THEMES

2009 FALL. Day 6 . Denver, CO

LABOR DAY 2009

Denver Colorado is really high up in the air. I remember that from as far back as 4 years old….I lived in boulder…the pet crow lived in the garage…i found tarantulas in the sandbox…they made my sister cry hard…it’s hot here today in denver, on labor day…although it’s a holiday it seems that people are still working very very hard…. to have fun that is…with rows of strong drink. after drink. after drink.

the past week has been quite fast paced. so full of nature.

we’ve managed to travel swiftly from spokane to missoula, to bozeman having a wondeful time with our friends old and new….we say now thank you all. the future is always so much more exciting as we drive away from one another….. on through the great yellowstone wilderness weaving around the parading american dream of recreation. colors fly by and we drive fast to stop for things most others wouldn’t. nodding to the buffalo heards. enjoying solitary beauty, while the parades flock and circle like a circle of buzzards on the fresh kill of sulphur, or cliff. we’re out here because of the beauty in the expanse and look forward to the end of a long weekend, when we can enjoy our own pace the in between places no one else ever has time for any more. from this point we point ourselves in the the jagged nest of the rockies, as she curls on herself under shade of cloud, like a timber rattle snake bideing by her energies…in 3 days her great rattle of a tail will flick with a thunder and let us off down the mountains through trinidad, and into the open arms of santa fe again… for now. we celebrate our labors by tipping a glass upside down and to the skies, to make the sunset fit on a postcard.

2009 FALL . Day 1. Seattle, WA

ahhh yes. the lovely coastal ridge of seattle. day one of this journey begins here, waking up at our friends Cory and Ann’s place after an evening of catching up, and a lovely dinner, we rest, and we rise. we make art, over coffee discussing the future, then make our way to the waterfront markets in search of our fortune. an afternoon of trinkets and splendor land us at the home of our friends Erin and Alex where we listen to their bands AMAZING new record it the groups company. a privilege, considering they are not only, our favorite band , But also some of our best friends in the world. after words it was a dinner of thai food, and a show at the sunset tavern. nice place great people! my great old school friend James Apollo and his 5 piece band opened the evening, and blew me away with their new record….also an honor. after that, we played some new songs. with the room so full of our good brothers and sisters from the olden days its hard not to break a guitar ( or is it…? thanks a bunch gretsch! really!? ) Cannon Canyon closed the evening . with their epic anthems and tumbleweed numbers….it was amazing and it makes me feel like a man from the black and white future. future nostalgia. we had some killer margaritas with coop and justine from the Cannon Canyon and woke James Apollo up at about 3 :45 am, with a gentle rainstorm. he invited us into his lovely new home, to lay our heads on the hearth of his fireplace next to his giant pet spider named “Portugal” . day 2 we rise and discuss our futures with James before bidding adue. we’ll see each other after he returns from yat another UK tour.
In south west seattle there’s a resterant by the name of Hudson, where we meet our good friend Jake for a damn fine lunch. he had a patty melt. I had a pulled sandwhich, aand kelsey enjoyed the turkey sandwhich from the turkish sailor. After discussing DNA research over coffee we head back out on the road.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH.

you make our hearts pound with the rythm of love, and our souls echo off the pinnacle of life!

now. we near spokane at great speeds. stay tunned. (seattle pictures coming soon .)

2009 FALL. TOUR. LIFE.

It’s that time again. the time of year when the sun’s heat begins to wain, the crops ready themselves for the harvest and we grease our wheels. we can smell autumn blowing in from the coast carrying faint memories of rows of corn and apple orchards. memories of the last lonely trout in the rocky mountain stream, tinged with the smell woodsmoke in wool. It’s that time of year again. the time of year when the shoulder’s of children slowly slump forward in anticipation of another school year’s beginning, while pumpkins slowly start to line the porches of rural homes. It’s that time of year again. the time when we can’t stop pacing, as horses in pens, wanting to run free through the boundless open expanse that is the in between places.

that’s just what we’re going to do.

