Tiny Victories "Lost Weekend"

[mp3] Tiny Victories: "Lost Weekend"

Tiny Victories were on the tips of many a tongue at SX 2012 - but we never managed to catch them at one of their numerous shows. They recently released a fantastic EP of highly danceworthy tracks, that at the same time appeal to those with a discerning taste for actual songs. Tiny Victories play Glasslands Thursday night in Brooklyn.

Gone To Texas

Anyone who complains about going to SXSW is full of crap. I did buy some really sweet arch supports for my chucks though. Pretty old. So, apologies to all the bands, managers, and publicists I DON'T see but want to, and hello to all the new folks we're sure to run into on the trail down there. We owe a few posts to some bands, but those will have to wait till we get back. Real life's a bitch. Also, I just spilled my General Tso's chicken on my entire SXSW folder. True story.

Here are some bands we can't wait to see, in no order at all:  
Haim, Superhumanoids, Robert Glasper, Tristen, Ezra Furman, Kindness, Nikki Lane, NO, Cory Branan, Barr Brothers, Mr. Dream, Fort Lean, Ume, The Minutes, Django Django, Radiation City, Dry The River, Tops, Hanni El Khatib, Incan Abraham, Little Willies, Electric Flower, Snowmine, Savior Adore, Charli XCX, Danny Brown, The Men, Princeton, 2:54, Dent May, Grimes, Wild Belle, Todd Snider, Blitzen Trapper, Polica, Little Hurrican, Young Galaxy, Jonny Corndawg, Walk the Moon, and about 9 million more.

Kindness: "World, You Need A Change Of Mind"

[mp3] Kindness: "Cyan"

It's been a little quiet in terms of big breakout names heading to SXSW this year, but the UK's Kindness is poised to have a pretty solid next several months following the release of his album 'World You Need a Change of Mind' in the UK this March, and May 8 in the US. Adam Bainbridge purveys a uniquely infectious blend of disco/funk, that while sounding derivative of early-80s New York groove-funk, it is at once modern and eye opening.

14 March 2pm Windish/Laneways/EYOE @ Mohawk
15 March 1am Gorilla vs Bear + Yours Truly @ Hype House
16 March 10pm NME Showcase @ Latitude 30
17 March 4.30pm TBD (Big cool party!)

Happy Valentines Day From Charli XCX

We've already flagged Charli XCX as one of our top artists to watch for 2012, behind her excellent two tracks "Stay Away" and "Nuclear Seasons." Today we get the little V-day nugget "Valentine." Charli is playing The Knitting Factory with the amazing Niki and The Dove on March 10. Both bands will be blowing up in Austin certainly.




ELSEWHERE:


[mp3] Niki and the Dove: "DJ Ease My Mind"

Their excellent EP 'The Drummer' is out now on Sub Pop. BUY

Band to Watch: Dry The River

Dry The River play tonight at Pianos at 8:00 in NY.

East London based Dry The River were hands down one of the best bands we saw during our recent venture to SXSW. They were top of our list of bands to check out before the festival, and with their standout performance at the Neon Gold Records showcase they catapulted their way to Band to Watch status afterward. While the Mumford comparisons are sure to follow them, the foursome have a tattooed alt-edge to their playing, as if you know some of these kids played in Clash cover bands in high school. Frontman Pete Liddle oozes charisma, and defines what it means to posses that elusive "it" quality. Already signed to the excellent tastemaker label Transgressive in the UK and with a potential big time label deal on their horizon in the US, Dry The River are setting up to have a big 2011 and 2012, and it's well deserved. The talent is there, the songs are there and soon the fans and press will be there too. Buy low kids, this band could be huge.

New Ceremony by Dry the River

Tim Signs Off, Through Photos

Ok - before we post Tim's sign-off, we at Stark want to say a big thanks to him and Baird for risking their hearing, sobriety and virginity to bring you, our readers, some great coverage of the gong-show that is SXSW. We hope to be down there ourselves with Tim and Baird in 2010 consuming delicious tacos and rock. And country. Tim's write-ups have been some of our favorites we've ever posted, and you're certain to see more from him on this "rag." If you haven't yet done so - be sure to check out Tim's music. He's got a great album titled Hello, Daylight in the works and is playing various dates on the East Cost. Until next time...

