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Mutineer News

Spring Tour and Kickstarter Update! 

Our tour dates are growing and growing. We start our busy season this weekend up in northern Washington with four shows: Bremerton, Seattle, Olympia, and Yelm. Then it's off to Montana before heading south to warmer weather for the Spring. So many good dates and fun bands to play with, keep up with them by following us on the Bandsintown app. 

Meanwhile, we've been working hard on our recording and Kickstarter rewards. We have sent our EP off to get mastered, so it won't be long before new music is available for download to our Kickstarter backers. As is typical, recording and mixing took a bit longer than we projected, so our CDs will not be mailed out before we leave for Montana. But we have several days off when we get to Arizona and we should be able to do a big mailing then. I have been printing shirts, hoodies, and posters while we are still out here on the Lower Columbia River. We will get those out to you before we leave. If you backed our campaign you should have also received an email last week with a "secret" url to get your two bonus tracks, featuring Terry Luna and Michael Astudillo. We really hope you will download them and enjoy! Drop us a line if you can't find the link. 

By now you've probably been barraged by news of pandemics and stock market crashes. Rough news indeed. No one knows how this will all play out exactly. We hope that you will be healthy and come out to see us while we are on the road. We have new songs to share, and our shows have been so fun lately. We would love to sing for you and with any luck take your cares away for the night. If it's your time to vote, PLEASE do so. We don't have a perfect system by any means, but we hope that you will contribute. See you out on the road!

We Did It! New Album On The Way 

We reached our Kickstarter goal! Now we are busy getting the rewards together, screen printing T shirts, hoodies, CDs and posters. We plan to ship all of the rewards (except vinyl--that takes longer) before we leave for our next tour on March 11. Vinyl should be arriving in July. We finished recording and mixing last week so we are right on schedule with the new album, and we are really happy with how these new songs sound. We'll keep you posted and let you know when the downloads and CDs are available. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Hope to see you out there....

Mer+Bri

OUR FIRST VINYL RELEASE - KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN 

It's finally happening, we are taking the plunge and creating our first ever release on vinyl. We've had a lot of requests for records over the years and we think now is the time for us to create something special for you vinyl lovers. We've been back in the studio with producer/multi-instrumentalist Raymond Richards, recording a new 5 song EP. Along with a CD release of the EP, we will also take the 5 new tracks and combine them with the five from Threshold EP to make a double EP split 12" record. These ten songs share a cohesive style and story, born out of our collaboration with Raymond, and influenced by our time on the Columbia River. We think we captured some special moments in the studio and we hope you'll buy our new record or CD! 

PLEDGE TO OUR KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN HERE!

We've been a DIY band from the start and have always managed to fund our recordings by performing, selling merch, and a little hustling on the side. A record, however, costs more up front than we can handle on our own. By supporting our Kickstarter campaign, you'll get to pre-order our first 12" vinyl and secure your own copy of our limited run of this release. You'll be in possession of our new songs months before we release them to streaming services and the general public. And on top of that, you'll also be helping us with the cost of our production so we don't have to turn to a greedy bank for funds. Hear me out! If you back our campaign, you'll be the envy of your peers and an example to small children everywhere, which is no small thing.

As you might expect, the artwork in our pledge rewards will be designed by Merry and printed by Brian. We have shirts, and hoodies, and even a custom printed Levi's denim jacket for a limited few. You can choose from our back catalog of CDs and posters with some of our pledge packages as well. The vinyl will take months to produce and ship to you, unfortunately, but most of our other rewards will make it to as early as mid March. So head on over to Kickstarter, check out our rewards and make a pledge.

We have a big budget to crack, not gonna lie. It will cost us over $2200 just to reproduce the vinyl, let alone the cost of recording, mixing, and mastering. When we include the cost of making and shipping our rewards, and the fees from Kickstarter, we end up with a grand total of $5,300. That's a big investment for our DIY duo but we can do this together. 

