Thursday, January 31, 2008

Young Love recording artists Quitzow and Setting Sun launch west coast tour, new albums merge classical, folk, pop and electronic rock sounds.

“Erica Q rocks the mic like an ethereal hybrid of Jeff Buckley, Siouxsie Sioux, and Toni Halliday.” – San Francisco Bay Guardian

“Levitt wails with toned-down tinges of Kurt Cobain’s emptiness and Elliot Smith’s pain.” – West Coast Performer

New York State multi-instrumentalist artists Quitzow and Setting Sun have announced west coast tour dates in February to showcase songs from both bands’ forthcoming albums on Young Love Records. The two groups share more than a label and tour dates, however. Quitzow, the namesake of songwriter/singer/multi-instrumentalist Erica Quitzow features Setting Sun songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Gary Levitt alternately adding bass, drums and vocals to its live shows. Likewise, the Levitt-led Setting Sun band includes Erica Quitzow on violin and backing vocals.

Along with this kinship, both groups share an open interest in cross-breeding musical forms, merging classical strings (violin and cello especially), folk, chamber pop and hints of early electronic rock. The results are truly refreshing. Setting Sun has been compared to Merge artists The Radar Brothers, Elliot Smith at his darkest and early Nick Drake. Quitzow invites nods like “Solex meets Liz Phair” and “combining the fun of Peaches with the intelligence of Lori Anderson.” The intrigued are invited to hear for themselves during the upcoming string of west coast dates from the 5th to 12th of February. Please see complete dates below.

Quitzow / Setting Sun Live:
02/05 Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge
02/06 San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside Lounge
02/07 Sacramento, CA @ Old Ironsides
02/08 Arcada, CA @ Mosgos
02/09 Eugene, OR @ Shady Pines
02/10 Portland, OR @ Ash St. Saloon
02/11 Seattle, WA @ The High Dive
02/12 Olympia, WA @ The Royal

Quitzow - Art College Album Tracklisting:
Release Date: May 13th, 2008

01. Art College
02. Sponsor
03. On TV! (MP3)
04. Peanut
05. Better Than Ever
06. Stay Away From John
07. Love
08. Slept in my Car with a Kitchen Knife
09. Cats R People 2
10. Rhythm Machine
11. Unripened Fruit
12. Jackpot

More about Quitzow:
“Juggling mind-blowing moog/Rhodes/bass while singing,” playing Tchaikovsky in The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, and creating Fender Rhodes loops layered with MPC drums, moog bass, cellos, violins and vocals, Erica Quitzow brings a wide diversity to her records and live performances. With a self-titled debut album and an upcoming second release, Erica is involved in various musical projects exploring new influences for her inner child gone wild, neo-post electro-pop sound. The new record, Art College, out in spring 2008 on Young Love Records, is a collection of sing-along pop song collages with orchestral arrangement over hip hop, electro-clash, and downtempo beats decorated with adventurous harmonies. Instrumentation is performed primarily by Erica and includes MPC, Reason and live drums layered with Moogs and korgs, Rhodes, Casios, classical and electric guitars, bass, cellos, violins, various percussion instruments with her alternately playful and woeful vocal style. The record was self-recorded in her upstate New York home with production and mixing assistance by band and label-mate, Gary Levitt.

Erica’s debut album, Quitzow, was self-recorded in her previous Los Angeles home and was built on the same acoustic/electronic collage elements as Art College. Again, she played most of the instruments, creating a high-drama palate, and always going for the extreme. While the use of strings in songs like “Drink-Up” sometimes conjures images of Rasputina with a similar Sabbath-style heaviness, often comparisons are elusive as in the cartoon-like playfulness of “R. Crumb.” Elsewhere, “Know Me” is complex and layered, evoking a Todd Rundgren soundscape with passionate screaming vocals reminiscent of Patti Smith.

The live performances include music from both records and ranges from solo cello/guitar and vocals to full band renditions. The upcoming west coast and national tours will be with a five piece band including cello, live and electronic drums, bass, backing vocals and percussion, with Erica on moog, Korg, guitar and vocals.

Among the other projects Erica is involved in is playing violin, cello and singing back up for the Setting Sun live show, as well as playing drums and keyboards on the recordings. Gary Levitt, leader of Setting Sun, is her partner in running Young Love Records and plays bass and sings back up for Quitzow. The bands tour together, share various band members, and assist each other in recording. Erica sometimes plays violin for The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, working to develop the orchestrations on her recordings by studying the compositions of Tchaikovsky and Copeland, among others. She records strings on an array of projects, recently working with Tony Levin, Garth Hudson, and Malcom Burns on Sarah Perotta’s record, The Well.

Past projects include singing and playing bass in the critically acclaimed Heavy Pebble, a New York/San Francisco based experimental band that toured the west coast. More recently she played moog, Rhodes, and bass with Jennifer Turner (of Natalie Merchant’s band) in Los Angeles indie-pop band, Inner. The first record was recorded in Nellie Hooper’s London studio. (Bjork, Massive Attack) This band toured practically nonstop for its three-year incarnation to rapidly growing audience, a positive press response and national college radio play.

Quitzow will tour the full US in June, and plans to tour Europe in the near future.

Setting Sun – To The Next Place Album Tracklisting:
Release Date: May 6th, 2008

01. What We Wanted
02. How Long
03. No Devil Me No More
04. Carry Me Away
05. Overjoyed
06. Slob
07. Love My Love
08. Not Waste (MP3)
09. Inside My Love
10. Morning Song
11. Happy Joy

More about Setting Sun:
Lovers of great songs with inventive and honest sounds can take heart. This third record from Setting Sun really shines. Aptly titled To The Next Place this new record shows Setting Sun going just there. With an intimate lyrical style, each word is slowly tasted before being spoken and set against driving beats, lashing cellos, soothing instrumental interludes and a rich cortege of violins, synthesizers and homemade sounds. All the while never losing its focus on the song with its layers of edgy counterpoint melody, lifting harmonies and soundscapes.

Having lived and created in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Setting Sun’s sound bears the mark of each of these environments. The grime and grit of New York, the quirky artiness of San Francisco and the lilting sunshine of LA... all are orchestrally present in the music. Levitt now resides in upstate NY in the beautiful Hudson Valley where he has completed this third record.

The album was self produced with many friends lending their playing skills. Most noticeably on the record are the string arrangements expertly played by band- and label-mate Erica Quitzow. Set up in a spare room of the house, Quitzow and Setting Sun share a home studio, Young Love Recording Studio. Initially built to record themselves, Gary soon began taking on outside clients. “I love helping other artists work on their music,” says Levitt. “If they come in with just bare-bones sketches of songs and want to expand on them, I'll come up with ideas that add to the songs but don’t compete with them.” Gary also plays bass and sings harmonies for Erica’s band Quitzow.

