Northern State

We are lucky to know you all and we cant wait to see some of you again at some of the shows we have lined up this Summer and Fall, which we should be announcing pretty soon.

Thursday February 21, 2008

oh hi everyone! it\'s me, spero, reporting from under a pile of my clothes. It\'s packing madness over here at chez Spero - we leave for Europe this week (!) where we will be touring with Tegan and Sara for a month. We are so excited to say hello to all of our European friends, please take a peek at the dates on myspace.com/teganandsara (some dates have SOLD OUT by now. but DO come see us if you can, we are so excited to met all you fab Europeans who we chat with on myspace!)

AND we are soo excited to announce (drum roll please) our SPRING HEADLINING US TOUR DATES - check them out here and DO come see us in the city closest to you - you simple MUST! We WON\'T take no for an answer. We have some awesome support acts on board for the tour and we just know that each night will be a very special event with lots of love in the room.

ok wish us luck y\'all, and GOOD NIGHT HAMBURG!! (i always wanted to say that!)
xoxo
spero

Friday January 25, 2008

Hey All,

Due to popular demand (aka some very persuasive emails!) we have put up the cover of Radiohead\'s \"No Surprises\" on our Myspace page that we did for their 10 year anniversary of OK Computer compilation entitled OKX.

It\'s a lullabye.

Enjoy!

Wednesday January 9, 2008

oh heyyyyy y\'all!
We are super psyched to be home enjoying the unusually warm NYC winter weather - yesterday was 60 degrees I think. We\\\'ve been (what else?) partying w all of our home friends for the last couple of weeks, Friday was ladies night which got raw as you might imagine and next Tues is a lil b-day shindig for drummer Seth Johnson at the apt of Hesta Prynn aka moi.

Tomorrow is our first rehearsal for the European tour - it\\\'ll just be the three of us this time so get ready to see more instruments and perhaps slightly less out of breath jumping about BUT we\\\'ll still bring it nightly so no worries.

Thx for all of the awesome comments and emails - we\\\'ve heard from a bunch of you in LA that they added \\\"Better Already\\\" to regular rotation at Indie 103.1 which is awesome. We\\\'re hoping the song spreads from station to station so that by the time we re-tour the US (late April - May) everyone knows it. Speaking of the US tour we are currently planning that and may have a super awesome special guest band with us so get excited!

Alright gotta get moving, see you soon!!
Hesta

Monday December 17, 2007

Hey everyone! Spero here - We’re home from tour –oooh GIRL!

Can’t believe it’s that time again! We left home in Sept and now it’s almost the new year!

We are psyched to be ending the year with the Onion Holiday Party this Tues Dec 18 here in NYC – It will be a really fun night, with Jim Gaffigan, Celebration, Janeane Garofalo and us! Tickets are $15, we go on at 11pm and we are lookin forward to getting mad festive! Details below.

We are also doing a HOLIDAY SALE in our online merch store! (I am in total Crazy Eddie mode!)

Check it - for the price of $25 you get TWO ‘Can I Keep This Pen?’ CDs (which normally sell for $14 each) PLUS a signed poster – and we tried to write a special message on each one, hopefully y’all can read my handwriting. The cds make a great gift, and keep the poster for yourself!!

Other recent additions to our merch store include:

* Dying In Stereo Cds - $12 (so now you can get em directly from us instead of Amazon!)
* Better Already 12” vinyl –$12 (contains Better Already and Away, Away plus 2 remixes, including the awesome Away, Away dub remix– also has cool cover artwork and looks great in a frame – just ask my mom!)

And of course you can find the cuuute T-shirts we’ve been selling on tour ($20) , in addition to ‘Can I Keep This Pen?’ cds ($14)

For real though, you guys supporting us, buying our merch and spreading the word about our band in ’07 has meant more to us than we can express.

2007 has been a great year for us- (cue montage sequence ) - The release of ‘Can I Keep This Pen?’, the Better Already remix by JD from Le Tigre, and 2 of our songs being featured on Greeeeeey’s Anatomy - our all time FAVE trashy show! And then meeting so many of you on the road and playing with Tegan and Sara every night, was an amazing way to end the year.

To top it all off, check out this hilarious episode of the kids’ show Pancake Mountain, featuring us and Tegan and Sara.

And this just in, our video for Better Already has made the Sterogum ‘Gummies’ Best of 2007 list, and Hesta Prynn is on the list of top 50 Indie Rock Hotties for 2007, OOOKAYYY!!??! . (Apparently we are an Indie Rock band?). Congratulations to Dr. Prynn who Sprout and I agree is very HOT indeed!!

We are looking ahead to 2008 (particularly November of 2008!) and we will be heading to Europe with Tegan and Sara in February – ohhh hiiii Europe! (tour dates can be found at myspace.com/northernstate

We wish all good things for every single one of you and we send so much love…

Spero, Sprout and Hesta

Thursday November 8, 2007

November 8, 2007

hey everybody!!

TUNE IN TO GREY\'S ANATOMY TONIGHT if you want to hear another selection from NORTHERN STATE\'S \'CAN I KEEP THIS PEN?\' they\'re using- iluvitwhenya- and we think it will be on tonight\'s episode- but we do not know for sure 100%... but we hope it\'s tonight- and we hope it\'s in a trashy steamy sex scene full of man candy...

in other news... we found a dog on the side of I-70 in kansas. she was so sweet and just standing there- too close to the road- barking and howling at the traffic. we pulled over and approached her cautiously. (i used techniques i learned from watching the dog whisperer....) anyway- she jumped into our van and settled down ready to go on tour. we named her kansas. then we did the responsible thing and dropped her off at the closest humane shelter- helping hands animal shelter in Topeka. we found out she has a chip in her and we are hoping they will be able to track her owners and get her home... if not- i might have to make my way back to topeka somehow and adopt this fabulous dog. we love her and miss her!!!

