. I have been working part time cooking breakfast at a diner, substitute teaching, and doing some summer landscaping work to help finance this baby, but I could still use a little help.

Thats why I have included a donation button at the bottom of this post. Anything you can give to help the effort would be beyond appreciated, it would be praised on high. And I'll make it worth your while.

Anyone who donates $12 or more (the cost of the album when it is released and available) will get a free, signed copy mailed to them directly by me personally. I will sign it, seal it up in a nice fluffy mailing envelope, and walk it to the post office, sending all of my love, thanks and gratitude along with it. When you donate, just leave your name and shipping address and I will send your copy as soon as I get them from the press.

Thank you all for your continued support and interest, albums don't get released without you.

Best,

John

2nd Single Released - Free Download

2010-06-16T14:03:00.001-06:00

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that a 2nd single from the upcoming Ghost Towns album, "Disclaimer", is available for free download exclusively at the St. Louis-based music blog 5 Score Pachyderm. Thanks for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy!

John

Planning Alaska

2010-06-15T16:57:00.006-06:00

In a little over a month, I will be headed back to Alaska for a tour and a wedding, with twice the amount of shows that I played last year. I spent my afternoon today sending out posters to the venues, contacting the Alaskan press, and planning my travel arrangements, which, I must say, are pretty crazy. Now if you've followed this blog in the past, you'll know that I have had some pretty crazy travel connections, especially when training and busing it all over Europe, but I think that this trip will take the cake.

For your amusement, my itinerary:

Wed., July 21st -

Drive four hours from Madison, WI to Minneapolis, MN to fly out from there. Why not just fly from Madison, or closer cities such as Milwaukee or Chicago? Well I was using frequent flyer miles, and for some reason it was way cheaper and affordable totally using miles when flying out of Minneapolis.

That day's flight schedule: Minneapolis -> Detroit -> Anchorage -> Fairbanks

Thurs., July 22nd - performing at the College Coffeehouse in Fairbanks

Fri., July 23rd - playing a House Concert in Fairbanks

Sat., July 24th -

catching the 8am train from Fairbanks to Denali Nat'l Park, where I am opening a show that night at the Denali Salmon Bake, an Alaskan institution. Here I am also meeting up with some friends who I will travel back to Anchorage with.

Sun., July 25th - driving down to Eagle River (outside of Anchorage) for a 3pm matinee show at the Alaska Fine Arts Academy, and then down to Girdwood (south of Anchorage) for an evening show at the Silvertip Bar & Grill.

Monday-Wednesday morning - hanging out in and around Anchorage with my friends

Wed., July 28th - flying down to Juneau from Anchorage (Ted Stevens Int'l Airport), meeting my friend Chris for a drink, and then catching a midnight ferry to Haines...

Thurs., July 29th - hopping off the ferry bright and early in Haines, hopefully crashing for a couple of hours, and then performing at the Southeast Alaska State Fair at 2pm. After enjoying the fair for a few hours, I have to hope another high-speed ferry around 7pm to Skagway, where I am performing that night at the Skagway Brewing Co.

*As a sidenote, the State Fair folks said that there might be room on the VIP plane which is flying festival headliners from Juneau to Haines. I am greatly hoping for this option, as it will not mean a sleepless night on the ferry.

Fri., July 30th - getting back on an early morning ferry to Juneau for...

Friday and Saturday - Wedding Festivities!!!

My good friend from high school, Chris, is marrying a lovely gal from Juneau, and I am one of the groomsmen in the wedding. So once I step off the ferry, Friday will be spent doing the rehearsal dinner and such, and then Saturday will be the wedding. I'm really looking forward to what I am positive will be a beautiful wedding and night to remember.

Sun., August 1st - hanging out in Juneau, and then playing that night in town at the Alaskan Hotel, the last show of my Alaskan tour.

Mon., August 2nd - a 6am flight home... Juneau -> Seattle -> Minneapolis, and then a 4 hour drive home.

So lets recap on the modes of transportation on this trip:

Car -> Plane -> Train -> Care -> Plane -> Ferry -> Plane -> Car

Crazy, awesome, fun-ness. I will sleep for a week afterwards, but it will be well worth it.

5 Score Pachyderm - Mixtape

2010-06-01T17:44:00.002-06:00

5 Score Pachyderm, a blog from St. Louis, decided to include my song "Letter From Southeast Asia" on their latest mixtape, along with the Bowerbirds, Damien Jurado, Dear Vincent, and more, check it out for some neat free downloads!

http://www.5scorepachyderm.com/?p=8454

Thanks, 5 Score Pachyderm!

Alaska Tour '10 - Dates Posted

2010-05-13T12:16:00.003-06:00

picture from last year's Alaska Tour, May 2009

Dates have been officially posted to www.johnstatz.com and www.reverbnation.com/johnstatz for the summer Alaska tour, but for your convenience, I'll post them here as well:

July 22nd - College Coffeehouse, Fairbanks, AK @ 8pm ($5)

July 23rd - House Concert, Fairbanks, AK

July 24th - Denali Salmon Bake, Denali Nat'l Park, AK @ 9pm ($5) *opening for The Cooks + Salmon Bake's 26th Anniversary Party*

July 25th - Alaska Fine Arts Academy, Eagle River, AK @ 3pm ($10)

July 29th - Southeast Alaska State Fair, Haines, AK @ TBA

August 1st - Alaskan Hotel & Bar, Juneau, AK @ 9pm

In between those tour dates, I'll be vising my good buddy Matthew in Anchorage and standing up in a wedding in Juneau for an old friend. This tour will involve some crazy combinations of transportation, including planes, cars, and even a ferry or two. Can't wait!

Topical: Staircases

2010-05-07T10:25:00.003-06:00

Today's topical picture post might seem boring at first: staircases.

Lets bust that myth right away...

This picture is from Prague, and obviously depicts a crazy-ass snowboarder trying to kill himself. There wasn't even any snow, either (aside from a small pile at the bottom). Crazy and cool.

Now that that is out of the way, lets move on to some more graceful staircases...

Graceful? I guess not so much, but this winding set of stairs takes you inside the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City, leading to breathtaking 360 degree views at the top of Rome. It gets pretty narrow towards the summit, and you have to duck a lot.

If you guessed that these regal stairs could only belong in a government building, you guessed correctly. But which government? Why these belong to the Swedish Embassy building in Prague, my favorite spot to couchsurf!

These steps led to my hostel in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina when I visited last year. Some girls that were also staying decided to set up a cool picture by dropping these streamers down the stairwell. I decided to mooch and take my own picture.

Taken during my first tour ever, and my first time in Philadelphia to boot back in 2006, this is a staircase within Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed back in 1776. I toured the building a year later with my dad, and they did not take us upstairs that time. A pity, this is one classy staircase.

Single From the New Album Available - Download for FREE!

2010-05-05T16:41:00.004-06:00

I am pleased to announce the release of "Everything To Me", the first single from the upcoming album, Ghost Towns.

Visit johnstatz.bandcamp.com/ to download your copy. Pay whatever you want, or nothing at all if you want.

All tracking has been completed on the album, and we are no in the final mixing stage. Officially, Ghost Towns will be released on August 12th, 2010, but unofficially, copies will be available at shows well before that.

I hope you enjoy "Everything To Me", a free preview from the new album!

Credits:

Tracking/Mixing Engineer: Jeremiah Nelson

written by John Statz

Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Banjo: John Statz
Vocals: Whitney Mann
Electric Guitar: Jeremiah Nelson
Electric Guitar: Ben Johnson
Upright Bass: Matt Donoghue
Drums: Adam Cargin

More news soon,

John

Food Pictures - I'm Hungry.

2010-04-26T16:14:00.006-06:00

So its time to tweak the format of this blog a little bit. It has been, for the most part, a travel blog, dedicated to pictures from the road while I've been touring the United States and Europe. It will stay that way when I'm on tour, but I have had a hard time focusing it on anything in between tours, and generally the blog just sits unused between trips. I have, however, really enjoyed posting small groups of photos with descriptions during my travels, so I was thinking of keeping that format going and just changing the topic. Rather than, "this is where I've been traveling and here are pictures of it", I would like to pick random topics and display various pictures that conform. Perhaps this presentation will lively this blog up a bit, and at the least, hold my own attention between tours. I will try to keep up some photo-less posts as well when I feel inspired to actually write about something.

I decided on the topic for the first new post while hungry, so naturally it produced itself:

FOOD

While on tour last August with fellow songwriter Jeremiah Nelson, we stopped into a little town outside of Portland, Maine for some fresher than fresh lobster. The town was called South Freeport, and the restaurant was the Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company. Situated right on the docks, lobster trappers (is that what you would call them?) bring the crustaceans right off their boats and up to the restaurant, and all for a reasonable price. The lobsters also came with some steamers (clams) and a cob of corn. You really can't beat that.

In October of 2008 I played my first show in Pittsburgh, PA, at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, which specializes in Polish food. Three months later I would be departing on my first trip to eastern Europe, starting in Poland, so this was a nice introduction to the food. On the plate you can see some potato pancakes, pierogies, kielbasa sausage, and some buttered noodles. Polish food is dee-lish, and I discovered after actually eating it in Poland that the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern (which also calls itself "Pittsburgh's #1 Polish Party House") was pretty darn accurate.

While walking down Petrin Hill in Prague, I treated myself to a lunch at a fancy restaurant partway down, Nebozizek, which wasn't really that expensive due to the dollar's strength i the Czech Republic. This meal features rabbit wrapped in bacon, alongside some gnocci and cherry tomatoes. Anything wrapped in bacon is bound to be pretty damned good, but I have to say that rabbit might take the cake as the best "bacon-stuffing". Amazing.

