Local Boys "Proof Eyewear" on The Shark Tank

The brothers behind those super rad wooden shades made right here in the Treasure Valley were on ABCs The Shark Tank.  If you have never heard of Proof Eyewear, go to their website immediately.  You will instantly feel cooler.  IWANTPROOF.COM

New Album From Clyde Webb

Check out "Into it (I'm growning up)" the new album from local punk rocker Clyde Webb.  Soon to be released on Driftwood Records and Captain Crook Records.  Good stuff, definitely not for those who live on the softer side.  

Our Treefort Top 25 (Pics)

Matt Dalley and the Treefort brass were kind enough to provide us with a photo pass.  We are very thankful because it allowed us to see the festival from an angle many didn't have.  Treefort round 2 was incredible and we were able to get around to quite a few shows, often wanting to put the camera down and enjoy the music.  Here's 25 of our favorite pics that we took, in no particular order.  You can read our thoughts and comments on the festival in the captions.

Get it Sharon!

Delicate Steve playing a secret show.  His 20th time in Boise in the last year or so.  This is my favorite band right now so I feel lucky to have seen them so many times.  I know all the lyrics;)

"Big Ups" to Finn Riggins for all they do for the Boise Music Scene.  Kickin' things off at the El Korah.  They were like the only band with visual effects at that stage which I thought was weird.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Claire L. Evans of  Y△CHT.  This picture needs no comment

This was the only usable photo from the Japanther/Thermals period at the Linen Building.  Shit got cray cray.

YACHT, YACHT, YACHT, YACHT, YACHT, YACHT! (in Lil John voice of course)
Joke stolen from Dave Miller of Psychic Rites 

Not sure I've ever seen a bandmember chugging chianti straight from the bottle on stage.  Touche Walkmen.

Treefort Monster gettin' jiggy wit' it at The Walkmen

Lead singer of The Walkmen watchout!  The Treefort monster is about to come grind on you! 

A shot from atop the mainstage Treefort.  We were soon kicked out of the fort so the monster could come hang out.  I gave it a hug on the way down.

Love this Treefort Monster

I didn't think this would happen, but we were able to make it to all three Built to Spill sets.  Thanks BTS for your role in making Treefort so rad and for being the coolest band ever

Brainstorm gettin' after it.  Getting down in that photo pit was so cool.

French Horn Rebellion was a show we really wanted to see and they surpassed all expectations.  Where can I get one of these jackets.

Community Closet from Livingston Montana was a huge hit at Bricofort.  Band members got one free item and had to sign this lusty lady.  I was amazed at how much time and thought they put into the items they selected.

Jake Warnock of Atomic Mama and now Youth Lagoon

Beautiful "clear skinned mountain people"

Youth Lagoon.  We were gonna see if Trevor would rock a C.O.T. shirt on stage, but it seems he had other wardrobe plans

It's a ssssnake

Let the "going ape shit" commence @Dan Deacon

Ol' Doug.  This photo may have been taken by Shaun Shannon on my camera but he probably doesn't remember

Dan Deacon does more than just organize mass dance parties.  He also makes great music.  Did you know he created that "Drinking out of cups" youtube video with the Gecko?  I was disappointed that the DD app didn't work and sucked all the juice out of my iphone

Brother Ali closin' things down, at least for us.

We took this same pic last year.  You think they would fix this after an entire year (or maybe they are cool and don't give a rats ass)

Our Treefort Videos

This is a collection of videos we took at Treefort Music Fest.

The Dan Deacon video is a combo of two videos where Dan got the crowd to dance and go nuts.  This is a must see.  

The Official Treefort Dance, organized by 

Trey McIntyre Project

Random Dance Solo by Trey McIntyre Project

French Horn Rebellion put on an amazing show.  The video doesn't really do it justice, but it gives you a good idea of what went down

Let Art Mad ease your Treefort Hangover

"Trying To Be Nice," the latest from Arthur Maddox came out last week, but we didn't want it to get lost in the madness of Treefort.  Enjoy!

Post Your Treefort Pics Right Here! Use Instagram #thecityoftreefort

Bricofort @Treefort Ft. The C.O.T.

We are excited to share that we will be a part of "Bricofort Pop-up Mercantile", 

"Bricofort" is a curated tent of pop-up shops taking place on Saturday and Sunday. The lineup will be different each day, featuring local and regional makers and collectors of art, craft and vintage. Open from 11am-7pm, Treefort festival-goers are invited to come browse through an amazing selection of clothing, accessories, art, furniture, gifts, Treefort merchandise and more."

