Treasure of the Cisne

So Tom just finished putting together a trailer for a project we have been working on over the past year... No one is really sure what to call it just yet. Terms like online serial, Webisode and film have been tossed around, but no matter what you want to call it, look for the first episodes some time soon in 2007. Maybe January or February... we aren't sure yet. It's called The Treasure of The Cisne and stars the spinto band as a bunch of adults.

Ring Your Bells

The Chronicles of Sarah and Kat: Part 1 - An Evening Of Despair

After a long day at work Kat and Sarah decided to meet up and go on an innocent countryside bike ride. Following a dismal alcohol infused attempt a couple of months ago, they felt it was time to redeem themselves and prove that they could in fact ride a bike. It got to 3.30pm and the darkness was drawing in, so rationally thinking they decided it wasn’t a good idea to cycle without the use of both reflective clothing and sufficient lighting. Time was running out, they had to think quickly. After several minutes of thought showering Sarah came up with the idea of climbing a tree in Willingham Woods, followed by a short stroll. So they jumped in the car (seatbelts fastened) and merrily drove to the local Woods.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a suspicious blue van circling the car park. The unknown driver glanced at Kat and Sarah before briskly driving off. Two minutes later the van was seen driving into the centre of the woods at great speed. However this did not deter Kat and Sarah and they continued walking towards the wooded area. As they approached a large (and slippery) log Kat noticed a sizable steak and suggested Sarah took it to use as a weapon, while Kat clutched the fading torch. By now all daylight had gone, but they fearlessly began to search for a suitable tree.

Sarah pointed out a tall yet very branchy tree and suggested Kat should take on the challenge of climbing it. After several failed attempts to reach the first branch, Kat finally began the steep ascent up the tree. Two metres up, the fear set in and Sarah allowed Kat to return to level ground. Now it was Sarah’s turn, after making a mockery of her friend she soon realised that climbing the tree wasn’t as easy as she initially contemplated. Embarrassingly Sarah only made it half way up the tree, and with a little help and advice on how to get down, she was soon back on the ground after a near fatal head butt with Kat.

Realising that tree climbing was not for them, they decided to take a ramble deep into the forest. As they began to proceed into the trees they stumbled across a cluster of glowing mushrooms. Mesmerized by the shimmering appearance of these strange fungi they contemplated eating one. However, not guided by their mentor Joe Hobson they decided against the idea and left the temptation alone.

The 'Magic' Mushrooms:

The torch-light was fading fast as they embarked on their treacherous hike deep into the forest. While walking beside a swampy lake it soon became clear that this was not a good idea. However their enthusiastic personalities urged them to carry on. They soon came to a weir of fast flowing water, so they decided to make a brave attempt to cross it. As Sarah placed her foot into the water she stepped back in horror as she realised her newly dry cleaned Dunlops (courtesy of Kat) were saturated in water and badly stained with mud. Kat tried to comfort Sarah as she explained the shoes could be cleaned and restored to their full glory. Still distraught Sarah stepped out of the water and they retreated back to the boggy footpath.

Kat and Sarah continued strolling into the darkness of the woods. As the fear set in the tension rose. Sarah took advantage of the situation and repeatedly attempted to scare Kat by referring to the Blue van mentioned earlier, and pointing out an area of disturbed earth, hinting at a woodland burial. Having succeeded in distressing her friend, Kat and Sarah soon sped up their pace and returned to the car.

With a routine check of the back seat and boot, they felt safe enough to drive home.

Having worked up an appetite, they decided it was time to eat. Whilst rummaging through the freezer they came across a tray of six meaty Lincolnshire Sausages, renowned throughout England for their award winning succulent taste. They handed the sausages to Mrs Manterfield and she soon go to work preparing Salad, New potatoes and of course the local sausages. Half an hour passed and tea was served so Kat and Sarah sat down and tucked into their meals whilst religiously watching The Simpsons. After their dismal hike in the wood they realised that they now needed something else to fulfil their nights entertainment.


Following a mutual agreement Kat and Sarah decided to attempt to bake some cakes. This was an ordeal in itself. Not being experienced cake makers they didn't know what ingredients to use or indeed how much to put in.

Kat searched for a recipe book, they only wanted 6 'cupcakes' and after much page flicking they found a recipe for 30 cakes. So they halved the amounts (top heavy fractions aren't their forte) and began to prepare the mixture. It was relatively easy to pour flour, eggs, butter, sugar and baking powder into the bowl. It was the physical strain of mixing them together that was challenging. Sarah struggled and Kat couldn't help.