Heaven = '09 SX New West Party @ Club Deville

I found SXSW to be a big, hot, stinky event full of rock bands hell bent for leather to keep the bar up high high high. It was truly one of those situations akin to pizza/sex/beer, where even the bad bands were still pretty good. Writing all of this crap about these bands was really fun for me, sort of like keeping score at baseball game. I hope you enjoyed my column. Me and my attorney took some photographs we thought you might like as a cap off to Dead Drunk and Naked. Hope I get to do it again next year.

Stand Strong,
Tim

See Tim's photo recap after the jump

Lake is cute.

Wavves

Wavves

This sums it all up.

New West's Tim Easton

Tim Easton

I'm hungry, I got a taco.

We consume music

Drop This: Elvis Costello + T-Bone Burnett = New Album

Photo Credit: www.strictlybluegrass.com

Hey, SXSW is over, but don't cry in your PBR's just yet. There is still music to be had.

This via Billboard:

Elvis Costello teams up with producer/music extraordinaire T-Bone Burnett, creating his first acoustic record since 1986.

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane drops June 2 on Hear Music. Billboard reports that the record will hit heavy on "American roots music," which is just fine with us. We're looking for a Costello version of Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer here -- that would be dreamy.

Look for tour dates coming soon. Also, tracklist after the jump.
Here is the "Secret, Profane Sugarcane" track list:

1. Down Among the Wine and Spirits
2. Complicated Shadows
3. I Felt the Chill
4. My All Time Doll
5. Hidden Shame
6. She Handed Me a Mirror
7. I Dreamed of My Old Lover
8. How Deep is the Red
9. She Was No Good
10. Sulfur to Sugarcane
11. Red Cotton
12. The Crooked Line
13. Changing Partners

Life is strange and wonderful @ SXSW

This man is a knight, and pretty much the last person you would expect to see playing while on a trip to SXSW. But as Tim texted us last night, life is strange and wonderful. More to come on this, but basically Tim watched Elton from about 3 rows back at a VIP show last night in Houston. Oh yeah, this guy played too. Go figure.

SXSW: Day One Round Up: Great Success!

Dead, Drunk and Naked:
Tim Liveblogs the World
(SXSW)
________

Tim reports from his first day at SX:

"Yesterday I hit 6th and Red River (where it all happens) with only a moderate agenda and scored big with some great "day party" sets. Here are some highlights:

Caitlin Rose and Vetiver at the Austinist/BMI Party at Mohawk:
Caitlin Rose::
Caitlin Rose is a stone faced killer. She mercilessly launched charm bullets all over the mid-afternoon beer swiggers. Those that may have thought "ehh solo acoustic artists ehh" all got a reminder that when songs are really good, it doesn't much matter how they are accompanied. A particular highlight was "Answer in One of These Bottles," which has all the melody and wit I want in a country tune. The crowd joined in one the final chorus willingly.

More including reviews of Vetiver, Wavves and Lake after the jump.
Vetiver::
Vetiver's set was like sitting in a bath tub at just the right temperature with about a half a bottle of wine. Ya know that feeling where you don't actually know how long you will stay in one particular spot, but you have absolutely no intention of moving? Their songs are lean and satisfying with a lush blend of tones (acoustic and electric guitars, Wurly, electric bass) that made the set feel, as Dostoyevsky first said, "All good." I couldn't exactly tell the origin of each sound, which is, I think, how both band and audience wanted it. In short, these guys killed it and I was pleased to soak it up until sufficiently pruney.

Wavves and Lake (Ha! They're both water) Forcefield PR/Terrorbird Party at Red7:
Wavves::
Wavves are a couple of devious little fuckers. Slipping in a set of deafening 2:30 p.m. punk rants under the cover of hipster costumes. Clever clever. Strip the crunch off the drums and the reverb off the vocals and the sound is a crisp slap in the face. In a good way, like washing your face with cold water.

Lake::
Fun songs + relaxed performance = a relaxed, fun crowd. Lake seems like one of those bands that plays up the "oh, we don't really know what we're doing" thing, but their cover is blown with their hooky writing and intelligent arrangements. Think warm Wurly tone with jangly-electric guitar, zappy synth and Meg White drum beats. They were clearly having fun, not just performing, and it certainly translated. "

The Nerds Are Beating the Recession!

