After going Sinister around the world.

After introducing C. Lee and the photos she took while in Shanghai (she's still there, still hiding, and I underline that I mean a positive thing in saying "hiding". Hide yourself in the woods! There you'll find protection), here some other news: besides our beloved Trees, you will recognize some birds on 2 of the 3 pics I'm posting today.
I've learned these birds are called starlings.
They've been reharsing for days, in order to migrate.
It's still kind of warm here, 8 to 10 Celsius degrees, maybe 5 in the evenings.
When I was a kid it was like this earlier in October.
Anyway, these birds have been doing circles all day long in the past couple of days.
At the beginning I had the feeling that I was missing something...
Then i remembered.
With C. Lee, three years ago at least, we did record some birds while they were doing this same thing. We used those field recordings as introduction to "Go Sinister", a song part of the "...and He told us to turn to the Sun" album...
And now here they are, and I'm pretty damn sure they are the same birds. Less maybe, but they came back.
And I want to be clear, I'm not saying here that they came back for me, nor for C.Lee. No, they came back to the Trees. They found once here protection, so they came back.
They prove me right, or I prove them right.
Here a link to listen to that song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceeb7y407Uo

The birds taught me that I always should to go back to the Trees.
These trees of ours.

Sub Pop

Hectic post today.
I've been asked by our friend Dean Whitmore to provide a top 10 something for the Top Ten of 2011 Friends of Sub Pop Edition.
Here's my contribution.

Among the live shows i had the chance to see in the last couple of years while touring with Father Murphy, this is my top ten (in no particular order):

Talk Normal, performing at Sonic City Festival, Kortrijk, Belgium
Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, performing Joy Division's Day of the Lords, Lee Palace, Toronto, Canada
Asian Women on the telephone (AWOTT), live at SKIF Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia
KILLL, live at SKIF Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia
Sic Alps, live at Victoria Dalston, London, UK
Thulebasen, live at Sodra Theater, Stockolm, Sweden
The Ex & Brass Unbound live at Magasin 4, Brussels, Belgium
Movie Star Junkies, live at No Fest, Turin, Italy
Dead Western, performing at HUB, Sacramento, US
Monstro (i believe they changed their name to "Consort of the true drone", anyway look for Ezra Buchla!) live at The Smell, Los Angeles, US

Updated the live page, with the archive list until 2004.
Check also clips page, and new pics.
Soon more details about our new "Anyway, your children will deny it" album, due to release next february 2012 (the more we listen to the new tracks, the happiest we are for asking Greg saunier to mix this new jam of ours).



Hectic post, hectic photo of a green tree coming out from the myst.

Protect yourself, now, You.

Ageing

In Ancient China, when a Mandarin was getting old, he used to leave the Capital, going South.
The ageing Mandarin knew he would have been in need for even more protection. So he spent days and days in having Trees growing all over the place, as new symbols of his power. He now could rest, They were looking after him, he was safe again.
The three photos here were sent to me early this morning from Shanghai, where C. Lee is hiding at the moment (hiding has no negative meaning at all. Hide yourself in the woods is a wish I would say to my best friend).
She said these trees have been protecting first the Mandarin, then the Yuyuan Garden for centuries.

Now she found new protection too.

When you really need to name things.

