No Age was asked to perform with one of their heroes, Bob Mould of Husker Du, at this years ATP at Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, NY. Pitchfork TV just put up a fantastic 3 part series that encompasses their entire journey from the drive up, to meeting Jim Jarmusch in the lobby (who is a fan…whoa!!!!), their performance as No DU (No Age/Husker Du and Randy performing a cover of Cortez the Killer with Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Jim Jarmusch in a hotel room. Check out all the fun and games here

Photos borrowed from Ryan Muir.

Our very close, personal friends in Obits will be appearing on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon television show this Thursday, November 19th! And, what’s more, the code OBT at http://www.fallonbandbench.com/ can win you a seat on the “band bench” to watch their performance. The celebrity guests for this episode (in addition to the Obits dudes, we mean) will be: Taylor Lautner (from those sexy Dracula teenager movies) and also Katey Sagal (who, among a great many other things, performed the voice of Leela on Futurama).

Obits will, we are really crossing our fingers, perform one of the many peppy numbers on their 2009 debut album, I Blame You.

You should really watch!

GIVE-ing season arrives in Seattle

GIVE music and video compilation to benefit Arts Corps and food banks goes on sale Tuesday, Nov. 17; GIVE concert with Grand Archives and D. Black to rock the Crocodile Dec. 3

SEATTLE, WA – Coffee Roaster Caffé Vita will launch GIVE on Tuesday, November 17th with 30 downloadable tracks from a wide variety of Seattle artists, all of whom have donated songs to benefit Arts Corps and local area food banks. The complete list of artists involved will reach nearly 40 by mid-December.

A companion benefit concert featuring Grand Archives, D. Black and other artists will be held at the Crocodile Dec. 3. Tickets for the show are on sale now atwww.thecrocodile.com.

The $7 compilation – conceived and initiated by Seattle coffee roaster Caffé Vita, which is producing, curating and funding the project – will be available online atwww.giveseattle.org, as well as in Caffé Vita shops, Easy Street Records, Sonic Boom Records, University Book Store, The Crocodile, EMP, Neumos and Sorrento Hotel. These outlets will carry GIVE packages, including physical cards with a redemption code for the download, as ready-to-give presents.

A full 100 percent of sales will go directly to GIVE beneficiaries: Arts Corps, Seattle’s largest nonprofit arts educator, along with Ballard Food Bank, Rainier Valley Food Bank, University District Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank.

Among the many highlights of GIVE are unreleased cuts from The Cave Singers, Grand Archives, Champagne Champagne featuring Fences, The Maldives, Mad Rad, and The Moondoggies. Nearly all of the 36 tracks on GIVE are exclusive to the compilation.

The GIVE tracks available immediately on Tuesday, Nov. 17 include:

1. Arthur & Yu: Magic Mountain
2. The Blakes: Parking Lot
3. Sera Cahoone: Love’s Gonna Live Here
4. The Cave Singers: Growing Palm
5. Champagne Champagne featuring Fences: Victim of the Modern Age
6. Common Market: The Picture of My DeLorean Gray
7. D. Black: On the Go
8. Fatal Lucciauno: Gangsta
9. Fences: Sadie
10. Fleet Foxes: Mykonos
11. Fresh Espresso: Gettin Money
12. Grand Archives: Wake Up
13. Head Like a Kite: Director’s Cut
14. Hey Marseilles: From a Terrace
15. Kinski: Whatever Happened to Madeleine Stowe
16. Le Loup: Forgive Me
17. The Lonely Forest: I Don’t Wanna Live There
18. Mad Rad: Love in a Strange World
19. The Maldives: In the End
20. Gabriel Mintz: Safeway
21. The Moondoggies: Side of the Road
22. Joshua Morrison: Mammoth Cave
23. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band: Bitter Cold
24. Pearly Gate Music: Big Escape
25. The Pica Beats: Durian Shakes
26. The Saturday Knights: Go!
27. Talbot Tagora: Ichthus Hop
28. Tea Cozies: Corner Store Girls
29. J. Tillman: Earthly Bodies
30. Visqueen: Hand Me Down

