03.06.08 - The Moondoggies sign to Hardly Art
The above headline is true - we are indeed at the height of some sort of strange bandemonium around here, contracts and signing pens being flung everywhere, angry lawyers and celebratory drinks, and the last but certainly not least in this marathon round of band acquisition comes in the form of The Moondoggies. This country-fried five-piece comes from the haunts of Seattle, or specifically the Blue Moon Tavern, and has been peddling their hook-drenched guitars, gospel-entrenched harmonies, and of course their Rhodes organ, since circa 2006 or so. We are quite pleased to be releasing their yet-to-be-titled debut LP later this year. Who says we don’t know how to handle a recession, eh?

 

 

And did you see The Seattle Times tonight?  These guys are EVERYWHERE!

"Everard is working both sides of 10th tonight, hosting "The Young Ones," a collection of rising Seattle acts, including rap crew Dyme Def, indie-poppers Throw Me the Statue and old-school rockers the Moondoggies (who recently signed to Sub Pop offshoot Hardly Art). "

 

It couldn't have happened to greater guys- way to go!!

 

 

So there was a great aritcle in the Seattle Times on Sunday.  It was all about the anniversary of SubPop records- they were the label that originally signed Nirvana and released Bleach- and other great bands- my favs Death Cab for Cutie and the Shins.  The main founder had some very nice things to say- and about the 'doggies in particular:

Sub Pop's kind of town

Sub Pop long ago earned a national reputation, and in recent years has earned a second one. Yet it remains, in many ways, a Seattle thing.

"Sub Pop would not have been Sub Pop without Seattle," Poneman says. "Seattle is an essential component to the story. Sub Pop is less geographical [now] — it has less of a regional focus. But Seattle is still home — I can complain about the irresponsible development going on downtown, I can complain about the traffic and real-estate prices, but it's still my home. And I think I can speak for Sub Pop: The people living in Seattle have always been very supportive of Sub Pop."

While he cites independent radio station KEXP (and its predecessor, KCMU) and Seattle indie record stores as "amazing partners to Sub Pop through the years," it again comes down to the bands. While Sub Pop's signings extend around the country, the most successful have Northwest roots.

And, Poneman flatly states, "We are in the midst of a resurrection" of Seattle music. He cites Band of Horses, new signings Grand Archives (led by Mat Brooke, formerly of Carissa's Wierd and Band of Horses) and Fleet Floxes, and unsigned (for now) band the Moondoggies as "great, great bands that are coming up — very exciting."

But Poneman can't talk too long without that self-deprecating, ironic streak. And here comes that smirk again.

"I've signed bands to Sub Pop whose parents used to watch the original Sub Pop bands."

So I have yet to send off b-day presents to those who celebrated in September- now... I'm working on it.  But just wanted to take a couple of moments to celebrate both Mike and Kev...

 

 

Mike's show "Uncle Mike ruins Christmas" at the Jet City Improv has a strong review from Seattle Weekly.  That paper just loves these guys!

 

 

Kevin and The Moondoggies are playing a local show at the Tractor tomorrow night where it is a play through of Dylan's Blonde on Blonde record, with different bands switching in for each song.  Good on 'em!  They just finished recording a real record.  More details on it soon!  Oh- and they are being showcased at the Experience Music Project on January 3rd. 

I am behind.  Not just a day or two but 2 months.  I have been so busy at work, finishing up the last triathlon, training (or pretending to train) for the Seattle half-marathon, planning a big party.... that I have let everything else slip.  Right now I am staring at a stack of cards, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, notes, etc. that go back to dates that I missed in August- and right up to now.  I have 3 family birthdays coming up in the next 3 weeks and I am not on track to hit any of them.  It has gotten to the point that I am so embarrassed by how late some of these things are, that I'm not sure if it is better to give them to people for Christmas gifts, or for the event next year.  So if you are a close friend or family member and have had a special occasion in the last 3 months, please know that I did think about you as it came around, took the time to get a card (of course I did!) and then I just never carried through with it.  And I am a dork.  And I will probably sit on whatever it is for the next 3 weeks as well.  Because I suck.

 

 

I love reading Wil Wheaton's blog.  I started reading it a few years ago, and it is still one of my favorites.  He makes me laugh.  The kind where if you are drinking something it comes out of your nose- that kind of laughter. 

