Under the guise of being festive I’ve decided to post some pics of Elie as a kid.  I don’t think he reads this blog anyway, so no harm done.

Here’s Elie and Santa.   French Santa looks a lot more sophisticated than American Santa for some reason – maybe it’s the hood and the vaguely pope-like cloak he’s wearing.  His beard is so rectangular and orderly!

Here’s another one…just because.  I mean, what kind of person would I be if I kept this kind of cuteness to myself?

Don’t you just want to squeeze him?

I have a crazy amount of paper scraps with things scrawled on them, here’s an0ther one.   Three blog entries in three days – this is a record!

This was the original drawing for the album art concept.

If you can read the writing on this it says “an event” and “who are you? why do I know?”  I have no idea what I was talking about, but it was probably pretty cool.

Here’s an old painting from a while back – I think it was shortly before moving to England and meeting Elie.  Guess I’ve always had a thing for trees.

My blog has been looking really sparse lately – mainly because I’m too lazy to write blog entries – hey,  it takes a lot of effort!  Who knew being engaging and interesting and witty AND grammatically correct was so hard?

So in an effort to blog more regularly (without really trying) I’ve decided to post some of my drawings.  It’s a mode of  communication that doesn’t require much effort on my part since I’m doodling whenever there’s a pen in my hand…and it probably ends up being way more honest than using language.

Here’s something I’ve had lying around on a little scrap of paper for awhile.

I’ve been meaning to do something with it but I really am lazy – and whenever I try to re-draw or paint things I’ve previously drawn they end up losing something along the way.

We have devised a plan for the future. Most people wait until retirement to indulge in this kind of awesomeness, but we’ve decided to save 30-odd years and do it as soon as possible.

We want to live full time in an RV – actually a travel trailer to be more precise – the kind that you tow behind your vehicle.

That way we can live on the road rent-free, playing wherever we can find a gig, whether it be in New York or Nebraska…and our living space won’t be that much smaller than our current NYC apartment.

That’s the plan.

We got our first review in a major publication this month, yay! Here’s what the good folks at Keyboard Magazine have to say about Go Call the Captain:

“Largely dark but tinged with playfulness, Go Call the Captain tastily combines wistful folk, mellow rock, and pinches of gypsy jazz and bluegrass into a compelling compilation of tightly written tunes. Anchored by Elie Brangbour’s lithe bass, Eleanor Kleiner’s voice floats above largely acoustic textures, bringing to mind Sarah McLachlan or a melancholic Amy Lee; tracks like “Something Might Happen” and “Las Vegas” buoy up her voice further on rolling beds of acoustic piano. The title track, another piano-driven tune, is a highlight, simultaneously bringing to mind Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and the eclectic work of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Though it dwells in the shadows, Go Call the Captain is ultimately uplifting — not an easy task to pull off by even the most skilled of ensembles. Well worth a listen.”