spinalspirally

pavement euro merch

2011-01-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

we now have a merch site set up for our pavement european friends. please go to frocksteady. all other orders worldwide please go to kung fu.

some photos

2011-01-15T23:57:00.000-08:00

here are some photos i found recently. more to come. enjoy.

hein-time laying down some guitar at orbit audio seattle...

daryl bradie and i on abc radio melbourne...

dan tulen(drums), craig jackson(bass), daryl's guitar, and the legendary julian wu at the nsc melbourne...

darius minwalla (drums), matt harris (bass), and kelly stoltz (keys) at parkerpaloosa IV san francisco...

queensland floods... please donate!

2011-01-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

hello from a disaster zone. i'm safe fortunately, but was stranded the other day and couldn't get back to my house. we have many neighbors who have water damage so we are lucky to be ok. most in this state are under water and it's going to take years to rebuild. the city of brisbane is flooding now and many of the areas where we hang out everyday are in a disaster area. please donate to flood relief if you can.

spiral

thank you!

2010-12-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

hello from brisbane... i'm trying to come down from such a momentous year. thanks to all who came to see pavement and spiral play in 2010. i know i didn't get much of a chance to do many spiral shows but

hopefully in the new year that will change. i will start working on a new spiral record real soon. for the time being, mt. fuji records have just released a split 7" single with the long winters. it's an out-take from the real feel named "dreams they guide us".

in pavement news: we will be re-launching the crookedrain.com website in the new year with free audio, video, and lot's more... and a store where you can find all things pavement you might have missed on the 2010 tour.

too many people to thank for the great times this year but want to especially thank you the fans for supporting us.

happy holidays.
spiral

sao paulo

2010-11-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

hello from south america! this is the first time pavement will be down here. we play on saturday in sao paulo with the amazing smashing pumkins and sunday and monday in BA on our own. glad to finally be here and can't wait to play the shows.

thanks again to all who came to all the other shows throughout this year. we really appreciated the love. it made us feel really good to play the old songs once again and who knows... maybe we'll end up doing more as time goes on. but for now, we are working on revamping the pavement website to make our merch and digital recordings more available in the future. check out crookedrain.com for more info.

as for me, i've relocated to melbourne as of 3 weeks ago. i'm hoping to start work on a new spiral stairs album in the new year. and hopefully get on the road again!

see you soon.

spiral

the midwest...

2010-09-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

thanks to all for coming to the shows in the middle...

punk rock milwaukee!

or the cars 'candy o'...

pbr...

wowee zowee indeed..

generation duce!

2010-09-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

gold soundz

gold soundz on colbert...

2010-09-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

tonight, we play on the colbert report. tune in to comedy central tonight at 7pm eastern.

hello nyc!

2010-09-19T10:27:00.001-07:00

hello from nyc. we've finally made it. i can't believe it's been a year since we announced these shows. we play the williamsburg waterfront tonight with endless boogie and jenny and johnny. tomorrow night we are on the colbert report. also, tomorrow night we are djing. come on along.

no age and pavement tonight!

2010-09-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

hi again. thanks to all who came to the pavement shows in st. paul, kc, and denver. all great shows! we're in chicago today playing millenium park. the great no age opens.

play guitar with pavement...

2010-09-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

pavement are playing live on late night with jimmy fallon thursday sept. 23. there is a contest running where the lucky (or unlucky) winner gets to play guitar on tv with us. go to the late night website for more info. we are also playing live on the colbert report on monday sept. 20.

back in the usa...

2010-09-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

hello all... last night was the first night of our north american tour. edgefield in portland. thanks to all who braved the 90 degree weather.

around the world in 10 days.

2010-09-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

this was the end of europe for us... we flew from san francisco to japan. japan to helsinki. helsinki to oslo. goteburg to amsterdam. amsterdam to san francisco. we had a great time in scandi. thanks for the good times. here are some photos.

way out west festival...
pavement bread...

swedish butter...
oya festival oslo...
opera house oslo...

best band of the festival... airel pink!

out on tour with the smashing pumkids... japan photos

2010-09-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

hello... here are some photos from our august shows in japan. thanks to all for coming to see us. it was steamy hot!

ibold is the best traveler!

sushi in osaka!

and ramen in tokyo...
very hot in osaka...

new sst band...

we couldn't pass this piece of tape...

another douche bag...

thanks tokyo!

they loved us in montreal!

