Geographer - News

My SXSW Experience

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:29:00 -0700

After doing SXSW with a broken ankle in 2011, and playing 3 to 4 shows a day in 2012, I wanted to experience SXSW as a spectator instead of a sweaty and fried participant. Playing shows there is so exhilarating, the crowds bring large festival energy to small rooms, but by the end of that whirlwind three days, with 10 shows behind you, you can get a little warn out. And you realize theres so much music happening around you, but you havent gotten to see any of it. So I got myself a plane ticket and flew down there with my manager to link up with friends and actually have time to see some bands.

A big highlight was Icona Pop, who I had met in San Francisco at Popscene, but I didnt get a chance to see their show. Their unique and honest energy was the perfect icing to their pop perfection future rulers of the world music cake, and it was great to hang out with them again.

The next day I was getting my 8th taco of the week at my new favorite taco truck in Austin when I heard some familiar dulcet tones coming from across the street. I wandered over and my suspicions were confirmed, and I was able to rock out to Ra Ra Riots amazing set at Clive Bar. I hung around afterwards to say hi and ended up bumping into them again in front of the ChiLantro food truck (which had a longer line than many showcases). They were on the road with Freelance Whales old tour manager, who we became friends with on our tour with them last fall, and it was great to meet the rest of Ra Ra Riot and contemplate the benefits of adding Kim Chi to everything.

Another great show was Toro y Moi at the Mohawk. We had made friends with the inimitable stage manager Josh when we played there in January. He had taken me aside to tell me that he brought his dancing shoes for Kites, and I said, "Oh cool," like he meant he was looking forward to dancing. But after I made the synth loop at the beginning, as I turned to Brian to start the song, I saw he had actually CHANGED SHOES into literal dancing shoes! So that was cool. He also said he had to grab someone by the throat and remove them from the show without starting a fight, which is pretty badass. So we like this man. The Toro y Moi show was totally sold out, so I walked to the back and found the stage manager, who got me in behind the stage. Said a quick hello to Austra, who had just finished (so mad I missed their set, "Lose It" really took me by storm), and made my way upstairs. I bumped into Chaz on his way to the stage, wished him a good show, and got a spot on the banister in the VIP. Their tones are picture perfect. Im so impressed with how dialed they have everything on stage. Each guitar tone, every keyboard, the drums, bass, everything.

I also got a chance to catch up with Braids, who wed met a few years ago at this amazing show in Tempe we played on the way home from SXSW with Foster the People, Toro y Moi, and Braids. The bands were all relatively new then, and its amazing how many of them went on to have an amazing year. Heres to the Windish Agency! Braids were debuting some new material at the M for Montreal Party, and it was awe-inspiringly powerful. I hail them as the electronic art band of the decade. Cant wait til they come to San Francisco.

After the festival was over I went to Barton Springs. I had just seen "Tree of Life" and was excited to see that amazing human-structures-incorporated-into-nature swimming area, but alas, it was closed off. apparently the water is freezing because it gets its temperature from the earth rather than the sun. Ahhh, the earth. Then it was a long plane ride home, which I passed futzing around with some of our new songs, and back to normal life.

Thanks to everyone who came up and said "hi." while I was in Austin -- I hope to see you all soon!

-Mike

From www.geographermusic.com

Winter Tour Roundup - Part Two

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:04:00 -0800

After St. Louis, and a quick radio session at KDHX, we finally had a day off! So we took a Geographer field trip to go see Django Unchained, which I reviewed for Jonk Music here. It was the second time for me, and it had lost none of its power. So after we demoralized ourselves with extreme violence, it was on to Texas. I dont know what it is but weve had some of our weirdest and best experiences in Texas. They are a people of extremes -- a zest for life, ready to get down. Dallas sold out and we had the honor of having Daniel Hart open for us, fresh from partying with celebrities out at Sundance supporting the film Aint Them Bodies Saints, which he composed the score for. One of the speakers in the venue was blown, and the house engineer almost decapitated our own sound guy with feedback during sound check, but come show time the energy in the room was overwhelming. Thats the kind of crowd you dream for, and it was a true joy to play for them.