Several GIVE artists are still finishing their exclusive GIVE tracks, including The Long Winters, Ben Gibbard, David Bazan, Throw Me The Statue, The Dutchess and The Duke, and Unnatural Helpers. Fans who purchase GIVE in November will be notified by email when these fresh tracks are available for download. The digital model allows patrons to pick and choose tracks they would like to download or simply download the entire album. Included with each sale of the physical GIVE card is a complimentary cup of Caffé Vita Farm Direct coffee, redeemable at any Vita location.

Stay tuned for several GIVE videos that bring together GIVE artists and leading filmmakers and creative firms, including Chase Jarvis, Wexley School for Girls, Creature, Steve Viehmann and City Arts Magazine.

Also appearing at the Dec. 3 benefit show will be Grant Olsen of Arthur & Yu; Kinski; Gabriel Mintz; Tea Cozies; and M.C. Tilson from The Saturday Knights. Tickets are $15.

GIVE truly is a city-wide community campaign. Nearly every facet of the project is being undertaken pro…

For the Record #9 comes to you courtesy of Fruit Bats’ front man, Eric Johnson.

Eric Johnson is a good dude and a great musician (currently splitting his time fronting his band Fruit Bats and playing in The Shins). He drinks fine wine and plays in fine wineries and has a great appreciation for film and, of course, music. He’s an easy one to talk to but if you ever wanna talk about The Baptist Generals in particular then he’s really your guy. Keep reading for Eric’s thoughts on No Silver/No Gold.

Band: The Baptist Generals
Record: No Silver/No Gold
When we told you the first time: February 4th 2003

This album came out right around the same time as The Fruit Bats’ Sub Pop debut, so we ended up hanging with these guys a bunch at showcases and such. I think this record is brilliant, and to call it “underrated” would be an understatement.

The opening track, “Ay Distress”, is a sparse little heart breaker that ends abruptly with a cell phone going off in the studio, followed by pandemonium. Its a moment that caught me way off guard the first time I heard it and kind of blew my mind in the process. I can’t really think of any other album that starts you off this way; its a really cinematic moment, raw and weird. Then track two, “Alcohol” kicks in almost immediately, up-tempo and sounding more like a traditional album opener. This is the kind of sweet-ass, emotionally manipulative one-two punch that I’m a sucker for.

You’ve got really heavily strummed nylon-string guitars, a guitarron (a huge plucked guitar used in Mariachi bands) in lieu of a traditional bass, and Chris Flemmons’ insanely powerful lungs singing like his life depends on it. The real hit tune is “Going Back Song,” which is a pop beauty put through the freaky dark Tex-Mex filter of this record.

I’ll stop talking about it. You should just listen.

Love,

EDJ

For the next 48 hours, you can go HERE to get No Silver/No Gold at our FTR sale price of $6 CD/$4 Mp3.

Eric’s band, Fruit Bats, recently released a fine record of their own, The Ruminant Band and it is conveniently located HERE for your listening pleasure. for you to check out!

Look to our semi-regular feature, For the Record, for reflections from staff and Sub Pop artists on some of our favorite records from the Sub Pop catalog; each featured title is deeply discounted for the 48 hours following the posted review.

No Age recorded an exclusive 30 second track for the fine folks at Death & Taxes Magazine! Death & Taxes issue 22 is full of interactive content and we’re stoked to be part of it. You can download “In Peril” here

That was just yesterday, so I hope you remember. Yesterday was officially the cutoff for getting two bucks off the CD/LP. But you can still get Nirvana’s debut, Bleach, on 180 gram, white-vinyl, with digital download code. Or if you prefer, compact disc (both versions come with an amazing live recording from 1990). Nothing marks the day where you were all like, “I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already”, better than a reissue. Pick yours up here.

