Monday, September 22, 2014

Amid nostalgia wave of reunited Emo bands, The March Divide’s Jared Putnam has been writing these songs all along.

San Antonio-based band’s latest album “Billions” arrives October 21st.  Hear “I Told You So” now via Big Takeover.

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The March Divide (L-R): Jared Putnam, Patrick Reetz. Photo Credit: Greg Gabrisch.

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Hear “I Told You So” from “Billions” by The March Divide via The Big Takeover or the links below
 




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“Impressively hooky.” – American Songwriter

“Sublimely blending Athens jangle with just enough mope to attract fans of The Cure.” – BLURT

As Emo bands reunite left and right, playing their old songs for nostalgia’s sake, Jared Putnam of the San Antonio-based The March Divide is unapologetically wearing his past on his sleeve, still writing these types of songs, but from an adult perspective.

“I’m finally at a stage in my life where I don’t have to bleed all over the page to write a song,” Putnam says.  It seems that, as a songwriter whose previous band The Conversation came up in that tortured musical era, Putnam’s feeling pretty good.

“I was in a good place writing Billions,” he affirms, speaking of The March Divide’s upcoming sophomore full-length scheduled for release on October 21st, 2014. The new album is the most recent collection to emerge from Putnam’s near-constant level of musical output over the past two years.

“I had written a lot of songs,” he plainly explains of what he’d been doing during his six years of public silence between ending the non-stop touring of The Conversation (the band shared stages with The Strokes, Arcade Fire, Against Me! and more) and the start of The March Divide.

After he kicked back into gear and released The March Divide’s debut album Music for Film in 2013, Austin’s NPR-affiliate KUTX simply declared “this album kicks butt.” More press accolades followed, proving that the time off yielded some of the best material of Putnam’s career.  From there Putnam just kept going, releasing an additional three EPs prior to starting work on Billions.

“I haven’t been taking everything so seriously, which really helped me to open up,” he says of the new material, which while less earnest than previous releases, is still completely clever.  Fans of The March Divide will hear this progression for the first time on “I Told You So,” an uproarious “fuck you” tune about the personal motivation that comes from facing opposition.

“My favorite songs are always old school, messy guitar rock like early R.E.M. or Catherine Wheel,” Putnam says of the first single from Billions.  “That’s really what we were going for with this one.”

Jared Putnam of The March Divide is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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The March Divide Live

10/06 San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven w/ Koji
10/23 El Paso, TX @ Monarch Album Release Show
10/25 Amarillo, TX @ The 806
10/29 San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar Album Release Show
11/14 New Orleans, LA @ Checkpoint Charlie's
11/15 Houston, TX @ Midnite Slice

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The March Divide
Billions
(S/R – October 21st, 2014)


 Track Listing:

01. I Told You So (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
02. Come Apart
03. November Suicides
04. Dumb Luck
05. Rewind
06. Mislead
07. Given Out
08. Last Call
09. Until I Explode
10. Situations

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The March Divide Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Now 19, songwriter Andrew St. James announces follow-up to debut album recorded when he was only 17-years-old.

St. James to play “Shakes in San Francisco” local residency throughout October, “The Shakes” arrives October 21st.

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Andrew St. James as photographed by Emma Schacter

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“He possesses remarkable lyricism and self-awareness.” – Interview

“We’re seriously looking for proof that St. James is only 18…” – Nylon

“Overflowing with clever lines and lyrical intricacies.” – American Songwriter

“This kid is headed for big things.” – USA Today

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“Tapes” is the first single from The Shakes by Andrew St. James, out October 21st





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“Shakes in San Francisco” featuring Andrew St. James live in San Francisco at Doc’s Lab

10/07 San Francisco, CA @ Doc’s Lab
10/14 San Francisco, CA @ Doc’s Lab LitQuake Festival
10/21 San Francisco, CA @ Doc’s Lab
10/28 San Francisco, CA @ Doc’s Lab, w/ 20 Minute Loop (TIX)

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Check out a guide to Andrew St. James’ favorite San Francisco hangouts along with the premiere of “Tapes” at Culture Collide!

Incorporating a beyond-his-years lyrical vision, timeless songwriting skills, and a unique gift for melody-making, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Andrew St. James drew accolades from the press in 2013 upon the release of his debut album Doldrums, recorded when he was just 17-years-old.

Read more about Andrew St. James here: MTV, USA Today, Interview, Nylon, American Songwriter, SF Weekly, and Performer.

The San Francisco native is now about to leave his teens behind with the upcoming release of his sophomore effort The Shakes on October 21st.  The new album is once again produced by St. James with Bay Area producer Jim Greer, a platinum record recipient for his work with Foster The People.

“Tapes,” an ethereal folk song with a haunting vocal, is the first single from The Shakes. Referring to the recurring theme of “the chapel” within the song (“For the chapel I see in you”), St. James explains that in addition to being a metaphor, the chapel is actually a real place.

“It’s a small, stained glass chapel that stands on the edge of the coastal forest, with a clear view of the Pacific Ocean,” he says. “Anyone who steps inside of it is consumed by silence. It has always been a place of peace, a place of solitude and simplicity. In a world where everything is sold, and nothing held sacred, this place is removed from it all.”

