Motel Beds, Feelings, Fictionband Mechanics

Motel Beds are a midwestern indie rock powerhouse that harkens to the big slacker bands of the 90s, and then roars past them on wings of champion musical badassery.  Each of the band’s members, who cut their teeth in a wide variety of the Gem City’s strongest groups, make athletic guitar runs, deliver serpentine rhythms, and drop clever, existential lyricism in a way that sounds completely effortless.  “Mr. Salad Days” offers lurching and fleet-fingered guitar leads, but an even bigger treat are the vocal harmonies here, which really help the track to take flight.  “Is This On” and “81 Sun” are congenial pop songs of the highest degree – sweet, catchy and breezy jangle that sticks to the eardrums and heart like honey.  The soloing around the three minute mark of “81 Sun” shows just how good these guys are at adapting classic guitar playing for their own playbooks.  “Bourbon Skies” is perhaps the band’s most moody and melancholy offering.  But, even when the band is churning in stormier waters there is still an artful sparkle that is completely disarming.   When PJ Paslosky sings, “I do my best world when my backs up against the wall,” and I have to believe “Pinkies” was penned during one of those times.  The guitars duel in playful call and response to each other, the rhythm section is creative and skillful, and the vocals couldn’t sound more wide eyed or sincere.  I was also completely psyched to see the return of “Suckerpunch The Odometer,” a song Paslosky resurrected from his Ohio Casket days, included here.  The track features the timeless, “I’m gonna grow wings/so I can take a shit on your car,” which are among the most memorable lyrics any band has put to tape. Dayton tends to keep our rock heroes a well kept secret until they’re in or nearing their middle ages.  Motel Beds are seasoned players, but they’re not so overconfident that it keeps them from pushing the limits of indie-rock/-pop songcraft.  We don’t expect their Feelings will stay bottled up for long. 

Recommended For Fans Of: Pavement, Modest Mouse, Archers of Loaf, Dismemberment Plan

Studio footage of Intronaut recording their forthcoming new album Valley Of Smoke has hit the web and can be found below. The album is scheduled to arrive in stores through Century Media on October 12th.

Pete Yorn will celebrate the release of his new, self-titled album with shows at intimate venues in Los Angeles and New York, a return visit to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and a first time appearance on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter-guitarist will play Los Angeles’ Roxy Theatre on Monday, September 27th - the eve of the album’s release on Vagrant Records - and perform on “The Ellen Show” on Thursday, September 30th. He’ll play the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on October 5th and appear on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on October 7th.  Then Yorn will head to Texas to play the Lady Bird Lake Stage at the Austin City Limits Festival on October 9th.
 
Spin.com (http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-download-new-pete-yorn-song) is offering an exclusive free download of “Velcro Shoes,” a track from Yorn’s upcoming album, which was produced by Frank Black (The Pixies). Beginning September 7th, fans who pre-order the album on the iTunes Store will receive a bonus track titled “Favorite Song.”

Moshi Moshi Records have announced the September 6th release of Summer Camp’s Young  EP. The EP marks the UK duo’s North American debut, and the latest release for the UK indie label on this side of the Atlantic.  It also serves as a precursor to their forthcoming full-length debut, due out in Spring 2010.  Summer Camp is the musical project of London-based duo Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley.  Next year they plan to tour North America in support of its release.
 
View the videos for the singles “Round the Moon” and “Ghost Train” below.
“Round the Moon” - http://vimeo.com/14041632
“Ghost Train” - http://vimeo.com/9814265
 
In the meantime, visit the band at one of these locations:
 
myspace.com/summercampmusic
moshimoshimusic.com

The Gracious Few just announced their first national tour, which is set to start on 9/24. Also, they just released the music video for “Honest Man” –the lead single from their self-titled album (album set to be released on 9/14). You can check out the video out here.

Here is the tour schedule:

Touch and Go Records will be reissuing the long out-of-print debut 7-inch from Negative Approach. The 10 song EP was newly remastered for the release by John Golden and had originally been issued as a limited pressing of 3000 in 1982. The reissue is due out October 12.

Portland, OR-based quartet Starfucker announced that they have signed with Polyvinyl Record Co. The band will head out on a fall tour with Austin-based band The Octopus Project. The band will also release an alternate single version of their track “Julius” (mp3 download here) with the B-side “Helium Muffin” as a first single on Polyvinyl (7″ out Oct 12 - first 500 limited edition blue vinyl. Digital out Sept 14th.).  The song will be off their upcoming full-length, planned for an early 2011 release. Pre-order for the single is available here.

Download First Single “Julius” Here

And here are the band’s upcoming tour dates:

Sept. 23rd - Neurolux - Boise, ID
Sept. 24th - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
Sept. 24th - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
Sept. 25th - Hi Dive - Denver, CO
Sept. 27th - Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
Sept. 29th - Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom - Little Rock, AK #
Sept. 30th - The Collective - Shreveport, LA #
Oct. 1st - Bottletree Cafe - Birmingham, AL #
Oct. 2nd - Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA #
Oct. 5th - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC #
Oct. 6th - DC9 - Washington DC #
Oct. 7th - Kung Fu Necktie - Philadelphia, PA #
Oct. 8th - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY #
Oct. 9th - Cafe Nine - New Haven, CT #
Oct. 10th - TT The Bears - Cambridge, MA #
Oct. 11th - Casa Del Popolo - Montreal, Canada #
Oct. 12th - Wrongbar - Toronto, Canada #
Oct. 13th - Garfield Artworks - Pittsburgh, PA #
Oct. 14th - Grog Shop - Cleveland Heights, OH #
Oct. 15th - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL #
Oct. 16th - Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN #
Oct. 19th - Neumos - Seattle, WA #
Oct. 20th - Roseland - Portland, OR #
Oct. 22nd - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA #
Oct. 23rd - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA #
Oct. 24th - Casbah - San Diego, CA #
Oct. 25th - Plush - Tucson, AZ #
# - w/ the Octopus Project

Hellz Bellz Fall 2010

Ladies streetwear label Hellz Bellz drops this look at its first delivery of the fall 2010 collection, called ‘The Rest Is Her Story.’ Enjoy.

New Jersey rock band Steel Train is excited to announce that they will share the stage with the cast of beloved kid’s show Yo Gabba Gabba! on the “Yo Gabba Gabba Live!” tour.  Among the other “Super Music Friends” guests on the tour are Mates of State, Amanda Palmer, Kid Koala, OK Go and many others.  Full tour dates below: 

August 26        Bowery Electric            New York, NY
August 27        Bethel Woods Center for the Arts    Bethel, NY^
August 28        Jiffy Lube Live            Bristow, VA^
August 29        Mann Center                 Philadlephia, PA^
August 31        Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion    Gilford, NH^
September 2        Times Union Center            Albany, NY^
September 3        Artpark                Lewiston, NY^    
September 15        Ruth Eckerd Hall            Clearwater, FL
September 16        House of Blues             Lake Buena Vista, FL
September 17        Park Ave CD                 Orlando, FL (in-store)
September 18        St. Augustine Ampitheatre        St. Augustine, FL
September 20        House of Blues            New Orleans, LA
September 29        Higher Ground            Burlington, VT*
September 30        The Bell House            Brooklyn, NY* (free show)
October 1        World Café Live            Philadelphia, PA*
October 2        Mr. Small’s Theatre            Pittsburgh, PA*
October 3        Grog Shop                Cleveland, OH*
October 5        The Basement                Columbus, OH*
October 6        Brick Street                Oxford, OH*
October 7        The Intersection            Grand Rapids, MI*
October 8        The Firebird                St. Louis, MO*
October 9        House of Blues            Chicago, IL*
October 10        Varsity Theatre            Minneapolis, MN*
October 12        People’s Court                Des Moines, IA*
October 13        Blue Moose                Iowa City, IA*
October 14        The Bottleneck            Lawrence, KS*
October 15        Fox Theatre                Boulder, CO*
October 16        Club Sound                Salt Lake City, UT*
October 21        Media Club                Vancouver, BC*
October 22        El Corazon                Seattle, WA*
October 23        Hawthorne Theatre            Portland, OR*
October 26        Starline                Fresno, CA*
October 27        Great American Music Hall        San Francisco, CA*
October 28        Music Box @ Henry Fonda        Los Angeles, CA*
October 30        The Nile                Mesa, AZ*
November 2        The Cambridge Room @ HOB    Dallas, TX*
November 4        Stubb’s                Austin, TX*
November 5        Bronze Peacock @ HOB        Houston, TX*
November 27        Webster Hall                New York, NY*
November 29        La Sala Rosa               Montreal QC*
November 30        The Mod Club              Toronto, ON*
December 2          9:30 Club                      Washington, DC*
December 3          Royale Night Club         Boston, MA*
December 4          Water Street Music Hall     Rochester, NY*
December 7          The Orpheum                 Tampa, FL*
December 8          Culture Club                   Ft. Lauderdale, FL*
December 9          The Social                      Orlando, FL*
December 11         The Loft                          Atlanta, GA*
December 13         Paramount Arts Center      Ashland, KY*

^ with Yo Gabba Gabba Live!
* with fun.

You can also listen to Tegan & Sara’s cover of Steel Train’s “Turnpike Ghost” here: http://stereogum.com/416391/tegan-sara-turnpike-ghost-steel-train-cover-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

Check out the band’s triumphant performance of “Bullet” on The Late Show with David Letterman: http://www.vimeo.com/13304398

Scarlett Johansson’s cover of Steel Train’s “Bullet:”
http://steeltrain.net/GIRLS/01%20Bullet.mp3

Jupe Jupe will release Invaders October 5th, 2010.  Here is a song from the record to sample:

MP3: Jupe Jupe - “Something About Love”

Jupe Jupe is composed of My Young on vocals and synthesizer, Bryan Manzo and Patrick Partington on guitar, and drummer Jarrod Arbini – veterans of the Seattle and Austin music scenes (Pleasurecraft, The Cinematics [U.S.], Maximum Coherence During Flying). This is the quartet’s first release, which the band will celebrate with a release show:

09.16 • The Crocodile (Seattle, WA)