Sockets Records: An Independent Washington, DC Record Label

THIS BLOG NO LONGER HOSTS UPDATES - THERE IS A NEW SOCKETS WEBSITE!

2011-06-29T11:25:00.000-04:00

Go to the new Sockets website:

SOCKETSRECORDS.COM

NEW SOCKETS WEBSITE!

2010-05-18T13:46:00.003-04:00

THE SOCKETS RECORDS WEBSITE HAS MOVED! Please update your bookmarks and start heading to SOCKETSRECORDS.COM for up-to-date information. As of today, this Sockets Records blogspot will be an archive. Thanks!

Sockets Web Update

2010-05-17T15:17:00.002-04:00

Please bear with us for a few more days as the Sockets Records blog gets a facelift and changes over to a website with a little more capability. We're learning as we go, so things take a little more time than we can sometimes anticipate. For now, here's a video of Foul Swoops via Yeah Gates Records:

City Paper's Gig Chill Article

2010-05-13T10:35:00.002-04:00

The DC City Paper's Jonathan L. Fischer just posted an article on the challenges for bands booking their own tours. Imperial China's Brian Porter gets interviewed for the article and here's a little snippet:

Imperial China recently dropped its debut full-length Phosphenes on the local labels Sockets and Ruffian, and self-booked a weeklong Midwestern tour of mostly clubs.“The ideal venue was a Velvet Lounge in every city,” says member Brian Porter. The band more or less broke even, he says, and it plans to self-book another short tour this fall. But it wasn’t easy, Porter says: “It was like a second full-time job, to be honest.” The band is recording another album this winter, and is considering looking for a booking agent once it’s ready to tour behind it—someone outside D.C., with connections to venues across the country.

Touring ain't easy. And is not something a lot of DC bands do too often. Check out the full article here.

Imperial China and Cephalopods in NYC Friday

2010-05-12T10:20:00.001-04:00

Imperial China, Cephalopods, and Miracles will be playing a show at Lit Lounge this Friday in Manhattan. Cephalopods is the new project from Hugh McElroy, Fiona Griffin, and Wells Bennett. The fact that these three people are in one band is enough to nearly cause face melt. Here's the flier:

Q St. NW DC

2010-05-11T16:30:00.002-04:00

New ZS Out Today

2010-05-11T11:53:00.002-04:00

Go get the new ZS record, New Slaves, available via the Social Registry Records site. Brooklyn Vegan just posted a comprehensive update on the band which you all should read. Here's a snippet about tonight's release show in New York:

Avant-garde trio Zs are celebrating their new LP New Slaves (out now on Social Registry) with a show at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn tonight (5/11), and they've brought along a pretty amazing cast of characters to pad the show. Kicking off at 8PM, the Brooklyn band will be joined by noise collective Excepter, guitar god Mick Barr and synth band Silk Flowers with river-dredging vocals, in addition to Dutty Artz DJs Matt Shadetek & Lamin. Tickets are still available.

Check out the full article here.

New Sockets Website Coming Soon

2010-05-11T10:53:00.003-04:00

I'm almost finished with a slightly improved Sockets Records website. I hope to have it launched by early next week at the latest, so keep coming back here. Blogger has been good to us over the last few years, but Sockets is in big need of a face lift. We'll post more details soon!

New Macaw Recordings

2010-05-10T15:10:00.002-04:00

Head over to Macaw's Myspace page to hear a new live recording. Macaw is the solo project of Wilson Kemp and is one of my favorite new projects in DC. It makes complete sense since Wilson is one of my favorite people in town. Macaw's "Five Minutes at the Rainforest Cafe" is featured in the most recent Sockets Spring Mix that you should download now!

Frau Eva @ DC9 on May 11

2010-05-10T10:16:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, May 11th, Frau Eva play DC9. They have video flier for the show. In the words of Frau Eva's multi-instrumentalist Ben Usie, this video is "slightly weird". I say bring on the weird!

Half St. NE

2010-05-09T10:31:00.004-04:00

"They got the bee but not the hive":

VIDEO: The Cornel West Theory "Durito's Revenge (Dirty Bombs)"

2010-05-07T14:48:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite tracks from last year's Second Rome was "Durito's Revenge (Dirty Bombs)". The Cornel West Theory are on fire right now, collaborating with DJ Underdog and Jati Lindsay on a series of videos for songs from last year's album. All of these videos are shot on location in Washington, DC. Here's the latest:

Expect a DVD with videos of the band and exclusive content some time this summer. A new mixtape is almost finished as well. Cannot wait to hear that.

Family Restaurant on 11th and E Streets

2010-05-07T10:02:00.003-04:00

I took a photo of this on my way home from a movie earlier this week. The diner was empty, but the neon shown bright:

ECHO! Tonight!

2010-05-06T15:51:00.003-04:00

Tonight! Dodge City! The first edition of ECHO, the new Sockets Records monthly night. Aaron Leitko (Protect-U) and Cole Goins (the Cherch) will join me on the decks. AND, we'll have Sockets merch available for reduced prices.

The Washington Post has some nice things to say about tonight.

Here's the info:

ECHO
Dodge City
917 U St. NW DC
w/ Sean Peoples, Aaron Leitko, and Cole Goins
May 6th
10pm
FREE

Washington Post Express Features Imperial China

2010-05-06T09:44:00.002-04:00

Imperial China were featured in the Washington Post Express today. If you didn't grab one this morning, you can read the article online here. The article describes some of the process behind writing Phosphenes, the group's latest release (out now on Sockets and Ruffian!!):

Over the course of several months, Imperial China nailed down and tore apart its strongest cuts, and the result is the highly satisfying debut "Phosphenes." To get the job done right, the band teamed up with Devin Ocampo (Faraquet, Medications) at his basement studio in Anacostia. A seasoned Dischord veteran, Ocampo played a major part in the process.

The band plays this Friday at The Rock'n'Roll Hotel and are joined by Buildings, Connect the Dots, and Loose Lips.

Cornel West Theory at Red and Black Friday

2010-05-05T13:53:00.004-04:00

This Friday is full of good shows. I'll be djing over at Rock'n'Roll Hotel all night during the Imperial China and Buildings show. But The Cornel West Theory are also playing the other side of H St. at The Red & The Black. Here's the flier and info:

DOWNLOAD: Echo Mix 1

2010-05-05T10:33:00.004-04:00

I hope y'all can come out to Echo this Thursday at Dodge City. I put together a little mix (with some tracks from Cole Goins and Aaron Leitko!) to get you ready for the night. Enjoy:

Echo Mix 1 (download via sendspace)

1. Homage - Koushik
2. The Death of Mr. Spock - Roots Radics
3. Rise and Praise (Valinqueur remix) w/ Koki - Rhythm & Sound
4. I Wanna Be With You - KRL
5. Neeve - Wolfy vs. Projections
6. Acid Tabla (remix) - Suns of Arqa
7. Uzi (Pinky Ring) - El Michels Affair
8. Obi Agye Me Dofo - Vis-A-Vis
9. Golden Diva - Flying Lotus
10. Love Me Like This (Nonsense Dub) - Floating Points
11. Make 1, 2 - Arthur Russell

Unrest!

2010-05-04T12:09:00.005-04:00

(Unrest '93 © John Falls)

Hearing that Unrest is reuniting for Teenbeat's 26th Anniversary is like every single holiday you can think of wrapped into one. I just bought my tickets for this:

WASHINGTON, D.C.
July 10, at The Black Cat
UNREST ('83-'86, Tim Moran, short set),
UNREST ('88-'89, Dave Park, short set),
VERSUS,
THE RONDELLES (original trio),
BOSSANOVA
MCs: Jonny Cohen and Patrick Bryant

So psyched!

Imperial China and Buildings at R'n'R Hotel Friday

2010-05-04T10:07:00.002-04:00

There are two Sockets related events this week. First, Thursday night marks the first edition of ECHO. It's going to be nice and "chill" as Aaron Leitko would put it. Then, this Friday, two Sockets bands, Imperial China and Buildings, will be performing at Rock'n'Roll Hotel. Loose Lips and Connect the Dots (a Sockets favorite) will be joining them. I'll be there all night DJing between sets, so it'll be jam packed with goodness. Here's that flier for Friday in case you missed it:

Dinner with the Band

2010-05-03T20:57:00.002-04:00

Imperial China will have a track highlighted on IFC's Dinner with the Band. It's going to be featured on the Murder City Devils episode. That's pretty damn awesome. But, this begs another serious question. What would you eat if your were eating dinner with Imperial China? I don't know yet... but the dudes in the band are classy bros, so I would make sure it was a meal with some quinoa or something equally impressive.

Here's an image IFC has for the Murder City Devils episode:

(image courtesy of IFC)

Sockets Records Presents: Echo

2010-05-03T16:30:00.005-04:00

This Thursday, May 6th, marks the first edition of Echo, a monthly DJ night at Dodge City (next door to Velvet Lounge). Aaron Leitko (Protect-U) and Cole Goins (the Cherch) will be joining me all night as we bring a pretty eclectic mix of tropical house, dub reggae, dancehall, afrobeat, minimal sounds, Sockets exclusive tracks as well as some new classics.

I'll be bringing some of the latest Sockets merch, all at discounted prices! Here are the details:

The 42 Bus Blogs Mt. Pleasant Music Festival

2010-05-03T13:30:00.002-04:00

Tim from The 42 Bus blog (one of our favorite DC blogs!) just posted a few photos and wrap-up of the Mt. Pleasant Music Festival. Check it out.

Did anybody else go? What did y'all think?

DCist Sockets Interview

2010-04-30T17:10:00.003-04:00

Valerie from DCist just posted an interview with me about Sockets Records... Wow, I talk a lot. Here's a snippet:

Most of the bands on Sockets are based out of D.C.. Do you think that music in this area is headed toward that experimental pop framework?

I think so. I think what's great about D.C. right now is there's a lot more sites getting calendars of things to do every single night. Which there wasn't really four or five years ago. So, there's a lot more opportunities to go out, but there's not as many people still. It's just not that big of a city sometimes. There are a lot of people who live in Virginia and Maryland who probably like this stuff, but just won't come in necessarily for a show. But, I think given the sort of excitement around D.C. being more of an arts/music/culture center is manifesting in stuff coming out. Bands are getting better. There's a lot more of a community around some of these bands, too.

Read the rest of the interview here.

America Hearts

2010-04-29T15:44:00.002-04:00

I checked out America Hearts last night at Velvet Lounge. It was one of the first shows in a long time where I found myself smiling the entire set. I had heard the early recordings on the Fond Regards EP, but had not heard the full band do its thing. Jess Matthews' (lead guitar/vox) songs embody a whole new dimension with her expanded band. Very tight, quirky guitar pop, with a sense of humor and some melancholy to boot. Also, if there was one, this band might win a DC all-star contest, since it features Mark Cisneros (Medications); Justin Moyer (El Guapo, Supersystem, Edie Sedgwick, pretty much a DC music hero); and Olivia Mancini (who I keep hearing amazing things about!).

New Zs Download: "Acres of Skin" on Village Voice

2010-04-29T10:31:00.002-04:00

I cannot wait to get a copy of the new Zs record. If the first single off the album is any indication, these guys are burning. "Acres of Skin" is available on the Village Voice Sounds of the City blog, so I would say stop reading this and head over there for some Zs goodness. The Social Registry is releasing the band's new record entitled New Slaves. It's out May 11th. Sockets released a cdr for Zs a few years ago entitled Four Systems (an interpretation of Earle Brown's original composition) and then a remix 12" that is still available from Sockets - $12 postage paid.

Here's a little snippet from the Village Voice interview with Sam:

What inspired this song musically? We had done another song that feature clapped rhythms. Ben had an odd, kind of twisted riff that involved some detuned strings, and I suggested that it be a sort of follow up to our first clapping joint. After that, we just tried to let the material play itself out naturally. Then there was some work in the studio to make it pop.

Go get it!

Sockets Records Spring 2010 Mix

2010-04-28T10:06:00.005-04:00

I wasn’t going to say anything, but Sockets skipped a planned winter mix. I wanted to save up for this very jam-packed spring mix! I'm glad I waited... this one is a doozy. Here’s the tracklist and some info about each song:

1. Grip - Hume
2. Five Minutes at the Rainforest Cafe - Macaw
3. A Diviner - True Womanhood
4. Moon Rocks (Ricky Rabbit remix) - Rap Dragons
5. Rookie of the Year - Nine-11 Thesaurus
6. Head Shrinker (Tyondai Braxton remix) - Extra Life
7. In Pursuit of Sunshine - The Wholeheart
8. Hearted - Sean Peoples
9. Letter of a General - Imperial China
10. Durito's Revenge (Dirty Bombs) - The Cornel West Theory

DOWNLOAD SOCKETS RECORDS SPRING 2010 MIX (zSHARE)
OR
DOWNLOAD MIRROR (sendspace)

Hume’s new EP is near completion and the first song to open this mix, “Grip”, may be familiar to some. But this is the new and improved version, freshly mixed and beautifully re-touched. Expect a blitz of activity for the band this summer. The new EP is going to blow minds. The drummer of Hume, Wilson Kemp, is finishing up his solo project, which he’s calling Macaw. “Five Minutes at the Rainforest Café” was highlighted on the DC City Paper’s blog a few months back, but I had no choice, it was too good not to include on the spring mix. These Hume dudes are spewing forth some amazing art these days, so make sure to check in on the regular. True Womanhood keep stepping up their game musically and the release of the band’s new Basement Membranes EP was just the first of many moves planned by the band this year. “A Diviner” is one of my absolute favorite tracks of this year. The band’s in the studio these days, finishing up music for an LP! Ricky Rabbit (aka Nick Rivetti of Food For Animals) sent over a remix he did for Baltimore’s Rap Dragons and it’s got that sick Reading Rainbow sample. Oh man, that sample is so good. The new youth hip-hop group curated by Sam Hillmer, Nine-11 Thesaurus, is near completion. Sockets is working with The Social Registry label in NY to release this innovative series that started with The Fly Girlz. “Rookie of the Year” was one of the first tracks to be completed and the quality of this group is consistent, so it’s only a matter of time before you hear a lot more about this group. The new Extra Life remix EP is almost here. The Tyondai Braxton remix featured here has been on the Sockets site before, but it doesn’t get old. Just wait, because the rest of the remixes are on par.

