Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!


Well, we've been out of touch for a few months. We're calling it "The Transition".We fled the impending bitter cold winter typical of Montana and head Southwest, through Idaho and Oregon to California with no plans other than staying warm. We ended up staying in Humboldt for three months working 12 hour days on a farm and playing shows on the weekends. Needless to say, busy work on a farm seemed to be the best opportunity to reflect on the past year and where we would like to go from here.

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Montana in September before we left.



Someplace warmer.


The open road, the act of "going", moving forward and leaving everything is a character trait we both love and hate about ourselves.  We love change, meeting new people and constant adventure, but sometimes we also use it as a way to escape real life, because let's face it, life can be hard. Although playing music as a job is amazing, sometimes it gets hard living off of something you love, because you have to sacrifice your art to survive. So, instead of heading out on an epic, spontaneous journey, this time we're going to hunker down for a little while and nurse the introverted, creative side of ourselves. Musically speaking, sharing our music is our passion, but we also need to take some time to create new music, explore new ideas and grow, personally and musically.

We decided to stay in Eugene, OR where Daniel got a part time maintenance/landscaping job at a really nice RV park in exchange for rent and bills. Total score! We have all the amenities we need plus a hot tub, pool and gym! Our surroundings are beautiful green hills, the Pacific ocean not even two hours away and Mountains to our east. Endless new music venues, new music, new towns! Breweries, Thai Food, coffee roasters galore! Open minded, tolerant, forward thinking people! And everyone, seriously, everyone has been nice.

We've played a few shows since we've been here, all which have gone very well. We opened for a local band on New Years Eve at one of our new favorite brew houses, "The Brewstation", which was a great way to ring in the New Year!

It's been an exciting year and we're happy it led us here! To recap, here are some of the most memorable events of 2014:


  • Purchased our home on the road, our RV,  The Fleetwood Tioga!
First day on the road with the RV!

  • Completed a Massive National Tour: MT, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, CO, WY!
  • Played our first ever festival, Red Ants Pants!
  • Played for our biggest crowd ever, over 5000 people when we opened for The Clintons in Billings, MT
  • We made a music video!
  • We played 96 shows, 47 from May-August, and the rest scattered through the year!
  • Hiked the Grand Canyon!

The Grand Canyon!


Daniel hiking into the Grand Canyon!

  • Traveled through at least 7 National Parks during which time Daniel got stamps and stickers for his awesome, and kinda nerdy, National Parks Passport! 


Rumeysa at Crater Lake National Park, Crater Lake, OR

  • We celebrated 3 years of Marriage and 5 years of music partnership!
Celebration!

2015 New Year's Resolutions:

  • Complete new album
  • Break 150 shows 
  • Incorporate drums and electric guitar
  • Take music lessons to improve art
  • Do a Hwy 101 tour
  • Do a Montana tour 
  • Do a Texas tour
  • Be invited to open for Fred Eaglesmith's Traveling Band


HAPPY NEW YEAR! May your new year bring happiness, love, health and prosperity! 

Love, 
Daniel and The Blonde

Claire Reitz Photography