The truth is we will need as many folks on board as possible. We only have until February 24 to reach our goal or the campaign fails. That's right, if we don't get $5300 in pledges, no customers are charged, no rewards are sent, and we get nothing for the effort. But that's ok, the limited timeline is what makes these campaigns work so effectively. Nothing like a deadline to spur people into action. 

Can you help us spread the word? Sharing the link to our campaign would mean the world to us. Remember this isn't a request for charity, we have some great rewards for you and your friends. It's been an amazing experience to travel the country playing music and meeting cool people. We've appreciated so much the kind words of encouragement you've given us along the way. We really can not do this without you. You are the other member of the band! 

Thanks in advance for your support! Keep your eye on our calendar! Pacific Northwest dates are up for February. More coming for the region in March before we head out on another extended US tour. Good things. Lots to do! Let's go.

 

Holiday Shows and the Winter Woodshed 

We are having some beautiful, foggy, gray, classic northwest weather as autumn slowly gives way to winter here on the Lower Columbia River. Merry and I are getting ready for a few last shows to round out 2019. For the first time since we started the tradition in 2011, we will have two performances of The Holiday Spectacular in one season: one in Portland at Teutonic Wine Company and the other at River Mile 38 in Cathlamet, WA. Our friends, Ian Brandon and Andrew Emlen will join us on fiddle and cello. It's a great ensemble, and I hope you can catch a show!

Tickets for the Portland event are here: Saturday, December 14

After that, we join our pal Matthew Sayles for his residency at Al's Den in NW Portland. We will be there on Wednesday night, December 18. If you've been following us for a while, you know Matt has been a long time collaborator. He's a great singer/songwriter with deep knowledge of the roots of American music that he uses to weave a thread through his shows. Great time of year to walk around NW and then hunker down in the basement club of a classic hotel.

We've made a home out here on the Lower Columbia River for the last three years when we are not on the road. Been wonderful getting to know the locals and working with River Mile 38. And so we will do our third Spectacular here in Cathlamet. We will be joined by a cast of local musicians who will take the mic and sing with us. Saturday, December 21

At the time of posting, we don't have an NYE show on the schedule, but keep your eye out for us. We may have a show for you if you're up in the PNW. I'll keep you posted.

We will be in the studio this month as well, back to work with Raymond Richards. It's the season to stay in and work on new music and plan the 2020 tour route. We have a lot in the works already. But more on that after the holidays. We hope you are happy and healthy, and if you are not, that you have someone to lean on. Thanks for all your support this year! We are grateful. Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Washington shows and the tour wrap up 

photo by Clovis IV

It's nice to be back in the Pacific Northwest, with the steady drizzle, the colorful fallen leaves, and the cat next to the wood burning stove. We spent the last two weeks of the tour in California, where summer refuses to cede any ground. It was 9 weeks ago that we left our little island community and began the Echolocation tour. What a ride! And it's not quite over yet. Before we get to the tour highlights, here are the last three dates on the schedule:

11/21 at Parliament Tavern, West Seattle, with Michael Ray and the Plastic Sheets and Nosretep

11/22 at The Manette Saloon, Bremerton, with Jack Parker & the Remedy, and Tony Winters

11/23 at Pig Bar, Olympia, with Waking Bear

With these three shows in Washington, the final tally for this tour will be at 40 shows in 19 states. We played with about 25 different bands. We played 11 shows by ourselves. We performed 3 times in Colorado and 3 times in Wisconsin, but California was way out in front with 10 shows. It was 90+ degrees during the day in Kansas and Arizona. It got down to 25 overnight outside of Albuquerque and there was snow on the ground in Amarillo. 

We stayed at 4 hotels over the 8+ weeks we were away. The remaining nights were spent in rest areas, Walmart parking lots, camp grounds, and with family and friends when possible. The van needed new rotors and breaks while out on the road, and the check engine light is on. Merry's awesome faux leather jacket and Brian's Rev. Peyton t shirt were both retired on account of decomposition. Neither of us got sick on the road, although 2 hangovers were reported.