Back in January, Sockets threw a showcase party at Black Cat. It was ridiculous and we’re planning some more similar events. Anyway, I was handed a bunch of demos that night and one of them that stood out to me was The Wholeheart. The music is fairly varied, but falls within the frame of ambient experimental pop. “In Pursuit of Sunshine” grows slowly from ambient texture to driving pulses of vocals and beats. I included a new demo from the forthcoming EP by Sean Peoples (that’s me…), which should be ready this summer. One of these weekends, I’ll jump down the rabbit hole and complete the demos that have been kicking around for the last three years. In the meantime, enjoy “Hearted”, a mix of ambient melodies, vocal loops, and field recordings. The last two groups to release full-lengths on Sockets wrap up the mix. More than anything, these two tracks, “Letter of a General” and “Durito’s Revenge (Dirty Bombs)”, are reminders of two bands helping to shape DC’s new sound.

Mt Pleasant Music Fest

2010-04-27T10:25:00.003-04:00

The Mt. Pleasant Music Fest goes down this Saturday in Lamont Park:

Lunch Box Theory's Afrobeat Party This Thursday

2010-04-26T13:19:00.003-04:00

I try and make it to this party whenever I can. The music is always on point and the folks throwing the party are good people. The Cornel West Theory will be performing downstairs, and Afrobeat all night upstairs. This Thursday, April 29th:

New Spring Mix This Week!

2010-04-25T14:43:00.003-04:00

The picture to the left is a photo of my dad from a while ago. Damn, dad. I used this photo for the new Sockets Records Spring Mix that should be ready for download this week. We've got new tracks by Hume, Macaw, The Wholeheart, Ricky Rabbit (Food For Animals), and more! It's going to be a good one.

A lot more news to share on upcoming projects soon. It's going to be a good 2010!

PWRFL Power Teaches Guitar Lessons

2010-04-25T11:44:00.001-04:00

Get learned!

Imperial China, Buildings at Rock'n'Roll Hotel May 7

2010-04-25T11:39:00.003-04:00

Mark your calendars:

True Womanhood @ AON's Volume

2010-04-24T20:15:00.003-04:00

Here are some photos I took during True Womanhood's set at AON's Volume:

Abandoned Balloon on Columbia Road, NW DC

2010-04-23T10:58:00.003-04:00

There's a CVS near my house and it just moved a block west. The old CVS lays abandoned, but contains this sad little balloon:

Food For Animals

2010-04-22T13:31:00.004-04:00

Still one of my favorites:

And here is a remix of "Mutumbo" posted on the Food For Animals blog:

Mt. Pleasant Street

2010-04-22T12:57:00.002-04:00

Taken on Mt. Pleasant St:

VIDEO: The Cornel West Theory - "Knights of the East and West"

2010-04-21T23:44:00.002-04:00

Don't try to stop this group... they're on a roll:

WGTB Georgetown Interviews Buildings

2010-04-21T13:10:00.003-04:00

WGTB Georgetown Radio just posted an interview with Buildings. Check out this little snippet from the interview:

“How did the blessed miracle of Buildings come to be?” I asked the band after sitting down with band members Collin Crowe, Nick Stern, and David Rich, only a few minutes after they had blown the windows out of the little café with a solid set. “Me and Collin met through destiny,” said Rich bluntly. No, destiny is not a girl, like I initially thought, destiny is a random act of fate––I like those. After playing around with the lineup for a bit, they settled on two guitars (Crowe and a new addition I didn’t get a chance to speak with), bass (Stern), and drums (Rich)––but no vocals. Stern explained: “our music stems from the fact that we all see the songs completely differently, and if we added vocals, it would kind of ruin it, because we’d all be anchored to the same thing.” The result is essentially fresh and exhilarating lo-fi SOUND that is hard to put a label on (even their record label Sockets, in their blurb describing the new EP, says that Buildings are not just some “typical post-whatever clone lamery,” well, thank god.)

Check out the rest of the interview here.

FORGOTTEN VINYL: Creative Source “Who Is He And What Is He To You"

2010-04-20T22:12:00.004-04:00

Creative Source
“Who Is He And What Is He To You”
Creative Source

DOWNLOAD “Who Is He And What Is He To You” by Creative Source (256KBPS)

This self-titled LP is pretty hit or miss, but Creative Source's 11 minute jam, “Who Is He And What Is He To You”, is a barn burner. There is a 45rpm single recorded with an edited version of this sprawling track. But I definitely prefer this version.

The Best Decorated Door Ever?

2010-04-20T15:59:00.002-04:00

Have you seen a better decorated door? I haven't:

All Our Noise's VOLUME

2010-04-19T15:42:00.004-04:00

This Saturday, from noon on, All Our Noise is throwing a really cool show. It's called Volume and some sick bands are playing. From All Our Noise:

On Saturday, April 24th, come join us at the Paper Sun for a springtime celebration. We'll be treating you to performances by a few bands we're pretty excited about. There will be some beer for drinking, food for snacking, vintage clothing vendors & some records for trading.

Things kick off at noon, so come out early for a great selection of bands throughout the day.

Directions to the Paper Sun will be sent out next week to those of you on the RSVP list.

****************

Lightfoot - DC/Environmental Aesthetics/Shauna is rad

True Womanhood - DC/Environmental Aesthetics/Death By Audio

Weekends - Baltimore/NY/Friends/Environmental Aesthetics

Gay Blades - NY/4Never/Triple Crown Records

Ava Luna - NY/Environmental Aesthetics/Cooling Pie

Cop Magnet - Boston/Breakfast of Champions/Rich Kid Art

$10 Suggested donation!

Woah. This looks awesome. See you there!

The Whale @ U Street Music Hall

2010-04-19T13:06:00.002-04:00

This Wednesday, check out The Whale:

ZS at SXSW

2010-04-16T14:35:00.001-04:00

Really digging this ZS video from a backyard somewhere in Austin during SXSW:

Courtesy of TERROREYES.TV

Maxmillion Dunbar

2010-04-16T11:41:00.003-04:00

If you haven't heard Maxmillion Dunbar's debut Ramp Recordings EP, then check out some of the cuts from this sampler. So good:

He's got a new mixtape that's really great over at This Is Lucky Me (scroll down). It features a bunch of new Future Times stuff as well as new Maxmillion Dunbar tracks.

Tonight! Buildings/Caves/Ziggurat at Big Bear Cafe

2010-04-16T11:10:00.002-04:00

There's a great show going on at Big Bear Cafe tonight. It's going to be an EARLY show though, 7pm-10pm. Buildings, Caves, and Ziggurat will be blowing minds. Here are the details:

Buildings
Caves
Ziggurat
@ Big Bear Cafe
1700 1st St NW DC
7pm-10pm!
Donations

Record Store Day DC - Red Onion

2010-04-15T17:03:00.002-04:00

Red Onion is one of our favorite hang-outs in DC. There's always a great selection and Josh has some surprises planned for Record Store Day this year. From Josh:

The releases are starting to arrive and they are looking good. So far we've got:

Fela Kuti: Live 10"
Rodriguez: Inner City Blues 7" (w/ light in the attic zine)
Bon Iver/Peter Gabriel 7"
Phoenix: Fences 12" (pink vinyl)
Beastie Boys: mystery 12"
Drive By Truckers 7"
Darwin's Theory: self-titled LP (unreleased late 70's california funk)
Ramones: Ramones Mania LP (colored vinyl)
Monsters of Folk LP (blue vinyl)
Neil Young: Heart of Gold 7"
Flaming Lips: Dark Side of the Moon LP
Built to Spill: Water Sleepers 7"
Da: ! LP (unreleased Chicago punk from late 70's)
Tutu & the Pirates LP (unreleased Chicago punk from late 70's)
Tom Waits: Mule Variations LP (180 gram w/ Jim Jarmusch photo print)
Neko Case: Middle Cyclone LP (clear vinyl)
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Heaven can Wait 7"
Against Me!: I was a Teenage Anarchist 7"
Japandroids: Post-nothing LP (white vinyl)
Roky Erickson w. Okkervil River: True Love Cast out all Evil LP
Joe Strummer: Streetcore LP
Joe Strummer: Globagl-a-go-go LP
Surfer Blood/Holiday Shores 45

