"Exxon, Exxon.. Clean it up..." *UPDATED*
Current mood: angry
Over 19 years ago, The Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 Million (!!!!) gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska. My family, along with hundreds of other families and individuals, were not able to fish that summer. In 1994, an Anchorage jury issued a $5 Billion punitive damages settlement against Exxon, for allowing an individual they knew had drinking problems to man the vessel. Sure enough, he got drunk and spilled the fucking oil. Anyway, after another 14 YEARS of appealing with the richest, best, dirtiest lawyers in the country, Exxon made its way to the Supreme Court.. and finally, they announced their decision.. and guess who won. The working people, or the corporate giant?
Same old story.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7473968.stm
I hate those fuckers so much.. Thanks for fucking over my family and so many others.
Sorry to vent about this on here.. usually I try to stay out of this kind of shit with music.. but this just hits so close to home.
Do me a favor.. and when you go to fill up your car.. don't do it with Exxon or Mobil gas. I know all the companies are probably all almost equally evil.. but nobody tops ExxonMobil when it comes to the worst part of humanity. They represent everything that is bad in the world. Greedy motherfuckers.
"I Woke Up Today" music video / Pre-sale tickets for SF and LA!
Heyooooooooooo...............
So , our first music video.. for 'i woke up today' is now online as you may know..
If you haven't seen it.. here it is::::
heyo!
there's actually a far better resolution version over here:
PITCHFORK. They sum it up nicely: "The earlier version of what has become Port O'Brien's signature tune always sounded a little despairing, expressing a hunger to be wherever you're not. On solid ground, you look at the waves. At sea, you search the horizon for land. However, they re-recorded version of the song from their solid debut, All We Could Do Was Sing, and its colorful, celebratory video suggest that the band may find some freedom in that rootlessness. Directed by Blake Benham, it's an endearingly silly clip that involves band introductions, the world's cutest little girl, a diorama (remember dioramas?), a stuffed shark that eats a swimmer, and a beach party on a desert island. But the main selling point is the band itself, who show off some unself-consciously goofy interpretive dance moves that translate to "We're thrilled to be wherever we are."" - Richdork Media
Our CALIFORNIA TOUR is starting soon.. with dates in San Diego, Costa Mesa, Santa Barbara, LA, and SF...... with portland's amazing The Builders and the Butchers!
Pre-sale tix are avail for LA at the Spaceland (july 10).. and SF at the wonderful Cafe du Nord. (july 11) Its advise you buy now so you can get into that shit.
New tour dates! / Europe tour photos! / Myspace featured artist! /
Current mood: animated
~HEYO~
We are back from Europe, and we have a lot of news for you fine people. Let's start with the most important, which is the announcement of new live appearnces, and the reminder of previously announced appearances. Okay? Here they are, friends.
~~~~~~THE "TAKING A BREAK FROM ALASKA" SUMMER TOUR~~~~~~~
w/ FRANK BLACK (!!!!OMG!!!!) 6/23 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Brookdale Lodge
w/ The Builders and the Butchers 7/7 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah 7/8 - Costa Mesa, CA @ The Detroit Bar 7/9 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Muddy Waters 7/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Spaceland 7/11 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord
w/ Bodies of Water 8/6 - Madison, WI @ Cafe Montmartre 8/7 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas 8/9 - Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo 8/10 - Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange 8/12 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Upstairs 8/13 - New York, NY @ The Mercury Lounge 8/15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall 8/16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's 8/17 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat Backstage 8/18 - Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon St Annex 8/19 - Indianapolis, IN @ Locals Only
And of course... 9/13 - MONOLITH FESTIVAL @ Red Rocks, Morrison, CO
There will be more dates to come.. with a trip back to Europe planned for the early Fall.
~~~~~~~~OTHER NEWS~~~~~~~~~
We took some photos while in Europe, and some of those can be seen over at our web log, or "blog" as some inside the "internet community" have been calling it. That, of course is still at portobrien.blogspot.com.
Some may have noticed that we have been one of Myspace.com's featured musical artists this week, and we thank them for helping us to beat Janet Jackson in respective play counts.
Also, we are a featured artist on Virb.Com, which can be seen here.
More importantly, if you don't have the album and you'd like to buy it, please follow the nice little button-type links from our Myspace.
Frank Black show! / La Blogoteque / Monolith Festival / New Album out now on iTunes!
UPDATE:
We just added a show with Black Francis (aka Frank Black of the Pixies)!!!!!! The show will be June 23rd in Santa Cruz at the Brookdale Lodge.!!!!