Someone enjoyed themselves a little too much though, because when I came back out to tear down my gear after everyone was gone, I found my mic cable mangled, and discovered that someone had ripped my microphone out of it for a keep sake. Kind of an expensive keepsake!! Come to the merch table for a hug or a guitar pick next time. Luckily the rest of the venues on the tour had a mic for us to borrow for the remaining shows.

Didnt have too much time to be bummed out about that though, because then we went to AUSTIN, the jewel of the south, the oasis in the desert. Last time we were on tour we couldnt didnt get a show at ACL because they werent sure how many people we could get out to a show. This time through we booked at the Mohawk on the indoor stage.

The show sold out a few days after it went on sale, and we thought, great, a sold out show in Austin, cant wait. But the venue moved the show to the outdoor stage, which seats 800 - 900 people, and we were excited that more people could come to the show, but worried that it would be half full, and not as exciting as a tiny, cramped, sweaty room. But when we showed up to Austin, the stage manager Josh (who was a total badass by the way) told us that he only had a few tickets left and there was a line out the door. Austin! Fucking yeah. Looking out at all those people in the open air, the balcony and the packed area in front of the stage, people on all sides, some dude yelling at me cause he saw me at dinner asking me how my fish tacos were between every song (they were chicken, is how they were), it was an amazing show.

We gave you our all Austin, cause you always give us yours. Also -- Eric Clapton was playing right down the street! Love it there. Then it was a short trip though New Mexico, where, oh yes, of course, why not pull us over for no reason -- wouldnt be a tour without it. Phoenix was an extremely pleasant surprise another sold out show. One of the most attentive crowds of the whole tour, you guys won my heart. Then San Diego, they love to party, and finally we were en route to San Francisco. So excited I couldnt sleep the night before.

Wed played the Fillmore before, opening for Stars back in 2010. Wed been playing to 150, 200 people at that point, and I was scared so shitless I barely remember it. When we showed up we just looked at each other and said, "Wow. This place is going to be filled with people in 3 hours." But what we were most excited for was to play with the Magik Magik quartet for the first time! We had planned something special for San Francisco, and were going to perform 5 songs with the Magik Magik Quartet, a spinoff of the Magik Magik Orchestra, that arranges and performs achingly beautiful orchestral arrangements upon request for such acts as the Walkmen, Death Cab for Cutie, John Vanderslice, and the Dodos. We had met with Minna, the brains and creative force behind the orchestra, before we left on tour, to play her the songs we wanted to do. While we were on the road, she would send us emails with updates on the arrangements, and recordings of their rehearsals. But sound check the day of the show was going to be our only time to rehearse with them. Luckily, when youre dealing with world class musicians, thats all you really need. It felt like a free concert when we were supposed to be working. Hearing your songs transformed in your absence into beautiful music, it was by far the most moving sound check, well, the only moving sound check weve ever had.

On An On played a particularly powerful set, Midi Matilda amped the crowd up, and it was time to go on. What a sight that was. It was so powerful to be back in San Francisco, to go from a 600 person venue the last time we headlined to 1200, to feel like we were all part of the same machine, to think back on all the shows I had seen at the Fillmore wondering if I would ever get the chance to be up there myself, to remember all the stops along the way to getting there.

Magik Magik was heart-breakingly beautiful. We were particularly excited to be able to play our new cover of Kate Bushs Cloudbusting, which Nate layered six different cello parts on in the recording. After the five songs we were sad to see them go, and we felt the only way to recover from their absence was to launch into Verona. I like to go into the audience during that song but there just wasnt any room, but nothing was going to keep me from diving into the crowd after Kites. That was a wild ride. Standing backstage waiting for the encore with Nate and Brian, covered in sweat, feeling like we could do the whole thing again. It was great to share that moment with each other.

Then it was down to LA for a farewell to On An On, and a wonderful, sold out show at the Echo to wrap things up with style. So. On to the next one. Cant wait to see what happens next.

Love, Mike

From www.geographermusic.com

Winter Tour Roundup - Part One

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:03:00 -0800

Were back in San Francisco, reunited with friends, loved ones and synthesizers, enjoying a little down time after our first headlining tour of the U.S.! Of course for us, that down time lasted about 2 days, and were back in the studio working on new songs. But thats the way we like it. We didnt really know what to expect at a lot of the shows, a lot of places we had never played before, and America, you blew us away. Thank you for not snowing so much this time! Though it wasnegative six degrees (!!!) in Madison, WI the night of our show.

