THE MODERN (NATIVE AMERICAN) SOCIETY

trailer hitch

we're burning up the southeast one town at a time...most recently Macon, Ga and Birmingham, AL...where we made a bunch of new friends, one of the best parts about being in a band!!
and of course along the way we saw things like over-sized trailer hitches (the ultimate overcompensation) and we never tire of playing in front of the grand American flag at The Nick.
running on fumes we finally made it home where we found Boo Boo's car stereo stolen, and met a cop who looked like he was 10 years younger than us...
also i've been listening to frightened rabbit a lot lately...great band.

w

9 days until halloween

NEW BLACK DAISIES VIDEO

Watch the NEW "Black Daisies" video from our new album "THE BEAT GOES ON" (available on iTunes November 18th)

much love,
THE MODERN SOCIETY

october

there's just something about this month that makes me reminisce...
i think its a combination of the cool mountain air, the smells, the food, the candy corn...something about this time of year makes me want to be a child again. today i read from my collection of Edgar Allan Poe's works for roughly 3 hours, seriously that man was deranged, but wow can he tell a story.
This weekend we are heading to Macon, Ga and Birmingham, AL...should be a fun time, if you're out and about come see us (we have advance copies of our new album...come grab one before we run out)

w

some say lights will guide you home, I prefer our wind chimes

This past week was great, we played in a few southern towns...Atlanta, Columbia (SC) and Asheville (NC). Every night we met new friends/fans and can't wait to get back to those Carolinas. The drive to Asheville was breath taking, the leaves are starting to change and the cool mountain air was certainly our friend...you see the A/C in our van has decided to take a break for the rest of the season and started prepping for the upcoming winter that without a doubt lies ahead.
On our way back from Asheville we stopped a couple of times to check out some of the Flea Markets we passed by...didn't really find a whole lot, that is except this gem we have pictured here.
Well I'm off to go watch HEROES, take a shower and dream about the blue ridge pkwy.
lovelove,
Woody

there he was just a swingin those lil legs...

Tomorrow we leave for West Columbia, SC...I'm basically leaving it all up to faith right now as far as getting gas in the van is concerned. I've been trying to read up on all the news websites to see if they're saying anything. Apparently most Quick Trip's have gas, which goes hand in hand with our obsession w/ QT taquitos...if you read the liner notes of our first record we actually thank QT for their taquitos...so, yeah.

About to watch Iron Man, thank you Netflix.
good reviews of the new record (that's right folks, the lucky members of the press get an advanced copy before the officialy release on iTunes...well because that's their job) are beginning to pop up here and there...
read one here: CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW
I promise to post a blog this week about the official track listing, release date...and maybe even some art work...
love you,
IAMIRONMAN [w]

Lord, don't slow me down...

no gas in the South.

happy wednesday

We had a fun time at our first Atlanta show since Lord knows when last weekend, plenty of old friends...made some new ones and played until the wee hours of the morning. Our calendar is starting to fill up with dates in the Southeast this fall, and the midwest/northeast this winter. We are all very excited to see all of our long lost friends!
I'm also at present sharpening my hunting knife, ironing my ninja uniform, flipping through my wilderness survival guide and getting ready for the winter ahead...I think everyone quickly forgets that our van is OLD...who knows what will happen once we drive it through the cold again.

happy wednesday
w

feels like fall

so we live in the mountains...yeah I know we say we're from Atlanta because its just easier.
it feels so good outside, the temperature is just right...this time of year always brings back the best old memories.

-w-

stuffy nose and call of duty

whats better than a good ole' fashioned WWII video game to make you feel better?
I'm excited to see Tyler's new guitar...I guess its almost about time for me to buy one as well...you guessed it probably another gibson hollow-body, they're tops what can I say!
I think we're getting closer to finalizing our album cover, and we DO have a release date, but we're holding off to tell everyone...man I just realized we haven't officially released the track listing...
i can't breathe
we need to blog more.

.:w:.

...oh, the air was dense with fall...

