You can now listen to Mike and The MelvinsThree Men and a Baby, the long-awaited collaboration album featuring Mike Kunka (godheadSilo, Enemymine) and the Melvins, in it’s entirety at RollingStone.com.
Three Men and a Baby will be available on CD/LP/DL/CASS on April 1, 2016 worldwide through Sub Pop. The 12-song album features the highlights “Chicken ‘n’ Dump” and “Limited Teeth.” Most of Three Men and a Baby was recorded in 1999 at Louder Studios by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs), and it was finished in 2015 at Sound of Sirens by Toshi Kasai.
About Mike and the Melvins: Three Men and a Baby is the new album by Mike and the Melvins. It was supposed to come out sixteen years ago.
These are the facts we can be sure of: in 1998, around the time his band godheadSilo went on hiatus, bassist/vocalist Mike Kunka busied himself by tagging along on a tour with his friends the Melvins. Somewhere along the way, Mike and the Melvins – King Buzzo (guitar/bass/vocals), Dale Crover (drums/vocals), and Kevin Rutmanis (bass/vocals), at the time – decided to make a record together, and gave the project the imaginative moniker Mike and the Melvins. Sub Pop, ever on the hunt for music’s Next Big Thing, enthusiastically agreed to fund and release the super-group’s debut, and recording commenced sometime in 1999.
It’s at this point that things get hazy. Apparently, one or more of the following happened:
Some “junior-high level bullshit.”
A house was built, a barn was raised, children were born.
Typical record-label skullduggery.
A scorching case of whooping cough.
Surgery. Lots of surgery.
Shocking and poorly-timed gear theft.
Some other stuff, probably, or maybe not.
Whatever the reasons, the incomplete recording languished on a shelf from 1999 until 2015, when, much to everyone’s surprise, the involved parties reconvened, finished the damn thing, and delivered it post-haste to Sub Pop International Headquarters, where it was promptly scheduled for the coveted April 1st, 2016 release date. What a story, right?
So, about the record: It’s real good! Mike’s signature bass crunch and vocals are all over it, and the Melvins are in fine form. It has everything from hefty noise-rock churn to a Public Image Ltd. song to cough-syrup blues to deconstructed black metal. Neither Melvins nor godheadSilo fans will be disappointed, nor will detractors of either; to paraphrase Mike, if you don’t like it, it probably wasn’t meant for you (read more at Sub Pop)
Due to popular demand Flight of the Conchords (aka Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) has extended the “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.” Their forthcoming summer trek now includes second dates in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Portland, and Austin. Those dates are:
June 25th - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium June 28th - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater July 10th - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall July 20th - New York, NY - Forest Hills Stadium July 26th - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Tickets for the new shows go on sale Friday, April 1st at 10am (local time).
The “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour,” is their first since co-headlining 2013’s “Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Tour.” The Grammy Award-winning folk comedy duo has new material in the works, which they’ll showcase exclusively at these shows. The amphitheatre and concert hall tour will also make stops in Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, and more.
The “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour” begins June 11th in Cleveland, OH at State Theatre and ends July 27th in Los Angeles, CA at The Greek Theatre. (complete tour dates below.)
For this tour, the Conchords have also partnered with the charity organization Global Citizen. Amy Freeland, Senior Manager of Global Citizen Tickets, had this to say about the union, “We are so excited that Flight of the Conchords has joined the Global Citizen Tickets program for 2016! Offering two tickets to each show on the upcoming “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour” will engage and motivate Global Citizens across the U.S. to take action to end extreme poverty by 2030.”
