Our full-band, winter, Midwest tour was a wonderful time! We had a great time playing with Moo Haygood on drums. Thanks to those who came out and saw a show or helped set one up! Thanks to our friends in Chicago, Madison, Iowa City, Des Moines, Lincoln, Omaha, and Austin, TX! SXSW was a successful whirlwind this time around and we had a blast at Greyday’s showcase as well as the 20 bands in 4 days stage at Wahoo’s.

After returning to Chicago from SXSW, we began recording some songs. We’ve nearly completed tracking a new record, for release later this year. Thank you to Erik Rasmussen at Observatory Studios in Chicago and Larry Crane at Jackpot! in Portland, OR. Stay tuned for all the details as we finish it up in the coming weeks.

For those who have been wondering, Ecuador with Clem Snide was quite a trip. We played 8 shows in 13 days and spent the last 3 days as guests of the Mariposa natives in the Amazon Jungle, near Archidona, Ecuador. A report will be appearing on our YOU TUBE channel in the next few weeks. Come see Eef Barzelay and Chris Otepka on tour this spring and hear about the recent Clem Snide adventure to South America, as well as an assortment of new songs. Solo Heligoats with Eef Barzelay will be touring the east coast through May & June and are currently setting up west coast shows in July. Some shows will feature surprise guests, some will have full video presentations. We’re very excited about the tour and hope to see you along the way.

Check out the SHOWS page for dates, and please get in touch if you’d like to help set one up.

Si, es verdad, Chris is on tour with Clem Snide in Ecuador this month, see the SHOWS page for dates and details, and… stay tuned for that report! The next Heligoats record will be tracked in Chicago by Erik Rassmussen at our favorite vessel, The Observatory studio, starting on leap day. Title, tracks, studio reports and updates will start showing up in March. We’ll also be taking to the road as a full band this spring with a venture to SXSW! We’ve got new songs, new members and a few new dance moves. Check out the SHOWS page for the Midwest dates. East and west coast dates will be added later this spring. Thank you for getting in touch and for stopping by. Visit our Facebook for the most current updates. Thank you for your support. Mucho Amor. See you soon!

The 2nd half of twenty-eleven absolutely whizzed by. After a burst of a summer, planting recording seeds, and refreshing the trays, the Heligoats’ trans-continental
farming contingents arranged a conference in Chicago, IL at the Hideout Inn. Where, on Aug 28th, 2011, Man-B-Que presented us with the delectable Heli-goat-cheese Burger in a pre-show grilling ceremony barbeque spectacular. (No, I do not think that needed any commas.) And, after a few days spent inside an actual Swedish Taco, the Heligoats performed, as promised. Thank you, Jesse Valenciana and Kitchen Experiment. The pan-American allies parted via Southwest Airlines the very next day. Though, one month later the Northwest region was doused in our stench in various Festival (!) formats. Tugboat’s Birthday was upon us, as was an invitation to MusicFestNW. So, I hit up MAKESHIFT for use of the glorious Magic Van. Yes, Make.Shift. Yes, Magic.Van. Let’s just say that ‘super sweet,’ doesn’t sum it up, ok? I encourage you to go for a drive sometime. Visit, support, love, Jinx & Make.Shift in Bellingham, WA. Thank you to Audra & the whole team. SO, the Magic Van was driven to Sea-Tac & I picked up the Chicago family; one David James, Steve Mitchell and Mike Mergenthaler; the dudes, the goons, respectively, and we drove to Portland that night. We got in to downtown around 3 AM and looked for Donna Diabetes, but she was NOWHERE to be found. So, we slept at the Convention Center Inn. Top Notch. Am I right, boys? Top Notch. The sandwiches were steaming at the Bunk Bar the next evening, as we opened for the wonderful Crooked Fingers. That also whizzed by. We drove to Bellingham that night with hopes of recording the next day. I couldn’t get work off like I had hoped. The dudes bowled while I worked. Then instead of recording, we played a 2 hour set at Randy’s Roadhouse on Tugboat’s birthday. That was a loud one. A small video is posted below. Happy birthday, Tugboat. The next night was in Ballard, Seattle, WA at the Tractor Tavern with the marvelous, Centro-Matic. We brought the Magic Van again, and all the gear, and Randy, and Lupe. And it was fun as hell. However, once again, we parted ways in a humid parking lot somewhere south and awful and far from where I had hoped. It was magical. Unrecorded, the dudes flew home back to Chicago. There has been a lot of activity since our last update. And here we are, just 7 months later.

