click here for the show calendar
08.04.06 [Posted by Ben]
on the you aren't my mother front, the band is for now a trio (andré, nicole, and i) and we have a pair of shows coming up. we're psyched about both. we loved goodbye blue monday the last time we were there, and this time we get to play with our good friends kid icarus! then the following weekend we play with more good friends, the stupendous soundscapes! that show is at the trash bar, which is where, if memory serves me, tsts played its first show in nyc! it's weird to realize that was a whole 2 years ago.
in other news, bob's store (no radio records) is nearing its grand opening in ithaca, ny. we'll be up there in a week for a wedding, and can't wait to see the progress. hopefully we'll also get a chance to go swimming with our friends in idatel!
we're also hoping to record sometime soon, and to pick up another musician, probably a string-player. if you know any cello, viola, or violin players, drop us a line.
this flyer i made has the octobear i drew for gavin, to commemorate our friendship (we first met in october, at a place called octopus, and one memorable night involved seeing the movie grizzly man).
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
OOIOO — Taiga
Blizzards — We Run Slower Than You Walk Fast
Arthur Russell — World of Echo
∞∞∞ what we're reading∞∞∞
If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
03.27.06 [Posted by Ben]
man, so, you aren't my mother is like a real band now. andré paul and chris wilson have joined nicole and gavin and i on assorted instruments, including guitar and lap steel! lots o' new songs and hella new soundz! look to the left and you'll see that there are two shows on the horizon. here's a flyer for the first:
boy, ben likes his pinks and blues and whites and browns, huh? sure do!
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
Parenthetical Girls — (((GRRRLS)))
Islands — Return to the Sea
Destroyer — Destroyer's Rubies
01.15.06 [Posted by Ben]
we'll keep this short and sour. i mean sweet. not even bittersweet. just saccharine sweet. sweet and low. ok, here:
• i (ben) have an interview with lance bangs (filmmaker, music video director, husband of sleater-kinney's corin tucker) in the latest issue of ROCKPILE. pick it up—it's actually a really great mag! (next issue i'll have an article about the early years of rough trade records and a feature on the band young people.)
• secondly, there is now a tsts cd for sale at cafepress.com/thosesheep. it's called ...and the clamor was benign, and it's a collection of instrumental music composed for film. we're pretty proud of it, like a mama for a little girl who won the pageant 'cuz she was well-rounded and didn't just get by on looks alone. but, the looks count too, so it comes in a fancy jewel case (yeah, i know, fancy!) with a design worthy of a couch.
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
Lambchop — Tools in the Dryer
The Microphones — Don't Wake Me Up
Otis Redding— Greatest Hits
12.02.05 [Posted by Ben]
saw the season's first frozen puddle the other day. over thanksgiving i bought a "teenie genie" church organ (that's its real name!) at the salvation army in wilkes-barre. it's great! also booked a show in scranton, pa, which will be the first in a while. the genie will probably make its debut. also on the bill are brother jt (who i hear is great), kid icarus and my dad is a dinosaur (who i know are great, since tsts played with them both over a year ago), and the doses (who i know nothing about, and whose name isn't exactly google-oriented, but look forward to hearing nonetheless).
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
Jens Lekman — Oh You're So Silent Jens
Johnny Cash — lotsa albums
Boredoms— Super Are
08.08.05 [Posted by Ben]
yikes! it's been nearly 8 months since the last news update, but that doesn't mean we've vanished or gone corporate or fell into a vat of caramel fudge ... yum. in fact, we've been busier than ever. just sort of dealing with transitions, growing some hair where it wasn't before, saying goodbye to some old friends and hello to some new ones. nate and thea both left tsts back in january or so, malav and i had a slightly disastrous run as a duo, and now there's finally things we need to tell ... so lean in close and we'll whsiper it in your ear.
let's start with the most recent. ben and malav just returned from ithaca, ny, where they were in a studio (the beautiful electric wilburland) recording music for a film score, along with kevin, haley and casey from idatel ... the movie is a documentary about binghamton, ny called "are you from bingo?" THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK THANK YOU YOU to erin scherer (the director) for giving us the opportunity, and for the pizza and soda ... thanks also to kevin and haley for being the bestest hosts of all times! in your local choir, puddin' pop! and finally, thanks to matt, the engineer, for his patience and guidance. it was intense and fun and we had a much-needed respite from the city. hopefully we'll have the recording in our hands soon.
next ... you aren't my mother. my new band with nicole bogatitus will be playing a batch of shows starting at the end of this month. it would be great if you came and checked it out. i'm really excited about it.
