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Tour Slacker Blog: In Awe

2011-07-08T01:52:00.000-07:00

First of all, how is it July? I got back from tour like two months ago and have been behind on pretty much everything ever since. Sorry that this tourupdate and lifeupdate is long overdue.

Suffice to say, tour broke my heart into many small tender pieces. Dictionary.com defines "awe" as the following:

–noun
1.an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of god; in awe of great political figures.

If I had to sum up everything that I experienced on this tour with one overarching descriptor, that would be it. "Awe." I just want to officially say thank you to all the strangers that came to our shows/let us into their homes/set up last minute concerts for us/became our friends. I left in March with a different sort of a broken heart. I thought, "even if this tour loses me money and nobody comes to our shows and I return home sick and exhausted and broke, it will surely be worth its weight in gold." Which was true, except luckily only the weight in gold part.

In NYC, our venue closed on us 4 days before the show and everybody came together and threw a Brooklyn loft show that made me wonder why we hadn't planned a loft show in the first place.

(evidence taken by Beth Hommel: )

In Baltimore, we played with a fifteen year old who performed for the first time at a cozy, quickly expanding venue/bookstore that is steadily becoming my favorite in the area. We had a slumber party with our friends Dulcey and Jacob and their cats. In Asheville, we stayed in Warren Wilson's guest housing and the students' hospitality lifted our spirits. At The Firestorm Cafe, the workers/owners fed us veggies and cupcakes and boosted our morale. I tried to meet a cow, but it was sleeping. We fell in love with many southern drag queens. We impulsively drove to New Orleans (once). We walked down Bourbon street, overwhelmed and (as I mentioned) awed. In Dallas, we met Lady Gaga (sort of). We witnessed a dance floor full of people line dance to top 40. We stayed out all night. Our music friend Seth let us crash on his couch and brought us breakfast in bed. In Austin, we made too many new friends. South by Southwest is a blur of live music and Lonestar beer. The first night, unsure of where to go, we ended up at Cheer Up Charlie's where we rode a moustache for the better part of the evening (this rad blogger we met chronicled it in pictures/a blog post). We played at a pancake and beer (unofficial) showcase. There were two stages and we played indoors so we were afraid nobody would watch us. People came for us. Hoorah. Here is a video of us playing "New Year's Eve" (thanks to Caito), I think it's pretty punk:

The Republiq did a spotlight on us (you can read it here). We saw Lost In The Trees. We saw Thao Nguyen (personal fav). We saw our friend Alyson sing a song about giving birth to a keyboard (Alyson Greenfield- you will not regret this). We saw a lot of music I had never heard before and will probably not remember, but I'm glad to have seen it. We went swimming. We ate tacos. We went to a dance party in a mall that frankly, felt very post-apocalyptic, but maybe that's just because people always go straight to malls and grocery stores in zombie movies. We played at GaybiGayGAY and it was the most fun I'd had all week, possibly all year. Tiger Beatdown gave us a little shout out about it. We booked a funny last minute show in Houston too, you can read a short and sweet band-by-band write up of that night here

(us in Houston:)

We impulsively drove to New Orleans (again). This time, our new music friends (Zoe Boekbinder and Dakota Belle Witte - check them out, again, you will not be sorry) showed us around. Thank goodness we came back and stayed to catch our breath this time. We busked. We ate grits and beignets. I finally met a cow/baby bull. We drove 25 hours to Minneapolis in two days. Our friend from college took us into her home and made us dinner, we finally watched Black Swan (which was shot at our alma matter when we were still students there). It blew our minds. Here is a picture of it blowing our minds (taken by our friend tabby):

In St. Paul and also in Chicago, our venue shows were not as exciting as we hoped. In both cases, ambitious fans took it upon themselves to set up house shows the next day- the day of! And people came! Via word of mouth! It made me believe in kindness and also in community organizing. Whoa.

Here is a pic of us at one of said house shows (thanks and credit to Matthew Avignone for this photo!)

In Northfield, MN, a local tv news anchor tricked us on April Fool's Day (you can watch the evidence on KARE11 here:). We played at Carleton College and broke a different instrument every song for the first four songs. Nobody left. Carleton is incredible. The students were all talking about a traveling party with a "historical disasters" theme. They suggested that Simon and I could collectively be Justin Bieber's haircut. In Ohio we played a planned house show, two of the other bands were still in high school and they were great. Here's a photo from that (special thanks to Liz Garrett for this one)

I am forgetting many things.

Oh, we played at an awesome DIY church show in Frederick (yay Frederick!). Here's my jewish butt on the altar:

Simon and I separated for a few days after our Rutgers show. Then we did New England.

We played at MHC's Radio Week...A band named Oberhoffer played after us, they used Simon's glockenspiel. Allegedly they are a big band right now, does that mean we opened for them? I always wonder about that...

Here's us in our official WMHC sunglasses:

Anywho, by that point, we stopped chronicling our adventures. In fact, almost everything important, except for playing shows fell by the wayside. Evidence: I still have over 1,000 emails I am going through, and am just posting this blog now (I have been back in New York forever, there is really no excuse).

Here are our "video diaries" that we made while on the road, there are about 10 or so of them, they're each about a minute and a half and extremely wacky.

I am taking the summer off touring, for the sake of re-grouping, (hopefully) recording and my sanity (again, hopefully), but have one New York show planned (see below for info). AND big big news! I am finally trying to do a WEST COAST run in September (fingers crossed), so please hit me & the booking elves up (booking[at]malblum[dot]com) if you want to set something up there/be on the street team.

NEW YORK SHOW @ THE STUDIO @ WEBSTER HALL W/ MITTEN, ALLISON WEISS & MRS DANVERS

I'm also confirming fall/spring semester college performances now, hit me up!

Sorry I've been out of touch!

xx,
Mal

ps: I love you

pps: more assorted tour photos....tourtos...you can click to make 'em big

ppps: I turned 23 yesterday morning at 10AM !!!

Mal & Simon "GO SOMEWHERE" Tour Dates!

2011-03-07T00:23:00.000-08:00

I probably should have posted this before our NY show last night (super fun) but ANYWHO here are all our tour dates this month! Plzzzzz reblog and tell all your friends in these areas and click the links to RSVP/get more info!