Looking forward, we (farmers) do plan on enjoying a recording session at The Observatory in February in Chicago. 2012 is a nice set of steps. In the meantime, my dude Stephen will be creeping on Hungry Mountain, and there are a few solo shows before this fabulous year is out. See the SHOWS page for a list of December events. I also put a few show notes on the page. Please contact us through FACEBOOK if you’d like to tell us where a cool place to camp is on the way to a show in your town.

December will have me re-connecting with Eef Barzelay for a couple shows in the Northwest. Dig the images below. I will also be seeing the one and only RALPH THE ARCHEOLOGIST marry his long-time sweetie, Mrs. Ralph the Archeologist III in Galena, IL in December and could not be more excited.

Stay tuned to our FACEBOOK PAGE for the latest news on shows and recording moves.
Get in touch if you’d like to help with a show.
Visit our GOODS page if you’d like to support the cause.

Happy spring, dear friends! It feels good to emerge from winter together. The Heligoats are tending to the garden and planning the next quarter. Studio plans are being set and shows are being booked. Growth and cultivation, new songs and travels, 2011 has much in store. Thank you for checking in.

SXSW 2011 in Austin, TX was a wonderful success. We were honored to be a part of Team Clermont’s showcase as well as the Standard Recording Co.‘s day party. The weather was hot, and Tugboat and the dudes embraced every moment. We could not have done it without the fantastic Greyday Records, Slanty Shanty Records, Team Clermont, NPR & RendezVu, as well as our dear friends in Mellowgrand. What fun! Thank you to everyone who supported us through the past year, shared our music and made it possible for us to take part in such a wild event. Friday’s day show had a special guest appearance by none-other-than Lucky Brown’s Joel Ricci, from March 4th Marching Band, tooting away in the evening Austin sunset. Yes! We hope to see Joel, and all of you again soon.

Chris, Tugboat, Joel Ricci and Merg SXSW 2011

Fall 2011 tour plans are being set. Please get in touch if you’d like to be a part of the adventure.
Stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Have a lovely Spring and thank you for your support.

The Heligoats will be enjoying a short, full-band, Spring Break 2011 together this coming March and we’re very excited. After a garbanzo 2010, lengthy touring and a couple of releases, it seems it is now time to celebrate. We will convene in the Midwest on Saturday, March 12th @ The RendezVu in Batavia, IL and kick off a week that will take us to Texas and back. We hope to see you along the way.

The Heligoats have been invited to play this year’s SXSW in Austin, TX. We will be playing the Team Clermont party on Thursday, March 17th @ Midnight. Other SXSW weekend shows and details will be posted in the next month. The Heligoats TWEET occasional sweet nothings, so sign up and stay abreast.

Thank you for ordering the new Sam Humans/The Heligoats “Live Free/Let Loose,” Split 10”. The VINYL is now shipping. Only a few copies of “Goodness Gracious,” remain so check out the GOODS page and grab one of the first pressing while you can!

Attention D.C.- area friends, family, friends of : Solo Heligoats performance at this year’s As Was Written Festival in Alexandria, VA. April 8th. The 2-day event is held at the beautiful Lyceum museum and is an intimate evening of poetry, prose and song. Looking forward to it.

Spring recording & Fall/Winter tour plans are being set and pursued. Get in touch if you’d like to facilitate a facet. We’re excited about this New Year at hand and hope you are too.

Thank you for checking in,
See you soon,
Love,
The Heligoats

Hello Friends! We’re wrapping up a tremendous year here at The Heligoats. Just a few copies of the original pressing of Goodness Gracious are available in our store, so grab one of the first run! We’re so happy that our split 10” record with Sam Humans is now available for pre-order! Due out 1.11.11, “Live Free/Let Loose” is 10 songs b/w 2 sides from Portland’s Sam Humans and America’s The Heligoats. We’re excited that both vinyl and cd formats will come in limited letter-pressed sleeves by our Bison friends. Just in time for the holidays! Thank you, Greyday Records!

Thank you, friends!

With 100 shows in 2010 under our belts, we’re going to belt out one more to celebrate the release of our new split record. We invite you to The Hideout in Chicago, IL on December 23rd to come drink and be merry while listening to our friends Rich Salamander and King Sparrow, and pick up a copy of the fancy, new vinyl. Yes!

New shows will be announced soon into the new year. Lots more news and posts to share before the end of this lovely year. Stay tuned!

Hello friends. Thank you for supporting The Heligoats.
With the winter, spring and summer 2010 tours under our collective belt,
we look forward to the autumn splendor. Chris is back in the
Northwest playing solo shows, writing, recording and playing with
The Librarians while Tugboat and the dudes hold it down in Chicago.
Visit the SHOWS page for some new fall dates.

Chris Otepka and The Librarians at this year’s Subdued Stringband Jamboree.

During our spastic touring schedule this year, The Heligoats were able to return to Chicago’s The Observatory studio for a few days with Erik Rasmussen, where we recorded Goodness Gracious a year ago, to record 3 news songs to be featured on a split 10” record due this November. We are very excited.

Sam Humans & The Heligoats “Live Free/Let Loose” Split 10” GPD-046. Due out November 16, 2010. Pre-order info coming soon.

Also, just in time for back to school, order one of our snazzy buttons from the STORE to wear on your backpack. Button orders are usually sent with a couple, little, bonus items.

The Heligoats have a few, sporadic performances through September and October.
Late fall & winter dates are coming soon! Check out the SHOWS page and stay tuned to our Facebook and Myspace pages for the latest plotting.

Our Myspace page is now featuring recently uploaded, new & unreleased tracks!
Stop by and leave a weird comment. Myspace has the feeling of a hollowed-out shopping mall, but you can still go there and get a pretzel at the food court sometimes. We will occasionally post a few pretzels.

Our complete discography has been posted on our Facebook page. Check it out!
We will be updating all of the releases with information and audio samples
from the past 9 years. The 10” record this November will be the 10th official
Heligoats release in as many years. Hooray for decades!

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for the latest lists of Heligoat instructions.
Tell your friends to “Like” us. If that doesn’t sound too weird to you.

And check out these fancy new links!

NEW DAYTROTTER!

LIVE OH TEN

Also, New, Unreleased Tracks on the myspace page

Thank you for stopping by!

HEY ALL,

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING OUR WEBSITE!!!

IF YOU’RE NOT ALREADY, PLEASE BE OUR @FACEBOOK FRIEND!!!

THE HELIGOATS SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR ON THE ROAD

AS A FULL BAND IN SUPPORT OF “GOODNESS GRACIOUS.” CROSSING

THE COUNTRY TWICE, ONCE BY THE SEAT OF THEIR PANTS AND ONCE

SUPPORTING CLEM SNIDE. FOR NOW, THE DUDES RETURN TO ULYSSES S. GRANT, AND CHRIS SPENDS THE NEXT FEW WEEKS PLAYING IN CLEM SNIDE ON THEIR TOUR THROUGH SPAIN, INCLUDING ONE STOP AT FARADAY FESTIVAL.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SPAIN DATES AND INFO

THE HELIGOATS’ SUMMER TOUR CONTINUES IN JULY ON THE EAST COAST

WITH CLEM SNIDE. SOME SHOWS WILL BE SOLO, SOME SHOWS WON’T.