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
Pelican — The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
Tony Conrad — Four Violins
7 Year Rabbit Cycle — Wind Machines
12.14.04 [Posted by Ben]
According to many, including us, we are a new band. We won't be changing our name or anything, but it's true in a number of ways. We're happy to announce the addition of Gavin Kroeber (from Idiot Machine) to our ranks, as he'll be providing visual accompaniment at our performances.
Thanks to Gavin and a renewed sense of rock n' roll, we had our first satisfying show at the ACME Underground this past Saturday. Thanks to everyone who shared the night with us, especially our friends Idatel, whose set made us all feel enormously inspired and simply blew our minds ... they are our new favorite band. Check them out!
We are also very excited about our show at the Royal Oak this Friday. The folks at Badger & Bear are terrific folks indeed, and we can't wait to party with them. We can finally say that our live show is a spectacle worth witnessing, with the addition of Gavin Kroeber (our fifth member) and his compelling manipulation of projected images. Come hear our new songs and watch his work. And drink some booze. And buy some of our new t-shirts, which look fantastic!
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
Thee Silver Mountain Reveries — The "Pretty Little Lightning Paw" EP
Grizzly Bear — Horn of Plenty
Dirty Three — Ocean Songs
11.29.04 [Posted by Ben]
Last minute show at Rothko added. December 3 at 8 pm. $8. Here's more:
116 Suffolk St (cross street: Rivington)
12:30 -- Stylofone
11:30 -- Ashford Breaks
10:30 -- The Vandervoorts
09:30 -- The Nuggets Bros.
08:30 -- This Sheep That Sheep
** Special guests: Dos Pinatas
Should be fun. Christmas lights up in the city.
11.01.04 [Posted by Malav]
Our hope for October is that you were with us for some of our adventures these past few weeks and do not have to rely on our tattered recapitulation of an otherwise exciting month. Confusing chronology for order-of-importance, we tell the story like this:
In early October, the band was reunited after a two week hiatus. Our time apart ended just before the missing turned into burning. Wasting no time on sentiment, we promptly got back to work, practicing for our glorious return to Ithaca, where we played three shows in three days: the first of three was on Friday night at JAM Music Hall with Aloha and a smattering of Fanclub friends.
On Saturday night we performed at a not-to-be-mentioned location, opening for the worst band of the century. Afterwards, and in a spontaneous and collective breath that we could all see in the autumn air, we whispered our thanks and left the show in-progress. It might be the case that we only played that show for Jon and Frederica, and honestly, we much prefer it that way. In our experience, pony tails and the fake southern accents only complicate the mix. Nevertheless, we soon found redemption in the company of the beautiful Hong-An and Sasha, who poured us whiskey and giggled with us until the early hours. We offer our eternal breed of gratitude to all their wondrous hospitality over the entire weekend. [we can't wait to shower them with love when they move to our neighborhood in December. - Ben] ... A scratchy sing-a-long rendition of Low's "Soon" was recorded that late night transfer into morning.
No Radio! Productions gave us a wonderful show on Sunday that was to be the highlight of our musical outing. We opened for Saturday Looks Good to Me and The Organ. A post-show added bonus: After long deliberation a consensus was reached by some of our more flirtatious fans: We were indeed the band to make out with after the show. Sadly, if that did in fact happen at the post-show party, none of us were able to recall. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed playing for our beloved Ithaca friends and were sad and hungover when we said goodbye to them.
Alas, it was raining on the ride back to New York City, and somewhere on Route 17 Nick Sheep decided that he would be taking his leave of the band, if only temporarily. While we will miss his wild creativity, wicked danse moves, and wanderlusting sensibilities, we feel blessed to see his smile in the crowd at our shows (which now more than ever feel like family reunions).
Line-up changes and instrument juggling notwithstanding, we played the ACME Underground on Monday night to a small but piously devoted group of our friends. Despite electronic failure and stuperfying sound engineering we were able to perform with glee. Thank you to everyone who came to the show for us, and to our new friends Music for Girls for a spectacular set!
The greatest story to be told, however, is also the most recent: Nevermore a foe to our progress, we, the sheep, have found practice space! Once the ultimate bane of tha band, white light shined upon us when Nakatomi Plaza invited us into their rehearsal space. We are all very excited about this. We have long respected and adored these amazing people, and it is a great honor for us to be sharing space with them.