Record Store Day DC - Crooked Beat

2010-04-15T16:55:00.002-04:00

Crooked Beat is one of the stores participating in Saturday's Record Store Day. Besides in-store performances by Title Tracks and Don Zientara, the store will be stocking some good stuff. From Bill at Crooked Beat:

To kick off our celebration of Record Store Day, we will will handing out grab bags to our first 75 paying customers. The bags will be filled with promo & used cds, stickers, buttons, vintage 7"s, posters, keychains etc. We received some really interesting cds from various labels for the grab bags this year. Some of the cds will be promos of current releases, others will be promos of cds through the years- everything from currently unknown artists to obscure titles: Yeasayer, T. Rex, Jonathan Richman, Billy Bragg, Gil Scott Heron, the Pixies, etc. Also, we will be randomly be putting $20 Crooked Beat Gift Certificates in 5 of the bags.

Flaming Lips- Dark Side Of The Moon 12"
Phoenix - Fences LP
Sonic Youth - Sex, EVOL, Hits Are For Squares LPs
Bruce Springsteen - Wercking Ball/Ghost of Tom Joad 10"
Joe Strummer - Global A Go-Go, Streetcor LPs
Jimi Hendrix - Live @ Clark University 12"
Muse - Exogenesis: Symphony/Uprising/Resistance 7"
Pavement - Quarantine the Past special edition LP
Bon Iver/Peter Gabriel split 7"
Stephin Merritt/Peter Gabriel split 7"
Rolling Stones- Plundered My Soul (outtake from Exile On Main Street)
Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs vinyl box set
Arthur Russell - Calling Out of Context double 12" set
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us LP
Devo - various releases
MGMT - Siberian Breaks 12"
Nada Surf - If I Had a Hi-Fi CD
Of Montreal - Nothing New 7"
Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer EP 10" picture disc
Ramones - Ramones Mania 12" Set

Make sure to visit the Crooked Beat site for updates.

FORGOTTEN VINYL: Dukeyman "A Break"

2010-04-14T23:16:00.003-04:00

Dukeyman
“A Break”
Technics Vs Dukeyman EP
Club Beatz Recordings

DOWNLOAD "A Break" by Dukeyman (256KBPS)

Here's one of the cleanest Baltimore club tracks I could find. It's taken from the Technics Vs Dukeyman EP on Club Beatz Recordings. The vocals sound like Dukeyman rolled out of bed, skipped the coffee and breakfast and spit as lazily as possible. Simple. Seductive. Like most Baltimore club.

VIDEO: Cornel West Theory "Iron Emptiness b/w Greed"

2010-04-14T11:48:00.002-04:00

Remember how I mentioned Cornel West Theory was working on a new mixtape? To hold you over, the band just released a new video - "Iron Emptiness b/w Greed". Check it:

Bluebrain - Ten by Ten Video

2010-04-14T09:38:00.001-04:00

Did you see Bluebrain's new "Ten by Ten" video? Woah:

Fort Reno Schedule 1998

2010-04-13T10:05:00.002-04:00

I just found this old Fort Reno schedule from 1998 and scanned it with a bunch of other fliers. Really wish I would have seen the Trans Am/Deep Lust show!

Big Sockets Records Spring Update

2010-04-12T20:21:00.008-04:00

Wow, there is no place like Washington, DC in the springtime. Besides enjoying the weather, Sockets has been plotting for the last few months. There's a few big things still in the works, but for now, I'm going to try and get as much of it out in one big update.

There are a bunch of bands in the studio at the moment, including HUME, Laughing Man, Aaron Thompson, N'Digo Rose, and myself. Expect a HUME EP this summer and a U.S. tour in August. Aaron Thompson's new LP is almost fully mixed and features a bunch of local DC musicians. He's been working really hard and each new track I hear proves that. After over a year's worth of shows both in DC and out, Laughing Man will finally be releasing an EP on Sockets. The recording sessions are almost finished, so expect something in late spring or early summer from these dudes. N'Digo Rose plays keys for Cornel West Theory and we couldn't be more excited to see what comes out of his time in the studio over the next few months. Expect a mixture of neo-soul and experimental funk. And I'm about to finish recording a new EP's worth of material in time for summer.

We're about to get the masters for the new Extra Life remix EP. Tyondai Braxton (of Battles) and JG Thirwell (Foetus) were called in for remix duty. It's definitely shaping up to be amazing. The CDs should be available in late May. So stay tuned and check out the Tyondai remix on the site!

In other news, The Cornel West Theory is finishing up beats for a new mixtape that should be out soon. I heard a bunch of the raw beats last week and they are pretty unreal. Expect to hear more about the project once it gets closer to completion. We'll definitely update once we get more detail!

Imperial China returned home from tour last month and will hit the road again for a quick weekend in Philadelphia (@The Khyber on May 13th) and NYC (@Lit Lounge on May 15th) in May.

Buildings just went into the studio and recorded two tracks from their All Our Noise session. The band is playing a show at Big Bear Cafe in DC on Friday April 16th and in Baltimore on Friday April 23rd (@The Hexagon).

Oh, I'm cataloging my vinyl. Slowly.

Also, if you're not already following us on Twitter or fans of the Facebook page, then maybe you should head over there. I mean, I don't want to pressure you or anything, but there's a lot of stuff that goes on that doesn't necessarily make it to the blog... Just sayin'...

Some local DC people/things we're feeling lately that deserve a peek:

-Panda Head Magazine
-Sonic Circuits
-All Our Noise (look out for their big festival on April 24th!!)
-True Womanhood (currently touring and kicking ass)
-The Cheniers
-Foul Swoops
-Connect the Dots (La La Lala)

Remember When?

2010-04-12T13:45:00.002-04:00

I'll have a big Sockets update tonight, but in the meantime, anybody remember going to shows at the Wilson Center? DC in the late 90s. Found a bunch of fliers, and I remember this being a pretty amazing show:

FORGOTTEN VINYL: Gato Barbieri “Carnavalito”

2010-04-09T11:00:00.003-04:00

Gato Barbieri
“Carnavalito”
Fenix

DOWNLOAD “Carnavalito” by Gato Barbieri (256 KBPS)

Gato’s gritty take on “Carnavalito”, the traditional South American dance from the Altiplano and Puna regions. The entire album is worth finding/downloading.

Untied States, Connect the Dots (La La LaLa), and Bubbling Well on THURSDAY

2010-04-07T10:02:00.004-04:00

Collin Crowe just sent over this note that Untied States, Connect the Dots (La La La), and Bubbling Well show on Thursday has moved FROM Big Bear TO Paper Sun. Here's the info and invite link. Here's the details!

