The Blind Shake

Interview in Basement Show Girls

2012-01-21T09:02:00.001-06:00

Here is a link to an interview conducted by our good buddy Ezra Silver for Basement Show Girls. It took place right before our January 7th show at the Turf Club in St. Paul. Check out the cool collage work by Ezra!

About Basement Show Girls
Basement Show Girls is a website dedicated to music and comic books edited by Ezra Silver and Max Schramm. The site focuses particularly on comics that have found themselves overlooked and under appreciated. These comics, while perhaps dated, are nevertheless relevant cultural artifacts and pieces of a literary heritage that is, these editors find, worthy of exploration and discourse.

Beyond this, music discussions focus on but are not exclusive to artists from the Twin Cities area.

Basesg hopes to bring you content each week day. Mondays feature articles or interviews. Tuesday-Thursdays feature comics rendered by Ray Slao. Fridays feature a podcast compiled by Max or Ezra.

#1 on kdvsFM

2012-01-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

Hey, I just saw online that Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake is number one on KDVS 90.3FM! This is exciting news. KDVS is based out of University of California Davis and is a one of the most respected stations in the country. If you check their playlist, you'll see lots of awesome bands. We are very happy to be part of it.

2012-01-13T16:40:00.001-06:00

Period LPs are now being distributed through Sub Pop Records.

Awesome Review of Period

2012-01-09T16:55:00.001-06:00

Awesome review of Period on Get Bent!

2011-12-14T17:17:00.001-06:00

Seriousness made City Pages top albums of the year. If you look at some of the great albums on that list, we are excited to be a part of it.

Back from a Mini-tour

2011-12-13T22:12:00.000-06:00

Chicago, Omaha, Wichita. Yep, that's what we did. We made it to each stop in record time since the van was a rental, and rentals can't feel pain. Yet we still made time for the finer things in life, like the Doughnut Whole in Wichita - home of the Fruity Pebble doughnut.

And the World Famous, one-of-a-kind Olive Garden somewhere in Missouri. Dave wore sweatpants (the same ones he slept in) and still felt overdressed. Missouri is the country's lawn chair in the driveway of achievement.

Note: check out Outer Minds from Chicago if you're looking for a band that will be famous very soon for all of the right reasons.

2011-12-04T11:18:00.001-06:00

Jim's art is up now at Dunn Bros. coffee shop. It's the University Avenue location in St. Paul by KSTP and Wells Fargo. Note: Jim is wearing a turtle neck in this picture and appears to be trying to figure out his own artwork. It's so high brow, even he doesn't know what it means. I do. Buy it and I'll tell ya. He's also has four collages flanking the paintings in case you want something smaller to put above your twin bed. (Photo courtesy of Maxwell Kubala).

New Blind Shake Single on Doom Town Comp

2011-12-01T17:36:00.001-06:00

Hey folks, we have a song called "Fly Hive" on a compilation cassette for Doom Town Records out of Omaha, Nebraska. The compilation has a 36 page book featuring writings from STNNNG's Chris Besinger as well as Chris Harding Thorton. Art by Chris Fisher, Justin O'Conner, Peaceful Traveler, and Ethan Jones! Limited 100 copies. This is so underground...it's almost in China.

Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake video

2011-11-28T09:34:00.001-06:00

Here is a Colin Frangos video of the song "So Be" off of Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake album Period on S-S Records. Wow, five links in one sentence!

News

2011-11-24T14:22:00.001-06:00

First review of Period at Super Special.

Also, if you live in Minneapolis and you can get up in time on Saturday morning (November 26th), come to Treehouse Records for coffee/doughnuts, an in-store by The Blind Shake, and record signings by Michael Yonkers. Get there around 10am. It's a good excuse to go record shopping.

Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake New Album!

2011-11-13T20:26:00.001-06:00

Great news! The Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake album Period is out now on SS Records. Shoot over to the website to order your LP. The four of us are all very proud of this album. The word on the street is that it's the best thing we've done as a collaboration. So be the first one to buy a copy and hate it so you can mark your territory as an original thinker who cuts through the crap and tells it like it is. "Yeah...it's good, but I think the one before the first one is better. Back when it was just ideas in a head. I have the original brain waves of those thoughts. It's warmer than vinyl. I don't know dude, it's just less produced."Or you can get with the program and give it a chance. No money down. No credit check. Guaranteed approval. 100% consensual.

Review from Scene Point Blank

2011-10-19T11:22:00.002-05:00

Here is a nice review from Scene Point Blank!Also, we have a show in Winona tomorrow as well as a show at the 331 Club in Minneapolis on October 29th. You may come dressed up as a Halloween costume if the mood strikes.

New Review from Downcast

2011-09-28T20:11:00.003-05:00

Review of Seriousness this month

Dirty Impound Review

2011-09-08T07:28:00.002-05:00

Here is a review of "Seriousness" from Dirty Impound.

Blurt

2011-09-02T11:13:00.002-05:00

Review from Blurt Online.

Bombay Sweets show

2011-08-14T11:30:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came out for the show last night. Bombay Sweets record is fantastic. I dropped off our buddy, Colin, at the airport and then got a chance to crank it up at the house. It'll be on some hot shot lists in no time. Every song is the true hit. Same thing with their live show. THAT one is my favorite. Naw, THAT one is the true champion. Naw dawg, that one! I become more urban with each song.

Birthday Suits ruled it as usual, but they had a thickness to them, like an Italian sausage trapped inside of a Dome Dog. Brute Heart taught us that you don't have to hit E chords and scowl all the time to rock in the U.S. A.