The empty beverage container with the dirty-looking word is "Cockta", Slovenia's communist answer to Coca-Cola. When Slovenia was a part of former Yugoslavia, the government did not import western products such as Coca-Cola, so this was their own version of the drink. I have to say that its not really a good substitute, as it doesn't taste much like Coke or Pepsi, it has a weird lemony flavor, but its pretty good when you think of it on its own and don't compare it. If you find yourself in Slovenia, have yourself a Cockta! (Pronounced "Coke-Ta")

Oh yea, and those tomatoes at the top? I took that picture in my very own garden, back in the summer of 2007. I decided to start the food post off with it, as I am starting a garden again this summer for the first time in a few years. My roommate and I are already harvesting kale and onion tops from it, yum!

Anyways, hope this new format keeps me on track a bit better, more photos and commentary soon!

Paris: Fin

2010-04-13T14:39:00.003-06:00

Final pictures from Paris...

The Louvre. I did not go inside, as I basically only had one day to explore Paris. I just walked all over and tried to see as much as I possibly could.

Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower... yea, the thing that got destroyed in G.I. Joe

Me up on the tower. We weren't allowed to walk all the way up that day, but this is mid-way.

This concludes all of my European travel photos. And now, for something completely different...

Paris: Deux

2010-04-06T12:56:00.003-06:00

More from Paris...

The Montmartre at night.

The infamous Moulin Rouge, pretty gawdy.

Paris's Pantheon.

Notre Dame

Centre Pompidou, I believe?

Yet more pics on the way...

Last Two Days In Europe: Paris

2010-03-24T10:54:00.004-06:00

The last show had been played, and the trip finally had to come to an end. I had two last days to spend in Europe and go out with a bang, and so I left Bordeaux for Paris. I had never been to Paris before, and had truthfully sort of avoided it on previous trips to Europe. It always seemed over-hyped and not as interesting as destinations further east. I was about to realize how wrong I was. Paris really is amazing, and I hope I can go back again soon for longer than two nights.

What should have been a 3-hour train ride from Bordeaux to Paris turned into a 5-hour train ride due to weird weather conditions. A cold fog had blown in overnight and turned everything to ice, including the powerlines above the tracks that the trains run on. It was frustrating, as I was supposed to meet my friend Jess from Kansas City to do some sightseeing.

While the train stop did provide an interesting opportunity to walk along the tracks and take some photos, it was unfortunate that by the time I got to Paris, Jess only had time to help me find my hostel and then had to catch her train out of town. Kind of unbelievable that the French just didn't know how to deal with this sort of weather.

On the way to the hostel, we stumbled into this "marching band", waving Haitian flags and generally making lots of noise to support the country, which had at this point been struck very recently by the earthquake.

My first bit of sightseeing that evening after checking into the hostel, which was located in the Montmartre part of town, was to hike up the hill and see the Sacre-Coeur. What a beautiful cathedral, with an amazing view of Paris at dusk. It was at the Sacre-Coeur while looking over the glimmering city that I finally appreciated Paris, and realized how wrong I had been to avoid it for so long.

Sacre-Coeur from the front.

More pictures to come from Paris, I couldn't possibly cover it with just one post!

Bordeaux, France

2010-03-18T15:34:00.004-06:00

Leaving Belgium, I entered my last country of the trip: France. I only had one show left to play, in Bordeaux, though I spent my last couple of days relaxing in Paris before flying home. I made the trip to Bordeaux because a good friend of mine from Madison had moved there to teach English, and offered to host a house concert at her place. Bordeaux is in southern France, very close to the Atlantic coast, and is famous for wine. Below are some pictures I took while Caitlin showed me around town, as well as a couple I stole from her of the house concert.

Lovely Bordeaux by the river, and it was the nicest day of my trip yet.

A neat wooden bridge over the road.

This space is apparently usually a reflecting pool, filled with water, but being winter and all, it was empty.

House concert.

My hosts for the evening, Caitlin (middle) and Sai (right). On the left is a random drunk Frenchman giving a rock symbol.

The last show of the European Tour was really fun, and a fitting end to a very successful tour. I love playing shows in Europe, and plan to do this once a year as long as I can. I still have one or two more posts to make covering my last two vacation days in Paris before flying home, but this does it for the tour. Here's to EuroTour 2011!

Ghent, Belgium

2010-03-09T15:12:00.004-07:00

I left Antwerp by train, bound for Ghent, my other gig in Belgium. I was couchsurfing that night with Viviane, a wonderful lady who also helped me set up the show that evening at a local bar. After picking me up at the train station, she took me downtown to show me around a little bit.

More of the narrow, old homes of the type seen earlier in Antwerp and Amsterdam. All of these buildings date back to the 1600's.

Old buildings line one of Ghent's many canals, making this town very charming.

The tiniest, narrowest building I have ever seen.

Viviane told me that Ghent is known as the City of Towers, or something like that, anyways. Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

The show itself was really fun, and there was a really great showing from the local couchsurfing community. I can't thank Viviane enough for her hospitality, and for arranging a place for me to perform. Thanks also to everyone that came out to see me in Belgium, I hope to be back very soon!

Time To Finish Up These Europe Posts: Antwerp

2010-02-25T16:54:00.003-07:00

Sorry, folks, I've been terrible about finishing up the Europe blog posts. I've been home for nearly a month now, and need to post pictures and commentary from Belgium and France. I guess reality hits when you get home from such an amazing trip and there is a gigantic pile of catch-up work waiting for you, and suddenly a blog doesn't seem so important. Now that I'm feeling a bit more caught up, I'd like to finish the Euro-tour off, starting with Antwerp...

After my two day "vacation" in Amsterdam, I caught a train into Belgium, as I was playing the next two nights in that lovely country. First off was Antwerp, the former diamond capital of the world, where I was playing a house concert series called "What's Cooking In Jeruzalem?", which usually takes place in Ghent. The hosts were nice enough to move some things around for me and it was an extremely well-run and attended concert. A wonderful listening crowd and one of my favorite gigs on the tour.

The next morning my new Belgian friends Attila and Ruben showed me around the city before it was time to move on. Here are some of the pictures from that excursion...

Antwerp's train station, probably the most interesting and beautiful station I have been in anywhere in Europe.

A champagne bar in a shopping center in downtown Antwerp. Notice: its shaped like a champagne glass.

A giant hand. More specifically, a giant's hand. More specifically, the giant was Antigone, and he was the scourge of Antwerp until someone cut off his hand.

A downtown cathedral and town square.

Really dig these old row houses that you see in Belgium. Most seem to be from the 17th century, and I saw many more in Ghent. Coming soon...

Tour Break in Amsterdam

2010-02-01T10:34:00.002-07:00

After my last gigs in Germany (Hamburg), I had a two-night break before the next gigs in Belgium. One major city was perfectly situated for a couple nights off, between Hamburg and Antwerp: Amsterdam.

I stayed at a hostel in Amsterdam, my first one in many weeks, and it was located in the Red Light District, with coffeeshops, headshops, and prostitutes galore. Its actually not that seedy of a Red Light District, though, except for the streets where prostitutes actually sit in windows and make faces at you, that was pretty damn seedy.

A monument to remember the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War II.

One of Amsterdam's many canals, with a tour boat zipping along. Some call Amsterdam the "Venice of the North". I call it not nearly as warm, but at least not sinking.

Some cheap rental homes on the canal.

I really enjoyed the charming, seemingly slapped together homes that line the canals.

Hamburg

2010-01-28T05:04:00.003-07:00

After Berlin I took a bus to Hamburg, where I once again had two shows in two nights.

The first night was a show in a trailer turned music venue, the Mobile Blues Club. Located in an alternative part of Hamburg, this was a super unique venue. Unfortunately, it was the one sleeper show I've had so far on this tour, probably due to it being Sunday night and freezing cold. My only audience was the bartender and her friend, but it was fine, because the three of us sat around the stove to keep warm and chatted in between songs. I can't complain about only having one sleeper show so far on this tour, and at least I had good company!

Hamburg's city hall. Impressive, no?

The ruins of a church that was destroyed in World War II. It has been left this way as a monument against war. Its amazing how much of this you see in Germany.

Apartment buildings on Hamburg's canals. Hamburg is a port city in the north of Germany, located on a river very near to the Baltic Sea, so there is lots of water everywhere.

This is an entirely new part of the city that Hamburg is in the process of building. A futuristic business center and downtown, within twenty years this should be an ultra-hip commercial area rivaling just about anywhere else in Europe.

The Berlin House Concert

2010-01-28T04:46:00.004-07:00

I am very fortunate and honored to have the privilege of playing house concerts in people's private residences. The idea of a house concert is that a host will have a living room space or somewhere that would suit an acoustic concert, and then invite friends. Most of the house concerts I do are set up through couchsurfing, and so they become also couchsurfing meetings for the local hosts and traveling surfers to attend. I already had played a wonderful concert in Prague at my friend Rolf's place, and this one in Berlin was the second of the tour. I still have two more to do, one tonight in Antwerp, Belgium, and in two nights in Bordeaux, France.

While I was honored to have such a great audience for my concert, the best part of the evening, for me, was meeting all of the locals and travelers from so many different countries. Enjoy the pictures from the after party...

We decided to have an international guitar exchange, and so everyone who could play anything at all was required to show everyone else something from their country. This crazy Ukrainian guy sang some rowdy Russian songs. Other nationalities I can remember sitting around this circle: Indonesian, Bulgarian, South African, and of course, German.

Hearing some German children's songs!

Sophie packing some strawberry flavored tobacco into the hookah, while Alice watches in amazement.

At the end of the night, and Fachreddin is ready to pass out.

Thanks, Berlin!

Sightseeing in Berlin

2010-01-28T04:29:00.002-07:00

One of the new cities for me that I was looking the most forward to on this trip was Berlin. I had two nights in the city, playing one show each night, and also was able to do some sightseeing with my couchsurfing hosts, Alice, Sophie, and Fachreddin. The pictures from those city excursions are below.