Tour Dates Jun. 11 - Cleveland, OH - State Theatre Jun. 12 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for Performing Arts Jun. 13 - Washington, DC - Wolf Trap Filene Center [SOLD OUT] Jun. 14 - Columbus, OH - Palace Theatre [SOLD OUT] Jun. 16 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre [SOLD OUT] Jun. 17 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum [SOLD OUT] Jun. 18 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre [SOLD OUT] Jun. 19 - Chicago, IL - Pritzker Pavilion [SOLD OUT] Jun. 22 - Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park Concerts [SOLD OUT] Jun. 23 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum [SOLD OUT] Jun. 24 - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium [SOLD OUT] Jun. 25 - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium [JUST ADDED] Jun. 27 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic [SOLD OUT] Jun. 28 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater [JUST ADDED] Jul. 01 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl Jul. 02 - San Diego, CA - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU Jul. 03 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre Jul. 05 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre Jul. 07 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre Jul. 09 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall [SOLD OUT] Jul. 10 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall [JUST ADDED] Jul. 11 - New Orleans, LA - Saenger Theatre Jul. 12 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre Jul. 14 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater Jul. 16 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheatre Jul. 17 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre Jul. 18 - Cary, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre Jul. 20 - New York, NY - Forest Hills Stadium [JUST ADDED] Jul. 22 - Newport, RI - Newport Folk 2016 (Fort Adams State Park) [SOLD OUT] Jul. 23 - Boston, MA - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion [SOLD OUT] Jul. 24 - New York, NY - Central Park SummerStage [SOLD OUT] Jul. 26 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre [JUST ADDED] Jul. 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre [SOLD OUT]
You can now hear Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop’s Love Letter for Fire, their forthcoming duets record, in it’s entirety via NPR Music’s “First Listen”.
NPR Music says of the album, “Love Letter for Fire was, at least in part, inspired by the pair’s desire to make songs that function as conversations rather than soliloquies, and their work backs that up…With the help of producer Tucker Martine and a smart, subtle band, the two achieve a fine balance — of songwriting sensibilities, of time in the spotlight — in the service of songs that feel at once fresh and timeless (see “First Listen” April 7th-15th).”
Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop’s 2016 headlining tour schedule in support of Love Letter for Fire has been extended through September. This includes a North American trek with support from Marlon Williams (May 17th-June 11th) and a European run (August 28th-September 11th). Sam and Jesca will also appear at End of the Road Festival weekender September 2nd-4th. (complete tour dates below.) Sam and Jesca recently released a short film on the making of Love Letter for Fire. The two discuss the process of how their collaborative album came to fruition and how two people not in love wrote an entire album of love songs. The clip also features exclusive performances of the two in a stripped down and intimate setting [watch it here].
Love Letter for Firewill be available on CD / LP / DL / CASS worldwide April 15th through Sub Pop/Black Crickett Recording Co., and is now available for preorder at Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and Bandcamp. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited Loser edition on Smoke-colored vinyl (while supplies last - we’re almost out as of 4/7/16).
Tour Dates May 17 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark* May 18 - Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall* May 20 - New York, NY - The Town Hall* May 21 - Washington, DC - The Lincoln Theatre* May 22 - Boston, MA - The Wilbur Theatre* May 24 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer* May 26 - Atlanta, GA - The Buckhead Theatre* May 27 - New Orleans, LA - The Civic Theatre* May 28 - Dallas, TX - The Kessler Theater* May 30 - Tucson, AZ - The Rialto Theatre* May 31 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre* Jun. 02 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* Jun. 03 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater* Jun. 04 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre* Jun. 05 - Boise, ID - The Egyptian Theatre* Jun. 07 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater* Jun. 08 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown* Jun. 09 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater* Jun. 10 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom* Jun. 11 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall* Aug. 28 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh International Festival Aug. 29 - Bangor, UK - Marine Court Aug. 30 - Dublin, Ireland - Olympia Theatre Aug 31 - Manchester, UK - Royal Northern College of Music Sep. 01 - London, UK - Union Chapel Sep. 02-04 - Salisbury, Larmer Tree Gardens, UK - End of the Road Festival Sep. 07 - Berlin, DE - Passionskirche Sep. 08 - Cologne, DE - Kulturkirche Sep. 09 - Brussels, BE - Botanique-Orangerie Sep. 10 - Groningen, NL - Take Root Festival Sep. 11 - Amsterdam, NL - De Duif * w/ Marlon Williams
After reading through hundreds of wonderfully thoughtful and inspirational applications, we here at Sub Pop Records have chosen three extraordinarily qualified students for our Sub Pop Loser scholarship.
