Music Monday

We had some bad luck with the Web log last week. First, the day of posting our 'Hey, Bikes are Great' piece...like, literally minutes after posting, I proceeded to run over some glass with the Saint, which, evidently is bad for bikes? Who knew. Thus, the Saint Tropez has been out of commission because I keep saying that I need to learn how to fix a flat...and have yet to learn how to fix a flat. THEN last Friday we had some technical posting issues and the page went a little crazy for an hour or so (apologies). Then, at the end of the day, we got a bizarre notice from The Man (read: Google) that stated they had taken down our recent post on vegan dog treat company Max + Ruffy because it contained copyrighted musical performances...which was both weird and untrue. So, since we feel bad that that got taken down and see no reason for it not to be up, we're re-posting that piece at the end of this one. Blogs, man.

So, on to Music Monday. This week's Song of the Week is from Seattle's oddly-named Throw Me the Statue. TMTS started out as the hopeful bedroom recording project by Scott Reitherman: lo-fi, fuzzy, poppy, and great for what it was. But now Scott's grown into a full band and more mature sound, still basing it all on steady, strong song-writing. Their new LP, out on Secretly Canadian early next month, promises to be a good one. To tide you over, check out their song, Ancestors, courtesy of Secretly Canadian. As usual, click the album cover to the right to listen, left-click to download.

Now with the repost, originally posted Tuesday, July 14 -

The Find

Okay, we admit it: We don't have any dogs. But, if we did, I'd hope that they'd look like those two guys up there, sittin' by the creek. You know, total pals. BFFs. I'd also be super psyched because it'd mean I'd have a rather valid excuse to buy Max + Ruffy's vegan dog treats. They're a client of ours (nice logo, right?) and they also happen to be some of the nicest people with whom we've had the good fortune to work. The two owners (no, they're not named Max or Ruffy), being vegan themselves and very attentive to their companion animals dietary needs, saw a gap in the dog treat market: high-grade products made from completely vegan, organic ingredients for the shopper who prioritized cruelty-free consumerism AND healthy, tasty food for their animals.

How do I know they're tasty. Well...er...you know, when you're doing a really long photo shoot and you've just got these, um, vegan treats sitting in front of you that HAPPEN to be made with dogs in mind but have all these totally "human-grade" ingredients in them...yeah, well, I have no regrets. They taste good, man. My favorite...and I like to think my own tastes are usually in line with most canines'...is the Wolf Peach and Herb. It's like eating a little, dog-treat-shaped pizza.

Hint: wolf peach = tomato. That's another fun thing about the company—they have an educational aspect to some of the names. Like the origin of the name 'wolf peach' (totally from witches) or the great molasses explosion of 1919 in Boston. I mean, what dog doesn't love to learn, right?

So, point being, if you have a dog, like to give them good, healthy things to eat from a very environmentally-conscious company, and you're vegan or at least like to lessen your impact on the whole animal-based industry, give 'em a try. Or, if you're just totally hungry and happen to be walking by a pet food store one day...that too.

And, in case you were wondering, it's totally cool for dogs to be on 100% vegetarian diets. In most cases, it's actually healthier. Check it. One more point for the vegans.

And if you want to order some treats up, you can do so from their site. Better yet, tell your local pet store you want them to carry them. Power to the dogs, yo.