How are you all?

 

So here is a cool story about the Moondoggies  here- where they are profiled by Seattle Weekly

 

and then later in this week's issue Kevin is the "Day job of the week" where he discusses his intricate routine for preparing tasty bagels daily. 

 

So cool! 

 The Moondoggies got some hot new gushy press from the music editor of The Stranger. 

 

 

Way to go guys!

Chris and I bought HP while on the big boat trip.  We went to a midnight release party in Friday Harbor.  Sans kids... which probably made us look really creepy.

 

Read it for 5 hours and finished.  Chris is done too.  We were really shocked when Ron Weasley killed everyone.  Who saw that coming?  Ha ha, just kidding... 

Chris and I have had a great time at the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery outdoor concerts this year.  We saw Harry Connick Jr. in early June- and that was a fabulous concert.  We got to be in the "special people" tent with a free wine bar and dinner...but most importantly a running water VIP port-a-potty!!!  Then we saw Chris Isaak with my sister, mom, Mike and Jeannine.  Again- it was another fabulous concert.  Both of the artists had lots of fun audience banter and played great music.  Then we got free tickets to go back to see the Moody Blues- who I like, and who Chris thought he liked.  And it was back in the VIP tent, so we were all ready to go!  We got there and they played all of the old favorites, Tuesday afternoon, In Your Wildest Dreams, etc.  Of course they left Nights in White Satin until last.... but it was pretty good.  And then there were other songs I didn't recognized, and new band members that I didn't recognize.  It was a mix between old crunchy members and new young members with um, easy to view assets.  One girl was in charge of getting the audience to clap, between the 3 songs she banged on the keyboard during.  So Chris was bored and we both sat there and concentrated on the lyrics.  Here are some gems from the Moody Blues catalogue. 

 

Floating: 

Now I know how it feels
To have wings on my heels
To take a stroll among the stars
Get a close look at planet Mars 

 

Candle of life:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Chris and I went out with Jeannine and our new friends Kris and JB to see the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical sing-along last month.  In case you missed this fabulous event, it was a regular episode (Once more with Feeling) where a demon put a spell on Sunnydale that caused the entire town to burst into song and or dance.  And yes I know all of the words.  We have been so busy lately, that I didn't blog about it- but it was a great time.  Chris and I went to see Rocky Horror while we were in marching band in high school and this experience was very reminiscent of that.  It started at midnight (and we're getting old, so this was a stretch!) at the Egyptian theater in Capital Hill.  The line was around the block, and I managed to avoid eye contact with a few former students.  It is not that I'd be embarrassed to be seen there, but that I am always aware that sometimes students don't want to be recognized by their former Biology teacher while out in the wee hours of the morning.   

 

We got a little gift bag of goodies- fake vampire teeth, a confetti popper, bubbles, a kazoo, and other items to either be thrown, or used, or ? during the sing-a-long.  The audience was into it, and they had some Buffy-oke before the event and then some Buffy trivia and it was entertaining.  The only part that was a wee bit uncomfortable was a group of about 20 people that were screaming at the MCs to start the video.  I was pretty embarrassed to be a fellow Seattlite... our lack of audience etiquette strikes again.  And this was a traveling show.  I hope they come back next year.

 

Anyhoo, the crowd seemed to have no problem joining right in, and we all sounded uber nerdy, and out of tune, but great fun was had by all. 

 

If you have the chance to catch this in your town... I highly recommend it!

 

 

 

 

I hate bloggers who do not update their sites, especially because I am such a loser, I will check it a few times, and then I am always disappointed by what finally gets posted there.  There is absolutely no relationship between the length of time between posts and how great a post is after a long absence of posting.  Sorry about that - and I am kind of apologizing to you, my audience, that consists of my mom and my husband, and the random person who stumbles here looking for another Megan Anderson, or an explanation of the structure of DNA.

 

 

 

SNLs MacGruber skits. 

 

The best  car commercial ever.  The car even shares my name!

The Pittsuburgh Pirates Sopranos Spoof (yes I know this ceased to be entertaining 3 weeks ago- but I guess I'm posting this for those who love mascots. 

