Monday, May 19, 2008

Charming anti-folk duo The Terrordactyls to release new demos via MySpace, lands lucrative kazoo sponsorship, plans fall tour of the US and new album.

“Everything The Terrordactyls do is wonderful.” – Megan Seling, The Stranger

“The earnest quality of their music is immediately endearing, and at the same time belies a deeper songwriting. Keep this band on your radar for 2008." – Rock Sellout

“Amidst the extended and passionate kazoo solos, the toy piano melodies, and lo-fi guitar strums lives the conflicted story of youth. The I love you, but you broke my knee caps, the joy and sorrow, the humor and the tears, all packed into a charming 37 minutes.” – What To Wear During an Orange Alert

Michael Cadiz and Tyrel Stendahl – the duo behind The Terrordactyls - will be posting a new demo every two weeks starting May 26th on their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/theterrordactyls). Some demos will appear in finished form on the the duo’s next LP (tentatively scheduled for winter, 2008.) Some are older tracks that didn’t make the cut for previous releases.

Each demo will be accompanied by a poster, hand drawn by the boys themselves (in keeping with the group’s penchant for unbridled crafting.) Each demo track will be will be available for free with the purchase of a poster or you can get the poster for free with the purchase of the track. Pretty sweet, huh?

The band is also celebrating a recent score – a coveted kazoo sponsorship from Kazoobie (LINK). The company provided the duo with a supply of kazoos for its currently-in-the-works fall tour. Soon to be available – Terrordactyls branded kazoos – perfect for audience members that wish to kazoo along.

On their current self-titled album, The Terrordactyls' quirky, lighthearted yet decidedly melancholic pop/anti-folk tunes are augmented by toy pianos, kazoos, and the voice of Kimya Dawson (The Moldy Peaches, Juno) on the song “Devices” -- the stop-motion video (LINK) which has been viewed almost 200,000 times on YouTube and was recently AOL/Spinner’s “Video of The Day.”

Despite all these charming trappings, though, nothing really serves to take the edge off the band’s gutsy interpretation of the sad sweetness (or sweet sadness) of living. This is demonstrated by the contrast of their childlike music to the dark and serious subject matter explored by lyrics such as (from “Fall”):

“Shoot me in the face / I’ll shoot you in the face / We’ll see which one of us / Can shoot the other in the most accurate place / Stab me in the chest / I’ll stab you in the chest / We’ll see which one of us / Can stab the other in the chest the very best / Hang me from the rafters / And I’ll hang you from the lamp post / We will see which one of us / Wants to end everything the most.”

Despite being labeled a “lo-fi” band, The Terrordactyls say they “strive for the highest fidelity” while maintaining the whimsy you might expect in homemade recordings. HEAR Cadiz and Stendahl discuss this and more on The Needle Drop show which airs on Connecticut’s NPR-affiliated public broadcasting station WNPR.

Originally a quartet, The Terrordactyls once featured Brendhan Bowers on drums and Scott Yoder on guitar. The two eventually left the band because, according to Cadiz and Stendahl, “they were no longer willing to participate in the rigorous daily regimens of weight lifting and jumping jacks required by the group’s image consultant, Extremeline.” Humor aside, Bowers and Yoder went on to form The Pharmacy – and Cadiz and Stendahl went on to create The Mike Bowers EP – a collection of Pharmacy covers dedicated to Brendhan Bowers father.

The Terrordactyls Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE

01. Facelift
02. Sabina
03. Zombie Girl
04. I Want To Cry
05. Decoration Daniel (VIDEO)
06. Fall (MP3)
07. Devices (MP3)(VIDEO)
08. Sandcastles
09. Shipping
10. Parking Lots
11. Nobody Knows
12. Swimming
13. Home
14. Baltimore

The Mike Bowers EP Tracklisting:
Stream The EP HERE

01. Overcast Summer (MP3)
02. Prince
03. Growing Old (MP3)
04. Two Small Armies
05. Andy

Tools & Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=75 (LP)
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1271 (EP)

On The Web:
www.terrordactyls.com
www.myspace.com/theterrordactyls

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