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After more than a year of not playing shows, National Eye will play a show at Johnny Brenda's on the February 1st with the fabulous Sw!ms and new labelmate Pepi Ginsberg. We've been busy making a brand new album of songs, which we will play in its entirety at this show, and you'll hear violins and brass things as well as guitars and singing and applause and drums and evreything else. The album will come out sometime this year but if you don't like waiting you should just come to the show because we'll be playing it there.
Check out our MySpace page to get a taste of the forthcoming album
The Capitol Years' "Dance Away the Terror" and Dr Dog's "Takers and Leavers" were released last Tuesday.
AND BOY ARE THEY GOOD.
Go buy them.
Also: there's a nice feature in this week's City Paper about all the great music and brotherly love that is Park the Van Records. Don't miss this part. I was told that's a miniature horse -- not a pony.
And finally, there are some October/November tour dates with the Caps over on the live page.
Alright, we figured it out.
The Capitol Years are now on Park the Van Records!!!!!! That's our label, too!
They're coming out with a brand new album -- Dance Away the Terror -- on September something or other.
So what do labelmates do? They TOUR TOGETHER.
We're working out the details, but it looks like we're heading to all-over-the-country in October. Here's hoping we'll see you in that city where we've never seen you before!
Hit us up at feedback@nationaleye.com with any requests.
We
have a major announcement to make. Well, two.
National Eye has been somewhat pared down -- Jeff Love, Project Project
founding member and National Eye stalwart, has moved down to Tennessee,
en route to Virginia.
We're not sure what the future holds for Jeff's music making, but the
door is always open for National Eye collaboration. Most likely he'll
be all over our next Park the Van release...but you probably
won't see him much. We'll miss you Jeff!
And then -- wow -- Gianmarco Cilli, National Eye visionary, has also given similar notice. Again, Gianmarco will probably be a major player on National Eye recordings...but you'll have a hard time finding him onstage. We're going to miss him real hard, too.
What are we gonna do? We'll let you know.
Our big r5/Park the Van First Uni Church show. Wild West theme. Warner Bros. sunset mesa backdrop. Five-camera filmed for yet-to-edit-ing. Breathtaking.
WPRB
in Princeton NJ -- one of the best, independent, with-it-type radio
stations around.
We returned to their Ivy League studios for our second live set. Jon Solomon was our gracious host -- this guy is a local legend. His "Keeping Score at Home" series houses live gems from luminaries like Need New Body, Spinto Band, Ted Leo, Okkervil River, A-Sides, Fan of Friends. We
think it turned out alright, what with us being tour-tight and all.
Give it a listen.
http://keepingscoreathome.com/audio/ne2.ram
Hi
National Eyists,
Today
at 8PM (that's today) we're going to be on the radio!
So tune yourselves in to WPRB 103.3 Princeton and check out a set we
recorded with Jon Solomon up in the land of lonely tigers. If you threw
out the radio back when radio stopped being radio, dial in wprb.com
and you can stream it. While you're at it, check out Jon Solomon's site
for loads of musical goodness - this man
is making "Our Thing" a "Good Thing."
In
other nudes: It seems like only yesterday National Eye first crossed
paths with a spunky conglom of wonderful young lads playing heavenly
rock moves with a grace and inventiveness well beyond their years. Since
then, our beloved Spinto Band have won four grammys, the Super Bowl,
and the Ivor Novello Award. So we're delighted to get to open up for
the this Thursday at the TLA -- along with our brothers-of-the-highway
The Teeth. Even after seeing this band 457 times in the last month,
they still make the hairs stand up straight. Today Shreveport, Tomorrow
the World.
Thursday, March 30
Theater of Living Arts
Spinto Band + the Teeth
with National Eye
Get advance tixx here!
Mwah,
National
Eye
www.nationaleye.com
www.myspace.com/nationaleye
www.parkthevan.com
www.ilovenationaleye.com
www.nationaleyelovesyou.com
www.nationaleyeeatsthepie.com
We're
stuck in Sulphur Springs, TX, after making it four hours out of Austin
on the way back to Phila. Our van has a little trembling problem. It
shakes a lot.
We
don't know what we're going to do, but it gives us lots of time to reflect
on how great our tour and SXSW shows were. Or at least how much fun
we had doing them.
If
you go over to our Myspace page you'll find a blog detailing our tour
right up to this very moment, city by city.
Here's
hoping we get home alright!
Dear
Everyone,
Thank you for helping "Roomful of Lions" get as high as 1,334,304,X2X,494,393,4F4
on the Amazon.com sales rankings for "Instrumental Music (Reissues)".
But we aren't going to stop there! National Eye needs your help getting
it out on the airwaves - go here
to find the COLLEGE RADIO STATION near you and call them, email
them, and go visit them in person and request your favorite National
Eye tracks from "Roomful of Lions"!!! Don't worry, you can still do
this EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT IN COLLEGE.
Warmly,
NE!
Our
Khyber and 4w5 shows this last weekend: jubilant! foundational! fun!
Huge apologies to any of you who came to the Khyber show and got a stupid piece of paper
instead of a CD. The FedEx guy got into a fight with a dragon on the way to Chris Watson's
house (Park the Van HQ), and as a result we didn't have enough to give to everybody. But
don't throw away that stupid piece of paper! We really really will send you a copy of the
album absolutely free if you mail it in.
It's a drag but we're doing our best to make it up to everybody who came because you
all made it the Best Night in Forever.
Speaking of: wasn't that great? Like Moving Insects, Spinto Band, and Capitol Years were
all completely wonderful and amazing and we couldn't have asked for a better night. I
hope somebody grabbed that golden TV we left on the curb outside the Khyber. It actually
works! Plus, it's gold.
