#wearethewillows

Norwalk, Iowa by We are the Willows.  

Their latest album, Picture (Portrait), is inspired by old letters that one of the members found, recording his grandparents' relationship during WWII. 

Hey, so you wanna know something crazy?  Well, it might not be that crazy to you, but to me and Pete, it's pretty nuts-o to think about...

So, back in 2003, I found myself in the basement of a music store in downtown Eau Claire on some weekend night, attending yet another hardcore show.  Long before Amble Down.  Long before college.  Long before a lot of things...  I had brought along two friends of mine - being the only one with a driver's license and all - two female friends of mine, who were more into the music, and especially the dudes playing the music (girls chasing boys, you know?), than I.  For this, I found myself ditched upon arrival. So, I lingered in the back of the sweaty and dark basement while I watched my two friends force their way to the front, through the pit.  After a bit, bored and somewhat annoyed, I turned to walk back upstairs to the street where I planned to hang until the show concluded.  As I made my way out, I heard a soft, high-pitched voice ask,

"Hey, man, would you want to buy one my CDs?  It's for a good cause..."  

I turned to my right, and there, seated on an old defunct washer-drier, legs dangling, with a shameless grin smeared across his face, was an average sized dude who appeared to be around me age, though showed signs of early male-pattern-baldness.  I thought, "Wait... did this guy just ask me to buy his CD, or is there some petite female behind him?"  I stopped, turned, and made sure I was seeing/hearing right.  It was indeed this washer-drier dwelling dude asking me to purchase his CD... in the same voice I've come to know very well over the years.  It was Mr. Pete Miller!  

This was the scene; the time and place Pete and I first met.  I bought his CD that night. His band featured on the disc went by the name of Lions, Tigers and Bears.  Pete and I kept in touch after that first meeting, eventually getting together every once and a while to open for each other's bands and hang.  We eventually went on to work together (i.e. Amble Down releasing We Are The Willows' debut full-length). We've become good friend over the years, and to think it all started by chance at a hardcore show in the basement of a music store in 2003.

Anyway, Pete and his friends who made up the band Lions, Tigers and Bears recently rerecorded the jams I had purchased for charity from Pete way back when.  And those jams are now available as a digital EP worldwide!  Though, they had to changed the name of the project to Luca Coates due to some emo band in Virginia stealing Lions, Tigers and Bears from them in their absence.  Yep.  The tunes are real good! The EP is called Being, and you can get right now on iTunes or most places digital music is sold.