ok so this is the first time that's ever actually happened, but still...

 

my roommates are pretty into makin' videos, and i'd never done one before, so i put Wild Mongolia on pause and we started setting up lights in the living room. i'm not gonna lie, i had a lot of fun, and i know for a fact that it's going to look pretty sick.

 

so stay tuned, hopefully this'll be up in a couple days. or cooper may just spend all night on it and it'll be up tomorrow. who knows.

 

back to the gobi desert...

 

i've never been very good at writing about myself or my music. i'm not really sure why. it's not that i don't think people would be interested or that my music isn't worth writing about - in fact i think i've reached a point in my artistic life in which i have a reasonable amount of confidence. i may not be steinbeck or van gogh or mozart, but i am good at what i do, and i don't think there's anything wrong with recognizing that. i've worked hard, sacrificed much, and gained very little, but i continue to do this because i know that underneath it all, what i do has value. i also know that i can't not do it. tried that.

there must be more to it.

it may be that i am afraid of being perceived as cocky or self-absorbed. i tend to be pretty confident in all my abilities, so maybe my lack of self-promotion is some sort of subconscious masochistic handicap i put on myself to keep my head in check. unfortunately many people operate on the basis of perceived value, and if i'm not providing one, i run the risk of being dismissed or forgotten.

i'm really afraid of both those things.

what's far more likely is that i'm actually too proud. i believe that if i sit in my room all day, tour a few times a year, and only tell a few people about it, there will still be some sort of substantial organic growth based solely on my merit as an artist. this is not as true as i wish it was. to be sure, i've played some great shows, made some great friends, and sold plenty of records, but i still don't have anything close to what i would call a successful music career. truth be told, i've also been putting a lot of time and effort towards other endeavors, and maybe i spread myself a little thin, but it doesn't change the fact that i simply haven't been as engaged i should be. 

the truth is that i need all of you, not just as supporters but as participants, because my definition of success has pretty much nothing to do with money and everything to do with how i connect with people. and i've not done so well when it comes to connecting. for that i apologize.

i am naught but that which God has made me.

Mr. Gabriele Benzing of Ondarock wrote this kind review of the new record recently. http://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2009_mehrens.htm it's in italian, but here's a rough translation by my friend josh furnal: "A love song is a hidden treasure to show someone. Nathanael Mehrens sings love songs. His voice is waiting to reveal the gold that is hidden in between the folds of the soul. "I'm dragging my soul / Down The Streets Where I know / I'll find someone to show / Where I've hidden my gold." Twenty-four, based in Nashville, Mehrens has recorded songs ever since he was very little, not counting a few abandoned, vaguely adolescent tracks. The six songs on "For The Conscious" is the decisive step to introduce him into the category of 'American songwriter' and to keep an eye on him for the future. There are acoustic guitars, certainly, but also sober and heartbreaking orchestrations, merited by the arrangements of the seasoned producer Mike Odmark. There is the soft and suffered voice of Mehrens, but also the impalpable caress Natalie Prass to delicately accompany him. There is a melancholic sweetness and soothing, but also light drums, warm piano and keyboards awaiting crescendo. Imagine a Tom McRae lost between the grooves of "Astral Weeks" and you can visualize the music of Mehrens. In between the throbbing violin of 'Untitled 1', the tempo is the apparent cooling down of a heart that cannot cease invoking change even when it seems impossible now. The winter, in the lullaby of "Snowflakes And Summershine" and the bitter serenade of "Whatever You Say" is the chill of disillusion that drags away all hope with it. Love, through the Romantics inlays of "Fading Away" is a dream that seems to slip through your fingers, a fear that pushes us to look away: "You're the circus that's coming to town / You're the chaos that's Under My Skin. " If the songs of 'Once' captivated you and Damien Rice stole your heart, then the debut of Nathanael Mehrens is a tiny secret not to be missed."

alright, so we finally got an official release date/show for the record (although you can already get it from cdbaby):: July 29th @ The Rutledge Nashville, TN i'll be back with more details soon xoxo

well, kids, it's finally happening. the months of waiting are almost done. today, thanks to the lovely and talented natalie prass, the final tracks were recorded and mixing has officially begun. i gotta say, i'm kinda blown away by how amazing everything sounds. everyone who has contributed has not only been a complete pleasure to work with, but has out and out killed it. here's the lineup in order of appearance (other than myself of course): mike odmark - mixing/engineering/electric guitars/keys/random percussion/string arrangments/beard dan burns - drums/good entertainment geoff sprung - upright bass/electric bass/sweet hats aron wright - trumpet/awkward diminutive dog naming/caffeine hookups seth gangwer - violin/professionalism justin saunders - cello/no-beard camaraderie natalie prass - vocals/holga book reading/youtube inspiration and, of course, coffee and nicotine spread liberally throughout. excited? i am. we should finish mixing this week and then comes mastering and compiling artwork and such....i'll keep you updated and will probably put something up on virb and myspace soon to keep you interested. seriously, guys, you're gonna love it. it's been an all star cast and i'm really grateful to my extremely talented friends for making it what it is. i always wanted this record to be a lot bigger than just myself, and that's exactly what's happening. stay tuned.... p.s. i am also the proud new owner of a 97 Saturn SC2 for the price of approximately $kickass-fifty. low mileage, leather interior, and with the added bonus of not-about-to-explode-or-catch-fire (something i have very little experience with, but i think i can probably get used it). in short, it's been a good day.

i can't tell you how tired i am right now. i've spent the entire weekend driving like hell all over the country. tennessee, kentucky, ohio, pensylvania, new york, boston. weddings, recordings, beer and bocce ball by the lake, whisky sours and domino's on roof decks; good times were had by all. earlier today i did some exclusive videos for virb and ended up pounding out about 7 or so songs. had some good clean fun with the guys, and despite the lack of sleep and residual effects of the previous night's whisky, i think most of them turned out pretty well. i'll let you all know when that stuff's going to be up. now i'm driving through the night so i can be back in nashville tomorrow. should be exciting.

that's right, after plenty of grunt work by a fine man named jon shell, the fancy new site is up and running. www.nathanaelmehrens.net yes, yes, i know. we'll be a .com soon, we just had some domain issues. -------------------------------------------- also in the news, i'll be playing at a great venue in nashville called The Rutledge on june 5th, so if you're in the area, come on out and we'll have a swell time.

well, i made it to nashville safe and sound. unfortunately, we don't have any interwebs where im staying, so i'll have to make the trek down to the coffee shop in order to remain connected to the world. i guess it's time to get to work...

i'll be back in joplin for the next couple weeks making cds, playing shows, hanging out, and getting things in order. then it's back to nashville for awhile. i'll keep you updated....