My name is Seth Whitney, and I am a Heathen. My job as a Heathen is to travel around the world with four other Heathens, playing music for people and spreading as much joy and happiness to others as we can collectively muster up.
This week marks a ten year landmark in my life, as it was ten years ago yesterday that I set out from my hometown of Olympia, Washington, to Austin Texas, where I hoped to pursue an education in playing live music. My goal was to live there for a few years, play as much as possible, and move back home stocked with some good experiences and a foundation in performing live. What I ended up getting was more than I expected, and the education continues today. The only difference is, now I call Austin home.
That’s not to say that I don’t hold the Northwest close to my heart still. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss the people and beautiful things that make the Northwest so special, and this week being an anniversary of sorts, has made me very nostalgic. That’s why “The Band of Heathens” debut in the Northwest is even more profound to me.
On Aug. 3rd, we will be playing for the first time in Seattle, and the next day in my hometown of Olympia Washington. I wasn’t aware of how important this would become for me, but in reaching out on various social networks to let people know about the shows, I have reconnected with a lot of old friends and even family that I somehow lost track of living so far away. To top it all off, my birthday is on Aug. 3rd, and though I won’t reveal my age, let’s just say it’s a big one. I can’t imagine a better place to celebrate than in Seattle and Olympia.
At first I thought this all to be a coincidence, this convergence of events if you will. Ten years to the week, my work taking me back to the NW, it all falling on my birthday, dogs and cats living together…what a great blog this would make?
The truth is, I don’t think it is a coincidence anymore. I think we all make this stuff happen for ourselves, and in the end, your heart always takes you where you need to go if you are listening. For me, I needed to be in the Northwest this week.
I think I’ll keep listening to my heart.

Seth

Please come and join us:

August 3rd, 2010
The Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA.
Opener starts at 9pm — Tickets still available

August 4th, 2010
The State Theater, Olympia, WA.
7pm showtime — SOLD OUT
9:30pm showtime — Tickets still available

Colorado is great as always. Good seeing old friends in Carbondale, Denver, Frisco, Telluride and Durango. Some highlights were the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride and blowing the electricity out of half the town of Carbondale at Mountain Fair. Luckily Harley grabbed a megaphone and jumped onstage for a 20 minute, literally-unplugged set before the tie-dye wearing police department got the electricity back on to finish the set. Thanks to Jane Bachrach for the photo.

It’s been good hitting some new spots in Idaho and right now we’re enjoying the Sawtooth Mountains in Stanely, Idaho. The Sawtooth Music Festival is one of the most beautiful sights we’ve seen. TIme to go help Johnny fly his kite and then play a rock and roll show in paradise.

Hope to see you in Washington, Oregon, Chicago or California in the next couple weeks.

Peace,
The BOH

Fat's at Tipitina's

Last night we played Tipitina’s in New Orleans as our last stop opening shows for our friends JJ Grey and Mofro. It’s been great getting to hang with these guys and playing shows through the southeast for the last couple weeks. Playing for a bunch of new fans and then getting to hang out and enjoy Mofro’s set every night has been a great change up for a couple weeks. It was good catching up with Scott and Megan in Atlanta, our old friends Kevin and Kerry in Oxford, and hanging with our friends from the Magpies after the show in New Orleans. Thanks for the good times and generosity.

In Atlanta we had a few days off to rent a rehearsal space and workout some new songs for the next album. We’re excited about the new material and the direction it’s heading. Looking forward to having some more time off to dig into some more of the new tunes and get ready to go back in the studio some time this year.

Some highlights in fine southern cuisine along the way have been the fine people and many desserts at the Brick Street Diner in Greenville, South Carolina; the Ajax Diner in Oxford, Mississippi; and watching Marvin (aka “Word”) at the Camellia Grill in New Orleans spank the calories out of a piece of pecan pie with a spatula before dousing it with butter. We’re fatter and happier thanks to all of you.

