Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Denver’s Dressy Bessy announces plans for multiple 2012 releases; Holiday single out now.

“I’ll keep up this pace forever, so you’d better get ready to rock!” says singer Tammy Ealom.

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Tammy Ealom of Dressy Bessy

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Dressy Bessy presents a holiday gift with the original seasonal pop song and video “Mr. Kringle’s”

 



 


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“…a hook-y, Sixties-derived jangle filtered through a knowing indie-rock sensibility. - Rolling Stone

Denver-based indie rock band Dressy Bessy is back with a new holiday single and a new plan. This time, the band is playing by its own rules.  Having previously taken cues from its Sixties and Seventies heroes, Dressy Bessy is taking that one step further and plans to start releasing a series of singles next year and beyond.

Lead singer and guitarist, Tammy Ealom, along with rocker boyfriend, lead guitarist John Hill (The Apples in stereo), founding bass player Rob Greene, and the solid backbeat of Craig Gilbert, intends the work to be a full-length album, but released one or two songs at a time, “So this way”, Ealom says, “you won’t have to wait more than three months for new songs, ever.”

Dressy Bessy is kicking things off early with a new holiday single. “Mister Kringle’s” is dedicated to and inspired by Ms. Ealom’s father, Terry Atherton, a life-long record collector, dealer, and music lover, who succumbed to terminal illness in February, 2011.  Ealom reflects, “My Dad was a mod in the sixties, so it’s really no wonder why I turned out the way I did.  From the time he gave me my first record (“Hang On Sloopy” by The McCoys) he has always been a major influence on my music and me.”

The upcoming “album” plans include full digital releases every three months starting in March 2012, with videos and limited edition vinyl along the way.  CD and vinyl collections will follow in 2013.  All songs will be available at select online marketplaces and directly from the band’s website.  There you will find a variety of single downloads, various merchandising, as well as several “Club House” subscription packages that should be enticing to both the casual Dressy Bessy fan and the most dedicated.

“We’ve always had an emphasis on having fun,” says Dressy Bessy guitarist and recording engineer, John Hill. “Recently we realized the ups and downs that come with a full album production. It was just getting in the way of our fun. We want to make music our way, release it, and keep it coming. This should keep us happy and in turn our music and our fans will benefit,” Hill concludes.

While Dressy Bessy’s holiday single is only one track and might leave you wanting more, rest assured that the next pop gem by Dressy Bessy is on the horizon, and Ealom, Denver’s here-and-now girl, is up to the task. “I can keep up this pace forever,” she says, “So you’d better get ready to rock!”

Members of Dressy Bessy are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Dressy Bessy Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

L.A.'s Exdetectives takes cues from 90's British alt-bands on "Take My Forever" debut.

"I'm paying tribute to the music of my youth" says band mastermind Faris McReynolds.


Faris McReynolds of Exdetectives as photographed by Maya Mercer

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“The Lawn” is the first single from Take My Forever by Exdetectives 




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Los Angeles-based musician Faris McReynolds, who also makes music as the minimalist avant-garde pop project One Finger Riot, takes a totally different songwriting approach as alter-ego Exdetectives on Take My Forever due January 31st from the Post Planetary record label.
"I’m paying tribute to the music of my youth,” McReynolds says about the record. “Britpop bands like Blur, Ride, and Elastica, first wave indie rock like Dinosaur, Jr. and also The Beatles which I didn’t hear until after I’d gone through punk. This music is about being straightforward and letting the songs do the work. It’s loose, casual and direct. Hopefully something I didn’t plan for comes out of that approach.”

Take My Forever’s first single “The Lawn” is a droning wash of guitars and live -- as in not programmed -- synthesizers. “I wanted it to be this mass of sound that stays in place all the way through the song. No dynamics, just this wide swirl of textures,” McReynolds says. “It’s got loud distorted guitars, yet it manages to come off as mellow. I’m proud of that because guitars can get old really fast.”

Created in a quick two-week fit of low-budget recording (vocals were tracked in a storage closet), McReynolds plays all of the instruments (save for the drums) on Take My Forever. It’s a radical approach to making a record that bears itself out all the way down to the title itself.  As McReynolds states, “The title of the album says, ‘Here, you can fucking have it. Make of it what you will.”

Faris McReynolds of Exdetectives is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Exdetectives
Take My Forever
(Post Planetary – Feb. 7th, 2012)


Track Listing:

01. Cleaner
02. The Crown
03. Can You Feel It?
04. The Lawn (STREAM | MP3)
05. Careless Hysterics
06. Come on Down
07. Halcyon
08. New History
09. So Long
10. It’s Better
11. Pocket Rainbow
12. Closing Bell

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Exdetectives Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Cotton Mather’s long out-of-print power pop classic “Kontiki” to receive deluxe re-issue on Valentine’s Day.

Original album issued in 1997 to be packaged with second CD of demos, acoustic versions and B-sides.

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Cotton Mather (L-R): Whit Williams, Robert Harrison, Dana Myzer. Photo by: Bruce Dye.

