THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

twitter.com/spanishdancerrr

because Jim Jones said so.

CLOCKED IN

There is an article in this week's Phoenix entitled "Weird and Wired" which has a chunk in it on Spanish Dancer:

"And Anthony Ferreira, frontman for Spanish Dancer, is a sort of Renaissance City stab at Prince. Born to a Dominican father and Italian mother, he started out with post-punk outfit A Trillion Barnacle Lapse, which caught the attention of the Pitchfork web site, among other arbiters of cool.

Then it was on to the short-lived, but promising Honeyhander, described in these pages as a “dizzy brew of psychedelia and indie shoegazer,” before Ferreira re-emerged as Spanish Dancer — a greasy, flamboyant stage presence at his most outlandish in the early going.

Early Spanish Dancer was really kind of gaudy,” he said, in a recent telephone interview, a day after performing at the Spazzatorium, an underground club in Greenville, North Carolina. “I wore 60 gold chains and giant diamond earrings.”
But Ferreira, who was touring with drummer Eric Hastings, guitarist Matt Vaughan, and saxophone and electronics whiz Nick Caito, said Spanish Dancer has toned down the act a touch since then.

“People say to me, ‘This isn’t one big, sarcastic scam like it used to be,’ ” he said.

And there may be some wisdom behind the move.

Denizens of the electronic scene say a tassle of artists who have placed a premium on fun might go a little further with a touch of the serious."

The entire article is here: http://thephoenix.com/Providence/Music/84521-Weird-and-wired/

HEART OF MEDINA

Have I mentioned about how much Seal we've been listening to on tour?? Ok maybe we didn't listen to Seal A LOT per se. Maybe we actually just listened to Seal for like an hour. But metaphorically speaking I was listening to Seal the entire time you know what I'm saying?? The new shit is like what it sounds like waking up next to Heidi Klum in a California King not really too sure when the last time you viewed the balance on your checking account was. I would actually like to sound like that too but I've been sleeping next to Dan Burns and checked my balance 26 and a half minutes ago but who's counting.



Eric actually had some bigtime session recording thing to do in Philly so he could not play the last show of tour in Manhattan. It's hard to tell someone they should pass up 2 grand and drink well whiskey in the back of Lit Lounge instead. We dropped him off in the City of Brotherly Love which we surprisingly in and out of in like 10 minutes. Wow! And furthermore the commute from Philly to NYC is about 13 seconds so when we got there Dan bounced to Queens to bro down with his Queens people, Rodney went on a fruitless bus trip ticket mission in Midtown, and I walked 40 blocks with the Shaman not finding what I was looking for. Actually I'm not even sure what I was looking for. You always think your going to find some golden item or have an epiphany in NYC until you realize they have the same stuff in Providence except for a five thousand dollar sweat band on 5th avenue that you didn't need anyway.

Seen Brain pushing a mountain bike and Paul Sevigny from A.R.E walking down a side street and did not get to say word up in time. I did however see Erik Weapons who was bartending at Lit who in turn immediately dropped the Nick Bishop bomb. A.R.E Weapons loves Nick Bishop. Bishop runs into Matt every random time he is in NYC. I once threw a warehouse party with the weapons and Bishop in PVD it was some beautiful shit. I think they collab now with Alan Vega on some stuff but that might be old news actually.

As usual it is nearly impossible to fit all of your gear on Lit's stage and when you jump your head hit's the ceiling (and I'm 5'8 for the record). Mikelams filled in drums and it was like old times except more people onstage. The Press (the band) makes it out but misses the set. Did I mention they killed it when we played with them in Brooklyn? Carried gear up the SAW IV staircase and little Providence was on the horrizon. BOO. No I'm kidding. It was good to head back. I missed the puppy and the lady and I knew we had some menacing shit to write for the next record upon our arrival.

It was real. Good to meet so many amazing people and even better to see all the old ones.
Until next time my good doobies
TONIETONETONY

JUELZ HUFFY

This is my favorite picture of all time I think. This is Dan Burns the morning after our Myrtle Beach date at the amazing Scott Smallin's new posh pad. I threatened over the mic at least twice that I was moving in. Dude lives what I'd like to refer to as "the life". If I am a good doobie in this life I hope to come back as Scott Smallin.



Also, while I'm back tracking here, some serious weird shit went down while we were in NC. If I didn't mention it before, Greenville North Carolina looks a bit like 28 days later or something. There are tons of buildings and houses and cars but no one walking around. The locals blamed it on Memorial Day, but there was still something eerie about it. We went to a Hess station to buy some gangsta 40's, yet another thing you cannot do in the north, and while we were in there this crack head looking like Juelz Santana came swaying in. We got our stuff and were waiting for the last of us who were inside when I hear the old leather lady behind the counter scream "STOP HIM!". Juelz started to speed off on his (most likely stolen) women's bike and we were stunned and just looked at each other. This trucker who was outside silently smoking the entire time grabbed his arm causing an 18 RACK of beer to fall from underneath his tall tee. Although Juelz did get away, the box smashed to the ground and beers were rolling all over the parking lot.