A veteran of the indie music scene, Levitt started as a member of feverish NY band The Kung-Fu Grip. After four years of relentless touring, they made their way out to San Francisco where they paired down their numbers to a tightly focused three piece, all providing vocals for their cathartic, shock art sound. Levitt simultaneously formed Heavy Pebble with Erica Quitzow, becoming a hit in the music scene in San Francisco and touring the west coast, playing their quirky pop songs with post-modernist film collage projections to crowded houses and critical acclaim. After various line-up changes and key members leaving, both groups disbanded.

Upon having these long term projects fall apart leaving Levitt with no material to perform, he decided his next project would be solely his own. Levitt sequestered himself in a friend’s SF apartment with some borrowed gear and “two cheap microphones” to record what was to become Setting Sun’s debut, the appropriately titled Holed Up. Marked by a sense of palpable urgency, the album seamlessly fuses Levitt’s chief references—warm acoustic guitar, melodic counterpoint bent Beatles/Bowie pop, loud/quiet Pixies/Nirvana dynamics—into a catchy and inversely intimate lo-fi blend.

As Holed Up was nearly finished, Levitt was invited to play guitar for Virgin recording artist Jennifer Turner. He flew to London and recorded in Nellee Hooper’s (Bjork, Smashing Pumpkins) studio, putting his own album on the shelf. The band that formed was named Inner, and the record, containing two songs written by Gary, received critical acclaim and international airplay. After relocating to Los Angeles and touring to support the record, Levitt left the band to focus on his own music.

Back to Setting Sun... Young Love Records released Holed Up to much critical acclaim coinciding with the group touring regularly, performing as a trio. Gary also embarked on two separate one-month-long solo tours, playing every night, often paired with daytime radio and college shows, and sleeping where he could. He settled home eventually and began writing and recording his sophomore CD, Math and Magic.

Curious to hear Setting Sun’s potential with outside production assistance, Levitt embarked on the recording of his second album with producer Richard Chiu. With a different approach than the solo explorations of Holed Up, Math and Magic is more polished, produced and collaborative than its lo-fi experimental predecessor. The intimacy of Holed Up is not lost, but perhaps served on a cleaner plate. Released on Young Love Records in 2005, songs “The Only One” and “Found it by Midnite” can be heard in the short film ‘Paper Jam’, which won several awards in the festival circuit including Best Music. Setting Sun has been getting increasing attention from the film and television industries. As more people get exposed many find the music to be a natural fit with the moving image.

With this breakthrough third release, 2008 is sure to take Setting Sun To The Next Place.

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1263 (Quitzow
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1262 (Setting Sun)

On The Web:
www.myspace.com/quitzow
www.settingsun.cc/
www.myspace.com/settingsun
www.youngloverecords.com/
www.myspace.com/youngloverecords

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Monday, January 28, 2008

The Shondes debut praised by Spin, CMJ and more - Brooklyn based politically charged quartet compared to Sleater-Kinney, Patti Smith and Rasputina.

“...radical politics, inspired riffs, textured harmonies and pure sex appeal” – Curve Magazine

“Seamlessly fusing art and politics” – Punk Planet

“Hard-driving, politically savvy rock ‘n roll” – Flavorpill

“A powerful new sound” – Heeb Magazine

The Shondes, a Brooklyn, NY quartet taking its name from the Yiddish word for “shame” or “disgrace” has already earned considerable praise (contrary to the group’s self-deprecating moniker) for its recently released debut album, The Red Sea. The disc, produced by Pere Ubu bassist and producer Tony Maimone (They Might Be Giants, Book Of Knots) was released in mid-January and met with a wellspring of enthusiastic press.

Spin.com recently featured The Shondes as its “Artist of The Day” (LINK). The band’s NYC album release party was glowingly reviewed by CMJ (LINK). New York Press featured The Shondes in an in-depth article (LINK). Likewise, reputable outlets like Alternative Press and Amplifier have taken interest in the band.

The Shondes’ dramatic rock has been compared to Sleater-Kinney, Patti Smith and Rasputina, due to the group’s clever merging of classical music, traditional Jewish folk and punk rock into a compelling whole. The Shondes -- Temim Fruchter (drums/vocals), Louisa Solomon (bass/vocals), Ian Brannigan (guitar) and Elijah Oberman (violin/vocals) -- quickly gained popularity in its native city thanks to its complex melodic song structures combined with rich, intertwined vocals. Despite the apparent fixation on an erroneous quantifier relating to the band members’ identities (falsely describing them as “3/4 trans,” perhaps because it makes a catchy press hook, when paired with the factually correct “3/4 Jewish”), The Shondes have been receiving acclaim for their seamless fusion of fierce political conviction and serious musicianship. “We’re proud to continue the tradition of political, queer and feminist punk,” says drummer Temim Fruchter.

The Shondes’ songwriting fuses the various musical traditions of feminist punk, classical, Jewish and queercore, while the band’s vocal melodies move effortlessly from anthemic to haunting -- textured by the distinct qualities of each of their voices. The result is a unique sound that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The high energy of its live shows bring audiences along for the ride, with audience members often singing along and swaying to the punchy rhythms and soaring melodies.

From its formation, The Shondes has maintained a rigorous tour schedule including two national tours, a midwest mini-tour, regular east coast dates, and festivals such as North by Northeast and Homo A Go Go. The group has shared the stage with indie luminaries Electrelane, Erase Errata, Amy Ray, Mecca Normal, Joe Lally of Fugazi and Lesbians on Ecstasy, among others. The band also organizes events, often in partnership with local activist organizations, such as the Jews Against the Occupation Chanukah Ball and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Valentine’s Day Party.

The Red Sea Album Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE

01. Don’t Look Down (MP3)
02. Your Monster
03. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (MP3)
04. Winter
05. Let’s Go (MP3)
06. I Watched the Temple Fall
07. At the Water
08. What Love Is
09. The Mother and the Colony
10. Don’t Whisper
11. The Start of Everything

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/shondes_red.html

On The Web:
www.shondes.com
www.myspace.com/theshondes

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

The OaKs brings its forest of sound from Orlando to Afghanistan to NYC for an appearance on Public Radio International’s “Fair Game."

