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News
Sunday, August 19, 2001
Hello. We just spent the last seven days recording 10 new songs for our next full-length. Dave Trumfio has been at the controls, and has obliged us by putting in long hours. Matthew Davis is again working on the art work. That man has skills. The record should be out first thing 2002. Until then, we'll be touring non-stop. Talk to you soon. MOS Tuesday, July 31, 2001
**The following is live music review of Mates of State, The Minders and Dear Nora at the Meow Meow in Portland on July 28, 2001.** The night got off to a special start with an appearance by Ron Jeremy in the place we were eating dinner, Dots. My guess was he was in town for "Fringe Fest" across the street at Clinton Street Theatre. He signed autographs, while we quietly made the usual jokes about his nickname, "The Hedgehog," how such a short, fat, hairy man could be such a huge porn star, and the size of his "organ." Speaking of "organ" -- the musical instrument, the organ, was the centerpiece of a show that night at all-ages hipster den, The Meow Meow. The Meow Meow, an all-ages, no smoking, no drinking performance space located in the semi-industrial area of southeast Portland, has shows with the latest and greatest in indie pop and punk. I would have killed for place like this when I was a kid: a super-hip, accessible venue that Mom and Dad would feel safe dropping off their kids. We came in during the middle of Dear Nora's set. Dear Nora are Portland three-piece band: drums, bass, with the lead singer switching between guitar and organ. They played a mellow set from what I saw, great harmonies between the drummer and guitar/organist, with the occasional boisterous pop number. The bass player stayed in the pocket doing the appropriate role as part of the rhythm section, but also adding some nice harmonies with the guitar and organ parts. Dear Nora really set the mark for the whole night with the organ as the center piece for the night's music. Up next were The Minders. I have their new album, "Golden Street," but had yet to see them live. The Minders are another trio: guitar, organ, and drums. I was skeptical at first as the weird sound mix and uncertain start to their show set an odd pace, but they quickly got into their game and were off rocking. The Minders play a really catchy, poppy, psuedo-psychedelic British-esque sounding set. Instead of bass, the organist really filled in the bottom end, while added nice harmonies with the guitar, and she had a great voice that complimented the lead singer’s voice. It used to bug me when American bands would do that fake-British accent while singing (ala the Beatles or Clash), and The Minders definitely have that British thing going on. But as the guitar player spoke between songs, I realized, by gosh, he IS British! There you have it... As I started recognizing songs of the new album, The Minders were definitely falling into a great groove and rocked the house. There is magic to hearing songs you’ve heard so many times on album, played live. They played a short and sweet set, doing what a drummer friend of mind told me long ago, "Always leave them wanting more." Their new album is definitely worth a listen and its easy to see why they have become one of the top ranking pop bands in Portland. Headlining the show was Mates of State. Mates of State are a duo of organ and drums (and two voices that sound like an orchestra). Hailing from the Bay Area, Mates play a minimalist brand of pop in the vein similar to Quasi or Elliot Smith. A few months back ex-Nullsoft operative Rob Lord had tried to turn me on to this wonderful band, and I now kick myself for taking so long to pick up their latest CD, "My Solo Project." All can say about Mates of State is wow. Or WOW. Or HOLY FRICKIN’ WOW! By far the best act of the night, never had I seen such a minimal band make a song sound so full like they did. The organ and drums act as backdrops for the AMAZING harmonies between organist Kori Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel. Many indie bands sound great on their records, but can’t really carry the vocals live. Not Mates of State. These kids were spot on everytime. And how powerful their voices were. Kori’s voice booms and fills the room with such an expression that transcends the uber-hippness of The Meow Meow and to say to all, "Yeah, I ain’t gonna lie, this is real, this is how I feel. Deal with it." The crowd loved it. Everyone must have had a copy of the new album and were singing along with every song. The normally reserved, shoe-gazing crowd was hopping up and down, like kids in a candy store, slurping up every sweet drop of harmony from Mates of State. Unfortunately, we had to leave early and couldn’t see the band's full set. But I'll be back to see them next time they are in town. If Mates of State are in your town soon, check 'em out!
This is my first official post. The tour is fun (as expected). Everyone we've met has been incredibly nice and we have many funny stories to share. Jason has been growing his mustache for the past few days and you can actually see it now. The Minders are great people and they tell hillarious stories. We're jumping in a Chico pool now-if there is one. Thanks for all the wedding greetings. We'll post some pictures soon. Kori Sunday, July 22, 2001
We're back from Tahiti and it's official. We leave Wednesday for basically four months of touring. Our new seven-inch is ready and available. Go to http://www.snowgloberecords.com/mailorder.htm to order it. Frazzled but we'll talk soon. MOS Tuesday, June 26, 2001
We've been delinquent again in updating this and can offer only an apology. Tons of confirmed dates are on the SHOWS page. Yes, we'll be coming to the east coast in the fall. We're attempting a CMJ showcase so look for us to make it out there around the middle of September. To help book us, contact the KORK AGENCY at erikork@clamazon.com. We plan to do nothing but tour from the end of July through November. But, we'll record a second album in August. We're running off to wed now, but will be in full swing once we're legally bound. Later. MOS Monday, May 21, 2001
We've been busy planning the wedding and booking the tours. Go to the "SHOWS" page now to see the confirmed dates w/ The Minders on the west coast. We'll take a short break August 12th to begin recording for our next album and then we'll continue on to the midwest/southwest. After that we'll cover All of the USA. Dates are being worked on and will be posted as they are confirmed. The seven-inch is at the pressing plant. We'll have it in time to begin the tour in July. See you soon. Mates of State. Tuesday, April 17, 2001
The recording of the seven-inch is coming along nicely. The songs will be: 1.) A cover of Randy Newman's "Beehive State" that we've played live a lot, and 2.) A new song called "Uber Legitimate". We should have it finished up by the end of April, mastered the first week of May, and manufactured by the end of June. We'll be taking it on tour with us in July/Aug. Someone has been kind enough to start a Yahoo group. To read about and write the latest news and gossip, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/matesofstate and sign up. Thanks. MOS. Monday, April 09, 2001
Our official two-month break began yesterday. Don't let this fool you, as we most certainly won't be vactioning. We started recording the songs for a seven-inch, which should be out in time for the July/August tour with the Minders. Dates to be posted soon. We'll also be spending much of this time writing songs for our next full-length. Our next show is w/ Cinerama on June 9th. We are completely out of the "It's the Law" single, and there won't be any more pressed. I'm sure one could still find some at various locations (i.e. distributors, stores) or try the Omnibus page. Also, we're out of many sizes of that first run of shirts, but we're working with Matt--as we speak--on some new designs/colors. We'll have those for tour as well. What's left on the "Releases" page is all that's still available. We'll talk soon. MOS. Archive
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