Dead, Drunk and Naked:
Tim Liveblogs the World
(SXSW)
________

(This is Tim.)

AUSTIN, TX — South by Southwest Countdown: 0 Days. Rogue reporter and musician Tim Emmerick checks in from Austin with up-to-the minute, SX news.

Most of us muso/industry types view SXSW as a sort of rock and roll Geiger Counter that will tip us off on the upcoming year's big trend. And really, it's like spring break gone indie. While cruising around downtown last night the lines were long, the sponsors huge and the tight jeans plentiful. It certainly looks like 2009 is no exception.

But how can this be? I mean, everyone I know is broke and getting broker. SX certainly appears to fall into that elusive echelon of "recession proof" events. It seems, however, that this is no longer entirely because of the music. SXSW co-founder Ronald Swenson recently noted that music registration for `09 is down between 10-15%, even after adding around 100 bands to the official roster. Interactive registrations, on the other hand, are up by around 30%, providing more than a bailout for us slacking guitar creeps.* Does this mean the old guy-in-a-band adage that "live gigs drive the industry" will lose some of its punch over the next year? I guess it's still too early to call, but this songwriter is officially keeping his eyes peeled for a tech-savvy publisher . . .

*3/10/09 Pop & Hiss: The LA Times Music Blog by Todd Martens

SXSW: Clapping Phenomenally

The Phenomenal Handclap Band: NYC's electro-pop mad scientists. This eight-piece band, doesn't do much handclapping but more beat-dropping and face melting. Their recording sound is huge; they have power in numbers. NPR's All Songs Considered Podcast (too much love for NPR today) recently featured the band, hailing them as a top prospect at this year's SXSW. Hence, the motivation for our post.

Stark contributing writers, Max Verrelli and Liz Wiest, caught The Clap (oh yeah, the name is ripe with puns) at Adidas Originals House Party awhile back; they had this to say about a few of the band's songs that evening:

" "You’ll Disappear" starts with a little palm-muted, funk-chicken pickin’ guitar before launching into a synth-laden ascending riff, oddly reminiscent of Daft Punk’s "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." The band still waved the originality flag. PHCB is all about vocal harmonies and this tune doesn’t disappoint. The smoky female leads make you wish that there was still a Studio 54 for Andy Warhol to piss on canvases in."

SXSW details and more from Max and Liz after the jump.

SXSW:
WEDNESDAY 3/18
2PM IODA SXSW Opening Day Bash
Emo’s Annex

5PM TheMUSICSLUT.com/BlogFreshRadio.com
Peckerheads

8PM My Old Kentucky Blog Official Showcase
Radio Room (inside)

MIDNIGHT Kick off The Jams!
Pure Ultra Lounge

THURSDAY 3/19
2PM Music For Listeners
The Red House Pizzeria

5PM Mint Recs Hootenanny
Headhunters back Patio

FRIDAY 3/20
5PM Everloving Party
Design Within Reach

SATURDAY 3/21
4:15PM - Music By the Slice (House Band)
Home Slice

Max and Liz:

"The band’s set while disappointingly short was still full of multiple layers and textures. The band handed out feathers with the band’s logo on them and while most people would probably have an “I’d rather be caught dead than with a sky rat feather in my hair” attitude, the enthusiastic crowd was more than happy to don a feather and shake a leg. Even Adrian Grenier seemed to be enjoying himself, even though he was there sin entourage.

So if you want some snazzy shit to talk about at your ugly-sweater themed cocktail party, I suggest you check out these tracks and start spreading the word.

‘You’ll Disappear’ starts with a little palm-muted funk chicken pickin’ guitar before launching into a synth-laden ascending riff oddly reminiscent of Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, while still waving the originality flag. PHCB is all about vocal harmonies and this tune doesn’t disappoint. The smoky female leads make you wish that there was still a Studio 54 for Andy Warhol to piss on canvases in.