One of the most exciting moments was when we were driving on our way to Portland and heard from the promoter that the Seattle show had just sold out. Then when we got to Portland, that one had sold out as well. We felt like that was a real affirmation from people that they were ready for Geographer. Those two shows, and the following night in Bellingham, were some of the most energetic of the whole tour, likely because we were buzzing off what we were about to do. Portland was the most proficient crowd-surfing catch, the softest landing. Bellingham was the highest drop (I climbed up on top of a speaker on the left side of the stage during Verona, picked out some particularly hearty looking fellows, and jumped on them. Ive never been lifted so high, they must spend a lot of time outdoors).

Then began the portion of the tour with the long drives. You know how towns used to crop up because of industries like oil and railroads? We need to have that happen with music to make touring in the midwest easier. But this was our first time headlining, playing 90 minute sets for people, our own show, and we didnt want to skip anyone if we could help it. But that meant no sleeping, lots of coffee, and really feeding off the crowd for our energy -- which turned out to be a pretty good arrangement. In Boise, people rushed the stage after the show to get hugs. One girl almost knocked me down the stairs, and I passed her down the line so I could start the encore. We started it with a song called, "Take the Moonlight," which Ive been playing for a few years now, and do with just voice and guitar. It was nice to let the gadgets fade for a song and reminded me a lot of how I started out, playing acoustic songs at open mic nights.

On An On, the band we had supporting us on the tour, is so good. It was a true pleasure to listen to their songs every night, particularly my favorite, The Hunter, and we were thick as thieves by the end. Weve been lucky enough to surround ourselves with truly good people who are fun to work with, and On An On fit right into that.

In Chicago we played the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, and the very talented Family of the Year was main support. Chicago has always been good to us, and we had a great show. Dont crowd surf when you havent slept for 7 days though. Not my best technique. Got to the hotel room and just passed out, but got up early to do a really cool studio session with Audiotree. The interview was pretty funny. I love any opportunity to tell a large amount of people that were all alone.

I think it was around this time that we heard we had sold out the Fillmore in San Francisco. When I first moved here about 6 years ago I used to walk around at night in the hills that overlook the city proper, with the Bay Bridge and Market street lit up like a Christmas tree, and I used to say out loud to myself that one day I was going to be a part of that city, that people were going to know my music, that Id be in those buildings, not outside of them. So for me, selling out the Fillmore was truly achieving a very concrete dream. After the show, after all the gear was packed up, and I was back at my house for a short 6 hours, I took some time to stand out on my back deck and look up at the place I used to walk around to tell Mike Deni of the past that he did it. Thank you San Francisco for taking us into your hearts, and trusting us with your true selves. More on that show and the rest of the tour later

From www.geographermusic.com

We Covered Kate Bush - Cloudbusting

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:21:00 -0800

In our downtime we had been working on learning a few new cover songs and decided to record some of them. Heres our version of Kate Bushs

For a free download of the song, just sign up for the list below and well send you a DL link. Enjoy!

From www.geographermusic.com

Soundtrack Of The Year - 2012

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 12:08:00 -0800

So it marks the end of yet another year. Lots of people posting Best of 2012 lists and the like. Since plenty of the records that were released last year have gotten lots of love, Brian and I decided to put together our Soundtrack of 2012 playlist. Theres some newer songs/artists in there, but also plenty of old stuff that were part of our collective soundtracks for the year. Sometimes a year is defined by the choices weve made, or the events we participate in. In the end, though, the year is always soundtracked by those songs that played in the moment, that inspired us, or simply found their way into our consciousness like a new friend. Below is a collection of some of those songs for us over the past year.

-Mike

Or click here to play it in Spotify

From www.geographermusic.com

Prepping For The Road, Making Music

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:41:00 -0800

We were very excited to announce our first U.S. headlining tour! ve had so much fun playing for everyone across the country supporting other tours. ve been great shows, but SHORT! Now we finally get to put together the set weve always wanted to play for you guys. ll be playing essentially everything on Myth and Animal Shapes, and there will be some oldies and unreleased material in there for the die hards.

Photo from Outside Lands 2012by Paige Parsons

Weve been working hard on new songs, throwing everything at the wall, learning new techniques, new technologies, and it will be nice to go out on the road again to gain some perspective before we sift through the puzzle pieces on our hard drives.

We will see you out there, America. Bring your hearts.

-Mike

From www.geographermusic.com

January Tour Announcement

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:03:00 -0800

We are very excited to announce our first U.S. headlining tour! ve had so much fun playing for everyone across the country supporting other tours. ve been great shows, but SHORT! Now we finally get to put together the set weve always wanted to play for you guys. ll be playing essentially everything on Myth and Animal Shapes, and there will be some oldies and unreleased new material in there for the die hards.

-Mike

From www.geographermusic.com

Tour Wrap-Up Pt.2

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:53:00 -0800

Nashville was the hottest show by far. ve never sweat like that in my life, and the Freelance Whales said that was our best show of the whole tour. I gotta say, theres nothing like that San Francisco reception. We came out with guns blazing, and they were with us from the beginning. God bless you, San Francisco. What a home.

We finally made it to the Bluebird in Denver, where we got snowed out of our show with Stars back in 2010. It snowed this time too, but not much, and the weather didnt stop us this time.

It did catch up with us though in NY. The hurricane hit a few days before we were scheduled to play in lower Manhattan, and the venue flooded and lost power. We convinced them to postpone the show rather than cancel it, and we hung around in NJ for a few days waiting for NY to get back up and running. We just happened to reschedule the show for the night a noreaster hit Manhattan, as if they hadnt been through enough with the Hurricane. It seemed that the gods were against Geographer playing in NY, but we did it anyway. The venue still didnt have heat, there was a half foot of snow on the ground, and our gear was a little fried, but we made the most of that one. I havent had to work that hard on stage in a long time, but weve only played NY a handful of times, so we wouldnt have missed that one. We were happy that some proceeds from the show could be donated to hurricane relief.

A lot of times when the gear fails youre forced to rely on other things, and that can lead to some exciting moments. My vocal looper wasnt working, I finally realized about halfway through the show. Every time I hit a button on it, the whole song wouldnt freeze up, so when we started Original Sin I said, "Im not gonna touch that thing. But what am I going to do instead of looping my voice and chopping it up," which is one of my favorite parts of the whole show. Instead I used my real voice live like a looper and got lost at the front of the stage. I was pretty excited after that. Reminded me of the old days playing blues and jazz and soloing.

After that it was a long four days drive back across the country. We stopped off with some friends along the way, but thats a hell of a drive, after all that. In Nebraska it was about midnight and we were ready to find a motel. The fog was so thick on the sides of the road you couldnt see more than a few feet. But the road itself was perfectly clear. It was the eeriest thing I ever saw. It was like being on a boat in the ocean. We pulled into this town and we could barely see what it looked like until the next morning (which was a good thing cause it was kind of scary).

When we hit California we let out some whoops and hollers. It was great to be back home, and there was a foot of snow on the ground through Donner Pass. I took a little walk into the woods at a rest stop, which was surprisingly beautiful. Just like walking around in the middle of nowhere, I couldnt even see the road, just mountains.

Had a good nights sleep that night back at home, but to be honest we wished we had another show. Thanks to everybody we met, everybody who came out to the shows, and most of all our crew for making it such a fulfilling and memorable tour. Cant wait to do it again.

- Mike

From www.geographermusic.com

Tour Wrap-up Blog Pt.1

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:42:00 -0800

We just got back from our longest tour yet, with the Freelance Whales. What do we have to show for it? New friends, new fans, new feelings about Nebraska, and a lot of new music.

Id been hearing about Scott Walker for years from people, and I finally got a chance to hunker down in the back of the van with the documentary about him, "30th Century Man." Then of course I downloaded every album he ever made from Spotify. Not the kind of music you want to idly listen to on a drive, so I got shot down on that one. Plus our van speakers are not the best way to appreciate a nuanced string arrangement. So I saved Scott for my down time and headphones.

