O D D B L OO D

Back to the Studio

2010-12-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

Setting up the studio and learning some new techniques to exercise our brains.

Depeche Mode VS Yeasayer

2010-07-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of mashups. When it works there's something very satisfying about the blending of two songs together. I think they used to call it Bastard Pop. I like that term better. Here is a bastard pop of Yeasayer and Depeche Mode. A Mute records love child.

http://viprhealthcare.typepad.com/files/madmixmustang---just-cant-say-enough-yeah-depeche-mode-vs.-yeasayer.mp3

Australia Day One

2010-07-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yeasayer in Sydney - the talk of the town.

WE ARE IN AUSTRALIA.

2010-07-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Buster

2010-07-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Seattle Block Party

2010-07-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

MGMT

Holy Fuck

Bear in Heaven

Mt. Rainier

Latitude Fest

2010-07-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

Source Material for Current Indie Rock Trends: Ayman Al-Rubo3 (Video)

2010-07-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

My Homie from back home. Getting nice on the keys.

Terminal Boredom (Video)

2010-07-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Melt Festival in Germany

2010-07-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

Health in hot tent

Moon and disco ball

Swimming in the good old mine water while listening to deep house.

Amsterdam Day Off #2

2010-07-14T08:15:00.001-07:00

Serbia welcomes Yeasayer with free cars

2010-07-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

M*A*S*H school bus game proves to be prophetic.

Yeasayer Portrait Auctioned off for $2 million in Belgium

2010-07-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Working in Poland and Hanover Fun Time

2010-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

2010-06-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

Summer is ready when you are.

Joe Cocker "The Letter" in live 1970 (MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN)

2010-06-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Amsterdam Flora and Fauna

2010-05-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

2010-05-18T03:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY9uZWCh4go

Yeasayer Art via Japan.

2010-05-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Fan art from Kana, a young artist living in Japan. Pretty blown away by the super soaker and giant hammer. Solo shot of Mr. Wilder to follow the band shot. Possibly animated series coming soon.

Mr. Wilder playing 'casual' Ampling Alp.

Look here http://senzu.tumblr.com/ for more images of other folks.

Sir James Winnie

New York Night Off

2010-05-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

I was at Manhattan Inn in Greenpoint last night, enjoying a delicious fish sandwich with a couple of loved ones, when this funny little man showed up and started singing a lovely tune by the piano. I caught it all on camera:

Ben withdrawal...

2010-05-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

First Sleigh Bells left us, and now Ben is gone, and yet the neverending tour continues...
In honor of Ben, here are some photos of some of his artwork, which is currently being exhibited in Baltimore at the Nudashank Art Gallery.

Nudashank
H&H Arts Building
405 W. Franklin St.
3rd Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201

Sleigh Bells!!

2010-05-01T15:13:00.001-07:00

Sleigh Bells have been killing it every night on tour. A hard act to follow. I saw them during CMJ in October of 2009 and was blown away by their set. They immediately went to the top of my Spring Tour opening band wish list.

Make sure to pick up their new album Treats, out on May 11.

Treats album cover

Yeasayer Coins

2010-04-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Minnesota State Bank issues Yeasayer Legal Tender after sold out show in Minneapolis. Fox News, the first to support the transition to the new world currency:

Back to School!

2010-04-26T18:24:00.001-07:00

Today at Wash U in St. Louis, Missouri we learned about counterfeiting money from Ben Franklin himself!

Denver Dance Party

2010-04-25T18:17:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City!!

2010-04-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Smoke Lights - The smoothest way to quit.

Blown Away in Boise!

2010-04-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

Dolores Park Panorama

2010-04-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

nice weather in San Francisco on our day off..

Coachella Memories

2010-04-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our Home:

Creegan at work

Creegan at rest

Silent DJ characters

Phoenix Sun

2010-04-20T01:47:00.000-07:00

After a lunch run in Phoenix Arizona, Ben was crossing the street when a crazed motorist called out to him, "God asked me to give you five dollars!" Shocked and confused, Ben was eventually cajoled into accepting the man's charity:

"I really think this could be a sign..."

As we continued our walk back to the venue, Ben was struck with an intense desire to enter a swim suit store, which turned out to be an international supplier of handmade competition bodybuilder costumes.

