Category Archives: Press Releases

MATES OF STATE SASQUATCH FESTIVAL AND HENRY FONDA SHOWS CONFIRMED

MATES OF STATE
RE-ARRANGE US
OUT MAY 20 ON BARSUK
Sasquatch Festival Appearance Confirmed for May 25
Followed by May 28 Headline Date at Henry Fonda Theater

Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the he and she music factory known as Mates of State, have confirmed the May 2008 release and track listing for their fifth full length album, Re-Arrange Us. They have also confirmed that Mates of State will appear at the Sasquatch Festival Sunday, May 25, followed by a May 28 date at Los Angeles’ Henry Fonda Theater, and a full headlining tour and numerous other festival dates to be announced shortly. The tour will mark Mates’ first extensive road trip since NPR’s This American Life tour last February, where they provided musical interludes between Ira Glass, Dave Eggers, Dan Savage, Sarah Vowell and David Rakoff’s readings to 3000+ crowds across the U.S.
Produced by Peter Katis and Mates of State, the track listing for Re-Arrange Us is:

Get Better
Now
My Only Offer
The Re-Arranger
Jigsaw
Blue and Gold Print
Help Help
You Are Free
Great Dane
Lullaby Haze

Re-Arrange Us also features the most complex packaging of any Mates of State release to date. The reversible and multi-layered cover art allows fans to “Re-Arrange” it into no less than eight different configurations.

The packaging of Re-Arrange Us could well be seen as a reflection of the growing complexity of Mates of State’s music. While, until recently, Jason and Kori have performed exclusively as a duo, Mates of State have never failed to generate a trademark wall of sound built on dozens of varied voicings of keys, drums, and alternately lushly layered and playfully dueling vocals. On Re-Arrange Us they move beyond these boundaries with additional instrumentation-not to mention a quantum leap in song craft apparent on instantly indelible gems like “Now,” “Jigsaw” and “Get Better.” Throughout Re-Arrange Us, Kori’s piano and the emergence of both Mates’ lead vocals from their trademark harmonizing signal the next stage of Mates of State’s evolution.

For futher information, please contact Steve Martin or Amy Grote, tel 212 343 0740 email amy@nastylittleman.com

BANANAZ RECEIVES NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE AT THE SXSW FESTIVAL

Bananaz, a film about the virtual band Gorillaz will show at South by South West in Austin, Texas later this month. As part of Spotlight Premieres, this will be Bananaz first US screening.

The film removes the virtual walls of Gorillaz, a cartoon band created by artist Jamie Hewlett and musician Damon Albarn. Audiences see just what Ceri Levy saw over some many and varied months of shooting from 2000 to 2006.

Bananaz is Levy’s story of the partnership and community behind Gorillaz. He takes you on the road with this virtual phenomenon and shows a part of Gorillaz never seen before – reality. As one radio interviewer puts it, “It’s a parallel universe – these guys aren’t in the band but they know the animated characters who are”.

Bananaz is an honest, at times hilarious account of the working relationship between Albarn and Hewlett. A free-wheeling film which teams these two likely lads with friend and film maker Ceri Levy.

Featuring Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, Dennis Hopper, De la Soul and Ibrahim Ferrer and Ceri’s camera.

Gorillaz is the most successful virtual band ever, fronted by four wildly talented but totally disparate characters: pretty-but-vacant singer 2D, satanic bassist Murdoc Niccals, Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle and amiable man-mountain drummer Russel Hobbs. Formed in 2000, their eponymous debut album was released to international acclaim and 5 million plus sales. Gorillaz were crowned Best Group at the 2005 MTV Europe Awards and received 5 Grammy nominations and 2 Brit Awards nods.

Their second album, Demon Days has sold 6 million albums worldwide.

‘The Rock n Roll Swindle of our generation’ Jason Solomons, Observer ‘

BANANAZ SCREENING TIMES:
Wednesday 12 March, 1.30pm – Paramount
Saturday 15 March, 11am – Paramount
The Paramount Theatre
713 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT BANANAZ PLEASE VISIT:

http://www.bananazfilm.com/

NINE INCH NAILS: GHOSTS I-IV $300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION SOLD OUT NIN #1 AT AMAZON MP3 STORE

Barely a day after going on sale, the $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition of Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts I-IV has completely sold out. The Ultra-Deluxe Edition was limited to 2500 copies, each numbered and personally signed by Trent Reznor.

