Hey Team,

For the first time ever, Character Nine is playing Boston, MA.  We were lucky enough to sync up with our friends Chris Cubeta & The Liars Club and share the bill at Church of Boston, an awesome looking venue near Fenway Park.

If you live in the area, or just feel like going on tour with ‘Nine, we would love to see you at the show. Check out our Facebook invite to learn more about the details and RSVP.

The Essentials:

Character Nine
Saturday, June 26th | 9pm to 11pm
Church of Boston | 69 Kilmarnock St. (Fenway Area)

This is one from our back catalog, called “Woodwork.”  Although short and simple, I’ll bet it’s the prettiest song you’ve heard all day. [Right-Click to Download]

Far more influential ink than mine has been spilled over Daryl, Zoe, & Peter’s movie Breaking Upwards, so I will save the ‘wax poetic’ for another occasion.  Instead, I’m just going to tell you to see it: See this movie.

After a successful opening weekend at the IFC Theater in NYC, their run has been extended to through Sunday, April 11th.  They open in Los Angeles on Friday, and if things go well, IFC might consider a nation-wide release.

If you don’t live in either of those cities, they’ve got you covered as well.  You can watch it home through your cable provider’s On Demand menu.  How bout that?

What an amazing time. Richie is one of the most talented rock vocalists I know of. His vocal chops are only exceed by his work on the guitar. He has the technical mastery and speed on par with any ‘shredder’ but the taste and soul of an old-school bluesman. It’s an unbelievable combination of talent that gave way to one of the most impressive live performances I’ve ever seen.

If you want to see Richie for yourself, he’s coming back to NYC to play the Highline Ballroom on May 25th and promote his new album Peace Sign.  Barring an act of god, you can bet that the four of us will be among the melted faces in attendance.

Enjoy!

We are pleased to announce that our new record, “Suspicious Package” is available for pre-order on our website . And even better, when you pre-order the CD, you can download the album immediately. You’ll still have to wait for the full color poster insert that comes with the CD, but at least you’ll have some new music to listen to during the wait!

Done and done.

We poked around and eventually ended up in the Control Room to talk about our project with Jeff Berner, our prospective engineer.  We quickly discovered our mutual admiration for the work of  producers like Brendan O’Brien, Rick Rubin, and a handful of others.  Artistically and personally we were a great fit.   Next we listened to a few audio samples, paying close attention to the drums.  Achieving a great drum sound is one of the most difficult aspects of the recording process, but their dedicated overhead mic setup and spacious live room allowed everything to sound big and clear.

I can’t remember if we closed the deal then and there, but I do recall leaving the studio and being extremely fired-up to get to work.  Six months and a few goofy videos later, we had a recording that we were proud to call our own.  In 2009 we returned to Galuminum to record a single called “The Man You Made” where Jeff played a more collaborative roll in the process, acting as our producer.  The result: Awesome.  Listen for yourself:

If you’re looking for a place to record in New York City, you should definitely give these guys a hard look.  They are extremely talented and always a blast to work with.  As a band, we are always looking forward to our next project together.

We all got together for the first time last September.
I said “Somebody take a photograph I’ve got a camera.”
Now I got me a favorite picture.

It’s a soulful and touching example of exceptional songwriting, easily one of my favorite King’s X songs.  If more musicians held themselves–or at least aspired to–this standard of content and emotional honesty, rock music would be in a much better place than it is. I hope you can set aside some time to throw on some headphones and take this song in.

Picture – King’s X

That’s all for now, but hopefully we’ll have pictures from the big show soon.