Akron/Family to Tour the American South Where They Hope to Avoid Being Constantly Confused with The Avett Brothers

by Jon Lorenz on 11-20-2009

A lot has changed for Ecstatic Sunshine over these past few years. Most significantly, founding member Dustin Wong (Ponytail) left the band, forcing other founding member Matthew Papich to shift their sound from guitar-duo battle to something more expansive. On the band's last record WAY -- just before Wong left the group -- the duo added third member Kieran Gillen on electronics. And now, on the the brand new Yesterday's Work, Ecstatic Sunshine are evolving yet again, with Papich having recruited Joe "White" Williams on drum machines and synthesizers.

According to a press release, Yesterday's Work's "sonic palette is much broader than previous guitar-centric releases; soft bouncy bass and crisp synthesizers balance and serve as counterpoint to Papich's loop-based guitar work. Think Berlin School and Penguin Cafe Orchestra, or a Harmonia record produced by Coxsone." Matthew Papich speaks about the record's influence:

Outside the record there are many sounds. Some of those sounds were moved, through memory, into the record. We would hear soft bass through the windows of a car, or listen to birds waking up before dawn, and learn to remember those sounds and later draw them out of synthesizers or guitars. In this way we could hear the record before it was made. It is like John Cage's ideas about incidental sound, except instead of composing with those sounds, we composed for them. The record is an homage to the Everyday. It is music that happens, and is heard, and then said.

Yesterday's Work will be released on HOSS, who also issued their "Turned On" 7-inch. It's due December 8 (just got pushed back from its original release date of November 24).

Yesterday's Work tracklisting:

1. Conch
2. Faceplant
3. Dunk
4. Over Easy
5. Sweet Spot
6. Because
7. Space Sick
8. Space Sicker
9. Soft Opening
10. Topless

[Photo: Sally Glass]

by Mike McHugh on 11-20-2009

Last week was a happier time for me. I went to the zoo and saw a grizzly bear take a huge dump. My hair was a shorter, more manageable length. I had more money. But a lot can change over a week. The bear and his discharge is but a memory, my hair has since grown to look too similar to the nest of a large bird, and the city has demanded 100 of my dollars for some bullshit traffic violation they claim to have caught on one of those bullshit little stoplight cameras. But even in a week so packed with disappointment as this one, there’s always room for another letdown.

To that end, I regret to inform you that the Method Man , Raekwon and Ghostface Killah collalbum that was originally set for a December 22 release has now been pushed back to 2010 . And just to kick ya’ll while you’re down, Redman’s upcoming record Reggie Noble 9 ½ has ditched its December 8 drop and joined the Wu in the indefinite wasteland of a 2010 release. Here’s hoping both projects have been bumped just to avoid being overlooked from the usual year-end roundups.

by Nobodaddy on 11-20-2009

Hey now, Vampire Weekend may not have been included in the who’s who hit list of bands on the Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack (um, or were they? It all kinda runs together at this point, doesn’t it?), but they’ll be damned if they’re gonna let you forget just how comparable to Death Cab they are in the genial, hospitable, popular, friendly, adorable-ruffian-like-Fonzie-from-Happy-Days Department.

So without further ado, these happy-go-lucky ragamuffins are proud-as-punch to announce a round of tourdates supporting the release of their forthcoming album Contra, which drops January 12, 2010 on XL. The album’s first single, “Cousins,” is available digitally right now, and the 7-inch will be in stores on December 15. It’s probably about stuff that you can all like totally relate to and shit... you know, like having cousins. Stressful, right? Anyway, this year’s remaining dates appear below.

In other news, did I really need to qualify the name “Fonzie” up there as being “from Happy Days?" I mean, how stupid do I think you are, anyway?
11.23.09 - Sydney, Australia - Notes on Enmore
12.10.09 - Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom
12.11.09 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
12.12.09 - La Jolla, CA - RIMAC Arena/UC San Diego
12.13.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheater
12.15.09 - Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater
01.12.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
01.17.10 - New York, NY - United Palace Theater
01.18.10 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
01.19.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

by Annapocalypse on 11-19-2009

Another week, another Ticketmaster scandal. This time, the ticket giant is accused of holding back tickets for Taylor Swift and Keith Urban concerts and distributing them to fan clubs and other exclusive communities instead of putting them up for public sale. Specifically, thousands of tickets were dispersed to American Express and fan clubs for different concerts in Nashville, severely reducing the odds of an average fan being able to score tickets to the shows. Out of 13,300 seats for the Taylor Swift show, around 1,600 tickets were available to the general public when tickets went on sale, and 5,000 of the 13,300 tickets were held for American Express customers due in part to a deal the credit card company has with different artists. For Urban’s concert, 14,900 seats were available, but more than 10,400 tickets had already been sold before the public on-sale date, most of which went to Urban’s fan club and to American Express.

This issue has caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., who introduced the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act (BOSS ACT!), in hopes of putting an end to absurd ticket holds. "When you have a highly desirable product with incredible demand, all kinds of shenanigans go on," Lefsetz said in an interview with WTVF-TV. "Listen, the whole business is smoke and mirrors. Because no one is policing them telling them to tell the truth."