* 3/07 Baltimore, MD Cyclops Books: http://bit.ly/yayforbaltimore

* 3/08 Asheville, NC Warren Wilson College RSVP on Facebook

* 3/09 Asheville, NC Firestorm Cafe: http://bit.ly/yayforasheville

* 3/10 Atlanta, GA The Music Room: http://bit.ly/yayforatlanta

* 3/12 Dallas, TX Bill’s Records: http://bit.ly/yayfordallas

* 3/14 Dallas, TX Opening Bell Coffee (w/ Rachael Sage & Seth

Glier): http://bit.ly/yayfordallas

* 3/17 Austin, TX PANCAKE BREAK-FEST @ Cherrywood Coffee

http://bit.ly/yayforaustin

* 3/19 Austin, TX bMUSEd Showcase @ Oil Can Harry’s

http://bit.ly/yayforaustin

* 3/25 Fayetteville, AR Smoke & Barrel: http://bit.ly/yayforfayetteville

* 3/29 Minneapolis, MN The Fine Line: http//bit.ly/yayforminneapolis

* 4/2 Northfield, MN Carlton College

* 4/3 Chicago, IL Pancho’s: http://bit.ly/yayforchicago

* 4/7 Cleveland, OH Wilbert’s: http://bit.ly/yayforcleveland

We’re still confirming more dates, and May/June dates and some university dates for the fall, so hit us up if you’re interested in setting something up: booking[at]malblum[dot]com

yayyyyyyy

Two years ago I was sad on New Year's Eve

2010-12-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

So once upon a time I wrote this song about being drunk/sad on New Year's Eve. Then I ate guacamole, played it for my friends and felt better. Now, two years later, it's one of my favorite songs on the new album.

Now, I am not planning on being drunk and sad tonight, I am planning on a very happy New Year's Eve. BUT I am setting the track for free/set your own price download all day/night on account of the holiday.

Download "New Year's Eve" Here

Plz re-blog if you like it, or know any people planning on being drunk and/or sad tonight who might like a 7 minute song about drinking too much and eating guacamole and crying in your car. Metaphorically.

"Lord, send me a mechanic..." (Happy holidayze)

2010-12-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

A few folks asked me to cover an X-mas song for the holiday...I'm jewish/don't really know any good Christmas songs, unfortunately. BUT this song is chock full of biblical references, so I hope it will do. It's off The Mountain Goats' album "The Life of The World to Come" which I really love a lot.

My favorite line is at 2:39....Really beautiful song/album:

I put the "For Making Art" EP up for download for FREE/donations for at least the week, because I love you. Grab it here: http://bit.ly/fmafree

We're booking the spring tour, if you want us at your school/venue/town please email booking[at]malblum.com ASAP (replace [at] with @)!

Baltimore Music Video Release, New Webstore & NewNowNext Music

2010-12-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

The music video for "Baltimore" off of "Every Time You Go Somewhere" premiered last night on LOGO's NewNowNext Music! Watch the official video on Youtube below!

In honor of the video launch, please check out the NEW WEB STORE complete with adorable video-themed merch: tee-shirts, stickers, wind-up chompers and PHYSICAL CDS

Visit: HTTP://BIT.LY/MALSTORE

Bonus: anybody who buys something small or large off the new web-store this month gets a free digital download of "Baltimore" the track!

Planning a spring tour! For booking contact booking [at] malblum.com, for press contact: mgmt [at] malblum.com (replace [at] with @)

Writers Gonna Write: What To Do When You Feel Like Your Work Might Be Shit

2010-11-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

So, somebody posted a question in my Tumblr “Ask” box about feeling like everything you write is “shit” all of a sudden and I was like YES, OMG THIS because A) I'm pretty sure this is the bane of every writer's existence everywhere ever at some point and B) …really just that.

Surprisingly, I found myself writing out an answer. Which is odd because I admittedly could use some REAL TALK on this exact issue myself every now and again. But apparently I had some advice on the matter, unbeknownst to me.

If you are a writer/artist/actor/etc. etc. I’m willing to bet that you know what I mean. This is not writer's block,. This is not writer’s indecision. It is often confused for both, and perhaps influenced by the former, but this is different. This is not an inability to write, but a self-loathing / self-conscious block that stands between you and your writing. It’s hard to spot because often it looks exactly like writing- except usually, it happens at four in the morning when you are one (or more) of the following: surrounded by empty coffee cups, sweating, procrastinating (trolling twitter or blogger maybe, are you are doing it right now???) feeling frustrated with where you're at/what you're trying to say, wondering if perhaps you should throw it away altogether and you throw up your hands and say in so many words: "THIS IS SHIT WHAT AM I DOING WHY DO I SUCK SO MUCH."

Unlike "writer's block" (which many contest "DOES NOT EXIST YR JUST AFRAID OF THE TRUTH" or something like that, to which I say- kudos to you for being so brave all the time, condescending writer-type) this is undeniably real. It’s also part of the Process and, in my professional opinion as a doctor, caused by a unique combination of Attention Deficit Disorder and the unavoidable madness that is brought on by most any craft that involves somebody sitting alone in a room for more than an hour.

So, here is my advice for that self-deprecating place that I think all artists go to sometimes. My cure-all for what I will lovingly coin, "Writer's Loathe"

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR WORK MIGHT BE SHIT by Mal Blum:

1) It might be shit- in which case: take a break, do something else (like go for a walk, or cook a meal or drive somewhere-whatever clears your mind/inspires you), listen to some other music (or read some other work in your case), and come back to it later on when not forcing it.

2) You might think that it’s shit but it’s not shit-in which case, same advice (take a break, go for a walk, etc.) BUT also, if you can, get together with some peers/other poets and WORKSHOP THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Sometimes all you need is a new perspective on something. I almost never finished “Watercolors” (off my new album) and I thought “Cut it Off” was pretty bad until I played them for some friends (NOTE: this does not always work if your friends don’t care, or if it’s a workshop where everybody is mostly thinking about their own works, you have to find the right people) .

3) It might just need some more work- This is the opposite of #1, and the advice is the opposite. Is it actually bad work? Or does it just need arranging and editing (applicable for both songs and poems!). Force yourself to sit down with it with minimal distraction for an hour and see what happens. Promise yourself that even if nothing happens you’ll give it a go. Do it again the next day. This also works with writer’s block, I find. Sometimes a song is in there and I just haven’t sat down long enough to think of it.

3A) Sometimes switching mediums helps!…When I pick up a new instrument, I start writing more. Perhaps try a haiku or even a three line poem? Or even a short story, if that’s your thing. Or actually, ESPECIALLY if that’s not your thing. Getting out of your comfort zone will help get you out of your head and it just might get you over your hump!

