Screaming Females at 92YTribeca in 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Ladyfest, which has taken place in various cities over the past few years, is returning to Philly for the first time since 2003 from June 7 - 9 at the Rotunda and other locations in West Philadelphia. The festival's mission statement reads:

Ladyfest Philadelphia is a grassroots event dedicated to the artistic, organizational, and political work of women, trans, genderqueer, intersex, and queer people, and their allies. Ladyfest combats substantive, cultural, and structural inequalities by building upon the existing Philadelphia community of artists, musicians, and activists. It aims to foster a more inclusive and safe environment through performances, workshops, panels, opportunities for collaboration, and more.

Full lineup and list of workshops below...

Continue reading "Ladyfest Philly 2013 lineup & workshops (Screaming Females, US Girls, Potty Mouth, Aye Nako, Priests, Black Wine & more)"

by Andrew Sacher

As mentioned, Brooklyn duo Shellshag are releasing their new album, Shellshag Forever, on April 16 via Don Giovanni. The band formed in the '90s as the duo of John Driver, whose nickname is Shellhead, and Jennifer Shagawat (aka Shell and Shag, hence Shellshag), who were and still are a couple. Though they've been a band for so long, they've been getting more attention for this new album (appearing on Pitchfork and Stereogum for this first time). And Shellshag Forever is a great record to gain them a larger fan base. The production is a bit bigger and clearer than their past releases, and their songwriting is in top form. Many of the tracks are autobiographical stories about Shell and Shag's band and relationship with lyrics that put you in specific moments like "That old hoodie, it reminds me of the time we walked a mile to play that show out in the sunset."

The album is now available for pre-order at the Don Giovanni webstore, and you can listen to it in its entirety ahead of its release date at the bottom of this post. Also below is a video of Shellshag performing an acoustic version of the album's lead track, "Face to Face," which they recorded for the BrooklynVegan 'Green Room Sessions' in 2011.

As mentioned, Shellshag have a number of shows coming up, including one at Union Pool on Saturday (4/13) with RVIVR, Dogjaw, and Extra Feeler (tickets) and a record release show for Shellshag Forever on April 20 at Maxwell's with Screaming Females, Swearin' Hilly Eye, and Waxahatchee/Swearin' side project Great Thunder (tickets). The flyer for the release show is below.

They've also since announced other local shows, including May 10 at Death by Audio with Black Wine, Swearin', and comedians Dave Hill and Chris Gethard, May 18 at Mercury Lounge, where they'll be an opener, along with Hunters, for the first of two previously announced JEFF the Brotherhood shows (JEFF also plays Merc on 5/19), May 25 at Party Expo with Moira Scara, and June 5 at Death by Audio with Shell's brother's band, Apogee Sound Cloud. All dates are listed below.

I also recently spoke to Shellshag about their new album, being veterans of the DIY scene, and the increased attention for Don Giovanni Records. You can read that interview, along with the album stream, video, and list of tour dates, below...

Continue reading "an interview with Shellshag, whose new album comes out soon (stream it ++ updated dates)"

photos/words by Caroline Harrison

Screaming Females @ MHOW 2/9/2013

Independent punk rock label Don Giovanni just finished up a three night 10th Anniversary celebration in Brooklyn. Night three, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (Feb 9) featured Screaming Females, Black Wine, Stormshadow, Home Blitz, Shellshag, and a surprise guest performance from Rubber Molding.

Shellshag, like a couple of other bands on the bill, are better suited to a sweltering, crowded basement show than a ballroom or music hall. They play facing each other, singing into a bizarrely constructed speaker unit resembling a Dalek. Their energy treads a fine line between infectious and overly precious, but luckily most people in the crowd seemed to enjoy Shellshag's unpretentious pop punk. They closed with a Dino Jr-style cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" before leaving the stage to make way for Home Blitz.

Home Blitz doesn't rely on bombast the same way Shellshag does. The quartet's set was understated, modest garage rock. Front man Daniel DiMaggio hangs off of the microphone as he sings, enhancing the impression that he's sneering through his raw and earnest vocals.

