Finally?

Remixing a few songs from 'The Path to Going Down' the first week of May. Hopeful that we will get the record mastered in May...

"The Dearest, Crown Anthem" made a suspect but well received debut at a house party somewhere near the St. John's Bridge. (Thanks Natalie!)

D,C news

Dearest, Crown is feeling rather industrious (It must be Spring!). We are putting finishing touches on the new CD. Also look for our multiple west coast shows in May. A new D,C website is also in the works. Ummm...I think that's everything!

Missed our last show? Here's what one CD Baby customer had to say (used without permission): "Saw them Live a couple times, including show @ Mad Hatter which should have been a disaster, but was awesome instead". Well, it was pretty darn close to a disaster! Half way through the evening the sound system went haywire. D,C, no strangers to acoustic instruments forged on without amplification or microphones. Anyway, it was fun.

In May D,C is planning to perform in Sacramento, maybe San Franciso, maybe Redding. Information regarding shows will be posted on the D,C website.

D,C news

Dearest, Crown is emerging from winter hibernation. A warm Thank You to everyone who joined us for the Dearest, Crown New Year celebration. Hopefully it will be a yearly event. RM had enough beer remaining in his refrigerator to last until late February! We also finished a follow-up CD. We really want to get it released sometime soon. All of the details for financing the manufacturing have yet to be worked out. D,C is also looking for a wealthy benefactor. Thanks to Twinklelingus for having D,C join them at the Tonic.

We will be at the Mad Hatter on Friday March 5 with Kaitlyn Ni Donovan.

Nice Review

South of Mainstream has a very kind review of Dearest, Crown. We're blushing.

Q: Your mailing list. Does it really exist?

A: Yes. Some technical issues prevented a mailing about our last show. We still have all of your email addresses. When the new CD comes out, we will email you personally to let you know.

Hell! When is the new CD going to be ready?

We have been asked over and over... Almost all of the recording is done for our next relese. We did some more work the first weekend in November. Look for the CD early 2004. Those of you at the Mad Hatter for the last show may not have realized that we played the new album in order for our second set. Not playing any shows for the rest of the year to finish up mixing, working out other production details, spending time with our families and dogs.

New D,C album in the works

The EP has grown into a full length (14 song) recording which will hopefully be finished sometime soon. We completed the recording of base tracks this last weekend at Jackpot! I think it's fair to say that we are all very excited about the songs. Track list and working title forthcoming. Don't forget about the show on the 18th.

Musicfest NW postscript

Thank you to everyone who came to see our Musicfest appearance at Holocene. We had a great time. The night started with the Sound Guy shaking his head from side to side after being informed of the eleven instruments** we would have on stage (not including Ario's drums). I think Holocene saw its first, and perhaps last, mandolin and cello that night. Back to electronica I suppose.

Due to a structural failure in the epiphone's shoulder strap, Sean's guitar was feeling gravity's pull and crashed into the violin sitting below. The epiphone has probably seen worse; the violin didn't fare so well. SH kept a level head and constructed a violin splint using a guitar capo and some tape (side note: Sean also ran a 50k that morning). Not much good came out of this event, although it did allow me to throw in an obscure R.E.M. reference.

Although Leif was nowhere to be seen after the set, his father Bruce stuck around for some of the electro-noise punk that followed. Dearest, Crown's white barstool was used a drum machine stand. The barstool's original task was to allow Sean to sit in the event his legs failed during our set (see the side note above).

Congratulations to SH for finishing the Oregon Trail Series with appearances at all sanctioned races.

** for the record, RM-six string acoustic, 12-string acoustic, mandolin, SH-six string acoustic, electric gtr., violin, LW-accordion, cello, TS-electric bass, acoustic bass, trumpet. We left the banjo and keyboard at home. Currently on the injured list: Banjo, Violin, Accordion.

The Harvester 10-year anniversary show is over. Sacramento News & Revew (SN&R) has a nice Music Feature on Harvester.
You can read it here.

Dearest, Crown announces the addition of percussionist Ario Lynch to the band. You can see the new five piece lineup at Musicfest NW next month. Ario seems to like the rest of us — a definite boost to D,Cs collective self-esteem. Maybe it's the glass of Bourbon he has before practice.