...So, I'm a happy kid today; I bought a a beautiful white Fender Jazzmaster from Tokyo and it came in the mail (eat that David Wallace!!!) as well as some homeopathic sleep aid pills (don't hold your breath...low hopes!) and it feels a little like fall! I've been painting a lot lately; some for fun, some for work (too, too big Amanda!); I hope to post some pics from my moleskin as soon as I make it over to Woody's and scan them, but that could be a while. I've started eating healthy and excercising again...you should be proud! Man, this post is random...

-the following message has been paid for and approved by Tyler Bence-



Aishiteru,
ty

all we got was wind but thank God for it...

there's flooding in the deep south because of the hurricane...all we got was wind but thank God for it, it feels so good outside, i think i'll sleep on my porch.
looking forward to being on the road again soon...new places, new faces and everything in between.

much love

Owen

Meet Owen,

Owen is a new member of The Modern Society.

He enjoys bones.

He dislikes bees.




Today was a good day. I hear Woody is on a creative warpath. That's a good thing!
Cheers for now. Have to go watch the Olympics!

-T-

P.S. More to come on the adventures of Owen

...feels like fall...

So, today is looking to be a wonderful, sunny, easy breezy day; Thomas and I are going out to grab lunch with our "other brother" Jeremy, picking up some paint at the art store that I've neglected to do all last week, picking up some salt and sand at the fish store, and then coming back to my place to set up my new aquarium! Another busy day for Thomas and Tyler awaits...

...

onward and upward,
ty

see mom, i really do brush my teeth on the road...

speeding tickets, wipe-out and turkey burgers

So I got a speeding ticket this morning. Yay. The worst part about it was that the officer who pulled me over was the nicest guy I've ever met. Whatever happened to the jackass police officer that made you feel like an idiot because you were driving a car somewhere? Or the one that even made you believe you were trafficking narcotics?
I think it made me more furious that I couldn't be mad and take out my aggression verbally, instead I just agreed to "keep it slow from now on" and gave him a good ole, "yessir".

Oh, and have you seen the TV show "wipe-out"...please GOD tell me that you know one of the contestants...I really want to meet the Alaskan girl who "couldn't find the pole"

[ w ]

this is what it looks like

When you get in a cupcake fight at 3am

you can't find this in new york city

seriously

the empire state

we just got back from being in New York since Thursday and we're pretty tired to say the least. A 14 hour drive with no A/C can be quite exhausting...
here's a quick list of things you may have missed if you were somewhere else other than by our side this weekend:
cupcakes to the face
the damnwells
all of our phones messing up the night after the show except Tom's iPhone...
tyler throwing all of the "veggies" on the sidewalk and some guy yelling "there's a trashcan right there fruitloop"
thomas sleepwalking and waking up in the hotel elavator, standing next to a confused couple while wearing nothing but a cut off t shirt and gym shorts
chris getting lost after deciding (a very amazing display of intelligence) to walk his friend to the subway...and then finding the bar tender from the bar next to the hotel...shaking her by the shoulders and saying "you've got to take me back to club 450"
woody showing the yanks how to stand and pay respects to JD

hanging with the amazing folks at Original Signal...seriously every single person there is unbelievable...

LESSONS LEARNED:
when you're out with your label for lunch and you go to a mexican eatery...don't laugh too hard when one of them asks the waitress what flavor Doritos they carry...

fix the A/C before a long trip

don't drink hot pepto, tyler...

don't talk to the crackhead at the gas station...they might offer you tire inflater and try to convince you its the newest drug

if beautiful women offer to help with your gear...let them...
thanks Jade and Lisa!!!!



we'll post more photos from our trip tomorrow.
much love
(THE MOSO)

i am still alive

when you click on this picture look in the horizon...you'll see.

