A Tale Of Things To Come

Greetings and the fondest summer wishes from The Sobriquets to everyone. We hope everyone is out there, enjoying life, music and friends as much as we are this summer.

It's been a while since we've written here, due mostly to the fact that we are musicians and folks with lives just as crazy and packed as yours. We've been up to quite a bit over the last few months, and we'd love to share it with you here.

First, and most importantly, we have some bittersweet news. Joshua Neale, our bassist since 2007, is departing from The Sobriquets to pursue his new project, Negation Delirium. For those who know Josh, you know he is an outstanding metal musician and metal enthusiast, so it is fitting that he is moving on to a metal band that will literally thrash you to new states of consciousness. Check out their very shiny and new Facebook page, and be sure to tell all your metal friends (you know you have them) about Negation Delirium. We wish Josh nothing but success and heavy riffs in this very amicable parting. Don't worry, we all still hang out together.

With that said, there is now a huge open space that Josh used to occupy in the band that we are in the process of filling. We are striving to have a new bassist in place very soon so we can get back to the business of making music for all of you. We're also looking to add a new element to The Sobriquets: a full-time keyboardist. We'll fill you all in on who the new faces will be just as soon as we find them.

Much of April and May was spent at Sine Studios in Philadelphia making what will be our newest record, the record that so many of you helped make possible with your support during our fundraiser earlier this year. Once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We could not have done any of it without the help of everyone who donated to the cause. And we could not have made the best record any of us have ever been a part of without Matt Teach and Mike Lawson, the two owners and engineers of Sine Studios. Their skills and brilliance, combined with their outstanding studio, are as much a part of the record as we are. To any and all musicians everywhere: make your next record at Sine. You will love every minute of it.

We're in the midst of the mixing process of the record right now. It's being mixed and mastered in Los Angeles by Dave Drago, and we're already psyched from the few samples we've heard so far. We hope to release a couple of tracks by the fall of this year, and the record should be released in early 2012. We all want to take our time with this one, and give it the proper release it deserves. So to all who have been anxiously awaiting the record (most likely because you helped pay for it), we ask you to wait just a bit more. It's coming. And it's going to be awesome.

Lastly, here's the big "shake-up" news that we've been alluding to over the past few weeks. With the new record and the new lineup, the remaining Sobriquets have decided to retire the name they've been playing under for more than four years. The new lineup will have a new name, as will the record. The music will be the same music you've known and loved over the years. We'll be looking for help on the new name, so keep an eye on the Facebook page for that.

Thanks to all of you who have supported us through the years as a touring band. We will see as many of you as humanly possible over the next few months as we get ready to head back out on the road with the new lineup. Everything we do is made better and more rewarding because of you. See you out there this fall!

- The Sobriquets (James, Dan, Nick and always a part of us, Josh)

The Road To Beardtober 2010: The Wrap-Up

It's finally here! Beardtober has begun! And just in time for some lovely fall weather, too! But now begins the long, arduous quest through No-Shave November, Beard-mas, and of course, Manuary. So here's the final photos... (click for full size)

September 27

September 28

September 29

September 30

October 1

And, for good measure, here's the photo of me from way back on September 1st, when I started this journey:

And now, your final tips.

• Now would be the time to shape your beard, if you intend to do so. First, study your beard to determine when the natural lines are. For the standard beard, you'll want to shave your upper cheeks of those stray fuzzies, and take care of the wings under your ears, by bringing them in line with your sideburns. You may also wish to shave around your neck; in that case, you'll want to bring it up about an inch, or about the same distance as your aforementioned ear wings.
• If you're nervous about messing up your beard shape, procure an eyebrow pencil and trace the preferred shape in and around your beard before cutting.
• Maintaining your beard is SO much easier with an electric trimmer. Get one.
• If your mustache is starting to grow into your mouth, pick up a travel grooming kit from your local drugstore. This should contain (among other things) a small pair of scissors and a comb. Comb the mustache straight down towards your lips, and trim the ends from the corners of your mouth to the center. Use the top of your upper lip as a guide for length, and keep combing as you trim. You'd be surprised how easily stray long hairs can hide.

Until next fall, fellow beard fans.
- Josh

The Road To Beardtober 2010: Week 3

Little late putting this one up. We played a friend's wedding the weekend before last, did a taping in Boston, and then I started my week playing cello for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. So here's the missing week. I'll be doing a wrap-up on Friday. (click photos for full size)

September 18

September 19

September 20

September 21

September 23

September 24

September 25

Not really any tips this time, as I'm saving a few for the wrap-up. As you can see, my beard has more or less leveled out. At this point, you may wish to think about how you plan to style your beard. If you're feeling adventurous, I recommend the "Friendly Mutton Chops" (think Lemmy from Motorhead). See you on Friday!

The Road To Beardtober 2010: Week 2

WEEK 2! Played some shows, grew some beard. I was a bit lazy with the daily photos due to gigs (and that's going to continue this week). I also picked up a cello that I have to learn to play by next weekend, so that's taking up a lot of time as well. The band's in Boston this weekend for a post-wedding gig, so come on out if you're in the area! Anyway, on to the photos... (click for full size)

September 9

September 10

September 12

September 14

September 15
September 16

And some more beardly tips:

• At this length, you may want to start shampooing your face. Think about it: you'd shampoo this length of hair if it was on the top of your head, right? You can wait a while to start doing this, but shampooing (and conditioning) will keep the hair soft and manageable, as well as minimizing dandruff and other itchy things.
• Continue to resist the urge to shave the edges of your beard to create an outline. At this point, you're almost there, but there's no shame in playing it safe.
• If you have pre-existing facial hair like me, keep trimming it back every few days until it syncs up with the rest. If it's not exact, don't sweat it: once the entire beard grows out, no one will notice.

See you all next week!