 

 

 I have to stay up late to call the Grand Hotel Esplanade to get my money back, and I will have to use my broken German to inform the desk clerk that I was overcharged, after they will put me on hold for $5.00 a minute.  This is supposed to be one of the greatest places to stay in  Berlin and it was sooooo disappointing.  Even though the Stuttgart football team was there and we sat next to a bunch of them in Harry's New York Bar (and had no idea who they were) while fans tried to sneak in the hotel, it was pretty disappointing.  No AC was great on an 85 degree day, and the customer service left  a lot to be desired.  Oh, and they have spiders.  I was bitten on the foot on the way into the bathroom that was fun. 

 

Tomorrow I have to work.  Everyone else I know (at the school) is on summer vacation.  Suxor!

 

So I am in Germany.  I have been neglecting every possible form of writing because I have been running from one end of the country to the other.  So far I have seen Hamburg- where Molly and I traveled to Lubeck, to see the history of Germany's marzipan industry.  Then we left to go to Berlin- which did not impress me as much as other european cities... and I think it  had to do wtih most of the time we were there we spent in the former East Berlin and the look of the city is much more sterile than what I have seen before.  It is obvious it was from the total destruction of Berlin in WWII, but it just seemed to be missing its soul.  However, we did have a very nice time there and saw places like the Jewish museum- with the very haunting "fallen leaves" art instillation and the holocaust tower.  We also visited the Jewish memorial, the Brandonberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and a chunk of the wall that still remains.  Germany has had a very interesting history in modern times.  The temperature here is very muggy and sunny.  We have had 3 thunderstorms recently.  They seem to clear up pretty soon and make the temperature bearable for a few hours...

 

Football has been the name of the game here.  When we stayed in Berlin, the Stuttgard team stayed at our hotel.  We hung out in the bar near a bunch of the team/ management... and people would ask them for autographs, but we didn't recognize them.  It wasn't until we started walking around Berlin the day we left that we noticed everyone wearing red and white or red and black.  At the Olympic statium, they had the national finals for Stuttgard vs Nurmberg.  We hopped on the train to Nurmberg where everyone was wearing the Nurmberg scarf or jersey.  Molly and I got some rattlers (beer and juice) and crushed into one of the major town squares (that have beautiful bavarian style decor and incredible churches everywhere) and watched the game.  Nurmberg won in overtime and the town was crazy!!  It started to pour right at the game ended and everything was soaked.  Our hotel was right on the main thorough fair in town and so people drove by and honked, cheered, and sang all night long.  The police presence was very strong , and some even wore riot gear!  The next morning Molly and I went into the town for breakfast, and the fans were still there, drinking their morning beer and still cheering and singing.   As I write this, almost 20 hours later, there are still people driving thru town, flying the team flag and honking and cheering-- and everyone joins in!!  The team came home today and they are having a gigantic rally in town. 

 

I guess Nurmberg is well known for its rallies... awkward transition to what we did today- and that was to visit the former Nazi party rally grounds.  It was so shocking to see what this party did on such a grand level in such a short time.  There is a great museum that is in the Kongresshalle, that is one of the largest remaining Nazi structures in Germany.  It is a beautiful brick building and they use it for educational purposes, as well as housing the orchestra.  From there we walked to the Zeppelin Grandstand.  This is where you have seen Hitler standing in front of his thousands of troops on a great marble podium, with the banners behind him.  The marble background and steps still remain, but all of the cement seating areas and towers have all become overgrown.  They use the area for concerts and an a big road rally.  We walked up the great road, which was the parade route for the Nazi soldiers.  Then we went into a big huge park that held Luitpold Hall which was destroyed during the war.  In here, still stands the Hall of Honour - which Hitler would hold his Day of the SA and SS rememberences.  It has marble columns that would have fire coming out of the top.  The whole structure was covered with plastic, because they were refurbishing the front.  It started to rain and we watched an elderly couple and a man duck in thru the plastic... so we followed them!  It was really cool to see this structure that had been reclaimed and redesignated as a memorial for WWI, WWII, victims and those who fell by the hand of the Nazis.  Molly struck up a conversation with the man who told us he was vacationing from another town in Germany.  He talked about how he was born in 1932 and he had become part of the Hitler youth.  His village had no Jewish citizens and so had a very different view of what was going on as he was growing up.  It was so cool to hear about the history first hand in such a place!! 

