we are a nomadic community of psalmists. Currently 8 people, 2 dogs, 1 robot, 2 ships. More than 100 psalters from 12 countries have been involved over the years. We are on the road after our First Love, the refugee King….for whom we pledge our only allegiance. It’s not only us…we’re just the banner wavers of a little army out here just beyond your city walls. You can come along if you’re a miserable wretch….but unfortunately there is not enough room for the generally good people. Don’t fret. You wouldn’t like this road….it’s dirty (and greasy). I must tell you this much however………i can’t see much of anything behind those gates of yours and there is not much of a breeze to feel….out here it hurts….outside the gates ………but i can feel and i can see … a little better. outside there is a Pillar of Fire – from their myspace

i first saw these guys at mars hill, the first time i went. i didn’t know what was going on. i whispered something in my dad’s ear and and he was like “they’re different, huh?”

i have a few of their albums on this here machine of mine, but they are not a very . . . accessable band. therefore, i have selected my favorites, and from those have selected my top favorites. if you really want to hear a lot of wailing and some talking and stuff, let me know and i’ll upload whatever your heart desires. if it is a media file on my computer.

super psalters sampler blend:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ee4y4mmvyn1

extra credit:

http://www.mediafire.com/?izymjnzy4yy

Fans of mewithoutYou will get to see another side of the Philly experimental band this fall when the Weiss Family hits the road this August for a tour with Damien Jurado and Psalters. MewithoutYou just completed a sold-out US tour and will be taking to the road with an intimate version of the group, offering audiences an alternate take on their classic songs. Look for a few surprises, friends and additional instrumentalists as well. Joining brothers Aaron on acoustic guitar and Mike Weiss on electric guitar will be Mike’s wife Sarah on keyboards, along with Matt Chapin on trumpet. This is most definitely not an “unplugged” outing; however, the percussion section will be far from the driving rock drums mewithoutYou fans are used to. It is a chance to hear mewithoutYou songs interpreted in a new way as the Weiss Family puts a new twist on their impressive body of work. They’ll also be mixing it up with an eclectic selection of covers, but you’ll have to check out one of these shows to find out what they’ll be!

www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou
www.mewithoutyou.com

TOUR DATES
08/16 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
08/17 Akron, OH Musica
08/18 Covington, KY Madhatter
08/19 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway
08/20 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone Café
08/21 Tulsa, OK The Marquee
08/22 Springfield, MO Outland Ballroom
08/23 Nashville, TN Rocketown
08/24 OFF
08/25 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
08/26 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
08/27 Virginia Beach, VA The Jewish Mother
08/28 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar
08/29 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock

Monday, June 29, 2009

Weiss Family Tour

Many of you have been wondering and asking us “What exactly is the Weiss Family?” Well here you go…

Fans of mewithoutYou will get to see another side of the Philly experimental band this fall when the Weiss Family hits the road this August for a tour with Damien Jurado and Psalters. This will be an intimate version of the band for fans and an alternate take on their classic songs that you won’t want to miss!

Joining brothers Aaron on acoustic guitar and Mike Weiss on electric guitar will be Mike’s wife Sarah on keyboards, along with Matt Chapin on trumpet. Look for a few surprises, friends and additional instrumentalists as well. This is most definitely not an “unplugged” outing; however, the percussion section will be far from the traditional “rock drums” mewithoutYou fans are used to. It is a chance to hear mewithoutYou songs interpreted in a new way as the Weiss Family puts a new twist on their impressive body of work. They’ll also be mixing it up with an eclectic selection of covers, but you’ll have to check out one of these shows to find out what they’ll be!

Joining on this tour of family and friends with be songwriter Damien Jurado and gypsy tribal activist band Psalters.