2010-08-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

hello from tokyo... we play summersonic this weekend. thanks to all who came out to see us in montreal. as you can see, we've got some real fans there. sm took it in stride i think. off to eat some ramen now.

chalet bbq!

i'm back...

2010-07-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

sorry folks... it's been too long. i'm back with you again after a long break from blog world. i'll try to keep you up to date for the remaining pavement shows. this weekend, we're in montreal for the osheaga festival. next weekend we are in japan, and then it's back to scandinavia.

sacto, northern cal!

2010-04-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

hanging out in the old hometown of stockton... yesterday we went to one of the greatest mexican restaurants in the world... el novillero in sacramento. many a meal was consumed here in the early pavement days! we're off to dublin in a few days to start the euro tour. it's been a nice break, but been practicing some new songs and also spiral stairs songs for the two shows in the uk. here we come!

#9... two beef tacos.

thanks southland!

2010-04-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

ok. we conquered coachella. now the anxiety can cease. hope all who saw us enjoyed. we know we did. all in all, it was a fun show. we were a little nervous when we went on, but after a few songs we hit our stride. the response from the crowd was very generous and nice. thanks again! hope to see all of you at the hollywood bowl in sept. we also got a nice write up in the ny times. not sure i said that first line, i think it might have been sm. oh well, the parents will like it. went early and saw the soft pack. if you haven't seen em, go! yo la tengo and spoon were also some of the highlights. below is the set list and some pix. see ya in dublin next!
didn't do box elder or conduit...
the soft pack...pomona, night before...

food, coffee, cocktails, party!

2010-04-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

this is my breakfast on our united airlines flight from tokyo to los angeles... inedible! and you wonder why this airline goes bankrupt.

and this is jeremy lemos travel/tour blog for the chicago reader. jeremy does killa monitors for us and is a slick dresser. enjoy!

and last but not least are steaks from pappy and harriets... went here on the day before coachella. had a nice drive through joshua tree national park as well.

we are the pil for that!

2010-04-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

it's early in the desert. it's supposed to be in the 90's later. big show tonight. man, i'm nervous. went on friday and saw PIL, who were awesome... and then spent the next two hours trying to get home. what a clusterf---! going early today to see soft pack!

unremarkable?

2010-04-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

here's a nice review from the unremarkable LA Times...

listamania redux

2010-04-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

hello from sunny indian wells california. got here really late last night... too late! it's coachella weekend and we are in some crazy desert resort. i'm looking out on a golf course... it's gonna be hard to resist. it looks like the temps will be in the 80's all weekend so looking forward to the craziness. below is the list from our first us show since cinncinati way back in 99'. thanks to those who braved the traffic jam which is la to make the show.

listamania!

2010-04-14T08:08:00.001-07:00

melbourne list...
little buddy!

new gold soundz!

2010-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

this is the japanese box set. out through hostess records in japan. not sure how to get a hold of it yet, but matador will probably have some available soon.

it's all the studio records plus the videos and a couple live shows on dvd. all the cds are in paper sleeves and look great.

we want two two states!

2010-04-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

hello from the city of angels. yes... we've heard 'under the bridge' on the radio like 5 times already. it's good to be back in california! no star sightings yet, but everyone is one here right! had some beautiful oaxacan food last night in little korea of all places. looking forward to our first show in over 10 years tomorrow night... in the meantime, some more highlights from japan.

karaoke in nagoya...
guess the song...

this is beige... my tech and marble valley alum!

this is andy... sm's tech and another marble valley!

fried chicken in nagoya...

japan

2010-04-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

hello again... it's been awhile. there's been a lot going on. sorry for the delay. i did get married, went on a honeymoon, and have been traveling so i think i deserve an excuse. haha.
we are in nagoya japan at the moment. tonight is our last show here in japan until august when we return for summersonic. it's been great here as usual as the japanese crowds have been very warm and inviting, except for the occasional drunk yank. sm barely made our first show in tokyo the other night as he had some problems with his flight from the us. he arrived at the club 5 minutes before we were to go on. it didn't seem to make a difference as we had a great show.

we can't wait to get back to the states in a couple days and are very excited to be playing our first shows in the us in over 10 years. pomona here we come! never thought i'd be saying that! ha.

ok, below are some setlists for you... see you all soon!

tokyo #2
tokyo #1
studio coast tokyo...

zepp osaka!
on stage in osaka at 6pm!

hanshin tigers osaka...

fried chicken place in nagoya!

brisvegas!