Also, to relay a recent discovery of ours, it is almost impossible to dance out of rhythm. [although it is quite possible, and in fact incredibly easy, to dance very badly. - Ben]
They've always told us that the internet is an invaluable resource in the quest to reach the masses, and so we invite you to investigate this: www.myspace.com/tsts.
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
Califone — (you might find different albums in different bedrooms)
Tom Waits — (a thematic retrospective of his more tragic pieces)
Pavement — Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain reissue
Juan Molina — Tres Cosas
Air America Radio
∞∞∞ what we're reading ∞∞∞
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles — Haruki Murakami
The Master and Margarita — Mikhail Bulgakov
The Sound and the Fury — William Faulkner
Ghosts by Albert Ayler, Ghosts by Albert Ayler — Merry Fortune
10.10.04 [Posted by Ben]
i was insanely sick for a week or so, feeling as though a herd of porcupines armed with sandpaper swords were burrowing down my throat and rummaging around my immune system, leaving it in shreds. but i'm almost better now.
the ithaca shows are coming up, which excites us much. there will be an article/interview in the Ithaca Times this wednesday (10.13.04), so check that out in print or online. malav returns from china today, and we can't wait to see the mao paraphernalia he brought back for us. new show at acme underground also just posted for october 25.
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
panda bear — young prayers
brian wilson — smile
david byrne — lead us not into temptation
9.14.04 [Posted by Ben]
so so so so so much new news. first for the unfortunate: nate brown has departed from our ranks, turning his focus to his promising careers in writing and tiger breeding. he is sorely missed, but certainly still part of the family.
the joyous other side to that same coin is the addition of bassist/drummer/eye-candy malav kanuga. his first show with us was at siberia in manhattan, and the chemistry was stunning. he's a keeper. so, the sheep count is back to four.
in other news, we continue our attempt to book gigs throughout the 5 boroughs. we've forged some great relationships, particularly with dj mojo of the trash bar, a venue we've come to love (despite a less-than-ideal pa system). we'll be performing our second show there on sunday, september 12. we hope to see you there.
in the works: nick will be completely reconfiguring his setup, incorporating a number of contact microphones. it should be interesting.
oh yes! and there may be a european tour in the works for early 2005. how exciting! check back frequently for more updates.
∞∞∞ what we're listening to ∞∞∞
The Books — The Lemon of Pink
Galaxie 500 — On Fire
Björk — Medúlla
∞∞∞ what we're reading ∞∞∞
Rick Moody — Demonology
Kenneth Roberts — Northwest Passage
7.13.04 [Posted by Ben]
We are approximately 3 and a half steps closer to being a famous rock band, which may not seem like much since there are something like 1485 steps total, according to the definitive manual, How to Become a Rock Star in 1485 Easy Steps. (I believe that was written by the recently deceased Rick James - may he rest in peace.) But regardless ("irregardless" is not a word, kids, so stop saying it!), it's progress nonetheless.
Anyhow, we are all four of us in the 5 boroughs. Well, in two of them. Each of us is in one of them, obviously, but all together we occupy two: Queens and Brooklyn. Brooklyn is cooler, but only one of us lives there. We thought about trying to spread out and occupy four different boroughs (nobody really lives on Staten Island anyway), but Nate and Thea insisted on sharing a place, and they bought Nick's hype that Astoria is really happenin'. We heard "Stayin' Alive" blasting from a PA in a park there, and Nick started strutting like guys in leather jackets and tight pants from '70s movies, so that indicates the level of credence to be given to Nick's definition of "happenin'." [one word for you ben... "sunlight." we got it, you don't. -Nick]
So, that is the first step. You can't really be a huge rock band in a town like Ithaca, now can you? The second step, if I'm counting correctly, is that we have recorded our demo - a 7-song collection we are calling This Sheep Those Sheep (bah bah bah) Makes a Demo. Here is the tracklist:
A curvature
(The fan with the blade that) cut me on the hand
Bathysphere (a cover of Cat Power's cover of the Smog song)
Nothing looks like what it is until it hits the ground
We love my dad is a dinosaur
Yes yes // no no
If you would like a copy, which we are packaging in fancy cardboard sleeves adorned with a fancy screen-printed floral design, then please send $5.99 cash plus one cent of music tax, a little note saying hello (perhaps including a little drawing), and your address to:
Ben Kupstas
368 Carlton Ave. Apt. #3
Brooklyn, NY 11238
If you know us and plan on seeing us in person, we can sell it to you for cheaper, since it would be sans postal service (whose album, Give Up, really is fabulous, isn't it?).
