Three years ago teenager Nika Roza Danilova arrived upon the fringes of the pop-music world with a voice as big as her 4'11" frame is small, and a sound as exotic as her Wisconsin home seems Rockwellian. Clear from the beginning was that this young, dimunitive, mid-westerner is an unmistakeable force to be reckoned with. At first encounter Ms. Danilova's Zola Jesus moniker alone carves out a place of iconoclasm and mythology in the pantheon of rock 'n roll history. Sonically, she matches that initial impression with a 21st century goth-electronic sound full of operatic drama, soaring vocals, and dissonance... Read More »

Indie rock's King of obtuse wordsmiths, Dan Bejar, has now been doing business as Destroyer for quite awhile and I was just beginning to think i could put a finger on what i love about him. However, Destroyer's ninth record, Kaputt, has left me equally awed and tongue-tied. I'll start off by saying that since i've known who Dan Bejar was I've always loved Destroyer AND wanted a really tough-looking black cat with the same name. Of course I want said cat to be a cuddler and generally laid-back bookstore type of cat, in clear contrast to the cat's appearance... Read More »

It's difficult not to compare Debra Granik's film, Winter's Bone, to The Coen Brothers', True Grit. The two films share so many similarities with each other and so few with any other recent films. Both are set in the foreboding environs of winter in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, and both feature a teenage girl on a determined hunt for a very bad man. True Grit was a great movie by one of today's best directing teams, but if you're looking for the best story of a teenage girl exhibiting determination and grit in the face of hardships presented by.. Read More »

It is great to see Red Wing Shoes still producing their quality leather goods in down in Red Wing in our home state of Minnesota. My Red Wings are about to head into the closet for the summer, but they will serve me well again before I know it. Read More »

Yes, it is almost spring. But the arrival of SXSW has caused us to look back at the best music from last year. TOP TWENTY ALBUMS I HEARD 1. Doug Burr - O Ye Devastator Gorgeous and meticulously crafted bedroom pop from mini music-mecca, Denton, TX. A voice as fine as cashmere, stories as well crafted as a Lahiri short, and equally as emotionally evocative sonic craftsmanship, all tempered with exceptional restraint and control. 2. Beach House - Teen Dream Baltimore dream pop delivers androgynous bliss through a disaffected haze. The accompanying videos are very much worth watching. 3. Horse.. Read More »

Congrats to Bert Blyleven!  The former Minnesota Twin and member of the 1987 World Series Champions (a high point in the childhood of Stowe and myself, growing up in Minneapolis) is now a member of baseball's Hall of Fame after 14 years!  Maybe it is time to let the facial hair grow long and make a trip to Cooperstown this summer.            Love, Howie Read More »

If you are going to have Christmas carols this year, then they should have David Bowie and Bing Crosby in them. I like how he just stops by and they chat for a bit first. love, Howie Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Duet Read More »

If you've read any of these other posts you already know I love to contextualize the music experience. Where I was, what I was doing the first time a record grabbed me, the artist's backstory and who collaborated on a record all contribute to my appreciation (or dislike) of a record or performance. Obviously I'm no purist. Case in point, Neil Young's new album Le Noise is a great record who's greatness grows the more I think about it. Neil's now in his mid-sixties, his place in the history of rock 'n roll firmly entrenched. It'd be easy, even reasonable,.. Read More »

Apparently, Stowe Provisions has a company crush on Best Made Co. We are okay with that, because they make some pretty cool stuff. Not only that, but they also have an outpost in the great state of Minnesota, where both Stowe and I spent our formative years. Here is a video showing how Best Made Co. prints each vintage map by hand in MN. Apparently, these how quite the hot item, as they all sold out the day they were put online. I will eagerly be sitting at the window, waiting for the postman to come by with my EVERYTHING.. Read More »

the Beveling of the Edges the Stamping Table My leather-dyeing T-shirt working on some new Feathers Suspenders finishing up some Peacocks belts Read More »

Picked these vintage 1960's (?) beauties up off of Craigslist! Read More »

When you're doing some really important or cool shit, like going to the moon, or climbing a really big mountain, the names of lots of things change. "Plans" become "itineraries", "food" becomes "rations", and all the fun things you get to go buy before you leave are called "Provisions". And that is why provisions is a rad word. The fellas over at Stag in Austin are definitely on-board the "provisions" bandwagon, they even just added the word to their outdoor signage. Since we have yet to mention them here's a little "debriefing", or history. They've got great taxidermy on their walls... Read More »

Our goods have a vintage look that is inspired by the Austin music scene, as well as nature and art.  We will post things about music, art, film, books, architecture, basically all the stuff that we find interesting, as this is what inspires the designs of the leather goods. Art spread across various mediums are related in many ways that are unseen when looking at an individual work of art. As Marcus Greil said in reference to Bob Dylan, there is an Invisible Republic. Our leather goods are hand crafted in Austin, TX. We use products that are environmentally friendly.. Read More »