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“My Before and After” is one of many favorites to be re-discovered on Cotton Mather’s 1997 album “Kontiki.”

  
  



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Kontiki gave me something to shoot for.” – Britt Daniel of Spoon

“I fucking wish it was ours! I play it all day at home.” – Liam Gallager of Oasis

Austin, Texas band Cotton Mather is preparing to reissue its long out-of-print landmark power pop album Kontiki on Valentine's Day, 2012.  The album was originally released in the US in 1997 with little fanfare.  In the UK, however, Kontiki was a smash with Uncut Magazine giving the album five stars and calling it “music to smile yourself to death to.” Mojo said the songs were “brought to life with daring vitality” and in its own five-star review, The Guardian called Kontiki “a bewildering, dizzy thrill.”

With the spotlight shining on the album in their homeland, Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher discovered and fell in love with Kontiki.  The Gallaghers started talking about the record in the press themselves, helping to spur on a cult following for the album among musicians all over the globe. A fellow Austin-ite and fan from the beginning, Spoon’s Britt Daniel also began to spread the word, and over the years, the adoration of Kontiki continued to grow, leading band leader Robert Harrison to prepare Kontiki (Deluxe Edition).

Scheduled for release on February 14th, 2012 on Harrison’s own Star Apple Kingdom label, the two-CD deluxe format will include the original album along with four-track demos, acoustic versions and songs that didn't make the final cut. Harrision funded the reissue via a Kickstarter campaign made successful by the many fans that Kontiki created since 1997. The campaign was undoubtedly also helped by the profound endorsements and damn funny presentation captured in this promo film seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83CKa5YXejQ.

Robert Harrison of Cotton Mather is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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Cotton Mather
Kontiki (Deluxe Edition)
(The Star Apple Kingdom – Feb. 14th, 2012)


Track Listing:

Disc 1:

01. Camp Hill Rail Operator
02. Homefront Cameo
03. Spin My Wheels
04. My Before and After (STREAM | MP3)
05. Private Ruth
06. Vegetable Row
07. Aurora Bori Alice
08. Church of Wilson
09. Lily Dreams On
10. Password
11. Animal Show Drinking Song
12. Prophecy For the Golden Age
13. She's Only Cool
14. Autumn's Birds

Disc 2:

01. Homefront Cameo (4-Track)
02. Pine Box Builder #1
03. Camp Hill Rail Operator (Acoustic)
04. Little Star
05. Baby Freeze Queen #1
06. Altar Boy (Live at The Hit Shack)
07. Flying Annie's Kite
08. Innocent Street (Acoustic)
09. Spin My Wheels (Electric)
10. Church of Wilson (4-Track)
11. Private Ruth (Acoustic)
12. The Gold Gone Days

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Cotton Mather Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Latest album of addictive pop songs from Lexington's Big Fresh doubles as absurdist board game.

Group led by Apples keyboardist John Ferguson for fans of The Cars, Fleetwood Mac, Elephant 6.

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Big Fresh (L-R): Nick Coleman, Ben Fulton, Matt Clarke, Dave Farris Jeremy Midkiff, Ryan Moore, Brian Conners Manke, Ben Phelan, John Ferguson, Chip Chop, Kate Drof. Photo Credit: Chad Stockfleth.

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“Rumours” is the first single from the sophomore album by Lexington, Kentucky band Big Fresh.

 



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Moneychasers, the sophomore album by Lexington, Kentucky’s 10-member band Big Fresh is not only an addictive pop record, it’s also a satirical, absurdist board game.

Big Fresh leader John Ferguson (who also plays keyboards in The Apples in stereo) explains, “You have to play the game to realize that you can never actually win. The design of the game was meant to parody Milton-Bradley games from our childhood, but the concept was created to shine a light on class issues and the inhumanity of American capitalism.”

The setbacks that players encounter as they play the Moneychasers game are obvious critiques of the modern capitalist trap and are meant to be as funny as they are sad. See here for the game board and here for the rules of play. Players can participate in the game as a “wage slave”, “bourgeoisie,” or “overclass,” with the goal of chasing money around the board to “reach your dreams.”

As for the addictive pop record part of Moneychasers, listeners will find sleek waves of swirling harmonies, horns and electronic bliss. Produced by Big Fresh and engineered by electro-wizard Craig Morris in his hand-built Garden Gate Studio (The Apples in stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, Thee American Revolution), the album is packed with production details including guitar contributions from lo-fi pioneer R. Stevie Moore who has been a mentor to Ferguson since childhood.

John Ferguson of Big Fresh is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Big Fresh
Moneychasers
(Garden Gate Records – Out Now)


Track Listing:

01. We’re All Rock Stars On the Internet
02. Lonely Hearts Of Rome
03. Sophia
04. Sakka
05. Pretend I’m A Computer
06. Here Is the Deal
07. Theme from “Moneychasers”
08. Electric City
09. Rumours (STREAM | MP3)
10. You Are My Sea
11. Right From the Start
12. Church Camp

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Big Fresh Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion