If you missed the last round of screenings at IFC Center, you can still catch Better Than Something in the coming weeks when it comes to Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn on March 2nd. The documentary, which began production as a promotional video for Watch Me Fall, examines the great Jay Reatard in his final days and his legacy. Tickets are on sale for multiple screenings, including one with a Q&A with the filmmakers and a "Premiere After Party".

Check out a full list of cities showing the Better Than Something documentary, with dates and the trailer below...

Continue reading "'Better Than Something' (the Jay Reatard documentary) is screening around the country, plays at Nitehawk"

by Bill Pearis

The Jay Reatard documentary Better Than Something shows tonight (11/8) at the IFC Center at 8:30 PM. (It also showed this past Friday.) The film began as a short film to help promote Jay's final album, Watch Me Fall, but directors Ian Markiewicz and Alex Hammond decided to expand it to a feature film before his untimely death last year. IFC.com interviewed Markiewicz and Hammond about the film:

IFC: Your film started out as a short called "Waiting For Something." At what point did you realize that you had enough for a feature?

AH: At first they were like, "This is going to be like an EPK," but Jay didn't want a typical EPK. It started out as an eight to 10 minute piece, and then when we came back we said, "Holy shit, we don't have a 10-minute short, we have a film here."

IM: He kept bringing up this "warts and all" idea. He was like, "This has to be raw and rough." He kept saying things like that, and it turned out like that because he wanted to unload his whole story. He just really unleashed. That's the only word for it.

IFC: Obviously the nature of the project changed after Jay passed away. Did you begin seeking out his friends and family members immediately afterward?

AH: The moment we heard about his death, we weren't thinking about the film. Two months later, his friends were doing a big tribute show for him at South By Southwest.

IM: To be honest, I felt like, I don't know if I can handle looking at that stuff right now. It felt very dark at that point. And people were saying, you guys really have to be down here for this show. It kind of snuck up on us, like, "Okay, I guess we're doing this now." When we started doing it, you could just feel how palpable the emotion was coming off everybody. The wrong thing to do would be to wait a bunch of years, and then do something, when everybody's feelings weren't as strong. It seemed more in the spirit of what Jay did, being in the heat of the moment.

Continue reading "Jay Reatard documentary screens tonight at IFC Center; pre-show party at Other Music"

Tickets for the Gorillaz show at Madison Square Garden are now on Sub Division (fan club) presale. They go on more public presales Thursday (8/5) from 10 AM until 5PM. Passwords include "HEBEACH" and "flute". Public sale begins Friday at 10am. The best seats cost $125 each!

Speaking of MSG, tickets for Arcade Fire/Spoon/Owen Pallett TONIGHT (8/4) are back on sale and tickets for Thursday (8/5) are still available.

Arcade Fire covered Jay Reatard Monday night at the Mann Center in Philly. Video below...

Continue reading "Gorillaz MSG tickets on presale, Arcade Fire tix (back) on sale (maybe they'll cover Jay Reatard again) (video)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Nobunny: animal lover (sksk4)

Easter's come and gone, and deranged garage act Nobunny didn't forget to mark the occassion with a special show (his '9th ANNUAL EASTER EGG BASH!') in Oakland on Saturday. It's already past, but the flyer below.

Nobunny heads out on tour this May and June with the Spits. They'll be at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Friday, June 11th. Tickets are on sale.

The Spits' put out their fourth self-titled LP (known as "School's Out") last year on Recess Records. The band's sound is a unique blend of garage and New Wave punk, to quote ourselves, "they straddle the line between straight-up garage punk and Devo-esque lo-fi keyboard proto-punk."