And lest we forget: Wilmington and Jake the Flying Rake's Nitrogen Band! A formidable group of sensationalists.
All their songs were great, but (and don't get mad, drummer/guitar/bass guys) -- when Katie and Jake
and unnammed guest busted out This Body's Only Rental the whole room stopped. Except for the people
talking. But screw them! A beautiful song. The Sky Drops were super cool too. Dude's pedal board
required its own fuse box.
Today
is many things:
1.) It's Tuesday, the longest day of the week.
2.) It's Valentine's Day, my personal very favorite holiday of
them all. And finally
3.) It's The Day That Our New Album Roomful of Lions Comes Out.
So go out and buy it if you love great music! Or just click
this.
If
you're not sure whether you love great music, here's a link to the fun
and dynamic National
Eye Roomful of Jukeboxes Internet Streaming Media Player. Click
that and hear the album in its entirety!
And speaking of entireties:
If you live in Philadelphia (or near it) we don't see how there's anyway
you can miss the great show we're having this Friday at the Khyber
as our CD Release Show Party Event. Here's the boffo lineup:
NATIONAL EYE
SPINTO BAND
CAPITOL YEARS
LIKE MOVING
INSECTS
Not only do you have these great bands playing, but if you come and
pay the measly $8 cover you get a FREE COPY OF ROOMFUL OF LIONS, complete
with the amazing art work and high-tech jewel case (opens and closes),
all for less money than you might easily spend on a really crappy windbreaker.
Pre-order tickets for this show here:
Nick
Krill from the Spinto Band helps with podcasting closure in our final
and fabulous fourth. Features music by Dr Dog, Like Moving Insects,
and Rifle Nice.
Subscribe
with iTunes (enhanced!) or stream
or download.
0:00 Introduction
2:42 Easy Beat - Dr Dog
7:35 "On This Day..." 5
8:08 Nick Krill fills gills
13:23 "Best of..."
15:08 Executive Elevator - Like Moving Insects
21:45 Chris speaks
22:27 Yes our show comes
26:02 Diet Coke - Rifle Nice
28:37 "On This Day..." 6
29:07 "Harmony Workshop" ep 2
31:41 One last segment
34:26 Invisible Raincoat - National Eye
If
you're a little sick of the National Eye Podcast, flip channels and
tune into the wHYMe
Podcast. There's some great stuff buried in the archives and the
most recent episode features us, National Eye! It's just like our podcast
but without all the annoying comedy segments! Sort of.
If you're NOT sick of our podcast, get ready for Episode Four, the lastest!
Shai,
Son of Eli, of Capitol Years fame joins us for a solid third attempt
at podcasting. This one features music by Make a Rising, The Capitol
Years, and Buried Beds.
Subscribe
with iTunes (enhanced!) or stream
or download
it.
0:00
Introduction
3:24 Expired Planet - Make A Rising
6:44 "On This Day..." 3
7:13 "Musicians Health"
9:40 Garage People
13:46 Mirage People - The Capitol Years
16:34 Hebrew greeting
16:43 "Friends" 3
18:02 Our movie
19:27 Psychedelic Sorority Assassins
22:12 Forever in You - Buried Beds
24:49 "On This Day..." 4
25:23 "The Phone Zone"
29:59 The genesis of Shai
33:15 Abwehr - National Eye
The
National Eye Podcast is
now avaible on iTunes. Episode Two has been posted. You can subscribe
with iTunes by
following this link. Or if you'd prefer, stream
or download
it. Playlist follows.
0:00
Introduction
2:42 Juicers - The Capitol Years
5:23 "Songwriting 101" ep 1
6:56 Korean greeting
7:01 "On This Day..." 1
7:33 Will reads in reverse
10:14 Broken Throat - Adam Arcuragi
15:17 Adam greeting
15:30 "Friends" 1
16:47 Gianmarco's old bands
18:45 "Chop Shop" ep 1
20:43 "On This Day..." 2
21:10 Chop the Tree - The Teeth
24:08 German greeting
24:15 "Friends" 2
25:33 Our tour
27:17 Drowned in Bed - National Eye
31:10 Outro
31:36 Korean Rap
As
some of you may know, National Eye is THIS CLOSE to seeing the release
their favorite album so far: Roomful of Lions. It won't
be available for a few more weeks, but as the Big Day approaches some
interesting new things will be cropping up for you to look at or listen
to or tell your grandchildren about.
One of these things is called The National Eye Podcast. It's
like a little radio show that we are doing in the weeks leading up to
the new album's release, available online. The weekly episodes will
feature a lot of music by us and many of our friends, some informative
segments with nifty sound effects, and some moments spent by the fireside
with the members of the band and our celebrity pals. (At least, we think
they should be celebrities.)
We've had a lot of fun making them and we hope you'll give a listen.
Stream it here.
Download it here.
Subscribe with iTunes here.
Playlist:
0:00 Introduction
2:40 Kind of a Girl - The Spinto Band
5:46 "Soundscapes & Visions" ep 1
7:38 National Eye attempt to get Joshua Marcus on the phone
9:37 This House or This House - Joshua Marcus
12:58 "Harmony Workshop" ep 1
15:21 National Eye discuss deep roots and where to find Joshua
Marcus
17:28 "What is a Podcast?"
21:42 Lion - Raccoon
25:51 National Eye talk briefly with Andrew Jones (Dr. Dog, Mitch
Fiction and the Shitss), Rory Connell (Raccoon, Rifle Nice, MF and the
S) and Jody Hamilton (Rifle Nice) 27:55 Song from Roomful
of Lions
31:02 Outro
As
you can see from our "LIVE" page, we're
going ballistic to start this new year. We get to play with all our
friends!