We are having a fantastic time on tour with Tegan & Sara- the southwest shows have been AMAZING so far- highlights include us dressing up as the cast of Grey\'s Anatomy for Halloween in Santa Barbara performing in doctor\'s coats and scrub masks... aka \'scrubbing in,\' kicking ass and taking names in Tucson AZ and Boulder CO- WE CANNOT WAIT TO COME BACK!!! and rocking Stubb\'s last night in Austin- the best city for northern state beer coozies!

lowlights include being pulled over for possibly weighing too much somewhere in the middle of kansas.... and leaving our wireless mics behind in boulder... ugh. hopefully we will be reunited with them by friday in Dallas thanks to FedEx and the good people at the Boulder Theater.

we are very much looking forward to upcoming shows including a FREE Instore at Criminal Records in Atlanta- on November 15th at 7 pm. where we will host a contest to give away a pair of tix to the SOLD OUT Tegan & Sara/Northern State show in Atalnta at the Roxy on Nov. 16th. you have to be there to win- so come out and see us play a few songs from \'CAN I KEEP THIS PEN?\'

also-- in very exciting news--JD Samson from Le Tigre did an AMAZINGLY HOT remix for us of Better Already- you can stream it out for free at stereogum.com.

and buy it on itunes...

enjoy!

come say hello at the merch booth...
we can\'t wait to meet you all out on the road!!

xo
sprout & the girls

Wednesday October 24, 2007

Hey everybody,

Our song \"Better Already\" was played during the opening scenes of last week\'s episode of Grey\'s Anatomy.

OMG YOU GUYS!!! ok here\'s what happened: we were having a pretty bad day - actually really bad. we had just been detained at US immigration for 5 hours on our way home from Canadian Tour w Tegan and Sara (tour was great, LOVE those gals!!! US tour starts on monday!!).

We were sitting in the back of the van while our drummer seth johnson aka Dr. Blake Sethson was driving. Nurse Cassidy was shotgun. we were watching on DVD none other the FINAL EPISODE of season 2 of GREYS ANATOMY!!! (aka GREEEEEYYYY\'s!) We were on the EDGE of our seats..I was in tears clutching Dr\'s Potash and Goodmark for dear life (aka Sprout and Hesta).

All of a sudden our phones starting lighting up like there was no tomorrow and everyone and their mother started calling us to tell us we were on GREYYYYY\'s!!

WE FREAKED OUT!!!!!

GREEEEY\'s is our absolute fave show, we have watched seasons 1 and 2 back to back in the van on the Canadian tour and talked about it EVERY NIGHT - literally EVERY NIGHT - on stage. (Tegan and Sara\'s stepdad Bruce lent us season 2 which we will return promptly, thank you Bruce!)

We are obessed. We love Cristina Yang altho i was VERY disappointed by her when Dr. Bourke was shot. We luvvvv Dr. Bailey, we LUVVV Izzy- , we have contests to see who does the best Addison Montgomery Shepherd impression - PLUS we KNOW Oprah watches GREEEEEY\'s so now it\'s basically guaranteed that \"O\" has heard our song!!!

OMG YOU GUYS WE ARE FREAKING OUT WE LUVVVV GREYYYYY\'s soooo much!!

ok gotta go do an emergency bovine mytrovalve replacement (aka return the tour van)

DR. SPERO scrubbing out!!!

Tuesday August 28, 2007

Hey All!!!

The big day is here, CAN I KEEP THIS PEN? is in stores TODAY!!!

We are celebrating the release by playing at the Virgin Megastore in Union Sq here in NYC at 6:30pm, followed by a cd signing and margaritas (possibly at the Rodeo Bar?? Gals??)

On Weds we will be playing a huge release party in Williamsburg, BK at the Luna Lounge. It\'s going to be awesome and will feature some rad bands as well as some special friends.

Btw they played our song \"Good Distance\" (track 6, heyyyy) on the TV show Damages last weekend. Oh hiiiiii Glenn Close!!

Oh I\'m sorry, CAN I KEEP THIS PEN????

Hesta and the Gals

p.s. we did an interview with Larry Flick on left of center at sirius satellite radio and spero was lurking around looking for her hero, howard....

p.p.s. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO CAME OUT IN SUPPORT LAST WEEK IN BOSTON, DC, AND PHILLY!!! we had a fab time!!!

p.p.p.s. Check out our brand new website: NorthernState.net. And a big thank you to our boy dave in Taiwan!!!!

Sunday August 12, 2007

8/12/07

NORTHERN STATE PERFORMS ON FEARLESS TV THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AUGUST 11th (well technically, Sunday morning the 12th…)

That’s right. Tune into Fox at 12:30 am to see Northern State perform live on TV. Well, it’s not live technically- cause we taped it a few weeks ago… but it was live when it happened. We were actually standing there playing. You get the idea…
To check out other times and places that it will air click: www.fearlessmusic.com

ALSO- THE BIG RELEASE IS GETTING CLOSER…
AUG. 28 (RELEASE DAY) we will be performing LIVE (for real) at the VIRGIN MEGASTORE in Union Square NYC!!!
Don’t miss Northern State’s first true In-Store performance. You can even be the first to buy a copy of CAN I KEEP THIS PEN? have us 3 ladies sign your CD- in person- and then steal your pen.
That’s how we do…

If you can’t wait til then, or you plan on purchasing several copies- you can officially PRE-ORDER your copy of CAN I KEEP THIS PEN? Now at amazon.com. Just click on the link at the top of this page to preorder now!

