This was one of the first songs written for the “Boston” record, and it’s still one of my personal favorites. The Liberator was an abolitionist newspaper from the mid-1800s published by a man named William Lloyd Garrison, who was himself a prominent abolitionist and activist.  Published during the years leading up to the American Civil War, The Liberator grew in circulation and popularity and gave a voice to those who some wanted to keep silent, at a time when slavery still plagued this country and a black man couldn’t even cast a vote.  That said, it was especially cool to get to play this song at a benefit show for the Artist Mentorship Program on November 7th of last year – 3 days after a black man was elected President of the United States.  It wasn’t about politics – it was about an incredible moment in the history of this country – and it was about time.  I think William Lloyd Garrison would have loved that moment, too.

“Liberator” is on our current EP, “New England” (available over on the right), and will be on our new album, “The King Can Drink the Harbor Dry”, due out this summer.  You can also find it on our Myspace and Facebook pages – stop by and say hi!

Have a great week and if you live on the west coast, check those tour dates…we may be headed to a town near you -

Johnny

As some of you may well know, Groundhog Day is less than a week away (Monday, Feb. 2nd). In the spirit and tradition of Groundhog Day, the band is coming out of our cozy winter hibernation in the recording studio and playing a couple of shows…and believe me, we’re hoping there won’t be 6 more weeks of winter…

We’ll be in Seattle this weekend at the Comet Tavern on Saturday night (Jan. 31st) for our first show of the year. Look for a few new songs to make their way into the set, as well as some old favorites we haven’t played in a while. We had a great time at the Comet a few months back and can’t wait to see some old friends in the Emerald City…

The following Saturday (Feb. 7th) we’ll be back home in Portland at one of our favorite rooms in town for a show at Holocene. We’ve been looking forward to this show for some time, and it’s always a good time at the Holocene…maybe we’ll get Jake to dress up like Bill Murray from Groundhog Day…or better yet, his getup from The Life Aquatic…

Hope to see you all soon – this Saturday in Seattle, next Saturday in Portland – and between weekends, have a great Groundhog Day…

Johnny

The blog from Dec. 11th included a video clip from a friend at San Jose State University, not Santa Clara University. My mistake…

We love both schools, and we actually did on-air performances at both schools on the same tour…so that’s my excuse for getting them mixed up. Here’s pictures from that tour at both radio stations -

A friend of ours just sent us a bit of video from earlier this year – we had the chance to do several “on-air” performances, mostly at college radio stations, on our spring tour along the west coast. This clip is from KSCU at Santa Clara University and we’re performing a bit of “Mary Dyer“, which was written just before this tour began. It’s only the last part of the song, but it’s an interesting video and a glimpse behind the curtain at what these on-airs are like – notice how we’re all crowded around the mic…good times. Thanks again to our friends at Santa Clara for having us on and for the video footage…

If you want to hear a full version of the song, scroll down a bit to the “Raising Mississippi” video – we’re performing “Mary Dyer” there as well. I hope you guys are having a good week! It’s been a cold one in P-town, but that’s what coffee’s for, right?

Johnny