So, I don't have a huge crazy story or set of observations surrounding Snohawk 6 [2011] because I think we really hit our stride here. What I most remember about this Snohawk is it just going incredibly smoothly. The previous year in which we almost failed to release one, save for a hail mary from Tommy after I'd given up, definitely opened my eyes to the fact this was going to be something that kept happening, so I was ready to go in 2011. I got a lot of interest from friends on my side of things, and Tommy brought the GTG crew in strong for this one. Yeah, listening back on this, it's almost unsettlingly focused for a Snohawk...not short on submissions, but not an overdone either. Decent mix of serious and funny tracks.

From Tommy: "This was the year in which I blacked out for most of the Dan Fox track, and woke up at 7 AM wondering what the hell happened. I wandered into the studio area and everything was eerily still, but an empty fifth of whiskey sat on the music stand in the middle of the room in front of the vocal mic. And I [somehow] played all of the instruments on the track that year..."

Okay, onto the thoughts & observations:

1. The Failures' Union finally breaks the Snohawk seal on being the first to cover the RUN DMC classic, "Christmas in Hollis"...couldn't have done a better job with it.

2. Red Teeth/Madlantis/BerT dudes submit a Neganance & BerT song here. Always liked having them involved.

3. Dozic makes their only appearance with a fun metalocalypse-sounding jam.

4. Notable debut from Nick Merz's solo project, geistlos, when everyone that heard it said, "Who IS this?" ...finding out it was Merz who, to that point, seemed to use his very impressive instrument playing to hide his angelic singing voice, reacted with a collective, "Whoa..."
Every year since then, he's been voted "Most Likely Snohawk Alumn to Hopefully Someday Be Appreciated as a Much Less Self-Important Will Oldham"

5. Also a notable (and sassy?) debut from the Hunky Newcomers that was perfect to kick things off on this one.

6. "Wonderful Way," from this year is probably *just* behind 2013's epic "January Thaw" as my favorite Plurals Snohawk track...probably 2nd & 3rd behind "Shark Sandwich" as my favorite by them, period. ;)
(what's better than inside jokes? Decade-old inside jokes!)

7. Suffering a severe tCF hangover the year of our final show (minus the Heath benefit in 2014), no Cartridge Family (or Cavalcade...OR Smashing Blumkins, even) this year for me, apparently. Though, Craig Horky and I debuted a Regretters (along with Tommy & Frankie of the Breakups) track I'm still fairly proud of. On the flipside of that, I submitted my most poorly rapped verse (Lifetime Division) on that year's Owl House Boys track. Craig Horky also debuted his first cover art featuring something with more eyes than it should have...kind of amazing this took 6 years.

8. If Paul Dubya and the Oak River Bridge Boys Band doesn't figure out a way to make real money playing at Tequila Cowboys here in Lansing in 2016, I will lose all faith in humanity.

Merry Mothafuckin' Kwanzaa 2011,
Cale