-jacy

( 08-22-09 Portland, OR )

2008 WINTER. YEAR END

Fewer and further between, fall the stokes of the key, for the motion is constant, yet much has happened in 2008 for this project that is called THEMES, as move forever forward, with new ideas and visions for what to make of our lives. Much clarity comes from all the hard work, and from the travel, under whatever circumstances, we cannot help but grow more excited each day, as to the possibilities another year has to offer us.

A tip of the hat is long overdue, to those fellow musicians, and artists who have helped us to move forward and grow through this past year. It’s been an honor and a valuable learning experience working with all of you, from the basements to the mountains, from the recording studios, to the theater stages, you all know who you are, and we Thank you all very much.

A tip of the hat is also due to you family members, as well as our friends and fans, new and old. you have all been so very supportive, it has made life more enjoyable. It has been a wonderful time getting to know you all better. It’s great people are writing to us! we enjoy that too. all of it.

Your responses and letters have been in such great numbers, in fact, they’ve been somewhat hard to keep up with….however…..”much love finds a modest many”….We will do our best to archive thepast several months, as we will keep in touch and keep you updated on into these unexplored territories of a kingdom we call “Two Thousand Nine.”

Onward, to great adventures my friends, as we put another number behind us, our goals and aspirations shine like stars in the sky, to light our way.

more to come, in the kingdom of two thousand and nine…..

-Jacy McIntosh / Kelsey Crawford ( THEMES )

2008 FALL. ALL HALLOWS EVE

The leaves are down here for the most part, save for the remaining stragglers, clinging onto their branches for dear life, prolonging their inevitable return to the soil, as all things must. As the nearby trains rattle the the windows in their tired frames, i stare out of them, off down pine street and up to the mountains, as they try to hide behind an erie layer of autumn fog.

This is my fifth time here in Missoula since spring and there are certain homelike qualities about this chair, this room, the front porch, the town. I find myself back here at the end of a long and eventful journey, and at the beginning of yet another chapter of this seemingly far-fetched life. It seems only fitting that this day be a marker for this journey, because being homeless, and relocating to a new city while on a U.S. tour, at this particular time, is about as wild as living in america can get.

All Hallows Eve is, as said by few, a unofficial signifier of the end of a year, as the natural world prepares itself for a winter slumber, so to does the soul in a sense, as it prepares itself for a new canvas, for several other holidays that have eluded their true meanings as decades push on through to the “New Year” and it’s days of cleanup false promises, and apologies.

Significant? Yes, and also, not a bad day to collect the torrent of thoughts that have been flowing with the force and speed of hurricane flood waters, for this past month has been a near blur of amplified life smeared across the country like the insides of lightning beetles of a windshield. for my lack of communication, i apologies, however, the documentation is all there, it just needs to be sorted out, which i will do in the comming month.

We have seen many states in this nation, at a time i feel is the most pivotal time in it’s history. We’ve spoken to many people as well, and I’d be lying if i said i was confident on which way things will go for us here next week. Yes i’m talking about politics, i am talking about the election… and how could one not, after circumnavigating the swing states from the Pacific, to the Midwest on into the Great Lakes region.

We found ourselves reaching to keep up with the “race” as it’s called. Listening to the scathing radio ads and commercials of small town U.S.A., watching debates from crowded GLBT friendly bars on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, talking to young people who are about to vote in their first ever election. It’s only human to want to participate, and help right? I feel we have, and will continue to do so until well after a verdict be met. We were lucky enough to be able to vote early, in one of the 30 states in the country that allows it, in hopes that putting the pressure on might keep polling in check this time. By doing so, we in turn encouraged young voters to do the same, and many have…in fact i have received some feedback from some of those young people, and even some of their parents thanking us for using our time on stages and in venues across the country in a proactive way. To me, that is the tip of accomplishments iceberg, however we’re not there yet…election day is not here yet. Until then i would say the same thing. VOTE NOW, OR YOUR VOTE MIGHT NOT COUNT. The days are falling off as fast as the leaves, and when election day comes, we will be watching, knowing we’ve tried our best, fingers cross in hopes that we don’t have to resort to more drastic measures for change in this country. because if i have to, i will.