WEISS Family Tour dates

Sun/Aug-16 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place

Mon/Aug-17 Akron, OH Musica

Tue/Aug-18 Covington, KY Madhatter

Wed/Aug-19 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway

Thu/Aug-20 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone Café

Fri/Aug-21 Tulsa, OK The Marquee

Sat/Aug-22 Springfield, MO Outland Ballroom

Sun/Aug-23 Nashville, TN Rocketown

Mon/Aug-24 OFF

Tue/Aug-25 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern

Wed/Aug-26 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle

Thu/Aug-27 Virginia Beach, VA The Jewish Mother

Fri/Aug-28 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar

Sat/Aug-29 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock

via MySpace.com Blogs – mewithoutYou MySpace Blog.

On another blog, we were discussing whether anyone would leave a church because of the music. The question was posed to me: Why the distaste for church/worship music? It’s a good question. I’m not sure I have the full answer, but I’ll do my best to discuss it here. Perhaps my sentiments are best summed up in this Married to the Sea cartoon:

First and most nauseous, are the lyrics of most worship music. There are few songs that I find both substantive and agreeable. At best, most songs tend to be little more than spiritual, emotional masturbation. The songs are packed with heart-stirring, insubstantial lyrics designed to illicit the highest possible emotional response. It’s about getting that queezy, I’m-in-love feeling in your stomach–but not much else. Allow me to cite my favorite example of such. Consider the opening line to “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin:

The splendor of a king
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

Alright, did everyone reading this pass elementary school English class? Good. All sentences must have 1) a subject and 2) a verb. “The splendor of a king clothed in majesty,” is not a sentence. I suppose technically you could argue that “splendor” is the subject. If that is the case, then there is no direct object after the verb “clothed.” What did the king’s splendor put its majestic clothes onto? We may never know, but the earth sure is rejoicing. I’ve seen people sing this song with such conviction, closed eyes, raised hands, the whole gamut. Did the words they sang make sense to them? Not if they were older than 8 and actually thought about what they were singing.

At worst the lyrics are horribly patriarchal, imperial and domineering. Because we’ve all sung the same songs a million times, we end up shifting into auto-pilot and letting the words come out of our mouth without thinking them. What are we actually singing? I forget. Was it about Manifest Destiny, female inferiority, domination? The most vile of worship songs seem to support the notion that God has a penis and uses it to smite anyone who doesn’t have Jesus in their heart. Jesus may have said, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword,” but let’s all sing:

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see his banners go!

What amazes me most is that many churches will sing popular worship music or historic hymns seemingly without once stopping to consider whether the lyrics they sing agree with the theology that will be preached fifteen minutes later. We’ll sing a song comparing Jesus to a glorious warlord, then listen to a message encouraging us to live peaceful, compassionate lives. We’ll sing about how all we wait for is to be swept up to heaven, then hear a sermon about how we should try to be content with our circumstances. It baffles me.

Furthermore, most worship music written in the last couple decades is generally simplistic, unimaginative and uncreative. Obviously, there are exceptions. At the Mercy House, Joe and his crew have been known to break into beautiful solos that sound reminiscent of a Sigur Ros concert. Certainly no one could ever accuse the Psalters of writing stereotypical music. However, the joke is funny because it’s true: If you can play G, C, D and Em on guitar, you can play any worship song.

Ultimately, I find most of the lyrics and music unimaginative, uncreative, shallow, insubstantial and offensive. Now, I not a very negative person. Even in the worst songs, I try to find something I agree with or look for some new perspective which might deepen my understanding of God. That said, most worship music represents a minute fraction of my understanding of the spiritual experience. Frankly, 15 minutes once a week is just too much. It’s like taking a biology class, and the professor spends the first three weeks explaining what the word “biology” means. Sure, it’s important to know, but you’re boring me.

There are songs I like. “How Great Thou Art” may be my favorite. Generally songs extolling the beauty of creation are my favorite. But that may only be because they’re actually talking about something (instead of nothing), and it has nothing to do with God’s penis, empire or hate. I also appreciate good music. I appreciate talented artists. I enjoy going to art museums. I enjoy going to concerts. If you’re playing good, creative music at church, I’ll enjoy it more.

So… you asked. That’s why I wouldn’t be terribly disappointed if we cut the music out of church all together.

Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou

After a series of hard rock and metal-show bookings, Forever Endeavor Productions appears ready to change the pace a bit. They’ve got just the show to do it with: brothers Aaron and Michael Weiss of Philadelphia indie-folk act mewithoutYou are set to headline a show at The Outland Ballroom August 22 with openers Damien Jurado and Psalters. It’s an eclectic collection of musicians, to be sure; Psalters is frenetic, percussion-laden folk, while Jurado’s brand of acoustic music is far more sparse and downtempo. Then, of course, the Weiss brothers’ catalog–at least with mewithoutYou–turns the energy and pace back up while adding a diverse group of instruments into the mix. It will be interesting to see what they break out with a different group of backing artists onstage. Whatever it is, it almost certainly won’t be something kids can mosh to. Door time is slated for 7 p.m.; we’ll have ticket information as soon as it comes available.

Which sounds more foolish? Plan ii) Go to bed now (it’s 2:30am) and try to get up in 3-4 hours to drive alone to Kentucky, or plan iii) start driving now and get a few traffic free hours in, then find a good place to sleep for a few hours.

I don’t really trust myself to get up as  early as I want to if I sleep here, but I’m pretty tired and I don’t know that I can get that many hours in before I have to stop.  Yes, I know that the better choice is to go to bed at a reasonable hour and *then* get up early and drive. That was plan i).

Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, I’m headed down to Ichthus (Sorry Josh and Heidi, I failed to save the date) to worship with the psalters. Here I am with Jonny at Ichthus last year. I like this picture.

*the ‘bun’ might just be the unsexiest hairdoo ever.

*PANTS!’s death is impending.
*shit shit, what will i do?
*take a chill pill, obviously. it’s only a car.

*no one’s better than ezra.

*barak is an OT name, huh.
*thanks random judges passage.

*gonna kill the dog.
*get out of the trash, zeke.
*put the g-d lid on, dana.
*no.
*well, then. stop bitching about it.
*touche, but no.
*awww, he’s cute.

*”his wings are a refuge for all who run to him…”

*need to do the dishes.

*nursing school apps need to be sent in already!
*nursing school is too far away.
*no, it’s coming too quickly

*need to get the hell outta here
*must. stay. here.
*but why?
*duty, of course.

*i want to pray with these nuns.

*”the hope no violence could tame…”

*seriously, least. sexy. ever.
*it’s kinda making my head itch
*and kinda hurt.
*now, for an “im a crazy protestant” scarf
*i really only need the jeans skirt
* proud that i don’t actually own a jeans skirt.
*way too proud, actually.

the end.

praise god who brings delivery
praise god who shuts the womb.

My Hip Hop & Black Culture class has been pretty great throughout the year, but the past week or so has been particularly cool.  Last week Chris Conway & Charlie K from the Germantown-based hip hop trio Writtenhouse were our guests.

Last tues, Chris gave the lecture about “finding the perfect” beat.  He taught on the progression of DJing and producing beats and development over time.  He pulled out some obscure clips to show how producers built up parts of songs.  I never realized Kweli’s Get By was built by Kanye using Sinnerman by Nina Simone-at 5:19ish, 8:29 in particular.  Both songs are amazing.

On Thurs, Chris & Charlie K talked about their creative process and Chris brought in the MPC to show us how he makes beats.  The two of them and their 3rd member Kush have a lot of talent.  Chris & Kush do their beats and keys live-building songs and beats out of broken down elements of other songs and adding their own flavor…Charlie K is the emcee.

These dudes were really cool, and are playing on May 2 at Studio 34 in West Philly, or if you are rich you can catch them at The Roots Picnic this summer.  They are tentatively up for doing a show at circle of hope with psalters at some point!  We’ll see.

this is a cross post with the new handsome Circle Venture blog.

For psalters Jay Beck & Scotty Krueger, creating a working Philadelphia headquarters has been a challenge.  They spent the better part of the last five years living on a converted veggie oil-powered school bus with the rest of psalters travelling around, leading worship, leading seminars, and experimenting with Exodus.   Some of those travels were international, most recently Jay & Scotty attended the World Christian Gathering of Indigenous People in Israel & Palestine.   Christians from around the world gathered to worship in their traditional cultural styles of music, dance, and dress…it was a great time to learn and network and visit friends and various sites in the Jerusalem area.

Scotty & Jay with a bedouin friend in the Negiv, the desert of Christ's temptations.

Inspired not only to compose new psalms that bring together both worship and social justice, psalters are in the process of developing the Croatan Training Center & Studio located at 2007 Frankford Ave, the same building as our Frankford & Norris congregation meets.  Jay has already taught a series of West African Drumming classes so dozens of people got a taste of how transforming and fun it can be to learn.  The studio will not only be a place for psalters to practice and record, but also a resource to make connections with other musicians and friends.  The Training Center aspect will feature a library of cultural and theological books and videos as well as various classes and workshops by our team as well as other musicians from Philadelphia and around the world.  More from Jay on Croatan Training Center & Studio here.

The team has also been commissioned to compose and perform the music for a new play by Director Lear Debessonet and Playwright Lucy Thuber called Quixote.  “A site-specific performance based on Cervantes’ classic tale ‘Don Quixote’…this production re-imagines the intersection of art and its community” (from stillpointproductions.org).  It will run in Philadelphia this Spring, and perhaps NYC this fall.

The team continues to participate in local worship teams for Circle of Hope (inluding a special 9pm worship time at 1125 S. Broad St on March 22), as well as other local performances, seminars, and worship times.   This summer may feature a short tour in mid June that includes the Ichthus Festival in KY.

Circle of hope, croatan,  croatan training center,  ichthus festival,  israel,  lear debessonet,  lucy thuber,  palestine,  philadelphia,  psalters,  quixote, stillpointproductions,  wcgip world christian gathering of indegenous people

my brother Jeffrey (funniest of the 4 of us) made a couple cracks to me about 3.0 today.  He is not only funny, he’s right.  I’ve been getting ready for the next version of me, today is a good day to be feeling it.   I feel good.

Lots happening these days.  Last week I was in Michigan with psalters most of the time.  Next week FN Stakeholders meeting, more music, CoH Camden, saying farewell to my boy Clarence.  So much and so awesome.

Maybe different looks like:

1.  I cried while watching A Little Princess with my family last night.

2.  finishing the rehab at 2007 Frankford

3.  starting my Kodo training

4.  both kids will want to go to Phillies day games

5…other?

ik heb nu ook een engelstalige muziekblog: http://bramboniusmusic.wordpress.com/… Tot nu to staan er links op naar vrij downloadbare muziek van de psalters, denison witmer, soul-junk en bram cools…

enjoy

Brambonius

Misschien iets te hard voor zondag, maar perfect voor vrijdagavond: El ELyon van de psalters… Prachtige oosterse melodie, zware punk-energie, en gewoon 100% ervoor gaan!

Eén van de krachtigste ‘aanbiddingsnummers’ die ik ken… Te beluisteren hier  zware live versie, of op de video onderaan..

baal our god will fall away,
whose name is lust, adultery
mammon god will fall away,
whose name is riches, luxury
beelzebul will fall away,
whose name is sin, slavery
heaven and earth will pass away
but You live on!

our greed You take away,
our lust You take away
our sins You take away,
our friends will fade away,
our logic fades away but You live on!
El Elyon!

Your Love come down today,
Your Truth, Your Justice,
Your Healing, Your Power,
Your Mercy, Your Glory come today,
Your Will be done today,
in Jesus name i pray,
vanity of vanities all is vanity
but You live on, You live on!
El Elyon!