St. James will be performing songs from The Shakes live in his hometown throughout the month of October.  Doc’s Lab, the former home of legendary comedy and music venue The Purple Onion, will host “Shakes in San Francisco” featuring St. James and a round robin of other musicians on October 7th, 14th, 21st.  A record release event for The Shakes with special guests 20 Minute Loop will close out the residency on 28th.

The Shakes, the follow-up to the debut Andrew St. James album Doldrums, is scheduled for release on October 21st, 2014.  The album’s first single “Tapes” is streaming now. Andrew St. James is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Andrew St. James
The Shakes
(Island Jar/Fortune – Oct. 21, 2014)


Track Listing:

01. Rosebud
02. Nightmares Pt. 17
03. Tapes (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
04. 5 Years
05. Despite All Good Intentions
06. Falling Up
07. Stageline
08. Allison
09. Hollow Soul
10. Cold War
11. Ghost

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Andrew St. James Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Monday, September 15, 2014

Negativland utilizes animatronic audio obtained from rogue Disney employee; Hear “Right Might” via The Onion now.

“It’s All In Your Head,” culture-jamming band’s first album release in six years, asks why humans believe in God.

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Some of the members of Negativland. Photo credit: Negativland.

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“Right Might” is taken from the upcoming Negativland release It’s All In Your Head, arriving October 28th





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The Onion’s A.V. Club has the exclusive premiere of Negativland’s “Right Might” here!

See the trailer for the new Negativland album It’s All In Your Head via Dangerous Minds!

“Right Might,” a selection from Negativland’s new double album It’s All In Your Head, is a goofy riff on imperialism (and minimalism), war mongering, and intolerance. But what is the origin of the “found sound” voices used to make it?

Years ago, Negativland was contacted by an insider at the Disney corporation who had access to the entire audio archives of Disneyland and Disney World. He was a fan of the Negativland’s work, and asked the band if they wanted anything from the Disney audio archive.

“Hell, yes!” Negativland replied.  “Send along anything from Disney attractions that are long gone, or any audio out-takes, bloopers, background sounds, music cues, etc.” Soon, the group received a custom-made set of almost 100 CD-R’s, an unbelievable treasure trove of great material – all completely unheard by the outside world – for Negativland to pick from.

One of the tracks was the raw and un-edited recording sessions for “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln”, an attraction that Disney first opened in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair, and was later moved to Main Street in Disneyland in 1965.

“Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” famously became known as the world’s first Audio-Animatronic robot, and what Negativland had on its hands was a recording of actor Royal Dano, the voice talent for the Lincoln robot, heard being directed and cued by the producer of the recording session for the attraction.

Negativland took that never-meant-to-be-heard session and severely re-edited it into what you now hear on “Right Might”.

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Negativland’s new album, It’s All In Your Head, finds the group tackling their biggest subject ever: why humans believe in God.  Millennia-in-development, this ambitious and densely-crafted double CD is packaged inside an actual Holy Bible which has been appropriately repurposed into a “found” art object.

It’s All In Your Head intends to entertain, inform, and provoke.  On the CDs, Negativland mixes found music, found sound, found dialogue, guest personalities and original electronic noises into a compelling and thoughtful musical essay that looks at monotheism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, neuroscience, suicide bombers, 9/11, colas, war, shaved chimps, and the all-important role played by the human brain in our beliefs. Reading the attached Bible is optional.

The audio is presented as a live radio broadcast, modeled after Negativland’s weekly “Over the Edge” radio program on KPFA FM in Berkeley, CA. This theater-of-the-mind project has been carefully crafted from basic tracks recorded live in front of blindfolded studio audiences, and documents the unique style of live collage performances that Negativland has been presenting on stages, and on radio, since the formation of the group in 1980.

Since its previous album release six years ago, Negativland has kept busy with its weekly radio program, lectures, art gallery shows and live performances in the U.S. and Europe.  Currently in the works are several different studio albums, including Negativland’s all-electronic “Booper Symphonies,” two brand new “Over the Edge” album releases, more art shows, and a new touring live show called “Content!” which recently played to a capacity audience at Seattle‘s Bumbershoot Festival.

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

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Negativland
It’s All In Your Head
(Seeland Records – Oct. 28th)


Track Listing:

ACTS I:
I. Sign-On (1:55)
II. In the Beginning (6:36)
III. Relatively Optimistic Notions (6:22)
IV: The Way We Know Things (9:50)
V: Jar the Ear (4:12)
VI: Alone With Just a Story (5:24)
VII: Viewpoint (2:02)
VIII: Time Can Do So Much (5:24)
IX: Wildlife Tonight (8:45)

ACTS II:
I. New Management (1:05)
II. We’re All Mohammads Now (10:14)
III. Holy War (3:39)
IV: This Thing Is Not Good (6:26)
V: Right Might (4:08) (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
VI: Antinomian Phase (2:32)
VII: Push the Button (8:46)
VIII: I Gotta Be Me (3:01)
IX: The Smell of Onions (10:42)
X: Sign-Off (1:51)

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Negativland Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion