3 MONTHS INSANE TOUR (((SOME VIDEOS)))

we’ve just passed the 3 month mark of the doldrums tour —– I left toronto on March 1, it is now June 6, this tour is THREE AND HALF MONTHS LONG ahahahagaggaa

I’m not really able to keep track of anything anymore, so I’m just gonna post a couple of video hi-lights

I’ve also lost all my socks, which is probably the least exciting thing that’s happened

this is from when we played on the beach in Ravenna, Italy, featuring Claire/Grimes with a candle pouring wax on her face and everyone else’s too. we actually had a seance right before the show as I recall

here is some superjam we made up in Turin — featuring a skeleton steve dance solo, and then we gave steve a birthday cake and all these italians sing him happy birthday!!

and here is another one from months(!) earlier at SXSW, featuring Sam from Friends singin on de chorus

anyway I’m back in Toronto June 14 see u then!
Daniel

June 6, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »

DUCT TAPE

DOLDRUMS LIVE ON WNYU THIS AFTERNOON / BOWERY BALLROOM TONITE

MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG TOMORROW

EUROPE TOUR w/ GRIMES STARTS THE DAY AFTER

I WAS GONNA POST A LONG THING BUT I GOTTA GO GET SOME MORE DUCT TAPE

WE USE A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF DUCT TAPE PER SHOW

IT’S LIKE SOME RED GREEN SHIT

May 8 New York City, NY – WNYU Radio Session
May 8 New York City, NY – Bowery Ballroom w/ Bear In Heaven, Blouse
May 9 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Bear In Heaven, Blouse
May 11 Brighton, UK – The Great Escape Festival show #1
May 12 Brighton, UK – The Great Escape Festival show #2
May 15 Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie w/ Grimes
May 16 Paris, France – La Fleche D’Or w/ Grimes
May 17 + 18 – London, UK – recording at XL studios
May 20 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Club Up
May 22 Oslo, Norway – Blaa w/ Grimes
May 23 Stockholm, Sweden – Cafeteatren w/ Grimes
May 24 Malmo, Sweden - Inkonst w/ Grimes
May 25 Berlin, Germany – Berghain w/ Grimes
May 26 Hamburg, Germany – Uebel & Gefahrlich w/ Grimes
May 28 Rome, Italy – Circolo degli Artisti w/ Grimes
May 29 Ravena, Italy – Hana-Bi w/ Grimes
May 30 Turin, Italy – Astoria w/ Grimes
May 31 London, UK – BBC Radio One Session
June 1 London, UK – No Pain In Pop
June 2 Bristol, UK – Dot To Dot Festival
June 3 Nottingham, UK – Dot To Dot Festival
June 4 Manchester, UK – Dot To Dot Festival

May 8, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »

U DO NOT NEED A PHONE

ya it’s been little while non??

THING 1 – me and my brother just drove a giant figure 8 around the entire continent of North America, without a phone or GPS —– so this is a message to bands and roadtrippers everywhere U DO NOT NEED A GPS OR A PHONE!

it’s all about MAPS mofuckazzzz

we are nearing the end of Doldrums US tour w/ Bear In Heaven — they are the sweetiest pies in heaven. we have dubbed them “the 3 bears”, for obvious reasons. big love to Blouse & Young Magic too.

I have to skip our canadian shows for visa reasons, so I will be in NYC from this thursday until our shows tuesday and wednesday —- what are you doin this weekend?? hit me up!!

the NY shows are at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg! that’s fuckin awesome! but hey there is more…..

