wow,
so i am in a studio,
in boston mass.
listening back to what weve done today.
it sounds so warm, so close, so good.

when i say "weve" im referring to the largest group of friends ive ever made music with.

ben romans, ethan mentzer, kyle patrick, joe guese, joey zehr, luke white, matt pynn, phil galitzine, and adam popack.
everyone is playing on everything,

the studio is covered with instruments.

i want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me get here,
into this studio,

i couldnt have done it without all of your help,
and your dollars.

im gonna post some video soon,
weve been recording everything,

cant wait for all of you guys to hear it....

nate

its almost 2 am.
and,
instead of being halfway across the atlantic,
im in the waiting area of gate 5 in jfks international wing.

my plane has been grounded,
found unworthy.

so,
we are awaiting a new vessel.

im reading a new book,
a voyage long and strange.

its all about the settling of america,
and how most americans really dont know much between when columbus sailed in 1492
and 16 0 something when the pilgrims settled.

the chapter i just read was about columbus,
and the actual horrors he faced while crossing the atlantic.

makes me feel a little silly about sitting here with ipod/computer/book/two magazines/diet coke/reeses pieces.

but dang,

no one was sitting in the seat next to me,
and i was looking forward to stretching out
and touching down in london town.

love
nate

im gonna watch sports tonight,
by myself.

sounds weird,
but im actually looking forward to it.

sunday i go to london,
and i cant wait.

i need everyone to do two things,
and tell all your friends about these two things.

1. vote for my songs on teddy geigers website.

"i pretend" and "lets go"

i would love to have the songs i wrote with him
included on his record.

2. visit helpnate.com
ive added a video,
and more will come soon.

love you all

nate

im sitting here in my apartment.
two acoustics,
one organ
and a great friend.

the organ is new to me,
its from the 60s
in italy,
but ive won it on ebay,
and its becoming my favorite thing.

youll see that later.

luke white and i have been writing a song for his band atomic tom,
they are great,
and you all should check them out.

wow,
its been a while since ive been on this blog.
i mean,
even tyler hilton wrote a blog,
and thats amazing.

the rain is gone,
and the sun came out in brooklyn,
i guess thats cool,
im feeling good.

monday i go to london,
for a week of writing with ilse delange
and sacha skarbek.

jez email me,
we need to get drinks.
and ill need your number.

my friend abi has been sweet enough to put me up,
so im so excited to hang with her.

what else.

ive been super needy lately,
if you havent gone to helpnate.com,
please go,
read,
listen and
watch.
ive just added a video.
tell everyone you know.

i need your help to make my record,
and i want everyone to be a part of it.

ALSO

for anyone who knows who teddy geiger is,
he is an artist that ive written with.
anyways,
hes got a website with 33 new songs,
and he is letting fans pick which songs they want to go on his record.
everyone needs to go here
and rate my songs 5 stars....

they are called

lets go
i pretend.

well,
thats it for now.

i promise it wont be this long ever again,
ill write more.

especially cause im excited about my record and want to write about it.
every little detail.
love
nate

so,
a while back i blogged about a house show i played in gothenburg, sweden.
if you havent read that,
read about it in the last half of my last blog.

if you have read about it,
you can now watch it.

the video is dark,
and the camera was next to a noisy slide projector,
so you can hear the fan from that
but,

if you want,
here is a video of me playing my song please please
this maybe the first "release" of this song.
no other recording exists.

there were no mics,
no guitar amps,
just standing in a living room, completely unplugged.

also,
you can see the organ that ive been trying to find and buy,
i cant find one anywhere,
so if you ever stumble across one,
let me know

ps.
there is more video from this show here.
where you can see performances by

winter took his life
bjorn kleinhenz
cedarwell

make sure you pause the music player

or it could get confusing.

love nate

today is saturday.
the day before easter.

easter is such a weird holiday,
although i guess most holidays are,
if you really think about them long enough.

i mean.
how do we mix such traditional religious moments,
with such cartoonish entertainments.

where did that start

10 points to the person who finds the origins of the easter bunny,
although really,
i will have wiki-ed it before i even publish this blog.

but still 10 points.

tomorrow for easter,
i will take a china town bus,
probably lucky star,
to boston, where i will enjoy the company and craziness of a huge italian family.

the family is not mine.
but my friend lisas
and she has been gracious enough to invite jenn and i into her familys rituals.

which are

food
food
wine
food
wine
swearing at each other (old people included)
wine
food
food
wine

in that order.

