BLONDE REDHEAD - early summer tour 16 May 2011

BLONDE REDHEAD announce early summer tour

We are excited to announce a BLONDE REDHEAD tour in support of their most relent album Penny Sparkle. Since their last US tour this past Fall, the band has been very busy with shows in Mexico, Japan and Australia, and Kazu recently lent her vocals to a track on the upcoming album by Battles. Kazu has also been working on a compilation cd to benefit her home country of Japan with earthquake relief.

Blonde Redhead always makes the most of their live shows, and the ones for this record have been very special and truly make for a magical night out. Penny Sparkle is the band’s third album for 4AD and was made with the band journeying between New York and Stockholm to work with production duo Van Rivers and The Subliminal Kid (Fever Ray, Massive Attack). The album embraces another new direction for the band – they trade some of the guitars for synth pads and beats, but have kept the dreamy songs and beautiful interplay that we’ve all grown to love.

“elaborate, emotionally resonate ambient rock songs.” - RELIX
“atmospheric, dream-induced electro-indie-pop” - FILTER MAGAZINE
“the band's most breathtaking album to date" - ***** - VENUS MAGAZINE
“Experienced purveyors of foreboding, romantic, minor-keyed dreaminess” - SPIN
“Blonde Redhead remains a significant, evocative force 15 years into its career." -MAGNET

6/20                        Winnipeg, MB                  Pyramid Cabaret
6/22                        Calgary, AB                     The Distillery (Sled Island Festival)
6/23                        Calgary, AB                     The Republik (Sled Island Festival)
6/25                        Vancouver, BC                 Vogue Theatre (Vancouver Jazz Fest)
6/26                        Seattle, WA                     Neumos *
6/27                        Portland, OR                    Doug Fir Lounge *
6/29                        Oakland, CA                    The New Parish *
6/30                        San Francisco, CA            The Independent %
7/1                          Los Angeles, CA               Echoplex %
7/2                          Los Angeles, CA               El Rey Theatre %
7/3                          Big Sur, CA                      Henry Miller Memorial Library %
7/18                        Chicago, IL                      Millennium Park
7/19                        Chicago, IL                      Bottom Lounge
* = w/Nosaj Thing                                  
% = w/Luyas

Vampire Weekend to co-headline Festival in East Hampton NY in August 13 May 2011

VAMPIRE WEEKEND AND BRIGHT EYES TO HEADLINE
MTK:MUSIC TO KNOW FESTIVAL
AUGUST 13 & 14 IN EAST HAMPTON, NY

Cold War Kids, Matt & Kim, Chromeo, Tame Impala, Ra Ra Riot, Fitz & The Tantrums, Dawes, M. Ward, Tom Tom Club, Naked And Famous, The Limousines and More...
 
Tickets on sale now
http://www.musictoknow.com/
 
NEW YORK (May 9, 2011) –MTK: Music To Know Festival announced its inaugural line up headlined by Vampire Weekend on Saturday, August 13th and Bright Eyes on Sunday, August 14th.  Other confirmed bands include Matt & Kim, Cold War Kids, Chromeo,Tame Impala, Ra Ra Riot, Fitz & The Tantrums, Tom Tom Club, Dawes, M Ward, We Are Scientists, The Limousines, Naked and Famous, Francis and the Lights, Suddyn,Nicos Gun and Young Empires -- 18 of today’s most critically-acclaimed and successful new, emerging and well-known bands.  The music begins at noon each day, ending at 10PM.
 
According to Co-Founder Chris Jones “The Hamptons are a unique market to say the least -- full of decision makers, trend setters, and taste generators who have always been eager to embrace the best and the brightest in our culture -- whether that is in literature, film, fashion or music. We are excited to bring this collection of artists together in our community, and hope this is the first of many annual events.”
 
MTK teamed with Downtown Music and RCRDLBL to Co-Produce the event. As media partner, RCRDLBL assisted in the lineup’s curation, and will supply the festival’s digital marketing component. Downtown CEO and RCRDLBL Chairman Josh Deutsch said, “Downtown and RCRDLBL are pleased to partner with the MTK team to curate such an incredible lineup featuring some of today's most exciting and innovative artists. And we are especially excited to bring the event to such a unique and special place as the Hamptons - one of the most vibrant cultural communities in the country."
 
 
Two Day passes go on sale Tuesday, May 10th to the general public for $195.Two Day VIP passes can be purchased for $645.
 
Tickets are available for purchase through the MTK Website
 
MTK is offering a special discount priced ticket to locals at $175.00, and will be available to purchase on sale at these locations: Amagansett: Indian Wells Tavern; East Hampton: Khanh Sports & Eyewear; Sag Harbor: Sylvester & Co.; Montauk: 668 Gig Shack
 
GENERAL ADMISSION: $195
·Two-day passes for admission to the festival grounds: 18 bands; food tent and fashion/lifestyle retail area.
·Please note: in addition, a $6.00 service charge per ticket and a $2.50 credit card processing fee will be charged at the time of purchase.
 