 

Tomorrow Molly and I are off to Kaiserslautern to meet up with mom and dad's friends Mo and Dan.  I really only have one full day with them, and then I am back. 

 

Hope you all are well!!! 

 

Megan

So I have a pretty serious addiction.  And it is soooo embarrassing.  I need to go to Guitar Hero II Rehab.  Chris bought this game a month ago and I picked it up one day and haven't really been able to set my axe back down.  I know I have a problem because I spend way too much time playing it, I have started listening only to the rock station in order to work on picking out guitar solos, I have made a GTH mix on my iPod and I have become seriously interested in actually picking up a guitar.  Of course it has to be one with no strings and 5 multicolored buttons on the handle. 

 

The saddest part of it all, is that I am leaving for Germany in 2 weeks from tomorrow and my biggest concern is not that I have failed to learn German, but that I am worried I won't finish all of the songs on the "hard" level and move to expert.  Don't worry, I am holding my own hand to my head in the shape of an L, you don't have to do it for me.

 

And in other news...

 

Can you even believe that it is May?  I didn't even get a chance to pipe up with my "I hate March" diatribe.  Which I didn't do, because I didn't hate March this year.  It went super fast... and we traveled quite a bit and so the last 2 months have just flown by.

 

I am freaking out quite a bit because I have signed up for the Danskin once again and I only have 3 months to go.  I have missed my last 3 personal training appointments, which of course means that I have skipped my hour long strength sessions.  I have been no where near the pool and my bike is still on my trainer upstairs (and although I do stare at it while on my elliptical machine, I haven't been on it for quite a while).  Plus, this summer, I am not off from mid June until the tri.  I work until the end of June, will be gone for 2 weeks in July, then start back up to work in August.  I think I'm a bit cocky, because I made it through last year, and now that I'm actually running in my age class, I am not at the very end of the race this year!  I think I'll have a 30 minute start, which with my current training regime, probably doesn't give me that much of a head start. 

 

That is it!  I am going upstairs right now to work out.  I'm not even going to finish this p 

This is one of my all time favorite arguments against evolution.  If you have a few minutes or maybe 10, you should watch this.  Oh, and will you let me know if this argument is the one that pushes you to the side of being pro-Intelligent Design?  I am just trying to see what it takes to make people drop all scientific belief and to get on the ID bandwagon.  If you don't care at all about either side, enjoy the following video with Kirk Cameron and a banana!

 

 

Seriously?!!!    Seriously?!!!

 

I give up.  This SUCKS for the rest of us.

 

 

 

 

Whoo-hoo, happy band day.  Go find a marching band member (look for the polyester pants, sensible black shoes,  dickie, and shako with a feather sticking out of it) and give them a hug.  Let this be the one day you don't mock our people.  We are everywhere!

 

 

This one goes out to Wes (a pause as I pour one out for my fallen homie)

 

"Ba-bee-ba  and go!!" 

 

 

 

It turns out I have a slight issue with being a little too competitive.  I have been told this by a few people who know and love me and then some others (they were just jealous  :) ).  I don't really feel that this is a problem, because it means that I am always striving to do my best.  Now I'm not so competitive that you can't stand to be around me (or so I think)... and I won't egg you on for the hell of it.  Do I measure how I am doing by comparing myself to others?  Yes I do.  In that, my goal is to watch someone who is successful at something I am striving to do, and follow their example.  That does not mean I belittle their performance, smash my success in their face and do a victory dance- it means that I set goals that I see others attaining, because it gives me a model for success.  Yes I admit that when I fall short and see someone that I can't stand attain that goal, there is some colorful language that bounces around in my head.  With my friends and family I am totally supportive of what they do  and I get no pleasure by "beating" someone at anything.  I do love playing games with people, or making a friendly little wager.  And yes there is some chest beating "I will destroy you" friendly banter that goes back and forth- and there is NO actual true feelings in that.  I am going to blame my husband for my X-box trash talk that has been getting worse and worse over the last few years.  It is his influence and his friends, that I have voiced untrue and unprintable comments about their mothers - but it is X-box, and that is half the fun!

 

I think the person I am most competitive with is myself.  I am always comparing what I'm doing to how I've peformed in the past.  While I'm training- I am constantly looking back at my performace and try to beat my record or whatever- and that is pretty standard in athletics, so I don't feel that is an example of being too competitive...  

