Alta Mira

Rescue Mission

2011-11-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Swordpaw for having us in to record for song of the month!

Rescue Mission by Alta Mira

Pinkerton Tribute

2011-10-16T11:25:00.001-07:00

New Album 80.666% Done

2011-06-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight @ 8 !

2011-04-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

Two Commandments.

2011-03-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Don't spend too much time with Cleverbot.

If you have 20 minutes, watch this TED talk: Paul Root Wolpe on where we are with bio-engineering technology.

We've also been writing up a storm.
We'll post something new on Fbook early next month!

-August

March 11th, Somerville, MA

2011-03-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

To our friends in the Boston area,

We'll be playing with Boston locals, This Blue Heaven, this Friday at Rosebud in Somerville. They put together an awesome promo video for the show and their residency. Watch it below. Hope to see you there. -T

New Album Officially on the Way

2011-02-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

So, this past Sunday we reached our Kickstarter goal of $5,000 to help finish our album. We are super excited and thankful to everyone that backed us, promoted it on their blog, or just told a friend. We have a few songs recorded already and now we're starting to plan when, where, and how we'll be continuing. Updates/pics/news will most likely be posted here and on our Facebook page but for now you can hear one of our new songs tomorrow on the Pyx106 morning show at 8:30, February 18 at 9 PM on 97.7 FM, and you can also request it by visiting exit977.org.

Thanks again to everyone who helped us out, you won't be disappointed!

-Tommy

Help!

2011-01-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

We have 20 days left to reach our goal to help us record our new album. If you can give any amount it would be a great help. There are some really good incentives: $10 pre-orders the digital album, $25 pre-orders digital and vinyl, $50 gets you the album and an invitation to our listening party, $100 adds your name printed in our album plus we'll sign your vinyl album, $250 adds on a private concert, and for $500 you get all that was mentioned plus we'll write and record you a jingle. Take a look at some previous posts to hear the new music we're working on!

It's Sunday

2010-12-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

a little help...

2010-11-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

If you have been following our recent posts here on our blog you know by now that we've been busy writing and recording songs for a new album. We're feeling really good about the work we're doing with this new music. As of now we are officially out of funds to pay for recording, etc. So, we decided to try out the online organization Kickstarter. Our goal is to raise $5,000 in 60 days starting today. Any amount helps us get closer to our goal and we are offering some pretty good rewards in exchange for donations. Please take a minute to visit our project page HERE and watch our video and see the rewards. We really thank everybody who has helped support us over the years. This is exciting!

-Tommy

Organ Anthem @ St. Rose

2010-11-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

We just finished mixing this song over at Collar City Sound in Troy, NY. This was taken back in September-

-Tommy

New Recordings On The Way

2010-10-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

I guess we haven't mentioned here on the blog that we've started on some new recordings for a future release. We're really happy with what we've done so far. Here are a couple videos from last night in the studio.

-Tommy

Live @ Rest Fest

2010-09-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos taken during our set at Rest Fest held at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Albany. There's nothing better than hearing music in a 150 year old cathedral... Pictures were taken by Corey from Aperture Rising Photography (aperture_rising@yahoo.com).

-Tommy

Rest Fest + Free Comp

2010-08-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Download this free compilation for Rest Fest artists. The funstival begins tomorrow. This will be huge!! Info at RestFest.net.

Rest Fest Promo from Machine Should Be Productions on Vimeo.

-Tommy

Updates

2010-08-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

1. Oh, we've been writing...

2. We played a show at Elda's on Lark last weekend to a room full of people who've never heard us before. It was good, they liked it. We may be back there sometime...

3. The editors at Metroland picked us the 'Best Rock Band' for 2010. And you know what? They're our favorite alternative news weekly in the capital region, too!

4. On August 26th, we'll be playing at The Linda for Crumbs Night Out. It's a free concert, so we hope to see you. The show will be taped and broadcast at a later date on 90.3 WAMC. We'll let you know when to listen for it.