Also- if you want to help us spread the word about the release and the upcoming shows we have in your area- you can officially join the Northern State Street Team Army- and Fancorps will send you all kinds of promotional goodies to help convert legions of your friends into Northern State supporters. We will be keeping a close eye on this new situation and making sure you get taken care of…
If you are interested- sign up with Fancorps here: http://www.fancorps.com/northernstate/signup.

And finally- come celebrate the release with us at one of our east coast release parties listed below. And don’t forget our full North American Tour with Tegan & Sara this fall. All tour dates listed on our myspace page: www.myspace.com/northernstate
(If you haven’t already heard their new album The Con- you need to do it. Now.)

Our new website (and merch store) is launching soon… stay tuned…

With love,
sproutasia mae

Tuesday April 24, 2007

Oh hi everybody!
Just saying hi since it is FINALLY warm in NYC and we have officially come into my season…

In fabulous news from the world of Northern State- it’s official! “Can I Keep This Pen?” is being released in August on Ipecac Recordings. Yay!

Also just a lil reminder to anyone in the NYC area:
Put on your summer clothes and come party with Northern State on Friday May 4th for Crashin’ In at Galapagos in Williamsburg Brooklyn.
It’s going to be a nice small show- and a giant celebration of the release of our fabulous vinyl 12” Better Already on Kanine Records.
We are so excited about having vinyl- it sounds so good!
It looks good too thanks to our friend Goose, aka Sara Auster.
There will be DJs all night, members of NS dancing the night away, and round midnight we will play a set with our live band featuring
the illustrious Chuck Brody of Shitake Monkey (and producing our record) fame, on guitar and drum machines,
the incomparable Seth Johnson on the kit, and none other than Dr. Jonathan Wynn, sociologist extraordinaire, on bass,
The festivities begin at 10 pm. Can’t wait to see you there. You can even buy the vinyl itself in celebration…
or go to our merch page to buy it now- directly from Kanine Records.

More tour dates TBA soon…
So much love,
sproutasia mae

Tuesday April 3, 2007

Hey Y'all!

We're back from SXSW and our lil Southern tour - it was friggin awesome and we had a fab time eating BBQ, playing w/ the Polyphonic Spree and speaking in generic (mildly offensive?) faux Southern accents!

Imagine our surprise and thrilled-ness when we opened the pages of Spin mag and they listed our song "Away Away" as one of the top 15 to Download Now! Amazing.

In response we've put the song up on our myspace and made it download-able for the entire month of April. Go get it!!!

In addition we're doing a release party for the Better Already 12" which will be avail in stores IN MAY- on Friday May 4th at Galapagos in Brooklyn. The party may include some
or all of the following: NS on the turntables (aka ipods), NS live on stage, friends of NS live on stage, NS hitting the bar, friends of NS
hitting the bar. Hope to see you there!

Luv yous!
Hesta and the Gals

PS - Congrats to Chuck Brody - his band Shitake Monkey's debut album "Street Beef" hits stores today!

Thursday October 12, 2006

Hey All!

We’re heading back into the studio tomorrow night- but this time it’s the satellite radio kind of studio- for XM radio’s show “Spitkicker.” We will be interviewed by Heather B (the truth-teller from Real World Season 1, and a female MC in her own right, ookay!?) which is tre exciting and awesome and also playing TWO new songs from the new record - NEVER HEARD BEFORE!!
(I haven't even heard them so you can imagine my excitement??!!)

If you've got the technology, listen to Northern State on XM radio’s “Spitkicker”
Thursday night Oct 28 from 6-8 pm on XM Channel 65 “the Rhyme”. We’ll try to remind you as the air date gets closer…

Also if you don’t have XM, you can check out NS on BK radio, a fine internet radio station-they have been playing the F out of our “Away Away Dub Remix’, go to our myspace (myspace.com/northernstate) for a link…

Also we're playing next Tues 10/17 at the Bowery Ballroom w/ Tilly and
the Wall. We will also be playing LOTS of new songs - like SIX! - so
don't miss it!

Tickets are $15 in advance and you can get them here:
http://www.ticketweb.com/user/?region=nyc&query=detail&event=691955
Much luv n see u soon - Project Runway Bryant Park shows this week -
Oooh Girl!
Michael Knight-Make it WORK!!!

Hesta

Wednesday October 4, 2006

good-day friends.

News flash from the world of Northern State:

We’re playing at Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday Oct. 17 with Tilly and The Wall.

Yay!

Tickets are $15 in advance and you can get them here:

http://www.ticketweb.com/user/?region=nyc&query=detail&event=691955

the show should sell out so get your tickets early.

We love the Bowery Ballroom and are excited to play there again-

We’ll be celebrating our triumphant return with more than one never before seen (or heard) new song from our as-of-yet untitled new record… (still taking suggestions!!!)

See you at Bowery…

Lots of love,
sproutasia mae

Thursday September 14, 2006

Oh hiiiii y'all!!

How are you? Nice to see you!

We've got a lot of awesome shit going on right now. The record is
finished and Caleb Shreve aka Chuck Brody aka Charles Chesterpot is
mixing "iluvitwhenya"(is this song perfect??) AS WE SPEAK!

Are we excited - YES!!

More news on where/when you can get this amazing genre-blending mix of
electro-rock/hip-hop/what-have-you as they unfold.

In the meantime you can read about the record in some new press -
Rolling Stone, AP, etc etc - on our site and myspace -
www.myspace.com/northernstate. HIt a girl w/ top 8 okakaayayyyyY???

