Hello Citizens of the Nation!
King Julia here, writing to you from the deep forests of New York. My favorite life involves rocking as many shows as possible, which is why this week was so badass. We started it off with a bang by playing three shows on Monday: one at the legendary Kenny's Castaways, then down the block at Village Lantern (a Greenwich Village lounge that we rock weekly). Then we crossed the East River to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and unexpectedly played yet another set at Zebulon! For the third time in five hours, we spread our souls out thick on the people. To express my passion in several locations in such rapid succession was dreamy. The next day we were back at the Village Lantern, then rocked an amazing show on Thursday at Ella Lounge in the Lower East Side, then last night in Avon, CT -- all the days were fucking rad but Monday was my jam -- three shows back-to-back? How can I make every day so epic?!
The truth is, we are far too busy running business to play that many shows every day -- Musik's booking agency (Music Machine Booking) is blowing up, and he receives dozens of requests for tour booking every day. We are also working on booking our own tour to California and back this fall, developing new material and recording it with producers Joe Davi and Roger Greenawalt, developing our videography skills so we can finally have a dope video for you guys, developing new exciting merchandise (what do you think of Fifth Nation temporary tattoos?) -- the list is forever!
We also sometimes do non-music related things to boost our savings -- for instance, I transcribed my father's tapes this week (he's a journalist for Esquire Magazine) -- he recently interviewed American snipers who had been stationed in Iraq. I typed furiously as I was getting my hair done -- a whole other story! I am a model for a demonstration at Cristiano Cora salon, and my amazing friend Jeanise colored my hair so precisely that it took 14 hours!! I get it cut by Cristiano himself on Monday, and I'm so happy and grateful to be the canvas for such incredible artists.
We never run out of things to work on, and sometimes the work is grueling and tedious, but it's all in the name of LOVE and MUSIC so we remain happy and dedicated. It also helps that the fruits of the labor are infinite -- from the smallest smile on a stranger's lips or a one-dollar tip, to a room full of jumpin' and hollerin' fanatic Citizens. Even the burdens become blessings -- like the case of last night, when we drove the wrong direction on the 84 for a full hour after our gig in Avon, CT, and we didn't get home until the mystic fog of the morning -- it was worth it because of the show, and the generous humans who made our experience so special! Everywhere we go, generosity, kindness, eager openness.
I got pissed off again, reading the New York Times yesterday. Why is it full of nothing but the most awful fucking horrors of Planet Earth? And then I remembered what Musik said to me: if things are right and good, you don't even notice, life is just flowing peacefully undisturbed. Disturbance is what's newsworthy -- murders, lies, poverty, sickness. It makes me even more determined to be aware of how much good there is in the world! Even if the paper never prints "Today, Oklahoma Woman's Arms Full, Man Opens Door", I can make that my daily news -- the kind of behaviors that I choose to focus on and perpetuate.
So I leave you with this, my daily news headline: "Girl Drinks Water, Thanks Her Faucet."
PEACE AND LOVE MY BEAUTIFUL CITIZENS!!!
-KING JULIA
FIFTH NATION!
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Fifth Nation / Blog
How's thar Wind Blowin On Ye Waters?
Ahoy Mateys!
It could quite well please me to describe to you how THRILLING it was to embark on a spontaneous and successful mini-tour to Philadelphia and Washington DC this week, or describe the overwhelming support we've received for our very first video "I'M IN LOVE", including the GLOWING audience at our SMOKING HOT video release show in NYC! BUT, this week, I'd like to turn the attention to you, dear Citizen. You're in the spotlight now, baby.
So how's everything going? Getting some good work done? Making friends? Feeling brave?
I just wanted to check in because I feel like, you know, I'm always telling you about what's going on with Fifth Nation, but I am always curious about you! Your adventures, your pleasure, your pain, the quality and richness of your life, where you go, who you love, who you miss. We are so diverse, and the experience and perspective of every individual is unique and valuable. These words themselves (and the reason I write a blog at all, or write a song, or dance or rock the fuck out) is to prove that my life has value. I have learned this, drawing inspiration from humans throughout history who have lived passionately, proving their worth bravely in the brick face of Limit or in the pressing void of Limitlessness.
YOUR passion is a treasure, your breath is a gift and your expression is yours. Let it out and feel how much it frees you. Share it and realize how many people agree.
