We’ve been slowly but surely getting work done on our third record, and I’ve been posting pictures from the studio on Twitter. In case you missed any of those updates, here they are.

In between recording and rehearsing, Luke’s been covering a ton of different songs, many of which were filmed for your viewing pleasure:

Luke & The Elwins cover Beyoncé’s “Countdown” for Southern Souls/The Mojito Sessions:

Luke sings “Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads at Loving In The Name Of:

Luke joins Arkells on stage to do Broken Social Scene’s “Cause = Time” for the JUNO Concert Series:

Luke played a set of his own songs at Steam Whistle’s Unsigned #21 that included Bruce Springsteen’s “Adam Raised A Cain” – you can see parts of his performance here, via Chart Attack’s Noisemakers:

Luke, Adam Hindle and myself (Mitch) covered a bunch of Roger Miller songs for HumbleMania 38, one or two of which will hopefully be online soon:

Luke also played a solo show on Valentine’s Day that included a Neil Young song, a Paul McCartney song, and a new song of ours – some of that could appear online as well (I’ll stay on top of it!).

And after all of that, there’s still more cover stuff in the works, which you’ll hear about soon.

Also coming soon – we’ll be playing a couple shows this summer, so keep a look out for dates.

ruffian mitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

We’re coming to London to ring in 2012 like twenty days late, which is okay, because I rung in 2012 by falling off a couch and mentally resisting barfing in a cab, so I wouldn’t mind a do-over. We’re playing at APK Live with Lonnie & The Garden and Glass Thieves, and the show is being put on by Half A Dino – but any and all info you need can be found here at the show’s Facebook event page.

Come see us play old songs and new songs and in between songs.

And then it’ll be back to the studio to continue making our new record.

And then it’s the end of the world.

…

See you in London!

ruffian mitch

But yes, IT DID HAPPEN and I have pics. And vids. Pics and vids. I’ll start with pics.

This past Monday, we brushed off the fake snow from our weekend of Tokyo Police Club holiday shows and got to work on our third record. If you made it to any of the three shows at The Phoenix last week, you heard two (three, if you came on Thursday) new songs that we’ll be recording over the next while.

We’ll be taking a break over the holidays, but it was great to get started so early. Keep checking back here (and our Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and FY!BR and) for updates from BoomBox (which is where we’re recording the album – it. is. awesome.).

Finally, here is a video of us, TPC, Said The Whale, Arkells, friends, everyone, anyone, you (maybe you were on stage, I don’t know, things got a little blurry), playing Santa Claus Is Coming To Town to cap off three shows of holiday cheer and beer at The Phoenix. If you LOVE black jeans and HATE good sound quality, this is the video for you!

I love that it’s 98% Steve step-dancing.

ruffianmitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

We’re playing The Gargoyle and the show is free to Washington University students. If you’re not a student, limited tickets are available online here, and a few will be available at the door.

OR, your best bet (if you hate paying money for things) is to check our Twitter tomorrow, as I will be giving away tickets to the show through some kind of contest that I haven’t invented in my brain yet. But don’t worry. My brain will come up with something good. He has never betryaed me bfreore ksndjfnj.

SO. To summarize:

Dec. 1st (THIS THURSDAY!) – The Gargoyle – 7:30 doors, 8:00 show
FREE to Wash U studes
Non-studes buy tickets here
Come hang with me on Twitter tomorrow for a chance to win free tickets to the show

Sound good? Look for the contest to begin in the early afternoon.

See you STLers on Thursday!

ruffian mitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

Upcoming Shows: 12.01 – The Gargoyle, St. Louis (w. U.S. English) / 12.08 – The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale) / 12.09 – The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale) / 12.10 – The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale)

Even though we have left the farm, there’s still another video blog to come (or more? Maybe I should just stick with the one. I do have an assload of video, though). So you can look forward to more of Steve doing things and me making montages. I promise we also wrote songs. Please believe me.

Speaking of those songs, I am really excited for them. And I’m excited for you to hear them. Maybe that’ll be sooner than later? If only there was a time and place for us to show them off. Ah well, I’m sure we’ll think of something.

ruffian mitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

Upcoming Shows: 12.08 - The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale) / 12.09 - The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale)

As promised (kind of, except for that “morning” part – [musician morning = like 3 p.m.]), here is video blog number five from the farm. In case you missed the first four, check ‘em out here: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Next week is the last week at the farm. I feel like it’ll be a bit bittersweet. On one hand, I love the shit out of that place (I have a way with words, I know) and it will be sad to leave. But on the other hand, we’ve accomplished quite a lot there, written a ton of new songs, recorded a ton of new demos, played a ton of new strategy-based board games and essentially have taken the next step in making our record. We’re that much closer to making this thing.

On a third hand (that I suppose I’ve grown out of my chest), there is so much dust and mold up there that I’ve been coughing up a lung every time we stay over, so I won’t mind leaving that behind.

On a fourth hand (which makes me Goro), I’m just deflecting my emotions because I’ll break down and cry when we leave that place.

Plenty more farm videos to come!

ruffian mitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

Upcoming Shows: 12.08 - The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale) / 12.09 - The Phoenix, Toronto (w. Tokyo Police Club, Said The Whale)

Also, as you may have heard from TPC, we’ve added a SECOND show at the Phoenix with Tokyo Police Club and Said The Whale. So you can now buy tickets for either the December 8th show or the December 9th show or BOTH. Links:

Dec. 8th – BUY TICKETS
Dec. 9th – BUY TICKETS

And lastly, we went over to Much Music last night to record some voice-overs for a new show coming soon, and we are (obviously) on it. It’s not us just providing voice-overs for Pants Off Dance Off. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on when that airs.

For now, I need to buy an external hard drive to support all of this farmhouse video I’m dumping on my computer, and then tomorrow we head back to the farm for more writing. We’ve got a ton of new songs that we’re anxious to get recorded, and I’ll keep you posted on that too.

ruffian mitch

As you may have heard from the boys themselves, we are wrapping up 2011 by playing with Tokyo Police Club and Said The Whale at The Phoenix.

TICKETS – on sale September 16th (this Friday) at 10 a.m. through TicketWeb, Rotate This & Soundscapes (and you can order by phone [1-800-222-6608] if you hate computers and real life stores).

PRESALE – available at LiveNation.com and TheEdge.ca ONLY Tuesday, September 13 from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET.

So as long as TPC don’t sue us, this is going to be awesome. Hold onto your butts.

See you in the wintertime, and keep checking back for more info about this show,

ruffian mitch

SECONDLY – we just got back from the UK after 12 days, and it was a riot great time. You can read all about the first half of our trip here, including how Luke and I got stuck on a train to Brussels by accident. So you go enjoy that and laugh at our misfortunes.

The second half of our trip was less about taking trains to countries where we don’t have shows, and more about playing shows we’re supposed to, like Summer Sundae and Standon Calling.

At Summer Sundae, I broke a bass string one song into our set. That didn’t bode well for the rest of the set. Luckily, the guys from Wolf People were kind enough to lend me a spare string, since I also forgot my gear bag in London that day (I like to make unnecessary challenges for myself for no reason, y’know, like getting stuck on trains, breaking shit… I’m both Donkey Kong and Mario, hurling barrels at my own fucking self). So thank you Wolf People for the string!

The day before Standon Calling, we found out that it was “fancy dress.” We thought that meant shirt and tie. It didn’t. It meant something more like this:

You should check out their Facebook too see more what I mean.

The show was really fun, and the night that followed was too. I may have fallen over a fence and got elbow dropped by a fat bearded stranger, but still, fun.

And then we came home.

In one last piece of news, we’re heading back to the farmhouse to continue writing our new record. If you missed them the first time around, check out the video blogs I made during our first trip to the farm (1, 2, 3). And there should be more to come.

See you in Mississauga,

ruffian mitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

Upcoming Shows: 09.02 – Mississauga Celebration Square, Mississauga

Unlike getting hilariously stuck on a train, we’ve also been doing things on purpose here in the UK. Like playing the New Slang in Kingston.

Or visiting the Imperial War Museum.

Or playing Field Day.

Or hiding in terror from the mayhem.

The London riots have been weird for us, because we’ve been completely disconnected from them. Somehow, we’ve been wandering the streets during the riots and managed to avoid any rioting-in-progress or even riot aftermath. But then we’ll turn on the news when we get home and see buildings burning to the ground and a war in the streets. Very strange feeling.

Anyway, how about that story? Come along with me!

Last Thursday we played in Kingston and didn’t get home to London until two in the morning. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem. However, we had to be up at five in order to catch an early train to Lille the next day for the festival Les Nuites Secretes, and an angry cab driver was scheduled to chuck our gear in the van with reckless abandon at 5:30. After three hours of lying down with our eyes closed pretending to sleep, we got up and the angry cab driver showed up early to chuck our gear in the van with reckless abandon. He pulled away with Andy hanging out the door.

The next part of the story all went well. We were in time for our train, a woman confirmed that the train station serves coffee and roast beef, we all got matching fruit smoothies – it’s like the happy, fluffy, beginning part of a movie that you know will end in graphic, unfluffy tragedy. Here’s where that part comes to an end:

Luke and I are sitting behind Steve and Andy on the train, which takes about an hour and a half to reach Lille. When the train comes to a stop, to me, it doesn’t appear that we’re at the station. It looks like we have to pull up more, and nobody is getting off. Suddenly, Andy and Steve shoot up from their seat and new people start boarding the train. I am confused (because no one got off) but start grabbing our stuff anyway. I have to go back a few seats to grab the two guitars I’m carrying while Luke has to swim against the current of boarding passengers to get to his stuff.

Andy and Steve are a few steps in front of us and hop off the train. Just as I get to the door, I see it close with Luke standing in front of it, holding his gear. He presses the “Open Door” button.

Nothing.

He presses it again.

Nothing.

LUKE IS FRANTICALLY PRESSING THE OPEN DOOR BUTTON.

NOTHING.

I lean down in a panic and catch Steve’s eye through the window and end up giving a face like this. There is no train staff in sight in the train or on the platform. We’re stuck holding our gear, mashing the “Open Door” button like a couple of brainless dopes on display for the people on board. This door is not opening.

And the train pulls away.

I’m met with an all-star team of emotions (FURY + DISBELIEF + SHAME + REGRET + WTF) as we start speeding in the complete opposite direction of where we want to be. Luke and I settle down and just accept that we’ll be in Brussels in a half hour (thankfully this train wasn’t headed to somewhere even further away), and we’ll just train back – maybe even on this very train, as we noticed a lot of London-to-Brussels trains were scheduled. I wish it was that easy.

Instead, just minutes from Brussels, our train broke down. Yep.

We sat for over an hour without moving air, A/C, power, etc. waiting for another train to arrive and pull us to the station. After that, we discover that the next train back to Lille won’t get us there until 3 something, and it’s only 12:30. The woman at the ticket counter helping us then says she’s found a way to get us there sooner, but it’s by way of Gent. We take it because we just want to get back as soon as possible.

Turns out that this route is not quicker at all because Gent it still not in the direction of Lille. Then, we accidentally get on the first class car to Gent, which isn’t a big deal if you’re not carrying three guitars, a suitcase, a laptop bag, a gear bag and a backpack, because you have to manoeuvre your stupid self through a MOVING train, all the while bashing people with your stupid gear that you’re stupid carrying. I can feel the rage returning as I write this.

Long story short, we end up back in Lille, but at the wrong station. So, naturally, no Steve or Andy to be found. No festival people either. We end up getting wifi and getting in touch with the guys, and have to wait another hour and a half until we can get picked up, drive another hour and a bit to the festival, still unshowered and carrying our infinity amount of guitars and bags and shame.

While waiting to get picked up, I felt that I should just shit myself and that would be a fitting end to the day.

Luke broke the toilet seat in the train station just by sitting on it and I decided that that was good enough.

In the end, we made it to the festival on time, showered in some strange French hostel that a guy had to drive us to, and played a fun show.

I hope this story has entertained you as much as it has enraged me.

Sincerely,

ruffian mitch

Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / FY!BR

Upcoming Shows: 08.12 – Summer Sundae, Leicester / 08.13 – Standon Calling, Hertfordshire