We also just finished a song w/ Chuck D's new group Crew Girl
Order/She Squad that we are super psyched about. This came about
after Chuck D himself said some ultra-flattering things abt us in his
column in Elemental Mag which you can read on our myspace. Amazing.
More news on that as it unfolds - we may be hitting the ATL for the
video shoot? We're not sure, will let u kno....

PLAYING - this Friday aka tomorrow with legendary Bronx group ESG at
The Hook in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
info:
18 Commerce Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Cost: $25adv $35door
we go on at 11pm - ESG at 12am.
cannot wait!

We'll also be playing a benefit for Planned Parenthood of NY in Long
Island City, Queens this Monday at the Foundry. More info can be
found here: www.myspace.com/ladieslotto

Some cool radio interviews and dj gigs are coming up soon too. Oh you
didn't know we were djs? Lookie there.

Aight, gotta go watch P-run on my DVR, Michael Knight 4eva!

Make it work!
Hesta

Thursday September 7, 2006

oh hi.

Thanks to all of those who came out in support despite the threatening rains… (the sea was angry that day…) on our rocks off concert cruise. We hope you had as much fun as we did and were not nearly as nauseous…
We had an amazing time and couldn’t have done it without ya’ll, ‘The Help…’ and of course, The Blackline Orchestra… so thanks again everyone!

If you missed it- you have another chance to see Northern State live next week!
This time in the borough of Brooklyn (my personal favorite borough) with legendary South Bronx 80s art-funk women- ESG- at The Hook in Red Hook.

Friday September 15, 2006
The Hook
18 Commerce St.
Brooklyn NY 11231
Doors: 8:30
18+
w/ ESG & Man in Grey
$25 in advance, $35 at the door

also- there is a free shuttle bus that leaves from the Carroll Street F/G stop at Smith and 2nd Streets in Brooklyn.

And advance tickets can be purchased at Other Music at 15 East 4th St. in Manhattan and at Something Else Records at 294 5th Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn- as well as at The Hook itself.

Hope we get to see you soon!
No official studio diary entry today- but suffice to say we are finally finished recording and are now tackling mixing and mastering and figuring out how to get this beauty out to you as quickly we can…
Stay tuned for updates!

Xo,
Thaysia

Tuesday August 22, 2006

Hey dudes!

A few quick updates from the desk of SPERO

First off, our boat show aboard the “Half Moon” as part of the Rocks Off Concert Cruise series is just 2 short days away! We have pre sold a bunch of tkts which is great, but if you haven’t gotten yours yet, I say do it incase they run out..

We are really excited, our sailor outfits are coming together and we have a very special cover song planned that really works with the themes of “Summer” and “drinkin” and “cruising”..the Blackline Orchestra has never sounded better, and our friends “the Help” are ready to kick off the night w some easy breezy tunes…(easy breezy??)

For tickets hit up www.ticketweb.com and sleep better knowing that you are guaranteed your spot aboard the half moon for what is sure to be one of the most fun NS shows in the history of NS.

ANY and ALL nautical outfits and props are encouraged! Check www.rocksoff.com for more info about the cruise.

In other news, we had the pleasure of playing the Abbey Pub in Chi town and the Michigan Womyn’s Festival 2 weeks ago and we had so much fun..we cannot thank enough all of the people who came out to see these shows and all of the awesome ‘womyn’ who organized the Festival..here is a photo of Sprout and Hesta Prynn chillin w some of the organizers after our set…taken by the one and only Katie Cassidy, thanks Cass for coming along for the ride! Oooh, girl!

Ok please see the studio diary by Miss Tasia Mae aka Sprout, we are finishing our new album this week and next week, holy crap, stakes is high, but we can do it! We are in love with our new album in a very honeymoon style way, the thrill has not worn off, we still get butterflies…

Even the Village Voice is excited, check out ‘Summer Mentions” aka How the boldfaced and the beautiful spent their summer vacations…by Tricia Romano..(apparentlywe spent ours holed up in the studio w no natural light to be found—which is tru—and we’d do it again!)

http://villagevoice.com/nyclife/0634,romano,74233,15.html

Lots n lots of love
Ahoy!?!?
SPERO

Monday August 7, 2006

Oh hi, y’all..It’s me, SPERO..

I believe we are approaching what are known as the ‘Dog Days’ of summer. Has anyone besides me recently sweat through not only their clothes, but also their bag? Just checking..

What better way to celebrate/escape the season than aboard the ‘Half Moon’ with Northern State. Oooh, girl..

Please do join us on Thurs Aug 24 as we play the Rocks Off Summer Concert Series (www.rocksoff.com) and sail around Manhattan-..great views, plenty of booze..and Northern State.

I had the pleasure of taking a spin on the ‘Half Moon’ recently and had a lovely evening cruising down the East River with a drink in hand..not a bad way to spend a Thurs night.

Our friends “the Help” will be kicking off the night for us..then NS perform some old and new faves (and one ridiculous cover song) with our live band, ‘the Blackline Orchestra’..and perhaps we’ll end the night on the dance floor.?

We girls of Northern State will be dressing in our best sailor suits, and we invite you to do the same. We are not kidding.

A few things about the NS/Rocks off show:
The boat leaves at 8pm! Sharp! You gotsta get there on time, or you will literally miss the boat. ‘Doors’ are at 7, and the bar is open..

Tickets are $25 that night at ‘door’ and $20 beforehand on ticketweb.com – but being that there are service charges on ticketweb, that actually comes out to $25, but at least you’ll have ‘em beforehand incase it sells out..