‘Testimony’ has a spacey vibe that begins with some tight downbeat reverberated guitar hits. Having two key players makes it easy for the PHCB to have a lot of overlap and texture to their tunes. There is great rising action in this tune. The chorus of this tune is chock with full band hits a la Curtis Mayfield.

‘Baby,’ a personal favorite, is so authentic in its ‘70s soul sound (particularly the flute trills during the main theme), that we thought it was a cover for sure. While somewhat repetitive, “Baby, I could rule the world, with a girl like you on my arm” is a tag that you find yourself singing and/or humming over and over after just one listen.

‘I Been Born Again’ is an organ heavy groover with Santanaesque guitar work with a refrain that fit just as easily in the Fillmore as a Baptist Church."

SUGAR RED DRIVE!!!!

Dead, Drunk and Naked:
Tim Liveblogs the World
(SXSW)
________

(This is Tim.)

AUSTIN, TX — South by Southwest Countdown: 2 Days. Rogue reporter and musician Tim Emmerick checks in from Austin with up-to-minute, pre-SX news.

GREAT NEWS!

Wow, SXSW, horrifying. How could one lowly cake-eater possibly consume this much media? To be frank, the editors of this rag have been "riding my ass for a scoop" and after a few solid days of research I was really coming up dry. That was, of course, until a few nights ago when Poughkeepsie, NY's incendiary SUGAR RED DRIVE! saved my proverbial bacon. I was wailing on a Lone Star and some boob tube when these guys assaulted the whole of Austin with this TV spot. I initially threw up a little in my mouth a little. But then the monster-truck-rally-voice-over-guy (think SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! TWELVE BUCKS! TWELVE TRUCKS!) informed us all that they are actually SX's BEST KEPT SECRET! Well color me relieved. I guess my work here is done. It's been real. The video in its full glory is after the jump plus exclusive Sugar Red Drive showcase info.

PS - Anyone seen Ezra Furman's TV spot yet? I heard it's off the chain.




SUGAR RED DRIVE !
Friday March 20th @ 3:30 PM
The Bayou Lounge
500 E 6th St # A
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 499-0863
Get there early, this one will is destined to be SRO.

Golden Filter Video

My iPod shuffle loves this song. Out of some 14K songs, the Golden Filter's "Solid Gold" keeps popping up. There's no denying the fates. The band killed at LPR and they'll probably kill at SX. So, here's the video. Play it loud. Happy weekend. Thx Big Stereo


Solid Gold - The Golden Filter from golden filter on Vimeo.

St. Vincent Tour Dates - mp3

St. Vincent "The Strangers" mp3

First off, thanks to Lauren Ross for giving us an "I was there when" moment when she first introduced us to St. Vincent at an empty Pianos several years ago. Amazing. (Lauren was in the band at the time!) Besides being one of our artists to watch in '09, St. Vincent has announced a full tour behind her upcoming record Actor due May 4th on 4AD. A few key outlets have the record and all reports back have been stellar. Needless to say - we're pretty psyched! This could be a break-out year for one Ms. Annie Clark. Mp3 above, SXSW details and tour dates after the jump.


"St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark) will preview songs from 'Actor' next week with two performances at SXSW: 11pm on Wednesday, March 18, at the 4AD showcase at Central Presbyterian Church; and 12 midnight on Friday, March 20, at the Billions showcase at Antone's.

'Actor' is available for pre-order now. Early CD and LP orders come with a free limited edition 7" featuring the album track "Actor Out of Work," and the exclusive, non-album track "Bicycle" on the flipside. Go here for more info:
http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/releases/actor/"

ST. VINCENT 2009 U.S. TOUR DATES
5/19/2009 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre
5/20/2009 New York, NY Webster Hall
5/21/2009 Philadelphia, PA Unitarian Church
5/22/2009 Washington, DC Black Cat
5/24/2009 George, WA Sasquatch!
5/25/2009 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
5/27/2009 San Francisco, CA Bimbo's 365 Club
5/28/2009 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
5/30/2009 San Diego, CA Casbah
5/31/2009 Phoenix, AZ Modified
6/2/2009 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
6/3/2009 Omaha, NE Slowdown Jr.
6/4/2009 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
6/5/2009 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
6/7/2009 Chicago, IL Epiphany
6/10/2009 Lexington, KY The Dame
6/11/2009 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
6/12/2009 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo
6/16/2009 Birmingham, AL Bottle Tree
6/18/2009 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre
6/19/2009 Austin, TX Mohawk

