This time of year, people will be either picking up their spring break photos at Walgreens, pulling out the incriminating ones before Mom sees them, or stocking up on sunscreen, swim trunks, and a screaming pair of sunglasses for an upcoming summertime getaway. But being a band on the road means you have to get creative with time off. So instead of a week in March, or a few weeks in July and August, Scythian randomly picked five days in June. Here's a rough itinerary….

Daniel trekked to the great lakes of the mighty North and found deep peace and solitude gazing out over the calm blue waters and it was only briefly interrupted by a quick stop at an all you can eat Chinese Buffet because the fortune cookie read "that wasn't chicken".

Mikey went to a Chuck Norris convention where he rode bear back on an African elephant, gargled with glass, blew bubbles with Clorox bleach, round-house kicked a tornado, and verified that beneath Chuck's beard there is not a chin, but indeed, another fist.

Joey, like so many others, withdrew into the Sonoran desert of Arizona to go find himself in the usual ways people like to find themselves in deserts, but wound up finding himself in the jail house of a 19th century mining town for disorderly conduct. Fortunately, Mikey's great grandpappy was sheriff of the town and instead of the gallows, he got away with just being tarred and feathered and run out of town. We haven't received a collect call from him in a few days, so if you see him, tell him to come home. We are currently holding auditions for fiddle and bass just in case.

Alex, not to be out-life-long-dreamed, went on a furious driving tour, which, according to the odometer, seems to have been most of North America. He's been pretty tight lipped about his adventures, but he did return with clues to his recent whereabouts which included two Shetland ponies, an antique butter churn, a black eye, and he haughtily insists that he is the new world champion of Wack-A-Mole.

So after all that travel, Scythian is ready to hit the stage and undo a little of the inner peace everybody picked up over the last week.

Upcoming Shows

Thursday, Jue 19th: Fado Irish Pub (DC) - And what better way to start the summer than with a night at our home DC bar, FADO? We've been on the road a lot this year and we feel like we've neglected all the friends we've made during the many Fado shows we've done over the years. Take yourself down to Chinatown for some stress relief. The forecast for Monday is snow, so you can expect a two hour delay to start the work week. So what the hell? Live a little. Located across from the Chinatown Metro Stop. Show starts 930pm. Website.

Saturday, June 21: Music Under the Stars (VA)- We know we play a lot of not so kid friendly venues, so when this opportunity came up we jumped at it. An evening outside starting at 7:30pm on the Herndon town green that's free to all. Bring a blanket, a hoola hoop and the kids. Website.

Sunday, June 22: WAMU Bluegrass Country Openhouse (DC) - We'll be playing on WAMU, 88.5 fm, twice during a bluegrass extravaganza (that word is way underused). WAMU (American Univeristy) is opening its doors to all comers Music by multiple performers, station tours and free food. Check out the whole lineup here. We'll be playing 1:30 and 2:40pm. Did we mention free food?

Thursday, June 26: Buckingham Township Concert Series (PA) - We're back Pennsylvania. For those of you who missed the ruckus show at the Philadelphia Art Musuem, we're coming back for another family-friendly, all-ages show at the Buckingham Township Concert Series. Be sure to bring a blanket and a picnic but leave the desert because there will be an ice-cream social at the show (lawn-darts are optional). Show starts 7pm. Website.

June 27-29: Celtic Fling (PA) - There's just something different in the air in Manheim, PA. Everybody seems a little more festive, a little less concerned about everyday hassles in life. That's probably because there's a year round fair ground complete with castles, huge stages, a full size pirate ship, jousting rings and of course the irresistible axe throwing contest. Yes, you actually get to throw regulation axes. Look it up. They're big. We'll be kicking off the festival with a special Friday night show with Albanach and Gaelic Storm and then, Saturday and Sunday. we have three sets daily where we'll be sharing a stage with Enter the Haggis. The place gets wild so wear your dancing shoes. If you've never been before, trust us, dress outrageously. Visit website for more details.

Thursday, July 3: Fado Irish Pub (DC) - swing by and wish the boys bon voyage as they play their final DC show before the summer starts and before they head to Australia. Scythian won't be back in DC till August due to their jam-packed festival schedule, so they're planning to give a show that will hold the DC Faithful over till then. We invite all of our DC friends to come join us at our various festivals this summer. We have some great shows within a couple of hours driving so it would be great to see you this summer. Show starts 930pm. Website.

Saturday, July 5: Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI) - On Saturday, July 5th Scythian will be ringin in Independence weekend in Milwaukee opening for phenoms Rodrigo y Gabriella (watch video). The duo has taken the US by storm and are known for their high-energy shows and dynamic musicianship. Last year Scythian lit the crowd up at Summerfest while opening for Guster and so the powers that be deemed them a perfect opener for Rodrigo y Gabriella. The show will take place on the Briggs & Stratton Stage and starts @ 8pm. If you want a decent spot you should show up several hours early because the 10,000 person plus area fills up quickly. Click here for official website.

July 15-22: World Youth Day (Sydney, Australia) - Our excitement is mounting as the days approach for our trip to Australia to play the largest youth festival in the world. Originally scheduled to play twice, we've just been informed that a third show has been added. Scythian will play on the festival main stage twice: Thursday the 16th @ 9pm they will be in Cockle Bay playing for a crowd of 70,000 people and Saturday July 19th @ 2pm they will be playin for a crowd of 300,000!

Many thanks to all of those who have responded so generously in our call for help in making the voyage to Australia. For those of you just joinining the Scythian newsletter, we have had to raise all the money to make the trip to Australia and have asked our fans to help catapult us to the next level.

We have had a great response despite the fact that the link for our online donations was broken due to an "operators error" on our part (the culprit is being duly punished) but we are still getting request from generous souls who would like to help us pay for our airline tickets. So for those of you who never got the link the first time around you can visit this page to make your tax-deductible donation.

In other news:

Immigrant Road Show Reviewed by Homegrown Music - check out the great review by the online music network giant, Homegrown. Click here...

Thanks for your support everyone and see you on the road!

The Scythian Music Jousters