dear reader,

tomorrow, christmas will be only one week away. (unfortunately, i believe i’ve already missed the one-week mark for hanukkah, which was monday, no? although, if today were the 17th day of kislev, instead of december, i’d be right on the money… .) the solstice will be here even sooner, heralded for me personally by a vague recognition that i haven’t really seen the sun for A Long Time.

and in the category of Feels Like Christmas To Steve, we’ve got snow on the ground here in nj, a couple of nice little fake trees (that our cats insist on eating anyway) lit up in our apartment, and those red holiday cups at starbucks.

what could possibly be missing, you ask? how about a good night, states christmas song! i am not making this up!

in the fall we promised three more internet singles. after the halloween release, “the odd and the even,” our songwriting and recording schedule got a little difficult, so although you’ve seen photos of recording “if i can,” you haven’t heard the song yet. joe and i are still working pretty hard on that one, but we hope to get it to you by the close of 2008.

in the meantime–last weekend, to be specific–we did what any band in our position (one song in the works and one to go!) would do: set up at the hardings’ and recorded something very special for everybody who’s helped to make this a very special year for us.

there are sleigh bells, there’s a glockenspiel, and there is very much the sound of folks singing in the living room. so download the song tomorrow (it will be free! no excuses!), put it on in your living room, pour a glass of eggnog to go with your cookies (and maybe some silk nog for me if i’m lucky) and pretend we’re all together.

merry christmas to you.

I spent some of Thanksgiving weekend cleaning out a pile of boxes in a spare room - lots of stuff that we just didn’t need.  Included in that pile were boxes of CDs - hundreds of them - my wife and I’s entire collection.  How often do we use them?

Pretty much never.

So this week, I’ve been burning hundreds of CDs onto iTunes, and I’m reminded of the amazingly good albums I’ve collected and never listen to any more, as well as the other amazingly terrible ones that I’d like to forget I ever bought.  Hey, we all have some dirty little secrets.

I have to admit, that I have an even more dirty little secret.

The secret is this:  I’m not a music snob.

“No!!!”

Yes, it’s true.  I don’t consider myself to have great taste in music.  I don’t keep on top of the latest trends.  I was given a Radiohead t-shirt (thanks to Ben and Cindy!), but a friend had to let me borrow some Radiohead albums to familiarize myself so I wouldn’t be a shame to True Music Lovers Everywhere.  Is there a new band that you love on your favorite radio station or blog or that your friends told you about?  Yep, I have no idea who they are.  Is there some older band that I should totally be in love with that your older sibling turned you on to on vinyl?  I probably have no respect for them.

I don’t mean to say that I don’t like music, or don’t have opinions, or don’t purchase music ever - I just mean to say that if you stack up my record collection next to someone cool, I will certainly appear uncool.

So, when people ask “What’s your favorite band, Dan?” I automatically respond with one answer.

“Good Night, States”.

“No, really - a real band, after Good Night, States, not your own.”

“No, really.  It’s my favorite.”

You see, friends, out of all of the hundreds of CDs I’ve owned, and will own in the future (digitally), there is one band that matters the most.  I was reminded of this as I’ve been burning CDs for days now, and I keep thinking to myself “Oh, yeah, That-Band-I-Used-To-Love!  I should totally listen to that CD!”  Did I follow through?  No.  I was in need of a pick-up on a depressing day, so instead I listened through “Short Films on Self Control”, “In The Impossible Tension”, and all of The Internet Singles.  Because, when I listen to our music, it reminds me of why I got in this in the first place, and why I want to keep fighting the good fight.  It reminds me of listening to Steve on an acoustic guitar in his dorm room long before GN,S existed and thinking to myself “Everyone in the world needs to hear this music.”  I want to keep moving forward, because when it comes down to it, I truly am a music snob.  I’ve always known that the truth of the matter is that I listen to, and participate in, a really great band.  I’m not saying that to be pretentious - I’m saying that because I want you, reader, to know how I feel.  It’s a dirty little secret that I’m trying to get the whole world to know about.

dear reader,

before i delve into the real content of this post, a big shout out to the bloodsugars, an INCREDIBLE (note the use of caps) nyc band that we simply can’t get enough of, and to everyone who turned up at all asia last weekend and supported us in a way i have never before experienced.

a few posts ago i did promise some talk on recording and amp building (problems). as is often the case, i’ve had my hands full enough with the actual recording and amp building that blogging about them has been at best a line item on my list of things i wish i could get a minute for (but know i won’t). in the meantime, something has happened that cannot go uncovered in this humble blog.

as of friday, november 21, good night, states had never before played in boston, and we were not overly optimistic about a midnight set in an unknown venue in a (ridiculously cold) city far north of our usual show circuit. to make matters slightly worse, when we walked into the club, all asia, we were treated to a band of what i can only assume were highschool kids or perhaps college freshman playing a mix of original material and jack johnson covers, which was difficult to survive. following that were multiple trips to a parking garage around the block, some travails finding food (we ate at this place–good!), and a “real feel” of 0 degrees.

the night started looking up as the bloodsugars knocked their set out of the park (would that be fenway?), and even got some of the good-natured crowd moving a little. they seemed to really connect with the audience. one cannot help but enjoy the bloodsugars, although i admit that i started to feel our often-intense textures were going to be quite a letdown after their unstoppable infectiousness.