The biggest thing to remember is not to worry and psych yourself out. When I do, I try to remind myself that I’ll write well when I feel like writing again (and you will, don’t worry!).

I trespass at Mount Holyoke, play @ Tinderbox with Simon and Bitch and buy a hat.

2010-10-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, internet, I've missed you. There is no excuse for my blog-less-ness. Except that my brain often moves too fast for my hands and blogging seem cumbersome and daunting and I avoid it for as long as I can (!!!!) ...I'm working on it.

Last week was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (aaa) aaaaaaaaaaaaa a a a a aa [actually, at this point it's the week before last, but I meant to write this last week, so let's pretend] aaaaaaaaaa a aa aa aa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaa aa awesome.

I played at Mount Holyoke College which is a school that has a special place in my heart (side note: decent sized heart, full of lots of little spaces to store or hoard things in or nap between). Technically it rejected me at age 18 (a fact I am grateful for now, lest I be pursuing something wholly non-musical today) but we've gotten over that small setback and seem to be mutually in love at this point. So you can imagine how psyched I was when two friendly and enthusiastic MHC students showed up to my RI show a few months ago.

"We're from Mount Holyoke!" they said
"Mount Holyoke! Why, we're mutually in love!" I replied
"When are you playing there again?!" they asked
"Soon, I hope!"
"We're the managers of the school garden!"
*dramatic pause*
"Holy moley, you should have a.... GARDEN show!"***

thus planting (pardon the pun) the idea for a super cozy outdoor show in the Mount Holyoke student garden in conjunction with the fall harvest.

My main man Simon Littlejohn came down from Rhode Island to play the show along with our good friend Ashley. People carved pumpkins and harvested veggies after our set. Although the raccoons got to the corn, but, c'est la vie. At least some Massachusetts raccoons were well fed last week. Pics:

Breaking out the banjo:

(Thanks, Mimi Blumenfeld)

I like this one because it looks like I am serenading a pumpkin (props to whomever creatively carved this pumpkin btw):

(Thanks, Mimi Blumenfeld)

Hiding in the woods:

(Thanks, MHC Student Garden)

You can see the top of Annie's (one of the organizers') head:

(Thanks, MHC Student Garden)

To see some more pics from the show, and even ADD YOUR OWN PHOTOS (zomg hell yes) from this show or any show at all (any of mine, that is-don't start posting ICP photos now!!!) visit the brand new Mal Blum Flickr Group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1541330@N21/

[Side note: If you are looking at this and thinking "Gee, that looks fun! I wish Mal would come play at my school!" I will! We're starting to book for the winter and spring semester now. Please email booking[at]malblum.com (replace [at] with @) for more info]

So, onwards with the awesome week! We (Simon and I) played at the Tinderbox Music Fest in Brooklyn at this Park Slope venue called Southpaw (which is also super cozy and one of my favs if you don't know it). And speaking of the little sleeping nooks and hiding places of my heart, two artists that headlined the fest that basically have their own ROOMS (or perhaps share a sublet of some sort?) in my heart are Jenny Owen Youngs and Bitch. I won't go into extensive detail (this blog is already far too long), but, if you don't know them, check them out because you will like, nay! Love their music.

Bitch played violin on our set which was incredible. She can play the fiddle and improvise like nobody else. I'm hoping to get some more videos from our set. We played "Watercolors" "I Got Drunk" and "I Could Tell You" which sounded great with the violin parts, and we also played a semi-new song called "Overseas Now." I'll post another blog if the rest of the videos come in, but for now thanks to Missy Gordon for cutting together a video of "San Cristobal" -the first track off the new album, and the first song we played.

The rest of the lineup at the Tinderbox Fest was stellar (Missy put together some video clips from the whole fest here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRz67UbSkMs). Every single person who played wowed the pants off of me. And I already knew a few of them coincidentally, from Purchase or highschool or other shows...It's always really encouraging when shows are community based and not competitive. Thanks to Alyson Greenfield for bringing that together.

Anywho...Simon is doing well.. We're in a long distance band relationship, which means we play together whenever we can and take turns traveling to each other. It does not mean that we skype. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main component to a real long distance relationship is skyping, yes? Plans to have a new little duo writing project this winter on his farm in RI, which I'm excited about. Also lots of new song sketches and piano songs I'm psyched to arrange together. He made this witty video blog parody the other day about being interviewed on Tyra, you should check it out if you're wondering what he's been up to separately from the band:

Also I got a new hat. I know that's not blog-worthy, but I needed something succinct to end the blog post with. The truth is that I have been wearing it everywhere and am starting to feel slightly naked without it. Go on and psychoanalyze that, it's warm and fuzzy and I can hide under it.

Here is a picture of me, Simon and the hat in Brooklyn last weekend:

Shows coming up!!!!: TONIGHT- A night right outside the city at Olive's Bar in Nyack, NY Friday, Oct 22nd @10:00 PM (21+) (Simon will be playing with me, and my friends The Proud Flesh are playing as well) and a house show in Oneonta, NY at the end of the month (Oct. 28) . Check the website for details, and as always, email booking[at]malblum.com if you have any show questions.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo sorry this blog is so ADD, I am trying!

***I may be paraphrasing what actually happened. You get the idea.

It Gets Better (I swear I swear I swear)

2010-10-07T14:49:00.001-07:00

Hey internet,

I'm working on a new blog post right now, but in the interim I wanted to post this video I made in conjunction with Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" project. If you're struggling with depression, bullying or harassment of any kind, please hang in there:

See the other videos posted to the project at: www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject

So far I think my favorite is Kate Bornstein's though there are a lot to surf through. Despite whatever criticism the project is coming under, if you're facing a particularly daunting night and have internet access all these videos offer positivity, and a potentially essential distraction.

love,
Mal

I covered an Amanda Palmer song

2010-09-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be funny. And though I am far too guilty of only posting ironic covers, I actually really love this song ("Ampersand") a lot. If you haven't heard the original, this is the official music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJOMSkn1Wwg

Here's mine:

Re-post if you dig it! I promise a real update soon

xx

I am a blog slacker, forgive me. Photos from tour?

2010-09-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's crazy, my generation is the computer generation (generation X, as it were) so I literally had five blogs going from ages 13-17 (full of the intellectual gems you might imagine one would produce at that age). Then all of a sudden I hit college and became far too busy and cool to keep up with the blogging and poof- now I am a blog slacker.