You have to understand how big an 18 rack is. Seriously, look down at the shirt you're wearing right now. How big of a box can you fit underneath that? Like a box of tissue maybe at best. Well dude had a box the size of a 3 year old child underneath there and attempted to transport it via WOMEN'S BIKE. I guess go big or go home right?

Missing one of many continental breakfast's during hotel stays, we left Greenville feeling good. The kids love to do drugs and pogo and the thieves got balls. When we get to D.C I realize the towel in my bag is what was causing the peculiar odor in the back of the van. Towels in bags apparently have the shelf life of about 5 or 6 days before turning on you. I thew it away in a garbage barrel near some projects and carried some gear into the venue.

The last time Spanish had played The Red & Black, it was just me, a mini synth, a light, some eggshakers, and a mic. This was on tour with THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW. Darren Keen had watched a GG video at Petersen's old pad the night before and was subconsciously inspired to get naked and throw something as hard as he could at his projector screen. He said it was just coincidence and would have gotten naked anyway but I don't know about that.



This was the first and only venue that fucked us for money on tour. It happens. You have a ton of paying people at the door and are greeted with a shrug at the end of the nite by the owner. It's not like being a prostitute and you just call your pimp. Although having some guy that looks like Disco Rick break someones legs would have been nice. So you just collect your losses and sell some black metal tees and head out. The crowd did rule though. Some kid did the worm during FATHER CHARISMA of all songs!

ORGAN BURNS ELECTRIC GUITAR CHURNS

Somehow on previous tours Spanish had not had the chance to pop into Myrtle Beach. If you've never been to MB, it is basically a series of 4,000 billboards of the most bizarre imagery advertisements for miles and miles before even getting there to begin with.

I was excited to see palm trees. I asked why they looked so dead. I was told they were Palmetto trees. Ooops. Like palmetto BUGS? Seen some of those too actually.

MB is also home to my main dude SCOTT SMALLIN. Scott's exquisite new pad made me actually consider moving towards the warmth. I guess the historic destruction and grim snowflakes of the NE are starting to give me lulu vibes.

So we've done a good chunk of shows and touring over the last two years but nothing compared to a couple of the things I seen at this show:

-A set that was reminiscent of something like Alicia Silverstone in the Crush meets Prurient

-a bartender set her tits on fire with the use of matches and long nipples

-a dude that looked like jack the pumpkins king roll up onto the deck of the bar with a bicycle that was shaped like a chopper.

The rest I wont even dare speak about. But MB was on some serious shit and if you were there thanks for the time.

Upon getting into Greenville North Carolina, we found sushi for 2.50 A ROLL. And good sushi at that. Why do I not live in the south again?





The Spazzatorium Galleria was sick. Crazy crowd of renegade kids out of their minds on god knows what. Someone straight up had a dog running around during the show. We played WIDOWS for the first time ever which is basically the most sludged out noise banger, or maybe only sludged out noise banger we have in our catalog. It ruled I think we are gonna keep doing it for the rest of tour.

This guy said he was going to rock the Dominican Black Metal tee for the next two years straight. I kind of believed him.

SLEEP'S HOLY MOUNTAIN

Not sure how I forgot to mention this, but in Virginia we came across some kind of Mexican Burlington Coat Factory cowboy arcade. I'm not going to even try to explain that I think. Dan described it as what American will look like in 200 years.

Oh did anyone see the shit we were streaming from PLAZA BOWL? I tried to get a still on the webcam but it didn't work out. It looked like we were checking our email in outer space if you seen it. Nick Miller came in straight up rocking a SLEEP shirt. This is also awesome because Rodney has a SLEEP tattoo I would come to find.


Migwell and NFM

Actually NFM DID describe this venue to me via a text as "looking like time travel" some weeks ago. Cubscout and Rhino played this particular banger. FIND THEM. They murdered it. We broke some strings and played Eerie Indiana which we have been playing since again. Oldtime stylie.



Afterwards we had an Afghan Whigs dance party where Nick Miller tells me he once djed at a strip club and played "Somethin Hot". This is why this dude is my cosmic brother.

Then we headed to Myrtle Beach where things got real tapped. To be continued next time I have a minute to get on this thing.

LOVE/RESPECT
P TONIE

PREMIUM SKULL

So upon getting to Wilkes-Barre we make a fantastic discovery that we left an amp back in Brooklyn. Which is even funnier because we were doing things like, you know, hanging out in the park there while not even thinking about it. See the clear look of concern:



Popped off the set in the WB and then straight up hauled booty back to BK where our Vox was still intact at Bruar Falls. YAY!

Right now we are streaming the show from Richmond. It is at a bowling alley venue called Plaza Bowl. Xiu Xiu played here recently I wonder what Jamie Stewart looked like across this blinking backdrop. Nick Miller who was here once texted me from a show here saying "It is what time travel looks like."

Cubscout and the Rhino as well as VIKING are doing this thing with us tonite. Im stoked to see em actually. I wonder what it will sound like with pins getting destroyed.