Leif was offered an ice cold Root Beer after assisting Ryan with moving a Washer/Dryer down a flight of stairs to the basement.

Our set for Musicfest NW is tentatively scheduled to be as follows: Holocene, 9pm, Saturday September 6. Note that the organizers have changed the day of our performance from Friday to Saturday!

Dearest, Crown will be playing MusicfestNW 2003. We don't know when or where, but we will certainly let you know when the information is available. Here is some information from MusicfestNW: September 4, 5 & 6, 2003 - Portland, Oregon. The wristband kickoff party if this Wednesday, July 23rd at the NW 23rd Music Millennium (801 NW 23rd Avenue). Wristbands at this party are discounted at 2 for $30 (versus the $20 each after the party). Party goes from 6 to 9pm with live music by Amelia, Drummatica and The Divorce -plus- free food and beverages!

Our very own trail-running enthusiast, SH, ran 50K in under 6 hours, and still had enough energy the following evening to remain standing for the opening act, and half a Spoon set. An outstanding display of physical endurance! In another display of physical strength, 4 out of 5 (more on that later) D,C members moved an honest-to-god piano into LW's house last week. The cello player's mother took pictures. I really hope we get to see those pictures... Afterwards, the cello player came down into the basement with a big glass of ice water for himself. The other three itinerant piano movers were never offered any water.

As some of you may already know, D,C has two members who also join the ranks of Harvester. Harvester released a number of fantastic full-lengths over the last decade (non-Harvester member of D,C writing this). Are you tormented by the fact that you never saw them play live? On Auguest 30th Harvester (now spread across Oregon, California, and New York) will reunite in Sacramento, CA (Old Ironsides) to play a 10-year anniversary show. This is an event not to be missed! Contact D,C if you need more info. I may need a ride. Or should I fly down?

D,C is going to take some time to work on a follow-up EP to A Single Star...

D,C had a great time playing the Blackbird last Thursday. Thanks to you who showed up early (a last minute switch placed us in the opening slot)! Richmond Fontaine put on the usual great set. You can't say enough about the Sadies; simply amazing. We all regretted not buying up every last Sadies CD at the show. Fist City, another Portland band whom we were not previously familiar with, put on an outstanding closing set.

In other news, Singing Bear tied the knot on Sunday! A fine time was had by D,C at the wedding. Manzanita played the reception. TS, not comfortable with the party scene, went back to Hillsboro faster than you can cut a cake. We are also playing on the 24th at the Mad Hatter Lounge. This is one great place to play and hang out. No cover as per the usual, and the food and beer there is very good.

If you are lucky, you may also catch us playing acoustic in Portland area backyards.

You can now be informed of shows and important news by signing up on the Dearest, Crown mailing list. We won't share your e-mail address with anyone else, but we may stare at it.

Ryan recently gave a rare overseas performance on the waters of the Chang Jiang. Reports indicate that it was a stirring rendition of the hit single "Compass Song". We wish Ryan a safe and happy return. Look for digital images of terra cotta soldiers sometime soon.

Leif is still getting married in May. He invited Toronto, Canada alt-county rockers The Sadies to his bachelor party (please see the Performances page). He has also invited his girlfriend. Leif no longer checks his e-mail, so do not attempt to communicate with him electronically. Errata: Leif just e-mailed me regarding a poorly crafted Hawaiian mug (please see previous statement).

Todd has apparently purchased a new residence, most likely located within shouting distance of his previous residence. His son Michael Justin should appreciate the extra floor space as he develops his bipedal skills. Additionally, Todd has become quite well known as a hero to the title industry.

Sean was briefly having a mid-life crisis. Then he realized he was guilty of a priori acceptance of the idea that he was at the true midpoint of his life. Sean also recently saved 30% on his Montrails by wearing pajamas in public. Most importantly, he will have been married for 9 years come March 27, 2003. Apparently someone has grown to love his singing.

Thus concludes a very enjoyable trip by D,C down to Sacramento. Thanks to all of you who made the trip from various locales to join us for the show. Todd pointed out Snowy Egrets and stressed out about conditions in the Siskiyou Pass (4310 ft.), Leif revealed his Indian name (Stay Tuned!), and team Windstar ate at the lovely Vintage Inn in Cottage Grove Oregon. They never did bring us our ice cream.

