indiepulse

US/THEM looks to rise above the pack

New LA-based promotion house is a partnership with Sargent House.

Vanderslice tapes

I thought this was an interesting promotion. Don’t think I’ve seen an artist give away master tape before..

Take Action! tour raises over $40,000

Congrats to Sub City and all of the bands on the 2009 for raising a bunch of money in support of DoSomething.org

Biz News: Wichita Recordings comes to the US

From the press release:
QUESTION: What do Bloc Party, Peter Bjorn and John, Simian Mobile Disco, Los Campesinos!, The Cribs, Conor Oberst, Les Savy Fav, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Dodos, My Morning Jacket, The Bronx and Her Space Holiday have in common?
 
ANSWER: Outside of the US they are all (or have been) signed to the UK label Wichita Recordings.
 
The London-based indie label rose from the ashes of the legendary Creation Records in 2000 and hit the ground running with its very first release, 'Fevers and Mirrors' by Bright Eyes.
 
The next 8 years has seen them release a succession of acclaimed records and bring many of the century's most respected talents to the public's attention.
 
Now, for the first time, Wichita is going to take on the USA as it lines up a whole new generation of artists for their debut releases in North America including Those Dancing Days, Sky Larkin, Lovvers and First Aid Kit.
 
Those Dancing Days are an all-girl Swedish five-piece just out of school. Their debut full-length 'In Our Space Hero Suits' has already taken them to 15 countries around the world and was heralded as album of the year in Artrocker magazine.
http://www.myspace.com/thosedancingdays
 
Sky Larkin hail from Leeds and the buzz they generated in 2008 will surely get louder with the forthcoming release of 'The Golden Spike'. Recorded in Seattle with John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney) the band return to the US for a third time in March, having recently completed European tours with Conor Oberst and Los Campesinos!
http://www.myspace.com/skylarkinskylarkin
 
Lovvers are 4 young men from Nottingham. They have already been adopted by  the American underground despite never having crossed its borders. The last year has found them touring with No Age, Jay Reatard, Times New Viking, King Khan and Mika Miko amongst others as word spread of their legendary live shows. The debut release is a thrilling sonic blast called the 'Think! EP'.
http://www.myspace.com/letscommunicate
 
Last but not least, First Aid Kit: Wichita's newest signings are sisters Klara and Johanna from Stockholm. Discovered by The Knife, the girls shot to internet infamy when their YouTube cover of Fleet Foxes came to the latter's attention and was subsequently seen by seemingly everyone. The girls will release their debut 'Drunken Trees' including 7 original songs, the cover and some of the most beautiful and haunting videos you will ever see.
http://www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit
 
Wichita will be hosting its first ever showcase at this year's SXSW with all four bands coming to US shores before summer.
 

Biz News: Paper Garden Records partners with Team Love

Paper Garden has been building an impressive roster over the past several years. This partnership with Conor Oberst's label should provide its artists with additional resources and exposure. 

From the press release: "We're excited to bring Paper Garden Records on board and lend a helping hand to a fellow blossoming label.  PGR has a sincere love and passion for music and artists that we find inspiring." – Rebecca Laurie, Team Love

Paper Garden Records is proud to announce its newfound partnership with fellow indie record label, Team Love. This partnership with the label founded by Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and manager Nathaniel Krenkel not only allows PGR to broaden its reach into retail stores nationwide, but also opens up the floodgates to a slew of new cross-promotional, marketing, and tour opportunities.

Starting out the year with a strong national release of Peasant’s debut album, “On The Ground” (out 1/27/09), Paper Garden Records has a full schedule for ’09, releasing a brand new 7-inch vinyl for Peasant’s single, “The End”, followed quickly by the full release of Darla Farmer’s “Rewiring The Electric Forest” LP (out 2/17/09), Emanuel and the Fear’s self-titled EP (out digitally 2/17/09), and Darla Farmer’s “Remixing The Electric Forest” remix album. And that’s just the first harvest!

To keep updated on the latest from Paper Garden Records and its artists, make your way over to www.papergardenrecords.com!

Biz News: RIP Reptilian records

I know we are all way used to news like this by now but I always find it very sad when a record store closes.

From the news release: 1989-2009 - Reptilian Records is dead, LONG LIVE REPTILIAN! The rumors are true, REPTILIAN RECORDS is CLOSING to the public.

THE BIG PICTURE- In the last few years, we music lovers have lost literally hundreds of independent record stores all across the country. Stores closed, labels died, and music distributors crumbled or merged. Shifts in format (CDs are the new cassettes), major shifts in popular music and marketing dividing the underground scene into little pockets of narrow conformity, economic factors (gas, food or a CD...hmmm...), the dreaded piracy of file sharing, and the legitimate digital downloads and on-line shopping have all contributed to the death of the local independent music stores. It's a shame, but that's the way it is. We at Reptilian aren't crying or dying, we shall adapt and evolve.

WHAT THIS MEANT TO REPTILIAN- Bottom line, the store has been hurting for the last few years. Business was already declining before the collapse of the roof of our original store. Moving hurt us, we were closed for months as we begged, borrowed, and stole to buy and renovate a Baltimore crack house for our new HQ. We've been here two years, and no one noticed. The storefront started to lose money steadily, with our eternal tax problems, rising costs of everything, public apathy, and paying employees to stand around when they could be doing something productive broke our bank. We make 75% of our income from mail order and internet sales. It costs too much to be a real store.

WHAT NOW?- Reptilian will continue as a record label, a book publisher (Scapegoat Publishing), and an ever-growing on-line interweb store. Our websites will be getting a major overhaul, with many new items and special features. Stay tuned and bookmark those sites for the coming uncanny and spectacular changes! Our headquarters will remain here at 2545 N. Howard St (next to The Ottobar). Our phone number will remain 410-EAR-NUKE (327-6853). We have secret plans for a new business to open downstairs, and our offices and stock will remain upstairs. (ooooh, what will be downstairs? tattoo parlor? strip club? guitar/amp shop? car wash? INS office?) In a few months, we may start opening up on weekends to let the few remaining music buyers peruse our vinyl vault... We'll see about that. We will soon make most of our label catalog available as mp3s for
your little iPods. We will still release vinyl, and have several projects planned for the second half of 2009. We will still publish
books, and again- big projects lined up. We just need to trim the fat and then we can concentrate like never before on amazing projects- exposing you to truly unique music, writing, and art for the discerning and adventurous!

I want to seriously thank all of the people who have shopped at Reptilian over the years, it has been the stuff of legends!
Keep an eye on our web sites and bulletins, many new things coming from Team Reptilian in the future!

Thank you and goodnight-
Chris X

http://www.reptilianrecords.com
http://www.scapegoatpublishing.com

Biz News: ANDY ROURKE OF THE SMITHS JOINS THE MUSEBOX

Legendary bass player joins the music marketing firm as Director of A&R

From the press release: The MuseBox is proud to announce that former Smiths member Andy Rourke will join the New York City and Toronto-based music marketing firm as its Director of A&R.

Harnessing his near 30 years of experience in songwriting, live performance and production Rourke will identify and work with unsigned and up-and-coming bands, guiding them through all of the key career building processes. It’s a relationship that will offer full artist development for the musicians as The Musebox will develop the band’s fan bases through press and online exposure, lifestyle marketing, tour marketing, sync licensing and eventually music industry marketing.

“The Smiths are a major influence on much of today’s music scene, and Andy Rourke was a key player in their sound and success,” said Nadine Gelineau, Founder and C.E.O of The MuseBox. “We are thrilled to be taking our lifeline of support for today’s bands to another level of expertise and experience by welcoming an imminent Rock And Roll Hall of Famer into our family. The Boy with the Thorn in His Side Strikes Again!”

Weathermaker Inks Distro Deal with RED

Congrats to Weathermaker and Clutch.

From the Press Release:
“Clutch have so many fans here at RED, and we couldn’t be happier they chose us to be their distribution partner... Helping the band build their new label will make 2009 an even better year at RED.” - RED Senior Vice President of Product Development Alan Becker.

"We're so amped about our deal with RED. I'm convinced their team is as hungry as we are to take The Bakerton Group, Clutch and Weathermaker Music to the next level." - Weathermaker Label Manager Jon Nardachone.

Weathermaker Music, the label owned by touring juggernauts Clutch, has inked a multi-year, multiple release North American deal with Sony/BMG owned RED Distribution. First on deck, slated for a February 17th release through the formidable alliance, is the new BAKERTON GROUP release entitled "El Rojo!"

Starbucks picks Blind Pilot

Congrats to Blind Pilot for being chosen by Starbucks. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

from the press release:
PORTLAND, OREGON'S BLIND PILOT CHOSEN AS STARBUCKS' "PICK OF THE WEEK" FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 3, 2009

Portland, Oregon based duo Blind Pilot, Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar) and Ryan Dobrowski (drums), following being iTunes' "Single of the Week", have now been chosen by Starbucks to be Starbucks' "Pick of the Week" for the week of January 3, 2009.

The "Pick of the Week" card, a physical card handed out at Starbucks' 7,000 U.S. and Canada locations at either the barista drink hand-off point or the point of sale spot, will have a redemption code which consumers can then use at iTunes to receive a free download of Blind Pilot's "The Story I Heard", off of their debut full-length, "3  Rounds and a Sound" (Expunged  Records).  Cards are free to anyone who picks up one at any Starbucks, and no purchase is necessary to obtain one.

Mexican Summer club

In the spirit of the record club resurgence, Mexican Summer finds a cozy spot at the forefront alongside fellow labels Sub Pop and Merge (talk about great company!) Launched in September of 2008, Mexican Summer releases will all be pressed in very limited quantities and will also be available for download, bringing a musical and visual experience to music lovers and collectors that want more than just a tune to consume.

One of the exciting aspects of the club is that it gives fans an opportunity to receive vinyl on a subscription basis (at a discount to purchasing at retail) and at a select group of exclusive indie retailers across the country. 2-3 albums will be released every other month in various formats (12", 7", Picture Disc, etc) and all records will be beautifully packaged, hand numbered, pressed on high quality virgin vinyl and include a download card. There will also be bonus gifts available only to members which include slip mats, tote bags, and many more stylish treats.

Subscriptions are available via the Mexican Summer website at www.mexicansummer.com