isnt it funny how every family has there own traditions,
there own way of doing things.
i never really thought about it til the first holiday i was away from my family.
i spent thanksgiving with lisa and her family
it was great,
but it made me miss the little things my family does.
the way my mom stresses about the turkey,
the way my dad plays baroque music
the way my sister is on her phone or computer or backgammon board all day long.

as i was thinking of my family traditions just now,
i started to think of my grandma,
the matriarch of the family.
shes been gone for some years now,
but still her traditions live on
at the gatherings,
through my mom (who is more like her everyday)
and my aunt,
even through me i guess.

anyways,
i guess im saying,
i hope everyone
whether easter means jesus
or a bunny
i hope you take a moment to notice the little things that make it into your familys celebration.

love nate

hello from a cold and rainy sweden.
the rain pours
the wind blows
and i have the hugest smile on my face.

why you ask

there are two reasons.

first and foremost.

today is february 26th,
which means that the afters record, never going back to ok
releases today.
everyone should go buy it for me,
i wish that i could go to times square,
and pick up the record at virgin (which is my tradition)
but,
i am here, and will have to buy it when i get back.

it was such an awesome experience to be a part of that record.
they are amazing guys,
and i am thrilled that they have included four songs which i helped write.
i think you will like the record a lot.

second. (this is the set up)

sunday night i played a house show here in gothenburg.
i can say with great confidence that it was by far my favorite show ive ever played.
i played with winter took his life, bjorn kleinhenz, and cedarwell. (see prior blog for myspace links)

it was in a flat, in an old part of the city.
they made four pots of a curry soup, and cooked bread for everyone.
all the wine and beer you could drink,
and they did this all on donation.

people started showing up, and everyone started hanging out and talking,
and eating, and drinking,
so friendly, and wonderful.
and then it was time to go on.

40 people sat on couches and chairs and mattresses on the floor.
listening, silently, so appreciative of every song we did.
i was nervous about how i would be received, but it went so well.
we each did 3 songs,
plus everyone made us do an encore,
this was such an art filled night,
and everyone was just so excited that we were playing,
i have never felt this sort of community,
of a positive ground for art to grow
at least not like this.

they call these shows collectives,
and i totally want to bring this idea back to brooklyn.

there will be video footage coming soon.

second (the real second)

bjorn had an organ
the coolest little organ ive ever played.
i want one badly.

i know it was made by silvertone, sometime in the sixties.
i have no model name, or number,
but i have found this video of some random guy playing an organ almost exactly like it on youtube.
(p.s. it sounds way cooler in real life than this video makes it sound.)

do you have an organ like this that you want to give to me (or sell)
check your grandmas attic,
your friends parents garages,
please help me get this organ.

anyways
thats about it.
oh, i almost forgot the "half" part.

everyone should read the road
by cormac mccarthy
that is all

love
nate

i am sitting a foot away from a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed girl.
she is quietly strumming an acoustic,
and singing a song about forgotten love.

i am in sweden.
and she is ilse delange.

we are working on her record.

the last few days have been a run on of grey and wind and cold and blur.
but all amazing.
if you know me personally,
you know that that kind of day is my favorite.

ilse is great.
her and her boyfriend bart are two of the most generous, sincere, and genuinely lovable people ive ever met.
i have so many memories of barts stories, and ilse chiming in poking at his english.
i am really blown away by how down to earth they are,
they have really given me so much.

ilse is one of the highest selling dutch artists of all time,
but when you sit with her,
you feel like youve known her your while life.
its really really really great.

today we made the headlines in the dutch press.
even i get a shout out in the most read newspaper there.
you can read that here.

and

sweden is amazing.
though i feel so out of place.
everyone here is so beautiful,
and even more put together.
like they were all cut from the pages of fashion magazines.

i am going to play a show tomorrow.
with some special singer songwriters here.
check them all out.

cedarwell
winter took his life
bjorn kleinhenz

more to come.
love
nate

today is valentines day,
and ive just eaten some pizza flavored combos.
is that weird.

i am coming off of the craziest 6 days.
there is actually so much i want to write,
so many funny moments that i want to relate,
nashville you are a gem.

however,

i must do one important thing before i blog about bbq and country music.