UNTIED STATES / CONNECT THE DOTS (La La LaLa) / BUBBLING WELL
@ PAPER SUN
Thursday, April 15, 2010
7:00pm - 10:00pm (seriously! music runs from 7-10pm so don't be late!)
Washington, DC
-Untied States (from Georgia, Awesome)
-Connect the Dots (la la la la la la la la la la)
-Bubbling Well (Mike Andrea from Antelope solo)

VIDEO: True Womanhood "The Monk"

2010-04-06T11:43:00.001-04:00

Alexis Gideon

2010-04-06T10:18:00.002-04:00

I was just sent some videos by Alexis Gideon, who created a new video opera, called "Video Musics II: Sun Wu-Kong". Alexis describes it as follows:

“Video Musics II: Sun Wu-Kong” is a one hour multimedia video opera based on the 16th century Chinese novel “The Journey to the West". The music will be performed live with the video projection. The project will combine line drawing and watercolor animation as well as stop motion and claymation in DV and Super 8 formats.

Brimstone Blaine - Alexis Gideon from alexis gideon on Vimeo.

Rock Waves - Alexis Gideon from alexis gideon on Vimeo.

True Womanhood and Hume at Black Cat TONIGHT!

2010-04-06T09:40:00.006-04:00

True Womanhood and Hume play the Black Cat Back Stage tonight, Tuesday April 6th. This should be a good one. Two of DC's best bands sharing one bill. Also, today is the official release date of True Womanhood's new EP Basement Membranes, which is pretty awesome. Grab a copy at the show or head over to the Environmental Aesthetics site and nab a digital copy.

Here are the details:
True Womanhood
Hume
Hot Lava
Black Cat Backstage
1811 14th St. NW DC
8:30PM
$10

FORGOTTEN VINYL: Medium Medium "Further Than Funk Dreams"

2010-04-05T23:07:00.004-04:00

Medium Medium
“Further Than Funk Dreams”
The Glitterhouse

DOWNLOAD Medium Medium - "Further Than Funk Dreams" (256 KBPS)

Before I got into the post-punk of Gang of Four, Pop Group, or Bauhaus I heard Medium Medium. I had an obsession with their biggest single “Hungry, So Angry”. I love the sax in that track. But the first song on side B of this album, “Further Than Funk Dreams” is great as well. It's got a sparse, but funky rhythm that would play well on a dance floor with open minds. And, luckily, contains some free jazzy sax spurts.

VIDEO: Bluebrain Cherry Blossom Walk (cont'd)

2010-04-05T14:59:00.001-04:00

Here's another video from Saturday's Cherry Blossom Boombox Walk:

Photos from Saturday's Boombox Walk

2010-04-05T09:58:00.003-04:00

I took more photos and you can view them here.

VIDEO: Bluebrain Cherry Blossom Boombox Walk

2010-04-03T21:28:00.003-04:00

I shot some video of today's Cherry Blossom Boombox Walk. It's low quality since I used my digital camera, but you can get the idea. I had a blast. The composition was beautiful! Also, it was a perfect day to be on the Mall (traffic was crazy though). Hays and Ryan Holladay did an amazing job putting this together:

Foul Swoops

2010-04-02T16:14:00.001-04:00

Foul Swoops. Recognize:

FORGOTTEN VINYL: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band "Hold On"

2010-04-01T08:40:00.002-04:00

“Hold On”
John Lenon/Plastic Ono Band

DOWNLOAD "Hold On" by John Lenon/Plastic Ono Band (256 KBPS)

I think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. I know… I know. Hyperbole. And there are so many that could vie for the top spot. I’m not saying this is #1, but for me, it’s damn close. I have three copies of this record. I just keep buying them. Maybe in the hopes of giving everyone I know their own copy…

Bluebrain Cherry Blossom Boombox Walk

2010-03-31T17:01:00.004-04:00

I submitted music for this Bluebrain boombox project and was really excited to hear who else was participating (WOAH! Check the flier!). It all goes down this Saturday, April 3rd, at 5:30pm. Details here:

Also, check out a write up and footage from last year's here!

Collin from Buildings Sends Update

2010-03-31T16:30:00.004-04:00

Main Sockets bro Collin Crowe (from Buildings!) just sent in a massive update on stuff he's involved with as well as a few Buildings show updates:

1. I Collin Crowe will be djing for money for the first time ever as a guest star for We Fought the Big One. It's this Friday, April 2, at 10pm @ Marx Cafe in Mt. Pleasant Washington, DC. It's not so much a dance night as it is cool music to chill to. Expect a lot of strange sounds from different genres/times/places/dimensions along with fine belgian beers.

2. Totally bizarre but someone did a buildings remix. This kid (James from Disclosed MP3s) also did remixes of other local bands including Hume, Laughing Man, and True Womanhood and is working on releasing a CD soon of all the remixed tracks.

3. Upcoming shows at Big Bear:
-April 15: Untied States, Bubbling Well (x antelope), Connect the Dots
-April 16: Buildings, CAVES (from Brooklyn), Ziggurat (from DC -mem of laughing man/shock diamond)
*shows at big bear run from 7:30-10pm and are all ages

Extra Life Splayed Flesh Remix EP Cover

2010-03-30T18:26:00.003-04:00

The wait is almost over! The Extra Life Splayed Flesh Remix EP. Oh boy. This one is going to be good. Here's the cover art drawn by Lauren Bahr. Woah! So good!
Here is the tracklist for Splayed Flesh, plus a peak at the Tyondai Braxton remix:

1. "Head Shrinker" - album version
2. "Head Shrinker" - Tyondai Braxton RMX
3. "Head Shrinker" - Caley Monahon-Ward remix
4. "Made Flesh" - album version
5. "The Body is True" - album version
6. "Made Flesh / The Body is True" - JG Thirlwell remix
7. "Made Flesh" - Justin K. Broadrick remix

Cheniers Thursday at Black Cat

2010-03-30T13:57:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite DC bands, The Cheniers, is playing this Thursday, April 1st at the Black Cat. So, if you're feeling like taking in a good show, make sure to head over and catch the band open for the Smith Westerns!
Smith Westerns
Cheniers
So Cow
@ Black Cat
1811 14th St. NW DC
8:30pm
$10

FORGOTTEN VINYL: Flowers "After Dark"

2010-03-27T20:17:00.003-04:00

“After Dark”
Flowers
Mutant Pop 78/79
Released on Fast Product, 1980

DOWNLOAD "After Dark" by Flowers (zSHARE, 256 KBPS)

This compilation has some big names on it, including Gang of Four, Human League, and The Mekons. But my favorite track from the compilation is this one by Flowers called “After Dark”. I'm surprised that this band toils in obscurity compared to the rest of the post-punk bands of the early-1980s era. Flowers are most definitely on par with the bands named above. This track is pretty crucial for gearing up to go out.

Cephalopods and Lo Moda

2010-03-27T20:08:00.005-04:00

Last night's show at the Velvet Lounge was great. It was packed full of people early on and each of the bands were tight. I had never heard Lo Moda, but after the first three songs I was hooked. Please check them out. Also, Cephalopods played their first show, which I thought was pretty great. Here are some blurry iphone pics for posterity:

Lo Moda

Cephalopods

Didn't take any pics of the other two bands, but Busses (from Philly) and Imperial China kicked ass too. Imperial China played a new jam and it was some next level shred!

Sockets in Austin: SXSW Update 4

2010-03-27T03:16:00.004-04:00

Here's my last update from SXSW. Actually, these are just some photos I wanted to share from the toy store my friend Jeff took me to in Austin. This was on Sunday, the day after things wrapped up. I got overwhelmed by the shear number and variety of toys. It was pretty amazing:

Two Great Shows Tonight (Friday 3/26)

2010-03-26T10:47:00.002-04:00

Imperial China and Cephalopods at Velvet:And Future Times at the Cherch:

Forgotten Vinyl Returns Tomorrow!

