MP3: Stricken City - “Pull the House Down”

“Restore your faith in Indie” THE SUNDAY TIMES
“A blissful dancefloor filler in waiting” NME
“Insanely catchy, ramshackle post-punk-pop” THE GUARDIAN

From the a cappella opening of “Gifted,” impulsively recorded on a London Bus, to anthemic lead single “Five Metres Apart,” Stricken City are a celebration of what indie was always meant to mean.

They release their long-awaited debut Songs About People I Know stateside on The Kora Records on November 3rd. The album, variously produced by Jeremy Warmsley (”Killing Time” / “Small Things”), Ian Davenport (”PS” / “Five Metres Apart” / “Pull The House Down“), Andy from Tin Can Telephone (”Terrible Things”), and the band themselves (”Gifted” / “Sometimes I Love You”) encapsulates Stricken City’s early development into fine purveyors of alternative art-pop.

Defined by their clattering guitars, the scattergun pounding of the drums, bass lines bursting with hooks and the strikingly voiced melodies of otherworldly front woman Rebekah Raa; SC produce an indie-pop of hitherto untapped gems drawn from influences Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, Young Marble Giants and The Slits as well as those lost sources of alternative melodica, Life Without Buildings, The Sundays and Bow Wow Wow.

Having recently been invited to tour the UK with Maximo Park, Stricken City last year clocked up playlists at XFM and NME Radio - as well as support from Radio 1 and 6Music. The band is set to make their US debut this Fall.

When Iain Pettifer (guitars) and Rebekah Raa (vocals/keys) first met in math class they were wearing exactly the same clothes and quickly coupled over a mutual appreciation of introverted, romantic guitar music; not to mention a palpable sense of detachment from the cool kids. Rebekah spent her entire student loan on a guitar and 8 track recorder while Iain educated her with his extensive music collection including of a full set of Twisted Nerve 7″s and the complete works of Richard Hell. Soon joined by Kit Godfrey (drums) and Mike Hyland (bass), our heroes holed themselves up for hours on end, making and breaking songs about life and loss, love and desperation, hatred and hunger.

Stricken City
Songs About People I Know
(The Kora Records)
Street date: Nov. 3, 2009

1. Gifted
2. Pull The House Down
3. Tak o Tak*
4. Small Things
5. Killing Time
6. P.S.
7. Sometimes I Love You
8. Five Metres Apart
9. The Traveller*
10.Terrible Things

* = US only bonus tracks

STRICKEN CITY LINKS:

Official site - www.strickencity.com

Label Page - www.thekorarecords.com

MySpace - www.myspace.com/strickencity

featuring Danzig, Of Montreal, Crystal Castles, Cool Kids, Ratatat, Jesus Lizard, Death and more!
Nov. 7 & 8, Austin, TX

Tickets on sale now at www.funfunfunfest.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 4th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest artist line up released today

TICKETS GO ON SALE AT 2PM CST

August 25th, 2009 (Austin, TX) - Transmission Entertainment is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest, taking place on November 7th and 8th at Waterloo Park in Austin. Fun Fun Fun Fest made its first appearance on a cold Friday evening in 2006, offering a unique approach to festival booking, filling stages with talent bubbling from the underground: what sounded great, and what was making an impact, regardless of what mainstream media said was cool. What started out as a show for a few touring acts and local favorites has become a movement — a festival that fans and bands alike realize needs to be experienced year after year.

Now in its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest has made a significant impact on the country’s winter calendar, successfully combining the vast worlds of indie, punk, rap, electronica and comedy while showcasing some of the city’s most unique local businesses. It is the most relaxed, laid back and (yet) progressive festival in the market place today, a true urban event in the middle of downtown Austin. Most importantly it’s a fest we in the music community want to go to, without all of the filler that shows up at corporate music carnivals around the world. Fun Fun Fun Fest: the fest before the fest … where you go to see what’s about to happen as opposed to what’s already been done.

