by John Grimley

STRFKR Debuts “Julius” Remix, Readies National Tour

Portland-based STRFKR (now without vowels) have been hard at work in the studio for a while now, mastering their upcoming album for Polyvinyl.

Well, hard at work for most of the time. You can see some footage of the band in their studio below.

Now the vowel-less quartet has teamed up with upcoming artists Painted Palms for a remix of their song “Julius.”

You can listen to the original first…

STRFKR-Julius by John Grimley

Next comes the Painted Palms remix

STRFKR-Julius Painted Palms Remix by John Grimley

You can also catch STRFKR (with Octopus Project) out on the road this fall! Look for them…

STRFKR Tour Dates:
Sept. 23rd – Neurolux – Boise, ID
Sept. 24th – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT
Sept. 24th – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
Sept. 25th – Hi Dive – Denver, CO
Sept. 27th – Record Bar – Kansas City, MO
Sept. 29th – Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom – Little Rock, AK #
Sept. 30th – The Collective – Shreveport, LA #
Oct. 1st – Bottletree Cafe – Birmingham, AL #
Oct. 2nd – Drunken Unicorn – Atlanta, GA #
Oct. 5th – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC #
Oct. 6th – DC9 – Washington DC #
Oct. 7th – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA #
Oct. 8th – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY #
Oct. 9th – Cafe Nine – New Haven, CT #
Oct. 10th – TT The Bears – Cambridge, MA #
Oct. 11th – Casa Del Popolo – Montreal, Canada #
Oct. 12th – Wrongbar – Toronto, Canada #
Oct. 13th – Garfield Artworks – Pittsburgh, PA #
Oct. 14th – Grog Shop – Cleveland Heights, OH #
Oct. 15th – Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL #
Oct. 16th – Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN #
Oct. 19th – Neumos – Seattle, WA #
Oct. 20th – Roseland – Portland, OR #
Oct. 22nd – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA #
Oct. 23rd – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA #
Oct. 24th – Casbah – San Diego, CA #
Oct. 25th – Plush – Tucson, AZ #

# – w/ the Octopus Project

09.21.10

by John Grimley

Freelance Whales Announce Massive Fall Tour

Freelance Whales are already having a great fall and it’s not even October.

The band’s music was featured in a promo for the redesign of a little program called Twitter. The video has been viewed over a million times already and features sightings of the Tweet bird in the wild and Freelance Whales’ “Generation 1st Floor.”

That would make for a pretty good month by itsel, but the band also released its new EP Weathervanes on Frenchkiss/Mom & Pop Records and released its first single (with video) in “Hannah.”

Now Freelance Whales have announced a massive fall tour with Miniature Tigers. The two will be playing…

10/1 – Starry Nights Festival – Bowling Green, KY (FESTIVAL)
11/5 – Maxwell’s – Hoboken, NJ (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/6 – Black Cat – Washington, DC (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/7 – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/8 – The Drunken Unicorn – Atlanta, GA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/10 – Fitzgerald’s Downstairs – Houston, TX (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/11 – The ND @ 501 Studios – Austin, TX (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/12 – The Loft – Dallas, TX (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/14 – Clubhouse Music Venue – Tempe, AZ (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/16 – Detroit Bar – Costa Mesa, CA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/18 – Troubadour – West Hollywood, CA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/19 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/21 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/23 – Crocodile Café – Seattle, WA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/24 – The Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/27 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT (w/ Miniature Tigers)
11/29 – Hi-Dive – Denver, CO (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/01 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/02 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/03 – The Basement – Columbus, OH (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/04 – Brillobox – Pittsburgh, PA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/05 – Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/07 – El Mocambo Club – Toronto, ONT (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/08 – La Sala Rossa – Montreal, QC (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/09 – Middle East Restaurant & Night Club – Cambridge, MA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/10 – Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/14 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Miniature Tigers)
12/15 – Webster’s Hall – New York, NY (w/ Miniature Tigers)

09.21.10

by John Grimley

Amy Bezunartea’s Debut Album

Amy Bezunartea has a voice that is almost as hard to place as her name.

Part Joni Mitchell, part Magnetic Fields, this new addition to Kiam Records, run by Jennifer O’Connor, is set to release her debut album on November 2nd.

Produced by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.), Amy is celebrating the album with a (free) release party at the Living Room in New York City, November 3rd.

That’s not all. You can hear the first single from her album, “Doubles,” right here!

09.16.10

by John Grimley

Shadow Shadow Shade Release Post-Apocalyptic Short Film

Los-Angeles septet (that’s seven) Shadow Shadow Shade are putting the final touches on their debut album, which will be out October 5th on the group’s own Public Records.

Tom Biller (Karen O, Sean Lennon, Kanye West) produced the album and is now part of the group.

The band has built a rabid following thanks to their explosive live shows and how distinctive their music feels. They draw influences from everything from indie rock to opera. Many songs find the entire group singing together.

To appease you until October, the band has also released a short post-apocalyptic film called the White Horse Trilogy. You can watch it right here for free.

The film is about World War III, and is set in a time when an unknown force has enslaved the human race.

Check it out and hope this never happens.

09.15.10

by John Grimley

The Heavy Announce Fall Tour

The Heavy have been blowing up for a while, ever since they played on Late Show with David Letterman. They performed their hit song “How Do You Like Me Now?” and Letterman was so impressed that he asked for an encore for the first time…ever.

Now, a summer of extensive touring with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, the Heavy are taking their amazing performance back on the road.

This time they will be sharing the spotlight with Mayor Hawthorne and The County on the MAZDA2 fall tour.

You can see the music video for the sensational “How Do You Like Me Now” right here, and check below the video for all the places The Heavy will be rocking this fall.

October 16, 2010 | Philadelphia, PA The Heavy @ Theatre Of Living Arts*
October 17, 2010 | New York, NY The Heavy @ Webster Hall*
October 18, 2010 | Brooklyn, NY The Heavy @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg*
October 19, 2010 | Boston, MA The Heavy @ Paradise Rock Club*
October 20, 2010 | Albany, NY The Heavy @ Jillian’s^
October 21, 2010 | Washington, DC The Heavy @ The Black Cat*
October 22, 2010 | Atlanta, GA The Heavy @ The Masquerade*
October 23, 2010 | Birmingham, AL The Heavy @ The Bottletree*
October 24, 2010 | Nashville, TN The Heavy @ Mercy Lounge*
October 25, 2010 | Asheville, NC The Heavy @ The Orange Peel*
October 27, 2010 | New Orleans, LA The Heavy @ One Eyed Jack’s^
October 28, 2010 | Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds^
October 29, 2010 | Austin, TX The Heavy @ The Mohawk^
October 30, 2010 | Scottsdale, AZ The Heavy @ Martini Ranch^
October 31, 2010 | Las Vegas, NV The Heavy @ Hard Rock Cafe^
November 3, 2010 | Seattle, WA The Heavy @ The Showbox at The Market^
November 4, 2010 | Portland, OR The Heavy @ Wonder Ballroom^
November 6, 2010 | Los Angeles, CA The Heavy @ El Rey Theatre^
November 7, 2010 | San Diego, CA The Heavy @ The Casbah^
November 8, 2010 | San Francisco, CA The Heavy @ The Independent^
November 9, 2010 | Salt Lake City, UT The Heavy @ Club Sound^
November 10, 2010 | Denver, CO The Heavy @ The Bluebird Theater^
November 11, 2010 | Lawrence, KS The Heavy @ The Bottleneck^
November 13, 2010 | Chicago, IL The Heavy @ Double Door^
November 14, 2010 | Milwaukee, WI The Heavy @ Turner Hall^

* co-headline w/ Mayer Hawthorne & the County, presented by MAZDA2
^ The Heavy headlining

09.15.10

by John Grimley

Crystal Stilts To Release New Single, Album To Follow

Brooklyn-based Crystal Stilts have been working tirelessly since their debut album, Alight Of Night debuted in 2008.

The group has toured Europe and the United States and released the excellent 7″ Love Is A Wave. The entire time, the group has been experimenting with their sound and looking for ways to expand on their gothic blues/punk and ’60s pop inspirations.

Now the band is getting ready to release a follow up EP to the critical darling Alight, and are excited to show people what all their experimentation and hard work were for.

The EP (Shake The Shackles) will be out October 26th. It will just have to tide you over until Crystal Stilts give us a new album, sometime in 2011. You can listen to two songs from the EP right here.

“Shake The Shackles”