In other news, my gmail account was hacked by a soon-to-be lawn ornament. If you can bring me the head of the man who hacked mkblaha@gmail.com I will pay you whatever money he has including black market organ donation. If you bring me only his arm or leg, I will buy you a footlong sub from Subway. YOUR CHOICE OF FIXIN'S!!

Actually, it's been nice staying off the grid, but rules are rules. I don't make the rules, I just invent them and enforce them.

Note: look for the hacker to take over this blog at some point. Use that as computer evidence to catch this man. I've said too much. I don't want to run your man hunt for you...but on that note...RELEASE THE HOUNDS!!!

Video on Youtube from our release show...

2011-07-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

Another cool review...

2011-07-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

This one is from MyOldKentuckyBlog.

Review

2011-07-26T21:29:00.002-05:00

Here is a great review from The Onion.

Album Review of Seriousness...

2011-07-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

...from Consequence of Sound Reviewer Adam Kivel writes using active voice.

The Summer Tour is Complete

2011-07-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

Old Milwaukee was kind to us. After missing some Canadian shows, we still hit Milwaukee last night because of how great the people are there and how much we love the Sugar Maple (venue).

Tom Stack, painter of truth and drummer for Wereworm, cooked us a big ol' Milwaukee style BBQ.

Good meat with a homemade gooseberry pie chaser.

The show was great at the Sugar Maple. Wereworm played a terrific set and we played afterwards. But did you know that on the way there, we had a flat tire? Second one of the tour. We got it patched the next morning and ate breakfast at a little dinner on Packard called Mike's. Good eats. I do wish the waitress had teeth. I'm one of those people. Dave wished the old guy playing the video poker machine behind him wouldn't drape his liver spotted arm over our booth. Dave is so picky. Jim didn't want to hear the man gargle his phlegm or to see the big lady's creamy arms. But for $3.25 for the giant breakfast, tough shit. We'd watch a burn victim eat bugs out of a worm taco for that deal.

Right after breakfast the tire was patched and Jim made it home for work just in time to be an hour late. Now I'm looking out my window from home and the tire is flat again. It must be a sign. The tire is telling us the van needs to get the windows smashed so it can learn to do its job. It is written.

Seriousness In Stores in MPLS

2011-07-18T20:44:00.000-05:00

Now you can get the "Seriousness" LP in stores in MPLS and St. Paul at all of the cool record stores. The Itunes and Amazon download versions is coming soon for any recovering hoarders out there.

Interview

2011-07-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

Check out this interview of us from Austin based blog called acolyte-bsa.blogspot.com. It's a great, grass-roots style site that features interviews and reviews.

THE BLIND SHAKE: AN AMERICAN BAND from ACOLYTE//BOYSCOUT on Vimeo.

Denied at the Border!

2011-07-14T02:05:00.000-05:00

Well, we didn't get to play our Canadian shows, which leaves us with a canceled remainder of the tour since we'll have to sit around Thursday through Saturday with no shows. This sucks. The border agent let us play our Toronto show since the paperwork was right, but for some reason, the exact same paperwork was wrong for the other shows. What gives? Apparently, a venue cannot also be a bar & grill or you will become a terrorist and attack Canada and steal all of the jobs and maple syrup according to the official documents.

Actually, they did give us paperwork that says we must return the day after the show or face deportation. Getting banned for life from Canada is pretty sad. It's like getting banned from a high school basketball game. You'll always come out looking like the bad guy. It's one thing to get booted from Somalia for being a pirate or something, but getting bounced from our nation's hat just for playing some tunes is truly sad. Next time, we'll just get the work permit and play enough shows to make it worth our the dough. No need to piss off the queen and her hobby nation of mounted minions.

The Toronto show was fantastic, though. Tons of folks showed up.

Toledo

2011-07-13T00:39:00.000-05:00

John, the booking guy at Woodchuck's in Toledo, is a great guy who is fighting to keep a scene alive.

The guitar player for Black Market Children, is fighting to keep Toledo one step ahead of Detroit in the arms race for bank robber gear. He strolls onto stage with khaki shorts, casually puts on a death mask, and starts shredding until the gods come home.

But it's Toledo, so only the god of rust showed up.

Overall, this leg of the tour has been a little more on the down vibe. I wouldn't mind wearing a death mask and shredding some guitar solos right now.

Canada tomorrow. I'm sure the Canadians have less blown out and abandoned buildings, so it'll be a welcome change.

Live on Radio K

2011-07-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

Live on Radio K: The Blind Shake - "Out of Work" from Radio K on Vimeo.

We Just Played Detroit...

2011-07-12T01:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks!

2011-07-10T14:56:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to our in-store record release at Treehouse. Mark is the model for how to run a record store. It was great to see so many kids and infants at the show.

Also thanks to all of the people who crammed into the Hexagon Bar last night for the release show. It's fans like that who make us want to give our best possible effort. We will kill for you if need be because you are so loyal.

Thanks to the Sundowners, IS/IS, and the Chambermaids. That bill of tunes was a treat wrapped inside and ice cream sandwich. Now we're back on the road for another 10 days. We're revitalized and ready to take our show to another level of intensity.

Treehouse in-store photo from Max Kubala:

Brian Jamestown non-massacre.

2011-07-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

Boom. We get a flat tire two hours away from the venue in Fargo. Oh no! We spent too much time playing home run derby in Miles City, MT.

