Hey! I’m in The Shaky Hands now! Jake Morris left their drum throne a couple months ago, so with the lineup in flux anyway, they decided to bring on a jack-of-all-trades of sorts. I’m playing mostly keyboards, but also guitar on some songs. I’ll probably get to rock the floor tom at some point too. Basically, whatever is needed for a given song. The possumbilities are endless.

Here’s the story the Willamette Week music blog posted today about the line-up change with some quotes from my bandmate (three times over!) Mayhaw Hoons.

I’m completely excited. I’ve loved The Shaky Hands ever since Mondo Hollywood first played with them at the Shakies’ second ever show in Jeff’s basement in February 2004. I’ve wanted to be in the band for almost as long. Nick Delffs is the best songwriter in town (at the very least), and I feel superchuffed to be able to contribute to them songs both past and future.

Be sure to catch our shows coming up! We’re playing a house show this Saturday at an undisclosed (but not if you try to find it) location, and then June 12 at the Doug Fir. I’m freaking READY.

Okay, so it’s been a bit. What. Huh? What now. Well put this in your bubble wand: Alex Arrowsmith and His Pugs are playing at The Know (NE 20th & Alberta in Portland) on June 11! Also on the bill is Tiger House and Yellowstar. It’s gonna rule. Get all your friends and family out to picket it! Get us on the news! I want Jeff Gianola to see me play!

Also, I set up a Band Camp page. Go nuts. Download my songs for free.

And last but definitely not worst! Today I wrote a song based on a kind of inside joke for the podcast by Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost) and his podcast partner/girlfriend Beth. It’s about how Jack always manages to talk about dural sacs on Lost, which Jorge and Beth were talking about on their most recent installment. They offhandedly said, “someone should write a song about that.” So I took them up on that challenge. It’s called “Dural Sac Jack.” Yes, the whole thing is way way dorky. But you know, I can never resist dorky. I heard the podcast this afternoon and finished the song by dinner (which was enchiladas…hell yes?!). I emailed it to them, and Beth was super rad enough to post about it on their Facebook! Eeeek! Awesome! Thanks guys! Seems from the comments that other people liked it too. This is the kind of thing that only super insane Lost fans like myself probably give a crap about, but it was lots of fun, and it made my day just the same!

Here are the lyrics, in case I garbled the words a bit:

Jack wants to open up my back
And get his hands in me, fixing up my dural sac
No one else has got the same knack
Watch him count to five
Working magic on my sac

Jack wants to open up my back
And put his hands inside me, fixing up my dural sac
Jack always pines for a spine
He’s always working magic
Fixing up my dural sac

Dudes! I updated the discography with pages for Public Domain Rainbow and Modernity Leave…finally! Which means all the lyrics are up, too (except for the improvised songs from Modernity Leave, for now at least). I know some people care about lyrics, and for those of you that do, you can see how little I care about mine! I hear a preschool in Cleveland is using the “New Times And Fire Road” text for the spring term of AP Story Time.

NEWSFLASH: I have submitted PDR to CD Baby, so it should be available in its physical form within the week. YES.

Also, don’t forget that Alex Arrowsmith and His (aka My) Pugs are playing at the Ash St. Saloon next Sunday the 28th. 9 pm, $5 at the door, 21+. I know it’s a Sunday, but we ARE playing FIRST. So it’ll be an early set if you need to be in bed by 11 pm to wash dishes the next day, like Mayhaw does.

Hark! PDR cometh from upon yon hillside! Today I sent off the final artwork and mastered songs to be printed and duped. Finally, after two years from conception to contractions, Public Domain Rainbow is finally and officially DONE. I don’t know when the exact release date will be, but it should be up on CD Baby/iTunes/etc. by the end of the month or early March. The arbitrary release date will be whenever I get the hard copies of the album shoved into my warm living hands.

I have songs from PDR in the player at the top of the page! Take a listen to minute to the songs!

Also! The full band debut of Alex Arrowsmith AND HIS PUGS (myself on guitar/vox, Mayhaw Hoons on bass and Ky Fifer on drums/vox) will be on February 17 at the Hawthorne Theatre. It’s at 8 pm, $4 at the door, 21+. Come out and witness apocryphal history! Also, we have a show at the Ash St. Saloon on March 28. Me and m’pugs must school the world.

I should also mention that I left Tiger House last week. So did Ky. However, Bill and Carl are picking up the pieces of that nuclear blast quite well, and from what I hear, they already have a replacement bassist and are auditioning 6 drummers next week! Awesome eh! I’ll also still be recording future Tiger House CDs and demos and whatnot. So you should still go see their shows. It is important.