As far as the shows go, both were amazing, and I was astounded with the Berlin audiences. The first night I played at a place called Cafe Hilde. For some reason, I had a really bad feeling about the gig beforehand, really felt it was going to be a bust. The place ended up being packed with people who listened intently for the entire two sets. And during set break and after the show, everyone I talked to said that they came out specifically because they had seen my name in the local music rag and took the time to listen to the music online beforehand. It is a seriously amazing feeling to be in a gigantic city in a country you've never played in before, and have that sort of crowd, I felt very fortunate. The next night was also an amazing gig and audience, and the venue was my couchsurfing hosts' flat. More on that in my next post, for now enjoy Berlin...

Potsdamer Platz. Before World War II this was Berlin's vibrant downtown, and became a no man's land afterwards as the Berlin Wall ran through the middle of it during the Cold War. Since the fall of the wall, it has been transformed into an uber modern business and entertainment area. This is the "ceiling" on the outdoors Potsdamer Platz, it kind of feels like you are in the middle of the Death Star or something.

The Brandenburg Gate. The only one of Belin's old city gates still standing. Napolean carried the equestrian statue on the top back to France with him, but it was later returned to Berlin.

The Reichstag, Germany's "capitol". It was nearly burned to the ground in 1933, and this fire helped Hitler rise to power, as he blamed his political enemies, the communists. Most historians think that Hitler himself ordered the burning. It sat abandoned from the end of World War II until it was resurrected in the last decade or so, and now once again houses Germany's government. It has a very elegant glass dome, but unfortunately I couldn't get a good vantage point to capture the whole building.

What is left of the Berlin Wall has been transformed into an art gallery. Walking along the east side here would have been impossible 25 years ago, as guards and machine guns guarded its entire length.

A check point between east and west.

Unna, Germany

2010-01-25T07:30:00.002-07:00

So I admittedly didn't plan the German part of my tour so well. My excuse is that I took gigs where they fell, which is sometimes the best you can do, but it meant criss-crossing the country in a nonsensical fashion. After leaving the eastern side of the country and Dresden, I had to take 4 different trains to get to the far western edge to play a show in Unna, a town of about 60,000 near the bigger city of Cologne. After Unna, I would have to catch a train back to Berlin on the eastern side again. And, I underestimated how expensive the trains are in Germany, as they are much cheaper in the east and in Italy. So the money got a bit tighter, but luckily I was making enough at every show to cover the next days' train ticket. Anyways, though Unna is a much prettier town than Chemnitz, it is also not a touristy area, so here are just a few pictures I took of the quaint town, which does not seem as big as it really is.

A church tower that greets you at the train station.

Entering the pedestrian central area of Unna, full of stores (mostly chains, many that we have in the U.S.A.) and restaurants (not chains).

Lively shopping area at dusk.

The central town square, it looks very new, but distinctly German.

My show was at the Spatz Und Wal, which means "Sparrow and Whale". It was another well-attended concert with yet another great listening crowd. I'm beginning to feel spoiled in Europe...

Dresden

2010-01-25T07:01:00.003-07:00

After the gig in Chemnitz on Tuesday, I had Wednesday night off before crossing the country for a show in Unna on Thursday. I decided to spend it in Dresden, which is only an hour by train from Chemnitz, and is the capital of the region of Saxony. I set up a last minute couchsurf with the help of my friend Rolf (Prague), and had a lovely evening. My host Maria invited some other cs'ers from Dresden over for Poker, and I even taught some of them how to play Euchre. It turned into a bit of an impromptu house concert, as well. After getting the hell out of Chemnitz asap I did a bit of sightseeing around Dresden before meeting up with Maria, and so below are some pictures from that.

Dresden is a beautiful city in the eastern part of Germany, and is still rebuilding and re-inventing itself. Towards the end of World War II it was the target of a massive bombing campaign by the British and American air forces, and the city was pretty much completely destroyed. It remains a very controversial military operation, as 3,900 tons of incendiaries were used on a town that was not a strategic military target, and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 24,000 to 40,000 innocent civilians. Kurt Vonnegut wrote about the firebombing of Dresden in his book, "Slaughterhouse-Five", and the author actually witnessed the attacks first hand as a prisoner-of-war at the time. All of the buildings in the pictures have been rebuilt since that destruction, even if they look old.

The domed building in the background is the Frauenkirche (church), a proud symbol of Dresden's re-building. More on that in a moment.

A piece from the original dome of the Frauenkirche, which has been set in this main town square as a memorial.

Ok, so the Frauenkirche is an important symbol for Dresden, because it was almost completely destroyed in the bombing and was only recently reconstructed. Only one wall remained standing after the bombing, and the ruins of the church sat untouched under communist rule for nearly 50 years, and the ruins became a sort of memorial to the city's destruction. After the fall of the Iron Curtain and the reunification of Germany, the city began to plan to rebuild the church. It was only finished in the last few years, opening in 2005. The few darker blocks you can see are the few usable pieces from the original church.

Intro to Germany: Chemnitz

2010-01-25T06:47:00.003-07:00

I left Prague in the morning by train, and left the familiar eastern European countries and friends I had visited the year before, and headed into Germany. Now when I was younger I visited Germany twice with my family, and I am mostly of German ancestry, but I wasn't going anywhere we'd gone on those trips, and my destinations were based entirely on where I had gigs. This meant that my first destination was far from a tourist haven, and its very name caused most people to laugh when I said thats where I was headed: Chemnitz. Formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt during the Soviet-run East Germany days, the town is known for being a dull, cold, industrial city. I was playing a show at a place called Subway To Peter, which ended up being a very cool bar and a surprisingly awesome crowd for a Tuesday night. I didn't take many pictures, and was pretty much in and out of this town, but here are a few so you get the idea.

The view upon walking outside of the train station.

The band apartment furnished by Subway To Peter. I think its really cool that venues do this in Germany, it seems pretty standard. Unfortunately, I didn't pack a blanket or sleeping bag due to lack of room in my backpack, and they didn't have any there. I slept in my clothes and froze my ass off all night.

A courtyard behind the building with the band apartment.

I did enjoy this attempt to color the city a bit!

Prague

2010-01-25T06:27:00.004-07:00

I left Vienna by bus for Prague, the beautiful capital city of the Czech Republic. Prague would be the last familiar city I would visit on this tour, as I was there last year. Like last time, I couchsurfed with my good friend Rolf, who works and lives in the Swedish Embassy. Also like last year, I once again put on a house concert at his place, and this time the crowd increased from about 20 people to 30. The concert was once again great, and I had a great time meeting a whole new batch of couchsurfing friends! Below are some pictures I took while wandering through Prague. I will say that it is very nice to visit a city for a second time, as you don't feel that need to see everything like you do the first time. It was nice to just walk around with no pressure, and simply enjoy the people and the sights.

Walking down the street that leads from the Embassy down to the city center. There was a good snowfall the night before, and the city was sort of digging itself out.

On the Charles Bridge.

The old town center, always lively, even when cold and snowy.

Looking down at a canal from the Charles Bridge.

My new Prague friend Ronja and I stumbled onto this "Christmas Tree Graveyard", as she named it. It seems like people brought their old trees here and set them upright in the snow. You could still find tinsel on some of them, and Ronja was looking for some candy, to no avail.

Vienna (Wien) - Austria

2010-01-17T06:58:00.002-07:00

After leaving Budapest I took the train to Vienna, Austria, where I couchsurfed with my new friends Jascha and Nora for two nights and played one concert. The concert, at a cool DIY underground venue called Subterrarium, was amazing, and there was a very nice crowd of intent listeners. I felt very fortunate to have such a great audience, since I am a nobody in Austria! Below are some pictures I took while wandering the city in my spare time.

One of the main city center shopping streets, very alive in the early evening.

Up.

Part of the Imperial Palace, lovely at night.

My hosts took me to an art exhibit opening my first night in Vienna, and it turned out that the artist was Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Matt Cipov, who had just flown in to set everything up and be there for the opening. His stuff is really cool, so please check out his website and catch some of his work back in Wisconsin if you get the chance. Really great guy, as well, had a lot of fun talking to him, and I think we were both equally shocked to run into fellow cheeseheads that night.

A park with a giant statue of Maria Theresa, Austria's only Empress.

Serious Budapest

2010-01-17T02:22:00.003-07:00

My host Adam had seen "Avatar" in Hungarian, but wanted to see it again in English, and I had never seen it, so we went to a real Budapest shopping mall and donned our 3D glasses. The movie looked really cool, though I can't say much for the plot or the dialogue. Too bad I couldn't keep the glasses.

My gig in Budapest: at iF Kavezo, played here last time as well. Adam took this shot from a balcony up above.

Adam has a studio built in his basement (Budabeat Studios), and so we did some recording there for an EP that I hope to release sometime this spring. We recorded some brand new songs, including one that I started writing in Slovenia and just finished that very morning before the session, "Julija". Also, a Neil Young cover, "Long May You Run".

Recording vocals and guitar together. You can already check out a demo version of the new song, "Julija" at Adam's website, Budabeat.hu, so take a listen if you wish! The song is about a famous Slovenian muse I learned about last year when I was in Ljubljana, and the name Julija is actually pronounced like "Yoo-Lee-Ya". And the cheesy toy keyboard solos you hear in the song were made by...

...this cheesy toy keyboard! I thought that the sounds were pretty cool. I don't know that we will leave them in the final version, but it was fun for the session, anyways. Let me know what you think!

Back in Budapest

2010-01-15T09:24:00.007-07:00

Some pictures from my sightseeing in Budapest, enjoy!

The great market hall in Pest. Wonderful place to come in the mornings and get some baked goods for breakfast. They also have some really crazy looking meats here, many that I would be very apprehensive about (pigs noses, cow heart, straight-up pork fat, and many other unknown items).

St. Stephen's Cathedral, pretty sure its the biggest church in Budapest, but its not as old as it looks, just over 100 years old. I went inside where they have the shriveled up hand of St. Stephen on display. Its kind of cool, not sure if its really his, but cool to see a gruesome centuries old hand.

The Hungarian Parliament building, enormous and built when Hungary still ruled half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Check out my posting from last year in Budapest back in the archives, I took some cool pictures from across the Danube.