 

I digress a bit.  I think you may be wondering why I am bringing up my competitiveness on my blog?  Well, something odd has occured this week.  Every day I have a fortune cookie that is left over from our Chinese New Years celebration a couple of weeks ago.  And the following message has been in the last 5 fortune cookies that I have eaten:

 

     "Keep in close touch with what your competition is doing"

 

It sounds ominous and I am not sure who my competition is.... is it the person on the treadmill next to me at the gym?   Is it someone at work?  Is it Brad and Angelina and the race to get our baby first?  (This last thing- may be another reason people think I am a bit too competitive/ "crazy and should consider a mental health professional"  tomay-to, tomah-to.  Here is an example of two people who don't know me, who have no idea that I'm adopting from China, who are adopting from another foreign country so what they do has no infuence on me whatsoever. But for whatever reason I have decided that I better get our child first.  Now is that competitiveness?  Is that weird?  Is it time to get the net?  Or at least a 500 foot restraining order?  Who knows.  But is something to do.  :)

 

 

 

Sunday, August 19th. 

 

 

See you at the finish line.

I just finished a super busy week at work.  I wasn't sleeping very well, so last night's  hours of sleep was the longest night I've had in about a week.  I am still wrapping up that horrible flu that was going around and on some meds that made me really jumpy.  I am at that point where I was tired of being sick, and ready to move on.  Working out was a bit taxing, since I had let my cardio routine drop- and it has been a looong time since I've done anything with my arms (so much for my winter goal of building some strong swimmer muscles so I was feeling pretty out of sorts. 

 

So today I took some time to relax, and take a nap, and not do much more.  And for whatever reason, I spent a lot of time thinking about LIFE.  You know those type of one sided conversations where you take stock and think about decisions you've made, things to come, and if you're making the most of what you've got.  I came to the conclusion that things couldn't possibly be better right now.  And this is a really big deal for me.  I have spent the last 4 years working on the same unattainable goal- starting a family.   I was really focused on that and I let a lot of other things fall by the way side.  These last few months I have really been feeling like I've moved on and rejoined the world.  I know our adoption is in progress, and that there is nothing I can do to speed it up and I am OK with that- I am having a really good time in the meantime.  Chris and I are having a lot of fun together, work involves all sorts of new challenges, and when I look around I have the most supportive family and friends that a person could have.   I think I laughed tonight until I did that snorty, side achy thing and it was good.  And I was sitting there cheering our friend on playing "Wii tennis" and I just had the thought- I am happy.  I am not sure I had a lot of that going on while we were going through the whole infertility game.  That was a focus on what was not happening- and also magnified by  do-it-yourself hormones.  That was awful and I am so glad we've folded on that front.

 

I have always been a planner- very goal oriented.  And that is good at work, or while you are doing projects, but there are many things that don't work out that way.  I have heard "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" so many times this week and it is cliche, but oh so true.  So my new mantra at least for my personal life is to sit back and enjoy what I've got.  You never know when something will happen to change it all, and you should be able to look back and say that you really enjoyed it while you had it- whatever it is.  (BTW, I think I became super reflective after I read the paper this morning- and noticed that my horiscope was missing.  They skipped right over Aquarius and on to the next one.  Does that mean I have no future?)

 

One thing that has been the highlight of my week was how much time we've made for socializing.  I have spent time with family, friends we haven't seen in a while, reconnected with other friends, and made time for a few phone calls.  And that was really reenergizing.  I was totally fried last night, but went over to our friends house and watched a movie.  I love seeing what makes other people laugh- which then makes you laugh harder - kind of connecting on a silly level.  It is good for the soul.  (It sounds like we were watching some feel good movie of the year- but it was the Departed- and Mark Wahlburg's character is by far the most fun to watch.)

 

Well, I guess I am done being goopy and reflective for the night.  I hope you have a good one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris and I are going to Mars Bar on Friday night to see Andrea drum her little heart out in her mostly all girl funk band, Kissing Potion. 

 

 The Moondoggies are also up to their usual tricks with some shows next month at The Comet and The Blue Moon.  This is my favorite cd right now, and that is not just because Kevin is my brother.  It is in spite of it.

 

Check out the myspace sites- some good stuff from the family!