HERE ARE THE DATES:

Jul 8 2010 7:30P
Galactic Pizza Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jul 10 2010 12:00A
Piper’s Alley Building Chicago, IL
Jul 14 2010 7:30P
Cosmic Charlie’s Lexington-Fayette, KY
Jul 15 2010 8:00P
Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA
Jul 16 2010 8:00P
City Winery New York, NY
Jul 17 2010 8:00P
Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub Cambridge, MA
Jul 18 2010 9:00P
Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, Massachuse
Jul 20 2010 8:00P
IOTA Club and Cafe Arlington, VA
Jul 21 2010 8:00P
Grey Eagle Asheville, NC
Jul 22 2010 8:00P
The Earl Atlanta, GA

PLANS ARE ALSO CURRENTLY BEING MADE FOR THE AUTUMN MONTHS.

WE WILL START POSTING THOSE SOON.

RECORDING. TOURING. GARDENING.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. SEE YOU SOON!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Heligoats are currently on tour supporting Clem Snide. Check out the SHOWS page for Spring and Summer dates!

East Coast dates are posted for July, as well as a run of shows in Spain! Looking forward to seeing you at the shows.

Thank you for your support.

With 10,500 miles logged and nearly 200 hours behind the steering wheel 30 states, 34 shows in 38 days, an amazing time was had by all on our winter tour this year. The trip would not have been possible without the support from our caring fans, friends and families. Stories and propaganda from the trip will start to trickle out in the coming weeks, but we’re not through with the adventure just yet.

We released a record called “Goodness Gracious” this year and that is exactly what it was. There was a beautiful, collective effort by many wonderful people across the country that helped make this record and tour happen, graciously offering their goodness. It was a lot of hard work, but it was a thrill to represent everyone’s efforts and hand-deliver a record we are proud of to our friends scattered in weird places across the U.S.A. We enjoy writing and playing songs, thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you for the show at The Heart of Gold, Shirley. That was where we met Erik Rasmussen and Ami Saraiya. That is also where Tugboat volunteered Ulysses S. Grant to be the Heligoats band. That was Chicago, February 2009. When this trip started. The Heligoats were me and a guitar. Clem Snide took me and my guitar on a trip March and April 2009. I returned to Chicago to rehearse and record with Tugboat and the dudes in Harry‘s Auto Shop just outside of Chicago. We recorded at Heart of Gold June and July 2009. Johnny Ludwig recorded and mixed some by the airport in July. I then moved to Washington. Our friends Carly and Kevin designed and printed the record sleeves at their shop in Bellingham. We sent the record to Andrew Chavez in Arizona. He mastered it at his lab in October. He sent it to Todd Berry at Greyday Records in Portland, OR. He sent it to Team Clermont in Athens, GA and they sent it to some cool college radio stations all over the country. I spent November, December and January in Robert Blake’s office space booking the tour, listening to nothing but Archeologist. On January 26, 2010 the three dudes; Steven Mitchell, David James and Michael Mergenthaler, left their homes and jobs in Chicago and drove to live and rehearse with me for a week at my apartment in Washington. We played music in the print shop and assembled Cds in the living room. We were treated with love and support by our neighbors Dylan, Skye, Corey, Anna, Amanda and Kelly. We printed shirts with the amazing INNATE company in Bellingham, coasters and posters with Bison Bookbinding and were treated to a marvelous tour kick-off show by BuildStrong Productions with the Endorfins and Cara Alboucq. The goodness only continued from there.

