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30-862: TUS' debut album, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden , was recorded by Elliott and producer David Strackany (known as Paleo ) in Elgin, IL , Iowa City, IA , and Washington, D.C. The album features musical cameos by a large supporting cast—notably, Saadat Awan, Dan D'Avella, Dave Hahn, and early TUS collaborator Mark Charles, now of Vandaveer. Picture was mixed and mastered by Chad Clark of Beauty Pill and T.J. Lipple of Aloha at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA , and released on March 4, 2008. Track 'First Sight' had its UK debut on BBC Radio 6 on July 14, 2008, and

60-453: A tattoo . In a subsequent interview, he recalled that he thought he could "make a living making music" but wasn't sure how this would happen. He has had a variety of musical influences from pop culture but one in particular that stands out is the musical Jesus Christ Superstar which he describes as a guilty pleasure. He has a creative temperament, and in an interview, described himself as living "inwardly": "It's all pretty crazy. I mean,

90-502: A 17th-century poet, according to one account. He found that his best lyrics often come up in everyday conversation but by putting what he finds in an "unfamiliar context", the words can become very significant. He wrote song, produced his music, booked shows, and traveled around the country while living out of his car. He performed, and continues to perform, extensively; according to one account, he has played about 150 shows per year since 2005. Strackany generated media attention by doing

120-627: A little bit from it, otherwise it's exhausting to take it all in. -- Paleo, 2010, in an interview According to one account, Strackany repeated his song-a-day project in 2010. In 2011, he is no longer technically "homeless", but when he is not touring, he lives in Iowa City ; a second source suggests he lives in Davenport, Iowa . Strackany repeated his songdiary feat in 2018. The Mynabirds The Mynabirds are an American indie pop band founded by singer-songwriter and pianist Laura Burhenn, who

150-463: A palm tree is pretty crazy. If you look at a palm tree, it looks like a match with green fire coming out of it, a long match that you light a fireplace with." – Paleo, 2010, in an interview. He explained after a performance in Syracuse , New York on April 7, 2007, that his half-sized children's guitar was more efficient since it allowed him to play while driving; he named the guitar " Oh! Susanna " after

180-522: A songwriter who has "stared almost directly at the human soul." In 2007, Strackany did soundtrack work on the feature film In Search of a Midnight Kiss . In 2009, he won a record deal with Brooklyn-based Partisan Records . He once described making music as a vice. He continues to tour extensively. You can get desensitized to the pace of touring after a while, things that other people might tune into. You may become oblivious to so much because it's happening so quickly. You almost have to shield yourself

210-488: A whole year in a sort of constant state of catharsis, what seemed like never-ending auto-psychoanalysis. I walked into the Diary maybe a little desperate, certainly insecure, and I walked out on a cloud. -- Paleo, 2007 Strackany sees a benefit to creativity in songwriting when there are limits attached. He emphasized that boundaries are a "great way to excite your creativity" and suggested, in an example, that cutting off two of

240-527: A year to make, as Burhenn drove across the US twice and toured South Africa solo while writing. Burhenn then spent eight months in studios in Los Angeles, Nashville, Joshua Tree and Auckland, New Zealand with producer Bradley Hanan Carter (of Black English). The first single, "Semantics", debuted on NPR 's All Songs Considered on May 12, 2015. In the summer of 2017, Burhenn released a series of EPs that culminated in

270-513: A year-long write-a-song-a-day project. He did this while touring the United States nationally and driving more than 50,000 miles from Easter Day on April 16, 2006 to April 15, 2007 and playing more than 200 concerts. Paleo's "The Song Diary" project was similar to a feat achieved by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks in 2003 and it was covered by news sources including USA Today , Entertainment Weekly , Magnet Magazine , Paste Magazine ,

300-426: Is a feat that took determination and dedication. -- Dick Cheney, 2007 Strackany described the project as psychoanalytically transformative in a personal way: I feel like a completely different person than when I started out. It was grace, like I died and came back. My perspective on my relationship to love and to art and to my family has totally changed. You have to consider that I spent every second of every day of

330-422: Is an American singer of folk music who is notable for writing a song every day for 365 days using a "half-size children's guitar" while living out of his car and being essentially homeless . He plays acoustic guitar and sings and in 2005 began touring the United States. He has a recording arrangement with an indie music label named Partisan Records . Strackany was born in 1981. He graduated from college but