"Custom nude Speedo, the best five dollars ever spent. Thank you God for sending your prophet to guide me."

Operation North America enters Phase 2: The Southwest

2010-04-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday in Marfa, TX we did some motivational speaking for the local high school marching band. We left feeling like we had definitely made some converts to the rock 'n roll lifestyle, but we also realized that we had some stiff competition - namely military recruitment posters lining the school's hallways that made joining the navy seem like becoming the star of the Avatar sequel:
Avatar 2: Seabee's Revenge

So, in order to keep up with Uncle Sam, we decided to clean up our image today in Tucson, AZ:

God Bless America

Austin party party party

2010-04-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sinkane is forced to choose between analog and digital...

Javelin making Houston Beats

2010-04-09T15:52:00.001-07:00

George working on his MPC before soundcheck. Check out their new album No Más.

Download: Off My Mind

Ballin' in Dallas!

2010-04-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ahmed's Big Dunk!

Ben - Twice the Ballin'!

Good Morning America How Are You?

2010-04-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Europe Tour Over!

2010-03-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

A little something to commemorate the last show of ODD BLOOD European Tour 2010.

Music: Excerpted from the song "Butterfly" off the album Wondervisions by Delicate Steve
Lights: Benjamin Phelan www.BenjaminPhelan.com

Der Humpink

2010-03-12T10:35:00.001-08:00

ONE video

2010-03-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Yeasayer "ONE" By: Radical Friend from ODDBLOOD on Vimeo.

Yeasayer vs Fallon

2010-02-12T18:06:00.000-08:00

Oh Yeah!

2010-02-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of my boy!

2010-01-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of my son riding his way to becoming the nation's newest Champion Child Sheep Rider in the 7-8 year old category! That was some half-time show last week at Madison Square garden! For those unfamiliar with Child Sheep Riding, it's like Bull Riding, but for children. Children are judged in the following categories: cowboy hat style, teeth grittin' skills, and best denim. And as with professional bull riding, safety comes first. Well, second, right after cowboy hat style, teeth grittin', and best denim.

The Toast

2010-01-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

On New Year's someone told me that the history behind clinking glasses together during a toast is to make sure that the liquids slosh together, cross contaminating just in case one of the glasses had been poisoned. Wikipedia says this is not true. But either way, I was reminded of this famous scene from a childhood holiday movie favorite. Enjoy.

Merry Christmas Kerala Style

2009-12-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

Biomechanics

2009-12-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Do you dance?

2009-11-28T00:10:00.001-08:00

Sunshine Golden Fruit

2009-11-23T08:23:00.001-08:00

During my travels, I have found there are two types of people in this world: those who like raisins, and those who despise raisins. A unique flavor combination of raisins and sweet and salty crackers from some snacks on an Air Berlin flight yesterday instantly took me back to a delicious fruit cookie from my youth. I discovered in a quick internet search that they were made by Sunshine, a little cookie company that rebelled against Nabisco's domination in 1902. Although they were able to survive many company changeovers, my cookies were finally made redundant in 1998, when Sunshine was absorbed by Kellogg/Keebler. If you see them anywhere let me know. They were delicious and they looked something like this:

Republicans are caricatures of themselves

2009-11-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

2009-11-05T20:51:00.001-08:00

2009-11-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

Ambling Alp out now.

2009-11-02T07:15:00.001-08:00

http://www.amblingalp.com/

2009-10-19T04:30:00.001-07:00

http://twitter.com/OddBlood

2009-09-28T20:41:00.001-07:00

Twitter.

2009-09-21T20:11:00.000-07:00

Stars on thars.

Friends, sorry for the shadows, but we are rambling full steam ahead, burning our very scalps to finish Yeasayer's next odyssey. Please lay down your speculations to energize the spirit.

Pop!

Sir James Winnie / YSR MGR

2009-09-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Matilda is on the knobs.

Very close now, she can taste it.

Sir James Winnie

YSR MGR

2009-08-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yeasayer holding off the rain at Pier 54.

Extra special thanks to everyone who came out to the pier for Yeasayer's first NYC show in over 8 months! More to come for sure.

Sir James Winnie

YSR MGR

2009-08-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

Stu-stu-studio.

My ears are flying high...Dumbo style. I popped into the studio on Friday to catch a peek at some mixes the band is putting together and that shit is BANGIN'! We just need to combine our patience to get to the point of retrieval safely.