Then, out of nowhere, come Steve and Dan in separate cars. They are both residents of Medina, ND. Luckily, they both know a thing or two about a thing or two. In seconds, Steve is under the van, jacking it up and putting on the spare as quick as a pit stop.

"Better get this on before the tornadoes come through," Dan says. These guys are full of logic. I doubt they would ever forget to put a jack and tire iron in their van before making a month-long trip. I did. I am a genius. I also forgot my spare baritone in Seattle. That's a total of 3 baritones I've forgotten in the Northwest.

Bing. Next thing you know, we take the van with the spare into Jamestown, get a new tire thanks to a man named Brian, who sold us a jack for cheap, put on a new tire, rotated the front tire to the back and kept the government out of the entire transaction. 75mph later we're in Fargo, playing one of the better shows of the tour. For the record, this is the second time in band history we've broken down outside of Jamestown. Both times people were friendly. I even hit Steve with a "God Bless", just so he didn't think his work went unnoticed. Not that I believe in that nonsense, but the people of Jamestown are angels. Dave slipped him a twenty. That works too.

Theories of Missoula

2011-07-08T02:14:00.000-05:00

Meet Javier. He is Missoula. He had us sign his Blind Shake T-shirt last time we were in town. He wore that shirt to the show last night. It was orange. Now it's brown. He is brilliant young man with ideas on how science is now reaffirming the healing methods of the ancients and many more discoveries. In Missoula, everyone has heated debates on all things intellectual. Whether you are asking for spare change, attending the university, or standing in the alley with a crazy look in your one working eye, everyone in this mountain town has a sweet theory.

Have you ever waken up with a revolutionary idea, but the day starts and you kind of forget about it? Or it changes into something else and the truth of the idea vanishes? My theory: in Missoula, the mountains trap in the ideas just as they trap in the weather system. The cure for cancer is trapped in those mountains. The re-creation of cancer is trapped in those mountains. Anything a man can dream, forget, or remember is swirling around in there. At any point you can reach up and pull ideas from the fog and compare them to the gold, mental trinkets of your neighbor. Debate into the night. Use ideas as Legos and build truth and potential with your fellow Missoulans. Then, tear it down and start again the next day.

I love this town. If I ever run away from everything in the middle of the night, it isn't because I hate my life. It's because I have a wonderful idea--too wonderful to be forgotten. I'm taking it to Missoula where it will be safe.

Here is a link to an interesting article based on a street debate I heard while loading out gear from the show. (By the way, great show. The Shas were amazing and the band Ten Year Old Girlfriend tore it up with their fun and quirky songs. Look for big things from them in the next year or so.)

Tuesday is the new Saturday...

2011-07-06T11:44:00.001-05:00

Last night in Seattle, Mutiny Mutiny played a great set and released their new album. Then Police Teeth unleashed the most incredible set of live tunes I've seen in a while. They were top notch in Chicago ten days ago, but now it's as if their chest hair grew into full blown fur. Now they are wild animals, lookin' to eat a beast.

Check them out on Latest Flame Records

A City Pages Article

2011-07-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

Here is an article about "Seriousness" from City Pages.

The 4th of July: Why?

2011-07-05T16:07:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Sun Cats for playing with us and getting things organized. Unfortunately, a drunk driver hit their car while they were parked outside of the venue. It is totaled. This loser also had his 5 year old kid in the car. It be cool if we could get this kid a replacement father without him knowing, so we could take the original father out back and stomp his brains in. Okay, maybe that's an overreaction. I need a nap.

On to Seattle to play with Police Teeth. Happy July 5th!

...and he went on down the hall.

2011-07-03T04:33:00.000-05:00

Our LA stint is over. It was great to play with The Bell Rays

The beach was fun. Driving the mini van 90mph just to fit in was fun. Eating was fun. Swimming was fun. Seeing the Bell Rays was fun.

But we leave LA with a heavy heart. And that is not fun. Between the three of us and our many college degrees, we cannot seem to figure out how natural selection has been out matched, out coked, and out gelled. There are thousands of LA men over 40 who have a frightening look to them. It's a Keith Richards haircut, but with more gel, that recedes along a coast blazing orange skin. And eye makeup? Oh, yes. Eye shadow or mascara or glitter? It's unknowable. It was there one day during a party and the party never ended. Just don't make these men cry. It'll pollute the Pacific. And their skin is so tight to their bodies. Gravity has no affect on them. Their facial veins are like a map to a wormhole in evolution. To these men, the 90's never happened. Punk never broke. Coke never went out of style. Leather pants still pay the bills.

We tried to kill one of them, just to see if it was possible. We choked this guy from behind with a guitar string and dumped him behind the 7-11. He died without a whisper. But five minutes later we see the same guy strutting down Silver Lake Blvd as if he had not just been murdered. He had different clothes, height and weight, but that Keith Richards hair--that orange face--it was him.

Anywho, long drive tomorrow to San Francisco. Better rest up. No sense dwelling on things out of our control.

This is the first song...off our new album...

2011-07-02T14:45:00.000-05:00

Hurracan by The Blind Shake

Scrap Booking with The Blind Shake (actually just some tour photos from the road)

2011-07-01T20:02:00.000-05:00

Famous Dave

2011-07-01T19:16:00.000-05:00

Dave was recently interview in Hey Drummer You Rule. Click HERE to read it. Great stuff.

Last night was very cool in Las Cruces. We'll definitely come back to that spot.

