Weary (limited time free download)- Offer has ended

This offer is now closed. Some links will be left up for streaming purposes. Thank you to all who took part in this program.
















We are happy to announce our first ever "free" download from Sleep and Dream of fire. Download Weary here now. It will only be available for two months, so get it while you can and share this link with anyone you think would enjoy free music. There are 1,000 songs in the program, all by independent musicians and all for free. This program is hosted by reverbnation and sponsored by Windows.

That's a lot of songs to choose from and if you have the time, it'll be fun to discover new independent music. Just by listening to the songs you are helping each band out. I've put together a small list of local artists in the program who have mp3's available. Thanks to reverbnation for including us in the program. I've been singing their praises and using their site for years. You'll find all of the free downloads easily from this link "free songs" or any of the others I've posted.

When deciding which song to offer I wanted to put our best foot forward and picked a song near and dear to us. I chose Weary. Weary was written by Matthew (who does a very different and haunting version solo) about a Colonel's tomb located between Elliston & Shawsville VA. This Colonel was buried standing up in his tomb so he could oversee his slaves working in the fields as to instill fear in them. This struck us as very bizarre and inspired Matthew to write a song about how we are all capable of wrongdoing and also deserving of salvation. Here was a man who even after death chose to affirm his possessions, which caused suffering to many, as though he could take it with him. To me this song is about life's journey and how every choice we make influences the quality of our lives and those who surround us. To put it simply, be kind. (bitterness follows you beyond the grave)

Here is the list of songs I've compiled so far with help from the Team Triangle facebook page. Please, feel free to re-post this list anywhere and let me know if you find some good songs to add to it.

Weary- Sequoya

Homebodies- A Rooster For The Masses

Feel Better- Schooner

Sociopath- The Dry Heathens

Truth Is Tricky- I Was Totally Destroying It

On and On- Bull City

Red Panda- Nathan Oliver

Pretending- Simple

Gin & Tonic- The Future Kings of Nowhere

Purify- Kryptic

300 Dogs Saved Oprah.com

Our song "Remember" has been featured in an audio slideshow on Oprah.com. In part with an article written by Barry Yeoman about 300 dogs who were rescued from an animal hoarder in Sanford, N.C. The slideshow was produced by Barry and the audio was produced by Richard Ziglar. I am very honored to be a part of this project and touched by the stories of the dogs who were saved. See the video with our song and watch the other three stories in the link below. Read the article here on Oprah.com or in the June issue of O Magazine.

http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200906-omag-abused-dogs-saved/3

You can hear the full version of this song on our new record "Sleep and Dream of Fire" available at CDBaby and on iTunes.

Duo Fest III- reviews and photos

Duo Fest III was a hit this year. The day couldn't have been nicer and all of the bands rocked. I love the diversity of the music and how much sound two people can make.

Here are a few reviews of the festival from two bloggers.
Complete with photos of each band and a short review of the music http://secretcarrboroninjapatrol.blogspot.com

and a review from fellow Duo Fester Battle Rockets http://afraidofthebear.blogspot.com

There was also a secret photographer who posted some amazing shots of the fest on flickr. Check them out here He took the photo at the top of the post, thank you "not a photographer".

Update: I found the blog from the secret photographer on WKNC's blog. Check out all the photos the way they were intended here. http://wknc.org/blog/photo-bloggings-duo-fest

Duo Fest III

We're really excited to be playing Duo Fest III this year. All of the bands are incredible and we've always had a great time at Duo Fest these past 3 years. Please come down to BCHQ on April 18th. Here are the bands and line up (so far). The show starts at 2pm, go to the Duofest myspace for more info. http://www.myspace.com/durhamduofest


Event Lineup (subject to slight change):

2:00 PM -- DOORS
3:00—Battle Rockets (Chapel Hill)
3:30—Sawteeth McTweedy (Durham)
4:00—Basalt (Greensboro)
4:30—Scientific Superstar (Durham)
5:00—Ottvovonbismark (Milford, PA / Wilmington, NC)
5:30—Phon (Raleigh)
6:00— Sequoya (Durham)
6:30—Victor Victor Band (Philadelphia)
7:00—Veg Dinner Break!! (Potluck-style)
8:00—Spacelab (Chapel Hill)
8:30 -- Saint Peter Pocket Veto (Winston-Salem)
9:00—All Your Science (Durham) and “Backpack Drumset” (Documentary on All Your Science)
9:45—Beloved Binge (Durham)
10:15—Mecca Normal (Vancouver,BC) http://meccanormaltour.wordpress.com
11:00—Veelee(Chapel Hill)
11:30—Curtains of Night (Chapel Hill)
12:00-- Trophy Wife (DC)

We can't wait to see Beloved Binge (back shortly from their 7 month tour) and Mecca Normal on their 25th anniversary tour.