Roep het maar uit!!!

shalom

Bram

I just wrote a longer post on the Circle of Hope blog, but at least wanted to mention how pumped I am to get the drumming classes going again-see earlier post here for deets.

Last night a group of us spent several hours re-headding and building djemebes.  I learned a lot about a lot.  We tried to take a bunch of photos (set here), even though tonight we have to shave and tune the drums.

Meko teaching me how to weave the cradle

I’m pumped that Martha and a bunch of her friends are taking the class, too.  Still working out what to do with the kids for a couple hours on Monday nights, though.   And yes, everyone else in the photos is severely underdressed.

what a week.  sorry that I haven’t posted anything.  I either didn’t have time or didn’t have any wireless signal (on the Turnpike you have to pay!)

One of the things was going out to western PA to pick up Abigail (our accordian player) and practice for 24 straight hours before we went over to Messiah College for a show.  The next morning I met Rod & Nate out in Grantham for a sort of seminar day.  Back in the Philly just in time for my cell meeting and then yesterday went back down Lancaster way for a nice dinner with more BIC kinfolk.  Today Christina and Bobby get married!

When it got late I started taking photobooth shots at practice the other day.

psalters practice

I still don’t know how to have it not be mirror image.

More about travels and ideas that were kicked around to come.

I’m glad we’re getting the drumming classes going again.  We are going to have some issues with scheduling and no doubt with space conflicts until we get the studio built.   Here’s the flyer for the upcoming classes.

The word on the street is that the mate-masie will be in the house for both classes.  MG and some of her squad are planning on taking the early class!

psalters are also getting ready to play at Messiah College in Grantham on Nov 5th.  It’s free at the Union at 10pm.  If you are in the area already it would be awesome to see you.  Check out this video from cornerstone 08!

I recently realized that I’m starting to lose interest in the music industry and most of its artists. This may sound strange coming from an aspiring music critic, but I think it is that very role in my life that has driven me to this point. Indie Vision Music is going through some transitions right now with a newly designed site on the way, the recent creation of our new sister site Taking Over, and a current shortage of dependable staff members. It is this last point that has made me pretty much the sole reviewer. When bands and labels send stuff in to Brandon, the head of the site, he then sends all hardcore and metal to Josh and everything else to me. Right now I’ve got ten or fifteen CDs sitting on my desk to be reviewed, and I know that more are in the mail.

Because I get sent so much music to review, I hear a lot of different sorts of bands. Many are moderately successful rock bands trying to become largely successful, and many others are small independent bands trying to find the road to success already paved by those bands in the first category. And I get little enjoyment out of either anymore. Hearing so much mediocre music, so many bands desperately searching for human glory, I have retreated to what I call “real music,” as in “man, that guy is just so real.” Rocky Votolato fits that description well. So does Louis DeFabrizio from Gasoline Heart. There are a number of others (mewithoutYou, The Format, Psalters, The Snake the Cross the Crown, Conner Oberst, Brand New, etc), and my most recent addition to that list is Dallas Green’s acoustic project, City & Colour.

But what does that even mean, to be real? As I thought about this question, I found the answer to be some combination of struggle and heart. Real music isn’t about getting famous, it’s about expressing what you’re going through and what’s on your heart. Being able to write a catchy chorus or a rocking guitar riff are great components to musicianship, but what keeps me drawing into any artist is lyrics that talk about something I can relate to, something I can connect with.

And even in this, they all share that same something. As I just wrote in a review of City & Colour’s new album, “In each and every song, there is a broken man in a broken world looking to make sense out of all of it. And that is why for me this is such an incredible album, because the struggle is so real, because it’s something that cuts straight to the heart of our existence. In essence, it is the Christian walk.”