VIP PROGRAM: $645
·MTK offers a limited supply of VIP passes for sale. This exclusive offering includes admission to two separate VIP tents, outdoor private viewing garden area, a private viewing deck, and air-conditioned premium bathrooms. Both tents feature special programs throughout the day with alternating schedules in-between music sets — from fashion shows to unique or intimate musical performances, large viewing screens, and much more. Free parking on-site ($80 value)
 
PARKING:
·MTK Festival emphasizes an environmentally-sensitive approach to parking and responsible management of traffic flow to our community. As such, we offer several options and locations for parking.  We encourage ticket-buyers to pre-purchase parking.
 When you purchase, we will send you specific directions and parking pass.
 
o   VIP Program: Parking is on-site.  We request two-person per car minimum.  Free.
o   Preferred Parking Spots: On-site parking.  Four per-car minimum. $80 for two-day pass.
o   General Admission Parking Spots: Complimentary Shuttle (5-minutes to site). $50 for two-day pass.
o   Off-Site Parking Spots: Complimentary Shuttle (10-minutes to site). $40 for two-day pass.
o   Sag Harbor Special: Complimentary Shuttle (15-minutes to site). $30 for two-day pass.

Gang Gang Dance + Cinco De Mayo + YOU! 03 May 2011

Our friends at Opening Ceremony are helping throw a Cinco De Mayo party.  It's free.  10pm - 3am at China Chalet - 47 Broadway. DJ sets by Gang Gang Dance, Spencer Sweeney and XXXCHANGE.

NJ outlets and people hosting the Titus Andronicus premiere 29 Apr 2011

Christopher S - Allenhurst, NJ
David S - Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Andrew R - Berkeley Heights, NJ
Diane K - Bloomfield, NJ
Consequence Of Sound - Butler, NJ
John K - Clifton, NJ
Down The Shore With Jen - Collingswood, NJ
The Audio Perv - Fair Lawn, NJ -
News Paper Joe - Franklin Lakes,NJ
Alex T - Glen Rock,NJ
Basia (Patti) M - Glen Rock, NJ
Only Rock And Roll - Glendora, NJ
Harry G - Hightstown, NJ
Timothy L - Hillsborough, NJ
Coed Magazine/College Candy - Hoboken,NJ
Patrick B - Hoboken, NJ
Hoboken 411 - Hoboken, NJ
Jeff S - Hoboken, NJ
Michael A - Howell, NJ
Jersey City Desk - Jersey City, NJ
New Jersey Independent - Jersey City, NJ
Therese M - Jersey City, NJ
Star-Ledger/NJ.com Jersey City, NJ
WFMU Radio - Jersey City, NJ
Keepingscoreathome.com/Jon S - Lawrenceville, NJ
Bellmar Benny - Long Branch, NJ
Burn Down The Disco - Middletown, NJ
Harry S - Millburn, NJ
Tom W-P - Milltown, NJ
WMSC Radio - Montclair, NJ
NJ Underground - Montclair, NJ
Baristanet - Montclair, NJ
Brendan O - Moorestown, NJ
Claire P - New Brunswick, NJ
Sally R - New Brunswick, NJ
Stephen M - New Brunswick, NJ
Star Beat Music - Newark, NJ
First Wheel Films - Oakhurst, NJ
Matt from Piscataway - Piscataway, NJ
Pop-Break - Piscataway, NJ
Michael C - Ridgewood, NJ
William M - Ridgewood, NJ
Zachary N - Ridgewood, NJ
The Pop Corn Trick - Somerset, NJ
Asbury Park Press - South River, NJ
Zach S - Springfield, NJ
Garden State Video - Toms River, NJ
Elizabeth B - Trenton, NJ
Kevin B - Wall, NJ
Jersey Beat - Weehawken, NJ
Nobody People - Westfield, NJ
Ian D - Westfield, NJ
Recidivism - Wood-Ridge, NJ
Smacktone Studios - Woodland Park, NJ
North Jersey - Woodland Park, NJ
Brian A - Titusandronic.us
Brian K
Chris K
Igor V
John B
Jon S
Nick N
Zac C
The Waster

NEW JERSEY premieres the new Titus Andronicus video today! 29 Apr 2011

TITUS ANDRONICUS’ NEW VIDEO FOR “No Future Part III: Escape From No Future” premieres TODAY via the websites, homes, walls, etc of the residents of New Jersey!

Titus Andronicus and XL Recordings invited anyone in the band’s home state of New Jersey to premiere their new video today, and we are excited to share it with you.