The
Teeth,
Capitol
Years,
Like Moving
Insects,
Spinto
Band
-- all these guys will be along for the ride as we gear up for "Roomful
of Lions" to drop.
Early Alert: if you're coming to the big 2/17 Khyber CD release,
get
your tickets in advance. You get a copy of ROL with ticket purchase
(pick-up-able the night of the show), and you'll avoid being turned
away at the door.
National
Eye would like to thank everyone who has helped us put another year
in the history books. It's been crazy, and we couldn't have done anything
without all of you.
Happy Holidays, and we'll see you in 2006 (new album/new shoes/new news).
The
least-married member of National Eye (R. Flom) is playing his very first
ever and probably very last ever show all by himself (solo show) at
the Khyber on Sunday, December 11th. This will be a dynamite opportunity
to find out about Rick's feelings. Also playing are Andy Toy (of Grand
Fabric), the Fence Bells, and Doctor and Philip.
Holidayfest:
Great gift idea: National Eye's stunning 2003 release, The Meter Glows.
Available on CD.
We're working on album #3...it's coming along. We've got a lot of songs
and no one to sing them.
If
you haven't already, you should really check out this unfolding
saga, which we were thrilled to have a small part in.
(The music for Episode 2 is a song by us.)
Before
you go to sleep, be sure and download this thing.
Ok, first things first: the record moguls over at Park
the Van International Records, Tapes and Corrugated Cardboard have
settled on a firm, unchangeable, final, set-in-solid-granite release date
for our second album, Roomful of Lions: February 14, 2006. Buy
this instead of flowers or jewelry or chocolates or dental floss because
nothing spells love like L-I-O-N-S.
We'll be making some humongous changes to our internet presence/web destination.
Soon you'll be seeing lots more music (by us and others), neat images
(moving and non-), daily updates, cash prizes, and pictures of baby
animals. Gone are the days when you check in with your third favorite
band only to see an announcement for a show that happened two months ago.
Stay tuned!!
Come see us play with SCHOONER
at the Khyber this Wednesday at the Khyber. Also playing are Creeping
Weeds and Private Sea.
Also, two new things that are exciting: National Eye has contributed to
the nifty Plain Parade compilation Song From the Sixth Borough (which
I think is Philadelphia). We covered a super-beautiful song by our brothers
Like Moving Insects and
even got Jody Hamilton from Rifle
Nice, Nick Krill from Spinto
Band and Adam Arcuragi from Adam
Arcuragi to help us. It'll be available as a digital download on November
22. Visit plainparade.org
for more information. It sounds REALLY GREAT.
Second thing is that a song from Roomful of Lions called "Bird and Sword"
got used in a video podcast (episode #2) by Four Eyed Monsters. You can
watch it here.
It was a big honor that they used the song!
Q: Who's your favorite blond musician from the '90s?
A: Evan Dando!
Q: What band was he in?
A: The Lemonheads, I think.
Q: I think you're right. Are they still around?
A: They must be. They're playing with National Eye at the THEATER
OF THE LIVING ARTS this Thursday Night.
Q: That's impossible. I happen to know that Gianmarco from the National
Eye is visiting Las Vegas this week, blowing the Park the Van advance
on roulette.
A: That's not a question. But anyway, you're correct. Gianmarco can't
make it, so they got Shai, Son Of Eli from The
Capitol Years to play in his stead.
Q: Stead?
A: Place.
Q: What?
A: They got Shai to play in his place.
Q: Got it. So Gianmarco's out of the band. It's about time, man, that
guy really—
A: No. Gianmarco will be back for that amazing show at the Manhattan
Room on Saturday with The
Spinto Band (who are the best) and Pas/Cal
(who are from Detroit and also the best) and Illumina (I'm sure they're
the best too) brought to you by the wonderful organization known as
Plain Parade
Entertainments, Inc.
Q: Wow. Two great shows in one week.
A: That's not a question. Buy tickets online for the Lemonheads show
here.
As for the Manhattan Room Show, just go there. That one's going to be
amazing (way cheaper, too) and I'm sure National Eye will have completely
funny stories to tell about the world of Big-Time Show Biz.
Breaking news --
We're opening for the Lemonheads at the TLA on September 29th. Gianmarco'll
be out of town, so we've enlisted a big-time replacement: Shai,
son of Eli.
Tickets are available here.
You can check out www.evandando.com/edframeset.html
to see what evandando.com
might look like.
Unrelated to the uprooting of Park the Van, the release date of our
second fantastic LP, Roomful of Lions, has been pushed back.
It will now be released in January 2006, with a lot of fanfare and hoopla
that a September release wouldn't have been able to muster.
There's a few tracks from the album floating around out there in cyberland.
Let's see...there's ag1, the first song on the disc: www.myspace.com/nationaleye
Juno 3, posted by Maria from Plain Parade: herjazz.org/maria/2005/04/04/535
AND by Park the Van:
www.myspace.com/parkthevan
Bird and Sword is on Park the Van's audio player: www.parkthevan.com
And we even handed out a couple more tracks ("Silver Agers" and "Abwehr")
at our 9/10 Khyber show, via sampler CDs. Email us if you want one of
those.
For obvious (and very sad) reasons, we felt compelled to cancel our
trip to New Orleans . We're very, very glad our pals at Park the Van
got out OK and aren't too devastated by their lovely city getting so
messed up. If you feel so inclined, we encourage you to head over to
www.parkthevan.com and drop
them a line wishing them a speedy and full recovery from this terrible
catastrophe.
We're thinking about you, Chris and Sabrina (and Mike!)! Move to Philly
fer the love of Doris!
