joel preston west

July 9, 2010

The recording and a video from our appearance on “These Days” is up on the KPBS website.

June 24, 2010

In case you missed it

June 24, 2010

Our disposable camera photos and a really fun video by Destin are up on Sezio.

June 21, 2010

The Tree Ring and I went on an adventure a couple weekends ago to get some new images for press stuff and this is the winner (Photo by Noelle Jouglet).  Also, we flew home from Bonnaroo last night and although we had some good times, it felt remarkably similar to coming home from some developing country.  All the sweat, dirt, and general defilement have been washed off and we’re happy to be back in the coastal climate and our own beds with ”Private Eyes” still stuck in our head from Daryl Hall’s incredible set with Chromeo.  We got to play two sets in the Ford Fiesta Garage for some great people and we’re really thankful for their hospitality and friendship.  Photos from the weekend coming soon.

June 15, 2010

Since a few other sources have made the announcement, I wanted to throw out a big thanks here to the Ford Fiesta Movement who, in addition to putting on such a memorable show at MCASD, has decided to send us out to Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee.  We will be around the whole weekend and are scheduled to play a set in the Ford Fiesta Garage on Sunday, June 13th.  Looking forward to catching some great sets, including the legendary band that gets referenced nearly every time someone outside of the music world finds out that I play harmonica.

May 28, 2010

Gold Coast Longboards launched a new website for their beautifully designed skateboards and it includes an interview with myself and a few other creative friends.

May 14, 2010

Carly Ealey’s photos from Friday night are up on the Sezio Facebook page and more media will be posted here soon.  An enormous thank you to everyone who contributed and attended, we are honored and inspired to say the least.

May 4, 2010

We are really looking forward to playing tonight with Black Mamba:

April 30, 2010

Co-photographed with Noelle

April 27, 2010

We recorded a cover song and you can download it by visiting Ford Fiesta’s page for our upcoming MCASD show.  To get the song, RSVP on the event page (you DON’T need to actually be coming to the show to RSVP) and it will be emailed to you. Here’s the link : Fiesta Movement San Diego

April 21, 2010

April 13, 2010

And we give thanks for the anticipation which prods our lungs to gather and drain, gather and drain.

April 5, 2010

The Tree Ring and I are preparing to record an album together and have been busy writing for the past couple of months.  It’s going to be a bit before we’re done, but we are happy to announce that one of the new songs we’ve been playing, Dreams Where I Am Sleeping, is finally being released on a split 7” with Portland band Norman.  A couple weekends ago, some great people got together to make this video of us playing the song for our neighbors:

On April 30th we will be previewing the new record live at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. The show will be an intimate performance in MCASD’s Sherwood Auditorium, and we are happy to be joined by Black Mamba.  More details will be available soon, but we wanted to make sure that everybody has time to get it in their calendars because we are really looking forward to the show and working hard to prepare.  It’s not often that we get to share our songs in a quiet, beautiful place with good sound and comfortable seats.  You can buy tickets here and the essentials are on this poster, designed by Andrew Glendinning:

April 1, 2010

I haven’t done much songwriting over the past year or two but I have recently gotten hooked on it again and am slowly working on a new record with any spare hours I can find.  I am trying some new things and it’s great to be writing this one with The Tree Ring.  There’s no better way to spend time with people than to work on creative projects together and it’s especially great to be the worst musician in the mix.  I’m going to be recording some of it myself, and it’s going to be a very different process that will let me get to know the songs better before I put them to print.

A few things with a new season:

Bullet Point 1 : We’re going to take it easy on shows to make time for writing.  Everyone in the band is very full-time with other things so we’re trying to spend the little time we have together on new things.

Bullet Point 2: After a year and a half of really inspiring exchange with all sorts of people, I’ve put the Dust Jacket Project to rest.  You can read more about it there but in brief, I’m not going to be trading the record for art anymore, which brings me to my third bullet point.

Bullet Point 3: Daytrotter just launched their beautiful re-design and my session now includes the option to purchase digital downloads of Something Makes Us Move and Dust Jacket.  Way more stoked for the percentage to go to the good people in Rock Island than to Mr. iPad.

Thank you to everyone who has been coming to shows so persistently and giving us feedback on the new stuff, it goes a long way.

Bonus Bullet Point: San Diego friends, mark your calendars for April 30th.  More to come.

March 12, 2010