Blitzen Trapper Blog

This old cat is outta the bag...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:36:00 -0400

We are so very stoked to announce our debut album from 2003 will be available for the first time on vinyl in celebration of it’s 10th Anniversary. The record was remastered by Bruce Barielle and the lacquers were cut by Jeff Powell at Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN. A very limited edition run, the record is pressed on 180g vinyl with a free digital download of the entire record with five previously unheard bonus tracks from the original sessions.

Tracks:

All Girl Team, Cunning Revolution, Apple Trees, Reno, Whiskey Kisser, Trigga Finga, Ansel & Emily DeSader, Cracker Went Down, Christmas Is Coming Soon , Donkie Boy, Texaco -

Digital Bonus Tracks: Pink Padded Slippers, Crackerjack Tattoo, Flying Trapeze, Rainy Day, On A Tuesday

Stream “On A Tuesday” via Rolling Stone

We encourage you to go out and support your local record store on April 20, and any other day you’ve got some extra scrill to throw down for your favorite artists…

In the spirit of all the live music going on at SXSW, we’re...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:12:00 -0400

In the spirit of all the live music going on at SXSW, we’re gonna be posting a bunch of live sessions this week. To kick things off, we want to share a “mini-doc” shot at SXSW 2012, where we won by playing 11 shows in a little less than 4 days - a taste of the intensely crazy zoo Austin and the music industry become in mid-March. Stay tuned for more over the next few days…

Video

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:02:00 -0500

Video

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Almost done recording…

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:47:00 -0500

Almost done recording…

Hello everyone, It’s official, the American Goldwing...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:30:00 -0500

Hello everyone,

It’s official, the American Goldwing touring cycle is finished. We’re all home, safe and sound and thankful to be settling in for a much needed rest during these dwindling days of fall and the coming winter. We’ll also be recharging our batteries and looking forward to getting back into the studio to record our next record.

In the meantime, we want to extend our most heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported us by buying our records. If you don’t know already, record sales are still one of only a few ways that a band generates income, so whether you bought a single track or an entire album, thank you! We also want to thank all of you that came out to see us play. Whether you are a newbie or a long time fan, we appreciate you supporting us with your hard earned money and we hope it shows on stage, how much we love doing what we do. We couldn’t do it alone. Without you all, it’s just a rehearsal.

Honorable mention goes out to recent tour partners Brandi Carlile and her band for taking us on the road as their opener and being such a fun and generous group of awesome and musically inspiring individuals. We feel privileged to call you friends. Also, a huge thank you to the amazing bands that we have had the pleasure of touring with over the past year: Wilco, The Head And The Heart, Sydney Wayser, Sarah Jaffe, Dawes and Parson Redheads.

Love and thanks to our crew of sound technicians (Martin Gonzalez, Brad Lightfoot and Jacques Von Lunen), merch crew (Jenna Conrad, Abbie Simmons and Sara Stewart), tour manager Sara Full, booking agent (Trey Many and the Billions Corp. crew), management (Gold Village Entertainment - Danny/Brady and co.) and all of you rad freaks at Sub Pop Records, we love ya.

We’d also like to thank all of you promoters, house managers, monitor engineers, lighting designers, stagehands, bouncers and bartenders for helping make these shows happen. You’re not in the spotlight but without you these shows wouldn’t happen. Thank you.

Finally, to all of you radio DJ’s, journalists, photographers and bloggers (and anyone else we may have forgotten) that have taken the time to spread the sounds, words and images of what we do to a listening/viewing public…we are grateful.

Blessings to you all in the holiday season and new year!!!!

Blitzen Trapper

Deschutes River Video

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:57:42 -0400

Hello from Tucson!

Just wanted to take a minute to let you know that a special video Eric recorded to benefit the Deschutes River Conservancy is now exclusively available over at Pitchfork. Additionally, stream or download the track (along with a sweet jam from the Fruit Bat’s Eric D. Johnson) from the Deschutes Brewery page to benefit the river. Hope you enjoy the tunes!

One tour ending, others soon to begin

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 04:29:57 -0400

After six weeks on the road, we play our final show of the summer tour this evening in Columbia, MO. Then we begin the long drive back to the Pacific Northwest to see family, friends, and play some awesome festivals.

At the same time, we wanted to share some exciting news about upcoming tour dates. After a taste of summer vacation, we will be hitting the road again this fall supporting The Head and The Heart (September 18th through October 5th) and Brandi Carlile (Rocktober!). These dates take us all across the country, and will be the final shows we’re playing before taking a break to record a new album. Come out and party with us one last time! Check out the full set of dates here. And there just may still be some dates to be announced, so stay tuned…

We’re going to leave you with a couple more photos from our travels this summer. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to shows - we hope you had us much fun as we did!

Wilco, destroying as usual, under the vast skies of Montana.

The Filling Station, host to one of the sweatiest Blitzen Trapper shows ever.

Playing at The Current in Mpls, one of the finest radio stations anywhere.

'Girl in a Coat' Video Premiere

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:32:00 -0400

Check out our new video, featuring our very own Brian Adrian Koch and directed by Daniel Elkayam, for American Goldwing track ‘Girl in a Coat’, streaming courtesy of our buddies at Rolling Stone. Hope you enjoy!