The Road To Beardtober 2010: Week 1

It's been a pretty eventful week for us. We went into Akdar Studios in Bernville, PA, to do a test recording, which came out pretty awesome. I threw a Labor Dabor BBQ, which was also pretty awesome. And, as promised, I've been keeping tabs on my beardiness. So here it is, the week in review... (click photos for full size)

September 02

September 03
September 04
September 05
September 06September 07

September 08

And now, some helpful tips for maintaining your awesome beard:

1. WASH. YOUR. FACE. I know it sounds like a given, but all that new hair is going to retain even more facial oil and grime than you're used to. Thoroughly wash your infant beard daily to prevent buildup and dandruff.
2. It's going to be itchy. Really, really itchy. Use a moisturizer if it gets out of hand, but the daily washings will help significantly.
3. Resist the urge to style. Yes, that means having a neck beard for a little while, but the wait is worth it. The hair lines won't be fully defined for at least 2-3 weeks, but most likely a month, and you risk ruining your beard by attempting to shape it too early.

See you all next week with more photos and tips, and good luck on the road to Beardtober 2010!

- Josh

The Road To Beardtober 2010: A Photo Essay

Beardtober: A portmanteau of "beard" and "October"; the event of growing a totally awesome beard for the month of October.

For the uninitiated, Beardtober is an annual event of dubious origins (I credit the creation to my old college buddy Charlie), in which participants attempt to grow the best beard they can during the month of September. This adequately prepares one for the events of Beardtober, mostly due to the fact that one now has a beard.

Those who know me, know that I occasionally grow an awesome (or "fuck-off") beard during the winter months. While I've participated in these hirsute festivities before, I've never attempted to document the transformation. To that end, I'll be photographing myself daily during September. Every week, I'll post a progress report showing the week's growth, as well as helpful tips for maintaining your beard, should you choose to join in.

Now behold, the commencement of Beardtober 2010! It should be noted, as I look real funny with no facial hair, I have kept my goatee. I will trim it back as the beard comes in.

Josh's New Job

So...

A few weeks ago, I found an ad on Craigslist simply titled "Music Writers Needed". The job promised a position reviewing albums for an online music magazine, with such perks as free music, free shows, and the chance to interview famous musicians. The only catch: it was an unpaid position. However, they were looking specifically for a metal writer. I said "What the hell?" and responded. A few days later, I was the newest reviewer for MXDWN! I recently completed my first review, which went live a few days ago. In a trial-by-fire twist, the first album I had to cover was only tangentially related to metal. It's TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan's trip-hop side project Puscifer. Check out the link below, and keep your eyes pointed at my Facebook page and the band's Facebook for more reviews as they come! And if you like it, feel free to click that ol' Like button and/or send it to all your friends! PLEASE feel free.

Puscifer - "C" Is For (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference HERE)

WIDGET!!!!

So we were messing around with our TuneCore account (which I set up a year ago and promptly forgot that I had) and made you all a little "widget" to play with.

What exactly is a "widget", you ask? I know I did. THIS is a "widget":

Pretty neat, huh? We thought so, and hope you do, too. It has all kinds of cool features like a fully streaming version of our latest EP, "The Sobriquets Are Out Of Style", some photos of us from my Flickr, our videos on YouTube, our Twitter feed, tour dates and more. Please, feel free to share it and embed it on your favorite blog, message board, social networking site, etc. Feel so incredibly free to do so.

If you have any trouble sharing it, e-mail us at band@thesobriquets.com and we'll send you the HTML code ourselves.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer, and we'll see you all from the stage real soon (you could use the widget to find out when and where, it is that useful).

-Dan

Dan's Take On The Film "Inception"

It's been a quiet little while since we've updated from Camp De Guerre, due mostly to us taking a bit of time off after tour and going about our real lives. I found I've had more time to do things lately, such as throwing out a third of the contents of my apartment, spending time with my wife while she's not immersed in academia (I am now the proud husband of a Master of Art History), going to shows that I am not playing in (saw The Melvins with Josh and they absolutely blew us away) and in general just enjoying life at a slightly less hectic pace. That and going to work. But you all know how that goes.

I've also had a chance to get to the local cinema this summer. I know what you're thinking: "Dan, summer is full of a bunch of over-budgeted schlock designed simply to drive ticket sales for a week or so, and then be quickly replaced by the next pile of refuse! I thought you had culture!" My answer to this is: "Yes and no! I do enjoy many cultural, high-minded things. I also enjoy eating popcorn in frigid air-conditioning and watching shit blow up! I am well-rounded to a fault."

So I saw "Inception" today, which has been a highly trumpeted film of the summer, is supposed to both be THE film of the season and also maybe plug the oil leak in the Gulf, mend the schism of national politics and reunite the lineup of The Smiths. I don't know if it did any of these things (Morrissey still seems to be a hold-out), but it did do what a movie is supposed to do: make me forget about everything else for its running time.

You've probably read some reviews and heard a whole lot of hype about "Inception". You've heard references to its supposedly convoluted plot-line and hard-to-follow fantasy universe. Let me put these fears to rest. If you were able to watch "The Matrix" and took away from it more than a late-night image of Carrie-Anne Moss in leather, than you should do fine. There is nothing in this film that anyone who slogged through all six seasons of LOST can't wrap their noggin' around. Also, at two and half hours, it is a much smaller time commitment, and contains trace amounts of Michael Caine.

I'm attempting to give you a brief rundown of the plot without ruining anything. If you're one of those people who doesn't like to know anything before watching a film, then click that little "X" in the upper right-hand corner of the browser (or nondescript red dot if you're a Mac).

Basically, it's pretty simple. In this world, people can enter your dreams, where your mental defenses are severely lowered, and take information from you that you would not normally share while awake. There are people who are paid good money to do this, and they are called extractors. Leo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy; these guys are all extractors and are apparently very good at it. And there are all these rules when you're in a dream about how to conduct yourself. You can alter the physical reality of the dream, you can alter your physical appearance in the dream (if you've studied the person that you are going to impersonate, no cheesy tear-off masks a la "Mission: Impossible" here). At it's core, you essentially steal the information you need from the person, usually from a safe (this is the dreaming person's manifestation of keeping their secrets hidden). Then you need to get out, preferably without them knowing you were ever there, and leave them thinking it was (you guessed it) all a dream.

