Playing at The Southern, Baby!

We're playing at The Southern this weekend with Nobis and Ladybug Transistor.

I'm listening to The Yummy Fur at work and it makes work better.

Check out this cool article about Nobis. They came to America fleeing a radioactive tsunami! I feel really guilty about thinking this, but that's the coolest band back-story I've ever heard!

Us and Ladybug Transistor at the Southern

Aww shit! Tell Spencer to send the zords, because we're playing a "high profile" show! (Update - and NOBIS has been added, ぴょん！)

It's going to be,  you know, full of "industry types" scoping us out, though. You should probably stay away from this one, because for the sake of your future scene cred you will want to be able to say that you stopped listening to us around March 2011, and that once we started to get famous we turned into dicks and our music suffered. I don't think they'll even let regular people in, honestly. I think you have to be somebody important.

Oh, and in the interest of completeness, here's another flier for this show...(I haven't added Nobis to this one yet. Epic zombie fail lol!) 

...and here's one for an old show that I never posted - a quickie that I threw together the day of our CD release last month.

A Few Photos

I'm trying to get stuff off my phone/camera before I go on vacation next week, so I have room to take and store lots of new pictures, so I'm going to try to post stuff that's been accumulating here in the upcoming days. First, some pictures from last Friday.s show at The Southern.

Backstage:

Borrowed Beams of Light:

The Astronomers:

I should have some videos to post soon!

We're Gonna Teach You To Rock!

I went to the future and brought back this awesome clip of us playing at The Southern this Friday.


I didn't even realize were we going to be taking attendance! I guess I'm going to come up with that idea some time tomorrow or something.

Kate and Leopold were there too! They were beating up Sam Tyler and Marty McFly.

According to UPS the cds have been delivered to Dave and Renee's doorstep! Get yours at the big show or go to the bandcamp page now and rock it digitally!

Bandcamp

This one time at bandcamp the Posters rocked you so hard it broke both your arms! Their melodies were so sweet you got diabetes, and their lyrics were so brilliant you got skin cancer!

Not long after that, you died.

Our new record is available for free streaming and paid download at our Bandcamp page, and so is our old one.

In lieu of flowers, please come to our release show at The Southern this Friday, May 27th.

Videos of Bands

If you're not familiar with any of the bands for the upcoming release show, here's a youtube style primer.

The Astronomers:

I think the guy on the left is playing through a Matchless DC30, but I can't really tell because he's standing in front of it. If it is a DC30, and it's Mark Sampson era, that's a really good amp. Supposedly one of the best ever made. 

Here's local darlings Borrowed Beams of Light:

Here's local ne'er-do-wells us. Note that Youtube metadata points out This video has no honors:

Get Ready!

It's going to get real on Friday, May 27th 2011, at The Southern. Buy your tickets in advance, homie!

Borrowed Beams of Light open, and then us officially releasing our new fifteen-song opus Cats II, followed by The Astronomers unleashing their new record Size Matters. Not to pick a fight, but if size really matters you may want to note that our cd is fifteen songs and theirs is ten. Borrowed Beams' cd, released last year, is like five songs, which is so short it's practically an innie!

Everyone's going to be there, and it'll be the place to be seen in Charlottesville. If you don't go then in September people will be all like "Dude, you weren't in town for that?!? That was like the best show of the summer!" Then in December they'll be all like "Dude, you weren't there?!? That was like the best show of the whole year! I thought everybody was at that one!"

Release Show

We're playing at The Southern on May 27th.




More deets soon!

Feedback Session

[Edit: False alarm -- looks like he's back on, folks!]

Addendum to the last post: Krull has mysteriously been taken off the nailgun listing for the show at DUST. Has Dylan finally begun to retract his blades into his starfish-like metal housing?

There is now a video of us posted on Andrew Cedermark's Feedback blog on the C'ville's website.We play Geniuses, Not the Strut, and The Fists and the Fighting. We also recorded Face Without An Eyes (aka Haunted Drumset) but it's not in the video, I guess to keep it under ten minutes so it's youtube friendly. Thanks to Gary for setting that thing up, shooting the actual video, and getting it on Andrew's blog!

April Geniuses!

We'll be playing at DUST this Friday, homie! Mss., Krull, and Rommate (from Chicago) will also be playing.

I'm hoping it'll be as much as possible like this:



Later, Dowg!

Capstan Shafts

Here's some video I shot of two partial Capstan Shafts songs. I don't know what they are named. Capstan Shafts were really good though! I totally agree with the comment James made about them sounding like early Green Day covering Guided By Voices, though I think there's more than a little Milky Wimpshake thrown in there, too. (James's confusion over where everyone was I think shows him underestimating his own taste-making power, because an afternoon post on Nailgun, had there been one, would probably have delivered the crowd who's absence he rightly bemoaned).

There are only two things I didn't like about the Capstan Shafts. One is that their guitar player / singer is left handed, and the other is that the bass player had a five-string bass. Other than that they were straight up awesome.



I hope we get to play with those guys again. They were nice.

Set List January 5th

I just found this while cleaning up my room.

It's the setlist from our show at the Taphouse last week, here flanked by some major works of German romanticism.

What was the mystery opener? All I can tell you is, next time we play a cover, I hope we practice it first.

Whoa, I just sold something on Amazon. Awesome!

Upcoming Show at Tea Bazaar

We don't seem to be listed in any of the usual places, but Jacob assures us that we are indeed playing with the Capstan Shafts on the 22nd, which is a week from this Saturday. [Edit - we're on the Holy Smokes page now. Thanks, Jacob!]

No word yet on the third band. Do you want to play?

Nilsson's Popeye demos = Genius.

That Was Fun

Wow! It's been a month since anything has been posted here. I have some videos of bands we've played with recently that I keep meaning to post.