Just in time for you to be that guy when No Age plays some upcoming dates with the Pixies we have some super fancy new t shirts! We’ve also got a new No Age racerback tank top in stock! But wait! There’s more! The Losing Feeling EP cover was designed by No Age and Brian Roettinger (who received a Grammy nomination for his work on Nouns) and we like it so much we’ve turned it into a four poster set. Each poster represents a song on the album and they are pretty fancy if I do say so myself. This poster set is limited edition so get ‘em while the gettin’ is good.

This month marks the 20th Anniversary of Nirvana’s “Bleach”. I first heard this record in 1990. My friend Jeremy turned me on to it and we’d hang out as his house and play Super Mario and take acid and listen to Bleach and a lot of Lee Harvey Oswald Band and then later all the dudes would dare each other to jump off the train trestles off Memorial Drive in Houston. I had a super good time all the time, and this record was totally the soundtrack. I don’t have a ton more to say about it that you can’t find in an article somewhere/everywhere else, but I wouldn’t mind hearing about the first time you guys heard the record. Do it up in the comments section, grungers, and one lucky commenter will win a copy of Bleach Deluxe.

Next Ambiance’s Debut Album, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba’s I Speak Fula, Scheduled for Digital Release in North America on December 1st, 2009

SEATTLE, WA – Sub Pop Records and KEXP radio host Jon Kertzer have come together to form Next Ambiance, a world music imprint. Malian band Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba’s I Speak Fula will be the first album out on Next Ambiance, and is scheduled for digital release on iTunes, December 1st, 2009 and for CD release on February 2nd, 2009. The band will embark on their first US tour, opening for nine-time Grammy winner Bela Fleck, in early 2010 in support of the record. Tour dates and more information provided below.

Next Ambiance:
Founded by Jon Kertzer, the host of KEXP’s “The Best Ambiance” radio show, a long-running weekly program that focuses on both pop and traditional music from the African continent, Next Ambiance continues the musical exploration, with an emphasis on mind-blowing and life-changing artists with no particular regional or cultural bias.

“I’ve listened and learned so much from Jon’s show (”The Best Ambiance") for half of my life. It just seemed natural to put his knowledge, resources and remarkable taste to further use. It’ll certainly be a boon to listeners everywhere," commented Sub Pop Records co-founder, Jonathan Poneman. “Our first release with Bassekou Kouyate and his incredible band Ngoni ba from Mali in West Africa, is the perfect way to begin this new adventure. Their album I Speak Fula captures this truly original music, like nothing you have heard before.”

Don’t expect many releases from Sub Pop/Next Ambiance initially. After all, it’s going to take a particularly brave artist or artists to follow Bassekou. Sub Pop/Next Ambiance will release I Speak Fula throughout North America, Australia and New Zealand.

“I am very excited to be working with Sub Pop on the Next Ambiance imprint to release the best of the world’s music, innovative and ground-breaking sounds that follow new paths,” stated Kertzer.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba:
Malian Bassekou Kouyate made his international debut with the 2007 album Segu Blue. Released by Out Here Records, the album received critical acclaim and won the band the coveted honor of performing on the Jools Holland Show, as well as 2008 BBC 3 nomination for Best Newcomer , going on to win in both the Album of the Year category as well as Best African Act.

Their sophomore effort, I Speak Fula, was released on September 21, 2009 in the UK and, unsurprisingly, received widespread critical acclaim. Known for their riveting live performances, I Speak Fula more effectively conveys the energy and infectious intensity of that experience than the band’s first album. In October 2009 Bassekou once again performed on The Jools Holland Show alongside the likes of Yoko Ono and The Dead Weather.

“This is a cracker.”**** Mojo
“A contender for African album of the year” * Uncut
“…the best rock’n’roll band in the world.” The Independent

Beginning in early February 2010, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba will share the bill with Bela Fleck for their inaugural tour through the United States.

http://www.myspace.com/bassekoukouyate

Click for 2010 Tour Dates

More about Sub Pop Records:
Sub Pop Records was founded in 1988 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. The Seattle-based label was the original home to such legendary bands as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney, and has enjoyed more recent successes with such artists as The Postal Service, The Shins, Iron & Wine, Band of Horses, Flight of the Conchords, and Fleet Foxes.