I usually do need to give names to things (think of Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, with his beloved Trees...).
Here, while posting pics, I never thought of saying the proper names of the different trees I was going to show. That's weird, I never thought of it. Telling the truth, I usually rename the pics, choosing not the name of that peculiar tree, but most of the time writing where the photo's been taken, or, when travelling, the nearest city. That's weird too... I think, i.e., to the Scandinavian trees I've posted, I wrote they were in Copenaghen, Stockolm or other cities, but I actually took those pictures while going from a city to the other. When you go to visit someone you usually bring something with you, it is very important to show your gratitude and your respect. A present. Maybe my habit is to bring with me pictures of trees to be given to the next city I'll be, so not to look just as an empty vessel to fill.
Anyway, the two pictures of today were taken on thursday 17th, from the Treehouse, and they show the best spot to look I can think of, if I'm in need for some peace. But I did forget to name them, so, while looking on the archive for doing the upload, I noticed their numbers were 1944 and 1945. I love names and I love dates. And I do know that numbers have always a meaning.
Many things happened and changed in those two years.
At one point, in 1945, there was more light. So in the picture.
But just a bit more, because so many steps were and are yet to be done.
That's why I keep on keeping tracks of trees all over I've been and, where I'm at home, of the ones sorrounding this place. It's them who protected us in all these years, it's them that will keep on protecting us.
I talked about my need of naming things, so I want to end this new post with a list of names/titles.
Thanks to titles longer than usual, I found myself able to describe, better, to introduce myself and the possible listeners to a song of ours. Here below there is the best introduction to our new album, starting from its songs titles.

Anyway, your children will deny it

1- How we ended up with Feelings of Guilt.
2- His face showed no distortions.
3- It is funny, it is restful. Both came quickly.
4- Digging the bottom of the Hollow.
5- In praise of our doubts.
6- Their consciousness.
7- In the flood, with the flood.
8- Don't let yourself be hurt (this time).

By the morning's end the air was a bit warmer

First three pics are of that tree i mentioned before.
It's the one we will work on with Ba Abat for the promotional photos of FM new album "Anyway your children will deny it" (the new record is almost almost ready. I will be giving more infos here soon. Greg Saunier just sent us his final mixing and we are simply honoured and grateful he decided to deal with our sounds).
I thought of posting here some pictures of this marvellous tree, tall like 6 human beings, before having you seeing what it'll become.

I have no idea why everything I'm writing here it keeps of being underlined...
Anyhow, here below, the newest pic of the trees surrounding our Treehouse, the ones from where the protection starts, for then going all over the world, following us, until we will follow the trees.
And until we follow the numbers, that kabbalah of our own, that together of that Legend of Ours, fulfills some moments of our lives.
But you have always to remember where it all started. That's the reason I'm also posting the photo here below.
And I will soon be posting images where you cannot tell in which moment of the day or night they've been shot, or at least I can't. Actually, this one could be one of those...
Is it out of focus?
Focus most of the times is not my main concern, it's more about the idea of keeping the memory of something, in that precious istant.
By the morning's end the air will be a bit warmer.

You'll take the Fall

Back to the Trees that surround us.
The photo here means Fall finally arrived.
I'll be posting soon more trees from that day, it was really clear the season was changing.

We're gonna be working with Ba Abat for the promo pictures of the new album, it's gonna be a collaboration we look so forward to!
I will write more about it.
It'll be Us and a Tree of Her.

Here her website, right now is under mantainance, it'll be up again soon!
www.baabat.com

And Trees will be also on the new album liner note, thanks to Ol'Fisherman Ngo, of course.

Blessing from me, and from/to this kind of Collective of the Trees people.

Anyway, your children will deny it

No trees from Scandinavia nor Europe this time; no trees from somewhere we've been touring recently.
The green here comes from our ol'Fisherman NGO, that joins me with this picture to spend just few words about the new record.
He's already working on the visions for the new cover: it'll be the Temple this time, the Wall of the Temple.
The other three Murphys are now done with all the recordings. After working on Vicar's Gomma Playground, the last voices and instruments to be recorded have been put on 2'' tape by Emanuele Baratto (check the band he plays with, the uncanny Moviestar Junkies!) in his Inside Outside Studio.
The tracks are in this exact moment going from one side of the Pond to the other.
In fact, it'll be Greg Saunier from Deerhoof that will mix our new record, "Anyway, your children will deny it" (and this happens thanks to Greg, of course, and for the advice i've got from Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart).
And we feel honoured and so so glad.
8 new songs.
After the mysticism of "No room for the weak", not it's time for a personal hermitage, before a new and final ouverture.
I've been saying for years that i would have tried one day to hide myself in the woods.
In the next three months, before the new album will be released (Aagoo? Aagoo!!!), the three of us will hide from each other, we will hide from the Other.
I just can tell about me, in the woods!, and for C.Lee, China (i know it because Lee told me that China is so big i would never be able to find her...).
And Vicar is already on the hiding...

