01-02-2010:
Some not so awesome news to start the new years...
Hey guys,
I just wanted to make a serious post really quick to let you all know of a little issue we had to resolve over the new year. Apparently our site was hacked and leaked some malicious codes all over the place on the 29th, but fear not! The second we received word of this from some great people who contacted us after visiting the site, matt got to work and saved the day. Our site is now free and clear from mean people and bad things, and we have him to thank for it.
I'm terrible sorry to anyone who may have come into contact with anything while visiting our site, and again, thanks to you guys for contacting us to let us know.
Now that that has been dealt with, onto 2010! We have so much up our sleeves and cannot WAIT to get it all out there!
Best,
Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
01-02-2010 09:01 PM EST
12-29-2009:
Kaleena's Ukulele Contest! ...and she's on Bridge
Greetings, everyone!
I just wanted to make a quick post to let you know that I have entered into the crazy youtube world as a ukulele player with a dream. This dream is to win the Bushman World Ukulele Contest (trumpets sound in the background... just imagine it...). Anywho, my entry is naturally Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Please check it out, heeere...
Now here is how it works... At 12:01 AM on January 1st, voting commences! It will continue until January 4th at 11:59 PM. There are a few things required to vote, so here they are:
(Rules are: We will begin accepting votes at 12:01am on Friday, January 1, 2010, and we
Posted by Kaleena
12-29-2009 09:17 PM EST
12-25-2009:
Who doesn't love ecards??
Steve, a friend of ours and current 'project manager' for something special we've got coming up, sent this to us this morning, so we thought we'd share them with you all too!! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!
Try JibJab Sendables
Posted by Kayleigh
12-25-2009 11:30 AM EST
12-24-2009:
Happy Holidays!
Hey everybody!!
I only have a brief update for you guys, but we have a lot in the works as of late. First off, webmaster Matt has created a fantastic new myspace layout with a promo shot from Paul Williams and it's up now!! Check it out here!
Also, we really want to take some time to wish you and yours a very happy holiday. To everyone that we met (and everyone that we haven't) out there serving our country and away from your loved ones, know that you are all in our thoughts and that we support you guys so much and hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday as well. Once again, we look forward to seeing you all stateside at a show or otherwise; until then we thought we'd spread a bit more holiday cheer by digging up some video of a Christmas show we played last year :)
Merry Christmas from all of us!!
Posted by Kayleigh
12-24-2009 07:14 PM EST
12-06-2009:
Show with Dillinger, studio update, and hitting Ca
Hey guys!!
Just wanted to post a quick lil update to let you guys know what's goin down out here with us. First and foremost we want to thank syracuse shows for putting us on the Dillinger Escape Plan/Thursday show with Endless Hallway and Fake Problems. We had an absolutely amazing time, met some amazing people, and... did we mention we played a show with Dillinger?! It was fantastic, and we really couldn't have done it without the musical prowess of Cam from Gonculator (he had to leave right after the set... to play two more sets in Rochester with Gonc and another band. He might be the drummer version of Superman).
Studio-wise we are moving on to bass and piano! Drum editing is being wrapped up/fiddled with as time goes on, but now all the pressure rests on the shoulders of Aaron and Kaleena. I'll post pictures once I get in there with them, and this week I should be meeting with webmaster Matt to give some pictures and input for the new design of the site to be revealed ... as soon as I get my sh*t together. Many thanks to Paul Williams again for his continuing support and sheer awesomeness with the design of the album cover and answering my phone calls :)
In other news, my side project with Vancouver filmmaker CJ Wallis was interviewed on citr radio in Vancouver for the release of our new single. And to add to all of that awesomeness, TSE was included in that evening's playlist and has apparently moved on to their radio producer. Many thanks to CJ and host Jonathan Brown, you can check out the blog corresponding to the radio show and playlist here.
Hope you guys have a great week!
lets go vikings,
Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
12-06-2009 10:05 PM EST
11-28-2009:
"Ghosts" Underway!
TSE has really had quite a year, and at the close of 2009 we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for our upcoming album (now called "Ghosts" to be released on March 9th, 2010), and we couldn't be more excited about it. We have sort of re-started the project with drummer Will Noon (Straylight Run, Breaking Pangaea) with a rehearsal yesterday of all the tunes, and started recording today. We'll be with him for the next few days until the project is finished, and we really can't thank him enough for lending us his talent and time for the cd. Being back in the studio after a month-long tour has been really beneficial to the growth of the record in giving us a bit more insight on all the tunes, and we are now more than ready to give you guys the best album we possibly can.
