frequently asked questions

1. who?
2. when?
3. what?
4. how many?
5. who plays what?
6. openmusic?
7. taping policy?
8. can i help?

1. who are you people?

speechwriters llc is a limited liability california corporation formed in the first quarter of the 2001 fiscal year. misha and dave met in claremont, ca and went through rhythm sections like kleenex until literally stumbling upon drummer matt kolsky in february at 2002, at which point they began touring the country as a trio and continued until it got so cold that they had to come home. jack mahaffy signed on full time in the summer of 2003 when it became apparent that "circumstances beyond anyone's control" would force misha to remain landbound during segments of the fall tour. nitzan was found 10 months later, on craigslist. the master plan now involves reaping the untouchable street cred of the north american folk duo, while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of being rock stars, but also not having to carry amps, and ultimately just getting girls to like them. they're friendlier than you'd think, and will be on the road again before you know it.

2. when's the last time this faq was updated?

2005. (sorry!) we're apparently really busy. honestly, if you're looking for up-to-date information, wikipedia or our forum might be a better bet until we get on top of this.

3. what does llc stand for?

long live che? ladies' luncheon club? there are so many theories currently circulating that we feel we would be doing the fans a colossal disservice by recounting the (admittedly mind-bending) history of how the name was almost lost forever, but ultimately salvaged, during the longest euchre showdown of misha and dave's adult lives. you'll just have to trust us on this.

4. wait, how many of you are there?

first there were two, then there were three, and for a couple of weekends last winter it fluctuated wildly between zero and five, if you count the dog, which the accountants insisted we all do in order to take advantage of some obscure offshore tax shelter. as this goes to press, speechwriters llc is operating as a duo, sort of, but with benefits.

5. so who plays what?

dave and misha both play guitar and sing. matt kolsky played drums for a while. before that, dave and misha had recorded with such legendary session musicians as travis alexander, tia mclean and the infamous rob and blake gearheard. jack likes to say that he "currently hold[s] down the low end."

6. what's the "yellow openmusic license"?

the openmusic license was developed by a group of european linux enthusiasts who felt that current musical copyright legislation did not adequately address the increasingly common practice of mp3 file sharing by music producers and consumers alike. at least, we think that was their motivation, as everything but the actual legal text is written in german. the license itself comes in three flavors: green, yellow and red, each corresponding to a different level of permissiveness. the yellow version basically decriminalizes the mixtape by allowing people to make copies of songs and albums for personal, nonprofit use. it is not a communist plot to take over north america, nor is it an invitation for people to "steal" music from artists. if we catch you bootlegging our music for profit, we will (to quote john kerry) hunt you down and kill you, even if we all grew up together and used to be friends. the openmusic license is simply a response to the realities of digital technology that respects both the rights and ethics of musicians and listeners alike. for more information, visit openmusic.linuxtag.org.

if we'd known about it at the time, we probably just would have used creative commons from the get-go. as it stands, everything in our catalog lives under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 license, which is basically the same thing.

7. is there an official taping policy i can print out and brandish when i'm getting hassled by the man?

Speechwriters LLC Official Taping Policy (06/06/03 - present)

Speechwriters LLC allows audio recording of their shows. All taping must be for personal use only, which may include trading (via analog or digital tape, CD, or digital file transfer).

Recordings should be kept in loss-less format (.shn, .flac, or .ape) to preserve the recording quality, and lossy-formats should be avoided (.mp3).

Personal recording equipment is allowed at the shows (mic stands, Mini Disk's, DAT's, Hard-drive recorders, etc.)

Soundboard (SBD) patches will only be given out to tapers on a case-by-case basis when pre-approved by management.

Recordings may be traded only for an equivalent amount of similar media (cassettes or CDs, pre-recorded or blank). Recordings may be traded through FTP's, or any other file transfer methods.

When Speechwriters LLC are performing at a festival or other event featuring multiple bands, that particular event's policy may override Speechwriters LLC's customary taping policy.

Audience taping at Speechwriters LLC concerts is authorized for non-commercial purposes only. Unauthorized sale, duplication and/or distribution is strictly forbidden. All Speechwriters LLC performances and recordings are the exclusive property of Speechwriters LLC. All rights reserved.

(thanks to tyler huff for writing this.)

