We woke up in the most beautiful, classic Maryland farm house on a sunny Thursday morning.  Brandi finally gave us the daylight tour, exposing a fantastic upper leverl porch that looked out over the property and a lot of original woodwork.  Our hosts then served us a hot breakfast and we did a lot of catching up before deciding to hit the road in a little bit.  The hospitality on this tour has been astounding.  We packed our things, gave the couple a pair of tee shirts and CD’s and then hit the road toward Washington D.C.

It’s been too long to remember much about the drive, but I do remember coming into the city and finding lots of construction, particularly the road of our venue being completely shut off.  This is is the luck of Valentiger.  We had arrived early and we needed to use a bathroom and Internet.  I think we parted ways for a little bit and decided to hand out free “Leaving Town” singles while we were on foot.  D.C. was pretty receptive in that respect and we were feeling pretty good in the most dangerous city in the nation.  Rider and I ended up using some Internet at a strange little coffee shop and then we eventually met up with the other two hoodlums.

I had been in contact with a blogger we now know as Megan from Les Enfants Terrible (now Fuzzy Logic).  We were trying to meet up with her during the day but it just didn’t work out.  However, she suggest we eat at the famous (and Cosby approved) Ben’s Chili Bowl and we did just that.  Sitting at the counter and stuffing our faces with chili dogs we ended up chatting with another patron, J.T. who happened to be the promoter for Flying Dog Brewery.  After exchanging cards he later contact us exclaiming he thoroughly enjoyed our music and wished for us to perform at their SXSW party in Austin, TX.  Of course, we said yes and history was made.  This encounter finally cemented the importance of human contact and simply talking to others and networking.  It’s a hard thing to do, especially when you’re on the road, tired and unkempt.  However, it paid off, as we now know in the future.  However, the band’s luck was not over for the day.  Down the road, the then relatively unknown act Mumford and Sons was playing a show and we decided to hand out singles to the ticket line.  This genious idea was only topped by Kehoe’s aggressive idea of sneaking in the loading door in the back of the building.  He went in and the three of us waited for nearly 20 minutes before he came back out.  Apparently, he had told someone who questioned him he was a roadie and made his way to meeting Mumford and Sons, who was sound checking.  He handed them a Valentiger CD and was on him way.  And if this weren’t enough for you, we also ran into Wheatus on the street in front of another venue.  Having no idea who they were, I handed them a Valentiger CD and asked if they were playing that night.

Wheatus Chick: “Yeah, we’re Wheatus.”
And I said, “Oh.”
Wheatus Chick: “Haven’t you heard of us?”
And I said, “No, I’m sorry.”
Wheatus Chick: “You know, ‘Teenage Dirtbag?”
I said, “Mmmm, nope, sorry.”

Then Kehoe came up and knew what they were talking about.  At any rate, it was a pretty comical encounter on our end.  Probably not so much for them.

We made our way to The Red and the Black where we’d be performing that eveing and everything seemed to be in line (other than the road being closed).  There was some extremely shady business going on at the Jiffy Lube across the street and some people just looked downright crazy.  We unloaded the van in a back alley and then had to search for a parking space that ended up being about 10 blocks away.  We were pretty much stranded at the bar and they boys were watching what I think was some sort of hockey.  We were surprised to see Founders beer on tap and ordered a few after we set up our equipment.

We shared the show with Jeremy Steinhaus and Somerset Frisby for what turned out to be a great and successful night.  Before the show began, we were able to meet up with Megan the blogger and chat about life on the road and music, of course.  I felt like I was talking her face off, so I definitely bought (and made her try) a Founders Dirty Bastard.  We found a common love of The Jam and, as far as the show goes, I’ll let her do the explaining:

“What does Michigan mean to you, friends? Perhaps you think of it as homeland to such important bands as the MC5 and The Stooges. Perhaps you think of it more for it’s Upper and Lowerness. Or perhaps you’re all about the Lions or Tigers or Red Wings. I tell you what, though. After seeing Valentiger at The Red & The Black, I’ve got another pretty fine band to attribute to the great state of Michigan (and it’s not just because they totally bowled me over with their cover choices).

