The New Frontiers

On Tour with The Honorary Title Pt. 2

2008-08-13T02:33:00.003-05:00

Scenic Overlook

The landscape passes me by
Like I'm standing still
As though I am trapped in a slow-motion dream

Bob Dylan, where are you?
I've seen the things you sang about
The hard rain a fallin'
The answers whipping around in the wind
Seen 'em all from the scenic overlook
Gazing down on a herd of buffalo

Red Cloud, fight hard for your dream
'Cause Lord knows it don't come easy
Most times it passes you by
Like a shiny pocket watch in the hands of a man who stole it from your great-grandfather

Can you stand it?

So be it

John the Baptizer,
Put me down in Holy Ghost Canyon
Deep under the Pecos River
And let the cold, clear water slide from my body to my soul
'Til I am one with the flow

(Ryan)

On Tour with The Honorary Title Pt. 1

2008-08-02T02:49:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago I was working at Starbucks, dealing with complaints about the price of four dollar coffee, and becoming increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with the complacent turn that my life had taken since college. One text message later and i was packing my bags and calling to tell my mother that I love her, i felt rejuvenated, like i had been brought back from the dead, or any other metaphor that your brother who's about to begin freshmen english could come up with.

When I informed my friends of my decision to go out on the road with TNF it seemed like the only thing that they wanted to talk about was the copious amount of girls that i would be fighting off with telecasters and drum shells or the gallons upon gallons of alcohol that I would be consuming. If you ask me, this whole touring thing feels a bit like Rock N Roll UIL; a bunch of blue tubs all over the place, lots of hours in a van spent reading Harry Potter (book 4 if you were wondering), just enough money to eat on and three people to a room. Also gallons upon gallons of alcohol.

This morning we stopped at some convenient store in the middle of the Rockies to give the brakes a chance to cool off before we traversed the rest of the mountains on the way to Utah, that was the beginning of the most beautiful feeling I've ever had. The air in the anonymous mountain town was crisp and cool, the sun shone down on us like a a giant spotlight as if to say to all of the the other travelers at the stop "Everyone, look! These young men are the stars of the film that you are only a day player in!" I walked out of the store with my chocolate milk and my hoodie zipped up to my throat with tears welling in my eyes, I felt like a boy. I never grew up, my parents were never divorced and I was riding shotgun with my dad in his 1970s model chocolate brown Chevy truck. I am twenty two and in van with five of my friends, most of them are asleep.

Is it being out on tour that does this to a person? Is it the constant state of flux that one puts themselves in with all of the driving, playing, driving some more, sleeping for a few hours and then driving again that make you never want to leave the comfort of your home or at least settle down in the first town that'll have you? This morning it hit me that I was in the middle of the country that I'd never took the time to explore with good friends and good music, it felt like a ten ton weight had been lifted from my shoulders in that parking lot.

In the past week I've met a few people that I would love to see everyday for the rest of my life and it's killing me. The inherent problem with meeting new people is the fact that whatever relationship we'll have is doomed. Maybe it's the Colorado air but right now my day dream is to bring all of my friends from home and every one that I don't think that I can live without from this tour and move to the mountains. We'll live off of the land and sings songs to each other every night before we go to sleep. We'll get a giant golden dog and outfit him with a red neckerchief; we will call him Cody. There's a distinct possibility that by the end of the tour I'll have come to terms with the fact that meeting new people is some sort of tragic joke played on us by whomever scripted our lives, that the entire time we're saying hello we're just building up to a goodbye. I don't want to though, I never want to get used to saying goodbye.

We just drove on a highway that had been cut out of the side of a mountain, please get some friends together and just go. Now.

Also send cookies.

-Jacob Shelton (Friend, Merch Mastermind, and All-Around Good Dude)

Home For Now

2008-07-01T13:30:00.005-05:00

So we've returned to the promised land once again. Home on the range. Texas. There honestly is something about crossing that border that lightens one's load. Maybe it's knowing that I won't have to live on my credit card like I usually end up doing for the last week or so of tour. Knowing that I'll be back to work - sweating to pay the bills, not sweating my bills. Or maybe it's a sense of comfort and regularity. Sleeping in my own bed. Cooking in my own house. Renting a movie. Waking up before noon. Seeing loved ones.

Whatever the case, it's good to be back. Touring can be rough. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it ain't all roses and daisies. Sometimes you wake up on the floor, hungover, back feeling like you slept on some medieval torture device and you have to get up, drive 8 hours, spend $120 on gas, miss every call from your girlfriend because you have zero cell phone signal, eat two McDonalds double cheeseburgers because your per diem is peanuts, play for fifteen people, and get paid in beer and more peanuts. Would I rather work in a cubicle in front of a computer from nine to five every day? Hell no. But that doesn't change the fact that touring sometimes feels like some kind of survival camp. So it's good to be home.

But the road always calls again. When Willie Nelson sang, "Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys," he might as well have replaced "cowboys" with "touring musicians." Doesn't quite have the same ring to it but you get my point. There's something in us that drives us to go out and do it all again. A weird dichotomy between the need for familiarity and comfort, and the need to explore the unknown, hiding along those vast expanses of American highway we cross when we're on tour.

For now, it's good to be home.

-Ryan

NYC

2008-06-13T13:50:00.004-05:00

The last time we were in New York was for CMJ and I was sick and miserable. Everyone was out running around having a good time and I think I had a total of one drink. Not last night. I guess I was making up for lost time because I kinda forgot to eat dinner and then let people buy me drinks all night, polishing it off with the $5 Tecate and tequila special at Cherry Tavern. Not good. Tequila is such a bastard.

In reverse order we played Southpaw in Brooklyn and before that Piano's on the Lower East Side. Free drinks and free food made up for the fact that we didn't go on until about 12:30 on a weeknight. That and meeting Josh Garza, the drummer of The Secret Machines. I wasn't sure if it was him or not and when I finally got up the courage to ask him he thought I was messing with him. I believe, "Don't fuck with me dude," were his words. I told him how much I love his band and we were cool after that. Sealing the deal with a friendly fist bump.

Southpaw was awesome and we made good friends with Brian Bonz & The Dot Hongs. Amazing band. Hilarious guys. By the end of the night we were all yelling "yo!" like true Brooklyn-ites. Also got to catch up with our buddy Kevin Devine who did some guest vocals during The Dot Hongs' set.

Per usual, NYC has worn us out. As of today we're at our friend Gabriel Hernandez's place, dragging ass, listening to Hank Williams records and napping. We're like tourists who tried to see the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a Broadway musical all in the same day. Only we just bar-hopped and hung out with friends and stayed up way too late. We'll be back in this neck of the woods on our next tour with The Honorary Title to do it all over again. TNF hearts NYC.

-Ryan

New Video Journal

2008-05-27T12:30:00.002-05:00

Check out the VIDEO section below. We've posted footage from our Winter Tour with Limbeck. Enjoy!

In Too Deep

2008-05-14T19:46:00.004-05:00

And so another tour comes to an end. The final show we played with our boys Alive In Wild Paint was at a place in Tucson called Solar Culture - an amazing gallery with a knack for doing great shows.

We've never driven back to Texas from Arizona at the end of a tour but we decided we'd leave after the show and drive 14 hours through the night to make it back home by Monday afternoon. We've done worse. When we went to LA for the beginning of the Limbeck tour we drove straight there. When our Wyoming show on this tour got cancelled we spent about 16 hours in the van backtracking from closed highway to closed highway finally making it to Salt Lake at something like 4 AM.

I don't know what most bands do but I know for a fact that if I was making those treks on my own I would've spent quite a few nights in motel rooms and not on the highway. But gas is more expensive than ever and it's cheaper and more fun to stay with friends, even if it means being a bit bleary-eyed the next day. These crazy drives we do through the middle of the night, back and forth across America; I think they're pretty indicative of who we really are as a band. We often tell each other we're in too deep now. Too deep to quit busting our asses. To deep to not give it a shot. Too deep to not push through with one more midnight van ride through the middle of the God-forsaken desert. So we keep going. Filling up the tank one more time and giving it all we've got. We're in too deep to back off now...

