NEW SHOWS! NEW SONGS! NEW ALIEN THREATS!

Check, check, check. January, January, January. Okay, it's working...

Hey there, we have a bunch of new upcoming shows booked and we're in the process of booking more so get off your duff and come see us soon:

4/28 Silverlake, CA Silverlake Lounge
5/4 Hollywood, CA Viper Room
5/7 Lake Forest, CA Gypsy Lounge with Oh Darling
5/14 Silverlake, CA Spaceland with Delta Mirror and Full Frontal
5/23 Silverlake, CA Silver Lake Jubilee
5/27 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
6/3 Seattle, WA Comet Tavern
6/4 Portland, OR East End with Billygoat
6/12 Upland, CA The Wire


We're also playing at LA Zoo's Indie Fest on August 6th with Voxhaul Broadcast, The Happy Hollows and a number of other great local acts.

USELESS KEYS have been in the studio over the past couple months working on new songs. We are currently mixing a few of them, testing the waters, observing, processing, fine tuning, etc... Sheldon Gomberg helped produce the new tracks and Rick Parker is mixing as we speak.

Thanks to those of you that have written us saying you heard us on 107.7 The End in Seattle or 94.9 in Portland or 105.3 in Oklahoma City or 106.7 KROQ in LA. Alternative Radio has taken a liking to "White Noise". Thanks for calling in and requesting us as well, it's helping and we appreciate your support.

In another aspect of life, Stephen Hawking said this week that human beings on Earth shouldn't try to contact aliens in outer space because it may prove to be too dangerous and could put the human race at peril. Hawking stated that he assumes other advanced alien civilizations may have traveled down a similar road as we as humans have traveled here on Earth, raping our home planet of it's resources while taking advantage of the weak and defenseless. If we were to encounter an advanced alien species, they might have already exhausted the resources of their own home planet and may come to Earth to colonize and annex our resources as their own while conquering us easily with their superior technologies, much similar to how the Spaniards were able to conquer the Aztecs.

I hope advanced alien civilizations have developed technologies far enough along that they are no longer after oil or lumber or minerals. I hope we as human beings change our consuming habits and discontinue our destructive relationship with the Earth so we can state that we'd be happy to meet any civilizations that have traveled down the same path as us. Okay? Agreed? Are we all on the same page now? We're all going to stop buying plastic bottles and stop sending the poor to wars. Okay. I feel better.

Come to USELESS KEYS shows and say hello. :)

The most useless key of them all,

MB

It's 83 degrees and sunny

I just watched the Karate Kid for the first time in a long time. For some reason I found it utterly amusing seeing Daniel Luruso getting his ass kicked numerous times by the Cobra Cai. His only retaliation at the "All Valley State Championship" was his pathetic Crane Kick. What a crock. Anyways, we have been super busy and just finished a month long residency at The Echo with a lot of great bands (Warpaint, Spirit Vine, Repeater, Free Energy, We Barbarians, Box Violet, Aushua etc). We had a blast. Kat Corbett has been playing "White Noise" and we can't thank her enough for the support.

We are finishing up 3 new songs @ Carriage House studios right now with our good friend engineer/producer extraordinaire Sheldon Gomberg. Even though these recording sessions are filled with Makers Mark we have been on point and nailing take after take. On a side note never buy a bottle of wine that's brand name is "Diablo Creek", really?

We're playing a handful of LA shows in May and heading up to the Northwest the first weekend of June to play in Seattle and Portland. We're also looking into some dates in Phoenix and Tucson for late May. Check out our myspace page for show dates.

What's Good:

The Clash: Sandinista
NWA: Straight outta Compton
South Park: new season
At The Drive-In: Relationship of Command
Ella Fitzgerald: anything.

What's Bad:

Diablo Creek's Pinot Noir
Eating Fish N' Chips 15 mins before you hit the stage
Daniel Laruso's crane kick
Not Huey Lewis's 1983 album "Sports"

"It's just that......I think you'd really like us."

Last week, our debut EP "Is The Painting Changing" was released digitally on iTunes, Amazon and all other digital outlets. We just received the physical CD edition (I have 1,000 cds sitting in 3 boxes in the middle of my studio apartment) and we'll have it for sale at our upcoming residency at The Echo in Echo Park; the CD is currently for sale at Amoeba Records in Hollywood. Finally. I'm happy that we have officially released music into the universe. I feel like a farmer that worked hard cultivating a strip of land and just planted his seeds in the ground. Time to water.


It's been rainy in Los Angeles over the past two weeks. I notice a direct correlation between rainy weather and time spent reading. Hopefully it rains a little bit more before the spigot is turned off on Southern California for another 9 months and we're all encouraged to go outside and hike and enjoy our dry, sunny paradise once again. Here's a photo by Fiona Laughlin. Guylaine looks hot.





Till next time, folks. Listen to KCRW tonight with Chuck P, we're playing an acoustic set. His show starts at midnight. If you miss it, check out the podcast. Rock on and see you on Mondays at The Echo this month. Let's drink beer, listen to loud rock and roll and have fun living!

FEBRUARY RESIDENCY AT THE ECHO

"Let me let you let me down again."



"I put my phone back in place."



"I realize that love flows."

What up

We're having a residency at The Echo on Mondays in February. Four shows. Working on the lineups this week. Will post the lineup here as soon as it's set.

I'm in love with New Order, especially this week; must be the rain.



Here's a picture from a photoshoot we had a few weeks ago in Guylaine's backyard. We're reviewing the pictures now and will have some better shots that we post on our myspace but this one in particular cracks me up. Fiona Laughlin is the photographer. Have a good week people. :)

Nutzlos Schlüssel

Useless Sweetpea