HUH

Why didn't anyone tell me that Jonah Hill was in the Turtles?

Observe:

1967



2009



How has he stayed so young looking? Is he a vampire or something?

WILCO LOFT

This here's a link to a very cool article about Wilco's loft in Chicago. Click me!

For a bit of contrast, here's a quick video of our practice space. (God help us - we have a YouTube account.) The boys were busy geeking out about Keith Moon or something when I shot this. I don't even hear it anymore.

TOUR DIARY

Hey All! I've written a tour diary of sorts for my column on Eight Million Stories.

Check it out! It has pictures!

On the Beat - Tour Diary Edition

BEL AIR'S TOUR DE SOUTH!!!

Hey All,

Just a reminder about Bel Air's Tour de South 2009. We'll be heading out on the road for a week starting November 15th! We've got some great shows lined up and we couldn't be more excited about it. So, if you live in any of the cities listed below, we'd love to see you! If not, please feel free to pass on the information to any friends who do. We're grateful.


BEL AIR - SOUTHERN TOUR 2009

Nov. 15th at The M Room - Philadelphia, PA

Nov. 16th at The Juggling Gypsy - Wilmington, NC

Nov. 17th at The Garage - Winston Salem, NC

Nov. 18th at The Bobo Gallery - Asheville, NC

Nov. 19th at 8th and Rail - Auburn, AL

Nov. 20th at Hang Fire - Savannah, GA

Nov. 21st at Slims - Raleigh, NC


Follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/belairband) if you want to keep up with all the hot gossip from the road in real time.

We'll be back in NYC and playing at Union Pool on December 4th. Fresh off the tour, we should be in good shape. Or, completely busted. We shall see.

xoxoxo,
Allie, Jeff, Wyatt, Turner & Eric
www.belairtheband.com

WHEELS

I just remembered that we were seriously considering naming the band Wheels before we came up with Bel Air. I'm glad someone talked me out of that. It was probably Wyatt.


Photo by Jamie MacKenzie
Sepia nonsense by me. I was bored.

WORLD SERIES

The Phillies? Really? Do they honestly think they're any match for the Yankees? I mean, they're THE YANKEES. THE Yankees. Get real, Phillies!

TOUR NONSENSE

Things to do in the van:

- listen to pre-made mixes
- play Garage Band trivia game
- geek out on music
- video tape each other
- play 20 questions
- play Seinfeld trivia (Allie and Eric)
- eat gorp
- get lost
- back seat drive (Jeff)
- glare at each other
- listen to Pandora
- come up with set lists
- read Twilight (Allie)
- read yellowed Penguin classics (Turner)
- smoke (Jeff and Turner)

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

I listened to Justin Townes Earle's album Midnight at the Movies recently and once again remarked on the female backing vocals on "Mama's Eyes" and "Here We Go Again". I went to allmusic.com to find out who that singer is. It turns out there are no female singers listed in the credits for that album. So, I still don't know who to be crazy jealous of.

I did notice that Cory Younts who is the amazing multi-instrumentalist that JTE tours with is credited with "Whistle (Human)". I love that! It's a very important distinction.

CURRENT OBSESSION

Deer Tick, These Old Shoes

Deer Tick will be doing some dates (though not the NYC-area shows) with Neko Case in November. I would love to see them together.

The new album Born on Flag Day is great. Check it out when you get a minute.

If you can't see this video you can access it with this link.

HELLO AGAIN!

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Everyone needs a blogcation, right?

Despite the blog slacking, we have a lot going on. We're gearing up for the CMJ Music Marathon 2009! Our showcase is on Wednesday, October 21st at the Alphabet Lounge (Avenue C and E. 7th Street) at 10pm. Here's the schedule for the night:

7pm - Heath Street
8pm - Jones Street Station
9pm - Blair
10pm - Bel Air

Notice anything about this list? Two "street" bands and then Blair and Bel Air. The CMJ schedulers have an interesting sense of humor. When Wyatt was in Masculine Feminine he played a CMJ showcase with Junior Senior and Mommy and Daddy.

