Everest on World Cafe March 11, 2009

World Cafe Broadcast Notification:

A note for your calendar... The World Cafe will be broadcasting the EVEREST session on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2009.

National Public Radio's World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on nearly 200 stations nationwide. You can find your local station by scrolling to the bottom & choosing your state under "Find a Program Broadcast Time" at the following link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/stations/schedule/?prgId=39

…or worldwide you can listen online to the WXPN/Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm Eastern Standard Time by going to:

http://www.xpn.org/listen-live/listen-live

Late in the day of broadcast, the audio will be available on the National Public Radio website:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=39&agg=1

You can check out a gallery of Zoran Orlic photos from the session (taped at WXPN in Philadelphia on Davey's birthday) on our photo page or on MySpace.

"Can I get y'all to say 'reload' one time into the camera?"

Our talented friend Anthony Crawford (pictured above working out harmonies backstage with Russell) from Neil Young's band directed a video for our song Reloader. He did an amazing job of capturing our daily routine on the tour of setting up backstage to work on songs, doing group sing-dance-a-longs in the hockey showers, getting to soundcheck in big fun echo-y rooms, and playing to some of the best audiences we can imagine. We've posted that video and a few others on the fine "cinema" page, so go have a looksee. We should be announcing more tour dates soon, and we hope you'll come out and support us. More in a bit.

Home Sweet Home.

It's been an amazing year with memories burned into our brains that we will cherish... thanks to everyone who has supported us and made the adventure great. Sorry we haven't been able to write more about the tour yet, but we'll try to do a big wrap-up summary of the whole shebang soon....

Above is a photo of us by Zoran Orlic at soundcheck at the legendary Philadelphia Spectrum, one of the last shows to be held in that historic building! We'll add more photos from Zoran, tour manager Fred Sablan, and our friend Malia James over the next few weeks (as well as some new videos), so don't be a stranger.

Happy Holidazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzze.

Elk-Lake Serenaders

Last night, we wrapped up our first tour of Canada and it was a blast. We got to play for some of the best crowds we've ever shared an evening with, and hope to get back very soon. Last summer when we were swimming in a pool in LA with Hayden and the guys from Cuff The Duke after a short tour together... it felt like we'd met some friends that we'd know our whole lives. Now we're half a year and a few thousand frozen miles away from that day, but this run of shows has definitely confirmed that bond. It was great to see Corey, Wayne, Dale and Hayden along the road on the this trip. It made it special. If you don't know their music already, please check them out. Last night, for our 2nd show at the Air Canada Center in lovely Toronto, we were joined on stage by Hayden, John & Pat (from Wilco & Autumn Defense), and Anthony Crawford (from Neil's band). It was a special moment to have such warm voices and smiles up there with us. Anthony has been a true friend to our band. He's been working on a tour video that we'll share with you soon. Promise. Wilco was up next and soldiered on through a Glen-less set (he'd been previously booked in NYC with the Kronos Quartet).

Ottawa Morning

We're 3 shows into the tour and it's been even more amazing than we'd imagined. So far the crowds have been even larger and more intense. There's a lot of smiling going on, and I think that everyone involved wishes this tour could go on longer. The Wilco guys are blowing our minds every night with their playing, and it's definitely inspiring me to step it up. And, to boot, they are great to hang out with and are complete gentlemen. The other night Jeff Tweedy said that it was an honor to be sharing the stage with Neil and us, and my heart pert' near exploded. There have been some pretty surreal utopian moments out here. At one point last night, all three bands were working on new songs at the same time. Neil was on stage sound checking new jams with his band, while both Wilco and ourselves had our gear in our huge hockey dressing rooms working away on new ideas. There was a bizarre mashup of Neil, Everest, and Wilco all at once!

Leg 2 Begins...

Hello from Halifax, Nova Scotia. We're looking out at the Atlantic Ocean right now from our hotel in this beautiful eastern Canadian port. We just arrived after flying to Newark where we rented a van and did the drive up into Canada. So far, all has been going smoothly. We drove all day yesterday before stopping in Woodstock, New Brunswick. The sole inhabitants of a Howard Johnson hotel, it felt a little bit like The Shining. After a foggy but beautiful drive we crossed the border from Maine into New Brunswick. The border guard recognized us as Everest and mentioned that he was going to the show (a 5 hour drive from there). He also told us to get some rest. A nice welcome back to Canada.... and I must say that the Canadians have been lovely to us so far, much like Leg 1. The only possible exception to that was an intense woman who asked to see our van at a gas station today. We said "sure" but our smiles quickly turned to bewilderment when she told us that if we were in a wreck, we'd have "no chance of life." She put the spook on us for sure, and we all piled back into the van scratching our heads while strapping on our seatbelts. In any event, here we are...

Leg 1 of Neil Young North American tour

Today is Tuesday, October, 28. We have a day off at home today in Los Angeles, resting and recovering from our days on the road with Neil Young and Death Cab For Cutie. It's a bit strange trying to make heads or tails out of things at the moment as the past few weeks have been like a dream that you cannot and do not wish to wake from.

Let me begin by saying what an honor and a privilege it is to be on tour with Neil Young. He and his band are mind blowing every single night and it is a dream come true to get to see him perform his songs night after night. To have the opportunity to get to know him and talk with him has been very meaningful to say the least.

Oh, Canada!

Our record "Ghost Notes" will be released by Warner Music in Canada on October 14th in conjunction with our tour with Neil Young... We're looking forward to seeing 8 of the major Canadian cities and 6 of the provinces on this trip. If you live in Canada, come say hello to us and tell us the good places to grub in your town!

Please Vote.

The above drawing by artist Nikki McClure says it all. If you want to effect change in this country, you have to actively get involved and in the very least... vote! This year we'll be filling out absentee ballots from the road as we'll be in Kansas City for Election Day. If you're not already registered to vote, our friends at Rock The Vote offer an easy way to get you registered. Click the following link:

http://www.registrationbyworkingassets.com/register/?api_key=49s0W4ywqs8ZSOomBsFBZ.hxz64

Home Is a Suitcase.

Hi there.

We're back in Los Angeles for a spell ... been living out of vans more than our homes since May, and it doesn't look like that will change for a while. That said, we're completely thrilled to be spending the Fall and early Winter touring with Neil Young, Death Cab For Cutie, and Wilco! To say that it's a dream come true would be an understatement. We just got home from a West Coast tour with the wonderful Parson Red Heads. I can't say enough about this band. They're bright and their songs made us smile night after night, and sing every morning. It was a pleasure to hang out with them and share some memories. To Evan, Sam, Brette, Erin, Aaron, Charlie, Dane, David, and the rest of their lovely clan.. THANK YOU! You made the trip incredible. Special thanks to Evan for all his hard work setting up the tour. If you live in LA, they're playing Amoeba next Wednesday.