This Hungarian flag with a hole cut out is a symbol for the 1956 revolution against the Soviet Union. The Soviets placed their own communist symbol in the middle of the flag, and later on it became a symbol of the revolution to cut out the symbol in the center. This particular flag is part of a memorial to commemorate the protesters who were killed by Soviet snipers when they amassed in front of Parliament in '56. In that uprising, Hungary won its independence only for a few days, until Soviet tanks came rolling into Budapest and took over once again.

The Chain Bridge, Budapest's first bridge over the Danube. It was destroyed in World War II, and I saw many crazy pictures of the city's destruction in a museum I visited. One haunting picture was of this bridge, collapsed into the Danube, with only the towers standing.

Wow, my blog post today was kind of a downer, huh? Well, I assure you, Budapest is a fun place, and a lively city, and there are more pictures to come!

Tour Opener: Ljubljana, Slovenia

2010-01-12T10:42:00.003-07:00

The family is all back in the U.S. and the tour has begun. Here are some pictures from my first tour stop in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

I arrived at Ljubljana right after/during a major blizzard, so this was the scene outside my hostel. Notice the graffiti filled wall. There is a lot of graffiti all over Ljubljana, and this is one of the things I love most about this city. There isn't so much to see here in the way of history or major landmarks, but the town is very pleasant looking and the graffiti everywhere is awesome.

An abandoned bicycle factory, called Rog, where I played later that night. People actually live here, and they are called squatters because they refuse to leave even though it is illegal for them to be there. They have created a recording studio, music venue, art space, and many living quarters inside this old factory.

Ljubljana's main town square. See what I mean? Very charming!

Town square at night!

This one is daytime. Just kidding.

Vacation's End: Skiing with the Family in Cortina D'Ampezzo

2010-01-09T07:37:00.003-07:00

After the wet and rainy Venice, the family headed north to the Dolomites, an Italian mountain chain that is part of the Alps. Specifically, we spent the last days of the trip skiing (snowboarding for me) in Cortina D'Ampezzo, a 3-hour train ride and 1-hour bus ride north of Venice.

My Mom and Dad with beautiful Dolomite peaks behind them.

My brother as we descended down the slopes through the clouds.

Sunny skiing can be found above the clouds.

Family picture shot! I had a blast traveling with them around Italy. As I type this, they are flying back to the U.S., Cody to Los Angeles and my parents back to Wisconsin. Last night I said my goodbyes at the Venezia Mestre train station and caught a night train to Ljubljana, Slovenia, arriving at around 2 a.m. My first gig of the tour is tonight in Ljubljana, and many more gigs and adventures to follow for the next few weeks as I make my way around Europe. Stay tuned...

Venice Is Sinking... For Rizzle

2010-01-09T06:39:00.007-07:00

On New Year's Day the family and I left Florence to spend the next two nights in Venice. We had caught word that there was some flooding in the city, which left us a little bit worried, until we learned that Venice floods about 100 times a year, which helped... a bit. They call the floods "acqua alta", which means "high water" in Italian. They are caused by a combination of high barometric pressure and strong winds from the south which literally push the ocean up into the city. The Mediterranean has little to no tide, so this doesn't affect it at all, but rising sea levels and the fact that Venice is slowly sinking certainly doesn't help. I have decided that for purposes of posting on Venice this trip, the floods are the story, so that is what I have posted pictures and commentary of. If you want to see some pictures of Venice on a nicer day, check out my post from last April on my last time in Venice.

When we arrived during the night the waters were down, so we were able to walk to our hotel and stay high and dry. In the morning, the alley outside of our hotel was beginning to flood and we were lucky that the hotel supplied us with rain boots. Pictured above are my parents and brother, about to embark on a wet Venetian adventure.

The city of Venice sets up boardwalks on main streets, though boots are still recommended.

Myself standing in a watery St. Mark's Square.

Boardwalks in front of St. Mark's and the Ducal Palace. Yes, I took this picture while standing in the water. I quite liked sloshing around in the encroaching Adriatic.

My brother, Cody, standing at the point of entry for water into St. Mark's Square. Though the water also seeps up through grates in the middle of the city, you can see how high the sea water is here.

New Year's Eve in Florence

2010-01-05T12:01:00.003-07:00

Spent New Year's Eve with the family in Florence (Firenze). During the day we went to see the sights, and at night I partied with my broseephus in chiefus, Cody. We witnessed some drunken Italians, though they don't really party quite as much as we Americans do on New Year's. They do, however, enjoy setting off quarter sticks of dynamite all over the city randomly, so you are constantly hearing loud booms, sometimes right next to you.

A side view of the Duomo, Florence's famous cathedral. Too huge to capture whole in picture, at least from the ground.

Famous bridge over the river Arno, though I forget what it is called, it is filled with shops and a secret passageway along the top.

Heading out on the streets of Florence on New Year's for fun and adventure, making sure to watch out for dynamite.

Fireworks over the Arno at midnight.

On a rainy New Year's Day, my mom shows her appreciation for yet another Catholic church.

Rome Is Too Massive For Just One Post

2009-12-31T10:30:00.001-07:00

The Pantheon. Work began over 2,000 years ago under the reign of Augustus, and it is still in use today. This is the only ancient Roman building that has been in continuous use since its creation. There is also a really neat strip club inside.

Stumbled into this church at night while walking around drinking beer with my brother, Cody. Can't remember the name of it right now, but it was designed by Michaelangelo and looks really awesome at night. Michaelangelo totally rocked Italy.

The Protestant Cemetery, one of my all-time favorite locations in Rome. A serene, calm location amidst a city of chaos. Some famous English poets are buried here: John Keats and Percy Shelley.

A new sight for me, the family took a walk down the Appian Way, ancient Rome's main drag out of town, and found these ruins. Apparently its an old Roman circus, though I could not satisfy my craving for cotton candy anywhere.

The Coliseum. A shitload of people died here. Its still pretty damn cool, though. And apparently they were setting up a stage for the New Year's celebrations.

Grazie, Roma

2009-12-30T13:09:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year's from Florence, Italy! I am traveling with my family in Italy for the holidays before embarking on a tour of much of the rest of Europe.

I studied abroad in Rome when I was in college, and have been trying to get my parents to go ever since. Well, lucky me, they finally decided to go and bring me as a guide. Oh yea, and my semi-cool brother is along too. Just kidding, he's pretty dang sweet. We like to party with crazy Brits/Brazilians/Canadians from our hostel and drink Peroni together, brother bonding time. Anyways, here are some pictures from the Rome:

My Dad, standing in front of some ancient Roman ruins in the center of Rome, with the Vittoriano in the background. The Vittoriano is a giant nationalist monument completed in the 1920's. Most people think its ugly, I think its badass. Screw you, naysayers.

Man, wouldn't you love to ride a tricycle down this shit? Staircase in the Vatican Museum.

The Vatican on a rainy day. It always rains over the Pope's evil empire. Karma.

Piazza Navona, complete with a carnival.

Looking out across Rome at dusk from above the Piazza del Popolo, with a Christmas tree in the foreground. You can see the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica in the background, nothing else is allowed to be built taller in Rome.

Euro Vacay/Tour Starts Tomorrow

2009-12-26T19:22:00.002-07:00

Playing Rolf's house concert last year in Prague

Happy Holidays, everyone! Tomorrow my family (parents and brother) and I will be catching a plane in Chicago bound for Rome, Italy. The four of us are spending a week and a half together in Italy, visiting Rome, Florence, Venice, and Cortina, and then they are flying home and I will begin my tour from there.

After leaving Italy on January 8th I will catch the night train to Ljubljana, Slovenia, where I play my first gig the next night. From there on I will head to Budapest, Hungary to play a show and do a bit of recording with my friend Adam, and on to 5 or 6 more countries after that before flying out of Paris on February 2nd. I will be trying to keep this blog current with pictures from the travels just like last year, so stay tuned! Here are the tourdates I have booked right now, and I might add one or two more at this point.

Jan. 9 - Tovarna Rog, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Jan. 12 - recording in Budapest with Hungarian engineer Adam Szabo
Jan. 13 - iF Kavezo, Budapest, Hungary
Jan. 15 - Subterrarium, Vienna, Austria
Jan. 17 - Rolf's House Concert, Prague, Czech Republic
Jan. 19 - Subway To Peter, Chemnitz, Germany
Jan. 21 - Spatz Und Wal, Unna, Germany
Jan. 22 - Cafe Hilde, Berlin, Germany
Jan. 23 - Alice's House Concert, Berlin, Germany
Jan. 24 - Mobile Blues Club, Hamburg, Germany
Jan. 25 - Pony Bar, Hamburg, Germany
Jan. 28 - Gisele's House Concert, Antwerpen, Belgium
Jan. 29 - Bar Fabiola, Gent, Belgium
Jan. 30 - Caitlin's House Concert, Bordeaux, France

If you are nearby in Europe, please stop by a show! If it is a house concert, send me an email (johnstatz@johnstatz.com) and I can get you more info. Also, please send any friends or family members that are in Europe out to a concert.

On one last, unrelated note, the American music scene lost a great songwriter today, Athens, GA's Vic Chesnutt. R.I.P., Vic, you were a truly original songwriting voice.

Recording Report #2: Drum Tracking

2009-11-29T21:44:00.004-07:00

So last Monday, November 23rd, we hunkered down in an old farmhouse in Dane, Wisconsin to record all of the drums for the upcoming album, the "we" being: Jeremiah Nelson and Andy Hartman (engineers), Adam Cargin (drummer), and myself (devilishly handsome songwriter extraordinaire). Jeremiah, Andy, and myself went out to the farmhouse the night before and set up all of the recording equipment, and then proceeded to have a campfire and drink a few beers.

We started setting up drums at around 10am on Monday, and worked until 8:30pm or so. It was a long, but super productive day of recording, and I'm very happy to report having all of the drum parts for the entire album done. Next up, we'll be doing the rhythm guitar parts, probably at the beginning of next week.

Here are a few pictures of the farmhouse and from the session:

Jeremiah and Andy setting up the night before.

The farmhouse, my dad was born in 1941 and grew up here.

The farm in the morning, shrouded in fog.

Adam setting up his drum kit.

Room mics, set up at different distances from the drums and in different rooms.

Recording Report #1: Demos

2009-11-17T23:40:00.003-07:00

So work on the new JS album has begun. It will be my first album with a full band on it (drums and all), and I am super excited to work on it and release some new songs. I will try throughout the process to keep anyone who bothers reading this blog updated on the progress and perhaps provide some insight into the process.

The addition of drums on this album brings a whole new level of work to the project that I am pretty inexperienced with. First of all, I have never really had to worry too much about the tempo and consistency of timing before, as it never had to fit into the rhythmic framework of percussion. As long as I concentrated on doing my best to keep in time when recording the guitar, we could just add in the vocals, banjo, mandolin, etc. on top. That is how we did it with the last studio album, Our Love Was Made For Canada.

This time around, we have to record everything to a click, meaning that while recording the guitar and vocal parts I am listening to a metronome set to the right tempo in headphones. Last night we went through this process at the apartment, recording demos to a click in my bedroom. The we, being: myself, Jeremiah Nelson (who is engineering the project), and set wizard Adam Cargin (drummer for the Blueheels), who will be playing the drums on the album. Sound engineer Andy Hartman will be joining us next week for drum tracking, and for tracking on the rest of the album as well.

We spent 5 hours or so recording demos for all of the songs with drums (most of them), just the guitar and vocals. You may remember from a previous post that I had mentioned already doing some demos. At the beginning of the month I sat down with Jeremiah and recorded some basic demos, not done to a click, just to get to Adam so he had an idea for what the songs would be like. The demos recorded last night are more utilitarian, so we have something to build on. Next Monday when we track Adam's drums, the demo tracks will be piped through headphones while he lays down his parts. Then, we will simply discard the demo tracks and start adding things on top of the drums. Cool, huh? Can't wait to start drum tracking next week, we're doing it in a 100+ year old farmhouse that my dad grew up in, just north of Madison. Stay tuned, I'll keep ya'll posted on how we progress!

New Song - Lyrics and such...

2009-11-11T15:34:00.002-07:00

So I wrote a new song last week, and wanted to share it with you as best I can over a blog. They lyrics aren't the deepest I've ever written, and I'm a little hesitant about them as they are more risque than those I usually write (and I know my family reads this blog), but I really like the feel. Its a shame I can't transmit that feel over a blog, but you will just have to come out to a show sometime soon and hear it live! It doesn't have a name yet, but for my own purposes and amusement, I am temporarily labeling "The Booty Call Song".

Phone rings, every other week,
You've had a few, and say I'm what you need.
Some day, I swear I'll say no.
But you had me persuaded at hello.

Chorus:

And you take your dress off fast,
and you take your dress off fast,
and I'll always be your last,
Yes, you'll always call me last.

Leave you, when you fall asleep,
And walk home through the empty late night streets.
Leave you, by yourself,
That's the way you like it, just you and no one else.

(chorus)

When you, when you call again,
I'll come over back into your bed.
When you, when you fall asleep,
I'll say goodnight and kiss you on your cheek.

(chorus)

The feel of the song is in 6/8 time, and it switches between the measure being broken up into two groups of 3 beats and three groups of 2 beats. I hope to record the song in Budapest in January, but until then, you can catch it live! Check my website for tourdates.

Work Started on the New Album, Euro Tour Update, and Midwest Shows

2009-11-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

Wanted to keep you updated on a few things:

Recording has finally started for the upcoming, full band album! I recorded most of the acoustic demos for the album last night with my friend and cohort, Jeremiah Nelson. He and Andy Hartman will be engineering the album. We only have one demo left to record, and they are then being passed on to the drummer for the album, with drum tracking happening at the end of this month in Madison. I'm really excited to begin work on this new disc, and hopefully we can have a Spring 2010 release!

Also, I've been continuing work on the Europe Tour this coming January, 2010, and have several gigs booked already. Here are the dates scheduled so far:

9th - Tovarna Rog, Ljubljana, Slovenia
13th - iF Kavezo, Budapest, Hungary
15th - Subterrarium, Vienna, Austria
19th - Subway to Peter, Chemnitz, Germany
21st - Sptaz Und Wal, Unna, Germany
24th - Mobile Blues Club, Hamburg, Germany
25th - Pony bar, Hamburg, Germany

I'm currently getting help from a booking agency in Belgium and working on some gigs there, and hope to add Prague and Paris dates soon as well. I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, Until I leave for Europe, I have lots of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois dates coming up. I'm playing this Thursday at the Brink Lounge in Madison at 9pm, with another prominent Madison date being November 18th at the High Noon Saloon with Cait Shanahan and her band. Two Milwaukee shows this month as well (Nov. 7 and 20), and some Minnesota dates in December with Josh Harty and Blake Thomas: December 10th at the 331 Club in Minneapolis and the 11th at Beaner's in Duluth. Lastly, I am doing a residency at Uncommon Ground in Chicago in December, and will be playing there every Wednesday that month with special guests.

Redwoods Pt. 2

2009-10-26T17:46:00.002-06:00

At the bottom of the valley, we stopped by this stream to eat some trail mix and relax a bit. A while later as we hiked back through this area on our way out of the valley, a herd of elk had just emerged from the woods

Some crazy moss growing on this tree. Crazy.

Driving through a forest of giant trees kind of makes you feel like you were riding on a speeder bike on Endor. Kinda. Sorta.

At the end of the day, we took one last hike down to overlook where this river meets the ocean. Where we camped that night was just on the other side of the river, up on the cliffs above the ocean.

The Pacific Ocean and me.

Redwood National Park

2009-10-26T16:52:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday, my brother and I traveled up to Redwood National Park and the surrounding state parks, just about as far north as you can go in California before you get to Oregon. We camped that night up on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean. It was a free walk-in campsite, which we were especially grateful for as for some reason all California state parks charge an outrageous $35 just to pitch a tent for the night. Below is the first round of pictures from the park(s), and I intend to post more.

Just after entering the national park, we pulled over in the morning fog to walk on the beach a bit. Both of us dared the waves to wash far enough ashore to get us wet. I won, Cody lost. He waited a bit too long when one was coming right at us and got his feet and pant bottoms wet. I ran, and got away.

We drove down into this valley and hiked a few more miles into the bottom of it to walk amongst some of the most ancient and largest trees the park has to offer. Some are as old as 1,500 years! To put that into perspective, the oldest would have been saplings when the Franks and Visigoths were fighting for the control of France after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

You could live in this tree. Something big and mean (like a bear or mountain lion) probably does.

Looking up.

Thats me standing in the middle of the "Tall Trees Grove". Perspective.

The California Coast (Stuck In LAX)

2009-10-26T15:58:00.002-06:00

So today ends my California vacation. I've been out here for the last week or so visiting my brother (who lives in Los Angeles) and taking in the sights of southern and northern Cali. I've had a great time, and am bracing for the cold of Wisconsin that awaits me back home.

Unfortunately, my arrival back in Madison is being delayed until tomorrow morning due to flight complications. I was supposed to fly out of LAX at 2:20 today, connect in Denver, and then arrive back in Madison at 10:30 tonight. When I arrived at the airport I learned that the flight to Denver had been delayed long enough so that I would miss my connecting flight to Madison. The best that United Airlines could do was put me on a red eye flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, which wont leave until 11 tonight, will arrive in Chicago around 5:30 tomorrow morning, and I will then take a flight to Madison, arriving home tomorrow morning around 8:30. While my flight plans do not necessarily make for interesting reading, let me just take this moment to publicly whine. I will be in this airport for the next seven hours, and I've already been here for a couple.

The one good thing about this situation is that it gives me plenty of Internet time to post pictures from the vacation. I had to pay $8 for the Internet at LAX, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let it go to waste. I actually tried to get United to get me a free password for the wireless system here since they inconvenienced me, but no dice. I wish this airport had free wireless like Denver, where you just have to watch a short ad from a sponsor before logging on. I wish I were going through Denver. Ok, enough whining, here are some pictures from the California coast, north of San Francisco.

When we first made it to the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy. 1) after leaving San Francisco early that morning, it was pretty damn foggy. This was a vista point right where we entered the highway, eager to see the coast.

The day soon began to brighten up, and here you can see Cody standing above the mighty Pacific Ocean, just a little further on up the coast.

We stopped for lunch in some little coastal town. The restaurant was up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and they were nice enough to let us take our food down to their garden on trays so that we could dine with a view. Oh, and their clam chowder was pretty spot on as well.

A little further north, just south of Fort Bragg, we stopped at Russian Gulch State Park and went on a hike. This was our first (of many) sighting of the gigantic banana slug. Huge, cool slugs, pretty rad.

Russian Gulch also provided our first encounter with the gigantic Redwood trees. Here is Cody standing next to an old Redwood stump, with a newer tree growing on top of it. I believe the forests here were logged fairly heavily, but we got to see some ancient, humongous trees the next day in Redwood National Park...

San Francisco

2009-10-22T19:49:00.002-06:00

My brother Cody and I left Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon (after watching the Packers beat the pulp out of the Lions) and headed north to San Francisco. The plan was to spend two nights and a day exploring that city before heading further north in California to do some camping and hiking along the coast. We also had a gig at the Bazaar Cafe with my old college friend Branden Kolarik. Below are some pictures from our San Francisco adventures.

Cody at the southern (San Francisco) end of the Golden Gate Bridge, before we walked across it and back. Construction started on the bridge back in 1933 and it was finished in 1937. Imagine how many people the construction employed during the Great Depression? Maybe we should be building more bridges? I'm sure the bay could use another bridge. Lets build a bridge across Lake Mendota back in Madison while we're at it. Bridges for jobs!

Looking back at the bridge from the north end after walking across it. Someone told me that the bridge is three quarters of a mile long, and so walking it both ways is a mile and a half.

The Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco's signature skyscraper. It was built in 1972 and used to be the tallest building west of the Mississippi before one in Los Angeles surpassed it in 1974.

