hometapes does it again

i've mentioned hometapes on this site an unprecedented three times, but danged if they don't keep releasing rad stuff. once again, and i can't stress how rare this is for me, i was drawn in by an album cover:



the album is neighbor singing by brad laner. as with the paul duncan album i wrote about last march i can't vouch for the music quite yet. brad used to be in medicine with my good friend jim who now fronts the radar brothers so i've got a good feeling, tho. and that paul duncan disc turned out alrite. and hometapes is slowly turning into one of those labels where every release is a must-have.

and that art! here's another piece i luv from josh keyes.

sedona, arizona

so this is it for the tour pics folks. i saved the best for last. the drive from flagstaff to phoenix to meet up with man man was so short we decided to take a scenic detour. we pulled off the hiway and were saddened to see that the road we were meant to take into sedona was a dirt road with a sign that read "4 wheel drive recommended." we decided that the road didn't look too bad and that since the 4 wheel drive wasn't "required" we would be fine. the first half was pretty mellow, thru forests and across babbling brooks. then we came to a vista and all of arizona was laid out before us. gorgeous! from there it was all downhill, figuratively as well as literally. we made our way down the cliff and subjected our minivan to some serious off-roading. it took us a couple hours of white-knuckling it to get back to tarmac. there were several moments where we thought we might roll off the cliff and die and several more where we felt like that minivan might just spend the rest of it's days rusting on the side of that mountain. luckily, we all escaped unscathed, but for all the beauty we were like, "f. this place, let's get the heck out of here."

the modern

in ft. worth, texas, sleeping states had the honor of playing the modern museum with st. vincent, peter and the wolf, mom, and some other rad bands. the place stayed open til midnite, the art was hot, the nite cool, the grass slightly damp, and the wine flowed freely...

italian rolling stone

my pal, stefano, sent me this little gem from the pages of the italian rolling stone. rad!