The Spits w/ Jimi

The Spits were at this year's SXSW in Austin (a city they'll return to with Nobunny for Chaos in Tejas at the end of May). They played a set outside of Beerland on Friday, March 19th - the same place Fucked Up played a day earlier to cap a bill of Shattered Records artists paying tribute to the label's founder Jay Reatard. "We played at Beerland for a tribute to Jay Reatard who released one of my records, took us on tour, and also gave me a serious shrimp job. I miss him calling me at 5 AM. I miss him period", said Hunx of Hunx & His Punx who played the show. A video of Fucked Up and the Spits playing the same spot on different days and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Spits & Nobunny - 2010 tour dates & stuff "

Taking cues from late 70's/early 80's synthpunk pioneers as the Screamers, Nervous Gender, and The Units, this Arizona based one man band [Digital Leather] rely on just keyboards, drum machines and vocals to set the scene of gloomy electronic desert landscapes and gay night club discotheques.This is the life of Sean Foree, who created this masterpiece in his one bedroom apartment in Tempe, Arizona. Live he borrows members from the Wongs, Reatards, Lost Sounds, and Destruction Unit. Ten tracks that are sure to appeal to fans of the current rebirth of keyboards in punk... but this record surely pushes the boundries of that. [CT Indie]

Continue reading "new Digital Leather video & 2010 tour dates (SXSW)"

Download: Jay Reatard - Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle (MP3)

The cause of death for Jay Reatard was released earlier today...

Autopsy results released this morning in the death of Memphis musician Jay Reatard reveal that he died from "cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death," according to Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. Karen E. Chancellor.

Continue reading "Jay Reatard's cause of death revealed"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - Neat Parts (MP3)

We are coming back Austin, and we welcome all challengers; your Pheonix's, your xx's and jj's, bring us all the TuNeYaRdS and Passion Pits you have, we are ready. We are coming back for TWO (announceable) special shows, and maybe one 3rd Mexican el concierto especial, and without further adieu, here is some of the info:

Fucked Up's current tour dates include a February run with Kurt Vile (which visits the NYC-area on Feb 18th and 19th) and a gig with Leatherface (who are coming to NYC separately) in Toronto. Updated tour dates are below.

Since their Xmas charity single in December, the band has continued in the same philanthropic vein - they recently auctioned off test pressings of their forthcoming collection Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009, due January 26th on Matador Records, for Haiti disaster relief. The Ebay bidding closed as $177.50.

The band also offered some thoughtful words about Jay Reatard's recent passing. That tribute is below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up have their own SXSW showcase + Haiti, Jay Reatard, updated tour dates & more"

Jay Reatard @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Matador Records writes, "We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we've ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We're honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly."

NY Times confirms with a quote from Goner Records: "It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public.""

RIP Jay. This is a tragedy.

As previously posted in an interview I did with Jay in October, there is a short documentary on the man himself called "Waiting For Something". Yes, he was only 29 years old and already had a documentary. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard, RIP "

Jay Reatard in Stuy Town (more by Tim Griffin)

Hopefully this is just a stupid rumor, but in the past hour multiple people have asked me if I heard that Jay Reatard died, and at least one other gave me a semi-credible confirmation. There are also a few Twitters: Ben Todd from Glenn Danzig's House in Nashville, Brooklyn band Air Waves, and Christopher_Rex from Memphis (there was a fourth tweet by a photographer but it was deleted).

RIP Jay.

DOWNLOAD: Harlem - Friendly Ghost (MP3)

Jay Reatard & Harlem shared a bill @ Emo's on Wed (photo by David Weaver)

"While [Jay Reatard's] set [at Emo's in Austin on Wednesday night] had all the makings of a fun night of pop-punk, it was sadly abridged at only 40 minutes -- less than the opening performance by Austin's own Harlem -- after two rowdy fans attacked Reatard on-stage shortly after he announced he was playing the night's final song. He retaliated by swinging his microphone stand and departed mid-song, giving the at-times rambunctious audience the finger as he exited the stage. There was to be no encore -- the lights went up and the PA music kicked in as the two intruding fans were arrested by police outside the club's Sixth Street entrance.