The full list of premiere participants is here, but they include the venerable Hoboken institution Maxwell’s, where the band will premiere the video prior to their show there tonight, band friend and fellow NJ resident Ted Leo, WFMU’s Beware Of The Blog, radio station WPRB, website Hoboken411, the legendary Jersey Beat, NorthJersey.com, and many many more!

Directed by longtime NJ resident and WFMU radio host Tom Scharpling, and produced by Robert Hatch-Miller and Puloma Basu, the video is a love letter to the band's home state of New Jersey, and in it the band travels to The Pine Barrens, Little Egg Harbor, Asbury Park, and New Brunswick before finally ending up in Jersey City. The video honors the state in a way that it truly deserves. New Jersey is NOT a punchline – it is a lovely place – the home of Sinatra, Springsteen and Stickles, and the band wanted to involve its residents in the video – during the filming, and today, for the premiere.

The band’s leader Patrick Stickles says, “Throughout our career, we in the rock and roll band Titus Andronicus have gone to great lengths to celebrate our New Jersey heritage. We know well how our state has a way of instilling in its citizens a certain sense of underdog pride - for all of its faults and flaws, it is home, and for all that we may dream of escaping it, we never hope to forget it. These themes of regional identity, the way that a sense of heritage informs our behavior, run throughout our latest album, The Monitor, and with this video we intend to manifest them visually."

Filled with triumphant rock anthems, aggressive melodies and above all else, brutal honesty, Titus Andronicus has rightfully earned comparisons to such iconoclasts as Bruce Springsteen, and The Replacements. With a ton of shows lined up for this Spring and Summer, including Lollapalooza and a tour with Okkervil River, Titus Andronicus have distinguished themselves as one of the hardest working bands today. Their last album, The Monitor was released last Spring and made its way onto many year end-lists. Rolling Stone said:

"Lyrically, history and modern anxiety morph into freedom songs for an age where, then as now, "the enemy is everywhere," and neither whiskey nor "a pretty good GPA" will save you. But an album this excellent just might."

tUnE-yArDs TOUR starts TONIGHT! 26 Apr 2011

The live line-up features:
Merrill Garbus - vox, ukulele, drums
Nathaniel Brenner - bass, aux drums
Kasey Knudsen - sax
Matthew Nelson - sax




Find hi res photos (by Anna M Campbell) and cover art (designed by Alex Chitty) here (just scroll down to tUnE-yArDs): http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/press/
Full bio here: http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/tuneyards/biography/
MP3 for "Bizness" is here: http://promo.4ad.com/tuneyards/bizness.mp3
Video for "Bizness" (directed by Mimi Cave) is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ1LI-NTa2s



Listen to the NPR All Things Considered piece that aired April 17th here: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/17/135443035/tune-yards-expanding-and-grabbing-attention
NEW YORK TIMES "Tune-Yards’ debut album, “Bird-Brains,” was a confident do-it-yourselfer’s opening salvo: a staticky, low-fi, abrasive attention-getter. “Whokill” has less static (though there’s still plenty of distortion) and more of everything else, including counterpoint, ambition, sociopolitical attitude, funk and melody. Ms. Garbus’s love of rhythm has her touch on parade drumming, African pygmy polyphony, 1980s hip-hop, samba, Joni Mitchell and rural blues. When her voice is hopping through her melodies over an Afro-Caribbean groove, she can sound like a collaboration by Dave Matthews, Bjork, Angelique Kidjo and M.I.A."

PITCHFORK "tUnE-yArDs is the music project of Merrill Garbus, a songwriter, vocalist, percussionist, and ukulele player who has fused elements of acoustic folk, R&B, funk, Afro-pop, and rock into a bold, uncompromising hybrid all her own. Garbus is blessed with an extraordinary voice, and she wields it with great confidence, always coming off in total control of her phrasing while seeming totally uninhibited in her expression." (8.8 Best New Music)

THE NEW YORKER "What is thrilling about "w h o k i l l" is that Garbus needs none of the fetishized authenticity of lower fidelity to charm anybody: she is a musician of startling range, and a better recording of her is simply better music. It isn't likely that there will be music this year that is more infused with the spirit of celebration and physical movement."

ROLLING STONE "whokill overflows with hip-hop, reggae, Afrobeat and funky noise freakouts — plus ukulele riffs, fluttering doo-wop vocals and what sounds like a percussion orchestra composed of pots and pans. It all hangs together thanks to Garbus' voice, which slides seamlessly from Joplin-esque howls to delicate coos."

