by Fred Pessaro

Mean Jeans and Underground Railroad to Candyland (mem Toys That Kill, FYP) have teamed up for a split 7" of pop-punk deliciousness. Check all four songs, two from each band, below and order yours in physical form via It's Alive Records.

So far both bands have limited tour dates to speak of, with Underground Railroad confirmed for June 8 at Ham & Eggs Tavern in Los Angeles and Mean Jeans readying a show on August 15 at Backspace in Portland, Oregon (supporting Dan Vapid of Screeching Weasel/Riverdales). Until then, get prepped for their next shows with the stream below.

Continue reading "Mean Jeans and Underground Railroad to Candyland team up for a split 7" (stream it)"

Portland festival MusicFestNW is returning this year to multiple Portland venues from September 3-8 with a ton of bands including Animal Collective, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Superchunk, Deerhunter, Charles Bradley, Shuggie Otis, Joey Bada$$, Bonnie Prince Billy, Chromatics, Glass Candy, Flume, Youth Lagoon, Washed Out, The Thermals, TItus Andronicus, Bob Mould, Baroness, Austra, Ty Segall, The Bronx, The Men, Mount Eerie, White Lung, and many more. Ticket info is coming soon.

Initial lineup below...

Continue reading "MusicFestNW 2013 lineup announced (Animal Collective, Godspeed, Deerhunter, Shuggie Otis, Ty Segall & more)"

photos by Keith Marlowe

Mean Jeans @ Cake Shop - 6/20/2012

The recently released The Thing That Ate Larry Livermore compilation release will be celebrated tonight (6/25) and tomorrow (6/26) at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. The comp, out via Adeline Records (aka Billie Joe of Green Day's label), features sixteen bands in total. Larry Livermore, who co-founded Lookout! Records, compiled the album. Larry says:

When Billie Joe asked me to put together this compilation, my First reaction was to say, 'Absolutely not.' I was too busy with other projects, and besides, I'd been saying for years that I was done with the music business, that people should take me out and shoot me if I ever showed any sign of wanting to get back into it," said Livermore. "But then I realized that this was an opportunity to do for a whole new crop of bands what we'd been able to accomplish at Lookout back in the 80s and 90s, which was to bring exciting and passionate music to the attention of a public that might otherwise never get to hear it. Once I thought about it in that light, it was impossible to say no...

...I chose the bands using the same standards I used when I was at Lookout: I looked for those bands with a certain heart and soul that sets them apart from the literally thousands of run of the mill bands out there, the heart and soul that makes them capable of giving voice not just to their own ideals and visions, but to those of a generation.

Check out The Thing That Ate Larry Livermore cover art and tracklist at the bottom of this post. Ten of the bands on the comp will make an appearance at the Knit shows. The Copyrights, Dear Landlord, Night Birds, Dopamines, and Mean Jeans play tonight/Monday (tickets). Emily's Army, House Boat, Mixtapes, Lipstick Homicide, and City Mouse play tomorrow (tickets).

Mean Jeans is currently on tour supporting their recent Mean Jeans on Mars LP. The band swung through Cake Shop on June 20 alongside Hollywood, Liquor Store and Foster Care. Pictures of three of the four (we missed Hollywood) from that Manhattan show are below.

Continue reading "Mean Jeans played Cake Shop (pics), playing 1st night of 'Larry Livermore' release party (at the Knit tonight)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Mean Jeans - Anybody Out There?(MP3)

One of the most spirited crowds I experienced at this year's SXSW was during Mean Jeans' set at the Dirtnap Records showcase. The room was packed, the pit went half the way back and everyone in it seemed to know the words to every song. It was a super fun show.

The Portland party punks are currently on tour which slams into NYC tonight (6/20) at Cake Shop where they'll play with Liquor Store and Foster Care. If you can't make it tonight they also play June 25 at Knitting Factory with The Copyrights, Dear Landlord, The Nightbirds and Dopamines (tickets). The band are out supporting their new album, Mean Jeans on Mars, which rips through 13 snearing, uber-catchy punk anthems in about half an hour. You can download "Anybody Out There?" at the top of this post and watch the video below, along with a list of all tour dates.