Here's some pictures of last night, though.

The Ha-Rang

The Ha-Rang again

Marie from Corsair's kickass plexi head

People outside

Gull also played, and I have about thirty seconds of video of him, but I didn't take any pictures (it was too dark). Gull, The Ha-Rang, and Corsair were all really great. It was an evening of really good local bands that are all really different from one another. Something for everybody!

RIP The Taphouse. It was a good place.

All Things Can Tempt Me

I'm deep in the procrastination zone right now. I'm supposed to be working, but I can't!

I decided to start an additional blog, actually, to document an issue that I feel really strongly about. I hope to call attention to a lot of silent suffering with this one, and put a human face on an issue too many of us laugh off or talk about in hushed tones. The blog is called Ugly Ric.

I'll post some video of The Fire Tapes and Red Satellites soon, promise. I got four thirty-second clips, featuring snippets of two Fire Tapes songs and two Red Satellites songs.

Here's a picture I took of the Sat's set list while we were cleaning up. 

I also took this picture of people who were in front of the stage after the show was over.

And I took this picture of our set list when I got home.

By the way, we skipped Sibella (as usual). I swear: next time we're opening with it!

Just Got Back

That show was awesome! I have nothing but good things to say about The Fire Tapes and Red Satellites. I have both video and pictures which I'll post over the weekend. For now you'll have to be content with this, which is also completely awesome in every way.

Show on Friday!!!!!

We're playing with Red Satellites and The Fire Tapes tomorrow, that being Friday the 19th of November, 2010. The show is at the Tea Bazaar and is $5.

Also I have revamped the blog, as people were saying it looked a little stale.

Red Satellites are celebrating the release of a new CD, which I hope everybody will buy.

For those of us who don't celebrate the weekend before Thanksgiving as if it were some kind of actual holiday, this show is going to be the hottest thing going down this week!

November Spawned a Monster of Rock

Fall is here in all its chilly glory! Now I can finally break out my special Kubla Khan inspired "fast thick pants" that were too warm to wear before.

It's election day today. I'll spare you my thoughts on that this time around. Go vote (unless you're a Republican).

Also, this:

which is going to be awesome. The flier pretty much says it all, including how I feel about Dave and Renee going on holiday without me (sniff).

There are rumors afoot about 1) the cover charge (which I'll post here as soon as I know it) and 2) another band being added to the bill. No word on order or anything yet, but I assume the Satellites will be playing last since no one in their right mind would want to follow them. If we end up going on after the Satellites, though, I think it would only be fair to expect Kris to take his shirt off.

[Edit: 1) The door will be the usual Tea Bazaar fiver, 2) It'll just be three bands, us, the Sats, and The Fire Tapes, whom I'm quite excited to see.]

Lots more action coming up as soon as all the posters are states-side. We're pretty close to finished recording, and there's still a chance (if slim) that we'll get the record out this year. It's going a lot faster this time, but there's three times as many songs. Then there's mixing, which I feel was the weakest aspect of the EP (totally my fault), so I really don't want to rush that. Once that's done, though, mastering and pressing should only take a week or so. We also plan to play a show in December, though nothing's set up yet.

Sam

Spooky Greetings!

It's Halloween today. Dave and Renee are going as people who have gone on holiday to Wales, and it's the most convincing costume ever! Recording is on hold while they're away, which I'm sort of sad about, but it's probably for the best because I have a ton of work to do on both the reading and the grading fronts.

We have a show lined up for when they get back, though. Tea Bazaar, Friday, November 19th. This will be a release party for the new Red Satellites EP, and Red Satellites are also playing (obviously). The Fire Tapes have just been added to the bill. They're the new Charlottesville dream-pop band everybody is talking about right now. We're super excited to be playing with the Satellites again. Dancin'!

This is what I'm into lately. I can't stop watching it!



I really wish they'd use it as a dream sequence (or the opening credits?) on an episode of House.

Soupy twist!
Sam

Side-project show Saturday the 2nd (tomorrow)

I've been working this week on getting cover art stuff together for the new cd, though there's still no real consensus about what will be on the cover. We may end up scrapping what I've done and having somebody else do something totally different (though I hope not because I think what I have so far is pretty rad!).

I sort of proposed the idea of a December 3rd release date to people today, but that might be too soon or might be wrong for some other reason. With the EP I remember we were trying to get it done for Christmas and the actual release was on Valentine's Day!

Anyway, tomorrow night, that being Saturday, October 2nd, there will be a show at Tea Bazaar featuring my side-project band, The Womans, and two other bands. I posted a flier about the show on this page a couple of weeks ago. One of the other bands is the side-project of the guy from The Spinto Band. The third band is called ROAR and I don't know if they're a side-project or not. Either way, the evening will be side-project heavy for sure.

I played the demos I recorded of the songs for The Womans for Dave the other day. He said it sounded like music by somebody with a lot of problems. I was sort of trying to make a soundtrack for, like, a '60s beach party held on Halloween. We're also doing some covers, because I've always wanted to be in a band that played a lot of covers, but usually if I'm only in one band I don't want to do that because it might seem like I'm just lazy and don't write many songs. But since this is my second band I'm just going to go for it in terms of covers (and in terms of creeping out girls).

We (The Womans) are also looking for a lead singer, so if you want to sing in a band give me a shout. I originally wanted a female vocalist, but since our aesthetic is sort of all about creeping girls out I think that's probably not going to happen, so guys are welcome.

The Tom Perriello campaign was just at my door, reminding me to go vote on election day, which I was going to do anyway. Wouldn't their time be better spend visiting the people who weren't already going to vote for Perriello? I hate campaigns so much.

See what you get when you mess with The Orphans!
Sam