Southern Update, Texas Style, to Go

2011-06-29T02:55:00.000-05:00

The show tonight at Beerland was amazing. Lot's of people and great band: Love Collector, Black Gum, and the Dikes of Holland. The Dikes of Holland ruled it. Look for them to come through Minneapolis in September sometime. They are psychedelic living rock with a tint with a grown man's downbeat. They make the tiny town of Texas proud.

Now raise your hand if you think this is a creepy photo. Why does Target take photos of teen girls in bras to advertise the teen bra section? Do they also take photos of little boys' McNuggets when advertising a jock strap? No. Rule of thumb: if you can take a photo of our drummer, Dave, a really nice guy, with your ad in the background and Dave comes out looking creepy, your ad has crossed the line. This is simply not okay. But what is even wronger is that Dave is wearing sunglasses indoors.

While we are on the subject of advertising, looky what we found in Starbucks. It's Bon Iver as the download of the week. This guy is a YOUNG man of about 30. Why do they make him look like he is 130 in this picture? I know that acoustic guys are supposed to be wise and all, but let the man's music give the wisdom. Don't scuff him up and sun dry him and try to make him seem full of mileage. What will you tell the kids 25 years from now when he pops out of a limo looking like a million bucks? Did John Coffee from the Green Mile get to him? Or was it some other type of coffee? Ah, now I get it.

In sports, the band has taken up baseball just to mix things up on the road. Also, Dave punted the tour football on the roof of the spot before we left. Anyways, Jim loaded up the bases with ghost runners and gave up a grand slam to Dave in one inning and to me the next. Ol' Jim throws a very catchable ball in football, but this skill works against him in baseball. He can make any batter feel like "the Natural". It weird. It's as if he is throwing the ball at the bat.

Tomorrow, long drive to Las Cruces, NM. But the word on the street is the bands are going to be very good, especially True Widow. Can't wait!

UPDATE

2011-06-28T11:44:00.001-05:00

Looks like Beerland is back on for tonight. A master electrician checked everything out and it is good to go. Hopefully this isn't my last post...

Tour Update

2011-06-28T02:28:00.000-05:00

Here is an exciting photograph of the band driving. It doesn't even look like we were listening to music in this photo. What kind of band drives in silence? We had 11 hours from Dubuque to Tulsa to think about the show and we used every minute of it.

The tour is going really well. Chicago, Dubuqe, Tulsa, and Dallas were all filled with great bands and show goers. But what is messed up is what happened at Beerland, the Austin venue we were supposed to play at tomorrow. Elliot Turton, the bass player from Indiana band Wax Eater, was shocked so badly that his heart stopped. Read this article to get the facts. I think they'll update it again as new information comes in. I'm so glad he is not dead. That seems like an obvious thing to say, but what should we do, NOT say it and then the guy recovers only to find out that a bunch of people didn't state that they were glad he survived? Scary stuff. I hope Elliot gets back to touring as soon as possible. Lots of people have been saying great things about Wax Eater after their recent tour with Police Teeth. Man, I want more information on how this happened.

Our show has been moved to Club Deville. I'm thinking acoustic set, campfire style.

Time for Tour!

2011-06-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

We are leaving on a tour to promote our new record "Seriousness". We are going down, then West, then back home on July 9th for a hometown release, and then out East where the water tastes like mountain water, only filtered. Canada.

Check out some new tunes from the album on our website http://www.theblindshake.com.

TOUR DATES

June 24 - Chicago, IL - TBA
June 25 - Dubuque, IA - Off Minor!
June 26 - TBA
June 27 - Dallas, TX - Bryan St. Tavern
June 28 - Austin TX - Beerland
June 29 - Las Cruces, NM - Trainyard
June 30 - Tucson, AZ - TBA
July 1 - Anaheim, CA - Doll Hut
July 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
July 3 - San Francisco, CA - The Hemlock
July 4 - Portland, OR - The East End
July 5 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
July 6 - Missoula, MT - The Palace
July 8 - Fargo, ND - Aquarium

July 9 - Minneapolis, MN - Hexagon Bar
Album Release Show!
w/ Chambermaids, Is/Is, Sundowners

July 10 - Madison, WI - The Frequency
July 11 - Detroit, MI - TBA
July 12 - Toledo, OH - Woodchuck's
July 13 - Toronto, ON - The Velvet Underground
July 14 - Ottawa, ON - TBA
July 15 - Oshawa, ON - The Atria
July 16 - Hamilton, ON - The Casbah
July 17 - Cleveland, OH - TBA
July 18 - Kalamazoo, MI - Louie's
July 19 - Milwaukee, WI - TBA

7" Record

2011-05-24T20:23:00.000-05:00

This Saturday, May 28th, Am Rep is putting out a limited edition 7" of two of our songs to commemorate our month-long residency at Grumpy's Downtown. 100 pressed. Ten bucks a pop. Red vinyl. Brand new tracks.

We play at 11pm this Saturday. So come on down and lower your cholesterol with some tater tots, loud music and and back slaps. Hope to see you there!

The Blind Shake Intervention

2011-03-22T10:35:00.000-05:00

Misplaced Music recorded an acoustic performance of ours at our buddy Jared's house party. We called it The Blind Shake Intervention since it's not technically all acoustic, be we are all sitting down and are willing to play any interventions. Here's the plan: get your alcoholic/loved one into the circle. We'll play a few tunes, tell a couple stories, get him to let his guard down. That's when you sneak up from behind and apply the choke hold. One of us will click on a distortion pedal to give it some cinematic tensity. You're loved one wakes up in rehab.