It was a good show -- while it lasted. And Reatard can't be held responsible for violent fans. But at less than 45 minutes and with a buzzkill of an ending, it's hard to regard the night as anything more than an initially promising disappointment. That's the sad thing about punk rock -- sometimes the anger overtakes the fun and an audience walks away let down. With a too-short set and a combative ending, Reatard's Wednesday night show ultimately felt less like a satisfactory set from a skilled player and more like a sad tease of the fun evening that might have been.

Update: The Austin Police Department's public information office has confirmed that Michael Buehrer, 20, and Peter Aravello, 23, were the two men arrested. Both have been charged with public intoxication.

Pitchfork has this statement from Reatard's publicist: "Jay was attacked, totally unprovoked, by two different people, both of whom were later arrested. One guy bolted onstage and came swinging at Jay, but security took him away pretty quickly. Soon after (the band hadn't stopped playing, by the way), another guy sprinted onstage and hit Jay. Unlike the first guy, Jay didn't even see this guy coming. So Jay defended himself with the mic stand until security took that guy away, too. Jay is safe and unhurt, and the cops were there for about an hour afterwards." [Austin 360]

Jay's next and only upcoming show is opening for Spoon (like he did in Brooklyn once) at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on New Years Eve.

Harlem will announce more 2010 dates soon in support of their 2nd album, 'Hippies' which "hits North American record shops, farmers markets and digital storefronts on April 6 on the always popular LP, CD and MP3/FLAC configurations." MP3 from that album above. Cover art below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard attacked in Austin (2 guys arrested), Harlem add NYC show & post new MP3 from 2010 Matador album"

"Lovering just DESTROYED the triangle part on the slow version on WAVE OF MUTILATION." - John Hodgman

Pixies @ Hammerstein - 11/24/2009 (photo by John Hodgman)

"The Pixies are a strange story, getting stranger. Perfecting the circuitry between punk and a lusher kind of art-rock, they existed for seven years, until 1993. Since first gathering for reunion shows in 2004, they've been in a lucrative post-history for five years. When five reaches seven, if they have still not made any new music (besides one song, "Bam Thwok") and are still playing phantasmagorically hot songs with a scientifically cool affect, they may come to seem out of balance." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Pixies played Fallon & Hammerstein again (video & setlist) "

Bernard Sumner told Rolling Stone that his band Bad Lieutentant would be opening for the Pixies at Hammerstein Ballroom this year. That is true, but they're only opening the first one. Those with tickets to that sold out November 23rd show win the opener contest...

Pixies @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Nov 23 w/ Bad Lieutenant
Nov 24 w/ Jay Reatard
Nov 25 w/ Rain Machine
Nov 25 (late show) w/ no opener?

Rain Machine is currently on tour and will play a CMJ show at Bowery Ballroom.

Jay Reatard is currently looking for a new band.

Band quit ! Fuck them ! They are boring rich kids who can't play for ahit anyways .. Say hello to your ugly and boring wifes opps I mean ..." - Jay Reatard

Jay Reatard's bass player @ LPR (more by Jake Forney)

When asked about past Tweets, Jay said people needed to get a sense of humor and not take them so seriously. Assuming Jay's above-quoted Tweet is actually true, that means no more crazy-looking bass player guy (!)... who actually admits he can't play for shit in the short Jay Reatard documentary which you can watch at the bottom of our recent interview. It also means that the recent show at Le Poisson Rouge was one of Jay's last with his band. Jay's next scheduled show is October 15th in Seattle.