In order to make it an interesting movie, the team is charged with the task not to take but to implant an idea in the heir (Cillian Murphy) to a major energy empire's head via a dream. The idea is the he dissolve his late father's conglomerate so that a rival (Ken Watanabe) does not get pushed out because of a massive monopoly. This is thought impossible in their world (the implanting, not the monopoly), but the team soldiers on to do it anyway (there are motives from Leo's character that I won't get into so as not to give everything away). And there are of course complications in accomplishing this task. And explosions. And shooting. Lots of shooting. This is where the baser, less refined part of my brain gets all smiley and giddy.

But the biggest reason this whacko-brained sci-fi concept works as a coherent film is because it sets rules on its universe and works within those rules. Unlike "The Matrix", where all of a sudden Keanu can bend the very fabric of existence with no consequences, "Inception" sets out its rules and sets out the consequences to the rules. If the dreamer starts to realize that their mind is being invaded, they will try and dismantle the dream, which involves a physical dismantling of the physical surroundings (this is where the cool shit start happening, buildings collapsing and such). If the invaders wish to alter the physical landscape, they can. There is an absolutely dynamite sequence where Ellen Page's character bends a city street at a ninety degree angle, creating an Escher-like skew on perspective. The reel could have broken right after that, and I would have been still pretty satisfied with my movie experience. However, alter the world too much and the dreamer's mind senses something is wrong, and all its sub-conscious imprints (read: extras in the scene) will attack you in defense. Rules. Consequences. Consistency. I love it. This is where the high-minded, story-oriented part of my brain gives an approving nod.

I've boiled this film down to a basic idea for a movie-goer: it is an excellent mix of high-minded plot and story with healthy doses of cool shit happening. You do not get so bogged down in the minutiae of how the dream-invading works on a chemical level (and they do employ a chemist to regulate the sleep) that you lose interest, and on the flip-side, it is not by any means a non-stop thrill ride of explosions and catastrophe. This is how I like my sci-fi: just give me the gist of the technology (I know it's advanced, you fool), show it to me in the context of this world you've created, and then show me it doing incredibly cool things. Substance and 'splosions, that's pretty much my action film criteria.

The film does not take you for a complete idiot, and in granting you that courtesy, proceeds to reveal itself layer by layer in a careful and well-paced manner, giving you the shock-and-awe when necessary, and giving you the explanation when needed as well (Page's character as the newbie to their world acts as an excellent device for explanation, as you are asking the questions she is asking out loud at almost the same time). If you found "Transformers 2" to be your be-all-end-all action movie choice, maybe you should pass on this one. "Inception" has no interest in being a franchise, selling you a lunch box or getting it's own cartoon spin-off. It was not a cult graphic novel with a bastion of die-hard fans to dissect it, nor an obscure novel. It is an idea thought up for and executed in the medium of modern film. It is an original idea, with no history or mythology and no product tie-ins. Honestly, when was the last time you saw an action movie that was all those things.

I could go on for more paragraphs about the acting, the casting choices (it even makes Tom Berenger look good), the location shots and the special effects. But a good movie renders all these things individually useless by calling attention to none of them, and simply letting them exist in the universe that was created for them. And "Inception" is a very good movie.

How Josh Single-Handedly Destroyed His Band's Reputation As Philly's Least-Tattooed Band: A (single) Photo Essay

It all started in the car on the way home from a gig. Having just played the Pillar Lounge in Reading, PA, we were driving home (or more accurately, Dan was driving) and Dio's 1983 classic Holy Diver was the album of choice. Because you are the driver. You own the road. Somehow, we got into a discussion about the merits of Ronnie James Dio vs. Ozzy Osbourne, and after having the Internet prove that Dio is in fact several years older than Ozzy, I also informed everyone that Dio was suffering from stomach cancer. His website indicated that the chemotherapy was working, the treatments were becoming less frequent, and Dio had plans to return to touring with Heaven & Hell (a reformation of the Dio-era Black Sabbath) as soon as he was better. Offhand, I mentioned that if Dio should for some insane reason NOT survive, that I intended to get a memorial tattoo to commemorate his life, and his impact on mine.

Sure enough, two weeks later, Dan calls me to break the news: Ronnie James Dio had lost his battle with the dragon. He was 67. Right then, I remembered I had a promise to keep.

Over drinks (because Dio was DEAD, dammit!), I told my ladyfriend about my vow, and that I intended to keep it. After some discussion, we settled on ground rules: no colors, and no birth/death dates. I said I'd sleep on it to see if I really wanted to go through with it, and I did a bit of research to find the perfect place. Thanks to the good folks at Yelp, I chose Olde City Tattoo on 2nd and Chestnut. When I woke up this morning, I was still committed. And off I went. But before that, I printed out a graphic of the Dio band logo.

Interesting side note: If you look at the logo upside down and don't mind that some letters run together, it reads "devil".

I drove up to Olde City around 1:30, parked, and went into the shop. I was greeted by a very lovely young woman named Jamie, who took my printout, got all the necessary details, and scheduled me for 6:30 that night. Appropriately enough, I heard Black Sabbath's Heaven And Hell playing on the stereo, which was a good enough omen for me. A little bummed that I'd have to wait, I returned home and did some laundry, assorted household chores, etc. I just hoped I could maintain my excitement until then, although the $40 cash deposit helped to ensure that.

I returned at the appointed time and met Smitty, a large, imposing, and heavily tattooed individual who would also be my artist for the evening. He led me to the chair and gloved up, then sterilized my shoulder and shaved the area. He applied what I can only describe as a temporary tattoo tracing of the design to my shoulder, checked the placement, then had me look at it in the mirror. Satisfied with its location, we began some of the longest minutes of my life.
He removed a fresh fine point needle attachment from a sterile bag, hooked it up to the power supply, and started with the outline of the letters. It was not as painful as I had imagined, mostly like getting a series of very tiny shots again and again. Certain areas were more painful, but overall very bearable. The fine point work took about 25 minutes, at which time he let the work rest and applied some salve which changing to the larger shading needle. I hadn't been watching much, because really, who wants to see themselves getting stabbed repeatedly for any length of time, but I glanced down now. I was so far pleased with the progress. It actually looked good as it was, and I thought about stopping there, but I decided against it. If Dio could handle stomach cancer for six months, I could deal with something poking me for a little while longer.