HOWEWA, for a limited time you can go to ticketweb and purchase tickets for $15 –enter the code NSP2006 and select $15 promotional ticket and ‘will call’ – but with the service charge, it actually comes to 20.05, which is only slightly better than 25 – we recognize this is way more than we usually ask anyone to pay for a show, but we wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t feel it is going to be a truly awesome night, and an experience you cant get at just any live music venue in NY..

A few more notes:
Dramamine is not included, so if you are the seasick type, BYO!! But it really isn’t bad, I did it and was not in the least bit nauseous

The ‘Half Moon’ sets sail from 23rd St and the FDR and cruises down the East River, under the bridges, and around the Statue of Liberty..bee-u-tiful..

To the best of my knowledge, there is no food sold on the ‘Half Moon’ (maybe some chips or sumthing but no dinner)–so grab sum din on the way or pack a snack or whatev!

Oh, and the bar is cash only..so bring some cash!

and DEF bring a camera, the views are FAB and, as mentioned earlier, we will be in sailor suits.

Now, onto my Chicago and Michigan people!

Chi-town, we cant wait to see you again on Aug 9 at the Abbey..is it possible its been almost a yr since we saw you last w Tegan n Sara? We will have the LOVELY and talented Katie Cassidy with us for a rare GIRLS ONLY performance, not a boy to be seen on the stage..and we will be playing a bunch of new songs!

And then on Aug 11 we will be playing the Michigan Women’s Festival www.michfest.com..This one is for the ladies and we are very pleased to be a part of the festival as it celebrates its 25th year I think..(or 26th!?)

We are also getting close to finishing our new album, thank god! We hope to have it done by the end of Aug- Please see Hesta Prynn’s ‘studio diary’ below for more updates on that.

We will be filming a dvd extra to accompany the cd which will be a workout video led by us, to 3 of our news songs and a ‘cool down’ song. Filming will commence as soon as the album is done.

Love you all – stay cool….SPERO!

Sunday July 23, 2006

oh hi ya’ll.

This is sprout reporting live from the other side of 30 to tell you all that it is not so bad at all. It’s been quite a fine celebration- including, but not limited to, the annual softball game, pool party, & BBQ extravaganza out on Long Island at my folks’ house. We play New York vs. the world and we win every year. My dad pitches for both teams and makes all the calls. I make incredible plays at third base. Everyone really goes for it and gets into the game. My mom makes her famous macaroni and cheese and people talk about it for the rest of the year. It is a true NSP event. It’s fab. Really.

This year since it was my special big 3-0, there was an additional surprise performance by Peter, Paula, and Mary (also known as Caleb, Spero and Hesta Prynn). They performed their only hit single, “Join In My Song” loosely based on a Jewish song sung every year as part of the Purim celebration, in my honor. I really wish you all could have been there.

But instead, you can come celebrate my favorite season with Northern State aboard the Half Moon as we sail around the isle of Manhattan on Thursday August 24th. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (does a ship have a door?) But for a limited time we are offering a special deal of $15 tickets to the first few people who purchase tickets in advance. This is a savings of $10 for a night cruising on a ship with NS and partying like it’s 2006. Don’t miss it. Go to this link to order your tix: TicketWeb.com and use access code: NSP2006 (in all caps) to get the discount. There are a limited number of discounted tickets so def get yours today…

We got such an overwhelmingly positive response when we asked for help maintaining our myspace page (and now- thanks to Patrick- it looks even more fab than before- THANK YOU PATRICK!!!) It is now officially time to see if there are more of you out there who are graphic artistically inclined who might be interested helping out with the Northern State website. If you’re interested, email us at ladies@northernstate.net for details…

In other news- we’re psyched for our little trip out to the Midwest to play in Chicago at The Abbey on Aug. 9 and at the Michigan Womyn’s Fest. On August 11th. Please come out and show your NS support if you are in the area… we’d love to see you somewhere out on the road.

ttfn.
sproutasia mae robinson
age 30

Friday May 12, 2006

hey all-
a small number of VIP tix are avail for the ATL SOCO Party/show - email your fave story re: the last time you drank soco to hestaprynn@northernstate.net
to get yourself a pair!

Saturday April 22, 2006

hi ya'll,
this is sprout. heretofore known as tasia mae.
so many exciting updates in the world of northern state.
and you thought we were just hiding in a cave making an amazing new album....!!!!

TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF NEW YORK CITY:
HEAR YE. HEAR YE.
get your tix for the show
on TUESDAY MAY 2
at MERCURY LOUNGE
IN ADVANCE!!!

the tix are selling like hot cakes and the merc. lounge is not that big.
it will most def sell out- so if you want to be there to see an historical event with new NS songs never before played on stage for human ears-
then visit:
http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/content/boxoffice.html
for ticket buying info.

also- feel free to check out NS blowing up on public radio and television.

this week we were the honored guests of john schaefer on -soundcheck- a show on wnyc that airs on NPR.
you can listen to the archived interview here:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2006/04/21

we also have the honor of appearing on NYCTV “Cool In Your Code” on Tues, May 2nd
@ 8:30 pm (with encores on wednesday at 10:00 pm and saturday at 8:00 pm)
it's on channel 25 on time warner cable.
find out more info here:
http://www.coolinyourcode.com/

also- just an FYI- we have had some problems with our newsletter system and we are very sorry to those loyal NS supporters who have not received our latest newsletter- and an even bigger apology to those who have received it more than once...

hope to see you on May 2!
xo
tasia mae

Monday April 3, 2006

hey all!

our ears have BLED listening to so many FAB remixes, but a winner had to be chosen, and chosen he was. the winner of the 'away away'
northern state remix contest, who will receive their track featured on the NS myspace and main site, a free tshirt and a spread in elle magazine is.... brooklyn's own Johnny Rodeo!! when confronted with the dazzling dub sounds of rodeo's work, chuck brody says, "i heard this one and i knew it was the one." ooooh girl.