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360-556: The Chicago Sun Times , the New York Post , NPR Morning Edition , The Washington Post , The Boston Globe , in addition to regional and local papers. A National Public Radio music critic wrote: Every day for a year, he wrote, recorded and posted a song on his Web site. He hasn't been writing songs in his bedroom, either. During the last year, Paleo drove more than 50,000 miles and played more than 200 concerts. Along

390-605: The Stephen Foster song. Strackany's initial approach was to record an album, then he learned to book his own performances: I then began the process of trying to figure out how to book shows and tour. I slowly pieced together some shows in 2005. I had some breaks where people gave me a chance, and that was nice. I've been sort of at it ever since. That's where I'm at right now, still making records and still making music. -- Paleo, in an interview Strackany recorded his debut album Misery, Missouri in early October 2004. The record

420-667: The album as a whole enjoyed favorable reviews from The Austin Chronicle , Alternative Press , The Village Voice , and others. Crimes , the group's second album, was recorded in Lexington, KY at Shangri-La Studios, six weeks after the release of Picture . It was produced and mixed by Duane Lundy, with co-production by Rob Gordon and These United States (by then composed of Elliott and full-time band members Charles, Cosenza, Craig), and released on September 23, 2008. Paste Magazine , Pitchfork Media , National Public Radio , and others praised

450-518: The album despite (and in many cases because of) its sonic departure from the group's debut. These United States recorded live sessions and interviews for All Things Considered , Daytrotter , and WOXY.com , as Crimes reached No. 30 on the College Music Journal Top 200 radio chart in late 2008. In February 2009, TUS recorded its third album, Everything Touches Everything , at Inner Ear Studios, with T.J. Lipple this time taking on

480-520: The band's website. In his post, the band released a final, home-recorded track titled "I'll Bring You a Song." A Picture Of The Three Of Us At The Gate To The Garden Of Eden (March 4, 2008) Track Listing Crimes (September 23, 2008) Track Listing Everything Touches Everything (September 1, 2009) Track Listing What Lasts (July 20, 2010) Track Listing These United States (June 12, 2012) Track Listing Paleo (musician) Paleo , aka David Andrew Strackany ,

510-430: The circumstances," according to his recollection. The result was an "enormous body of work" with an "outlook of unfettered optimism." It is downloadable in its entirety from his website. Paste Magazine described it as "a streetfight of freakish prolificacy." He received a letter of congratulations from American vice-president Dick Cheney who had heard about the project. Cheney wrote: Writing 365 songs in 365 days

540-418: The current crop of navel-gazers populating today’s underground music scene." The Mynabirds supported their debut LP with more than a year of touring with Bright Eyes , David Bazan and Crooked Fingers . Burhenn also toured at this time as a member of Bright Eyes. At the end of 2011, Burhenn headed back into the studio with Swift to begin work on The Mynabirds' second album, Generals . Saddle Creek released

570-553: The group released its fifth album — the eponymously titled These United States — featuring contributions from Deer Tick , Phosphorescent , Langhorne Slim , Frontier Ruckus , The Mynabirds , Cotton Jones , Revival, Ben Sollee , Backwords, and Jukebox the Ghost , and co-produced at Shangri-La Studios by Duane Lundy, Justin Craig, and Jesse Elliott. On October 11, 2012, frontman Jesse Elliott announced These United States' indefinite hiatus on

600-576: The guitar's six strings could help a writer creatively. He noted that "too much freedom can be every bit the cage." Strackany worked with songwriter Jesse Elliott on a Washington, D.C. -based music project entitled These United States . He helped Elliott develop the band's first album, and acted primarily as the band's producer as well as playing a majority of the instruments on the band's "psychotropic debut record." The band wrote "novelistic songs packed with dense narratives and loose, ragged-edged folk, rock and Americana". Strackany's contribution