The Tour is Over...

2011-02-11T21:45:00.003-06:00

shannoncorr.com

Our tour of the Southwest, West, and Northwest is over. Good times. However, it won't officially be wrapped up until we play the tour un-kickoff. Or, the final gun. Wow, that's lame. The final solution, if you will. No, that doesn't seem quite right for some reason. The final tip-off. Not NBA, but DEA. Yeah, this will be billed as the final tip-off. Time for the feds to move in and make the arrest. It's at the Turf Club with with The Cloak Ox and Baby Boys.

The Home Stretch

2011-02-08T01:17:00.009-06:00

Seattle was fantastic thanks to What What Now, Battle Hymns, and The Virgin Islands. Also, James Burns, a buddy of ours from Police Teeth, wrote this article about us in the Stranger and made us feel like we're doing the right thing by remaining The Blind Shake.

The snowy trip to Missoula was worth the white-knuckle drive. Josh from Wantage USA (a great record label in Missoula with acts such as Big Business and Japanther) made us some soup and gave us a place to stay in addition to putting together a great show. Shahs sang catchy songs out of a pulsing sonic landscape. Who knew that Collin (ex Vampire Hands stand up drummer/vocalist) could play the guitar so well. That band is onto something very cool.

And in the same room in which we sipped our soup, Dane, one of Missoula's finest philosophers, struck his strings until his fingers gushed blood all over everything except his poetic and insightful lyrics. I guess he didn't need clothing for this particular set.

Now, Fargo awaits. We only have one more record left to sell and one more stop on the tour. Maybe we'll re-press it after our new album comes out this Spring or Summer. We have toured out West five times now and out East three times and we all agreed that this has been our most successful tour ever. Now would be a great time to climb into a small, propeller plane and wave goodbye to everyone in slow motion. We know how it ends, but the director has spared us the agony as we fade to black and the credits appear:

Directed by Ron Howard

Soundtrack by Ry Cooder

Mike Blaha - Mark Walberg
Jim Blaha - Mel Kiper
Dave Roper - Danny Glover
Narrated by Morgan Freeman

Directed some more by Martin Scorsese

2011-02-05T22:40:00.009-06:00

Dave - staying in drum shape

The Blaha boys with Paul Collins. Our dad's name is Paul, too!

Vindication!

The Slabtown Bender in Portland, OR

2011-02-05T12:56:00.004-06:00

Dear diary,
We did it. We really did it!

Captain's Log, February 4th 2011: using a backline of equipment will not lead to death. Solid state bass amps can fool large groups of people for up to 22 minutes. Jim played a Fender Twin. 11% sound deterioration. Dave played a non-Ludwig. A Yamaha. 38% lame increase.

Dear Mom,
We played with Paul Collins Beat. He's amazing song writer -- "the King of Power Pop". On drums featured a young lad named Amos, who we played with at the Blue Moon Cafe in Neenah, WI back in our early years as a band and when he was just fifteen. Now he's killing with this legend. Good for him. Good for the crowd. Makes us feel old. Not as old as Paul Collins though, he's your age! Over and out.

Dear Dad,
I don't know if we're going to have the money to put in that sticky tile. Let's hold off until spring to see how things go.

Dear deer,
Get off the road. We'll be headed in your direction late this afternoon and evening.

Dear Jim,
Reading the paper while walking in Portland is the coolest thing you've ever done. Love, your baby brother -- Mike

Our entire SF set thanks to Colin Frangos

2011-02-04T17:02:00.004-06:00

The Blind Shake: 02-02-11: Hemlock Tavern: Part 1 from Nadir Novelties on Vimeo.

The Blind Shake: 02-02-11: Hemlock Tavern: Part 2 from Nadir Novelties on Vimeo.

The Blind Shake: 02-02-11: Hemlock Tavern: Part 3 from Nadir Novelties on Vimeo.

SF

2011-02-04T16:41:00.005-06:00

Photo by Shannon Corr shannoncorr.com

Genralisimo and Guitar vs. Gravity brought the G’s tonight (G-force, not gangsters) at the Hemlock in San Francisco. We had lots of fun playing this show. It didn’t feel like a weekday at all. I drank this gas station energy drink called Redline. It didn’t give me energy, but it made my heart beat faster without any other advantages. I could foretell the future for a little bit, though. I also had flashes of rage and heroic fantasies of some shady dude trying to steal the band equipment, and then me catching him and choking him out with one hand while dialing the police in the other hand. Can’t sleep. I want to start a revolution. Not a political revolution, but a true revolution. I want to revolve around the Bay Area like a blinking satellite, “ Let’s go Niners! Boom boom_boom-boom-boom. Let’s go Niners! Boom boom_boom-boom-boom.”

Anywho, there might be some footage from this show thanks to Colin (ex-Ovipositor fame) with his fancy camera and daring techniques. I’ll post it as it comes in.
We love San Fran. You got the bridges, the hills, the bay, the beauty, the trolly, the fish, the music, the politics, the history, the fresh air, Dirty Harry, sea gulls, Alcatraz, the Zodiac, the 49ers, Rice-a-Roni, Tommy’s sandwich market, friendly people and honest panhandlers. Too bad it’s so expensive to live out here. After the big quake hits though, you’ll be able to buy land for cheap. Houses will get swallowed up in the cracking, churning earth along with the homeowners. Just like that, you’ll have fresh soil to start an urban hobby farm for under a thousand dollars.

