FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26, 2010  click image above to listen and/or download Cast Spells releases Daytrotter session Revered and innovative exclusive recording site Daytrotter has posted a powerful session by Cast Spells, the nom-de-tune of Maps & Atlases frontman Dave Davison. The 3-song set, recorded at the Daytrotter studios is available for free download and streaming HERE. Davison's heartfelt and charismatic performances are unparalleled -- check out this Glass Room session video of "Potted Plant" (a different version also performed on the Daytrotter session.) The Daytrotter recording is a perfect distillation of what some have dubbed the Cast Spells sound as "Peter Gabriel leading The Shins." Check out the MP3 for Cast Spells' "All Brass" from the recent split EP with Good Old War HERE. Check out Cast Spells' 2009 debut, Bright Works and Baton HERE. Daytrotter founder Sean Moeller eloquently describes the Cast Spells session: "Davison tends to think about things in a manner of how they affect the balance of everything - of what it means to be in this life, in that life and how any actions might send ripples through the common cartilage, rocking everything just slightly or devastatingly off its base. He takes us into the woozy escapes of a mind that wanders here and there, but ultimately finds itself stuck in the stampede of such crushing proximity to so many others and a reliance on needing everything to fit together harmoniously. A song like "Potted Plant" is a great example of the forces in collision, of a man of nomadic nature still trying to fit into some kind of domesticity that will keep him on a sunny windowsill. Then again, there's also that streaming feeling that running away from it all and returning to the backwoods isn't out of the question. "Davison sends us into a world that feels as if it was originally given to us in such a different state, but there's an innocent belief that it can be rearranged to be a likeness of its previous self once again with a little doing. It feels as if we've added all of the extra coats of paint, built it into a disgrace that could be much simpler, could be much prettier. We slide a hand figuratively into his as we listen to Cast Spells and launch ourselves out the door and down steep grassy hills at reckless speeds, knowing that it's likely we'll spill without time to get our hands out in front of us to brace the fall, but we'll spring back up, comment with a chuckle about the deep green stain on our knees and elbows and continue to follow him - recklessly." Davison recently returned from touring in Europe with yet another of his bands, Hey Tonal and is currently set to release the debut LP by Maps & Atlases on Barsuk Records.The songwriter also heads back into the studio soon to record the full length for Cast Spells on Sargent House.  Artist: Cast Spells Title: Daytrotter Session Release Date: March 25, 2010 01. Welcome to Daytrotter 02. Pioneer Scalps 03. Potted Plant 04. Glamorous Glowing  Artist: Cast Spells Title: Bright Works and Baton Release Date: August 2009 01. Glamorous Glowing 02. War Story Hellos 03. Potted Plant 04. Pioneer Scalps 05. American Quilts 06. A Badge Hi-res cover art, photos and bio: On The Web: www.sargenthouse.com/cspells.html Dave Davison of Cast Spells is available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com # # #  |
Friday, March 26, 2010
Cast Spells releases Daytrotter session
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
America high-fives Fang Island: Pitchfork Best New Music, Amazon & iTunes best seller, SXSW & tour mania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 16th, 2010
America high-fives Fang Island:
Pitchfork Best New Music, Amazon & iTunes best seller, SXSW & tour mania
"Honest and life-affirming and infectious, and it's that rare concentration of directness and simplicity that makes Fang Island so uniquely and wonderfully inclusive." Best New Music -- Pitchfork
"Totally triumphant guitars, giant choruses, and an overload of positive charm made this a perfect summertime album. I stand by my prediction: it’s going to be huge." -- Seattle Stranger
"Marries complex math-rock with a life-affirming energy that could soundtrack the next Spike Jonze film." – Los Angeles Examiner
Brooklyn guitar-anthem optimists Fang Island -- who describe their sound as "everyone high-fiving everyone" -- have been receiving a wealth of high-fives right back. Esteemed website Pitchfork showed ample praise for Fang Island's Sargent House debut album this week, making it a Best New Music pick. Likewise, fan buzz on Twitter and other social networks has been voluminous. Album sales topped charts on both iTunes (Top Alternative Albums) and Amazon (#1 Mover & Shaker Album) this week.
Just days after the quintet's newly purchased van was stolen on the eve of their current U.S. tour, Brooklyn police safely recovered the vehicle. On tour right now, Fang Island supports The Chinese Stars on dates surrounding both bands' SXSW performances. Then, Fang Island again hit the road supporting Red Sparowes in April. Please see complete tour dates below.