More of these: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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~heyo!~
We just got back from another tour of some of the states. Thanks to everyone who came out to all the shows. NORMANdentonAUSTINphoenixTUCSONsandiegoLOSANGELESsanfranciscoPORTLANDseattleVANCOUVERBC. Anyway, we have one more US show before heading across to Europe! Check out the Myspace for the rest of the dates. Our last US show for a while is: MAY 22 : SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA ~ record release show @ Retrospect.
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LA BLOGOTEQUE!
The amazing site La Blogoteque has posted 2 videos we did with them over in NYC. Its hard to hear the guitar over all the pots and pans in the first video.. but we had a great time making them. Here is the link:
http://www.blogotheque.net/Port-O-Brien
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MONLITH FESTIVAL!
We were just added to this year's Monolith Festival @ Red Rocks! in Denver, CO - taking place September 13th and 14th. Some of the bands playing this year are: Band of Horses, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, Neko Case, etc... Here is the link to the full line-up:
http://www.monolithfestival.com/
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Our new album "All We Could Do Was Sing" is out now!
PopMatters posted their review of our new album today. Here is an excerpt and the link, yo.
"Port O'Brien has stirred up quite a lot of press coverage in a few short years, thanks in part to being name-checked by M. Ward as his favorite new band and exposure on tours opening for Bright Eyes, the Cave Singers, and Modest Mouse, among others. The group, based in California when not working in a cannery off the coast of Alaska, also garnered a place on several "Best of 2007" album lists. If you happened to see any of those tours, you know that all the accolades are not empty hipster hype. If you had the misfortune to miss them, a new release offers another chance to get on board. "
Its up on the Top Sellers right now.. so order now before they run out of stock.
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HEYO!
Shows still to come for the USA before we head off to EUROPE to promote the CITY SLANG release of our album over yonder.. Here are the last shows of the USA for a while
may13 - LOS ANGELES @ the echo may14 - SAN FRANCISCO @ the rickshaw may 16 - PORTLAND @ the towne lounge may17 - SEATTLE @ the vera project may18 - VANCOUVER BC @ the media club may22 - SAN LUIS OBISPO @ retrospect
HEYO! Here is an important link. Its the pre-order tix for the SF show! You should do that NOW to make sure you get in.. and because we don't have any guest list spots to give away.. Here it is!:
Also, for the SLO show ~ if you buy our new CD at Boo Boo Records, you'll get a FREE ticket to the show at Retrospect! There is a listening party going down there today.. at 4pm.. go to win free stuff!
Is that all for now? NO, but I am in a public library in Encinitas, CA so it will have to do for now.. More info so soon!
New York Times! Tegan and Sara name Port O’Brien one of their 6 favorite bands!
Heyo!
The Sunday edition of the New York Times has a big article of Tegan and Sara, and they listed Port O'Brien as one of their 6 favorite bands!
Here is the link while its still up: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/arts/music/04play.html?ref=arts
And here is the excerpt:
PORT O'BRIEN
TEGAN "All We Could Do Was Sing" (self-released May 13) makes you want to get up and sing. When I wake up on our tour bus in the morning, it's the kind of song I want to listen to. It's like a jam. There are so many voices and instruments it's madness. There are lots of polar opposites on the record: a lot of guitar picking, full-on heavy jams, then more intimate songs that feel very sweet. They've got a singalong campfire vibe.
SARA I love it. I remember a time when Tegan wasn't into indie rock, but she's coming a little closer to my side.
Pre-Sale "ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING" now for early delivery!
Current mood: dirty
The pre-sale for our DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM is up now
"ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING"
featuring "I WOKE UP TODAY" "STUCK ON A BOAT" "FISHERMAN'S SON" "IN VINO VERITAS" "CLOSE THE LID" and 6 other new songs ! etc.......... is up now
Just click the new banner (or just click here) on our Myspace and that will take you to the pre-order page. Orders will ship out on May 5th.. so you will get yours before the street date of May 13th!!
We are so proud of this album and I hope you enjoy it!
More US dates / Back to Europe! / New album coming soon!
Current mood: anxious
Okay there.. well there is a lot of news going on around Port O’Brien.. I’ll break it down into very neat, little numbered items.
1) We just got back from a month-long tour of the USA with Delta Spirit. Tour photos and video is up at the POB Blog.
2) We aren’t stopping for long. We have a few dates in April. a) Awesomefest! Mendocino County.. a few hours north of SF with a bunch of rad-i-cool bands and shit. That shit is on the 18th.. then: b) Record Store Day! We’re getting behind this idea because record stores are the best kind of stores. We’re playing a free rock and roll show at Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo at 7pm on the 19th of this fine month.