2010-03-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

hello from brisbane... back on the east coast after a very long flight yesterday. playing the tivoli tonight in brisbane. 3 more shows down unda. perth was really fun, thanks to all who came out last night to what has to be one of the worst clubs in the southern hemisphere, metro city... sorry for playing there, no choice as ac/dc took our first choice, subiaco oval. we still had a blast perth, so don't hold it against us please. sorry i don't have a set list from this show yet, but will try to post it later. ok, off to the tivoli for sound check now... gonna be a cracker! and the in-laws will be there tonight!

this is remko. our soundman. today is his birthday! he only wears orange because he is dutch.

this is mark ibold's bag. he's had it since day one in pavement. it must be 20 years old.

i love perth!

2010-03-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

great show in adelaide last night. very nice crowd. played almost two hours again. you get your money's worth from pavement people! spirits are high as we head to WA!

storm of the century

2010-03-07T00:13:00.000-08:00

hello there from radalaide! about to play our 5th show in a couple hours. last nights golden plains festival was pretty special. thanks to all who braved the rain to come see us. here's the set list and also the list from the second enmore show. off to perth early tomorrow morning flying across the nullarbar plain!

we did western homes as well first on at encore.

play some fucking stooges!

2010-03-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

oz tour poster

2010-03-01T17:48:00.000-08:00

oz tour poster from our old friend paulie mcneil. he did all the oz tour posters for us back in the 90's. on sale at the shows here in oz.

and for those interested in the new t-shirt designs from this tour... please contact kung fu for any info on these designs or past designs. or better yet, come to the shows and buy early, since we sold out pretty fast in auckland last night.

australia here we come... thank you auckland!

2010-03-01T04:16:00.001-08:00

last night we played our first show in over ten years. and yes we were seriously nervous! the show was great. the fans were unreal. whew... all those pavement anxiety dreams can now go away! auckland was great. we had an amazing time the few days we were here. good weather and good people. the 3d's opened and rocked us into outer space. above is the pre show photo op. below is a few photos from the night. and the setlist...
auckland town hall...
our rules.

sm played here instead of hexx because he didn't have his glasses on.

pavementi

2010-02-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

we are about to embark on our very ambitious world tour in a couple days. march 1 is the first date and it's in a place very special to our hearts... new zealand. we've got the great 3d's opening so it's gonna be a legendary night. we then travel across the tasman sea to my future country of residence, australia (i'm actually writing this to you from brisbane where i'm spending a few days torturing my fiance and her family practicing the songs before the tour starts). speaking of practice, we recently had two good weeks of practice in portland. it was the first time some of us had been in the same room together for close to 10 years. i think we all were a little nervous. it started off pretty rough, except for our drummer who probably practiced the most. but... by the time we had finished, most of the 40 plus songs we had rehearsed were sounding pretty good. we're really looking forward to the year ahead and seeing all the fans out there digging the music makes it all worthwhile. so thank you for buying tickets. we've also got the cool 'qtp' best of comp coming out march 9. it was compiled by the band and includes all our faves from the catalog.

also... thanks to all for buying the spiral stairs record. i'm planning some shows in the new year in between the pavement maelstrom. we're set to play all tomorrow's parties in the uk and maybe some others around those festival dates. as for north america, look for shows in june or july in the midwest and east coast.

NEW DAY RISING!

2009-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

hello again. i'm pleased to announce that besides the upcoming treasure island show, we've been asked to open some west coast dates for bob mould. below are the dates, hope to see you there.

10/15 seattle
10/16 portland
10/19 la
10/20 san diego

TREASURE ISLAND

2009-07-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

hello. we have good news. spiral will play the 2009 treasure island festival in san francisco, ca on october 18th. we are working on dates around this as well so check back for more info. looks like it's a good lineup this year with the lips headlining. hope to see you there.

'HE WAS A'

2009-06-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

hi again. domino records has just announced the record here. for all the vinyl junkies out there, the lp version will come with a free 7" with the songs 'hey folk singa!' and 'the moodist'.

spiral

FINALLY... IT'S BEEN ANNOUNCED!

2009-06-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

'the real feel' has formally been announced here and here

so now... i can give you all some info on what's in store. it's released on matador and domino throughout the world on october 20th. hopefully, we'll be doing some shows around the release. yes, it's true 'the real feel' is the first record under the spiral moniker. but members of preston school all play on it. many guest musicians as well. here's some info below. stay tuned for more info and music soon.

spiral stairs: the real feel

+
true love
call the ceasefire
cold change
subiaco shuffle
wharf-hand blues

-
maltese t
a mighty mighty fall
stolen pills
the real feel
blood money

mixed by:
jon auer @ amberson mansion... seattle

recorded by:
joe reineke @ orbit audio... seattle
jon auer @ a dark unfinished basement and amberson mansion... seattle
patrick ryan @ newmarket studios... melbourne

album design by ashod simonian

played by:
spiral stairs - vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards
matthew zeek harris - bass
darius minwalla - drums, percussion
christopher lee heinrich - pedal steel, guitars, banjo, keyboard
ashod simonian - guitar, synth
ian moore - guitars, strings
jon auer - vocals, piano, mellotron, organ, percussion
daryl bradie - guitars, vocals
dan tulen - percussion
craig jackson - vocals
julian wu - guitar
drew pearse - synth
michele auer - vocals
gavin guss - piano
mary drew - 'ladies and gentlemen, spiral stairs'

HEY CHRIS, WHAT'S THE REAL FEEL?

2009-05-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

hi, just a quick note to say the 'spiral' record is now done and has been sent off to the mastering plant. there will be more news in the next couple days on it's release date, song titles, etc. i will probably put up a few songs soon as well. but for now, i can tell you it's title is SPIRAL STAIRS: THE REAL FEEL.

no life singed her

2009-05-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

hi all. been awhile. i'm djing at the sonic youth listening party on thursday. come on down for some fun in the sun.

finally! an update...

2008-12-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

hello everyone... sorry it's been so long. i've been traveling a bunch and am getting ready next week for my annual trip down under. some shows coming up this week... starting tomorrow up in vancouver, bc, canada. i'm playing under the name 'spiral stairs' and am playing at the biltmore cabaret. i'll have preston school alums darius, chris, and matt backing me up. the legendary ian moore will be opening up and joining us on a few songs as well. should be a fun night... that's if it doesn't snow too much. it's been seriously cold up here in the northwest the past week and snow is expected tomorrow. we are also playing a show at the sunset tavern here in seattle on saturday. my friends in 'the cops' have asked us to play their annual holiday shows. also, the next day i will be performing solo at gainsbourg in the greenwood neighborhood in seattle. ian moore will be playing as well. hope to see you.

almost done with the record too! most of the songs are now recorded and roughly mixed. just waiting on a few extras to be done down in australia. the record should be mixed by the end of january with a may release. i will post some songs on the myspace site soon.

those the basics! in the 'bank job'????

2008-08-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

the 'spiral record' basics are pretty much done. 22 songs. now it's on to overdubs in a couple weeks. will check back in and give a status report then. in the meantime, this weekend in sf, we are playing a bunch of new songs and a few oldies at parkerpaloosa 5 at the 12 galaxies. it's one of the last shows at the 12 g's, so should be good. i've also got kelley stoltz playing keyboards with us, which will be a real treat. hope to see you there.

parker's a loser part 5...

2008-08-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

the sacred heart's sacred secret!

2008-08-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

hello all... we've finally started recording the 'spiral stairs' record. entitled 'the sacred heart', should be done with recording by the end of the week, the basics that is. overdubs in a couple more. matt harris and darius minwalla are here helping it get done, as is joe reineke. look for more updates later in the week...

spiral

matthew zeek playing 'doris day'...
lost in snares!
darius wondering where the cymbals are...

the quad settings for 'hey folk singa'...

joe and darius checking out the chicks!

looking for bob...

2008-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

missed flight, fractured ankle, and green chili stew!

2008-07-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

spent the weekend in phoenix for granny's 90th... mom fractured her ankle, niece got in a wreck, sister got pink eye, and i missed my flight home. other than that... good times.

yesterday's playlist! food groops...

2008-07-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

chicago eats... also had a beautiful steak, but don't wanna show that cus it's still in my belly.

BRAINWAVE!

2008-07-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

king khan and his shrine... 'welfare bread'

my new friend groop part 2

2008-07-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

some big history going on right here. a koretzky and billons sandwich!

and of course... some human milking!

where do fading indie rockers go to die?

more human milking...

like i said.... where do indie rockers go to die? pitchfork!!! hahahahahahha.

the pitchfork mess!