Doldrums is gonna do another few US shows with Unknown Mortal Orchestra in june — we stayed with Jake from UMO when we were in Portland, he is the chillest. here are the dates:::

June 7 New York, NY // Mercury Lounge
June 8 Brooklyn, NY // Glasslands
June 9 Washington DC // Rock N Roll Hotel
June 11 Philadelphia, PA // Johnny Brendas
June 12 Boston, MA // Middle East
June 13 Montreal, QC // Il Motore

I’m sorry we don’t have any more photos or videos from the tour cuz me and my bro are just like that — but Angus Borsos who is a filmmaker and great thinker came with us for the west coast and shot this crazy surrealist movie with airick that will be amazing once edited out of the void.

annnnnnd europe with grimes starts next week, I’m sure I will be able to show you what that looks like cuz Marilis is actually good at documenting things. I am really really looking forward to not sleeping in the car anymore! this tour has been mad fun, intense, but fun.

Daniel Moon King

May 2, 2012 | Daniel | 1 Comment »

TRADIN MIXTAPE$$$

so we just drove through the desert for three days, I feel really wasted from sleeping in the car and just generally mind/body-numbness but we went to the UFO museum in Roswell and frolicked on these white sand dunes, so I basically love the desert even when it’s weird and cold

so far we have driven through 13 states on this part of the tour, and I think we will drive through 35 states in total (plus 6 or 7 countries in europe), many of them two or three times, and we are RUNNING OUT OF MUSIC TO LISTEN TO IN THE VAN

so … you, reading this right now! zip up a bunch of mp3’s you like and send them to snakesandladders.daniel [at] gmail.com, then me or airick will make a mix for you in return!!!

Sam from the amazing band FRIENDS is making one for us, Alex from Hellaluya and Dan from Hooded Fang too

WHAT R U LISTENING TO?? WE WANNA KNOW!! WE ARE BORED AND WE LIKE MUSIC

I also like maps, here’s where we have been/where we are going::::

FIRST PART OF TOUR (SXSW)


View Larger Map

SECOND PART OF TOUR (UNTIL TODAY)

View Larger Map

THIRD PART OF TOUR (AFTER TODAY)

View Larger Map

FOURTH PART OF TOUR (EUROPE)

View Larger Map

April 5, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »

doldrums tour

yoooooooooooooooooooooo

I’m doin a DJ set tonite (monday) at crooked star, then Moon King live tomorrow with Grimes at the horseshoe

and the 12″ is all done too!

leaving wednesday for the doldrums tour, I am psycccched

here is a photo of me and my bro thx maddy wilde haha

and all the dates:

* with Bear In Heaven
^ with Grimes

*March 28 Pittsburgh, PA – Andy Warhol Museum
*March 29 Bloomington, IN – the Bishop
*March 30 Colombus, OH - the Basement
*March 31 Cincinnati, OH – MOTR
*April 1 St Louis, MO – Luminary Arts
*April 4 San Diego, CA – Casbah
*April 5 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
*April 7 Davis, CA – Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
*April 8 San Francisco, CA – Independent
*April 12 Portland, OR – Mississipi Studios
*April 13 Seattle, WA – Crocodile
*April 14 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore
*April 17 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
*April 18 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
*April 20 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
*April 21 Nashville, TN – Exit/In
*April 22 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
*April 24 Austin, TX – the Parish
*April 25 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
*April 26 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
*April 27 Atlanta, GA – the Earl
*April 28 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
*April 29 Raleigh, NC - King’s
*May 1 Washington DC – Black Cat
*May 2 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
*May 3 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
*May 4 Montreal, QC – La Salla Rosa
*May 5 Toronto, ON – the Garrison
*May 6 Ithica, NY – the Haunt
*May 8 New York City, NY – Bowery Ballroom
*May 9 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

May 11 Brighton, UK – The Great Escape Festival

^May 15 Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie
^May 16 Paris, France – La Fleche D’Or
^May 22 Oslo, Norway – Blaa
^May 23 Stockholm, Sweden – Cafeteatren
^May 24 Malmo, Sweden – Inkonst
^May 25 Berlin, Germany – Berghain
^May 26 Hamburg, Germany – Uebel & Gefahrlich
^May 28 Rome, Italy – Circolo degli Artisti
^May 29 Ravena, Italy - Hana-Bi
^May 30 Turin, Italy - Astoria

