a few sentences

----------

Many more shows coming up, including a show at the famed Cactus Cafe, best sounding room in Austin. Another studio party in the works as well.

We will be hitting the road in late May. If you want to have us over, please drop a line! We love alternative venues of all kinds, including barns, poetry slams, parking lots, all ages free-for-alls, and carpeted living rooms.

studio journal, part 1

A crazy crackhead walked into Baby Blue and told me for twenty minutes about a prostitute who stole 400 of his dollars by shoving it "up there." So he told me about his plans to cut her apart with a box cutter, put her in a garbage bag, and bleach the carpet of the hotel room so nobody would ever know. After telling me this, the man asked me for a beer or food. I said no beer, but you can have an apple. Man, fuck that, he said. I don't want no fucking apple. Buy me some chips. I need nutrition. At least chips got potato in it.

I still said no, so he told me about a murderer wandering the neighborhood who looks "exactly like me." The cops been lookin, man, but they can't find nothing. They think is me, but I said I ain't killed those people. But maybe, I don't know. It's hard to remember. I guess he meant that he might be the murderer? Then he pulled up his shirt and showed me his murder weapon, a large screwdriver. Just drive that shit in somebody's skull, he said. They gone, they dead.

He lamented the fact that the free clinic was closed. I was supposed to see my brain doctor, he said. I ain't right in the head. I feelin weird, man. Fuck. I a crazy man, I ain't right. Can I have a beer? Come on man, I give you fifty cents for a beer. I need me a goddamn beer. One fucking beer, man. I starting to get angry. We getting off on the wrong foot. When I get mad, I start hurting people. But I can get you some quarters for a beer, man.

He fished 2 damp quarters from his jeans pocket. I gave him the beer but didn't take the money. His scare tactics worked, I guess.

All along, he kept apologizing for his bad language, often while cursing. Fuck man, I know I'm being improper talking this way, saying all these bad words and shit, but it's just me, you know? I stay true to myself.

I later saw him walking through the yard holding half an apple pie. I'm trying to eat right and get healthy, he said. Well dude, I said, you're gonna wanna stop eating half an apple pie for lunch then, probably. Doesn't seem too healthy.

He told me he's an angel and sprinkles good luck on people. I an angel, man, he said. I used to go by that place, the Mohawk. You know that music place, The Mohawk? I sprinkled the good luck on that place like fucking fairy dust, man. Now they pretend like they don't even know me.

He paused.

God comes in all forms, man. He takes all forms. I could be God, you know? What if God be asking you for somethin? What if God needs a fucking beer, man?

I had always assumed that if I met God, he wouldn't be asking me for a beer, but who knows?

March 13th studio party / show --- March 14th free show

We're hosting a party and show at our new studio on March 13th. Please email me for directions:
mortonbairdiii@yahoo.com

It will cost a few bucks and there will be beer. It's a really nice space.

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
We're playing a free show at the Mohawk on March 14th with some other good bands.

You just need to rsvp here:

http://atxemerge.com/

Here's a poster:

Tshirts for sale

"Smoking Sunset" tee

Small $15.00 Medium $15.00 Large $15.00

Youtube 4th birthday party at SVT

Some excellent bands, birthday cake, perhaps some beer, visual projections, television art, fun times, good people, low price, new 7" record from SUNSET, special new line of t-shirts by Bill Baird (me), great listening room. This is a classic Austin moment. See you there, Sunday the 15th at 8pm at Salvage Vanguard Theatre on Manor Road.

2008 recap

This year was very productive and enjoyable. Did an insane amount. And the next steps will be even more exciting, we hope. Here's photos and videos from this year. See you next go round.



























============
Redwoods, West Coast Tour:

Swimming, Humboldt County:

Chasing the muse:

Great Smokey Mountains, super8 still:

Brad manning the board at Wire all-night session:

Group singing at Wire:

Live Radio session, Ning Nong Radio in Boston:

Clapping session at Premium, very serious about the claps:

Bill Baird - "Songs the Sound of Myself, As Written By Others"

I have just released a new album through NYC's Tired Trails. It's an album of cover songs, stitched together in a beautiful book printed on recycled paper with banana leaf covers. It contains extensive track notes, black and white photography, and 2 poems. You can order them by emailing Jess, here : tiredtrails@gmail.com. They cost $12.50, postage-paid, within the U.S. Overseas folks will have to pay a few extra bucks.

Here is an mp3 from the record:

Expecting to Fly (Neil Young cover)

Full Tracklisting:

The Dirt (Mark David Ashworth)
Sea Song (Robert Wyatt)
Last Fall (Jared Van Fleet)
Shady Grove (Traditional)
The Ballad of Sammy Mudd (Sam Sanford)
I'll Be Here In the Morning (Townes Van Zandt)
Rake and Rambling Boy (Traditional)
Hot Burrito 2 Digit (Flying Burrito Brothers)
Expecting to Fly (Neil Young)
Walking After Midnight (Searching for Me) [Alan Block and Don Hecht c/o Patsy Cline]
Be Not So Fearful (Bill Fay)
Diamond Deserts (Bill Baird)
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)

Here are some photos of the beautiful new books.