There really is a beautiful system of humans working together across the globe all in the name of good ol’ fashioned strangecraft. Driven by art and expression and fueled by their passions and a clairvoyant connection that, somewhere else, not too far away, someone might be feeling the same thing. I could ramble on about how strongly I feel about abstract art and how storytelling helps us learn and make sense of the world and how deliberate art and reality will inspire us to think new ways and explore infinite new paths and what these paths could be and reveal, but I won’t. That’s for me to get geeky with myself. I will say there is a lot of power in being open to art on this mental level and connecting to others who are as well. It isn‘t anything you can do in an afternoon, but when you’ve found yourself tapped into something true, there is a flood of inspiration and energies. The empowering thing is getting to choose which energy to pursue. Sometimes it is a lonely place, but it is nice when like-minded people can get together. We were lucky enough to see it happen right before our eyes every night on this tour. Seeing people, places, and things, meeting new friends and playing songs. There is a great scene out there and a little support goes a long way. It was nice to travel around this winter.

Some special thanks to our friends; Dr. James, Ralf Japan, Carl Beakman, Erika Valenciana, Dylan, Corey, Innate, Kelly, Austin, Buildstrong, Joe Kaiser, Erik Rasmussen, Ami Saraiya, Shirley Cean, Carly, Kevin, Bison Bookbinding, Robert Sarazin Blake, The Webelos, Malicious Discharge, LARRY YES, Joel, Ivy, Todd Berry, Corey Gingerich and Slanty Shanty Records, Drew Carey, Kris Kerry, Tucson Radio, Jimmy, Colton & Chris, David, Michael, Alex, Gibby, Austin Tetris friends and the Story Of, Matt Robinson, American Strange, The Robinson family, Sissy Cross, Spike Lee, Mrs. Mitchell, Becki Carr, Patrick Hill, Team Clermont, Alyssa, Steve, Nelson, Alex Miller, David Cloud, Ben Martin, Eef Barzelay, Danny at Triple, Veins, Shart Attack/Sports Bar, Jaybird, Rich at the Space in CT, Jon Lithgow, Natalie Lowe, Cleveland, OH downtown Mall, Leia Alligator, Manny, ACRN, Trin, Wounded Jukebox Sean, Zach, Trains Across the Sea, Nickesh, Mike Grimes, Logan Kissane and Family, Sean Moeller, Gregory Markus, the Vagabonds, James Family, Chris Marshall, Matthew Levin & friends, Patrick from PCC, Ami Saraiya, Shirley Cean, Cousin Jim, Jim Linneman, Scott Hanson, JJ, Barrett, and Jason at Indie Coffee, WSUM, House Café and Torque Padroni, Marina at Galactic Pizza, Reese and Brian of Camel of the Sea, Danny and the Chord and the Fawn, The Vegetarian Librarian, Rich Salamander and John Misfit, our families, our label and dude Todd Berry at Greyday Records for just being a few sets of helping hands across America. Thank you to everyone for picking up the new record and helping us along.

We’re taking the next few weeks off, but have plans to record and spend the spring and summer crossing the country. We will again be supporting our new record, Goodness Gracious and have the wonderful opportunity to open for Clem Snide on their May tour. They are champions and we could not be more flattered. It’s going to be a great show and we are so excited to head out again when the weather is warm!

For now, Tugboat is currently back in Chicago working and recording with Slayride. After winning the Valentine’s Day Massacre Trophy on this trip, Romulous continues to push the limits of timed spatial physics through a dedicated and arduous daily schedule of professional Tetris training. Yer Boyee Mergmaid took his sticks and buckets and jumped back into the Lake. He takes occasional trips to a nearby lighthouse, climbs to the top and stands proudly in the beacon light. With drumsticks in hand and arms crossed valiantly he assures the lake folk Spring is on it’s way. Keep tabs here: www.mikemerg.com Chris returned to Washington in time for halibut season and is playing songs with his Librarian friends. The Sandwich Odyssey has landed, for now. We resume May 12th in Ft. Wayne, IN. Check out the upcoming tour dates, tell your pals that it’s going to be lighter later, summer’s coming, and it’s fun to see shows. Come support your local watering hole that supports weird bands like us, it’s a cool cause.

New shirts and another run of the “Seeds” EPs now available in GOODS.

Goodness Gracious now available on Itunes

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Lots more news on the way. Thank you for your support!