Smitty began the shading, which was MUCH more painful than the fine work. The process is the same as shading on a piece of paper, except it's your damn arm. This part only took 20 minutes, thankfully. I had been taking Smitty's advice to keep breathing, and it definitely paid off here. After a while, you sort of tune the pain out and focus on the Van Halen record on the radio. The shading completed, Smitty applied a heavy coat of ointment, and let me take a look on the mirror. My first reaction: "DIO!" Second: "This is for real-real now." Smitty put a bandage on it, gave me the care instructions (and a free sample bottle of Lubriderm to keep it moisturized), I gave him $60 more dollars, and said goodbye.

As I headed home, all I could think about was what I had just done to myself, and how the damn thing was starting to burn. Upon arrival, I lifted my shirt to show my ladyfriend and discovered that the tattoo was bleeding much more than I expected. I dutifully left the bandage on the requisite two hours, then washed it off and put some Lubriderm on. At this point 4 hours later, it's just a little itchy, and still bleeding lightly. So how'd it turn out? Was it worth the 45 minutes of Lilliputian spearing? And the possible loss of this T-shirt? Take a look for yourself.

You're damn right it was.

I'll miss you, Dio. But your music will live on in my heart, and your sweet sweet logo on my arm.

RONNIE JAMES DIO
1942-2010

Last Weekend's Fests: A Wrap Up by Dan with More Pictures by Dan (Part 2)

Saturday, 3/27/10: Fetzer Fest III, Allentown, PA

We made it home from NJ in four pieces, retired to our varying homes and awoke rested and ready for fest #2. When we arrived at The Sterling Hotel, it seemed clear that a) most people had way more information about anything going on than we did and b) we were going to have to learn some Avenged Sevenfold covers or something right quick. There is this genre of American hard rock that sprang out of the NuMetal scene between say, 1999 and 2002, that seems to permeate the lesser populated sections of most states. I do not know what to call it, it does not seem to have a name. I don't know how to explain it, just imagine if you based your entire band's style off of MTV's Headbangers' Ball and its immediate proteges, and then STOPPED taking in any new information. I think I may have just explained it. Trust me; like pornography, you know it when you see it.

I think I eventually found a roster on some swag-cluttered table that listed us as playing at 6:30pm on "The Chill Stage". Apparently, the stage is named this because it is on a sheltered, outdoor patio and is in fact much colder than the other stages, which are fully surrounded by walls.

At this point in our arrival (45 minutes or so), I am quite unhappy with a lot of things about the day so far. I am unhappy with the organizers for giving us almost no info about things like back line, running order, set times, etc. I am unhappy with James for booking us on this thing without bothering to find out what kind of fest it was. I am unhappy with the Hot-Topic-wannabe-metal-kids who keep trying to cadge cigarettes off of me. So I do what I do best: I go outside so as not to draw the rest of the band into my little spiral of unhappiness, and bring everyone down, man.

Happening upon a group of young musicians, I blend into the wall. They see me, but do not ask me for cigarettes, so I relax a little. I get drawn into their chat, and before I know it we're all talking about King Crimson records and guitar gear and general guys-in-bands stuff. These guys are in a band from Long Island called SingleSpade, and while I share very little in common with them musically, they were awesome guys and pretty much single-handedly turned my day around. So thanks, guys, wherever you are now.

Back inside at the bar, I get some JW and watch Brooklyn's The Whispering Tree, whom we've played with before. They have the unenviable task of being the first band to play for the day, and are doing it at the end of the crowded barroom while a much, MUCH louder band sound-checks in the next room. Here we have a female pianist and vocalist and a French male guitarist attempting to play their subtly gorgeous tunes and they are just getting swallowed. But they are such pros, they roll with it.

It becomes clearer to me that maybe I'm just being a huge alpha-control-freak about everything that day, and I should just re-fuckin'-lax. So I do. With my pal Johnnie Walker.

Playing in the slot right before us were The Dreamscapes Project from Fairfax, VA (coincidentally right around the area where we recorded "The Sobriquets Are Out of Style"). These guys were absolutely great, their wise-cracking, 3D glasses-wearing frontman Keith was the perfect amount of loud, boorish and energetic that keeps it fun. And any band that shows up to hard-rock fest with cellist and covers The Smiths at a hard-rock fest gets points in my book. They get us loosened up in order to play. It also helps that I think we're all a bit buzzed from drinking all afternoon as well. I run into some guys in a band called Kagero, whom we played with about three years ago. They are a gypsy-folk-punk band, and they are killer live performers. I'm starting to feel a little more amongst our element than I had earlier in the day.

By the time we start setting up, it's clear that we're all ready to play. The Dreamscapes Project has assuaged our fears that we do not belong here, or at the very least, we don't belong here right along with them. In an attempt to "bring the rock", I decide to turn my 30 watt combo amp all the way up in order to fill the room (they have not been miking amps). For about a minute, I'm getting sweet, tube driven tone. Then, with that familiar sound, I hear the tube fuzz out and die. I now have a dead amp and we have to play in about 60 seconds.

Luckily, one of the sound crew is watching the whole fiasco and runs out of the room to return with a 150 watt head that he puts onstage behind me on top of 4x10 speaker cabinet. You don't have to be a gear-geek to follow the difference: take my amp and multiply it physically and sonically by four. That's what I get to play through now. I am slightly ecstatic.

The set came off pretty well, great energy, the kind of locked-in playing we've been able to pull of consistently over the last several months or so. Kagero is on next, too! They get the whole crowd going, dancing in a circle up by the front of the stage. And now that the set is finally over, I find I don't mind hanging out here that much after all. See how the story arc moved me from one place to another, making me a better person and even learning something, too? Isn't it great we're all better people because of this?

But seriously, we had a great time. Our fest-weekend was a success, we met a lot of new bands and got to see some old friends. And all the food was significantly cheaper than in Cape May, which was a huge plus.

