DOWNLOAD: The New Pornographers - Your Hands Together (MP3)

The New Pornographers are gearing up for their album-supporting shows this summer in Europe and North America.

The new disc, Together, comes out May 4th, and their first show after its release (which comes more than a month before their other North American shows) will happen on May 6th at Woodstock, NY's 250-seat Bearsville Theater (about 2 hour drive north of NYC). Tickets are on sale now.

That show and the others on their tour will feature the band's full eight-member lineup: A.C. Newman, Blaine Thurier (keys), John Collins (bass, etc.), Todd Fancey (guitar), Kurt Dahle (drums), Kathryn Calder (vox, keys), Neko Case (vox) and Dan Bejar (vox, guitar, et).

Their full tour comes to NYC directly on June 19th for a show at Terminal 5 with tourmates The Dodos and The Dutchess and the Duke. Tickets are still on sale.

Neko Case is currently touring as part of Jakob Dylan's band, and they play two nights in NYC starting tonight (4/21). You can catch them on Letterman tonight too.

Together's first single is posted again above. The second, "The Crash Years," is available on iTunes. There's also a series of listening parties in various cities (NYC TBA) for the record coming up. More info on those, all tour dates and a new video with actor Adam Goldberg interviewing members of the band (and album guests Zach Condon, Will Sheff and Daptone's Neal Sugarman) are below...

Continue reading "New Pornographers confirm full band for tour, kick things off w/ a small show upstate, Neko here now, new video & more "

DOWNLOAD: USA for Affluence - Cash for Christmas (MP3)

The star-studded video is below...

Continue reading "Beardo Episode 5 - CASH FOR CHRISTMAS (Tim Harrington, Moby, Andrew WK, AC Newman, Will Sheff, etc, etc...)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

"Carl Newman is currently mixing his as-yet-untitled long-player - set for a January release - and is especially enthusiastic about the lineup of musicians who contribute to the new tunes. "My friend John Wurster, who drums with Superchunk and the Mountain Goats, did most of the drumming," he says. "A singer named Nicole Atkins did a lot of singing on it. She's a really killer singer; she kind of reminds me of a cross between Mama Cass and the Shangri-La's."

Currently in the home stretch of completing the CD, Newman admits that he is his own best friend and worst enemy when it comes to working on the project. "Every time I make a record, I sit there thinking, 'It sounds too different,' and then the next day I think, 'it sounds the same as everything else,'" he says. "The next day, I'll go, 'It's perfect,' and the day after that I'll think, 'Its all wrong.' I just put my head down, try to work hard, hope for the best and hope that people buy it so I can continue doing this for a living." As soon as the solo effort is complete, Newman plans to "immediately" begin work on the next Pornographers record.

As far as their live performances are concerned, the New Pornographers plan to host a two-day, 10-band indie rock extravaganza on Labor Day weekend in Vancouver, calling it 'The Stanley Park Singing Exhibition.' The lineup for both nights was hand-picked by the Pornographers themselves; while their lead singer refuses to play favorites, Newman admits to being especially anticipatory about a semi-solo performance of a band he especially loves. "I saw Stevie [Jackson, of Belle and Sebastian fame] do a solo show in Brooklyn, and it was really good. Bob Kildea -- who is also in the band -- will be playing with him as well, which is pretty cool. Bob is the prettiest man in rock." [AOL Spinner]

The New Pornographers played the All Points West Festival last weekend. Neither Neko or Dan were in attendance (though I'm almost positive I saw Neko in the crowd at Bob Dylan's Brooklyn show a few days later.). AC Newman collaborator Nicole Atkins also played All Points West. More pics from the New Pornos set, all tour dates, and the whole Stanley Park Singing Exhibition lineup, below...

Continue reading "New Pornographers - APW pics, their own festival, a new AC Newman album (w/ Nicole Atkins) & tour dates"

DOWNLOAD: The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour (MP3)

out now on iTunes

It’s the first Matador Xmas record since The Frogs’ “Here Comes Santa’s Pussy”. And it more than lives up to that super high standard!

1) “The Spirit Of Giving” (from the CD/LP ‘Challengers’)
2) “Arms Of Mary” / “Looking At A Baby” (previously unreleased, the former by Iain Sutherland of The Sutherland Brothers, though the New Pornographers’ version is a tribute to Chilliwack’s rendition. “Looking At A Baby” is a Collectors cover)
3) “Joseph” (previously unreleased, A.C. Newman original)

Head over to NPR to listen to recent live sesion with the New Pornographers. Head over to the NYC SoHo Apple Store on December 11th (8pm) to see a free, live performance. According to Harp, New Porn put out the 15th best album this year. Paste says 78th best. What do you think?

P.S. hey, list of nude album covers maker, you can add the NUDE Pornographers (and you thought Neko Case in her underwear was racy) (buy your copy of the "Myriad Harbour" single @ the Matador store).

Peter & Bjorn @ mtvU Awards in NYC - Nov 8, 2007 (MORE)

Peter (minus Bjorn & John) plays Joe's Pub solo tonight (Nov 19, 2007). A little over a week ago he played a wedding at Union Hall with Carl Newman of the New Pornographers. And now, a video has emerged....

Continue reading "video of Peter Moren & Carl Newman ('Never My Love') + new PB&J Tour Dates (tonight)"

DOWNLOAD: Versus - Deseret (MP3)

Peter Moren, Carl Newman & the happy couple @ Union Hall, Nov 10, 2007 (cred)

Eugene Mirman now pronounces you man & wife, Nov 10, 2007

Union Hall can now call itself home to at least two major indie rock weddings, and both weddings involved The New Pornographers' Carl Newman, and Union Hall mainstay comedian Eugene Mirman, in one way or another. The first wedding (August 4, 2007) WAS Carl Newman's, and (luckily then) Carl merely played at the second one. Carl and Peter of Peter Bjorn & John did a set of covers at the private Saturday night show that also included sets by Dean & Britta and The Mugs (not the Muggs). Congratulations to Union Hall's booker Skippy, and his new wife Courtney. More photos like the two in this post, at Flickr. Read an interview with Skippy (Jack McFadden) at Gothamist.

For Peter, that meant his third show at Union Hall. His first was with Bjorn and John - their NYC debut back in January, and his second was just one night before the wedding - he was the not-so-secret guest on Friday night's David Kilgour show....

Peter played a short impromptu set of songs he's working on for an upcoming solo album, working out arrangements in advance of his "real" solo show at Joe's Pub on November 19. Stress on "working them out." There were stops and starts, flubbed lyrics... but luckily Moren's a real charmer so nobody seemed to mind....[Sound Bites]

BUT, ends up....

the real treat was after the night's show (including David Kilgour and Euros Childs) was supposed to be over.

1990s indie faves Versus reunited for their second show since breaking up in 2001. This wasn't the start of a reformation, however -- this was a 40th birthday present for former Teenbeat labelmate Matthew Datesman, who has logged time playing drums for various bands on that influential Arlington, VA label, including True Love Always, Aden, and currently Flin Flon. Teenbeat prez and Flin Flon singer Mark Robinson (who still looks like he's 25) was one of the 50 or in attendence, most of whom were super-psyched to be seeing Versus. [Sound Bites]

Versus reunion, Nov 09, 2007

And as if that wasn't enough, Michael Showalter's new comedy album Sandwiches & Cats is out this week. What does that have to do with Union Hall? Well, it was recorded there! Stream it now at AOL.

As you probably know by now - mostly thanks to Michael Showalter & Eugene Mirman's weekly Sunday night show "Tearing the Veil of Maya", Union Hall has become - along with UCB and Rififi, one of the best places to catch a show by one of NYC's many "alt-comedians". Aziz Ansari, David Cross, Jon Benjamin, Leo Allen.....the list goes on.....

Sarah Silverman poses with a super-fan, Nov 1, 2007

That's right - Sarah Silverman herself was the the "surprise" at Todd Barry's 20th year in comedy celebration at Union Hall earlier this month.

Upcoming shows at Union Hall include Daniel Kitson, Travis Morrison, and Oppenheimer. Eugene Mirman & Immaculate Machine played their Sunday night.