2011-02-02T09:59:00.000-06:00

2011-02-02T09:55:00.000-06:00

2011-02-02T09:49:00.001-06:00

Get Tacos in Tucson. Not Sushi

2011-02-01T15:16:00.004-06:00

Tried to be cultural. We all ordered sushi. I have had the dynamite roll before due to our tours with Birthday Suits. This...this was different. It was like eating mushrooms and shellfish out of a fish's belly. Dave switched meals with me so I didn't have to blow my head off. What a great guy.

I have to say, Tucson is a very strange and lovable city. We played in a true 50's dinner after our show was moved from the HangArt, another amazing venue/house/recording studio. Jake, who runs the HangARt, showed us his recording from the time Minneapolis' own Vampire Hands and Daughters of the Sun played his place. It blew us away. The recording and the performances should go down as one of the best in psychedelic history. We're proud to know those guys.

But man, if you're looking for a mean malt delivered with a friendly smile, go to The Grill Diner in Tucson. Great tunes, great vibes, great eats, great decorations, interesting faces and personalities. We'll post some photos soon.

Austin

2011-01-30T02:37:00.002-06:00

Our Austin show with Love Collector, The Dikes of Holland, Shitty Awesome, and the Zoltars was off the hook. No, it was off the meat hook and went straight onto the grill. Thanks for all of the folks in the crowd for shouting positive things while throwing beer cans at us. It's kind of confusing when you do that, but we know what you mean. It's like in Good Fellas after Henry Hill was in the shower listening to the radio broadcast describing the Lufthansa Heist. He shouts, "Jimaaaaaaaaaay!" and pounds the wall. We know he doesn't hate the wall. He's just pumped about the caper. Hopefully it was like that. But what other professions do they throw beer at your for doing your job well? I never throw beer cans at the police after making a key arrest. I never throw beer cans at the old man in Lund's for bagging my groceries. I don't throw beer at cans at anyone. I'd like to say it's because of how I was raised, but our dad did throw beer cans at us for making big plays at the plate in little league. Hmm. It's worth pondering.

Anyways, check out Shitty Awesome (http://www.myspace.com/shittyawesome). They're from Norman, Oklahoma. They're like a broke man's Devo and a rich man's Tyvek. They came out of nowhere to deliver the goods. Who says record collectors don't make great musicians? I do. All of the time. But now I know I am happily dead wrong.

Austin is just a cool place to be. We'd like play Beerland again tomorrow, but the bright lights of Old El Paso are calling our names. Ten hour drive tomorrow. Maybe it's time to go to sleep.

If the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise!

2011-01-29T17:21:00.001-06:00

That was the southern sayin' we picked up for y'all. Use it at any point in a conversation:

Q: You going to work today?
A: If the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise.

Q: Are you going to pay Comcast?
A: If the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise.

Q: You! Which way to the emergency room?
A: If the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise.

It'll get you in or out of any situation. Thanks Alex, from The Hex Dispensers www.myspace.com/thehexdispensers for that bit of wisdom.

The Hex Dispensers, Mind Spiders, and Shakedown Alley all slayed. We will definitely play with those folks again whether on the Northern or Southern timezone. Can't wait to play Denton again.

We're in Texas!

2011-01-28T12:27:00.003-06:00

Lawrence, Kansas was a fun time at the Jackpot. JabberJosh, a rocking bass and drum duo of brothers (biological), showed that the heartland is truly the nervous system of the country. What does that even mean? Good show by them.

Now we're in Denton. Today Denton...tomorrow the world...of Austin, TX. Here is a link of a show from the last time we were in Texas. If I look chubby, it's only because everything is bigger in Texas. If you notice no change in Jim and Dave's appearances, you're probably mistaken. Their hearts are enlarged.

The Blind Shake Live at SXSW 2010 from Max One Million on Vimeo.

Winter Tour Underway

2011-01-26T21:08:00.004-06:00

Last night we played the Busted Lift in Dubuque, IA. Thanks to Regdar and the Fighters and Grain Belt for playing with us. Also, thanks to everyone who came out on a cold Tuesday night. The goal was to be strict with our diets this tour. So far we've only had hot dogs, Arby's twice, McDonald's, Subway, and a Sushi buffet all not counting our usual gas station snacks. There is more than one way to get big as a band.

Nobody told us, but you must wear red and blue sweat suits where ever you go to support the KU Jayhawks. I understand school spirit, but this must be a cult. A very comfy cult. If you cut one of these nice folks open, I promise that even their blood would be red! Now that's school spirit. Over and out.

The Verdict Is In: We finished recording the new album!

2010-11-16T15:35:00.004-06:00

This album has been pushed back, and pushed back, but now it's done. Many thanks to Neil Weir at The Old Blackberry Way Studio for listening to us and helping us achieve the sounds we wanted. Now we need to drag our feet for a while before getting it mastered and releasing it. The process just takes a long time. However, we are very proud of each song that made the cut. We are shamed by the songs that didn't make it. Those songs wasted our time. We learned nothing from them. They just made us older. And there is really nothing you can do to a cut song to fill that hole it leaves you with. The ruling to cut the songs brings us some closure, but it's not justice. You can't bring them back. The damage is done. Our time is gone thanks to those songs. But we are thankful for the songs we do have as we move forward throughout this healing process.

We Have a Song on a Compilation

2010-06-18T08:47:00.000-05:00

Minneapolis label Moon Glyph will release the LP and tape of a local compilation called Regolith. Pre-orders available 7/13.

