Well, we're thrilled to report that the release show for the upcoming album has been booked!

Please join us for the...

Please help spread the word! Ticketing details to come.

Yes, things have been quiet here on the site... (Sorry if you've been trying to check in on the lastest.) ...but in truth a lot has continued to go on backstage.

The album recording process has been going well, and we're starting to finally hear some of the songs mature toward their final form. We're very excited about the progress, and we think the record is going to blow everyone away (including us!) when it's done. We hope to be announcing the official release date soon.

Meanwhile, we've also been making some progress on the live ensemble front. In fact, we may well have more than one! More details on that as it develops, but in short, we're very excited about the many possibilities that are cropping up on that front as well.

In the near term, please hang tight. Some smaller shows may pop up here and there in the cracks between our studio schedule, new ensemble development activities, and -- well -- the rest of life!

As always, thanks for being part of the ride...

Just a quick note on the latest developments.

Over the summer, in addition to working on the record, we've been planning some lineup changes that have been necessitated by some folks' changing life plans. We're happy to report that we're still very much in touch with all of North's "alumni", and our good friends who've had to move on recently will hopefully be no exception. In some cases, we'll continute to work with them as possible.

At the same time, we plan to assemble a new "core" ensemble that will form the foundation of our upcoming live performances. To that end, we're currently seeking a kit drummer, violinist or violist, and a verstile electric guitarist.

If you know anyone who may be interested, or who would be willing to help spread the word to musicians they know, please send them the link to our PDF flyer with the details. We'd love to hear from any interested players!

Just droppin' a line to say i'm stoked for Saturday's show. It'll be a nice relaxed affair with free food, general mirth, and live sets from both ourselves and local songstress Sari Brown!

We hope you can join us and catch our stripped-down rhythm section bustin' it out, as it might be our last show for a few months while we hack away on the album.

Also, if anyone browsed the site earlier and got some weird results, we apologize. We had a short IT SNAFU that has since blown over. (If not, then forget i mentioned it. :) Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...)

Thanks again and hope to seeya soon!

Per last news, a lot's been happening behind the scenes. We've been doing more work on the recording, including moving into some of the trickier part-writing stuff, and starting to think about plans for the Fall and beyond, including more performances.

That's all well and fine, but people have been asking us: when's the next show?

...and you're all right. It's time to take a break from the salt mines and have some live action... so we're doing a house concert on Saturday, 28 July. (Details are on the dates page.) It's a chance to share some of the latest we've been up to with you, and for us to see everyone and get the rust off our live act (mostly).

So there you have it. Hope to see ya then!

We're overdue for some news, so I thought I'd fill you in.

Though things have seemed quiet with us, we've actually been quite busy working on the recording, as well as on some planning for late '07 and '08 activity. Performances have definitely taken a back seat to prepping the first batch of album tracks for the next layer of overdubs, and for starting the second batch at Solid Sound in April.

As promised, we've also started working through some promising new material, and hope to have a new tune or two to debut at our shows later on in the summer (and one of them may even sneak its way onto the record). We may also be bringing some new folks into the family with some live lineup changes in the coming months.

So, yeah... lots of changes coming down the pipe behind the scenes. Do stay tuned!

Just wanted to say hi and report on the latest. Our 2006 show season has been over for awhile now, but we're in the process of booking the 2007 schedule as I write. We've also been continuing our recording work which is taking our rhythm tracks from Solid Sound back in August and handling overdubs at Jim Roll's Backseat Studios.

In the occasional lulls between recording sessions and booking work, we're taking some time to spin up a little new material, too. We hope to have a few new tunes ready to share for 2007.

We've also gone to Red Robin a few too many times...

I wanted to say a huge "Thank You!" to all the folks who made our Chicago show a huge success! I'm especially appreciative of the effort some old friends made to come see us, and of the new fans and friends we met this time out (hope to seeya next time!). Special thanks also to our guests for putting an amazing show together (see Markus' news below), and to our staff from Michigan (you GO, Jay and Rachel!) who hauled out with us and provided critical support.