But school is out... forever! Or for now. So I have all of the time in the world to make music and blog my ass off.

Read on and I promise I will get to a plethora of tour photos at the end of the post. If you're somebody who prefers no dialogue with your blog feed- feel free to skip on right ahead, no hard feelings.

In Music-World (Music Land? Rockland?) a bunch of stuff has been going on. I finally sent out all of the Kickstarter rewards mailers. I almost got eaten, twice (see below), but it was 150% worth it.

....Thanks Kickstarter supporters! For those of you that opted to be listed on the website, you can find yourself here: http://malblum.com/radkickstartersupporters/

I have been writing quite a bit on piano (which is new and strange to me, I will admit) but not recording anything yet. Partly because I haven't decided exactly how I want to attack the next project, but mostly because the last project is slightly in limbo right now.

LIMBO= completely done, and OUT for sale on the web (please buy it here if you haven't already, I am so very proud of it and confident you will love it: http://malblum.bandcamp.com/album/every-time-you-go-somewhere) but physical copies haven't hit the internet yet. Thus, it's half-released. Limbo.

The good news is that I have been a busy little bee trying to assemble a solid team to do launches like this the right way from now on. It looks like the launch date for the digital store (and consequent final release date for the album) is going to be October 16, 2010.

In addition to this new digi-store, there are a few other big changes I'm hoping to make. A couple of them are on the back-end (so you can't see them), and a couple of them are totally generated by you. Mostly I've been getting lots of pokes recently regarding tabs/lyrics to songs so I want to somehow make that available in the next few months.

As far as show requests, thank you! Keep them coming! They have been really helpful as far as planning where to go and when in the future.

As a reminder, if you have any show or venue tips, or want to set a show up yourself, my booking email is: Booking[at]malblum.com (replace [at] with @)...For any other requests (such as the lyrics/tabs section) email: promotions[at]malblum.com (replace [at] with @).

Also I have a new music video in the can. It's for "Baltimore" off the new album. I'm digging it a lot. I don't want to give too much away, but look forward to: wind-up toys, rooftop shots, lots of picture frames one dog and an eight year old, at the very least.

Oh! And I covered Usher last week:

As far as person-Mal (the affable mythical creature that seems to emerge whenever I am not touring or feverishly trying to get in gear for all of these music endeavors), there is significantly much less to say. This is the first year in over a decade that I am not enrolled in a school of some kind. Verrrry exciting, but surreal. I have been spending a lot of time with my family. Trying to get into some semblance of a routine. Cooking delicious things. Doing odd jobs. Reading books! Actually, I just started a goodreads profile if you want to share! It's like a literary facebook. Oh look, here I am: www.goodreads.com/malblum

Okay, I promised some tour pictures from my adventures with man&dog...(who are brilliant musicians and wonderful human beings and you should listen to them here: www.myspace.com/mananddogmusic). Most of these photos are courtesy of Eric from M&D, thanks Eric! There aren't pictures from every show, unfortunately. Some zany circumstances prevented it in some cases, and I didn't actually bring a real camera:

Aforementioned Eric (M&D's bassist) power posing in front of the trailer

Was introduced to the music of Nathan Reich at our garden show in Brooklyn

Learning each other's songs before a show in an abandoned ice cream shop in PA

M&D sound checking at Burlap & Bean
Camping at Tara (the owner's) later that evening:

The Dark Lady in Providence, RI:
My sometimes bandmate/perpetual partner in crime, Simon (seen above on the harmonica) lives on a farm in RI so we stayed with him after the show.

The farm:

The coop:
Moo:

We uhauled:

Driving through VT:

Radio Bean in Burlington

Camped on a beach:

8AM:

Boston:

Home :)

Check www.malblum.com/shows for Sept. shows! I'm playing tomorrow at a festival in upstate NY (Ontario, NY-next to Rochester), Westchester next weekend and Brooklyn and MA at the end of the month (BK is not listed yet, but it's an exciting festival and fundraiser with cool headliners and I'm psyched about it).

xx,
Mal

A Comprehensive Introduction to My New Album, From Me to You!!

2010-07-07T00:05:00.000-07:00

So, much to my amazement, my third full length album just dropped digitally on Itunes and Bandcamp (!).

I promised myself that I'd get it out before I turned twenty-two and as of 1 hour and 48 minutes ago- I officially made it (it came out on itunes at midnight and I technically wasn't born until 10:20 AM).

I wanted to write a blog post to introduce it once it was finished. So, here I am! And here it is! And here we are! Let me tell you about my new album, Every Time You Go Somewhere..

I started recording it last summer There are ten tracks on it and I think that they are great. These are some things that appear on the album, other than me and my guitar: Banjo, Piano, Violin, Bass, Harmonica, Drums, Break-Drums, Toy Piano, Whistles, Gang Vocals, Hand Claps, Electric Guitar, One Hidden Track, One Acapella Track, Some Swear Words. Here are some things that do not appear on the album: Auto-tune. With the exception of adding handclaps or whistles, etc. later on, all of the songs were tracked live. It was recorded and mixed by my friends Danielle Depalma and Christina Picciano at several top secret locations. Mostly in Brooklyn. Except for Wait Forever, Baby (track 6) which I recorded in my bedroom, and Watercolors (track 2) which started out as a late night recording session in my friend Alex's attic.

My guide to listening (these are not exclusive suggestions, just some things I think each of these songs is good for):

Track 1- For traveling home from far away
Track 2- For feeling heartbroken when you want to feel heartbroken
Track 3- For traveling far away from home
Track 4- For when your New Year's sucks
Track 5- For feeling heartbroken when you want to feel better
Track 6- For people that like Casiotone for The Painfully Alone and Ben Folds and wonder what it would sound like if I sounded like them.
Track 7 & 8- I'm not sure what Circus Heart is good for,
Track 9- For the day after or the night before binge drinking.
Track 10- For rough times. And loving your friends.