Each year, fans have been treated to sets by reunited legends as well as prominent acts from across the globe at the festival. And this edition is no different - music aficionados will be eagerly awaiting performances by DEATH, The Jesus Lizard, Shonen Knife, Mission of Burma, and Danzig. Of Montreal, King Khan & BBQ Show, GZA, No Age, Young Widows, Ratatat, Yeasayer, and The Cool Kids ensure that a wide variety of relevant artists will again be on display, and as always, Austin is well represented, this year by the likes of Shearwater, Foot Patrol, Black and White Years, The Laughing, Harlem, and Strange Boys.

In true Fun Fun Fun Fest fashion, fans can now learn about new music, research the line up, listen to MP3s, interact, enter contests, buy merchandise and more; simply by joining the new Fun Fun Fun Fest (www.funfunfunfest.com) community online.

2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest Line-up:

RATATAT - OF MONTREAL - CRYSTAL CASTLES - LES SAVY FAV - YEASAYER - MISSION OF BURMA - LUCERO - WHY? - BROADCAST - ATLAS SOUND - DEATH (DETROIT) - NO AGE - RED SPAROWES - SHONEN KNIFE - FUCK BUTTONS - TIMES NEW VIKING - THIS WILL DESTROY YOU - CRYSTAL ANTLERS - GROWING - BLACK AND WHITE YEARS - ROYAL BANGS - THE LAUGHING - JESUS LIZARD - DANZIG - GORILLA BISCUITS - FACE TO FACE - FUCKED UP - 7 SECONDS - D.R.I. TORCHE - MELT BANANA - FLIPPER - COALESCE RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS - STREET DOGS - RUSSIAN CIRCLES NIGHT MARCHERS - METALLAGHER - YOUTH BRIGADE - MIKA MIKO ALL LEATHER - YOUNG WIDOWS - COLISEUM - UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND - OFF WITH THEIR HEADS - REIGN SUPREME - RAT KING - PACK OF WOLVES - ROLLER - THE COOL KIDS - PHARCYDE - GZA/GENIUS (PERFORMING LIQUID SWORDS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS) - KID SISTER BARUKA SOM SISTEMA - DJ NUMARK (JURASSIC 5) - HEALTH NEON INDIAN - MC CHRIS - SSION - ALASKA IN WINTER - VEGA - FOOT PATROL - ASTRONAUTALIS - CAR STEREO (WARS) - THE DJ MELEE - SUGAR & GOLD LAX - PELIGROSA DJS - BETA PLAYER - DESTROYER - WHITEST KIDS YOU KNOW SKETCH COMEDY TROUPE - BRIAN POSEHN - KING KHAN BBQ - SHEARWATER - TODD BARRY - DEAD CONFEDERATE - NICK THUNE - HARLEM - JOSH FADEM - STRANGE BOYS - HANNIBAL BURRESS - JAMES HUSBAND (OF MONTREAL) - BRENDAN WALSH - CEDRIC BURNSIDE & LIGHTNING MALCOLM - CHELSEA PERETTI - BANKRUPT AND THE BORROWERS - ALTERCATION COMEDY HOUR - MOONLIGHT TOWERS - LOW LINE CALLER - NEW MOVEMENT COMEDY GROUP - AND MORE TO COME

Tickets go on sale today at the brand new Fun Fun Fun Fest website (www.funfunfunfest.com).

EARLY BIRD TICKETS (LIMITED FOR 2 WEEKS)
$67.50 / WEEKEND PASS
EARLY BIRD PIP TICKETS (LIMITED FOR 2 WEEKS)
$135 / PIP WEEKEND PASS

Put the name ‘Daniel Johnston’ into any Internet search engine and you will find hundreds of pages about America’s most unlikely pop phenomenon. Dating back to the earliest compilation of Songs of Pain in 1981, Johnston has spent nearly three decades exposing his heartrending tales of unrequited love, cosmic mishaps and existential torment to an ever-growing international cult audience. As a result, he has been hailed as an American original akin to blues-man Robert Johnson and country legend Hank Williams.

Johnston is the musician’s cult hero, whose music is appreciated for its utter lack of artifice and undeniable simple brilliance. A wide range of notable artists have covered Johnston’s songs, including Beck, Wilco, Sonic Youth, TV On The Radio, M. Ward, Flaming Lips, Death Cab For Cutie, Bright Eyes, Tom Waits, and Pearl Jam.

With the October 6, 2009 release of his latest - and possibly greatest - work, Is And Always Was, Daniel adds another chapter to his artistic legend.

Is And Always Was is a decided step away from the lo-fi homemade recordings for which Johnston is famous. “Everyone needs to take their demos and go back to the studio,” says Daniel.

On this album, Daniel allied with the musician and producer Jason Falkner, who is known for his own stellar solo career as well as his work with Beck, Air, and Paul McCartney. With Jason manning the boards, “Is And Always Was” was a project that aimed to take the rock and roll symphonies in Daniel’s prolific musical brain and deliver fully-realized and professionally-produced recorded songs. “He possesses that rare individuality that makes the listener wonder where this music comes from,” Falkner says of Daniel Johnston. “It was challenging to make our minds work together but I really found myself immersed in his musical world. It’s a unique place to live, that’s for sure!”

While the Beatles may be an obvious touch point - Johnston has often exclaimed his passion for the Fab Four while Falkner has released two acclaimed Bedtime with the Beatles instrumental lullaby albums - the Is And Always Was sessions were frequented by discussions on the shared appreciation for 70’s pop-rock icons such as Queen, Elton John, Wings, and ELO.

The high-level production is matched by top-notch musicianship. Daniel’s guitar/piano and vocal melodies are backed by Falkner on guitar, bass, and keyboards with help from Joey Waronker (REM, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins) on drums. As with all Johnston recordings however, it’s the only-Daniel-Johnston-could-write-those-lyrics that shines throughout.

On the high-tempo rave-up “Freedom,” Daniel sings:

I want to win
Freedom talks of Freedom
I’m just a whim
I’m so trapped in boredom
I touched the shore
How did I get there?
To go away
Just to be nowhere

The album finishes with an epic six minute and thirty-four second masterpiece titled “Light Of Day” where love triumphs and “life’s alright.”

Took a ride in my car
Traveling far just to see you
I knew nothing about it
Destiny’s star guided me to you
Got me thinking life’s alright
In the middle of the night
I can see the light of day

Daniel Johnston is 48 now. Within his oversized adolescent frame and underneath that incongruously mopped grey hair lies a history of crash-and-burn volatility which co-exists with prolific creativity in music and the visual arts.

Daniel has said that his goal in life was to become a great artist, and the music was kind of ‘accidental’. While he’s always received attention for his music, his accomplishments in the art world have come to fruition as well. With exhibits worldwide since the late 80’s, Daniel could finally feel he had “arrived” when his art was included in the Whitney Museum Of American art Biennial in 2006. In addition, his first formal table-top art book was release in March of this year by Rizzoli Publication.

Little surprises Daniel any more. On the heels of the successful 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Daniel has now signed with Regenerate (independent filmmakers whose most recent release was My Suicide) for the production of a feature length movie about his life.

Now, for the technically savvy, you can even buy an iPhone game that features his art characters and music.

His output has been erratic and his career trajectory unpredictable, but Johnston continues to exert a powerful creative presence despite the demons with which he is beset. Johnston’s personal troubles have sometimes overshadowed his music legacy, but they didn’t derail his prodigious talents. Listening to the amazing 11-song journey that Is and Always Was, you get the feeling that Johnston is feeling a lot better and that everything is going to be alright.

Daniel Johnston is currently on a North American and European tour that will go through the end of the year.

