Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Hey again!  So, today, the day before the show,  Billy is here at Pete and I’s house and we are working on special t-shirts for the event.  We have hand dyed them a faded purple and are screening them now.  We will be selling these limited edition;) shirts at our release tomorrow for the bargain price of $5!!!  So, if you like what you see….come by 618 Fosters Street in Durham during the art walk (from 7pm-10pm) and pick one up.  Here’s how they’re looking so far.

A closer look!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

So, is everyone totally excited yet?  Only two more days till the big show .

And we’ve got more art to share.  it may even make your Wed. better.

Well, if you love Billy Sugarfix as much as we do, it will.

Like we said, we are making everything by hand for this 7in. split (except the record itself….if we could we would)  including the insert artwork that will be inside every jacket.  For that insert, Billy has made a special collage.   We will be photocopying this original on construction paper to create the inserts for all copies.  So, that means you can only see this original work by Billy here on this blog.  Can you even handle how cool that is?

collage by Billy Sugarfix for BIRDS and ARROWS/BILLY SUGARFIX’s CAROUSEL 7in. vinyl split.  Get yours Fri. evening (7pm-10pm) in Durham at the release show!

So, as I’ve mentioned before, us (BIRDS and ARROWS) & BILLY SUGARFIX’s CAROUSEL are releasing our 7in vinyl split this Fri. in Durham and are doing a daily blog this week leading up to the event all about the art we’re making (and trying to sell you).  Today’s project is screen printing and sewing the jacket covers for the vinyl.  We wanted each cover to be different in some way and look very hand made.  So, over the past few months, we have collected old wall paper (from the Scrap Exchange in Durham).  Then, recently designed a screen(which we had burned at The Merch in Carrboro).

Each sleeve is printed and sewn together by me, Pete, Billy or our friend Wendy Spitzer.   So far, they are turning out great! (shown so well by Pete below)

“Damn it Wendy, work faster!”

Happy Monday everyone!!!  Only a few days left before our release show this Friday!  And we are considering this upcoming work week our week of DIY.  Those of you who know Pete and I know  we go out of our way to make every project we release unique and hand made in some way….it’s no secret we like to make shit ourselves.  So, this week, we will be posting a new blog everyday to keep you up to date with what we are making, all our handmade projects we (and Billy) are creating for our upcoming vinyl release.

To kick off the week, we are unveiling our very first BIRDS and ARROWS music video!  With help from our friend Billy Sugarfix, Pete and I recently completed a video for our new song on the vinyl split, “Pride of Lions”…..very exciting!

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention all the help we got from our friend Adam Dodds who donated lots of his time and equipment to help make the video happen.

As you may or may not know, this song is being released by our label 307 Knox Records on a 7in. vinyl single with Billy’s band, Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel, this Friday July 16th!  The big show will be at 307 knox’s new space in Durham (618 Fosters St.) from 7pm-10pm (which yes, use to be Wings of Eagles Church)

There will be art displayed and for sale by Pete and Billy, since this also coincides with Durham’s third Friday Art Walk.  And, of course, live performances by us (B&A), Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel and special guests Schooner!

Hope you enjoy the video and stay tuned this week for more B&A/Billy projects!

LIONS MAIN made from recycled upholstery fabric from The Scrap Exchange in Durham.

Photo by ADAM DODDS

Jonathan found this so I can’t take credit but check out these dudes who totally where inspired by our other musical project Graveyard Fields.  We don’t play out often but apparently, when we do, we rock so hard, it inspires a practice like this.  Awesome!
and if they know GYF as well as I think they do….that better be Jesus in the back ground.

With the help of our friend Billy Sugarfix,  Pete and I have spent the last two weeks working on our very first music video for our new song “Pride of Lions”.  That’s right a music video……Since 1983 I have been hoping to one day have my very own video to air on MTV (music television).  Some of my first memories are sitting there, glued to the set, hour after hour, waiting for Micheal Jackson’s “Thriller” to come on…..as for Pete he was watching at the same time but across the country, waiting for the next Tears for Fears video, so he could make sure his hair was up to date with the latest super cool 80’s fashion.

which one is Roland Orzabal?

But now, almost 30 years later, MTV (music television) no longer plays music videos so….YouTube it is!
But, there is still a lot of work to be done.   We started the video by incorporating a few things Billy does best, finding cool old stock footage and a little bit of stop motion.  Pete and I are new to the world of stop motion but, we had to come up with a sequence.  At first, all we could think of was recreating Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer.  But finally, we came up with the idea to use an old dear skull we found last summer in the woods near our house.

We all got together at Billy’s house and called in the “big guns”, friend and photographer Adam Dodds, to help us make this idea come to life.
Five hours later…..with 20 seconds of footage to show for it, we were extremely happy with the results.  Here are a few photo’s from the session.

Can you guess what’s underneath?…..

It’s not magic it’s Adam Dodds……

Two hours in and Pete’s totally over it!

But, Billy’s not!

So, stay tuned for more on this project.  We plan on keeping you updated through our blog on our continuing adventures with Billy Sugarfix. All leading up to the BIG RELEASE on July 16th!

Were we will be selling the new vinyl 7in. with B&A’s new tune on one side and Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel’s new tune on the other. the event is at our label 307 Knox’s new space in Durham.  In addition to live performances by B&A, Billy’s Carousel and our friends Schooner, there will also be art by Pete, Billy and myself and it will coincide with Durham’s 3rd Fri. ART WALK .  Hope to see you there!

So, just a quick update on what Pete, Josh and I were up to this past weekend.  We had a good one….full of music, meeting great new people and hanging with good friends.  To kick it off we played for the first time at the Saxapahaw River Mill music series this past Sat., and were blown away.  This is such a wonderful event, backed by a tight knit community of very sweet people.  Heather, the organizer made us feel right at home the minute we arrived and then on top of everything  we got an amazing tip (a huge bag or organic, local produce, fresh bread, duck eggs etc)  from a local farmer named Keenan (with an organization called Baker+Farmer) . I really can’t say enough good things about that event.   All three of us felt such good vibes during our show and left feeling all warm and fuzzy.

photo taken by Pastor Hal Schnee
(Hawaiian dress from Roulette Vintage….thanks guys!)

Then to top it all off we finished the weekend by throwing a baby shower for our good friends Carol and Jonathan (of Graveyard Fields).  It was a super fun evening with great company and good food.  One of the nights highlights was when when the baby birds, who had made a home in of our arrow bird house on our front porch, decided to leave the nest for the first time, and we all got to witness it.
Brian Risk, the master of the iphone, captured it all on video (That Brian, he always knows when to whip it out;).

Jonathan caught a shot of my reaction to the first flight with Wendy laughing at me in the back ground….perfect!  what a great weekend.  And we’ve got another big one planned this week too.  Fri night June 4th at the Pinhook, Sat. night June 5th at the Pittsboro General Store and playing a private party on Sun.  (for details check out our schedule)

photo by Jonathan Durlam

photo by BILL HUDSON

BIRDS and ARROWS will be releasing our new song PRIDE OF LIONS on 7in. vinyl with our friend BILLY SUGARFIX this summer in mid-July.  We are really excited about this project because it will be our first time on vinyl!  To celebrate the release, we will be having a big bash at our label 307 Knox’s new space in Durham.  There will be displaying and selling art by Pete, Billy and myself and it will coincide with Durham’s 3rd Fri. ART WALK on FRIDAY JULY 16th.

Oh, and Billy will also be helping us make our first music video for the release as well.  We will keep you updated on the progress of the project on out blog.  So, more to come…..