Hello dear people,
Sometimes I get this intense impulse to write something from the heart for BT fans. It's kinda weird because I'm not the artistic director of the group and tend to think way too much about the politics of representation, etc. But as we all know Eric tends to keep to himself, for better or worse, and life goes on.
So please understand from the outset how grateful we all are. This last tour especially raised the thankfulness quotient for all of us. It was so rad go out in Feb and March and see so many folks so into the music, good people all! and seemed like happier at the end of the night than they were at the beginning. This is an amazing blessing.
It would be cool if we were just out to make a living and do our thing. But the fact is that we are a family of sorts, we've always all believed in just being together and we were many years ahead of the curve in perceiving Eric's songwriting talents. It's beyond fantastic to feel like the faith-positions we adopted so long ago are now being justified en masse, by you people. On a pragmatic level, it's the difference between my wife humoring my "artistic" ambitions and her taking BT seriously enough to quit her job and concentrate on raising our child. On another level, it's given the band the confidence and self-awareness to accomplish things we might never have imagined otherwise.
And another thing, I believe that the more people who listen to the music the richer and more multidimensional the music becomes. Does anyone else feel this way? I was reading through a journal from the end of the fall 2008 tour, the day I got back to Portland I randomly ran into an old friend who invited me back to his place for herbal refreshment. He put Furr on the turntable and it struck me immediately how much the music had deepened. But it makes sense to me (intuitively) that the release of a record transforms it potentially into something greater than the artist is capable of crafting on her own. So thank you for participating in this project, I consider you all collaborators.
Okay, so what is the State of the Trapper?
Well, Eric has been busy recording the follow-up to Furr, he's doing it with our friend Mike Coykendall, who is M. Ward's go-to guy and who lives in the neighborhood. The songs are going to blow your minds, and because they're recorded to fat tape there is much more sonic information to enjoy. Mike is the one who recorded the basic tracks for Black River Killer and Lady On the Water; if you listen carefully to the album Furr you'll notice a much more compelling vocal sound on those two songs. So expect a richer aural experience along with the crazy tales, classic melodies, searing guitar work, etc. that you've come to expect from the Trapper. Pretty sure we'll play some of it on the road later this year.
And speaking of the road, we're hitting it pretty hard come July. Here's the schedule so far, with lots more coming:
May 25 The Gorge, WA, Sasquatch Music Festival w/ Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Deerhoof etc.
July 9 Sacramento, Harlow's
10 Visalia, CA, The Cellar Door
12 Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl w/ Ray LaMontagne, Jenny Lewis
13 Solana Beach, CA, Belly Up Tavern
15 Aspen, CO, Belly Up Aspen
18 Iowa City, The Picador
19 Chicago, Pitchfork Music Festival
20 Milwaukee, Pabst Theater
21 Fargo, ND, The Aquarium
24 Boise, ID, Neurolux
25 Kennewick, WA, The Red Room
Aug 1 Happy Valley, OR, Pickathon w/ Vetiver, Dr Dog, Alela Diane, etc.
2 Happy Valley, OR, Pickathon
12 Oslo, Norway, Rockefeller w/ Andrew Bird
Sept 8 Glasgow, UK, Academy w/ Fleet Foxes
9 Newcastle, UK, Academy w/ Fleet Foxes
11 Manchester, UK, Apollo w/ Fleet Foxes
Oct 2 Austin, TX, ACL Music Festival
Like I said, there's a lot more in the works that I can't talk about yet. But it's gonna be rad. In July the most excellent Portland band Loch Lomond will be playing with us on most of the dates, I definitely encourage everyone to get on that train.
Okay, so now I must go, the family is hungry and agitating for action. I feel like I failed in my original purpose. But I hope this finds you all well and that we get a chance to meet this summer some time.
Peace to all,
marty