2008-07-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

cream corn in the socket of davis...

the rain never came...

but the sun shined and i'm burnt...

shipoopi!

the dinosaur crowd...

yesterday's playlist... my new friend group pt. 1

2008-07-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

from yesterday's sub pop fest...

the vaselines

green fucking river!

no age! or as i call em... "new age"

the founding fathers of grunge!

comets on fire = peter green's fleetwood mac. fucking amazing!

yesterday's playlist

2008-07-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

fairport convention - full house

peter green - in the skies

jackie deshannon - to be free

yesterday's playlist

2008-07-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

the oh sees

nick lowe - nick the nife

christene mcvie - christene perfect

pub sop at the needle!

2008-07-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

last night, sub pop had a party up in the space needle. kelley stoltz played late. tonight, les thugs are playing a free show. can't wait!

plaid island!

2008-07-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

the fine folks at pitchfork posted a little story about the sled island fest and look who's in the picture. it's darius ray cyrus on drums! go here for the full dealio!

today's playlist!

2008-07-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

sir douglas quintet - border wave

no age - nouns

moby grape - 20 granite creek

it's not all about you marc!

2008-07-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

just returned from sled island 2008 and boy did i have too much fun. arrived in calgary on tuesday, just in time to see no age. good shit from these kids. i like the nod to d. boon in their video stuff they played. and the music sounded kind of like early 80's la sst stuff that i love. wednesday, i went and saw some of the art installations. some great artists up in calgary i must say. i really liked the dave and jen stuff. sorry to miss the pooh machine though. i heard this was amazing. later, saw a little bit of the tren bros, but had to leave to find my sf friends who had just arrived. on thursday, still flyin' played an afternoon set at broken city to basically my friends and i. a few vice party leftovers might have seen the best show of the fest too. don't know, since all the kids have that look today. later that night, saw the still flyin's again. was pretty drunk though with all the rikards white going around (that's orange beer). friday, saw a little bit of broken social scene play at the main stage. saw mac from superchunk and had a great talk about how we both love the clean. later, psoi played an amazing set at the legion hall where we had kevin, charlie, and leon play with us. also some great vocals from sean from still flyin'. the show was off the hook people. very punk rock! wire played later and were truly amazing. saturday, we played a psoi set at the ship. was a lot of fun. basically played to a friend's parents and a few punters. some new songs were butchered. later that night, human milk rocked the legion. too much fun. hope we can record soon! the next day, went and saw the dudes play at the palomino. good stuff! anyway... calgary... you showed up and rocked it. can't wait til next year. spiral stairs says "wowee zowee"! go here for the good photos.

lady talkalot will be missed!

2008-07-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

sad news everyone...

we lost a dear dear beautiful friend on sunday. spencer gates was her name. spencer was pavement's publicist at matador in the 90's and she was an amazing woman who loved music and life like no other. she was funny, witty, outspoken, tenacious, smart... i could go on and on, but i can't stop crying. i can still see her dancing to pavement side stage at lollapaloosa, or even at my wedding. she was an integral part of the pavement machine and a good friend. i'll always remember the 'lil gator'...

Ann Spencer Gates, of Cambridge, known to her friends as Spencer, died
peacefully at home on July 6, 2008, after a courageous two-year battle with
breast cancer.

Spencer moved to Boston in 1978 from her hometown of Buffalo, to attend
Boston University. She quickly fell in love with the Boston music scene,
introduced by her brother Peter Gates, already established as a DJ at MIT’s
WMBR. In 1981, she and her best friend Sheena (Lisa Buchholz) became hosts
of the beloved show "The Mystery Girls" on WMBR, which ran Friday afternoons
for 5 years, and was, by Spencer's own admission, "the most unprofessional
thing ever on the radio." The show featured many of the bands of the city's
burgeoning punk rock scene, including Mission of Burma, Lemonheads, Nervous
Eaters, Sorry, and Moving Targets, and was an irreverent Friday afternoon
cocktail party on the air, signaling the start of the weekend. Every week
they would assume different personas. They were the Mystery Girls, and had
the power at will to become the characters they chose. It didn't matter if
they couldn't quite agree on who they should be or remember who they decided
to be. Said Mission of Burma’s Clint Conley, “As a person Spencer was such
a gas--so funny, and sassy and tuned in. I was a dedicated listener of
her show in the 80s--total irreverence, anarchic fun, such a psych hearing
them getting all jacked up over the music they'd be checking out that
weekend. Thinking of Spencer, I am more convinced than ever that the most
inspired part of any cool music scene usually has less to do with the
musicians than the musicians would like to think.”