5. This video has surfaced: 'I Just wanted you to Know' at Red Square back in 2009.

6. St. Joseph's Church is in need of restoration. The Historic Albany Foundation is $57,000 away from a $300,000 matching grant from The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

We'll be playing a local music festival to raise some cash for the restoration. You can find more information and purchase tickets for the festival here: http://restfest.net/

-August

Remember The Alamo.

Such Cool Stuff!

2010-06-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a short interview I did via email for the Such Cool Stuff! blog:

http://www.suchcoolstuff.net/2010/06/alta-mira.html

-tommy

p.s.

The Picture Show

2010-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

Just "finished" a new song last night and I'm excited. There are minimal vocals and way too much tambourine. Here are a few words I scribbled down the other night about song writing:

We really try hard not to trick ourselves. I think we do what feels right to us and hope that people understand. We don’t want to hear something that’s been done before so we try to make something that’s different. Of course it’s self indulgent, but that’s why artists that hide away in their basement for two years come out with something special that people can connect with. They come out with something that people can understand if they close their eyes and listen. Turn off your radio, turn off your TV and just think about it. Think about it with nothing swaying your opinion or distracting you or clouding your judgment. If you do that you may end up feeling pretty good about the world.

Photos from last night's practice including one of Joe drinking a Mountain Brew:

-tommy

2010-05-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks be to everyone who braved the weather and came out to see us at Tulip Fest! Check out our facebook page for documentation of the event!

Also, if you have 20 minutes to spare: Watch this video.
It's a talk by Dennis Hong, about his seven different species of robot.

Also: Hold something! Prisencolinensinainciusol with subtitles!

-August

Tulip Fest, WEXT, Procrastination

2010-04-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a pretty productive day. We stopped by WEXT studios at noon with three rehearsed acoustic songs and got to hang with Dave Michaels and Chris Wienk. In retrospect I suppose it wasn't exactly an acoustic set, just a little different and more reserved for the radio station environment. The interview and songs will air this Sunday at 11 AM and next Thursday at 9 PM. Those guys were great as always. You can visit them at http://www.exit977.org/ where they're helping to promote the local stage at this year's Tulip Festival. We were lucky enough to get a slot at 3:30 on the Amp Stage. Also playing on that stage with us is Mike Gent, Charlie Watts Riots, and Lindsey Mae. Having never played with any of them, we're excited for it.

We're planning to book a short tour or two this summer so if you have any suggestions on where to go let us know. We probably should have started by now but we're known for procrastinating in just about every aspect of our lives...

-tommy

P.S. You can see some pictures from WEXT HERE.

All Things Must Pass Go

2010-04-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

On the agenda for today:

- Hunter

Rampant

2010-04-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I made today messing around with iMovie and a section of Buglight. Break ye neck.

tommy

2010-03-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

-August

Last night @ Troy City Tavern

2010-03-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some cool photos from last night's show @ Troy City Tavern on Lindsay Malachowski's blog: http://bit.ly/cmS1Mw

We played with The Emergency Empire (http://www.myspace.com/theemergencyempire) and The Killerados (http://www.myspace.com/thekillerados). Please give both of these bands a listen if you haven't already and keep a look out for more shows at the tavern, it's a fairly unique place run by good peoples. Thanks to Jordan for the show and Lindsay for the pics.

tommy

Prisencolinensinainciusol

2010-03-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

For anyone who missed the link on Tommy's Facebook:
This is incredible.

-August

2010-03-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

tommy

Times Union Front Page Article Dedicated to Albany Music Scene

2010-02-21T11:06:00.001-08:00

Sgt. Dunbar got a huge shout-out today from the TU (Click her for original post), which praised the always up-and-coming Albany music scene. Success story's like that of Dunbar's and Phantogram's are ever-increasing around the Capital Region. They mentioned all the local record labels/music collectives that have made or are now making a splash: Equal Vision, B3nson, Collar City, Sub-Bombin and our own humble Indian Ledge Records.
Here's what they had to say about us:

"Nick Cosimano started Indian Ledge Records primarily to showcase his friends' band, Alta Mira. He matched the band with a production team that included two Grammy winners, and Alta Mira's self-titled CD, recorded in a studio near Boston, came out late last year. It has garnered rave reviews."