Our recent shows and studio work have really got me feeling all warm and fuzzy 'n' stuff (*sniffle*), and I'm really looking forward to seeing our local friends again tomorrow night, after nearly 3 months away!

Seriously... very sincere gratitude all around.

Lastly, I'd like to add that Markus is a rock star! I love the content Jay caught there. It totally looks like MCN could be in a posh upstairs corner worldrock club on 1st Avenue in New York or some strip in downtown Taipei. Awesome.

The Adventures of North, Across the Midwest: as seen through the eyes (and lenses) of Jason Larke and Jeff Balcerski, who were awesome enough to photograph our last two shows. I added a few shots of my own to each gallery as well, since there are some moments that are just too good not to share.

Brewed Awakenings, Toledo, OH

Borders, La Grange, IL

Huge thanks to everyone who supported us in Chicago! It was great to share the stage with old friends Jeff, Tom and Jack, as well as with new friend John Bretzlaff. We would love to bring them out and share their music with our fans here in Michigan, and certainly hope to be back in Chicago before too long for our new audience there.

On a side note, Joe and Hans are no longer allowed to eat Sausage Egg Croissan'wiches before being sealed in a van for five hours. That's all I really want to say about that.

We're excited to continue our work on the album, and close out the year with a few more shows, both larger and smaller.

Wanted to drop a quick note of both thanks and stokedness. (Did i just write "stokedness"?)

First, thanks to Brewed Awakenings and some new friends in Toledo for a cool debut with our neighbors to the south! We have some great leads now both there and with other venues in the area, and hope to come back again.

Secondly, we're thrilled to be taking our first steps back into Chicagoland! Our core rock lineup will be at Borders in La Grange, Illinois this Saturday, along with special features from good friends and talented Chicagoland artists Jeff Elbel of Ping, Tom Sharpe and jazz flutist Jack Scott! As with Toledo, we're already lining up some great leads for an even bigger show come spring or early summer.

After that, the fall has in store another couple of local shows, and (perhaps more importantly) the beginning of overdub and post-production work on the tracks we cut in the studio last month. I'm happy to say we're keeping busy!

Most of North spent Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday this weekend literally "in the studio" (in the old school sense of actually being in a building dedicated to recording professional musicians rather than huddled over a powerbook in Joe's basement). We worked our tails off, had a lot of fun, ate unhealthy snacks the way 70s disco stars hoovered pills, and got a lot of useful work done.

I'm sure Joe will have more to say on the subject (and there may even be some photos floating around out there somewhere), but the recording process is underway and I think there are some pretty exciting times ahead of us.

In other news, it is now possible to purchase both Revolutions and Five from the iTunes Music store. I, for one, welcome our new Apple-shaped overlords.

It never stays quiet for long... Our Toledo debut is booked at a cool musical coffeehouse scene down there, and our fall date for ERC is booked. The lowdown's on the dates page, of course.

We're also working dates for September and November as well... details to come.

Thanks for all the support... it keep us going. Really.

Finally got this locked down... Markus and I are kickin' it Old School, opening for Jeff Elbel + Ping and Mumble at Oz's right here in town!

Details are now up-to-date and in the usual place. Sorry for the late notice, but this'll be a fun and relaxed show to check out...

July's been a busy month! First I want to thank everyone for a fabulous experience at Top of the Park on the 5th! Great show, fabulous weather, and supportive crowd! (...and we were on the front page of the Ann Arbor News!)

Tomorrow, another free show at ERC -- come on down and bring a friend or seven...

Still working on finalizing our booking with Ping and Mumble on the 21st... we'll keep you posted.

And last but not least, in preperation for the upcoming LP, we've gotten involved over at CD Baby! Both Revolutions and Five are for sale online, with MP3 samples from every track available for download.

Dang.

Say... anyone see this month's Current yet (meaning the hardcopy version around town)? The fruits of our photographic labors made the cut a few pages into the Music section. Choice.