Unlike shows of the time playing only the punk rock canon, the Mystery Girls
played country, blues, and even the odd show tune, as long as it was
American and fit their thread. It would not have been unusual to hear Patsy
Cline with Flipper, Fear or X. And if they changed their mind, it was
equally likely that they'd change tracks mid-song. If someone dared to play
a British band or anything else not to their liking, it wasn't unusual to
hear the sound of a needle scratching across a record. They were hostile to
structure of any kind. If a guest was perceived as whiny during an
interview, Spencer would cut him or her off unceremoniously. It was perhaps
the most memorable punk rock radio show of the era.

They recruited as their “official” phone answerer Michael Patrick MacDonald,
a traumatized Southie punk-kid they'd taken under their wing, who partly
recounts his time with them in his book Easter Rising. Said MacDonald, "It
didn't pay but it was the first time I ever felt proud of something I had to
show up for. And Spencer and Sheena were immediately my adopted big sisters,
introducing me to books, films at the Brattle, and music that expanded the
definition of 'punk.'” On most nights, Spencer and Sheena could be found,
dressed to kill in cocktail garb, at a club like the late lamented Rat or
Chet's Last Call hosting a party for a touring band who would soon be
famous. The Mystery Girls loft in downtown Boston, hosted many legendary
after-hours happenings of the time. According to former Lemonheads manager
Joyce Linehan, “The paradox of the Mystery Girls was that they were
finishing school girls who brought comic civility and good manners to punk
rock by being unbelievably uncivil and ill-mannered. Yet it was never
mean-spirited, and even the most outcast of the outcasts were a welcome part
of the fun. “

After leaving Boston, Spencer lived in the apartment above the legendary
Hoboken club Maxwell's, and also spent time in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
She moved to New York in 1988, and later took a job as a publicist at
Matador Records, where she worked with Liz Phair, Pavement, Cat Power,
Bettie Serveert, The Fall, Mark Eitzel, and Yo La Tengo. After leaving
Matador, she was a publicist at Atlantic Records. Eventually disillusioned
by an increasingly corporate and less creative music business, Spencer moved
to Rhinebeck in 2000, where she worked in retail. In 2005, she moved back
to Boston, to the delight of many of her friends, and took a job in Harvard
University's Division of Continuing Education, where she enjoyed working
with new students to introduce them to her beloved adopted hometown. When
she became too sick to work full time, she took a part time volunteer
position in the marketing department at the Huntington Theatre Company in
Boston.

According to Tom Johnston, manager of Buffalo Tom and Bettie Serveert,
“Spencer was one of the greatest, most dazzling people I ever had privilege
to get to know. She had great taste, a wicked sense of humor, and was so
extroverted that many of the friends I have today, I credit directly to her
and her charm and gift of gab.”

Since her breast cancer diagnosis in April of 2006 until the final week of
her life, Spencer took every opportunity presented to spend time with family
and friends, and to go to plays, concerts, movies and other events. In
addition to being a fan of music, photography and theater, she was an
environmental activist and an animal lover.

She was the daughter of the late H. Hamilton Gates. She leaves her mother
Mrs. H. Hamilton Gates of Buffalo, brother Peter of Boston, David of Buffalo
and P. Bradford of Ithaca and many cousins and close friends. Donation in
Spencer’s memory can be made to Zumix, 202 Maverick St., E. Boston, MA 02128
or Future Chefs, c/o Third Sector New England, 89 South St., Suite 700,
Boston, MA 02111-2680.

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/?p=1866

I WAS WRONG!

2008-05-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

PSOI is now playing at 8:15 pm on may 17 in seattle. get there early!

IMPEACH MAYOR NICKELS AND DIME!

2008-05-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

hello all... if you are planning on attending the psoi/posies gala in seattle on may 17, A CHANGE IN SET TIMES HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED. because of the mayor's crackdown on law abiding clubs (because he is a douchebag), nuemo's can only hold 250 on the night. so... that means there will be two shows and PSOI are only playing EARLY. we go on around 9PM. the posies will be playing by themselves later, after all from the first show are lead out of the club in handcuffs. sorry about the confusion. make your complaints to the owners of nuemo's and that prick the mayor.

i bet they will still hate my new record!