The physical copies aren't available on the web yet, but they were letterpressed by hand by Eva Grizzard and James Jordan. Some awesome friends and fans helped make this happen a few weeks ago by helping me raise funds to do this. I think this album has had an interesting life from start to finish. Here are some pictures of the process (thanks to D for the recording photos!):

Clay, Simon & I setting up in the studio in August..:

Overdubbing tambourine on New Year's Eve:

X-tina at the board:

Me, Simon & D
:

Simon adding piano to Watercolors in December:

Being a backseat mixer (annoying):

Eva mixing ink for the cases:

The plates on the printing press:

Eva & James doing printing magic:

Cases drying after one run:

Finished product:

What promo copies will look like:

If I was completely responsible for writing my own blurb about it for press and everything it would say:

"My new record is called Every Time You Go Somewhere. I started writing it two years ago and it took over a year to record because I was in college and busy and I have ADHD. My friends think it's more serious than my last record. I blame The Decemberists. I am simultaneously proud and sick of it and excited and nervous to put it out into the universe. Since recording it, I have written enough new songs for another new album to put out into the universe but I understand that I have to put this one into the universe first because that's the way the universe works. Thank you."

I think that if I didn't record this album I would still listen to it, I think you will like it too. Let me know!

BUY EVERY TIME YOU GO SOMEWHERE AT BANDCAMP (all of the proceeds go directly to me)

BUY EVERY TIME YOU GO SOMEWHERE ON ITUNES (some of the proceeds go to Steve Jobs)

July shows 2010!!!- PA/MD/RI/MA/NY/NJ/VT/CT! - Mal Blum's MySpace Blog |

2010-07-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

July shows 2010!!!- PA/MD/RI/MA/NY/NJ/VT/CT! - Mal Blum's MySpace Blog |

July Tour Dates 2010!!!

2010-07-06T02:04:00.000-07:00

Jul 7 2010 6:00P Rockwood Music Hall w/ Stewart Lewis New York, NY
Jul 10 2010 6:00P House Show New Paltz, NY
Jul 21 2010 6:00P Baker Park Frederick, MD
Jul 22 2010 8:00P Cyclops Bookstore Baltimore, MD
Jul 23 2010 10:00P Tenement Street Brooklyn, NY
Jul 24 2010 7:30P Burlap and Bean Newtown Square, PA Find Tickets
Jul 25 2010 9:00P The Dark Lady Providence, RI
Jul 26 2010 5:00P Radio Bean Burlington, VT Find Tickets
Jul 27 2010 8:30P PA'S Lounge Boston, MA Find Tickets
Jul 28 2010 8:30P Cousin Larry's Danbury, CT
Jul 29 2010 6:00P 1619 House Williamstown, NJ Find Tickets

For details/more info: http://malblum.com/shows/upcoming!

July 21-29 w/ Man & Dog!

! Any questions email: booking[at]malblum.com (replace [at] with @)

3 days left on Kickstarter!!

2010-06-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

3 days left!!! Made initial goal of $1,500 but total costs are going to come to $3,200...Donate some dollars when you get a chance plz!

->MY KICKSTARTER<-

July, July pt. 1

2010-05-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Handful of dates confirmed for Mal Blum/Man & Dog late July tour! Still waiting on Burlington/Washington, DC...Still looking in NH/ME/MA/CT/NC

^Working on this today. Also formatting one-sheets for the new record (a sheet with all the press info and blurb about the project). My friend Courtney wrote the description, thank goodness because if I had to write a one-sheet about my own record it would say:

"My new record is called Every Time You Go Somewhere... I started writing it two years ago and it took over a year to record because I was in college and busy and I have ADHD. My friends think it's more serious than my last record. I blame The Decemberists. I am simultaneously proud and sick of it and excited and nervous to put it out into the universe. Since recording it, I have written enough new songs for another new album to put out into the universe but I understand that I have to put this one into the universe first because that's the way the universe works. Thank you."

And that would get me zero press so it's a good thing I'm not doing it (I'll post the real one when it's finished).

I've been toying with the idea of writing a blog post that's like a track to track guide of the album. But I don't know because maybe I should leave everything up to interpretation. Jury's still out. Why am I THE WORST at Micro-blogging? I talk too much. Will try to work on this.

Help Kickstart My New Full Length and Music Video: Yes We Can!! Also, I graduated! And 2 new interviews!

2010-05-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

The new album is coming so soon! I'm trying to raise some money to help with pressing/music vid costs through Kickstarter!

The way Kickstarter works is: you donate to fund a project and you get rewards depending on how much you donate (everything from unreleased tracks, to homemade cookies, to custom youtube songs, to signed free cds, and more!). If you raise enough money, the project gets funded.

Visit: http://kck.st/9lrdG1

Here is a funny video I made in my bedroom to encourage people to contribute:

Again, visit: http://kck.st/9lrdG1 to check out all the rewards and donate! And please re-post, re-tweet and tell all your friends! Word of mouth is an incredible thing, I've learned.

In other news, I just did two interviews for the fabulous Ruckus Blog and Q-Town VA (click on the names to read the interviews). The Ruckus did a super sweet live review as well! Not only that, this week they're repping my Kickstarter! That's why The Ruckus is my new favorite independent music blog. They're actually excited about and support new music! Definitely a welcome change from the pretentious ennui and rampant sexism that pervades most music blogs. I won't name any names. You know who I mean.

Both The Ruckus and Qtown are big supporters of independent artists and always have super interesting coverage. I'm seriously obsessed with both of them right now, check them out when you get a chance.

In other news, I graduated college 2 days ago!!!!!!!

Seriously, look, here is proof:

Okay, it's not really proof, but I can't think of any reason why anybody would willingly wear a cap and gown around the house. Unless they were graduating. Which I was, when I took this picture.

I'm not currently freaking out about the economy/job market as much as the rest of my peers. I partially credit this with being a musician... Because everything is uncertain with music, to a degree. You never know what opportunity will come your way or take off or not pan out. So, I feel like I have a bit of a leg up in dealing with post-graduate uncertainty. Just a tiny one. Anyway, hopefully I'll be updating the blog a lot more now that I have more time on my hands. I say that every time I post though. We'll see!

Photos & Vids from tour, album news, show on Thursday opening for Bitch!

2010-04-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Spring break tour to Florida was awesome! We opened for Melissa Ferrick in Gainesville, Orlando and Tampa and then broke off and had two lovely evening at Warren Wilson College and a cozy house show in MD.

Some videos:

"See You At The Beach!"

Melissa introduces us in Orlando:

Clip of us playing Wagon Wheel at Warren Wilson:

Pics (click for larger):

The Social

Some pranksters changed the sign in Tampa

Album News!!!!

