FRESH OFF THE ROAD WITH FUN. AMAZON PROCLAIMS “FEMALE DOCTOR” THE #2 BEST SONG OF 2012 SO FAR

Miniature Tigers continue their busy year with the announcement of a new batch of Summer tour dates. Kicking off at the end of July, the headline run will hit New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and more in support of the band’s latest album, Mia Pharaoh (Modern Art/ILG). Out earlier this year, the brilliant abstract-pop record has received overwhelming acclaim, including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Entertainment Weekly, Nylon, and more. Likewise, Amazon recently proclaimed their song “Female Doctor” as the #2 Best Song of 2012 So Far.

The announcement of these new dates comes just after the end of a successful cross-country tour with fun. Prior to that, Miniature Tigers headlined a sold-out nationwide tour with their Modern Art label-mates Geographer and The Chain Gang of 1974.

Praise for Miniature Tigers and Mia Pharaoh:
“They [Miniature Tigers] have a really ethereal way of translating music – actually, they have a very different approach to our “You Got Me” song [during our session with Red Bull's Soundclash] that I never thought of in the fifteen years I’ve been playing it, so I told those guys, ‘the second we are done with the Soundclash I’m gonna steal all of your arrangements for like all of our songs.’ Never once did I ever think to reinterpret it the way that they reinterpreted it.” – drummer ?uestlove of The Roots

“Album three [Mia Pharaoh] opens with a pair of curveballs, the horndog electro-disco fantasies “Sex on the Regular” and “Female Doctor.” The lyrics are pure R. Kelly kitsch (“I’m your secret/You can take me out and play me like a saxophone”), but the tunes are as sneakily hummable as ever, and frontman Charlie Brand makes a surprisingly decent Romeo.” – Rolling Stone

“What I like about them is that they could probably be a very successful, standard-issue indie-rock band aping Death Cab or Grizzly Bear or Vampire Weekend, but they’re too restless and busting with ideas.” -SPIN

“Wedged between a dreamy throwback sound and rapid-fire backing harmonies, Brand [lead singer Charlie Brand] carries a degree of self-seriousness, lending nuanced shades of gray to an otherwise chipper mood.” – NPR

“…if Shakespeare’s Romeo had been in a band, Brand’s vocals would have come out his mouth. A total loverboy voice…” – The Huffington Post

“Miniature Tigers are getting bigger…Their new album [Mia Pharaoh] gets a little bit racier than previous fare (see: ‘Sex on the Regular’) and is meant to shock listeners…” – Interview Magazine

MINIATURE TIGERS TOUR DATES:
July 27 – Musica – Akron, OH
July 28 – MOTR Pub – Cincinnati, OH
July 29 – Wicker Park Fest, North Stage – Chicago, IL
August 2 – TT The Bear’s – Cambridge, MA
August 3 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA
August 4 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY

BAND TO TOUR U.S. THIS SUMMER

FIRST SINGLE, “WHAT MAKES A GOOD MAN?” NOW PREMIERING ON ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE ONLINE

LISTEN: “WHAT MAKES A GOOD MAN?”

Renegade English soul-rockers The Heavy are happy to announce the release of their new album, The Glorious Dead, on August 21 via Counter Records/Ninja Tune. The Glorious Dead is the band’s third full-length LP and is the follow-up to their acclaimed sophomore record The House That Dirt Built (2009). Self-produced and with their unique, raw eclecticism fully intact, it’s their most fully-realized record yet, mixing together soul, hip-hop, rock, blues and funk into glorious, raucous party music that is equally full of heart.

Photo: Andrew de Francesco

The first single from The Glorious Dead, “What Makes A Good Man?,” was snatched up by Miller Beer for a national ad campaign (featuring the band in a dressing room cameo). The song follows in the footsteps of the band’s sleeper hit “How You Like Me Now?” with its monumental chorus and crunching beats. But there’s more to the album than just that, from the horror film atmospherics of “Can’t Play Dead” to the laid-back sincerity of “Curse Me Good,” the funked-up hip hop rhythm of “Big Bad Wolf” and the epic, heavy-hitting gospel rock ‘n’ roll of “Same ‘Ol.” Throughout, vocalist Kelvin Swaby’s voice soars, packed with yearning and pure soul.

Along with the release of The Glorious Dead, The Heavy are pleased to announce they will be bringing their crazy, amped-up live show to the U.S. this June with a handful of shows beginning June 18 at New York City’s Mercury Lounge and concluding with two straight nights at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. The band will also be playing shows in Los Angeles and Chicago, and in the coming weeks will be announcing a full September tour. They are also slated for a performance in September at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival.