MINI RECAP: Valentiger = Nice Guys Finishing First! Overall score: A.

So there I am, clutching a vodka cranberry in one hand and a Founder’s Dirty Bastard in the other (yes, dears, yours truly double fists every now and again). Founder’s is a perfect beverage to swill whilst seeing a Michiganian band, you see, because it also hails from Michigan. I was verily impressed with both the beer and the band (though obviously moreso by the band). I was hooked one song in, their sweetly adorable, rustic sound reeling me in. And bands, never underestimate the importance of entertaining banter. Guitarist/vocalist Eric Kehoe related a rather amusing tale about his visit earlier in the day to a barber shop on U St. where his beard was attended to, and received many a chuckle for his trouble.

Most of the set was pulled from the fantastic record Power Lines to Electric Times, including the perfect, twangy pop of “Bosses In Their Offices” and “The Girl That Everyone Forgot”. Not only was their own material played beautifully, but then they went and played a pair of covers that totally and utterly won my love and affection: “In The City” (The Jam) and “Picture Book” (The Kinks). Any band that’ll tackle two seminal British bands in one set is automatically awesome in my book. And they covered the songs in such a lighthearted, energetic way, as well, with just enough reverence. Bellissimo! “Thanks for being a nice audience,” they proclaimed, before commenting about the difference between a DC audience and a Boston audience (which wasn’t exactly complimentary), and launching into a most excellent rendition of the lively, bouncy “Leaving Town”. Come to think of it, we as an audience probably shoulda thanked them for being a nice band.

The bottom line here, my friends, is that Valentiger is a great, great little band. They’re not only good musicians but good people to boot. Brent, Eric, and Scott have decamped back to Michigan to work on more fantastic music, but next time they’re out and about on the road I highly, highly, highly recommend you check ‘em out. Their music is earnest, honest, and pretty much salt of the earth. It’s real, and it’s really lovely. I do believe I’ve found me another pet band.” – Megan Terrible, Fuzzy Logic

We simply had a great time and a lot of familiar faces had come out to see us including Jenn Hall, Stephanie Sargent and Pat Host.  We talked to a good number of people we did and didn’t previously know at the end of the night.  It felt good to find a genuine interest and have real conversations outside of our little camp.  But eventually we had to get the van, load it and make our way across the city to Pat’s place where we were crashing.  Kehoe parted ways in the name of partying and the three of us followed Pat to our eventual demise.  After he showed us where to go, he explained that he had to work in the morning and was crashing at his buddy’s place.  He gave us several directions amongst a slew of F-bombs and we were left along to drink whisky all night.  Joe sensed trouble and went to bed, but Rider and I were hell bound for “a morning.”  We chatted it up on Pat’s balcony all night and inevitably made the decision to try to throw things into the dumpster that was within pitching distance below.  Rider ended up successful but I’m not sure I ever even made one by the time the night came to a close.  We even filled our empty pop bottles with water in order to create more “ammo.”  Somewhere in the middle of the night Joe opened the slider to tell us we were “being really loud,” and once the neighbor yelled we called it quits.  Eric was stranded on the whole other end of D.C. and we went to bed only to wake up in just a few hours.

Joe woke up to a gloved hand touching his shoulder.  “Ya’ll alright?” asked a feminine voice.  It was the cleaning lady, who had come in to find us while tidying up the computer lab.  “Yeah,” Joe said, a little off put by waking up this way.  I don’t think we managed to go back to sleep after that and she said, “I guess I forget I’m working around college kids.”  We chatted for a little while about the tour and driving before making our way back to the dorm room to shower.  Mike was in rough shape from the 21^st birthday celebration when he let us in.  I showered first and then went back to the computer lab before going down to let Rider in, who had slept in the van.  Somehow, even though he was present in the vehicle, had gotten a ticket for not putting change in the meter.  The officer wrote it from behind and then come up to the open window and asked, “Do you want this?”  He explained he could tell the meter had not been paid since 8AM and had seen the van parked there since.  And so Rider’s day was off to an awful start.  Eventually, everyone had showered and we made another game plan, using the Internet to find record stores in Baltimore.

