Dear diary,

I am sorry to have been away from you for so long. The daily routine of driving, eating, and shows (but mostly just eating) has left little room for blogging. What little time we've had on the internet has been used by Matt to upload photos to his facebook photo album, which we will not share with you (yet) because of the mature content.

Much has transpired since our last correspondence. We crossed the border back into America without much trouble, and played a show in the all-American city of Detroit. The auto industry's exodus left behind a gutted landscape of abandoned houses, skyscrapers, train stations, and the faded relic of Tiger stadium. The city's premature Independence Day fireworks show filled us with an eerie sense of hope for its future. We briefly imagined what it would be like to move there, squat in an old factory, farm for ourselves on abandoned lots reclaimed by nature. Our friend Carrie, who had recently left Providence for her native Detroit, explained the difference between the two cities. Providence's abandoned factories and mill buildings are often taken up by squatters and turned into art/performance spaces, so residents protest their transformation into supermarkets and condominiums. In Detroit, where abandoned buildings are often burned down, residents are excited by any investment in the city.

Detroit was the first of three shows we played with The Narrator, a rock solid four-piece from Chicago. Guitarist/vocalist Jesse co-owns Flameshovel Records, and Dan Fetherston from Oxford Collapse plays drums on half of their latest album, All That to the Wall. We were happy to be playing shows with a band that shares our affinity for 90s-style indie rock and pie. Listen to some of the hits here.

After our last show with the Narrator (their homecoming and final show of their tour), we hit up an analog recording studio in Rock Island, Illinois, called Future Appletree (also a label). The space, a former radio station, is home to Daytrotter, a web site that posts exclusive recordings of bands' sessions along with photos, sketches, and other neat stuff. We're excited to join the ranks alongside Will Johnson, The Teeth, Shearwater, Bonnie Prince Billy and more. We recorded a brand new song (title tk), "Get Down," "What We Do," and a cover of Elvis Costello's "Hand in Hand."

That night was our first night off, and we were very thankful for a healthy & delicious locally-grown late-night snack at the home of our friends Ande and Elisabeth in Lincoln, Nebraska (the cleansing effects of which were completely undone at Kuhl's diner the next morning by chicken fried steak breakfasts). We hit up the Hi-Dive in Denver that night, followed by one of our favorite spots, Salt Lake City's all-ages half-outdoor oasis Kilby Court.

Yours Truly,
Get Him Eat Him

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