+ more UK dates tba

March 26, 2012 | Daniel | 1 Comment »

SXSW recovery; video; grimes show rescheduled; DJ set

whoa ok SXSW was great fun. Doldrums played something like 10 shows in four days and signed a giant record contract with pepsi-co. man, I really like austin. I want to go back and visit not during SXSW.

on the friday of the fest we played essentially a massive frat boy jungle gym at the university of texas, with the rather unbelievable lineup of Dan Deacon, Andrew WK, Pictureplane, Doldrums, Hume, Japanther, Zorch, Rich Aucoin, Best Fwends, Ava Luna and the Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, which resulted in the hottest room I have ever set foot it. here is a video of the doldrums set (note: athough I pull this move all the time, that is NOT me hangin from the rafters, it is my bro. we both weigh like 100 lbs so it’s fairly easy to do this)

we were gonna drive all night after our last show on saturday, to make it back to Toronto in time for Moon King to play at the Grimes show on monday, but our car broke down at around 4am —- what followed was a series of unfortunate towtruck-related incidents which resulted in me getting to know a certain highway roadside stop very very well, but we did end up getting it fixed. also, claire actually had to cancel her show at the Horseshoe and move it to this coming Tuesday (March 27), so it’s still on!!
GRIMES + BORN GOLD + MOON KING + MAJICAL CLOUDZ at the HORSESHOE TAVERN (sold out beeeyaaw)

a lot of friends have been asking me about guest spots for this but I’m sorry I can’t help ya out! where were u when claire played at the tiger bar fall 2010 huh?? nah, I kidd ;) I’m excited to see her too.

one last thing — we’re gonna do a tour homecoming/going-away-again party at the Crooked Star (212 Ossington, at Dundas) the night before Grimes, on Monday the 26th — Moon King DJ set all night!

peace and beans,
-Daniel

March 22, 2012 | Daniel | 1 Comment »

A ROUGH PLAN FOR SXSW aka “SPREAD THE NET WIDE TO CATCH ALL THE FISH, THEN NARROW IT DOWN TO JUST GET THE GOOD BITS”


here we go, it’s my 4th SXSW… I am up very late right now poring through scrolls of semi-serious band names, searching for the elusive promise of “free BBQ and booze, 4-6pm” etc etc etc

I have managed to edit down the desires of 50,000 endorphin- and chemically-enhanced socialites, musicians, kids on spring break, partiers, dancers, shit-flingers, bit-players, high-rollers, tech-warriors, culture soldiers and morphine-addled optimists into what I feel is the best way for me to spend my weekend.

but it’s a really long and indulgent list and would be pretty weird if I just posted it. so, here are the shows me, my bro and the effervescent Steven Foster are playing during SXSW:::

WEDNESDAY 3/14
4:00pm – Slip n’ Slide party (1102 E 2nd st)
8pm – Escapes party at 1808 E 12th st
10pm – Agency Group / French Embassy showcase at the Mohawk (912 Red River st)
11:30 – Escapes party at 1808 E 12th st

THURSDAY 3/15
4:40pm – Pop Montreal Showcase at The Spill (212 E 6th st)

FRIDAY 3/16
2:30pm – Brooklyn Vegan party at Hotel Vegas (1500 E 6th st)
4:00pm – Death in Taxes party at Cheer up Charlie’s (1104 E 6th st)
1:00am – SXSMess – 21st Street Co Op (707 W 21st st)

SATURDAY 3/17
8pm – WNYU party at Baby Blue Studio (1522 E 12th)
11:00pm – M for Montreal showcase at the Spill (212 E 6th st)

then we are BOOKIN IT straight back to Toronto — Moon King is playing with Grimes at the Horseshoe on Monday March 19, and it is SOLD OUT!! amaazing!! Born Gold and Magikal Cloudz are on the bill as well, will be an amazing night!