On the opposite end of the Ghosts pricing plan, the $5 Download version has propelled NIN to the #1 spot at the Amazon MP3 store, the only outlet offering Ghosts for download other than NIN.com. Ghosts’ ascension to #1 at Amazon has also seen seven other NIN albums enter Amazon’s Top 200 in its wake (Still, Year Zero, Y34RZ3r0r3mix3d, With Teeth, The Downward Spiral, Live: And All That Could Have Been and The Fragile).

Ghosts I-IV was released 6:00 p.m. PST March 2, 2008 via NIN.com: a four volume collection of 36 instrumental tracks recorded over a 10-week period last fall by Trent Reznor, with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, and special guest musicians Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. The Ghosts visual aesthetic was directed by Rob Sheridan with Trent Reznor and Artist In Residence.

The record can previewed at http://ghosts.nin.com/main/player. The first nine tracks are available free of charge as DRM-free MP3s, as is a complete 40 page PDF and digital extras pack.

The $5 DOWNLOAD, $10 2XCD SET and $75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE are still available at NIN.com.

The $10 2XCD SET will be released to retail on NIN’s label The Null Corporation April 5 in Australia and Japan, April 8 in North America, and April 7 in the UK and most European territories. A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8.

Ghosts I-IV has been released under the Creative Commons license. http://creativecommons.org/

An exciting partnership and experience regarding this release will be announced soon.

More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future.

FOO FIGHTERS ANNOUNCE SUMMER U.S. TOUR DATES

Working around Dave Grohl’s presidential campaign schedule (see the March cover of Harp), Foo Fighters have announced the first several dates of their summer U.S. tour, including two nights at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO.

The U.S. summer tour extends what is shaping up to be an extraordinary year on the road – the Foos recently sold out their first ever show at Madison Square Garden, have sold out two June dates at London’s Wembley Stadium, and between now and July will visit Canada, Japan, Finland, and Australia, among others. The reviews of the American tour that concludes this week have been glowing; the New York Post called the Foos “one of the biggest and best bands in rock”, and the Arizona Republic described their show as “impressive support for the argument that Foo Fighters are America’s best rock band.”

Stay tuned to foofighters.com for ticket information and further updates. For more info on the tour and the Grammy-winning album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, contact Steve Martin or Eliot Wadsworth at Nasty Little Man.

July 9 – Seattle WA – Key Arena
July 10 – Portland OR – Rose Garden Arena
July 14 & 15 – Morrison CO – Red Rocks
July 17 – Oklahoma City OK – Ford Center (rescheduled from earlier this year)
July 20 – St. Louis MO – Scottrade Center

NINE INCH NAILS GHOSTS I-IV AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT NIN.COM

Ghosts I-IV was released 6:00 p.m. PST March 2, 2008 via NIN.com: a four volume collection of 36 untitled instrumental tracks, nearly two hours of music, recorded over a 10-week period last fall.

Ghosts I-IV was conceived as an experiment: Following the conclusion of 2007’s Year Zero album, alternate reality game and touring campaign, Trent Reznor enlisted Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder with help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione to create spontaneous, impulsive soundtracks to daydreams with no agenda or release date, only a self-imposed 10-week time limit. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.

The end result is a wildly varied body of work released in its entirety with no label-imposed limitations–musical, physical or otherwise.
Ghosts I-IV is available in the following configurations:

FREE DOWNLOAD
Ghosts I – The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as DRM-free MP3s (320kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged) including complete 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

$5 DOWNLOAD
Ghosts I-IV – All 36 tracks in a variety of DRM-free digital formats (320 kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged; FLAC Lossless; Apple Lossless) including a 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
This version is also available from the Amazon MP3 store.

$10 2XCD SET
Ghosts I-IV – 2 audio CDs in a gatefold digipak package with a 16-page booklet. To be shipped TBD. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in same choice of formats as $5 Download option. Download will include the 40 page PDF and the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

This configuration will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, and April 8 in North America, the UK and most European territories.