They overcame this difficulty and began placing the mixture into the bun cases. Their estimations resulted in a total of 12 cakes ready to be baked. After a few near accidents and the mild singes to Kats eyes, they battled through the hot steam pumping out of the oven and placed the cake tray inside. Sarah then set the timer for 15 minutes as directed by Mary Berry.

With the prospect of seeing the home made baked goods they waited anxiously as the minutes ticked by. Ten minutes had passed when Mr Manterfield came in claiming

"I can smell burning."

Kat and Sarah dismissed his comment, deciding it was an act of jealousy.

Five minutes later they found their selves counting down the seconds...10, 9, 8. Until finally, the time had come. They could now finally reveal their creation. As Kat boldly opened the oven door a cloud of smoke was briskly released, shortly followed by the sweet smell of home made cakes.

As the smoke cleared Kat and Sarah weren't left with a tray of delicious golden brown sponge cakes. But a tray of hardened black lumps, encased in frilly paper. The cakes were burnt. They had failed.

Reeled in disappointment they moved the 'cakes' onto the cooling rack and gave themselves time to grieve. Upon inspection, the cakes weren't only burnt but badly deformed too. Sarah suggested moulding them back into shape with a knife, Kat agreed in the hope that they would finish this project having known that they had tried their best. After cutting the oddly shaped blocks Kat and Sarah felt better and decided to proceed with the planned decorative icing.

As usual Kat got a little over excited and put too much water in the icing mixture. This resulted in the extensive use of half a packet of icing powder in order to revoke her prior enthusiasm and create a thick enough paste. Due to the excessive 'cosmetic surgery' performed to shape the cakes, they then incurred the following problem; the icing began to soak into the buns, leaving odd black spikes poking out of the tops. Patience was running a little thin so Kat handed Sarah a tub of Sprinkles and she vigorously coated the cakes until no sign of over cooking was visible.
What Kat and Sarah ended up with was a set of 6 beautifully sprinkled cakes (the other six didn't quite make it to this stage). They were proud.







After taking one bite each they proceeded to heave. Though aesthetically pleasing after a long hard craft, the cakes weren't edible and are now resting in peace in the bin.


Love Sarah and Kat xx

What the Spinto Band did on their Summer Vacation

Now that everyone has settled down and eaten the equivalent of three thanksgiving dinners, there has been time to put some intimate portraits of us on the world wide web. Hope you all enjoy.

How To Properly Pose for a Photograph pt.2

Pretend you are gazing into a crystal ball... reading the future. Pray that the photographer isn't drunk. photo credit: Liza's sister

a new look

So I am trying to get with the times. I changed around some colors and layouts for the web journal. This is the shit I do when I'm home.

dinner time

We discussed the recent Michael "Kramer" Richards craziness over dinner tonite. After we had finished, I looked on Tom's plate, and to my surprise he had turned his gummy dessert into a serious message.













Then, Jeff changed it to something a bit more appropriate.















note: that says "Jeff is Cool"

Photo asskick

Roy Spinto stamps. Ressurected by plate faced Trevor Jones.

Call me Diesel, Nick Diesel!

I dare ya!

"Henry, sorry I just kicked your ass so bad. What was that about you being in a boy band again?"

What Joe looks like when he is in the zone.

Nick is wondering if he looks sad in all photos.

Looks like dice in your hand there my good man

bring it pins! bring it.

"Man, who the heck told us it was 70's night tonite? I'm gonna get 'em!"

Instead of using notches on his bedpost, Dez keeps track of how many girls he made out with by using lipstick markings on his cheek. So does Jon, but he has no game.

Pre-Strike

Post Strike

When spinto-manager Trevor Jones showed up in London the other day he claimed we hadn't been posting enough photographs of our adventures in London. On that note he snatched the camera from us and started snapping photos of our ULU show, bowling adventure and barfly DJ set. here are some hilites from the 150 pictures he took.

a fine travel day

What do most people think of when they think of touring bands?
1. wild parties
2. non stop drinking
3. lots of kissy-kiss goin' on

What do most touring musicians think when they think of touring bands?
1. too much travel
2. too much travel
3. scorpions

Whether or not the above lists are true is negotiable. However, the last 24 hours have proved that we do way more traveling than kissy-kissin' when on tour.

Lets start with the plane ride from Philadelphia to London. It was not too bad. They charged us for headphones and alcohol though, so Sam soberly watched Little Man without any sound. He said the plot was too complicated to follow without being able to hear anything... Understandable.

Upon arrival, we traveled some more... on a bus. The bus is nice at least. There's a DVD collection that is about 85% horror movies, so we are hoping to have the Halloween all 14 year old girls have- sit around and watch horror movies and eat popcorn and do each other's nails.