Many thanks to our friends at the Current for helping to promote this month's shows including this Wednesday's set at Top of the Park!

A lot is happening right about now... and I'm (of course) stoked.

Things have been busy, and we don't write enough. Sorry about that...

We've got two free shows in July, including a headlining set in The Ann Arbor Summer Festival's Top of the Park series. (We're thrilled to be back at ToP this year, especially since we're on right before "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".) After that it's hardcore prep for our first production sessions for the LP, tentatively scheduled for August.

In other news, last month we threw together a photo shoot to update some PR materials, and Owl even showed up! We'll hopefully get some of that material up here soon.

Just writing to say hi. Thanks to all for another great show last month! It was another SRO gig, and that kind of support is really what keeps us going.

Speaking of which, we'll be back at ERC on July 15th for another free show, and we're waiting to hear back on a few possibilities for the months in between. We'll keep you posted.

That's the latest. (Well, that and Kevin's new prothesis, but what's a little tipper between old friends?)

We've had a 2+ month break recently due mostly to our own schedules not lining up, but it earned us both some nice R&R and something of an insight into how to become rock stars in Taiwan.

Long story.

Anyway, we're back with another free show at ERC on March 25th, and we'd love to see everyone! ...and all of the friends that you'd like us to meet, of course... :)

In case anyone is curious about the lyrics of the mermaid song, they were originally written by Shel Silverstein for Playboy magazine (you can go read it for the article).

The version I sang at last night's ABC show was based on the much improved (I think) lyrics recorded by Great Big Sea on their excellent album the hard and the easy.

Many thanks to those of you who came out to support us at ABC. I had an insanely good time tonight and, as Joe is so fond of saying, it would all be impossible without the stalwart support of friends like you.

We're returning to Arbor Brewing Company on Saturday, so come on down for some live music and a few brews of your choice -- both cooked up locally.

We need a good crowd to keep the ABC gig alive, so now's the time to spread the word! Thanks and hope to seeya there.

Much is coming up to look forward to, and I must say I'm stoked. (...and you're shocked, I know.)

We've got two shows on the books for 2006, more in progress, and are starting pursuit of opportunities to perform in Chicago. Our new press kit is also coming together nicely, and v1.0 should be in our hands before the holidays.

Recording-wise, we're planning to wrap up our first generation of pre-production tracks this month, and get our production staff on board, as well. This is where the real fun starts!

Just wanted to make a point of saying a sincere Thank You to everyone for a fantastic show on Saturday. We were SRO for the whole set -- a record turnout! -- and we really appreciate the support.

Speaking of which, I hope everyone has a great holiday.

I'm also trying to get more of the band gabbin' on here, but they're like shy or something...

Just poppin' in to mention some new gig dates are coming up, including our return to ABC in January.

Also... we're looking for opinions. What genre would you call North, anyway? What bands do you think we sound like and in what ways?

I ask because we've got some increased PR activity on the horizon, and we're honestly looking for ideas for words to describe ourselves. We seem edgier than "folk", but more diverse than most "rock"... we're not quite The Dave Matthews Band, nor The Indigo Girls...

So what are we, anyway? Please do drop us a line if you have ideas, ehy?

In case anyone is interested, both the month and the festival "Samhain" are pronounced like "sow-in" (IPA /'sawən/)

Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood bodhránai.

Well, here we are. Today marks a full decade since the official release of the very first North recording, the blueprint, back in 1995. We figured, what better way to celebrate than by launching our new-and-improved website?

Um... well, yes, you're right. Releasing our first full-length LP would be a better way... and we're working that, I assure you. We'll be updating you on that right here, in fact.

And that's kind of the point. The new site's designed to keep our friends and fans up to date with what's going on. We hope to get news blurbs up from time to time, include the band and the crew on our banter, and make other improvements to the site as we go. So, that said, stop on back frequently, as we plan to update often about the latest news.

...and YES, we're working on the record! :)