2010-03-26T00:52:00.003-04:00

I just finished recording a bunch of tracks for another installment of Forgotten Vinyl. If you remember, Brit Powell came by and brought some of his favorite records to record and we shared them in a bunch of posts late last year. Well, I finally got a new needle for my turntable and took some time out to record a few of my favorite tracks from my record collection. With all of the blogs posting full albums and vinyl rips, I can't imagine I'm charting new territory. But these are songs that really stick with me and I'm excited to share them.

Washington City Paper Review Extra Life's Made Flesh

2010-03-25T13:52:00.002-04:00

The Washington City Paper just posted a review of Extra Life's Made Flesh LP. Here's the quote that got me: "Extra Life exudes an exuberant and visceral sound missing from many of the band’s artier peers, yet maintains a musical complexity and intelligence in every song." That's what I'm talking about! The remix EP is going to be so good. Cannot wait for it!

Stay tuned for more updates regarding the release in April.

The Vinyl District Imperial China Ticket Giveaway

2010-03-25T10:15:00.003-04:00

Head over to the The Vinyl District blog for a chance to win two tickets to this Friday's Imperial China show, as well as a t-shirt and CD. Wow, that's a pretty great package. Seriously, why are you still reading this!

Buildings Live Review

2010-03-24T11:22:00.002-04:00

David Hintz over at DC Rock Live posted a review of the Buildings show from last Sunday. Here's a snippet of what he had to say:

I last saw this trio at the Sockets Records showcase and thought they were the highlight of the night. Nothing tonight changes my opinion, but rather firmly enhances it as I think this is one of the finer bands in the area. The drumming is powerful, the bass playing fast and adept and the guitarist lays down circular rings of melody.

The rest of Hintz's review can be found at this link.

Imperial China | Cephalopods | Busses at Velvet Friday

2010-03-23T11:26:00.002-04:00

This is going to be a pretty dope show on Friday at Velvet Lounge here in DC. Imperial China is joined by Cephalopods (including Hugh McElroy, Fiona Griffin, and Wells Bennett), Busses (I went to high school with a member of this band!) and Lo Moda (from Baltimore). This will be Cephalopods first show, which I'm really excited about. Also, Imperial China just got back from tour, so they are tighter than ever:

Sockets in Austin: SXSW Update 3

2010-03-23T10:42:00.003-04:00

So here's the truth: I really didn't get to see as many bands as I wanted. At all. I think it was a combination of things, including it being my first time at SXSW, disorganization at venues, and basic physics. Nevertheless, I got to see some DC bands do their thing, including Laughing Man:

This was the scene at Beauty Bar late Saturday night. I couldn't tell if it was Nick Catchdubs (from Fools Gold Records) or Bird Peterson. Either way, it was a pretty amazing continuous thud of dance music:

This guy was at the AM Only party, the same night as the pic taken above. This stuff was straight up rave music. And I kinda enjoyed it. I got to relive the parties I never went to when I was growing up in the sticks in New Jersey. This music had that continual rise of melodies over the incessant bass beat/hi-hat sound. Uh, Stts, Uh, Stts...

I didn't get in to the Yacht show, but the fence was pretty close to the stage, so I hung out for a little while and caught a few songs after leaving the Fader Fort. Yacht killed it. I haven't seen them since the early days when it was just that one guy:

One of the bands I was really itching to see was Tanlines. They just released a pretty great set of songs on True Panther Sounds (the label with which we released The Fly Girlz). The music was played over a pretty terrible PA, but they sounded pretty close to the record, so no surprises there:

VIDEO: The Cornel West Theory "Patriotic Me"

2010-03-22T21:57:00.003-04:00

Here's the debut video from The Cornel West Theory. It's for the song "Patriotic Me" and was directed by Matt Echave for LS Films:

"PATRIOTIC ME" THE CORNEL WEST THEORY from L. S. Films on Vimeo.

Sockets in Austin: SXSW Update 2

2010-03-22T21:18:00.002-04:00

Some deep bathroom graffiti at SXSW:

Sockets in Austin: SXSW Update 1

2010-03-22T10:55:00.009-04:00

Woah. I've been in Austin, TX for the last five days attempting to understand the beast that is SXSW. I thought it would be easy to get pics up and give a run-down of each day, but that proved difficult. Apologies for the lack of posts

I caught up with a lot of DC folk and saw a ton of new bands. I had the distinct feeling that I was missing so much at any given moment… I soon learned that this feeling is the crux of SXSW.

My good friend Jeff (we go all the way back to the 6th grade) was gracious enough to let me crash at his place during the festival and thanks to him I ate a ton of great Mexican food. Despite being overwhelmed, I think it was great to get out of DC for a long weekend. I'm ready to be back though!

Here are some pics (more to come soon!):

Miike Snow at the Spin show

Veggie Rito!

The dude from Fucked Up right before he hugged half the audience

Me and Ben Kronberg

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Julianne Barwick at the Panache party

Aa at the Panache party

Buildings and Magik Markers on Sunday

2010-03-17T11:17:00.002-04:00

Make sure to check out Buildings and Magik Markers this Sunday at the Black Cat Backstage. Here are the details in list form:

Magik Markers
Buildings
Black Cat Backstage
1811 14th St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
9pm
$10

DCist Reviews Phosphenes

2010-03-17T11:08:00.001-04:00

DCist reviewed Imperial China's new CD Phosphenes yesterday. Check it out. Here's a little snippet:

Within the first 30 seconds of Imperial China's debut LP, Phosphenes, it's clear what sounds are going to dominate the record: dance-ready samples, squealing dissonant guitars and percussion. Their use of these elements make good on the promise of their first release, the Methods EP: that the trio can effectively combine the elements that defined Dischord's most prominent bands without sounding like they're stuck in a time warp.

Make sure to read the rest of the review here.

Imperial China St. Louis Photos

2010-03-15T10:09:00.003-04:00

Corey Woodruff just sent us a few shows he took of the band at its show in St. Louis this weekend:

Check out the rest of Corey's photos here. They are pretty great.

Imperial China Writes In From The Van: St. Louis, MO

2010-03-14T22:17:00.004-04:00

Imperial China is currently on tour and here is the band's update from its show in St Louis, Missouri @ Ciceros:

One of the best things about out of town shows is meeting amazing people. St. Louis was no exception. Our friends, Paige and Evan, from Sleepy Kitty set up a show for us and put us up for the night. Sleepy Kitty is a two-piece (drums, guitar, and keys) that plays a powerful and melodic brand of pop that focuses on song writing and creating layers of sound using loops. Watching Paige harmonize vocally with herself using loops is truly inspiring, and not just because of the high level of difficulty to pull it off live.

As a band that relies on live loops ourselves, we know how difficult to be to effectively use them them live, especially when trying to write somewhat complex music. Sleepy Kitty has mastered this element in their live show. I kept thinking, “God damn, he’s just such a pro drummer.” Evan was the drummer in Bound Stems of Chicago, who we’ve played with and put up when they came through D.C. Evan also played in Harvey Danger. There’s truly no substitute for repetition and experience.

After the show, we went back to Evan and Paige’s place with Matt, who runs local St. Louis music magazine, Eleven, and did a guest performance with Sleepy Kitty. We hung out and talked about music and the St. Louis scene.

