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Hutch of the Thermals forms new band 'Forbidden Friends' (Thermals playing a Portlandia party in NYC & other dates)

“heading to NYC to play the PORTLANDIA premiere!” – The Thermals

“OMG just saw Carrie Brownstein at the airport SHE’S ON OUR FLIGHT!!!” – The Thermals

“whoa there’s a lot of sluts on this flight. c u in NYC!” – The Thermals

“good flight. I finally learned what the mile high club is. I always thought it meant getting stoned in Denver” – The Thermals

The Thermals @ 2009 Pitchfork Fest (more by Joseph Xu)
The Thermals

“Allow us to introduce you (against their wishes) to Forbidden Friends!

Forbidden Friends is part secret society, part torrid love affair. The kind of experience you cherish, yet would kill to keep secret. Well as of this moment the secret is OUT. You can wash your dirty sheets as many times as you want, but once the world knows all your steamy indiscretions there’s no going back! Might as well post all your (formerly) deep, dark secrets as your next status update. Forbidden Friends may have hoped to keep their little club private, but it’s too late now! The gossips have spoken and won. Let’s tell EVERYBODY. Please help us!

Forbidden Friends is a new band from Hutch Harris, lead singer and mastermind of The Thermals, Portland’s last great post-pop-punk-power trio. Initially conceived as a way for lovers to send hidden messages in plain view (isn’t there an app for that?), Forbidden Friends is now a legitimate, public work of art. The band is at once old fashioned (acoustic instruments, mono mixes), forward thinking (reference-less, incredibly danceable), and timeless (classic lyrical themes of love and desire.)

Forbidden Friends will release their debut single, “Tiny Hands”, on the Kill Rock Stars label March 15, 2011, on vinyl (7″) and digital download. It is accompanied by the b-side “For You”. Harris played the basic instruments (drums, guitar, bass, vocals), and was assisted in the studio by his fellow Thermals Kathy Foster and Westin Glass, as well as Michael Lerner of Telekinesis, on percussion. Both songs are truly upbeat and fun, and are the perfect introduction to this exciting new band.” [Kill Rock Stars]

Forbidden Friends have no upcoming live dates, but (not counting the private party that Hutch has been tweeting about – see the top of this post) The Thermals do, as do Portlandia guest stars and Thermals’ Kill Rock Stars label-mates Corin Tucker and the Decemberists.

Portlandia, starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, premieres on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT on IFC, but you can watch it now in the video embedded below.

The Thermals, after the Portlandia party (1/19), have some dates scheduled on the west coast followed by a European tour with The Coathangers. Their list of dates, and Carrie’s new band Wild Flag‘s updated set of dates, and pretty much every upcoming Kill Rock Stars-artist tour date currently listed by the label, is below…


THE CORIN TUCKER BAND
February 2011
25 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir – w/ Versus
27 – Portland, OR @ Kennedy School – YouWho Kids show


THE DECEMBERISTS
January 2011
24 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theater
25 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theater
26 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theater
28 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
29 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
31 – Montreal, QC, Canada @ Olympia de Montreal
February 2011
1 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Sound Academy
2 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
4 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
5 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
6 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theater
7 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
9 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
10 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theater
13 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
14 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
18 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater
19 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
March 2011
4 – Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street
5 – Glasgow, Scotland @ ABC
7 – Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham Institute
8 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol Academy
10 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
11 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Academy
13 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix
14 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Paradiso
16 – London, UK @ Hammersmith Apollo


DEERHOOF
January 2011
27 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlows
28 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
February 2011
1 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
2 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Music Hall
3 – Memphis, TX @ The Hi Tone
4 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
5 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
6 – Raleigh, NC @ King’s
7 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
8 – Brooklyn, NY @ 1379 Myrtle Ave
10 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar
14 – Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot Ballroom
15 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
16 – Madison, WI @ High School Saloon
17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
18 – Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose
19 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
21 – Denver, CO @ The Marquis
25 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
26 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
March 2011
14 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge – Japan NYC Festival
April 2011
19 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
20 – Belfort, France @ La Poudriere – Impetus Festival
21 – Metz, France @ Les Trinitaires
22 – Lyon, France @ L’Epicerie Moderne
23 – Lausanne, Switzerland @ La Romandie – Impetus Festival
24 – Schorndorf, Germany @ Manufaktur
26 – Kortrijk, Belgium @ De Kreun
27 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Melkweg
28 – Grogingen, The Netherlands @ Vera
30 – Aarhus, Denmark @ Voxhall – Pop Revo Festival
May 2011
1 – Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang

GRASS WIDOW
February 2011
4 – Oakland, CA @ The Uptown – FREE – First Friday w/ Death Sentence: Panda!, Human Baggage, Bam Bam
26 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop – NoisePop Festival w/ No Age
March 2011
22 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge – w/ Wild Flag
23 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle – w/ Wild Flag