GO BUY THE AFTERS NEW SINGLE ON ITUNES.
AND WATCH THE ANIMATED VIDEO ON THEIR MYSPACE 

this is a song called myspace girl,
which i wrote with them.
its a tongue in cheek look at the way myspace has changed the way we interact.
im talking to you "myspace stalkers"
its going to be on the full length which comes out february 26th,
but it will help if you watch and buy now.

no, seriously, like right now.
ill wait.

ok, now that you have all purchased the song from itunes,
ill proceed.

how does one relate a trip like the one ive just been on,
i suppose that i will do chronological order,
just for the purpose of keeping it all straight and not missing anything.

first, let me say that i am in love with nashville,
and actually can see myself settling there someday.
the food is good,
the people are round,
and nice,
and its trips like this these that stoke the fire of my love affair with her.

friday i arrived, a tired traveler, at 10 pm. i picked up my trusty ford focus rent-a-car and headed into the heart of the city.
where was i going, what was i to see,
the answer: i ended up at an amazing house party in east nashville.
one of my best friends josh paine and all of his friends were having a get together,
so of course i tagged along.

the night was amazing,
some of the highlights were seeing pictures of grant and lee framed side by side,
finding a gun or two in the closet,
and andy showing me how to give my beer "cobra bites"

the night ended well, 
and then i slept.

saturday i went to a nashville legend, a nashville institution.
the loveless cafe. 
the bbq was amazing, so good. i ate so much food.
i also purchased two postcards that i didnt send,
and an rc cola and a moon pie pre-packaged for tourists like me.
this place was so so amazing,
and you get the sense that so many amazing people have been there over the years.
this idea was cemented by the fact that the lobby walls were covered with signed headshots.
amy grant had two different ones,
from two different eras,
go figure.

that night we went out,
and i learned a few things.
1. pool halls in the south are the real deal, with hustlers, and juke boxes, and you half expect some sheriff to come in
and ask for someone in the back room.
2. in nashville you are legally aloud to drink beer in a moving car, as long as you are not the driver.
3. waffle house isnt as good as it should be.

sunday was relaxed,
but,
i got to work on a new song with josiah, which will have you dancing for sure
then we ate at olive garden.

monday.
i had a few meetings around town, but by far the highlight of the first half of the day was mr ross asher.
his beard seriously makes mine look like a little girl.
we ate at his favorite spot, the blue coast burrito.
it was awesome catching up with ross,
as he has a perfect way with dry and subtle sarcasm which always leaves you feeling a little dirty.

that night josiah played, 
john paul white and i sat there with our mouths open.
josiah is s eriously a star,
gt;no questions,
gt;no doubts.
its only a matter of time til he is huge.

after the josiah show we went to a place called... t;br />dang i cant remember.
but it was a nice cozy spot,
and what i like to call "late night" cassie added to the enjoyment.

i ended up running into to three different and separate people that i knew from boston.
everyone is moving to nashville.

when ross started ignoring his phone,
i had to figure where i would stay,
so cathy said i could crash,
then she gave me diet coke, and struck a rockstar pose.

tuesday i worked all day.
with brandon heath and dan muckala.
amazing day,
it always is with dan.
and brandon was so much fun to write with.

we had some trouble though,
we accidentally ripped off the if you like pina colada song.
and had to rewrite our chorus.

when the work was done,
we all went out to a place called beethovens.
talking about the music industry, and such.
dan was very encouraging, as i am sort of scared there is no way to make a living in music.

finally wednesday.
tyler hilton and i got together at his place. 
he played me roughs of his new record, which is beautiful.
one of which is a song that i had the amazing opportunity to write with him,
"the girl that got away"
it sounds so good.
i cant wait for you all to hear it.

anyways
we worked and hung out,
and ate at cracker barrel.

that is it.
and because a picture is worth a thousand words
i leave you with a collage of random images.
hopefully you will be able to match them to their proper moment.

love
nate

alt="" width="150" />

was amazing.

thank you so so much to all who came,

and to all who gave so so generously.

it was a lot of fun,

and it really means a lot that people gave time, money and talent to help such an

important cause.

im not sure how much we raised,

cassie will keep you posted.

love

nate 

 
another new year.
guess im a few weeks late on that one.

i havent written in a while,
not because i dont have anything on my mind,
not even because i havent tried.
in fact, i had this whole "goodbye 2007" blog where i was basically reminding myself of all i did last year.
all the artists ive worked with,
all of the songs i wrote.
but i realized it was stupid and pretentious.

i did have a good year last year though,
and as i think of it now,
im so thankful for all of my friends.
so many amazing moments and memories.

