The Road, Pt 1

Hey Everyone,

Kevin and I are having a great time on the road. Every show so far has been a great success and we can't wait to meet up with Dave and Dan in a few days down in Austin. Tonight, we're playing with Cowboy Indian Bear and Dubb Nubb at Foam in St. Louis. Looks like it's going to be a nice night.

Last night, we had a really nice show with The Bonesetters. Afterwards, we stayed with the owner of Be Here Now, a great indie venue in Muncie, Indiana. Being cat enthusiasts, we felt like we had to share this video of his cat Isis with you.

More tour videos really soon.

Tour Details

Hello!

We've got a good list of shows lined up now and Kevin and I really can't wait to hit the road. We'll probably add a few more shows before we leave so any suggestions are still welcome. Like I mentioned in the previous post, we're meeting up with Dave and Dan in Austin for our "I Guess I'm Floating"/Flying Dog showcase (now with Facebook event, Oh yeah, and there will be free beer, and it's St. Paddy's Day...). We'll probably pick up a couple house party/spur-of-the-moments shows from the 14th-17th so stay posted for those if you're in the Austin area.

Hope you like the new tour flyer I made today.

Midwest Tour to SXSW

News! From March 7th-16th, Kevin and I will be playing as a duo on a tour down to SXSW. We've got our showcase in Austin on the 17th - St Paddy's Day - where we'll be meeting up with Dave and new drummer Dan. From the 18th-20th we'll be playing a few full-band shows on the ride home. Check over to the right for confirmed shows. More are in the works so check back often!

This one time, at Bandcamp...

So...you can grab our EP for free or donation at our new bandcamp site.

Also, check out our schedule over there on the right side. We've got a couple Frederick shows and some Baltimore things before we depart for Austin, TX (!!!). If you know anyone in between Baltimore and Texas, please let us know since we're booking a small tour now!

Thanks Again

Again, Thank you to everyone who helped us reach (exceed) our goal on RocketHub. Once we get the check in the mail, we'll begin pressing our EP and promoting the heck out of it. Please be patient, it may take about a month or two to get the CDs back in the mail and get them sent out to those who donated. Plus, I'm still not sure how long it's going to take me to write all of those haikus that will be sent with the signed CD (haikus are what, 5 - 7 - 5 syllables and I need to write 50 of them, THAT'S 850 SYLLABLES!).

BONUS: If you forgot to donate or are broke, you can get our EP by clicking the bandcamp link in the header above. That'll send you to our a site where you can name your own price for it.

Goodnight moon, Justin

Thank You

To everyone who helped us reach our goal: Thank you. Because of your very generous support, we are now able to press and promote our new EP "Eureka!" We really couldn't have done it without you. There's still one more day to donate if you haven't already and would like to: Eureka! EP RocketHub Fundraiser

Help Show Eureka! EP to the World!

Please take a minute and head over to our crowd-funding campaign at RocketHub

We worked really hard on this EP and we're hoping to get you on board with us. By donating at different level, different rewards are given out. Spread the word!

They're Weird Over There

So instead of heading up to Montreal last week, I decided to make a break for the coast and ended up in Portland, Maine. To be truthful, it wasn't exactly my decision...

After my show in Burlington, VT, I drove an hour north to the Canadian border figuring I'd get into Montreal late that evening and be able to relax the next day before my show. Unfortunately, the Canadian border patrol had other ideas for me. Since I didn't have a work visa, I wasn't allowed in the country (they found out I had a show - those sneaky Canadians!). I tried explaining that I was playing a smaller bar and was only hoping to play for dinner and a few drinks but that didn't matter. They turned me around.

I will say that it was comforting coming back into the states. When I told the US patrol-lady what happened she smiled and said "they're weird over there."

Enjoy the small clips of coastal Maine that I took. Though it's tough to tell, those waves were huge!

Tour Update

Hey Everyone,

Things are going great on the road. I'm meeting a ton of new people and I love playing different cities. Each venue has been very different and the songs are changing constantly. Last night I got the chance to play in Albany with the wonderful Ramona Cordova, Space Ghost Cowboys, and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe (Alex Muro's side project from Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned). A fantastic show indeed.

Aside for Albany, all the other shows have been great (expect in Philly where my show was cancelled).  Had a great crowd at Anna Liffey's in New Haven a couple nights ago and Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn is always a fun time.  Tonight, I'm playing at the Radio Bean Coffeehouse in Burlington at 5, before the open mic night.  I think I might leave the show kind of abruptly to get up to the hostel I'm staying at in Montreal.

Anyway, I'm just about to leave Alex's house and it's actually snowing kind of hard.  I hope the tour van (my Honda Fit) will be able to handle it as we go up north.  Enjoy the video of Albany's first snow of the season that I posted at the top  :)

From New England with love, Justin

Clarification

Hey Everyone,

Just to clarify, I'm going on tour SOLO.  Alone.  All by myself.  I'm going as 'Eureka Bird' which is singular (get it?  it's because the full band is 'Eureka Birds' - plural - and I'm not going with the full band).  I've chosen to tour solo because of the following:

• Dave is in school and can't take off two weeks
• We don't have a drummer (I've been recording the drums lately)
• I can save money on gas by taking my Honda instead of the van
• It's easier to book a solo act in smaller venues than a full band
• I really like doing solo shows

So please, come out and keep me company and check out our facebook page for the events along the tour. Also, Eureka! Ep is finished and will be on sale starting November 2nd at the Hexagon show.