In 2002, Sub Pop came into contact with Minneapolis’ De Stijl Records when trying to track down Michael Yonkers, whose Microminiature Love was spinning constantly on office stereos…

On November 13th Mudhoney will be playing at Neumos in Seattle with Brothers of the Sonic Cloth (Tad Doyle’s band) and Unnatural Helpers. The show is a celebration of Michael Lavine’s new book titled, Grunge. Michael has taken numerous photos of Sub Pop’s artists over the years and many of them go way, way back. The book is pretty frickin’ amazing. You can see some of them in this video. Check it out and come join us. It’ll be fun!

If you’d like to have a copy of the book autographed by Michael, you can catch him at the following locations:

Friday, November 13 there will be a signing at noon at:
Orca Books
509 East 4th Ave
Olympia, WA
360-352-0123

Saturday, November 14 at 4pm there will be a signing at:
Easy Street Records & Cafe
4559 California Ave SW # 200, Seattle, WA
(206) 938-EASY

Introductions are in order…

Avi Buffalo is the adopted name of Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, an 18 year-old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Long Beach , CA. Avi Buffalo is also the name of the band he formed with friends and like-minded collaborators Sheridan Riley (drums), Arin Fazio (bass) and Rebecca Coleman (keyboards and vocals). Though Avi started recording songs 3 years ago, during his sophomore year in high school, amidst the dissolution of his previous band Monogram, it wasn’t until Bill Cutts of Outsider Folk asked Avi to play a show in 2007 that Avi Buffalo the band came to be. This first show was an acoustic set at the Zephyr Café in Long Beach. Through the following summer and a local music festival that fall, the band became an altogether more electric thing. And soon they were asked to play shows in Los Angeles. They did and then kept on doing it. A year later Avi and Aaron Embry (who has played with folks like Elliott Smith, Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, Beth Orton, and a whole slew of others) began recording the songs that will become the band’s first record. At the prompting of early fan and Sub Pop A&R Head Tony Kiewel, the band toured up to Seattle, played a show, met folks at the label, and began what we all hope will be a very long and happy relationship.

Since then, Avi, Sheridan, Arin, and Rebecca have toured with and made fans of new label-mates Beach House, played the FYF Festival and the Monolith Festival, found unexpected, glowing response and airplay from Steve Lamacq at BBC1, and closer to home from KCRW and KXLU, and have received a whole lot of unsolicited press attention. All before putting out a record.

Because we at Sub Pop are (still…) in the increasingly anachronistic business of putting out records, we plan to change that. And so! On Dec. 8th, 2009 we will be releasing “What’s in It For?” b/w “Jessica” as a 7" vinyl single, recorded by the aforementioned and comprehensively associated Aaron Embry. You can pre-order this single now right here. One or both of these songs will also be found on the debut Avi Buffalo full-length that we are just ridiculously puffed-up about releasing in the spring of 2010.

Meet Avi Buffalo! We think you’re going to like them an awful lot. We sure do.

For the Record is here again, (Our 8th installment! That’s 7 more than we wagered!), and this time out we have none other than Dean Spunt from No Age helping us out with a record recommendation. Dean’s a busy guy these days (with things like this, this and this to name a few) so we surely appreciate him takin’ some time out for FTR (thanks again, Dean!).

And just to re-cap, for those of you unfamiliar with For the Record, this is our semi-regular web feature wherein we (or a generous artist like Dean, Mat, Marty or Scott) reflect on one of our favorite records from the Sub Pop catalog and in turn, said record is dramatically discount for the following 48 hours.

Make Sense? Yes? Good. Now let’s hear about Wolf Eyes!

Band: Wolf Eyes
Record: Burned Mind
When we told you the first time: September 28th, 2004

This record is fantastic! It’s not for the weak though, it starts and ends with a harsh noise ear assault courtesy of the the Wolf Eyes.