The new full length is coming so soon! The album art is in and it is getting mastered as I type this! I'm going to write a post specifically dedicated to the track listing and everything that's on it soon, but for now just know that it's out for realsies in June, and NYCers- mark your calendars for a June 18th release show at Sidewalk!

It looks like it's going to be a self-release so I'm thinking about jumping on the Kickstarter bandwagon to pay for pressing and the like..Along with helping with the costs for the music video we're shooting for "Baltimore" (also coming this summer!). Haven't decided for sure yet and open to suggestions. Riot Grrrl Inc has generously agreed to donate a small publicity campaign for the album which I'm SO psyched about, you should check them out if you're not familiar: http://www.riotgrrrlink.com/

DC Show on Thursday

I'm opening for Bitch (!) on Thursday at The Black Cat in DC! So so so excited for this, Simon and I are both long time Bitch fans (from back in the Bitch & Animal days through her Kill Rock Stars release and now Blasted!). We're one of three (us, Bitch's touring band [The State Of] and Bitch). Doors at 9! I'd love to see you there! Buy tickets on The Black Cat website here: Tickets & info for Thurs. Apr. 29 @ The Black Cat

Okay, more news soon. Sorry it's been so far between, I am graduating college in literally two weeks so everything has been incredibly hectic. Getting ready to hit the ground running, talk to you soon! For summer booking or fall 2010 college booking please email Booking [at] malblum.com (replace [at] with @) !

xo!

Mal

Spring Shows

2010-03-23T21:09:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Hope your Springs are going swimmingly! I'm currently on my last spring break ever with my two best friends in the world playing shows all the way to Florida and back!

Here's a list of our Spring Break shows and some April shows. I'll keep you updated as more get confirmed:

March 25. 9PM

Support for Melissa Ferrick @ Common Grounds

Gainesville, FL

All ages with "guardian"/18+ without/$10 in advance/$12 doors

http://www.commongroundslive.com/

March 26, 8PM

Support for Melissa Ferrick @ The Social

18+, $15

Orlando, FL

www.thesocial.org

March 27, 8PM

Support for Melissa Ferrick @ Skipper's Smokehouse (Presented by WMNF 88.5)

Tampa, FL

$15 in advance/$20 doors

http://www.skipperssmokehouse.com

Tix available at www.wmnf.org

March 29th, 8PM

Sage Cafe at Warren Wilson College

Asheville, NC

Free/All Ages

March 30th, 7PM

Baker Park

Frederick, Maryland

Donations/All Ages

April 8, 8PM

The Tea Haus at Sarah Lawrence College

Bronxville, NY

Details TBA

April 29, 8PM

The Black Cat (Opening for Bitch)

1811 14th St Washington, DC

http://blackcatdc.com/

$10

Tix available at http://ticketalternative.com/Venues/399.aspx

Also, album and video updates coming soon, so be on the lookout for those next week.

Talk to you soon,

Mal

Syd London's Photos From The Bell House Show!

2010-03-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Syd London 2010

www.myspace.com/malblum
www.sydlondon.com

March Shows Phase l

2010-03-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be adding to this list (fingers crossed) because we want to book stuff in NC and Baltimore on the way back from FL, so check back and at www.myspace.com/malblum...But in the meantime here are some March shows! We're playing with our friends MAN & DOG tonight and Saturday (yay!) and opening some more shows for Melissa Ferrick (woo!) in Florida later in the month around our spring break. Spring Break FL ! Yeah!

Today, Thursday, March 4th. 8PM sharp:

Vagina Monologues Benefit Concert

SUNY Purchase College Student Center

735 Anderson Hill RD.

Purchase, NY 10577

w/ Man & Dog, Field Mouse, Greg Baldwin & MENYA

Free

Sat. March 6th 10PM

Tenement St. Workshop Fundraiser (Loft Show)

345 Eldert St. # 12

Brooklyn, NY

w/ MAN & DOG and Meg Farrell

Suggested donation $10/open bar

FLORIDA (opening for Melissa Ferrick)

March 25. 9PM

Support for Melissa Ferrick @ Common Grounds

Gainesville, FL

All ages with "guardian"/18+ without/$10 in advance/$12 doors

http://www.commongroundslive.com/

March 26, 8PM

Support for Melissa Ferrick @ The Social

18+, $15

Orlando, FL

www.thesocial.org

March 27, 8PM

Support for Melissa Ferrick @ Skipper's Smokehouse (Presented by WMNF 88.5)

Tampa, FL

$15 in advance/$20 doors

http://www.skipperssmokehouse.com

Tix available at www.wmnf.org

In other news, new album is almost done and hopefully is going to "drop" (as they say) May 1st. We already have an idea/new songs for a new project we want to start really quickly afterwards. I don't want to give away too much but I will tell you that Simon and I took some semi-naked (PG13 rated!) pics for this student run magazine at our school the other day and it sort of inspired the idea. I'll give more hints soon. Speaking of promo pics, we have some new ones I'm going to post on the blog in a few days when I get a cd of them!

Also, I'm graduating in less than 3 months and have decided the occasion calls for a "I'm not in college anymore for the first time ever, so now it's easier for me to play at your college" fall college tour. Email Booking@malblum.com if you want to book something this semester for Fall of 2010.

See you soon!

Mal

The Show Today Sold Out!

2010-02-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

The show tonight in Plymouth, MA sold out (woot)! You should buy tix for the shows next week now!

February Tour Dates

2010-01-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

Here are all my February tour dates opening for Melissa Ferrick, woot!

Opening for Melissa Ferrick:

February 6: Driftwood Cafe in Plymouth, MA BUY TICKETS HERE

February 11: Sellersville Theatre/Sellersville, PA BUY TICKETS HERE

February 12: Maxwell's/Hoboken, NJ BUY TICKETS HERE

February 13: The Bell House/Brooklyn, NY (21+) BUY TICKETS HERE

Also, I'm playing on Feb. 24th with Brittany Shoup at the legendary Caffe Lena.

7pm, all ages, $5 at the door. http://www.caffelena.org for more info

ps: Check out the short feature on me currently up at: Starbeat Music

We hide from a tornado on tour

2010-01-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

We overreacted and hid in this grocery store.

Happy Early Valentine's Day (yikes)

2010-01-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

Aw, somebody just posted this picture from our Smith show in Nov. and it made me happy 'cause there's so much love going on in it.

Maybe I'm getting amped up early for Valentine's Day. Usually I'm not the biggest fan. In fact, last year I spent Valentine's Day playing a self proclaimed "Anti-Valentine's Day" show at The Sidewalk Cafe. This involved: A) playing a set of basically every break up song I've ever written (this was easy because they're kind of all break up songs) and B) telling LOTS of embarrassing, slightly bitter/completely unsolicited personal anecdotes about said break up songs to my friends, fans, and the few unsuspecting strangers that attended. That was obviously fun for me. I mean, everyone. Also, I like to think it simultaneously functioned as a distraction/bitter haven for people without valentines AND a Valentine's Day Singles mixer. I'm not sure if it actually did though or if that's just something I'd like to think.

Anyway, this year will be a much more pro Valentine's Day show though. Mostly because we're opening at The Bell House so I'm going to be too nervous to be bitter. Anyway, if you're in New York you should come. Tickets are a little pricier than usual ($15) because Melissa Ferrick is the headliner (woot!) but it's a great venue with a cozy, sort of rustic (?) vibe that you wouldn't expect to find in Brooklyn and it will be a good time. Here is a link just for you (Happy Valentine's Day!): Buy Tickets To Melissa Ferrick @ The Bell House 2/13 w/ opener Mal Blum

PS: look out for a forthcoming blog next week with a full list of February dates!!

Late night practice session video

2010-01-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Medley of clips from our late night practice at Simon's family's farm in Rhode Island... Trying out some new arrangements/songs for recording in MA next week.

shyness is nice (or, new ep, questions forum, updates & excuses excuses..)

2009-12-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hello, blog!

First things first, I'm sorry I haven't updated in quite some time. Here are some things I've been doing that have distracted me:

Finals Week

Mixing

'Zine making

Spending an unhealthy amount of time watching my dog do cute things. Like helping me write this blog right now:

"you don't update yr blog enuff" -Chewey

Okay, enough excuses, so, let me tell you what's been going on!

Recording/New EP

Yes, we're still mixing the new record.
Mixing at the lovely Seaside Lounge in BK, NY
Hopefully finishing up some last minute acoustic tracking at Melissa Ferrick's next next week (will let you know how it goes) !
The good thing about being an indie artist is that there's never a real concrete "deadline" on any of my album releases (the only people I ever have to answer to are my friends and fans).
My friends and fans want me to be done with it (sorry, we're getting there!)
In the meantime, I put together a really awesome diy EP for everyone and it's finally available on Itunes. Click on the album art below to check it out, listen to/buy tracks, write a blurb/review on the itunes page, etc. etc.:

"2 studio tracks, 2 live tracks & 2 bedroom recordings"

Special thanks to the following people for their amazing help with putting this together:

Christina X-tina Picciano, Danielle "Koala" Depalma, Eva Grizzard (responsible for the awesome album art), Simon LittleJohn Olsen, Sarah Solomon, Clay Wilson

Videos

Ode to Kulele was voted the #10 video of the year on LOGO's The Click List
Thank you for voting if you voted!
There are two new videos (one filmed, one animated) coming soon for "My Name is Earthworm." We shot some scenes with the amazing Ballard for the filmed one (which is really more of an interesting film short/proj. of Ballard's) in November. More on this later.
After the new record is mixed we're going to shoot another video (we're thinking for "Baltimore" but always open to suggestions!)
I know I promised Southern tour videos, but we're doing more touring so I'm going to wait to edit the um, "footage" until afterwards
If you subscribe to me on youtube you'll get notified when new videos are out: www.youtube.com/malblum <-----Look, there I am. And there you are. ..Maybe they should call it "our" tube.

Zines!

Simon and I made a new zine about sexism and homophobia in the music industry.
I think they came out nicely, so we're going to have them for you to check out at upcoming shows.
I'm also going to attempt to post them digitally in the near future.

Questions

Some folks have been myspace messaging or emailing me questions lately. Sometimes I can't respond immediately because of busyness or flakiness or email malfunction but they always always brighten my day and make me happy that the internetz exists. I joined formspring, which is a question forum just for questions. This is going to be cool (I can tell!) because:

Your questions will get answered sooner
You can ask anonymous questions (!)
The answer to your questions might answer other people's questions (like a FAQ that is actually generated by you)

So, in the wise words of The Smiths: "Ask me! ask me! ask me! [because if it's not lovvvvve, then it's the bomb, the bomb, the bomb....]"

Here's the link: http://www.formspring.me/MalBlum

Shows

More spring shows to be posted this, next, and next next week. We're super excited to be joining Melissa Ferrick again for some regional shows (PA, NY (Brooklyn!!), MA & NJ), playing at some new colleges, and hopefully some house shows. Not everything is posted yet, most up to date list can be found on myspace at: www.myspace.com/malblum

Thanks, happy winter!

Mal

Pics from Southern October Tour & College Shows

2009-11-24T13:40:00.001-08:00

Some photos from our little Southern opener run in October & college shows from last week. Sorry I'm just getting around to posting these now!

[Click thumbnails to view Larger]

Somewhere on the way to Charlotte:
The Grey Eagle: Asheville, NC
On the road to Georgia:

Eddie's Attic: Decatur, GA

Sound Checking @ 3rd & Lindsley:

Tour was an incredible experience. I can't write about everything because it would be an extremely verbose blog post but I could not have asked for a better trip. Melissa was amazing to us and I can't wait to tour with her again. I got to travel around with two of my best friends in the whole world while meeting new people, trying new foods, and performing in awesome venues. Also, we got to travel in a KICKASS hybrid robocar for a week.
The car rides with Simon and Julie were... epic, to say the least. Lots of singalongs. We almost got stuck in a tornado (it was actually about 100 miles away from us but we were confused and thought we were in a tornado which is basically the same thing) and the South was a total culture shock. Being from New York and never having been any further South than Maryland (actually I went to South Carolina once when I was 7 but I don't really remember it so that doesn't truly count) it was quite the adventure. There are some videos which I'll have to edit a bit and upload but for now, hope you enjoy the pictures..

Speaking of midterms, last week we did a little run of shows at some New England colleges. Oh, New England, you are so pretty and also, sometimes I suspect when I am driving through you late at night, totally haunted. We tried to fit all of WMHC into a bathroom for a photo shoot after the Mount Holyoke Show... I had seen an Amanda Palmer show the night before and I think it rubbed off on me. Anyway, suffice to say, we had a great time. There aren't too many photos (none from Smith- sorry :( ) but here are a few:

!

Mal

Tour/New Interview in The Queerist

2009-10-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

So, we just played Asheville & it was totally rad, thanks to everyone who came out to The Grey Eagle and bought cds & tee shirts and all that. So much fun & SO excited to be opening for Melissa Ferrick.

The New EP is done!! It won't be digitally available for another month but we're selling it on tour and it should be up on itunes soon. I'll post again about it when it's up.

Lastly, The Chicago Free Tribune mentioned me in an article they ran last week & The Queerist just did a new feature on me in their queer arts blog that you should go check out.

Go go go check out the interview/video here:

The Queerist: Interview with Mal Blum

Tomorrow we're hitting Eddie's Attic in Decatur, can't wait! See you soon!

Mal

Oct. dates

2009-10-04T08:16:00.001-07:00

Here's a little reminder about show dates this week..

I'm playing this afternoon at Columbia University's Queer As Folk Festival in NYC. Sorry for the last minute notice, I just found out that it's open to the public last night. Here are the details:

Today (Sunday!), Oct. 4th:
Time: 2PM ( we play around 5)
Location: Java City (Altschul Hall, Barnard)
Street: Entrance at 117th and Broadway
Other performers include Arlene McCann & Swati. Free!

Next week we're heading down South to open for Melissa Ferrick! Tell all of your Southern friends & family! Here are the dates & details:

Tues. Oct. 6th: The Grey Eagle-Asheville, NC
8pm
$12
http://www.thegreyeagle.com/

Weds. Oct. 7th: Eddie's Attic - Decatur, GA
7:30 (doors open @ 6:30)
$18
http://www.eddiesattic.com/

Thurs. Oct. 8: 3rd & Lindsley - Nashville, TN
http://www.3rdandlindsley.com/

In other news, my new pre-release EP is done!!! It's not available digitally yet but it will be soon. It's 2 studio tracks, 2 live tracks & 2 bedroom recordings.

In other news, I finally inherited this a typewriter from my Dad! I've been using it for all kinds of stuff, letters, notes, poems, birthday cards & even some clickety clack sounds for my new ep. Check it out:

Talk to you soon!
Mal

Session Mutiny

2009-07-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Be a Working Musician: The Video Game

2009-07-21T17:00:00.001-07:00

In stores: never!

The object of the game is to play college shows, climb the social vine and jump over industry gumbas. Then you win success and fans and a dance party. I don't think it would sell very well though or else more people would probably be working musicians.

I'm having an okay week. Sometimes it's difficult to keep what I'm doing in perspective when it's reduced to email writing and dealing with some not very nice people but the payoff is worth it (not financially, of course- hahahah big joke). I'm doing other things this week other than drawing comics about my life as a video game too (I swear!).

Tomorrow I have two meetings about a [different] blog and a new music video (ah!) and I'm heading down to Provincetown on Friday for a show at The Old Colony Tap on Commercial Street (part of Provincetown Rocks!: The Festival- See the whole Friday showcase lineup here) I'll probably have some pictures when I get back that I can post up here. I regret that I didn't start this blog at the beginning of the summer when I was traveling and doing more fun things to blog photos of, but then I would have been blogging photos and not doing fun things so that's okay.

Oh! If you buy a day pass to the Friday shows ($50) please email mfdbooking@gmail.com with "Mal Blum" in the subject. Please also CC: me @ booking (at) malblum.com. Here is a link to buy a day pass

After P-Town I have a mixing session with the lovely engineers who are working on my new album with me and then I'll be able to figure out a timeline for when I can get this album out by. I'm aiming for before May. Actually, I'm aiming for January but I'm assuming that it won't happen. Especially because I'm considering looking into maybe potentially seeking a distributor for this one (SELLING OUT) and that could take a bit of time.

The other thing that is big this week is that I have been obsessively looking for a typewriter because I have this project I've been kicking around in my head for awhile (and also 'cause they look cool). I'll definitely post pictures if I find one. Wish me luck!

Mal Blum goes South

2009-07-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

That's right, Paula Dean. I'm coming for your home cooking.

Just kidding. I'm opening for Melissa Ferrick down South for a few dates in the beginning of October. I just posted them up on myspace, but check it out:

Oct 6- The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC
Oct 7- Eddie's Attic, Decatur, GA
Oct 8- 3RD & Lindsley, Nashville, TN

Very very excited to open for Melissa Ferrick. Also, I think that this will be a really good opportunity to head south and meet some new friends/fans I haven't met yet, which I've been meaning to do for awhile.

So NC, TN and GA -look out! I'm taking the week off school and coming for you!

I'm going to try really hard to have my new album done by then. If it isn't, I hope that nobody feels that I have failed them. At least an EP is coming in the next six months, I promise you that.

ps: here is a picture of my new puppy:

July, July!

2009-07-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

This week has been fantastic! Just got back from Philly last weekend. I had a really great time at Burlap & Bean in Newtown Square, it's my new favorite venue in the area. They broadcasted the show on BLOGTV but I didn't have this blog yet so I couldn't tell anybody about it.

Tuesday and Wednesday were back to back band practices with the new band set-up. The full band sounds great and is comprised of:

Me: Guitar/Piano (sort of)

Sarah: Violin/Banter

Clayton: Upright Bass/Tambourine

Simon: Harmonica/Banjo/Piano

We don't actually have a band name past "Mal Blum and the ____" but that doesn't mean we're not a real band. I wanted "Mal Blum and the astronauts" but apparently it's been done before.

Okay, so then on Thursday we had an all day recording session. The new album is really coming along! I promise to release something by the fall. At least that's the plan. Well, I promise to try really hard.

Friday was our really awesome show at The Sidewalk Cafe in NYC. We packed the house, which is always a warm and fuzzy feeling. Thanks to everybody who came out. As a special Thank You here is a link to a video of a BRAND NEW SONG we played at the show (and recorded on Thursday-so it will be on the new album) called "Baltimore":

In other news, today was my first day volunteering for the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls and it was rocking.

In other other news, I just turned 21 years old as I wrote this blog post!!!

As a birthday present, please go vote for me on LOGO'S The Click List. Here is a badge to vote and you can also watch my music video (directed by the amazing Ballard C. Boyd) here:

and here is a link to re-post different badges all over the internet if you feel so inclined.:

plaster your blog/twitter/facebook/myspace here

Okay, I think that's it. This has been an epic first blog post, hope you enjoyed!