Photo Blog: Episode I

dear guys, here are some photos from the first few shows of our tour with the kooks! more on the way soon, love tim

chris's mom baked us this fabulous cake before we left.

some of us are a bit sad to go.

cabin fever hasn't set in yet.

this is all this crap i mean gear we have to unload from our van before every show.

this is the house of blues bathroom in san diego. as you can see, there is a tasteful diagonal tile pattern running around the walls.

our beautiful audience at house of blues.

elise prepares for the merch frenzy.

backstage AAAAAH.

we spent the night at rosemary's mom's ranch. joe slept in this thing.

this is not joe. the next day, we drove by a llama farm.

sea of faces at the wiltern in los angeles.

this is the bathroom at the wiltern. notice the bold impression that the black tiles leave. they also create a striking contrast with the urinals.

our green room at the wiltern. they stocked the room with everything we asked for - odwalla juice, clif bars, yerba mate tea, & reese's pieces!

after the show, julian autographed a pita and threw it down to his fans.

the catch!

chris serenades the crowd outside the wiltern.

spending the night at sophie's in seattle (we're going for a new band image, what do you think?)

TOUR UPDATE + a bunch of real cool things

hello friends!!!

i am writing you from portland, OREGON. this is my first time here, and it's alternating between being overcast and raining. bummer. i hear that happens a lot around these parts. it's nice though! there are lots of cool little organic cafes/eateries and markets to help us stay healthy in this crazy lifestyle. we've had about 10 minutes of free time in the last 4 days, but it's been grrrrreat.

yesterday we played the SASQUATCH mUSICAL FESTIVAL in George, Washington. that was one of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. and they treated us super nice. lot's of good food and free ice cream. wooopeeedooo. got to see our buddies in white rabbits play, and they of course blew everyone away. we had to play pretty early, but to our surprise, a lot of kids came out! thanks to everyone for singing and dancing in the rain!

the day before we played a show in vancouver. i'm not gonna go too much more into it because tim will be posting a sweet photo blog really soon, and that should be a lot more interesting than this babble. word up!!

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here's some sweet stuff that's happened while we've been away:

a bunch of awesome pictures from the cd release show at 330 ritch the other night. thanks clay and misha!

Pics from SF Record Release Show:
Misha: http://www.7x7sf.com/arts_entertainment/nightlife_blog/19146409.html
Clay (blood and all): http://www.severegentlemen.com/roboto_050908/

Great AllMusic.com Album Review: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:anfqxzqjldje

Baeble Featured Artist: http://www.baeblemusic.com/baebleBlog.aspx?bid=898

Great Westword Preview (Denver): http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2008/05/beyond_playlist_the_morning_be_2.php

Live Review of 330 ritch Record Release Show: http://www.thebaybridged.com/2008/05/16/morning-benders-330-ritch/

Slant Magazine Album Review: http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1378

Check out features in LA Opinion and UR Chicago as well. I can't post them because they are print-only.

OH. The super homies at PUMA let us design our own shoes and they actually made them for us. We thought it was a joke, but then they gave them to us. AMAZING#!%!#%#!%#!!! We'll take some photos soon, here's mine though:

MY SHOE from SHOE BBQ

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wheewwwww. sorry if that's too much to take in, but we really are so grateful.... thanks so much for everyone who has supported "talking through tin cans." it's been a long time coming for us, and we are just so thrilled that people are enjoying the record.

time to play a show now. THANK YOU PORTLANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD.

love,
the morning benders

RADIO RADIO!!!!!!!!

we just got news that talking through tin cans entered the CMJ charts at #61!! not too shabby, eh? why don't you show us a little love and call your local college radio station and request us? yeah! most major college radio stations already have the cd, but if they dont have it, tell them to get it QUICK.

we've also got some great specialty plays. if you listen to the following shows/stations, call in and request your favorite band: THE MORNING BENDERS!!! YEah!!@

Specialty Spins so far:

KTCL "Adventure University" Denver, CO "Waiting For A War" (303) 631-2933

KUSF "Just Another Menace Sunday" San Francisco, CA "Dammit Anna" 415/751.KUSF

WBTZ "Early Warning" Burlington, VT "Waiting For A War" (877) 893-BUZZ (2899)

WHHZ "The Independent" Gainsville, FL "Waiting For A War"

WKZQ "The Flight Test" Myrtle Beach, SC "Waiting For A War" 843-626-7300

WQXA "The News With Nixon" Camphill, PA "Waiting For A War" 800-332-1057

KEGE "Off The Record" Pocatello, IN "Waiting For A War" (208) 232-GOAT(4628)