photos by Jake Forney

"Kicking off Pop Montreal [Wednesday] night, NoBunny took the stage by force - a gang of musically inclined vagrants clothed in barely there Y-fronts and strategically placed rabbit accessories stormed Sala and its punk pitched transient company. Growling into the microphone numerous times, "This song is about a so and so and an eskimo" they went on to play favorites "I am a Girlfriend", "Give it to Me", and "Mess Me Up". Hunx & His Punx came on next, reveling in all their gay glory. Appearing besequined, with feathered caps and bare chests, they declared their fervent love for cock and sexual pleasures of all kinds. I'd never heard of them before, but the lead singer definitely made his mark in my memory. Moaning and groaning, gyrating on the floor, he begged for someone, anyone to pee on him. Box Elders was the final band preceding the headliner. Their act was dated and ranging from somewhat to hardly enjoyable; not much else to say about that. Finally, Jay Reatard made his appearance. A youngish man with waves of dirty blonde hair, rough around the edges, I'd say his looks are much better accentuated in person than in photographs. The man treated us to renditions of "Greed, Money, Useless Children", "My Shadow", "Oh It's Such a Shame", and after forty minutes of solid punk made his exit. Direct and to the point, Reatard made little conversation and got straight to the music. After all the formalities, most seemed to appreciate this, getting down and dirty almost instantaneously. He did good." [the neighbours]

Last night (10/1), Thursday (one day later), the same Shattered Records lineup came to Le Poisson Rouge in NYC, though they reversed the order. Nobunny went on last, which for a show that didn't start until 11:30pm, meant a set time of after 2am. Also, the above review doesn't mention Useless Eaters who opened the NYC show with Jay on guitar. Jay played his own set third on the bill...

"Regardless of one's feelings about [Jay's new] record (and particularly, the production), [his middle-of-the-night-headlining set showed those songs to be as much classic Reatard as anything in his catalog. While not riot-crowded, Le Poisson Rouge was comfortably packed with fans who didn't mind the late start time and threw themselves into the music, sometimes literally. [In the live recording of the show posted at NYCTaper, you can] hear Jay, during "Watching You," heckle a fan down in the pit who got a little too enthusiastic (and apparently, was waving a really gross sweater over his head). The set may have only been 35 minutes long, but this was another 35 minutes (and 15 songs!) of pure southern punk gold" -Acidjack

Continue reading "Jay Reatard, Useless Eaters, Box Elders, Hunx & His Punx & Nobunny (Shattered Records) @ Le Poisson Rouge - pics "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fluffy Lumbers - Cruisers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function - Belly of the Beast (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cheap Time - Woodland Drive (MP3)

Cheap Time

As you may have heard, Jay Reatard's Shattered Tour blows into town tonight (10/1) at Le Poisson Rougue, having seen every band on tonight's bill except for Useless Eaters, I can say this sounds like a whole lot of fun. Except for the part that it's a five band bill where doors don't open till 11pm, which seems super late for a 21+ show. So if you don't have to get up and go to work on Friday, or you've evolved beyond the need for sleep, definitely check it out. (The scheduled set times for the night is below.) Expect nudity, maybe some blood, and a whole lot of catchy garage punk pop from Box Elders, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Useless Eaters, and your host for the night, Mr. Reatard (who is also performing with Useless Eaters). You can download a free sampler featuring all the artsits on the tour at the bottom of our just-posted interview with Jay.

A band that are on some of the Shattered Tour dates, though not tonight's, are Cheap Time who are gonna be in town this weekend playing Friday (10/2) and Saturday (10/3) at Silent Barn. This Tennessee trio leans more on the catchy punk and less on blown-out levels and reverb than many of the bands lumped in the garage universe, with their new single "Woodland Drive" being a big leap forward sonically and songwriting-ly.

Friday's show also has Fluffy Lumbers on the bill. Their song "Cruisers" has gotten a lot of play on my stereo over the last two months. You can download it at the top of this post. The band's line-up is in flux at the moment, so I'm not sure how many Fluffy Lumbers there are at this point, but they're worth listening to. Also playing: art-punks White Diamonds and Beachniks which includes members of German Measels and Crystal Stilts.

The Saturday show also features New Orleans piano-based trio The Pharmacy, plus Columbus, OH's Guinea Worms, Brooklyn's Uzi Rash and The Sediment Club.