-Dan

Last Weekend's Fests: A Wrap-Up by Dan with Pictures by Dan (Part 1)

So first and foremost, we are chastising ourselves severely for being away from the blogiverse (Is that even a word? Will James yell at me about the spelling?) for so long. That's the downside of being a working band, we spend a lot of our lives working on (less fun) things that are not The Sobriquets, and this makes us forget to do things like update the blog, restring our instruments, check the tubes in our amplifiers (more on that in Part 2), etc.

Let's travel back in time, shall we? Last weekend (March 26th-27th, to be exact) we had the great fortune of playing two festivals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Friday, 3/26/10: The 3rd Annual Cape May Singer Songwriter Festival, Cape May, NJ

We've been doing this fest since its inception in 2008, back when we were a lowly three-piece with one record to our name and severe lack of back beat. It's a great fest, put on by the same people who do the Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA, and they do a superb job every year of keeping things running tightly and on schedule. They offer up two days and nights of bands as well as some great musicians' panels where independent artists get together and talk about all the nuts-and-bolts of being an independent musician (marketing, booking, branding, production, distribution, and so on).

James, Josh and Nick arrived in Cape May early on Friday to partake in panels and general knowledge gathering. I had to work (big surprise), but met up with them in the evening in time to play our set at The Ugly Mug in downtown Cape May. But first, we ran around the rather chilly beach like fools for a bit.

We got to play with a handful of really great acts, like Kelly Carvin and the Future (who featured an absolutely astounding guitar player that they apparently met that day at the hotel and asked to sit in), True Witness, fellow Philadelphians New Liberty and The Dead End Cruisers (who we would hang out with the following day at Fetzer Fest). Everyone played a great set, and it was refreshing to do a show with so much camaraderie between bands who had just met each other that day. We all came from different places and we all approach playing music differently, but it's great to be amongst high-quality musicians who are supportive of one another, rather than being spiky and cold to each other. Warm feelings all around!

I would also like to note that it was the first year at Cape May where it did not rain biblically on us. That's the risk you run doing a fest at The Shore in March, and we were happy to be able to be outside for parts of it.

More pics and video will be posted via The Sobriquets on Facebook as I get them finished up. Not a fan of The Sobriquets on Facebook? Make it happen, you can see all kinds of documentation of shenanigans on the road, as well as some of the serious work (playing music) as well.

-Dan

Coming up: Part II of the Fest Weekend featuring Fetzer Fest in Allentown, PA.

Top Ten Venues of 2009

The best venues we performed at in 2009, in no particular order.

Sidewalk Cafe - New York, NY
Our favorite place to play, hands down. A laid-back candlelit room, there's someone new and interesting playing there all the time. Great food and staff, and the coolest sound guy ever - who may or may not be named after a famous brand of cookies.

Tammany Hall - Worcester, MA
The biggest stage we've played on to date, the band has never before enjoyed so much freedom to jump, run, spin or headbang. Not to mention the bartender who will teach you the finer points of the beer/glass relationship.

The Local 269 - New York, NY
A small corner of the Lower East Side, its eclectic mix of performers, generous pints of just about everything, and the fact that they will keep your lost equipment under lock and key until you arrive to retrieve it put The Local 269 quickly on this list.

The Blockley Pourhouse - Philadelphia, PA
Second biggest stage we played on this year, and first time we were ever able to watch sports on TV during our set. Thankfully, the Eagles won. And we got to meet The Lights Out. Did I mention it's only a few blocks from where we practice? That was a plus.

The Hellenic Center - Dover, NH
A room so big that if you stood too far in the back, you couldn't hear us play. OK, I exaggerate. We had a fantastic time, mostly because of the really nice staff, hosts, and our lively audience - 200 guests of John and Courtney's wedding. The most fun we had all year - thanks, guys.

Philadelphia Vintage Stores - Philadelphia, PA
Our good friends and fans at Reverie Vintage and The Curiosity Shoppe allowed us to show that we can play without amplifiers just as well as with them. The intimate setting was a great way for us to interact with the audience, and gave us an opportunity to support two fine local businesses. And for Dan to model ladies' coats.

Langdon St. Cafe - Montpelier, VT
As a Pennsylvanian, it's not too often that I can step up to a coffeehouse counter and order a pastry AND a beer. But the Langdon St. cafe has a great combination of hip coffeehouse and cozy bar atmosphere. It allowed us to meet Driftwood, crazy-good musicians and crazy-nice people. Plus, Montpelier is picturesque.

The M Room - Philadelphia, PA
Great food, quality performers, and an awesome sound guy who may or may not be named after a talking car driven by David Hasselhoff. They do a good job of making us feel like we're actually in New York.

Joe Squared - Baltimore, MD
Amazing square pizza, cool stage lighting, and the some of the best indie music to be seen and heard in Baltimore. The best part: it's close enough that we can still drive home and sleep in our own beds after a gig!

Steel City Coffeehouse - Phoenixville, PA
The perfect coffeehouse atmosphere in a hoppin' town. The staff always takes great care of us, and the sound is always phenomenal - thanks to a sound guy who may or may not be named Baron.


Happy New Year!
- Nick

James and 2009

This year's been a bit too tumultuous to wrap up easily, so I shall, for the most part, stick to the records that got me through it.

THE OBSESSION BAND
I, not infrequently, will have a year wherein I have a sudden craving to listen to a band with whom I've had little contact previously. Upon hearing one record, I usually then seek all the rest (being a completist, and all). Past obsessions have included the Flaming Lips, the Eels, Blur, Erykah Badu, Dire Straits, the Frames, and Peter Gabriel, to name but a few. This year, it was the Grateful Dead. For some reason, about March, I just HAD to hear American Beauty. Just had to. Then it was Workingman's Dead, then Europe '72 (which is still in a weekly rotation). Since then, I've dug up all the studio records (though my preference is still that early 70s era) and a couple gigs worth of live shows (preferring the later 70s). While, as a lifelong Phishhead (more on that later), I have an ear for jamming, what really blows my mind about the Dead is the way nothing is cemented in their performances. The Dead were 5 (or 6 or 7 or 8) people who all knew a lot of SONGS, not a lot of PARTS. From night to night and tour to tour, songs would be completely loose, arrangement-wise, based on every member knowing, not just their part, but really knowing the SONG, and approaching it each time as if it were wholly new. Listen to any 4 versions of any song, and you'll hear what I mean: vocal harmonies come and go, instrumental solos or bridges appear at different times and for different durations, tempos, rhythms, accents vary widely from show to show... A really underrated aspect of the band.

DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR: NON-2009 RELEASE
While I obsessed over the Dead this year, I had, certainly heard them, and of them, before. That wasn't the case with the Jayhawks, who Dan and I discovered this year. I'm fairly perturbed that no one pointed them out to me before, since with my particular (some would, I'm sure, say "poor"... Justin!) tastes, this band is EXACTLY WHAT I WANT IN A BAND. Amazing tight harmonies, sad bastardness, subtle guitar work, that Americana swing without being overly twangy... In much the same way that August and Everything After had a huge impact on me as both a musician and a music fan, I think that Hollywood Town Hall would have redirected my life quite a bit, had I but heard it in 1992 when it came out, rather than last June. Better late than never, I suppose.

BEST RECORD FROM AN OLD FAVORITE
As someone with a fair detachment from modern pop music, quite the number of records I pick up in any given year are new releases from bands/artists with whom I've previously been acquainted. This year, the top dog in the pile is easily Phish's Joy. I've been a fan of the band since I was about 14 when my sister gave me Nectar and Hoist for my birthday. Since that time, I've seen 20 or so shows, and heard them make better and better studio albums (Billy Breathes, Ghost), followed by worse albums and lackluster shows (Undermind, the whole of the post-Hiatus, pre-Breakup era). When they announced they were splitting in 2004, I regret to say I was almost relieved. Finally they could just be the band I'd loved in the 90s without having to really talk about the Oughts. Until this year, when they returned (predictably) to the stage and the studio. But listening to the first shows back, despite their occasional unsteadiness, I could hear that, for the first time in a long time, they really seemed to be listening to each other, to be reacting to each other. They sounded as if they'd been practicing, and as if they were really having fun again. Joy is confirmation of that: it's the richest, fullest record since Ghost, and with an excellent collection of tunes, from lengthy composed epics (Time Turns Elastic) to off-the-cuff gigglers (I Been Around) to tight rockers (Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, Kill Devil Falls) to loose jam platforms (Ocelot, Backwards Down the Number Line) and those odd, slight left turns that they've always done so well (Sugar Shack, Light). Joy just grows on me every time I hear it.

Honorable Mentions: We Are the Same (Tragically Hip), Through the Devil Softly (Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions), The Mountain (Heartless Bastards), Embryonic (Flaming Lips), Draw the Line (David Gray)

BEST RECORD FROM A NEW DISCOVERY, 2009 EDITION
It's a tie this year, between Middle Cyclone by Neko Case and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, by Phoenix.
Neko Case is someone I've been aware of but never really heard for awhile now; I think I may have been in a cafe when someone played The Tigers have Spoken, but before this year, I think I would have said "Neko Case? Redhead, big voice, countryish." Middle Cyclone is so much more, though, that I've since gone back and started checking the previous records for signs of its imminence. Case has managed to wholly abandon pop structure in favor of songs that lyrically drift from idea to idea in a haphazard way, bending and careening as they dance from metaphor to image and back. She showcases her (admittedly big) voice over a warm blend of acoustic instrument and electronic texture, so that even once her lyrics are understood, there's layers and layers more to discover.
As for Phoenix, I have very little to say besides that, apparently, if someone's gonna make a danceable record for me, they better damn well be French. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is glossy, shiny, yet somehow analog and homey. Simultaneously slick and breathy. I know little about Phoenix, and haven't yet gotten any previous records. But I will. You bet yer ass.

Honorable Mentions: Yours Truly the Commuter (Jason Lytle), Monsters of Folk (Monsters of Folk), Merriweather Post Pavilion (Animal Collective)

MOST ENJOYABLE, COMEDIC DIVISION
Incredibad, the Lonely Island. Beats out Scream by Chris Cornell because it is intended to be funny.

MOST OVERRATED
Bitte Orca, Dirty Projectors. I almost like this record. Almost. I think if there were songs, it would be much improved. The thing most people who grave-rob the Talking Heads forget is that the grooves and weirdness worked to benefit the songs, not to replace them.

MOST DISAPPOINTING
A Positive Rage, the Hold Steady. I ADORE this band, but this live album is sorta flat and out of date. I have not seen the Hold Steady live, but I can not imagine them being flat and out of date in person. Perhaps the DVD is better...

And Finally:
MY FAVORITE RECORD OF THE YEAR
Strict Joy, the Swell Season. Strict Joy occupies the territory between the lovely, sparse, minimal arrangements of the first Swell Season record and the dreamy-yet-oddly-bombastic sad bastardness of the Frames. It's a warm, close, lushly harmonized affair. Glen Hansard, a Van Morrison acolyte, ranges from whispers to histrionics, while Marketa Irglova struggles to keep her voice under tight control. It's also one of the rare instances where a couple splits up and makes the breakup record together (see also Mac, Fleetwood: Rumours), and yet it is a stunningly harmonious experience. From the opening swing and mellow horn section of Low Rising, to the quick drive of Feeling the Pull, to the whispered loss of In These Arms, to the thick harmonies that conclude the heartbreaking I Have Loved You Wrong, the record quietly, politely, warmly, stabs you in the chest and leaves you staring out the window in silent contemplation.

I could talk much longer about the music of the year (to say nothing of, you know, the REST OF THE YEAR, the parts that didn't come out of my headphones)... but I shan't. At the moment.

Happy New Year, all... Maybe this year will be better than the last.

J

2009 Wrap-up: The Dan Edition

I was the one who essentially asked the entire band to have their Year End Wrap-Ups in before Christmas. And only Josh listened. I didn't even listen. I am incapable of following even my own instructions. Yay me!

