WELCOME BACK!
Welcome back to Jane's Journal! It's been a while since our last entry, but we're excited to be back and hope you will stay tuned as we update you from the road. Yes, we're back on the road for a 5-month National Tour. Look out America, here we come! We'll be hitting colleges and clubs across the country, so check the GIGS list for details and tell a friend. In the meantime, we are thrilled to announce the Release of a brand new EP! Produced by Brad Gordon this collection of songs is one we're especially proud of. We hope it's all you've been patiently waiting for and more! And now... without further ado.... Jane's Journal 2008!

2/10/08: IT'S HARD TO BE NICE IN THE WINTER
Sitting in the back seat, feet kicked up on our file cabinet full of binders, drinking a cup of some easy breezy breathe easy herbal tea and organizing raining jane photos to update our myspace page and website. We have some gems to share (read: really embarrassing photos of us for you to make fun of). I thought I could take a breakski and do a lil' bloggy-time (kill me).

Some quick notes on our adventures so far:
1. Mai got bangs! (can you believe its 1 on the list? They ARE that cute.)

2. Chaska is currently driving on Interstate 80 East through the state of Indiana, going 30 miles per hour with the hazards on. The road signs read minimum 45 MPH. We say eff 'em. 30 miles per hour just feels right.

3. Today we finally stopped at a cheese shop in Wisconsin. Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, Wisconsin to be exact. It was Becky's wish to go on her Birthday and then that damn "storm" hit last week. I didn't think a little horizontal snow could keep Ms. Brie Cheese Becky from her Sharp Cheddar, but it did. So, today we celebrated her birth and lactose tolerance and ate some fresh cheese curds in her honor.

4. Back to the van-ironment. I don't want to harp on the cold. But, friends, it's so cold it literally hurts my eyeballs. It's so cold (that's when you say, "how cold is it?) Chaska's cheeks are chapped from loading the car for 10 minutes this morning. And, It hurts my heart and eyeballs when the Weather Channel says that "your highs for today will be 0". Who says that? The same channel that plays that awesome upbeat muzak that warms up any negative 20 wind chill in your soul. It's so cold (now, you) the guy at the liquor store said not to keep our Vodka in the car. The Vodka you usually keep in the freezer. Consider my toes right now. If the car is too cold for Vodka, then what about my TOES!!!? I need a cocktail. I promise this will be the last of the cold talk. It's not like our car doesn't have a heater. But, does it blow cold air into the middle and back row? Yes, yes it does. Mai is wearing 3 pairs of pants today. Long underwear is now considered our "sexy lingere". Get out!

5. Our friend/incredible comedian Alexandra Mchale (check out our Top 8) is kicking off a website called www.townhouse84.com on 2/15/08! She flew out to Waukesha, Wisconsin yesterday to come and hang with us at Carroll College and get some ridiculous footage of us to feature on the site. We spent the afternoon gabbing about normal stuff like car maintenance and shopping for our fave road snacks. It's gonna be a hoot.

I am going to be better about giving you updates more often. You deserve it.
xo
mona


2/05/08: EXTREME JOURNAL ENTRY
Everyone's going for the extreme these days. Extreme sports, extreme supreme cafe java lattes, exxxtreme deodorant, extreme folk-rock ;) ...don't we all just want to take it to the limit? The extreme limit. For the past four years we've been driving around this country, dipping our toes into the extreme here and there. We've driven through blizzards; we've stopped in the mountain passes to put our chains on; we've even driven 26 hours in one day (wait a minute...) to get to a show. And in those four years, we've never cancelled a show. Through sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we've been committed to the shows we've booked and somehow always managed to show up. Possibly disheveled, but totally present. That was true until yesterday. And then again today. Sorry to anyone at Saint Mary's of Minnesota and Concordia University who were planning to ignore the "severe weather" advisory to come out and see us play. Good news though-we're rescheduled for May when we can all hang out in tank tops and flip-flops!

Currently, we're holed up in Des Moines, Iowa where a foot of snow is expected to fall today. If Mona's mom was here and for some reason she decided to go outside, she'd be 1/4 covered in snow. That's not funny. Good thing she doesn't read these things.

Mai and Chaska are in the hotel room working on the artwork for our upcoming EP!! Yes, it's coming! The tracks go to mastering TOMORROW! We're hoping to have it all packaged up with a red bow and ready for your ears by March 4th!! We're extremely excited to finally share some new music with you all! Stay tuned for more on that...

Mona and Becky are out trying to get the fender that's falling off our trailer to stop falling off our trailer. We tried to drive with the tire lock on yesterday. Some might say that is a bad idea. We would like to advise you that it is an extremely bad idea.

Sending you all love... send us some sunshine?!
rj