Fang Island's self-titled debut album hit shelves on February 23rd via Sargent House amid a wealth of praise from press, with many writers declaring it one of the Best of 2010, just two months into the new year. A digital EP featuring the popular album track "Daisy" backed with Chris Keating of Yeasayer's remix of "Absolute Place" off their Sky Gardens EP preceded the full length in January.
Back in December, Pitchfork debuted the quirky video for "Daisy" directed by Carlos Charlie Perez (Li'l Wayne, Vampire Weekend). Watch it HERE. A new clip, also directed by Perez, for the song "Life Coach" followed in March. Pitchfork showcases the clip HERE.
Its finger-tapping guitar lines, chanted vocals, triumphant harmonies and overall perky songs hearken to the sort of "Total Music" of the Jay Reatard, Ponytail, Kraftwerk, Marnie Stern, Thin Lizzy, et al. But, perhaps more so, its songs are like the music in your head at that moment when everything feels just right: that first kiss, that high score on the video game, buying your first small nation in cash... you know, good stuff. Check out MP3s for two tracks, "Daisy" (MP3 HERE) and "Life Coach" (MP3 HERE).
Fang Island began, oddly enough, as an art school project while the band members were attending the prodigious Rhode Island School of Design (also the foundation for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Les Savvy Fav, Six Finger Satellite, Lightning Bolt and some band called the Talking Heads.) According to guitarist Jason Bartell, the goal was to "make music for people who like music." That is, music without irony that harnesses its uplifting qualities. Just like a classic rock song or classical symphony can stir us emotionally, Fang Island exists to unlock that spirit.
Fang Island is guitarist Jason Bartell, bassist Michael Jacober, guitarist Chris Georges, guitarist Nicholas Andrew Sadler, and drummer Marc St. Sauveur. They all share collective group vocal harmonies and the occasional hand claps. While Sadler is also known for his role in the debauched rock band Daughters, it is only his fretboard skill that translates between the two groups.
Fang Island / The Chinese Stars:
03/16 Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
03/17 Lawrence, KS @ Reply Lounge
03/18 Hot Springs, AK @ Hot Springs Nat'l Park - VOV Fest
03/19 Austin, TX - SXSW @ Habana Calle 6 (Sargent House Show)
03/20 Austin, TX @ Club Primo's
03/21 Austin, TX @ RED 7
03/23 New Orleans, LA @ Dragon's Den
03/24 Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
03/25 Atlanta, GA @The Drunken Unicorn
03/26 Greenville, NC @ Tipsy Teapot
03/27 Baltimore, MD @ Floristree
04/03 Hartford, CT @ Trinity College (w/ Sleigh Bells and Brahms)
04/05 Brooklyn, NY @The Knitting Factory (Fang Island headline)
Red Sparowes / Fang Island
04/11 Washington DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel **
04/15 Boston, MA @ the Middle East Downstairs **
04/16 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa **
04/17 Toronto, ON @ the Garrison **
04/18 Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop #
04/19 Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio #
04/21 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall #
04/22 Madison, WI @ High Noon #
04/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar #
04/24 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr. #
04/26 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
04/27 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
04/29 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s #
04/30 Vancouver, BC @ the Biltmore #
05/01 Portland, OR @ the Hawthorne #
05/02 Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall #
05/04 Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
05/04 Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
05/05 Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
05/06 Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
05/07 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
05/08 Los Angeles, CA @ the Echoplex
05/09 San Diego, CA @ the Casbah
** With Doomriders
# With Caspian
Artist: Fang Island
Album: Fang Island
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: February 23, 2010
01. Dreams of Dreams
02. Careful Crossers
05. Sideswiper
06. The Illinois
07. Treeton
08. Davey Crockett
09. Welcome Wagon
10. Dorian
Hi-Res photos, cover art and bio:
On the Web:
Fang Island is available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com
Monday, March 15, 2010
Omar Rodriguez Lopez feature film makes North American debut at Tribeca Film Festival in April
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 15, 2010
(Click image above to view trailer.)
Omar Rodriguez Lopez feature film makes North American debut at Tribeca Film Festival in April
The phenomenally productive artist Omar Rodriguez Lopez makes his North American directorial debut in April when his feature film, The Sentimental Engine Slayer premieres at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. The film, which was written and directed by Rodriguez Lopez, will have four screenings during the festival. Please see complete time and venue details below.
