In case anyone from Arizona is reading this. Thanks 2008. You scary year you. It was the year our transmission freaked out in Knoxville Tennessee. If you look at our myspace page you can see what we looked like waiting around broke and freaked out. Our lovely personal pictures are what a band with a busted van looks like 1000 miles from home. Someday we need to put up more pix of that day. We ate at a serious bbq place across from the garage though. Oh and GW and co. left the economy in the crapper. And Pete fell off a cliff in West Virginia.

It was also a year of some really great stuff too. We got on Billboard, released our second CD, played with many many great bands and played our largest and most fun shows to date. We have had residencies in Boston and NYC that continue to go well and pick up fans. The year was so big, so eventful that we have actually been taking a well deserved rest as of late. We have some cool low key gigs coming up

1/8 The Iron Horse Northampton (part of a Rolling Stones fun o rama night)

1/9 Bishops Lounge Noho

1/30 Burke Mt. Burke VT (skiing+music=rules!!)

And, its official, we are going into the studio soon to start laying down some tracks. Nothing big, but new tunes! We also have been expanding the live recording archive. Amity Tapes vol. 1 seems to be doing well. We have been recording recent shows including the last Bishops and NYC gig (with guest sax by Noah) We will also be recording the upcoming Bishops show and will eventually get a vol. 2 together. Be well and see you soon. TAF

Hi all, thanks to all who came out to our Iron Horse show. It was fun as always. We got to turn up and make some noizzz. We also put out our first installment of Amity Tapes! this is a (hopefully) ongoing series of cds with tracks taken from some 4 track cassette recordings of our live shows over the past few months. This one had 6 tracks from Bishops Lounge in Noho, Salt Hill pub in New Hampshire and The Rendevouz in Turners Falls MA. We will be giving these out free at shows so ask us for one or look around

ALSO:

We are playing at Harpers Ferry in Boston on 12/5 for F R E E. Its only going to happen this one last time so come on out! That same weekend 12/6, we are also playing NYC at our new favorite bar The National Underground (@ Houston and Allen) again for F R E E. Its a really fun time so checkit. You can get a live recording of your very own, or even get ON a live recording.

New music on the horizon

Last week the band sat together forming a circle amidst the stripped innards of an old brick building - our rehearsal space. After a switched instrument jam and the waling over of some old covers, it was time to introduce some new material.

We went over structures and forms, chords and melodies. Yet our focus was lacking something. So we asked ourselves and each other…   “Besides writing a song, what is the purpose of this material?”

To my amazement we had all come to same conclusion before really even discussing anything. - Lets lay this stuff down. - Lets spend this winter relaxing and recording, - Lets take our time and focus on a production. These were the kinds of ideas that we were all really psyched about.

Does this me The Amity Front is going to stop playing out?
HELLS NO.

Does this mean another album already?
WHO IS TO SAY.

We just want to chillax in the studio and lay some cool stuff down.
Sometimes maybe Max and I (Drums and Bass) will lay down grooves.
And then the next day Erik or Lyon or Levin will over dubs some Guitar or Vocals.

We recorded “Border Towns” over the course of a weekend. And we love how it came out. But man that was - a marathon - a gauntlet - HARDCORE! So now its time kick back and let the tape roll.

So hopefully we will have some new tracks up on Myspace - or - up on i-tunes - or - beneath our brand new album cover.

You’ll just have to wait and see!

Hi everyone, hope the summer is treating you right. We have been keeping a low profile recently save for a few rocking recent gigs. We had a blast at Bishops with our friends Hubcap out of Ithaca. We did an additional night with them at the Lizard Lounge with the Jeff D’Antona trio which was also super fun. The Northeast Kingdom Music Festival!! What can we say? All of you who were there know what a full on party it was and for all of yall that missed it we will hopefully have some pix and audio from our sets up on the site before too long. Speaking of live audio on the internets, we are beginning to upload-

Live tracks HERE: http://www.archive.org/details/LiveClubHelsinki11.23.07

We will hopefully be adding to the archive as we go. We have some crazy bootlegs of the night Pete broke himself, some wacky late night tape experiments and more live sets that may make it up there soon.

NEKMF= great time and mud. We camped with other local bands you may have heard of, Rusty Belle and The Primate Fiasco who also played said fest. We made music, mud, cardboard costumes, fire, soccer games and unhinged jam sessions by the catering tent late late late into the night. We hope to go back, great music and a very cool scene. Check it out next year.

Upcoming Gigs. We got some. After a delightfully chill summer we are hitting the road for a string of shows. We will be visiting some new venues in Baltimore and in PA. We also will have some private and not so private local appearances you can check out. See below.

8/19 The Rockwood Music Hall NYC 11pm

8/20 The 8X10 Baltimore, Md. w/The Bridge 8pm

8/21 Bullfrog Brewery Williamsport, Pa 10pm

8/22 Bishops Lounge Northampton, Ma 9:30pm

8/23 Red Fire Farm Granby, Ma 12pm

8/28 Brian Boru Portland, Me 9:30pm

8/29 Salt Hill Lebanon, Nh 9:00pm

9/5 The National Underground NYC 10pm

9/6 Castaways Ithaca, Ny w/Hubcap 9pm

9/13 THE SESSION FOR EXPRESSION II! The Pushkin Greenfield, Ma

Tons of bands! Food! Beer! Yay! 5pm-?am

That’s all for now, we will be putting up more info on the Session soon. Don’t miss this one. Last year was UTRAMEGAFUNNN and this year wont disappoint. If you only go to one show this fall make it this show.

Who ever thought up the old idiom of “not being able to see the forest through the trees” was certainly a wise one, indeed. There is something to be said about taking a step back….and then maybe not stepping at all for a while. To view the entire scope of what’s in front of you is not a quick process. It requires time…. stand still, no steps…… take it all in. I’m as guilty as any of forgetting to do that. Hell, I find myself forgetting to breathe sometimes. Here in AmityLand, we have watched the last five months fly by. We didn’t sit back and watch the days pass like train cars…. we were on the damn train, watching the world around us fade into the distance, while we just kept going. More states than you can count on your hands, more miles than you could ever keep track of, and more late nights than any person should ever endure in a 5 month period. Traveling as much as we have certainly accentuates the positive sides of proper rest and relaxation. On the inverse, the time we spend off…tightening up loose ends, relaxing, and practicing…… it gets us ready and willing to hit the road again.
We have been enjoying the last two weeks off. Max has been engineering sound, ensuring that it is suitable for human ears. Levin has been cultivating a future generation of budding musicians that will one day call him a “mentor”…. not too shabby. Lyon has been making sure that the good folks of the pioneer valley have proper attire for their outdoor expeditions, as well as editing audio files…. yea for TWO jobs!!!!….. right…………… Pete has been involved in extensive studies concerning the laws of physics and man’s reaction to said laws, as well as the recovery and rehabilitation process of the human body. Pete would like to thank everyone who participated in these case studies. I have been carpenteering and painting…. working to finish the final stage of a large remodeling project…. and trying not to injure my hands. Status: relatively successful. Though gigging may have subsided over the past several weeks, business has continued as usual, and we have prepared a summer schedule chock full of fun stuff.
For our local Pioneer Valley fans, June is the month….. well, at least the end of June is. On the 20th of June we are back at The Rendevouz in Turner’s Falls with our good friends, The Primate Fiasco. Built skinny and long, like an old honkey-tonk(and myself), The Rendevouz has a great aesthetic as well as great food and beer. A bit out of the way for those on the the NoHo side of the river, but definitely worth the drive. The 21st has us at The Taste of Amherst. Eclectic food, crafts, and of course, lots of music. On June 28th we are in Boston, back at The Lizard Lounge. We love The Lizard Lounge. We will be sharing the evening with The Prigs, as well as one more band TBA. For those Vermonsters up their who are upset with us for canceling our last Langdon Street gig…………we are sorry, we love you, Professor Pete was completing his dissertation on mankind’s inability to naturally induce flight. After extensive, hands-on research, we here on the faculty decided that Pete needed a sabbatical. July third, we’ll be back with you. Joining Bow Thayer and his band, we will help Montpelierians celebrate the day we broke away from an imperial super-power, so that we, someday, could form an imperial super-power of our own. August has us back in Vermont, as part of the NorthEast Kingdom Festival!!!! The first and the second of August, pick one………pick both…………..yeah…………………that’s right. On July 9th and 10th we are in NYC, at Spike Hill in Brooklyn, and The National Underground in the east village, respectively. Both bars are exceptionally cool. Spike Hill in Williamsburg has open air windows in the front. When it comes down to it, it’s damn near an open wall. The National Underground is brand new and has a focus on Americana, roots/rock acts. Our kinda place. July 25th, we are back home, Northampton, The Bishop’s Lounge. We cut our teeth there. It’s been a while, but we are excited to go back. Come join us.
Well….. that’s June and July. More to come concerning the latter half of the summer. Thanks for reading, be well, and travel safe.

Erik Alan
TAF