Not too many National Eye shows over these glorious summertime months,
but tonight there will be a special evening of music and laughter at
the Standard Tap, where we'll be playing non-electrical instruments
in a softer mood and singing songs by ourselves as well as together.
Our pal Joey Sweeney's new thing Drugbyrds is hosting the gathering,
and we're looking forward to seeing what that's all about as well.
I mean, Will's bringing his banjo for the love of George. So come by.
It's utterly free.
TONIGHT, WEDNESDAY JULY 12
STANDARD TAP
In case you didn't hear this on NPR, National Eye has signed a big-time
record deal with Park the Van Records, the same amazing label that recently
brought you Dr. Dog's "Easy Beat" and in a month will deliver The Teeth's
"Carry the Wood" EP to the universe and Kansas.
We're extremely excited that our second album ever, entitled "Roomful
of Lions," will be available to all this coming September. Visit www.parkthevan.com
for more info on the label, a look at Ben Smith's amazing cover art
for the forthcoming album, and some psychophonic photographs featuring
the inestimable Apple Daquiri as he asserts himself in the fabric of
history.
Speaking of Park the Van, we're playing a show this Saturday at the
Fire with two of their other fantastic acts, Carter Tanton and Junkbox
(who are English) in a sort of "showcase" type thing that we hope you'll
all come to. In addition to the Brotherhood of Vans, you'll get to hear
Kurt Vile and they'll be playing the Teeth EP on the stereo.
SATURDAY, JUNE 4th
At the Fire, 412 W. Girard
NATIONAL EYE
JUNKBOX
CARTER TANTON
KURT VILE
+Teeth EP listening party
Be sure to tune your internets to WPRB
for a special National Eye broadcast tonight at 8pm ET. Philadelphia
area listeners can point their antennae toward 103.3 on the FM dial.
Stay alert and hear MAGIC MESSAGES.
A big thank you to Jon
Solomon of 103.3 WPRB for having us up to Princeton the other night.
Somehow he convinced us to all cram into his office with our ukeleles
and djemba-djembas and re-envision the EYESOUND for the listening pleasure
of his legions of fans. We'll let you know the exact date of the broadcast
of our "live set", but for right now don't make any plans in May.
Also, special personal note to Jon: The man says "It's okay, Officer.
She's my wife." "Sorry, pal. I didn't know," says the policeman. "That's
okay," says the man. "Neither did I until you shined your flashlight
in the car!"
Oh, and look: photos!
Everybuddy: One of the great things about this fabulous city of ours
(Philadelphia) is all the really cool things you can do by taking the
name ("Philadelphia") and switching around a few letters or replacing
some letters with other letters or some such letterstuff and coming
up with a whole new word.
Examples:
Foliodelphia (new idea for Philly Shakespeare Festival)
Grilladelphia (steaks, jerk chicken, whatever you want!)
Brillo-Delphia (a hundred years of steel wool magic!)
Thrilladelphia
(see below)
This last one may ring familiar to your ears as it is the selfsame name
as the event our band (Nationaleyedelphia) is KICKING OFF this Saturday
Nite at the Manhattan Room, along with the following awesome bands:
RIFLE NICE --
completely deranged but deeply moving music about things not appropriate
to mention in family emails.
SPINTO
BAND -- masters of the new American language of exhuberant communion
with the godbones of summertime.
THE TEETH --
never heard of 'em! Come to the show and you shan't regret it.
THRILLADELPHIA 2.0 presents
Saturday, April 16th 9pm
Manhattan Room
(Front and Girard)
THE TEETH
SPINTO BAND
NATIONAL EYE
RIFLE NICE
$7
With you always,
Norah Jones Eye
P.S. Just kidding about having never heard of the Teeth. They're the
mighiest racket you'll hear for weeks on end and they know how to say
"I love you" and mean it. Soon they'll be our brothers in ink. BYE!
Tickets
are now on sale for our big show at the World Cafe Live on May 6
with Buried Beds and Dr. Dog. You are encouraged to purchase them in
advance, please.
In
case you didn't know, National Eye is an open marriage type deal where
anybody can do whatever they want as long as nobody gets hurt. Jeff,
for instance, played Phoebe's uptight boyfriend on a few episodes of
the "Friends" program and Doug has a real-live-wife.
For another instance, Gianmarco and Charlie play in a band called THE
AGES which also features Dan Matz and Anna Neighbor from the amazing
Windsor for the Derby. We're playing with them this Friday at West Philadelphia's
famous Millcreek
Tavern.
Also on the bill are our dear friends American
Altitude and Secretly Canadian Recording Artists Early
Day Miners. Get there bright and early (9pm) to see loads of great
music!
FRIDAY, MARCH 18th
MILLCREEK TAVERN
42nd and Chester
NATIONAL EYE
EARLY DAY MINERS
AMERICAN ALTITUDE THE AGES
The
Capitol Years
album "Let Them Drink" is out in stores. We heartily recommend
that you check it out. Also, see if you can find the hidden reference
to National Eye - it'll blow your mind!
"Dog
Voyage"
That
subject is supposed to rhyme with "Bon Voyage" pronounced in the French
fashion like "massage" or "fuselage." But you could also (I guess) say
that National Eye is taking a Dog Voyage (almost rhymes with "bog-porridge")
this Saturday when we drive our van to the North Star Bar to play with
Dr. Dog, Like Moving Insects and Todd Deatherage.
But anyway, it's like "bon voyage" but for dogs because Dr. Dog is taking
off for an epic rock tour of the universe and therefore need a proper
sending-off, like they give the astronauts the night before they take
their fateful trips to Cancun or Venus.
