TnT PINT GLASSES are here! Merry Christmas!

Hey Y'all,
It certainly has been awhile. The Tweeds and I have been busy. We have played so many shows up until December and now we have a little down time to do some Christmas shopping. But, not to worry, we have a BIG Christmas show coming up at the Rochester Dinosaur on December 23. make sure you save the date because there are lots of surprises in store....
#1-We might have to pull out a Christmas Song or two.
#2-We will have more condoms to get you all through the holidays!...and t-shirts as well.
#3- FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.......

 I know, not the best photo....BUT.... WE WILL HAVE PINT GLASSES FOR SALE!
The final stocking stuffer that you all have been looking for will final be available on December 23. Now, I happen to have a bit of a cold right now so yes, that is tea that I am drinking out of mine. For those of you who remember, I used to play solo every Friday back in the day at a place called Bohdi's in Village Gate, they taught me that drinking tea out of a pint glass was the cool thing to do....BUT I know they will look even more cool with a nice dark Guinness in them. That bold color of a beer is sure to put a nice warm glow behind our faces. Some Jackie D might do the trick too (I am sure that's what Katy is gonna put in hers:)...hell even Egg Nog for the holidays.
There is a special surprise printed on the back of them but, you can't see it in the picture, so you will all just have to show up and buy one or two on DECEMBER 23 at DINOSAUR BBQ in Rochester. Show starts at 10pm. I know everyone will have a lot of family in town so bring them out and buy them a beer in an extra special pint glass.

Anywho, in the meantime, stay warm in this lovely snow we are getting. I am so excited to go skiing! But I know it is tough to drive in, so for any of you who might be traveling for the holidays, stay safe...and if you need some road trip music LISTEN TO TEAGAN AND THE TWEEDS!...and if you need more road trip music, I recently became a little obsessed with Florence and the Machine, I highly recommend her album Lungs.

'til next time,
-Teagan

Our visit to the armpit.

One of the shows we played this weekend was in Utica, NY for the Utica Music Festival. You all know how much the Tweeds and I love our beer....It just so happens that the Saranac Brewery is located in Utica. So naturally, we took a tour:)

The tour was really great. But the best part was the Tavern at the end. I think everyone would agree. They give you two free pints of whatever kind of Saranac you would like. I decided to go with two of their Imperial beers...and before I knew it I was doing things like this...

...and then everyone was doing things like this...

..haha it was great. Saranac is the birthplace of the Shultz and Dooley steins...so we figured we should all pose...

...we couldn't stop...

..just on more..

...it was a great weekend. We all came home with some good beer for our fridges...and we got to play a few gigs as well. What more could you ask for?

'til next time....

-Teags

Summer Reviewed: Beaver and Fish

I have had way to much coffee today. When this happens I talk everyone's ear off at work. So I am choosing to blog instead.

The Tweeds and I had a really good summer. We got to open for Eddie Money, Jam with Rusted Root, and perform at a number of random places that included the word "beaver" in their name. Haha no joke.

These are a few pictures from the Beaver Meadow Family Campground. This is where we stayed while we played a gig at The Beaver Hollow Conference Center

Tommy Fishing at Beaver Meadow's "Bass Pond"

 

 

 

I took these pictures without anyone knowing. It was a beautiful day and I felt it needed to be documented. Michelle, Tommy, Sarah, and fished. Jeremy sat back and watched Rocco.

Jeremy chillin' with Rocco

 My Birthday was on a Thursday this year. We got everyone together and started our day going out to lunch on the bay. We rented a pontoon and drove to Bayside for lunch, where Katy and Lou met up with us. Fish whisperer Lou decided to cast a line in the water and 5 seconds later, caught the first fish of the day.

Lou's Fish

 

 

So anywho, the coffee is wearing off now.... we had a great summer. We are hitting the road this weekend for a couple gigs outta town. Gonna try and take some good pics to share with everyone.

We also have some new t-shirts coming in. Some of them will be at Rochester Dinosaur show 9/16/10 and then we have a new design coming through by the end of the month. I have even ordered a few youth sizes:)

More to come later....

-Teagan

The new Grace Potter and the Nocturnals album rocks my socks off.