Thomas Function

Speaking of Silent Barn, Alabama's Thomas Function played there last night (9/30), their first NYC show since January. You've got two more chances to see them: tonight (10/1) at The Studio at Webster Hall and tomorrow (10/2) at Bruar Falls. Thomas Function have a new album, In the Valley of Sickness, which is out October 13 but I'm pretty sure they've got it to buy at their merch tables this weekend. I've only heard a few songs from it (you can download one at the top of this post). What I've heard sounds a just slightly less raucous than last year's Celebration, but I have a feeling the songs will be a bit wilder when played live. Both NYC shows (and all upcoming dates with TF) are with mysterious French dude Yussuf Jerusalem whose MySpace page and artwork might lead you to believe he makes some sort of scary black metal but in fact it's catchy, slightly gothy psych-rock not that far off from Ohio greats My Dad is Dead.

The Soft Pack @ Bowery Ballroom in March (more by Chris La Putt)

The Soft Pack are also back in town this weekend, playing their first shows since being odd men out on that NME tour that had them sharing the bill with UK acts Friendly Fires and White Lies. Their show at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (10/2) makes a lot more sense, with onetime 1928 labelmates The Sundelles, plus Right on Dynamite and The Dig. The band did spend part of their summer in Brooklyn, recording their debut for Kemado Records which should be out in early 2010. I haven't seen them since their Union Pool show back in January with Those Darlins which is one of the best times I've had all year, and I'm anxious to hear some new tracks, like "C'mon" which you can watch a live performance of at the bottom of this post.

There'll be more This Week In Indie later, including The Dø, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Besnard Lakes, the return of Frank Sidebottom and more. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out videos, flyers and tour dates after the jump.

Continue reading "Cheap Time, Thomas Function, The Soft Pack, Fluffy Lumbers & more in This Week in Indie (part 1)"

Jay Reatard @ the Wired Store (more by Tim Griffin)

As I was saying (and Bill will say even more about later), Jay Reatard and his Shattered Records crew (Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders & Useless Eaters) are on their way from Pop Montreal to NYC for a late show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/1). Tickets are still on sale.

Yesterday, with some help, I rushed together some questions for an email interview with Jay (not the ideal format). Jay in turn rushed some answers back this afternoon, presumably from the road and after playing a late show last night. With that in mind, you can find that interview, which attempts to set the record straight on Jay's recent hate for Brooklyn, and what time Hamburghini practice starts, with all dates and tonight's set times, below....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Jay Reatard (whose Shattered Records tour hits Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight) "

DOWNLOAD: Jay Reatard - Wounded (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jay Reatard - It Ain't Gonna Save Me (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Stay (MP3)

Jay Reatard's bassist @ the Stuy Town Oval (more by Tim Griffin)

eMusic: Judging by the altercations you've had with a few of your fans, it can be tough walking around with a moniker like Reatard.

Jay Reatard: Their perception of the name, which I think of as being just mildly offensive, is what puts those negative thoughts into their heads. They anticipate something completely different from reality, and they react that way.

When I first started the Reatards, I just wanted to get to make a record. As long as I could survive until then, I could make that one and then survive until I made the next one. A lot of that early work was focused on being youthful and ignorant -- feeling immortal and thinking I could get away with whatever I wanted. After I turned 26 years old, I started thinking about things a little differently. I started to realize I'm not going to live forever, my heath is going to fail, I need a place to live. So either I grew up, or society broke me down. Either way, I started thinking more about my future, which was the opposite of everything else I'd ever done.

At this point, it would be easier to get to certain levels in the music industry if I wasn't called Jay Reatard, because it's an immediate turn off. I would definitely be playing to larger crowds, and have more money. Everything I didn't care about when I first called myself Jay Reatard, I could have more of now. But I'm fine with it -- I look at it as a litmus test for assholes. If you can't get past the name, then you can't afford the price of admission.