Also, it's been ages since we played with the truly wonderful Like Moving
Insects, a band that simply never fails to amaze when they play their
songs upon the stage. It's like Christmas All Over Again to be a part
of this beautiful evening of entertainment.
SATURDAY, FEB 19th
The North Star Bar, 27th & Poplar
DR. DOG
NATIONAL EYE
LIKE MOVING INSECTS
TODD DEATHERAGE
9pm
This
Saturday at the Khyber we are going to play the greatest show we've
ever played. And the reasons are threefold (there's three of 'em):
1. Astrology: The Lion is in the bucket of the Swamp-Duck rising
in Idaho. This is good news for art rock bands everywhere, and we're
no exception. (I wouldn't go see any dinner theater for a few days,
though.)
2. Chemistry: After all this time, National Eye is now cyclically
aligned in terms of their body chemistries and all attendant mood issues,
thanks to a little thing called Science. No more on-stage bust-ups!
No more weeping after the show!
3. Charlie Hall. (Who?) The guy who will now be playing a lot
of drums with the group and has literally changed the way people think
about jean jackets (and drumming).
Charlie Hall is amazing, and this will be our first show featuring him
as a guy playing and not just a guy watching. We're way better with
him around, and it's important you all show up to check him out and
slap him five.
To say nothing of the fact that DR.
DOG, BOBBY
BARE JR., and GRAND
FABRIC are all also on the bill. Great music, all.
To say nothing of the fact, that there will be a limited supply of completely
new CDs we'll be giving out for ZERO DOLLARS, containing
an odd mix of some of the things we've been up to lately when not actually
recording our album (this is deep-vault stuff). Includes songs where
people actually have nervous breakdowns on tape, as well as secret clues
to the Mystery of the Cape. This thing may never be available again!!
To say nothing of the fact that, philebrity.com
is featuring an exclusive mp3 of one of the songs that will go
on our new album which is going to come out sometime soon. It's called
"Bird and Sword" and you have to check it out.
National
Eye member Gianmarco Cilli has been ranked the #1 19-29 yr old Cat.5
cyclist in the entire nation! This comes as no surprise to us, having
seen him with his shirt off... The dude is a stallion. Not to be outdone,
the rest of us have all bought protein shakes. See you at the races!
The
Meter Glows is the perfect Christmas gift for your loved one who is:
1) celebrating Christmas
2) a huge National Eye fan
3) not an owner of The Meter Glows yet
Sound familiar? Shop here with confidence!
Free shipping now until December 20!
Very sloppy gift wrapping is available!
Merry xmas,
National Eye
Please
join us for an exciting evening of rock music:
JAY LAGHLIN
AUDIBLE
NATIONAL EYE
THE BIGGER
LOVERS
Friday, December 3 at the Khyber.
10pm. That's tonight!
love,
NE
Mixing.
With Thom. Is awesome.
We've only got about 73 songs to go. Here's a little bit about how the
Eye (well, Thom) does it: First, the track is fed through the awesomenest
despectralizer. Ken got it on Ebay for like sixty bucks. The despectralizer
diffuses and refracts the signal -- sends it down a long cathode ray
that culminates in a Hofflander pool, where the temperature's brought
down to minus four.
Next Ken gives the track a bass massage and puts on a movie for it.
Thom's usually busy on the phone at this point. When the song's sufficiently
cooled down, Thom sits back down and flips on the nanofiers. These are
two bulky, black metal units with enormous fans charging out the back.
The nanofiers are Thom's "secret weapon" (don't tell). He says they've
been used on everything from Chapterhouse to The Wonderstuff. They give
the song what sounds like an identity crisis. But it's really cool.
And so on. This album should be ready by May 2007. Can you believe that's
AFTER the final Star Wars movie comes out?? Remember when that was so
far in the future it seemed like you'd be about 35 by then?
Man!
After
23 years, National Eye is finally returning to its 5th favorite city:
New York. (Top Four: Tempe, Sheboygan, Minsk, Winnipeg)
The reason why we're going there is because we're playing a show at
Piano's, a terrific place if you like places to see bands play, and
an ever terrficker place if you like to see National Eye play (on Wednesday,
anyway).
NATIONAL EYE
AT PIANO'S
WEDNESDAY, NOV 10th
158 Ludlow (at Stanton)
w/ Headset
10pm
Hope to see you there,
NE
In
addition to politics, National Eye is interested in playing rock music
with amazing groups at events that are not specifically Democratic in
tenor. So here's a show for those of you in our surprisingly large (and
vocal) Right-wing fan base.
IT'S
THE TEETH RELEASE SHOW CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF THEIR JUST-RELEASED
EP "CARRY THE WOOD" FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE NORTH STAR RELEASE PARTY!!
We
hear "Carry the Wood" is excellent and can't wait to hear it.
Filling
out this fantastic show are the legendary Dr. Dog, the luminous Rifle
Nice, and the lemony National Eye (though not in that order).
More
like this order (except in reverse):
Friday,
October 29th
North Star Bar, 27th & Poplar
THE
TEETH
DR. DOG
NATIONAL EYE
RIFLE NICE
Friday, October 29th, 9pm
North Star Bar, 27th & Poplar
$7
Guaranteed Best Show of the Year for No Money Back!
Belovingly, NE
curious
about the bands? check these web destinations! The Teeth: http://www.theteeth.net/
Dr. Dog: http://www.drdogmusic.com/ National Eye: http://www.nationaleye.com/
Rifle Nice: http://asunnydayinglasgow.com/riflenice/
Citizens:
We
hate to assume ANYTHING about our wonderful community of friends and
supporters (like, we have no idea, nor would we try to guess, how many
of you are into karate) but it seems safe to say that at least a few
of you are supportive of Senator John Kerry and his current campaign
to be the president.
