The Hold Steady at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 (more)

Last month, we announced that Truck America is returning to the Catskills in September (the 9th through the 11th) and will be headlined by The Hold Steady and Okkervil River. The only other confirmed bands at the time were Ra Ra Riot and Wye Oak. The lineup has since been updated to include Fruit Bats, Vetiver, The Felice Brothers, CItay, Gary Higgins, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Takka Takka, Hospitality, The Low Anthem and others. Check out the full list below. Early bird tickets are still on sale.

For The Low Anthem, it's one of many dates they just announced including one at Terminal 5 with Iron & Wine.

Speaking of The Hold Steady, frontman Craig Finn posted to his Tumblr that he's making a solo album:

"I'm in Austin TX for a few weeks. Making a record. Staying in a friend's guest house. Got here yesterday. So far so good. I'll be tracking the progress here."

He has also been tracking his progress on the Tumblr.

Check out the full Truck America lineup update below...

Continue reading "Truck America expands lineup, Craig Finn working on solo LP"

DOWNLOAD: The Donkeys - "I Like the Way You Walk" (MP3)

The Donkeys at BV SXSW Party in 2009 (more by Leia Jospe)

The Donkeys are on tour in support of their recently released album Born With Stripes. That tour arrives at BAR in New Haven, CT tonight, 5/25, with fellow California psych-poppers and Dead Oceans labelmates Citay (who just covered Mission of Burma at Bowery Ballroom on Sunday). Thursday (5/26) both bands play Cake Shop, and The Donkeys play The Rock Shop Friday (5/27) with support from Snowmine (who play Rooftop Films on June 3) (Rooftop Films hosts Silver Swans at a rescheduled show tonight).

The Donkeys released a music video for the single "Don't Know Who We Are" off Born With Stripes. The video was directed by Jeff Lowe. Watch it below. Download the song HERE. You can also download another cut from the album, "I Like the Way You Walk," above.

The Donkeys also open for The Hold Steady on a few dates of their late August tour which just went on pre-sale. No NYC date has been announced but Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady plays Dylan Fest this Friday. Dylan turned 70 yesterday (5/24).

All tour dates and a video below...

Continue reading "The Donkeys are on tour, playing shows with Citay, and some with the Hold Steady (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Frisicano

The "Our Band Could Be Your Life" tribute Sunday night at Bowery Ballroom ran more than four hours with 14 bands playing the music of 13 bands (plus a special encore act that covered Nirvana). Set changes were kept short, and bands generally played about 10-15 minutes (between one and four songs). Unannounced guests included Tim Harrington and Lee Ranaldo singing the Minutemen, Craig Finn playing the role of Minneapolis cop, and Dan Deacon's multimedia barrage and three-piece band. More highlights, lots of pictures, and a bunch of videos (UPDATE: NPR has audio of the show) are below...

Continue reading "'Our Band Could Be Your Life' in pics, video & review (Dirty Projectors, St Vincent, Dan Deacon, Ted Leo, Wye Oak & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Citay - On the Wings (live on WFMU) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Citay - First Fantasy (MP3)

"WFMU presents Selected Sounds from the Free Music Archive vol. 1. This compilation previews 21 of the thousands of tracks that'll be freely available under Creative Commons licenses when the fully interactive Free Music Archive website launches later this year. You can download the album, along with accompanying artwork by Greg Harrison, right here!

Lucky Dragons, Dan Deacon, Psychedelic Horseshit, Citay and many other bands appear on the free comp.

The music of San Francisco's Citay brims with a casual, unforced effervescence that belies meticulous arranging. Formed in 2004 by guitarist Ezra Feinberg of Piano Magic and Tim Green of the Fucking Champs, Citay favors long instrumental sections piled high with acoustic guitars, tambourines, and Beach Boys-style vocal harmonies. [NPR]

Citay is now on tour and they're going to play Cake Shop in NYC tonight (10/10). Can't make it? They're coming back in eight days to share a bill with Love as Laughter at Southpaw on the 18th. All dates below...

Continue reading "Citay - 2008 tour dates, MP3's and a free WFMU comp"