Band lyricist Ryan Costello details the story behind “Masood” -- the hypnotic, hopeful tale of an Afghani teen and a mythic hero. Fans of Paul Simon’s Graceland, Steve Earle, Wilco, Sufjan Stevens abide.

“The OaKs have earned an enthusiastic following due as much in part to their cunningly complex music arrangements as to their epic, humanitarian-based back story.” – Metromix

Orlando-based band The OaKs continues to build momentum leading up to the release of its sophomore album, Songs For Waiting, recently playing to a sold-out hometown crowd eager to hear the band’s affecting new material in a live setting. The group will be in New York on January 29th to tape its public radio debut on Public Radio International’s Fair Game with Faith Salie.

The OaKs will also be available that day to meet with the press to discuss its new album, bandleader Ryan Costello’s time spent living in Afghanistan, and what makes its music so spiritually inspiring. Contact Fanatic’s Vai Godhania (print media) and Andy Silva (new media) with your interview requests.

Additionally, The OaKs has released a short video depicting its at-home recording journey. Watch it HERE and stream the new album Songs For Waiting HERE.

One of the major surprises of CMJ 2007, Orlando band The OaKs is set to release its sophomore album Songs For Waiting on March 4th, 2008. The profound and stirring album is the follow-up to the band’s Our Fathers and The Things They Left Behind which caught the ears and minds of many fans and scribes in 2007 with its unique blend of Graceland’s polyrhythms, Steve Earle’s politics, Wilco’s urgency, and Sufjan Stevens’ orchestrations.

The story behind The OaKs’ music is just as interesting as the sounds. In late 2003, just two years after 9/11, The OaKs’ Ryan Costello sold everything he owned, joined a humanitarian organization and moved to Afghanistan. Costello lived there for two years, working in the Central Afghan Mountains with returned refugees, teaching them creative agricultural techniques and becoming fluent in their native language, Farsi. Late at night, while the dust storms blocked out the stars and rattled the windows, he would sit and work out impressions of what he had seen and heard that day on his acoustic guitar. Costello also documented his time in Afghanistan with a series of moving portraits which can be viewed at ryancostello.com (LINK).

After returning to the United States, Costello joined back up with his long-time creative and songwriting partner Matthew Antolick, who was drumming full-time in a Moroccan band. Antolick and Costello began working out Costello’s melodic ideas and lyrical concepts, home-recording in Antolick’s apartment what eventually became Our Fathers and The Things They Left Behind (STREAM). Exploring themes of self-sacrifice and introspection over roots-folk and jazzy melodic layers, Our Fathers... was an original breath of fresh air in the independent music scene.

The release of Our Fathers... drew immediate attention to The OaKs in Orlando’s press and music scene, and the attention quickly went national as Paste Magazine featured Costello and The OaKs in its July 2007 cover story “Can Rock Save the World?” (LINK). The OaKs also partnered with Global Hope Network on the release of Our Fathers... and agreed to donate 50% of the profits from each CD or track download to aid widows and recently-returned refugees from Afghanistan.

As the attention grew, Costello and Antolick realized immediately the difficulty of translating their multi-tracked compositions into a live setting as just a duo, and began working to put together a band of diverse musicians who could make the compositions come to life on stage. They were soon joined by Jeremy Siegel, a classically trained bassist steeped in Led Zeppelin and Bootsy Collins riffs, and also fluent in classical and jazz trombone. Tim Cocking came next -- a piano major and audio engineer as dexterous on his keyboard and accordion as he is on his trumpet, and Greg Willson, a seminary student wielding a mandolin and electric guitar and playing the breathiest Stan Getz-style saxophone they had ever heard. Their lineup was completed shortly thereafter by Melissa Reyes, a singer-songwriter whose alto voice and folk harmonies perfectly complement Costello’s high vibrato. From the first guitar riff at The OaKs’ debut show at the 2006 Anti-Pop Music Festival, it was apparent that these people were meant to be making music together - the energy in the room was electric, and the reviews were raving.

Out of this natural chemistry was born many new songs over the winter of 2006/2007. Inspired by the unique talents of each new band member, Costello and Antolick began writing songs that would showcase the bands rhythmic tightness and diverse instrumentation. The result is Songs For Waiting (STREAM). On the album, Costello delves into the life of one of his complicated mythic heroes, Dietrich Bonheoffer, a German Lutheran minister who was executed for attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler (“The Two Calls [of Dietrich Bonheoffer]”). In “Masood” (MP3 – see detailed song description below), Costello paints a composite portrait of a teenage friend he had in Afghanistan who took on the mantle of his family after his father passed away, and of Akhmad Shah Masood, an Afghan war hero who was killed in the war of 2002.

Costello also draws from one of his favorite southern authors Carson McCullers (No Country For Old Men) in “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter” (LIVE at CMJ, 2007), writing about searching for truth amidst brokenness. He writes of his more personal experiences with spirituality and failure in the prayerfully repentant “Here I Am Again,” and with friendship across the divide of global conflict in “War Changes Everything.”

Inspired by Costello’s lyrical and melodic depth, Antolick pulled drumming inspiration from everything from Moroccan polyrhythms and bebop jazz, to John Bonham’s spacious power. The OaKs honed these tracks in the living room of Costello’s wood-floored 1950’s style house, and at live shows across the state of Florida, until the melodic complexity and rhythmic tightness of the music exceeded anything the band had done before.

In late July of 2007, Costello put in for part-time employment at his social work job and The OaKs began recording Songs For Waiting. Using the warm, full sound of Costello’s old house, he and Antolick were determined to use no artificial reverb on the new album, instead using room micing techniques to mix the elements together in the style of their favorite 1960’s jazz and rock albums. Even synthesizers were played through amplifiers and speakers and run into the room to give them the woody ambience of Costello’s house. Over the next few months The OaKs employed trumpet, trombone, sax, Hammond organ, bells, synths from the 70’s and 80’s, acoustic and classical guitars, electric and acoustic bass, a plethora of shakers, tambourines, and hand-drums, and a Wurlitzer electric piano from 1959.

In mid-October Antolick, Costello, and keyboardist Cocking began mixing the new album. Using as few modern mixing tricks as possible, including no artificial reverb or delay, they carefully arranged each song. Throughout the mixing process they were mentored and guided by Alan Douches of West West Side Music, whose hand has been on great recordings from Paul Simon’s Graceland to Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House and Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois.

Finally, after over four long months, The OaKs’ Songs For Waiting was finished on November 8th, 2007. The new album is scheduled for release on March 4th, 2008.