Much love and respect to you, -King Julia
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Video Killed The What Now?
Hey there fine Citizen! How ya doin? So I was thinking: video is the way of the future. Ever since personal televisions began to enter the home in the 1950s, video has rapidly become the easiest and most direct way for humans to consume information. Fifth Nation has neglected to take advantage of this tremendous tool, and therefore, if you search "Fifth Nation" on YouTube, all you'll find is a bunch of crap. Sorry! But, like my dad always said, "Don't Be Sorry, Just Be Different". So here we go, stepping bravely into the world of film -- and like all things reflecting the nature of the universe, we're gonna start with a BANG! Our first official video, for our new hit single "I'm In Love", will make its world premiere this Saturday July 30th at 11 pm. If you are in the New York City area you will be able to celebrate with us, watch the video and party as we rock a soul-bursting set onstage at Fontana's Bar in Manhattan (no cover! RSVP on our Facebook Event Page). With our new fantastic partner-in-art ("artner?") Edwin Escobar, we will be creating an endless stream of beautiful films for our Citizens!
As the real summer heat kicks in, a great way we've found to cool off is by rocking outdoor sets at house parties in front of flaming barbecues -- wait -- no, that's actually a great way to sweat bullets. Fear Not Fifth Nation! We are no stranger to the ways of hotness, and we would happily bask in the glory of a midsummer night's sweat for the sake of music. And we will continue to do so in the tri-state area -- if you would like to hire us to rock a set at YOUR house, simply get in touch with us. We would love to arrange something badass with you!
So, one symptom of being a two-piece band is that occasionally people ask "Where's the rest of your band?" or "Just two?!" or "Y'all need a bass player" (the latter most commonly asked by bass players). We are dedicated to the duo-core of our band, but we are certainly not opposed to featuring musicians or jammin' out with dope players! In fact, we had an outrageously fun time jamming with Days of Wild, an incredible NYC-based funk band, last Saturday in Mt. Vernon, NY. The drummer/band-leader Papa Guyo is un-humanly funky, like literally I think he might have beamed in from the Planet of Funk. His players are ridiculously talented, especially the legendary singer/guitarist Singh BirdSong (you can see Papa in that video killin' it on drums). It was truly an honor to share a stage with them. Please treat yourselves to these amazing artists who bring absolute funky love and bring it HARD! These are the realities that we are dedicated to manifest: 1) a crib in Dumbo, Brooklyn (we fell in love with it, and secretly, we gypsy-types long for our own home) 2) going to St. Bart's French Island with the incredible Funk Master Papa Guyo in February 3) at least two more official Escobar Films by the end of 2011 4) at least two more records by the end of 2012 5) at least two million worldwide fans to share love with by the end of 2013. Yes, we have big-ass visions, but what else is LIFE for than to be given MEANING? We love you, and we will continue to express our love and gratitude in the form of some seriously sexy rock music, FOREVER! Peace y'all -King Julia
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Kitchen Mission
Ah, the kitchen! Birthplace of deliciousness, center for creative expression, Mecca for hungry humans eager to be blessed by a holy hamburger. Who knew it could also be a recording studio? This month, the Dumbo apartment we have been staying in has unexpectedly become just that -- a place for us to lay down some sweet fresh tracks for all of our beautiful Citizens to consume. To us, "spaghetti" is no longer a boiled wheat product -- it is the rats' nest of instrument cables covering the floor of the kitchen. To some this may appear disastrous, but to Fifth Nation, it is a delectable first course.
Yes, even setting up our equipment feeds our spirit! Opening software, preparing tracks, opening boxes, unwrapping cables, plugging them into all of our mighty machines, attaching microphones and finding their perfect placement, checking levels, tweaking knobs -- in the kitchen, like chefs preparing ingredients.
Then the main course: playing MUSIC! This is the most satisfying part of the meal. This is what gives us the sustenance to survive, to thrive, so that our spirit is big and healthy enough to break pieces off for YOU!
The best part is, we've been filming the whole process so that soon, on YouTube, you will be able to view these intimate performances. What we've been doing in Dumbo has been acoustic -- simply me with my electric guitar and Musik with his djembe (a beautiful African drum) -- but we will also shoot us recording in other locations with his full drum set. We are so excited to bring our material to the internet in a way that we never have before, and truly embrace the way of the future and the way that most of the world listens to music nowadays -- through video!
With the help of official baller/filmmaker Esco and the eccentric genius Roger Greenawalt, will be consistently creating professional music videos for produced versions of our songs. Together with our home recordings, you will be able to experience the full spectrum of what we are and what we represent.
So stay tuned, dear Citizens, because we have baskets full of home-grown fresh produce coming your way!
Peace and Massive Delicious Love, -King Julia
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Dude, Where's My Keys?
Musik and I have been feeling quite strange -- our teeth have grown and gotten sharp, we're all of a sudden allergic to garlic, and we've been feeding on the BLOOD of unsuspecting tourists!
Alright so we haven't gone totally vampire, but close -- our bedtime is with the sunrise. A common night consists of rocking a show, after which we must hustle merch and meet everyone we can, then break down our equipment and load it into the van which we then drive "home" which is wherever we're sleeping at the moment. If we're not performing, we're planning, rehearsing or recording late into the night, which we can now do freely thanks to Mickey Smyth! Last night he hooked us up with a rehearsal studio in Williamsburg and as soon as we got the keys we went straight to work, brought in all of our recording gear so we could start laying down tracks. So far we have some pretty hot drums for "Gold Rush"! We can't wait to start really churning out music for you, a constant and steady stream of love-filled Fifth Nation tunes for our Beautiful Citizens!
It's wonderful to work with a producer with a musical brain and spirit of vast knowledge and experience, but we've long dreamed of being able to record our own music. Over the past year we've been learning about studio-recording and collecting and a home studio, piece by piece. Mics, pre-amps, mixers, software -- super sexy nerd stuff that I love! Setting it all up last night and getting it to work and actually sound good felt miraculous! Of course, the chaotic waveform nature of universe did not allow total calm and pleasure -- we definitely got locked out at 2:30 am and had to make phone calls and walk for miles to track down keys. Even though we were lucky that our friends were around and down to help us, and that everything worked out, I still made Musik feel bad for locking our keys inside. Come on, Musik! :) Okay, I love you.
Tomorrow, to celebrate Independence Day, we will be shooting a video with the mighty Edwin Escobar for our newest song "I'm In Love"! We are so excited to work with a director who, on top of being so fantastically talented and skilled, believes in real art, love, and spiritual elevation. We'll be shooting under the grand architecture of Dumbo Brooklyn, in the parks of SoHo, and at rooftop parties with friends and fireworks. Our friends from Big Bar Radio are coming down from CT to help us make this video mad explosive!
Now it's time for us to eat fruit and go to the music store. I need guitar picks because mine always turn into little circles when I shred too hard.
Peace & Love dear Citizens, -King Julia
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Laying it On Thick
Hmmm where shall I begin my musings . . .
Every show is a chance for opportunity, which is why no matter where we play, who's there, what time or day it is, we lay it on THICK. We've met probably ten thousand people during our two years as a band, and whether we're playing to toothless hecklers in the backwoods of North Carolina, faded gypsy clowns of New Orleans, or haughty hipsters of Brooklyn, we've learned to treat every stage as a place for uninhibited expression of our love! This is our mission, and the source of our many blessings.
Here's one! We've been given an extraordinary gift by a beautiful, talented artist friend, and we'll be staying in her Dumbo apartment this month! We're back in NYC, living, rehearsing and recording here again :) We are beside ourselves with gratitude and can't wait to pursue the bounty of this gift! We will continue to play shows in New York and around the Northeast -- New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusettes (we just played out first Boston show!) and Connecticut (which itself has an enormous booming music scene!)
Yeah, let me tell you a bit about the Connecticut music scene -- there is so much good music coming out of that place, man! Check out this underground radio station, Big Bar Radio that plays CT-based music 24/7, or as they say, "ALL THE TIME!" These cats are wild, free, dirty and raw, and they have the same philosophy as the rest of us in this modern-day love movement -- that we are all connected. Word. We rocked a Big Bar show last week (we're their honorary CT band), and were blown away by the support strength of their community and the quality of music and art that swims among it. As always, laying it on thick helped that night -- we impressed filmmaker Edwin Escobar enough for him to offer a video, which we will be creating in the coming weeks. We also checked a sneak peek of our video for TV IS DEAD by Genevieve Adams, and it is hilarious! Keep an eye out for it because it will hit the world wide web very soon :)
Well y'all that's all I got for you this time. Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Peace and Love to The Citizens, -King Julia
PS I'm crafting a crown for myself so I can officially be king. An old window screen + purple cordorois + needle + thread + white feather boa = ULTIMATE POWER!