Parts remind me of Throbbing Gristle if they were pissed, other parts are like Man is the Bastard if they had no instruments, or Negative Approach with the guitars effected and the drums taken out of the mix and replaced with broken oscillators. Sound good? Then you should check it out – it may cause you to pick up a Behringer mixing board and some pedals and make a limited cassette.

-Dean

For the next 48 hours, you can get Burned Mind at our FTR sale price of $6 CD/$4 Mp3 here!

Dean’s band, No Age, just released their fantastic EP, Losing Feeling, this month. We think you might enjoy it and heartily recommend you go HERE to check it out.

Eugene Mirman just released a new comedy record on Sub Pop called God is a Twelve-Year-Old-Boy With Asperger’s and it’s funny stuff. One of the problems with being a funny guy is that people always want you to do funny things. No one wants to just sit down with you and ask you mundane questions, but that’s totally my bag, so, a few days ago I interviewed Eugene Mirman over email. Here it is:

LS: Hi! So, how are those plates selling? If you are willing to sell a plate, what would you not sell with your face on it? While we’re at it, tell me about the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, please. Was it a success?

EM: The plates are sold out maybe, unless there are still some through my site. There might be. I would sell lots of things with my face on it, including — hats, a school bus, high-end instant soup, and an artists imagining of Zeus’ penis. And yes, the festival was a success. It was very fun. We had a whole roast pig the opening night, rented a limo to shuttle the audience [One limo! Sounds like quite a crowd! –ed.] from the venue to the subway and had lots of great comedians who shined a light onto societies ills and also joked around about sex and drinking.

LS: Sometimes you say hi to me and sometimes you don’t—what’s the deal with that?

EM: I can be spacey sometimes. Or maybe I’m trying to be mysterious and doing it wrong. Either way, sorry about that.

LS: I figure people ask you about comedy all the time, and I will later probably, but what interests me more right now is that you are Russian. That’s interesting. Tell me about it. I had a Russian boyfriend who moved here in the ‘80s and he had no friends and was stuffed in the trophy cases at school and stuff. Did that happen to you? Do you speak Russian? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does being Russian affect your everyday life? Is it affect or effect? I’m pretty sure it’s affect but now I am doubting myself.

EM: I do speak Russian. I talk to my parents a few times a week. It affects me 2.5 on that scale. In the 80s it probably affected me 4.2. I wasn’t stuffed in a trophy case (I was never good enough), but in elementary school people called me a commie and blamed me when the Russians shot down a Korean airliner. Eventually what started as a youthful disdain of Ruskies transformed into a much broader disdain for me throughout my adolescence. I also was probably [most likely –ed.] annoying. It was most likely a destructive cycle that ended sometime around 11th grade. On a side note, a friend of mine recently told me that in third grade our teacher told her to stop being friends with me because I was a loser and as proof showed her my standardized test scores. They were indeed very low. [You can’t be a loser in third grade. It just doesn’t work that way. –ed.]

LS: You played a rapist in some schmaltzy TV crime drama. Do you still go audition for parts like that or do you have enough work to not do that anymore? I noticed that you have a night of crime drama comedians at your upcoming fest—that’s funny stuff!

EM: I was not a rapist — I was only a suspected arsonist. [I’m going to have to fire my fact checker. –ed.] I don’t really audition for stuff like that very much, and…

There is so much that could be said regarding Flight of the Conchords. How they hail from New Zealand, the island nation with multiple postal services. Or that, after winning a Best Comedy Album Grammy for The Distant Future in 2007, they were nominated for a second Best Comedy Album Grammy in 2008, but were actually relieved not to win again—because meaningless trophies really do seem important when you only have one, and have to fight over who gets to keep it. Or that this same popular HBO television series (conveniently also called Flight of the Conchords) was recently nominated for what-sure-seems-like-a-record-breaking 6 Emmys, but won none. Or, and most importantly, that Flight of the Conchords second full-length album, I Told You I Was Freaky is now available for pre-order on CD or deluxe-ish LP (limited-edition purple vinyl here at subpop.com, gatefold jacket, digital download code). AND, if you pre-order by October, 20th, you’ll automatically received $2 off and Flight of the Conchords stickers and buttons.

