DOWNLOAD: Shannon Stephens - In Summer in the Heat (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fol Chen - The Longer U Wait EP (ZIP)

Tickets for the NYC shows on Sufjan Steven's upcoming tour with Cryptacize go on sale this Saturday (August 15th) at 10am...

10-04: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (tix)
10-05: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (tix)
10-06: Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (tix)
10-07: Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (tix)

Also there's the BQE screenings coming up, which just added an extra showing.

Speaking sof Sufjan Stevens, Shannon Stephens, an Asthmatic Kitty labelmate of his, has a new album, The Breadwinner, coming out September 8th. It'll be her first in nearly 10 years. Sufjan played drums on her album that came out in 2000. He also interviewed her that same year...

Sufjan Stevens: This is a business question. Do you acknowledge any sort of christian market, or is that bunk? Would you be willing to participate in the christian market?

Shannon Stephens: Honestly, I feel that the christian music market was created out of a need for safety by separation. People wanted to know that the music they were listening to would not contaminate their souls or the souls of their children. The truth is that we are not contaminated by our culture, but by our own hearts. I do think it's important to feed the fire as little as possible, but shutting out the world and creating a safe subculture is not what Christ commanded us to do. Rather than making absolute judgments about christian bands or labels, I try to take them on an individual basis. Sometimes people ask me if I play "christian music"--I don't even know what to say. I'm a Christian, and I play music, but is it all praise and worship? No. I feel more comfortable outside of the box, where things are more dangerous and oftentimes more real.

"In Summer in the Heat" from Shannon's new record, is above. Tracklist and album art are below.

Cryptacize recently recorded a live session that was just posted as a free download and video on Luxury Wafers. Grab that here

Another band on Asthmatic Kitty, Fol Chen, recently put out a free remixes EP, The Longer U Wait, with contributions from "Liars, Simone White, Epstein AKA Roberto Lange, Rafter and more!" That's linked above, with art, tracklist and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Sufjan Stevens tickets, Shannon Stephens, a free Fol Chen EP"

photos by Chris La Putt

Nada Surf

Frank Bango

(Dean and) Britta

Nada Surf (acoustic), Dean & Britta, Richard Buckner, Sam Champion, Scott Matthew, Tara Angell & David Poe, Simone White and Frank Bango himself performed at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on Tuesday night in order to raise money for Frank Bango.

Bango, who has just completed nearly two years of cancer treatments, is incredibly grateful for the generosity of The Bowery and his friends. The Bowery Ballroom has been Frank's home as a bartender, bar manager, musician and fan for almost ten years.

The show started at 8 and ran until around 1 am, More pictures below....

Continue reading "Frank Bango benefit show @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics"

"In 1993, Williams' life took a dramatic turn when she learned that she was suffering from multiple sclerosis. In 1993, an array of artists from different genres, including Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Maria McKee, Soul Asylum, Lucinda Williams and others, joined together to record some of Williams' songs for a tribute/benefit project called Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams. This led to the creation of the Sweet Relief Fund, a charity that aids professional musicians (of any stature) in need of health care. That year, Williams also released a new album herself, entitled Loose. Pearl Jam had covered her song "Crazy Mary" for Sweet Relief, however, Williams performed her own version of the song, and made a video that brought her closer to public notice and gained her more of a following after it ran on MTV and VH1 in 1994, and is still played on both cable channels." [Wikipedia]

Tonight (August 26) Victoria helps another musician in need of money to pay hospital bills. Nada Surf (acoustic), Dean & Britta, Richard Buckner, Sam Champion, Scott Matthew, Tara Angell & David Poe and Simone White are also on the bill. Tickets are still on sale. The music starts at 8:00. Expect short sets leading up to Nada Surf who are headlining.

Making his Lincoln Center Festival debut former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, is joined by a host of diverse musicians from the UK, Africa, and the United States, for The Honest Jon's Revue, a musical "chop up" (Nigerian slang for "feast"). Albarn, co-founder of the virtual band Gorillaz, has gathered musiciansfrom his label, Honest Jon's, named in tribute to the landmark London record shop of the same name thathas been selling rare and obscure music to discerning buyers for 30 years. Under Albarn's musical stewardship, a wonderfully eclectic group of musicians--the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Simone White and Malians Kokanko Sata, Afel Bocoum and Lobi Traore--will play together and separately, for one show only on Saturday, July 12, in Avery Fisher Hall

Tickets are on sale (thx Bao). More details below....

Continue reading "Damon Albarn & the Honest Jon's Revue is happening @ Lincoln Center in NYC --- tickets on sale"