Here We Go Magic Tour with Grizzly Bear - New mp3

Here We Go Magic - Fangela - mp3

We've been going on long enough about Luke Temple's awesome project Here We Go Magic. Today, we just wanted to share a new mp3 "Fangela" and to post Here We Go Magic's upcoming tour dates with Grizzly Bear. A pretty nice get for Mr. Temple we'd say. They will be hitting Town Hall in New York in May, and we'll be there to let you know how it is. Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest, if you haven't heard or guessed by now, is pretty amazing. Coming on May 26 via Warp. Full tour dates for Here We Go Magic in including SXSW after the jump.

US Tour Dates
03/12 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway*
03/13 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen*
03/14 Rock Island, IL Daytrotter Session
03/14 Rock Island, IL Daytrotter Presents @ Huckleberry's Pizza Parlor*
03/17 Dallas, TX Mountain House*
03/17 Dallas, TX – 6 PM INSTORE AT GOOD RECORDS
03/22 New Orleans, LA Marigny Theatre*
03/23 Atlanta, GA 529 Club**
03/24 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506**
03/25 Baltimore, MD Ottobar**
* w/ Callers
** w/ Titus Andronicus

SXSW Dates
3/18 WEDNESDAY
3 PM: Austinist/Gothamist party @ Mohawk
with Akron/Family, Vetiver, Young Widows

3/19 THURSDAY
1:45 PM: Gorilla vs. Bear day party @ The Peacock --- 1:45 PM slot
w/ WAVVES, White Denim, Vivian Girls, The Golden Filter, Girls, Harlem, DJ Sober
1 AM: Western Vinyl Official Showcase @ Club 115 --- 1AM slot
w/ J Tillman, Balmorhea

3/19FRIDAY
1 PM: Other Music show @ French Legation Museum
w/ Dent May, Blk Jks, Marnie Stern, WAVVES, These Are Powers, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
3 PM: Park The Van Records / Partisan Records / indie outlaw / The Knitting Factory Day Party @ Side Bar
w/ Deer Tick, The High Strung, Golden Boots, Wildbirds and Peacedrums, Themselves, The Subjects, and Generationals

US Tour With Grizzly Bear
Thu - 05.28 - New York, NY Town Hall
Fri - 05.29 - New York, NY Town Hall
Mon - 06.01 - Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Tue - 06.02 - Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
Wed - 06.03 - Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Thu - 06.04 - Montréal, QC Le National
Fri - 06.05 - Toronto, ON Phoenix
Sun - 06.07 - Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
Mon - 06.08 - Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
Tue - 06.09 - Bloomington, IN Buskirk - Chumley Theater
Thu - 06.11 - Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
Mon - 06.15 - Dallas, TX Granada Theater
Tue - 06.16 - Austin, TX The Parish
Fri - 06.19 - Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
Sun - 06.21 - San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

Tracklisting
Only Pieces
Fangela
Ahab
Tunnelvision
Ghost List
I Just Want To See You Underwater
Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore
Nat's Alien
Everything's Big




After the jump.

New Albums and Yes, SXSW

So, the following are a few artists who have new albums coming, and like every band in the universe, will be going to Austin next week. We've heard these records though, and all "buzz" aside, they are definitely worth listening to. See after the jump for tour dates and SXSW deets.

Artist: The Low Anthem
Album: Oh My God Charlie Darwin
Release Date: Secret. (Secret label) watch the hot sheets after SX for info
MP3: "Charlie Darwin"

The beauty of this album is immediately arresting upon first listen. It has easily shot into contention for our favorite album of '09. There are gorgeous folk ballads mixed, sometimes unfortunately, with louder more raucous Americana rockers. Singer Ben Miller's voice carries the record, with the timbre of Bon Iver and the loveliness of Fleet Foxes' harmonies. Absolutely see them in Austin. OMGCD is available at CD Baby and their live shows, with wider distribution coming later this year.

Artist: We Have Band
Album: TBD
Release Date: This Fall (50 Bones Records)
Video: "Oh!"