Pre-order the new Flight of the Conchords record here

For a couple free Flight of the Conchords MP3 downloads, click here

In collaboration with master artist, veteran skateboarding legend and Emerica Pro Ed Templeton, Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, the industrious art-punkers behind No Age have designed a shoe for Emerica! Take a look! And, theses are not just another pretty pair of shoes. Since Ed, Randall and Spunt are all vegan, the shoe is made up of entirely organic and synthetic materials, but designed to weather the abuse of skateboarding.

And, no big surprise, they are a whole lot better-looking than the admittedly somewhat garish Nikes that we helped design last summer, and have recently been trying to sell to you.

Also, the new No Age EP, Losing Feeling is out now!

This week marks the passing of the 50th birthday of our own dear Jonathan Poneman: our boss, the co-founder of Sub Pop Records, filth-anthropist, countryman, liberal loudmouth, etc. Sometimes the best way to show someone how much you care is by totally destroying their office. And, because we do care, that’s what we did today. We got him pretty good a few years back when we filled his office with balloons, and since then he’s done an amazing job of making himself scarce this time of year. This year we organized a Polish lunch for him here at the office (his (much) better half is Polish, and it’s fun to watch him squirm around the meat…) but not before we plastered his office with his own lovely mug. Happy Birthday, JP—you’re the beast! Best. Sorry.

Sometimes, it just needs to be loud. For the members of Retribution Gospel Choir, that time is now. The group features Alan Sparhawk on guitar and vocals, Steve Garrington on bass and Eric Pollard on drums and vocals. Alan also fronts the band Low with his wife, Mimi Parker, and Steve also plays bass in Low. Retribution Gospel Choir will release their second full-length, the band’s Sub Pop debut, 2, on Jan. 26, 2010. The rough heft, aggressive dynamics and emotional release found on the 10 tracks on 2 will surprise fans of Low’s gorgeously restrained, spartan rock ’n’ roll.

The band’s self-titled debut was released in March 2008 on Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde Records. Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) also produced the debut album and played shows with the band early on. An extensive North American tour is in the works for Retribution Gospel Choir beginning in late January, preceded by some shows and festivals in the UK and Spain in December. A New York appearance at The Mercury Lounge is scheduled for December 15.

By the way, you can listen to Retribution Gospel Choir on their MySpace page.

Hello, Friends! I love October, and this October is especially special because on October 6th a lot of cool junk is coming out on Sub Pop and Hardly Art and then Halloween happens 25 days later and Halloween is obvs the best holiday of all the holidays. Anyhow, back to the 6th…. On that day we’ll be releasing these special items: the No Age Losing Feeling EP on vinyl (Have you heard that song “You’re a Target”?!), Eugene Mirman’s new comedy album God Is a 12-Year-Old Boy with Asperger’s (you get a free Eugene Mirman tote bag while supplies last!!), Blitzen Trapper’s Black River Killer EP will be available on vinyl finally (Vinyl!! Finally!!), and Hardly Art will be releasing the sophomore record from The Dutchess & the Duke Sunset/Sunrise (I love it!!). The Flight of the Conchords record I Told You I Was Freaky comes out on October 20th, and you’ll get $2 off if you pre-order here on the magnificent subpop.com. Hey, the Nirvana Bleach deluxe re-issue is all ready to go for pre-order as well, ($2 off also), so get thee to ordering! Just to let you know, the vinyl on this piece is heavy as it’s a double 180-gram white vinyl package with a booklet, so be prepared for increased shipping rates on that one—it’s worth it, I promise. Okay, so, if you dress up as any Sub Pop or Hardly Art artist and you send me a photo I’ll put together a nice surprise package for you. I bet no one does this, so that’ll make my job way easier.