I hope all is best.

Sir James Winnie

YSR MGR

2009-07-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

YEASAYER at Pitchfork Festival...

Did anyone catch this show? The sun finally came out at the end of Sunrise!!! Thanks to everyone who came to the mini-tour with Ponytail!

Sir James Winnie
YSR MGR

New Yeasayer Track???

2009-07-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Post Bonnarooooooo.

2009-06-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yeasayer live at Bonnaroo.

Such an amazing festival with a truly wonderful crowd! The 3rd Yeasayer show in over 6 months was a smash down at Bonnaroo 2009 and if you google hard enough you'll find shaky footage with shitty audio...but its a taste! Below is my favorite clips of the hand claps.

One more tiny tour to and from Pitchfork with blood Ponytail and then back into the studio to finish the soon to be second Yeasayer long-player. Exciting indeed! Expect another fall tour announcement, like I said, very very soon.

Best.

Sir James Winnie

YSR MGR

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosharp/3633435234

Break for Showtime

2009-06-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

It has fallen quiet on the blog because Yeasayer has left their retreat to practice for some upcoming summer shows! These gigs will feature a new stage line up as well as the band playing tracks from the forthcoming record due later later later. Expect news on a fabulous October tour happening somewhere in Europe!!!

Tour dates are here: http://www.nowwearefree.com/tours.html

The band will return to finish their next long player after their summer shows and we hope to have a final long-player in the can by September. We are pushing for a single in October and the full length release in the first part of 2010. Trust me, its not that far away.

Enjoy your summer.

Sir James Winnie

YSR MGR

2009-04-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

Do as your told!

Repackaged or fake?

The pentagram didn't turn out so well.

Nikes for all in Heaven's Gate.

2009-04-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Heat.

2009-04-14T23:48:00.001-07:00

2009-04-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday. Wood chopping and late, late, late recording.

2009-04-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Touch. Today we found a new band member. We are still searching for a miniature keyboard.

Sound. I haven't been to the cave in a couple weeks, so it was exciting to return and hear how the new sounds are growing. We talked late at night about crash cymbal placement.

Sight. We are filming some treats this weekend.

Taste. This was my cutest post to date.

CT scans see everything!

2009-03-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Cool. The new X Ray

Still The One

2009-03-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all we've been living in Jersville for the last month and its time we gave him some love. Last night we shared some Friendly's ice cream and a few good laughs with our buddy Jerry.

"My husband bought me Dance With Me: The Best of Orleans for Christmas and I've been happily humming along to it ever since. As I mentioned in a previous post, John Hall of Orleans is now a Democratic Congressman who got great election exposure on The Colbert Report. There are great liner notes on this CD and lots of pictures of the guys in the band then (1975) and now (1997). Even with the beards they kinda always looked like a friendly bunch of guys!"

Customize It!

2009-03-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

I'm really psyched about DJ Swamp's jet black sampler. The ill goth DJ from hell. This dude lit his turntables on fire when I saw him...amazing.

Thursday Mind Games!

2009-03-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

2009-03-18T19:44:00.001-07:00

Texas Judge Rules Inmate Who Plucked Out Own Eye And Ate It 'Crazy' But Sane

3 Shermans

2009-03-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Cindy, William, and uh, Sherman. Three Shermans that I've been thinking about lately. I'm most excited about the last of the three. We've been running all manner of sounds through this badboy. We put an acoustic guitar inside and out popped a a demon. We put in drums and out popped a screaming skull.

BACDAFUCUP

2009-03-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Sexy Friday!!

2009-03-13T20:02:00.001-07:00

The weekend is here! Everybody relax and get sexy...

Love at First Bite

2009-03-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

Wham! Ouch!

2009-03-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

For those extra smashed potato Sugar Hill vocals.

The ultimate synth for the penultimate track

2009-03-12T22:40:00.001-07:00

Working on a track right now that combines all of the best elements of Seal, Phil Collins, Flea, a war with machines, getting hit on the head, sheep, koto drums and rain.
The Wolf just tracked a nasty little number on the bass and Mr. Anand Wilder tricked it out with a little Prophet 5 synth. We're borrowing this one but I've got to get me one of these!
I highly recommend getting your hands on these fine buttery knobs....

