I believe Vic Godard coined the term: vertical integration. Put simply, why should we continue to pay others to cart our gear from city to city when we could be paying ourselves? So the next time you find yourself scheduling a pickup from FedEx, we hope you’ll consider switching your business to YLT. Remember our motto: Let’s jump into the wagon and drive until the motor falls out.
Bike MS took place earlier today. We joined our Agoraphone/Other Music teammates just after sunrise and enjoyed a delightful 30-mile circuit of Manhattan. Here’s me and team captain Dawn Madell arguing about who’s got the cooler footwear during our mid-ride break.
We want to thank everyone who donated to Georgia and me. Your generosity not only supported a great cause, but earned each of us a complimentary ice cream cone, courtesy of Ben & Jerry‘s. It’s too late for us to have seconds, but not for you to donate to Georgia and me and Bike MS.
Speaking of marathons, we were unable to interrupt our preparatory regimen of carbo loading and squat thrusts, but I hope you were in Asbury Park to catch James taking part in Oneida‘s Ocropolis. A photographer on the scene that we are only at liberty to refer to as “Cosmic Charlie” sent us this snap of James along with Shinji Masuko (DMBQ/ Boredoms), Oneida’s Showtime and Hanoi Jane, and Aaron Mullan (Tall Firs/Spectre Folk). 
Hi folks,
I take to the cyberwaves this evening to let you know that Georgia and I will be participating in the 2011 Bike MS ride. On October 2, we’ll wake up at an ungodly hour and head for NYC where we’ll join our teammates on the Agoraphone/Other Music squad and circle Manhattan. If you’d like to support us, we’d be very grateful. It’s a 30-mile ride, so put in your bid now for naming rights to each mile. Thanks in advance!
• To support Georgia, click here.
• To support Ira, click here.
–Ira
For the last 20+ years, Danny Amis has been a member of Los Straitjackets, but before that Georgia and I knew him as, in order of appearance, (a) the leader of Minneapolis surf-sensations, the Overtones, (b) a member of the Raybeats, and (c) our roommate in Hoboken. In fact, if Danny hadn’t sound-proofed our basement on Garden Street (well, “sound proof” might be stretching things, as our ex-neighbors would attest), it’s possible that our lives would be very different today.
Tomorrow night at Maxwell’s, a bunch of his old friends will be getting together to help in some small way to defray massive medical expenses he’s incurred. The Raybeats will be there, as well as the Individuals, the Schramms, and more. Georgia and I will take part as well. It’s still too soon to know what we’ll do–I can tell you that we’ll close the show and play for 40 minutes or so, but with so many of our musical pals on hand, the final set is sure to be a game-time decision. It promises to be a one-of-a-kind evening, I’m sure of that, and we hope you can make it.
Cloudy with a chance of hot dogs . . .
Undeterred by the rain, the fog and other things, Yo La Tengo took to the Eisenhower Interstate System over the weekend in search of food. Our first stop was at Kauffman’s in Bethel PA, to the best of our knowledge the nation’s premier one-stop BBQ chicken and mini-golf emporium. The weatherman cooperated long enough for us to play 18 holes (modesty forbids me from saying I won) and then it was time for dinner. And then it was time to get back on the road.
Saturday morning presented us with a dilemma: tour manager Joe Puleo was picking up sandwiches from Katzinger’s, but we wouldn’t be seeing him till late. Closer to what was passing for home, Ritzy Lunch is open Monday-Friday only. Luckily Roadfood pointed us to O’Betty’s Red Hot! Dogs & Sausages in Athens OH. Committed carnivores, no one could bring themselves to order the vegetarian option, though we were tempted.
Heading back to Hoboken, we had the good luck to pull off the road at a random exit where we encountered Yocco’s 100 — “The Hot Dog King.” It being band policy to partake of any and all hot dog royalty, our hands were tied.
As we ate at neither the Fun Barn nor the Nelsonville Music Festival, we must leave those two establishments, each estimable in its own right, out of this scene report.
A Friday the 13th cautionary post, reminding you and us alike that some people really hate Yo La Tengo! (A disgruntled Newt Gingrich supporter, perhaps?)