I also watched a movie called "Little Murders," directed by Alan Arkin and starring Elliot Gould, from the 70s. Its based on a play of the same name, and takes some getting used to, especially if youre used to the crappy swill they put out like styrofoam cups and call movies these days. And I have to admit I was antsy at first, but there was such a major payoff. Real movie literature. Speaking of literature, Ive never read Lord of the Rings, so I was reading that in the van. Our own journey was paltry in comparison, but it lent an air of valiant urgency to our own quest.

Every show was packed, and we were especially surprised about the turnout and reception in a lot of the places wed never played before, like Salt Lake City, Madison, Minneapolis, and Nashville. These were some of our favorite shows. Smaller venues, all ages, people really bringing a lot of energy. Sometimes I had to coax the crowd and stir them up a bit, but by the end they were always with us.

We learned a lot about performing on this tour. It was a benchmark for us in that respect. Weve always wanted to do more than just play our songs for people, weve always wanted to put on a show, to go at least one step beyond, to tap into something with everybody there.

Each show is extremely important to us, and the mantra of this tour was, "Theres nothing outside those doors. This is the only room in the world and were the only people in it, so lets make something happen in there tonight." I tried to impart that feeling to the audience. I think a lot of times people, myself included, can feel reserved in social situations. Theyre so used to bottling up their true selves all day long; trimming off this excess string here, smoothing over that ragged edge there, so that they have a version of themselves that can function in the day-to-day world, but is not necessarily a pure portrayal of themselves. Its a version of yourself, all tied up nice with a bow. And I think one of the reasons for rock and roll, or music at all, is to let all that fall to the floor, to tap into something more raw, more magical, less safe, less reasonable, if only for a few short hours.

More soon...

-Mike

From www.geographermusic.com

New Video for Lover's Game!

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:05:00 -0700

Pleased to announce the release of our newest music video for s Game is out now. The video was co-directed by the talented Tony Benna and Ethan Indorf and shot on location in the deserts of Reno, NV. We had a lot of fun shooting this and made a bunch of new friends in process. You can check out the finished project below.

You can also head over to the Video Gallery to check out this video and more.

Wed also like to thank all the people who volunteered their time to make this thing come together. A lot of them volunteered their time and without their skills, kindness and effort, this would have never come together. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Co-Directed: Tony Benna, Ethan Indorf
http://www.tonybenna.com
http://www.ethanindorf.com

Producer: Tillman Frick

Production company: FLF
http://www.flffilms.com/

Agency: Mekanism
http://www.makanism.com

DP: Ethan Indorf, Ryan Baker
http://www.sixgun.co

AC. Lawrence Coleman III , Scott Horn
AD: Mike Benna
Art direction: Thomas Guyer
Associate Producer: Kean Levrealut
Wardrobe: Sea Pony Couture
Gaffer/Grip: Dominic Lopez
Production Assistant: Mike Benna, Brian Benna, Kean Levrealut
Editor: Tony Benna, Ethan Indorf
VFX: Ethan Indorf, Tony Benna, Kean Levrealut, Mike Benna
Color: Ethan Indorf

Special thanks. Ericka Frick, Jerry Dugan, Charity Baker, The Holland Project, Ravi Anne, Ryan & Scott Gold, and all our new Reno Friends.

From www.geographermusic.com

Our new store is here

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:50:00 -0700

Our new web store has officially launched! This is the first time that all things Geographer have been available all in one place. You can check out all the shirt designs, music releases (CD, Vinyl, etc.) at the link below.

We will be adding some more items in the near future as well as holding webstore-only sales in the near future. Until then, you can check out some of the designs we have currently here:

From www.geographermusic.com

On Tour with Freelance Whales

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:35:00 -0700

Were hitting the road with Freelance Whales beginning Oct. 4th in Chicago. Well be playing 20+ shows in a ton of cities all across the United States. Were very excited to see some familiar faces and especially delighted we get to play to play some cities for the first time. You can see all the details below the jump.

You can click the above tour poster to get more details and ticket information, or click here to go to the Events page.

From www.geographermusic.com

Welcome To The New Website!

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:35:00 -0700

Excited that today we are launching our new home on the web. We will be rolling out more features as we go along, but for now weve got a few goodies to tide you over.

From www.geographermusic.com