Our own Andrew Sacher talked to Stormshadow last month about the band's history, their reunion, and the decision behind re-releasing their 1999 album "Set On Destroy." The set, punk with a political bent and bar rock sensibilities, was a welcome comeback for this New Brunswick band. Stormshadow's male/female vocal approach is evocative of some Fucked Up tracks, though Stormshadow vocalist Matty King is not prone to the same onstage histrionics as Damian Abraham. Sue Werner's consistent vocal presence adds a nice back-and-forth dynamic to the band's stage routine.

Black Wine is sort of like a Don Giovanni supergroup, featuring former members of The Ergs! and Hunchback. They were originally supposed to support Screaming Females on the tour that got canceled due to Marissa's health problems, so it was nice to see the band getting to support them. Following Black Wine's set, Rubber Molding took the stage to blast through an unannounced, absolutely riotous (and spot on) cover of Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell, complete with a cape and some glitter-bombing..

While it was no surprise that Screaming Females absolutely destroyed, there was palpable relief from the audience that lead guitarist and howling vocalist Marissa Paternoster seems to have recovered from her long illness. The band just released a tape of new material, including a song they recorded with Shellshag, and they debuted a few new songs. The setlist is below (except the last song in the encore, because I can't read my own handwriting. Anyone out there remember?).

There are no upcoming dates for Screaming Females, but you can catch Black Wine at the Cake Shop on March 23 with Hilly Eye, Nuclear Santa Claust, and Lauren of the Measure.

More pictures and the Screaming Females setlist is below.

Continue reading "Screaming Females, Black Wine, Stormshadow and more played the Don Giovanni showcase at MHOW (pics)"

Screaming Females in LA in 2012 (more by Wei Shi)

The Don Giovanni Records Brooklyn showcases begin TONIGHT (2/7) with the previously mentioned Death by Audio show, which features California X, Nuclear Santa Claust, Brick Mower, House Boat, and Plastic Cross. Admission for tonight's show is $8 at the door. Then, the Don Giovanni fun continues with two consecutive nights at Music Hall of Williamsburg which feature Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Jeffrey Lewis, Lemuria, Waxahatachee, and Hilly Eye on Friday (2/8) and Screaming Females, Black Wine, Stormshadow, Home Blitz, and Shellshag on Saturday (2/9). Tickets for Friday, Saturday, and a 2-day pass are still available.

In related news, Screaming Females are releasing a cassette of home recordings this weekend (2/10) and you can stream the whole thing ahead of its release at Pitchfork. It features the track "Green Vapors," which was done with DG labelmates Shellshag.

Laura Stevenson is also releasing a new album, Wheel, on April 23 via Don Giovanni. You can stream the lead track, "Runner," at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, if you miss the showcases this week (or just want more), three of the bands playing -- Black Wine, Hilly Eye, and Nuclear Santa Claust -- are teaming up again for a NYC show at Cake Shop on March 23 with Lauren of The Measure. Admission for that one is $8 at the door.

If you're going to the DbA showcase tonight, be sure to catch California X, who have a new guitarist, Zack Brower and tonight is his first show with the band.

And in even more related news, Miranda Taylor of Black Wine just interviewed Caroline Rue, Hole's first drummer, who played on their 1991 debut, Pretty on the Inside. Here's an excerpt...

The evolution of Hole's sound is, in my opinion, extreme. What do you think contributed to the sound/style changes over the years?

Well, first off, Courtney and I were the least skilled musicians and needed time to catch up with Jill and Eric. We hung out, listened to records, and they turned me on to the Pixies, which I had only seen the MTV video for "Here Comes Your Man." We became better players, so we were starting to refine our tool to do what we were intending.

Laura Stevenson song stream below...