$75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE
Ghosts I-IV – Hardcover book holding 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD of all 36 tracks in multi-track format (in .wav files readable by Mac and Windows), and Blu-ray disc featuring stereo recordings in high-definition 24 bit 96Khz with exclusive slide show. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. Also includes 48-page hardcover of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan. Discs and art book both housed in fabric slipcover.

$300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE
Ghosts I-IV – Contains all elements from deluxe package, along with exclusive 4XLP 180-gram vinyl set, and two limited edition Giclee prints available exclusively in this package. Disc book, art book, and prints are all housed in a fabric slipcover. 4XLP vinyl set comes in its own fabric slipcover. INCLUDES immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. LIMITED TO 2500 PIECES, NUMBERED AND PERSONALLY SIGNED BY TRENT REZNOR.

A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8.
The deluxe versions are available for pre-order from Artist in Residence (A+R) as well. http://www.ainr.com/
Ghosts I-IV is being released under the Creative Commons license. http://creativecommons.org/
An exciting partnership and experience regarding this release will be announced soon.
More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future.
For further information please contact Steve Martin or Amy Grote, tel 212-343-0740 email amy@nastylittleman.com

ARCADE FIRE MEMBERS TO PLAY FREE SHOWS IN OHIO

Win Butler, Will Butler, Regine Chassagne and Jeremy Gara of the Arcade Fire will be playing a free concert on Sunday, March 2nd at Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, Ohio in support of Barack Obama’s bid for the Democratic nomination. The show is at 7 p.m., first come first serve.

They will also be playing a free show at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on Monday, March 3rd. Doors are at 7 p.m., and the show is 18 and over, first come first serve.

Though the Arcade Fire is known as a Canadian band, Win and Will were born and raised in the U.S. (and spent their formative years in Texas), Regine is a dual citizen whose dad served in Vietnam, and Jeremy Gara is just a really nice Canadian who likes playing music and is sick of explaining to Americans what universal health care means.

MATES OF STATE RE-ARRANGE US OUT MAY 20 ON BARSUK

Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the he and she music factory know as Mates of State, have confirmed the May 2008 release of their fifth full length album, Re-Arrange Us.

Re-Arrange Us follows Bring It Back, written and recorded around a schedule mandated by the birth of Gardner and Hammel’s first child and hailed upon its spring 2006 release as “truly unique, wonderfully complex pop” (NYLON), “a top-shelf treat” (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY), an Essential by GQ and a Best of the Month in ELLE.

Though conceived (no pun intended) as a duo, Mates of State’s have never failed to generate a trademark wall of sound built on dozens of varied voicings of keys, drums, and alternately lushly layered and playfully dueling vocals. On Re-Arrange Us they move beyond these boundaries (their traditional organ sound is a distant memory, replaced with organic piano and synth sounds) with additional instrumentation-not to mention a quantum leap in song craft apparent on instantly indelible gems like “Now,” “Jigsaw” and “Get Better.” Throughout Re-Arrange Us, Kori’s piano and the emergence of both Mates’ lead vocals from their trademark harmonizing signal the next stage of Mates of State’s evolution.

Mates of State have been equally busy outside the studio: Last February, the band was the sole musical guest on NPR’s This American Life tour, providing interludes for Ira Glass, Dave Eggers, Dan Savage, Sarah Vowell and David Rakoff’s readings to 3000 crowds in Boston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and beyond.

Mates of State’s pre-Bring It Back discography included the albums My Solo Project, Our Constant Concern, and Team Boo, as well as numerous singles and EPs, most notably 2005’s All Day EP.

The combination of acoustic instrumentation – Kori on baby grand, Jason playing with brushes – and an almost entirely new audiences inspired a subsequent fall run through New York, Northampton, and Boston (at the Museum of Fine Arts) accompanied by cello, trumpet and back-up vocalists – making it very likely that they’ll be taking additional instrumentation on tour for the first time when they hit the road later this year, both headlining and making the rounds at a slew of US festivals this summer and fall.

A new album, a new daughter, a new sound, and a new round of world touring. That’s Mates of State: truly prolific in every sense of the word.
For more information, please contact Steve Martin or Amy Grote at nasty little man tel 212 343 0740 email amy@nastylittleman.com

TOKYO POLICE CLUB ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE

TOKYO POLICE CLUB
ELEPHANT SHELL
DEBUT ALBUM OUT LATE APRIL ON SADDLE CREEK (U.S.), MEMPHIS INDUSTRIES (UK)

Following on one of the most well received 16 minutes of music in recent history (2006’s A Lesson In Crime EP), Ontario’s favorite sons TOKYO POLICE CLUB confirm the completion and release of their first full length album, Elephant Shell, due out late April on Saddle Creek in North America and Memphis Industries in the UK.

Tokyo Police Club was formed in 2004 by David Monks (vocals, bass), Josh Hook (guitar), Graham Wright (keyboards) and Greg Alsop (drums) during their senior year in high school. Within two years they had released the aforementioned debut EP, immediately eliciting raves from Entertainment Weekly (”We can hardly wait for the full length… A-), Rolling Stone (”If only all young guitar bands were smart enough to rock out this fast”), Interview, Blender and Nylon among others. Since then, TPC has been touring virtually non-stop, pausing only to release last year’s Smith EP and digital-only single “Your English Is Good” / “Swedes In Stockholm,” and of course to record Elephant Shell.

The complete track listing for Elephant Shell is: “Centennial,” “In A Cave,” “Graves,” “Juno,” “Tessellate,” “Sixties Remake,” “The Harrowing Adventures Of…,” “Nursery Academy,” “Your English Is Good,” “Listen To The Math,” “The Baskervilles”

Tokyo Police Club begins a tour tomorrow night at Connexion in Oakville, ONT, with dates running up to the release of Elephant Shell and beyond (Tonight’s show at Ottawa’s Algonquin College has been rescheduled due to weather conditions). See the attached listing of all confirmed dates.

For further information, please contact Steve Martin or Eliot Wadsworth at nasty little man t 212 343 0740 e eliot@nastylittleman.com

TOKYO POLICE CLUB ON TOUR:
Jan. 23, 2008 Connexion – Oakville, ONT
Jan. 24, 2008 The Wall – North Bay, ONT
Jan. 25, 2008 Quarters – Hamilton, ONT
Jan. 26, 2008 Nathan Phillips Square – Toronto, ONT
Jan. 30, 2008 The Ale House – Kingston, ONT
Jan. 31, 2008 Algonquin College – Ottawa, ONT (re-scheduled from Jan. 22)
Feb. 1, 2008 Forwell Hall – London, ONT
Feb. 2, 2008 Sleeman Centre – Guelph, ONT
Mar. 18, 2008 Call The Office – London, ONT
Mar. 19, 2008 Birdy’s Bar and Grill – Indianapolis, IN
Mar. 20, 2008 Jackpot Saloon – Lawrence, KS
Mar. 22, 2008 Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT
Mar. 24, 2008 The Independent – San Francisco, CA
Mar. 25, 2008 The Glass House – Pomona, CA
Mar. 26, 2008 Troubadour – Hollywood, CA
Mar. 28, 2008 Soma – San Diego, CA
Mar. 29, 2008 The Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ
Mar. 31, 2008 Meridian Red Room – Houston, TX
Apr. 1, 2008 House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Apr. 3, 2008 Club Downunder – Tallahassee, FL
Apr. 4, 2008 Studio A – Miami, FL
Apr. 5, 2008 Backbooth – Orlando, FL
Apr. 8, 2008 Exit/In – Nashville, TN
Apr. 9, 2008 The Spot – Cleveland, OH
Apr. 18, 2008 Barrymore’s Music Hall – Ottawa, ON
Apr. 19, 2008 Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire – Montreal, QC
Apr. 20, 2008 Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
Apr. 21, 2008 Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
Apr. 24, 2008 Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
Apr. 26, 2008 Pearl Street Night Club – Northampton, MA
Apr. 28, 2008 First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA
Apr. 29, 2008 Black Cat – Washington, DC
Apr. 30, 2008 Big Orbit’s Soundlab – Buffalo, NY

SPOON DATES AND VENUES CONFIRMED FOR SPRING 2008 VICTORY LAP

The Walkmen & White Rabbits To Support

Spoon has begun confirming cities and venues for its April 2008 victory lap of the United States.
Confirmed dates as of press time are:

Wed/Apr-02 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown *#
Fri/Apr-04 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *#
Sat/Apr-05 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts *#
Sun/Apr-06 Detroit. MI @ Emerald Theater *#
Mon/Apr-07 Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall *#
Wed/Apr-09 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Thu/Apr-10 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory *
Sat/Apr-12 Norfolk, VA @ Norva dgfev online casino *#
Mon/Apr-14 Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage *#
Wed/Apr-16 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution *#
Fri/Apr-18 Nashville, TN @ Vanderbilt University (Rites of Spring)
Sat/Apr-19 Indianapolis, IN @ Vogue

* = w/ The Walkmen
# = w/ White Rabbits

Additional cities and venues will be announced as they are confirmed.
For information on tickets, please go to www.spoontheband.com.

For further information, please contact Steve Martin or Amy Grote at nasty little man t 212 343 0740 e amy@nastylittleman.com

JIMMY EAT WORLD AND PARAMORE ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES

Jimmy Eat World and Paramore have announced the routing of a U.S. co-headline tour scheduled to kick off April 1st. Said Jimmy Eat World singer Jim Adkins, “We’re very excited for the upcoming tour with Paramore. We got to know them last December while playing festivals together. They put on a great show and we think it’s going to be an awesome bill.” Adds Hayley Williams (Paramore), “If it all ends tomorrow, we will be happy knowing that we got a tour with the band that gave us a reason to play music.”

Recently hailed by Blender as “the Judd Apatow of pop-punk,” Jimmy Eat World have already shifted their new year into high gear, as the band is in the midst of an international headline tour that includes the UK, Europe and Japan. 2007 saw the release of Chase This Light, which Entertainment Weekly called “a masterclass in hard rocking for the soft-hearted”. Executive produced by Butch Vig, Chase This Light features the singles “Always Be” and the chart-topping “Big Casino”, which Rolling Stone described as “an exhilarating seize-what’s-left-of-the-day anthem.” For more information on the band and the upcoming tour, visit jimmyeatworld.com.

Fueled By Ramen recording group Paramore has toured nearly nonstop for over three years, most recently selling out a major headline tour of North America. Their sophomore album “RIOT!” has gone on to sell over 700,000 units and has been certified RIAA gold. The album features the breakthrough hit singles, “Misery Business” and “Crushcrushcrush”, both Top 5 at Modern Rock radio casino spiele and on MTV, FUSE, MTV2, and MTVu. The band has received coast-to-coast acclaim with a recent Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist” as well as with a variety of national publications. Alternative Press recently hailed Paramore as “Band of the Year” on the cover of their February issue while Revolver called “RIOT!” “a masterful mix of springy drum beats, crisp guitar hooks, and (Williams’) girlish snarl.” Spin praised the album for its “arena- rocking potential.” For more information, visit paramore.net and fueledbyramen.com.

Confirmed tour dates below. For press inquiries, please contact:

Jimmy Eat World – Eliot Wadsworth, eliot@nastylittleman.com
Paramore – Christina Kotsamanidis, christina.Kotsamanidis@atlanticrecords.com

April 1st – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum
April 2nd – Lubbock, TX – Lonestar Amphitheater
April 3rd – El Paso, TX – El Paso County Coliseum
April 5th – Irvine, CA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Bamboozle West)
April 6th – Bakersfield, CA – Rabobank Arena
April 8th – San Jose, CA – Event Center at San Jose State
April 9th – Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
April 10th – Salem, OR – Salem Armory
April 12th – Pocatello, ID – Holt Arena
April 14th – Orem, UT – McKay Events Center
April 16th – Council Bluffs, IA – Mid America Center
April 17th – Springfield, MO – The Shrine Mosque
April 18th – Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
April 19th – DeKalb, IL – Convocation Center
April 22nd – Dayton, OH – Hara Arena
April 25th – Rochester, NY – Gordon Field House
April 26th – Washington, DC – Bender Arena
April 28th – Albany, NY – Washington Avenue Armory
April 30th – Lowell, MA – Paul E. Tsongas Arena
May 2nd – Atlantic City, NJ – Taj Mahal Mark G. Etess Arena