Ryan suffers a small sense of insecurity over the fact that the mandolin is not a bowed instrument. Additionally, his girlfriend is redeploying Ryan to the Far East, thus obviating any Dearest, Crown activity in March 2003. Look for an exciting April calendar!

Sean celebrated his 36th birthday (Saturday 02-01-03) by running a race through an abandoned quarry and a beaver pond near Snohomish, Washington. He finished in a state of physical and mental disrepair. His “I’m going to be less annoying in 2003” campaign has so far been about as successful as the Mondale-Ferraro 1984 presidential campaign.

Sorry, girls, Leif is getting married this May. He is, however, still available to fix your garbage disposal.

Todd has been writing Sleater-Kinney reviews in his spare time, which has been little since the birth of young Michael Justin. He is also accepting suggestions for what type of new trumpet to purchase.

A mirthful time was had by all at the Dearest, Crown CD Release show. The Mad Hatter was an excellent venue. We would like to thank everyone who came to the show. It was the inaugural performance of a new song about the Riemann Hypothesis, which states that all non-trivial zeros of the zeta function lie on the line 1/2 + it as t ranges over the real numbers. As the digital camera belonging to Ryan's parents was ablaze with action that evening, we should have some photographic evidence that the show took place available soon...

CD Release Show

The official CD Release Show will be on Saturday Jan 25 at the Mad Hatter Lounge. Sleep in on Sunday! We will also be making a Monday appearance at the Blackbird in February. See the Performances page for directions and times.

Also...

Leif needs some roommates -- Applicants must be willing to let the band practice on Saturday mornings in the basement. Nice SE Portland location!

New Shows Added

Check out the Performances page.

A Single Star, ...

Available Now -- A Single Star, Bigger than the Universe File under Other

Website Update

Introducing a new sexy URL: www.dearestcrown.com , although the old URL will still work.

A Single Star, ...

Manufacturing of the CD has been completed. Look for locations where the CD can be purchased very soon!

Leif's Job...

Leif has a job! We are still accepting canned food.

Todd's Job...

Todd's job title now includes the word "Officer", although he doesn't get to wear a badge. It's not the kind of officer you think. This increase in rank does not change his work email policy.

Ryan's job...

A correlation has been noticed between fluctuations in the high-tech market and the propensity of Ryan to sigh and mumble when answering the phone at his place of employment.

Sean's job...

Sean will soon be working in lovely Beaverton! He is eagerly anticipating the longer commute time to reflect on urban planning and topics in numerical analysis.

Todd's Job...

Todd can not receive personal emails at his place of employment.

Leif's Job...

This is not currently a relevant topic.

A Single Star...

The recording, mixing, and mastering of the album has been finished. Look for an official release date some time between this afternoon and September 2002!

Performance Apercu

The D,C performance at the Mt. Tabor Theatre w/ Carquinez Straits on August 8 was a mirthful performance. The Willamette Weekly even added a comma to Carquinez Straits' name just for the occasion. Look for future Lather Records showcases as circumstances permit. Carquinez Straits, by the way, has an excellent new CD out entitled "The Flat Earth Just Got Flatter"... How could you not add this title to your hyper-cool collection of obscure indie CDs?

Beautiful D,C moments...

D,C are busy populating the world with more children. Further details are available upon request.

The Pacific Crest Trail 50 Mile Trail Run on Saturday, August 10th, 2002 was a success, though D,C has still not secured a Montrail sponsorship. It is doubtful that the planned Labor Day Weekend car camping trip would generate similar interest. Ryan was present at the PCT 50 finish line so that he could admonish Sean for not completing a lyric booklet.

In other noteworthy D,C developments, Leif's girlfriend cleaned his bedroom for him, Ryan reconsidered the value of our canine friends as visual art, Todd purchased tickets to an indie rock show, and Sean swept up glitter from his daughter's 6th birthday party for the better part of two days.

Has anyone seen our Hewlett-Packard reverse Polish notation scientific calculator? What about the wrist rest for our banjo?

A panel of mental health experts has determined that as of the date of this writing, D,C no longer has an irrational fear of ghosts. And speaking of health issues, D,C prefers the New England Journal of Medicine to the Journal of the American Medical Association. (No offense to our thousands of JAMA fans...)