In addition to being in a band, they also free-lance graphic artists with a screen printing business. Running out of space at their Chicago studio, they moved to St. Louis over a year ago looking to expand in a new place. They found an amazing space at an old Brewery, in which they now both live, work and write/practice. They focus on screen printing and they do beautiful work. In fact, check out the beautiful poster they did for our show:

Their printing company goes by the same name as the band, Sleepy Kitty. They seem to include all of their creative endeavors under the umbrella of Sleepy Kitty. I think this is a great idea for a number of reasons, not least of which because people will associate their name with multiple artistic mediums and any attention brought to one of their endeavors will ultimately draw attention to all their endeavors.

Paige and Evan are both amazing, positive and creative people and we wish them the best of luck in St. Louis. We’ll leave you with some pictures of their space, which is a a work of art in and of itself.

Terry Riley's In C Last Night in Baltimore

2010-03-13T10:26:00.008-05:00

Brit (HUME) convinced me to go to Baltimore last night and experience a performance of Terry Tiley's In C composition - written in 1964. I'm really glad I went. It was amazing. Not sure how many musicians exactly, but close to 30 in all playing keys, xylophone, guitar, saxophone, strings, laptops, and more at the Copy Cat space. Here are some pics:

More info on musicians and organizers here.

More Pics from Ireland

2010-03-12T11:47:00.003-05:00

I was on vacation in Ireland last week with the family. Here are some more pics from the trip:

BYT SXSW Showcase

2010-03-12T09:59:00.004-05:00

Pop by this showcase at SXSW next week. I'll be djing between sets. It's hosted by the folks over at Brightest Young Things, Durkl and Indiefeed:

Little Women Touring US and Europe in the Spring

2010-03-11T15:48:00.002-05:00

Little Women are releasing a new record, Throat, through Improvised Communications. It's the follow on to 2008's Teeth released by Sockets and Gilgongo Records. To support the new effort, they will be touring the US and Europe this Spring. Here are the dates, courtesy of Improvised Communications:

American tour dates:

04/01 :: King Street Manor (Northampton, MA)
04/02 :: Venue TBA (Montreal, QC)
04/03 :: Teranga (Toronto, ON)
04/04 :: East Village Arts Co-Op (East London, ON)
04/05 :: Soundlab (Buffalo, NY)
04/06 :: Venue TBA (Kalamazoo, MI)
04/07 :: The Hideout (Chicago, IL)
04/08 :: The Velvet Lounge (Chicago, IL)
04/09 :: Bela Dubby (Lakewood, OH)
04/10 :: Venue TBA (Pittsburgh, PA)
04/11 :: The Windup Space (Baltimore, MD)

European tour dates:

05/05 :: Jazzclub Neue Tonne (Dresden, Germany)
05/06 :: Jazzclub Hipnoza (Katowice, Poland)
05/07 :: Stadtwerkstatt (Linz, Austria)
05/08 :: JazzDock (Prague, Czech Republic)
05/09 :: Black Box at cuba-cultur (Münster, Germany)
05/10 :: WORM (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
05/11 :: Voorhuit (Gent, Belgium)
05/12 :: Bunker Ulmenwall (Bielefeld, Germany)
05/13 :: Lades (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Imperial China Writes In From The Van: Columbus, OH

2010-03-11T12:50:00.004-05:00

Imperial China is currently on tour, this is their fifth update from a show in Columbus, OH:

Tuesday nights are tough no matter where you play. The treehouse was no exception. It’s a great venue and gets it’s name from the giant tree the bar was built around. The logo of the bar, which looks like the bonsai logo from Karate Kid, is arranged in lights on the wall of the stage. See the tree and this lamp alone are worth the price of admission.

My friends, Emily and Kyle put us up and brought some people out to the show. At dinner, we all got to enjoy possibly the worst open mic performer of all time. God love him, he tried and I give him credit for that, but he followed up George Michael’s, “Faith” with a song “he wrote in the sixth grade” for which the chorus was “VH1, VH1, VH1.” Thanks Emily and Kyle!

As we were leaving Columbus, I got this text from Kyle, “FYI Corey Haim is dead.” He was the original Lost Boy and badass in “License to Drive.” First we lose Kirk Cameron to Jesus and now Corey Haim to drugs. Slowly but surely, the world is taking my childhood away from. What’s next, Alf is off cats?

Imperial China Writes In From The Van: Louisville, KY

2010-03-11T12:39:00.004-05:00

Imperial China is currently on tour, this is their fourth update from a show in Louisville, Kentucky:
Louisville is a great town. Good food. Good beer. Good Bourbon. Good Record Stores. We got to Louisville with enough time to walk around and meet up with Patrick’s old friend, Eric. Eric, Chris and Johnny (pictured below) took us around and showed us a good time.

We played a venue called “Skull Alley.” It’s a great art space run by Jaime. It reminds a little of the Hexagon in Baltimore. Louisville has produced some great bands such as Slint and Bastro. Don’t say My Morning Jacket, because My Morning Jacket sucks.

Skull Alley has a crazy pink bathroom. It had the usual bathroom scrawl on it, but it’s much more political than the average bathroom. Reminds me of DC bathrooms, where in between writing, “Pete is gay,” the author decides to voice their opinions on Nancy Pelosi. I decided that the only thing that the right and left can agree on is the unalienable right to write dumb shit on a bathroom wall.

We played with two of the best bands we’ve shared a stage with, Fork in Socket:

and Rest Assured:

Rest Assured is playing the Red and the Black on March 17, and I recommend everyone go check them out. Think Pele meets Maps and Atlases meets Don Cab. They have one of the nastiest drummers you’ll ever see, and he’s only 23, so he can go straight to hell in my opinion. He’s one of those players that you’ll never be as good as no matter how hard you practice. Whenever I see players like that I always think of Gregory Hines’ line from History of the World while he’s tap dancing for the Romans…”Born to do it.”

The show went well. A bunch of kids came out and were really supportive. I injure myself fairly often when I play, and tonight was one of those nights. It’s funny how you never notice you’ve cut yourself until after the set is over. Brian’s lost his voice a little, so Patrick’s been sharing vocals duties, which has worked out well.

After the show, we went out to the Nachbar. Great beers. Great jukebox. Apparently we’re Arsenal fans:

Extra Life Remix EP

2010-03-10T05:48:00.003-05:00

We're excited to be working on the new Extra Life Remix EP slated for a May release. Extra Life is the brainchild of Charlie Looker, an amazing musician and creative force. He used to be in ZS and played in Dirty Projectors for a hot minute. It's going to feature remixes from Tyondai Braxton (of Battles), Caley Monahon-Ward, JG Thirlwell (of Foetus!), and Justin K. Broadrick (of Godflesh!!!). I just peaked at the art which will be provided by the amazing Lauren Bahr. We'll be announcing some more news soon and providing a stream of one of the tracks. In the meantime, watch this:

Sockets in Ireland

2010-03-09T15:57:00.003-05:00

For the past week I've been in Ireland with my family. Here's a few pics from the trip so far:

Imperial China Writes In From The Van: Lexington, KY

2010-03-09T13:00:00.021-05:00

Imperial China is currently on tour, this is their third update from a show in Lexington, Kentucky:

“Candy Machine” was a phenomenal band from Baltimore in the 90’s fronted by Peter Quinn. Peter put out the first Pontyail album on his label, Creative Capitalism, and is currently in the band, “Lo Moda.” The Candy Machine record, “Modest Proposal” has been the soundtrack for the tour thus far. One of the best songs on the album is “Rotodome.” None of us knew what a rotodome was so we texted Peter, who Patrick knows from his Pitchblende days.