The OaKs Live:
01/29 New York, NY Press Day
01/29 New York, NY Public Radio International - Fair Game w/ Faith Salie
02/01 Tampa, FL New World Brewery
02/23 Daytona Beach, FL The Bank

Songs For Waiting Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE
View The Album Trailer HERE
Release Date: March 4th, 2008

01. The Two Calls (of Dietrich Bonheoffer)
02. Masood (MP3)
03. Old Bones
04. Pike County
05. After the Fires
06. The Attraction of the Pilgrim
07. Here I Am Again
08. War Changes Everything
09. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
10. Song for Waiting

More about The OaKs’ song “Masood”:
It was early December, 2004. 26-year-old Ryan Costello had just moved into a new house on the west side of Kabul with a South African family, having lived there only one month. With only a scant knowledge of the local language, Farsi, Costello began walking the streets near his house during the day determined to make friends in the neighborhood. After several days of hanging out with and taking photographs of the local school age children, he was invited by a middle aged man into his mud-walled shop and offered tea. Not knowing the local custom of declining invitations at least three times, Costello said “yes”, which surprised the man who frantically looked around, realizing he had no tea to serve. At that moment another, younger man with a beard and leather jacket who had been standing in the corner of the shop spoke up, “You must come to my house and have tea with us.”

Just a few hundred feet away Costello approached an old rusty gate racked with bullet holes and walked into a courtyard where the shell of a blown-out building stood. Up the winding stairs and into a carpeted living room, with thin cellophane over the gaping hole blown in the wall, Costello sat and waited. After a few minutes, in walked a young boy, around sixteen-years-old, with clear eyes and a wide smile. “Hello – welcome. My name is Masood.”

Thus began a close friendship between Costello and Masood. Taking him deep into the heart of the city’s swarming bazaars, Masood helped Costello buy a Chinese bicycle for 20 American dollars. Masood and his brothers took Costello all over the ancient city, from the mined mountains on the outskirts of the city where the faithful gather holy water from a sacred spring to the bird bazaar where birds from all over Asia are traded and sold. Their unlikely friendship grew deeper, as did Masood’s English and Costello’s Farsi. Masood shared his life story, how his father had been a renowned judge before the war and how they lived in a large house, which they now huddled in the remains of.

One sub-freezing night in the middle of winter, Masood showed up on Costello’s doorstep with red, worried eyes. “Can I use your phone to call my brothers out on the west side of the country?” After some prompting, Masood shared with Costello that his father was near death with an undiagnosed illness. Masood took Costello in the cold night to his house, up the stairs and into a small back bedroom, where Costello saw Masood’s mother, brothers, and sister huddled around his father who lay on a cot on the floor, a loud rattle in his chest. Masood invited Costello to come and sit with him next to his father, and they sat together for some time. Masood asked if Costello would pray over his father, and, raising his hands in the Afghan custom, he did. That night, Masood’s father passed away.

The next day began 40 days of mourning. Masood came over to get Costello one early morning soon after, and Costello walked into their courtyard to find relatives from all over Afghanistan had come to pay their respects for Masood’s father. Many of them walked up to Costello and thanked him in broken English for coming to spend time with him in his last hours, and for praying for him.

Costello and Masood continued their close relationship for two more years after this, until Costello left for America. Masood changed after his father died, becoming more sober and pensive. He shared with Costello the weight he felt on his shoulders to rise up and provide for his family and to take on their name.

Three years later, as Costello sat around in his living room in Florida one summer strumming on his classical guitar, he began working on a song that would weave in the story of Masood with another Masood who was killed in late 2001, Ahmad Shaw Masood. An Afghan mythic hero who rose up mighty armies to fight first the Russians and then later the Taliban, Masood from an early age carried himself as a warrior and a walking message to his people never to let themselves be ruled from without. Called “The Lion of Panshir”, Masood gave hope to his people in a hopeless time. As a composite of one personal friendship and one mythic story, Masood came to be one of the centerpieces of The OaKs’ new album Songs For Waiting.

Tools & Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=52

On The Web:
www.theoaksband.com
www.myspace.com/wearetheoaks
www.virb.com/wearetheoaks
www.ryancostello.com

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Monday, January 21, 2008

Songwriter by day, DJ by night - Grammy award winning Dirty Vegas front man Steve Smith tours around the US and performs at the Sundance Film Festival

Boston press day scheduled with shows in LA, SF and NYC to follow in support of debut solo album This Town featuring guest appearances from actor John Savage, The Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson and X-ecutioner Rob Swift among others.

“If you find yourself a fan of bands like Coldplay, Death Cab For Cutie, or even Travis, you should check out what Steve Smith has created. Underneath this DJ lies a musician who had a calling to record this CD, a dream about one of the songs, and the enthusiasm to go through with it. These are the types of musicians I respect.” – Brian McIrish, Blog Critics

Dirty Vegas front man Steve Smith has taken a hard right turn from the sound that earned him two Grammys and helped him reach platinum sales. At least it would seem that way when comparing the electronica of his hit “Days Go By” (VIDEO) with the delightful fusion of folk and rock sounds that comprise his solo debut This Town, out February 18th via the artist’s own G.A.S. Recordings (named for his late father, George Albert Smith) via RedEye Distribution. The first 2500 copies of the record even include an acoustic version of “Days Go By” which listeners should A/B with the original to get the clearest picture of Smith’s evolution. Another bonus cut, “Late Nights and Street Fights”, which was chosen to be the main title theme for the FOX-TV hit series, Standoff is also included at the tail end of This Town.

Stream the entire This Town record HERE and check out an album trailer HERE.

While Smith’s stylistic shift in sound may seem cut and dried on the surface, it actually serves to reveal that he has been a songwriter at heart the entire time. This Town is about as heartfelt as an album can get, blending folk, rock and electronica with Smith’s inherent songwriting ability into a steady stream of memorable, affecting tunes about Smith’s physical and spiritual relocation from London to Boston . This Town draws the listener in from the start with an inspiring monologue by acclaimed actor John Savage (The Deer Hunter, Hair), introducing a narrative that will repeat throughout the rest of the album. Life is tough. Or, as Savage says so plainly at the beginning of the album: “Sometimes, being a genius is just getting up in the morning.”

Smith will be out on the road through much of the remainder of January and February performing DJ sets as well as acoustic renditions of This Town tunes in major markets as he continues to drum up attention for the record. Especially exciting is Smith’s upcoming show as part of the Sundance Film Festival’s awards party. See below for a complete list of dates, and be sure to schedule some time to chat.

Steve Smith of Dirty Vegas Live:
01/23 Park City, UT BMI Private at Sundance Film Festival (Acoustic set)
01/24 Montreal, QUE at Time (Dirty Vegas DJ set)
01/25 Ottawa, ONT at Heaven (Dirty Vegas DJ set)
01/26 Park City, UT Official Sundance Film Festival at Park City Racquet Club (Dirty Vegas DJ set)
02/01 Washington, DC at Five (Dirty Vegas DJ set)
02/02 Toronto, ONT at Circa (Dirty Vegas DJ set)
02/05 Boston, MA at Z-Square (Press day followed by acoustic set)
02/08 Los Angeles, CA at Hotel Café (Acoustic set)
02/09 San Francisco, CA at Ruby Skye (Dirty Vegas DJ set)
02/18 New York, NY at Pianos (Acoustic set)
02/20 Boston, MA at Middle East (Acoustic set)

This Town Track Listing:
Stream The Album HERE
View Album Trailer HERE
Release Date: February 18, 2008

01. This Town
02. Hit Me Up (MP3)
03. Restless
04. Universe
05. Morning Jane
06. Smile
07. Comedown Queen
08. Sleep Like A Lover
09. Better Off That Way
10. That Town
11. Bonus Track: Late Nights & Street Fights (Theme from the FOX-TV show Standoff)
12. Bonus Track: Days Go By (Steve Osbourne Acoustic Mix)

More about Steve Smith and Dirty Vegas:
14-year-old Steve Smith was waiting for his piano teacher to arrive when he spotted the school drums and jumped on the kit. He was lost in the moment when the door burst open and the horrified teacher asked, “wouldn’t you prefer to sign up for drum lessons instead?!” Cue a cheeky grin!

Born into a South London working class home in the early 70’s, Steve was the youngest of five. He grew up with his ear pressed to his elder siblings’ doors where he gleaned everything from Marvin Gaye to Pink Floyd. As his teenage devotion to percussion grew, so did his passion for Latin musicians, specifically Santana and Tito Puente.

In 1988, acid house exploded in the UK and Steve found himself swept up in a wild new era of electronic music. He began to experiment with sampling the classic tracks he loved his whole life. A well-known house DJ, Andy Nichols, started a band that aimed to blend house music with live musicians. Steve instantly had the perfect introduction to playing live shows in front of huge crowds.

In the late 80s, rabid dance fans flocked to the illegal South-East England rave scene despite frequent raids by police and scaremongering stories in the papers about the supposed “drug culture.” But that did not concern Steve, who devoted every weekend to playing with Andy Nichols’ band or as a live percussionist at house clubs. He began to receive invitations to recording sessions and playing on club tracks. He became increasingly fascinated with the world of samplers and 909 kick drums. Still, while completely immersed in electronic music, he always held tightly to his childhood love for the Bruce Springsteen songs that had come from his sisters’ bedroom, and the sweet tones of Stevie Nicks that had blared from his brothers’ old stereo.

Steve steadily built a reputation as an excellent Latin percussionist and held residencies at legendary clubs, including Ministry of Sound. He toured alongside DJ’s like Sasha and Paul Oakenfold, and was ultimately offered a residency at the world famous ‘Pacha’ on the clubbing mecca island of Ibiza.

It was the summer of 1999. Steve had just split with his long-term girlfriend. With nothing to lose he packed up and drove from London to Ibiza with everything he owned. Days were spent with an acoustic guitar on stunning beaches, and nights in the infamous ‘Manumission’ and ‘Space’ clubs. He played alongside the top DJ’s in the world - studying how certain tracks caused reactions in crowds unlike those at any rock concerts he’d ever attended.

Inspired by the island of Ibiza as creative artists David Bowie, Mike Oldfield, Mario Testino and Errol Flynn before him, Steve spent the summer composing songs. As 1999 drew to a close, Steve headed into the studio for a session with Paul Harris, a DJ friend, who had been playing around the London ‘Milk Bar’ scene since 1990. Paul had just started working with a young producer named Ben Harris (no relation). While they were recording, Steve picked up an acoustic guitar and played them a song he called, “Days go by.” Paul and Ben loved it, and started to play around with the tempo. They recorded the song, called themselves Dirty Vegas and pressed 1500 vinyl copies. The track spread like wildfire through clubland - suddenly Steve had an Ibiza dance anthem.

Steve, Paul and Ben found themselves swept up in a rock and roll dream world of major label signings and world tours. “Days Go By” climbed the charts, and was licensed to a television commercial for Mitsubishi, ultimately garnering the band three Grammy nominations, and the award for best electronic song, in 2003.

Throughout his years with Dirty Vegas, Steve continued to write songs on his acoustic guitar. He knew that one day he would record his own album. Personal, sweet and intimate, some of those songs finally make an appearance in the track-listing of his first solo effort, This Town.

Dirty Vegas disbanded and Steve reunited with his girlfriend. He felt it was time for a radical change. Boston always had a magnetic energy for him when he played there and he felt a need to encourage that feeling. A move to the USA in 2006 got his creativity flowing and just like Ibiza a few years before, Steve started to soak up the musical heritage of his surroundings.

Semi-biographical songs, such as “This Town,” are about his move from London, while “Smile” (dedicated to Steve’s late father) came to him in a dream. In an amazing coincidence, Steve saw violinist Jay Ungar play at a local church in the small town where he had recently taken residence. After the performance he asked Jay, who has appeared on many famous movie scores, if he would play on the song. He told Jay it would be an honor since his father’s favorite piece was James Horner’s score for the film Legends of The Fall, on which Jay had played violin.

Another coincidence brought him together with Anthony Saffery, the former sitar player from the UK band Cornershop, who had also relocated to the Boston area and had become a producer. Together they booked time in the legendary studio, Camp Street (formerly known as Fort Apache) and began long and intense recording sessions: the outcome of which are the tracks that are Steve’s first solo effort, meaningfully titled This Town.

On his album, Smith collaborates with an assortment of talents, including producer Anthony Saffery (Cornershop, The X-ecutioners), Claudia Gonson (The Magnetic Fields), Terry Barber (New York Symphony Orchestra), Jay Ungar (James Horner Orchestra), and Rob Swift (The X-ecutioners, Quincy Jones).

Steve can still be found spinning electro house sets at clubs around the country and around the world, but these days he might be just as likely to be strumming a guitar in a coffee shop, or playing percussion on a rock stage, in support of his new solo path. This Town is set for release on Smith’s own label, G.A.S. Records (named for his late father, George Albert Smith) on February 18, 2008.