Upon arriving at the club in Bristol, we thought we would be done being on moving vehicles only to find out that the club was a boat! So we spent the rest of the night on a firmly grounded boat-venue called The Social. I still think of this as traveling- even though it really wasn't.

and then as far as scorpions -

Pumpkin Pandemonium

Oh, October. No other month is quite better than you, are they? First of all, you host one of my favorite holidays*. Your air is crisp and invigorating. And the foliage? Do not even get me started on the foliage. Look at yourself, you practically epitomize the Autumn season. I could go on and on about your 31 days of blissful existence, but I only have the time to focus on my favorite of your offerings: limited edition pumpkin-flavored novelties.

There is no arguing that the Pumpkin dominates the month of October. Although it is usually revered for its decorative (and sometimes spooky! – ed.) purposes, let us take the time to celebrate the Pumpkin for its culinary delights. On the outside, the Pumpkin may seem like quite the goofy gourd, but within those orange walls lurks one of the most distinctive and scrumptious flavors in modern cooking today.

There is, of course, the “normal duprez”: pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup, etc…These foods, while delicious, are not blog-worthy by any means. So, without further ado, let’s begin the Pumpkin Pandemonium

Pumpkin Beer. I feel kind of lame beginning with this, but you’d be surprised how many breweries are producing this seasonal ale. I’ve had three varieties already. The first one I had in Orlando, Florida of all places. I cannot, for the life of me, remember who made it, but it was perfect as a pumpkin is plump. The second pumpkin beer was brought to me by the Buffalo Bill brewing company. I don’t know too much about this Buffalo Bill character, but he too makes a damn fine pumpkin ale. A couple days later I was treated to Blue Moon’s interpretation of pumpkin beer. It was a characteristically sweet “brew”, but compared to the other two beers, it left me wanting more. I suppose you could make the argument that they’re going for a subtlety here, but perhaps too much. If they put a picture of rhubarb** on the label and I tasted it, I would be like, “Hmm…yeah, this tastes like rhubarb I guess”.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese. The “cream” of the crop (or patch? – ed.) goes to the Einstein Brother’s pumpkin flavored cream cheese. When it comes to bagels, I’m usually not into sweet spreads like “strawberry” or “blueberry”, but these brothers know their shit. First of all, the cream cheese is whipped, which always helps with the application process. It is light brown in color and the smell of it melting upon a freshly toasted bagel is guaranteed to initiate salivation. Its taste is comparable to pumpkin pie filling, but the eating experience is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I honestly wish I could start every morning with a shmear of pumpkin on my bagel, but alas, this is a limited edition, so stock up for the rest of the year!

Pumpkin Milk Shake. As unlikely as it is, Jack in the Box brings this delicious desert to the table. I would not usually recommend that anyone go to a Jack in the Box (for various reasons), but this is something that even the pumpkin-curious should try. It is think and rich in essence of pumpkin, although, it apparently contains 830 calories. However, if you think about it, an actual pumpkin has over 1000***, so it’s healthier (and tastier!) to enjoy it in milk-shake form.

Pumpkin Donut. Most top-of-the-line organizations (Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts, etc) are producing this treat. Mine came courtesy of Tim Horton’s, the Starbucks of Canada. I have to admit, compared to the other pumpkin curiosities of this season, it left much to be desired. Not to say it was a bad donut, I just wish Mr. Horton could have put more thought (and pumpkin) into it before rushing it out onto the shelves.

Pumpkin Coffee. I am no regular customer of Starbucks, but when they blatantly advertise their seasonal pumpkin awareness, I will throw up my hands and give in. Starbucks offers a nice looking pumpkin muffin, and two seductive pumpkin beverages to wash it down with. I could choose from either their “Pumpkin Spice Frapaccino” or their “Pumpkin Spice Latte”. Not having the money (or stomach capacity) to try both, I went for an iced pumpkin spice latte. The drink was presented with whipped cream and topped off with cinnamon sprinkles, and, as you might imagine, was a delight to my tastebuds. However, like Tim Horton’s botched donut and Blue Moon’s mild ale, I felt like I was being gypped out of my pumpkin “spice”. Pumpkin themed foods should be as fat, bright and flamboyant as the fruit itself. As I left the Starbucks, I proceeded to walk past the other stores’ Halloween displays, brimming full of orange pumpkins with mischievous faces. I took a sip of my pumpkin latte, trying to capture that spirit of pumpkinness, only to end up with a hollow feeling inside.

I hope other pumpkin-enthusiasts find this guide helpful, and if anyone knows of any other pumpkin innovations, by all means, let me know.