Continue reading "Don Giovanni fest begins, Screaming Females streaming new tape, and other related news"

Night Birds at House of Vans, August 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Night Birds join Lemuria & Parquet Courts in supporting Fucked Up at Warsaw on Friday (12/21, tickets), and as such we cornered Brian Gorsegner to ask about his 2012. The Night Birds frontman's journey through music in 2012 in handy list format is below.

Continue reading "Brian of Night Birds recalls favorite shows & releases of 2012; their NYC show at Warsaw w/ Fucked Up is this week"

by Andrew Sacher

Screaming Females in LA in October (more by Wei Shi)

New Brunswick label Don Giovanni are throwing their annual Brooklyn showcases in 2013 at Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 8 and 9, and this year they're doubling as the label's tenth anniversary shows. Both nights have typically great lineups, with the 2/8 show featuring Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Jeffrey Lewis, Lemuria, Waxahatachee, and Hilly Eye, and the 2/9 show featuring Screaming Females (I hope this means Marissa is getting better!), Black Wine, Stormshadow (who the label refers to as "original, political, tight musicians" who "made fantastic art" but "broke up and no one outside of New Brunswick knew who the band was," and they'll be reuniting for this show as well as reissuing their album, Set On Destroy, via Don Giovanni this winter), Home Blitz and Shellshag. Tickets for both nights and a 2-day pass option go on sale Friday (12/14) at noon and AmEx presale for the individual nights begins Wednesday (12/12) at noon. The flyer for the showcases is below.

California X at Tommys Tavern in June (more by Fred Pessarro // BBG)

One band that we're a little bummed to see not on this lineup is Amherst's grungy California X, who have a great self titled LP coming out via Don Giovanni on January 15. I know we're still in year-end-list of 2012 mode, but this is already one of my most anticipated records of 2013. You can stream the single, "Pond Rot," below.

Song stream and show flyer are below.

Continue reading "Don Giovanni showcases announced (Screaming Females, Hilly Eye, more); new California X album on the way"

Screaming Females in LA earlier this month (more by Wei Shi)

Some unfortunate news from Screaming Females...

Bad News

Since falling ill with mononucleosis in May, Marissa has been experiencing severe chronic pains that have rendered it very difficult for Screaming Females to tour. To ensure that Marissa has adequate time to heal so that Screaming Females can continue, it brings us great sadness to announce that all scheduled dates after October 10th will be cancelled. Thank you for understanding and we will see you all in the very near future.

A list of all remaining dates is below.

Continue reading "Screaming Females cancel tour dates (Maxwell's included)"

Screaming Females at Riot Fest Brooklyn in September (more by Gretchen Robinette)

Screaming Females are currently on tour supporting Garbage and in late November they'll head out on a tour supporting Dinosaur Jr. (which they've done before). None of those tours come through the NYC area but in between they'll go out on a headlining run which hits Maxwell's on November 11. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Like other shows on that tour, the Maxwell's show is with their Don Giovanni labelmates Black Wine, whose most recent album, Hollow Earth, came out over the summer. It's a solid album and should appeal to fans of Replacements-style power pop. You can stream the whole thing below or download it for $7 at bandcamp.

That stream and a list of all dates are below.

Continue reading "Screaming Females touring with Black Wine this fall (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Black Wine - "Burlap" (MP3)

Black Wine

Black Wine, a band featuring Jeff from The Ergs! and two members of Hunchback, are set to release Hollow Earth, their third album on Don Giovanni, which is due out on July 3. That album will include the songs "Flatland" and "Burlap," the latter of which we've got the video for below, and an MP3 download above. All three members write and sing, so you'll notice different lead singers on those two tracks, and they're both pretty solid. Think Big Star-via-Replacements power pop for "Burlap," whereas "Flatland" is a bit more haunting.

Black Wine are set to tour this summer in support of the album with New Brunswick's Brick Mower, who just signed to Don Giovanni. That tour hits the NYC area on June 20 at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, and after it ends Black Wine will play another NYC show (this time without Brick Mower) at Shea Stadium on September 5 with The Midgetmen.

A list of all dates, video, streams, and more below...

