by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Caged Animals - Teflon Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Caged Animals - Girls on Medication (MP3)

Caged Animals, the new project from Soft Black front man Vin Cacchione, will release their debut album, Eat Their Own, on Sept 27 via Lucky Number. You can download the album's first single, "Teflon Heart," at the top of this post. You can also go see them play live this week: Thursday (8/25) at Union Pool with Life Sized Maps and Shark? and then on September 1 at Shea Stadium with Dive and Forest Fire (whose 2nd album is coming out soon on FatCat).

Where Soft Black (who are still together if you were wondering) are a straight up guitar band, Caged Animals began as a home recording project for Cacchione, using ancient drum machines and keyboards...and modern technology too. The resulting album is minimal and joyous, with Cacchione's melodic abilities as a songwriter fully intact. Despite the understated production, "Teflon Heart" is a pretty soaring pop song with a chorus that could get lodged in your head for a while.

Live, Caged Animals are a quartet, including violinist Magali Charron, and Vin's sister Talya which should flesh out things a bit. Also check out non-LP single "Girls on Medication" from earlier this year at the top of this post and watch its video below.

Continue reading "check out Caged Animals (MP3 premiere, video & dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Acid Mothers Temple - "In O" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Acid Mothers Temple - "In A" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers - "Heaven In Stereo" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers - "Venus Shaver" (MP3)

photos by Greg Cristman

Acid Mothers Temple @ Knitting Factory

Acid Mothers Temple, in the form of Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso UFO, will return to tour North America in March. That tour hits Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on April 12th. Tickets are on sale.

The last time Acid Mothers Temple was at Knitting Factory was last April. A lost set of pictures from that show adorn this post. Acid Mothers Temple released their latest LP In O To Infinity via Important Records. Two MP3s above come from that release.

Almost all of Acid Mother's upcoming tour, including the Brooklyn show, is with Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers who have a new LP on the way. Teenage and Torture will be released on January 18th via Knitting Factory Records. Dig on a pair of songs from that release, including the previously posted "Venus Shaver" that appears on the 7", above.

Help Shilpa celebrate that new LP at a show happening on Friday, January 21st at Brooklyn Bowl with Soft Black and She Keeps Bees. Tickets are on sale for the gig which is one of two Shilpa has scheduled this month. The other is in Buffalo.

All dates and more AMT pictures below...

Continue reading "Acid Mothers Temple playing KF again (pics from last time), touring w/ Shilpa Ray (who plays an LP release show soon) -- (dates & MP3s)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Chris La Putt

Soft Black @ Cake Shop

"A large crowd turned up for Soft Black despite a set time in the middle of the day. For a minute there, we were worried that they wouldn't even have a chance to play; the band's drummer and bassist were missing and Cake Shop was adamant about keeping sets on-time (as another showcase was scheduled that night). Rather than waste time, Cacchione gave the audience a treat, delivering a solo rendition of one of the band's best songs, "Ashtray Christ", followed by a new number, "And I Walked Along" that is set to appear on the band's forthcoming record. Cacchione began the song solo, with the band members (still minus the bassist) joining midstream for maximum impact. By the time the rocking "I Am An Animal" was played, the full band was onstage. Although the set ended too soon (albeit with a great version of "The Girl Who Ate Her Own Heart"), Soft Black's set was undeniably a success." [NYC Taper]

As Bill wrote about NYC Taper's Thursday CMJ day party, "...at Cake Shop, it's the NYC Taper day party, with 12 bands in six hours on one stage, which seems pretty ambitious, but that's what CMJ is all about... First band (Courtesy Tier) is on at 12:30 and if you can't make it, I'm sure all the sets will be up on NYC Taper at some point." So far, you can get Soft Black and The Courtesy Tier. Only 10 more sets to go!

And of those 12 bands, we got pictures (by 2 photographers) of five of them. They continue below...

Continue reading "NYC Taper's day party @ Cake Shop in pics... & audio (natch)"

The Summer Antifolk Festival is taking place August 7th through 16th at Sidewalk Cafe in NYC (94 Ave A). Some highlights over the two-plus-week festival include Jason & Rachel Trachtenburg, Jaymay, Soft Black, Dufus and Larkin Grimm.

More background on the festival and the full schedule below...

Continue reading "Sidewalk Cafe's 2009 Summer Antifolk Festival (Aug 7-16)"