I stop here, with a sentence i woke up with this morning (as usual i don't know if it's correct or if i'm stealing someone else words...):
Love to everyone, it's gonna come!

FIRS

I wrote firs just because i love the name, and how it sounds.
I won't start now nameing each tree i will be posting here.

These three pics are still from Scandinavia.
Hope to be back there soon.

We won't be playing until next january.
Yesterday evening i said bye to C. Lee and Vicar V.
We'll meet back in some weeks.

But this is meant to be a short post, three new photos of trees.

Here they are, now.

This was supposed to happen yesterday...

Berlin, Hamburg (Frappant Building) and Nurnmberg.
A German Post.

While here a preview of the BEIM DOKTOR CALIGARI show we did last saturday, at Teatro Bolognini, Pistoia (w/Jealousy Party, Alessandro Fiori and Rico/Uochi Tochi).
http://vimeo.com/29122757

Three trees

n
Brussels, London, London.
We-re working on a Beim doktor Caligari, together with Jealousy Party (they are super!!! check'em out!!!!) and waiting for Alessandro Fiori.
There are three Pini Marittimi nearby, i-ve been told they are the ones that will protect us.

Again

Here what i promised: tress from York, Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Three days, then other three trees.

A saucerful of Trees

Just back from the European tour with Sic Alps (amazing people, amazing band!), here i am posting the first pics taken during the tour. The first first first one is from Scandinavia, somewhere btw Malmo, Stockolm and Copenaghen, taken going from one town to the others.
There is something there in the Woods.
Believe me, the woods up there are really something.
I'll be posting for the next week 3 pics every three days.

And i dreamt of high trees, dark woods, lot of men and women from another era hailing to a gigantic Cross. I will work on this and then back to you.
And i dreamt of a Temple, an ol'fisherman NGO, who's already working on the album's cover, dreamt about it too.

Our new record ain't ready yet, it'll be soon.
Soon.

We have the last couple of shows before hiding for three monts.
The tree of us, hiding above some trees. It would be nice.

Some protection to you as well from the trees that defend and surround our house.

A new beginning

After almost two weeks of touring Sardinia and south of Italy, i'm back now with some new pictures and the feeling that a new start is close.
I have this new camera, and i discovered that taking picture during night time makes the trees look like paintings. I don't know much about ight/exposure and so on, but i decided i will soon focus all my pictures of trees to this new stupid way of mine of making paintings. Even my words won't sound right to explain what i have on mind.
So, just facts: we just finished with Murphies recording demos for the new record titled "anyway, your children will deny it", soon we'll be back in a proper studio. And tomorrow we leave again, heading north, as most of the times in the past months. We'll be touring with Sic alps, that makes me happy. Our future is still a gigantic question mark, so i will wait to get back before getting anxious.
Anyway, the new start thing is here, so i will celebrate with some pics, here above, left and right, taken from that mysterious place i talked about a while ago...i got back there after 3 months, together with Figliotucano, C.Lee and our friend Be my delay.
Last picture is taken on Figliotucano's garden.
The new start is also about a new project we have with Figliotucano himself, called Ghostwood project, but i'll talk about it later on the fall.
Ah, almost forgot to say that the new releases are out: 7'' split with HOW MUCH WOOD WOULD A WOODCHUCK CHUCK IF A WOODCHUCK COULD CHUCK WOOD, out for Aagoo, Avant!, Boring Machines, Brigadisco, La Délirante and Madcap Collective, and a marvellous 12'' live, recorded last march first at Brigadisco's Cave, down in Itri (100 km souther than Rome).
I will end this weird post with some words taken from somewhere i don't even remember, maybe not even the same source...so it may happen it all will sound akward to you:

It is funny, it is rest. Both came quickly.
Consciusness and selfish, where influence is concerned.

One day we may meet all down the hill.

New post, new camera, but first...

All the pictures in this blog were taken with a Canon Camera (but the one from Lithuania by Figliotucano). Now, C. Lee gave me as birthday present a Nikon, so consider that all the next pics i'll be posting here will be taken with this new black camera.
But, there's always a but, this short short blog does contain three images i took with Vicar V. mobile phone. Trees here are from Musica nelle Valli Festival, in San Martino Spino.
One of the best festival in the whole Europe, where tons of great different bands played.
For more info go to http://www.fooltribe.com
Anyhow, these are the trees who surround and protect the festival over the years.

From july 29th till september 17th Father Murphy will be around Italy and Europe (w/Sic Alps! and The Ex!), touring and touring again (thanks fitz at nomanis.com).
You can find all the dates updated.
It means i'll have so many new pics of different trees, trees that will once again protect our way.
When i was a kid i thought trees were somehow evil, i think it's because of Twin Peaks series. I do understand now that even if Trees will always protect me, it doesn't mean that some sort of Evil won't be after me.

PS soon news about our first 7'' (together with amazing HowMuch wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood) and first LP live (Recorded by our friends at Brigadisco Records during our last visit at their amazing Studio).

The first time i may be feeling embarrassed

First on the left is a photo i've got from my friend Figliotucano, while he was hiding in the Lithuanian woods. Then, following to the right, again a picture coming from the hidden place in my home town, that i decided not to name in this post. IT is beautiful and clean, but the there's a bigot evil running thorugh her streets, through her inhabitants veins, so i'm just trying to be not part of it.
Anyhow, the tree on the right, in that same picture, i think of it as a massive load of spores...


Continuing, on what i believe it'll be the picture on the right side (both meanings?) of what i'm writing, it is the London sky as seen through
some green leaves, in one of the only moment when it didn't rain... As usual, someone could say


And while this picture below introduces something new, being in fact a picture of trees as seen through a pagoda (again, the hidden place of few lines earlier has still lot to share with me)...


The last one does refer to another foreign country/city that starts with the letter L, being this time Leeds (after, i like to be precise and flowery/redundant, Lithuania and London).

It is been taken on a early morning, after a show we did in Leeds last week.


It seems to me now that this post is nothing but a
didactic one.
I cannot say if i wanted to write more than a short description of my first time 5 pictures in a only post.
Anyway, i will end it now, with a phrase i somehow keep on thinking of since i woke up this morning (but, damn, i cannot recall where i heard of or read it...so not even sure my english will be that right...)
I was a looking at a tree, asking for protection, with a secret hope i could go home with that feeling of protection. While looking at it, i felt kind of embarrassed, so i suddenly crossed my legs.
I would have noticed that behaviour of mine other times while growing. That, for what i can recall, it's been the first time.

Even Treviso was able to show a hidden place

I

a
m

f
r
o
m

T
r
e
viso, never played there with Murphies, never been fond of my home town.
No none can be prophet in his own town someone says.
Anyway, Chiara Lee, Figliotucano and I were walking the other day, nearby the river, and we found an old mansion, close close close to the city center, with a mysterious park.
Someone says the owner was a mason, and that he built the whole place following some rituals and old schemes.
Anyway, after following a gate made of ivy, and after getting out by a small temple, with an altar in the center of it, we got to this place, this lake you can see here above.
The two pictures are taken one after the other, the second one with flash on.
The three of us thought of being on a Salgari book.
And, even if for few seconds, we were happy to be back in Treviso.

Next, i'll have some trees frorm Lithuania, thanks to Figliotucano.
Now i'm off to the Biennale of Venice, where we'll play tomorrow at Osloo Boat, made by danish artist FOS, as part of the Danish Pavillon.

Hide yourself in the woods

(one) Two Trees...