KITS "Soundcheck" San Francisco, CA "Waiting For A War" 800.696.1053

RIFF2 "Myspace Music Show" Detroit, MI "Waiting For A War" 313-298-WRIF (For WRIF)

WBTZ "Early Warning" Burlington, VT "Waiting For A War"

WEND "The New Music & Indie Label Show" Charlotte, NC "Waiting For A War" 800-934-1065

WQXA "The News With Nixon" Camphill, PA "Waiting For A War"

WSFM "The Final Hour" Wilmington, NC "Waiting For A War" 910-332-0983

WTKS "Final Hours" Orlando, FL "I Was Wrong" & "Patient Patient" (888) 978-1041

KACV "Under The Radar" Amarillo, TX "Waiting For A War" KACVFM90@actx.edu

KDLD "Dead Air" Hollywood, CA "Loose Change" 877.900.1031

KUSF "Just Another Menace Sunday" San Francisco, CA "Waiting For A War"

WBTZ "Early Warning" Burlington, VT "Waiting For A War"

WHHZ "The Independent" Gainsville, FL "Waiting For A War"

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Thanks to Aaron at Live105, Dennis The Menace at KUSF, Cheryl at KEXP, and Billy Zero from XMU for their support!

Dennis The Menace's KUSF session ran this past Sunday:
It is a FULL hour with us - including the infamous "Musical Sandwich" - two of our songs as the bread and songs requested by other artists in between.

Folks in San Francisco can simply listen at 90.3... the rest of you can listen by either going to ITUNES, Radio, Public, KUSF or just hit up: http://www.live365.com/stations/kusf

There were a couple cool posts on Littleradio.com as well. We did a live session over there, and an interview.

Here's one of the live songs, "i was wrong."
http://www.littleradio.com/feeds/downloads/view/3542
...and the interview:
http://littleradio.com/feeds/features/view/3524

oh, and thanks to WOXY. they featured us yesterday (Tues) on their "New Tunes Tuesday" feature. rock on homies.

leaving for vancouver tomorrow. see you all soon.

love,
the morning benders

First 2 Kooks Shows, MTV News, E! News, Spin "Artist of the Day," LA Times !!

hey kids,

we just got back from playing our first 2 shows on tour with the kooks. it was awesome seeing the four of them again, and we are so so so excited to be doing all these shows together! trying not to get too giddy now...

on sunday we played house of blues, and on monday the wiltern. both shows were awesome. thanks to everyone who came early and rocked out with us. on thursday we leave for vancouver for the rest of the tour. needless to say - we can't wait. here are a couple of pics from the last 2 shows:

SD:


LA:


here are a couple of things that happened while we were on tour.

we did an interview with John Norris for MTV in SXSW, and it just went up today. peep it:
http://newsroom.mtv.com/

we were SPIN's band of the day:
http://www.spin.com/articles/morning-benders

we were featured on E! news the other night, in between spots on JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and MADONNA. HAHA. i don't think it's online yet, but my mom TIVO'd it, and that shit was awesome. check it out if you can.

LA times wrote us up the other day, and now it's up online. check that one here:
http://theguide.latimes.com/blogs/soundboard/

Boston Globe feature:
http://www.boston.com/

big ups to itunes for giving our new album talking through tin cans the indie spotlight last week, to youtube for putting our video of crosseyed up on the front page, and if i haven't made it clear yet, THE KOOKS. those dudes rule.

oh yeah, if you don't have the album yet. GO GET IT. it's on itunes and amazon, and at a store near you. support us, and we will love you forever!!!

more tomorrow!

rock on,
the morning benders

SHIRTS, gearing up for tour!!

hey kiddies,

we have been hard at work getting everything ready for the tour, so we haven't had much time to get on here. hope everyone is enjoying the new record. if you haven't gotten it yet, head on over to our site, and we'll let you know how you can change that:

themorningbenders.com

OR, come get a copy at a show! most the shows are sold out, but hopefully you already have a ticket, and you're coming. along with the new album, we'll also have a ton of new shirts. kyle lee comes through again. check it!@#! :








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oh, and whoever asked for the crosseyed lyrics. here you go:

i tried to cross a bridge today
i tell you man there aint no way to change
so i paid someone to lead me through
mapped it out from me to you
in a way, it’s cruel

a crosseyed mess led me from the flames into the dark
our empty smiles keep us from completely falling apart
but somewhere inside me there's a jealous mind
and i want it out of my head!!

we keep handing out our gifts
a gilded age keeps our hearts stiff
and apart

but what about our flesh and blood?
the product of our young love
is here to stay

a crosseyed mess led me from the flames into the dark
our empty promises keep us from bearing our hearts
but somewhere inside me there's a jealous mind
and i want it out of my head!!
i want it out of my head!!!!!


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love,
the morning benders

"I DONT LIKE. VERY NOISY. SORRY." (+la times)

we thought this was pretty amazing. a couple days ago when we were in the mission practicing, a lady from "gold star imports" knocked on the door and handed this note to us without saying a word.



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also, check out this awesome LA times write-up from a couple of days ago. my mom was so proud when she got the paper that morning!

latimes.com

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ok, gotta run. full post soon!

love,
the morning benders

LA Release show tomorrow!! AMPLIFIER feature, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE show, NOISE POP podcast, and more!

ok kids. the time has come!!! tomorrow is our cd release show in los angeles! that's thursday, may 8th at the echo. the sweetest part is you can get a FREE ticket to the show, if you order our album for $10 right now. you'll get a copy of the album, a FREE amazingly beautiful kyle lee poster (pictured below), a bunch of b-sides, and a FREE ticket to the show. just click below! if you don't want to order online, we'll give you a ticket and a CD for $15 at the door. sounds sort of silly though, when you could do it for 10 right now and get a bunch of free crap along with it...

CLICK HERE TO ORDER:
www.themorningbenders.com
www.plusonemusic.net/records

(the offer stands until 4pm on the 8th)

ALSO playing are our super homies DAWES and RUMSPRINGA. Both amazing bands, so come at 8pm and see the whole show!



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Check out this great feature in AMPLIFIER magazine

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We just added a show with Death Cab For Cutie, Rogue Wave, and The Kooks! Amazing!

Info:
May 30 2008
6:00P
The City Market (w/ DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, ROGUE WAVE, THE KOOKS!@)
Kansas, Missouri

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Noisepop and QED added us to a great podcast this month, featuring songs by Us, Man Man, Crystal Castles, and a bunch more...

http://www.kqed.org/arts/noisepop/

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more soon!

love,
the morning benders

TALKING THROUGH TIN CANS OUT TODAY! FREE MP3! VIRGIN IN STORE TONIGHT! ITUNES INDIE SPOTLIGHT! LOTS LOTS MORE!

the album is finally out! yeaaaaaaaa. you can order it from a variety of places.

for digital copies -
itunes: itunes store direct link

for a digital copy and a FREE ticket to a release show in LA/SF -
our website: themorningbenders.com
+1 records: www.plusonemusic.net/records

for a hard copy -
amazon: amazon.com
your local record store: if they don't have it, let us know and we'll get it to them!!

...and a little present for all of you for being so patient:
FREE MP3 of "boarded doors" -
www.themorningbenders.com/08 boarded doors.mp3



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for all of you in SF tonight, we'll be playing at the virgin megastore on market at 6:30pm. it's free, and we'll have copies of our album there! if you come and grab one, we'll give you a free ticket to the show on friday at 330 ritch as well.

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itunes has us under their "indie spotlight" for this week. check us out on the homepage of the itunes store!!! here's a shot:



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a really cool feature on the tripwire front page as well. check that out here:
thetripwire.com



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mp3 of the day on spinner.com -
spinner.com

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Little Radio also invited us to play some tunes for the show ‘FMLY Radio’, which airs live from 10am – 11am PST on May 8th.

stream it at: http://littleradio.com

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some more tidbits:
interview on little radio by amateur chemist
metromix cd review
ipickmynose interview

love,
the morning benders

"boarded doors" video, "crosseyed" featured on youtube, FREE store @ virgin tomorrow!

in case you missed the premiere on stereogum... the "boarded doors" video is up on youtube, and imeem, and all that goodness now as well. here it is:



still directed by DANIEL STESSEN, the people-food superhomie.

be sure to check out the "crosseyed" acoustic video featured on the front page of youtube today too!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=68BNEOJH8PU

stream the songs, and more videos on imeem!!
imeem.com/themorningbenders

oh! we're playing a free show tomorrow (tuesday) at the virgin megastore in SF. we play at 7pm. all ages. did i mention it's free? ...and we'll have copies of our new album for sale!! be there.

more info:
http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/

love,
the morning benders

"boarded doors" video debuts on stereogum!

just posted on stereogum.com - our video for "boarded doors."

it's a spicy one!! directed by daniel stessen of people-food fame.

check it out, and let us know what you think!

here's the direct link:
http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-morning-benders-video-boarded-doors_009519.html





this one is off our new album, "talking through tin cans," out MAY 6th!!
pre-order it now:
http://www.plusonemusic.net/records

love,
the morning benders