Thank you WXDU and free downloads

I want to say thank you to WXDU and all of their DJ's for playing and promoting local music. We are very honored to be included on their top 66 local releases in 2008 and ranked 8th most played in the week of January 4th 2009.

We'd also like to thank all of you who have purchased mp3's and discs of "Sleep and Dream of Fire".


There is a brand new Subdivision 67 compilation disc out now. Look for it (for free) at local shows. Songs on the comp include
Recall- Beloved Binge
Good Times- Wigg Report
Personification of Light- Ponchos From Peru
Quaker Bridge Mall- Sawteeth McTweety
Dreams We Have- Sugar In The Dirt
Insofar- Sequoya
Moore Square Station- Scientific Superstar
Best Part Of Me- Shana Scudder

All of it is awesome and all of it is free.

Speaking of free music... we have a lot of free songs for download at reverbnation. There's no need to sign up and you can preview and download each track with the player below. Here is a brief description of the songs available, which comprise almost a whole albums worth of music.

Four of these songs were recorded at home on my old Yamaha 4-track recorder and mastered at South West Recording Studios in 2004. The other two were recorded at South West Recording Studio in 2000, featuring Antoinette on drums and the always fun Chuck Crush as engineer.



Songs are
Harlan's Daughter- Inspired by the life story of Florence Reese.
Red Clay Red- A haunting tale I wrote for a film maker to use in one of his films. This song also created the back drop for our record Villain Victim. See it here live on youtube.
Alone At the Bar- From the 2000 recording on Like Water. See it live here with Ruth from Sawteeth McTweedy on drums.
Landfills- They're all full of curious things, recorded in 2000.
Artemis- A song about an inspiring friend and creativity. From Villain Victim 2004.
Two Sisters- A very folky song inspired by a television show pilot called White Dwarf.

Reviews

Reviews are coming in for Sleep and Dream of Fire and start off with a great local blogger and musician, Secret Carrboro Ninja Patrol.
"Sequoya masters a technique of story telling through music and song that uses metaphor to put the listener in the shoes of the artist and draws upon common ground in order for the listener to relate."
Read the entire review here secretcarrboroninjapatrol.blogspot.com

Next up is Paperbacknovel.com whom we did an interview with months before the record was released.
"The music grabs you first, and you can listen to the music without paying attention to a single lyric, but those lyrics will gently sink in, and draw you in, and when you’re in, you realize the lyrics are quite fantastic, the subject matter unique, elevating this music to amongst the best stuff being made today."
Read the entire review here paperbacknovel.com

Here are some photos from our CD release show on December 6th 2008. Thank you to all that came out and to Jeremy Blair for the photos.

CD Release Party

We are very excited to be releasing our new cd Sleep and Dream of Fire with Scientific Superstar who is releasing Issue #1. They're really going the extra mile by putting out a comic book to go along with a full length record. You can preview the comic at scientificsuperstar.com.

We'll be at the Pinhook, Durham's highly anticipated and brand new bar on December 6th 2008.

Also playing is Sawteeth Mctweedy who have built a foundation with their insightful anti-folk songs. You can see them here playing "Wings" and braving an extreme downpour. This was originally posted on the Mannsworld.blog. They also do an impressive version of Led Zeppelin's Hey, hey What Can I Say.

Now we have Lake and Hennepin, the name is new but it is none other than Reese from the Dirty Little Heaters playing solo acoustic. Reese has been rocking the triangle for years and has a fresh off the presses 7" available at Church Key Records called "Fatty Don't Feel Good".

Finally!

Our new record Sleep and Dream of Fire is out now and can be purchased at CD Baby. We are so happy to finally get to share these songs after so long. It will be available digitally in the next few weeks but hard copies are ready to send. Just follow this link to check it out and listen to some of the tracks.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/sequoya

I tried to keep it as DIY as possible and did all of the recording and printing myself. I also created a lyric booklet (in case you were wondering what I said). The CD's were replicated professionally (cool silver bottoms) and designed by Quick Brown Fox Design. The sound was professionally mastered and I was amazed by the difference it made in the recordings. The packaging will change and be reinvented often. I wanted the luxury to change my mind and find other DIY alternatives as they come.