The weird thing about this bill is that it actually makes sense. Heath Street is folkie singer/songwriter kind of stuff, Jones Street Station (who didn't get to play at last year's ill-fated pig roast) are great country rock featuring our friend Jon Hull on harmonica. Blair's songs are really interesting - influenced by Neil Young and alt-country but not in an obvious way. Then us. You know what we sound like: kind of an amalgamation of all of the above.

Besides CMJ, we (read: Wyatt) have been working on our brand new OFFICIAL WEBSITE!!! It's your new one stop place for all things Bel Air. It has photos, a store, our twitter feed, news and MORE. Check it out! We're excited about it.



We've also been working on our fall tour-de-south. It's coming together. Here are the dates:

15-Nov-09 The M Room Philladelphia, PA
16-Nov-09 Juggling Gypsy Wilmington, NC
17-Nov-09 The Garage Winston Salem, NC
18-Nov-09 The Bobo Gallery Asheville, NC
19-Nov-09 8th and Rail Auburn, AL
20-Nov-09 Hang Fire Savannah, GA
21-Nov-09 Slims Raleigh, NC

I've started chronicling the process of booking/planning/doing a tour in my Eight Million Stories column. You can read the first installment here. The next one will be posted next week (Oct. 16th).

Thanks for reading this long-winded post. I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time!

XOXOXO

ON THE BEAT - TOUR EDITION

Hey there. My September On the Beat column is up! In it, I begin what is looking like it might be a 2 or 3 parter about planning a tour as an indie band.

CHECK IT OUT!

We might be jumping trains if we don't secure a van soon...

CUTE!

Last winter, Bel Air went to see Wilco and Neil Young at MSG. The concert happened to fall on the birthday of Jeff Tweedy's son Spencer. We all sang Happy Birthday to him and then he played drums with the band on... Late Greats I think? Anyway - 13-year-old Spencer Tweedy has a blog in which he quotes his father, philosophizes about hipsters and penguin classics, chronicles his dates with the style rookie and apologizes for going to WalMart.

VMA CRAZINESS

This get-up is just disturbing. Even bastion of human sympathy, Eminem, looks concerned.

WOW!

"Joshua Bell is one of the world's greatest violinists. His instrument of choice is a multimillion-dollar Stradivarius. If he played it for spare change, incognito, outside a bustling Metro stop in Washington, would anyone notice?"

This is a great article from the Washington Post. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend taking a minute to do so.

Here's a video of Joshua Bell doing what he does best: looking cute. Oh, and playing the violin.



If you can't see this video you can access it with this link.

BEL AIR ON THE AIR

Bel Air opens and closes the current episode of Americana Rock Mix! Check it out here! Scroll to the bottom to listen to the episode.

SHOW AT PETE'S

After practice on Thursday, Bel Air went to Pete's Candy Store to see Hartwell Littlejohn and T.K. Webb play. They were both great and both covered great songs - Hart did 3 Gram Parsons songs and T.K. did Pancho and Lefty. Here's a pic of T.K. (it was dark in there):

CURRENT OBSESSION

Antony and the Johnsons - Aeon

Just try to watch this video and not get completely sucked in. I dare you!

I'm totally obsessed. Who's with me? Antony and the Johnsons' new album The Crying Light is really, really good. Antony's voice would have been enough for me to love it but his songwriting puts it over the edge. It incorporates melodies and cadences that seem to be inspired by the "classical" art song tradition and still manages to sound of the minute.

8MS - ON THE BEAT - AUGUST

Hey Y'all! My August edition of On the Beat is now up on Eight Million Stories. Check it out!

LIVE AT LEGION

The fundraiser for Toy Box Theatre Company was a success! Here is a video clip sent in by a very nice friend of Matt's that features a sneak peak at one of our brand new tunes. And, a creepy, moving (possessed?) doll:

LIVE SHOW!!

Bands start at 4, we're the second band. Extrapolate from that what you will.

Not only is there no cover for this show, the hosts of this party are paying people to attend (in BBQ which is the best currency I can think of).

This is a benefit show for our pal Mike Holmes' theater company so you can feel good about drinking in the middle of the day. You'll be (drunkenly) supporting local theater!

