mason proper

We just got back from our midwest/east coast tour, and we had a fantastic time. Thank you to everyone that came out to all the shows and made us feel so welcome in their towns.

[photo by maryanne ventrice]

Special thanks to our tourmates Cloud Cult and Exit Clov. It was an honor sharing the stage with both of you, and we hope it happens again soon.

Another special thanks to Brandon Cornell @ New Horizon, Royal Jester Productions in Kalamazoo, Transpanther Booking, Opus One Productions in Pittsburgh, Adrian Young, Kevin at the Bug Jar, Chris @ 1867 Recording in Boston, and Josh/Adam Netsky. Without you guys we couldn’t have survived the tour, or even had a tour to go on in the first place!

And finally, thanks to Dovecote Records, Girlie Action, Sneak Attack Media, WDBM Lansing, WUNH New Hampshire, Ryan’s Smashing Life, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, AZLTRON, all the other great blogs and local papers that previewed the shows, and everyone that brought their friends to come out and see us. Without all of you helping get the word out about these shows they wouldn’t have been half as fun.

I can’t possibly list everyone who helped make this tour such a blast, but we just want everyone to know how much we appreciate you being a part of it.

Trying not beat a dead horse,
Mason Proper

Just a reminder that next Tuesday, our second album “Olly Oxen Free” will be released to the wild, and it will be confused, hungry, and dangerous. If you encounter one, please remember these helpful survival tips:

1. Please do not make “Olly Oxen Free” noises or imitate an “Olly Oxen Free.” It will attack and kill you.

2. Do not pretend you are already dead or asleep. It will attack and kill you. An exception can be made if you are good enough at playing dead that you can appear to be only a skeleton. The “Olly Oxen Free” is not a bone-gnawer, so if you appear not to be made of meat and squishy things, it will pay you no mind.

3. Do not throw sticks or stones at the “Olly Oxen Free.” It will NOT break it’s bones. It will throw them back, only more accurately and with more force. ***NOTE*** It should go without saying, but please also remember that words can never hurt it. You are better off going with the sticks or stones.

4. Do not run, swim, fly, or teleport away. It can run, swim, fly, or teleport towards you faster than you can run, swim, fly, or teleport away.

5. Do not try to reason with the “Olly Oxen Free.” It is unreasonable. Also, do not try to offer it gifts or food. It is non-materialistic, with the slight exception being made for it’s strong interest in your meat or squishy things.

6. The best thing you can do if you are unlucky enough to encounter an “Olly Oxen Free” in the wild is to purchase it immediately, before it has a chance to pick up your smell and get it’s stomach enzymes churning.

7. The thing you can do that is better than the best thing you can do, is to:

PREORDER OLLY OXEN FREE FROM INSOUND.

You will receive a tame “Olly Oxen Free” in the mail, and any you encounter in the wild are much less likely to attack you if you are accompanied by it. You will also receive a limited-edition DVD of the “Shorthand EP,” which you can only get by preordering. Although the DVD will not help you in an encounter with an “Olly Oxen Free,” if you seek training you will be able to throw it at any rabid moths that may swoop down on you in the night, and drive them off.

-Forest Safety Commission

This is an exciting day!
Or at least the one month’s eve of an exciting day!
Our new album, Olly Oxen Free, will be out in exactly one month.

AND
you can now:

PREORDER IT FROM INSOUND

If you preorder it, you’ll get a DVD of the four videos from the Shorthand EP, along with special features:

-commentary from Jonathan and the directors
-bonus clips from the making of the videos

Preordering Olly Oxen Free is the only way to get this peculiar item.

We’re going to debut a few of the songs at the show in Ferndale tonight, so if any of you are making it out to that one, be sure to be there on time! The first three songs of the set will be live premiers of several of the songs. They are so fun to play I could explode with joy.

*KABOOM*
(Whoops, did. No band.)

Our friends at RCRD LBL have featured “Lock and Key”
from our upcoming album, Olly Oxen Free,
as a free downloadable mp3.

(i just noticed that is almost a horrible three-line poem)

DOWNLOAD IT FROM RCRD LBL

Why download it?

A) Free
B) Doesn’t take up much space, so you’ll have room left over for your tongue collection.
C) “I just love downloading things! Anything really!”
D) Won’t “cramp your style.” Guaranteed to not give you style cramps.

Why not download it? (In whiny voice)

A) “My fiiiiiiiiiiingers hurt.”
B) “I haaaaaaaaaaate music.”
C) “I dooooooooooon’t have a compuuuuuuuuuuter.”
D) “I lost my eeeeeeeeeeeeears.”