All good things must...

The rumors have been spreading, and it's time that we lay the whispers to rest.
On May 13th at One Eyed Jack's, the four of us will be playing our last show together as Smiley with a Knife.

Enjoy this ridiculous flyer that Credible made for the occassion:



That's right, our final show will be with the Blackbelt Band and A Living Soundtrack.
We call that the OG lineup.

We won't be adding any additional shows to our schedule between then and now.

Before this final performance, we will be releasing two new recordings:
"The Real Party is On the Balcony" and "Aluminum Cannon"

Rest assured, there is no malignant source for this parting of ways.
The four of us are best friends, brothers, and fellow adventurers. Nothing about this has changed.
We've experienced the hippest establishments from Austin to Brooklyn and the coolest of hidden towns between. Your local beer has been great, your PBR, High Life, and Red Bull has been free, your gas has been expensive, and your couches have been reasonably comfortable. For those of you in the Gulf Coast region and various other facets of the deep South, you surely have not heard the last of our individual members. We'll meet again soon enough under the guise of (a) different band name(s).

Stay in touch with us. We aren't dying; we're just changing.

Pat will continue making music under his solo name LoOmis. You can find him on twitter @LoOmismusic

Jared will continue managing the Music Shed recording studio. The studio's twitter handle is @musicshed. You can also reach him there at jared@musicshed.net.
He will be playing (pretty much) every Sunday night with a band called Little Maker at Saturn Bar.

Justin and Volpi will each continue playing in some capacity. When their new projects get off the ground, we will be making blog posts and emails about these projects.

Jan 14th @ OEJ

We're having a supreme dork contest to go along with this show:

The first person to correctly guess the combined total number of pedals that our two guitarists have on their current show rigs will get a video flyer for this show made in his or her honor. If you correctly guess the number of pedals and can name two of the three pedals that both pedal rigs contain, we will give you a guest list with a +1 spot as well.

Cliff Hines has already named all three shared pedals.

What are you going to do to stop him?

If you have any ideas on the sum total and/or what pedals are duplicates, his us up on twitter (@smileywithaknif) or on facebook on the SWAK fan page.

We'll see you all on the 14th.

One week from today!

This Tera Melos show at the Big Top is a week away.
How are your car pools coming together?

If you need help, let us know.

And hey, you, New Orleans kids!
You should still carpool to the show even if you're from here and you own a car. It's not as bad for the environment and it'll save you some gas money. It's a good habit to have no matter what the occasion.

Also, New Orleans kids - these people who are coming in from out of town might need places to stay. Please contact us - smileywithaknife@gmail.com - to let us know if you've got a couch or an extra bed that a few people can crash on.

And now a few reminders of what exactly it is that we're dealing with here. Tera Melos videos:

Frozen Zoo (Official): http://www.facebook.com/l/9bdb2WuNBsmp0ick86LNHmEeVkw;vimeo.com/14785962

Skin Surf (Official): http://www.facebook.com/l/9bdb20GIYE7GX85gVna4yehDdAw;vimeo.com/13769362

Live from Tokyo: http://www.facebook.com/l/9bdb2F7uHXDWVskhYThU_f41TAg;www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWwjbLaaHt4

Tour Promo (Last Smile for Jaron): http://www.facebook.com/l/9bdb2x51unVcRvoODQ9JLpTOVjQ;www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQZYmm10wiU

And if you've got 13 minutes to spare and you don't mind watching some of the WEIRDEST antics you've ever seen, look up their "Misadventures" interview. Warning: it's pretty gross at some points.

Carpool to Tera Melos, Grab our Record, and play Call of Duty

You guys gettin' pumped up? We're opening for Tera Melos soon!
Make the trek! The journey! The voyage! Whatever the f*#k you want to call it!
Weeeeeeeee're CAR-POOOOOOOOOOOOLING!



Here's the deal, holmes:
Are you from Lafayette, LA? Baton Rouge, LA? Anywhere south of the halfway-north point in Mississippi? The North Shore? Meh, f*#k it, are you from Canada and want an excuse to come to New Orleans?
Wherever you're from, find a friend or 4 and come in to NOLA to see Japan's favorite American experimental noise-pop synth-laden prog rock miracle Tera Melos.

We're opening for them at the Big Top at 1638 Clio St.