2009-03-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

Gills like a fish.

2009-03-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

ChainFace

2009-03-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

Paris fashion week. Weird.

Hearts and Bones

2009-03-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

I bought a trout for dinner but decided instead to make Guacamole.
5 avocados, Lime juice, Cilantro, Tomato, Onion, 1 Clove of Garlic, a Jalapeno pepper.
I then ate peanut butter while listening to producer Russ Titelman work on Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and Steve Winwood's "Higher Love." These two songs contain some of the finest recordings of percussion I've ever heard. Russ Titelman ran 1982 with his smooth, smooth sound.

2009-03-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Butter Luck

2009-03-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Been toying around with a song title... "Butter Luck"
I think it sounds gross and it makes a tingly feeling in the mouth when spoken. All good song titles should tingle.

A Classic

2009-03-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

One of my all time favorite movies. How often does one get to direct their own death scene?

Hands

2009-03-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

2009-03-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

Hrmph.

Dick's Sporting Goods

2009-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Foot Locker! I love the shoes. I love the fact that the employees wear referee jerseys and everything but wft I JUST CAN'T HANG WITH THE PRICES!! Last week I needed to get a real p.h.a.t. pair of Jordan IIVs

I totally bought them but they did not improve my game AT ALL! I mean I was hitting airballs and I was getting schooled left and right by Ira and his elbowtastic-wonky-Micky Rourke- wrestler skills. This never used to happen. I was, like, the 9th best player on my high school JV basketball team.

So OMG, if you think that getting a new pair of p.h.a.t. Jordan IVs from Foot Locker is going to improve your game... THINK AGAIN! Shop Dick's Sporting Goods for great deals on guns, racketballs, and AND 1 sneakers.

2009-03-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

2009-03-03T11:13:00.001-08:00

Hello fans of Yeasayer!

Interesting fact:

Did you know that "Blog" is an abbreviation for "Web Log?"

This makes things much more cooler, isn't it?

Enough history lessons though :)lol, Let's get fun!

So here I am, all alone in a cabin in the woods. How do I mentally prepare for a day of recording with just myself?

Well preparation is really important. You must do a lot of thinking, and stretching too.

Think outside the box! lol. ;)

First order of business, getting dressed for the day:

I am thinking jeans are too fancy for being alone in a cabin, so I remembered, "A ha!" I recently purchased a pair of Medium Size, Grey Sweatpants from Foot Locker in Kingston, NY. For those Yeasayer fans not familiar with Foot Locker, this is a great store that you should definitely check out! Yes, they have shoes and shoes, running shoes, soccer shoes and cleats, basketball shoes, and even casual fun shoes for parties. But what you might not realize is that they have really cool accessories too, like socks, headbands, and wristbands, those are good too! lol

I notice that the rest of the band decided to get super organized while I was back in New York. They got a Dry Erase board and started to write ideas for song titles and album titles on it. Great idea guys! Every song should definitely have a title. So I thought to catch up I should start brainstorming some ideas after I ate breakfast. Here are the titles I thought of:

Sugar in the Raw

Recycling Ain't Easy

Stove Won't Light

I (Like my Cereal Hot)

Sometimes inspiration can be from things that are right around you!

Well, time to get to work! See you soon!

Captain's Log star date March 3 2009 signing off! Singing on! lol:)

2009-02-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

2009-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hello.

- Lester Newton

2009-02-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tech Tool Out Session.

We put the harmonium in the bathtub with water running and mic'd it with a Neuman U-87. We got nice warm compression with our Distressor set to the wacky British 1:1 setting. The API 512c is the only preAmp that I am familiar with but we spilled honey on it so it is stuck at a really high gain which gives everything a BOOST.

For dinner we had clam chowder and Lentil soup and Beef Taquitos. There is now a line for the bathroom. We will mic that too.

2009-02-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

The play house.

2009-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Julia's Children.

2009-02-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

We woke up to snow...

2009-02-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Black Crowes are our neighbors.

We heard whispers that The Black Crowes are also up in Woodstock recording their next long player. Lets see who ends up with the better record. We'd like to challenge them to a basketball game at the Kingston YMCA.

2009-02-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

We have arrived. Here is a brief view of the calm outside of the shell.

2009-01-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

Phase 2 launch pad.