Carousel Rogues

hey friendsters,

i saw on our stats that a lot of people have been googling lyrics for our album. how silly of me; i constantly look up lyrics for songs and feel irritated when bands/artists don’t have them posted. i guess i’m just a silly-nilly. but i’m working on that now. soon, there will be a section of our website devoted to lyrics from our album. so you can stay tuned for that.

love, peace and mixtapes,
caitlin

Hey guys!

lots of you have asked me since yesterday about where to buy physical copies of our album.  the Rabbit Room store (https://store.rabbitroom.com/music/artist/Carousel%20Rogues) carries physical and digital copies.  you can also get one from us at a show!

-caitlin

I’ll just let this speak for itself.  thanks to the very rad Tim Scott for shooting this, and the equally rad Benji Seyler for helping with some editing.

phew, it’s been a long time since i updated this thing.  my excuse is that as soon as we got back from our time on the road, life really charged on at full speed:  zach and i went to Young Life camp with a big group from Brunswick High School, dan was a teacher at a camp for Frederick Rock School, i spent some time in Nashville working on another project, spring and summer are the busiest seasons for zach at the bike shop, plus we played a few shows here and there… the summer slipped away.  oh hey, forgot to mention one of the coolest things that kept us busy:  we shot our first music video!!!

we chose the song Clementine for a few reasons.  a) both zach and i sing on it, so it makes a good representation of our sound, and of the record.  2) it was the first song added to regular rotation on 89.7 WTMD, and it gets the most downloads.  and d) it’s one of our favorites on the record.

i’ve been watching the first draft of it all morning.  our friend Tim Scott shot and edited this video for us, with a little further “clean up” editing by our friend Benji Seyler.  i wanna give everything away.  but instead, i’ll limit myself to posting a few pictures.

something i loved about doing this video is that we were able to use our house.  our 107 year-old, quirky house.  these shots took place in our dining room; it’s one of my favorite nooks.

the other part of our house we used was the attic.  it’s a VERY cool space, although it is regrettably boiling hot in the summer and arctic in the winter.

the outdoor shots were all done around Brunswick.  gosh, i love this town.  the weather was perfect and we got everything we needed just in the nick of time.  this video almost didn’t happen when Tim’s hard drive crashed.  somehow, everything worked out.  we cannot wait to show this to you guys.  the concept is a nod to my parents, Jean and George, and to zach… and to my past which doesn’t always want to stay “buried.”

i don’t even know where to start with this post.  i’ll try not to make it really long to avoid presuming that anyone wants me to.  i’ll say this:  i’m glancing out the window every couple moments as  i type, and the gladiolas i planted a few months ago started blooming while i was away.  makes me feel all romantic and old-fashioned, and i know i’m going to watch an episode of Avonlea as soon as i’m finished with this.  what i’m trying to say is, i love my home life that was waiting for me.

so it was just a baby tour.  but it was still a tour, and in the end, it feels gratifying to do this grunt work.  i estimated that to break even on this tour with gas and tolls and all that, we’d need to sell at least 50 cds.  that’s around 12 a show.  well, we sold two and gave away a few.  but i started realizing something:  for months, i’ve been stamping my foot and refusing to short-change this album, because of the hard work and money we’d put into it.  but touring and playing shows right now is not about making money; in fact, that’s rather out of the question.  it’s more about getting our music out there and networking.  and it cannot be denied that as we played our set at Murph’s (small, oddly shaped) Bar in Philadelphia, people were listening.  we saw several people begin to make their way over to where we were playing with curious looks on their faces.

so here’s a quick run down of the last 4.5 days:

tuesday night, we played a “kick-off” set at the Frederick Rock School.  gotta pause to say that scott marceron, the owner, is a really nice guy and has been super supportive.  so we played this set, which was as much to have a final time to practice running our tracks through a PA and geling as a band as it was to play a show that kids were allowed to come to.  daniel and i are both private music teachers and we are frequently asked about when the next all-ages show is.  that said, the room was filled with mostly small kids and their mothers.  there are two things that really cram down the vibes of a rock show: florescent lights and chairs.  both entities were present at this show.  still, it was a great feeling to play a show for people that already had our album and genuinely wanted to hear us live.