Also, in true Stab Whitney fashion, Seth acquired a new butterfly knife at a Stuckey’s truck stop, so watch out. He wields it like a fluttering black belt assassin.

Tonight we’re in Scott/Lafayette, Louisiana, and tomorrow we’re back to La Porte, Texas before heading home for a week off to charge the batteries. Then it’s back to Europe for a couple weeks of shows.

Thanks to JJ and Mofro and all the Mofro fans for a great tour through the college towns of the deep south. And special thanks to all you BOH fans for coming out and representing too. We hope to be back in the fall.

I’ll be home by derby time, so please save me a seat.
Mint juleps on the outfield grass, the old south tastes so sweet.

Until next time,

G

Yesterday began with grey skies and a light rain. It was just a classic March day up North. It’s the time of year where you get teased by the threat of nice weather, outside activities and springtime clothes. One day it’s 65 degrees and everyone is running around in shorts, the next it’s 37 degrees and raining. This was one of those days.

We hit the road to Ann Arbor, ears still ringing, throat still raw from the night before.

Speaking of the night before…

The crowd in Champaign was full of energy, singing along with us on so many of the songs. It was a full on Friday night rock n roll show, loud and loose.

It’s our second show there in the past 4 months and this crowd nearly doubled the last. Seems like a lot of folks have caught the Austin

City Limits show and are being turned onto the band. Just another

windfall from having done that.

Thanks to Larry and everyone at the WHIP, good folks, making the Illini proud, we’ll be seeing you soon I hope.

The drizzle became a full on rain as we glided into Ann Arbor, one of my new favorite tour stops. We had a quick load and soundcheck and grabbed a quick bite at The Eastern Flame. 2 for 2 on dining experiences in town. Last time Zingermans (a must stop people) and this time some delicious middle eastern/ Indian cuisine. In my humble opinion they did a pretty great job serving both masters (which I don’t think is an easy thing to do).

I digress.

We played the Ann Arbor folk festival in January, which was a great introduction to Michigan. Certainly put us in front of some music lovers, which was a great primer for our return.

First show at The Ark last night, which is a legendary listening room and has hosted everyone from Doc Watson and Emmylou Harris to Ani Difranco and Lyle Lovett.

Small, theater style seated crowd, we were able to savor every note, nuance and dynamic. Great crowd, listening and focused but ready to rock and be vocal and loud. Well done audience people! Everyone else out there take note!

Good to see some old friends and meet some new ones, I hope we’ll be coming back again soon. Thanks to Anya and all the staff, first class people.

Hit the hotel, fell asleep around 4, which was actually 5 and got up around 7:30am. Hurts a little bit this morning.

Since Tuesday we’ve covered a lot of ground, from Memphis to Nashville and St, Louis, Champaign and finally Ann Arbor.

It’s 8:22am and we’re rolling across Michigan on I-94. Gordy is manning the wheel and we’re listening to the Jayhawks, Tomorrow the Green Grass. I’m trying to stop pressing the wrong keys as the van skips and hops across this bumpy torn up section of road.

One hour into a 24 hour trek, everything seems pretty right in the world. It’s March and it’s 39 degrees and raining. Headed back to Austin for SXSW for some musical March madness and hopefully some hanging out with friends.

If we haven’t said it lately, thank you for giving us the space to create and do what we do. I hope we’ll see you out on the road real soon.

Until then. Good morning.

March 14, 2010 8:32am

-ej

Sitting backstage in Chicago about an hour before the show. It’s been a good 12 day run out to the east coast and up through the midwest. Good to get back to some places we’ve been before and to reach some new cities we haven’t been to. Lots of radio stops, which have been good, and the shows have been good. Some better than others, but we’re having a good time after taking a week off at the end of October.

The tour started with our tour manager/sound guy Alex forgetting his wallet in Austin. We realized this about an hour north of Austin, and decided that it would be best for him to go almost two weeks without his wallet than to turn around and add a couple hours to our already 15 hour drive to Tennessee. So far he’s doing alright. Ran into one problem when a bar wouldn’t let him in until they saw his ID, which he didn’t have, but he overcame the adversity with a wink and a smile, and his characteristic, “What up, baby!” and they let him in.