If you're having trouble finding a ride, email us! Smileywithaknife@gmail.com
If you have a car and you're thinking to yourself, "shit, man. I'd love to make that drive but I gotta think about gas money and I won't really know anybody there if I drive by myself," then you know what you should do? EMAIL US! Smileywithaknife@gmail.com

If you send us an email stating where you're from and whether you need a ride or need a passenger, we'll help get you guys set up to trade information.

Need a place to crash?
From New Orleans and got a place for somebody to crash?
Same story - email us! Smileywithaknife@gmail.com

Here's the legal fine print on this whole deal:
doors at the show open at 7p
show starts at 8p SHARP. Cover is $7.
we're setting this carpool thing up as an exchange of information - we're not to be held liable for irresponsible, negligent, or rash behavior or any incidents that may happen. this is why we ask that if you would like us to set you up with a ride or a passenger to do so as soon as possible so that you can make sure the other people in the car with you aren't "Tom Arnold"-like.

Okay, moving on...

Do you have our new record yet?
Yes?! That's awesome. Tell us how you like it.
No? You don't have our new record yet? Well, let's fix that.
Here's the scoop: it's available on iTunes, Amazon, and BandCamp.
Those are all places where you can pay for it. Paying for it would be awesome, and we'd like you to do that. But ya know what? We know that's not how the world really works these days.

Soooooooooo...
If you email us - smileywithaknife@gmail.com - and you tell us, straight up, "look here, you schmucks. i like your band, and i want your new record so i can listening to it in my car and on my ipod and on my iphone and shit but I DON'T WANNA PAY YOU A-HOLES FOR IT!" then guess what... We won't blame you. Asking people to pay for music is like asking people to pay for those last three kittens in the litter that you couldn't get rid of right away. Music and kittens are both easily accessible, not entirely necessary, overly abundant, and free to a good home where appreciated and paid attention to. Just email us, tell us you want the record and tell us where you're from, and we'll hook you up with it - provided you don't mind us emailing you again later when we've got a show in your area.



Of course, you could just copy/steal it from a friend. We know this. We encourage this.
But please please please don't be afraid of asking us for it. We already know that if you want it, you're going to get it somehow. All we ask, then, is that you put in the extra effort to get it straight from us so we can keep track of how many downloads we have, we know where you're all from, and we can get in touch with you if we wind up in your neighborhood. Also, if you get it straight from us, we can make sure that you get everything with the proper titles and artwork and such.



And now on to our final subject matter: Video Games

This isn't really all that super important. But hey, we know you guys, and we know you a-holes like to play video games. Let's get real. You listen to us, you get hyped up on coffee or chilled out on a 40 of OE, you have a roommate or two that you fight over the dishes with, you have a dog, and you play either Halo or Call of Duty.



Am I right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm right. Know how I know I'm right?
We saw you the other night outside of Game Stop while we were all waiting in line for Halo:Reach. We heard you talking about how long the line at Toys R Us was and how you had a buddy with a hookup over at Game Stop, anyway, so you drove over 15 minutes before they opened the doors and just cut the line. We know what's up, man. It's cool. You don't have to make any excuses with us. We're all on the same page.

So here's the deal, now: Volpi reads philosophy books, Jared reads drum blogs and practices by himself, and the two of them watch the Daily Show a lot. They're losers.
Pat and Justin, though, they're cool like the rest of you guys.
Hit Pat up on Call of Duty: Throwback504
Here's Justin on Call of Duty: Pennyman504

Shoot us, yell at us. Whatever it takes.

Long Now is out now! Go get it!

Folks,

After much hard work and deliberation, our second record is now available for your listening pleasure.
You can download it at www.smileywithaknife.bandcamp.com or buy physical copies at www.smileywithaknife.bigcartel.com
Listen to the full record before you buy at bandcamp, soundcloud, or myspace.

Here's why you should buy it and why we don't mind if you steal it or share it:
This record is a true summation of our personalities and a testament to our perseverance as a band.
Long Now is the result of nearly 2 years' hard work: countless hours writing and rehearsing, 100+ youtube videos, a week of recording bed tracks, a month (compiled) of overdubs and mixing, and countless miles and hours driving and gigging.
We've put a lot of hard work into this record. We want you to have it, we want you to enjoy it, and we want you to share it.

The making of this record submerged us into the family of the Music Shed recording studio more and more by the minute with every engineer on staff having touched, shaped, and molded some aspect of the record in some way. Most crucial to the project was Billy Moesta who adopted this record as his own and pushed it to the next level every step of the way.



