Change CD Release Photos…

January 22, 2012

Change CD Release Photos…

Thanks to everyone who came out to the release show on Monday. If you couldn’t make it for any reason…..you know, like if you don’t happen to live in our fair nation’s capital….here are some photos that Lisa took.

Ryan from Tereu Tereu

Setlist

Thanks again to everyone who came out!

August 26, 2011

Official We Were Pirates Emergency Preparedness Kit

Hello friends,

We on the east coast have had a harrowing week of trials and tribulations with earthquakes, hurricanes, and such. So, I thought I’d do what I could to be part of the solution and provide you with some emergency preparedness info. As the hurricane approaches, make sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast and be prepared with the tools you need for survival. I have gathered a list of a few items that you will need if the worst comes and evacuation becomes necessary.

Official We Were Pirates Emergency Preparedness Kit Contents:

1. Food

 

2. Raft

3. Music

Official We Were Pirates Emergency Preparedness Mixtape:

1. Bjork – Joga
2. The Pixies – Where Is My Mind
3. Weezer – Surf Wax America
4. Simon & Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy In New York
5. Beta Band – Dry The Rain
6. Thom Yorke – And It Rained All Night
7. Buddy Holly – Raining In My Heart
8. Charley Patton – O’ Death
9. Dntel – Umbrella
10.  Styx – Come Sail Away

Here’s a link to the mix on Spotify. Dntel is not on Spotify though, so you’ll have to go here to listen to Umbrella.

And just a quick update on the record. I’m doing a few vocal overdubs this weekend and then sending it off to have it mastered. So, it is coming.

August 23, 2010

bandcamp

because there just aren’t enough band-focused websites (myspace, facebook, garageband, virb, purevolume, etc…) we were pirates is on bandcamp.  enjoy!

July 16, 2010

“Told” Theme Music

I was more than a little honored, recently, to receive an email from “This American Life” production manager, Seth Lind, asking if I would be interested in writing some original theme music for a live, story-telling TV pilot he was working on (kind of along the lines of The Moth). He had heard my version of “The Three of Us” (a This American Life original from one Ms. Starlee Kine) when it was on the podcast and had received my creepy stalker mail sent to TAL (a copy of “Cutting Ties” I sent in for them to play with my blessing) and liked my music. So, I cooped myself up in the studio for a few days and after a few different drafts came up with a suitable piece of instrumental music entitled One Last Heist (For Old Time’s Sake). You can hear said “suitable piece of music” in the trailer for the “Told” pilot below.

Please keep in mind that the whole project was a bit rushed and my final version didn’t make it Mr. Lind before the pilot was created, but there is a slightly less rough version that will accompany the final product when it makes it’s big debut.

Anyway, thanks to Seth for thinking of me and let us raise a glass and hope that “Told” is a runaway television success the likes of which we’ve never before imagined possible (I’m thinking The Simpsons & Leave It To Beaver status).

July 14, 2010

We Were Pirates on….Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami……Huh?!?!?!

So, I got an email Sunday night from a friend who was clearly ashamed to be asking, but asked nonetheless, “Ummmm….Did I hear your song on “Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami” tonight?”  I thought long and hard and then remembered that yes, I had in fact agreed to let the production company responsible for the show use my music quite a while ago.  With a little help from Lisa, we found a clip of the show on youtube and found that indeed, it was “Long Year” playing in the background.  My friend, let’s call him….”Todd”….went on in the email to try to distance himself as much as possible from the show (while clearly having watched it closely enough to recognize the opening song).  Sure “Todd,” your wife is the fan.  Riiiiiiight.

Anyway, here is a clip of the clip of the show as we found it on Youtube.  Because I love you, I edited it down to include none of the actual show itself, because…..wow…..to be diplomatic….in watching a 30 second clip, I discovered that it is not a terribly thought-provoking show (understatement…..understatement).

Oh and in all seriousness, many thank-you’s to “Todd” and “Todd’s wife” for the heads up.

January 8, 2010

Best & Worst Songs of 2009…

My apologies for being 9 days late, but I’ve been going back and forth on the best song of 2009 and in the end, I copped out and declared a tie because I couldn’t choose between the two.  On the other hand, choosing the worst was not challenging in the least.