2008-05-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

the fine folks at pitchfork have posted a news item on yours truly... the show with broken social scene hasn't been announced yet. go to sled island for more info.

the hustla plays leno! give this brotha a call...

2008-05-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

psoi fiddler chris heinrich will be appearing on the tonight show with leno may 2nd (that's tomorrow night fool). he's playing with his other band sleepercar. check it out! hopefully chris will restrain himself from standing on his stool again. good luck heiny!

psoi news

2008-05-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

hello there. for quite awhile, all has been quiet on the psoi front... until now! a new record is in the works, hopefully done by the end of spring, a new website (still working on it, obviously), and the most exciting of all... we're playing shows again! we've been asked to support the posies for their 20th anniversary show in seattle may 17th. we're excited, since we still like the posies very much (even if the drummer is a weird rush fan). we're also playing a bunch of new songs... as well as some old family favorites. if you're up in the northwest, come on down. i've also been asked to be a guest curator for the sled island music fest up in calgary, alberta, canada june 25-28. very excited about this! i've picked a few of my favorite bands, old and new to play. psoi will also be performing, but what is really gonna be special is that we're doing a collaboration with the lads in broken social scene. most of it will be new material made up just for sled island! ok, thanks for listening and hopefully see you soon. spiral....

5/17/2008
seattle, wa.
psoi/posies 20th anniversary
nuemo's
$12

6/25-28/2008
calgary alberta, canada
sled island festival

'canning it on' some more

2008-03-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

'canning it on like mongrels' part two

2008-03-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

early morning flight back from adelaide today. a little groggy i am. got it together in time to see 'public bizare' open melbourne's laneway 2008. a perfect beginning to a perfect day. below are some photos taken from this glorious day. musical highlights were 'still flyin', 'cool kids', 'violent soho', 'red sun band', 'gotye', and of course 'bss'. and if you've been to past laneway's, you will notice how they've expanded the capacity to close off a major melbourne street this year. it's only gonna get bigger folks. still pissed about having to wait in line just to get into sister bella's. i mean, come on, the only thing you'll find in there is the owner sitting there 'canning it on like a mongrel'. good times.

'canning it on like mongrels' part one

2008-03-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

like i said, i went to adelaide the night before the laneway festival. and jesus, our hotel was miles out of town. actually, it was right next to the aami stadium where the adelaide crows and port melbourne power play their afl games. no games this weekend. supposedly, the 'revheads' were in town for some big car race. i guess that's why the hotel was miles out of the city. some of the bands playing laneway were holed up in some bavarian village half an hour out of town, so i guess i was lucky at least to be closer than that. the show the next day was cool. the site wasn't the best, but as a fan being that close to such great bands should've been enough. no pix from the show, but broken social scene, clap your hands say yeah, and bridezilla were all amazing. i didn't hang around for the last few bands, had to get back to the hotel and down a few coopers.

ladies and gentlemen, this next song goes out to "spiral stairs"

2008-03-12T03:06:00.001-07:00

well, i lied... i didn't check in the next day after the sonic youth show as planned. sorry...

my annual australia visit has been a whirlwind. lots of music, travel, food, beer, and of course all my good friends entertaining me. i'll try to give you a gist of what's been going on over the next few days as i try to remember the good times had.

the sonic youth show was incredible. the scientists opened the show and holy shit, they still rock. kim salmon looks demonic after all these years. i love that old australian psych stuff. when the youth arrived onstage, they indeed played all of 'daydream nation' front to back. i forgot how long that record really was. it took em 45 minutes just to get to side 2. seeing and hearing those songs brought back so many memories. not only were sonic youth one of the reasons for pavement starting a band, but the fact that early on we got the pleasure of touring with these legends helped us to see what it was to be a band. and sonic youth are still doing that today. mark ibold was in town as well playing bass on the encore. mark had a broken toe and was gingerly walking around, but still had that round smile we all love. we got together the next day for some lunch at peligrini's in melbourne. and then went and checked out the nick cave retrospective, which can i say... is pretty unbelievable. it chronicles nick's life from childhood through his 'boys next door' and 'birthday party' years all the way up to today. there are insights on how he writes his songs and included were books from his library and numerous journals written over the years. pretty damm impressive!