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/steve_this.html

On The Web:
www.stevesmithmusic.com
www.myspace.com/stevesmithmusic1
www.dirtyvegas.com
www.myspace.com/dirtyvegas

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Bing Ji Ling channels Elvis Costello through Luther Vandross on his upcoming EP June Degrees In December, a between-the-sheets classic in the making.

“Bing tickles the keys and channels early Prince, Mick Hucknall, and Earth, Wind & Fire, while bringing his funk squarely into the 21st century” - XLR8R

“Some cats are born in the wrong decade. Others are late on purpose, to cast light on past riches and link them to the present. Bing Ji Ling, funky soul brother of the 21st century is that and more” - Planet Magazine

“Bing is funkier than Fudgie the Whale with a blunt in his blowhole. If Sly was a one-man family or if Beck and Prince took a double dip, it would taste something like this.” - Pitchfork

Bing Ji Ling is the nom de plume of one Quinn Luke, a NYC-based producer/musician with a rich legacy of work behind and in front of him. His new EP, June Degrees In December, a work of stunning, soulful talent, marks the finest chapter in his career. He’s the man with The Vintage Sound and Modern Appeal.

As a member of legendary skater-cum-musician Tommy Guerrero’s group, Luke has toured the world, wowing crowds at festivals such as Fuji Rock in Japan. As Coppa, a duo comprised of Luke and legendary crate-digging haven Groove Merchants’ Chris Veltri, Luke has also produced a series of 12-inch singles that have earned the praise of Space Disco tastemakers such as Prins Thomas and Todd Terje. Recently, he produced art funk outfit Tussle’s critically hailed Telescope Mind after which he formed a duo entitled Expanding Head Band with Tussle songwriter Alexis Georgopoulos. The duo’s first releases are to appear on DFA, Smalltown Supersound and Lo Recordings. He has also remixed Honeycut and Curumin (Quanum Projects) and Romanowski (Trouser Trout) and has collaborated with The Rondo Brothers (Fortune Records) and Tommy Guerrero and Blackalicious (Quanum Projects). Luke also DJ’s regularly at NYC hotspots such as 205 Club and the Gold Bar and has recently joined NYC’s Band of Thieves on keyboards.

As Bing Ji Ling, Luke has released two full-length albums on his and former production partner Merkley’s Kreme Kul Records. June Degrees In December is the first release on his own To The Curb Productions. If the aforementioned projects have been hypnotic abstractions of funk and soul, as Bing Ji Ling, Luke brings the real deal. Bing Ji Ling reveals honeyed vocal stylings with a range that would impress Mariah. Hear his cover version of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” (originally released on Ubiquity Record’s Rewind 3 compilation) on MySpace for proof. Stylistically, one can detect traces of Prince, Shuggie Otis, Rare Groove, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, D’Angelo, Maxwell and Beck.

Named for the Chinese words for ice cream (Luke spent a year in Shanghai and became fluent in Mandarin during his residency), Luke’s performances took this concept to legendary lengths. Live shows at venues such as Bowery Ballroom and Knitting Factory (NYC), Viper Room (LA), the Warfield (SF) and Liquid Room (Tokyo) included a small army of “Ice Cream Ladies” handing out the sweet treat, Bing in full regalia, and the band in 1950’s era Good Humor Ice Cream Man uniforms. The debut Bing Ji Ling album included contributions from No Doubt’s drummer Adrian Young and Luke’s right-hand man Merkely. Press coverage included XLR8R, Swindle, and ReUp Magazine.

In 2007, Luke relocated from San Francisco to New York. And with that came a renewed sense of purpose. June Degrees In December marks both a continuation of Luke’s pure “soul pop” ecstasy and something of a departure. If vintage soul and funk and an over-the-top persona defined Luke’s first releases, June Degrees finds Luke bringing his taste for yacht rock and 80s R&B into the mix and a tempering of the extreme aspects of his persona.

Appropriately titled, it’s the equivalent of a warm breeze during these winter months. A reverie for future good times. Opener “Kathalina” (MP3) coaxes an island sound that would make Michael McDonald and Maroon 5 blush. The sultry jam that is the title track is a summer between-the-sheets classic in the making. “Be Here With You” suggests a meeting of Elvis Costello's “Every Day I Write The Book” and Freddy Jackson or perhaps Luther Vandross.

Luke has the kind of melodic sensibility most would kill for (which says nothing of his musical chops and taste for vintage instruments.) Utilizing a small arsenal of gear which includes Fender Rhodes piano, analog synthesizers, all manner of percussion and bass, drums and guitar, Luke coaxes a warm, familiar sound that sounds fresh.

The cover art features one Luke’s favorite painters, Black Dragon. As a collector of outsider folk art, Luke has developed an idiosyncratic palette. It's the perfect cover for June Degrees and is another striking example of Luke’s unique and visionary sensibility.

Bing Ji Ling Live:
02/17 New York, NY Rockwood Music Hall

Selected Discography (http://www.bingjiling.com/JDID/discography.html):
Bing Ji Ling
Fire and Ice Cream (Krëme Kul)
Doodle Loot Doot Doodle A Doo (Krëme Kul)
Rewind 3! (Ubiquity)
Soul Mosaic (Ubiquity)
Tommy Guerrero From The Soil To The Soul (Quannum)
Future Primitive Party In My Pants (Future Primitive)

June Degrees In December Track Listing:
Stream The Album HERE
Release Date: March 4, 2008

01. Kathalina (MP3)
02. June Degrees In December
03. Be Here With You
04. This Song Is For You
05. Home

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/bingjiling.html

On The Web:
www.bingjiling.com
www.myspace.com/bingjiling

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Thursday, January 10, 2008

The sampling power couple Oh Astro reveals sources. Highly addictive, seizure inducing Illegal Art album Champions of Wonder out now.

Married duo Jane Dowe and Hank Hofler are both rooted firmly in experimental music, but with the Oh Astro project they continue their move towards odd interpretations of popular forms. Club music, children’s songs, and fragmented samples of pop/rock all intersect on their first full-length album, Champions of Wonder, under the Oh Astro banner.

As with Dowe and Hofler’s Illegal Art label mate, Girl Talk, Oh Astro incorporates a multitude of samples into its intricate sonic blanket. Get out your copy of Champions of Wonder or stream the record HERE and follow along this list of sources.