Besides that, not much to update. It was beautiful driving into Chicago today watching the setting sun shine down on the city skyline. We were onstage when the Austin City Limits episode aired in North Carolina, but it’s been great hearing feedback from everybody who watched. I think it’s still airing in different areas over the course of the next two weeks.

We’ve met some interesting folks on the way too. Most notably, a large bearded dude with a trucker hat that said, “Low Card”, who burst into our private backstage room in Bloomington, Indiana and exclaimed, “Hi, I’m Crash. I’ve only known about you guys for two months, but you’re my favorite band. Wanna get high?”

Alright, time to get our minds straight before the show. Gotta run. Thanks for checking in. Hope to see you soon.

Looking forward to the Thanksgiving / BOH Birthday Bash at Momo’s on Nov 27.

The BOH

This week we had the privilege of spending a day with David Becker. He is nearing the end of a 40 day period of “funemployment” before starting work at a law firm. Each of the 40 days he is challenging himself to do something new, interesting, unique, completely absurd, or something that he has always wanted to do but never had the time, motivation or cojones to do. You should read his blog. It’s really funny.

On day 35 he chose to spend a day with a rock ‘n’ roll band on the road. We were the lucky band he chose to spend time with. Read more here. Some pretty funny stuff. Good video footage near the end too.

www.thefortydays.com

Thanks David. You’re as cool as it gets.

We’re driving through New Mexico on our way to a couple more shows before heading home… The new album, One Foot in the Ether, comes out in a couple weeks and we’re thinking of giving another song from the album as a free download and through our website’s Email a Song to a Friend function. Hope you already downloaded L.A. County Blues and are digging it.

What song should we give away? Send an email to info@bandofheathens.com with your vote for the next free download. Our management will get the emails. They don’t know we’re doing this so bombard them with your votes. It’ll be funny. We’ll go back and count all the votes after we get a good laugh from their reaction to their inboxes getting flooded. And I promise you won’t be added to the mailing list or anything. It’s just a vote. We’ll leave the voting open through this Sunday night, Aug 30. We’d like to get you the track early next week. Here are your options:

Say

Shine a Light

Golden Calf

What’s this World

You’re Gonna Miss Me

Right Here with Me

Let Your Heart Not Be Troubled

Somebody Tell the Truth

Look at Miss Ohio

Talking Out Loud

Hey Rider

Pick which one you want next for a free download and send the request to info@bandofheathens.com. We’ll count the votes and give it to you.

Very Simple. Very Easy.

Thanks. Hope to see you soon.

Gordy

Pre-Order the new Album here

We’ve had some memorable shows this past week and a half in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Some highlights so far have been playing the Mile High Festival in Denver where we also got to catch the Black Keys, Paolo Nutini, and India.Arie; a show at a great little theater in Durango called the Abbey Theater; Villapalooza and a day off with our friends in Carbondale going white water rafting; a show in Aspen on the mountain at Snowmass where we played L.A. County Blues in the town where Hunter S. Thompson ran for mayor against the “long-hair”; and it was great hanging with our friends after a show in Park City last night. In Durango, Seth took everybody’s money in a late night poker tournament with a bunch of the staff from the Abbey Theater. Needless to say, it’s been a good tour so far.

We just arrived in California after a long day driving across Utah and Nevada. We made a stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats where they set all the land speed records. Pretty amazing. That’s about it for now. Looking forward to this weeks shows here in California.

Orange Blossom Special 5/30/09
Beverungen, Germany

This I Know
Miss Ohio
Hallelujah>I Got a Feeling
Walking and Talking
Second Line
One more Step
Nine Steps Down
Ain’t no More Cane on the Brazos
Blood in the Water
Unsleeping Eye
Don’t Call on Me
Encore:
Cornbread