My list(s) isn't so much a Top Ten type thing, but a series of smaller lists. Some have to do with my own listening habits. Some have to do with being on the and off the road with the band. Some have to do with neither of those. Enjoy!

2009: My Top Records That Were Released This Year

If you scroll down through my previous posts, you'll see I've mentioned several records already this year that I've highly enjoyed. But here are a handful of ones that have really stuck with me.

- St. Vincent, "Actor": I'm absolutely in love with her voice as well as the outstanding arrangement on this one.

- The Dead Weather, "Horehound": There's a sucker born every minute, and I am that sucker for Jack White projects. While I was never enthused with The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather hit me hard with garage lo-fi hooks and some really great grooves going on with the drums (played by White). One of my many "gimmees" of the year.

- Bat for Lashes, "Two Suns": This year has definitely been a year where the records that have really hooked me have been the labored-over studio pieces more than the fast-and-dirty rock that I also gravitate towards. Bat for Lashes garnered a lot of Kate Bush-a-like praises, but her vision and scope for this record is a study in how a sparse song can be realized as a massive sonic masterpiece by surrounding yourself with the right band and the right studio crew.

- Converge, "Axe To Wield": I came to Converge a little late to the party, but I'm so glad I showed up. This is the Converge record for people who've never heard of them. Blistering metal-core for people who aren't into "that screaming shit", this will make a convert out of any metal fan.

- Mastodon, "Crack The Skye": Josh is correct, this is one of my absolute favorites of 2009. I would put it on my MP3 player and be mad at myself for not having put it on 20 minutes sooner. I have huge respect for any band that simply goes out and makes the record it wants to make, regardless of where they stand in their genre. Fans who dismissed this record don't love music, they love an image and a logo. This is phenomenal music, regardless of what music you call "yours". My wife loves this record, and she throws things at me when I blast my Botch or Meshuggah in the house (and rightfully so). Enough said.

2009: My Favorite Bands I Have Been Lucky Enough To Share A Stage With

- Ashpark, Boston MA: Think Mew meets The Gloria Record meets late-period Sunny Day Real Estate. A true find for any music fan, and the lead singer has a license plate that simply reads "Khaaaan". I love these guys.

- The Lights Out, Boston MA: What is it about bands from Boston? We were lucky to play just earlier this month with this ungodly good band. Tight rock with a superior sense of dynamics and rhythm, and half the band has ties to Syracuse (Go 'Cuse!). So happy we got to meet them.

-Stalking Horses, Baltimore MD: Imaging if The Boss had been born as a quiet looking Mid-Atlantic girl, and she went on to use her killer pipes to front a killer band. Played with these folks twice, and they brought their A-game every time.

- Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps, Minneapolis, MN: This band was a pleasant surprise in the midst of a month of playing with really ho-hum bands. Excellent pop sensibilities matched with great melody writing. For any fan of Regina Spektor, Mirah and the like.

- Filmstar, Philadelphia PA: All it takes is a subtle Smiths vibe and some really retro, 80s college radio sounds to sign me on. Filmstar has all of that. They were one of the great treats in life: discovering a great band who lives in your own backyard. Every time I got to see them this year, I had roughly 40 minutes of heaven.

2009: Favorite Eating Things I Never Got To Have Until This Year

- Seaweed salad

- Oxtail dumplings

- Homemade soy sauce

- Lamb chili

- Mahi mahi tacos

- Zucchini fries

- The French Dog at Devil's Den

- Brazilian style sausage

2009: Best Drink I Invented

The Sacajawea

- 1 part sweet tea vodka

- 2 parts champagne

Mix together in a paper coffee cup (neat) while hanging out in a hotel lounge long after a wedding is over and you really should have stopped drinking, let alone inventing drinks, hours ago. Fall into a very drunken sleep, wake up hung-over as all hell and then drive back to Philadelphia from New Hampshire. Do not repeat. For the love of God.

This year was a good year for The Sobriquets, and if we haven't said so already, we thank everyone who came out and supported us, bought a record or was just nice to us while were were away from home. 2010 will be a great year as well, with upcoming shows in NYC, Harrisburg and our own night at The Blinkin' Lincoln with Talahassee and some other special guests. Hope to see you out there! Have a great New Year!

-Dan

Josh's Top Ten Favorite Records Of 2009

So we're all doing some sort of top ten list for the end of the year, and while it could be about my favorite scotches (cheap stuff: Johnnie Walker Red, good stuff: Laphroaig), I'm going to take the coward's way out and do my top ten records. Now to clarify, these are the ten records that I enjoyed the most this year. Only four of these records were actually released in 2009. It's mostly metal (go figure), but they run the gamut of said genre. So here they are, in alphabetical order, Josh's top ten records of 2009.

1. Alestorm, "Black Sails At Midnight" (2009)
If you like pirates, and you like metal, then look no further. Scotland's own Alestorm does them both. Billing themselves as "True Scottish Pirate Metal", a stab at Norway and their concern with black metal's realness, this quartet plunders their way though the folk-metal subgenre. I mean, these men have actually made it their job to be pirates. They're the smartest guys on the planet. Also interesting to note is that this is one of the few instances where I accept the use of keytar in a band. Why, you ask? Because Christopher Bowes keeps it firmly set on the concertina patch. For songs about keelhauling, sea monsters, and rum, this is the place.

2. Black Sabbath, "Heaven And Hell" (1980)
By far the oldest record on the list, this classic had me hooked during the summer months when I was reading through my colossal compendium of metal. This is the first record with new singer (and my personal favorite) Ronnie James Dio, and he takes the band to new heights with his ability to sing something other than the exact same thing the guitar's doing...Ozzy. And while Dio's imagery and metaphors only make sense to Dio (why must I bleed for the dancer?), it's still my top Sabbath record.

3. Daft Punk, "Alive 2007" (2007)
Daft Punk's Discovery was the record that first turned me on to electronic music. We got really baked and a friend put it on, and I was sold (and hungry). Since then, I've been waiting for them to top it, and this is the closest they've come. The robotic French duo put on this concert in Paris as part of their world tour, and I was amazed to discover that they actually performed. Using sophisticated touchscreens and Ableton Live software, the group mixed and matched songs from their three studio albums and threw the most expensive rave the world has ever seen. Not surprisingly, the album won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Electronic Album, and the mashup of their two biggest hits, "Around The World" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" won them the Best Electronic Single.