This September, Jay Reatard reunites with his first band, the Reatards, for a set at Goner Fest in Memphis.

On Thursday, October 1st (a few weeks before CMJ) he'll headline a Shattered Records showcase (his imprint) at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Also on that NYC bill are Box Elders (who have other NYC dates coming up too), Useless Eaters, Hunx and Nobunny (both featured HERE). Doors are at 11:00pm. Tickets are on sale.

Two tracks off the new album, including the first single "It Ain't Gonna Save Me," are above. The video for that song, with the trailer for "Waiting For Something," a short documentary about Jay Reatard, and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard - a NYC Shattered Records show (tix) & West Coast record store tour (dates) + MP3, video & documentary"

The Roots @ Roots Picnic (more by Tim Griffin)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Ratt, Extreme @ Nokia Theatre!!
* The Roots @ Highline Ballroom
* Ballin' the Jack @ Hudson Square
* Steely Dan: Aja @ Beacon Theatre
* Pete Yorn, Zee Avi @ Webster Hall
* Green Day, Kaiser Chiefs @ Madison Square Garden
* Katy Perry, Cobra Starship @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* Pink Noise, Gary War, Florida, Columboid @ Silent Barn
* Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson & Paul Motion @ Village Vanguard
* King Britt: Saturn Never Sleeps: Sun Ra-lectric @ WFC Winter Garden
* TK Webb, Pure Horsehair, Miguel Mendez, Invisible Familiars @ Bruar Falls
* Beetroot, American Princes, Soldier on Dear Friend, Electric Touch @ Pianos
* Todd P Goes to Austin premiere w/ Team Robespierre, The So So Glos, Todd P (DJ) @ The Delancey
* YACHT, Special Disco Version (DJs James Murphy & Pat Mahoney), Bad Brilliance @ Santos Party House

Free outdoor music tonight includes Ballin' the Jack at Hudson Square and King Britt: Saturn Never Sleeps: Sun Ra-lectric at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. The latter show is described as "a night of sonic and visual funk taking micro-edits of Sun-Ra source music combined with live experimentation and video collage." See a video preview, and clip from a previous Sun Ra-lectric performance, below.

The Roots continue their residency at the Highline Ballroom. They'll be headlining the Diesel U:Music show this Thursday at Webster Hall.

There's a last minute show with Pink Noise, Gary War, Florida and Columboid happening at Silent Barn tonight.

Steely Dan play their 1977 album Aja in its entirety at Beacon Theatre. It's the first of eight "Classic Album (Plus)" shows for the band at the venue -- they'll be playing another Aja night as well as Gaucho, The Royal Scam and Internet Request Night shows.

Pete Yorn kicks off a two night run at Webster Hall with Zee Avi.

Green Day and Kaiser Chiefs play a second Madison Square Garden gig tonight.

Ethan Iverson and Reid Anderson, two thirds of the Bad Plus, kick off a weeklong run with drummer Paul Motion at the Village Vanguard tonight.

YACHT plays a CD release show (after the boat gig last night) with Special Disco Version (aka a DJ set by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy & Pat Mahoney) and Bad Brilliance at Santos Party House.

The Delancey hosts a screening and premiere party for the Todd P Goes to Austin documentary. The night will feature sets by Team Robespierre and The So So Glos.

The new video for "This Sweet Love" by James Yuill, who played NYC in June, is below...

Jay Reatard and BBU are featured on a new Breakfast at Sulimay's. Video below..

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

As pointed out by Stereogum, there's a person who definitely won't be at the Pains of Being Pure at Heart Seaport show tonight.