From Moon Glyph's website:

“Regolith” is a term used by lunar scientists to describe the loose scree of stones covering the solid rock of the moon. From the scrappy fuzzabilly of the Leisure Birds’ “Burn the Beach” to Moonstone’s pontificate-n-jam, Moon Glyph have found an apt title for their first compilation of local bands. Regolith Vol.1 is a wide sampling of songs scattershot across a solid foundation of rock by artists committed to the exploration of new vibrations and frequencies. The listener will find all forms of psychedelia on this record: laid back odes to laid-back women from Magic Castles and Velvet Davenport (with a little help from Ariel Pink and Gary War), a rave-up from Vampire Hands, a spaced out war-drum workout from the Daughters of the Sun, and a pair of face-melters courtesy of The Blind Shake and Skoal Kodiak amongst others.

A1 Leisure Birds - "Burn the Beach"
A2 Magic Castles - "Patron Saint"
A3 Dante & the Lobster - "Waiting for the Moon"
A4 Velvet Davenport (with Ariel Pink & Gary War) - "Surfer Girl"
A5 Camden - "Headstone"
A6 Vampire Hands - "3D Yin-Yang"
B1 Daughters of the Sun - "Mystical Babe"
B2 The Blind Shake - "Lucky Day"
B3 Skoal Kodiak - "Tinsel Tongue"
B4 Moonstone - "Exhortations of the Prophet M."

Not Much Uglier Despite Tour

2010-06-18T08:45:00.000-05:00

Our two-week tour of the East Coast and Canada with Birthday Suits went well on several fronts. The shows were great, we ate lots of Japanese food instead of McDonalds, nobody got hurt, and we slept in hotels most of the way thanks to Hotwire.com. Usually when we come back from tour our faces look punchy, old, and left for dead. Not this time. When I walked in the front door, my wife knew who I was right away, "You're my husband, right?" It was a great feeling.

Birthday Suits are the main reason we stayed so young on this tour. It turns out Matthew and Hideo are actually over 1,000 years old. According to my sources, this is quite common in Japan. It's a funny story actually, Hideo once drove a bayonette through my grandfather's chest during WWII. Then, 65 years later, I end up beating him handily in a game of ping-pong (Hideo, that is, not my grandfather obviously). Life has a way of coming full circle.

Video from our post Winter Solstice show at the Turf Club in St. Paul.

2010-01-26T10:18:00.001-06:00

The Blind Shake from Bjornery on Vimeo.

January 9th Blowout with Vampire Hands and Birthday Suits

2010-01-06T17:32:00.002-06:00

Blast off that holiday pudge by putting your face up against the amp of any of the acts on January 9th at the Turf Club. For a smooth face, try Chris's (Vampire Hands) Fender amp as he sculpts and contours your gravity induced jowls. If you're going for a newborn look, crawl against Jim's (The Blind Shake) Music Man head/Gibson cab and let the sound push your hair back into its skull. You'll get that innocent baby look up top, but with your adult strength on your unchanged body. If you were truly were a giant sloth over this holiday season, allow Hideo's (Birthday Suits) Marshall half stack and detuned strings vibrate your ears, eyes, and nose into a botched face job. Your forehead will cave in like cardboard, but at least you can drink rain without having to tilt your head backwards. $5 cover.

TEVS Podcast of Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake on the way!

2009-12-06T09:12:00.001-06:00

New website on the way!

2009-11-23T21:57:00.001-06:00

As we speak, a group of MCAD students are designing our new website. It's been a long time since we've had the official site up and running, so we're going to make it count this time. We promise. No more lies. Unlike a wife beater who promises to change but never does, we won't let you down. Honest. We're sorry. We'll update the new site often. We'll always---hey, who was that who called? Let me see your phone. Why would work call you this late? Look at me when I'm talking to you. This ain't a work number. You think I'm a fool? How is THIS for a fool? I don't see you laughing now. GET UP. GET UP. Get--there you go. Now just stand there. Why do you make me do these things? Huh? Look at me. Don't you know this hurts me inside? Why do you do this to us?

Yeah, so we won't be like that. We'll stay on top of the show updates and try to include special features and bring back the email list. I know we've been guilty of having a show and not telling anyone about it. But it's all going to be different now. You'll see. Just to refresh your memory, the site is: http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnRoZWJsaW5kc2hha2UuY29t Good luck and good mental health.

I can't stop listening to Japanther.

2009-09-29T20:43:00.002-05:00

Tut, Tut Now Shake Ya Butt is a blast of an album. I don't have a review to give or anything, but you can get them on itunes, www.myspace.com/japanther, or http://www.japanther.com/. They're getting me through each day right now.

Mike

Hey, a photo in Razorcake from the summer tour!

2009-09-29T20:38:00.001-05:00

Total Fest Makes Life Better for People

2009-08-23T17:15:00.001-05:00

We just got back from playing Total Fest 09. Thanks to all of the volunteers, the Badlander, The Palace, and Wantage for putting it all together. It is the greatest DIY festival in the country. Two stages upstairs at and two stages downstairs. We felt like tourists as we toggled from one stage to the next with our event schedule. It's very humbling to be associated with so many rocking bands. We look forward to heading back to Missoula as soon as possible.

Ovipositor is an awesome band

2009-08-13T03:58:00.001-05:00

Colin from Ovipositor put some live songs from our show with those guys at Thee Parkside in San Francisco. Check it out: http://colinfrangos.com/blog/2009/08/the-blind-shake-at-thee-parkside/

Listen to their great songs and sounds at: http://www.myspace.com/ovipositor

The Blind Shake with a bass?!

