Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Southerly debuts “songaweek” website showcasing leader Krist Krueger’s up-to-the-minute marathon-style songwriting -- first month of tracks available.

Portland-based record label Greyday Records has launched http://www.songaweek.greydayrecords.com/ hot on the heels of Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist, the latest album by Krist Krueger -- Portland's one man orchestral songwriter known as Southerly. The label has been quietly debuted a new Southerly song at the site for the past four weeks. The tracks -- written and recorded in the middle of the night, sometimes mere hours before posting, will continue to surface throughout the remainder of the year, with the last posting on New Year's Day, 2008.

How is it possible to focus creative energy in this way with such concrete and looming deadlines attached? Krueger explains, “It’s kind of my own personal exercise in songwriting. Like training for a marathon of sorts. Sharpening my songwriting wits and forcing myself to spew out whatever it is that I feel like putting down.” For those who take the time to check in each week, they will find an up-to-the-minute dance with creativity that is a perfect compliment to the accomplished album Southerly released on Greyday Records earlier this year.

The first month of tracks in the “Southerly's Song-A-Week” series (“Oh Claire,” [MP3] “Young William Snow,” [MP3] “Split-Lipped Lullaby” [MP3] and “Stay Awake” [MP3]) are now available for streaming and download at http://www.songaweek.greydayrecords.com/. Visit the site for more info, production notes and lyrics for these first four sprints in Krueger’s ongoing artistic regimen.

More about Southerly and Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist:
“Krueger’s compositions… approach sheer genius.” 9.5 / 10 -- Lost At Sea

There are few true auteurs in pop music. The closest most so-called pop auteurs come to multi-tasking is mustering a balance between singer and songwriter. However, not only does Krist Krueger sing, write and arrange the music of Southerly, he's a seasoned recording engineer, record label manager and professional booking agent. He remains hands-on in all aspects of his music.

Krueger recorded the second Southerly album Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist, with his own full orchestra and horn arrangements. The arrangements of sweeping and swooning violins, horns and backing vocals that surround Krueger's every note flesh out the songs, which center on Krueger's otherwise intimate singing style.

Southerly's sophomore release is the latest edition in Krueger's catalogue of ornamental and skillfully crafted albums. As with Best Dressed and Expressionless (2004), Krueger's debut, Storyteller plays as an entire album keeping with the tradition of conceptual musical works. Storyteller was recorded in two separate rounds (necessitated by Krueger's rigorous touring schedule) at Haywire Studios in Portland, OR in 2006 and 2007. The release sees the close of 3 ½ years of full-time touring, both as a solo artist and full band.

Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist features an array of players including Ryan Heise (System and Station), Cory Gray (Desert City Soundtrack) and Ryland Bouchard (The Robot Ate Me). The album was engineered by Robert Bartleson (Wilco) and co-produced by Krueger and Bartleson.
Fans of The National, Brendan Benson, Richard Ashcroft and The Weakerthans take note.

Southerly Live:
10/26 Malaga, Spain Cervantes Festival
11/16 Seattle, WA Sunset Tavern
11/17 Missoula, MT The Badlander

Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE

01. Visage Sans Expression
02. Close to the Crime
03. Soldiers (MP3 VIDEO)
04. A Coarse Design
05. Taking Stock
06. For the Speechless Coward
07. How To Be a Dreamer
08. If We All Forget
09. Pistols in Paradise
10. Cold Caller
11. Dreams That Make Men Free (MP3)
12. Breath of My Youth
13. When We Have To Go
14. Simple Simon

On The Web:
www.myspace.com/southerly
www.greydayproductions.com
www.songaweek.greydayrecords.com
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/southerly_storyteller.html

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Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Yip-Yip launches extensive tour with HEALTH, AIDS Wolf and The Locust, announces release date for upcoming album, Two Kings of The Same Kingdom.

Orlando based electronic (spaztronic?) duo, Yip-Yip launched an extensive nationwide tour this week that sees the pair on the road into December with fellow hellraisers HEALTH, AIDS Wolf and The Locust. The duo is touring in anticipation of the release of its latest record, Two Kings of The Same Kingdom, which will be released February 5th, 2008 by the California-based S.A.F. (Die!Die!Die!, Junius) label. Two Kings of The Same Kingdom is the follow-up to the critically praised Yip-Yip album In The Reptile House.

Yip-Yip is Brian Esser and Jason Temple, two 25 year-old “writhing costumed beanpoles” from Orlando, Florida. They have been making music together since they formed in 2001. They have also been roommates for much of this time, annoying neighbors in apartments until moving into “The Reptile House” in 2004. The house provides Yip-Yip with the space they need to continue making all of their music, recordings, art, videos, and costumes at home.

Yip-Yip started as a recording project and has, in its six years, resulted in two self-released full-length albums and an EP, two handmade art zine/CD singles, the CD-R-turned-international-release Pro-Twelve Thinker, and two more “real” releases, In The Reptile House and the upcoming Two Kings of The Same Kingdom. Two Kings of The Same Kingdom is Yip-Yip's fourth full-length album and comes in at just under 25 minutes. Its twelve new tracks were recorded by Yip-Yip in their house in Orlando, Florida over the summer of 2007.

New additions to the Yip-Yip arsenal of musical instruments on Two Kings include an organ, cymbals, a gong, and a real saxophone, a noticeable departure from the digital horns heard on their previous album. Yip-Yip also experimented with video for the album (a DVD is included with the CD), making a music video for every song using newly acquired, cheap, used equipment. Esser and Temple try to push themselves to their musical limits with each new album, resulting in a sound that is increasingly complex, yet still fun to listen to. The same goes for their live show.

Esser and Temple started playing live shows in 2003 and since then have experimented with incorporating everything from videos and stobe lights to rollerskates and goodie bags. At the beginning, they played scattered shows around Florida with friends and soon after began opening shows for various touring acts. A year or so of this led to their first tour in 2004, after which they've done eight tours with two more planned before the end of 2007. During this time, Yip Yip has played nearly 300 shows, played with many of their favorite bands, made a lot of great friends, and seen most of the United States and parts of Canada -- this after serving a one year ban from from the country in 2005 after trying to enter without work permits.

This year, Yip-Yip has stayed busy making new music, trying to push their sound into new musical territories. Their live show is a constantly growing, portable multimedia event, including costumes, video projections, and matching backdrops with every hand and foot being used to play the music on various analog synthesizers, an organ, a saxophone, cymbals, and effects. Yip-Yip will be doing a four-week tour around their showcases at Pop Montreal and CMJ in October, then leaving in November for another four weeks to tour with The Locust.

Yip Yip Live:
* w/ HEALTH
^ w/ AIDS Wolf
$ w/ The Locust
10/02 Charlotte, NC Milestone
10/03 Burlington, VT Club Metronome
10/04 Buffalo, NY Soundlab
10/05 Toronto, ONT Sneaky Dee's*
10/06 Montreal, PQ Pop Montreal*^
10/07 Rochester, NY Bug Jar*
10/09 Portlan, ME Geno's
10/11 Winooski, VT Monkey House*
10/12 Boston, MA O'Briens*
10/13 Providence, RI May N Kevin 4 Eva*
10/14 Pompton Lakes, NJ Mainstage Club*
10/15 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY Bard College
10/16 Purchase, NY SUNY Purchase*
10/18 Philadelphia, PA Danger Danger House*
10/19 New York, NY The Knitting Factory (CMJ)*
10/20 Brooklyn, NY Death By Audio*^
10/21 Baltimore, MD The Depot*
10/22 Washington DC Civilian Arts Project*
10/23 Savannah, GA The Sentient Bean
10/24 Huntsville, AL Flying Monkey Arts
10/25 Hattiesburg, MS Thirsty Hippo
10/26 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
11/03 Tampa, FL Skatepark of Tampa^
11/04 Orlando, FL BackBooth^
11/13 Ahseville, NC Warren Wilson
11/14 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
11/16 Oakdale, Ct Mystic German Club
11/17 Albany, NY Valentines $
11/18 Providence, RI Living Room $
11/19 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's $
11/20 New York, NY Knitting Factory $
11/21 Baltimore, MD The Otto Bar $
11/23 Birmingham, AL Bottletree $
11/24 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone Cafe $
11/25 St. Louis, MO Creepy Crawl $
11/26 Kansas City, MO Record Bar $
11/27 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory $
11/29 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad 300 $
11/30 Tempe, AZ The Sets $
12/06 Phoenix, AZ The Modified
12/07 El Paso, TX The Brickhouse
12/08 Austin, TX Mohawk

