05/10/08 New album nearing completion. Amplifiers nearing operational status. Chris Schlarb's Twilight and Ghost Stories nearing complete awesomeness. More later.

04/30/08 Today is Willie Nelson's birthday. It is also Jen's birthday. You can trust in us celebrating appropriately. Here are some reviews of our endeavors that we enjoyed reading (here and here). Been listening to Stone Temple Pilots, Before the Toast and Tea, and bummed we missed Mistress the other day at a house party — we snooze... we looze. Until next time: Read!

04/21/08 So... our last show was kind of nuts and now half of our equipment is in the shop. So much fun visiting with everyone that night! Anyway, we're working on finishing our new album, finals, paintings, papers, work, blah-di-blah-di-blah. Buuuuuuuuut... our good friend Mike Coulter's band Lifter finally has their videos from the epic album Melinda (Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt) up on YouTube. One of our favorite albums of all time. Here is "The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red of Hate" and "Headshot." Take care y'all!

04/07/08 Hey y’all! We had sooooooo much fun meeting everyone on our jaunt. We promise we’ll be back in the fall when our new album is done. Our 7" is now sold-out. If you live in the DFW or Austin area, you might be able to find copies at Recycled, Strawberry Fields, Good Records, and End of an Ear. Other than that see us at our next show and we might be able to hook you up... until then listen to Neva Dinova, Castanets, and Dust Congress.

03/21/08 Okay, so SXSW was a complete blast. There are a bunch of sound recordings and videos floating around of Shiny as well as Jen, Ed, and I (Mike) being Castanets for the week. At some point, we’ll track all of that down and put it somewhere for y’all. Starting to record tonight at the Echo Lab with Matthew J. Barnhart and will hopefully have a new full-length done before summer hits (releasing it will be sometime after that). Please enjoy our downloadable collection of songs, We Lost the Signal in the Hills until then and take care. Omaha, St. Louis, and Fayetteville... we’ll see y’all soon!

03/11/08 SXSW action aplenty! Jen, Ed, and I (Mike) will again be sitting in with the Castanets for a couple of shows during the week. The collaboration has been sounding good, so be sure to catch a set if you can. On Saturday, we will again be hosting/playing a Strategies of Beauty dayparty in order to catch-up with old friends and see some new bands. Let the mania begin!

03/07/08 Crazy times here in Denton. A few inches of snow yesterday... work off today! We are looking forward to Sunday, March 9th as we will be playing with These Are Powers, Delmore Pilcrow, and Castanets at Rubber Gloves in the evening... and during the afternoon? BBQ at Strawberry Fields with more great bands. Going into the studio soon for our next album as well as working on a potential remix and a Shiny en Español release. Phew... more on all of that later. See y'all soon. Until then, listen to Mal Madrigal, Sarah Jaffe, and Bob White and the F-Electrics.

02/14/08 We are pleased to present our new release, We Lost the Signal in the Hills, as a free download for you on this Valentine's Day. We worked with many people over the last few years on this project and really enjoyed the process; we hope you enjoy the outcome. We will now be heading back into the studio with our friend Matthew J. Barnhart in order to capture the heavier, live experience of us as a quintet. We promise it won't be another two years before that sees the light of day. If'n Friday finds you in Dallas, be sure to come and visit with us for a spell while we open for our friends The Paper Chase and Micah P. Hinson at Sons of Hermann Hall. Tickets are available here. Happy Valentine's Day!

01/29/08 We've got y'all covered for Valentine's Day... first thing to do is convince your loved one to push back festivities for one day and join us, The pAper chAse, and Micah P. Hinson for a very special evening at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas on Friday, February 15th. It will be all ages and tickets are $10/12. Click here to order now as you may not get in if you wait until the last minute. Second thing... visit Asaurus Records makers of fine, handcrafted CDRs and grab a copy of their Depeche Mode tribute album, "Letting You Down Again: Lo-fi vs Depeche Mode." We are flattered to have our version of "Waiting for the Night" included. And what lover doesn't like Depeche Mode? More news on the way...

01/15/08 So, around these parts, the blog We Shot JR is a pretty good daily barometer for what is going on indie music-wise. They have recently posted a compilation of some great bands from the denton/DFW area (many of whom are our friends) and we are flattered to have been included. The compilation, Projection 002 is by no means the definitive list of what one should or shouldn't listen to from the area, but it sure is a great start. Enjoy!

01/07/08 Dear peeps... hope the holiday season went well. This spring, we'll be playing some shows that we are real excited about. We hope to have a cocktail or two and visit with y'all then. For SXSW, we'll be playing as Shiny by day and perhaps as someone else by night. We'll keep y'all updated. Until then, listen to Blair Harris, The Baptist Generals, and Chris Garver.

12/20/07 If you like Christmas songs as much as we do, be sure to go over to the Asthmatic Kitty website and listen to a streaming selection of the submissions for the recent Christmas song contest they held. We are flattered to have been included on the playlist. Hope the season is finding y'all warm and with friends and family.

12/10/07 The in-store shows were awesome. We met a lot of new friends and visited with some old ones we haven't seen in a long, long time. A crocheted blanket was even bestowed upon us... we're still in awe about that. Thank you. Next up... a new EP, a visit or two to Austin, and a collection of shows in the spring. And, as usual, more recording. All of you are the best. Have a great holiday season!

11/28/07 Things that are happening, Pt. 1: Kind folks who will be helping us plan a tour, yet even newer pictures than the new ones now, Depeche Mode compilation, WWII term papers, Paper Stain stuff, journal articles about cultural geography and applied economics, more anime voice-overs, Christmas decorating, watercolor exhibition, and the continuing film critique dialogue ("Although it's my favorite movie and directed by Woody Allen, it's not my favorite Woody Allen movie..."). Still, there is always time to listen to new releases by: Florene, Chris Schlarb, and Mal Madrigal.

11/25/07 Hmmm... the Dallas Observer is all over local music again, which is a good thing!! Here is a review of some local releases; we are flattered to be included. Looking forward to our in-stores and have been real excited about finding the entire first season of Hart to Hart on DVD at Recycled Books in Denton.

11/19/07 NOVEMBERFEST Wrap-up you ask?... Local music writer Merritt Martin summed-up everything pretty well on the Dallas Observer's music blog. Wow... what a fun time that was. Thank you everyone!!! Up next... "Dual 7" Release Spectacular" at Good Records featuring us and Tre Orsi plus special guests, Douche on Sunday, December 9th. Come early, visit with us a while, have a beer or two, and then maybe do some shopping. If'n you can't make it out, be sure to stop by Strawberry Fields in Denton the night before (Saturday, December 8th) for an in-store with us, label collective mates, Drink to Victory, and one more act. Until then, have an awesome Thanksgiving!

11/01/07 Finally! Our new 7” 45 is available on Paper Stain Recordings (PSR 003). Side A is our collaboration with the Castanets’ Ray Raposa covering Willie Nelson’s “I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye,” while Side B is “Applied Quantum Physics” with Sean Kirkpatrick (The pAper chAse, solo) joining us on piano. It is a limited edition white vinyl pressing and the cover is a high quality print by friend and artist April Pierce which is suitable for framing. In addition, the video production company, Grandma, Inc. from Austin, TX was kind enough to produce a video for “I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye.” We’ve posted it on YouTube and hope y’all enjoy it as much as we do. This was a fun project to work on and look forward to working with all of our friends on the next one. Until we see y’all next, you can catch us doing a live, in-studio acoustic session on Sunday, November 4th at 10:30 PM for “The Good Show” on 88.7 FM... straight outta Ft. Worth!