Continue reading "Mean Jeans released 'On Mars,' touring, playing 2 NYC shows"

The 2012 edition of MusicFestNW takes place in September 5 - 9 at 18 venues in Portland, OR and will feature performances from over 150 bands, including Passion Pit, Hot Snakes, Girl Talk, Danny Brown, Beirut Silversun Pickups, Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, many more.

In addition to those previously announced artists, MFNW has just added The Hives, Flying Lotus, Wild Nothing, DIIV, Quasi, Moon Duo, My Goodness, DZ Deathrays, and Strand Of Oaks to the already impressive line-up. Wristbands, available various levels and packages, and tickets to individual shows are on sale now. Check out the complete MFNW lineup below.

Continue reading "MusicFestNW 2012 lineup expands (The Hives, Flying Lotus, Quasi, DIIV, Passion Pit, Hot Snakes, Beirut, Swans & many more)"

by Bill Pearis

Wounded Lion @ Shangri La

After Wednedsay and Thursday... I spent most of Friday afternoon -- the hottest day of the fest, well into the '80s --at Sailor Jerry-sponsored East Side dive Shangri La where Chicago label Trouble in Mind was throwing a party in the back yard. Their party at Scoot Inn the year before was one of my favorites of SXSW2010 and I'd have to say the same the same of 2011. The label, run by husband and wife Bill & Lisa Roe (who are also in CoCoComa), is mostly a 7" label, releasing great singles from some of the best garage-pop artists around. Many of whom were there at Shangri La.

I got there as Seattle trio Night Beats were just starting. Never heard them before, but really dug their psych-garage sounds, and they definitely looked the part. They ended their set with a cover of The Count Five's classic "Psychotic Reaction," giving their version a little swing which made it their own. Look for Night Beats debut LP out on Trouble in Mind this summer.

While Cheap Time were playing, I noticed Lars Finberg milling about the yard...what was he doing here? The Intelligence were definitely not here, was his side-project Puberty playing and I didn't know it? No, he told me he was playing drums for L.A.'s Wounded Lion for their Austin shows. I was already looking forward to seeing WL, now even moreso.

I was getting a little antsy and decided to walk around the East Side a bit, stopping by Cheer Up Charlies where I caught a few songs by Norway's Tôg (who are in NYC as we speak) before heading back to the Trouble in Mind party to catch Nashville's The Paperhead. Looking a bit like Red Kross, the band -- all about 19 I think -- are trippier than anyone else on the bill. Their debut just came out on TiM.

Next up Wounded Lion, whose self-titled debut was one of last year's more underrated records. I think seeing them live would change naysayers opinion, they were one of the rockin'est, most fun shows of the week. Two singers: main man Brad Eberhard does the heavy lifting and guitar playing, while singer/percussionist Raffi Kalenderian is more in the Bob Nastanovich of the band, going apeshit with the tambourine and generally keeping things entertaining. There is much switching of instruments. They also let Lars Finberg take lead vocals for the Intelligence's "Turned to Puke." I really thought they'd do "Pony People," a Wounded Lion song that The Intelligence covered on Fake Surfers, but no. Great, great set.

I then Sprinted over to the BrooklynVegan party at Swan Dive for John Grant. Friday was hot and Swan Dive didn't seem to have AC or even ceiling fans and it was an oven in there, but it didn't matter. Another of my favorite shows of the week. I'd seen him play solo at Mercury Lounge, but this show was with Midlake, his backing band on last year's amazing Queen of Denmark. With the band, Grant's late-'70s leaning epics came to lush life. The drums sounded gigantic. So did Grant's voice. All that was missing was sequined clothing and glasses that made points of light look like starbursts. Highlights for me: power-ballad "Mars" and "Chicken Bones" which is some kind of sonic collision of Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Nilsson.

John Grant @ Swan Dive

continued below...

Continue reading "Bill's Week in Austin (Day 3 - Wounded Lion, John Grant, PS I Love You, TSOOL, WhoMadeWho, Wye Oak, Versus & more)"