Ryan

Smells and Dreams

2008-05-01T12:27:00.002-05:00

As the days grow longer and warmer new chapters of our life are being written every moment. We are two weeks into the summer tour season with many more to come. Currently driving through the high deserts of southern Colorado, it has suddenly occured to all of us how busy the next few months of our lives will be. Maybe it's the smell that makes us take notice. The smell of tour, when our clothes begin to smell like our bodies and our bodies begin to smell like our van. When everything around us starts to smell like whatever dive bar we played the night before. The way the trailer smells after it rains and the way it mixes with the laundry bags soiled with the cigarettee smoke and alchohol that has seeped through our pores. Why would anyone want to live this way? Maybe it's just fun. Maybe it's chasing some dream or fantasy we can't give up on. Woody Guthrie said, "Ain't no home for me in this world." Maybe we're ramblers of sorts. Whatever it is, we are increasingly optimistic about our future.

In recent news "Mending" is doing well. Perhaps even better than we imagined. It was released a couple days ago in major chain stores and has been selling well on iTunes. We thank everyone who has supported us through the release of the record. Tour has been increasingly positive as well. Growing crowds at home and in many random cites have led not only to new fans but new friendships as well. Friends we will not soon forget, including our current tour-mates Alive in Wild Paint. In June we plan to head to the east coast and new england with Brooke Waggoner and band from Nashville. Armed with a new booking agent and a recently aquired Navajo dream catcher we are ready for whatever the world has in store for us.

While plagued by my own reoccuring dreams of snakes, Guy is tormented by tornados. Ryan's alomost apocolyptic dreams leave him feeling the end is nigh. Alex often dreams of funerals for friends and Nathan's dreams of living in is his former rental trailer leave him feeling he is running from his past. While the dream catcher will give us some peace of mind from our darkest fears for now, it's the dreams during the day that draw us together. Not daydreams of fame and fortune but instead success. Not life changing success just comfortable success. If said success has an odor it smells like I smell now. It smells like the trailer and it smells like the van. It even smells like my shirt. The fragrance we all wear day after day on the road. A scent we rarely notice anymore but now is more pungent than ever. If you want to understand what we do and why we do it, come see us play in your city. Come sit in our van. Smell, taste, and see that rock and roll is good.

Jacob

Unreleased Songs

2008-04-21T14:06:00.005-05:00

Head on over to Absolutepunk.net to download a few free songs we're giving away: an alternate version of "This Is My Home" and a Gillian Welch cover, "Look At Miss Ohio." Enjoy! They will also be offering some free tickets to some of our dates with tour mates Alive In Wild Paint, so keep you eyes peeled.

Blender/Next Big Thing

2008-04-10T14:10:00.002-05:00

Hi friends,

Just a reminder that our new record "Mending" is being offered through iTunes "Next Big Thing" campaign for $5.99 so snatch it up for cheap while you can.

Hitting more stores soon and very soon. And, oh... what? Vinyl? Word?

Here's some footage of us at South By Southwest. Enjoy...

CD, Daytrotter, SXSW

2008-03-13T01:10:00.001-05:00

Hey friends. We're on our way down I-35, headed to Austin for the weekend. Head to our shows section if you're looking to come see us at SXSW. In the meantime, two things...

One: Our CD is finally out! You can order it online through our merch store or you can find it at your local CIMS (Coaltion of Independent Music Stores). Go here for a list of stores in your area.

Two: A few weeks ago we recorded some unreleased songs for Daytrotter which are up for free download now. Make sure and read the article written by Sean Moeller. Probably the most insightful thing anyone's ever written about/for us.

Thanks for listening!

End of Tour / CD Release

2008-03-03T10:43:00.004-06:00

Last night of tour with Limbeck and John Ralston was bittersweet. We celebrated Rob's birthday by jumping around on stage with Limbeck throwing ballons and inflatable super heroes at them. Bid them a snowy farewell in Cleveland and began the trek back down south.