[w]

a cover-up

A few weeks ago I was messing about on a certain US govt website , exploring their picture archives for cool backgrounds of their space explorations...needless to say I ran across a picture that really startled me. It was a picture of the red planet's "country-side" with a strange figure in the far distance.
More than anything else I was excited...when I told everyone about it there were of course the instant skeptics who said that it was probably just a "shard" of ice protruding from the ground. I also heard that the object could be "an artifact on the lens" of the (lander) camera.
a couple things wrong with that:
1. the figure was casting a shadow (not an artifact on the lens)
2. there is nothing else in the horizon, except this figure...(probably not a lonely iceberg)

So after I considered these possibilities and "researched" them to my abilities (zooming in on the photo software I had on the computer) I went back to the (US GOVT) page that I found it on and yes, you guessed it.
IT HAS BEEN ERASED

generally I'm not a conspiracy theorist...but man that's weird...
so if you never hear from me again, or you hear some strange story about how the lead singer of THE MODERN SOCIETY has suddenly disappeared...or somehow this blog gets erased, you know the truth, HA.

[ w ]

also, before you start googling this pic, check out this video of the "extremely electric guitar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSAExHBrfwU

somewhere in sherwood...

A constant battle that rages within me is, whether I would make a better knight, pirate or ninja. Sure some people may never be tormented by such important decisions...in fact the idea of being one or the other may never cross their mind.
However, ever since I was but a young pup, I knew 2 things for sure...
1. I was going to be in a rock band
2. I was going to be a Ninja (or Pirate or Knight)

This past weekend I found out that I'm actually quite good at a blend of all three...

Perhaps the decision should not be left to me...perhaps you should decide

Hope your weekend was just as fun as mine! oh and if you ever need someone who's skills range from swordsmanship, archery, navigating death defying waters or stealthy attacks...you know who to call!

-woody-

bumpy flight back to Atlanta

I don't like flying anymore...somewhere, somehow in the past few years I have begun to absolutely hate it. Last night on a returning flight into Atlanta, I seriously thought my life was over as we were making the approach for landing. The flight as a whole was ok, nothing to complain about...perhaps the occasional bump made me uncomfortable, but more in a motion sickness way, not in a MY LIFE IS OVER kind of way. However as we entered the city the plane felt as though it was coming in for a crash landing...the thing was moving around like the pilot decided to take a bathroom break right in the middle of our descent. My palms were sweaty and I felt like I was going to throw up on myself...
Evidently it was windy this weekend here in Georgia, and I felt the effects of that tremendous wind...and I'm just thankful my feet are on the ground today and that I didn't burn up in a ball of flames.
much love,
woody

...Windy...

...Today a tree fell in my yard, I'm going on 24 hrs with no sleep, and Woody is in Texas... The Universe is out of balance!

ty(MOSO)

grey sky sunday

There may be something strange about loving a grey sky above my head, perhaps its because growing up in the tropics (Jakarta, Indonesia) the "rainy season" provided plenty of grey skies and I think it reminds me of those times. Today in the north Georgia mountains, its been dark all day and after getting in early this morning from last nights show...it has been increasingly difficult to roll out of bed.
So rather than actually doing anything productive (like laundry for instance) I've been watching season 2 of "The Office" in the comfort of my own bed.
The show last night was a blast...we played with some great bands, and we hope to hit the road with them soon!
Highly recommend checking out on myspace ALL GET OUT and SKI CLUB!
For ease of discovery...just go to our myspace www.myspace.com/themodernsociety and check out our top friends they're both in there.

je t'aime tous,
woody

...goodbye palmtrees, hello peacoats!

...well, we've been back for about a week now and I have to say I'm already sick of Georgia's "on again, off again" weather; just when you think spring has arrived, winter comes along and stabs him in the back! So, we got the mixes of the new record a few days back and I'm psyched for people to hear it, I really can't think of anything in particular that it sounds like; it has hints of alot of things but mostly (finally) just sounds like us. We've wanted to make a "real", oldschool record for a long time now and I think we really did it on this one; Just honest performances in a killer sounding room recorded with wonderful vintage gear... that's all you need! well, the rain has stopped, I should feed my cat, and I suppose I should go run for a bit...

stay gold,
ty(MOSO)

southern weather

luckily its been quite warm since we've gotten back, but its supposed to get nasty this weekend!
got "board" mixes in the other day (board mixes = straight from the studio, little or no mixing involved) and have been listening to them over and over and over...they sound amazing!
i need to develop the last roll of film i have, i believe there are some really incriminating photos :)

david wallace is not just a character on "the office"...