BEST:

Animal Collective: “My Girls”

Watch the video HERE

Isn’t much that I feel I need
a solid soul and the blood I bleed
With a little girl, and by my spouse
I only want a proper house

There isn’t much that I feel I need:
a solid soul and the blood I bleed.
But with a little girl, and by my spouse
I only want a proper house

I don’t care for fancy things
Or to take part in a pressured race.
But to provide for them when they ask
I will, with heart, on my father’s grave

On my father’s grave

I don’t mean
To seem like I care about material things,
Like our social status,
I just want
Four walls and adobe slabs
For my girls


AND


David Bazan: “Please, Baby, Please”

Listen HERE

When I woke up the next morning,
You looked right through me
Through your eyes crying,
I could finally see

They said, “please baby please”

When I called you from Atlanta,
You refused to speak
Not three days sober,
Begging for a drink

And I said, “please baby please”

Those two pairs of big blue eyes
Stare me down, watching me fall
But what makes a man realize
That he’s about to lose it all?

Sunrise at the county lock-up
Now our baby’s twenty-three
She was out late drinking,
Killed a mother of three

She said, “please daddy please”


and now for THE WORST:


The Black Eyed Peas: “I’ve Gotta Feeling”

This song is easily as bad as the other two are good.  And if you’re unsold on this being the worst song of 2009 and possibly of all time, please feel free to read the lyrics here.

December 22, 2009

Rest In Peace, Henry Martin…

My very good friend Jeffrey’s father passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday.  He will be missed terribly.  In a era where a good man is hard to find, he was one of the truly great ones.  He dedicated a huge amount of his life to helping others.  He is an inspiration to me and many others and will be dearly, dearly missed.

In honor of Henry…

Headlights – Love Song For Buddy from Brad Chmielewski on Vimeo.

November 24, 2009

Thanksgiving mix….

Tomorrow Lisa and I are heading to Nashville to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. I felt as though a quick Thanksgiving mix was appropriate:

1. Ben Gibbard: “You Remind Me of Home
2. Iron and Wine/Calexico: “History of Lovers
3. Elliott Smith: “Baby Britain
4. Beach Boys: “Vegetables” (bonus Brian Wilson version from the original Smile sessions here)
5. Sufjan Stevens: “The Lord God Bird” (link to download here)
6. Owen: “A Bird in Hand
7. Andrew Bird: “Plasticities
8. Mynabirds: “Numbers Don’t Lie” (third track)
9. Cake: “Frank Sinatra
10. The Clash: “I Fought the Law
11. The Beatles: “All You Need is Love

Chronological theme:

1. Most people travel for home Thanksgiving (The sunday after Thanksgiving is the most heavily traveled day of the year).

2. When one arrives at home, most right thinking (right as in correct, not politically right) people immediately wish to have a few glasses of wine to lessen the awkwardness of seeing family.

3. I felt that the amount of alcohol some of us consume at family gatherings warranted another booze-themed track.

4. The meal begins and there will be vegetables. Oh yes, there will. Listen to Mr. Wilson’s psychotropic ballad to leafy greens and get ready for yams!

5. Yeah, I know the song is about the pileated woodpecker, but how many good turkey-themed songs are there out there? Anyway, as a non-carnivore, I won’t be loopy on the tryptophan as many of you will, but turkey is the quintessential Thanksgiving entree. So, since you will be partaking anyway, may I recommend free-range?

6. More bird-related music. And what would Thanksgiving be without football, and while this may be a stretch, I’m not a huge American Football fan, so I decided to go with Kinsella’s current project, Owen.

7. Even more bird-related music. While I couldn’t tell you exactly what “Plasticities” is about, it’s definitely anti-cubicle. And so am I. And on Thanksgiving, you cubicle dwellers will have at least eight paid hours of cubicle-free eating and drinking. So, enjoy it, because Monday is only four days away.

8. Yes, that’s right….one final bird-related song. But this one is a bonus because it also relates to family, as Laura from Mynabirds is my cousin and while I won’t be seeing her for Thanksgiving, we will be getting together for the next big holiday. Oh and while you’re at her site, please listen to all of the songs as they are all excellent….I am quite impressed. (Another personal favorite is “Let the Record Go”)

9. Ideally, your meal will end with some sort of delicious baked good. Personally, I’m a pumpkin pie fan myself, but this song is for all you cake lovers.

10. If your family is anything like mine, sooner or later, the discussions will turn to either of the two dreaded family conversations: Politics and Religion. And, if your family is anything like mine, it will nearly come to fisticuffs. And if your family is anything like mine, at least one of them will have purchased Palin’s “Going Rogue” and will be touting the wise gems gleaned from the most polarizing political figure since Dan Quayle……yikes. At this point, the fighting will commence. (Extra points if your family’s fights are so hardcore that “the law” actually shows up to break it up.)

11. Hopefully by now you’ve got the fighting out of your system and moved into the next stage of drunkenness and you just want to hug it out and get along. All we need is love, indeed.

Enjoy, my friends….and have a Happy Thanksgiving with safe travels.