The Heavy Upcoming Tour Dates:

JUNE
18 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
21 – Chicago, IL – Double Door
23 – Austin, TX – Red 7
24 – Denver, CO – The Bluebird Theater
28 – Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater
29 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan
30 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan

SEPTEMBER
01 – Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot Festival

The Mynabirds return with “Body of Work,” a new track from their eagerly awaited upcoming album GENERALS, out June 5th on Saddle Creek. With syncopated beats layered on top of Laura Burhenn’s gospel inspired tone, the new song premiered yesterday on Rolling Stone. Burhenn explains that the track represents our ability to constantly remodel our lives into anything we want, regardless of what the past holds; “we are living things, bodies of work to edit.”

GENERALS is both a protest record and concept album. It’s fueled by a full decade of Burhenn’s political frustration and aimed at finding a revolutionary yet pacifist way in a world where, these days, it seems warring comes quick. Musically you can hear echoes of early PJ Harvey, politically-charged Nina Simone and Low-era David Bowie. It gets down and hip hop dirty, flirts with African melodies and rhythms, goes four-on-the-floor for all out dance jams and has plenty of percussion. Burhenn even plays drums herself on a couple of songs, and a 5-gallon bucket in homage to DC street Go-Go on another.

Lyrically, GENERALS sings the voice of the collective frustration, then moves beyond that. “It was important for me that this record made sense of my own anger and turned it into positive energy,” Burhenn says. “I needed it to be transformative – of both the individual and the body politic. It’s as much a meditation on Walt Whitman’s hope for America as Gandhi’s directive to ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’”

The album’s name comes from a Richard Avedon photo entitled “Generals of the Daughters of the American Revolution.” Looking at the portrait of upper class ladies in their pristine satin gowns, Burhenn considered her own supposed eligibility to be a member of DAR and thought about what true revolutionary American women look like. The lineage of women that have stood up to injustice for well over a hundred years – women like Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Gloria Steinem, Naomi Wolf – they get their hands dirty. And Burhenn wanted to pay tribute to that.

In conjunction with the release of the album, Burhenn is launching a portrait project called The New Revolutionists. In an election year when so much time, energy and money will be spent on political contests, Burhenn wanted to shine a light on women making a difference – often on shoestring or even nonexistent budgets – in their own communities all over America, whether they’re making headlines or not.

The Mynabirds Tour Dates

06/08: Omaha, NE – Slowdown

06/15: Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry

06/16: Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews

06/17: Chicago, IL – Schuba’s

06/19: Detroit, MI – Magic Stick

06/20: Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern

06/21: Harrisburg, PA – The Abbey Bar

06/22: New York, NY – Mercury Lounge

06/23: Washington, DC – Black Cat

06/24: Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s

06/25: Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506

06/27: Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree

06/28: Atlanta, GA – The Earl

06/29: Nashville, TN @ The High Watt

06/30: Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s

07/01: St. Louis, MO @ Firebird

07/02: Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Music Hall

08/04-08/05: Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon

08/11: Omaha, NE @ MAHA Music Festival

Click HERE to Download “Body of Work”

Capitol 6 to release ‘Pretty Lost’ June 12th

See Full Tour Dates Below

Light Organ Records is pleased to announce the Canadian tour dates for the upcoming Capitol 6 tour with label-mates Twin River. The tour begins with the Twin River album release show on June 15th and ends on June 30th at the Capitol 6 album release show.

As previously announced Capitol 6 will release Pretty Lost on June 12th, their first single from the album is entitled “Cold Ride.” Listen to the track here.

With Pretty Lost the band continues their rambunctious journey through the many waves of psychedelia. From the originators in the 60s like 13th Floor Elevators and Love to the bands who decades later picked up their guitars and continued to conjure the sound like The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Black Angels. Capitol 6 includes these while not completely adhering to these ideals; the band has an equal admiration for Neil Young and Bob Dylan. The band’s knowledge and appreciation for the past and their ability to use that knowledge to create new forms is evident on Pretty Lost and it is prepared to garner appreciation from music fans everywhere.

Though Twin River originated as a duo, it’s now a full band, rounded out by the likes of Rebecca Gray (Chains of Love), Malcolm Jack (Sun Wizard and Capitol 6), and Dustin Bromley (Pleasure Cruise, Keep Tidy). Instantly, a listener will notice their penchant for juxtaposing haunting, expressive music with pretty, even up-beat melody. Bishop’s ability to seamlessly combine the heavy riff into simple folk structures is his signature. The smooth and innocent vocal delivery plays well against the more ominous musical backdrop. This sound will no doubt become their trademark as they make their initial impressions in Vancouver and across Canada. Their new 4-song EP, Rough Gold, recorded with Malcolm Jack from Sun Wizard, captures this unique brand of folk quite beautifully. At its heart, the music they make is humble, honest, and organic, as evidenced by the support they have already received from their local music community.

Tour Dates:
06/15 Vancouver BC, China Cloud^
06/16 Kelowna BC, Fernando’s*
06/17 Penticton BC, Voodoo’s*
06/20-24 Calgary AB, Sled Island*
06/25 Lethbridge AB, The Slice*
06/26 Regina SK, Artful Dodger*
06/28 Edmonton AB, New City*
06/30 Vancouver BC, Princeton Pub#*

* w/ Twin River
^ Twin River Album Release
# Capitol 6 Release Show

RELEASE SHOW ON MAY 31st IN TORONTO

Modern Superstitions’ guitarist Matthew Aldred sums up the band’s manifesto stating, “I want to know that I’ve done what I love doing and that I did it the way I wanted to do it, that I can stand behind it and I like it. I don’t want to be scared taking risks. I don’t want regrets.” The band’s highly anticipated 7” upholds what Matthew talks of in this quote. Last Gang Records is pleased to announce the release of Modern Superstitions School Days/Way I Want 7”, available digitally on May 29th and physically on May 31st. The band will kick off the release with a hometown show at The Garrison in Toronto on May 31st.

From the moment Modern Superstitions step on stage they captivate their audiences with Nyssa Rosaleen’s hypnotic vocals, Matthew’s driving rhythms, Patrick McCormick’s melodic bass lines and Benjamin Reinhartz’s solid drumming. The 7”, produced by Brian Borcherdt (Holy Fuck, By Divine Right), features two new tracks School Days and Way I Want. Both songs see a determined growth in the group’s songwriting – always challenging themselves sonically. The band describes the songs as, “Synesthetic necromantic songs about love. From the word to the letter to the feeling, a holding on and a letting go.”

Fermented by six years of casual rehearsal and dedicated exploration, Modern Superstitions is a hard band to stylistically pin down. They burst onto the music scene with three strong EPs: All The Things We’ve Been Told, Honey In The Lion’s Ear and The Beginning Sounds In The End. With each EP there is an evolution to the bands sound, but the music itself defies description. Under the guidance of Last Gang Entertainment, Modern Superstitions continues the alliteration as a band poised to forge frontiers rather than settle for the mundane.

Get ready for a summer of Modern Superstitions!

Upcoming Shows:
May 31 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison
June 16 – Toronto, ON – Last Gang NXNE Party

Kansas City, MO — Red Line Chemistry has returned with a new song, and the rise up the charts is unprecedented for the Kansas City-based quintet. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Matt Hyde, “Unspoken” raced in to the Top 40 at rock radio in two weeks, quickly rising to #1 at KHTQ in Spokane, WA. In additional markets that include Phoenix, Kansas City, and Madison, the track is a generating an immediate response. Currently, “Unspoken” sits at number 36 on the charts, on its way to the solidifying the band’s prominence at the active rock format.

Red Line Chemistry will hit the road in June and July, and then return to the studio in August to complete the band’s follow-up to Dying For A Living. The new album is tentatively scheduled for release late this year. On working with Raskulinecz and Hyde, guitarist Andrew Breit shared, “Nick and Matt are true pros and great guys. They have shown undeniable knowledge and savvy in helping us achieve our sonic vision for these tracks. Recording with them has been very rewarding…and we can’t wait to finish the record and show the world what we’ve been up to. ” In reference to the songs themselves, Singer Brett Ditgen adds, “We are gelling as a band and the writing process has been more collective on the new material. We spent time letting ideas breathe and evolve organically. Some ending up at completely unexpected destinations than originally intended.”

Formed in 2004, Red Line Chemistry enjoyed several years of regional success, and independently released the debut Chemical High & a Hand Grenade (2006) followed by the EP Escape Plan (2008) prior to inking a deal with Bulldog Productions. Dying For A Living followed in 2011, delivering a trio of hits at rock radio which include “Dumb Luck,” “You Don’t Get It,” and “Ultragigantor.” The quintet is Brett Ditgen (vocals), Andrew Breit (guitar), Tom Brown (bass), Dave Fyten (guitar) and Mike Mazzarese (drums).

Planned appearances include:
7/12 Boise, ID Knitting Factory (KGXR w/ Otherwise)
7/13 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory (KHTQ w/ The Dreaming / Otherwise)
7/15 Seattle, WA El Corazon (KISW w/ Otherwise)
7/17 Reno, NV Knitting Factory (w/ Otherwise)
7/28 Madison, WI Band Camp (WJJO)

Buttons: From Champaign to Chicago

An homage to the prairie state Numero calls home, From Champaign To Chicago is a 19-track survey of Illinois’ Cheapest Tricks. Reaching back to 1973 and Peoria outliers the Jets and ending in 1987 with Romeoville’s Julian Leal and his Dick Clark approved “Get Away,” From Champaign to Chicago connects, via map, pins, and string, the various scenes that pockmarked the face of the Land of Lincoln. Chicago’s Prettyboys, Tom Orsi, All-Night Newsboys, Kevin Lee & Heartbeat, Band Jocks, Northshore, Paul, the Kind, and Loose Lips are tethered to Rockford’s the Names; Champaign’s Vertebrats, Contra-Band, and the Nines; LaSalle’s the Jerks; Joliet’s Lay-Z; and Zion’s Shoes by the clubs, booking agents, weekly newspapers, and regional radio stations they were all fighting to be seen, and more importantly, heard in.

Buttons: Starter Kit

The entry-level power pop compilation features 20 songs from the original Yellow Pills: Prefill compilation, plus two bonus cuts, new liners, tons of sleeve scans, photos, and ephemera, all housed in a spot varnished, brick-thick gatefold sleeve. Artists include New Jersey’s Toms; Kennet, MO’s Trend; NYC’s Colors, Treble Boys, and Sponsors; Hollywood’s Randy Winburn and Tommy Rock; Des Moines, IA’s Luxury; San Antonio’s Kids; Connecticut’s Bats (featuring a young Jon Brion); and Boston’s Tweeds.

HEAR COMPILATION TRACK “DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH” HERE

TEGAN AND SARA TO OPEN FOR THE BLACK KEYS ON U.S. TOUR DATES

CONFIRMED FOR AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

Canadian pop-rock icons Tegan and Sara have announced that they will hit the road with The Black Keys for the extension of their U.S. Tour later this year. Additionally, the girls are confirmed to play Austin City Limits this October. The official ACL lineup was announced today and can be seen in full on the festival’s website.

Over the last couple months, Tegan & Sara have been hard at work recording their new album. The Quin sisters have been in the studio with Greg Kurstin (The Shins, Lily Allen, Sia), Mike Elizondo (Regina Spektor, Mastodon, Rilo Kiley), and Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Neon Trees, M83, Moving Units). They’ve offered up fans an inside look at the process of recording too through Tegan and Sara’s Carpool Confessional, a weekly video show filmed from the back of their car and featuring a wide variety of special guests and musical collaborators. Additionally, Rolling Stone rolled out weekly behind the scenes photo updates from the studio, all captured by Lindsey Byrnes.

Tegan and Sara lend vocals to two tracks on Grammy-nominated Morgan Page’s new album In The Air, including the single, “Body Work,” which they also star in the video for. Having remixed numerous cuts for the indie stalwarts, the three wanted to write something together from scratch. “Body Work” is a stellar example of Page’s skills as a producer and as an artist: brilliantly balancing kinetic house music with blissful pop.

TEGAN AND SARA’S UPCOMING TOUR DATES:

October 1 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center

October 2 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl

October 4 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center

October 5 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

October 8 Anaheim, CA Honda Center

October 9 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center

October 10 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center

October 12-14 Austin, TX Austin City Limits

About The Tour: The Black Keys have just come off of a worldwide tour in support of album, El Camino and are extending with the addition of U.S. dates in October including the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the famed Santa Barbara Bowl. Tegan and Sara join the tour as support.

TONIGHT’S SOLD OUT NYC WEBSTER HALL SHOW TO BE STREAMED LIVE AT MTV HIVE

Not Your Kind Of People, the highly anticipated new album from Garbage, which was exclusively available in iTunes last week, is available in stores and at all digital retailers today. The band returned from a SOLD OUT run of European tour dates last week to perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on May 18th. They performed their single “Blood For Poppies” on-air and “Automatic-Systematic Habit” as a web-only exclusive.

Garbage will kick off an East Coast run of tour dates tonight at Webster Hall in New York City. The show which sold out in minutes will be streamed live on MTV Hive. A complete list of upcoming tour dates can be found below.

Garbage 2012 Tour Dates

MAY
22nd – New York, NY – Webster Hall – SOLD OUT
23rd – Washington, DC – 930 Club – SOLD OUT
25th – Atlantic City, NJ – House of Blues
26th – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club – SOLD OUT
28th – Toronto, ONT – Phoenix Concert Theatre – SOLD OUT

JUNE
1st – Santa Barbara, CA – KJEE Summer Round Up, Santa Barbara Bowl
2nd – Mountain View, CA – Live 105 BFD, Shoreline Ampitheater
3rd – San Diego, CA – 91x X-Fest
9th – Warsaw, Poland – Orange Warsaw Festival
11th – Samara, Russia – Rock on Volga Festival
12th – Odessa, Ukraine – Prosto Rock Festival
16th – Hultsfred, Sweden – Hultsfred Festival
17th – Aarhus, Denmark – Northside Festival
19th – Amsterdamn, Holland – Melkweg Max
22nd – Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany – Southside Festival
23rd – Scheessel, Germany – Hurricane Festival, Red Stage
24th – Paris, France – Solidays Festival
27th – Luxemburg – Rockhal
28th – Werchter, Belgium – Rock Werchter, Pyramid Marquee
29th – Arras, France – Main Square Festival

JULY
1st – London, UK – Brixton Academy
2nd – Wolverhampton, UK – Civic Hall
3rd – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
4th – Glasgow, UK – Barrowlands
6th – Bucharest, Romania – B’Estfest
8th – Herouville St Clair, France – Festival Beauregard
11th – Vigevano, Italy – 10 Giorni Suoanti Festival
12th – Rome, Italy – Fiesta Campanelle Roma Rock
14th – Bilbao, Spain – BBK Live Festival
15th – Aix-les-Bains, France – Musilac Festival
17th – Arles, France – Les Escales du Cargo Festival
19th – Oporto, Portugal – Mares Vivas Festival
21st – Nyon, Switzerland – Paleo Festival

AUGUST
4th – Montreal, QUE – Osheaga Festival
7th – Chicago, IL – Metro – SOLD OUT
8th – Kansas City, MO – KRBZ’s Buzz Under The Stars Series at Berkley Riverfront Park
11th – Omaha, NE – Maha Festival, Stinson Park
18th – Osaka, Japan – Summer Sonic Festival
19th – Tokyo, Japan – Summer Sonic Festival

“Visceral, raw female rock-and-roll is rare in this manufactured Lana Del Rey era, and Shirley Manson seems out to prove that she can still rock as hard as the boys ten years later”
Billboard

“Alternative to everything”
Pitchfork

“Not Your Kind of People stands out as the group’s best album and deserves to be on every year end list”
ARTISTdirect

“It’s a labor of love and it took fucking forever, and they got it together and it was well worth the wait.”
Noisey/Vice

ABOUT GARBAGE
After forming in Madison, WI, Garbage released their self-titled debut album in 1995 and rode a wave of visually arresting, female-fronted alternative rock bands. The album spawned the hit singles “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains” and was certified double platinum in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The band won the Breakthrough Artist Award at the 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards, and was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy® Award. Their second album, Version 2.0, was released in 1998 and topped the charts in the United Kingdom. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Rock Album. 2001′s Beautiful Garbage was named one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top 10 Albums Of The Year. In 2005, Garbage released Bleed Like Me, earning the band its highest chart position with a No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. In 2007, the band released a retrospective collection called Absolute Garbage. Garbage has sold over 12 million albums worldwide. They have performed in over thirty-five countries and will tour extensively worldwide in support of this new release.

The Sheepdogs recently recorded their debut album (due summer 2012) in Nashville with producer Patrick Carney of the Black Keys.

These Canadian rockers not only won last year’s Rolling Stone “Choose the Cover” contest by popular vote, but they also just scored three JUNO Awards for Single of the Year, New Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year.

Some listeners may argue that the sounds soaring from their speakers while listening to the band’s latest EP, Five Easy Pieces, or preceding full-length, Learn & Burn, are familiar relics of decades past, and they’d be right; however, it’s the manner in which The Sheepdogs borrow bits from classic, psychedelic, and boogie rock iconoclasts like Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead and mix them with modern rock sensibilities that really sets them apart.