Greetings true believers.

Surely you all know by now that Hurricane Irene was terrible for a lot of folks. Thankfully those of us in the Bells≥ camp were left unscathed. That said, we still fell victim to her wrath in the form of canceling a show with our good friends Chumps. But do not fear, we will be playing with those fine lads soon enough*.

In other, more pressing news, we will be playing a show to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Zach’s own Cultural Society.

The venue as ever, is Bruar Falls, and the line up includes:
Drew O’Doherty, David Grubbs, and Mr. J. Robbins.

Our pal, and social media mastermind Gordon Withers will also be in tow to accompany J. and Bells≥. It should prove to be a great night of rock, community, and fun. We sincerely hope you can make it.

Also of note:
One sweltering day in July we got together with the suave and talented Matt LeMay and recorded some tunes. Five tunes to be exact. We’re still in the process of figuring out how they’ll be released, etc. but we’re all incredibly happy with how they turned out and just wanted to give Matt a public thanks for all of his efforts. Matt, you’re truly a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you!

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the continued support.

Love, as ever,
Bells≥

*We’re playing with Chumps and some other very special guests in November (more details to come).

This Sunday, August 28th, we will be sharing the stage at Union Pool with a whole host of wonderful bands. Two of which (Chumps and Penny Winblood) are celebrating the release of long-playing records (LPs, if you will). It would be terrific if you could join us.

Details:
Sunday, 8.28.11 |Union Pool| 484 Union Avenue
The show will start promptly at 7p.m.

7pm – Penny Winblood
8pm – Old Man Lady Luck
9pm – BELLS≥
10pm – Chumps

We’re also looking forward to the 10th Anniversary of The Cultural Society.
Plans for that celebration are shaping up nicely and we’ll be sure to let you know about all of the exciting poets and performers involved in celebrating such an auspicious occasion very soon.

In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you Sunday evening.

Love, as ever,
Bells≥

Our very own Adam Rizer is hosting a crab boil at Bruar Falls, followed by a bounty of musical delights. We look forward to seeing you there.

“Eat from the sea. Live for the night.” — A. Rizer.

[Click the image above for a larger, more fulfilling experience.]

***Due to circumstances beyond our control, Gordon Withers will not be performing at this event. Rest assured, in any case, that Mr. W. is well. We look forward to playing with him soon.***

We came up with this bit last night. Adam has been encouraging us to work in a more positive mode the last several weeks, and speaking for myself, I’m pleased with the results. It’s not too far afield of our broader effort but reaches toward a more serene satisfaction than some of our other music, as embodied by Steve, pictured above, who was either serenely satisfied or exhausted at the moment he was photographed. More likely the latter but he played well.

We hope you enjoy the music. Thanks again.

It looks like we’ve finished — or nearly finished — two such pieces, named “Gusto” and “Rooms Away.” They’re both, in their way, new directions for us, focused variously on shifts in instrument emphasis and some new structural ground. “Gusto” is partly a cover, though not entirely. We used a piece of music as a starting point, kept it in the number, and moved into our own territory from there. The other number derives from an effort to lower our dynamic ceiling but not the floor.

I’ll post some practice tapes in the coming weeks so you all can hear where we’re coming from and where we’re headed.

In other news, we’ve got a couple of NYC shows next month, proper details of which will also be posted sooner than not.

In the meantime, thanks again for your continued support and interest.

Please join us at Cake Shop this Friday. We’ll be playing with Sea of Bees and another band.

A fine time will surely be had by all.

A benefit for Fight SMA!
presented by Positive Force DC:
Office of Future Plans (J Robbins of Jawbox/Burning Airlines/Channels)
BELLS≥ (NYC, Zach Barocas of Jawbox)
More Humans

St. Stephen’s Church
1525 Newton St NW
$5
All ages/no drugs or alcohol allowed
Doors at 8:00p

We’ve got a show coming up in a few weeks. Here’s the scoop:

SATURDAY APRIL 2nd:
4th: BELLS≥
3rd: HORNS OF HAPPINESS
2nd: CONVERSION PARTY
1st: GORDON WITHERS
$8, 21+, 8pm-12am
BRUAR FALLS

In addition to his solo set, Gordon Withers will be joining us for several numbers. Make no mistake: BELLS≥ is, among other things, cello rock.

We look forward to seeing you there.