SPIN "this sophomore album cleans up without sacrificing charm. The songs are more consistent, too, flashing a certain lyrical swagger, careening from terrific sex to celebratory violence to uncomfortable cultural realities." (8/10)

THE DAILY “Let us fall easily into hyperbole: It’s an early contender for album of the year.”

tUnE-yArDs - Tour Dates
http://www.tune-yards.com/

4-26 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* SOLD OUT
4-28 Portland, OR - Everyday Music - Free/All Ages in Store 3pm
4-28 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge*
4-29 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile*
4-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Biltmore Cabaret*
5-02 Garden City, ID - Visual Arts Collective*
5-03 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge*
5-04 Denver, CO - Hi Dive*
5-06 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon*
5-07 Omaha, NE - Slowdown*
5-08 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center*
5-10 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall*
5-11 Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room at Crofoot Ballroom*
5-12 Toronto, Ontario - The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern*
5-13 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa*
5-15 Easthampton, MA - Flywheel Arts Collective
5-16 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall*
5-17 Milford, CT - Daniel Street*
5-19 Washington, DC - The Red Palace* SOLD OUT
5-20 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's*
5-21 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg* SOLD OUT
6-25 West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
6-26 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar

* Buke and Gass support

British Sea Power - ForNoOne video! 25 Apr 2011

We had to bid British Sea Power farewell as that wrapped up their lengthy North American tour.  For those who missed them, we offer this video of the band performing "Who's In Control?" c/o ForNoOne.tvhttp://fornoone.tv/british_sea_power.html


British Sea Power | FOR NO ONE from FOR NO ONE on Vimeo.

Blonde Redhead and Interpol together again! 25 Apr 2011

Blonde Redhead and Interpol have a long history together in the NY music scene. They've toured together, they are friends, and they are on sister labels (4AD and Matador). They are playing together in NYC on May 8th at Terminal 5for a great cause, and there are still a few tickets still available!

All proceeds will go directly to raising Sickday Safety Net's awareness in Manhattan, expanding into Brooklyn and increasing the number of community heath care partners and providers.

Sickday Safety Net is a new program launched recently by Sickday Medical House Calls, a New York company providing acute urgent medical care to patients in the privacy of their homes, offices or hotel rooms. Sickday Medical House Calls has been serving New Yorkers for ten years and has grown its active patient base to over 10,000.

The Safety Net is free to join and open to any uninsured New Yorker working in the creative arts including musicians, actors, painters, dancers, photographers, models, art directors, dancers, filmmakers, writers and visual artists.  Members of Safety Net have access to Sickday’s medical house call services and will never again need to get out of bed, find a babysitter or cancel a meeting to get quality, affordable medical care and no crowded waiting room, no blank forms, no inflated pricing – quality care, delivered via a medical house call. Medical professionals come directly to you, in your home or office, at a fixed Safety Net rate of $75. It's free to join and you only pay when and if you need services.  Sickday guarantees same-day service.

visit http://www.sickdaysafety.net

Holly Miranda - free solo show in LA on 4/24 22 Apr 2011

Holly Miranda is playing a couple of solo shows this month, the second of which is this Sunday in Los Angeles.
She's been hibernating this winter working on new songs, and maybe she'll play some of them!
It's free and all-ages.

Sunday April 24th - 6pm
Los Angeles, CA
Origami Vinyl, 1816 W. Sunset Blvd, LA, CA
(w/Nightmare And The Cat)

We opened an LA office! 21 Apr 2011

Last July, Matador co-founder Chris Lombardi and key Beggars staff relocated from New York to Los Angeles. After a long search, they have finally found a permanent home for the West Coast office in Silver Lake at 2035 Hyperion Avenue. The office is headed up by Miwa Okumura, Beggars' Sr. VP West Coast Operations and Licensing. “With XL’s London office as the model,” says Okumura, “I have found the right space where our artists, staff, and visitors will feel comfortable and inspired. It took some time but the search has paid off.”

Beggars Group Chairman Martin Mills stated: "It's a natural step in the continuing growth of our business in the USA to open a west coast office - whereas the heart of our American operation is in New York, there's a lot going on musically in California right now, and it makes sense to be present to connect with music people there.”

The company celebrated the move to the office with an opening party last week.The Beggars Group is one of the world's largest, fastest growing and most respected label groups, and is completely independent.  It was founded by Mills in 1976 and he remains Chairman of The Group.  Over the years, many of the world's most respected labels have joined the fold and today it is home to XL Recordings, Matador Records, 4AD and Rough Trade. Artists signed to the group’s labels such as Vampire Weekend, Sonic Youth, Jarvis Cocker, The National, The Morning Benders, The xx, St. Vincent and The New Pornographers, have achieved both commercial success and wide critical acclaim.

The Beggars Group is based in London and has multiple offices in Europe, Canada and Asia, in addition to the US locations.  Matador Records also has an office in Austin, Texas.