Champions of Wonder Sample Sources (STREAM):

01. “Snow Queen” – Ratatat “Desert Eagle” and Lily Allen “Everything Is Wonderful”

02. “Hello Fuji Boy” – Hot Chip “Boy From School,” Fujiya & Miyagi “Ankle Injuries,” and Lionel Richie “Hello”

03. “Lucy Sees The Moon” – Lucy (our daughter) sings the lyrics to children's song “I See The Moon” and it is filtered through Deanna Durbin “Amapola” and Bing Crosby “If I Had My Way”

04. “Candy Sun Smiles” – Busdriver “Sun Shower,” Gnarls Barkley “Gone Daddy Gone,” and Electronic “Getting Away With It”

05. “Empty Air” – only source is Jim O'Rourke “Good Times”

06. “Xanadu” – Jane Dowe sings the lyrics to “Xanadu” in sync with the original song (originally sung by Olivia Newton John with music by Electric Light Orchestra) filtered through Electronic “Get The Message” (strumming guitar intro) and Xiu Xiu “Bishop, CA”. Background contains samples from Pan Tone “Gringo Grinder” and The Killers “Somebody Told Me” (guitar pluck).

07. “Journey To The Center” – Remix of ROC “Journey to the Center of Brixton” (authorized), along with additional drum parts from Stefen Robinson (aka Yea Big).

08. “Itch Box” – Remix of Yea Big “Please Die, and Leave Me Alone” (authorized), which samples vocals from a chain-gang chant from the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Also contains vocal sample from the ROC track, additional drum parts from Stefen Robinson and a synthesized harmonic progression from Tristan Hansen (a student of mine).

09. “Robot Love I Love You” – Ella (our daughter) sings her own lyric filtered through the Japanese children's song “Inu No Omawarisan” as recorded on the compilation Doikono Douyou.

10. “Quiet Mouth” – only source is Sufjan Stevens “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”

11. “Pet Apples” – only source is The Apples In Stereo “About Your Fame”

More about Oh Astro:
Married duo Jane Dowe and Hank Hofler are both rooted firmly in experimental music, but with the Oh Astro project they continue their move towards odd interpretations of popular forms. Club music, children’s songs, and fragmented samples of pop/rock all intersect on their first full-length album, Champions of Wonder, under the Oh Astro banner.

Jane Dowe entered the international electronic music scene in 1998 on two critical CD releases, Institutional Collaborative on Mille Plateaux, and Deconstructing Beck on Illegal Art. On Institutional Collaborative, Dowe and Terre Thaemlitz created abstract music that was described as a “table-tennis mixing game with ‘lounge’ and ambient soundclips” (The Wire). Dowe resurfaced in 2005 on Illegal Art with the debut Oh Astro mini-album, Hello World, which was hailed as “funky and pretty, Hello World’s bite-sized samples concoct a weird pop universe” (CMJ New Music Monthly). While Hank Hofler peripherally contributed to the project, it wasn’t until after Hello World that he became significant collaborator in Oh Astro. Besides creating music Dowe has also done installations in galleries internationally and codes idiosyncratic software for her various projects.

Hank Hofler’s first performances were in Japan as part of the live electronic improvisation scene from 1998-2001, playing shows with Japanese artists such as Otomo Yoshihide, Merzbow, Ikue Mori, and Sawako. As Dowe was too shy for live events, Hank’s earliest shows were actually performing as “Jane Dowe” (further confusing the identity of the pseudononymous Dowe). As he developed his own reputation, Hofler began to be billed under his own name, began street performing in Tokyo, and later also took on the live shows for Oh Astro. As a tenure-track professor, Hofler currently teaches in an Arts Technology program at Illinois State University. Both Hofler and Dowe hold advanced degrees from prestigious institutions such as Dartmouth College and Keio Univeristy (Japan), but have strong reservations about the esoteric qualities of academic art/music.

The purposely-pixilated digipak artwork for Champions of Wonder was created by the internationally known producer/artist Terre Thaemlitz utilizing illustrations by Aiko Tsuji. The physical release also contains surround sound mixes of the first three tracks by Aaron Paolucci (who also mastered the stereo mixes) that can be played on a computer connected to a 5.1 sound system.

One of the common techniques on Champions of Wonder is the manipulation of vocals by spectral software that is coded by Dowe and long-time mentor Christopher Penrose. Even the more experimental or ambient tracks contain ghostly sounds of vocals that have been stripped from their original context and placed into the pulsating electronic world of Oh Astro. The other common practice on the album is that every sound, with the exception of some of the vocals, is sampled from pre-existing recordings. The types of music sampled range from top 40 songs to indie hipster music to the obscure. In the end, it’s more about what is done with the sample than what was originally sampled.

With this release Illegal Art continues to challenge the restrictions of copyright as perceived by the larger music industry. The uniqueness of Oh Astro, along with other artists on the label (Girl Talk, Realistic, Steinski, P. Miles Bryson, Wobbly, Christopher Penrose, etc.), further illustrates that sample-based music is strikingly some of the most original, innovative, and exciting music being made in the 21st century. Illegal Art claims Fair Use for all of its releases and has professional legal counsel nearby if needed.

Champions of Wonder Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE
Release Date: Out Now

01. Snow Queen (MP3)
02. Hello Fuji Boy (MP3)
03. Lucy Sees the Moon
04. Candy Sun Smiles (MP3)
05. Empty Air
06. Xanadu
07. Journey To The Center (MP3)
08. Itch Box
09. Robot Love I Love You
10. Quiet Mouth
11. Pet Apples

On The Web:
www.oh-astro.com
www.myspace.com/ohastro
www.illegalart.net
www.myspace.com/illegalart
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/oh_champions.html

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Monday, January 7, 2008

Wooden Shjips debut album receives high praise in Rolling Stone, Harp, Paste,SF Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, et al.

San Francisco psjch-rock quartet to play All Tomorrow’s Parties curated by Pitchfork in 2008.

“Tight-wound repeato psych guitar raunch with spoony (maybe even imaginary) percussion, surprisingly Rev-like keys, and vocals buried under burning driftwood.” -- Byron Coley, The Wire

“Wooden Shjips (not a typo) are from San Francisco, but the concentrated ferocity of the freakouts on their two very-underground releases — a white-label ten-inch EP (the band gave away the first 300 copies) and a clear-vinyl single (“Dance, California”) — arrives via the Seventies Germanic-guitar lunacy of Guru Guru and the confrontational repetition of VU.” – David Fricke, Rolling Stone

With glowing endorsements from legendary critics like David Fricke (Rolling Stone) and Byron Coley (The Wire, Forced Exposure, Arthur, et al) as well as visionary labels Holy Mountain and Sub Pop, San Francisco’s highly-touted garage-drone group Wooden Shjips (that’s not a typo) has, er, docked on many writers’ picks for best album of 2007 and earned high praise from Rolling Stone -- including a nod from Fricke in the mag’s Top 50 Albums of 2007 issue -- Harp, Paste, SF Bay Guardian (winning a “Goldie” award in its “Best of the Bay” 2007 issue) and SF Weekly (naming the album in its picks for Best CDs of 2007.)