Our $7000 winner this year is Lucas Reif of Redmond, Washington. Lucas won us over big-time with his explosive poster art for various local all-ages punk shows. His visual art skills were on display through photography, zine creation, web design, screen printing, and a variety of other formats. In the local community, Lucas volunteered at Ground Zero, worked with the EMP Youth Advisory Board, plays in a band called Kids Menu, and supports bands like GAG in our local all-ages spaces. We feel strongly that Lucas has a bright future ahead of him, and although he may think there is a tangible disconnect between him and the cool kids, he is probably one of the coolest and most talented kids to ever apply for our Loser Scholarship.
Rosabelle Heine will be taking home $5000 this year as a Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winner. From Ashland, Oregon, Rosabelle is one of the most talented and multi-faceted artists we’ve seen in our nine years of looking at Loser Scholarship applications. Her photography, especially the set design, lighting, and thoroughly thought-out concepts really stunned us; her photos are beautifully executed. She is a multi-instrumentalist playing violin, mandolin, busking on the drums, and occasionally making killer beats to rap over. Her community contributions include organizing public youth symphony performances, mural painting, film festival volunteering, building archways in local parks, and fundraising for art lessons for low income students. We love her creative spirit and think that whichever school is lucky enough to have her will be much better off with Rosabelle. Here is Rosabelle’s blog: http://sublimeclementine.com/
Chan Ha Kim will be getting $3000 as a Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winner. Animation and drawing seem to come easy to Chan and they have been her passion since a young age. After immigrating to the Everett area from South Korea, Chan really blossomed as a visual artist and started to win many awards for her very compelling drawings and animations. Not content to just be a stunning visual artist, Chan has helped other Koreans seeking artistic support to find resources in the United States while also hosting volunteer art workshops for children at her home. Wow, her altruistic support of the arts really touched our hearts. But altruism isn’t her only strength, she works on animations and drawings for at least two hours every day and is very dedicated to her craft, volunteering and interning to gain more knowledge at various local organizations. We know there are big things in the future for Chan and her beautiful animations. Here is Chan’s Tumblr: http://verrou.tumblr.com/
This year may have been the strongest field of applicants for the Loser Scholarship so far! For those losers who didn’t win this year, thanks for playing, we loved your applications too, and know many of you will go on to inspire us in the future.
You can now listen to Kyle Craft’s “Eye of a Hurricane,” a standout from Dolls of Highland, his forthcoming Sub Pop debut. American Songwriter says of the track: ““Eye of a Hurricane” starts Dolls… with a sudden jolt of energy, courtesy of the song’s ragtime piano lick. The keys continue to drive the track, as the distorted guitar works to add a sense of eeriness to the song. All the while, Craft displays the full prowess of his vocal range, hitting high notes that hark back to glam rock vocals of the ’70s (see premiere March 29th).”
Rolling Stone also included Kyle Craft in its “10 New Artists You Need To Know” feature, and had this say of his music: “A swamp bar jukebox loaded with British glitter and Seventies Southern rock; a crawfish boil aboard ELO’s spacecraft (see RollingStone.com March 24th).”
Kyle Craft’s just-announced U.S. tour schedule in support of Dolls of Highland spans April 1st in Seattle at the Barboza (for Sub Pop Records 28th Anniversary Party) through May 30th in Salt Lake City, UT at Kilby Court. Highlights for the tour include: album release shows at Seattle’s The Sunset (April 28th) and Portland’s Doug Fir (April 29th); A week-long run supporting Fruit Bats (May 19th-25th); And a show in Denver at Lost Lake Lounge with label mates Arbor Labor Union (May 29th). You’ll find a complete list of dates below.
Dolls of Highland comes out on CD / LP / DL / CASS worldwide April 29th through Sub Pop, and is now available for preorder from Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and Bandcamp. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com will receive the Loser edition on pink vinyl with black swirl (while supplies last).