So,
to this unknown portion, National Eye says: Let's Move.
The
rest of you: Godspeed.
We're
playing one final event, the proceeds of which will go directly
to the Democratic National Committee. It's part of the Concerts For
Change; the "change" refers not to the stuff that rattles
in your
pockets but rather "change"-ing the guy who is the president.
And
what a show:
Capitol
Years (mem. of The Clear Channels)
National Eye
Washington Social Club
Future Tips
Spiraling
at the Khyber
56 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia
8pm
$10 online, $12 at the door
Buy
tix here.
National
Eye has been extremely busy during these mysterious show-less
months, and rest assured the reason will soon become crystal clear to
anyone interested. Also, next Friday sees us playing a heart-stopping
great show with Dr. Dog, Rifle Nice, and the Teeth to celebrate the
release of the latter's hot new EP. It's at the North Star, but we'll
tell you about that anon and forthwith.
Good
to be back,
National Eye
The
Eye is getting back on the live show "horse" in October and
November. We've added
a few dates, and there are more to come, so keep checking back for
updates.
Thanks
to Nick Krill from Spinto
Band, who did an amazing job recording and mixing us at Don Zientara's
wonderful Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA. We had a fabulous time.
Have a listen right here.
Come
see National Eye play at The Fire on Saturday August 14th with Mini
Band, The Teeth, Dr. Dog, and Townhall. It just might be the last time
you see ol' National Eye for a while...
National
Eye T-shirts are now, and
have always been, available for internet sale. Sort of. If you would
like to purchase one, please email
us and we'll "work it out."
National
Eye is being considered for the role of "The Thing" in the
upcoming "Fantastic Four" film. Read about it here.
Please be advised that National Eye is not playing Piano's in New York
City this Saturday Night, July 10.
Whatever
you do, don't go there.
Dear Friends,
National Eye is now available on the radio, if you ask for it. Please
help us out by requesting your favorite eyeTunes at the following stations:
WLUW 88.7FM Chicago
Listen Live
Request Line:
(773)508-WLUW
...more to come soon!
Here's a list of Eye-vents (which are "events" involving National Eye)
coming this weekend.
THROBBING THURSDAY: Another art opening for Noah
Shem Klein, this time at Freeman's
Auction House, 1808 Chestnut St., Philadelphia! NE will be providing
aural wallpaper, since you won't be able to see the actual wallpaper
'cause there will be paintings hung up all over the place.
FRENETIC FRIDAY: National Jojo makes its perplexing debut at the Khyber
plus special guest Merritt Janson! This is the band where National Eye
plays and Joey Sweeney (of The
Trouble with Sweeney) is our lead singer. This might very well be
the ONLY TIME this ever happens. Check it out; it's bound to be plenty
weird and neato.
STAGGERING SATURDAY: We're heading up to NYC with Capitol
Years and Bitter
Bitter Weeks at the Knitting
Factory. It's a night jam-packed with some of Philadelphia's finest
overachievers.
SUMPTUOUS SUNDAY: Another NYC show, this time at the Mercury
Lounge, playing with one of our favorite bands HEAD
OF FEMUR (feat. Members of Bright Eyes but actually way better than
Bright Eyes). Also on the bill: CoStar
(from England) and
The Nervous Return.
RACCOON REUNION AND (PROBABLE) SERIES FINALE! THE TEETH DEBUT NEW DRUMMER
IN PHILLY! APRIL DISASTER RETURNS – IN MAY!!
In order to “get with the program” and in all ways conform to the theme
of this Friday’s rock show at the North Star in Philadelphia, National
Eye is calling it quits.
Thanks, everyone, for the good times, all those great nights, the awesome
food and beverages, those neat clothes we wore. What a time it was.
So long, world!
And now we’re reunioning.
That’s right! NATIONAL EYE is back! And we’re coming back in a big way!
Just check out this show tomorrow!
Friday, May 21st:
At the North
Star Bar
RACCOON – Reunion Show!
THE TEETH – Back with brand new drummer!
NATIONAL EYE – Reunion! (not really)
APRIL DISASTER – Reunion!
One of the bands that was supposed to play this Thursday's CONCERT
FOR KERRY at the Khyber has cancelled at the last minute. Presumably
they are now Republicans. Fortunately, National Eye is able to take
their place to do what we can for democracy.
Every little penny from the show will go directly to the Kerry campaign,
and the show is three bucks cheaper if you buy your ticket online here.
Get on it, though, because the online sale ends tomorrow.
Concerts for Kerry Presents
CAPITOL YEARS
THIS RADIANT BOY
NATIONAL EYE
BOYD OF LONDON
MILD SEVENS
Thursday, May 6th 8pm The
Khyber
Chris Wilson of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists spinning Classic Punk upstairs.
$12 at www.concertsforkerry.org;
$15 day-of door price.
We cannot conceive of a more fun way to do what you can to prevent the
current administration from carrying on another four long years. Can
you even imagine what those creeps have planned?
The Trouble
with Sweeney is releasing their new "Fishtown Briefcase" E.P. this
Saturday with an EP-stravaganza at the Khyber, and they've asked us
to bring our own suitcase full of fish. National Eye's choice? Shad.
We'll be frying 'em up with Bishop
Allen and Adam
Arcuragi + Royalty starting at 9 in the PM. It'll be delicious!
Also, Of Montreal almost stayed at Gianmarco's apartment after our North
Star show, but Gianmarco didn't ask them so they didn't. Suckers!