While The Sentimental Engine Slayer is not his first venture as a director -- he also created two unreleased films, 2001’s A Manual Dexterity and 2003’s Letters from Dystopia -- it is his first feature released to the public. Made on a relatively small budget using money borrowed from a close friend and Rodriguez Lopez's parents, the cast and crew worked diligently on location in El Paso, TX to bring the project to fruition.
The Sentimental Engine Slayer tells the tale of the overdue coming of age of a 20-something misfit named Barlam. Set against the backdrop of drug-addled suburban El Paso sometime in the not-too-distant future, Barlam's awkward transition from boy to man is as much the story of struggling to find one's essence in a world of stereotypes as it is an indictment of the distorted reality of family life in the disengaged 21st Century. For a more detailed plot synopsis, please see the film's IMDB page.
In February 2010, The Sentimental Engine Slayer premiered to critical acclaim at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, an institution renowned for its support of emerging and decidedly non-commercial work. The relatively mainstream Tribeca Film Festival, in contrast, will prove something of a litmus test for Rodriguez Lopez's vision and its palatability to more standard-fare audiences.
Omar Rodriguez Lopez is an intensely prolific Grammy-winning recording artist whose genre-defying, fifteen-year career has resulted in some 35 albums. His seminal and critically acclaimed band, At the Drive-In, redefined popular rock music at the end of the last decade. Since that time, in addition to being both a solo artist and leader/composer/producer of the The Mars Volta, Rodriguez Lopez has produced groundbreaking recordings for the likes of Juliette Lewis and collaborated with Hans Zimmer, John Frusciante, and Erykah Badu, to name a few. In the early years of the new millennium, Rodriguez Lopez began filmmaking, familiarizing himself with the process by way of producing two unreleased films (2001’s A Manual Dexterity and 2003’s Letters from Dystopia) in lieu of any formal training. His third film, The Sentimental Engine Slayer, is the director’s debut feature release. Despite a virtually continuous commitment to the process of recording and touring with his various bands, Rodriguez Lopez has managed to complete two more films since principal production on The Sentimental Engine Slayer wrapped in 2007; El Divino Influjo De Los Secretos (2008) and Boiling Death Request (2009) are both currently in post-production.
Tribeca Film Festival - The Sentimental Engine Slayer Screening Schedule:
Thursday, April 22, 10:30 pm, VEC-01
Friday, April 23, 10:30 pm, VEC-07
Sunday, April 25, 9:30 pm, VEC-06
Tuesday, April 27, 5:45 pm, VEC-02
Screening Venue:
Village East Cinemas (VEC)
181 Second Avenue (at 12th Street)
New York, NY 10003
VEC-01: Seats 370
VEC-02: Seats 157
VEC-06: Seats 151
VEC-07: Seats 179
On the Web:
For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com. To contact Rodriguez Lopez Productions, email Cathy Pellow at: cathy@sargenthouse.com
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Accomplished singer/composer Lisa Papineau branches out with new album, Red Trees
Press Release
March 9th, 2010
Accomplished singer/composer Lisa Papineau branches out with new album, Red Trees
"Ms. Papineau's music... clearly shines through on this debut solo disc from the Air and M83 guest vocalist. Softly hewn vocals, combined with synth elements and computer bass echo those of Mia Doi Todd or other post-post-modern stream-of-consciousness songstresses caught up in the technological flow." -- XLR8R
"Papineau uses the spare arrangements to deliver endearingly optimistic performances.... Reveals a deep love for continental pop and world music without ever sounding precious or overly labored." -- Magnet
"She is pouring out her bleeding heart and holding it right out to you." -- Venus
The highly-accomplished singer/composer Lisa Papineau releases her Sargent House debut, Red Trees this spring. The album is the second solo venture from the active collaborator known for her vocal contributions to Air and M83, as well as writing with The Mars Volta bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña in Big Sir. The ever-active Papineau also works with soundtrack composer Tyler Bates, Japanese artist Jun Miyake, The Anubian Lights, Bron Tieman's Crooked Cowboy and countless other projects. Red Trees was recorded with French musicans Matthieu Lesenechal and Johan Guidou, and features guest vocals from singer/songwriters Matthieu Boogaerts and Mark Eitzel of American Music Club.