Back to the steps, number three is that we've completed our press kit, which you can download and view on our press page. We are very proud of all the hyperbole we threw at ourselves.
Number three and a half: we are hitting the streets as we speak (or as you read, rather) to book some shows, mostly in Brooklyn, which we've decided will be the first borough we conquer. Keep checking back for more info on this subject.
Also, there are some new songs up on the Music page. One of the songs, "(This is an example of) cicadas singing one night," is a glimpse at one of our many new directions. It is a collaboration between Nick (vocalizations) and Ben (prepared guitar, vocalizations). Hope you like it!
Finally, we are planning to add a feature on the site with which you can join our mailing list. In the meantime, please send an email to addme@thissheepthosesheep.com to receive infrequent emails with news, concert schedules, and other assorted words in sequences that make some degree of sense. I assure you that not all the emails will be as verbose as this update (it's been such a long time and I have so much to tell you all). We are sincerely operating under the perhaps delusional ambition of spreading our music all over this little town, and we hope you're all along for the ride!
∞∞∞ what we’re listening to ∞∞∞
Blithe Sons — Arm of the Starfish
Joy Division — Substance
Laurie Anderson — Home of the Brave
∞∞∞ what we're reading ∞∞∞
Lee Stringer — Grand Central Winter
Zadie Smith — White Teeth
Thomas Harris — The Silence of the Lambs
7.13.04 [Posted by Nick]
(I'm enjoying milk and cookies while I write this)
We had fun at the scranton show. We played a basement of this cool old masonic temple. I learned that Gary Young is one crazy-ass bastard. We didn't really stay around for his set cause it was too loud. Also we sold some t-shirts (nice one!).
The highlight of the evening in my opinion was seeing My Dad is a Dinosaur perform - those guys deserve more attention. From you. There's not much on their site, but check out their mp3s anyway. You can buy their CD here.
We Sheeps have been a bit scattered since graduation, and last weekend was the first time we were all together since then. The four of us were exceptionally giddy the whole time, which led to a great deal of what will soon be annoying in-jokes. I'm the first one to NYC, living in Queens with m'lady. The others will be along shortly, Ben in Billsburg and The Browns close to me in Astoria.
Here's what Ben had to say, communicated to me by email:
Since we began as a college band, during the winter of our college career, we thought it fitting to ease the transition into that rare breed of band – the NYC band – by spending a few humble days as a garage band. I picked up Nick Danger from his brand new pad in Astoria Queens, and we proceeded in my little Honda to my parents’ garage amidst the green pastures of Shavertown, Pennsylvania, after purchasing a new cymbal bag and some pizza in my new neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Nate and Thea soon joined us in PA, whence we set up our setup, dusted off some old songs, wrote some new ones, and generally grooved before our 7:30 set at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton, PA.
At some point, as I gave the other sheep the tour of the Wyoming Valley (under the miserable skies of which I spent my formative years), we came upon a sign that read: ?Lava Lava Island, Where Jesus’ Love Flows.? We were all captivated, and soon discovered that Lava Lava Island is a V.B.S., which we soon discovered to be a Vacation Bible School. And Lava Lava Island happens to be the hottest one around. We hence wrote a song called "Lava Lava Island (Where Jesus’ Love Flows)," inspired by the hot vacation bible school. [seriously... we do not make this up. - Nick]
Around 5 pm, we loaded our gear into two small cars (a process made easier by Nick’s new cymbal bag) and headed off toward Scranton. We made it about a mile when I noticed the headlights on the vehicle behind me flashing, and two uniformed police officers signaling me to pull over. So, I pulled over.
"Where are you going?"
Never quite quick enough on my toes (when confronted by police), I failed to say ...
"Why hello, officer, we are Christian Bible camp counselors headed to Lava Lava Mountain, to spread the good word of the Lord to the little young ones."
Surely they would have been familiar with the hottest V.B.S. in town. And surely they would have thus exempted us. Instead, I said something to the extent of, "We’re playing a show in Scranton, sir."
"Do you know how fast you were going?"
"I couldn’t have been going more than 45." (It was an absurd 35 mph zone.)