Here is the text exchange:

Matt @ 2:03 a.m.: “What the hell is a rotodome?”

Peter @5:42 a.m.: “It’s like a superdome. But less popular.”

Peter @ 6:06 a.m.: “Or a Bar in Kansas City.”

Peter @ 6:08 a.m.: “Or a strip joint of the mind.”

We asked Peter to play a Candy Machine song with us next time we’re in Baltimore. Hopefully he takes us up on the offer.

Tonight was the most fun we’ve had so far. Al’s Bar is a great. Free food. PBR and rail drinks for bands. Can’t beat that. Thanks to Audra behind the bar, who took care of us. I recommend this place to any band going through Kentucky. We played with the Gudwalls. They have this great psyche/Dinosaur Jr./Husker Du thing going.

We made a couple discoveries in Kentucky:
1) Ale 8, a ginger ale made in Kentucky, is quite possibly the best soda on earth. It’s even better with Bourbon. It’s even better than that when it’s free.

2) Bike Polo exists. Never heard of it before this, but it’s big enough here that a bunch of people came to the show after playing all day. From what I understand, It’s 3 on 3 polo played on bikes with a bunch of homemade equipment. Sounds badass. Drew and Scott from the team hung out, gave us one of their homemade polo mallets and some lessons and did some break dancing.

Drew is in a band called “Latin Heat,” which is an amazing name. At their first show, the latino community of Lexington came out and was disappointed to find out they were a punk band. I can imagine a similar reaction in Mt. Pleasant. Apparently there is a DC bike polo team. Drew and I began planning an all day outdoor show/bike polo tournament with some Kentucky and DC bike polo teams/bands. I sincerely hope it happens. That would be a blast.

3) Gumbo Ya Ya in Lexington is an awesome creole restaurant. Ross, who set the show up, manages the restaurant and was nice enough to treat us to some Gumbo and White Bean Chili the day after the show. Go check out his restaurant!!!
We’re on to Louisville well fed and in good spirits.

Imperial China Writes In From The Van: Frankfort, KY

2010-03-08T04:55:00.004-05:00

Imperial China is on the road this week. Here is the second update from their tour after the band's show at Brick Alley in Frankfort, KY:

Q:Why would we drive 8 hours to Kentucky, you ask?

A: Because we booked our tour and have no idea what we’re doing.

***

On the way to Lexington, we stopped at a Long John Silvers/A&W.

Q: Who’s got 6 thumbs and loves a papa wrap washed down with a rootbeer float?

A: Imperial China, that’s who.

The Frankfort show was epic. Rather than give you the play by play, we’ll just give you the highlights. The following are some things we did, heard or witnessed.

1. Witnessed a fight between an undercover DEA agent and a young patron of the bar. This DEA agent was also shocked and disappointed to learn that Brendan Harris, the booker, was indeed not a “faggot.” He learned this after hitting on Brendan’s wife.

2. As the fight developed, a woman from the peanut gallery yelled, “I told you there was gonna be some real white trash shit here.”

3. “Onward Pilgrim,” the headlining act, had what appeared to be a huge Optimus Prime toy onstage. We learned that it was actually a piñata of Optimus prime when upon smashing it on their last song, Smarties candy littered the floor of the bar.

This was just as devastating as it was when I was 7 and Optimus died in the Transformers movie. I never had transformers growing up, and instead my parents bought me “GoBots.” I’ve never forgiven them for this, but I digress….

4. Engaged in a 30 minute conversation about skate shoes and hoodies with a this graffiti artist outside the bar. After a long explanation about how he was arrested for tagging a sewer drain in Lexington, he apologized saying, “I took an aderrall today, so I feel like I’m on coke.

5. Overhead: “The first time I was arrested was outside these doors.”

6. The guitarist of “Onward Pilgrim” had of the best mustaches I’ve seen in a while. It was “The Rollie Fingers”, aka “The Bismark”, aka “The Orville and Wilbur Wright,” aka “The I’m not putting up with your bullshit.”

7. It give us a comfort to know that there’s a band named “Bonepony” roaming the earth.
8. Patron of the bar to Matt: “I was playing pool, but you guys sounded great.”

9. Best bathroom inscription I’ve seen in a while. “This Place is still the best train wreck I’ve ever seen.”
10. Same Peanut gallery girl upon exiting the bar reiterated her sentiment from earlier in the night with a parting line that sent us on our way, “I told you there was gonna be some real white trash shit here tonight. Hey Yo, Shoney’s is still open!!!”

While the night was a little chaotic at times and hilarious at others, we had a really amazing time in Frankfort. Thanks to Brick Alley, Troy the bartender, Dewey the bouncer, Brandon for putting on and promoting the show, Onward Pilgrim for bringing out so many fans, and Jenna Watkins, a local artist who let me take some pictures of some of her artwork. She’s very talented and her work can be seen at migratory-coconut.deviantart.com.

Imperial China Writes In From The Van: Frederick, MD

2010-03-07T19:45:00.011-05:00

Imperial China is on the road this week. Here is the first update from their tour, which seems to be going great so far:

We kicked things off in Frederick tonight sandwiched on a bill between two aquabands, Spermwhales and Troutzilla. Spermwhales is a solo guitar/electronic act that plays a mix somewhere between ambient and noise. I love the scenic painting on the wall behind him.

Troutzilla was a lot of fun. They successfully incorporate horns and flute. They got people moving and who can’t appreciate an attractive flutist (I still don’t know if its pronounced flootist or floutist) or this drum head?

Frederick was a good time and Café 611 is a good, open space for shows. Memorable characters include Nate, the booker, who is the second person to compare us to “the Blueman Group,” which really spoke to my inner Tobias Funke, Ben the plumber, and the guy at the merch booth after we played who said, “That was awesome, now sell me some shit.” Thanks for helping put gas in the tank.

Couch Sessions Pics of Brand Nubian and Cornel West Theory

2010-03-06T16:21:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite sites, The Couch Sessions, posted some pics from last weekend's Brand Nubian and Cornel West Theory show at Liv. Check them out over at The Couch Sessions site.

Matrix Metals Video By Luke Wyatt

2010-03-01T23:34:00.003-05:00

Just saw this video by Luke Wyatt (Slim Castle, Big Gold Belt) for the band Matrix Metal's track "Tanning Salon, Part Two". Pretty trippy and amazing:

MATRIX METALS "TANNING SALON, PART TWO" from OESB // FUTURE SOUND on Vimeo.

New Midnight Kids EP

2010-03-01T23:23:00.003-05:00

I've been listening to this new Midnight Kids EP Basement Dreams for the last few days. It's really good. Head over to the band's Bandcamp page to download the free EP. Here's a preview:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://midnightkids.bandcamp.com/album/basement-dreams"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Undertow by Midnight Kids&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Imperial China Tour and New Website

2010-03-01T13:21:00.003-05:00

Imperial China embarks on their first U.S. tour at the end of this week. We're excited and I know they can't wait to get out and play for folks. The tour coincides with the launch of Imperial China's new website, so definitely check that out here. Below you can find Imperial China's tour dates:

Nine-11 Thesaurus

2010-02-26T12:15:00.002-05:00

Here's some a capella freestyles from a few members of Nine-11 Thesaurus, the next youth hip-hop group working with Sam Hillmer's (ZS) RepresentingNYC group: