Martin Courtney, Steve Gunn & more added to Alex Bleeker's NYC show; bands raising money for Surfer Blood guitarist
photo: Martin Courtney at BV-CMJ 2015 (more by Amanda Hatfield)
Alex Bleeker and the Freaks begin their tour in Connecticut tonight (11/11) and it hits NYC Thursday (11/12) at Brooklyn Bowl. Since we last spoke, several guests were added to that show. It now includes Steve Gunn, Alex’s Real Estate bandmate Martin Courtney (who just released a great solo album), Darkside collaborator Will Epstein playing with Elvis Perkins collaborator Jesse Lauter, and King Cyst, aka Luka Usmiani of Big Troubles and Real Estate side project Ducktails. Tickets for that show are still available. Updated Alex Bleeker dates are listed below.
In related news, Real Estate are among the artists who contributed a previously-unreleased track to be auctioned off as a 7″ with proceeds going to help Thomas Fekete of Surfer Blood, who’s fighting cancer. The others are Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, Alex Somers, Lou Barlow, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Cults, Julianna Barwick, The Drums, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Nick Diamonds, and Surfer Blood. You can also donate $10 or more to download the tracks. More info here.
Sleigh Bells, Yoko Ono & Flaming Lips, Interpol & Shepard Fairey, Sharon Van Etten, and Angel Olsen also donated autographed items to be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to Thomas. Cymbals Eat Guitars just auctioned off a guitar at their NYC show over the weekend to donate the proceeds to Thomas too.
Thomas also has an ongoing GoFundMe campaign set up that you can donate to.
Details on the songs being auctioned below…
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Guided By Voices – “Motor Away” (live)
Recorded live 6/24/94 at Threadwaxing Space, New York City on “The Insects of Rock” tour.
Yo La Tengo – “Can’t Forget” (live)
Recorded 8/28/15 at WorldCafe Live, courtesy of WXPN, Philadelphia. Yo La Tengo appears courtesy of Matador Records.
Cults – “Hurting”
An out-take from Cults’ 2013 album Static.
Real Estate – “Talking Backwards” (demo)
This was recorded in Real Estate’s practice space in Bushwick in the summer of 2013. Courtesy Domino Records.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Between These Boys” (demo)
Lou Barlow – “Sunshine / Money / Thirsty”
Three previously-unreleased tracks.
The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger – “Rainbows In Gasoline” (unreleased version)
Recorded in 2009 with early line-up of The GOASTT (Sean Lennon, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Mark Ronson), recorded & mixed by Mark Ronson.
Nick Diamonds (from Islands) – “Be A Comedian”
Recorded spontaneously on September 2nd, 2015.
Julianna Barwick – “Promise”
Recorded in 2012.
Alex Somers – “Well”
Recorded in Iceland in 2015.
The Drums – “Help Him”
2012 unreleased demo.
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – “F Train”
Demo version of “Tao of the Dead Part II”.
Surfer Blood – “Tidal Wave” (demo)
Brand new song recorded last week!
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Alex Bleeker and the Freaks — 2015 Tour Dates
Nov 11 Bar Nightclub New Haven, CT
Nov 12 Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn, NY
Nov 13 Vassar College (Villard Room) Poughkeepsie, NY
Nov 14 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, MA
Nov 15 The Monkey House Burlington, VT
Nov 16 Divan Orange Montreal, Canada
Nov 17 The Smiling Buddha Toronto, ON
Nov 18 Blind Pig Ann Arbor, MI
Nov 19 The Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
Nov 20 Double Happiness Columbus, OH
Nov 21 DC9 Washington, DC
Nov 22 Boot & Saddle Philadelphia, PA
Dec 04 Fortune Sound Club Vancouver, Canada
Dec 05 Barboza Seattle, WA
Dec 06 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
Dec 08 Sweetwater Music Hall Mill Valley, CA
Dec 09 The Independent San Francisco, CA
Dec 10 Don Quixote’s International Music Hall Felton, CA
Dec 11 Fernwood Tavern Big Sur, CA
Dec 12 The Echo Los Angeles, CA