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Whirlwind Week
Hello Citizens of the Nation!
King Julia here, writing to you from the deep forests of New York. My favorite life involves rocking as many shows as possible, which is why this week was so badass. We started it off with a bang by playing three shows on Monday: one at the legendary Kenny's Castaways, then down the block at Village Lantern (a Greenwich Village lounge that we rock weekly). Then we crossed the East River to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and unexpectedly played yet another set at Zebulon! For the third time in five hours, we spread our souls out thick on the people. To express my passion in several locations in such rapid succession was dreamy. The next day we were back at the Village Lantern, then rocked an amazing show on Thursday at Ella Lounge in the Lower East Side, then last night in Avon, CT -- all the days were fucking rad but Monday was my jam -- three shows back-to-back? How can I make every day so epic?!
The truth is, we are far too busy running business to play that many shows every day -- Musik's booking agency (Music Machine Booking) is blowing up, and he receives dozens of requests for tour booking every day. We are also working on booking our own tour to California and back this fall, developing new material and recording it with producers Joe Davi and Roger Greenawalt, developing our videography skills so we can finally have a dope video for you guys, developing new exciting merchandise (what do you think of Fifth Nation temporary tattoos?) -- the list is forever!
We also sometimes do non-music related things to boost our savings -- for instance, I transcribed my father's tapes this week (he's a journalist for Esquire Magazine) -- he recently interviewed American snipers who had been stationed in Iraq. I typed furiously as I was getting my hair done -- a whole other story! I am a model for a demonstration at Cristiano Cora salon, and my amazing friend Jeanise colored my hair so precisely that it took 14 hours!! I get it cut by Cristiano himself on Monday, and I'm so happy and grateful to be the canvas for such incredible artists.
We never run out of things to work on, and sometimes the work is grueling and tedious, but it's all in the name of LOVE and MUSIC so we remain happy and dedicated. It also helps that the fruits of the labor are infinite -- from the smallest smile on a stranger's lips or a one-dollar tip, to a room full of jumpin' and hollerin' fanatic Citizens. Even the burdens become blessings -- like the case of last night, when we drove the wrong direction on the 84 for a full hour after our gig in Avon, CT, and we didn't get home until the mystic fog of the morning -- it was worth it because of the show, and the generous humans who made our experience so special! Everywhere we go, generosity, kindness, eager openness.
I got pissed off again, reading the New York Times yesterday. Why is it full of nothing but the most awful fucking horrors of Planet Earth? And then I remembered what Musik said to me: if things are right and good, you don't even notice, life is just flowing peacefully undisturbed. Disturbance is what's newsworthy -- murders, lies, poverty, sickness. It makes me even more determined to be aware of how much good there is in the world! Even if the paper never prints "Today, Oklahoma Woman's Arms Full, Man Opens Door", I can make that my daily news -- the kind of behaviors that I choose to focus on and perpetuate.
So I leave you with this, my daily news headline: "Girl Drinks Water, Thanks Her Faucet."
PEACE AND LOVE MY BEAUTIFUL CITIZENS!!! -KING JULIA FIFTH NATION!
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CALI TOUR, in the studio . . .
just had the most epic tour of our lives -- 9 shows in Los Angeles and 2 in San Francisco -- with the UK's Pint Shot Riot! we're used to traveling around in our cramped van, rocking shows as a duo from NY to TX. this time we had incredible company to share such magical experiences as the state of California had to offer. we played on TV shows, internet radio shows, we rocked the legendary Whisky A Go-Go, shot our first music video for TV is Dead (which involved carrying an 80-pound television across Venice Beach, dragging it, pushing it in the water, dancing on it, and ultimately burying it and jamming on its grave). what a whirlwind of a beautiful time, and now we're back in NYC recording four new tracks to be released soon, and working on more tours in the USA and also the UK! a lot of buzz is growing around our band and we couldn't be more pleased -- the more effort and dedication we commit to this project, the more comes back to us in the form of audience enjoyment, industry interest, and exciting opportunities for more Fifth Nation adventures! thank you to everyone who supports our art form and our mission to spread love through rock 'n roll. keep it real y'all, peace and love -- King Julia and Musik Read.
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