We played in a wide variety of locations. Small venues, dive bars, tap rooms and patios, breweries, house parties, a Vaudeville era theater, restaurants, a dance hall, a wedding venue, a bowling alley and a road house or two. We were as far north as Hancock, MI on Lake Superior, and as far South as Tucson, AZ. The tour went coast to coast as well. On the last day's journey back to Washington, we came within inches of hitting an enormous buck while driving in rush hour traffic at dusk. We felt very fortunate to have our health and our lives when we returned home.

The bands we played with were diverse, talented, and all around lovely folks. There was a ton of great music and performances. So we decided to make this playlist of the indie rockers, troubadours, and weirdos we were fortunate enough to share a stage with. Not everyone has their tunes up on Spotify, for better or worse, so we have some bands missing. We also added Patrolled By Radar to the list even though we didn't get to play with them, because, Jay, you know why ;) The playlist is roughly arranged in the order that we performed with them over the last two months.   

Friends on the Echolocation Tour 2019 - Spotify playlist

It's tough to play favorites. We had a lot of great times, but there are a few stand out moments for us. Mickey's Tavern in Madison, WI, Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, CA, and The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz all had that epic feel, where folks are packed in and you don't need to encourage them to move up to the stage because they are already there, ready to party. Great bands on all these bills. And at the Maverick we had the opportunity to rock out the last three songs of the night with Terry Luna back on stand up bass. That was killer! The Orpheum Theater in Hancock, MI was magical in all its velvet dressing and vintage grandeur. It was excellent to reunite with our buddy Matt Sayles there. Nyack, NY was my hometown show. Playing with Rest Assured? was incredible. They were so tight! You could feel the energy in the crowd of old school fans. Spirits were high that night! Down in some deep holler outside of Asheville, we played at a wedding. Friends of our dear friend, Morgan Geer aka Drunken Prayer. Morgan played bass with us for about an hour or so. Picking up the songs as we played, while I shouted the chords. We have got to do that again, but with less chord shouting. And I doubt we will forget about Halloween weekend in Tucson with the lovely Miss Lana Rebel. She is a rare talent and also has some of the best stage banter. Che's Lounge was filled with fun people that night. And our first stops ever in Oklahoma were really positive. Let me stop here before I just list every show on the tour.

We had a blast. There seemed to be more folks at more of the shows, and your encouragement means the world to us. We are taking all that energy into the studio this winter. Hugs 

Walnut City Music Fest and the Echolocation Tour (Fall 2019) 

Bats and moths have inspired us. We begin our fall US tour on a full moon, Friday the 13th of September. We can't believe our luck. It's the Echolocation Tour, in which we use our sound waves to find good food and new friends while safely dodging predators. Almost 40 dates in 20 states over 8 weeks. We have an intriguing new design from Merry that will become a t shirt and a screen printed poster. And of course, some new songs to introduce.

 

Before we hit the road, we will perform twice during the Walnut City Music Festival in McMinnville, OR. Find us on the main stage in Lower City Park on Friday at 6p and the downtown at The Oak for an afterparty set starting at 11p. Hitch a ride up the mountain the following morning and join us at Solera Brewery in Parkdale. The views of Mt. Hood are insane as it sits right behind the outdoor stage. And we will perform one last time in Cathlamet with our buddy Jon Bartel and Jack Parker at River Mile 38 on Saturday, 9/7.

The Mountaineer Tour 

The most common mispronunciation of our name is, The Mountaineers, followed closely by, The Mutton Ears. For the record, it is pronounced Mew-tin-ears, as in MUTINY!  But as the saying goes, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." So we have named our summer tour THE MOUNTAINEER TOUR. It all starts July 12 in La Grande at Side A Brewing. We will have a few gigs in the area before we hit the road for two and a half weeks in the mountains. For all you flatlanders out there in the rest of the U.S. keep an eye out for our fall national tour announcement, coming around August 1. We will be making the rounds in September, October, and November. 