Continue reading "Black Wine ready 'Hollow Earth,' touring (dates, MP3, video)"

Screaming Females @ Beerland in Austin (more by Greg Cristman)

Noun aka Marissa from Screaming Females is playing Cake Shop tonight (3/24) with Black Wine & Pets with Pets, and then as Bill Mentioned, Death By Audio with Little Lungs on March 30.

Screaming Females just came back from SXSW where in addition to playing our official showcase at Bar 96, they played a show at Beerland that we just posted pictures from on BV Austin.

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Shellshag & Screaming Females fans

NJ's Don Giovanni Records held their annual big showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Saturday night (2/11). Were you there? Here are some pictures. They continue below...

Continue reading "Don Giovanni hosted Screaming Females, Shellshag, Laura Stevenson, For Science & Black Wine @ MHOW (pics)"

Screaming Females at MHoW (more by Devan Council)

NJ record label Don Giovanni have scheduled their annual pair of Brooklyn showcases (and a NJ movie screening) for middle February, returning to Music Hall of Williamsburg and Death By Audio too.

Kicking off with a screening of Dirty Work at the Forum Theatre in Metuchen, NJ on 2/9 (yes, the Norm MacDonald/Artie Lange film), the party will move to Death By Audio on 2/10 for a show with Mikey Erg, House Boat, Nuclear Santa Claust, Secret Police and Plastic Cross. The next night Don Giovanni moves eight blocks up to Music Hall of Williamsburg where Screaming Females, Laura Stevenson and The Cans, For Science, Shellshag, and Black Wine will team up to play the venue. Tickets for the bigger show go on sale Friday, 12/9. The flyer for both is below.

Latterman

In somewhat related news, Latterman, who called it quits in 2007, and who share a member with Laura Stevenson & the Cans, is back from the grave, at least for a few shows.

Latterman was a four-piece punk rock band from Huntington, New York. They played a style of melodic punk rock with shouted dual-vocals by Phil Douglas and Matt Canino, and their songs often contain political and/or socially conscious lyrics. The band has been compared to the likes of Against Me!, The Lawrence Arms, Hot Water Music and Fifth Hour Hero. Members have since gone on to play in bands including Shorebirds, Mutoid Men, Iron Chic, Bridge and Tunnel, RVIVR, Laura Stevenson and The Cans, Daytrader and The Brass.

Although recent Don Giovanni signing Waxahatchee is NOT playing the Don Giovanni showcases, Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) can be found opening one of the Latterman shows. She is playing one of her last shows ever as part of the sunsetting PS Eliot at the Bell House.

Members of Night Birds served in The Ergs with Mikey Erg (who plays the DG show at DBA), and they have a few shows scheduled before year-end too, including a show with Citizens Arrest and another at Tommy's Tavern on 12/9 with Manipulation and Crazy Spirit (who play with Double Negative soon).

During CMJ, Laura Stevenson and Shellshag, like Polica, stopped in to perform songs exclusively for us backstage and on the Williamsburg Waterfront. Check out those videos, part of our slowly-debuting Sony Bloggie CMJ video series ("Green Room Sessions"), along with tour dates, the DG flyer, and some Latterman videos below...

Continue reading "Don Giovanni schedule 2012 showcases, Latterman reunited, Laura Stevenson & Shellshag played us songs (videos & dates)"

Screaming Females @ Siren Festival (more by Jessica Amaya)

Screaming Females are kicking off a sizeable tour tonight, Friday, August 13th, at Maxwell's (with Black Wine and Byrds Of Paradise) (tickets still available). The tour also includes a Saturday, August 14th (tomorrow) show at Death by Audio (with big soda and nude beach), AND now a September 15th record release show at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn with Shellshag and Big Eyes (tickets are on sale).

All tour dates and a tour poster below...

Continue reading "Screaming Females kicking off tour, add another NYC show "

Generation Records (210 Thompson St. in NYC) has one of the busier Record Store Days this Saturday (4/17), with live sets from Cymbals Eat Guitars, Black Wine (ex-The Ergs/Hunchback who play April 25th at Mercury Lounge), Walter Schreifels (ex-Gorilla Biscuits/Quicksand) and The Budos Band and DJing from Andrew WK, at 2pm.

UPDATE: Walter had to cancel due to volcano.

Space in the store is limited (to say the least), so getting there early is recommended. Though stores generally can't guarantee which Record Store Day records that'll have in stock, one of the released singles is going to be a Budos Band/Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings split with a cover of "Day Tripper" and from Sharon's new record, "Money." Both Sharon and Budos have some other NYC shows coming up too.

Generation Records is one of many NYC record stores with Record Store Day activities on Saturday. Other Music also has an impressive day planned.

Walter Schreifels also plays a Rival Schools show at Union Pool on April 23rd, and a solo gig at Studio at Webster Hall on May 5th.

Cymbals Eat Guitars go on to open for Los Campesinos on their upcoming tour. Both bands play a sold-out Maxwell's show later on April 17th. And they have an April 22nd show at Irving Plaza, which you can still get tickets for. All dates below.

CEG just wrapped their tour with Bear in Heaven with an April 9th show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Their encore from that show, all dates and past Generation Records in-stores are below...

Continue reading "Generation Records in-stores on Record Store Day, Cymbals Eat Guitars tour dates, Budos Band, Walter Schreifels, more "

DOWNLOAD: Marissa Paternoster - Holy Hell (MP3)

Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females) @ DBA in Feb. (more by Leia Jospe)

"Holy Hell, the first official Noun release, incorporates keys, organs, and toned-down guitars and drums. The result is clearly different than Screaming Females: it's mellower, more melodic, and whereas the Screaming Females' songwriting process is a three-way discussion, Marissa Paternoster writes all of the songs for Noun.

Similarly to Screaming Females, Marissa's friends are an important part of Noun. Holy Hell features drum work by Angela Boylan (of Cheeky), Miranda Taylor (Hunchback, Black Wine, Full of Fancy), and Jarrett Dougherty (Screaming Females), plus bass lines by King Mike (Screaming Females). Her Mom designed the artwork, and her friends at New Brunswick label Don Giovanni are releasing the record. "

April 24th will will feature a headlining set by Screaming Females who are currently being advertised as "special guest" probably due to their April 9th show at Irving Plaza with Obits and Ted Leo. The Measure, Barrakuda McMurder, Byrds of Paradise, and Modern Hut are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale.

April 25th is headlined by Shellshag and will feature a set by Noun, as well as sets by Full of Fancy, Black Wine, and Pregnant. Tickets are on sale. All dates below...

Continue reading "Screaming Females frontwoman goes solo as Noun - releasing an LP (MP3), playing Don Giovanni shows (dates) "

Screaming Females @ Terminal 5 last night (more by Chris La Putt)

Screaming Females are in midst of their two night run opening up for Arctic Monkeys at Terminal 5. The second of those is tonight (12/11). Also playing a NYC show tonight are Blake Schwarzenbach & forgetters, who kick off their tour at Market Hotel (with Humanbeast and Chastity Wig).

forgetters and Screaming Females play a NYC show together on February 6th for a Don Giovanni Records showcase show with Shellshag JEFF The Brotherhood, The Measure (SA), Black Wine(ex-Ergs) and Groucho Marxists at Bowery Ballroom (note: forgetters & JEFF are not actually on the label). Tickets are on sale.

Don Giovanni is putting out a new 7" collection from Screaming Females, Singles, on February 9th. The Bowery show is the first date in Screaming Females' tour with JEFF the Brotherhood, which runs through February (best. tour. ever.).

JEFF just opened for Ted Leo at Bowery Ballroom on Sunday and played Mercury Lounge the night after.

Show flyer, more dates & stuff below...

Continue reading "Screaming Females touring w/ JEFF the Brotherood, playing Don Giovanni show w/ forgetters (who kick off tour today)"