and now for some big big news - northern state, halfway through our third album - will be playing LIVE in nyc! we've put together a great bill - support from the iOs and the black hollies (members of rye
coalition) it will be presented by the tijuana gift shop (more info on that to follow) and will be at the mercury lounge on tues, may 2nd.

the lineup will include NS throwback drummer sethjo, the talented g-latt, CEO of the good news network on bass, producer extraordinaire chuck brody, and as a special treat for the fans, katie cassidy will make a guest starring appearance on stage. get your tix now cuz this is going to be a great one.

mercury lounge
217 east houston
tues, may 2nd
10pm
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
www.ticketweb.com

alright, i luv u nizzles!!!
hesta prynn, ph.d.

ps - apparently our myspace has been HACKED! we are so sorry about this and are doing everything in our power to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. thanks to all of our amazing fans for the support during this most bizarre and annoying experience!

Monday February 13, 2006

subject: remix contest

hesta prynn speaking:

last week we sent out an email announcing the 'away away' remix contest - download 'away away' a capella and email ur remix to me at hestaprynn@northernstate.net, best remix lands on our website.

it has been brought to my attention that you actually cannot import the "away away" a capella from itunes into your music programs!

soo...... MANY heartfelt apologies to those who have spent money on the a capella! it is now officially up and avail for download from our music page at http://www.northernstate.net .

so go out and remix! what are you waiting for???
hp, ph.d.

Thursday February 2, 2006

hello!!!

hey dudes! how you doin? it's hesta prynn ph.d., i am chillin here
w/ spero and chuck brody. we are also chillin w/ spero's stuffed pig
silky, who, it turns out, executive produced the film 'last holiday'
starring queen latifah.

we was just chillin when we received a horde (sp?) of fan email in
reference to the first song from our new single which is up on itunes.
the song is called "away away", the album is as of yet untitled, but
titles in the running are currently "wednesday at a time", "rent: the
musical" and "the final insult."

fans had some very exciting and positive things to say about 'away
away', but i thought it might be more interesting to the fans to hear
what the nizzles on the inside have to say. thus, i bring you an
exclusive interview w/ northern state's very own spero and producer
extraordinaire chuck brody.

in addition, we will be running a remix contest - the 'away away' a
capella and instrumental are both avail on itunes, best remixes wind
up on the NS site. now for the interview...

hesta prynn: oh hiiiii!
spero: hii
chuck brody: hello
silky: (silence)

hp: how do you feel by the overwhelmingly positive response to this song?
spero: i feel overwhelmed by it
cb: no surprise

hp: how would u describe this song for someone who hasn't downloaded yet?
spero: i would say that it has a surf rock vibe that i enjoy while
also referencing blondie and cyndi lauper.
cb: it reminds me of three glasses of rum and ice in the caribbean.

hp: okay, okay. now, what was you doing on the porch just before?
spero: ummm.... filling out some forms for northern state?
cb: i was enjoying the morning weather, looking for my shadow.

hp: thank you, this has been a very educational interview for me. i
luv u nizzles!
spero: you my girl!
cb: i luv u too bitches!

much love to the NSP and everyone who wrote in! see u on the road soon-
hesta prynn, ph.d.

Wednesday December 21, 2005

dear friends and family,
we'd like to take this time to wish you all the best in health and happiness this holiday season and always.

northern state recognizes that it is not always easy at this time of year to be cheerful and spread good tidings-
what with the enforced nice family time, the extra money to spend spend spend that you do not necessarily have, the obscene biting cold, the transit strike, and of course, the darkness that settles in at 4 pm and makes you want to eat take-out every night and never leave the house (or maybe that's just me...)

but, as usual, northern state is here to help.
reminding people that today is the winter solstice, which, though it signifies the BEGINNING of winter- i like to think of it as the beginning of the END of winter.
from this day forth, each day will grow ever-so-slightly longer, bringing us slowly toward the promise of spring and the renewal of the earth, the cycle of life, and a time when i don't have to walk around in a full length sleeping bag coat. it's not cute.

you'll also be glad to hear that during this time of hibernation and rebirth, northern state is hard at work in the lab with the one and only chuckles brody cooking up a fine feast of sound for our new album due out this spring.

you can hear (and purchase) the first track- Away Away on itunes for just 99 cents.
how's that for a holiday bargain?

also- for those last minute gifts- we have a holiday sale of all our merch- closeout prices and a free baby t with every purchase!!!
if you order before christmas- i can promise to pack up your brown paper packages and get them in the mail as soon as i return from my whirlwind vacation of luxurious long island and tropical buffalo NY- (which means you'll get your packages in Jan. of 2006- sorry it's the best i can do...)

with that said-
we love you all.
happy everything and best wishes for a rockin new years eve...
and an even more fabulous 2006.
so much love,
sprout, prynn and spero

Wednesday November 30, 2005

hey all!

come check us out in boston this friday night. here's the info:

Paradise Lounge
969 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA 02215
Doors 9 pm
18+
$10
with EJ Labb and Jungli

you can buy advance tix through our site on the shows page.
things to look forward to - new songs and a free baby t w/ every merch
purchase.
merry xmas my nizzles!

hesta prynn, ph.d.

p.s. anyone wanna volunteer to help us sell merch on friday in boston? email manager@northernstate.net

Tuesday November 15, 2005

people of the world:
(or just the ns news page)

it is winter in new york city. get your hat. your mittens. and your scarf.
there is a cold wind blowing through and don't say i didn't warn you.