DON PEDRO'S SHOW - BEL AIR

We would like to thank our buddy Dave Reich for taking these photos. He is both talented and charming.

Click on the photos for slightly larger versions.












Our new drummer Eric!

DON PEDRO'S SHOW

Here are some pictures from the show last night at Don Pedro's. It was an awesome night. Thanks to Nervous Assistant, Holy Moly and Katy Mae for playing with us! Pictures of Bel Air will follow...

LIVE BEL AIR

We are playing a free show tonight in Brooklyn at Don Pedros!
This will, unfortunately, be one of our last two shows with our bass player Matt, as he has decided to move on to browner pastures (LA).
Tonights set should be a really exciting one, as we plan to strip away some of the slow jams to expose our inner rockness.
This will be our "official" release show for our new 7" (which you can buy from our blog sidebar------->)

You can plan on hearing plenty of new music from us tonight! We will be previewing a number of songs that we have been working on for our upcoming full-length.

Hope to see you there.
love, bel air

Don Pedros is: 90 Manhattan Avenue b/w Boerum & McKibben.
Bands include our friends Holy Moly and Katie Mae. We will be playing at 10 SHARP.

NEW REVIEW

Hey! The folks over at fensepost.com just posted a very positive review of Pole to Pole.
Check it out here:
fensepost.com
Thanks!

GOD HELP US

We're on Twitter.

Get ready for some SWEEEEEET TWEEEEEETS!

belairband is our name...follow us!

8MS - JULY

Hey Y'all! My July On the Beat column is now up on eightmillionstories.com.

Check it out!

Here's a pic of one of the coolest guitar players ever, Jason Groth, that got cut from the column:


photo by the Tuze

I swear, everything that this guy plays is solid gold magic.

Last month's column marked the one year anniversary of On the Beat. Whoops! I forgot to celebrate. That party would have been a rager. Oh well. Next year...

GORGEOUS PRACTICE SPACE PT. 2

I've posted about our gorgeous practice space bathroom before but it never gets old.

There are some new additions to the bathroom. The people that frequent our practice space building are so creative that they just can't stop - even in the bathroom. I've heard that people can get inspired in the shower and stuff so maybe this makes sense.



Those are some inspired lyrics. Please disregard the smear towards the bottom.

There are some painters in the crowd as well:



Fantastic work.

And, no soap. Lovely!

REVIEW

Hey Y'all. We got our first review of our new 7" single, Into the Sea on the Fire Note. CHECK IT OUT HERE and then come to our 7" release party at Don Pedro's on July 28th!! 10pm!

SAVE THE DATES!

Bel Air Summmer Shows:

July 28th - Don Pedro's Brooklyn

August 9th - Legion. Toy Box Theater Company Fundraiser!

August 20th - Pete's Candy Store. Acoustic Show!!

Details will follow.

R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON

As sad as I am that the world has lost Michael Jackson, it seems appropriate that our modern day Peter Pan didn't grow old. He will be missed.


The poster that hung on my childhood bedroom wall.



One of the best albums EVER.

ADAM WON AFTERALL

We take all kind of pills to give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll get you when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone
Wanna see my picture on the cover
Rolling Stone
Wanna buy five copies for my mother
Rolling Stone
Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

ON THE BEAT - SUMMER EDISH

"My skin's soaked right through to the skin!" (R. Starr,1965)

It may not feel like it with all this rain - but in a few short days it will officially be Summer. Check out my recommendations for Summer Festivals in my latest On the Beat column for EightMillionStories.com. It's 10% information, 90% rambling.

LUNCHTIME POLL RESULTS

Our man on 4th Street, Bob Dylan, scored a whopping 50% of the votes in our "Best Songwriter" poll. Way to go!


The weiner.

HEY YOU!

Do you have the Moondoggies album "Don't be a Stranger"? You should get it, if not. I got a long time ago and just re-discovered how good it is.

As you were...

SOMETIMES

Rhett Miller has a song called "Sometimes" on his new self-titled album. He and I are on the exact same wavelength. It's like we share a brain.

