Steve Goldberg Tour Diary

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2009-07-07T15:41:00.002-04:00

We had a great show on Sunday at Pianos in NYC with Mama Bear. Thanks to everyone who came and made it a good night! I guess we'll go back to NYC after all.

We also have another sweet show coming up at one of our new favorite places, Kung Fu Necktie -- August 3rd, with Rural Alberta Advantage, whom we had the pleasure of seeing at SXSW in the lovely Central Presbyterian Church. Should be a sweet show.

Finally, I can't remember the stupid password I need to get these up on the sidebar, so for now you can view some photos of the last KFN show right here. Thanks to Oliver for taking them!

Deadliftin' it

2009-06-17T15:00:00.003-04:00

Yikes, I haven't posted here in awhile. Apologies, &c. Lots has been going on around here, though. We've welcomed a new Arch Enemy into our midst -- one Mr. Lem, international man of mystery and faithful servant of Ormazd, in the capacity of drummer. Patrick has moved over to the electric guitar, which he plays with the passion of ten Arabian princesses.

We've been playing a lot of shows! Some have been awesome, and others have been less awesome, as is the way of shows in this ever-changing world in which we live in. We played M'korstock in Cherry Hill. It was fun to rock out with the parents of everyone I went to high school with. We played NYC Popfest in NYC. It was fun to rock out with lots of pop kids at 3 in the afternoon. And last night we played at Kung Fu Necktie with Telekinesis and An Horse, which was just badass all-around, save the unfortunate migraine which beset me after we were done. Big thanks to everyone who came out!

At the moment we've got one more scheduled date, and that's July 5th at Pianos in NYC. I hereby promise to update more often and put up some new pictures, IF you promise in turn to come to a show and have a beer with us. Because relationships are all about give and take, baby. See you soon!

SXSW Diaries Pt. IV

2009-03-22T13:40:00.003-04:00

(Note: in case you missed it, here's the entry where I posted the content of our SXSW EP, which includes two new songs. All of the newer home recordings will be going on the music page soon.)

SXSW Day 5
At Brandon's house

Yesterday we practiced, we planned, we got pumped. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant. We went to a place called Home Slice Pizza and caught some bands. We ate at Whole Foods and got recognized by someone who saw us play at the cycle shop on Friday. What are the chances? Don't ask me, I'm not a statistician.

We loaded into the venue and warmed up some more. The staff at the church were perfectly friendly and helpful. They carried our gear around, got us water, and did everything we needed. After attending shows at the church on Wednesday and Thursday night and seeing the place absolutely packed, it was hard not to have high expectations. But there's so much going on at any given time, I suppose it's a bit of a crapshoot whether anyone's going to come listen to a bunch of bros they've never heard of before. We ended up playing to a crowd of 30 or so people, which is about what we're accustomed to. The sound in the church was amazing. It had a beautiful natural reverb. The audience was silent and attentive, as they had been for the other shows there. As sometimes happens when I get really into what I'm doing onstage, I don't remember everything about our set. I remember feeling like we filled the room with sound. I sweated a whole lot and dropped my glasses several times. I was very tired when we were done.

Steve Burns and the Struggle followed us, putting on a multimedia show that was a lot of fun. They distributed laser pointers to the audience and projected a video on a giant screen while they played. It was a choose-your-own-adventure affair, with the audience expressing their collective will via their laser pointers. The whole thing was very well put together and quite a spectacle. However, our names caused a bit of confusion for some audience members. After Steve Burns finished I went back to the lobby to push our free CDs on people. Several people took our CDs clearly thinking they were Steve Burns CDs. A few folks picked them up and then dropped them again after realizing that they were not Steve Burns CDs. Regardless, we distributed about 150 of them in our time here, most of them last night, and that pleases me. We also received very kind compliments from several audience members. One guy told us our sound was full and massive, describing it as "thunder on the mountain." We should hire him to write our bio.

Today we will be chilling and tomorrow we will be returning home. And thus concludes this little SXSW diary. I hope you've learned something and enjoyed yourselves. I know I have. Take care of yourselves -- it's a crazy world out there.

SXSW Diaries Pt. III

2009-03-21T12:15:00.001-04:00

SXSW Day 3
At Brandon's house

I must rescind a bit of my earlier grousing -- our badges and wristbands did pretty well for us yesterday. The more shows I see, the more thrilled I am about the fact that we're playing at the church. We caught Grizzly Bear there last night, a set which I doubt will be topped by anything else we'll see here.