In Cincy we played the Gypsy Hut and hung out with our new found friends Pomegranates. Nashville was a great show with local bad asses Tommy and the Whale. And last stop on the way home was Arkansas to play a show with our old pals Midwest Caravan and Deas Vail.

We cannot say thank you enough to everyone who made the CD release show happen: John Solis, Club Dada, Gazelles, Quiet Company, Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys, all our friends and families... We had a blast. Couldn't have asked for a better turn-out and response. Thanks to all of you who bought a CD or a shirt or came to a show along the way. It means the world to us.

Tour's over for now but keep in touch, the record will be in CIMS stores nationwide March 11th and we will be at SXSW soon after that. Thanks for listening...

Punk Rock Fitness

2008-02-24T12:24:00.002-06:00

So Guy, Matt, and I (Ryan) almost got arrested in Milwaukee. We were crossing the street without a walk signal on the way to get the van and a cop parked in his squad car down the road got out and yelled at us. He treated us like drug dealers. Took our licenses and told us he should arrest us since we're from out of state. I've never been so belittled and talked-down-to in my entire life. Meanwhile, every other cop in Milwaukee is actually outside their car helping with all the foot traffic downtown. We think it's quite possible he was drunk.

So long Milwaukee, hello Detroit. We played at The Magic Stick, which is above America's oldest active bowling center, Garden Bowl. As we loaded in, they were finishing a shoot for some kind of punk rock workout video. "We're gonna get rid of that bra bulge!" "Punk rock fitness is about doing it YOUR way!" They shared their food with us. Said we could have whatever we anted because we were touring musicians. It's really funny to see people who just filmed an exercise video sitting at the bar having a beer and cigarette with their plate of pizza.

The show was really good and once again, we mooched way too much beer from Limbeck and John Ralston. Afterwards we got in a quick, free bowling game. Rob from Limbeck has a killer sidearm. Also turns out Jon Cheese is nearly a professional. Three days in Ohio and then we bid these gentlemen farewell. Sad.

Ice Cold Daytrotter

2008-02-22T12:13:00.002-06:00

Getting back on track with Limbeck and hopefully John Ralston tonight in Minneapolis. Ralston's van broke down yesterday on the way to Madison so the show got cancelled. I was bummed because I've been to the Majestic Theater before with Over the Rhine. It's a great venue and they said they wanted to make it a point to have us back as soon as possible.

So we drove to State Street and hunted down a Buffalo Wild Wings. Sure, we could've found a cool local spot, but we were looking for a little bit of home. This is alien land to us Texas boys. There is snow and ice everywhere and it is deceptively beautiful. We warmed up with a trip to the liquor store and a night in the hotel jacuzzi.

Monday we drove to ice-encrusted roads to Rock Island, IL to record a session for Daytrotter. The experience was priceless. The studio is in an old office building above a pizza place. The way it works is you come in, get some coffee, meet the wonderful people that make it all happen, pick out which bad ass vintage gear you want to use, and record a few songs live to tape. If you're not happy with the take, they rewind it and you just do it again. There was something very liberating and healthy about the whole experience of recording with everyone together in one room on one take. Like a taped, live show in someone's musty old den. Living with the little imperfections. Letting the song speak for itself. This is something we want to do something more of.

Daytrotter

2008-02-17T21:48:00.000-06:00

Do yourself a favor and go to Daytrotter.com. For one, we'll be featured tomorrow, Monday February 18th, on the site. Playing a few songs and doing a live Q & A session at 1:30 PM CST. Secondly, well, it's just an all around bad-ass website. You can listen to everyone from our friends Kevin Devine and Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra) to Menomena or The National. So basically, check it out! Thanks for listening.

Blizzard In Salt Lake / iTunes Is Finally Up!

2008-02-14T12:25:00.006-06:00

Yesterday we left California at 4 AM to make it on time to the show in Salt Lake City, UT and spent about 18 hours in the van, 3 of those all within a 2 mile radius. Why? About 25 miles out of Salt Lake it started dumping snow. White-out conditions, high wind speeds, all around dangerous roads.

Just so happens that the exit we decide to use in order to switch drivers is the one that gets closed off due to some jack-knifed 18 wheelers on I-15. At one point, both sides of the interstate were completely shut down, so we spent the majority of our time hanging out at the Maverick gas station along with other stranded travellers.

After pushing the van and trailer through the snow several times, we decided there was no way we would make it to the show on time so we headed south on I-15, the opposite direction we needed to, hoping we could get turned around and headed the right way at some other exit down the road. Finally, going north toward SLC it took us another hour or two to make the 15-mile drive in; topping off our absurd night by giving away copies of the new CD in the middle of the highway as traffic lurched along.

Made it to Sandy for pancakes and bacon thanks to Chad and Sarah. We'll be playing their venue, Solid Ground Cafe, tonight at 7 PM. Also, thanks to KRCL 90.9 for having us in this morning and letting us play a few songs.

If you didn't get a CD from us last night on I-15 or catch us on the radio, you should head to iTunes and download our new album, "Mending" for $7.99! More info to come soon about the physical release date. Thanks for your patience. And thanks for listening.

The Ones You Keep

2008-02-12T13:02:00.000-06:00

Nathan wrote this song several weeks ago. We recorded it on Rory's rooftop in Long Beach.

Tour 2/5-2/9

2008-02-11T14:49:00.000-06:00

2/5/08

It's 7:21 in the morning and we've been driving since 1:00 PM yesterday. I woke to the cactus covered pre-dawn landscape of Arizona. It's comforting to see these vast expanses of America where no one lives. Her harsher, unforgiving side.

We decided to make the grueling 24 hour drive without stopping for a motel, and our van, Ray Ray is getting tired. An old problem has returned which makes driving a sort of precarious, lurching journey. On top of that our speedometer has not been working since we left home.

I'm not too worried about it. I think he just needs a rest. And so do we. Fortunately, California is only a few feet ahead. (Note to the reader: We got the van fixed. Some guy named Hatch told us, "One hundred percent! I guarantee this will fix it. It is beautiful day. Go! Enjoy your day!" So we did.)

2/9/08
Driving again. In the morning. Only this time it's after a night of heavy drinking, and we're leaving California. Snow dusted mountains to the west. Vegas in our sights.

We played our first two shows with Limbeck and John Ralston at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. Good shows, good guys. The venue itself is situated in the corner of a sort-of strip mall. L.A. Fitness looming above it on the second level, beckoning sweatpants-clad exercise junkies, and the Chinese Theater down the street summoning tourists and second-rate Jack Sparrows and Marilyn Monroes.

My old pal Derik , who I've known since the third grade, offered his tattoo skills to us again and Jacob played both shows with a fresh chest piece which took six hours to complete.

Yesterday, our day off, involved sitting around Tim's (our friend from Louisiana) unkempt, swamp-like pool passing the guitar around, playing songs for each other and drinking. Which eventually led us to The Prospector in Long Beach for yes, more singing and drinking. Karaoke. From Texas to California with love, a raucous rendition of "Friends In Low Places" had everyone singing along and swaying back and forth, arm in arm. "Hey Jude" was nothing short of a rapturous gospel revival song and left us all testifying, "Na na na na-na na-na!" long after the music stopped.

Tonight we play a live webcast, and as beat to hell as we all are, there's no way it will compare to last night.

First Tour of the New Year

2008-01-10T13:44:00.000-06:00

So we're spending the day in our home away from home, Ruston, Louisiana. We're in the middle of a short tour with our friends Quiet Company. Oklahoma and Arkansas were great. Thanks to those of you who came out.

The record will be out very soon. February 12 to be exact. Until then come out to a show and snatch up a copy of our limited edition tour EP. If you can't make it to a show you can always order it in our online store on our myspace.

We leave you with...

Top Ten Reasons The New Frontiers Support Independent Record Stores

10. Employment opportunities

9. Waiting by the W’s and asking the first girl that buys a Wilco record on a date.

8. Embarrassing your friend by shouting out “Hey here’s that Lindsey Lohan album you were looking for!”

7. Japanese toys and bobble-head Jesus make great birthday gifts.

6. Good place to drop off 100 copies of the new Militia Group Sampler that we can’t get rid of for free at our shows.

5. Making sure we like the new Animal Collective at the listening station...before we download it.

4. Two words: In-Store Kegger

3. Spending 5 dollars in the clearance bin and getting: Ten, Vs, Vitology, No Code, and Yeild by Pearl Jam. Again.

2. Selling your favorite CDs to buy a dime sack and a new CD to listen to stoned

1. Sticking it to the man.

Christmastime Is Here

2007-12-18T13:34:00.000-06:00

Hello friends! We have a holiday gift for you... A new song you can download for FREE! Go to AbsolutePunk.net or our Myspace to check it out. Merry Christmas!

Manchester/Annuals Tour '07 (Part II)

2007-11-21T16:15:00.000-06:00

So all the shows in California were great! Especially The Troubador. We got to catch up with lots of friends and Guy got another tattoo. You should see it. It's so metal.

Downsides: Due to a death in the family, Nathan had to fly home for a funeral so we skipped out on the Tempe show and stayed in Long Beach. We were hanging out with some friends and label people there the night before heading to Denver when a window on our van was smashed in. They got a keyboard, an iPod, a digital camera, and a few other things. However, they neglected to notice or take our cash box and Nathan's acoustic guitar, thank God. Lesson learned, never leave anything of value in the van. Although it meant we had to drive the rest of the way with a cardboard window, it could have been much worse though, so we're thankful.

Denver was warm and Kansas was cold. Go figure. Both good shows. It was sad to see our old friends Manchester and new friends Annuals go. I'm sure our paths will cross again.

Keep checking back here for updates and news. December, Alex and Guy will be out with our friends This Will Destroy You on tour with Unwed Sailor. I'll be tour managing Over the Rhine on their pre-Christmas run. If you're in the midwest or northeast and looking for some good shows, you should come out and see us.

Manchester/Annuals Tour '07

2007-11-14T13:15:00.000-06:00

Recap: So within the first few minutes of tour Nathan lost his bag and Jacob lost his Strat. In our rush to get out of town no one had locked or even shut the trailer so they both fell out as we pulled away from our house. We were kindly honked down by someone but by the time we retraced our drive (a grand total of about two stop lights) the clothes and the guitar had disappeared. Upon our return, we have vowed to beat down anyone spotted in Nathan's clothes or playing Jake's guitar, be they elderly or juvenile. Be afraid Duncanville. The dark back-hand of justice stalks your every move.

Our bad mojo was short-lived though as we made our way through Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho to meet up with the rest of the tour in Seattle. We played mostly small coffee house venues (amazing place in Nampa, ID called Flying M!) and things went really well. Some highlights: Getting a caricature of our band done by local artist Andy Chase Cundiff; New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO; and playing a show with ex-members of Screeching Weasel in Laramie, WY. It's gorgeous country and great people.

First show with Manchester and Anuuals was at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. We were weirded out when both the door man and the sound guy introduced themselves and gave us a rundown of the venue and how the night would go. What?! A venue that's on top of their game? Meal buyouts? A good sound system?! Line around the block?!!?!?! The show went over really well and we took a lot of pre-orders for the album which will be out early February. It will be titled Mending. Chris King of This Will Destroy You lore worked his ass off on the artwork for it and it's going to look spectacular. We're really excited about it.

Doug Fir Loung in Portland was swanky/creepy/Tarantino-esque. We stayed at the Jupiter which is the retro-fitted hotel connected to the venue. Think IKEA meets Fear & Loathing. Kevin Devine joined the tour, opening the show from here on out. What a great tour. I couldn't have asked for better people. Speaking of, Holmes kindly donated his old Blackberry to me seeing as how my p.o.s. Nokia was probably the first cell phone ever invented and could no longer hold a charge.

We're staying in Petaluma, CA right now with some of Alex's family. Breakfast prepared by a chef and a basement full of air matresses. What more could a band want? Tonight we play Bottom of the Hill in San Fran. Really looking forward to it.