2009-08-11T04:04:00.000-05:00

August tour update from Anaheim, CA

2009-08-11T03:53:00.000-05:00

We're on to the second week of the tour. The first week was filled with great bands and fans. We had the privelage of playing with everyone from Mike Watt to bands like the Gouts who played their first show ever. Thanks to Rainer for Fed-Exing the extra box of LPs to us. Sadly, we are sold out of the Blind Shake/Birthday Suits split 7". Learning Curve is out and so are Birthday Suits. Take the five bucks you would have spent and apply it towards a new house. You like houses, don't you? Things aren't so bad.

Portland was an amazing show thanks to Pure Country Gold and Cougar. It was such a great night that I capped it off by forgetting both baritione guitars at the venue. It was very nice of Jim and Dave not to start barking and chirping at me. I didn't realize this honest mistake until we loaded all of our equipment on the stage at the Parkside in San Francisco. I hoped they were merely stolen, but no. I closed my eyes and I could picture right where I left the two Danelectros (on the stage next to the door, where I wouldn't forget them). Again, I appreciate my bandmates for not blowing me away.

So for all of you soundmen out there who scoff at me for not using a bass and who want nothing more than to use a direct input because you do not trust that I will have any low end, you had your chance to hear the Blind Shake with a BASS! Oh, man, you missed it, too. It was so low and professional. It would have brought you back to the days where you wanted to form a band, but never did. Actually, it sounded pretty dull and lifeless. Jim and Dave played with extra pizzazz to cover for me. Bass is great, but it doesn't make sense with this combination of songs. I am very thankful for the guys in Bike Fight who let me borrow their shortscale, but bass just doesn't work with this band. So...I bought a new baritone in LA with the money we made on the tour! You win some, you win some more. Bingo!

We have a house show in Fullerton, CA, a DIY show in Tempe, AZ, a Denver show at the Larrimer Lounge, and a show at Oleaver's in Omaha left to go. Can't wait. Oh, real quickly--if you're ever in Portland, go to Mississippi Records on the north side. Everything you want on vinyl for cheap. Also, Disneyland is a very sad place. There is no magic here. Take your children to a monster car rally.

Mike

Cold Town/Soft Zodiac LP is released.

2009-07-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

Check out this live show review written by Erin Roof of City Pages.
http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2009/07/the_blind_shake.php

Thank you for everyone who was able to make it out to our release show. We had a blast playing and watching the Book of Right On, Private Dancer, Gay Witch Abortion, and the Evening Rig do their thing. Also, thanks to the Comedy Death Squad for holding down the fort in between acts. I hope whomever won the Pabts Blue Ribbon tent enjoys advertising a beer product out in the woods. Animals and trees are an untapped market. We were sad to not be able to share the stage with Michael Yonkers one last time, but he's put in four decades, so we're thankful for that. Lastly, thanks to Rainer from Learning Curve Records, for putting out this album and putting the whole show together. He and the Grumpy's crew got up early and worked hard at making everything run smoothly.

Mike

Boy Becomes Man and other tales

2009-07-15T12:22:00.001-05:00

We're back from a 4-day whip route. Athens and Columbus featured the great music of the Guinea Worms and a funny, fat man jumping out of a birthday cake. I guess I've yet to see a mean, fat man jump out of a birthday cake. Maybe into one, but not out of one. It was a wah-wah pedal lickingly good time.

Luther Fest in Ann Arbor was a great punk/folk house party. The Luther House was where the MC5 used to live and play. I thought it would be a humble beginings type vibe, but the place is the biggest house I've ever been in besides a Masonic Lodge I took a tour of one time. Thanks to the Terrible Twos for helping us out with this show. Amazing band. Trust me. http://www.myspace.com/terribletwos

In Milwaukee, the Artist Currently Known as Tom Stack set us up with a great show at the Sugar Maple. Wereworms ruled it and will be playing a show with us sometime in October.

The highlight of the tour, though, has got to be seeing Travis Whitty, of Golden Coins, play this great set of his new material. We first met Travis when he was a fresh-faced high school kid playing with the Gwals back in Oshkosh, WI. Now he's all graduated from college, has his hot former teacher as his girlfriend, has a career restoring films to new formats (currently working on Planet of the Apes) and HAS A BLIND SHAKE TATOO! That's bad ass. I should get a Travis tatoo on my back and chest. Then, when playing pick up basketball, dudes will say "I've got Travis", but they'll really have me. It'll lead to confusion and I'll be open for an easy 12 foot jumper.

Mike

http://www.theblindshake.com
http://www.myspace.com/theblindshake
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Blind+Shake

Video from the July 3rd show

2009-07-07T17:29:00.000-05:00

New Website

2009-06-29T23:25:00.000-05:00

Sometime in July, we will be launching a new website. Myspace could crash, Youtube is losing 300 million per year, and Last.Fm is great, but you never know. An old style website could be the wave of the future. I remember back in '05 I said, "Man, this real estate market is going to crash do to these light restrictions on adjustable rate mortgages." Boom. I also said back in 2002 that the US would figure out a way to attack Iran, since Haliburton's website didn't have any locations there. Bing. Just you wait. So my prediction for 2009: using mathmatical equations, we will find several planets in our galaxy that have all the right sizes and distances from their respecive suns to support various forms of life!

Mike