Thanks, Times Union;
Keep on keepin' on, Albany!

Exit Dome Three!

2010-02-14T16:11:00.000-08:00

Exit Dome Three was another big success. WEXT, aka 97.7 The Exit, hosted a wonderful night of local music to support their listener-supported radio station. Lots of nice folks came out and the music was on point all night. Chris Carey played a few of his new harmonica-and-acoustic-guitar songs from his new Americana solo album "Sunset Moon" during the intermissions, John Scarpulla played right after us and rocked some more acoustic songs; Ashley Pond Band were tight and heavy and are more impressive than ever with the addition of a great new guitarist and a handful of new tunes, Matt Durfee played a beautiful-as-ever solo set and then Blotto took down the house, biting the head off of a Barney doll at the close of their campy, joke-filled set. What a night!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support local music and local radio. We had a blast!

- Joe

Great Success!

2010-02-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

So last night was a great show. We had a better than expected turnout and everybody seemed really happy to be there (and to be throwing paper airplanes). This Blue Heaven opened the show with one power pop rock tune after the next. I didn't quite know what to expect from them but they had great songs, harmonies, overall were really tight and super nice to boot! The Tins played after them and were awesome. We got to split a show with them in Utica a while back and every time I see them play I'm more and more impressed with their song writing. I'm hoping we can set up a small tour with them in the near future. Between The Tins and us was The Realside, fronted by Terry McClain. This time they incorporated some live sampling and a percussionist which was great, it really filled out some of the accompaniment found on his latest album. I was really satisfied with all the bands last night and I strongly suggest checking them all out if you haven't already. I'll post links at the bottom.

Tonight is the Exit Dome Three concert to benefit 97.7 WEXT. We'll be opening the show for Matt Durfee, The Ashley Pond Band, John Scarpulla, and BLOTTO! I'm pretty sure BLOTTO prefers their name in all caps. We're glad to be helping the station out, they've been playing our songs since their birth and we're lucky to have their support. The show will probably be taped and broadcasted live on the station so if you come you'll most likely be heard and seen in the crowd. I hope we don't have any mishaps, live radio gives me a mild case of Asperger Syndrome.

tommy

http://www.myspace.com/thetinsmusic
http://www.delvinshadepublishing.com/home.cfm
http://www.myspace.com/thisblueheaven

Sputnik Music review

2010-02-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

Summary: "He's got the pipes; they've got the chops; Alta Mira has got the goods."

written by Bryan Lee Madden

Two years ago a relatively unknown band from New York's upstate Capitol Region released a modest five-track EP on the Albany based Indian Ledge Records label, entitled Fables and Fabrications. A rich soiree of sound, constructed with intricate, yet understated guitar work over a timely rhythm section, all making way for the voice of Joe D. Michon-Huneau, who provides a steady stream of emotionally heavy lyrical outpourings. With that release, Alta Mira managed to cram as much substance into five songs as many bands sometimes put into twelve. It would be a long two years before we'd hear from them again, but Alta Mira has returned, having culled from the music bin a solid collection of densely textured, skillfully crafted aural devices that operate like clockwork, yet still leave room to breath. The talent, art and production are all here, and they are each of the highest caliber. The songwriting is meticulous and flowing, sometimes slithering around unforeseen corners, but always maintaining defined parameters throughout the album's lengthy venture.