Hey, Hey, we're back and we've never been better! The tour was a behemoth,
and while we were away the ol' album we put out was called a masterpiece
in not one, not three, but TWO reviews. Check 'em out under Alternative
Press and Independent Mind on the press
page. Speaking of which, have you checked out "The meter glows"
yet? Between you and me, I've heard that it's a masterpiece.
Stay tuned for a memoir and photos from the tour!
Come say farewell to National Eye at the Mill
Creek Tavern (42nd & Chester) on Saturday, March 20th, cuz after
that you're gonna have to kiss fun goodbye for two whole weeks! Why,
you ask? What's the what? Well, Eyefans, we're gonna be dishing out
all the dirt and giving girls the stops cuz on Sunday the Eye's setting
out on the Thirtieth Annual Springtime Southland Boogie Tour! Hot-lanta,
G-boro, Arling-a-ding-ton, we're hitting it all up. It'll be a party
to end the century with!
There's a little write-up in this week's edition of the Philadelphia
Weekly. Take a look!
Doug is skiing.
Rick is reading "The Perfect Spy" by John
LeCarre. Will is looking for a house.
Gianmarco is going to Italy.
Jeff is managing a soccer
team.
National Eye is playing the Khyber
with Alaska! and Hi-Soft on March 4th.
What is it with the National Eye and sold out, bursting-at-the-seams
shows? I'll tell you. It's because of the Music. We rubbed it up, flipped
it, and patted it down at the Mercury Lounge in New York with Rebecca
Schiffman (who broke our hearts with her little wing songs of love
& not-love), Hula
and Snow Patrol
last night and it was cuh-razy! We played the special, extended cut
of "Spies" that we've been concocting back at the NE Lab while
the rest of the world sleeps, and it was a big "hit." Rick's
guitar continues to play the Mercutio to our Onassis. The birds will
fly, the birds will fly. England loves us.
Special high-fives and radicals to Russell from Crewe!
Today we're loadin' up the palomino (van) and heading for Providence,
RI. We don't know how to get there; we're just gonna get on the road
and let things take care of themselves. Should be fun post-show, as
we drive up to Boston with our main man Eric (of Meter Glows artwork
fame). We'll give you the full, insane story on the other side.
In a couple days we'll be back up in New York City for the first time
since forever -- but this time at the fantastic Mercury
Lounge. We'll be lounging it early, though. 8:30. This is to leave
plenty of time for the rest of the wonderful bill: Hula
and Snow Patrol.
Happy Valentine's Day, too. Take your special something and go see Joey
Sweeney and others at the Khyber
at 2pm on Saturday, if you value your relationship. It's a great bunch
of guys, singing sweet songs. .
Live in the South? Keep your face glued to the LIVE
page, cause the amazing Southern Boogie National Eye Tour is coming
together...
We
nearly split the seams of the Fire. The place was jammed. Two new songs
were featured: Bird and Sword, Halo.
It was a bit of a New Year's reunion, what with the Capitol
Years and The
Teeth -- both of whom destroyed my life with their monumental greatness.
I threw my saxophone in the river, saying "What's the point?"
We heard several reports of people having to leave after our set because
of crowd anxiety -- sorry if you were one of them. Fortunately, we could
relax in the upstairs lounge where they had a sauna and a professional
masseuse. Plus miles and miles of dirty videos. Thanks, The Fire!
Jeff got a new stereo mic that has complicated instructions.
We closed out January O'four at Doc Watson's in Philadelphia and we
Plain Paraded like nobody's business. Our surveys found that baseball
was boring, action movies are a better bet than romance, and girls with
short hair are hot. And to end the night, Will broke his big muff.
Best recent post on the National Eye message board?
Q: What does a pirate say when you ask him who his favorite band is?
A: National Aye
Good Night!
We took a little spin in the van down to Baltimore and Washington D.C.
this past weekend, and rocked the Charm City Art Space and Velvet Lounge.
We also ate some horrible cheeseburgers, parked in front of the Capitol
building, and Rick's guitar quit the band.
Shazam!
Our good friend Noah
Shem Klein is being featured as part of the Challenge
Exhibition at the Samuel S. Fleischer Art Memorial. The Opening
Reception is this Friday, January 9th!
Mr. Klein's paintings are completely brilliant, in our opinion. In someone
else's opinion his "work mediates the space between contemplation
and sensual awareness." For a taste look here.
After the reception, National Eye will be playing some weird music at
the "Afterparty" at 928 Christian St. We won't be playing
any songs, but rather improvising some strange noise music, perhaps
with the spontaneous aid of
attendant friends. It's an art party, after all.
Some of Klein's other work will be on display there as well. As if that's
not enough, someone will be projecting mysterious things on us in a
display that you might even call a Light Show.
The Reception:
Friday, 1/9 -- 5:30 - 7:30pm
Samuel S. Fleischer Art Memoiral
709-721 Catherine St
The Afterwards:
7 til whenever
928 Christian St.
Basement Entrance on Delhi St.
Please come for the art and stay for the weird.
Thanks be to the Fire, all the bands, and all those who attended the
big New Year's Eve show the other night. It was an earth-cookingly great
night that we will undoubtedly remember for all time. Extra Special
Thanks to certain drummers, bowed-banjo players, next-door neighbors,
and others who came up with a beautiful song to fit the occasion. That
was one of several very touching moments from that evening.
Here's to a glorious 2004!
There’s a great review (positive and well-written) of our album
on the cool-music-oriented website Pitchforkmedia.com
today. Read it here.
Best line? This one:
"[T]hey stubbornly (and nobly) avoid soaking everything in a dulling
puddle of drone."
Nobly, indeed. But "Puddle of Drone" wouldn't be a bad album
title.
It's almost here...
