Things are going well here in GA, I’ve been able to get a bit of work doing carpentry, but nothing stable or full time yet.

Abe and I have been writing some new songs, as well as working on HV songs and some new covers … We hope to be gigging around the area within the next few weeks or so.

As far as the studio goes… We have been working on soundproofing the walls, because we really don’t want the cops showing up during our first recording session. So, once that is done, we’ll paint the walls and lay down the hardwood flooring, and we will be pretty close to finished with ‘er.

Well, I’m back in Georgia. Seems like I keep ending up here when I least expect.

Abe and I are going to start playing shows in the area after we have some time to adapt.

We hope to help build and finish our Dad’s home recording studio as soon as we can, so we can get in and record some new material… We’ll also be working on HV stuff simultaneously as Jake and Ferrick will be doing the same in Houston.

I’m getting really excited about writing some fresh music.

Will keep you updated.

The Hungry Villagers are going on hiatus from the live shows, to work on the full-length album, as well as our individual projects. Half of the Villagers (being Dave and I) have relocated to the hills of Georgia, bordering
Tennessee, close to Chattanooga, where we will be setting up a recording studio with our father. The release date for the Villagers Debut has been slated for January 2010, with some of it to be recorded at Tierra Studios in Houston, and some of it in Georgia. We are all excited with what is happening, and inspiration is coming from all around us. We just have to be ready to catch it.

–Abraham

“Make sure you pump up your wheel before trying to push your wheelbarrow”

By Dave Houck

Driving towards Austin from Houston for the first time was a beautiful experience in itself; nothing else could have put me in the right mindset than to gaze out over the fields and Savannah-like terrain. With the sun pouring down upon us, and the cool, spring air rushing in the car, I found myself thinking that I was in South Africa, more than once. And almost found myself looking out the window, trying to spot an animal.

We arrived in Austin around 2-3 pm and the weather could not have been better. Driving towards our destination, which was the venue we were to play at later that evening, had an almost medicating touch to it. I came upon the realization that all of these tons and tons of people (including all the beautiful women) that we kept passing by, are here because of one thing, music! Now, I have raised my respect level for music itself. It is powerful!!! It’s art that brings thousands of people together, changes moods in an instant, and can make someone’s not-so-great SXSW into the best day or week of their life (so far).

I saw a few talented musicians, but there was one that I must say truly gave me an inspiration that was long needed. Ferrick called me at 2:30 and said that M.Ward was playing in an hour or so. So Abe and I rushed down to see if we could catch the show. We got there just in time, Matt walked out on stage and Abe said to me, “look, he’s not one of these kids.” He didn’t have to look like someone special. He came on stage, very casually, and played the best solo show I have seen, to this day.

Thank you to all the folks that came out to see our show, and to all who helped make this thing a success.

Abraham wrote a guest post on Blender.com’s blog. Here it is:

Being a teenager in South Africa in the late 90’s and early 00’s had its upsides to it. Finding good indie rock was not one of them. In fact, it was a bit like Robinson Crusoe shipwrecked on a deserted island in that respect. But when we did discover groups and artists from far off lands that moved us, the feeling had to be something like Mr. Crusoe discovering the footprints in the sand, which definitely made the joy and mystery of it all the more magnified.

Texas. The artistic footprints left for us in the sand by many Texans had a huge influence on the music we have made and ultimately in leading us over here to reside in Texas. From our vantage point across the distant oceans, we heard something coming out of Texas that wasn’t coming out of anywhere else… and to this day it’s still hard to put your finger on it – something of a fighting spirit.  Fighting to preserve something in music that otherwise seems to have all but disappeared.

We started hearing it in the music of Okkervil River (discovering them in South Africa was quite a find), Explosions in the Sky, Daniel Johnston, Midlake, and also in the books of Cormac Mccarthy.  So to our impressionable souls we felt a strong pull to this place Texas. After playing in different bands around South Africa, somehow us brothers found ourselves here. In Texas. And as I am writing this we are preparing for our show next week at SXSW in Austin. It’s easy to take things for granted after you have been overloaded with exposure to all our electronic media. But we feel the need to keep coming back to that impression of the footprints and the amazing feeling of finding, after much searching, music that fills you up to the brim and explodes out of the top of you….. God Bless the deep heart of Texas!

Dear friends,

We signed with Tierra Studios on the 1st of Oct. 2008. The ep we are working on will be out in the spring of 2009. Ferrick Hallaron IV, our new drummer, has been working constantly with us this first month on the music. We’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with new instruments  and sounds, and look forward  to  sharing the new songs with you.

We will never abandon  the sweet earthy sound of the acoustic roots we began with, but we will break down what ever walls possible to express ourselves to the utmost. We are influenced by so much, and have so much to find and capture. So, the metamorphosis begins.

-Jacob