Throughout the process of making this record, we did an extensive amount of traveling and even moved into the same house together - bringing us closer to the new friends that we've met on the road and sometimes to the brink of killing each other in brotherly ways. The result is a cohesive collection, a family of songs that we hope you'll find speaks for itself and gives you a great deal of insight into our lives and minds. Where our previous record How a Reign Comes to an End was the product of four individuals finding their foothold as a band, Long Now is a family of songs molded by a family of people with a unified vision and sound. Hear each of our personalities poke through: the sly slides of Pat's tap-and-go guitar technique, the boisterous and pronounced operatic belting that sings from Justin's guitar, the whimsical yet iron-forged and anchored basslines that Volpi glues together with Jared's dynamic and seemingly melodic drumming style (somebody else wrote that about me, I swear).

Let this recording serve as a welcome to our family and as a reminder that sometimes the most profound things can be communicated without words - pride and joy, love and anger. And if you've befriended us at gigs, in person, and through our online videos along the way,let us remind you through this recording that even the least profound things in life are also communicated without any words - the cracking open of a beer, a belch, a fart, and the laughter that results. Please do yourselves a favor - buy this record (or steal it from someone who did buy it) and let it serve as the soundtrack to both the profound moments and the not-so-profound moments.

Long Now will be up on iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody soon so you'll be able to buy it there as well. Keep and eye out for that. If you seriously can't afford to purchase this record or you're on the fence for some reason, send us an email at smileywithaknife@gmail.com and let us know. We'll send you a copy of it, artwork included. We really want you to have it, and we really want you to share it.

--
Jared, Drummer
-- Smiley with a Knife
NOLA Instrumental Indie Rock
@smileywithaknif
http://www.smileywithaknife.com
http://www.youtube.com/smileywithaknife
http://www.facebook.com/smileywithaknife

Long Now promo video

Our loveably hated little dog Smokey has a run in with a Dole Banana in this first of a handful of promotional videos for our new record coming out next month Long Now.

Deal with it. Er, we mean... pass it along.

Long Now

Smiley with a Knife is bracing for the release of their second album, Long Now, due out August 17, 2010. Long Now may not be a bubblegum chew of a listen, but perhaps you’ll tap your toes, clap your hands, bob and sometimes bang your head, dance with your broom, or your lover if you’re so fortunate, or simply lay on your bed and say “Ahhh…”

What Long Now has in store for fans and newcomers is smoky steam ceilings, sucker punches, wild bull rides, cyclonic summersets, and moments for breath catching, screams, and whispers. Forget the monochromatic gray blob that casual listeners hear pushed from post-rock's loins. Toss the calculator required to decode the algebraic hieroglyphics of prog-rock's textbooks. Don’t look for the conventional Explosions in the Sky or Don Caballero -isms here. Smiley is not about twisting listeners’ ears into Eagle Scout caliber knots only to serve you more of the same. There is something for everybody in Smiley with a Knife's Long Now - even for those who may not fancy themselves contemporary instrumental rock enthusiasts.

Since their first release in 2008, How A Reign Comes To An End, New Orleans’ instrumental rockers Smiley With A Knife have diligently defined the teeth of their knife blade – their sound.  Smiley’s Reign combined the hook-soaked cascades of Justin Vicknair’s sonorous guitar, the serpentine electricity of Patrick Bailey’s tap-guitar, the bubbly loping of Michael Volpi’s bass glides, and the sly, classy hits and shimmers of Jared Marcell’s drumming. Throughout the album’s ten tracks, they balanced the light with the dark, the limpid with the muddy and the airy with the stormy. The pieces were there; noise was hammered into a characteristic sound quality.

With progress comes the process of refining, sharpening, and cutting away. Serrations can dull after many cuts, slices and chops: the once pronounced grooves can wear down to blunted teeth.  A knife bites most strongly when it has been meticulously preened.  With a sleek body and fine point – serrations carefully sharpened – a knife has the potential to gnash through bone.

Long Now is the trumpeting of an emerging voice honoring the influence of other like-genre bands while asserting the resolute musical self-realization of four individuals who are carving a meal at the family table.  Smiley with a Knife clearly displays a knack for whimsical charm and a penchant for winsome playfulness.  But lurking underneath the lightness and the effervescence is a striking seriousness. No; the serrated teeth have not weathered.  The Knife has been remolded at the smithy. Whereas Reign was a collection of confidently composed songs, Long Now is a family.  Smiley’s new eight song recording represents an assiduous progression from four eager experimentalists to four more mature, musical minded players.  Simply put, Smiley with a Knife’s Long Now has one primary intention: listener, we want your sisterhood, your brotherhood; come with us; welcome to our family.  