None of us had been to Maryland in general and I think we were pleasantly surprised.  Arriving fairly quickly and easily, we found our destination, Teavolve.  The place was a second installment of the very popular first location.  Where as the first one served tea only, this one also did coffee and a bit of fine dining.  It was on a corner in the busy commercial area and consisted of a big open room.  We checked in to find all details were in line and then I napped in the van.  Kehoe and Joe uploaded pictures to the website and edited video while Rider explored a bit of the city.  When I woke up, upon Rider’s recommendation, Joe and I headed to the “cobblestone” area over by the wharf for dinner.  Joe had his heart set on fish and chips so we strolled down the coast until we found a place serving the like.  We joked about what a romantic date we were on and there were hipster couples EVERYWHERE.  “Kiss…”  We dined and spent a little more than we wanted to but the solid meal was worth it.  We head back to Teavolve and, before we knew it, the time had come for us to perform.

Our set was acoustic and we merely played what we really wanted to, with the exception of popular favorites in the way of “Leaving Town,” etc.  It was enjoyable to really “hear” the music and not just blast out a way of sound and shouting over it.  We sang through a multi-channel amp that we’d brought along and I distinctly remember wearing a plain, white t-shirt with a thought process of letting the music simply stand for what it is.  The single thing that sticks out the most in my mind, though, is debuting the song “The Dawn Just ‘Aint Enough Anymore.”  Neither of the fellas had heard it yet and, in fact, I had just wrapped up the broad structure and lyrics before we left.  I had ripped out the page from my book and hit the road with it.  It felt good to play something new and just put myself out there again.  We’d been playing PLTET material for so long, I had forgotten a little bit what the thrill is like to play “unsafe” material.  There was an early part of the band’s career where I would just make up lyrics on the spot.  Our very first, original bass player hated it and I’ve tried not to do it ever since.

The show went just fine, I guess, considering it was booked pretty last minute as filler.  A lot of people made mention they really enjoyed the music and we sold at least one CD that I can remember.  We got paid a modest amount and we were on our way through the rest of the country.  After all, it was fun for us all to see Baltimore for the first time anyhow.  So, we set off into the night to find our friend Brandi’s place.  The drive was a little over an hour but we managed to get into a few ridiculous topics including “Scott’s Baby Dropoff” and an entire theme involving the accent of Joe’s grandma.  “Joey…I looove you.”  At any rate, it managed to kill enough time until the GPS eventually led us into near complete darkness.  Brandi lived in a very old farm house about in the middle of Nowhere, MD.  It was fairly late, though I think we called them to confirm whether or not we were in their driveway/barn.  We wouldn’t find out quite how incredible the house was until daylight, but I threw my sweatshirt in the wash and we chatted a bit with our hosts and their baby.  Over the internet, Joe confirmed that his OTHER grandma indeed DID have a crush on Rider, “the round faced one.”  Joe and Rider laughed about this for some time, while Kehoe and I retreated to our small bedroom upstairs where we’d be sharing a bed.  He was either having girlfriend troubles via text or we just plain had no chemistry.  However, I think it was the former.  We turned out the lights in a quiet, cool night on a mansion of a farm house in Crownsville, MD.

Joining the band for a run through the album in it’s entirety were long-time producer and friend Steve Holsinger on lead guitar, Mark Lago on brass, Bill Kahler on keys and Matt Young on pedal steel.  Shirey was quoted, “This is Valentiger as you’ve never heard or seen them before.  We really wanted to present the new music in as close a fashion as we could to the recordings.  We desired to give people something striking in both sound and vision.”  Attendance was large, quickly filling the 100+ room at a ticket price of $20.  This included admission, a copy of “Oh, to Know!” and free draught beer for the evening.  The line for beer was out the door!