now, I should sleep, it’s 4:30am. I am crashing from drinking super sweet daiquiries of indeterminate colour. but maybe I will see you in texas this week or toronto, and we will trade secrets

[update: I posted the list]

-Daniel Moon King

March 13, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »

transparency

just want to give super high-quality props to everyone who came out to the Daps Revue show on friday, Maddy’s party on saturday, or Owen Pallett’s secret show/Dorian’s birthday on monday … yall have made me glow in a womb-like fashion. twas very nice to see you all.

so I am about to embark on a very long and perilous mission, the first stop of which is mixing the new Moon King recordings in NYC next week with the amazing Shane Stoneback (who has worked with, among others, Fucked Up, Cults, Sleigh Bells and the Lyte Funky Ones)

I thought I’d share with you one of the new tracks the way we do it live; this is the “behind-the-scenes” nerd-out type of thing where you get to see what’s actually playing through the PA system at our shows, if u r a soundguy or in a band or can only hear one ear at a time maybe you’ll find it interesting. “”TRANSPARENCY!”"

-Daniel Moon King

-Daniel

February 29, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »

doldrums shows and new live band +++ moon king shows

so me and my brother (pictured at left) have been rehearsing all week for the new Doldrums live band (with the mighty Steven Foster on drums) — I’m singin now and doin live+electronic percussion, there’s like a freaky brazilian booty house thing goin on… playing some guitar too though I’m really, really bad at it. anyway we’re going on tour as Doldrums and doing a couple of Moon King shows here and there too.
HERE ARE ALL THE DATES::::

MOON KING

Feb 24 Toronto, ON - the Great Hall (Daps Revue show w/ Doldrums, Phedre, Hooded Fang and L Con)
Feb 27 Toronto, ON - the Drake Hotel w/ special secret guests
March 6 Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands w/ Odonis Odonis, Hooded Fang
March 13-17 Austin, TX (SXSW) – various parties
March 19 Toronto, ON – the Horseshoe Tavern w/ Grimes
March 28 Peterborough, ON – WHL2 w/ Born Gold

.
.
.
,

DOLDRUMS

Feb 24 Toronto, ON – the Great Hall (Daps Revue show w/ Doldrums, Phedre, Hooded Fang and L Con)
March 8 New York City, NY – Mercury Lounge w/ Trust
March 10 Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Festival
March 11 Orlando, FL – Orange You Glad Music Festival
March 13-17 Austin, TX (SXSW) – various parties

*all dates below with Bear In Heaven

March 29 Bloomington, IN – the Bishop
March 30 Colombus, OH – the Basement
March 31 Cincinnati, OH – MOTR
April 1 St Louis, MO – Luminary Arts
April 4 San Diego, CA – Casbah
April 5 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
April 8 San Francisco, CA – Independent
April 12 Portland, OR – Mississipi Studios
April 13 Seattle, WA – Crocodile
April 14 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore
April 17 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
April 18 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
April 20 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar
April 21 Nashville, TN – Exit/In
April 22 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
April 24 Austin, TX – the Parish
April 25 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
April 26 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
April 27 Atlanta, GA – the Earl
April 28 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
April 29 Raleigh, NC - King’s
May 1 Washington DC - Black Cat
May 2 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
May 3 Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
May 4 Montreal, QC – La Salla Rosa
May 5 Toronto, ON – the Garrison
May 6 Ithica, NY – the Haunt
May 8 New York City, NY – Bowery Ballroom
May 9 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

February 23, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »

nice words

Assunta Alegiani did a great profile on me for the Varsity this week, I feel kinda weird posting it cuz it gets a little “dark” and “personal”, but I really like her writing and it’s pretty darn accurate all the way through, so here it is::::::

(original article here)