i got to see this all over again, at least the scientists and sonic youth shows, in adelaide a few days later. they played the laneway venue and we all came up the night before to hang in 'radelaide'. some people will differ with me, but i like this city. maybe it's the climate or the mountains coming down to the sea, but it just appeals to me. oh wait, i know. it's the home of coopers. and let me tell you, i had a few that night.

st. kilda days

2008-02-19T22:29:00.000-08:00

hello from sunny melbourne! although today is as grey as everyday in seattle... they say there's been a 'cool change' come through. it's really nice, especially since it was in the high 30's the last few days. been here since friday and having a blast. lots of 'pots' of carlton have been consumed, probably too much for this belly. the afl season is about to start so there is a buzz in the air, especially with my st. kilda friends. the cricket is all over the tele as well, so you know it's summer down unda. sonic youth plays daydream nation live tonight. will check in tomorrow about the show.

no laMeway for sacred heart

2008-02-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

sorry all... the laneway shows have now been nixed. i was all set to play a special spiral set with my friends from 'broken social scene'. unfortunately, we just couldn't make it work in time. i will still be around for the laneway shows in all cities though. hopefully see you there. and if you're around in melbourne march 4th, please come see me at the tote. i'm playing a spiral set with my friends from 'gersey' along with the legendary mr. julian wu. we are playing second on the night, so get there early.

black mountain slays the dragon

2008-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

last night in seattle, some friends of mine threw a house party. i knew coming over that some bands might play down in the basement, which was gonna be cool as it was, but imagine my surprise upon arriving hearing that black mountain was gonna play later. i missed them the night before at their club show and was pretty bummed, so this news was music to my ears (as they say). whale bones and howlin' rain also played to a basement full of seattle's hipsters. and when black mountain finally played, they did not disappoint. they played the great 'wucan' from their new record "from the future" and 'don't run our heart's around' among others. if you don't have their records, go out right now and buy em. or download, as we all do now and then.

sacred heart plays laMeway

2008-02-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

to all my friends who reside down unda (the lovely continent most of us call australia), i'll be making my annual 17 hour journey to your shores this february. i arrive the 15th. for the first time, i'll be participating in the world's only rock festival put on in a smelly alley. it's the 2008 st. jerome's laneway festival. instead of just being the "director of directions", i'll be playing on some of the dates this year. under the moniker 'sacred heart' (don't ask!), i'll probably be playing some of the new songs i've been working on. try to check it out, there will be some very special special guests with me on stage. if you can't make it to laneway, i might be playing a show in melbourne at the tote on march 4. check back for more info. ta!

playing make-up and wearing guitar

2008-01-31T04:48:00.000-08:00

on tuesday night, i had the pleasure of participating in a 'replacements' cover night. it happened at the comet tavern in seattle. benefiting ongoing health costs for the legendary kim warnick, many seattle bands got together and played their favorite 'mat's' songs. i myself, had the pleasure of doing a few with joe, jeff, and nabil from 'alien crime syndicate'. we covered "tommy got his tonsils out', "i'm in trouble" (which 3 bands did on the night), and "i don't know". i was in charge of singing "i don't know", and in true 'mat's' style, completely butchered it. jim walsh, who wrote the new book on the 'mat's' "all over but the shouting", came up and took the mike to "i'm in trouble". didn't see it happen, but i guess jim threw a beer all over joe from 'acs'. guess he thought, more than anyone that night, we really sounded like 'the replacements'. overall, the night was a blast, and hearing those songs again really brought back all the good memories i have for 'the replacements'. that band more than anyone, really made me want to start a band in the first place.

preston school 'FURNACE SUN' video

2008-01-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

from our antipodean tour long long ago. CHRIS HEINRICH (heiny) shot and put this together for some reason i can't quite understand. i think he did a fine job. speaking of jobs, he needs one now the writers are still striking. contact the kid at SHANKCENTRAL@YAHOO.COM.

welcoming

2008-01-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

welcome earthlings! this is the blog for all things SPIRAL. for your much needed news fix for SPIRAL STAIRS/PRESTON SCHOOL OF INDUSTRY/PAVEMENT, this will be your planet. SPIRAL will try to keep you all up to date with what the heck. as this is the first post, we'd like to send our love and appreciation to all who visit. ok... now please enjoy.