There was an electric energy of excitement in the room when the band began and immediate and loud applause in between each song.  Gradually, the guest players joined as their parts emerged throughout the record.  Grand Rapids Social Diary was in attendance and captured “Good Day, Goodnight” on film as well as several great photos.  Holsinger’s slide guitar really sung into the gang vocal chorus!  From there, the three-piece Valentiger tackled a hour-long encore of favorites from both “Power Lines to Electric Times” and earlier, Happy Hour classics.  One highlight was definitely “Joke,” with included a jam session from the brass, keys and lead guitar sections.  Valentiger also pulled out a surprisingly fantastic version of Stone Temple Pilots’ “Interstate Love Song” in a rock-solid closing to the night.  Double encore was finally satisfied with their ever-trusty Pavement’s “Summer Babe.”  Rider took quite a heckling from behind, something few drummers may ever experience, given the setup.  It may or may not have incited a “Beer Monster.”

All in all, a dance party followed but there were too many people for the band to converse with each and everyone.  Apologies to those they could not get to!  Sales were through the roof even though each and every person in attendance received merchandise with the purchase of their ticket.

After all was finally said and done, Shirey and Rider partied until close next door at Gardella’s with friends and family.  Shirey ended up walking home to the west side in a rage over cab availability.  Could he have seen into the future by referring to Kahler as Valentiger’s “fifth Beatle” earlier in the night?  The boys headed out on tour the very next Tuesday with CZ of Halfway House at the media helm and MuseBox out of Brooklyn giving the whole album a mega-push.

Thanks to all who attended, made everything possible, fought for parking and stood in the beer line!  We all hope you’re enjoying “Oh, to Know!” thoroughly and might consider picking up the vinyl copy, now available (give the download card to a friend)!  The artwork is simply beautiful in the large format.

Valentiger – Good Day, Goodnight from Michael Cook on Vimeo.

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It was a pretty standard night up at Short’s in Bellaire, MI, though it was much busier than expected for the wintertime.  It’s suspected to be due to promotion of Valentiger’s return.  Four hours of music was tackled by the band, including a mandatory request for “Under the Gun” from Power Lines to Electric Times by Woj.  Somehow, Bill Kahler ended up running sound for the night and did good in the name of sound guys everywhere.  Valentiger could only end their hot streak to the top by crashing the van that night…

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Watch the Valentiger sessions and others here!

Shirey also dropped off the “hard” artwork at Halfway House to be shot by photographer and friend, Nicole LaRae the next day.  CZ from Halfway would also be joining the boys to document the “Oh, to Know!” tour, their stint at SXSW and produce their Field Recordings for the album.  It was all the start of a beautiful thing!

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The boys arrived a bit early, but loaded in and then Rider caught some dinner at a fantastic diner in the bowling alley housed in the same building.  Also included was an arcade where Shirey went undefeated in air hockey while they watched the news debate about the safety of Spiderman the musical.

Back at the conference center, Ian Link had opened up the show, fresh off his honorable placement in the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest.  Shortly thereafter, Ben from Hello Music gave a lecture on being a successful musician in “the digital age.”  Valentiger got quite a few mentions and props, given their touring status, professionalism and impressive use of FaceBook and YouTube with their “Field Recordings” series.  Following the lecture, APOC, King Crabapple, Mickey Wallace, HD and Skeetown Stylee all gave short sets before Valentiger took the stage for a straight, balls-out rocking.  There was definite dancing and some patrons even knew some words.  All in all, the beer was flowing in the Sherman Banquet Center and Stepdad’s time had come to rock with only a keyboard player, bass player and singer.  It was a dance party, complete with puffy coats and boas.  Merry Christmas everyone, Merry Christmas.  Valentiger had closed out 2010 and Rider got a sweet King Crabapple shirt.

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Although his 2008 song for the project, “Bird in the Hand” had come pretty quickly, musically and lyrically, he found himself changing direction a bit in consideration of the “sing along” demands.  For his cover, Shirey chose, “There’s Always Tomorrow from the iconic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer animated cartoon.  Reportedly, it had come to him in the shower, having always loved the song.  It was a nice simple melody for the audience to sing.

After tossing around many chord progressions from the stock pile, he found a melody within a few chords and began working around one topic.  “2010 was the first year for the smoking ban in Michigan and that December had given the smokers their first taste of having to stand outside in the cold.  It felt like one of those moments where you have your finger on the pulse, but I wanted to make sure to connect it to a broader issue.  This eventually brought forth the main phrase of ‘Another wintertime has arrive/but I’m just trying to roll with the times.’  From there, I plugged in the positives of meeting new people in the ‘smokers’ tents’ and a few other references to heat bills and paying them with postage.  The slow death of the post office was another big issue at the time.”  The song also included a few key changes, harmonica and Shirey performing it while playing guitar and harmonica, singing and playing a kick drum and hi-hat with his feet.  It had become his staple from his previous year’s performance.

At the concert, “There’s Always Tomorrow” went over quite well with the crowd.  Shirey kept things very sweet, quiet and lighthearted for this one.  A great majority of the audience sang and clapped along at the request of Shirey for the last chorus while he dropped out to just the hi-hat.  It was a pretty sound and the song ended abruptly, leading into a rather loud applause.  Once the round came back through again, Shirey performed his original song, named on the spot as “Roll with the Times.”  It dove right in with much laughter from the crowd throughout with lyrics as follows:

All the winters that I’ve ever seen
Have all come to pass eventually
And when springtime came to be
It made summer seems so sweet

So I’ve got heat bills comin’ out my sleeves
But I’m keeping the post office alive at the very least
Oh, I like to save a few trees, yes, I like to right
But I gotta drag at least one pine inside and dress it with lights

A little good with the bad
A little wrong with the right
Another wintertime has arrived
But I’m just trying to roll with the times
Yeah, you’ve got to roll with the times

So, all of the smokers will be freezing this year
Cast out from the bars and away from their beers
But it’s bringing together with each cigarette
All of the people who otherwise never would have met

So offer a light to miss right
Lend a smoke to a bloke
Lend an ear and then get back to the cheery folks with the rum and Coke

We’re just trying to stay warm
But you gotta stay cool
Another wintertime has arrived
But I’m just trying to roll with the times
Yeah, you’ve got to roll with the times

Wintertime to Springtime
Summer into Fall
Oh, you gotta make a change
Nothing stays the same at all
Yeah, you’ve got to roll with the times

Other performers included Daniel Bracken, JimmieLee Danger (of Dangerville!), Gabrial James, Cole Lesinski, Susan Picking, Joleene Rumsy, Ben Scott-Brandt, Jane Stancil, Brent Shirey, and Casey Stratton. Shirey returned to the microphone during Susan Picking’s cover to play drums and also Ben Scott-Bradt’s original song to play lead guitar and sing harmonies.  The performance was recorded in both audio and video formats by WYCE and the Wealthy Theater.  Afterward, the entire production staff as well as the artists met up at Mangiamo! for a feast and jam session.  Shirey contributed both “Jingle Bell Rock” and his own “Goodbyes in the Wind” only previously released as a B-side on the “Leaving Town” single.

Watch the entire show including Shirey’s performances here:  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11274852
In addition, Terry Johnston snapped a lot of great photos that can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=342785&id=739558851

A big thanks goes out to WYCE, Wealthy Theater and, of course, J. Oscar Bittinger and his wife who have organized AND hosted the event for 14 straight years.  Shirey will be recording and contributing his track “Roll with the Times” to the AWT 15th Anniversary CD and will also make an appearance at this year’s 15th Anniversary Cavelcade of AWT Stars.