A tambourine rattle draws the opening strings as Hunter Sagehorn's delicate guitar begins to wind a bed of song with which to lay Michon-Huneau's soft narrative across; all before giving way to the bottled rage of “Tambourine's” heavy chorus. A strong opening statement, “Tambourine” gives a good idea of the kind of things to come. Like a slowly unraveling sonic ball of yarn, “Din and Drone” rolls the sound established in the opener into a deeper realm of introspection, placing the vibe on a warm, peaceful plane before unloading one of the album’s strongest melodies into the chorus. “The End of My” begins with a crisp, opening guitar riff, setting up one of the most finely crafted pieces of musicianship featured on the album, eventually giving way to a layered vocal finale, drowning the listener in rich, layered melody. An album highlight is found in its sixth track and lead single, “Slumberjack.” With the most original instrumentation on the album, the track captivates from the get-go with a thick, tugging bassline, which serves as a focal point throughout the song. A continuously escalating piece of music, “Slumberjack” is the album’s most essential piece of listening material. “Buglight” displays the group’s cohesive sound as well as any track on the album while it chugs ahead with a thick, bass-driven groove, affixed with one of the finest vocal performances on the release. Where album falls a bit short of the mark is in its tendency to follow a somewhat narrow path that, while explored fully, is not traveled far beyond, causing deviations, like “Slumberjack” , to stand out for being a bit different and unexpected.

If wandering guitars, introspective lyrical pondering and laid back indie-rock grooves aren't in your wheelhouse, this album is less likely to penetrate your psyche. If you are inclined to swing in such musical circles, while keeping an open, curious mind at all times, Alta Mira is a fulfilling journey, loaded with treasures to unearth through repeated listens. Not every track on Alta Mira is going to reveal its intricacies upon first listen - and this is part of what makes the album a success. A great deal of time and effort when into molding, shaping and smoothing these songs into the polished pieces that they are; just like cracking them open and revealing the beauty within requires time and effort on the part of the listener. Those who seek shall be rewarded with a wealth of quality listening material with which to fill their sonic bellies - while those unwilling to hunt for their musical sustenance could be left unfulfilled.

Alta Mira is... Joe D. Michon-Huneau, Vocals Hunter Sagehorn, Guitar August Sagehorn, Bass Tommy Krebs, Drums

Original post: http://sputnikmusic.com/review34854

-August

2010-02-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

Joe is going to
start posting haiku so the
Nicks will be happy.

Youtube/Red Red

2010-02-03T17:29:00.000-08:00

We posted a video on YouTube today of a new song call Red Red. It was filmed in our practice space last week. Let us know what you think of the song and if it plays alright in Hi def. If you'd like to keep tabs on stuff we post in the future subscribe to our YouTube channel. We'll be posting more live videos, projects and, well...anything else that we feel like doing.

tommy

Alta Mira DBZ video

2010-01-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

Check out this awesome fan-made Dragon Ball Z music video for 'Sifting Through the Dust'

Nice work foamingturtle!

-August

Practice Video

2010-01-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

A pretty little riff we played with for a few minutes the other night. That's Tommy on mandolin and Joe on the bells.

January Riff from Alta Mira on Vimeo.

2010-01-25T19:11:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Last night we recorded two videos in our practice room — a semi-acoustic version of "IJWYTKTIOAEISU" and a new song called "Red Red" that we're really excited about. The high-def versions should be up on YouTube soon, but until then you can check out our other videos at www.youtube.com/user/IndianLedgeRecords

And don't forget to get your tickets to Exit Dome Three on February 13th: http://www.exit977.org/ ...Matt Durfee, Ashley Pond Band, John Scarpulla and, of course, Blotto are playing with us so it's sure to be a great night. Plus, your contribution will help fund Exit 97.7, an awesome, local, listener-supported station that is devoted to not playing crap on the radio. If you can't make it out that night, we're also playing at Valentine's in Albany on February 12th with The Realside, The Tins and This Blue Heaven.

Mark your calendars; we'll see you there!

- Joe

Palatypus @ Bread and Jam

2010-01-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

Last night our friends in Palatypus played a nice long set at Bread and Jam Cafe. It's been a long time since the last show so it was good to hear them play again. You would've never known by how they performed that they'd taken a long long break. Apparently there might be a couple more of these reunion shows, one of which may be the next Roots Festival at The Linda, and I suggest not missing them. If you weren't able to make it last night check out the video below. It's not the best quality but that's what you get for listening to Maria Charapova.

tommy

2010-01-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

Railbird co-conspiriter and longtime friend Chris Carey put on a great evening at the Bread and Jam cafe in Cohoes last Saturday in honor of his brand new CD Sunset Moon. It was a rollicking good time for sure.