"I was going 55, and you flew past me."
Anyhow, I got let off, according to the officer, with a $105 ticket. For "Failure to Obey a Properly Posted Traffic Control Device."
"Do you know what a Traffic Control Device is?"
"Uhh ..."
"It’s a sign."
We finally made it to the Scranton Cultural Center, which turned out to be an old, converted Masonic Temple.
That's when Ben ran out of steam. His remaining thoughts appear in list form, which I prefer anyway:
-- Nick has a cool new cymbal bag.
-- Gary Young has been overdosing for the past 20 years, refusing to die.
-- Lava Lava Island is where Jesus’ Love Flows.
-- A "properly posted traffic control device" is a sign.
-- Indie punks will eat your fruit salad if you ask them too.
-- My Dad Is A Dinosaur are fucking awesome!
-- It’s cool to break a string when you get to play a Fender Jazzmaster.
That's a long news post.
∞∞∞ what ben and I listened to while driving ∞∞∞
johnny cash — at folsom prison
my dad is a dinosaur
DNA — ON DNA
6.6.04 [Posted by Ben]
Nick is in Portsmouth, nh, the rest of the sheep are still in ithaca, ny. soon enough, we’ll all be in the city – NYC. there is a lot in the works, here’s a brief outline:
demo:
we’re in the middle of recording three new songs and one cover, and if i may stroke our egos a bit, it is sounding pretty fuckin’ great. still some polishing and embellishment to do, but it should be done in a few weeks, at which time we’ll be sending it off to record labels and selling them for a nominal fee.
split 7 " with kid icarus:
kid icarus is a really great musician from my hometown of wilkes-barre, pa, a place that churns out very very few impressive artists. eric is the rarest of exceptions; his stuff is very lo-fi, well-crafted pop songs and some sonic experimentation (guided by voices is an oft-used reference). we’ll take submissions for album art — it’s still in the very early stages, so check back for details.
radio free ithaca:
we’re now in rotation of radio free ithaca, an online radio station featuring local music (check it out at www.radiofreeithaca.net)
∞∞∞ what we’re listening to ∞∞∞
havergal — elettricita
johnny dowd — cemetery shoes
morrissey — you are the quarry
(I've been listening to FannyPack! -Nick)
5.7.04 [Posted by Ben]
nate and i saved an adolescent crow yesterday afternoon. we saw it while walking and it wasn’t looking so well. we stopped and chatted with him for a while, but kept on our way. upon our return, as the sun was setting, we realized he was quite injured and probably wouldn’t last the night if we didn’t take action.
our neighborhood is littered with stray cats, and i’d imagine it’s quite the apocalyptic setting for an indisposed bird. so, we scooped him up, much to his objection, and his parents swooped around, agitated and squawking and looking to peck our eyes out. we put him in a box with some water and took him to the small animal clinic at cornell this morning, where they said they’d fix him up and return him to his colony. by the way, we named him "hoppy." We are keeping our fingers crossed for a quick recovery.
∞∞∞ what we’re listening to ∞∞∞
alan licht — a new york minute
magnetic fields — i
clouddead — ten
4.27.04 [Posted by Ben]
the news keeps piling up like a big heap of standing-still-elephant poop. but better, because it’s generally not very attractive to flies and other vermin.
we have confirmed a show at castaways for wednesday, may 26, at 9:30 pm. looks like we’ll be joined by emo-rockers content and art-rock freaks we are the arm.
also, we are very excited to announce that we will be scoring and recording the soundtrack to lauren haber’s new film, tentatively titled "simple as blk & wht." ben did the score for her last film, "waking" (which is for sale, by the way, on the goods page). her films are dark, dense, and very emotional, and our music will hopefully do this new one justice.
∞∞∞ what we’re listening to ∞∞∞
david byrne — grown backwards
flying saucer attack — further
elliott smith — either/or
4.21.04 [Posted by Ben]
we the sheep are trying to book more shows in the ithaca area, before we move on to graze on different clouds in different places. as of now, we know we’ll be returning to risley on Saturday, may 8, to play to those crazy kiddos.
we’re also working on shows at castaway’s and abc café, so we’ll keep
you posted on that. thunderstorms are scaring puppies and flashes of light are filling rooms.
∞∞∞ what we’re listening to ∞∞∞
thuja — all strange beasts of the past
tortoise — it’s all around you
sufjan stevens — seven swans