I am eating my leftover steak salad for breakfast. I just went to stab my fork into a big bite and it spilled in my lap....but no worries I was able to recover most of it. That might be kinda gross, but it's from Merchants Grill and I didn't feel like making anything else for breakfast....so whatever.

Anywhoo, I want to talk about the new Grace Potter album. It's all I have been listening to for the last week or so, and it's incredible. Michelle and I are planning on going out on the boat with Mike today and it is perfect summer fun music. Everyone who hasn't purchased the album yet should go do it right now. If you get it online it is surprisingly cheap. The price of hard copy CD's is falling so much these days.

I think every track is my favorite but right now I am gonna say "Medicine" is my favorite fast song and "Colors" is my favorite ballad. You just gotta check it out for yourself though...it's ridiculous. Then go see her live if you haven't yet....just make sure you don't drive a couple hours in northern NY in January and try to cross Lake Champlain on a ferry to see her show in Burlington, VT. Chances are the ferry will be closed and the bridge will be blown out and then you will have to drive even father...story for a different time:)

I am sick again, not sure how you get a cold when no one else around you is sick, and it's the middle of June???

I gotta rest up and pop my Vitamin C pills. I gotta make sure I am in tip top shape to open for Eddie Money next week at Party in the Park. Two Tickets to Paradise....can't miss it! We are excited, everyone should come down and see us:)


I figured I would share this....The picture quality is kinda bad, but this is me practicing my moves for Eddie Money at an early age with my cousin Martin. Courtesy of my Mother-she thinks it's hilarious to dig up old photos and send my picture messages of them:)

Goodbye for now...see you at Party in the Park!

-Teags

Lilith Fair, Smilith Fair

We are all so frustrated with this Local Lilith Fair Contest. We have a buttload of wonderful, dedicated fans that are willing to make their eyes bleed in front a computer screen, for more hours than a regular work week, just to vote for us once. We apologize for entering in this silly competition. If we didn't do so well right off the bat, it wouldn't have become such an addiction. But it is now....hahaha and I hope that you all keep voting. We really do appreciate the support, and I am sure you all know what a crazy opportunity this would be. So THANK YOU!

On a different note. We are playing at Pub 511 tonight and I predict that it will ROCK. So I hope to see all of you out and about:)

So the search is over. After many months of sifting and searching for hours on end with Lou, I have ordered my very own Bran' Spankin' New Tweed Tube Amp.....and I can't wait! It is going to rock, hopefully it will be in sometime in June. I guess they were on backorder. I will post a nice new picture when I have it.

I NEED COFFEE before work, so I'm gonna bounce. Off to sell some kayaks....See you at Pub 511 @ 9:30pm SHARP!

I thought we were buds Leo

      The other day I woke up and went into the kitchen to find a rubbing up against my leg.  I did what most people would do when an interesting furry creature comes up to you and picked it up, within 30 seconds I felt a warm sensation spreading across my belly which turned out to be cat pee.  After finding out that the cat had a urinary tract infection, I was able to forgive Santino.

        Now today when I walked up to the attic as Leo was dismissing himself, that familiar scent of cat piss was in the air.  After about thirty minutes of myself, Kristina, and Katy crawling on the floor sniffing like dogs for the source of the smell, we noticed an unfamiliar lake emerging from the bottom of the organ.  After a thorough investigation, it was determined that this lake was the outlet of a river flowing from the housing of the volume pedal on my organ.  After shining a light in there, you could see pee in the top corner of the housing.  How Leo manged to get his pee all the way up there is a mystery to me.  Even if he could fit in there, he would have had to be on his back with his butt pressed up against the corner. Hopefully the chemicals I applied to remove the scent will work.
   

    Does that look like a cat you could forgive?

                 Tommy

I think my teapot is going to break from over use....

So I never blogged about Austin really. I meant to but it wasn't as easy to find wifi as I thought and blogging from my Blackberry just wasn't doing it for me. So instead I posted most of the trip on facebook. Sorry to those of you who were waiting for a blog....I will tell you the story of the not so pleasant end to our awesome trip...

We got in the car around 9:00 am Monday. Ready to hit the road...got a quick bit to eat at McDonald's (classic road trip style...you know you all do it) and we were off. I had gotten up much earlier that morning, around 4 am or so, to drop Sarah off at the airport...so I was still extremely tired when we hit the road. 