We grabbed a slot at Valentine's in Albany for the 12th of February, and we'll have more info on that in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. We are going to be debuting a few brand new tunes that we're really excited about.

Hunter

2010-01-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

new review of our album on inyourspeakers.com.

tommy

2010-01-05T22:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight we finished the new song we've been working on. Also began writing a second new one. No title yet for the first. Any suggestions? Here are some lyrics to get creative juices flowing a bit: "Ohhhh. Ohhhh. Ahhhh."

tommy

Metroland

2010-01-02T09:41:00.001-08:00

Alta Mira was chosen by the editors at the Metroland
as having one of the best local recordings of 2009!

Here's what they said:

Alta Mira

Alta Mira

While most independent music these days is being forged on laptops in the privacy of mom’s basement, Alta Mira are thinking big. Two years of work, collaboration with a Grammy-winning engineer, and the support of a sleek new label helped launch the band’s debut LP. One listen should prove they spared no expense and settled for nothing less than the record they were meant to create.

You can read the original article by clicking here.

August

Video for "Slumberjack"

2010-01-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

Some of you saw the video for the first time (along with us) at our CD release show on the big screen. Here is the finished product for your viewing pleasure. If you're a fan of stop motion animation or you simply like the video let us know or pass it on to a friend. Thank you to Jordan Greenhalgh of The Chase Factory for all of his hard work.

tommy

Alta Mira-Slumberjack from Jordan C. Greenhalgh on Vimeo.

2009-12-29T20:32:00.000-08:00

brief mention in the Times Union this past Sunday among a handful of other great Albany acts. You can read the article by Greg Haymes here. Visit him over at Nippertown.

We'll meet you in the new year...

tommy

Ahem!

2009-12-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

So...it's Christmas Eve...

You know what that means...

We're trying to get into the holiday spirit over here at Indian Ledge. In celebration of seasonal consumerism, we're lowering our T-shirt prices to $10 so you can more wisely spend your gift money. Check out all the Alta Mira goodies on the Indian Ledge Records website: http://indianledgerecords.com/?q=catalog

They look pretty sexy on us, so they'll probably look even sexier on you!

In advance, you're welcome.

Have wonderful holiday, everyone!
- Joe

What's next?

2009-12-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

So the CD has been released, let out into the world to make a life for itself. The launch party went fantastically, and a good time was had by all. There are some super pictures of the night floating around out there, if you have any you'd like to share, feel free to send them our way.

So what's next?

Well, this morning you might have heard our friends at WEXT make a very exciting announcement that Alta Mira has been invited to play the next EXIT Dome show in February. The event will also serve as a 30 year anniversary and reunion show by Capital Region legends Blotto! The full lineup has yet to be announced, but with all of the great local acts out there right now, it's sure to be a killer roster. It's all going down on February 13th, and if you want to be there make sure to get your tickets by making a pledge to WEXT.

In other news, we are all thrilled to be getting back into our regular practice groove again. It's been a few months since we've been in song-writing-mode, and there are lots of great ideas begging to be fleshed out. We'll definitely have some fresh new material for the new year, so stay tuned for updates as to when and where you'll be able to come hear it.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Hunter

2009-12-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

If the thought of shopping for the holidays makes you ill, let Alta Mira be your apothecary!

The Indian Ledge store is a one-stop shop for everyone on your list.
From clothing to entertainment.

Everything you need to please that hard-to-shop-for kindred spirit, in one convenient locations.

August

2009-12-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

We started writing a new song last night. It's been a long while since the last one and it felt good to be in that mindset again. The chalkboard is very relieved he doesn't have to sport our album release party set list any longer.

Still waiting to hear from iPix about the 360 video taken on the 5th.