– jacy mcintosh
:: 10-31-08 Halloween, Missoula, MT ::

2008 FALL. 10-11-08 CASPER, WY

here we are, in another temporary room. this time, Casper Wyoming, in it’s icy shield, stuffed politely between mountain ranges that roll off just enough let in the teeth of the impending season, that blankets and holds fast, the lives that reside within it…here we have no control. mother nature tells us how to move, as we are only temporary reflections in her mirror, until our images fade as condensed moister licked by the sun’s early awakening.

There’s a great many things that have happened in the past week, as we’ve pushed through time, to continue down this path…and they are things that may best be referred to later. within the art of unarchiving….

apologies for the distance….there is more to come, and more to speak of…we will try our best to keep up with the life…

(( – Jacy, Casper WY, 10-11-08 1:51 AM ))::

2008 FALL. 09-30-08 Bozeman/Missoula, MT::

gooooood morning, from beautiful Bozeman, MT. i’m sitting down to some delicious espresso from ALABAMA?

i’m doing my best to fill my time with the art of documentation, as i have witnessed the fact that the simplest things can trigger a memory years down the road…as simple as a sentence, as simple as a word….this idea became a reality for me as i packed my life into the van with kelsey and justin…it’s difficult to do, but all of those little things have some sort of undetermined value until they are acknowledged, and either discarded, or decidedly kept.

so..i was just writiing words with a pen….yes, a pen!…. and old man just asked me what i was working on, and i told him that i was trying to remember my life. he said he’d wished he’d done that at my age. i told him, it wasn’t to late to start. i guess i’d say the same to you.

i’ll keep adding to this as much as i can as well….everyone is taking amazing pictures and making great little bits and pieces of something i believe to be far greater than just a band on a tour in the united states…

(( jacy mcintosh | 09-30-08 | 10:50 PM | Bozeman MT ))

( 09-29-08 carcrashlander @ the filling station by Jacy )

2008 FALL. NOW. THIS. IS. LIFE. ::

We leave Minneapolis with fond memories and heavy hearts. After having such a eventful couple of years, we look back on all those who’ve helped us there in the twin cities, with great appreciation, as they have been very integral parts in the THEMES “upbringing”, as it were. We are already looking forward to our return, as visitors, and know that there will be many more in the future. pressing on into “The Lawless West” our sights are set on the boundless adventure and freedoms in this, that we call our occupation. The forward motion brings about a heightened sense of self and the connection the everyday dealings of world around us, in a time of great selfishness and confusion. To me it brings peace in mind and heart, knowing that what we are capable of doing in this life, can only be limited by what we choose for ourselves. This is a time of pure potentiality, and my goal is to seek it out, and know it well, rather than simply understanding it.

With so many forms of media floating around our heads every moment of the day….its hard to keep up with the sound of outside. outside of structure and purpose. outside of meaning and reliance. welcome to a new kind of self discovery, in an era without description. if i was hard pressed to invent a definitive, it would be called. The Permavex.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN , 7TH ST. ENTRY. 09-26-08 ( BY JUSTIN )

fargo theatre (by jacy) xfargox (by rob and jacy)

09-27-08 FARGO, ND, THE AQUARIUM, / 09-28-08 MILES CITY, MT (BY JOSH)

(( 09-28-08 . vantarded, North Dakota. ( by jacy ) ))

9/12/08 Devil’s workshop recording sessions (day 1)

Hello everyone! Welcome to September with THEMES!
We rolled into the Devil’s workshop this evening around seven to record our second 7″ (The Solider Trade) Through The Miniature Record Club.
Our good friend Aaron Zee is the founder of MRC and usually what he does is a 7” split with two bands. We’ve been lucky enough with the last 7” (“I cant make you believe/ it’s not hopeless to survive,” available at http://www.miniaturerecordclub.com/) to have both sides!
With this 7” vinyl we will be revisiting the song Solider trade, off of our full length “War over the great plains.”