Hola fellow EMI veterans We Have Band. Yes, it may be another dance-synth-mind-explosion, but what can you say when their tunes are this good? This London trio's first single "Oh!" is out in the UK on 50 Bones, who is also putting out the new Little Boots and has had amazing success with The Virgins. So, you can kind of get the picture right there. Uber-melodic dance rock from England + ace band name = success. They are all over SXSW and (I think) we may be hitting them up this weekend in NYC. Band to watch?

Artist: Helicopters
Album: Sizing up the Distance
Release Date: April 28 (available now digitally)
MP3 coming soon

Somehow, the NY Post scooped us on this. Well, good for you guys. Good luck with the rest of your fear mongering, facist conservatism. ANYWAY. Post trashing aside, we are really loving what we have heard from Chicago band Helicopters. Our friends at RCRD LBL put it best when they said "Helicopters sounds like Flock Of Seagulls if they'd actually had some game." Their sound is somehow a mash-up of pop, rock, (ugh) auto-tune, dance, and folk (?). No one seems to know what to say about them, but we all are definitely enjoying the music. Yet, for as catchy and great as they are, some focus could be in order for 2010.



THE LOW ANTHEM

TOUR DATES

March 14 11PM - NX35 Conference, Banter - Denton, Texas
March 15 8PM - House of Blues - Bronze Peacock - Houston, Texas**
March 16 8PM - The Pontiac Garage @ House of Blues - Dallas, Texas**

Check them out @ SXSW!

Wed March 18th:
3PM - Mad Dragon Party @ The Thirsty Nickel
Thu March 19th:
12:30 - Music By The Slice @ Homeslice Pizza
3:00PM - End of the Road Party at Lambert's
1AM - Bella Union Showcase at The Ranch
Fri March 20th:
10PM - Central Presbyterian Church
Sat March 21st:
4PM - PureVolume House @ 2nd and Trinity

March 31 - 8PM - Wellmont Theatre - Wellmont, New Jersey*
April 2 8PM - Wellmont Theatre - Wellmont, New Jersey*
April 3 8PM - Palace Theatre - Greensburg, Pennsylvania*
April 4 8PM - Tower Theatre - Upper Darby, Pennsylvania*
April 5 7PM - Tarrytown Music Hall w/JOSH RITTER - Tarrytown, New York
April 6 - 8PM - The Egg-Hart Theatre - Albany, New York*
April 7 - 8PM - Calvin Theatre - Northampton, Massachusetts*
April 8 - 8PM - Shubert Theatre - New Haven, Connecticut*
April 10 - 8PM - Merrill Auditorium at City Hall - Portland, Maine*
April 11 - 7:30 PM - Merrill Auditorium at City Hall - Portland, Maine*
April 12 - 8PM - Flynn Center for the Performing Arts - Burlington, Vermont*
April 13 - 8PM - Langdon Street Cafe - Montpelier, Vermont
April 14 - 8PM - Metropolis - Montreal, Quebec*
April 15 - 8PM - Massey Hall - Toronto, Ontario*
April 24 - 8PM - Lupos w/ELVIS PERKINS + DEERTICK - Providence, Rhode Island
June 11 - 12PM - BONNAROO - Manchester, Tennessee
June 12 - 8PM - BONNAROO - Manchester, Tennessee
June 13 - 8PM - BONNAROO - Manchester, Tennessee
June 14 - 8PM - BONNAROO - Manchester, Tennessee
September 11 - 8PM - END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL - North Dorset, England
** with Lisa Hannigan*with Ray Lamontagne


WE HAVE BAND

NYC
Friday March 13: 11:00pm - TRASH at The Studio @ Webster Hall (LIVE)
Saturday March 14: 9:00pm - Piano's (LIVE)
Saturday March 14: 12:00am - Le Royale (DJ SET)
Monday March 16th at The Delancey (9.30pm)