Over the past four years I've been recording, writing, and talking about this record. I'm so happy that it's done, but after completing a project there is a sadness that goes along with the joy. I chalk it up to nervousness and the uncertainty of what's to come, but that's the fun part. There should be a new music video and I've been recording an amazing Duo, Sawteeth McTweedy. I'm excited to put everything I've learned about DIY recording towards their music.

Sequoya Podcast

Last Sunday we did a podcast with Kim fromSubdivision 67 where we talk about the new record Sleep and Dream of Fire, recording DIY, folk music, and being a part of Subdivision 67. It starts out with our song "The Cosmonaut's Wife" and moves on to the interview.

If you have a few minutes you can here it here. The link will take you directly to the podcast.
Sequoya Podcast

The Podcast includes a new, never been heard before song called "This Time" and Sleep and Dream of Fire will be released in September.

Good News!

We're finally finished with our record which will be called "Sleep and Dream of Fire". There was a hold up with the mastering but I got word today that we are a go and I'll be sending it out this week. This will make an August release date very feasible, but I'm going to wait until I get the order in before I make any tentative plans. My horoscope suggested that I keep my mouth shut today, which means not posting a blog about it, but I was so excited, I just had to spill.

We will be playing in Wilmington this weekend! The Durham showcase at We-Fest. Thank you Beloved Binge (Rob and Eleni) for setting it up and including us on the bill. We will be playing with a special guest drummer and back up vocal extraordinaire Ruth from Sawteeth McTweedy. Ruth has given us a chance to bring out songs we usually never play but love. Here is a video of her playing "Alone At The Bar" with us at BCHQ on May 3rd, filmed by Kim from
Subdivision 67. You can download this song for FREE using the reverb nation player in the right hand corner of this page.

Set back

So today was the day. I finished all of our recordings and was planning on sending the mixes to be mastered tomorrow. Unfortunately I discovered that the person we lined up to do the mastering is moving and won't be back in service until June. I'm really disappointed but what can you do? This is a very good move for them and I'm happy that they're getting a shiny new place. I'm gonna stick with the plan and hopefully we'll still have something together by August.

March 9th at the Cave & Daylight Savings

Spend Daylight Savings time with Sequoya

So Sunday March 9th we'll be playing with Audrey Ryan, Eberhardt, Dent May and his Magnificent Ukulele, and John Barrett's Bass Drum of Death, at The Cave in Chapel Hill. I love all of these bands and each one performs solo, with the occasional friend joining in. We're going to start the evening early (8:30ish) since it's Spring Forward and there are 5 bands, but there will be awesome music the whole night.
It's also the day before my birthday and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than playing at the Cave and hearing awesome music. I think there will be cake... and I'd love to see all of my friends there.

Here's a video preview of all the bands playing on this nifty video player from youtube. There's a video from each band and I really love "Oh Paris" by Dent May. It should be the first one to pop up.

Sequoya News

So I'm almost done with mixing the new record, just a few songs to go and then they're off to mastering. I've posted quite a few songs already on myspace and reverbnation such as, Rocket, The Cosmonaut's Wife, Weary, and My Father (live at 307 Knox Salon). I haven't decided on a proper name for it yet, but I'm sure that will come soon enough.
I've been working on a plan for internet distribution and we're still considering how to handle that. I've been looking at a few companies to host the mp3's, and I'll update as soon as I decide on one. After that's taken care of we have teamed up with Subdivision 67. We will be offering the new record there as soon as it's released and I thank them for their support.
It's been 4 years since our last release but there's been a lot of changes since then. For instance our recording equipment. I had to retire my beloved Yamaha 4-track because it ceased to work, well just the stop button. What can you do if you can't stop? In it's place I got a Tascam DP-01 fx/CD. Matthew started playing the banjo and has offered his song "Weary" to the record. He also performs on each and every track.

I haven't started on the art yet, I don't even know how I'm going to cut it. Matthew has been researching eco-friendly packaging such as usb drives and is gung ho on internet downloads. Hard copies will be available but in very limited quantities.