Smiley with a Knife's Long Now will be available for download from iTunes and BandCamp on August 17th.
To contact Smiley With a Knife email Patrick at smileywithaknife@gmail.com



Artist: Smiley With a Knife
Album: Long Now

Label: Self-Released

Release Date: August 17, 2010

1.Long Now
2.Egyptian Porridge
3.Either Oranges or Ether
4.Avoid The Noid
5.Randy Newman Says Quack
6.Cosmonauts Are Not So Cosby Nazi
7.Sexy Butcher
8.Bewilderbeast


Recorded at The Music Shed New Orleans
Produced by Chris Finney, William Moesta & Smiley With a Knife


Summer Tour Dates

7.23 New Orleans, LA @ Dragon's Den ^
7.24 Mobile, AL @ The Blind Mule
7.25 Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton Collective
7.26 St. Louis, MO @ Mangia Italiano
7.27 Chicago, IL @ Ronny's
7.28 Madison, WI @ The Frequency
7.30 Huntington, WV @ V Club **
7.31 Brooklyn, NY @ Party Expo

8.1 Brooklyn, NY @ The Knitting Factory
8.4 Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
8.5 Atlanta, GA @ WonderRoot
8.6 Birmingham, AL @ The Firehouse
8.7 Gulfport, MS @ The Salty Dog
8.13 Shreveport, LA @ The Warehouse
8.17 Hattiesburg, MS @ 1126 House #
8.18 Baton Rouge, LA @ HTGT Thrift #
8.20 Lafayette, LA @ Sadies **
8.21 New Orleans, LA @ The Den (Howlin Wolf) **



^ = with The Other Planets
# = with Native & Former Thieves
** = with Six Gallery

Smiley With a Knife – Record Release Show
Saturday August 21, 2010
Live In The Den @ The Howlin Wolf
w/ special guests
Man At Home, Six Gallery & Twin Killers
9pm $6

For more info visit:
Smileywithaknife.com
Myspace.com/smileywithaknife
Twitter.com/smileywithaknif

Contact: smileywithaknife@gmail.com

Wrapped up and into Mixing!

Shirts by Credible

SWAK heads,

Our good friend Credible design the following shirts for us:


So if you head on over to http://www.smileywithaknife.bigcartel.com/ you can make a purchase on those beautiful shirts and get a mix tape from pat-rick.

- JMM

Touring this Summer

Hey SWAK Heads,

Its been a quiet month of April for us. We are getting ready to be busy again. Next week we are putting the final touches on our record and then it will be mixed and mastered throughout the rest of spring. Expect to hear music shortly, but until then we are currently planning a summer tour. We actually get a chance to travel for more than a few days and are very excited for a chance to play for new people. Below are the list of days and what area of the states we'll be in. If anyone out there can help set something up, recommend a band or venue or anything, that would be awesome and tons of good karma will come your way. We have a few shows confirmed and some in the works, but still contact us if you can help.
Just hit us on myspace or email us at smileywithaknife@gmail.com
we are also on twitter @smileywithaknif and facebook.

Thanks

-SWAK



Fri. July 23rd - New Orleans

Sat. July 24 - Mobile, AL

Sun. July 25 - Memphis/Nashville, TN

Mon. July 26 - St. Louis, MO

Tues. July 27 - Chicago, IL

Wed. July 28 - Kalamazoo, MI

Thurs. July 29 - Ohio

Fri. July 30 - Pittsburgh

Sat. July 31 - Philadelphia

Sun. Aug 1 - Baltimore

Mon. Aug 2 - DC/VA/DE/WV

Tues. Aug 3 - North Carolina

Wed. Aug 4 - Athens, GA

Thurs. Aug 5 - Atlanta

Fri. Aug 6 - Birmingham, AL

Sat. Aug 7 - Hattiesburg, MS



p.s. we ordered some new shirts and they will be available at shows or our new webstore http://www.smileywithaknife.bigcartel.com
check the new design by Credible

60 Sec Videos are still coming at youtube.com/smileywithaknife

and we recommend checking out Circa Survive and The Redneck Manifesto's new records. They are awesome.