Listen to the MP3 for "White Leather Pants" HERE.
Remarkably, contending with multiple sclerosis in recent years hasn't slowed down Papineau's creative output. Having relocated to France in the middle of the last decade, the myriad challenges she confronted served as inspiration to her muse. "Since I got sick," she explains, "there have been times when I can’t speak, can’t see very well, can’t walk well, and am in pain that is so singular, there is no thinking that goes along with it, just being. It reminded me a little bit of what it was like when I first moved to France, of the very tunnel-like feeling I had not understanding most of what was being said, not being able to communicate in the flow in which I was normally accustomed. One leans harder into the connections with other people when you can’t take the modes of expression for granted."
That sense of vulnerability helped inspire the sound and semi-lyrical approach of Red Trees. "I wanted to take a little leap off," Papineau says. "Something that felt more like being a newcomer who doesn’t yet have the local language, or the person who struggles to get his tongue to work."
Beginning in multimedia performance art, Papineau's career has been filled with countless highlights. To see her entire bio of accomplishments, click HERE. She relocated to Los Angeles from the east coast and soon began a collaboration with the composer Tyler Bates (soundtrack composer for Watchmen, 300). The project was lovingly dubbed Pet. Coming to the attention of Tori Amos and her manager/ collaborator Arthur Spivak, Pet was the first signing to their imprint label with Atlantic Records, Igloo. After considerable touring, critical acclaim and appearances on the soundtrack of The Crow II and, on the Rock For Choice benefit album Spirit of 73, Pet split up.
Papineau and Alderete formed Big Sir in ensuing months, issuing its self-titled debut album and a remix disc in 2000 and 2001 respectively. During this time, the two musicians continued their collaborations with other artists. Papineau lent her vocals to such diverse projects as the last two Air albums (10,000 Khertz, Talkie Walkie), P.O.D’s The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, Scapegoat Wax’s Okeeblow, Farflung’s Belief Module and NinePin Body, and the Dimension Mix tribute album to electronic sound pioneer Bruce Haack (featuring Beck, Stereolab, Eels, etc.) with The Anubian Lights, while also rocking synths and mic for a Japanese tour of The Rentals. In 2005, Papineau sang two tracks on the M83 Before the Dawn Heals Us release.
Around that time, Papineau moved to Paris and there, began to write the songs that were to be the body of her first solo album Night Moves. The album made its debut in the USA in July 2006, on LunaticWorks (Sony/BMG). Back and forth between France and the US, the past few years have found Papineau hard at work on several projects, and spending a good deal of time on the road performing live. In 2007, Big Sir released Und Die Scheiße Ändert Sich Immer via Gold Standard Labs.
The song “Rene Thomas” from Red Trees was included on Brownswood Recording’s Brownswood Bubblers 4, the latest album in the compilation series assembled by BBC DJ Gilles Peterson to present his newest musical discoveries. In March 2009, she appeared performing ambient vocals on the Tyler Bates score soundtrack of the film Watchmen. Now writing and recording for the newest Big Sir album, Papineau has also begun to create material for new collaborations with Jun Miyake, Tyler Bates, Matt Embree and her own newest solo album.
Red Trees will be released May 4th, 2010 on Sargent House.
Red Trees will be released May 4th, 2010 on Sargent House.
Artist: Lisa Papineau
Album: Red Trees
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: May 4th, 2010
01. Rene Thomas
02. Annette Tessier
03. Gay Can't Wait Forever
04. White Leather Pants
05. I Dream of Red Trees
06. The Language of A Name
07. Marco Chomo
08. Touch Time Out
09. Sorry I Cannot English
10. This Is For The Love (Je T'kiffe)
11. Nancy Baker
12. A Reprise
Lisa Papineau live:
03/10 Paris, FR @ L'International Festival
03/18 Paris, FR @ FNAC
03/27 Paris, FR @ Festival Les Femmes S'en Melent
04/02 Berlin, DE @ Festival Les Femmes S'en Melent - Bang Bang Club
04/14 Savona, IT @ Raindogs
04/15 Cervia, IT @ Locosquad Milano Marittima
04/16 Giussago, IT @ Ortosonico
04/22 Long Beach, CA @ Alex's Bar (w/ Zechs Marquise )
04/23 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House (w/ RX Bandits)
Hi-Res Cover Art, Photos, Bio and more:
On the Web:
Lisa Papineau is available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Mars Volta sibling band Zechs Marquise hits the road and studio
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 9, 2010
Click image above to watch video
The Mars Volta sibling band Zechs Marquise hits the road and studio
The Mars Volta sibling band Zechs Marquise hits the road once again today, supporting RX Bandits on a lengthy North American tour. The El Paso quartet featuring Mars Volta multi-instrumentalist Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and his bassist brother Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez has toured almost incessantly since the August 2009 release of its debut album Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare via the label of the pair's elder hermano Omar's Rodriguez Lopez Productions. See complete tour dates below.