I’m not sure how I can talk about listening to these artists as a sort of spiritual experience in finding connection with a song that touches on a deeper truth when most of them do not claim to share my Christian faith. But I guess these truths are even bigger, even more universally human than to be limited to a person’s beliefs. They are a person’s life. For me right now in all of these songs, that truth is the struggle to find meaning in life. They all sing about it and in such beautifully heartfelt ways, which for some is soft and others loud, but it is all filled with heart and even if I don’t relate to their specific struggles, I still feel it with them during those songs. Real music is a powerful thing.

This connection is also something that, even outside of lyrics, can be built on music alone, because music is also an expression of the heart when it is done right. This is where bands like Rusted Root come into play. I can barely understand what that guy is saying most of the time, but the music strikes a strong chord that reverberates in the heart of human kind. It is tribal, it is folk. And this is what I listen to. Going back over that list of bands I’m stuck on right now, most of them have elements of either folk music or tribal music. What doesn’t fit into those genres is, to some extent, either Americana or indie rock, and both of those are also the music of the people.

In a very broad and nonspecific way, all I listen to is folk music (used in the way that folklore is the stories of the common people, coming from the heart, full of creativity, stirring emotion, and talking about deeper truths). It is not created by corporations, and it is not going to make anyone rich (and if it does, that wasn’t the goal of the artist). It’s made by people. Very real, open, honest, passionate, and genuine people. And they are the sort of people that make me love music and my role at IVM/TO and make me want to continue to pursue this music journalism thing, because while they are in the minority when it comes to radio play, there are many fantastic musicians out there who aren’t on the radio because they could care less. Like Louis of Gasoline Heart once told me, he’s broke and giving away his music for free anyway because all he wants to do is play some songs and share life with us. And that is the sort of guy whose music I will connect with, because it’s real music.

One: Deliver Us, O God.
All: Guide our feet in the ways of Your peace.
One: In humility, we ask.
All: Hear our prayer. Grant us Peace.
One: In humility, we ask.
All: Hear our prayer. Grant us Peace.
One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world.
All: Have mercy on us.
One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world.
All: Free us from the bondage of sin and death.
One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world.
All: Hear our prayer. Grant us peace.
One: Today, we pledge our ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the peace that is not like Rome’s.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the gospel of enemy-love.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the kingdom of the poor and broken.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To a King who loves His enemies so much He died for them.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the least of these, with whom Christ dwells.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the transnational Church that transcends the artificial borders of nations.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the refugee of Nazereth.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay His head.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the cross rather than the sword.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the banner of love above any flag.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the One who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the One who rides a donkey rather than a war horse.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the way that leads to Life.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: To the Slaughtered Lamb.
All: We pledge allegiance.
One: And together we proclaim His praises, from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power.
All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb!
One: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb!
All: Long Live the Slaughter Lamb!

Brittney had a pleasant surprise up her sleeve today when she brought our friend Meko over for dinner at my house.  I didn’t even know he was back in town!

Welcome back, buddy.  Can’t wait to get the studio/school rolling with you.

Among other more relevant things, my cell discovered afterwards that Monster Camp is out on DVD!  Dude, I moved that junk to the top of my queue!!

Sooo goood!

Dream Moth:  “I eat your mind 1…I eat your mind 2…I eat your mind 3…”  I hope it actually proves to be good, because Denzel in American Gangster just got bumped to 2.

Jesus 4 Prez tourbus

Last night my buddy Kyle from Retread and I went to see Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw on their “Jesus for President” book tour.  It was a very unique experience.  I really enjoyed it.  They have unique political ideas that are refreshing to me.  I bought their book and started reading it when I got home.  Can’t wait to really get into it.  Here is a more complete review by my friend.

The evening was definitely something different than I have ever experienced before.  Two guys basically standing up together going through the entire human story.  All throughout, there were musical interludes by the Psalters, a very unique musical talent which is very hard for me to describe – kind of celtic or chanty and middle eastern or indian.  It was pretty special.

Check out www.jesusforpresident.org/tour to see if you can catch these guys coming to your town.