My Friend, My Friend... Lover?

Almost as soon as we were all reunited in London, the beatings began. After about six hours in the Goth Pub--which is so Goth persons not wearing all black are turned away at the door--drinking Goth Juice (cider and blackcurrant--it looks like BLOOD) we caught our dear friends Pull Tiger Tail play at the Forum, then hurried to the Barfly to afterparty, then finally to Keith Top of the Pop's house to after after party.

Things we've learned about ourselves and the world at large:

-No matter what anyone says, Nathaniel can knock you out of your chair.

-Mikey from Art Brut parties harder than anyone.

-Zachary is a Sleepy Tiger Cub.

-Inside the deepest, darkest recesses of Zebastian's soul, there lives a tiny city, and the city's mayor is an absolut tyrant.

-I am a bonafide homosexual.


I love you (in a totally gay way),


Ben Lee

SXSW in Review; We Love Ireland

So we saw some bands, Zebastian and I were kidnapped by drug dealers (for real), Zachary spent some time in Cincinatti, Ohio on the way from Los Angeles to Austin, the band played perhaps the drunkest set ever (check out THIS eyewitness account), and somehow we wound up partying all night with Lizzy Jagger and a dude wearing Keith Richards' scarf. Also, we met Dave, the Brian Jonestown Massacre's tour manager for the first half of DIG!


The problem--and the best part--with SXSW is that all the alcohol is free, so it makes it sort of hard to remember that you're seeing all kinds of great music. Like, when it's open bar, John Lennon could be roused from the dead to perform an impromptu set with the Traveling Wilburys
right in front of me, and I'd be all, "wait, you're telling me I don't have to pay for drinks?" So even though we saw some great bands, I only kind of remember the whole thing.

Here's a sampling of the music we saw over our last two days at the festival: The Ponys, Bloc Party, Gossip, The Black Lips, Pete and the Pirates, Dengue Fever, The Horrors, The Bravery, Oh No Oh My, Matt and Kim, Stylofone, the Pigeon Detectives.

I love you,

Ben Lee Handler

Oh, Ireland! We'll come for you as soon as we can, and we wholeheartedly apologize that we're missing you on the rescheduled tour. Some of our greatest tour experiences have taken place in Belfast and Dublin, so we're trying to get back there as soon as possible!

Sex Bi Sex West Review Coming Shortly...

If you're not too busy, and even if you are, kill some time by reading a few nice things nice people have written about us:

HERE's an interview at the SceneStar.

HERE's a featurette at NY2LON.

And HERE's Boadwee's blog. (He hasn't written anything about us in a while, but his blog is all kinds of awesome.)

I love you,

Blee

SXSW Preview: Maybe We'll Slaughter An Animal Or Something

May 13, 2007


Dyan and I arrived in Austin, Texas last night--it is HOTT in HERRRR--but I'm getting ahead of myself, as the plane ride from L.A. to Austin was a party in itself.

Imagine a singles bar where everyone is Jewish, drunk, horny, and if you polled all the people in the establishment, the unanimous reply to Who's the Best Musician EVER? would be Billy Joel. Also, the bar is locked for three hours barring anyone's escape, and the entire place is suspended 30,000 feet over the ground for the duration of that time. Those people would have a lot to talk about, right? There might be some crazy behavior over the course of those three hours, right? Maybe a little sex? A little violence? Intense sororitization? (Sororitization: the act and application of sisterly love.)

Okay, now imagine that instead of a singles bar, the place is an AIRPLANE, and instead of being Jewish, everyone on the airplane is indie rock. Ladies and Gentlemen, THAT AIRPLANE IS REAL! I was on it, and it was awesome.

Here is Dyan and my New Best Friend (from the airplane) on a ten vodka-soda bender at a Jewish singles bar in Austin:


Here I am with the fantastic Cael Kirkland at the same bar, on the same bender:


And, HERE is a preview of our show by Brad Barry with some very quotable Nathaniel moments.

May 14, 2007

With so much free alcohol floating around, one runs the risk of becoming a free alcoholic. Today we became free alcoholics.

Bands we saw and loved: The Young Knives, Mum Ra, Peter Bjorn and John, Donovan, Beirut, and the Mountain Goats.


I love you,

Ben Lee Handler

Advice for Starving Students, March Madness

When it comes to advice, Zebastian is full of it. He recently dished out a steaming serving of helpful tips for the readers of LastBroadcast.co.uk, and they are delicious.

Follow the links to read how he--along with some other bands who have plural names preceded by an indefinite article--can help you save money, recover from a hangover, eat cheap, and pick up babes in the city.

Also, Zebastian and I like to pretend we know a lot about college basketball. As the NCAA Tournament is upon us, we've both filled out brackets in anticipation. If you would like to join our pool, fill out a bracket HERE to see how you measure up. It's free, but you must have it filled out by Thursday in the States in order to join.

Enjoy!

-Blee

Zachary is Aging

That's right, as of today, our dearest Zachary is another year older.

Let's review the major milestones of his life thus far (and if you've been lucky enough to see them, you know it's the truth when I say his milestones are MAJOR):

March 9, 1979 - Zachary John Amos is born in Santa Ana, California.


March 10, 1979 - Speaks his first word, "Drum." Two hours later he speaks his second, "Sex." These words, coupled with "I want," comprise the entirety of his vocabulary for the next twenty-two years.

March 13, 1979 - With his rattle from his crib, the four-day old successfully keeps rhythm with the entirety of Los Angeles radio station KCBS's Salsa Hour with Santos Del Rio while his mother, Joanne, cleans his room. Joanne instantly recognizes the baby's genius and contacts the radio station, thus beginning young Zachary's ten-year tenure as KCBS's Sensational Salsa Baby. (The moniker is later changed to Sensational Salsa Boy.)


May 25, 1989 - Abruptly fired from KCBS after he is discovered in a utility closet with 42 year-old Patricia Moonves, the station manager's wife. In her subsequent trial for the delinquency of a minor, Moonves is quoted as screeching, "You must understand, he's not just a boy, he's a sexual prodigy!"
Zachary simply bows his head and whispers "I want sex" in response.


May 30, 1989 - June 15, 2002 - Perfects his drum technique. Slays 10,000 virgins. Eats only raw chicken.


June 16, 2002 - Joins the ranks of the Blood Arm, the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the History of the World.


March 9, 2006 - Turns 28.


I love you Zachary,

Ben Lee Handler

German Efficiency

Our German friends at thebloodarm.de had a party in our honor, only they didn't invite us. It's probably for the best; the last time we hung out with those guys someone tied us to a tree, stripped us nude, threw our lederhosen in the icebox and tickled us with a bratwurst until we cried. Granted, we usually do that sort of thing for fun anyway, but I'm told it can affect our work visas if ever we're caught. We're entertainers, not chew toys goddamnit.

Anyway, you can check out some photos of how are German counterparts throw down HIER.

Dyan and I are going to SXSW on Tuesday, and the others are joining us on Friday. Expect frequent updates in the coming weeks!

I love you,

Ben Lee Handler

Suspicious Characters Invade YouTube

I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record.








I love you,

Ben Lee Handler