Hope to see you then! Justin

New England Solo Tour

Hey Everyone, The solo tour is happening.  Please look at my show schedule to see if I'm playing a city near you.  Should be a lot of fun.

Also of note, Eureka! EP is being mastered right now, as we speak.  We can't wait to share it with you very soon.  Some pre-release copies should be available from the back of my van on the solo tour.

!

Update 2.0

Hey everyone,

A lot of good things are happening over here.  The full band just played in Albany, Baltimore, and Brooklyn last weekend and all three shows went great.  In fact, they went so well that I'm trying to get out and play more shows in cities whose names start with letters that delve deeper into the alphabet.  Cities like Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Montreal perhaps.

With the help of our manager and new booking agent, I'm going out on a solo tour in early November.  If all goes well, I'll be doing a big loop with Montreal being the top point.  Now begins the push to have the EP ready by then.  I actually went to Indianapolis two weeks ago to track the final song with Tyler.  Everything is mixed and ready for mastering.  The tracklisting will include the beloved:

• Cactus Man
• Sarah (Sits and Cries)
• There Was Light
• Sunset on Film
• We'll Get By
• That Mountain is a Volcano

Maybe you've already heard some of these songs?  If not, be sure to come out to the French Press tomorrow night (see related post).

That's all for now.  I assure you, there will be more soon. Justin

Metro Gallery Mini-tour Kickoff

[singlepic id=64 w=320 h=240 float=none] SAVE THE DATE - Thursday, September 16th

We're playing with Mia Riddle, Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, and Cameron Blake.  Doors are at 8, it's 21+ and tickets are $8 at the door.  Hope to see many of you there, as this will be one of our only full-band shows for a while.

Let us know you're coming by responding to our invite on Facebook here Justin

The French Press

Hey,

I'm playing a solo show at the French Press - a lovely cafe in my hometown of Towson, MD.  I plan on playing a few new songs from the upcoming EP and some jams from the debut as well.  The show will feature other songwriters from the area as well including the talented:

• Ed Neenah (E. Joseph and the Phantom Heart)
• Brandt Huseman (Pale Stars)
• Jennifer Peters
• C.L. Blake

The show will begin at 7 and go until about 10 or so.  Tickets are only $5 and can be purchased at the door or using the button below (through paypal).  You can also get in touch with me at eurekabirds@gmail.com to order by email.

Admit One French Press, 9/23/2010 $5.00 [wp_cart:French Press Solo Show Ticket:price:5.00:end]

Eureka! EP

Here's to a long overdo update... It's looking like we're going to release an EP in November.   It may or may not be called Eureka! Here's an idea of the track listing:

There Was Light That Mountain is a Volcano Mila Sunset on Film Sarah Sits and Cries We'll Get By

We might include another song on there or release it later on 7" style. We're not sure how well it meshes with this set so it might be better-paired with a B-side I've been working on called "Cactus Man."

Much more to come.   Please stay with us.  Visit our store if you want to help with the recording

Justin

BONUS, here are a couple pictures I took from my backpacking trip in Yosemite:

[nggallery id=4]

1/2 Recording - Success

Eureka!

We did it! Over half the album is now complete and we're really happy about it.  We finished 5 of the 6 songs I mentioned in the previous post and got parts of a few others down as well.  Also, I'm hoping to post some vocal/piano versions of some of the new songs pretty soon so be on the lookout for that.

Recording

Indiana.  Crossroads of America?  Perhaps.

What is this, our 8th trip out there?  I think so.  No big deal, it's only 583 miles and about 9 hours, 31 minutes, according to Google maps.  This, of course, assumes that we'll be driving the speed limit.  You know, Dave got a bad ticket last time so we'll probably take it slow this time around.  We'll probably also stop off in Columbus, OH for some margaritas at Mad Mex if we're not too late.  It's becoming the tradition to meet up with Erik (violinist) on the way out.

This time, Erik's going to put some strings on a few of the songs starting Wednesday.  It looks like Monday and Tuesday will be spent getting foundations ready for him.  Anyway, here's the goal for the week:

1. We'll Get By
2. There Was Light
3. Mila Don't Make a Sound
4. Sarah (Sits and Cries)
5. That Mountain is a Volcano
6. The Party Goes On

Let's see how we do...

The Future is Now

There are a few new things going on with the Birds Eureka: 1)  I bought a van that looks something like this.  Hopefully we'll see you New England people a good bit this Fall.

2)  The second album is slowly coming together.  A combination of things (...$) are making it difficult to finish in a timely manner.

3)  We may be saying goodbye to members Jason and Mike (drums and bass).  Dave and I have a band philosophy that includes some touring and the heart of our rhythm section isn't able to get on the road.  I assure you there are no hard feelings about the matter.

4)  I'll be playing a few solo shows in Baltimore over the summer before a small New York jaunt in September.

5)  We're sort of broke.  I took the free download off the site because I want to encourage people to donate to us by buying mp3s at Music Floss (a site where musicians keep 100% of profits and the cheapest place to buy our album).  If you still want the album for free, most of the songs have been blogged on Hype Machine and you can download them on related blog posts.  This is much cooler than getting us on torrents and you don't need to make Lars Ulrich get all upset.

Love you all.  Hope to see you soon.

A Heads Up

Citizens: Our album will not be available for free after Valentines Memorial day. Just wanted to give ya'll a heads up. That is all.