SXSW Day 4
At Brandon's house

This stuff is tiring. Last night I was too tired to blog! Oh noes! I've been troubled by more strange dreams. I had a dream that we were supposed to play at Johnny Brenda's, and it was a big deal and lots of people came to see us, but we weren't going on because the sound guy or some such hadn't shown up, and everyone was starting to get impatient and angry. It was all very realistic, but at some point I realized that I must be dreaming, and suddenly there was a glass of milk in my hand, and I thought, "I will prove this is a dream by throwing this milk across the room," and so I threw it and no one reacted and I thought "Aha!" and then I woke up.

Anyhow, one thing I should've given more thought to before leaving is the comfort of my footwear. These Chucks were not made for walking, it seems. We played a party yesterday under a little tent outside a bike shop. It was a bit far from downtown, but we met lots of nice folks and gave them CDs. The biggest difficulty was posed by the band playing across the street, and hearing their drums everytime we'd hit a breakdown and get quiet. We persevered though and I think it was a good warmup. Tonight's the showcase! I am excited!

SXSW Diaries Pt. II

2009-03-19T17:52:00.002-04:00

SXSW Day 2
Austin Convention Center

It seems much of the promised free food and drink has failed to materialize. A doorman I asked attributed it to the economy. Another sad effect of this recession. Help me, Barack Obama! Where's my stimulus package? We did, however, enjoy some delicious non-free tacos this morning.

The lines around here continue to be obscene. The festival seems to have a kind of split personality -- it features dudes like us, without label, management, etc., while at the same time hosting the likes of The Hold Steady, Grizzly Bear, and what have you. Does this festival exist to spotlight worthy unknown bands, or as a place for listeners to catch all of their favorite headlining acts in one week, like Sasquatch and Coachella and the rest? It is a mystery.

I am, however, drinking a free Miller lite right now. Joe is drinking two, that crazy cat.

The SXSW Diaries Pt. I

2009-03-19T13:52:00.002-04:00

SXSW Day 1
Onboard a Boeing 737, somewhere over the United States

And we're off! My flight is unsurprisingly filled with SXSW-goers, including indie promoter extraordinaire Sean Agnew of R5 productions and members of the band Po Po. The ones with ironic facial hair and alternative haircuts are easy enough to identify, but the mainstreamers are out in force as well. As I wrote this the regular-looking fellow in the adjacent seat asked me who I was writing for and told me he was headed to the festival for the fifth time. He became the first recipient of our SXSW-exclusive EP. Only 199 left to give out. The joys of networking!

Excitement is in the air. I'm gradually working up some enthusiasm. I'm not much of a festival guy myself; I'm not fond of crowds, hustle and bustle, or waiting in lines. However, I do enjoy playing shows, drinking for free, and not going to work, so hopefully it'll be a net positive.

Last night I dreamed that I arrived in Austin with my guitar case only to find it empty. As Coleridge wrote, we do not feel horror because we dream of a sphinx; we dream of a sphinx in order to explain the horror we feel. And knowing me, such a nightmare scenario is not inconceivable. I have a talent for forgetting to pack crucial items -- I'll bring my cell phone and forget my charger, or bring socks but forget underwear, for instance. I think I've got everything covered this time, though: ear plugs, extra guitar strings, plenty of CDs, various hip T-shirts, digital camera, moisturizer.

We're set to play a party on Friday at a bike shop and a showcase on Saturday at a church, which I'm told is a good place to play. I wish we were playing more -- although I'm not sure I'd like to play ten times in five days, as some bands seem to be -- but I'm glad we managed to get more than just one set. I'm already running on insufficient sleep after last night's warm-up show in Philly. I figure the sound at our shows in Austin couldn't possibly be any worse than it was at a certain Girard-Ave. venue that shall remain nameless, so we're well-prepared.

I did my best to make an itinerary online, but I have a feeling it won't hold up very well. It was hard enough to even skim the ginormous schedule without my eyes glazing over. I've checked off and RSVPed for multiple events for every time slot so that I'll have a backup in case I can't get in to things. Once more into the breach.