THE OFFICIAL NATIONAL EYE THE METER GLOWS
COMPACT DISC RELEASE BASHARAMA.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 13th - THE KHYBER, PHILADELPHIA
This event will feature the following awesome bands:
LIKE MOVING INSECTS: They give the marching orders to the secret
love army: the dreamland invasion. Or let's put it this way: I'm floating
on a chunk of the boat that blew up in the middle of the ocean. Several
hours of sun-bleached skin and saltwater has me hearing a weird shoreline
soul music with little lifts and daggers, plenty of trumpet. Guitar-dappled
heart-trauma. It's lovely, but it gives me this feeling that maybe the
island up ahead is, uh, DESERTED.
THE
TROUBLE WITH SWEENEY: Wry chroniclers of the loaded lives of those
people who are lovesick-heartbroken but should really know better. That
includes you and me and those guys over there. Their record "I
Know You Destroy" may be insanely great (tremendous, epic production,
every song an ear-sticking wonder, not to mention witty as fug), but
their live show is pure rock-glee, the mighty taste of real joy. Get
Happy with the Sad.
CAPITOL
YEARS: Philly's greatest R&R continuum? Certainly the most Cavern-worthy
stage romp you're gonna find in these parts, if not anywhere ever in
the history of whatnot. But wait! The Years are tone made flesh! Yes,
all three extant records (two albs and an EP) spew radically different
noise, all of it beautiful, but it's a safe bet they'll keep it sweaty
and golden for this show. I dare you to listen closely and not see the
rafters crack in your brain, the columns will quake! Caps rule heaven
and earth.
These
are SERIOUSLY three of the finest groups this town has to offer. We're
eternally grateful that they're gonna be there to make December 13th
(Our CD Release Basharama, in case you forgot), an unforgettable evening
you will never ever forget ever.
Better come.
Last
night we played maybe the funnest show all year, with The
Spinto Band, just the two of us. We were holed up against the weather
in the now-infamous 4w5 Café, in Wilmington, DE. If you're not
familiar with the Spinto boys, get. These guys have cracked some kind
of code.
We had the rip-roarin-est time, with dancing, DCAD students, shirts
off, dorm recon missions, illegal postering, and a publicist named Polly.
It was truly ELECTRICAL
We've
just run through a brace of shows in New York, including one at Sin-e
(with the lovely, magnificent, and ever-so-kind Eisley), and we'll be
making music trips farther afield in the coming months, all around this
glorious eastern seaboard.
Our
album came out today.
We're excited about this. So we're not gonna say much.
Just that it's a great album that we're completely proud of and you
should check it out.
You can buy it here, cause then all
your money will go straight to us. No middleperson.
And then there's stuff like cdbaby.com
and amazon.com
and all that sort of thing.
Or you could go to a store. AKA Music and Spaceboy Music ought to have
it (in Philadelphia). Go to your local record store and give 'em heck
if they don't carry our album.
So that's it. It's out.
National Eye "The Meter Glows."
We played a show this past Saturday sort of spur-of-the-moment, at the
Fire.
The Mendoza Line
and Okkervil
River were the touring bands involved. Can we just say that they
were terrific? Really swell guys (and girl), and blew us all away with
what they were puttin' down. We can't remember having such a great time
at a show in a long time. Having a lounge to retreat to didn't hurt
either.
"The meter glows" (which comes out November 18th) is available
NOW for pre-order! You can pre-order it from most online CD retailers
including Barnes
& Noble, amazon.com
and Tower
Records.com. In addition, it will be available soon for purchase
directly from nationaleye.com.
Our first album, which is called "The meter glows," will debut
at number ONE* on November 18th, 2003 on Feel
Records. It was recorded by us, mixed by Thom Monahan (who's a helluvaguy)
and mastered by Ken Heitmueller (coincidentally, also a helluvaguy).There
will be 13 songs on it, including a couple we've got available for totally
free download to the right.
*as in "number one" on the list of albums by National Eye.
We're immensely pleased to announce that our band is now an official
recording artist for the fantastic Feel
Records label, based in New York City. We're on the roster. We've
joined the team. We're one of them. They're one of us. One is them of
our. Us are one them of. Of them one for wall. Etc.
The guys at Feel received a couple of our discs in the mail and played
them on the Feel Office Boombox. Apparently the one guy played the CD
and said "Holy Christmas" and went to the other guy and said "Check
it out" and the other guy said "That's good" and before you know it,
National Eye and Feel are pals and contractually bound. This is a lesson
to aspiring musicians everywhere -- send your CD to Feel Records. If
our experience is any indication, they will sign you.
Also there was a letter,
which has been blamed for "grabbing attention." Take note, letter-writers,
this is prime epistolizing!
If you visit the website, you'll see that Feel also puts out such terrific
groups like Capitol
Years (from Philly!!), Miles
(from Germany!!!), mytwilightpilot
(from Houston), and Brady
Brock, who is actually not a group but one man. But what a man!
Anyway, we're proud as heck to be involved with this whole operation,
and we're currently hard at work finishing up the debut National Eye
album, which Feel is going to put out sometime ultra-soon. We'll let
you know when that happens.
Thanks for paying attention and also pick up a copy of Tape Op to see
a (positive) appraisal of some of our work from the recording-geek-point-of-view.
Or, follow that "read more" link below.
Tape Op: "National
Eye plays hypnotic pop that's relentless with catchy, cleverly repetitive
lines, both instrumental and vocal."
Read
the whole review.
national eye, meter glows, music,
band, philly, philadelphia, gianmarco cilli, rick flom, will baggott,
william baggott, doug kirby, douglas kirby, jeff love, rock, indie rock,
feel records
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