We are proud to make our triumphant return to live performance, after a 4 month break to record our album, re-think our songs, and work on new ones. So won’t you join us please in the lovely and historic Washougal, Washington as we take the stage just a few hours before the lovely and historic band Quarterflash. Yes, they will Harden your Heart.

Friday July 24th – 5:00 PM at Washougal Riverfest
Reflection Plaza in downtown Washougal, Washington (Where Main St. meets Pendleton Way)

With some drums and pedals to keep him company

Yes, we’ve been in and out of the studio for the past few weeks, and we’re going back in for a long day tomorrow. We couldn’t be more excited about how it’s turning out; Secret Society is a wonderful studio and Jordan is amazing to work with. We’re about 75% done with recording and hope to finish all the instruments tomorrow. We’ve got a show in the works for late July, so stay tuned for details.

Currently watching: 24
Last album listened to: “Secret, Profane & Sugarcane” by Elvis Costello

It’s been waaaay too long since our last update here. A quick recap of what’s been going on: BSG ended, LOST did its season finale, Peter visited California while playing drums with Chris Robley and saw this thing:

Henry played some shows with Jonah, Simsy bought a bass, and Kevin podcasted the heck out of some podcasts.
That about covers it.

In big time band news: we’re hitting the studio in about 10 days to record 5 (or more) songs for a CD. So, we need ideas for album art, album name, who to thank, etc. The studio is booked and we’re not backing out. We’re fully committed to rocking out in the best possible way & have been practicing like crazies.

I hope to update more regularly… now back to the New York documentary.

This was my view at the most recent Hello Morning show. We had a great time opening for our buddies in Deepest Darkest and generally agreed it was probably our best show ever. After playing shows for four months, it feels like we’re finally learning the intricacies of our songs and getting the hang of what works best. Our friend Inger was hung out with us, sharing in our french fries, burgers, and beers, and later she took some hi rez photos which should turn up here before too long. For now, I bring you the best my iphone has to offer – Simsy adjusting the JoMox drum machine that plays the intro to “Everything is You”.

Keep reading for further updates in my irregularly updated series, “The view from my drum kit”.

Last night was the first time for Hello Morning to take the stage at the Doug Fir, and we’re already looking forward to the next time! We made some great new friends in The Ravishers who packed out the house. We also noticed a very cool poster that was designed for the show(Yeah, the poster that is included in this post). Not only did we notice the poster, but a couple of us in the band are concert poster junkies and we’d really like to know who designed this poster? If you have any ideas, please email the band at sayhello@hellomorningband.com. More news about writing and recording coming soon, so stay tuned!

Yesterday, while Kevin was speaking at a music conference in Florida (yes, he’s very knowledgeable and professional), Sims and I (Peter) went out gear shopping. Not really shopping so much as gear ogling. We found a $1700 guitar, then a $500 dobro over at Trade Up on SE Division. I was looking for shakers that fit on wrists, interesting snare drums, and maybe some nice used hi hats. Or something like this:

Tasty!

That’s Simsy’s and not for sale. But my father says everything’s negotiable.

Anyhow, we didn’t end up buying anything but a couple burritos and hibiscus mojitos from Cha Cha Cha, which were entirely satisfying.

In other news, Henry will be singing as part of PDX Speedwagon for the Cover Your Hearts show at Someday Lounge on Valentine’s Day. All proceeds from the door go to Ethos, which is a very cool kid’s music charity thingy.

We put our heads together and came up with our favorite albums. We each picked two albums. Can you guess who picked what? In no particular order, here they are:

1. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
2. Aidan Hawken – The Sleep of Trees
3. Radiohead – In Rainbows (US label release)
4. Elvis Costello – Momofuku
5. Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
6. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
7. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
8. Fujiya & Miyagi – Lightbulbs
9. Longwave – Secrets are Sinister
10. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree

As the blustering storm threatens every facet of Portland existence, take solace in the fact that we played a pair of fun shows this week.

Last night, we played our first club show, to a nice bunch at the Ash St. Saloon. About 50 semi-intoxicated Santas greeted us when we came in, and later we played our songs and Peter celebrated his birthday by drinking porters with the band. And of course, Voodoo Donuts were enjoyed after the show.

Now, we’re hoping to finish off another half dozen songs and make a good old fashioned LP for you. More as this story develops.