POST YOUR TREEFORT PICS DIRECTLY TO OUR BLOG FROM THE FESTIVAL

Throughout the entire Treefort Music Fest we will be linking Instagram photos with the hashtag #thecityoftreefort directly to our blog homepage.  Use them smartphones to share Treefort from your point of view.  To get an idea of what we mean, check out our page right now and you'll see the images for #thecotboise

The C.O.T. Shop Restocked For Spring

Our online store, The C.O.T. Shop, has been restocked for spring, just in time for Treefort Music Fest.  We've got some rad new designs including our "Outline" tee and our "Oboise" tee.  Plus new colors in our most popular designs, the "Idahome" and "Skyline" tees.  The Idahome tee is also available in a super soft tri-blend women's tee in two really cool colors. New Idahome Onesies and baby tees.  Did we mention snapbacks are back?  Fitted is old newz, snappers are what's hot right now and we have some killer new colors.  We'll also be adding two new t-shirt designs this week.  Some of the original colors are available at The Record Exchange plus some others only available at Backcountry Pursuit.  

Click here to do some shopping

Photo of the Day

Location: near military reserve

Taken by: Streeter Johnson

Boise Skyline Tee, Treefort Style

Super stoked that the Treefort peeps gave us the go ahead to design an official Treefort Music Fest t-shirt. These puppies will be available at the mainstage merch tent all 3 days. Limited quantities.

C.O.T. Artist Profile of the Month - James Titus McKain

James Titus McKain is one of those artists who is a super cool dude that is also making some incredible art here in Boise. I got the opportunity to meet him at last month's First Thursday at The Crux and was able to chop it up a bit and even purchase a piece of his art for my own collection. I emailed James some questions so that we could get to know the artist behind the "Fish With Beards". I need to publicly thank James for being so damn patient with me as I delayed posting this over and over again. Cheers to you James! So check out his art, love it, and repeat. For the full James McKain blog experience please click here. 

1) How did you end up in Boise?

Born and raised here. But I left for a couple years while I was in the military. I came back here once I was done with that to get back on my feet. Then I decided to finish up my college degree at BSU which I just accomplished last semester.

2) Why stay here in Boise?

I think the art scene in Boise is growing pretty quickly right now. The support for the arts is rising and there are a lot of local opportunities to jump on board with. It’s also super easy to start your own thing and get other artists involved, which is always exciting.

I have considered leaving to pursue my art career somewhere else but right now I am just too excited about the networking connections I have been making and the opportunities I currently have. Also with the capability to connect with people all over the world, you can really base yourself just about anywhere you desire. I think it’s important to find a community you enjoy and right now the community I have is enjoyable.

3) When did you know you wanted to become an artist? What/who were your influences?

I knew after I got back from the military that I wanted to pursue my art career. For a while I was just spinning my gears trying to decide what to do and I took some non art related classes at BSU but nothing excited me. I was very interested in art as a kid and filled a lot of sketchbooks but once I got to college I realized it was the only thing that would make me happy. I was right, too, because now looking back I would not trade my college experience in the art department for any other.

When I first started my college career I was influenced by video game artists. I thought I was going to go into the concept art world but that changed for me pretty quickly. Now, I think what influences me the most are artists with a strong work ethic. It’s so easy to get discouraged and stop working. So when I discover an artist that displays a great work ethic I get excited and gain a ton of energy to work harder on my stuff. Peer pressure is a great thing sometimes. It can really motivate a person to work harder if they respond positively.

 4) The newest pieces feature fish with beards. What prompted that?

Fish have been popping up in my work a lot lately. They are a great catalyst for different types of metaphor. More simply though I just like drawing them! The beards happened because I have my own beard to tame and fish with facial hair just look cool. I was also inspired to make work that I could provide at a relatively low price but that is high quality. I was motivated to do that because business practice is also part of making art if you want it to support your lifestyle.

Click below for the rest of the interview and more art!

Street Fever - Passion Cycle (video)

Here is a totally radical new video from Louie Bash's (Shades, Blurred Vision) new side project "Street Fever."  My Subaru doesn't seem so cool anymore. 

From the vault

With winter coming to a close we thought we'd share this rough design we did awhile back. This is for all you still prayin' for snow.

2013 Payette Brewing Co. Beer Calendar

The best kind of calendar

The Wondrous Bughouse Arrives Tomorrow!

Youth Lagoon's sophomore album, The Wondrous Bughouse, comes out Tuesday 3/5.  You can listen to the album via NPR right here.

Artist Profile: Trevor Kamplain

Is every Trevor in Boise talented?  Probably not, but Trevor Powers (Youth Lagoon) is getting a run for his money from local collage artist and creator of beautiful sounds, Trevor Kamplain (Mozam).  We've snagged a few of our favorite works from Kamplain's Tumblr page.  They're way rad and you can probably guess which one we like best.

 See em all here