3) Then, we’re doing some more USA touring (and one Canadian date) - this time with the great Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. We’re hitting up a bunch of cities.. and all that’s on the Myspace, of course. But here they are: NORMAN OKLAHOMA denton texas AUSTIN TEXAS phoeniz arizona TUSCON ARIZONA san diego california LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA san francisco california PORTLAND OREGON seattle washington VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA.
4) Then, its back to EUROPE! Fuck yes! We’re playing Primavera Festival in Barcelona w/ Portishead, Dinosaur Jr., Devo (!), Cat Power, Public Enemy, Explosions in the Sky, Animal Collective, etc. We’re playing in LDN with one of our favorite artists, BON IVER. Check the ’Space for details on the trip. More dates to come!
5) There is a new Daytrotter song up here. Its sloppy as shit, but fun.
6) In the current issue of MAGNET, "The Wind and the Swell" was named one of the top 10 "Under the radar" albums of 2007.
7) MOST IMPORTANTLY>>>>>>
>>>>>
Our debut, studio-recorded album ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING comes out in the states on MAY 13. Pre-order will start soon. Its out in Japan a little before that on & Records.. and in Australia on Dew Process.. and a little later in Europe on good ol’ CITY SLANG.
Never have I had such a visceral reaction to an album, where its lo-fi screams and yelps from start to finish prove this young band has so much more to give.
Hear Ya's Top 50 albums of the year (The Wind and the Swell - 5)
Shake Your Fist's Top 50 songs of the year ("Five and Dime")
Isn't this song a couple years old, you ask? Maybeee. Happily for me, it turned up on Port O'Brien's 2007 LP-length reconstitution of a couple earlier EPs. Anyway: "Midway through, the song indeed takes a happy turn (a cue from rock n' roll, a big gulp of sunshine and blue sky). It rides a sea-foam glinting wave, opens to the wide ocean and nothing for those couple minutes makes the world seem so vast and right."
I Pick My Nose's Top 14 songs of the year ("I Woke Up Today" - 6)
I was (and am) fascinated by how this song somehow stays in control despite how wild it seems.
Q. Why aren't you playing any shows this summer until Bestival? A. 3/4 of us are in Alaska, working.
Q. Why would you do that? A. Its called hella debt.
Q. What will you all be doing up there? A. Cambria and Caleb will be working in the Larsen Bay cannery on the West-side of Kodiak Island. Cambria will be resuming her position as head baker. It will Caleb's first time up north, and he'll be doing prep cooking for the cannery workers. Van will once again be working on his dad's commercial salmon fishing boat, the Shawnee.
Q. What about Josh? A. He's holding down the fort for us in sunny California. Look for him around Santa Cruz.
Q. When are you getting back? A. It kinda depends on what the fish are doing, but most likely either very late August or very early September.
Q. What is "The Wind and the Swell"? A. It is a new compilation coming out this summer on the awesome label American Dust, distributed through Revolver. It contains the best songs from "Nowhere to Run" and "When the Rain Comes." Look for a mid-late July release.
Q. Where can I buy CDs and shirts? A. Until the aformentioned release, there will be no CDs available to purchase.
Q. Will you have internet up in Alaska? A. Very, very rarely is the basic answer. Van will have semi-regular access until June 4th. The salmon season starts June 5th this year, so after that, he'll be out in the middle of nowhere doing absolutely nothing except fishing. Larsen Bay very rarely gets wireless access, and the state of Cambria's laptop is very up in the air, but there may be some appearances by Cambria and Caleb.
Q. Who will run the Myspace when you are all away from the computer?
A. Our wonderful managers Christian and Bryna, based in New York City.
Q. Can we write letters? A. Fuck yes! Getting mail in Alaska is the best feeling in the world.
Q. Address? A. Here they are, mail takes quite some time to get up there. Van Pierszalowski Fishing Vessel SHAWNEE c/o Ocean Beauty Seafoods 621 Shelikof Way Kodiak, AK 99615
Cambria Goodwin (and/or) Caleb Nichols c/o Icicle Seafoods P.O. Box 30 Larsen Bay, AK 99624
Q. Where can I read about your adventures?
A. On our Alaska blog of course! portobrien.blogspot.com
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported Port O'Brien this year. We will miss y'all this summer, and we can't wait to tour tour tour upon our arrival back to the Lower 48.
angry
animated
dirty
anxious
blustery