Thinking about creating a short video with an acoustic version of IJWYTKTIOAEISU.

tommy

2009-11-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

The CDs are in our grubby little hands and they look and smell wonderful. Really, there's nothing quite as satisfying as the scent of cellophane-wrapped digipaks. While it's not "officially" available until the release party on December 5th, if you can manage to round one of us up before then, we'll be more than happy to sneak you one a bit early. It's been a long, laborious process involving a lot of wonderful, talented people along the way, and to finally have a tangible result of all of that time and energy is a truly gratifying experience. We can't wait to share it with everyone.

This coming Wednesday we will be joining Los Angeles' Lemonwilde and Albany's finest chamber-pop virtuosos The Red Lions at Red Square in Albany. Seriously, this is a lineup worth calling in sick on Thursday morning. Come out and share a seasonal brew with us.

News from the Release Party front: This has been posted on the Indian Ledge Records website for a few days now, but it deserves all of the attention it can get. The show is going to be documented in 360 degree video. Never seen a 360 degree video? Neither has anyone else. A revolutionary way of capturing video has been developed by a company called IPIX, who have already pioneered the technology for taking 360 degree still-shots. The location of IPIX: Cohoes, NY. I know, right? Through a set of circumstances too insane to bother trying to explain, IPIX has decided to use footage shot at the release party as part of it's showcase of this technology. While we don't know exactly what to expect, we can be assured that this is going to be ridiculously cool, and that everyone planning on being at Revolution Hall on December 5th should remember to wear a clean shirt.

More soon, hope to see everyone Wednesday night!

-Hunter

The ball is a-rollin'

2009-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

There's an awful lot of fun stuff happening in the Alta Mira camp this week. With the big CD release bash just a month off, we've got a lot of preparation ahead of us. Posters for the show just arrived and are being plastered around the area. If anyone out there finds a good space for a poster that we have overlooked, or if you would like a stack of posters or fliers of your own to distribute how you see fit, just get a hold of one of us. This is going to be a fantastic night, and we need it to be huge, and for that to happen, we need to make some noise and make sure every man, woman, child and man-child in the region knows where and when it's going down.

Here's where and when it's going down: 7:00 PM at Revolution Hall in Troy. Tickets are just $10, and that includes a copy of our new full-length CD. Tickets can be purchased directly from members of the band or by credit card at the Indian Ledge Records website.

Also, we are very grateful to 97.7 WEXT for choosing our new album as their spotlight for the month of November. They have been running promo spots and are giving away copies when you donate to the station. An in-studio interview we taped at the beginning of the month will be airing on Thursday the 5th at 9:oo PM and Sunday the 8th at 11:oo AM, so be sure to check that out. WEXT is incredibly valuable resource for music lovers in the Capital Region and they deserve everybody's support so that they are able to continue doing what they do so well. So head over there and contribute.

WRPI's Tuesday night local music show Local Riot has also been playing some new tracks. Thanks to everyone over there for their continued support.

While the physical CD's are not yet in our hands (Friday!!) the digital distribution campaign has hit the ground running. We won't be on iTunes until early December, but check your favorite music discovery sites and look us up!

Drop us a line, head to the newly retooled website and remember to get those release show tickets!

-Hunter

Monday Night in Review

2009-10-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who showed up Monday night. The show at Savannah's/Dublin Underground, despite some initial setbacks, went off without a hitch. Our good friend Brian saved the day by lending us his P.A. We lost a couple of speaker cables in the name of science, but it was well worth the cost. Thanks also to Nick R for manning the t-shirt suitcase and to Stacy Bederka for taking all those wonderful pictures.

The Receiver, from Columbus, OH, put on a fantastic prog-rock performance which conjured up magical visions of late-70's art rock, ala Rush and Yes, but in a totally good way. Everyone who missed them should definitely check out their stuff.

You should also check out the newly retooled Indian Ledge Records website. You can get updates on what is going on with the label, you can stream the new Alta Mira self-titled album, you can pre-order said album, and most importantly, you can purchase tickets to the CD release party which is going down on December 5th at Revolution Hall in Troy. $10 gets you admission and a CD, so hop on that before it's too late.