SXSW
WEDNESDAY, March 18th
4:PM - Urban Outfitters Party (2406 Guadalupe St)
11PM - Monstrosity Party (2514 Wilson St)
THURSDAY, March 19th
12PM - Gigantic Music Party at The Scoot Inn (1308 E 4th St)
5:30PM - Lose Control at Canvas Bar & Gallery Party (105 E 5th St)
12AM - NME Party at Latitude 30 (512 San Jacinto Blvd)
FRIDAY, March 20th
1:30PM - Hot Freaks Party at Mohawk (912 Red River St)
4:30PM - Levi's / Fader Fort Party (1101 E 5th St)
SATURDAY, March 21st
11AM -Woxy Session
12AM - Clash Magazine Party at Volume (614 E 6th St)

SXSW - The Golden Filter

Just wanted to make sure everyone had Golden Filter on their radar for this year's SX. We caught them at Le Poisson Rouge a few weeks ago and it was pretty much hard-hitting, late night, dance madness. Check out two of their mp3s HERE at our old post. They have been remixing even more great music of late, including upcoming tracks from Empire of the Sun and everyone's favorite Little Boots. At SX this year, The HYPE Machine offered The Golden Filter their headlining slot and they’ll also be gracing the stages of Gorilla vs Booze, Iheartcomix (official SXSW showcase), SXSW day stage and a slew of others before setting off to support The Presets on their extensive North American Tour. With all of their SX shows, Golden Filter are sure to loose some of their trademark mysticism, but with that loss comes the sure gain of droves of new paying fans. See all of their SXSW/tour details after the jump.

Look for upcoming remixes for
Empire of The Sun's "We Are The People" (EMI) out very soon.
Little Boots' "New In Town" (679) out soon.


SXSW
18 March / SESAC/ SXSW Day Stage / 2.30pm
18 March / Hype Machine / Headline / Peckerhead’s / 7pm
18 March / Monstrosity / 10.15pm
19 March / Gorilla vs Booze / The Peacock / 3.15pm
19 March / IHEARTCOMIX / Beauty Bar (Official Showcase) / 11.45pm
20 March / Bigstereo ‘Lose Control’ / Canvas Bar / 10.15pm
20 March / Lost In Texas / 1.30am

N.AMERICAN TOUR W/ THE PRESETS
27 March / Club Downunder / Tallahassee, Florida
29 March / Common Ground / Gainesville, Florida
30 March / Masquerade (Hell Stage) / Atlanta, Georgia
31 March / Cats Cradle / Carrboro, North Carolina
01 April / 9.30 Club / Washington DC
03 April / Webster Hall / NYC, New York
04 April / Paradise / Boston, Massachusetts
05 April / Studio Juste Pour Rire / Montreal, Qubec
06 April / The Mod Club / Toronto, Ontario
07 April / The Grog Shop / Cleveland, Ohio
08 April / Metro / Chicago, Illinois
10 April / Bluebird Theatre / Denver, Colorado
11 April / Murray Theatre / Murray, Utah
13 April / Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver, British Columbia
14 April / Neumos / Seattle, Washington
16 April / Mezzanine / San Francisco, California
20 April / The Glass House / Pomona, California

Saying Goodbye to the Hold Steady

The Hold Steady during happier, cooler times

People don't use the term "selling out" much anymore. In this recession era economy, the music- powers-that-be often turn a blind eye to the Bud Light commercials, Grey's Anatomy placements, and J.C. Penny campaigns that only a few years ago would've resulted in critical ruin for musicians who held creditability among the rock elite. Now, whenever there is an opportunity to make some money, the industry encourages bands to take it, in hopes that the new money will allow them to make maybe one more record. "Take what you can, when you can, while you can. And you gotta take it now." Jimmy Fallon said that.

Yet, the Hold Steady have "taken it" one too many times for me this year. They're supporting the Counting Crows and Dave Matthews Band on their upcoming tour, as well as gracing Rachel Ray's stage at this year's SXSW. Say what you want about money or fan bases. I'm taking this moment to say goodbye to the Hold Steady. Their last show found me in the midst of way too many, well, DMB fans. Call me elitist, but that matters. Something was lost that night. I saw them no longer as that hard working band, out to do good. They became contrived, cliched rock stars dialing it in, putting on the show everyone expected them to put on. Maybe they were always that way. Maybe not. I'll always love their previous records, but I can't really see myself buying any more, or going to any more shows. It's sad really, because I honestly did love them for a time. They've chosen a different path, and that's ok I guess. Sometimes you just gotta go with whoever is gonna pay you the highest.

