“this is a new word to me, near-fields.”

dear reader (hello! i haven’t posted in over a month),

my mind is filled with many such quotations (generally deadpanned in a thoroughly french syntax) from my wife, certainly because i love her but also because they’re funny. (”are you going to read me nietzsche?”)

of course, this opener is related to the sudden infestation of monitoring equipment in our tiny apartment, which my aforementioned wife has accepted graciously and with humor. (”do you like the new speakers?” “yes, they’re bumblebee-ish.” it sounds like lines from a foreign language textbook. welcome to our home.)

i’ve been struggling to write this post for several days now, but actually i think this is probably the best moment. last wednesday night joe and i left late and arrived in pgh at 2 am to begin recording on thursday morning. st. david’s in the south hills lent us their unsuspecting and conveniently vacant rectory, and we transformed it thursday into a little studio. (watch the photos page for a nice series on this.) we managed to track one whole song while we were there, wrapping up on saturday with a little extra keyboard work by megan.

since i’ve been back, it’s been All About the Mixing. this is scary because a) i’ve never mixed anything totally by myself before and b) my inner recording workaholic is brutal. having survived two days of it so far, though, i can report that everything is great. the tracking, it turns out, was wonderful despite the sprint. drums are tight. vocals sound great. the song is really gaining a life of its own now that it’s fixed in a tangible medium (little shout-out to copyright law!), and that’s what you hope for as a recording artist: that certain intangible extra.

it’s actually so great here behind the ‘phones that i can’t wait to record the next one. you can call this a soft announcement: good night, states is going to be releasing several tracks this spring, and i couldn’t be more excited.

watch the news page for a real announcement about the release of this single, “long coats, no energy.”

love from rainy montvale,
steve

ps. does ANYONE know how to make quicktime my default music player? stupid apple.

Us Pittsburgh folk just returned from driving to Nyack, NY to play a pseudo-acoustic show last night. Joe had another commitment out of town and when we were asked to play the show, the good folks at Riverspace told us that the venue was more suitable for an “acoustic” show as opposed to a “rock” show. So, we accepted, with a slightly strange “GN,S-pseudo-acoustic-but-still-more-electronics-than-most-other-bands” setup. I believe that Trevor is supposed to upload a video from the show sometime soon.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that the Pittsburgh connections abounded this evening:

-3/4 of the members of GN,S on stage were from Pittsburgh. FYI: That’s equivalent to 75%.
-The booking manager’s husband grew up in Pittsburgh and went to college here.
-The percussionist for the other band that evening previously lived in Pittsburgh and played with Rusted Root.
-The guitarist/singer for the other band that evening went to college in Pittsburgh.
-The box office manager grew up 30 min from the Pittsburgh area college that GN,S members attended.
-Despite the fact that Nyack, NY is 15 minutes from where Steve and Joe live in New Jersey, and the fact that the fans/friends who came to the show were all from that area, too, Steve introduced GN,S as being from Pittsburgh. Right on. Strong call, Steve.
-We drove to the show in Trevor and Megan’s Volkswagen Golf, as opposed to Blanche (our 15-passenger van). We saved both on gas and on leg room. Where did we drive from? Pittsburgh.
-We have a show next weekend on Sat, March 15 in Pittsburgh at Brillobox.

Pittsburgh is everywhere. It follows us on tour. We can’t escape it; we embrace it. So, my point is this:

You can take Good Night, States out of the ‘burgh, but you can’t the ‘burgh out of Good Night, States.

Special thanks to Melanie, Greg, Mark, Helene, and Heather at Riverspace. Thanks for inviting us and welcoming us and treating us so well. You’re doing great things in Nyack, NY. See you soon.

Dan

So, All morning I’ve been mulling over a growing list of things that I have to remember to pack in the car to take to the Garden State. Of course there are things like underwear and socks, but more important stuff, too, like the vinyl test pressings that came in the mail on Wednesday, and the tiny, two octave synth that I will be playing at the show in Nyack, NY.

I seem to always put things off until the last minute and think that I can hold the list of everything that I need to pack in my head, but inevitably I forget at least one thing. You think I would learn to pack the night before or make a list on paper, but no, I’m too stubborn or lazy to do practical things like that. Someday I will mature into a person who is not a procrastinator and gets his lists on paper.

I really am excited about the show tomorrow night. Like I said previously, I get to play my parts on a 2 octave synth. It has been fun practicing (I’m not much of a piano player) and creating the synth bass sounds. It’s also been refreshing to see the songs in a new way.

I’m also excited that we can fit everything that needs to go into our teeny tiny VW Golf. Being the pack-master that I am, it will all fit and have enough room leftover for 3 of us to ride comfortably on the 6-7 hour trip. Should be a rockin’ time on I-80.

Driving the Golf is a relief because every time an out of town show looms near, I start to tremble with fear because of our ailing van, Blanche. For a long time I have been concerned that the wheels will simply fly off when we’re on the road because of the way she looks and feels on the road. It’s also got more rust than most abandoned Pittsburgh factories. I refuse to let anyone else drive because I somehow believe that due to my past employment as a professional school bus driver, I will be able to handle Blanche safely in case her wheels actually do come off or all of our gear fall through the growing rust holes on the floor of the cargo area. I know it’s ridiculous, but I’m also a bit of a compulsive control freak. Maybe someday I’ll grow out of that, too. It will probably happen when we get a new van.

The strong mug of gunpowder green tea that I drank and the Field Music album that I’m listening to is getting me excited to drive on I-80. The caffeine may explain my stream-of-consciousness style post.

Apologetically yours (for the rambling post),
Trevor

Those of us here in the Good Night, States camp have spent the last two weekends at home. After five straight weeks of pre-release band related flurry, the time to sleep in, clean house, catch up on laundry and good books, and get ready to pay taxes has been a welcome relief. I’ve had a chance to remember that I own a struggling restaurant, and that without my commitment it might fade out of existence. An important marriage lives in our house, and this extra time has been good for it too.

I must admit, though, that the weekends feel a little empty without shows, songwriting, or travel. I’m not entirely certain what to do with myself. The internet leers at me, a veritable temptation. I’ve already lost several hours to it today, searching for music blogs and listening to mp3s. Oh yeah, and getting mired in the Maxim Black Crowes review scandal. Thankfully no one gave Short Films on Self-Control two stars before listening to it. Actually, no one has given it two stars after reviewing it either!

Trevor and I went to see St. Vincent on Monday night at the Andy Warhol Museum. Watching other artists perform has recently taken on a new layer of intensity. I empathize with their sound problems, equipment malfunctions, and stage awkwardness. I am transported with heavenly awe when every pedal aligns to help shred a vintage guitar into a million tiny sonic pieces. I tear apart the crowd for their blase reaction to the music; then decide we are a big family when the room jumps to its feet in appreciation, as in the Warhol’s tiny theatre on Monday night for Annie Clark.

You can read Aaron Jentzen’s review of the show here. What he doesn’t mention, I will fill in: she plays with more guitar pedals than Steve and Joe combined - two large boards! Her long skinny limbs - all four of them - twitch and writhe in a ferocious bird dance when she rips apart her guitar, yet the girl remains porcelain-doll feminine for every second of every solo. Not a drop of sweat on her designer babydoll dress, not a lock of hair-model hair out of place, not just a little wide eyed humor laced with sticky sweet sarcasm. She has been touring with various musician relatives since the age of fourteen; played with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan; and now offers a brilliant debut album. Her skin is perfect. She is twenty five.

I guess you’re going to go look at St. Vincent’s website now.

Good Night, States will see you next weekend in Nyack, NY for a slightly acoustic show!