If you have any knowledge or advice on CD duplication please leave me a comment, I'd love to know what you think. What companies have you used and what was your experience with them? Who do you feel offers the best quality for a fair price in limited runs?
Thank you

HowClosely video blog

I got a camera for a present a few years ago and since then I've taken a ton of footage from the local shows I frequent. I do it for fun and because there's usually a song I want to hear again. I put some of these videos on youtube for the bands and whoever else to see. I'll be adding new and older videos later and I'm thinking I may need a new camera. http://www.youtube.com/HowClosely

Here are a few
Joy In Red

Sawteeth McTweedy and the Particles "Wings Wine & Cigarettes"

Beloved Binge "Vacuum"

Eberhardt "Curse"

Dawn Dineen - The Ghostly Apple Tree

Before you begin click on the player below to listen to "The Ghostly Apple Tree" performed live at The 307 Knox Salon.


Back in October Dawn Dineen and the Cue made their way to Durham, on tour for Dawn's new release The Ghostly Apple Tree. It's a beautiful and poetic album which Dawn Recorded mostly by herself in her bedroom overlooking D.C.
We were all amazed by their performance that night and I was lucky to get a CD before they left. I shot two videos which came out very dark but the music is still amazing. The second video is called "Mystery Novel" from her previous record Wound Check. I bought this record off of iTunes but it's cheaper if you get it through CD Baby.

Durham Zombie Lurch

We were part of the very first Durham Zombie Lurch. We had so much fun lurching around Durham in our zombie attire and gory makeup. A highlight of the day was a young girl around 7 with her parents. They stopped to see us lurching and were delighted by the spectacle. We headed on to Brightleaf Square and heard laughter all around by the unsuspecting diners. See our walk set appropriately to Jaguaro's song "Cannibal".




Go here to read more about this event and for photos. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/752252.html

Update:
The third Zombie Lurch in 2009 is planned for Friday October 30th. The meeting place is across from the Piedmont Restaurant at sundown (6:30pm). Join their facebook page for updates. Durham Zombie Lurch

There will be a second Zombie Lurch on Sat. November 1st 2008.

Coalition to Unchain Dogs Benefit

We will be playing a benefit on Saturday October 13 for the Coalition to Unchain Dogs in Durham Central Park. Tickets are $10 if you pre-order and $12 at the door. You can go here to purchase your tickets ahead of time.http://www.unchaindogs.net/buytix.html

Visit http://www.unchaindogs.net/benefit.html for more information about the event and press. We hope to see you there.
Here is the list of acts so far

Sequoya - 5:00 - 5:35

Beloved Binge - 5:50 - 6:25

Jamie Purnell 6:40 - 7:15

Jon Shain 7:30 - 8:15

Competent Drummer 8:30 - 9:15

Bull City 9:30 - 10:15

Later on that evening we will be performing at the Knox Salon with Dawn Dineen, on the road supporting her recent release The Ghostly Apple Tree. This is a private session so shoot me a message if you would like to attend.

Harlan's Daughter

Ever since I heard about the 6 trapped miners in Utah early this August my ears have been fixed on updates and news about them. The out look is not good, 20 days later and yet another mine collapse resulting in the death of 3 rescue workers. My heart goes out to the families of all these men.
I wrote a song in 2003 called "Harlan's Daughter". You can listen to the song and download it for free using the ReverbNation player in the top right corner of the page. I wrote it based on an interview with Florence Reese, author of the song "Which Side Are You On". Her father and her husband were coal miners and the story of her life fascinates me.

July 28th show

We had a great time Saturday night and I thought I would post a little slideshow of some of our pictures. Thanks to the ILLBOTZ, Beloved Binge, Cairo, Sawteeth McTweedy and the Particles, and everyone who came out.

ILLBOTZ & Beloved Binge!

Now this is a show to look forward to. We've known the ILLBOTZ Stevie D and Big Perm for many years and have contributed on their records. They never fail to make us laugh and we're excited to hear a new take. The ILLBOTZ go acoustic!
As if that wasn't exciting enough we will be playing with Beloved Binge. The ever talented duo who has a remarkable blog here Binge Cafe indulging your interest in vegan cooking and community building. Soon they will be making their way into the studio to record another album following their amazing release Other Places.
Here's my favorite Beloved Binge video "Love Makes You Fat" from "Other Places".