In the limited time since its winter 2009 tour, Zechs Marquise has been hard at work recording its followup album in El Paso, TX. The yet-untitled disc is expected out in Fall 2010.
Click the links to check out MP3s for "Chase Scene" and "Sirenum Scopuli" from Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare.
Zechs Marquise formed in El Paso, Texas during the spring of 2003 when brothers Marfred and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez came together with childhood friends Matthew Wilkson and Marcos Smith. The group soon named itself after a popular Japanese anime character and hit the studio to record its first album during the late summer months of 2004. That studio effort was later scrapped and in June 2006 the band instead released 34:26, a live improvised set that showed its great range of talents and influences. By fall of 2006, Zechs was touring the west coast consistently, sharing the stage with such eclectic acts as Daedelus, Busdriver, The Album Leaf, (DJ) Nobody, Daddy Kev, The Gaslamp Killer, and Totimoshi.
July 2007 saw the band return to the recording studio. Having learned from the difficulties of their first attempt, the quintet decided to keep all of the recording in house, purchasing a mixing board, microphones, and Pro Tools in order to track all of the recordings themselves. After a few days in their studios, dubbed Castle Greyskull and El Morro, the members realized they had enough material for a full length album. The record, Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare, was completed in February 2008.
Zechs Marquise then spent time on the road, auspiciously touring with Free Moral Agents & Blank Blue. In March 2009, the band made its first venture overseas to Europe, opening for the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, in which Marcel -- then performing double duty -- is also a player. During the overseas tour, Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare was released in Europe by RLP/Willie Anderson Recordings on CD as well as the first pressing of the album on vinyl. Since that time, the group toured extensively throughout North America with RX Bandits and Mars Volta's Grammy Award winning keyboardist Ikey Owens' group Free Moral Agents.
In May 2009, Zechs Marquise signed on to the prestigious management roster at Sargent House and released Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare in the U.S. on vinyl and CD on August 25th through Rodriguez Lopez Productions.
RX Bandits / The Builders And The Butchers / Zechs Marquise
03/09 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
03/10 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
03/12 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
03/13 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
03/14 Austin, TX @ Emo's
03/16 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
03/18 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
03/19 Orlando, FL @ The Social
03/20 Orlando, FL @ The Social
03/21 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
03/23 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
03/24 Washington D.C. @ Rock and Roll Hotel
03/25 New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
03/26 New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
03/27 New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
03/28 Philadelphia, PA @ The TLA
03/29 New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
03/30 Allston, MA @ Harper's Ferry *
03/31 Allston, MA @ Harper's Ferry
04/01 Montreal, QC @ Underworld
04/02 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
04/03 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
04/04 Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge
04/05 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
04/06 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
04/08 Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theatre
04/09 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
04/10 Boise, ID @ The Venue
04/11 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
04/12 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
04/14 Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk
04/15 San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
04/22 Long Beach, CA @ Alex's Bar (w/ Lisa Papineau, Technology, Cast Spells) *
04/23 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House *
04/25 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brewing Co. *
* Without The Builders And The Butchers
Artist: Zechs Marquise
Title: Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare
Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions
Release Date: August 25, 2009
01. In Strange Love
02. MagMar
03. Mistress Abyss
04. The High Anxiety Arkestra
05. Chase Scene (MP3)
06. Rotten Candy
07. Attack of the 40 ft Wave
08. Pigeon Shit
09. Lady Endless
10. Strapped to the Mast
11. Sirenum Scopuli (MP3)
12. The Sounds of El Morro
13. Wahaka Chop
14. Black Ark Dub
15. Our Delicate Midnight Opera
Hi-res cover art, photos and bio:
Stream entire album here:
On The Web:
Members of Zechs Marquise are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com