To use music as a form of therapy is not uncommon. But in the case of Daniel Woodhead, one half of the Toronto electro-folk band Moon King, his songs revealed issues unknown even to himself. “With the newer songs, I found that if I sing them over and over again, eventually the sounds turn into words and they ended up being about things I didn’t even realize at the time.” With hesitation, he observes that “the lyrics are usually a lot darker than you would think, considering the songs — a lot of songs about my family and my brother.” While Woodhead writes all the lyrics, he says that Moon King is “totally a duo,” referring to the band’s other half, Maddy Wilde. The project was conceived last summer, and the two have since put out a 7” and released a few songs online; the debut album is yet to come. However, they’re far from being new to the whole band business.

Since 2003, they’ve been taking Toronto by storm in the folk-pop quartet Spiral Beach, along with Woodhead’s brother Airick (now busy with Doldrums and Phedre) and Dorian Wolf (now very busy with Austra). Sadly, I never got to experience one of the extravagant live shows that Spiral Beach was known for (think Rich Aucoin but more artsy). They were so popular that they got 400 people to take the ferry to Ward’s Island for an all-night show, appeared on MTV Live twice, and toured extensively across North America and Europe. When the band decided to call it quits in December 2009, it was probably “the most positive way to end a band ever.” Woodhead says that with Spiral Beach, it was always just about playing together as a group. “We never really decided what Spiral Beach should sound like. We always just did it. Everything was about those four people playing together. And that’s amazing — that’s really rare.” But as with most people in their early twenties, the members of Spiral Beach needed to figure their shit out. “We decided to make the last record and tour to infinity and then it was like ‘Okay, I guess we’re done.’”

2010 was a dark year for Woodhead, a time he spent soul searching, partly on the streets of NYC, “sleeping wherever, on benches and in parks. After we decided to end Spiral Beach, I was really lost. It was that classic tale of the young guy who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life.” For a while he just played with various projects and put on shows under his blog moniker Snakes + Ladders. His parents are both artists; his mom does pottery and his dad is folk musician David Woodhead. To grow up in this environment makes musicianship a legitimate career choice, but for Woodhead, it all just so happened. After spending a year and a half wondering whether he wanted to be a musician at all, he finally made a decision and got together with Wilde, whom he has been playing with since they were kids. “I feel like there’s nobody that I really trust more, and we really know how to bounce off each other.”

Though Woodhead emphasizes that Moon King is “totally a duo,” the new project posed a profound change from the collaborative song writing he used to do with his brother Airick in Spiral Beach. “The idea of doing a solo thing was pretty daunting,” he admits. At the moment, Moon King is deep into recording, going for a “dream punk” sound

“Basically, I’m trying to record as much as possible and we’ll carve an album out of that. We’ll probably release a couple more singles or 7” [until the album comes out].” Moon King’s songs take time to unfold. They appear simple and contain the directness of punk but reveal subtle layers that give them more intricacy. “[Our music] is really loud, but I wouldn’t say it’s aggressive. It has harmonies and softness,” Woodhead says. This “softness” he speaks of is not the subtle caressing of Spiral Beach’s dream pop, but rather, a danceable, beat-heavy weaving of entrancing harmonies. And while lyrics like “whenever it’s summertime well I’m dead/all I wanted I forget, things I guess I never had” certainly indicate darkness, the music itself conveys a carefree attitude.

What is most notable about Woodhead and his approach to musicianship is his communal nature. If anything, that is the recurring theme that shines through in the interview. Whether he talks about the Toronto music scene, his motivation for putting on shows, or his own music-making, it’s evident that the collaborative aspect of making and playing music is what he revels in. He wanted to be a writer when he was young and says that “how I express myself is more in the lyrics.” But considering the solitary nature of the writing profession, it’s not surprising that he came back to music after his “literal and figurative wandering” of 2010.

See Moon King at the Great Hall on February 24.

Check out Moon King and friends here: http://snakesplusladders.com/

February 18, 2012 | Daniel | No Comments »
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