Brooklyn shut up ! most of your bands all suck and you are total wanna bees ! The pains of being boring at heart ....oh it must hurt being so bland - Jay Reatard on Twitter

Jay played his own outdoor NYC show in Manhattan on July 1st, and a show in Brooklyn the very next day. Did that one not go so well? Video from that show below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard vs. Brooklyn & The Pains of Being Pure at Heart"

photos by Tim Griffin

Jay Reatard on at 7:15 over by 7:40 - Jim | July 1, 2009 8:30 PM

"Jay reatard shows are usually around 35 minutes played ramones 123 style. they sounded amazing and the scene was hilarious with all the kids... he even played "greed, money, useless children" and pointed to the playground during every chorus... pretty funny.

on my bike ride home cut thru prospect park, there was some wishy washy music, tons of 'hippies' and the sweeet smell of marijuana(right near all the cops). kinda reminded me of a Dead show parking lot. thanks to this post i now know that was MGMT. Next! [the truth | July 2, 2009 10:57 AM]

Continue reading "Jay Reatard @ the Stuy Town Oval in NYC - pics "

T.V. Smith (born Tim Smith, 5 April 1956, in Romford, Essex, England) is a British punk rock singer songwriter, who was part of the band The Adverts in the late 1970s. Since then, he has played with other bands, as well as pursuing solo work. - Wikipedia

Thursday, June 25, 2009 - US Tour problems
I'm sorry to have to report that due to problems with US immigration I'm unable to come over for the tour with Jay Reatard due to start today. Despite having my visa approved, delays at the US embassy in London mean it couldn't be ratified in time. I've had quite a lot of feedback from people looking forward to seeing me, so I'm bitterly disappointed to miss the gigs in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and my first ever Canadian gigs in Toronto and Montreal. I hope to come back soon and play for you. The good new is, the way things are looking I'll be seeing the embassy next week and hope to rejoin the tour in Brooklyn on the 2nd July. Keep your fingers crossed...!
Best wishes,
TV

---

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 - US Tour back on
....five hours to go before I need to leave for the airport for my re-booked flight to the USA, and my passport and approved visa are couriered back to me from the US embassy. Talk about a cliffhanger! So, the good news is I'm able to join the Jay Reatard tour from the Brooklyn date on July 2nd onwards. Hope to see some of you there!

TV was supposed to play some earlier dates on Jay's tour, but those obviously didn't happen. And TV was scheduled to play Mercury Lounge tonight (7/1, no longer happening) while Jay plays his free show in Stuyvesant Town (still happening, though maybe in the rain?). All TV Smith dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "TV Smith had visa trouble, isn't playing Merc, but will tour w/ Jay Reatard (who plays Stuy Town TONIGHT)"

High Places @ Stuy Town Oval 2008 (thepiratehat)

High Places were one of the bands to play Stuyvesent Town's Music on the Oval series last year. This year's series will run Wednesday nights June 10th - July 15th...

Music on the Oval will feature free family-friendly concerts at 7:00 p.m. New Yorkers and visitors will groove to a different pre-show DJ each night starting at 6:00 p.m...The Stuyvesant Town Oval is located between 16th and 18th Streets and Avenues A & B and the entrance is off First Avenue and 16th Street.

Continue reading "free shows in Stuy Town - Music on the Oval - 2009 schedule "

DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Hole in My Head (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jay Reatard - Always Wanting More (MP3)

As previously reported Jay Reatard's Shattered Records imprint is coming back into active duty. Among the imprint's planned releases are " six 7"s from artists hand-picked by Jay including "Jeffrey Novak (from Cheap Time), Nobunny, Hunx, Useless Eaters, Box Elders, Earthmen & Strangers, and legendary New Zealand lo-fi songwriter Chris Knox."

Nobunny happens to be in NYC for two shows starting TONIGHT (4/13)

Shattered Records also announced it will release "all 20 of Jay Reatard's albums" digitally, plus a new singles series and subscription club. The new site is offering new Reatard single "You're Gonna Lose" free to those who sign up for its mailing list. Full info below.

Jay Reatard is going on tour in June and July. That includes two NYC shows. The first, on Wednesday, July 1st, will take place in Stuyvesent Town! That one, billed as a "Stuytown Oval Concert", will presumably be free, outdoors, and have a mosh pit full of babies. The second will happen at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, one day later, on Thursday, July 2nd . Tickets for that go on sale Wednesday, April 12th at noon. TV Smith opens both NY dates.

Box Elders have two NYC dates scheduled - April 24th and 25th.

Jay will also play a show on Record Store Day (at Goner Records). On that day, April 18th, you will also be able to pick up his Record Store Day 7" split with Sonic Youth (being released by Matador).

Full Shattered Records press release, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard - 2009 Tour Dates (STUY TOWN & MHOW), full Shattered Records announcement (includes Nobunny) "

DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Hole in My Head (MP3)

Box Elders @ Market Hotel (more by Tim Griffin)

"Though they only have one single to their name, the Box Elders have garnered quite a bit of support, most notably from Jay Reatard who has his sights set on recording them as part of his new imprint on Matador. Led by brothers Clayton and Jeremiah McIntyre, the Box Elders play disarmingly simple, catchy pop music, and it's probably because of their very un-raucous recorded sound that audiences have been sucked in by their strength as a live band. With their repertoire of under-two minute, chant-worthy tunes, the Box Elders are a band you can expect to become slowly and hopelessly hooked on." [The Daily Texan]

Other Box Elders releases include one 45 you can order from Grotto Records, a full LP coming out on Goner in July, and a 7" for the HOZAC singles club coming out later in the summer.

Jay's last release of his own music was a demo track that he posted to his blog for free. He just finished playing some dates in Europe, and has a show scheduled at Lenny's in Atlanta on April 11th, and one at Goner Records in Memphis on April 18th for Record Store Day.

Box Elders recently played a string of Austin, TX/SXSW shows that included the Todd P / NY Noise party and at least four more. The Nebraska band will hit the road again in April - a tour that brings them to new Brooklyn venue Bruar Falls on April 24th, and to its older sister venue in Manhattan, Cake Shop, one day later.

Box Elders were last in NYC in January when they played Market Hotel. All future tour dates and a live video from the band's pre-SXSW Denton, TX, tour stop, below...

Continue reading "JAY REATARD's label releasing music by bands like BOX ELDERS who are touring & releasing other stuff too"

by Andrew Frisicano

Record Store Day - a nationwide event created to support independently owned record stores - will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009. A list of participating NYC stores is available online at the Record Store Day venue list.

On RSD, Generation Records (210 Thompson Street, NY, NY) will host an acoustic in-store by punk band The Bouncing Souls, free for customers who pick up a copy of the band's 20th Anniversary Volume 1 7-inch the day of the show.

Other events, such as in-stores at Williamsburg's Sound Fix, which announced its intent to celebrate the event with live music despite ending shows after losing its liquor license in February, are still being announced.

Many record labels are supporting the event with limited-edition records. Matador, for example, will be pressing 2500 copies each of Jay Reatard/Sonic Youth and Sonic Youth/Beck split 7-inches, plus a Pavement Live In Germany LP. Thrill Jockey is sending out 900 copies of Records Toreism, an LP that includes tracks from Mountains, Tortoise, White Hills, Trans Am featuring Tim Soete, and Baltimore's Double Dagger (who cover "Stagger Lee") and will be packaged with two zines (feat contributions from Ian MacKaye and more).

Record Store Day, which coincides with the 2009 Coachella Festival, will also be running a record shop at the fest. The press release, copied below, notes that the Coachella on-site store, "previously operated by Virgin, is noted for its high profile foot traffic and good vibe." Both events come in the same month that the Times Square Virgin Megastore will close - the NYC shop is notable for having the nation's highest sales volume. Its sister location in Union Square will be gone soon after.

Full list of Record Store Day exclusives, in the form of a press release, below...

Continue reading "Record Store Day 2009: lots of bands releasing exclusive vinyl, a Bouncing Souls in-store & more..."