8. i like you guys. what can i do to help?

click here to join our street team. taking over the world is no small task, and the band's needs change from day to day. some days we need a quiet place to stay just outside of albuquerque; other days we need a quarter million dollars cash and five liters of AB positive at room temperature, no questions asked. we pride ourselves on running a tight, friendly ship with organic growth trajectories and dreams the size of melons, so if you've already made it this far into the website and can speak at least a few words of english, we're sure you'll fit right in.



frequently asked questions
1. who? 2. when? 3. what? 4. how many? 5. who plays what? 6. openmusic? 7. taping policy? 8. can i help?	1. who are you people? speechwriters llc is a limited liability california corporation formed in the first quarter of the 2001 fiscal year. misha and dave met in claremont, ca and went through rhythm sections like kleenex until literally stumbling upon drummer matt kolsky in february at 2002, at which point they began touring the country as a trio and continued until it got so cold that they had to come home. jack mahaffy signed on full time in the summer of 2003 when it became apparent that "circumstances beyond anyone's control" would force misha to remain landbound during segments of the fall tour. nitzan was found 10 months later, on craigslist. the master plan now involves reaping the untouchable street cred of the north american folk duo, while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of being rock stars, but also not having to carry amps, and ultimately just getting girls to like them. they're friendlier than you'd think, and will be on the road again before you know it.

	2. when's the last time this faq was updated? 2005. (sorry!) we're apparently really busy. honestly, if you're looking for up-to-date information, wikipedia or our forum might be a better bet until we get on top of this.

	3. what does llc stand for? long live che? ladies' luncheon club? there are so many theories currently circulating that we feel we would be doing the fans a colossal disservice by recounting the (admittedly mind-bending) history of how the name was almost lost forever, but ultimately salvaged, during the longest euchre showdown of misha and dave's adult lives. you'll just have to trust us on this.

	4. wait, how many of you are there? first there were two, then there were three, and for a couple of weekends last winter it fluctuated wildly between zero and five, if you count the dog, which the accountants insisted we all do in order to take advantage of some obscure offshore tax shelter. as this goes to press, speechwriters llc is operating as a duo, sort of, but with benefits.

	5. so who plays what? dave and misha both play guitar and sing. matt kolsky played drums for a while. before that, dave and misha had recorded with such legendary session musicians as travis alexander, tia mclean and the infamous rob and blake gearheard. jack likes to say that he "currently hold[s] down the low end."

	6. what's the "yellow openmusic license"? the openmusic license was developed by a group of european linux enthusiasts who felt that current musical copyright legislation did not adequately address the increasingly common practice of mp3 file sharing by music producers and consumers alike. at least, we think that was their motivation, as everything but the actual legal text is written in german. the license itself comes in three flavors: green, yellow and red, each corresponding to a different level of permissiveness. the yellow version basically decriminalizes the mixtape by allowing people to make copies of songs and albums for personal, nonprofit use. it is not a communist plot to take over north america, nor is it an invitation for people to "steal" music from artists. if we catch you bootlegging our music for profit, we will (to quote john kerry) hunt you down and kill you, even if we all grew up together and used to be friends. the openmusic license is simply a response to the realities of digital technology that respects both the rights and ethics of musicians and listeners alike. for more information, visit openmusic.linuxtag.org. if we'd known about it at the time, we probably just would have used creative commons from the get-go. as it stands, everything in our catalog lives under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 license, which is basically the same thing.

	7. is there an official taping policy i can print out and brandish when i'm getting hassled by the man? Speechwriters LLC Official Taping Policy (06/06/03 - present) Speechwriters LLC allows audio recording of their shows. All taping must be for personal use only, which may include trading (via analog or digital tape, CD, or digital file transfer). Recordings should be kept in loss-less format (.shn, .flac, or .ape) to preserve the recording quality, and lossy-formats should be avoided (.mp3). Personal recording equipment is allowed at the shows (mic stands, Mini Disk's, DAT's, Hard-drive recorders, etc.) Soundboard (SBD) patches will only be given out to tapers on a case-by-case basis when pre-approved by management. Recordings may be traded only for an equivalent amount of similar media (cassettes or CDs, pre-recorded or blank). Recordings may be traded through FTP's, or any other file transfer methods. When Speechwriters LLC are performing at a festival or other event featuring multiple bands, that particular event's policy may override Speechwriters LLC's customary taping policy. Audience taping at Speechwriters LLC concerts is authorized for non-commercial purposes only. Unauthorized sale, duplication and/or distribution is strictly forbidden. All Speechwriters LLC performances and recordings are the exclusive property of Speechwriters LLC. All rights reserved. (thanks to tyler huff for writing this.)

	8. i like you guys. what can i do to help? click here to join our street team. taking over the world is no small task, and the band's needs change from day to day. some days we need a quiet place to stay just outside of albuquerque; other days we need a quarter million dollars cash and five liters of AB positive at room temperature, no questions asked. we pride ourselves on running a tight, friendly ship with organic growth trajectories and dreams the size of melons, so if you've already made it this far into the website and can speak at least a few words of english, we're sure you'll fit right in.