On The Road

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:32:00 -0400

Back in Portland for 10 days before we hit the road again. Between now and October, we will be all over the country, and hope to see you all again (or for the first time!) before we head back into the studio at the end of the year. Check out the shows here. And until then, here’s some photographic musings from our most recent tour. (Above is literally the backstage at Sasquatch - not so bad, huh?)

Acoustic session in a yurt

The World Famous Alley of gum in San Luis Obispo

Video

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:26:21 -0400

New tour dates, a Record Store Day Exclusive, and a new video

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:43:00 -0400

Spring has finally started to arrive in Portland, and with it we have tons of news to bring you - first, we’ve added all sorts of new shows for this summer across the United States and Canada. These include a trek across the Midwest and back through the familiar stomping grounds of California; supporting Wilco for a stretch across the mountain states and Minnesota; heading off on a series of headline dates across the country; then finally meeting up with Wilco again for a special Friday night show at the venerable Newport Folk Festival. Check the full dates here to find out more and get tickets. If, tragically, you don’t see your hometown on the list, don’t fear - there will be many more dates announced to close out 2012 in the next couple months.

In the immediate future, we have a sweet special edition exclusive 7” vinyl release coming out for Record Store Day - which is tomorrow! This release is limited to 1800 copies and was pressed on yellow vinyl. One side has a special Trapper twist on the classic “Hey Joe” while the other has a previously unreleased BT original, “Skirts on Fire.” Check out the list of participating stores and pick up your copy.

In addition, our good friend Luke Norby and drummer Brian Adrian Koch, composed a gorgeous video for American Goldwing track “Stranger In A Strange Land,” which you can see above. It features landscapes found in Nome, Alaska, where there are no indigenous trees or mountains within plain sight, interspersing footage of the Iditarod finish line, the Bering Sea, and singer Eric Earley with shivery hand-held pans in 20 below zero conditions. Lastly, thank you to everyone who made it out to shows in March & April. If you weren’t there, we played all sorts of shows and sessions at SXSW that you can still check out. You can see an exclusive performances of “Fletcher” & “American Goldwing,” as well as an entire set at the Hype Hotel. We will see you soon!

Our 12th anniversary as a band. Come out and celebrate with us....

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:24:59 -0400

Our 12th anniversary as a band. Come out and celebrate with us. Get your tickets here.

The Lost Last Leg Episode 6 from our Fall 2011 tour has been...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:21:00 -0500

The Lost Last Leg Episode 6 from our Fall 2011 tour has been found! And it’s a bruiser. Check it out above - and the rest of last year’s video diary entries on our YouTube channel here (plus, there is other fun video stuff there).

We are, of course, about to hit the road again, our our way to the inimitable zoo that is SXSW, with stops in CA, AZ, NM and a bunch of ski towns. Tour dates are here. And starting April 1, we will cavort about the enchanting island-continent of Australia, communing with marsupials and dingos, and bringing along our tunes to the people of Oz. Those dates are here too.

We hope to see all your pretty faces out there on the road this spring!

Goods news! From the depths of winter, we’re able to start releasing news about touring plans...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:59:00 -0500

Goods news! From the depths of winter, we’re able to start releasing news about touring plans for the coming months - and we hope to see all of you out there. Starting in early March, we’re going to spend a month crossing the Western half of the country with our good friends the Parson Redheads, including a very eventful stop by SXSW in Austin (for the first time since 2009!), before making our way back to Portland. Tickets for these shows are all on-sale now. Click here for a complete list of dates and tickets. If you don’t see your hometown on the schedule, fear not - there will be many more show announcements to come in 2012.

In the meantime, we have a couple items to tide you over through these cold months. First, here is a free download of our new single “Might Find It Cheap” and a great track from the Parson Redheads, called “Burning Up The Sky.” Second, our new video for American Goldwing track “Takin’ It Easy Too Long” premiered on Paste earlier today. This video was directed by our very own drummer, Mr. Brian Adrian Koch. Check it out!

See you soon,

Might Find It Cheap Our newest video, an amalgam of a host of...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:38:00 -0500

Might Find It Cheap

Our newest video, an amalgam of a host of shots from our last tour - Portland, Milwaukee, Birmingham, Pioneer Town, Washington D.C. - and other places that we can’t even remember now. Hope you enjoy - and go get yourself a free download of the song right here.

Happy Holidays all y’all - thanks for making this another fantastic year. We love yous…

Our Late Show perfomance on December 8, 2011.

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:37:00 -0500

Our Late Show perfomance on December 8, 2011.

Greetings from New York City! So many things to share, but to start, we are debuting our new single...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:38:55 -0500

Greetings from New York City! So many things to share, but to start, we are debuting our new single “Might Find It Cheap” TONIGHT on The Late Show with David Letterman. Tune in at 11:35 PM (10:35 central) to CBS to see the performance! To celebrate we have a special gift for all of you - a free download of “Might Find It Cheap.” Get it below!

Episode five is alive! We are heading to Pioneer Town for one...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 15:31:00 -0500

Episode five is alive! We are heading to Pioneer Town for one last show in California…

Episode 4 of the tour video blog!

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:53:00 -0500

Episode 4 of the tour video blog!