WILD FLAG
Sun 03.06.11 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s w/ Yellow Fever
Mon 03.07.11 Allston, MA Brighton Music Hall w/ Yellow Fever, Shepherdess
Tue 03.08.11 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall w/ Bright Eyes, Superchunk
Wed 03.09.11 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall w/ Bright Eyes, Superchunk
Thu 03.10.11 Washington, DC Black Cat w/ Yellow Fever, The Aquarium
Fri 03.11.11 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 w/ Yellow Fever
Sat 03.12.11 Atlanta, GA The Earl w/ Shannon Wright, Yellow Fever
Sun 03.13.11 Birmingham, AL Bottletree w/ Yellow Fever
Mon 03.14.11 Little Rock, AR Stickyz Fingerz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack w/ Yellow Fever
Sun 03.20.11 Dallas, TX Bro Fest 2011
Tue 03.22.11 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge w/ Grass Widow
Wed 03.23.11 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle w/ Grass Widow


QUASI
February 2011
8 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall – w/ Sebadoh
10 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom – w/ Sebadoh
11 – Vancouver, BC, Canada @ Rickshaw Theater – w/ Sebadoh
12 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s – w/ Sebadoh
14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge – w/ Sebadoh
15 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge – w/ Sebadoh
16 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar – w/ Sebadoh
17 – Norman, OK @ Opolis – w/ Sebadoh
18 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater – w/ Sebadoh
19 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s – w/ Sebadoh
21 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress – w/ Sebadoh
22 – Tempe, AZ @ Rhythm Room – w/ Sebadoh
23 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah – w/ Sebadoh
24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour – w/ Sebadoh
25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex – w/ Sebadoh


MARNIE STERN
February 2011
18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo – w/ Tera Melos
19 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar – w/ Tera Melos
20 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch – w/ Tera Melos
22 – San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven – w/ Tera Melos
23 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk – w/ Tera Melos
24 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall – w/ Tera Melos
25 – New Orleans, LA @ Parish @ House of Blues – w/ Tera Melos
26 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder – w/ Tera Melos
27 – Orlando, FL @ Backbooth – w/ Tera Melos
28 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn – w/ Tera Melos
March 2011
1 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade – w/ Tera Melos
2 – Washington, DC @ The Red Palace – w/ Tera Melos
3 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church – w/ Tera Melos
4 – New York, NY @ Santos Party House – w/ Tera Melos
5 – Danbury, CT @ Heirloom Arts Theater – w/ Tera Melos
6 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs – w/ Tera Melos
7 – Montreal, QC, Canada @ Il Motore – w/ Tera Melos
8 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Wrongbar – w/ Tera Melos
9 – Kalamazoo, MI @ The Strutt – w/ Tera Melos
10 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean – w/ Tera Melos
11 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr – w/ Tera Melos
12 – Englewood, CO @ Moe’s – w/ Tera Melos
13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court – w/ Tera Melos
15 – Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project – w/ Tera Melos
16 – Portland, OR @ Branx – w/ Tera Melos
18 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill – w/ Tera Melos
19 – Sacramento, CA @ Sol Collective – w/ Tera Melos


THE THERMALS
January 2011
19 – New York, NY @ private Portlandia launch party
21 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
22 – Vancouver, BC, Canada @ Media Club
23 – Olympia, WA @ The Northern
28 – Portland, OR @ Branx
March 2011
30 – Manchester, UK @ Roadhouse – w/ The Coathangers
31 – Bristol, UK @ The Fleece – w/ The Coathangers
April 2011
1 – London, UK @ XOYO – w/ The Coathangers
2 – Brussels, Belgium @ BeursKafee (free!) – w/ The Coathangers
3 – Cologne, Germany @ Gebaeude 9 – w/ The Coathangers
5 – Evreux, France @ L’Abordage – w/ The Coathangers
6 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie – w/ The Coathangers
7 – Lyon-Oullins, France @ Le Clacson – w/ The Coathangers
10 – Marmande, France @ Garorock Festival
12 – Munich, Germany @ Hansa 39 – w/ The Coathangers
13 – Wien, Austria @ Flex – w/ The Coathangers
14 – Nuernberg, Germany @ K4 Festival – w/ The Coathangers
15 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Sinkkasten – w/ The Coathangers
16 – Dresden, Germany @ Beatpol – w/ The Coathangers
17 – Berlin, Germany @ Lido – w/ The Coathangers
19 – Hamburg, Germany @ Knust – w/ The Coathangers
20 – Groningen, The Netherlands @ Vera – w/ The Coathangers
21 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Trouw – w/ The Coathangers
22 – Eindhoven, The Netherlands @ Effenaar – w/ The Coathangers


UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON
January 2011
20 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar – w/ Oak, Regents, The Gift
21 – New York, NY @ Cake Shop – w/ The Body, Orphan
22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio – w/ Fight Amp, Trophy Wife
23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie – w/ Fight Amp, Trophy Wife