(Will in the studio with us, recording "My Decay")
(Jess, Jim, Jon, and Leena (singing Jess' cello part) on "My Decay")
Now that we're all back on track with TSE and have gotten through the fog that is returning home from tour, you'll start seeing more blogs popping up. It's a personal goal of ours to ensure that you guys see our progress just as we do with the album (we really like keeping you all in the loop), from studio to practices to shows to all our other random shenanigans that come from being in a band with a bunch of very 'unique' people. Also, we really can't wait to show you photos from our Paul Williams photo shoot, and we promise we'll get on that as soon as we can (hope you're ready for us to unleash the awesome upon you).
Don't forget, we have our show with Thursday and Dillinger Escape Plan coming up on Saturday! Get your tickets at syracuseshows.com now!
Also, we never really got a chance to wish all of you a happy holiday this past week. To all of our friends and family near and far, especially to all the amazing people we met and people we didn't abroad serving our country, we are forever indebted to you all. Thank you for all you do, and hope to see you stateside once "Ghosts" is out and you all are home safe!
xx
Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
11-28-2009 02:19 PM EST
11-23-2009:
New Show Announcement- December 5th!
Hey guys!
Due to our schedule, recording, we all decided it would be best for us to lay low from the live scene for the next couple of months. However, we just were asked to play a show we simply cannot turn down. Thanks to our dear friend Cam from labelmate Gonculator we will be playing Syracuse Show's December 5th show with Thursday, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fake Problems, and Endless Hallway.
The show will be at The Lost Horizon (5863 Thompson Road, Syracuse), and presale tickets are on sale for $17. Click here to get yours now!
Looking forward to seeing you out there one last time before the holidays, and hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!! Eat lots of sweet potatoes and pie and turkey/tofurkey, whatever your preference.
xx
Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
11-23-2009 08:32 PM EST
11-18-2009:
Bridge Street, release date and more!
Hey guys,
I know this is incredibly short notice for you all to remember to start those DVR's, but TSE will once again be on "Bridge Street" on News Channel 9 in Central/Western NY, so make sure to check it out at 10am! Jon and Kaleena will be interviewed about the tour and share a few pictures, so make sure you're watching! Of course as soon as I get links and/or video I will be sure to post them as well!
Also, in other news we want to thank E for coming out with us on the road and playing an amazing month of shows with us. Her final show with TSE was this past Saturday in Ithaca (great show, thanks to everyone who came out and to Love and Logic for bringing the house down with us). She has moved back to her hometown, and we wish nothing but the best for her.
So what's next, you may ask? Well, I feel inclined to tell you that we finally have a release date for the album!! Mark your calendars ladies and gents, because our upcoming album, "Ghosts," will be released TUESDAY, MARCH 9TH! Yes, I do know this is later than we all anticipated, but as you all know, life tends to do these things to you. We will be working tirelessly in the studio from here on out, and we promise to get you the best sounding cd we can make with all ten of our little hands. Keep checking back on all our sites, especially this one, because in the coming weeks it's all going to start changing in a very good way. We have those AMAZING Paul Williams shots we've been dying to put up, and a new website layout that will correspond to the album artwork. Lots of things ahead, and I promise to keep you posted every step of the way!
You also may realize we don't have too many videos up from tour-- well that will be changing soon as well. Things have been going at a very rapid pace since returning home, so we are finally starting to slow down from warp speed where we can start getting everything together and online. I'll let you know-- until then, have a great Wednesday and hope you catch Bridge Street today!!
cheers,
Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
11-18-2009 07:00 AM EST
11-09-2009:
Ithaca Show Saturday!
Hey guys,
Quick post advertising the flyer for our upcoming show with friends Love & Logic from NYC. Hope you all can make it, lots of news following the show including a RELEASE DATE for our upcoming album, so stay tuned!!
Have a good Monday!
-Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
11-09-2009 07:13 AM EST
11-06-2009:
Alberta Cross Show Saturday!
Hey guys!!
... I could have sworn I put an update up like two days ago with details on our Jack's Mannequin show, but apparently someone forgot to push the 'submit' button (I'll get to a re-post soon, I promise).
Anyways, Saturday we will be back at our Alma Mater for a night of great music at Fredonia State University's Fall concert!! We will be playing with Alberta Cross, and the show is $2 for students, $5 for the general public, and starts at 7pm.
BUT WAIT! You can buy tickets here for the show!... could it get any easier?!
For those of you not knowing where Fredonia is... basically it's exit 59 off of the NYS Thruway (you can find it from there...trust me on that one). It's about 45 minutes west of Buffalo, 45 minutes north of Erie, PA, and about an hour and a half from Toronto, Rochester, and 2.5 hrs from Syracuse.
Hope to see you guys out there, it's going to be a great show!
-Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
11-06-2009 07:09 AM EST
10-23-2009:
Back home! And a small request
Hey everyone!
I just thought I would post a quick update to let you all know that we made it home safely and arrived at the Syracuse airport around 11 last night. And let me tell you, my bed has never been comfier (and I definitely slept in until around 2pm). Here's to trying to beat jetlag...
This tour has been one of the most life-changing and amazing experiences we have all ever had, and it's because of each and every one of you that we met out there. You are all truly incredible individuals, and we thank you on the small scale of taking the time out of your day to show us what you do, show us around, come to the show and talk with us, and on a large scale for being the ones to keep us all safe every day. You are the bravest, strongest, and most kick-ass people we have had the pleasure of knowing, and we hope to stay in touch with you and see you stateside at a show when you return.
On a different note, I do have a small request for anyone who could spare a few extra minutes on our behalf. The company that sends us out, Armed Forces Entertainment, has trusted us with 3 tours including this one, and we would truly love to do more with them. As I'm sure many of you realized at our shows, we absolutely love what we do, and even more than that, we love playing for the troops. On their site there is a section where you can write testimonials, explaining and writing about your experience with us, how the show went, etc, and if any of you could write a little blurb for us we would really, really appreciate it. These testimonials not only tell anyone who looks at the site your experience, but helps us out so that we may continue working with AFE and will hopefully be able to do more of these shows and see you around again real soon. If you need any help you can look at the site and see some examples of previously written testimonials from their other entertainment tours. The link is right here-- thanks again for an incredible 25 days guys. YOU are the ones that rock.
Please keep checking back here, on Sunday we're all getting together and exchanging photos so I'll have tons of pictures to post very soon! And Kuwait/Bahrain, I haven't forgotten about you! A blog will be written very soon I promise!
Goodnight!
-Kayleigh
Posted by Kayleigh
10-23-2009 11:20 PM EDT
10-20-2009:
URGENT TOUR UPDATE
Hey guys!
I just wanted to update you all on a pressing matter for the future of our tour. It appears to all of us and everyone in charge of making this tour happen that we will be unable to make it out to Saudi Arabia for the remaining days and performance we had scheduled. Due to some issues out of our control, we were not able to leave Qatar in time to catch our flight out, and it seems that the next available flight won't be for several days thus disrupting the scheduling.
We truly apologize to all of you stationed out there, and really do hope we can perform for you at another time. To everyone who we have met out here, it has been our absolute honor to play for you; please keep in touch.
More details to follow soon; again we really do apologize and wish circumstances would have allowed us to perform for you.
Posted by Kayleigh
10-20-2009 12:22 PM EDT
10-18-2009:
Skipping to Qatar!
Alright, so I know I
Posted by Kayleigh
10-18-2009 11:33 AM EDT
10-16-2009:
Tour through day 13! Photos soon!!
As expected, internet has been kind of intermittent throughout the tour so I'm probably going to have to update things a chunk at a time. I've been logging everything into a little notebook every evening so that I don't forget exactly what's been going on, and as I look back I'm finding that it's been a very good idea. So anyways, here you go:
Day 8 (Monday)- Djibouti
We got up at 6am to grab an early breakfast, and managed to catch the end of the
Vikings/Green Bay game (nothing like Monday night football on a Tuesday morning -- Go Vikings!!) and then met up with the people from the weapons and ammo department of the base at a shooting range in the middle of nowhere. There were 6 targets set up and surrounded by sand dunes, and with the assistance of someone for each of us, we were taught how to load, aim, and shoot both M-16s and 9mms. We each had our turn at a target and shot laying down on our stomachs and standing straight up. It was seriously an experience I never thought I would ever be able to do, and they let us keep the targets (I'm much better at the M-16 than the 9mm, but not really too great with either. I got one lucky shot dead center, way stoked on that). The people who work with the weapons are seriously incredible individuals, and the woman in charge could quite possibly be the strongest and most fierce and badass woman I have ever met.
From there we went to the flightline but found out our helicopter ride was canceled (bummed but understand-- we still got to watch it takeoff and tour another aircraft). Then we did some laundry (such and understated chore out here), got some food, and grabbed some internet for a bit before loading up and heading to the airport.
We sat on the bus for about 20 minutes before being told that our flight had been delayed from a 5pm departure to a 10pm departure (not good considering our connecting flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Bahrain left at 10pm), so we had to weigh some options. We waited on the bus for at least 4 hours, and after making a few phone calls to explore some possibilities, we decided upon taking the Ethiopian flight and being at the mercy of the airline to put us up to stay the night and catch the next flight to Bahrain (which was 24 hours later). Someone from the base agreed to go with us, too, to ensure that everything went well. Unfortunately that meant that we had to miss our first show, but luckily we were supposed to play that base twice so we're happy we still get to play there.
So now, fast-forward to landing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The airline set us up with a 4-star hotel, and we took the shuttle there shortly after landing. They managed to get all our musical equipment stored inside security so all we had to be responsible for was our personal luggage, which was a nice change. Upon landing at the MN international hotel, however, everything changed. We got our room assignments and headed up to our respective rooms. From there, we discovered a whole lot of creepy crawlies, dirty sheets, some sharpie artwork on end tables, even an electric plug to the hot water heater...in the shower. We all ended up back in the lobby with the same sentiment, and so Jess and the wonderful rep from the Djibouti base (Gizera is her name, but I don't know how to spell it! Either way she was a lifesaver!) tried to get ourselves a different hotel. However, it certainly didn't stop there. The staff were very rude, not refunding the rep's money (she paid in cash), and while they were calling up hotels from the front desk they were speaking another language and apparently lying to whomever they were speaking to, because the rep called them out on it and was getting quite upset. THEN a whole group of rowdy men with, like, 12 'ladies of the night,' came in and got into a rager with the other desk attendant. Meanwhile, the rest of us are all sitting in the lobby at 2:30am, freaking out inside. I personally thought we were going to shortly be witnesses to something ugly.
Ten minutes later I believe we gave up the fight to get a refund and the Hilton picked us up. As Aaron now says, "Every time I see a Hilton an angel gets their wings." It was wonderfulllll. And so we ordered some room service, took warm showers, and slept until 2pm the following day. And such ends one of the worst days in travel history. And don't really get me started on the flights to and from Ethiopia. I'm over it.
Day 9 (Tuesday) - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
We slept until 2pm and then went and ate at the hotel restaurant. It's always odd dealing with foreign currency that seems so much higher than the dollar. For example, my lunch cost 136 Bir. Sounds like a lot, right? Nope, roughly 11 bucks. Kind of rules except for the fact that I don't have a calculator on me since my phone doesn't work. After that we pretty much just hung out and then grabbed some more food before leaving for the airport at 7pm. Everything from there went pretty well (minus the accidental non-stamp from customs the first time through), and then we were off to Bahrain at 10pm.
Day 10 (Wednesday) - Ethiopia and Bahrain
Contrary to what one might think, itineraries on this tour have been anything but reliable. The one lesson we've learned thusfar is to pretty much not expect anything. That or expect absolutely everything. Neither one is really great though in terms of planning. Our itinerary told us we would be arriving in Bahrain at 3:30am, so expect our surprise when we landed 2 hours earlier. Our POC obviously wasn't there yet, and the police and customs were pretty less than thrilled at 8 people with 45 pieces of excess baggage just kind of lingering. Finally we had our rep come to the airport, and we loaded up all of our things and went straight to a military airport. We had on our itinerary that we
Posted by Kayleigh
10-16-2009 03:41 AM EDT
10-11-2009:
Video #1!
So as you guys can tell, internet is a little hard to come by out here, but Kaleena is working as fast as she can sorting through all our video and photo footage, but here is our first video of before we left. Expect another soon!!
