Maracas. Really.

There are only a handful of you subscribed to The Overcast's feed, and I think now would be an appropriate time to make yourselves known. Why? One, because I'm curious, of course. And two, because I have a pair of red plastic maracas to give away. I kid you not. And--fine timing!--The Overcast's third birthday is sometime between April 4th and April 6th (depending on what counts). While I can't guarantee the plastic is lead-free, I can promise that these red maracas are in fine condition for seducing sweet señoritas through windows, adding dramatic effect when pouring salt on your meals, and otherwise impressing your friends.

I anticipate a name-that-tune contest taking place on the righthand side of this blog, and I wouldn't be surprised if it started on April Fool's Day. So brush up on your Overcasted artists (hint: interviews), check out their myspace pages, and pay close attention to the words. More prizes will be up for grabs besides the maracas, including CDs, concert tickets, and the guitar picks we meant to give away for Christmas. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see which song wins the maracas.

By the way, stickers are always available. We have over a thousand left (it was quite a large minimum order), so I'm more than willing to send you a veritable boatload of them to hand out to friends, posh local coffee shops, record stores, music venues and frightened young children. Just e-mail theovercast@gmail.com and let me know where to send them.

Cloverleaf album out March 30th!

I have been so behind on writing band news. I told myself I would stop, but I feel obligated, not just to the bands, but to good music.

Cloverleaf's album Spectrum promises to be a million times better than first.class.mind.ride (which is kind of saying a lot), based on the few new tracks they've thrown on their MySpace. If you pre-order, you can get a poster, which I guess is only a perk if you swing that way. But I suppose the intangible perk is having a few extra days to enjoy the new tunes, while everyone else is waiting for their orders to ship.

Give the new tunes a listen, and then give up your measly $6 to get your hands on more. Easy.

the overcast <3 fact not fiction!

Fact Not Fiction posted their farewell on their MySpace blog ten days ago (which happened to be my birthday--great job, guys) and there's no way I'm going to let that pass without giving my own and The Overcast's goodbye.

FNF has probably been the most supportive band to chat with me over these past three years. The things I most cherish about my conversation with the guys is that the conversation didn't stop. Zeke has continually been a friend to me and the zine, gave me the opportunity of writing a press bio for them (which is something I'd been really wanting to do!), and always wanted to be updated on the goings-on of The Overcast. While I regret not getting to talk to the other three most recent members of the band, from afar they seem just as down-to-earth and obviously talented.

To see it all come to a close so unexpectedly has been, in few words, a disappointment. But I can respect your decision and know you will eventually end up on the right roads.

I believe in all four of you and hope the best for your futures in and out of music! You have been an unforgettable, invaluable part of The Overcast.

<3Pauline & The Overcast

ACTION: Blood:Water Mission

Blood:Water Mission
to promote clean blood (by reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS) and clean water in Africa
read the action feature // visit their web site

I made this our first Action feature because I had told three different people it would go under the next set of Cause boxes (remember those?), which didn't happen. Obviously I did it for other reasons: it's a cool cause, it was easy enough to write and research, etc. In actuality, I don't think it would matter to any of those three people whether or not I ever wrote this, but I felt like I had to hold myself accountable.

Blood:Water Mission is a good cause, but I know there's a lot of potential for criticism in here. One, the art connection is simply because it was started by the guys in Jars of Clay--rockstar charity. I have no doubt that they did it for the right reasons, but I might as well be featuring the One Campaign. Two, "rockstar" charity, not so much the indie underdog overcast style we typically go for. Only hipster snobs will bemoan that. Three, Africa is sooo sexy, and we're not into sexy. No, really, I'm sure I'm going to get fire from my friends because I'm often the one to remind that not all of Africa is suffering, and not all of the suffering are in Africa. Four, it's an openly Christian organization. By no means is Blood:Water Mission sending people out to perform conversions, but the example of Christ is very much and very openly a part of BWM's motivation. This was the most sensitive part of deciding whether or not to write this. The Overcast definitely doesn't label itself Christian, but we've touched upon faith before and recognize that religious convictions are as integral to a person's art and work as it is to the way they live, as political leanings or any other lifestyle choice would ever influence a song or a story. We're not into silencing that, but we don't intend to maintain a one-message channel.

I want you to read our Action features with just as much skepticism--and just as much openness.
There will be more coming. I already have an idea of who I'd like to write about next, and I hope you'll find them to be very fascinating organizations.

Relationships, or at least Conversations

A blog like this, I'd say, is much easier to manage. Additionally, I like the idea of forming relationships in this context and having a dialogue about what goes on here, rather than feeding you (no pun intended) the content of The Overcast.

Besides, every once in awhile, all the backstory gets kinda interesting.


Please say hi. :-)