SXSW Day 2
At the home of Brandon the Beekeeper

Well, that was something. It's like some kind of hipster apocalypse out there. You can't go anywhere without hearing somebody's kick and snare or bumping into some bro's goofy moustache. We registered at the convention center, spotting various dudes from various bands. We drank free Miller lites (hey, they were free) at a tent where international bands were playing. We made our way to the Central Presbyterian Church, where we'll be playing on Saturday, only to be halted by a gigantic line. The deal is that my whole band gets wristbands but we only get one badge (which I'm wearing, natch). At most events there are two lines for entry, one for wristbands and one for badges, with badges getting priority. My bandmates waited with me for awhile until they realized there was no way anyone without a badge was getting in. I ended up standing there for an hour and missing M. Ward, but I did get to catch Department of Eagles. The church was a very impressive venue. I'm pumped for Saturday.

Next I made my way over to Stubb's to catch The Decemberists debuting their new album. This time I only had to wait a couple of minutes, but one of my bandmates got stuck waiting for almost an hour before he gave up. I suppose the way things are set up is reasonable, but considering that festival attendance is our only compensation for coming out here, it'd be nice if it were a little bit easier for us. But maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon.

In any case, my main objectives for today are to eat free food and minimize line-waiting. More on this story as it develops.

Book of Imaginary Beings

2009-03-18T01:19:00.002-04:00

We are Austin-bound tomorrow. We are excited. We made some new recordings. Here is the tracklist of our little SXSW sampler EP:

1. Shutterbug (demo)
2. The Garden of Forking Paths (demo)
3. Things I Used to Know (demo)
4. Summer's Ending

The Garden of Forking Paths

2009-01-29T13:50:00.003-05:00

'Ello friends. Did you like how I said that? Like a British person. Anyhow, just checking in with a few brief updates. We'll be breaking out performance hiatus next month with a couple of shows in NYC and Philly. Then in March we're playing a show in Philly before leaving for Austin and the SXSW festival. Exciting! We'll be playing some new songs about Borges and camera phones. See you soon.

P.S. Happy birthday to Steve, who is me, and who turns 24 years of age on this day.

We'll have to muddle through somehow

2008-12-19T13:32:00.003-05:00

Season's greetings from Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies!

We had an excellent time playing at Arlene's Grocery in NYC last week. Thanks to our wonderful friends, new and old, for joining us despite the rain. We felt like the luckiest guys on the Lower East Side. Pictures possibly forthcoming.

And now I have some new recordings to share with you. First, here's my take on Silent Night, featuring guitar, ukulele, and 4-part harmony.

I also did this rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas with the original depressing lyrics. Here's the backstory:

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has had several rewrites since Hugh Martin wrote the original lyrics for 1944's Meet Me in St. Louis. Judy Garland thought the song was "awfully dark" and Martin rewrote the lyrics for her performance in the movie. Frank Sinatra called Martin in 1957 and said, "The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?' Sinatra's version, with its peppier lyrics, became a holiday standard.

And finally, don't forget last year's Christmas Time for Girls and Boys, an SG original.

You can catch us next at the M-Room for a New Year's Eve Eve spectacular. After that we're going to take a short performance hiatus, but we'll still have some exciting things to share with you, so stay tuned.

Letter to the Author

2008-12-02T01:18:00.002-05:00

We've just returned from a wild and crazy two-date Thanksgiving 2008 tour. Things started off with a bang at the North Star in Philly. The audience was a regular who's-who of the Philly scene, packed with movers and shakers like Jenny, Jordan, and Matt. It was also our first show with Patrick, the newest Arch Enemy, on the drums. What's that, you say? Another one? Yes, I reply. We now stand at 5-members strong. More on this soon.

Things wrapped up with a smaller bang last night at Garfield Artworks in Pittsburgh. It was good to be back in the old four-one-two, appreciating such Pittsburgh institutions as The Murray Ave. Grill, Pamela's, and Manny Theiner.

Here are the songs we played:

February Third
Julia (Joe's sister version)
The Spy
Hideaway
Scattered Pearls (Casiotone cover)
Things I Used to Know
-----------
Encore: Summer's Ending

Next stop -- Arlene's Grocery in NYC on Dec. 11th., where another song will make its live debut. Stay tuned!

