12.03.2007

Goodbye Arks, Hello Everything

We are of course saddened to depart from beneath a banner that's served us dutifully for these past five years, but we are simultaneously adrenalized by upcoming collaborations with each other and with the inimitable talents with whom we've been fortunate enough to acquaint ourselves over the band's lifespan. We realize, ultimately, that this is not a death: this is simply a necessary mutation. This is a branching out in the evolutionary tree.

And as this evolution is mutually recognized and accepted within the band, the group's soft disintegration is executed with no ill-will. We dissolve Arks as we ran it: as the best of friends. We wish only success toward one another in future projects. We will be the first ones in line at one another's shows. Just try and stop us.

If this is an evolution, what are the future species? Initial observations indicate the formation of two distinct lines:

While Glenn leaves Arks to work on a variety of musical pursuits, he and Paul will continue work together on a preexisting but evolving project, Music Hall, with the help of longtime friend and sound sculptor to the stars, PK Hooker.

Mat and Lanny will also continue working together, enlisting a member of another Chicago band who recently made their own swan song. Who that is will be said when the time comes to announce the new project. In the meantime, they will search for the final leg or arm to complete what they will next become.

All involved in Arks will be maintaining existing sites a while longer, and as such are still reachable in the usual places. When everyone is grounded or aloft in their respective upcoming projects, you will of course be among those to feel the touch of our communicative tentacles.

And let us wrap those arms around your ears one last time this Thursday, December 6th at Darkroom (2210 W. Chicago Ave.). We will do our best to leave an indelible mark in the stage with our spasms and amperage. Our stalwart friends Walking Bicycles and Bang! Bang! will aid in the effort, presented by KEXP.org. Doors at 8. And to show you we mean every nice word we've ever said, the first hundred people receive three free albums in a classy Highwheel bag. Christmas early in triplicate.

We end this final broadcast with a thank you. To all of you that made every minute worthwhile. To all our friends who came to innumerable shows, shouted, clapped, and cavorted. To complete strangers who showed us that love of music is not and never will be dead, who bought us a drink, who shook our hands, who yelled a little louder than expected after a song they'd never heard. To Julius and Jocelyn of Highwheel Records whose love for music, and our little pocket of it, knew no bounds and can never be over-appreciated. To all of you: we love and thank you. We can only hope to repay you on the stages of the future.

With this, we mutate.

Yours,
Arks

11.27.2007

Let Your Sluggish Voice Be Heard

While the tour blog was certainly well and quickly manned by Mat "Quick Blog" Biscan, I have finally gotten to my own notes and photos (a few of which were already used on the band blog proper). So if you feel like reliving the whole thing, in greater (read: verbose, tangential) detail, feel free to read the posts starting today at my blog.

Labels: , , ,

11.21.2007

Empty Bottle Monday Night

What a welcome home! Packed house at the Empty Bottle, everyone was having a great time. If someone wasn't, they were dead inside.

Arks, Empty Bottle, November 19th, 2007
(Photo by Hayley Murphy)

See more photos here and here.

Labels: , , , ,

11.19.2007

Glennome Falls on Hard Times

11.18.2007

Getting Home



Well, tour's just about over. Just got home and settled in. Tomorrow night is the show at the Bottle. I heard our interview on Q101 this evening. We had a phone interview in our van in Pittsburgh, where the station asked me about the Against Me! story and Lanny about the tour. We didn't sound like jackasses, so score 1 for Arks.

In Pittsburgh, our friend's Bill and Lacey gave us a place to crash, cooked us dinner and then took us out for brunch! We couldn't have asked to be associated with nicer people.

The drive home was easy. I spent 3.5 hours playing video games, 2 hours watching Old School and another 2.5 driving.

Here's a tally of things broke, lost and lost/found:

Broken:
1. 1 Bass
2. 1 Bass head (including 3 fuses)
3. 1 bass string
4. 4 guitar strings
5. 1 instrument cable
6. 1 guitar cabinet (fixed)
7. 1 guitar amp (fixed)
8. 1 mashed guitar headstock

Lost:
1. 1 ATM card
2. 1 set of car keys
3. 1 screw (holds drum throne together)

Lost, then Found:
1. 1 earing backing
* Lost: in an apartment
* Found: in the van
2. 1 nut that holds on guitar amp input
* Lost: unknown
* Found: on a pedal board
3. 1 guitar amp input
* Lost: in New York
* Found: In Pittsburgh
4. 1 Sharpie pen
* Lost: in one city
* Found: in another bag in another city
5. 1 USB camera cable
* Lost: In an apartment
* Found: In a venue parking lot

11.17.2007

New York, Day 2

The Annex show went pretty well. I don't understand why the venues in NY look at you funny when you bring your own equipment. We spent part of our sound check convincing the sound guy to let us use our own drums. He gave us a funny look, like we were presenting him with a really dumb idea. Seriously, why would any musician want to use their own equipment? That's crazy talk!

Walking Bicycles drove up from Chicago just to play the show and hang out. It felt good to do the same bullshit we do in Chicago in New York, if only for a day.

Afterwards, we headed back to Brooklyn to the Lucky Cat. Dave and Gerard took care of us with hot pizzas and cold drinks. Met a lot of really nice people, saw some tie-and-tight-pants-wearing synth band embarrass themselves relentlessly.

Getting ready to head out to Pittsburgh. Hopefully we can hit this Italian deli for sandwiches before we leave.

11.16.2007

New York, Day 1

The show at Trash Bar last night was great. Met a lot of nice people and made some gas money to help us get home.

Our friend took us out to Union Pool, which was probably a bad idea in retrospect. Really feeling the hurt right now. Thankfully, the show tonight is early. We'll be done and out of there by 10pm. I'd love to just collapse after that.