630-1258: The role of producer. Released September 1 of that year, the album proved TUS' most energetic and upbeat to date. SPIN Magazine sang its praises ('captures the overwhelming jolt of simply being alive...swings between a sleazy leer and a dreamy purr...deftly blurring the line between carnal and cosmic'), as Jon Pareles of The New York Times weighed in on the band's live show ('superb...equally at home with quiet, morose tales and galloping punky-tonk adventures...a rambunctious alt-country band with story-songs that are both tangled and aphoristic'). Influential DJ and music writer Bruce Warren, of public radio station WXPN , called These United States 'one of indie-rock's -- no, make that American rock's -- best kept secrets.' For its fourth album, TUS worked at Sound Mine Recording in rural eastern Pennsylvania. The resulting 10 tracks, produced by Dan Wise and TUS' Justin Craig, and featuring vocals by Dawn Landes , were released on July 20, 2010, as What Lasts . The accompanying album tour included supporting dates with Fruit Bats , Deer Tick , Langhorne Slim , and Bonnie Prince Billy , and continuing acclaim from The New York Times , Pop Matters , and The Washington Post . Among its 180 live performances of

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660-687: The studio with Richard Swift in the summer of 2009 and recorded what would become the debut album from The Mynabirds. The band signed with Saddle Creek in January 2010 and released What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood to critical acclaim in April 2010. Anthony Lombardi described the record in PopMatters as "...a soul-purging, powerful statement of survival and self-assertion that stands head and shoulders above

690-577: The title-track single in February 2012 as a free download. The album was released on June 5, and was met with near universal critical acclaim, with Gianna Stefanelli of CMJ describing the work as "...a serious and intellectual pop album." In 2013, Burhenn was a touring member of The Postal Service 's reunion tour. She provided back-up vocals along with Jenny Lewis . In May 2015, The Mynabirds' official website announced that Lovers Know would be released on August 7, 2015 via Saddle Creek. Lovers Know took

720-453: The way, he wrote the lyrics and played his guitar — in his van, backstage, whenever he could find a moment. Paleo calls his yearlong project a song diary, but if these songs are all autobiographical, then the year has taken a toll on his psyche. -- Deborah Amos in NPR , 2007 Paleo made rules for himself: He refused to sleep "until he had completely documented a new song for that day regardless of

750-607: The year were stops at Seattle's KEXP ; Daytrotter 's Barn On the 4th with The Walkmen , Dawes , and Justin Townes Earle ; La Blogotheque's Take-Away Show; and NPR's World Cafe and Mountain Stage . 2011 saw These United States scale back its frenetic touring pace to just 100 shows and festivals, as the band spent more time writing and recording in studios in Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ontario. In 2012,

780-402: Was as a multi-instrumentalist who offered "skillfully mixed, multi-instrumental support with a range in keys, drums, accordion, bass and vibraphone," according to NPR . The Village Voice described Strackany's arrangements as "psychedelic" and noted that instruments he played included the " vibes , glockenspiel , mandolin , and lots of off-kilter keyboards." Elliott described Strackany as

810-588: Was dissatisfied with service-level jobs and so he decided to become a songwriter. He chose the moniker Paleo after seeing a paleontology exhibit of butterflies in Prague . He explained: "(Paleo) is a Greek word that means old and is the opposite of "neo," which means new. It reminds me that what I'm doing is old ... People have been doing rain dances and beating on drums, humming, and singing lullabies to their children since mankind began." – Paleo, in an interview, 2010. He exchanged his collection of music CDs for

840-416: Was largely folk in nature but with more elaborate arrangements and instrumentation, and was self-released. The entire session was executed with one microphone. 1000 copies were pressed independently and it is now out of print, with no published plans to re-release the work, according to a description on his website. He used simple chord progressions which were "uncomplicated sonically" but with lyrics akin to

870-680: Was previously one half of the Washington, D.C., indie duo Georgie James . Burhenn formed The Mynabirds in 2009, and shortly after signed to Saddle Creek Records and relocated to Omaha, Nebraska . The sound has been described by Pitchfork as "...openhearted, politically engaged, feminist pop that, miraculously, never veers into schmaltz." After years of classical piano and stints singing and playing keyboards in rock bands and electronica projects in Washington, D.C., Burhenn founded her own record label, Laboratory Records, and began releasing solo work. Burhenn's first solo record, Not Ashamed to Say ,

900-428: Was released in 1999 and is a collection of thirteen songs written from 1994 to 1998. After releasing a split 7" in 2003, Burhenn released the full-length Wanderlust in 2004. In 2005, Burhenn teamed up with John Davis, drummer of defunct DC trio Q and Not U , to form Georgie James. Laura first worked with Saddle Creek in 2007 on Georgie James' debut LP, Places . The duo parted ways in late 2008. Burhenn went into

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