- Dr. Pumpkin****

* October 6^th - Bipolar Awareness Day
** I do wish someone would make this into beer.
*** Do the math
**** Thomas Hughes

the days of the grift

I remember the days when this web journal was solely used for the documenting of the grift. We would tell stories of grifts past, and try to teach others the way of the grift. However, the times they are a changing, and grifters have seen this truth as painfully as the rest of us.

Just the other day in Portland, the spinto band found themselves in a Sav-a-Lot grocery store around 1 am. Our show had completed and we needed some pumpkin flavor beer and doritos. While shopping, I went by the sandwich cooler and the grifter in me awoke. I noticed that the sandwiches in the cooler were labeled "Sell By Oct. 5." My biological clock had just ticked onto October 6th, and I needed to alert someone at Sav-a-Lot that these sandwiches could not rightfully be sold. It was the right thing to do.

The grift was obvious: the clerk would have to throw away all the perishable sandwiches, and instead of him wasting a ton of food, he would rather give it to me so I could throw away. It had worked many times in the past and I felt confident that it would work in Portland.

I was wrong.

The clerk would not hand over the sandwich when I pointed out the overdue sell-by date. He held onto it, despite my bargaining and buttering. I told him no one would care... no one would even know." I knew I was beat when he pointed to the ceiling and said, "I know who would care, God would care." ----- dill-weed!-----

Not much I could say after that. You can slow the grift but you can't abolish the grifter! Despite this upending we have not stopped grifting. We still sneak 6 dudes into hotel rooms fit for 1, and we still are receiving free pizza at Whole Foods. Stores are, for some reason, concerned with customers getting sick if they eat food you are supposed to throw away, but I think everyone should know that grifters live by their own laws... They don't press charges for things like that. They may walk in front of a speeding car and press charges for whiplash, but they don't get free food then press charges for a tummy ache. At least I hope not. Hopefully Krispy Kreme and Starbucks are reading this... give us your waste, we are hungry.

instant oatmeal...with coffee

hey everyone, i feel like edison.

a few minutes ago i was scrounging for some breakfast...lucky for me i had horded some instant oatmeal in by book-bag. sadly i could not find any hot water. in a classic case of limitations leading to a new idea...i decided to add coffee to my dehydrated breakfast instead.

well...


it was amazing.



here is how you make it:

step 1: put instant oatmeal in a container

step 2: add coffee

step 3: eat

step 4: smile

step 5: post about it on a blog*


give it a spin, it's the bee's knees, i swear.

-nick


--- endnotes ---
*this is an essential part of making coffee-instant-oatmeal a part of your complete breakfast.

WOXY is back

So the spinto band and WOXY are good buds. They made Cincinnati a warm home for us the past few visits, and it was tough to think of the Nati without WOXY. So when we visited their page recently and saw this, we were overjoyed:

Could it be true? Does lightning strike the same place twice? Apparently it does. It is indeed the real deal — WOXY.com will be back on-the-air soon and better than ever! Seems like we're proving ourselves to be master escape artists in eluding the icy depths of the deadpool. We're ready to kick out the jams and hope you are, too.




well done guys... we are pumped.

How To Properly Pose for a Photograph

after a few too many mundane photographs with bands being taken, we decided to offer a couple lessons.

Lesson 1. Harness your inner ninja.

Sam Makes a Fortune

In Phoenix the other night, Sam set up his own merch table.






when asked why Sam stole Jeff's business model, Hughes simply replied, "You snooze... you lose!"

Jeff was fine with it though, because earlier that day, we saw a scorpion.

Bio Willie

While driving through Texas the other day, we passed one of the coolest rest stops we've ever had the pleasure to enter. Somewhere between Houston and Austin we pulled into a Bio-Willie truck stop and found a bunch of pumps pumping Willie Nelson's eco-friendlier diesel gas into trucks.

Hats off to Mr. Nelson. Using his notoriety to help Americans ween off of gasoline is inspiring. I think everyone is now aware that oil industries feed us our daily bread, so why not have our daily bread be healthier for us and have the server be an old hippy with pig tails and a smile? I know that would make me feel more like buying an SUV.


I tried to see if the bio-diesel gas looked any different, but couldn't really tell. All I have figured out so far is that it works with 80% regular diesel and 20% hippy-juice (there are also more eco-friendly grades, all the way up to 100% hippy-juice which is not unlike the DeLorean's fuel intake in Back to The Future 2). Apparently Hummer manufacturers are confused. They wonder if they should make a bigger car to compensate for the little bit of the environment that is perking up due to the friendlier fuel.

We bought some beef jerky and wished Bio-Willie farewell as we had a soda-tasting with the Music For Listeners home-boys. Here is one last photo from that day, post-soda-taste.

I wanted to make a quick statement on my never-ending photo red eye... it will haunt me till the day I die.