Two Kings of The Same Kingdom Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE
Release Date: February 5th, 2008

01. Anarchist Clog
02. Sprinkle Council (MP3 VIDEO)
03. Genius Beast
04. Humanly Wanderers
05. Car Picnic
06. Jazz Rats
07. Gender Changers
08. Club Mummy
09. Audacity Beach
10. Outer Tomato
11. Heavies Go Odd
12. High Heel To Mammal

On The Web:
www.yip-yip.com
www.myspace.com/yipyip
www.youtube.com/user/yipyip
www.safrecords.com
www.myspace.com/safrecords
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/yip_two.html

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Monday, October 1, 2007

Queer Femme and Feminist Nicky Click calls up with new album I’m On My Cell Phone, tours. Fans of Peaches, Miranda July, Le Tigre take note.

“Nicky Click makes me want to pull up my knee socks, grab some friends, and dance the night away in my bedroom.“ – Plazm Magazine

“This just might be the most good-natured and straight-up spunky thing you’ll hear this summer.” – Pop Matters

“Silly, righteous, disarming and totally entertaining…” – Punk Planet

Nicky Click is a producer, beat maker, video artist, songwriter and performance artist. I’m On My Cell Phone is her sophomore album out on Olympia, WA label Crunks Not Dead Records. The album is a mix of original catchy electro-pop dance music that you can truly move your body to. The songs not only have memorable hooks, but tell a diary-like story of her life and experience as a queer femme and feminist. Having started out in the Olympia, WA queercore scene four years ago, Nicky Click now resides in New Hampshire where she grew up.

Nicky Click has been compared to Peaches, Miranda July, Le Tigre, and Sadie Benning. She has shared stages with Lady Sovereign, ScreamClub, ESG, Tender Forever, Yo Majesty, Deadlee, Team Dresch, Michelle Tea, The Blow, The Gossip, Anna Oxygen and many more. She was named 2006 “Emerging Artist of The Year” for her films and music by The Flaming Film Festival. She helps run the collective independent label Crunks Not Dead. She has played prestigious festivals such as Homo A Go Go, Lady fests nationwide, pride festivals nationwide, Estrojam, Mondo Homo in the dirty South, and Peace Out East. Her videos have played in theatres and festivals nationwide, such as The Berlin Queer Festival, Mania TV, and the GLBT Milan Film Festival.

I’m On My Cell Phone demonstrates Nicky Click’s ability to work in a variety of genres of music. She explores everything from hip hop to country folk music on this album. The album features Jenro, Katastrophe, Johnny Dangerous and Hornet Leg (of The Gossip.) Nicky Click brings a special guest on background vocals as well -- Mr.Owl -- Nicky Click's father!

Stand out tracks include; “Crazy Shit“ for its thumping beats and breathy vocals, pop culture tribute song “I'm On My Cell Phone,“ “Fuck Machine,“ with a message of positive sexual empowerment for women, the relationship drama song “It's Complicated, “ and the roots duo with Mr. Owl, “Dreams of A Dreamer.“

Nicky Click is made up of several characters and alter egos. She attributes her “cousin“ Petunia Pie with writing all her songs from her diary entries. The characters within Nicky Click are actually all the many sides and parts of her, the ones she wants to hide, the ones she is ashamed of, the sexy sides, the smart sides. In presenting these various faces to audiences and listeners (through song and performance), Nicky Click hopes that viewers will feel as though there is an opportunity to let go and break down walls of limitation. The intention is to create a space and dialogue where people (especially women and queers) can release societal standards of what the face and actions of a woman should be, and create their own.