In what respect, Charlie

2008-11-07T12:55:00.002-05:00

New shows! We're coming back to Pittsburgh! Plus another NYC date! Woo!

This is Just to Say

2008-11-04T02:10:00.003-05:00

I have scheduled
another gig
at The North Star
in Philly

which is where
you have probably
seen us
before

Forgive me
it will be awesome
so sweet
and so cold

P.S. OBAMA

Dropping Names

2008-10-29T15:55:00.002-04:00

Hey look, someone said something nice about us. Spoiler: It was Manny Theiner, calling us a "neglected Pittsburgh gem" in the last paragraph of a writeup about another band. Thanks Manny. You're quite the neglected gem yourself.

Also, check out the band the article is about, Mariage Blanc. They're totally sweet.

And don't yinz worry, we're making some plans to return to the 'burgh soon enough.

There Will Come Soft Rains

2008-10-15T12:14:00.001-04:00

Steve got a ukulele. See the sidebar for photographic evidence.

The boys are back in town

2008-10-12T22:24:00.005-04:00

Last night, all four members of the newest Arch Enemies lineup came together for the first time. Observers described the subsequent rehearsal as "fricking sweet" and "totally sick." Stay tuned.

And now for tonight's headline: Griff finally revealed, nicknamed!

This is a picture of Griff, a.k.a. Marley Gryffindor, Esq.

Dreamtigers

2008-10-01T17:44:00.003-04:00

Alright, first of all, yes, I am a terrible person for not updating this more. With that said, here is an update.

Good news -- we've got some new kickass Arch Enemies. New to you out there in web-ville, at least. Firstly, allow me to introduce you to Seth, a.k.a. Crystal Seth. Seth specializes in the synthesizer, vocal harmony, trumpet, beat-making, and sunglasses-wearing. He is a mad scientist and man-about-town.

Secondly, there is Griff, a.k.a. (we are still working on a good nickname for Griff, stay tuned). Griff specializes in the bass guitar, trombone, French horn, vocal harmony, environmental protection, and ass-kicking. He enjoys long walks on the beach and News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

Check back soon for more details (and photos!) of these exciting new personalities.

Last week we returned to the North Star in Philly for an enjoyable evening and the debut of our newest new sound. Seth and I spent many late nights in our secret lair perfecting our machine-beats, and their debut was to our satisfaction. We met some cool bands and had a good time.

Next week will see the return of J.J. Josephs to the mainland from his extended stay on the Jurassic Park island. We've got a few new shows lined up, including a return to Brooklyn. Check them out on the shows page.

That's all for now. See you soon, friends.

Shutterbugs

2008-07-07T00:25:00.003-04:00

IMPORTANT! We've been having some technical problems with the online store. They've been resolved now and everything is working as it should. But if you ordered anything from us in May or June and haven't received it, please let us know.

Alright, so I'm embarrassingly late with this post. Chalk it up to the fact that I am a lazy drunk (note to prospective employers: I am a hardworking teetotaler).

So here's the update: we played NYCPopfest. We made new friends and saw some great shows. We almost didn't see some great shows, thanks to the goofy door/ticket policies of some of the venues, but Michael stepped up to the plate for us. Thanks Michael! My Teenage Stride was a definite highlight. Listen to them. We took cabs and trains and drank a lot and got our shorts salted. Playing in Brooklyn was pretty fun, despite our soundguy-abbreviated set. We debuted our cover of Holland, 1945. This is what we looked like:

The guy who took that picture wrote that we were "slightly fratty." O RLY?

Then we came back and played at the North Star Bar in Philly. This was also metric tonnes of fun. We got some excellent pictures of the evening courtesy of Ed Roper. Check out the photoset here.

Well, that's about it for now. New stuff is, as always, coming soon. Catch you on the flip side, and remember to read your Borges.

The Only Living Boy in New York

2008-06-12T12:49:00.003-04:00

Tonight we're off to Liberty City for NYC Popfest. Then we'll be back to play at the North Star in Philly. Exciting times. Updates to come. Stay tuned, folks -- same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Indentions in the Sheets

2008-05-16T21:28:00.005-04:00

"Our minds are permeable to forgetfulness; I myself am distorting and losing, through the tragic erosion of the years, the features of Beatriz." -- Jorge Luis Borges

Hello friends. I bring news! First we have some shows to tell you about. We're very excited to be playing NYC Popfest in June alongside so many top notch musical outfits from all over the globe. And it's not just a show, it's a BBQ! We'll be back in Philly immediately afterwards to play at the North Star Bar. As always, head on over to the shows page for details.