4. Dethklok, "Dethalbum II" (2009)
As a big fan of the metal, I was very excited to find the Adult Swim program Metalocalypse, and even more excited when they put out the first Dethalbum in 2007. Brendan Small's ability to lampoon death metal while simultaneously making it cooler is unmatched. So imagine my excitement when I learned that there was to be ANOTHER Dethklok record in 2009. I picked it up the day it came out, and was pleased to find that it was every bit as good as the first one. To paraphrase The Onion's Leonard Pierce, in trying to be a good joke metal band, Dethklok has somehow become a great death metal band. Of course, the record is more enjoyable if you've seen the show, but that doesn't fully detract from the awesomeness. And it doesn't hurt that the touring version of the band features such metal luminaries as Mike Keneally (ex-Frank Zappa and Steve Vai) and Gene Hoglan (ex-Death and Strapping Young Lad). Which, by the way, was one of the best live shows I've ever seen.

5. Diablo Swing Orchestra, "The Butcher's Ballroom" (2006)
I found this Swedish band while using the very fine StumbleUpon application for Firefox. Intrigued by the concept of a metal band that incorporated jazz elements, I gave it a listen, and immediately grabbed it off their website. As it turned out, the band does use jazz elements, but not exclusively. There can be found electronic, flamenco, and classical elements as well, blended in such a way that it cannot be described with words. The eclectic instrumentation (2 guitars, cello, upright/electric bass, drums, and operatic soprano) only furthers their cause. This would be worth a listen for those of you who think that metal is not for you. Go. Go now!

6. Iron Maiden, "Edward The Great" (2001)
For the longest time, I was very much against "best of" collections. I just couldn't bring myself to purchase what I perceived as a butchering of the artist's intentions for commercial gain. This collection, I believe, is the one that changed my mind. I realized that it might be in my best interest to be familiar with an artist, even if I didn't want to pick through 20-plus years of recordings to find the good stuff. It was under this pretext that I purchased Edward The Great. It sat dormant on my computer for about 4 years, until this summer. After doing some reading on Iron Maiden, I gave it another listen, and was so taken that I went out and found as much Iron Maiden as I could. But this collection, often considered the definitive Iron Maiden "best-of", is still my favorite, and a great way to begin with this seminal British metal band.

7. The Lonely Island, "Incredibad" (2009)
The following review is brought to you by Chex Mix.
Those who know me well, know that I am not always the biggest fan of hip-hop. Like every genre, 80% of it is total fish poop, and gives the other 20% a bad rap (ba-dum-dum!). This comedy album from trio The Lonely Island (featuring current SNL member Andy Samberg) is a charter member of that 20%, and proves that hip-hop/R&B can be self-deprecating without being bad. With instant classics like "Dick In A Box", "Space Olympics", and the side-splitting "I'm On A Boat" (featuring auto-tuner extraordinaire T-Pain), this record got a fair amount of play in the band van. To this day, whenever we hit that one section of the NJ Turnpike that makes the car feel like it's on the water, someone will yell "I'm on a boat, motherfucker, don't you ever forget!"

8. Mastodon, "Crack The Skye" (2009)
A record sure to be on Dan's top ten as well, Mastodon's latest release is their best as well. A concept album following a young man who astral projects, comes untethered from his body, and winds up in Czarist Russia getting help from Rasputin, it finds the perfect blend of brutality and melodicism. But the best part for me, as Dan put it, is that Mastodon completely alienated all their hardcore fans with this record. Everyone who liked Mastodon because "they're so fuckin' heavy! WOO!" is gone. And good riddance. Those guys didn't like to shower. Anyway, this would be a good path into the world of Mastodon if you can't stomach the face-melting variety of metal. Just know that the other records may liquify your innards. WOO!

9. Probot, "Probot" (2004)
Another StumbleUpon find (those guys are great), this was a side project of Nirvana/Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl. You see, Dave was a big metal guy before he went all grunge/alt-rock, and now that he's rich and powerful, he decided to explore his roots. As Grohl is a talented multi-instrumentalist, he plays nearly everything on the album, save for some of the guitar solos (which are ably handled by former Soundgarden axeman Kim Thayil). What made this record for me was the guest list. Grohl apparently convinced not one, but ELEVEN of the biggest names in heavy metal vocals to appear with him. From Cronos (Venom) to Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly), King Diamond to Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost), and the incomparable Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), the record is a star-studded tour-de-force. I laughed! I cried! And so on. The only complaint you may have is that it sounds like Grohl wrote all the songs for the specific vocalists, i.e. the Lemmy track sounds like a Motorhead tune, the Max Cavalera track sounds like a Sepultura tune, etc. Indeed, Cavalera performs his track, "Red War" during live sets with Soulfly. Regardless, don't miss the hidden track at the end, with Tenacious D frontman Jack Black performing "I Am The Warlock". Or the video for Lemmy's track, "Shake Your Blood", featuring a whole bunch of the Suicide Girls.

10. The Sword, "Age Of Winters" (2006)
A record that apparently falls into a blanket area called "hipster metal". You know, the kind of metal that people who hate metal listen to. The kind that gets featured in Guitar Hero. The kind that the rest of the metal community looks down on you for listening to. But screw those guys, right? They don't shower anyway. I found this one on Leonard Pierce's "The Decade's Best Metal" on The Onion a few weeks ago (a great list, check it out). To me, it's actually stoner metal for people who hate stoner metal. It's low and sludgey, and evocative of early Black Sabbath. It has appropriately mystical/historical lyrics (see "Lament For The Aurochs"), but it's just fast enough to keep it from being boring. And it's nice to hear a metal drummer who doesn't use a double bass pedal. Plus, anything in drop-C tuning is my kind of music. So don your trucker caps, white belts, and skinny jeans, and let us away to Valhalla!

- Josh