A view of downtown San Fran while walking up to the Coit Tower.

This house is where the Grateful Dead lived in the 60's, on a block or so from the corner of Haight and Ashbury. While the area was a hippy haven slum during that time, it is now a trendy shopping area.

In Santa Monica, in the winter time...

2009-10-19T00:17:00.005-06:00

...the coldest place is on the Promenade. Yes, for those of you that know your bad 90's music, those are lyrics from a Savage Garden song. I had their album when I was in middle school, and couldn't get that awful song out of my head while bumming around Santa Monica with my brother, Cody. Naturally, I had to share the song with him every time he said "Santa Monica." And now I had to share it with you.

Though it is not quite winter time, it was beginning to feel like it back in Wisconsin, getting far too cold far too early. So it was a nice change of pace to arrive into sunny, 80-something Los Angeles in mid-October. My brother picked me up at the airport and we drove straight to Santa Monica to enjoy the seaside weather.

I have it on good authority (Cody) that palm trees are not native, but were brought to California from Hawaii. In exchange, Hawaii got sand for its' beaches from California. Apparently Hawaii does not have naturally sandy beaches, rather rocky, sharp, volcanic ones.

Beach. With a background of smog.

Sunset. Cody. Santa Monica Pier.

Cody's new pad in Van Nuys. It looks nice on the outside, but its kind of a dump. The living room is my favorite part, and Cody says it best, "its meant for nobody to use." His new roommates seriously have it set up with two couches, neither of which have the cushions on them and so are unusable, and there are random arcade games around, as its somebody's hobby to fix them. Weird. Either way, its a place to rest your head.

*Maybe you were confused about this post and didn't even know I was in California or headed that way as I didn't mention it in an earlier post? Just to fill you in, I am spending 9 days or so visiting my brother, who lives in Los Angeles. We are spending a couple days in San Francisco (where I am currently) and playing a gig there, and then heading further north to do some camping, play a gig in Fort Bragg, and then head back down to Los Angeles next weekend for a gig in Hollywood and a visit from our friend Tony, who lives in Vegas. Thats the intinerary, don't stalk us, we are armed with instruments. And in case you didn't realize that I also have a songwriter-inclined brother, check out his rad tunes right here: Cody Statz

Obama wins the Nobel, I win the Fabulous award. Coincidence?

2009-10-10T17:13:00.002-06:00

I have been awarded a very prestigious blogging award by my friend Alex over at You Think its EASY Being This Awesome?, the Simply Fabulous Award. While I at first was humbled, shocked, honored, and thankful, I then realized that I have to follow through on certain responsibilities upon receiving this award. Not cool. So now I may be forced to declare war on Norway, I mean Alex. Anyways, the aforementioned responsibilities include listing my 5 favorite obsessions and passing it along to 5 other bloggers that I enjoy and would like to bestow this honor upon.

John's 5 obsessions:

1. Travel. I have always loved traveling, and was lucky to be raised in a family that traveled a lot when I was a kid. There isn't a better thing to spend on money on, in my humble opinion, than seeing as much of the world as you can. I am extra lucky to have found a way to make money while traveling: tricking unsuspecting locals into listening to mid-western folk music.

2. Alt.-country/southern rock. I am absolutely obsessed with bands like the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, Uncle Tupelo, etc. Something about that roots driven rock'n'roll resonates with my soul and makes me want to drink bourbon and drive fast (not at the same time). I like my rock'n'roll with a side of southern ass-whuppin', and I like my folk and country with some real grit.

3. Snow. Most people hate it, I wait all spring, summer and fall for it. I love snowboarding and cross-country skiing. Bring it.

4. Beer. I love the taste of it. If beer had no alcohol and tasted just as great, I would still drink it. Its too bad all non-alcoholic brands taste like soapy water.

5. Wisconsin. I love traveling, and I love leaving Wisconsin, but I always love coming home. I love mountains and I love oceans, but I love fall Wisconsin colors, corn fields at dusk, northwoods campfires, progressive politics, and the driftless hills of southwestern WI more.

Now to pass the award on to some other unsuspecting victims...

1. Dane101: Madison, Wisconsin's all-covering blog, keeping Madisonians up to date with whats going on locally, from music to food to politics to Adam Schabow posing naked with his new guitar.

2. Pharyngula: My favorite nerdy blog on all things evolution, freethinking, and secular. PZ Meyers rocks, and I met him once on State St.!

3. this is how i will get famous: My old upstairs neigbor, Reem. She is pretty goddamn hilarious. Read her blog. Live better.

4. Steve, Don't Eat It!: Steve eats nasty things for your enjoyment. Its disgusting, awesome, and enlightening. Pretty sure its long defunct, but the old posts are pure magic.

5. So Close and Yet Safari: And I pass the buck back to Alex with her other blog, a wonderful account of her Africa trip that I have pimped on here before. Thanks, Alex!

Sugar Loaf hike - Winona, MN

2009-10-09T11:15:00.003-06:00

I'm currently up in Winona, MN, as I played a gig in town last night at Ed's. I'm playing tonight in LaCrosse, WI, but before heading that way I took a hike up the Sugar Loaf with my buddy Jeff. I took some pictures with my cell phone of the view from the top and of the Sugar Loaf itself.

Looking down the Mississippi River Valley at Winona and beyond.

Winona

Jeff at the base of Sugar Loaf.

The Sugar Loaf. You can climb to the top, but I happened to be wearing dress shoes and Jeff just got done puking up his breakfast, so we passed on that option.

The view down the other side, looking at the beautiful Mississippi bluffs.

The show last night was great, thanks so much to everyone who came out! My buddy Nick Shattuck opened the show and played a great set. We'll both be playing again tonight in LaCrosse.

Cell Phone Pictures - Vol. 1

2009-10-06T23:57:00.006-06:00

My Motorola phone broke last week and wouldn't charge, leaving me in a bit of a predicament. Luckily, it was still under warranty and AT&T mailed me a new one today, same model, but I have to send my old one to them. This meant that I had to get everything off of my old phone that I wanted to save. I don't know about you guys, but I end up taking a lot of pictures with my cell phone that I never do anything with. So, after I used Bluetooth to extract the hundred or so photos on the old phone, I decided I might as well go through them and see if there were any keepers, or at least funny ones to post. Here they are for your amusement.

A kitten in Sarah Donner's bathroom sink in Princeton, NJ.

Justin Jahnke of Flame Shark gives props to his Lil' Buddy before rocking the World's Largest Brat Fest.

It was a cold night at the Jade Monkey Lounge in Madison, and the dare was simple: Ryan had to press his bare cheeks against the frozen entry door. It was definitely hovering around 0 degrees that night, yowza!

We call this here an Icequake. This picture is from Lake Mendota in Madison. Sometimes these are strong enough to actually shake the ground and cause a loud popping sound heard all over the city.

Park City, UT. Best day of snowboarding I ever had. Rolled into town the morning after they got hit with over 30 inches of fresh powder. I was playing that night in town, and my couchsurfing host was an employee at the hill, and was able to hook me up with a half-priced ticket.

I hope you have enjoyed this random installment of pictures found on my old cellphone.

Cheers.

The Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

2009-10-05T23:00:00.003-06:00

So this morning while I was taking a shower an odd question came to me. I found myself thinking about how easily we today communicate all over the world, and wondered when we were first able to communicate continent to continent, specifically across the Atlantic Ocean, without news having to be relayed person to person. In other words, since the telegraph was the first step towards our modern communication era, when was the first Transatlantic telegraph cable laid, and must that not have been a serious undertaking? So after watching the Packers lose against the dreaded Vikings, I came home and decided to do some light research, just enough to quell my curiosity.

As this is not a paper for school, I hope that you will accept Wikipedia as my main source. My apologies, my college history professors would be appalled.

Now if you had to take a guess, what year would you guess the continents of North America and Europe were connected by telegraph? I would've put my guess at around 1900. I was positive that there was connection by World War I at the latest, as the famed Zimmerman Telegram from Germany to Mexico is often cited as a major reason that the U.S. entered that war. So I knew that the cable had been laid before World War I, but had no idea how early before.

The correct year? 1866. Well, that is the year that it was finally achieved for lasting use. Attempts began in 1857 and the first telegraph (a message between Queen Victoria and President James Buchanan) was sent between the continents in 1858, though that wire broke less than a month later. I find it fascinating that at that early of a date, when the world had yet to move past the steam engine, humans were able to lay a cable down the entire width of the Atlantic Ocean, connecting Newfoundland and Ireland. Apparently ships started on either end with their part of the cable, and then met in the middle of the Atlantic, fusing the cable together before letting it drop to the ocean floor. It seems that they had a few mistrials, as the cable broke multiple times. The whole process is described on wikipedia quite well.

The first transatlantic telegraph communication was followed in 1901 by the first transatlantic radio transmission, done by Mr. Guglielmo Marconi. The first transatlantic telephone cable was laid in 1955, the first transatlantic communications satellite was launched in 1962, and the first fiber-optic cable in 1988.

Just take a moment to think about that, as you use the Internet to access websites from Asia, Skype to talk to friends overseas, or switch out SIM cards effortlessly on cell phones while traveling in other countries to maintain contact with friends and family around the world. Communication has come a long way, and we take our connected world for granted. The next time you pick up a phone, think about the first transatlantic cable, laid in the middle of the 19th-century.

Spies, Slacking, and Rec Reading

2009-10-04T14:26:00.005-06:00

My songwriting notebook was stolen from me. Or I just left it somewhere. Maybe. But I'm pretty sure Nashville sent a thief up to Wisconsin to sneak into my apartment and steal it, those were grammy-winning lyrics for sure. Its a serious tragedy, though, as I had about 20 unfinished songs in there, all in various levels of completion. Yea, three fourths of them were probably no good, but apparently they were good enough for the music row spies. Yea, I'm pretty sure thats the guy right there in the picture, he just looks like a slick espionage-r.

I am a total slacker. This blog does not get updated nearly enough.

But here is a blog you should definitely read. Its a travel journal based on adventures in Kenya, written by my new friend Alex. A great example of a well-kept travel blog, something I would definitely like to work towards. Here it is: So Close and Yet Safari

Random Travel Picture - Black Moshannon

2009-09-19T19:53:00.003-06:00

I took this picture in Black Moshannon State Park, near State College, Pennsylvania. The first gig on the first tour I ever did was in State College back in the fall of 2006. The next day as I was headed back to Ohio I stopped at this state park to hike and kill some time. I really like this photo because of the contrast of the dead trees (this was mid-November) with the greenery poking through the dead leaves on the ground. Its a very beautiful park, and if you are in the area some time I highly suggest a stop.

Euro Tour 2010

2009-09-16T12:54:00.003-06:00

So I am currently working on my second European Tour, which I will be embarking on in January of 2010. Just like last time (Jan./Feb. '09), it will be just me, my guitar, and my backpack, riding the rails and buses of Europe. Unlike last time, this will be more business than pleasure, and I will probably spend a shorter amount of time in each city. Cities that I know I will hit for sure are Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Ljubljana, and Parma, all cities that I played the last time through. I also plan to hit Germany this time, as well as hopefully Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, and I already know that I will be starting in Rome, so I will be trying to get a gig there and in other Italian cities along the way.

If you are currently living in any of these parts of Europe, have lived there in the past, or have close friends or family there, I would appeal to you for any help you can give in the way of finding gigs. Booking shows in foreign countries is a daunting task for this folksinger, as language barriers and a lack of experience over there often get in the way. By help, I mean that if you have any information on venues that I should play, please send them my way, and if you have any interest in hosting a house concert in your home let me know. I played a wonderful house concert in Prague last time, and would love to do more. Just send me an email to johnstatz@johnstatz.com and I can give you more information on house concerts.

Also in the works for 2010: A tour to the west/southwest in March, for sure including stops in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and everywhere in between, as well as a tour to Alaska in July.

Now back to work for me!

Visiting Family and the Berkshires

2009-08-31T09:40:00.004-06:00

This is my cousin Alex, he lives in Walpole, NH with his wife and son. Jeremiah and I stopped in to visit him for lunch on our way south to Massachusetts. Here he is pictured in front of his lovely white house.

Alex, his wife Heather, and son Mario, and myself (on the right, of course).

The Dream Away Lodge in Becket, MA. We played there on a Sunday night to a great listening crowd. Its a really cool place, apparently an old speakeasy turned into a lodge and restaurant. Becket is located in the misty Berkshires of western Massachusetts, and is a hidden prize of an establishment out in the woods.

The pond out in front of the Dream Away.

Explaining metaphysics to the audience.

Slacking on Tour Posts

2009-08-21T16:22:00.003-06:00

Alright, wow, I haven't updated this thing since Vermont, and I am now in... Indiana. I suck, sorry about that guys. I forgot the cable that connects my camera to my computer, so I haven't been able to upload any new photos. I thought that I would give you a quick update as to some of the highlights of the tour since Vermont, as we've been a lot of places since.

Highlight Reel:

Becket, MA - The Dreamaway Lodge is a sweet old speakeasy lodge in backwoods Berkshires, great listening crowd, until some kids started banging on drums and tambourines, but still fun. Nice bunkhouse out back, a very relaxing stop on the tour.

Cambridge, MA - turned out to be a competitive open mic at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. Jeremiah won! He is now the King of Boston.

New York, NY - Spent 4 lovely days and nights in the big apple, one night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in New Jersey (NOT ideal), best show was at An Beal Bocht Cafe in the Bronx, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, drank too much whiskey.

Asbury Park, NJ - spent 2 days playing in Bruce Springsteen's hometown, nice boardwalk, tasty clams, spent one night with my friend Sarah Donner and her awesome husband, wonderful hosts! played a gig with Shania Twain's guitarist. camped the second night in the middle of nowhere New Jersey (didn't know such places existed) in the Pine Barrens, simply beautiful.

Wilmington, DE - played at Mojo 13, crazy clown joint, my mom's awesome cousin Jeff drove all the way from North Carolina and picked up his daughter Heather to see the show! amazing! crashed with my awesome songwriter buddy Kyle Swartzwelder, a hit machine.

Pittsburgh, PA - played at "Pittsburgh's No. 1 Polish Party House" and ate pierogies, Bruce "The Man", couchsurfer extraordinaire put us up last minute and was a most gracious host. Jeremiah ran into a guy who's guitar he tried to drunkenly play years ago in Winona.

Thomas, WV - beautiful West Virginia, so nice, so many waterfalls. played to a full room at the Purple Fiddle, amazing listening crowd, easily one of the best shows of the tour. drank some mountain moonshine, yum!

Cleveland, OH - played one of my favorite venues, chatted with one of my favorite venue owners, Martin the Man! Martin's daughter Jenna is a super sweet heart, and decorated our tip jar all swell. drove to Columbus, OH afterwards for some "nightlife"

and now we are in Terre Haute, IN! Only two more shows left and then home! I'll get some pics posted soon after I get home, until then, stay rad bloggo-world,

John

Vermont and the Drive Through New Hampshire

2009-08-11T09:26:00.004-06:00

The White Mountains of New Hampshire as seen from a scenic rest area along the route. Beautiful beautiful scenery.

Driving north on the Interstate in New Hampshire.

We had a show booked at a coffee shop in Montpelier, VT, but found out just a week or so before the tour that they had triple booked and we were canceled. Along came our saviors, couchsurfers Jim and Kim were kind enough to pick up our gig and move it to the River Arts Center in Morrisville, VT. The above picture is the set up in the beautiful, 150+ year old building. Unfortunately, due to the last minute switch of town and venue (and the fact that Jeremiah and I are nobodies in Vermont), absolutely no one showed up.

The night was not lost, though, as Kim made us an amazing Indian dinner, look at that spread! We played our gigs for Jim and Kim while dinner was being made, and had a great evening chatting with them. They put us up in their horse barn that night, and it was the best night of sleep I've had yet on tour.

Maine - Portland and Lobster

2009-08-09T20:59:00.003-06:00

Fairly soon after crossing the border back into the United States. Appalachia!

The South Freeport, ME harbor. Just north of Portland, Jeremiah and I came here to eat the coveted Maine lobster.

Waiting...

Lobster and steamed clams!

So immature, pssch.

We played a gig in Portland, ME that night, thought it wasn't much to speak off other than meeting some cool folks. Crashed that night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Yep.

Quebec City

2009-08-09T19:01:00.003-06:00

The front of this church was all that was left, no idea why. The facade backed right up to a cliff, so we could only surmise that a mudslide or something had washed the back away.

The wall that surrounds Old Quebec City.

Looking down one of the city's many old, narrow streets. This is truly one of the oldest cities in North America.

The Chateau de Frontenac, THE plush hotel of Quebec City. I have been told that it is the most photographed hotel in the world.

Our gig that Thursday night was a headlining spot at a venue during the International Folk Festival. It was truly one of the best gigs Jeremiah and I have ever had the pleasure to play, a fantastic, attentive crowd, and great folks running the show. We played at a venue called Le Studio P, which seemed specially set up for the festival.

Benoit, the head of the festival, was kind enough to let us crash at his place in a centuries' old building in central Quebec City. I awoke early in the morning to one hell of a thunderstorm, a beautiful way to wake up in my humble opinion. After awakening I moved my car to avoid a parking ticket and wandered to a corner epicerie (grocery store) to buy some jus d'orange (orange juice). It is nearly impossible to not feel like you are in Europe in this wonderfully unique town, a welcome capstone to our Canadian experience.

Montreal

2009-08-09T16:25:00.003-06:00

The view of downtown Montreal from atop Mont Royal Park. Lovely city.

Sporting my WNUR shirt and a dumb grin.

Vieux Montreal, the old part of town.

Jeremiah performing at Brutopia, a seriously killer folk venue. Had a great audience throughout, and got to finally try out our few duo songs.

Mont Royal Park

Ottawa

2009-08-09T16:10:00.002-06:00

We take a two-lane highway from Toronto to Ottawa rather than the big "interstate-like" one, and it was a beautiful drive. It felt very much like driving through northern Wisconsin. We pulled over at this rest area next to a lake and I snapped a few photos to show how much it looks like any northwoods lake.

Our gig in Ottawa was pretty good, and pretty uneventful. We played at a Soviet-enthusiast bar owned by a Russian expatriate called the Avant-Garde Bar. It was pretty standard as far as Tuesday nights go, which usually means quiet and laid back. Our couchsurfing host Rene couldn't have been more fun and welcoming, and hung out before, during and after our gig. He has a fine knowledge of Quebec beers!

Parliament! We had to see the "capitol" of Canada before moving on. A truly magnificent building.

THE tour photo. Conquerors of Canada! Evaders of the Border Patrol! Criminals.

Mounty!

Ottawa lies on the banks of the Ottawa River (go figure), which separates Ontario from Quebec. Across the river in Quebec is the city of Gatineau. This is looking upstream at more of Ottawa.

August Tour - Toronto

2009-08-05T07:37:00.002-06:00

We arrived in Toronto with some time to kill, so after checking in with our couch-surfing host Corrina, I went for a walk next to Lake Ontario. This shot is of the emerging Toronto skyline as I got closer to it. We played later at the Gladstone Hotel as featured artists at their open mic.

An evening rowing session on Lake Ontario.

Looking southwest along the lakeshore.

Bam! That CN Tower is big!

Our couch-surfing host, Corrina. She took this shot herself during a drive through downtown Toronto. A fun fun, gracious host, and she had the comfiest of hammocks.

August Tour - Chicago, Michigan, and the Border Crossing

2009-08-05T06:39:00.005-06:00

Our first gig of the tour was in Chicago at Uncommon Ground. Jeremiah is pictured tearing up the guitar and harmonica. Not pictured: the melting faces of the audience.

On our way to Canada we played a stop in Hastings, Michigan. We found this tumble-down shack in a state park just outside of town.

The bridge we went over to get to Canada, and were sent back over...

Here comes the fun part of the story. Our entry, or rather, attempted entry into Canada at Port Huron, MI. See, as a musician, you technically need a work visa to perform in Canada. This costs $150 a person and takes a buttload of paperwork, and you can still be denied a visa if the Canadian government deems you "not big enough." Therefore, Jeremiah and I decided to simply cross the border pretending to be tourists with minimal gear. We thought it would be a breeze. It wasn't.

The lady at the entry gate did not believe our story, which included visiting friends in Toronto and road-tripping through on our way to Maine (which is actually true, just half-true). She sent us over to customs who proceeded to thoroughly search my mini-van. I'm pretty sure they were searching for drugs, which we did not have. What they did find was all of our merchandise and a poster with all of our tour dates listed on it, which we had stupidly left in the van. That paved the way for a visit with immigration, who slapped a sheet of paper in front of us informing us that if we continued to mis-represent we could be fined up to $100,000 and banned from Canada. Needless to say, our story stopped there and we fessed up. We were allowed to withdraw our application to enter Canada, and were sent back across the bridge to the U.S. Ironically, though American border guards are usually thought of as hard-asses, they were far nicer than the Canadians. When we showed them the paper saying we had been denied entry, they inquired, and upon learning it was simply due to trying to play some gigs in Canada, their responses were simple, "wow, thats it? sorry dudes."

Now I don't blame Canadian border guards for doing their job, and I know that we were trying to break the rules. It is a bit ridiculous, however, that two d.i.y musicians attempting to play 5 small shows in Canada should be intimidated and made to feel like criminals. We were not trying to smuggle drugs into the country, only music. We would probably only be making a couple of hundred Canadian dollars, and spend most of it in Canada.

There seems to be something wrong with a policy that does not allow the easy exchange of culture between two neighboring countries that get along so well. I understand that the law is the result of Canadian musicians' unions lobbying due to the American side making it harder on them first. I can totally understand that if Canadians have a hard time playing in the states, which is pretty much a necessity for their careers, they wouldn't want us Americans to be able to easily take their jobs up in Canada. Can't we do something on both sides of the border to make the exchange of musical ideas a bit easier? I am convinced that multi-national corporations get into Canada easier than musicians.

Anyways, keep reading, because there is a silver lining!

After the failure to cross in Port Huron we drove down to Detroit hopping to get some help at the Canadian consulate there and perhaps get in legally this time. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday and the consulate was closed, so we had a night to kill in Detroit before attempting the next day. This also meant that we had to cancel the first gig in Canada, at Mitzi's Sister that night in Toronto.

We got a hotel room so that we could feel like humans again after the day's shitty turn of events. Amazingly, you can get a 3 and a half star hotel room in Detroit for $50. Damn that city is hurting. We were able to drink some beers on the roof of our hotel and soon loosened up.

Our last gig in Canada was to be the International Folk Festival in Quebec City, and that was our most official, coveted date. We enlisted their aid the next morning and they were able to get us the paperwork to file for a work visa. The paperwork was faxed to our hotel, and was entirely in French, so I could only understand a small part of it. We headed down to the Canadian consulate only to find that it was closed due to a Canadian "civic holiday". Application in hand we decided, what the hell, lets give this a shot.

Driving through the tunnel under the river and into Canada I was sure we would be turned away again. I was sure that our passports were blacklisted and we would be swiftly denied entry, once again. As we talked to the initial border guard in the booth, she asked us why we had both been denied the day before, and once again sent us to customs. This is where our fortune changed, the guards at Windsor were much more helpful and friendly.

The customs officer asked to search the vehicle, and Jeremiah immediately showed him the cd's, accounting for all 300 of them and providing information on how much we sell them for. Though they can easily charge a tax on merchandise like that, the customs officer simply said we were fine and waved us on to immigration. I handed our visa application to the lady at the immigration counter, and informed her that it was all in French so I wasn't too sure what it all meant. She said that she could not read French either, and did not even look at it. She inquired briefly about our incident the day before, and then simply stamped our customs sheet and ok'd our entry into Canada. Jeremiah and I were both stunned, as we were sure we would not get in and would have to cancel all of our shows. Luck was with us, and we celebrated heavily as we left Windsor behind us and hit the road to Toronto...

2009-08-03T10:08:00.001-06:00

We made it! Hello Canada

Tour Starts Tomorrow

2009-07-30T11:58:00.002-06:00

Playing one last show in Madison tonight (8pm @ the Brink Lounge) and then I will be off, spending 24 hours a day, every day for 3 and a half weeks with THIS guy, fellow Madison songwriter and best bud Jeremiah Nelson. Stay tuned.

Press Release for the US/Canada Tour

2009-07-27T11:26:00.003-06:00

Here is the press release as it was sent to the media:

John Statz + Jeremiah Nelson Canadian/US Tour Announcement

Wisconsin songwriters John Statz and Jeremiah Nelson will be kicking off their co-billed 3 week Canadian and Eastern US tour this month including a stop at The International Folk Festival in Quebec, as well as Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, NYC and pile of other shows (see schedule at links below). Back in January John hopped the pond to play some shows around eastern Europe and recorded a batch of new tunes in Budapest with local players. The results are stellar new sound... (Hungarian Americana?). He's offering a free download of "Jackson Hole". Jeremiah has been assembling a catalog of new tunes and gigging constantly the last year. He'll be breaking in some of the new material on the road as well as promoting "Take Me Down the Interstate", his 2008 release. Download "Spaceships" free.

links/downloads:

http://myspace.com/johnstatz
http://myspace.com/jeremiahnelsonmusic

"Darndest Things" footage

2009-07-23T11:39:00.005-06:00

I was spending my Saturday night as any professional musician would, playing Risk and watching B-movies with friends, when I received a call from my buddy Nic Thorson inviting me to take part in a movie shoot the next night. Nic is a good friend of my brother's, and also lives out in Los Angeles, but is home in Wisconsin for a bit making a short film entitled "Darndest Things". He need somebody to play the host for an open mic scene being shot at the New Moon Cafe up in Oshkosh, WI, so I said, "sure, what the hell?"

My role is a pretty tiny one, just saying a few lines that any open mic host would say, and then playing a song (Nic asked for a "slow and tender" one, so I played "Everything To Me", which I wrote in West Virginia last year).

Anyways, Nic posted some rough footage on youtube, which you could take as a trailer if you wish, though Nic is probably coming up with something far slicker for that. The song behind the footage is being played by my friend, Laura Schultz, who also plays the lead role in the movie. I make a brief brief cameo appearance in this footage, but hope you enjoy seeing some cool shots and great music!

Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Si17_kHwc

There Is Nothing That The Road Will Not Heal...

My favorite album of 2011 (so far)...

Flashback photos: April 20th, 2007 in Oklahoma City

"1898" - new song

Stuff From Other Blogs That Turned Me On (My Ears) - #1

Flashback photos: 2 years ago, March 2009 in Amarillo, TX

ramblings from an airplane

Thank 'Em (Unions and Teachers)

No Memories

Staring down the flood

New Live Photos - Meadowlark (Denver) - 2/09/11

Like Jack Johnson

Neglect (Instrumental)

Tired of Telephones

Rust Belt City

One Night Stand - Rick Franz

Young and In Love

exercise: adjectives and nouns and verbs

I'm so tired of telephones...

The Budapest Sessions - EP Available Now, Free!

Rome (superrambleshouldhavehadmycoffeethismorning)

mountains

cup of coffee

Resurrecting This Blog - Writing Style

Dutch "Alt Country Forum" Review - Translated

Blogisode: "Ghost Towns" (the song, not the album)

Album Released For Digital Download

2nd New Song This Week - "To My Dismay"

New Song - "Sneakers"

One Last Single For Free Download

Help Press the Album... and Get a Free Signed Copy

2nd Single Released - Free Download

Planning Alaska

5 Score Pachyderm - Mixtape

5 Score Pachyderm, a blog from St. Louis, decided to include my song "Letter From Southeast Asia" on their latest mixtape, along with the Bowerbirds, Damien Jurado, Dear Vincent, and more, check it out for some neat free downloads!http://www.5scorepachyderm.com/?p=8454

Alaska Tour '10 - Dates Posted

Topical: Staircases

Single From the New Album Available - Download for FREE!

Food Pictures - I'm Hungry.

Paris: Fin

Paris: Deux

Last Two Days In Europe: Paris

Bordeaux, France

Ghent, Belgium

Time To Finish Up These Europe Posts: Antwerp

Tour Break in Amsterdam

Hamburg

The Berlin House Concert

Sightseeing in Berlin

Unna, Germany

Dresden

Intro to Germany: Chemnitz

Prague

Vienna (Wien) - Austria

Serious Budapest

Back in Budapest

Tour Opener: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Vacation's End: Skiing with the Family in Cortina D'Ampezzo

Venice Is Sinking... For Rizzle

New Year's Eve in Florence

Rome Is Too Massive For Just One Post

Grazie, Roma

Euro Vacay/Tour Starts Tomorrow

Recording Report #2: Drum Tracking

Recording Report #1: Demos

New Song - Lyrics and such...

Work Started on the New Album, Euro Tour Update, and Midwest Shows

Redwoods Pt. 2

Redwood National Park

The California Coast (Stuck In LAX)

San Francisco

In Santa Monica, in the winter time...

Obama wins the Nobel, I win the Fabulous award. Coincidence?

Sugar Loaf hike - Winona, MN

Cell Phone Pictures - Vol. 1

The Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

Spies, Slacking, and Rec Reading

Random Travel Picture - Black Moshannon

Euro Tour 2010

Visiting Family and the Berkshires

5 Score Pachyderm, a blog from St. Louis, decided to include my song "Letter From Southeast Asia" on their latest mixtape, along with the Bowerbirds, Damien Jurado, Dear Vincent, and more, check it out for some neat free downloads!

http://www.5scorepachyderm.com/?p=8454