also- our new hit single (aka a great song produced by Caleb Shreve from our new, as of now, unreleased, unnamed album) Away Away is available for exclusive purchase on iTunes.
Click Here to buy it for $.99 and help us finance our hot new merch line (in development). When you get to the itunes page- scroll down to Buy Music Now and then search for Northern State- Away Away.

incase you’ve been living under a rock, the future of music is obviously all about the internet, indies, and some other shit we don’t even know about cuz maybe it hasn’t even been invented yet. this is nothing you don’t already know...

the aforementioned Caleb Shreve and his group Shitake Monkey are offering their album “Street Beef” for free, and totally legally, from Limewire and Kazaa. just go to one of those sites and search for it. now that’s what I’m talking about. we realized while working the NS merch table on tour that it is impossible to open your standard shrink-wrapped cd.anyway, who needs it. downloadable. free. legal. easy. ahhh....

in other news- while we were away on tour i got the strangest "wrong email" in my inbox ever recorded. please enjoy...

subject: Re: SOS
Dear Ray and Bob,
This is the follow up on the three people I called:
1.    Diane Mintz - I had a long conversation with her and maybe she'll begin coming to shul, but she is claiming hardship and wishes to speak to one of you to plead her case. I suspect she is able to pay something but I will leave that determination up to you.
2.    Irene Michaels and Dena Rose - I left two messages on an answering machine.
3.    Ben Mayer - I left a message on a machine, but I suspect it is the wrong number. Perhaps the office can help get you the correct number.

I'm sorry that both of you were put in this uncomfortable position. Thanks for trying to rectify the situation.
Shabbat Shalom
Ron

and lastly- we are working hard at lots more updates on our website including but not limited to: hilar pics from sweden and the tegan and sara tour, a new bio, a new and improved merch page boasting holiday sale prices, and reinstating our email newsletter!!! all of these things will have to wait until our friend dave moves into his new place in Taiwan and gets his computer set up. Hi, Dave!!!

luv,
sprout

Tuesday November 1, 2005

FRIENDS OF NS!

Spero here...We’re back from tour with Tegan and Sara, and we’re headed to Sweden this week to play 3 shows, in Gothenburg, Malmo and Stockholm.

That’s right, in the amount of time others would take to go upstate for a long weekend, we will just go to Sweden and play in 3 cities and then drive back to the first one to fly home. What!?!?!

Check out www.ladyfest.se for info (not in English!) and we will do our best to post the info in English on www.northernstate.net asap! We’re still gathering the details, even though we are leaving in 2 days...as you can see, we run a tight ship...

So, the tour w/ Tegan and Sara was awesome..we had such a great time getting to know Tegan and Sara and their whole gang, a group of totally hilar Canadians..we will post pics when we get back from Sweden, they are worth the wait..’twas just a rad fall tour, and we were so thrilled to be a part of it and to share the stage nightly with Tegan and Sara, two women we have nothing but respect for, and their kick-ass band too!

Thanx to to the entire T and S crew for making sure we had such an awesome time, to everyone we met on the road- and especially to everyone who bought our cds and merch…and to the one and only Chuck Brody aka Caleb Shreve who was the 4th member of NS on this tour. Not only did he play like a rock star every night, but he (as well as myself and Hesta Prynn) survived a deadly flu (the avian flu?) while winning fans everywhere he went, some of whom were QUITE flirtatious! Thank you, Chuck! we have fun, don’t we?

Oh, NS in Rolling Stone! on stands now with good ole Bono on the cover- there is a lil write up about our new record which we are continuing to record with the aforementioned Caleb Shreve, wearing his other hat as producer extraordinaire, and w / a little help from our friends, some of the usual suspects..(Groove Bros, Katie Cassidy, DJ Zone etc.), and a few new ones as well..I’ll let you be surprised...

It’s on p. 26 “In the Studio” ...U can find us by looking for the pic of Ray Davies, an old buzzard whose pic they chose over us, three fine foxes…atho Ray Davies is kinda the man, so I take it back.

Anyway..we will keep you posted on our new, as of now, title-less album (we suck at naming stuff), which sounds amazing so far and which we will be releasing via a small South American women’s collective and beaming to space stations everywhere sometime in Spring 06!

Lots n lotsa luv
SPERO

Friday September 30, 2005

Oh Hiiiiii!!!!!

Sprout here with an up to the minute report from NS headquarters…
We leave this weekend for 3 weeks on the road with Tegan and Sara!
Don’t miss this tour as it promises to be- ‘just fun.’ Check the tour
dates here. Due to budget cutbacks we regret to inform you that
we will not be traveling with the 7-piece circus you may have become
accustomed to. Though we will miss the Groove Bros. and Katie Cassidy
terribly- we are very much looking forward to exploring life on the
road with the lovely and talented, Sven Golly, aka Caleb Sheve, pka
Chuck Brody, dba ‘shreve’ aka Caleb Crockett. Caleb is a very talented pro-ducer
with whom we are making our new album (see more info below) and he is really the mastermind behind the new ‘stage show’- so get ready! We love him and we want the world to know it, so there it is.