Oh geez, I almost forgot! Sub Pop and Hardly Art are teaming together to bring you the CMJ showcase of 2009. We’ve got Unnatural Helpers, Dum Dum Girls, Moondoggies, Dutchess & the Duke, Golden Triangle, Pissed Jeans, Obits, and Male Bonding all playing at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on October 24th, and I shouldn’t have to tell you that this is a show not to be missed.

Happy October, dudes!

*Dutchess and the Duke original photo courtesy of Kirstie Shanley

Many of us at Sub Pop are hoping to preserve the domestic partnership law and are asking that you join us by approving Ref. 71. This is an equal rights issue and we need to make sure that we continue to take steps towards ensuring a high quality of life for everyone. As our head honcho Jonathan Poneman says, “All issues of human rights and human dignity need to be embraced and championed.” Please help us get the word out to approve ref. 71. Below is a note from our friend, Stuart Wilber:

On October 11th there is a march for equal rights in DC. This march has been poorly publicized, mainly because the local and national organizations like PFLAG, GLAAD, HRC and The Gay and Lesbian Task Force who have endorsed it have only paid lip service and have refused to publicize it, probably because they are afraid if people spend money going to DC they will not donate to their causes. John and I marched in ’93 and just the opposite occurred, we and others came back feeling empowered and energized.

I have been very active in promoting the national and local solidarity marches as well as Approve ref.71, a WA state ballot measure to take away the recent domestic partnership rights granted us by the WA legislators. Being 10 years older than John and 71, all other things being equal, I will pre-decease him. The financial consequences are enormous, social security benefits and taxes are among the significant ways in which we are discriminated against at the federal level. Many of the protections that ref.71 IF approved confer can be protected contractually; others cannot. That is why I am marching in DC.

I need your advice and your help. I need help publicizing the National March and the local march and I need ideas on how to get the word out nationally and locally. I know you must have friends across the country and the world (there are marches planned in Copenhagen and Canada) who could help promote this march. Won’t you please help me and use them as a way of publicizing the national march. I am so tired of being a second class citizen – call it marriage, call it a union, I don’t care what it is called as long as state-sanctioned relationships are called the same thing for and available for all our citizens.

So please help me publicize this march and won’t you grab a hundred of your closest friends and come to DC. If you can’t get to DC march locally. My mother fought for women’s rights in the ‘20s. Both my parents fought for civil rights for Afro-Americans in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. And I have marched for women’s and people’s of color and LGBT rights since the ’50s. Won’t you please march with me? —Stuart

You can march here in Seattle on October 11th. The march/rally will begin in Volunteer Park at 2:00pm. If you don’t live in Seattle, you can join the national march in Washington D.C. or you can possibly march in your local area. There are numerous events being set up in many different cities. Get out there and join us!

WFMU, one of our favorite independent free form online radio stations, is throwing the first (hopefully annual) WFMU Fest at the Music Hall of Williamsburg this weekend (Oct. 1-3)! I haven’t heard of anything as amazing going on in NYC this weekend, so there’s no excuse to miss it! The coolest part of the festival—Pissed Jeans are headlining Friday night!

Check out the other bands playing in the sweet line-up:

Thursday October 1st (Doors 8PM, $20 advance or night of show): Krautrock pioneers Faust, with Cold Cave and Aluk Todolo opening

Friday, October 2nd (Doors 8PM, tickets $12 advance/$15 night of show): a home run punk fest featuring Pissed Jeans, TV Ghost, Vee Dee, and Guinea Worms

Saturday, October 3rd (Doors 8PM, $20 advance or night of show): the return of No Wave legends Teenage Jesus and the Jerks plus a triple attack setup of NYC noisemongers Sightings, Drunkdriver, and Talk Normal

If you aren’t familiar with WFMU, make yourself acquainted with it here.

*Tickets are available in advance via the Music Hall of Williamsburg’s site