just the two of us.

Last year was the year that we found out that Chicago conglomerate Joan of Arc would be put on more of a permanent hiatus so four of its core members (Bobby Burg, Nate Kinsella, Tim Kinsella and Sam Zurick) could focus entirely on Make Believe, who serve up a louder rougher Owls sound more than anything Joan of Arc ever embarked toward. It was also the year that saw the release of a couple-day-long recording experiment that saw ten former and current members of the JoA family gather and pair off to create many a duet (Shockingly titled Joan of Arc Presents Guitar Duets). Ten were placed on a CD that was released by Bobby Burg's Record Label. The CD as a whole more closely resembles Ghosts & Vodka (an instrumental band with Sam Zurick and Owls member and the rumored to be currently homeless Victor Villarreal) and is quite pleasant background music for the casual listener and a great guitarwork study for the avid fan who could easily identify the unique techniques of each player on every duet.
Coincidentally, this is the year that we may finally see the Joan of Arc B-Sides collection (Polyvinyl will release The Intelligent Design of Joan of Arc tentatively in August) and quite possibly a new full length entitled Eventually, All At Once.



Bobby Burg & Nate Kinsella's guitar duet.
Mike Kinsella & Tim Kinsella's guitar duet.

Bobby plays with Make Believe and solo as Love of Everything.
Nate plays with Make Believe, Mata Hari, and helps his cousin Mike with Owen.
Mike played with his brother Tim since the beginning with Cap'n Jazz and Owls (and even the first few Make Believe practices). He played with a few Steves in American Football but focuses on his solo career as Owen.
Tim has played with Cap'n Jazz, Owls, Make Believe, Friend/Enemy, Everyoned, and alongside Braid/Hey Mercedes/The City on Film frontman Robert Nanna in The Sky Corvair. He has also released two solo albums.

The other highlight of ...Presents Guitar Duets is the seven minute collaboration between finger-tap legend Sam Zurick and Joan of Arc "blip-blip-guy" Jeremy Boyle. Let me know if you'd like to hear that.

Below is an impressively detailed composite image by Lauren Kessinger of all ten contributors:
Jeremy Boyle, Bobby Burg, Matt Clark, Mike Kinsella, Nate Kinsella, Tim Kinsella, Todd Mattei, Tim Rutili, Ben Vida & Sam Zurick.