...testing...testing....who's ready for news?

Yeah, I know. Finally. Your patience is about to pay off....

the ball is rolling.

hey everybody. it's getting to be serious time. We played a few shows a week ago in the L.A./Orange County area, and had a lot of fun. Yesterday we officially finished the last track of recording for the album. 3 or 4 of the songs that were already finished have been mixed and it's sounding pretty sweet if i don't say so myself. (i'll see if i can't talk Seth into putting up a new song for all you patient people.)

We played a show in Irvine for FeedtheMusic.net, and it really went well. There was a good group of people, good food, questions and answers and we really enjoyed ourselves, so thanks to everyone who came out to the Hub. I think we'll be getting some pictures from that event later this week and when we get 'em I'll throw some up here.



I'm sort of like a huge rock, and Kev is very much a rock climber so this was bound to happen at some point during the weekend.

We then played a show in downtown LA on the rooftop of some sweet building.



There was some van trouble and Jeremy wasn't able to make it in time, and he was sorely missed. The show was pretty cool, and Damion Suomi's set was really great.



Open air, jacuzzi with cold water, laid back, it really was a lot of fun.

The following night we played another round at the Hotel Cafe, with a very special friend of ours Flo Paris.



She just released an album that Seth produced and played quite a bit on so check it out and show her some love. She's touring around the country now, and then headed back home to Nashville.

Jeremy was back with us so all was well. We had a great time overall, got to see lots of friends and family, and practice some new songs for our future shows.






Seth

Can't wait to show you guys the new songs, so stay tuned for updates, because they will be coming. Take care.

NEW ALBUM?

Ok. So the past month and a half has seen Lakes getting together to get all the tracks together and worked out. Let me be the first to tell you, I'm loving all of these tunes.

Three or four weeks ago, we convened at the studio here in our hometown of Atascadero.



We got a lot done in 24 hours but realized if we wanted to get this done, and done soon, we had to get to a bigger studio. We then got in contact with a dear friend of Lakes named Jason,



who owns quite possibly the coolest studio that i have ever stepped foot in. Two weeks ago, we joined up in Modesto, at Jason's studio and got to work.



and



It seemed that gallons of "5 hour energy" were drank, amazing meals were provided by Jason's wife Krystall, and the album was pretty much finished except for some vocals which should be finished over the next 2 or 3 weeks.



Here's Seth recording some cello on a song called "I Was There" that will be closing out the album.



A couple different times, on a few different songs, there were spots where we all agreed it just needed something. Sometimes we couldn't put our finger on it, and other times we could, but almost every time what that thing was, was Jacob Wick. Jake has quite a few shining spots on this album.



Just to let you in on how amazing this studio is....there is a venue inside the complex. We were fortunate enough to have Rick Rubin stop in and give us a surprise solo acoustic performance.



Just kidding. That's obviously Jeremy Wells playing that one slow acoustic Noggin Toboggan song that he still knows.

The studio/house/venue was really amazing. Seth was really on a mission and it seemed that we all followed his lead in staying pretty focused.



When I wasn't recording piano, accordion, random weird percussion, or background vocals I was watching youtube videos on a super comfy couch in the main room of the studio.



Jeremy like to sit in the same spot and drink huge cups of coffee.



We really have been working hard to get this finished so that we can bring you a nice finely tuned, delicious project. So many people have spent time working on this album but it needs to be said that Jason and Jonathan have also recorded quite a bit of the meat and potatoes of this album and took some of these songs in some really sweet directions, and that Kevin Foster wasn't here either. They were all missed.

So, we can't wait to share this all with you. I know you have all been super patient, not that you had a choice, but we really appreciate all of you hanging in there. We think it's gonna be worth the wait.

Could it be.......

...that Lakes are headed north to a secret location in Modesto to work on the mysterious new album? well, the rumor on the streets is that the guys have been spending weekends together trying to finish this project. hopefully this weekend is one huge step towards getting the first full length Lakes album into your hands as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support. I'll be updating this weekend to let you know how things are going, hopefully with a few pics.

Hotel Cafe...Take Two.

Hey everybody. Thanks to those of you who came out to the last two shows in Costa Mesa and Hollywood. The two shows really couldn't have been more different. The show at the Detroit Bar had a line-up of



seth on guitar (obviously),



Jeremy on bass,



Matthew (me) on accordian,

and KJ on drums. Kevin was in Reading living the dream playing bass for the Honey Trees. A lot of my family (hey Greg. i now know you read this) and some friends came out to this show, and it was a really fun kinda loose vibe. Maybe not our best performance ever, but it was a lot of fun. We played with Western Front.

The show at the Hotel Cafe had a couple of changes, with Kevin making it out, and playing a really delicious mandolin, and a little electric guitar, and a change on the drums with Jacob Wick invoking his lifetime membership Lakes card while finding the time to play a little violin.



Notice Jake on the violin playing into the drum mic. The Golden Child.

The setlist was as follows: White Flag, All of Me, 10 Years and Separating States, Ghost in the Man, Photographs, Father Son, the Heart is an Anchor, Indian Lover



One of the highlights for us was Photographs, as we haven't practiced that song in around, oh, 9 months.....but after the show Seth said, "That was one of my favorite times ever playing that song!" And Seth has been playing that song for a while. So it was pretty cool.

The show was also really fun because some old friends came out, and we were graced with Jovel's presence.



He's got a show tonight (cinco de Mayo) at the Roxy, please go. Your mind will be blown. He's amazing.

All in all, things seem to be moving along in the life of Lakes. The album is still in the works: vocals have been recorded on 6 or 7 songs...it's getting close people. Keep hanging in there. We appreciate you and love you for it. Thanks for reading, we'll be talking soon I'm sure.

Upcoming Shows

hey everyone. just wanted to give a quick heads up to you guys because we got a couple shows coming up in Southern California this month.

April 23rd @ Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa 9:30 p.m. (21+)

April 27th @ Hotel Cafe in Hollywood 10:00 p.m. (21+)





We hope to see a lot of friends at these shows, so come out and say hello.

Downtown Brew, SLO

Good 'ol SLO. I guess it can't be considered quite a home show, now that only half of the members of Lakes live in the county, but I think it feels like a home show to us all. This was the second of two shows we played with Tumbledown and S.G.F.Y. this was a pretty fun show with lots of familiar faces. Kip (the sound guy) always does a phenomenal with the sound in this venue and it's just a great place to play.

This was the second show in a row that we played Father, Son...and I wanted to post it up here to share with you all. It seems that Seth usually would only play this by himself by request, but i think the full band sounds nice. Let us know what you think.



Father, Son

flubbed lyrics, a little mid song banter with the crowd, oh local shows.



the Heart is an Anchor



Indian Lover

A really fun way to end this last batch of shows and look forward to the next. I know Seth has been working on finishing up a lot of the songs for the next Lakes album. Hopefully we'll have some concrete news for you guys soon. Love ya and thanks.