June 7, 2008 - The Quahaugs are preparing to go into the studio this summer to record the follow up to their debut Venus Mercenaria. Sneak peaks will appear here throughout the summer. Check back.
4/24/08 - Kaika Kale is working on a new solo record. Stay tuned for further details.
12/06/07 - "Another year's over and a new one's just (about) begun"...what a year! 2007 has treated us great and as we look toward a new year we are focusing on our goals for 2008. Here's our to do list:
- Record & release the long overdue follow up album.
- Stabilize our music industry team
1. Partner with a legitimate music publisher who believes in and shares in our musical vision.
2. Partner with an artist centered company to assist with our next album recording/release.
We stress the word 'partner' here.
The industry is changing and we want to work with open-minded individuals who aren't afraid to creatively navigate the new frontier with us.
We want to hit the ground running in 2008 and we are interested in speaking with experienced individuals/companies that can help us take our music to a higher level. Contact us if you would like what you hear and are serious about exploring ways we can partner together.
Peace & Eternal Clamnation - Kaika Kale
8/29/07
Today is the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast. Please keep all the individuals, schools, and communities that were affected in your thoughts and prayers today. There is still A LOT of work still left to do in terms of rebuilding and renewal.
A belated thanks to "The Fevered Brain Radio Network" and DJ No Alias for spinning our song "Weeds Amongst Flowers" on Show #5. We appreciate the support and we'll keep listening. Here's a link to the show. Click Show #5: http://www.thefeveredbrainofradiomike.com/
7/17/07 - Every so often you have an experience that is unexpected, but ultimately it shapes your life and music in profound ways. I've just returned from such an experience. I was fortunate to spend a week at an Audubon sanctuary on Hog Island, Maine. Remote, quiet, and rich with amazing people and knowledge that I will not soon forget. I wrote non-stop and I'm excited with the songs that will come from this experience. A big thank you to all my fellow campers and instructors. - Kaika Kale
6/21/07 - Happy 1st day of summer everyone! There's been a lot of activity in Quahaug land lately. Songwriting continues for the next album and I'm thrilled with what promises to be a killer follow up album. We will be back in the studio later this year. Stay tuned. Eternal Clamnation - Kaika
5/15/07 - We are running a "help us make a video" contest through our MySpace page. The winner(s) will receive lots of goodies from our CafePress Webstore and receive an autographed copy of the CD. If interested, please stop by our MySpace page and read all about it on our blog.
04/01/07 - The new songs are coming along nicely. Thanks for all the emails asking about the next album. We'll be in the studio later this year. We'll keep you posted. - Kaika
12/29/06- Thoughts On A New Year:
As the "Year of the Dog" comes to a close, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of Venus Mercenaria. Especially, Pete Weiss, Sturgis Cunningham, and Matt McGrail.
I look to the new year with enthusiasm and intrigue for what lies ahead. For starters, work has begun on new songs for the next album which I hope to begin recording early in 2007. It promises be a musical tour-de-force. Stay tuned for more details.
Also, please continue to remember all the individuals and families who remain displaced from Hurricane Katrina. So much of New Orleans still remains desolate and empty. Keep the city in your thoughts. See you next year!
Peace on Earth & Happy New Year- Kaika Kale.
9/1/06 - WEQX 102.7 FM of Manchester, VT will start playing "Full Bloom" on their Sunday Night EQX-Posure show . A BIG THANK YOU to the real alternative WEQX.
LATEST PRESS RELEASE 08/22/06:
The Quahaugs are to release their fundraising single – "Weeds Amongst Flowers" – early on August 29th 2006 to coincide with the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Every download will go towards a donation to the Music Rising Foundation, an initiative to bring the music back to the churches, schools and communities in the Gulf Coast. The single will be released on the label owned by the band's songwriter and leader, Kaika Kale, called Bathmetric Records.
Kale visited New Orleans and the scenes of the enormous destruction in April 2006, and was moved to write about what he saw and the feelings it evoked. "Weeds Amongst Flowers" was the result, though the band has been working on material for their upcoming album, "Venus mercenaria", since last summer. "I was deeply affected by what this storm did to New Orleans. I revisited the city seven months after Katrina ravaged the area and I couldn't believe how bad things still were in what I like to think as my adoptive home town."
A teacher in a New Hampshire public school first and foremost, Kale has a wealth of musical experience as a writer, singer, guitarist and independent producer, who sees close parallels between the two professions: "They can both inspire, educate, and motivate people to do extraordinary things. I realized some time ago that teaching is not just confined to the classroom." He also has a personal connection to The Big Easy, having in-laws living in the city and a nephew as a student at Tulane University.
Kale also identifies the diversity of his life and educational experience as being important to an increasingly refined musical and lyrical sensibility. Graduate school sharpened his powers of observation and expression, and his variety of past jobs that includes service in the US Navy, a recording engineer and a wine seller, widened his experience and benefited his writing.
THE QUAHAUGS
It is in The Quahaugs' music that the writing experience and thoughtfulness of this self-defined storyteller flourishes. Kale defines the group's sound as a cross between The Gin Blossoms and London's own political raconteur, Billy Bragg, "with a little Matthew Sweet circa 1990 thrown in for good measure." This translates as some intelligent rock n' roll – the perceptive lyrics married to jangly guitars, memorable riffs and some occasionally frantic playing. The band comprises of four musicians, with Kale on guitar and lead vocals, Matt McGrail on guitar, backing vocals and percussion, Pete Weiss on bass and Sturgis Cunningham – formerly of The Patio Kings – on drums. The Gin Blossoms, Billy Bragg and Matthew Sweet were an inspiration to Kale. He even worked with Matthew Sweet in the early 1990's in a Manhattan studio, humorously culminating in a tactful brush off from the established artist: "You're going places man, just not with us!"
Sweet's words have become very much true. Kale has an iron will to get his music heard, despite a lack of major label funding, and a similar desire to help the unique community of New Orleans with The Quahaugs' upcoming releases. He intends much of the single's proceeds to go towards the Music Rising Foundation. The album is scheduled for release on October 3rd, featuring 10 songs. He is also keen to help others with their musical careers: "When people are having fun and enjoying themselves, it makes learning easier. So it is a natural progression to go from teacher to songwriter".
Kale and The Quahaugs are as musically enterprising as they are selfless in their ambition to help New Orleans, and with sufficient exposure they will go far in raising again the profile of the city's people as well as generally making some excellent music.
