New Valley Lodge Single "I Wrote a Song" Out Today and Other Post-nap Thoughts

Today I write to you from bed in the middle of the afternoon because just woke up from a nap spent with my sweet dog Luci sleeping between my legs. Sometime in the last couple years, she has taken to lying down- all 65 pounds of her- between my legs as if she were lying in a canoe while resting her head on my crotch. It is adorable if occasionally quite painful and I love it so much.

Last night was the final show of the Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy and Friends “Murmur” tour to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of REM’s debut album Murmur by playing the album in its entirety along with a bunch more REM classics. I was lucky enough to be the opening act on that tour, which began in REM’s hometown of Athens and ended six shows later in New York City. It was a total blast. And, as you may have heard, all of REM came out to the opening night of the tour and joined the band on stage at various points of the evening. Afterward, we had a small party at REM’s manager’s office and my inner 15 year-old was completely losing his mind while grown-up Dave tried to maintain his composure. All the REM guys were super nice and Michael Stipe even gave me an NYC cardomom bun recommendation, which I am excited to try. Okay, fine, I’ll tell you- he recommended Otway on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. But don’t buy all the buns before I get there or I’ll be super pissed. Oh, and I’ll tell you more about this tour after I finally get a break from shows after this weekend.

Today I am mostly exhausted and bruised on my one day off before heading to Minneapolis for three shows (two of them sold out already! Yeah!) starting tomorrow. Also, as hinted at in the title of this entry, today my band Valley Lodge released its first new music in nearly six years with our new single “I Wrote a Song,” which is available on all the streaming sites and whatnot right now. Also, you can pre-order/pre-save/pre-add (or whatever it’s called) our new album Shadows in Paradise, which comes out April 19th on Tee Pee Records, right here. This is our fifth album and my friend Greg says it’s our best one. He is right about most things. You can watch the lyric video for “I Wrote a Song,” starring musician and performance artist Olive Hui and my sweet dog Luci, below. I hope you enjoy it so much.

Your man,

Dave Hill