Right before leaving home for other shows (we'll be back to UK! but before we''ll play at Musica nelle Valli, one of the best festival in the whole Italy, and at The Venice Biennale), here i am posting indeed two pics taken few days ago.
One being a majestic tree in front of Chiara Lee's parents'house, the other one being next to the venue in Padova where we opened for Disappears last sunday.
First pic, taken on a early afternoon.
Second one, right before the sunset.

Not that i wanna start talking about beginning and/or ending anything.
It's been an interesting couple of days, that's all.

We also worked a lot on the new record.
I haven't talked about it, not here.

I have a title for it, not sure 100%.
I have few words i can share, it doesn't matter if they'll make it or not into a song.

Some of these days look at your eyes.
Look at you breathing.
Before diving back in.

One week later, the Russian trees are for real!

A picture taken nearby the Sea, in St. Petersburg.
We were up North, and the Sun was really something.
Skif Festival is been awesome. Same thing for all the people we met.
I hope we will be always able to give back the love we receive from trees as from the poeple we meet on our way.
Following the Path.

Next i'll be posting russian trees...

Next friday and saturday may 13th and 14th Fr. Murphy is been invited to play at SKIF Festival, in St. Petersburg, Russia.
On the bill bands as SWANS, THE EX, GONJA SUFI, JAMES BLACKSHAW and much much more.
So i'll be posting soon mi first pictures of russian trees.

Anyway, here is another picture take few weeks ago.
I was up north, going to Stockolm from Goteborg.
The day, in the middle of Sweden, wasn't that bad, even if we were almost expecting some snow on the way.

Then in Stockolm we found the Sun.
Other pictures, another story.
Even if i see that i'm never telling stories, just posting pictures.
I believe stories are somehow my business, and few people will give much more than a damn about it. While trees i hope will be find more fans.
I'm sure.
Protect yourself with trees.

Here we are: Norwegian woods!

...and after hiding myself in the woods as a way to celebrate Easter, finally i'm here posting a new picture.
This is taken in Norway, few km's from the border with Sweden.
We were coming from stockolm, that day was beautiful.
I'll have soon other pcitures posted.
Trees will tell you and let me remember of an another european tour.

On the shows section i will so be posting all the past shows.
And i'll have soon more stuff for the Heresy section as well.

We played with several different bands, i want you to check Thulebasen, fron Denmark, and Jackdaw with Crowbar, from England.

Hugs over the trees

New shows added!

...and soon new trees pictures as well...

Another show added, next saturday, april 16th, in Copenaghen.

At KRONBORGGADE 3, 8.30 pm. thanks to our friends Ken and Rasmus.

We're right now in Copenaghen, enjoying the day off.

And check Thulebasen, the band we're touring with, they are AMAZING!

here next shows in Europe:

12.04.2011 Goteborg, SE, Gerlesborg Skolan (w/Thulebasen)

13.04.2011 Stockholm, SE, Strand. (w/Thulebasen)

14.04.2011 Oslo, NO, Gloria (w/Thulebasen)

16.04.2011 Copenaghen, DE, Kronborgade 3

17.04.2011, Hamburg, DE, Galeron, w/Swearing at Motorists

18.04.2011 Amsterdam, NL, radio show

19.04.2011, Brussels, BE, Atelier Claus

here the other trees

No words, just trees.
I mean protection.
Protect me now you!

As promised, here are new trees!

Just got back from a 3 weeks italian tour.
Here you have some trees between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, a picture taken after playing in Montale, Pistoia, at Nub. Despite all my love toward trees, while passing through the woods i confess i felt at the same time frightened. You never know what it can be hiding between the trees. As if i was saying that owls are not what they seem to be.

Anyhow, soon a new tree picture from Catania, Sicily, and then from Faenza.

And in April with Fr. Murphy we'll hit Scandinavia, for the first time! And Poland, Germany and much more...then Russia in may!
So i'll have much more pictures of trees, and new memories.

be well.