Finn Miles at the Green Plow in Redmond, OR

Join us this coming Friday, January 13th at the Green Plow Cafe in Redmond, OR. The Green Plow is quickly becoming one of our favorite venues to play music in Central Oregon, especially when paired with great bands like The Hollands!

The Story Behind Winteresque – Part 4

Hurray, an album release! Modern Saints!

Dan Bosman of Scented Vinyl let us release hold the first phase of our album release at the Mars Cafe in December 2010. This was momentous…the best album yet, self recorded and produced and released with a great backing band. Still…I wanted Winteresque. I had been playing the songs live, sharpening parts and watching the crowd for reaction. By this time I had nine songs, plus the idea to rerecord two previously recorded songs.

We were growing in depth, building the skills, and the set of microphones that would allow us to make no compromises in recording Winteresque.

But of course, there was a new challenge that was facing us. I was moving to Oregon in the mid-summer, giving us a tight deadline to complete tracking.

Meeting once a week in Scott’s rented basement/studio we applied more rigor and discipline than ever to getting the right sounds. We split duties, co-engineering and co-producing. I played some keys and organ, Scott played guitar. We were starting to overlap. The only question was, would we finish in time? (read on to Part 5 of this adventure)

The Story Behind Winteresque – Part 2

So, I thought we were ready to go to work on yet another album. That’s how things had worked between Branches and Telltale Heart, there hadn’t been much of a break. I had the songs…now hit it!

Kickstart Winteresque with us!

I even started a Kickstarter project in anticipation of starting the album. I was playing with a great six piece band, getting good gigs, doing radio interviews. Life was good.

It was good, but in some ways paper thin. The band was superb, but all part of other projects as well, and over a few months they mostly drifted into other backing bands. The Kickstarter didn’t really “kickstart.” It went splat. It turns out these crowd-sourcing tools work great if you have a crowd ready to give. I didn’t. Then…my brother got engaged. A happy event…but a death knell for Winteresque happening in 2010.

Fortunately I had plenty of shows lined up at coffee houses and small venues…and I could always go back to looping with the Boss RC-50 Loopstation. Still, I was ready to record…so I decided to take a step of audacity.

I would write and record an album of “new” material while waiting until we could work on Winteresque. Thus, the idea for the “Modern Saints EP” was born.

Read on to Part 3 or the Winteresque saga. (coming soon)

Playing Music in Prineville – The Book and Bean

It’s always nice to have a cosy cafe to play at, especially when it’s right out your back door. I played a solo acoustic + looping lunch show at the Book and Bean…including Weiv! The interactive visuals were a perfect fit for the down-home atmosphere.

We’re working on setting up a handful of Central Oregon shows before we nestle down in December and focus on finishing our full-length album, Winteresque. Check out the tour page, and join us for a show!

Finn Miles on the Radio – KPOV in Bend

Thanks again to KPOV – High Desert Community Radio!

KPOV is currently in the middle of their fall drive. If you love regional radio, and all of the unique character it brings to the airwaves please support KPOV.

Meeting People is Easy.

The dust is finally settling from our move to the Central Oregon desert! This week we’ve been able to make it to a few local open mics, just to share tunes and see what’s going on in the music scene around Bend, Prineville, and Redmond, Oregon. As we get our feet back underneath us, watch for upcoming acoustic shows in November and December around Central Oregon. You’ll be sure to hear songs featured on our upcoming album “Winteresque” which is almost complete.

See you soon!

Paul

- Finn Miles

Union Station, Soundcrawl, and Ambient Recordings

As I waited in Portland’s Union Station, on my way to Soundcrawl in Nashville to perform with Weiv, I was struck by the amazing ambiance in the classically refurbished train station.

If you’d like to go there with me, you can just step into my audio time machine.

Click the link below, then and close your eyes to hear the marble reflections, the bustle of passengers, and the bleating of the train’s horn.

From union Station_portland 3:25pm on Sept 28th, 2011

To the Moon, Kid

I love Oregon, but one of the downsides of moving away from Des Moines is missing out on the great community of musicians that I was a part of. One of the most anticipated albums of the last few years has been painfully slow to completion; every time I saw Jacob Tyler Wolfgang I had to pester him about his unfinished, but already legendary album “To the Moon, Kid.”

It was no myth. Despite the arduous waiting, “To the Moon, Kid” was released yesterday and was well worth the patience. I’ve heard the album, listening over and over… and I certainly  recommend it.

Congratulations to Wolfgang! (GO LISTEN NOW)

Feet on the Ground

Finn Miles has landed. We’re on the ground in Central Oregon, working on getting the studio set up so we can finish our much anticipated “Winteresque” album. Only vocals and mixing remain.

Now that we have our feet on the ground in the high desert we’re getting plugged in to the local scene. Being a part of the Central Oregon Songwriter’s Association is already a big encouragement. Having events like the Sister’s Folk Festival nearby only solidify the gut feeling that we’ve found our promised land.

Stay tuned…we anticipate a handful of intimate acoustic shows this fall, filled with new songs and a new fire in our bellies.

Finn Miles: Farewell to Des Moines

We’re moving to Oregon, and this is our last show in Iowa…if not forever, at least for a long time. Join us for the festivities at the Mars Cafe on July 16th as we give our fair city a “musical hug” goodbye.