Wooden Shjips’ self-titled psjchedelic adventure on the Holy Mountain label (Om, Lesbian, Six Organs of Admittance) followed quickly on the heels of the band’s Sub Pop single and has since earned many accolades in the months since its October release.

Wooden Shjips is a vital and refreshingly inspired quartet playing loud rock ‘n’ roll in a style heavily influenced by the experimentalism of psychedelia, classical minimalism and garage rock excess. Started as an experiment in rhythmic primitivism and group improvisation, the current lineup brings a more structured rock approach to its performances, utilizing a traditional lineup of drums (Omar Ahsanuddin), bass (Dusty Jermier), organ (Nash Whalen), guitar (Erik “Ripley” Johnson) and vocals.

Its songs sound something akin to the icy garage rock of early Echo & The Bunnymen crossed with the sun-bleached tremolo-punk of The Scientists. There are hints of krautrock, the trance-inducing organ haze of Suicide, Deerhunter style dance-drone, classic desert-fried garage psych and the mysterious, obscure Japanese lysergic-rock band Les Rallizes Denudes all mixed into one explosive whole on Wooden Shjips debut.

The experience of Wooden Shjips has been equated to that of the Japanese phenomenon called maboroshi, which is somewhat similar to seeing a mirage or hallucinating in time. In the context of imagination/dreams, maboroshi is attributed to past occurrences and can take on a meaning like “phantoms.” The group’s songs seem to exist in a dream state in which anything is possible.

Wooden Shjips released two acclaimed records in 2006, beginning early in the year with the self-released 10” EP Shrinking Moon for You. The record quickly sold-out, after capturing the attention of well-regarded tastemakers, such as Tom Lax and Byron Coley, who penned rave reviews on Siltblog and in The Wire magazine, respectively. A 7-inch single followed on the Sick Thirst label, and received similar praise from music bloggers, as well as from veteran scribe David Fricke in Rolling Stone.

The band has launched three new releases in 2007: the LP/CD for Holy Mountain, a 7-inch for Sub Pop and a 7-inch for Pollymaggoo Records. They played at NoisePop 2007 with Roky Erickson in March, as well as playing packed showcases at the SXSW Music conference in Austin, TX in March and CMJ Music Marathon in New York City in October.

Wooden Shjips Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE

01. We Ask You To Ride (MP3)
02. Losin’ Time
03. Lucy’s Ride (MP3)
04. Blue Sky Bends
05. Shine Like Suns

On The Web:
www.woodenshjips.com
www.myspace.com/woodenshjips
www.holymountain.com
www.myspace.com/108446662
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/wooden_shjips.html

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Thursday, January 3, 2008

An ambitious band of high school students, Please Quiet Ourselves offers irresistible push-your-buttons-in-just-the-right-way pop on Mushpot debut.

Effervescent acoustic-guitar-clad Jojo Brandel easily handles on-stage banter well, a skill with which most seasoned artists struggle. Dubbed the California bay area’s “Baby Modest Mouse”, it is impressive how Brandel brought together seven other talented 15 to 16-year-old high schoolers to create a textured blanket of sound, at times, akin to that of Broken Social Scene.

Please Quiet Ourselves started as an eighth grade film project soundtrack. Rather than steal a collage of trendy and popular songs, Brandel decided to create his own. Sounds ranged from scrambled noise rock to covers of pieces on the Black Orpheus soundtrack. End product: “Color Chart,” (MP3) a short pop song. Brandel liked the idea of the song so much that he invited a bunch of friends from school to fill the spaces in between. Compositions are spilled out in a somewhat off-key, clumsy freak-pop manner with bongos, xylophone, melodicas and several acoustic guitars.

In the 2006, Elisa Hough (Brandel’s cousin), scheduled Please Quiet Ourselves for a live studio slot at KDVS in Davis, CA. Hough passed a tape of rough recordings and MySpace information to Mushpot Records owner Jenn de la Vega. Taken completely by the potential and maturity of the music (and assuming Brandel was in college), de la Vega asked Brandel about his studies at Berkeley. He replied,

“Haha…the thing about ‘studying…’ We are in fact in Berkeley -- I’m surprised Elisa didn’t tell you this -- but umm, we are in high school. I’m only 13 and Eli is 15... Haha, I hope that doesn’t change anything!”

Please Quiet Ourselves’ lineup has since fattened considerably and currently consists of guitarist/vocalist Jojo Brandel, drummer Eli Lyons and guitarist Haran Stern of So Many Clouds, guitarist Adam Becker of O Lucky Man, Max Burstein of Mexico and The Jank, violinist Simeon Farwell-Miller, bassist Maddie Tien, and vocalist Bryce Enright. Proud parents carted them between Berkeley and Davis to record at Evan Hart’s (Buildings Breeding) Psychedelic Hearts garage studio. Please Quiet Ourselves offers irresistible push-your-buttons-in-just-the-right-way indie pop rooted in the single “Color Chart” (MP3).

“Mushpot should be proud of their most recent release, because it balances the equation of creativity and listenability in all ways respectable. Please Quiet Ourselves lays down fun proggy riffs and almost punk-based progressions, but translates to a semi-polished pop rock product. On the contrary, their tendency to traverse into somber slowdowns in songs like ‘Minors vs. Majors’ rely on Modest Mouse’s Building Nothing Out of Something era. Vocalist and lead guitar player Jojo Brandel puts forward obvious talent on his ax in songs like “I Don’t Care,” where his techy licks could just go on forever. Please Quiet Ourselves accomplishes a lot in such little time: invoking the curiosity like that of Pavement, the angst of early Yo La Tengo and the togetherness of the Arts & Crafts family. If no other term would work, indie rock is what it is - ambitious and jovial.” – Nicole Browner, California Aggie

Please Quiet Ourselves Track Listing:
Stream The Album HERE
Release Date: Out Now

01. Color Chart (MP3)
02. Antibodies (MP3)
03. Minors Vs. Majors
04. Sunburn
05. You're Still In My Heart
06. Winter Breaking
07. I Don't Care
08. Say I Won’t (MP3)
09. The Light (MP3)
10. Mystery Girls

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/please_quiet.html

On The Web:
pleasequietourselves.com
www.myspace.com/quietourselves
www.mushpotrecords.com
www.myspace.com/mushpotrecords

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