Noise Pop has kindly invited me to host their new Record Collective event, a monthly gathering co-sponsored with Amoeba Music.  It will rotate through different bars around SF and the East Bay, and you’re encouraged to bring a few of your favorite vinyl albums, singles, whatever, to the gathering.  They’re checked-in and handed to me and I keep the evening musically flowing with some semblance of a sequence.  Fun!  The first one is at Bloodhound on June 12.  There are drink specials, food specials and you get a discount at Amoeba if you RSVP for it.  So come down and bring some good shit for me to play!  I’m counting on YOU!!

Got a sweet show coming up in Sacramento on June 10th with Sea of Bees.  Another stripped-down duo set of Vetiver tunes, this time with Steve Taylor on keys.  An early afternoon show starting at 2pm.  Tickets here.

Some events coming up around S.F. I’ll be DJing Saturday May 19th at Amnesia for the always awesome O.K. Hole.  Looking forward to seeing Muscle Drum and hanging with buds.

I’ll be playing a duo set with Bob Parins on pedal steel at the Vogue Theatre in S.F.  This is a first for us, as well as the first in a series being presented at the Vogue with local musicians selecting one of their favorite San Francisco films and performing a short set of music.  Chevy and Goldie are too cute to refuse.  Chuck Prophet will be playing the next night and screening The Conversation, so don’t miss that one either!  Tickets are available here.

Can’t forget this year’s Huichica Festival up in Sonoma at Gundlach-Bundschu Winery. Vetiver played the first year and have been around the premises ever since.  It’s a beautiful event with great music, food and wine, in an incomparable setting.  This year, I’ll be DJing on Friday night before and after the Occidental Brothers Dance Band.  Get your tickets here.

It’s always inspiring to see the amazing photos taken by friends and read what’s enlivening their travels and taste buds.  Danielle and Adrian are two such people, and their wonderful food and travel blog The Trail of Crumbs has been selected as a finalist in Saveur magazine’s award for ‘Best Culinary Travel Blog’.  I love their work on the site, their art and photography in general, and always look forward to a new entry (not to mention the all-too-rare chance I get to hang out with them when in Paris or when they’ve traveled back to California).  Have a look at their blog and please consider voting for them for this year’s award.  They deserve it!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us on our recent tour of the Northwest.  We tasted it all, from the windy valleys of Yakima, WA, through a blizzard on chain-less tires over the Snoqualmie Pass, across borders, around the pristine islands and shining sun en route to Swartz Bay and Victoria, under the persistent rain of nature’s car-wash that includes the drive down from Seattle to Portland.  It happened so fast, and nowhere near Texas.

Great crowds, nice people, friendly soundmen.  What more can you ask for?

Now back in San Francisco, a bunch of stuff is going on, and it gives me great pleasure to announce a few awesome events I suggest attending, a couple of which I’ll be playing records at.  If you find yourself in the Bay Area, please consider dropping by.

First off, a congratulations to Alissa Anderson, former bandmate and merch lady extraordinaire, who is opening her new boutique this week in San Francisco, Foggy Notion.  There’s going to be a nice opening party this Friday with a lot of good people, unique handmade items, and several of the designers there to celebrate.

On March 24th, out at Mollusk Surf Shop, my good bud Nathaniel Russell, fine illustrator, songsmith and designer of the past few Vetiver album covers, will have a solo show of new work.  He’s kindly asked me to dj for the occasion and I am stoked to be doing so.  Don’t miss!

And finally, the fine folks at Noise Pop have invited me to play some favorites over at Blowfish Sushi for their Blow Pop happy hour series on April 4th. Cheap drinks, tasty tunes and delectables…a winning combination!  

It’s good to be back in S.F.

Northwest Passage

Vetiver are piling back in the van and making our way north next month. We’re looking forward to visiting some wayward spots like Nevada City and Bellingham, Yakima and Victoria, not to mention old faves like Sacramento and Vancouver.   It’s been a while since we crossed that border.  

Links for tickets are up on the LIVE page. See you soon!

Smashed

2012 is already off to an interesting start.  At the beginning of this year, I had the good fortune to work on music for the film Smashed, directed by James Ponsoldt and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul.  It’s a really great film, with amazing performances and sympathetic characters.  Best of all, it was another opportunity to collaborate and record with my good friend Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats, who worked on the score with me.  He’s been around the studio during tracking of the past two Vetiver albums, but this was the first time just the two of us settled in and wrote together, and the first film I’ve helped score.

Smashed will make it’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21st. Keep an eye out for it.

Some Northern California Shows