Because This Is The Supergroup We Were All Clamoring For

We're regrettably one day late on the utterly perplexing, but undeniably FANTASTIC news of a union so perfect only God himself could've orchestrated it. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Tinted Windows, now certifiably the most bizarre supergroup in rock and roll history, narrowly edging Oysterhead for the honor. The lineup, in progressive order of WTF-ness: James Iha, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist, Adam Schlesinger, chief songwriter of Fountains Of Wayne, Bun E. Carlos, drummer of Cheap Trick, and Taylor Hanson of Hanson. According to Billboard, the foursome have a debut LP in the can and will make their live debut at the magazine's SXSW showcase in March. I will make the trip to Austin just for this.

The article didn't give mention as to why the group decided to hook up, but who cares? I almost feel like an explanation isn't neccessary, because we just need to accept this band as THE GREATEST COLLECTION OF POP ROCK C-LIST FORCES OF ALL TIME, no story-of-origin needed. I'm perfectly content with hypothesizing that one day Iha was bored, decided to summon his Rolodex and stick his fingers on three random entries, like kids do when deciding who to prank phone call. Naturally all the guys gave their thumbs up, and we're blessed today with Tinted Windows, a name that obviously lends itself so well to supergroupdom. One pressing question: what was Andrew Ridgely doing that was more important than joining? 

New Deer Tick Dates - SXSW + MP3

[mp3]
Deer Tick "Long Time"

From amazingly bizarre cell phone calls, to drunken-backstage antics, John McCauley a.k.a Deer Tick has catapulted himself into position as one of our favorite people of '09. His debut record War Elephant has been a constant fixture on our iPods since its original release more than a year ago. Partisan Records ended up re-issuing War Elephant on November 11, 2008 after a limited run on Jana Hunter's short-lived Feow! label. Partisan recently announced that it will release the band's sophomore album, Born on Flag Day, later in 2009. He's playing SXSW and a full run of dates with lots of Stark approved, independent a.k.a "indie" rock 'n roll stars. Go see him.


DEER TICK

Fri-Feb-13 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom *
Sat-Feb-14 Northampton, MA Iron Horse #
Sun-Feb-15 New Haven, CT Café Nine #
Mon-Feb-16 Albany, NY Madison Grille
Wed-Feb-18 Ft. Wayne, IN The Brass Rail
Thu-Feb-19 Rock Island, IL Ribco
Fri-Feb-20 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle &
Sat-Feb-21 Bloomington, IN Cinemat
Sun-Feb-22 Jamestown, NY Labyrinth Press Company
Mon-Feb-23 York, PA First Capital Dispensing Co.
Tue-Feb-24 Boston, MA TT the Bears %
Fri-Feb-27 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live %
Sat-Feb-28 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café %
Sun-Mar-01 Washington, DC 930 Club %
Mon-Mar-02 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom %
Wed-Mar-04 Toronto, ONT Horseshoe Tavern %
Thu-Mar-05 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place %
Fri-Mar-06 Columbus, OH Skully's %
Sat-Mar-07 Cincinanati, OH Southgate House %
Sun-Mar-08 Asheville, NC Orange Peel %
Mon-Mar-09 Charleston, SC Tin Roof ^
Wed-Mar-11 Tallahassee, FL The Engine Room
Fri-Mar-13 Louisville, KY Headliner's %
Sat-Mar-14 Nashville, TN The Mercy Lounge %
Mon-Mar-16 New Orleans, LA Clever
Tue-Mar-17 Houston, TX Rudyard's
Mar 18 - 21 Austin, TX SXSW
Tue-Mar-24 Birmingham, AL Bottletree $
Wed-Mar-25 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn $
Thu-Mar-26 Durham, NC Duke Univeristy Coffeehouse $
Fri-Mar-27 Baltimore, MD The G-Spot $

* = w/ THALIA ZEDEK BAND, THE WEIGHT
# = w/ MARISSA NADLER
% = w/ JASON ISBELL
$ = w/ PHOSPHORESCENT
& = w/ FUTURE CLOUDS AND RADAR, ANNI ROSSI
^ = w/ CARY ANN HEARST