Jeremy started out the first leg of the trip driving. Lou and I were crammed like sardines in the back of the Trailblazer, trying to figure out the right position to sleep comfortably....not willing to admit to ourselves that such as thing did not exist. I think my final sleeping position of choice ended up being the "lean forward with your head on the seat in front of you"...for whatever reason it seemed the most natural.

I fell asleep pretty shortly into our trip. A few hours went by and I woke up to find us stopped at a truck stop...still in Texas of course...BTW: Driving through Texas feels like driving on a treadmill in the middle of a cow pasture next to a "HELL IS REAL" sign. Anyways, when I woke up I had a scratchy throat. The kind that I get when my allergies are bad. I figured the climate change had finally caught up with my allergies and that was the issue...WRONG. When I woke up at the next truck stop I thought I was gonna die before we made it out of Texas.

I spent the rest of the trip fueling up on cold medicine and Airborn, but niether worked. I slept for the most part, but I was getting worse and worse.

We finally got out of Texas and ended up stopping in Memphis, TN. We drove to Beale St to try and get some dinner. We found an alright parking spot and pushed our money into the cash box. Exited the car, tried to lock it but.....the lock on the back hatch wasn't working. Not good. We got back in the car, drove around looking at Beale St. then found a Perkins to eat at where we could watch the car from the window.

We ate some food, I drank some tea, and once again we were off. This time Lou drove and I was supposed to be the co-pilot. Thank God Tommy stays awake late at night because I was asleep before we got back on the highway I think. I was a shitty co-pilot.

When I woke again it was somewhere around 2am maybe?...and we were pulling into the Grand Old Opry. My throat felt like it was on fire...but I really wanted to see the Opry. We all woke up and dragged ourselves outta the car. No one was around anywhere but the Music was still playing outside at the Opry...its was kinda odd.  We took a few pictures...

hahah we were sooo cold and groggy. 

We got home around 4 pm on Tuesday. I had to cance my regular Beale St. gig for the first time in 2 years. I wasn't very happy about it.

After we got home I lost my voice completely.  First I went hoarse, but then it just went totally silent.

That was last Tuesday....it has been a week, and I still don't have a voice today. Little pieces are slowly coming back...but it is very frustrating. I had to cancel my Beale St. gig again tonight, and the band gig at Dewey's this past Saturday. 

I went to the doctor and they gave me pills for a sinus infection. My sinus are clear now but I can feel it in my throat. I am going to see a Ear Nose and Throat specialist on Friday...hopefully it will continue to get better.

My Mom bought me Aloe Vera juice because it is supposed to prevent any scar tissue on your vocal chords. I take two tablespoons in the morning and two at night. It tastes really bitter and strong...not sure if its helping...but they do say it is a colon cleanser...and it is probably safe to say that it true.

I haven't had any other liquids besides Tea w/lemon and honey. My teapot is probably going to break soon. It is way overused.

Our next gig is April 9. I should be fine by then. I haven't talked to hardly anyone in like 5 days....it's kinda sad. I heard that even whispering is bad for me...so I have to communicate with notes and texts...if only everyone knew sign language:)

I am going to go nap. Hopefully I can talk to all of you soon with a full healthy voice!

Until next time...

-Teags

And We're Off...

It's 4:00 in the morning. Just packed up the last of the car. Ready to walk out the door. Going to pick-up Jeremy and Michelle...then over to Lou's to hook up the trailer that is all packed up. Gonna be interesting.I need to get coffee at somepoint, although I am scared that might make the car ride longer if we have to stop. Pearl is not a happy camper, She knows I am leaving and has tried to pack herself in the car several times now. It makes me feel bad:(
Anyways, we will be trying to update every time we hit a place with some sorta wireless internet. I know we are most likely stopping to eat somewhere around Nashville, so maybe then.
Hopefully everything goes smoothly...Can't wait to be down there!

'til next time,
-Teagan 

Nothing a Day of Skiing couldn't solve...

Finally...everything is in order for Austin. T-shirts are coming on Friday along with the finished and duplicated demo. WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS. I am giving you my sympathy ahead of time for anyone who ever has to buy a license for an old blues song that they have NO IDEA who wrote.
We wanted to put the song "Little by Little" on our demo for Austin. It is the one and only cover we did for it. Needless to say, we ended up with an issue with licensing the song properly....the issue first was,I didn't think we needed to buy the license since there is not a bar code on the disc...but of course, we couldn't get it duplicated with out one. When I found this out I was home on my lunch break and in a hurry. I did a little search on Google and found who I thought was the original writer of the song...ROBERT PLANT, Did you know Robert Plant wrote "Little by Little"? The same song Susan Tedeschi covers on "Just Won't Burn"....WRONG!

...I bought the wrong license. That was just a minor $106 mistake. What a headache. I was so glad when Monday was over. I made sure I spent Tuesday doing something non-stressful. Tommy and Taylor and I went skiing one last time before we leave in 6 days. I took this picture of them on the lift...hahaha it looks like Tommy has his head resting on Taylor's shoulder...

It was such a beautiful day. I think all three of us had bright red noses from all the sun. There was hardly anyone else on the mountain and it was spectacular.

Tommorow Katy, Tommy, and I will be going on the Brother Wease show for a radio interview about SXSW and our gig @ Dinosaur BBQ tomorrow night. It will be interesting...tune in if you can to 95.1 The Fox around 10:30am.

I have got to head to bed.

'til next time

-Teags 

Pearl and Teagan go shopping...

 

Me and sleepy Pearl

It was so sunny out today, so Pearl and I went shopping...thats why she is so sleepy now.

First I took her to the pet store and let her pick out a bone...which is a huge ordeal with Pearl. She is very indecisive and usually gets distracted by wedging herself under the bone display to get a tennis ball that someone has dropped. Then she starts to get frustrated and makes strange noises like she is trying to talk...because now she is stuck. The pet store was busy because it is Saturday and there is not a whole lot more embarrassing that can happen in a pet store than when you have to almost lay on the floor to remove your tennis ball crazy Jack Russell from underneath one of the displays. But I got her out and we were able to pick out and purchase a bone...eventually.

So we moved on to a few stores. Pearl sits and sunbathes on my front seat with her bone while I go into the store and try to pick out outfits and predict what the weather might be in Austin. I was halfway successful. I think I need a human shopping buddy next time to join Pearl and I.

Oh we are sooo close to leaving....Everything is finally coming together and working out. After weeks of anticipation and stress we will eventually have to take with us: a new demo with 5 tracks, new Teagan and the Tweeds t-shirts, Stickers, a website (Check it out!), postcards, event flyers, and handbills. Good thing we have a giant SUV and a trailer to take with us!

What started as me taking a shot in the dark 8 months ago is quickly becoming a very exciting reality. I just got an e-mail the other day about the showcase we are playing on Saturday night, saying that MTV will be there looking for new music to place in their shows and commercials...so NO PRESSURE...haha I can't wait. We have come so far in the last year, even the last 6 months, it's time to go show Austin how to rock the tweed!

If any of you haven't noticed, we also just hit 1,000 fans on our FACEBOOK. We are very proud of this, it is such a great way to keep in touch with our fans. We have recently uploaded a few new pictures and some GREAT videos from the Haiti Relief Benefit at the German House by Mike Hanlon, so please stop by our page if you haven't already and become a fan:)


We have 2 more shows to play here and Rochester before we leave. All the wonderful people of S.I.S. (Sustain. Inspire. Survive.) , HTI (Human Touch Initiative) , and of course our favorite venue Lovin' Cup,  have decided to throw us a little benefit in Thanks for all the fundraising events we have helped them out with in the past. They approached me and said that they would like to help us absorb some of the costs to go down to Austin. The event will be tomorrow (Sunday March 7) from 4-6pm. It is a much earlier time than we are used to playing, so perhaps some of our fans that don't like to stay up late can check it out. We will have a few friends stopping down to join us on stage. It should be a good time.

The last show we will play as a band before we go on the road will be Dinosaur BBQ on Thursday March 11 @ 10:00pm. This is our second time playing at this venue. We had such a great time the first time, I personally can't wait to do it again!

Any who....I think I am going to grab a beer!

'til next time,
-Teags

Tweeds spend some in time in the Belly of the Whale, Haiti Relief, etc

We did it! Our ambitious goal to record 5 songs in a weekend was achieved thanks to the lovely boys and girl that make up my Tweeds. Of course we could not have done it without the wonderful service of Mr. Mike Muscarella and his beautiful Belly of the Whale.
So look out for it on our websites...MySpace, Facebook, teaganandthetweeds.com. We will have 5 freshly recorded songs up sooner than you can say ..... anything.
Needless to say our brief time in the studio was more than enjoyable. There were moments of boredom for some, at times

Like the above for instance... I was reading the serving size for the Cheese Puffs because after we ate 3/4 of the bag that is always a good self esteem builder:) Serving size was 48 balls...I thought it was alot, Tommy and Lou reassured me that most of the balls are filled with air. To prove it?------>Tommy stuff 48 cheese balls into his mouth, chewing but not swallowing. He may have been on about 25 or 26 in the picture. Verdict being 48 cheese balls is not in fact that much food so it is ok to eat a whole bag... Thank you Tommy.

In other news, we are gearing up to play the Rochester Cares Haiti Relief Concert this Thursday at the German House. It will benefit the Red Cross and we are super pumped because there is AWESOME music all night long. Those of you who can stop out...it will be a spectacular show. Our friend Mike Hanlon from Hanlon Photography will be out doing some video footage for us, and photos will be shot that night as well. I hear there is going to be some blackjack tables too...I am not much of a gambler but I have heard that is a selling point for a few folks:)

Things are starting to come together for Austin. Now that the recording is done..website is coming along...logos and merch on the way...trailer and hotels are reserved...we've got ourselves some sweet new clothes. OH I almost forgot!...We had two phone interviews this week. One with the Rochester Insider and one with Jeff Spevak with the D &C. I believe the D & C should be running either the 24 or 25, and I am not positive about the Insider, but look out for both.
I have to go to bed now so I can go to work tomorrow morning, we all know how crazy the kayak business is in February....

-Teagan

Fat Tuesday Tweed Style!

 

Katy and Lou at the Dino

Tuesdays are Tweed days...Fat Tuesday was a special one...

Every Tuesday Lou, Me, and Tommy get together to work on things for the band. We make flyers, work on bookings, work on merchandise, and other random things...then we always end up eating at Jim's Diner.

This Tuesday, "Fat Tuesday" we started off with the usual. After some serious chat about how we are getting to Austin then the topic of wardrobe came up and naturally, we ended up at the thrift store.

We walked in to find a plethora of men's suit coats, pants, and vests that are more than perfect to make our boys look like bad-ass bluesy rock stars.

Sifting through the madness, Tommy and Lou came acrossed a sweet three-piecer that seemed to be Tommy's size..but we had to be sure...so what did we do? Look for a fitting room?, I don't think so, not this group....Lou and I turned around and built a human wall while Tommy dropped trow in the middle of the store. PERFECT FIT! We stuck around for a little while longer, Tommy found a great pair of pink pants and suggested them to Lou, needless to say he was not into them. We gathered our things, picked up a sweet lamp, and we were on our way.

After that I went home to get ready to play my solo gig at Beale St. Once a year they change my usual Tuesdays up to celebrate Mardi Gras. I played 4-6 followed by Dan Schmidt and the Shadows from 7-10. IT WAS PACKED. My friend and former Tweed, Mike Deiure brought his bass out and jammed a little with me. It was a good time on stage, but when we were off it was hard to move. We ended the night by rounding up the troops and meeting Katy and Lou out with some friends at Dinosaur BBQ to grab a bite and a few beers:)

We are getting ready to hit the studio starting Thursday night. I am sure we will have a lot to share about our experiences so stay tuned!