This weekend we head back to Skyline Tavern on Thursday 6/20. Situated up on the hill above Forest Park in Portland, OR, this is an intimate environment for our show, plus the building, grounds, and view are outstanding. Next, we head to Bend for our first proper gig in 8 years. We will be joining Cosmonautical for a house party at Loco Continuum. Contact us for details if you are in the area. We end the weekend on Saturday in The Dalles for our first performance at Rivertap. Looking forward to this short run!

Portland area, don't forget to get your tickets to the 39th Annual Crawfish Boil on Thursday, July 4. They are going fast because it's an amazing deal. $30 gets you all day hourly crawfish and shrimp boil, a food ticket to go through the buffet line, 5 drink tickets, and performances by 11 awesome bands from noon till 10pm! People were turned away at the door last year, so don't sleep on it if you want to attend. We play at 3p. Details at: https://www.facebook.com/events/845779985775596/. You can follow us up to Cathlamet, WA on Saturday if you got the energy. We will be playing at River Mile 38 Brewery for the first time in a long time. It's worth it to visit this area!

And then we hit the road for real. We are very excited for this loop through mountain country. I think we will be crossing the Great Divide four times on this trip. It will take us through eastern Oregon, western Idaho, a loop around western Montana, to Spokane, WA for the first time, and then back to Olympia and Chehalis where we made our first visits in May. 12 shows in 15 days! Personally, I am most excited about returning to Boise. We have always wanted to play at The Olympic Venue and it turns out we get the chance to do it on a fantastic bill. MESSIMER, Rider and Rolling Thunder, and The Mutineers. Tickets are available now at THIS LINK

We will be fairly quiet in August as we gear up for two months on the road. But we will end the month at Walnut City Music Festival. The lineup is fantastic. If you don't know some or any of the names, that's ok. There's a really great playlist on Spotify featuring a couple tracks from each band. Really fun listen. We went and walked around the park where the festival will take place. Just happened to be out in McMinnville. It's down in the holler of the park where the creek runs through, nice sunny and shady areas, big trees. Going to be a great weekend there. Tickets are on sale now HERE

Summer is here. Time to live it up. See you out on the road!

 

 

 

 

 

Slough Rats, Crawfish Boil, and Other Summer Goodness 

The Summer visited us early in the Pacific Northwest. We had some lovely weather to travel and tour our region in the past month. We just returned to the farm. It's back to cool and rainy. I'm not unhappy with it. I love the rain. Sooner or later, real Summer will show up and we have some fun things lined up for it. Here are the highlights:

Saturday, May 25 at the Skamokawa Grange with Wanderlodge. Merry and I will team up with our friends, Austin & Emlen, to create a four-piece act we are calling The Slough Rats. We will be playing a few Mutineers songs, a few of their tracks, and a few select covers. Across the road from the Grange is Vista Park. It has a beach on the river and a bunch of camping and other facilities to rent. Come spend Memorial Day weekend with us. The show is $10 at the door. 

Thursday, July 4, The 38th Annual Crawfish Boil $30 gets you all day hourly crawfish and shrimp boil, a food ticket to go through the buffet line, 5 drink tickets, and performances by 11 awesome bands from noon till 10pm! This is going to be an insanely good time. If you are near Portland, do this for Independence Day. Tickets are available now: http://bit.ly/PDXCrawfish2019

Saturday, July 13, at The Olympic, Boise, ID with Messimer and Rider Soran. Luke Messimer writes great songs. And he can sing the hell out of them. Messimer was one of our favorite acts of Treeforts past. Rider Soran, from Boise's Marshall Poole, has a new country band he is leading and we can't wait to hear what he's got going on. The Olympic is awesome. Can't wait for this show and our return to Boise. This is part of a longer tour through Idaho, Montana, and eastern Washington/Oregon. 

Friday, August 30, Walnut City Fest, McMinnville, OR. They have already announced the lineup for this end of the summer music festival in wine country. Our friends, the very talented MAITA, are on the bill along with the mighty Yawpers. It's a two day festival in the park with after parties in the nearby bars. Get it on your calendars too. 

NW Spring Dates/Straight Into The Sun Tour 

California gave us a dose of Springtime that we severely needed after a typical PNW Winter. It was so gorgeous down south after all the rain. And, hey, the shows were pretty damn good too! We broke some new ground on this tour. New venues and towns. New songs. New friends. We are plotting our return already.  

The Spring tour dates roll on up here in the great Northwest. Here's the updated tour poster. We have our screen printed limited edition version at our merch table. It has metallic silver ink. Looks faaarrrrr ooouuuut. Only about a dozen or so left of 50. We also have an epic tour shirt that pays homage to E.T. Check them out at the shows.

From the Dirge to the Dance just turned 8 years old the other day. I'm a whole mess of emotions about that. It was our last release with Michael and Terry still with us. We did record a single with a b-side and sent it to a few radio stations but it was never released publicly. Hard to believe it took 5 years to release anything else. Time just slips away, and those were some tumultuous years for us. I'm proud of that album, although I have a tough time listening to it. I'd love to have another shot at those songs, and it breaks my heart to hear us playing with Michael. Gotta be careful with painful nostalgia...

It's been a while, but the focus and creativity are back. We are rehearsing new material during this round of touring. With your support, we will get back into the studio this year and get a new batch of songs to you before too long.  

 

California Here We Come (Again) 

Folks, I missed my first blog update of the year. How could I? And with such a nice start too. It all began with our traditional January wood-shedding. Last year we spent that month working on what would become our Threshold EP. This January there was no recording, but plenty of writing and rehearsing. We have another batch of new songs to try out this Spring. Plus, Merry and I began working on a new side project so we can have plenty of opportunity to hustle and make a life out of music. It's called, Burt & Myrtle, a cover act focused on some of the most romantic and heart- wrenching songs we know. Our first gig is tonight, playing a private Valentine's Day show in Cathlamet, WA. We will direct you to more info about Burt & Myrtle in the coming months. 

Meanwhile, we set up a couple of weeks of shows in California, Nevada, and Oregon for March-April. We have decided to wait until Fall to cross the Rockies for another U.S. tour. West Coast tour dates will be posted soon. 2019 began with a mini tour starting on Feb. 1 in Vancouver, WA and then continued on to Salem and Astoria, OR, followed by dates in Seattle and Tacoma. Things got really messy up north during our trip, and we woke up after our gig in Tacoma to about 6 inches of snow. The forecast was bad and the roads were horrible, so we decided (with the support of the venue) to cancel our show in Olympia. It was going to be our first show in that city but it will have to wait. We rescheduled at The Pig Bar for May 11. Sorry to anyone who had that canceled show on their calendar, but it did seem like just about everyone wanted to stay home on that snowy, icy day.

I have to mention the support we received at Fort George in Astoria. It was Super Bowl Sunday with snow in the forecast. Everyone was bracing us for a very slow night, but instead we had a great turnout, with much thanks to all the folks who came back to see us after catching us last year at the same time. Your enthusiasm was intoxicating. And so was the beer. We raise our glasses to you Astoria and Fort George Brewery. Cheers!

We will be back in the shed again for a bit before our tour schedule really picks up. It all begins with a show we are very excited about, St. Paddy's Day (eve) with Casey Neill and the Norway Rats at Alberta Street Pub in Portland, OR. Casey put out a fantastic album last year, Subterrene. 3/16 is sure to be a blast. Tickets are available now at: Tickets Here!

After that, we head south with stops in Medford, Reno, Mariposa, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Highland Park, Sacramento, and more to come. We return to the PNW in April and will be playing in the larger region through the Summer. Hope you all are having a cozy winter. See you soon.