walter’s wanderings from aaron last on Vimeo.

We’re going on tour! In March we head out to do some East Coast shows through NY, MA, and VT on the road to the Canadian Music Fest in Toronto, ON to play alongside Great Lake Swimmers, Constantines, Daughtry, and OUR LADY PEACE. Many details are available and kept mostly-up-to-date on our events page (http://bit.ly/7HchxG). Supertrip:

March 7: Saratoga Springs, NY
March 8: New York, NY
March 9: Cambridge, MA
March 10: Burlington, VT
March 11-12: Canadian Music Fest

We haven’t played many shows on the right coast, and seeing that MTV hasn’t returned our calls re: doing an episode of MTV Cribz at Colin’s house, we would be very appreciative if you would invite your east coast friends/fam to a show. Understatement of the year.

After we conquer the East Coast, we’re heading to sunny Austin, Texas to mingle with thousands of metal-head guitar screamers and double-kick-drum ragers. SXSW is going to be a blast. If you’re going, give us a holla– we’ll get some BBQ.

And now… Upcoming shows:

February 19th - The Vera Project (Seattle)
w/ The GLOBES!
7:30pm, $11, all-ages.
info/RSVP: http://bit.ly/d1GgWd
tickets: http://bit.ly/6PlESQ
Bringing back the 2-band bill!

February 20th - Mississippi Studios (Portland)
w/ Visqueen, Black Whales
8pm, $9, 21+
info/RSVP: http://bit.ly/bfDwhH
tickets: http://bit.ly/8YjaPL
Fostering the sea/pdx feud with a stellar 206 bill.

March 5th - Neumos (Seattle)
w/ Visqueen, Mash Hall (formerly They Live), & Fences
8pm, $10, 21+
info/RSVP: http://bit.ly/d5pLME
tickets: http://bit.ly/dbhqMU
Yum.

Stay hydrated, look people in the eyes, and do stay in touch.

Philip
Hey Marseilles
http://www.indiemerchstore.com/heymarseilles

Lovely ladies, lovely felines, lovely barbeque sauce.

Welcome to January! Welcome to 2010! Welcome to the future!

Sign up below to receive these newsletters directly to your inbox:

All your misdeeds of those pesky 2000s are in the past, written down somewhere on wikipedia, twitter, or livejournal. All of your bright and shining new ideas, accomplishments, songs, watercolor portraits, lego constructions, hoover dams, and electric car-charging stations are ahead of you! They’re waiting for you, calling to you with a sweet come-hither voice.

We’ve been hearing the voice, and are heeding its call.

We’re pleased to announce the new Hey Marseilles online store. Its how we’ll buy burritos. Its how we’ll make our 2010 dreams come true. Give it a click or two, check out the new brown and creme Unisex Tees! Our lovely friend Kate helped take the photos, and along with her two lovely sisters, three curious cats (on catnip), and one beautiful dog, we got some real winning shots.

Voila: http://indiemerchstore.com/heymarseilles <— let us know how you like it?

Last month, dear readers, we announced our contribution to a Starbucks compilation of classic love songs covered by contemporary acts. Today we’re pleased to announce that the “Sweethearts Vol II” compilation will hit iTunes Jan 19th, followed by Starbucks locations on Jan 26th. Thought my true brew loyalty will continue to rest in the sweet warm solace of coffee from Caffe Umbria, Stumptown, and the mighty Caffe Vita, this compilation is looking to be nicely stacked. Other contributing artists will include Mates of State, Yo La Tengo, Jose Gonzalez, and The Long Winters (http://bit.ly/820GjH). Our song will be a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You In the End.” We like it.

Finally, we’re playing some really cool shows this month.

Jan 22 - The Woods, Portland
w/ Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside!
8pm, $7 adv, 21+
info/RSVP: http://bit.ly/7hV6I4
tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/87964
Warning: The Woods is a smaller venue, and Sallie Ford has a larger draw. Buying tickets in advance is wise for this one.

Jan 30 - The Crocodile, Seattle
w/ Loch Lomond, Y La Bamba
8pm, $12-14 adv, 21+
info/RSVP: http://bit.ly/78XbBZ
tickets: http://bit.ly/5p5gVd
Warning: Loch Lomond and Y La Bamba will melt your clothes off with their melodies and textures.

Thanks for helping make 2009 great for us. Lets do greater things this decade.

Philip
Hey Marseilles

Welcome to the December Reader. To receive The Reader direct to your inbox, subscribe to our mailing list here:

Tis the season of eggnog avoidance, hot toddy consumption, holiday parties of questionable merit, and family gatherings of unquestionable merit. One holiday party that is full and overflowing with merit is the Maldives Christmas party we’re playing at Neumos on Friday (details below).

We’re putting finishing touches on the Travels & Trunks re-release; its been very encouraging to hear the songs remixed with more depth and clarity. We’re also excited to give the record a vinyl pressing for the first time! Vinyl, yum.

We recently announced a west coast run of shows in January; due to some scheduling constraints, these shows will need to be moved to later and undetermined dates. We’re still coming for you, left coast, just you wait and see.

Besides working on the re-release and new material, we’ve been able to sneak into the studio to record some tunes. One of these songs will be featured on a Starbucks compilation of love songs in February. We’re excited for you to hear it!

And now, a list of some upcoming shows:

Dec 18th - Neumos, Seattle.
w/ The Maldives, Champagne Champagne, Goldfinch
This Friday! Doors at 8. $10 adv, 21+
info: http://bit.ly/5Mwe89
tickets: http://bit.ly/4ogQbg

Dec 31st - First Night Tacoma
Free, all-ages, new years eve fest. We play from 7-8 sharp. It might be outdoors.
info: http://bit.ly/8fMqlM

Jan 22 - The Woods, Portland
w/ Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside!
8pm, $7 adv, 21+
info: http://bit.ly/7hV6I4
tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/87964

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
Garrison Keillor // Hey Marseilles

The Reader will strive for excellence through balanced devotion to the concepts of brevity, practicality, punctuality, and love for one’s fellow man. Also, badassery.

An elderly woman once grabbed this arm that is typing, demanded the arm’s date of birth, and informed me that my position on the Virgo / Libra cusp meant that I possess traits inherent to both astrological identities. Bonus. For the uninitiated: Cuspians of the the Virgo/Libra blend are naturally endowed with a shrewd analytical nature of the Virgo variety coupled with “Libra Scale” sharp perception. Try not to be jealous of the fact that I rub astrological shoulders with Anna Karina and Bruce Springsteen (both V/L).

Perception, shrewdness, analyticality. The Hey Marseilles Reader (queue theme song).

The News:
1. We’re proud to be one of the 36 Seattle acts contributing to the GIVE compilation. We’ve had “From a Terrace” remixed for the compilation, and though “remix” doesn’t mean “diplo/digitalism club banger remix,” we’re very excited about it. Cleaner, clearer, and more accurate. Other artists include Ben Gibbard, Champagne Champagne, Fleet Foxes, The Lonely Forest, Mt St Helens Vietnam band, The Cave Singers, Fences, and many, many more.

The $7 (!) compilation will be available at record stores, cafe vita locations, and Neumos; 100% of proceeds will benefit Art Corps and Seattle food banks. Full GIVE Press Release here: http://bit.ly/3dCDAa

2. Four creative and talented teams made music videos for “From a Terrace.” Each is very impressive and unique. We’d be honored if you would help us choose which will become our first official music video! Vote here: http://bit.ly/D2eM6

Upcoming shows:
November 18th - Bellingham, Washington
WWU Underground Coffeehouse - Free / All-ages!

November 19th - Bellingham, Washington
The Green Frog Tavern - $5 / 21+

November 21st - Seattle, Washington
The Vera Project - $10 (9 w/ club card!) / All-ages!
Buy Tickets: http://bit.ly/49zBtJ

January 22nd - Portland, Oregon
The Woods w/ Sallie Ford - $7 / 21+
Buy Tickets: http://bit.ly/4bgowE

RSVPeeing for these events on Facebook will undoubtedly make us smile: http://bit.ly/LNLf6

And don’t forget about our online store, where your favorite Hey Marseilles CD can be purchased alongside striking t-shirts, tote bags, and buttons. Gosh!
http://www.heymarseilles.com/store

With all the sincerity that a Virgo/Libra accordionist can muster:
be well.

Philip // Hey Marseilles

Listen here:
Hard To Be by Dave Bazan removed by request.

Or on NPR

Have you ever played with MS-Paint?
Have you ever “youtubed?”
Have you ever filmed yourself lip-syncing

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been some kind of kiss
I should’ve walked away
I should’ve walked away

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you should consider making a video for us. We’re working on adding more prizes right now, but it looks like right now you can win $4,000 cold cash (cold cut trio?), as well as some fancy DVD box-set of videos from visionary filmmakers like Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, and Michael Gondry. Additionally, we’ll be throwing in a super-friend merch pack– so… yeah. Super-compelling, right?

Read more on the contest website, yo. http://genero.tv/Hey-Marseilles/

xoxo

Doing all this under fire from torrential sheets of pouring rain– we’re talking biblical proportions here– was hell. I think it was this sense of despair, having worked so hard to arrive to where we were, that made the day for us.

Stage-crew were using telescopic poles to prod the piling water off the “roof” of the stage. With loud “whooshing” sounds, the gathering ponds above our heads would come down like we were on that hollywood back lot where that one scene from the perfect storm was filmed. It was really terrible. I was soaked when I stepped out from the warm/dry/steamy confines of the van. My shoes were making small pathetic suction sounds as we sogged around moving gear and desperately smoking cigarettes.

So when we actually got up on stage to sound-check and the rain was slowing down, there was a glimmer of hope. When we looked over the fence behind us and saw hundreds of folks sogging along as sadly and triumphantly as we thought we were, waiting in line to enter Bumbershoot, our spirits were brightened.

When we started playing, and were greeted by a humble sea lake of smiling/wet/sad/triumphant/nimble faces, it was a feeling of elation.

So thank you, bumbershooters, for being triumphant. And thank you, Steve Pool, for making the sun come out.

There are some great photos of that morning– I would love to throw them up here when I get my hands on em.

Also big ups to the drum corps:
Sean Lane
Kyle Bradford
Chris Mansfield
Victor Olavarria

And the ladies who threw stuffs:
Cassandra Hodge
Shelby Alexander
Cammi
Larissa Anderson

Update! photos are now online on facebook!

wetness

xoxo
p

Dan gave his camera to Patrick. Patrick squeeze off a couple rounds. I really like this one.

by trickshot photography | june 2009

stay cool in the sun. drink lots of water. mmm.

you can experience these videos in HD if you 1). have the balls. 2). click through to watch them on youtube.

xoxo

Jubilant Colin / Photo by Trickshot photography