wednesday morning, we spent a lot of time packing last minute items and vacuuming.  well, i was vacuuming because i can’t stand coming home to crumbs and dust and undone chores.  remember that i just said that, by the way– it will come in handy later.  after locking ourselves out of the house (that was also me), we finally piled into the Winnebago which justin has dubbed, The Red Sparrow, and made our way to ohio.  we played at a place called Annabel’s.  now this was actually a reaaally cool venue, in a dirty-cruddy-hole-in-the-wall type of way.  there was a downstairs just for shows and a small bar and lots of punk rock posters.  speaking of punk rock, we were opening for a punk band of three young guys.  i’m going to slightly alter the band’s name here to “Down With Integrity.”  think of an abbreviated way to say “down with” that would reaaally offend your relatives, then you’ll figure it out.  we’re not punk rock, although there’s a little bit of a punk aesthetic to some of our songs.  and to my hair.  one of the kids at the show, Colton, described us as DIY Pop, or Shoegaze.  that’s gonna take another post to explain, so let’s move on.  honestly, it was maybe the best set we’ve ever played… all of this anticipation and adrenaline and sweat (no AC) was built up into this show, our first show of tour.  we gave away two or three cds.  dang, i hate to do that.  but hey: we were playing to a young crowd of punk rock kids; their priority isn’t buying stuff.  and, one of the guys from Down With Integrity offered us his living room floor to sleep on that night, which we eagerly accepted.  these were genuinely nice kids at the end of the day, as it were.  we pulled up an hour after their set to an abode they called, the House of Pain.  by the next morning, we understood why.  at least i did.  everyone except for zach and i slept in the van.  i think it had something to do with the number of people playing NBA Jams on Sega Genesis at 4 AM.  or maybe it was the Beer Cave…. some of these stories can really only be explained in person.

thursday morning, we hit the road around 1030 to be sure we’d arrive at Murph’s Bar in Philly with plenty of time.  the highlight of this show was seeing our friends Becca and Charlie from our old church.  they live in philly now and offered us warm beds and even a delicious meal at 1 AM.  on the way home last night, dan and i were talking about what a breath of fresh air it was to spend time with them.  it really did feel like breaking the surface of water, blowing out stale air and gulping in fresh new breaths.  this was the first moment i realized what the hardest aspects of being on the road were for me.  any bad thing about myself that i struggle with in day-to-day life is way harder to grapple with when i’m miles away from my family and friends who lovingly bring out the best in me and help me to bury the worst.  charlie and becca reminded me of that, and it was just great to spend the next day with them.  that brings me up to…

friday.  gotta get down on–?  yep, that’s right.  friday.  and we did.  we got into new york city that evening and zach and dan and i met up with our friend kyle and hit the town.  and the town hit back… i was feeling lousy the next day.  new york is a fun place to visit and play, but for me, it is quite dizzying.  when i try to keep up with it, i get knocked down.  that night, kyle took the couch and the three of us slept in kyle’s bed (there is no “weird” on tour).  i’d hoped to meet up with melanie penn in the city.  her album is on in my car all the time ’cause it’s so good.  have you ever just listened to a mix that is so well done and artful that it makes you wanna cry?  if so, you’ll appreciate melanie’s album.  and if not, go buy it so you’ll know what i’m talking about.  and consider that you probably spend more on most meals than you would on a single album.  and where does food end up after you eat it?  see where i’m going with this??  music is timeless.  moving on; i wanted to meet up for a cocktail with melanie but it didn’t happen– we texted instead, ’cause we’re girls.  i’ve never been car sick until the two cab rides i took yesterday.  i bring that up now because i was trying to reply to a text message from melanie in the cab, and i had to stop looking at my phone i was so dizzy.  what happened to me??

