Well, I think I can say without hesitation that 2007 was the best year so far for Morningbell.  Let’s review some highlights.

1. Jake on drums! 
We welcomed long time gainesville drumming ace, Jake McMullen on the skins.  Jakes presence made the live performances pack an extra wallop, and made everyday band life even more fun. 

2. Maintaining strongholds and opening new doors on the road. 
Our grip on Tampa tightened with continued support by the Bay Area press, radio, and even Television.  Also, we cracked into Lakeland’s small, albeit strong music scene. 

3. Morningbell’s Arena Tour!
We got to realize a dream that most band don’t ever get: Playing in an arena!  We played the Stephen C O’Connell Center to about 1500 people.  We had a backstage room, ate the catered backstage dinner, and walked onto the stage after the house lights went down with the crowd screaming!  It was only 30 minutes, but it was an amazing 30 minutes

4. Through the Belly of the Sea Release
Another capacity crowd at the Atlantic, this time, a line stretched out the door to the end of the block ALL NIGHT!  We played the album in its entirety and had an all out good time.

5. “Belly” press campaign!  Through our press campaign efforts, we were featured in Pitchfork media, The Onion, The Washington Post, The St. Pete Times, Allmusic.com, Southeast Performer, and many more.  One of our songs even appeared on the Real World. 

6. Reax magazine named us Best Under the Radar Act (as voted on by the readers).

7. Julie Garisto, the Tampa Bay Times entertainment editor named us her Favorite Regional/Local Show.

8. The Speed of God was one of 4 finalists in the VH1 song of the year contest. 

9. The Flaming Lips top friends?! 
Morningbell cracked into the Flaming Lips’ top friends on Myspace after Eric and Travis met Wayne after dancing on stage with the Lips. 

(edit): FMF 2007
We were a featured artist for the 2007 Florida Music Fest in Orlando. We even got to play right before the guy in Dishwalla. I know, we couldn’t believe he was still around either.
10. Eastern US Tour 1
Morningbell heads out on a 15 day, 11 show tour of the eastern us.  Cities included were Athens, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Charlottesville, Norfolk, DC, New York, Philadelphia, Arlington, Atlanta, and Gainesville.  The welcome home show at the Common Grounds was huge, as the summertime crowd exceeded expectations and as it was our last show with Jake.

11.  Evan 2 on drums!
During our summer shows, we had the good fortune of playing with Evan Garfield of Umoja Orchestra.  We opened for Starlight Mints and played a huge back to school show!

12. The Back to School show!
Having sold out last years Back to School show, we knew this year had to be even bigger somehow.  With a little help, we managed to set up a show at the Reitz Union Amphitheater.  There was a strong forecast of rain for the night, but not a drop fell.  The seats were packed to capacity (perhaps 500 people?) and the show started off with a bang.  And then, the power went out.  Twice.  The first time was only for a few seconds, but the second time was for 12 minutes!  Our amps still worked, so we treated the audience to a sing-a-long version of “With a little help from my friends.”  An amazing show alltogether.

13. Chris on drums!!
After a long summer of uncertainty, we managed to snag Chris Hillman, formerly of Alphabet City fame.  Chris was an instant fit with both his drumming style and personality.  We threw him right into the fire and made him share a bed with Travis on the road after only one show together.  He made a great addition to the band, especially while on the road. 

14. Weekend in Tampa
USF paid us a bunch to play at a tailgate for their first home football game.  Then, the next night, we headlined at New World Brewery to a HUGE crowd. 

15. Tour 2
We followed up Junes tour with a week long, 5 show tour that took us to DC, New York, Philly, Raleigh, and Gainesville.  Alghough we covered the same ground in half the time, we had alot more time to hang out with friends this time around.  Spending sunday in Brooklyn/Manhattan with the Oh No guys was amazing, and hanging out in Doylestown with the Associates was almost like being in a movie (such a charming town).  Our Onion writeup came out the day we were in DC.  Oh yeah, and Travis managed to get some A&R reps from TVT records to come to the NYC show.  Not bad at all.  Raleigh also rocked, as we expanded upon our fanbase up there.

16.   The October show.
Another local headlining spot (which have gotten more common these days).  There was a 100% chance of rain tonight.  It didn’t rain a drop.  Things are looking good for the bell.

(edit): The Fest
Not only did we return to The Fest, but we headlined the final night at the particular showcase we were on. As usual, it was near halloween, so we dressed like Prince and the Revolution. Awesome
17. The Appleton
We performed all 3 of our albums in their entirety at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala Florida.  Talk about preparation.  A great deal of work went into making this show just right.  With maybe one exception, each song was performed perfectly.