This trip, the making of this record, the several crazy adventures we've had in Los Angeles...its all quickly coming to an end. Today is our final day in the studio, we'll be listening to rough mixes and popping open bottles of champagne I'm sure. We're really going to miss being here...hanging with Stacy and (THE) Regulator, we're also gonna miss:

The H&K super market - a korean supermarket where amazing imported foods can be found, and where they decide daily whether or not they accept credit cards...
Trying to follow Stacy (anywhere) - he may be the worse person to follow in a car, if you find yourself in the situation where you have to follow him...you'd better just know where you're going first!
Regulator regulating - just when you thought you were right about something, you weren't...THE REG was!
Test Drive Unlimited - for Xbox360...we played that game everyday in between takes, that is until BILL stole the xbox
Amazing LA sushi - the best I've had in my life (sea urchin anyone??)
Our favorite place to go to after a long day at the studio - Kibbits
Buzz Iced Coffee- on a daily occurance around 1pm when we finally roll out of bed, we walk down the block and grab an iced coffee...only problem is we end up doing it individually without cash in our pockets and come back with 3 bags of pastries that never get eaten (so we can obey their $5 credit card limit)
side note: day old chocolate croissants are NOT good, even when you heat them in the microwave
The Grove - the coolest farmers market we've ever been to, indonesian food...great pastries and all the fresh produce you could ask for (don't get the salami sandwich from the sandwich place in the middle of the market...when they say salami they really mean bologna)
Willy Chambers & Artie Vegas - Two old musicians that have been rockin the LA scene for Lord knows how long...but they're incredible!!! Check them out at Kibbits
The Bevonshire- our hotel...or motel that is, includes strange characters, pool inside/outside...you'd have to see a picture, 65 year old transvestite prostitutes, and maids that walk in on you (without knocking first) right when you get out of the shower and you're in your briefs
The Girls at the Bloomingdales Make-up Counter - trust us, check it out...you'll know immediately
The Death Star - the coolest studio with the best vibe...literally ZERO fights or arguments the entire time...we sacked two songs we were dead set on recording after we wrote two new songs here. Also some history, not only was it HOLE's old studio, but REM recorded a song here...and I'm pretty sure we've seen a ghost several times when we've been here at about 3am
Glockenspiel - yes there's one on the record...listen for it.
The Progress Board - we got pretty artistic with it...and it came out incredible, we'll post a pic of it later.
Zuma - beautiful...skip past malibu, drive farther down the PCH and you'll have a beach to yourself
Korean BBQ - but only when Stacy's ordering
The Key Master - the first couple of nights at our hotel this really crazy looking guy would just be hanging around at all times...no matter if it was late at night or early in the morning...and would just walk around smoking his cigarettes and staring at us...we're pretty sure he has a key to every room and just stands over your bed and breathes hard...his room doesn't have a number on it, no lie.
Kay Hanley - amazing, amazing, amazing...absolute honor to have her voice on our record!
The Clothing Box - so, we're not exactly the tidiest group of guys in the world...well some of us are, but for the most part we're really not. we left our clothes laying around our hotel room in absolute disarray...finally the maids got tired of pushing our dirty undies under the sink so they could mop the floor and brought in a box that they just threw everything into...not to mention that every time we flush the toilet water sprays everywhere so the clothes were WET...so now we have this box of soggy and not to mention smelly clothes that we have to sort through and pack in our suit cases...good luck TSA.
David Wallace & Lucas Mann - when the record company "suits" come to check on the progress of the record, bands tend to worry that things will be rather stiff...When Lucas came we went out to a sushi joint and he tried to buy us an entire bottle of smuggled snake saki (there's a dead snake inside the bottle...leave the worm at home folks and go for the snake!) Wallace is one of our favorite people on earth, he watched the office with us and we munched down on some serious Mexicali food and we ended up staying at the studio into the morning hours sharing side splitting stories and trying to convince him to shotgun a fosters.
Hanae Honna- lended her beautiful Japanese language and voice on the record!!!!