fast forward to saturday night at the Alphabet Lounge.  cute little place.  veerry quick set up.  we realized right as we were about to play the first song that zach’s guitar was no where in sight.  then we realized we had left it in philly.  thankfully, we had daniel’s guitar with us for a couple songs that are in an alternate tuning.  so zach began to hastily tune it back, when a string broke.  awesome.  so we played the first two songs without him while he replaced the string.  all of us were more than a little unsettled at this point and missed a couple cues, but the cool thing was how we reacted under pressure.  daniel took over zach’s back up vocals without missing a beat.  love that guy.  and justin’s sister who lives in the upper east side brought out about ten people to see us.  one of them bought a cd even.  we packed up and zach called the philly venue on the off chance that his guitar wasn’t being listed on ebay yet.  surprise!!  it was in the kitchen there!!  so we made our way to philly and picked up his guitar and then headed home.  one cool thing that happened while we were away was that someone who read our review from the rabbit room (http://www.rabbitroom.com/2011/06/album-review-carousel-rogues/) posted about us in the Laughing City forum, a place that fans of the band Eisley discuss music.  it was really cool to read people’s first impressions of us, especially ’cause they were pretty flattering.  and just to see that the work we’re trying to do with networking and stuff is paying off a little.  okay ready for my favorite story?

i texted with a few girls from brunswick high school where zach and i lead Young Life while i was on the road.  we were talking about some plans we have for this summer– Young Life camp, visiting a nursing home, etc.  i really love these girls.  they even said they’d stop by my house and check on my cats while i was gone.  well, they did a lot more than that.  in a daze, i got out of the van at 330 this morning and began carrying stuff in to the house.  first thing i noticed was that my grass was cut.  even weed-whacking was done, which i’ll confess, zach and i have never gotten around to.  i noticed a note on the front door:

“Zach & Caitlin <3<3<3

we  want to thank you so much for everything you do and all the time you give to us!  we decided to give back and take care of your yard! (and dishes-maria).  check it out!!!!!

<3 always, Campaigners: drew, danielle (keebler), josh, alyssa, mrs. lazo, zacklazo, maria, alexpagel”

while we were gone, these kids came over and cut our grass and weed-whacked… there’s nothing better than coming home from traveling to a yard that does not need mowing.  but it wasn’t until this morning that we found they had made-over our back yard– something i thought we’d never get to doing–and cleaned off our side porch.  check this out:

i can’t believe i know these people.  i love them so much.  and i can’t believe i used to think i’d have to make a choice between doing music or Young Life, when i’m clearly called to both.

when are we coming to your city?  well… we probably live in it if you are reading this   but, maybe not.  we’ll most likely be heading south in the fall.  and you can find out about it first here.

love,

caitlin

it’s that time….  period.  can’t say it’s that time again, because this is our first tour.  a little baby tour.  four shows if you include the kick-off in our home town.  still, it’s a start.  this is where the rubber meets the road, as it were.  in the words of brian fellows, “i’m really excited and a little bit scared!”

since we released the album about three and a half months ago, we’ve had a great response, some air time on 89.7 WFMD (towson) and DC101, and a really stellar review at the Rabbit Room.  they’re also going to carry the album which is great.  so much of that has happened on its own.  but to really get the record out there and let it try to live up to its potential, we gotta get in a big winibego edition conversion van with no AC and 4 seat belts (there are 5 rogues) and drive 1100 miles to play three shows and spend lots of money on gas.  why?  …well, hopefully i can give you an answer when we get back   here are the shows:

hi people!

here’s my first official post on our beautiful website, designed by emily potthast, one of my best good friends.  our first album is finally about to “drop,” as they say.  i think it will hit me when we get the first shipment of discs in.  to open up the digipak and pull out the CD with a satisfying click, and deposit it into my car’s CD player will really be somethin’ else.  and it’s about time.

no, really… it’s about time.  we could have had this album signed, sealed and delivered about a month ago probably, but we wanted to take the time to make it just right for you.  hearing all these musical ideas (that have been growing up and taking their first steps in my brain for the past 4 years) done up right on an album is so wonderful.  i’m proud of this album, and thankful for my friends who have supported me.

this blog will be a place that zach, dan and i post band updates, and thoughts on music & art, in no particular order.  just to connect with you.

okay, that’s it for now.  stay warm and drive safely in the crazy-arse ice blizzard that everyone is freaking out about.

-caitlin