We also have a new demo to share with you. It's called Things I Used to Know.

_________________

The old wooden swingset where we used to play
the scent of the autumn in eastern PA
the taste of your skin at the end of the day
oh, I hate to see them go

The play of the moon on the skin of the lake
the song of the birds that would nudge us awake
the lay of your hair and the curve of your face
oh, the things I used to know

why can't I keep them here with me?
I see them still like last night's dreams
and what becomes of the memories
when we stop remembering?

Wind in the leaves on the first day of school
the sting of chlorine in the Willowdale pool
they're fading according to time's awful rules
oh, I wish that it weren't so

Save my house and save my room!
save the lake and save the moon!

why can't I keep them here with me?
I see them still like last night's dreams
and what becomes of the memories
when we stop remembering?

Covered!

2008-04-04T21:54:00.003-04:00

Hello there. Things have been quiet lately, but expect some new tidbits soon. In the meantime, check out this fantastic piano/vocal rendition of Artichokes and Julia by Felix from Germany.

(Note: our databases show that there are in fact three copies of Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies in Germany. Still, big ups to Felix.)

And water rolls on off the round captain's belly

2008-02-14T01:33:00.003-05:00

It's been ten years since the release of Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. To honor the occasion, I recorded a cover of Engine, which was the b-side of Holland, 1945. I hope you like it.

Neutral Milk Hotel Lyric

2008-01-31T22:40:00.000-05:00

I'm not too hip to the web 2.0, but I'm trying to throw some stuff together for the web site soon. I'm going to put up a press page, for instance. But since I haven't done that yet, and since I know that you're dying to know what the world is saying about us but you're as lazy as I am and therefore unable to track it all down on your own, I thought I would post some sweet propaganda here:

Sonically refreshing and loaded with the kind of narrative velocity that makes critics rush for the word “timeless,” Goldberg’s seemingly endless charm might very well single-handedly revitalize indie pop. -- Caught in the Carousel

Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies could likely end up one of the great lost pure pop records of 2007. -- Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

A heavenly bubble bath of baroque pop that I can soak in for hours and hours. -- Dagger Zine

A tight, coherent suite of hyper-literate ditties. -- Pittsburgh City Paper

A dissertation on the history of pop, presented in perfect three- and four-minute chapters. -- Las Vegas City Life

I love how they make it sound like the best album ever. Thank you, writers! But it wouldn't be fair and balanced if I didn't include this one:

A chamber-pop hodgepodge topped with cutesy lyrics. Groan. -- Las Vegas Weekly

Las Vegas: opinions divided on Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies. More on this story as it develops!

The bridges burst and twist around

2008-01-25T22:53:00.000-05:00

I had a crazy dream the other night. I dreamed that I was in a recording studio of some kind, and I was working on mixing a track. Will Haines was there. We could hear the sounds of a band performing. It was coming through the walls from another room in the building, somewhere below us. The band we heard was Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies, and the song they were playing was 23rd Century Identity Crisis. The song we were mixing was also 23rd Century Identity Crisis, except it was a new version, different from the album one, and it was more intense and impressive and inspiring, and it was way cooler than the way the band was playing it. I said something about the band being decent, and then I played our track again and said "Yeah, this sounds sweet!" and Will Haines stroked his goatee and nodded. That's all I remember of the dream.

Weird, huh? I think it means that the next album we make is going to be really good. Some titles of new songs I have written are as follows: Things I Used to Know, The Garden of Forking Paths, Views from a Plane.

That's all for now.

So Long, Marianne

2008-01-18T15:18:00.000-05:00

We returned to Garfield Artworks in Pittsburgh the other night for a fun show. We drank beer and played a Leonard Cohen cover that we'd only practiced once. Ezra Furman and the Harpoons and Murder Mystery were both great, you should check them out. Thanks to everyone who came, especially Mahsa for taking pictures. This is what it looked like:

I'm Old Gregg

2007-12-18T22:10:00.001-05:00

What's up mothalickas,

I just wanted to let you know that the LP is now available via eMusic and iTunes. So go for it, connect four!