This is just a short list of what we love and will miss once we're back in the hills of GA. Can't wait to see you again LA.

with all our love,
THE MODERN SOCIETY

...in those back seats and back rooms of matinees...

after eating (you guessed it...sushi) last night we headed back to the studio for some late night sessions.
we ended up doing group vocals for one song and had the absolute pleasure to have Kay Hanley add her amazing voice to a track...we also blazed through the collection of hites in the fridge...perhaps too fast!!!
here are some pics of us enjoying "the day off" that we got a few weeks ago...
we found this really secluded beach in the Zuma area...we explored for a few minutes and found these rock cliffs where we could sort of be away from it all and just chill out, it was amazing.

if she could hear me call...

in between recording we've been watching some seriously ridiculous things unfold on "rock of love"...luckily its on demand (thank you time/warner cable) and we've been absolutely amazed by the things these girls do.
lookout folks, daisy's about to sing the national anthem...
our stay here is quickly coming to an end, and its beginning to depress us. we've fallen in love with California and already can't wait to be back.
its been incredible working with Stacy Jones (producer) and Craig (the regulator)...they're making this record sound incredible.

"I thought Brett Michaels was married...in real life..."
-Stacy Jones

shotguns, week-old beards and longhorns

We finished up one of our favorite songs that'll be on the record last night, before we went out. I'm hesitant to list the tracks that we've picked to be on the record, only because I don't want anyone to know until the release.
So after we were done recording, the old red-neck came out in all of us...shotgunning brews in the parking lot and yelling at the top of our lungs...in honor of Thomas's birthday turned into us getting a ride to a nearby haunt and singing along with the jukebox. Song one of the night, "Morning Glory". Fuggetaboutit.

guitar tones, dust & bones...

today is Thom's birthday! we'll celebrate tonight after we get out of the studio, most likely by hitting "the joint" and hanging with some of the real deal/old school musicians we met a couple of weeks ago.
amazingly enough Ty has found his guitar tones (without his framus amp...thank God)
I'm playing through an old Fender Bassman head plugged into a 2X12 cab, using 3 main guitars...gibson 335, gibson sg (with pete townsend's signature on the back of the headstock) and a fender jazzmaster.
tyler's using his fender tele, and a jazzmaster so far...playing through a matchless combo, hiwatt and a vox ac30.
the bad news is, our engineer just told us that one of the other producers is stopping by to pick up the xbox360...no more test drive! :(

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS!

dead sara

our new favorite band:
DEAD SARA

we broke a cardinal rule today, kentucky fried chicken to nurse a hangover...not exactly the best idea. Also, tequila and jack daniels...do not mix well.
our maids at the hotel are the nicest ladies, but i'm pretty sure that they try and sneak a peak of us getting dressed every day b/c they walk on in without knocking almost every day. well, its either that or they're not used to people sleeping until 1pm.
"any body want this last piece of chicken?"
TODAY IS BOO BOO'S BIRTHDAY, our kid is growing up and we're so proud of him!

snowing at home, 90 degrees in LA

we've certainly been enjoying the weather out here in beautiful Los Angeles...in between takes during our daily sessions. Yesterday it was 100 degrees and felt amazing! Drums for the record are DONE!
we're recording in the DEATH STAR in Korea Town, and there's this little market next door that we go to for snacks and drinks and such...we've found some pretty weird things and have been a bit adventurous with our purchases. But the funniest thing we've found so far are these gummy candies...the blurb on the packaging describing the flavor is unbelievable.
On the outside of the package reads: "Its translucent color so alluring and taste and aroma so gentle and mellow offer admiring feelings of a graceful lady."I've had my share of women, but I must admit the admiring feelings of a graceful lady have never tasted sweeter!
So look them up...you'll be hooked instantly!

Also we're all very much hooked on the xbox360 game "Test Drive Unlimited" and Tyler just lost $30,000...the idiot
much love.

its only 7?

thomas finished drums today...now all he has to do is lounge...must be nice! Seriously though he killed it today.
.:w:.

easter sunday

HAPPY EASTER!
LOVE,
THE MODERN SOCIETY

heart'll pound, hands will shake

5 days left in Georgia

...I want to ride my bicycle...

...okay, so our drummer Thomas has never ridden a bicycle! I know...I think he may be a communist too...

cheers,
ty

the red eye