2008 is shaping up nicely.
slow, but nicely.
i guess you could say shes a latebloomer.
2007 hit her stride early,
ah, but 2008 is one of those beauties that doesnt realize it yet.

im hoping for so much this year,
wanting and waiting.

i always tell myself "this is the year"
blah blah blah.
no resolutions this year.

if i am happy, if i appreciate what i have,
if i love, then thats all i need.

no weight loss,
no moderation of diet coke,
no fretting about money.

just loving those around me.

as always a few things to note.

this coming monday the one love is hosting a benefit show for autism speaks.
its gonna be amazing.
the click five guys, luke, eric, phil, and myself will be doing some songs.
please come to this show.
if you dont live in ny city, tell someone who does.
it is gonna be an amazing night, and for a very important cause.

also,
i have just been given a residency at rockwood music hall,
so here are the dates


Friday, February 22nd at 8:00
Thursday, March 13th at 8:00
Thursday, April 10th at 8:00
Thursday, May 8th at 8:00
Thursday, June 12th at 8:00

im gonna be doing new songs,
and old songs in new ways.
with special guests.

so i want to offer this to my one love frieds

tyler hilton
ben/click five
luke/atomic tom
eric/teenage symphonies
brad/afters
josiah bell
chap stique/famliy force
frank ciampi
rusty

my residency is your residency.
come play with me,
seriously.

nate

but,

and now,

i am in a hostel,
in sweden,
and i cant for the life of me pronounce the name of it,
or any other word i see for that matter.

i have learned how to say "thank you so much"
and "sorry"

which might be the two most important things one could ever know how to say.

im here for a week,
in this city
in this country
in this hostel.

its amazing.

there are three other people in the common area,
all communicating in english
a language that is none of their native languages,
that is amazing,
and it makes me feel dumb.

why did i have to be born in a country where we already speak english.

i have no connection with the world,
in that way.

i take english for granted,

anyways,
i would go talk to them, learn something, in fact i could be getting culture,
from whatever cultures they come from,
but no,
instead im sitting in the corner with my power book, and headphones,
listening to this tyler hilton song i cant stop listening to.
and im not even listening to a real version,
ive got the youtube video open on another web page and i just keep replaying it over and over.

it says hes gotten 11,977 views
but to be honest, the last 8 or so have been me, here in sweden,
this song really is insanely good,
hes really insanely good.

anyways
sweden,
the week has gotten off to a great start.
im working with an artist named
ilse delange who is one of the biggest acts ever in holland,
and macho psycho a brilliant production duo here im sweden.

one day into the trip, and already one really good song done.
it feels good,
like im finding my words again.

the song came very naturally,
and it feels so honest.

5 more days here,
and hopefully 5 just as amazingly easy songs will come out,
you never know.

its so funny how aware of things you are when you are in a place you arent familiar with,
i walked home in the rain tonight,
something i love to do,
but it felt like a brand new experience,
like i had never felt rain before.
is that weird,
im hearing voices differently,
and so in tune with things.
i guess i should be like that at home,
paying close attention to everyone and everything,
but i lose it at home,

i stick out like a sore thumb here.
jenn cut my hair off,
its the shortest its been since i was in 8th grade.
and my beard is at winter level,
big and bushy.

and i feel akward here,
my beard tripping around all the pretty and skinny and perfectly styled blonde people.

at least i can say sorry.

tomorrow?

this week was awesome.
so so many memories,

nashville is beautiful this time of year,
lots of driving looking at hills,
but its even better when you are with great people.

in no particular order
(but maybe chronological because thats how my mind works)

saw ryan adams with rusty
this was unreal.
ryan adams is probably my favorite songwriter right now.
his show was amazing
two full sets.

wrote three songs with tyler hilton,
i loved just hanging out with him at mallory station,
we wrote in his field.

one of the songs is so good i cant stand it,
actually im listening to his demo of it right now as im typing.
im really proud of it, and cant wait for all of you to hear it.

i really really believe in him as an artist,
more so after working with him,
but if you dont know who he is,
please go see him live,
buy his records,
and tell all your friends.
he is gonna bring the song back to the stadium.

had a few days to chill with the afters,
and dan muckala.

they were finishing some mixes on their record.
i wrote four with them for this record.
their record is gonna be huge.
such complex songs,
such depth,
while at the same time they have light hearted songs.

i can see this record being the next big sleeper record.
(sleeper meaning it may take a while for it to explode...just like the fray record has been out for almost three years)
it comes out feb 26th, and im excited to be a part of it,
to have songs on it,
so i cant wait to go buy it.

back in brooklyn,
played a show on saturday night,
it was probably my best show to date.
i played with my friend luke white,
and phil galitzine on bass.

luke and i traded songs,
and all sang and played on eachothers songs.

there is a blog on the mtv website about it,
if you arent tired of reading, you can read that

 HERE

read the blog that has atomic tom in the title 

anyways,

more to come,

nate