-Teags

B3 Madness

        About 3 years ago I purchased a Hammond B3, which is the king of blues and rock organs, for those of you who are not familiar.  Shortly after, I bought a Leslie speaker to go along with it and together they monopolized the space in my parents sun room.  I don't even know how to play the piano, but i always had this dream that someday I would find somebody who could to play in a band with me.  Sure enough I found a band, but that beast is to heavy to gig with.  Since we have been turning our attic into a jam space, I had this wonderful idea that we would bring the organ over and finally get some use out of it.  Seeing that the only person that I know with a truck is Taylor he was going to have to be part of it.  As soon as he found out what he was getting into he left his keys in the truck for me and got the heck out of dodge.  Jeremy didn't realize what he was agreeing to, so he was on board.  The only other person I could manipulate was Twon, so we only had three people; which was a death wish.  Getting it out of my house and into the truck went great, only took us 10 minutes; so i thought maybe this won't be so bad after all.  As soon as we got to my house, we were pulling the organ out of the truck and Twon slipped on the ice and the organ came crashing down.  So now were in the house and we still have to go up two flights of stairs to the attic.  Before we even moved the organ up one step we got the thing stuck with two people wedged up against the wall.  We were trying to avoid rolling the organ up the stairs since there are so many moving parts inside, but that was looking like it was our only option.  After about 45 minutes of wrestling the organ we finally made it up to the attic, and luckily it was already banged up so the nicks and dings we put in it didn't really matter.  I don't know how that thing still works if you could of heard the noises it was making when we rolled it up the stairs.  Believe it or not it actually sounded better after moving it.  I don't know how I'm ever going to get it out of the attic, but at least it's there.  So if your ever making a studio or jam space, make it on the first floor

Katy Tweed is Baking...

If you know me, you know what baking is a result of...STRESS!!!  I take out my anxiety on a hand mixer, a mixing bowl and a cupboard full of ingredients.  I have recently come to realize there are two kinds of stress; stress over the bad things and stress over the good things.  The stress I have now is over all good things and as a result I have 4 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies sitting on my kitchen counter.  I guess what they say is true about one good thing leading to another!

As Teagan states, we have a lot to think about right now amongst trying to go about our regular everyday lives but the excitement overrules anything else.  The Tweeds are facing new opportunities, new fans, new ideas, and we couldn't be happier.  Thanks to the current fans and Tweed followers, we are able to explore all of these opportunities.

So what do you get when you have the perfect blend of ingredients?  A recipe for something tasty and delicious that you'll always want to come back to.  Each member of the Tweeds ads a flavor that when combined makes some irresistibly tasty licks with a little bit of kick.  We have created a flavor that could satisfy even the pickiest of palates.  I guess what I'm trying to say is our group has connected in a way that works and we bring out the best in each other both musically and personally.  We are looking forward to the days ahead of recording, traveling, entertaining and the occasional cookie or two.    

Welcome to the Wonderful World the Tweeds

Howdy everyone! Welcome to our new blog...The band and I are gearing up for some big things, so I decided it was probably a good idea to start blog to keep all of our lovely and loyal fans up on whats going on with us. 

For those of you who don't know...We have been accepted to perform in not one, but two showcases down in Austin, TX during the time of South by Southwest. SXSW is one of the biggest live music festivals anywhere. Tons of unsigned talent gets discovered at this festival every year. From what I hear the city of Austin is absolutely flooded by hundreds of thousand of people...so naturally WE ARE SUPER EXCITED!

This all started because of our wonderful and most talented friend Kalu James. Kalu used to be a fellow Rochester musician of ours, until one day he decided that Austin was callin' his name. With his good word and a little luck we got into the Irie Bean and Coffee Bar on March 19. Everyone should check out his music who hasn't heard it already @ www.kalujames.com

The next gig we got is one that I had submitted a press kit for about two months ago. I saw an ad for a showcase looking for bands during SXSW so I decided I'd give it a go....crossing my fingers and hoping it might lead to something...last week we found out the good news that we will be playing yet another gig at Krush Bar and Lounge on March 20. This club is like 3000 sq ft and has 3 stages. Needless to say, we are getting SUPER EXCITED for March to come and our trip to begin. But in the meantime there is so much work to be done....

We just got done with band practice tonight. The band is getting ready to go into the studio next weekend so we were chatting about that. Also, we are trying to pick out a logo for ourselves to put on some merch to take down...and the flights...and the equipment...outfits to wear...logos...stickers....demos...recording...amps...flight...demos...recording...cds...press kits...equipment...t-shirts...guitars..clothes...ahhh!!!! So much stuff to think about!

.....I need some sleep:)

Til next time-

Teagan