The cool thing about this record is that the B-side will feature our good friend Booka B with a remix! It’s pretty hot!
(myspace.com/bookab for more on Booka!)

So… after a few turkey sandwiches and a couple of beers, the room was ready to roll. We have the set up like a circle where we all face eachother. The best part is that it will be recorded live, all of us at the same time playing together. No punching in crazy solos. Just THEMES live.
Andy Lageson is running the mixing board with the help of his two sleepy dog’s, Baxter and Danno.
That was Jacy’s joke, Andy didn’t really know what he was doing so he brought his dog’s.
Ha ha ha Jacy.

Now, the one total bummer about our second visit to the Devil’s workshop (and to most of you this wont make any sense, but I promise that I will explain) is that the magical beast De La Hoya recently passed away.
De La Hoya was a big fish in a little pond. Literally. He was a bright orange fresh water parana the size of a cat! I swear that anytime I ate food in the mixing room next to the fish tank that he would swim over in my direction and head-butt the glass! I’m not lying! It actually made me nervous. I starved myself for a week after that because I didn’t like the way he would look at me through the glass with a burrito in my hand.
According to Andy, he came in one day and De La Hoya was belly up! All of his beautiful orange had turned white. Andy and his studio partner contemplated putting him in the freezer and then later having him stuffed. They instead decided on an impromptu funeral in the back parking lot’s dumpster. R.I.P De La Hoya!

The Devil’s workshop is a magical studio stacked high with amps, up right pianos, b-3 organs and rows of drums. It is the quintessential wearhouse space with vaulted ceilings and oriental rugs.
I would highly recommend recording here if ever given the chance to. Most importantly the engineers of this studio are really the gems to work with. I always feel at ease yet efficiently productive when working with Andy Log.
Stay tuned over the next couple of day’s as we have Booka B in the studio with us. Also our good friend Chey is in to take photos.
You will get the first glimpse of the fall tour line up: Jacy McIntosh-Lead vocals, Baritone guitar/ Kelsey Crawford- Lead vocals, Piano/ Justin Burkhardt-Drums, Vocals, Guitar/ Josh Syx-Guitar, Vocals/ Hanna Murray-Violin

More tomorrow with pictures!
-Kelsey

Jacy and Kelsey at the Devil's Workshop, Minneapolis, MN 9-13-09

::REVIEWS FROM SPRING 08 TOUR::

PETALUMA, CA, NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN, BY GABE MELINE 05-20-08
“Lemme just say first off that when I brought Themes‘ new 7 Inch “I can’t make you believe, It’s not hopeless to survive.” home on Sunday afternoon, I listened to it three times in a row, over and over. It’s that good. Full of optimistic hooks, unifying harmonies, and hopeful lyrics, it’s nothing short of inspiring. It’s the Obama of 7 Inches !!”

PORTLAND, OR, WILLAMETTE WEEKLY BY AMY MCCULLOUGH. 5-21-08
“This guy-girl duo also claims to play “folk rock,” but the songs on its latest full-length, War Over the Great Plains, employ plenty of electric piano and guitar, theatrical vocals and an epic nature that smacks more of post metal than old Americana. (Think Faith No More Videos, and You’ve got the right idea.) Jacy McIntosh’s deep roar of a voice could’ve sound tracked something like Twister, all foreboding and mysterious and intense. Makes sense, then, that THEMES lists “Mother Nature’s random acts of violence” as its only inspiration. Key-tickler Kelsey Crawford, adds loftier, heavenly vocals to all the drama, highlighting the songs’ melodies and saving the THEMES message from suffocating in its own smoldering dark-rock fire.”

CHICO, CA THEMES LIVE @ THE CRUX GALLERY, BY : RYAN PRADO for Synthesis.net
Themes was instantly engaging; McIntosh’s epic vocal bravado laid the groundwork for the multi-instrumentalists in the band to paint lush resonance within highly progressive musical evolutions. Crawford’s lovely key work added lulling repose to what were by and large monolithic hybrids of folk/rock/orchestral-pop opuses, and the result was hugely impressive; the sparkling brows of the Crux audience nodded along with every plotted beat. Find this band and listen to them today.

:: BACK HOME, INTO THE STUDIO ::

i know it’s nice outside, because i can see sun peaking through the basement windows, that have been partially blocked off, on purpose. i know there are things going on outside because i can hear them, but the sounds are unfamiliar. what i know, are sounds of our voices and guitars. our pianos and drums.

the sound of repetition…..To quote the great John Cage.

“Music is being written. but it is not finished yet.”

this is where our tribe will spend the summer with welcome home….into the studio

-jacy

:: 06-02-08 Home Through The Northern Corridor ::

MINNEAPOLIS! We’re Back in minneapolis, and we made it just in time for the wedding of our best friends Rob and Ellen!!!! have a wonderful trip. we love you!

05-31-08 @ The Soap Factory

05-29-08 FARGO, ND @ the AQUARIUM

We a great time with Bryce’s parents in Fargo, we even put a dock in a lake!…who does that on tour…!

then we played the aquarium! thanks chris!

05-28-08 BILLINGS, MT @ Yellowstone Valley Brewhouse.

there is nothing between fargo and billings. except for these two things. and i don’t know why they are there.

Billings is a city that gives us a glimpse into the future, and it is somewhat frightening, however the guys at the Yellowstone Valley Brewhouse in were swell and they sent us away with a care package to share with our friends.

05-27-08 BOZEMAN, MT @ THE FILLING STATTION

the filling station is an amazing place, that looks like an old roadhouse, where people like us would actually drift through. we had a wondeful time with our new/old family of road dogs (VICTORY SMOKES, AND POSION CONTROL CENTER.

thanks to Olivia for joining us on this journey.

:: 05-29-08 Last Show Of Tour ::

hello, again, and welcome back. we’ve been having such a hard time keeping up with posting, but we have no lack of content. here i sit, at the Richardson house, on the way to the Aquarium here in fargo. for the next few days, i will be reflecting and trying my best to get all of the content sorted through, and posted.

THEMES Mobile Multi Media Studio, a hotel in Reno, NV.  5-13-08 (by jacy)

:: 05-26-08 MISSOULA, MT ::

Good morning from beautiful Missoula, MT. i have been cruising around town talkin to local folk, and reading a bit of independent media, in hopes to educate myself, as to what the people of this fine city have been up to, and i came across this story through Activism Across America. Way to go people. i really dig activism that directly effects quality of life, and how easy it is to clean up after ones self, and others.

OBAMAWORKS in Missoula Helps Clean Up the Fork River!

i also came across this story, which is very inspiring! Protect your lands, and if you do decide to develop fertile land, please do it in a sustainable fashion! It’s Beautiful here, and there is a common ground between expansion, and sustainability. one just needs to take the time to do it right. and from what i’ve read, and heard. The Missoula Community Food And Agriculture Coalition is doing a hell if a job. GO CFAC!

MISSOULA STOPPING SUBDIVISIONS FROM EATING UP LOCAL FOOD!

LIVE @ THE BADLANDER W/ POSION CONTROL CENTER / MUTE ERA / VICTORY SMOKES / BLACK VELVET ELVIS.

:: 05-20-08 Portland / History of Consciousness ::

Portland, OR opened it’s misty arms for three days to the THEMES underground, we found ourselves ramparted in a New Creative Compound underneath the famous “ANGELA DAVIS LIVES HERE”.

ANGELA DAVIS, is a professor, and founder of anti prison organization Critical Resistance, key member of the Student Nonviolent Committee, Political candidate of the Communist Party, and Station mount of the of the Black Panther Party. ((read more about this amazing woman!))

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Davis

mad love respect to the brilliant Corey gray and our brothers Carcrash lander, the lovely Miss Anna, my brother Joseph Deluxe, my sister Caitlin, Dio, Amy Hsuan. ilan, kelly, sam, casey at the AudioCinema. we cannot wait to see you all again…..