Nicky Click had been described as a dance queen, a performance artist, quirky, weird, and so on. The point is: she is original and is creating a new movement of feminist DIY dance music out of her bedroom that will empower, make people think, question, laugh and feel good. This album will make you tap your toes at your desk and help you enter the special mind and creative world of Nicky Click.

What does the press say about Nicky Click?

“Nicky Click is my new favorite discovery! I will never forget the image of her in her stripey unitard, bouncing around on stage singing and reciting her feel-good, feminist retro-80s new wave pop. ‘I Wanna Excercise’ is my new favorite song!!” – Curve Magazine

“Nicky Click is an Olympia, Wash.-based electronic artist who spent the winter opening for U.K. grime sensation Lady Sovereign. With Sov’s name on the lips of music bloggers everywhere, Click’s success can’t be far behind.” – The Portland Tribune

“Think Gravy Train!!!! meets Peaches with added quirkiness and extra wit and you’ll get the picture of this super solo lady of ‘lektro hop!“ – The Daughters of The Kaos

“Nicky click is incredibly catchy“ – Boston’s Weekly Dig

“Click’s live performance, recordings and videos entertain with wit and confidence while riding a fine line of hard-edged self exposure. Combining video work reminiscent of Sadie Benning and the character performances of Miranda July, Click offers up a tight set of engaging music that entertains and invokes conversation and thought.“ – Lisa Ganser, The Flaming Film Festival

“Click pumps up the jam on elementary electro tracks about everything from lipstick-lesbian lust and queer visibility to attacking anti–gender bias catchphrases.” – Out Magazine

“Nicky Click is in the same steamy vein as Peaches and Princess Superstar and fuses sex-fuelled synths and beats with lyrics inspired by mixed emotions and queer politics” – The Montreal Mirror

Nicky Click Live:
10/06 New York, NY Bar 13
10/13 New Haven, CT Cafe Nine
10/15 Columbua, OH East Village
10/19 Boston, MA The Milky Way
10/24 Montreal, QUE Zoo Bizarre
10/26 Ottawa, ONT Babylon
10/27 Brattleboro, VT The Tinderbox
10/28 Philadelphia, PA Palindrome
10/29 New York, NY Cake Shop
11/01 Nashville, TN The Clamshack
11/03 Adelphi, MD Paint Branch Unitarian Church
11/04 Baltimore, MD The Depot
11/16 North Brunswick, NJ Pride Center
12/14 New York, NY Don Pedro's
12/15 Philadelphia, PA The X Lounge
12/16 Providence, RI AS220

I’m On My Cell Phone Tracklisting:
Release Date: November 13th, 2007

01. I’m On My Cell Phone feat. Mr. Owl
02. Utter Despair and Chocolate Eclairs feat. Mr. Owl
03. Crazy Shit
04. Ice Cream Girl feat. Cathy Cathodic and Johnny Dangerous
05. Get On The Floor and Dance feat. Hornet Leg
06. Don’t Gotta Pay For Love feat. Mr. Owl (MP3)
07. Fuck Machine
08. It’s Complicated feat. Katastrophe
09. Anxiety
10. You’re The One feat. Jenro
11. Who’s Laughing Now feat. Danny Damage
12. Butterflies feat. Mr. Owl
13. Rhea
14. Petunia Pie
15. Dreams of A Dreamer feat. Jenro

On The Web:
www.nickyclick.com
www.myspace.com/nickyclick
www.youtube.com/user/nickyclick
www.crunksnotdead.com
www.myspace.com/crunksnotdeadrecords
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/nicky_cell.html

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