I am currently sitting on top of the ‘merch’ suitcase in my apt trying
to squeeze in one more hoodie, cause it’s officially fall now- which is
a great time to buy a hoodie in case you didn’t know… I am also trying
to load my ipod with new music for the road, (any suggestions?)
If you haven’t checked it out yet- we finally posted some new hilarious
pics on the photos page from our west coast "summer never ends" tour.
Peeps "photos" page to enjoy…

And now to hesta prynn for the R Kelly contest update:

People the World Over:
Hesta Prynn Ph.d. here. There were many submissions to the "what the f is up w/ r kelly" contest. However, there can only be one winner.and it is….. femmemmy for her "r kelly’s in the closet cliff notes". You can see it here http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3100. Let’s face it, if anything is going to explain "w/ the f is up w/ r kelly" then this is it. See u on tow bitches!! Back to you Sprout-

In other news we are making serious progress on our new album currently
titled, Northern State: "Wednesday at a Time" or "Land of Confusion" or
"RENT." We are hoping to get a new track up exclusively on itunes in
the next few weeks so stay tuned for updates…
Can’t wait to see you out there on the road.
Hugs and kisses,
Sprout

p.s. as usual we need someone to help us sell merch at our Seattle show
on Oct. 20. Any volunteers? E-mail us ASAP at
manager@northernstate.net. Thanks again!!!

Tuesday August 30, 2005

hello all!

long time no speak! we have been super busy working on our new record. it's an amazing, dreamy, genre-free group of songs, get ready for some new shizz as we may offer a sneak peek track on itunes shortly.

in related news we will be touring in the month of october with rockers tegan and sara. we'll be hitting lots of cities we haven't been to in awhile, also returning to cali which will be amazing. check out the Shows page for the current routing, more shows to be added so check back often! www.northernstate.net.

we are thrilled re: this development and are currently putting together a new show that may include such things as spero on the turntables, sprout on the guitar and yours truly on a shaker in the shape of a pear.

in unrelated news - holy shit has r. kelly completely lost his mind??? for those of u living under a rock, my man R performed a miss saigon-esque, lip-synched one-man show (in which he plays all the characters) of 'in the closet' on the VMAs last night. (related q - when did kelly clarkson become britney?) when i say lip-synched i don't mean he had a mic that he was obviously not using, i mean he straight up lip-synched the song, NO mic, no shame.

seriously can someone let a girl know?? email ur answers to the above q (has r. kelly completely lost he mind???) to me at hestaprynn@northernstate.net. best answer will be published in our next news letter.

aight! luv all y'all, talk soon!
hesta prynn, ph.d.
aka
yo' mama's keeper

ps - check out my modeling debut at www.brooklynindustries.com, hollaaaa!

Wednesday July 20, 2005

Hey everybody! SPERO here, reporting from a puddle of my own sweat..iiiwww! sorry that was gross, but tru!

Just a quick reminder - tonight, Northern State, LIVE at South St. Seaport in NYC with Army of Me - FREE SHOW! ALL AGES! bring the baby..it's all good!

We are playing at Pier 17 and set times are approx:
Army of Me - 7pm
Northern State - 7:45

Then it's off to Cali for shows in San Fran, LA and San Diego, July 23, 24 and 25..check shows page for more info- Come on down early and catch the Groove Bros who are opening for us in Cali..I'm just hoping to catch a breeze in San Fran, is that so wrong?? email ladies@northernstate.net if you want to help promote the shows! we will be soooo grateful...

We are so looking forward to it all and thanx in advance to everyone who comes out to the shows..we luv you all, for real...can somebody come over and unstick me from my desk chair?? Grazie!

xoxoxo!!
SPERO and the girls!

Friday July 1, 2005

hello people!!!

you ask - we give! we are the santa clauses of female hip hop, holla.

we are finally coming back to cali so get ready...

dates below:

Saturday July 23, 2005
San Francisco, CA
Cafe Du Nord
2170 Market St.
San Francisco CA 94114
Doors 8:30
Showtime 9:30
$12
21+
with The Groove Bros. and Chow Nasty

Sunday July 24, 2006
Los Angeles, CA
Knitting Factory
7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
Doors 8 pm
ALL AGES
$8 in advance
$10 at door
with The Groove Bros., Pink Mochi and Pen 15 Club

Monday July 25, 2005
San Diego, CA
The Casbah
2501 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, CA 91101
Doors 8 pm
21+
$10
with The Groove Bros. and Bad Credit

our fabulous back-up band The Groove Bros will be opening on these dates, as well as other great local opening acts so come early!

we are looking for eager and talented fans to help us sell merch at these shows. if that describes u or someone u love please email us at ladies@northernstate.net. you'll get into the show fo' free as well as a poster (possibly?? i may have made this up??) and some face time w/ the band.

if you want to help promote our shows you can download the poster below- print it out (good luck with that…) fill in the info from our shows page, and hang that shit up all over town!

in addition - we have finally started working on some amazing new musical shit so get ready for that too. more info to follow......

we're also doing a free show in nyc at the south street seaport so come check that out...

Wednesday, July 20th
South Street Sea Port
89 South Street/Pier 17
New York, NY
FREE SHOW
ALL AGES
7 pm
with Army of Me

h-h-h-holla!
hesta prynn,' ph.d.

Thursday June 16, 2005

We're going back to Cali, Cali, Cali... going back to Cali...
CAN'T WAIT!!!

Check out Northern State's Summer (Never Ends?) Tour 2005

Kicking it off right with a FREE show at South Street Seaport in NYC - Wed. July 20
Then we head to Northern California for the Camp Betty Campout - 7/22/05
San Francisco at Café Du Nord - 7/23/05
Los Angeles at Knitting Factory - 7/24/05
San Diego at The Casbah - 7/25/05

If you can't wait til July - you can come and see us play at Rothko on Wed. June 22
It's a benefit for the Village Voice writer's union-Union Shop Local
2110 UAW. It's $10 and promises to be a dope show with Supagroup,
Northern State and Jason Lowenstein from Sebadoh. Doors are at 8 and we
will be there all night so come out and say hello and support the
Village Voice...

Stayed tuned for more updates and check the shows page for details.

Hope you to see soon.
We've finally come into my season...
Luv,
sprout