I'm a little disappointed with his new album cover, though. It just doesn't show off what a good looking man he is:



Seriously. You don't waste potential like this:

BOOK REPORT #3

Michelle Mercer is a writer and NPR contributer, but beyond that, she is, like myself, a fan of Joni Mitchell. She writes from a (highly informed) fan's perspective. I like that. I relate to that. If it's dark sides you're looking for, this may not be the right book. If you are a fan - especially of her "Blue Period" - you must read this.

Mercer met Joni while working on her first book Footprints: The Life an Work of Wayne Shorter. After interviewing Joni for that book, she continued to conduct first hand interviews with her, many of which are chronicled and quoted in the book. She also looks into her motivations as a songwriter and storyteller. Some of Joni's more obvious influences are relationships and her geographical surroundings but Mercer takes it to a higher level: What makes anyone want to write a song about themselves at all? Why do we engage in so-called "confessional songwriting"? As much as she is associated with it, Mitchell doesn't like that term. Nevertheless, the history of confession-as-art is documented by Mercer with references to Augustine among others. It's very meta. Why was Joni doing these things she didn't even like or know she was doing? Because it's human nature or some kind of collective sub/conscious...yadayadayada. I dig it.

The "Blue Period" is, arguably, the span in Joni's career when she did her best work. It covers 1971 - 1976 (Blue, For the Roses, Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns, and Hejira). WOWOWOW. What a collection of albums. All amazing. Just to go on record - Hejira is my favorite. It's a masterpiece. Before I read this book, I didn't know that it was primarily written while Joni was driving across country to Damariscotta, Maine on a pseudo kidnapping mission. I like knowing these things. This book is informative and anecdotal without being gossipy. There are no piano songs on Hejira. It's much easier to write guitar songs on the road. Very eeenteresting.

Some may take issue with Mercer injecting the book with stories from her own life but I found her stories entertaining and her writing good -if a bit aggressively anti-Dan Fogelberg/Carly Simon. Sometimes I felt like telling her "If you don't have anything nice to say..." but perhaps she had spent a little too much time Joni. Anyone who's read interviews with Joni knows that it's better not to get her started either. Don't bring up that "minor talent" Jackson Browne if you know what's good for you!

I recommend this book to all fans of Joni Mitchell, all song-writers, all hippies and Graham Nash who is all of the above.

SOLO MENSCH

Years ago Breakup Breakdown played a house party in Brooklyn on the coldest night of the year. It was an absolute blizzard. The car service that brought us and our gear to the place had to go 5 miles an hour. We were lucky to get the few people that showed up in the audience. Anyway, as we were loading out, I took some pictures and got such a good one of Jeff that I told him I thought it should be the cover for his first solo album:



At the BUBD reunion rehearsal I took another picture of Jeff that should be his follow-up album:

LAST NIGHT AT BLACK BETTY EVER!!

The Break-Up has reunited (and it feels so good) to play the very LAST Hot Rocks party at Black Betty. The restaurant/bar is closing it's doors after a long, successful run due to greedy landlords. We are happy to be a part of it, even though the occasion is sad. It gives us all an excuse to drink tall boys of Bud in the same room together again.















And, yet another picture of Jeff flipping off the camera:



Good times.

The LAST Hot Rocks Party EVER:
The Break-Up and The Vitamen
Black Betty
Havemeyer and Metropolitan, Williamsburg
Tuesday, June 9th, 8pm

R.I.P. JAY BENNETT

YOU CAN NOW BUY BEL AIR MUSIC DIRECTLY FROM US!

See that new dropdown menu on our sidebar ------------->

Thats where you can buy a copy of our new 7" (or CD, for that matter [or BOTH, for THAT matter])

We will hand pack your purchase with love, the postal service will handle the rest.



Here is a drawing to help make sense of it all:

LUNCHTIME POLL

So, it looks like I can continue NOT tipping my laundry people with your support.

There's a new poll up inspired by the new Steve Earle album Townes which is an album of Townes Van Zandt covers. Earle seems to deeply believe that Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in EVER. He even named his son after the guy. What do you think? Whose coffee table will you be standing on and what shoes will you be wearing?