18. End of the year show at Common Grounds
Having assembled a lineup that was planned to sell the place out, we came ever so close to CG’s capacity at about 350 heads.  A great night for all. 

These are just the things that popped readily into my head.  Feel free to share thigns that I may have forgotten.

Many many many thanks to everyone who helped make this such an amazing year.  We truly love having your as our supporters and hope to continue to entertain you in the year to come.

Happy New Year!

Currently listening : Déjà Vu By Crosby Stills Nash & Young Release date: 06 September, 1994

read this review of some of travis’ earliest public work.

Currently listening : Mermaid Avenue By Billy Bragg & Wilco Release date: 23 June, 1998

here is an email conversation between me and my friend Steve from today:

Steve: If the typhoon doesn’t hit Tome Village in Karate Kid 2 and Sato and Miyagi had their scheduled death match, who would have won?  I’m thinking Sato fueled by 40 years of rage.

the mental aspect, which is key.

Currently listening : Clouds Taste Metallic By The Flaming Lips Release date: 19 September, 1995

(Eric: I swear, you give the guy an inch…)

Chris:
“This is Chris again, with another Morningbell blog. I’m sure this is quite common among you fans out there, but last night I had a dream about Morningbell. I dreamed that I was at the Morningbell house while they were recording their next album. Travis was cutting some acoustic guitar tracks in the back room, and he sat on the floor with his guitar and a microphone in front of him. Then Eric dragged out a toy chest and placed it near Travis and carefully rigged up a microphone on it too. I asked why he was miking the toys and he told me they’re good for an ambient mic. Then Travis gave me a knowing grin and said, ‘That’s how we get the Morningbell sound.’

It was a funny visual in my dream so I’ve sketched out what it looked like as best I could in this crude drawing:”

Currently listening : Born in the U.S.A. By Bruce Springsteen Release date: 25 October, 1990

Hi everyone, this is NOT Eric but Chris, the new(est) Morningbell drummer. I asked the band if I could write a blog about the John Lennon Tribute show we played at the 2nd St. Bakery last Saturday.

The reason I wanted to write it (other than the fact that Eric hadn’t already written one within five minutes of getting home) is because this show was pretty damn special to me. Like many of you, I grew up listening (somewhat anachronistically) to the Beatles and I have always, ALWAYS wanted to play some live Beatles songs, but somehow none of the musicians I’ve worked with in the past were not too keen on the idea. So I put it on the back burner for a while.

Then I went to every Shitty Beatles show when Jake was on drums and it was a hell of an experience, to say the least. I used to bug Eric about joining the Shitty Beatles way before me joining Morningbell was a thought in anyone’s head. I was sad when they retired the project, and obviously when I heard about the John Lennon tribute show, I was really excited. Rehearsing the songs with Travis and Collin and Eric was like finally being deemed responsible enough to take your dad’s pride and joy ‘55 Chevy for a spin after years of listening to it rumbling in the garage.

On Saturday, the conditions were perfect: beautiful weather, a palpable electricity in the audience, and a sense of community that is often lacking in “scene” shows. The audience was there for the love of the music, and so was I.

I never get nervous before playing, but I did a little at this show. I don’t think it was stage fright though, I believe it was unchanneled excitement, and by the time we had started, I was entirely caught up in the moment, which doesn’t always happen.

So I achieved a long-time musical goal of mine this weekend. As you can tell, that show meant a lot to me, as I’m sure it meant a lot to others there too. I want to thank Morningbell and Collin and everyone else who played and especially everyone who came to listen. It was an unforgettable experience for me, and I hope everyone there walked away with a reminder of so much great music from long ago.

Currently listening : Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon By John Lennon Release date: 24 February, 1998

I really like Golden Grahams.  They are delicious and slightly nutritious. 

However, Golden Grahams turn into Golden Paste upon contact with milk.  Seriously, once you pour the milk on, you have approximately 15-24 seconds to eat the entire bowl while it stays crunchy. 

I have devised the following strategy:

1. Pour the milk into the bowl from one of the sides, not from directly atop the center of the cereal.  This keeps the top 3/5ths of the cereal dry until you eat away the foundation beneath it.

2. Eat from the sides and sort of the bottom.  As with the last step, this keeps the top part dry as long as possible.  You eat the milked up part, and as it is removed, the dryer parts gradually descend into the milk.

3. Eat really really fast. 

4. Accept that the last 1/5 of the bowl will be sludge.  

and there you have it.  Golden Grahams the Morningbell way.