little did i know. how could i be prepared for the sweater vest?

after a strong, noisy medley of “long coats, no energy” and “there is a treasure,” we launched into “only thing.” near the very end of the song three guys excitedly ran to the front of the stage, which had been empty, and began dancing. REALLY dancing. it looked like they might have been doing serious moves. before they could really get into it, the song ended, and i was fairly sure that the dancing was going to end with it; but as we laid into “i am the loser”’s decidedly mid-tempo groove, the rest of the crowd began joining them. by the middle of the song the scene in all asia could only be described as an outtake from the “thriller” video. i am not making this up. the point man of the three original dancers–a guy in a swingin’ sweater vest–was actually leading the entire audience in some kind of improvised step dancing that they were somehow following quite impressively. despite my warnings that most of the rest of our set would not be so dance-friendly, sweater vest & co. cheered at everything i said and persisted in their synchronized ambulations through every song we played.

i really thought it must be some kind of a flash mob. there was simply no other explanation.

as the set progressed to “far side of the boulevard,” the five of us looked quizzically at each other. ‘we should skip this one,’ seemed to be the general sentiment on stage, but i figured, what the heck? i’ll ask the dancers.

“we were going to play a quiet one here… ” i began.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” shouted The Sweater Vest Dance Company. “TAKE US ON YOUR JOURNEY!” added one effusive participant.

needless to say, good night, states is coming back to boston. we are going to be working on our moonwalk, and our cover of “i wanna dance with somebody.” we are coming with warmer clothes, with definitely either red coats or socks, one if by land and two if by sea, and we are probably going to play “i am the loser” twice. mostly, sweater vest & co., we are going to go on YOUR journey.

In the world of music, just like any other circle of connections, you develop lots of relationships - bands, fans, promoters, agents, managers, venues, AAA, Google Maps, friends’ floors, ThermaRests - just to name a few.  Years ago, we had the pleasure of randomly playing a show in Pittsburgh with Army of Me, and that began our veritable “band crush” (Megan’s term - how fantastic!).  We’ve stayed in touch over the years, hosted AOM on our floors here in Pittsburgh, played in DC (their hometown), and had them back here to Pittsburgh for shows.  A few weeks ago, we had Vince from AOM come up for a solo acoustic show here in Pittsburgh, and the results were spectacular.  Vince played an amazing set, shared some new songs from a forthcoming album, and offered acoustic renditions of current AOM songs. Steve also contributed guitar and vocals for “Rise” at the last minute, with one run-through with Vince in the green room.  For those of you who were able to make it to the show, we’re glad you could be a part of the evening - it was a great night all around!  Thanks go out to Boca Chica, also - it was our first time sharing the stage with them, and we’ve been trying to make that happen for a while now.

Not only did we get to hang out for the evening, but Vince accompanied us to our recording spot the next day.  He ferried gear and people (namely Megan),  and when we forgot a microphone back at home (35 minutes away), he elected to go retreive it.  You may or may not know that we’ve been recording some of our Internet Singles in various Pittsburgh area churches - they’re usually empty on Fridays and Saturdays, and we can get some great sounds and be by ourselves for a few days.  Below is a pic of Vince from AOM and Good Night, States in the church pews (Thanks for letting us use the space, Paul!).  You may be interested to read Vince’s version of the events here.

Dear fellow readers,

This is Steve’s wife, Allyson, writing to bring you the inside scoop. You may have heard that there will soon be a new internet single. It’s been in the works awhile now, and I can’t wait for it to get into your hands (and ears… and head). I’m going on record here to say that it is officially the new favorite, surpassing “sometimes I see you on the lawn”. If you liked that one, just wait… and when you hear it, listen for the obscure past participle, and the wondrous event to which it refers. Why do I love this song so much? One reason is surely that I could understand the words and their meaning without asking “what does it mean!?”, as is my wont. Steve will often play me whatever new song he’s working on even in its primordial stages, usually with the caveat that I can’t ask about what it all means… not until it’s finished. But the meaning of the upcoming release, “the odd and the even”, is so resonant (that is to say, it expresses through the music and words something real and true) that I find myself whistling along because I want to join in! There’s something about it that stirs you up inside and makes you want to say “yes!”

I even went so far as to ask Steve if he thought whistling might be an appropriate addition to the mix. He said no. On one hand, he’s right… whistling says “carefree” and other things that know nothing of this song, but on the other hand, I think you’ll know what I mean when you hear it and feel drawn to whistle. Isn’t that what we mean when we say that we resonate with something? When something “rings true” or “strikes a chord” with us, we are in that moment naturally caused to relate to or echo it harmoniously. (thank you, Merriam-Webster!) That’s sort of what the song is about, too– a certain resonance in all of creation: the odd and the even.

I’ll close with this:
I’ve found that my only consolation when Steve goes away on weekends for band stuff is that the five of them are creating music that is truly worthwhile. I was expecting really great things from their work on this song, probably because the more I miss him when he’s away, the greater the music has to be in order for me to believe it’s all worth it. So how did it work out? I asked if I could guest-blog to sing its praises.