Dolls of Highland was written, recorded and produced by Craft, mixed by Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel of The Helio Sequence at the Old Jantzen Building in Portland, and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound.
What “The People” have said about Kyle Craft: “Craft admits his voice sounds a good deal like Bob Dylan’s, and that his muse has come to him many, many times. Still, “Lady of the Ark” hints that Craft’s music is so full of its own weird singularity that he’s on to something far beyond idol worship.” - Billboard
““Pentecost” sees Kyle Craft…return to his hometown in Louisiana, haunted by the ghost of a friend who took his own life. Paired with his knack for great melodies, it demonstrates Craft’s emotional power as a songwriter.” [“Pentecost” / “All Songs Considered”] -NPR Music
“With inviting, yet imperfect vocals and a jangly guitar melody, “Lady of the Ark” is a sweeping goodbye to a long-term relationship. It’s somehow warm, melodic, and rough at the same time.” [The Weeks Best Tracks”] - FLOOD
“Like many artists from the South, Craft has a conflicted relationship with the region’s cultural duality, a topic he tackles on “Lady Of The Ark.” Shrouded in guitars and organ, he caustically wails, “Swing low, low sweet heathen / Swing for the wretch and the rock and roll kid,” a line he says he wrote in response to the “shame, shame thing that ‘church folk’ tend to do so often,” and which doesn’t sit well with Craft. “Roam this earth repeat it / All this sin until this wicked world makes sense in time,” he defiantly growls near the song’s end. Craft’s roaming days may be done for now, but “Lady Of The Ark” shows his music as wild-eyed and restless” - [“Lady of the Ark” / “Songs We Love”] - NPR Music
Tour Dates Apr. 01 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile Apr. 28 - Seattle, WA - The Sunset Apr. 29 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir May 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent* May 20 - Los Angeles, CA - Roxy* May 21 - San Diego, CA - Casbah* May 22 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar* May 24 - Austin, TX - Parish* May 25 - Dallas, TX - Three Links* May 26 - Shreveport, LA - Bears on Fairfield May 29 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake Lounge** May 30 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *w/ Fruit Bats ** w/ Arbor Labor Union
New music from Goat is always a time for celebration, and we are excited to announce the band’s return with a 7” of brand new material.
Last year Goat released the single “It’s Time for Fun” which saw the band experimenting with drum machines, which brought a different pulse to their tribal psych. This desire to explore new sounds continues with their new single “I Sing in Silence.” But instead of plugging in new instruments the band have unplugged and created an addictive groove with mostly un-amped, acoustic instruments.
Elastic guitar lines, woodblock percussion, and flutes which drive the song are enveloped by one of the strongest vocal deliveries by the bands enigmatic singers, resulting in a powerful and catchy psych-pop number.
The B side, an instrumental called “The Snake of Addis Ababa,” is a looping, North-African mantra played on a teasing, fuzzed guitar, underpinned by a djembi groove. The repetitive riff is disrupted by piano that freely solos over the groove, and a pounding drum lifts the song to a seriously head-nodding conclusion.
This single is further proof that, in a world of similar sounding and similar looking psych bands, Goat are standing completely out on their own and we are all the better for it.
This summer the band will be busy writing, recording, and blowing people’s minds across Europe’s greatest stages. Confirmed dates at time of going to press:
Tour Dates Jun. 01 - Barcelona, ES - Primavera Sound Jun. 11 - Eindhoven, NL - Eindhoven Psych Lab Jun. 12 - London, UK - Field Day Jun. 17 - Duisburg, DE - Traumzeit Festival Jun. 19 - Gaou Island/Six-Fours, France - Pointu Festival Jul. 09 - Liege, BE - Les Ardentes Festival Jul. 10 - Gent, BE - Cactus Festival Jul. 22-24 - Barcelos, PT - Milhões de Festa Sep. 03 - End of the Road Festival / UK