Is And Always Was is scheduled for an October 6, 2009 release on Daniel’s own Eternal Yip Eye Music label with distribution in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

DANIEL JOHNSTON

09/03/09 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
09/04/09 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/05/09 - Vancouver, BC @ The Venue
09/07/09 - Calgary, AB @ Knox United Church
09/08/09 - Edmonton, AB @ Meyer Horowitz Theatre
10/02/09 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
10/13/09 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/14/09 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
10/15/09 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/16/09 - Montreal, PQ @ UK Fed
10/17/09 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
10/22/09 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
10/23/09 - San Diego, CA @ Caines
10/24/09 - Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre

Daniel Johnston
Is And Always Was
(Eternal Yip Eye Music / High Wire Music)
Street date: Oct. 6, 2009

Mind Movies
Fake Records Of Rock And Roll
Queenie The Doggie
High Horse
Without You
I Had Lost My Mind
Freedom
Tears
Is And Always Was
Lost In My Infinite Memory
Light Of Day

DANIEL JOHNSTON LINKS:

Official site - hihowareyou.com

Press Materials - hihowareyou.com/press

Fest line-up already includes Lightning Bolt, Tim and Eric, Black Lips, WAVVES, Lucero, Converge, The Thermals and tons more!

About Dan Deacon’s Bromst:

The art made by Baltimore artist Dan Deacon is about community and how to organize and inspire it. From founding a now well-known art collective (Wham City), to organizing and running an annually sold-out DIY music festival (Whartscape), to conceiving, planning and curating a massive 60 person/30 band tour (Baltimore Round Robin Tour), it’s clear to see that community and bringing people together is the major theme of his work. Bromst is the embodiment of that way of thinking.

For the last three years Dan Deacon has been working on Bromst. Fusing together the growing intensity of his live performances with his background in electro-acoustic composition, the outcome is a collection of pieces that are intense and epic and at the same time down to earth and welcoming. Bromst embodies the same energy and excitement as Spiderman of the Rings, however the craftsmanship and composition on Bromst have a wider scope and richer palette.

Unlike the completely electronic Spiderman of the Rings, the instrumentation on Bromst is a mixture of acoustic instruments, mechanical instruments, samples and electronics. The player piano, marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, live drums, winds and brass give Bromst a much richer tone than his previous work. The intricate and complex parts, skillfully executed by the performers, are woven together into a rich, dense, noisy dance pop that has become Dan Deacon’s signature sound.

DAN DEACON

09-05 Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest Presents Save Our State Parks
10-01 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat’s Cradle *
10-02 Atlanta, GA - Eyedrum *
10-03 Athens, GA - 40 Watt *
10-04 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree *
10-05 Nashville, TN - Exit/In *
10-06 Memphis, TN - Hi Tone Café *
10-07 New Orleans, LA - Big Top *
10-09 Austin, TX - Emo’s *
10-10 Marfa, TX - The Shade Structure*
10-14 Irvine, CA - University of California-Irvine *
10-15 Los Angeles, CA - Echo *
10-16 Los Angeles, CA - Eagle Rock Center for the Arts *
10-17 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
10-19 Sacramento, CA - Fungarden *
10-21 Eugene, OR - University of Oregon Cultural Forum *
10-22 Portland, OR - Worksound *
10-23 Portland, OR - Holocene *
10-24 Seattle, WA - Vera Project *
10-27 Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis *
10-29 Northfield, MN - Carleton College *
10-30 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *
11-01 Gambier, OH - Kenyon College *
11-03 Toronto, Ontario - Sneaky Dees *
11-04 Toronto, Ontario - Great Hall *
11-05 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore *
11-06 Montreal, Quebec - Eastern Bloc *
11-07 Middlebury, VT - Middlebury College *
11-08 Boston, MA - Mass Art *
11-10 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street *
11-13 Troy, NY Experimental Media and RPI *
11-14 Worcester, MA The Grind at Clark University *
11-15 Ithaca, NY - Ithaca College / Emerson Suites *

* with Nuclear Power Pants

Dan Deacon
Bromst
(Carpark)
Street Date: March 24, 2009

1. Build Voice
2. Red F
3. Paddling Ghost
4. Snookered
5. Of The Mountains
6. Surprise Stefani
7. Wet Wings
8. Woof Woof
9. Slow With Horns / Run For Your Life
10. Baltihorse
11. Get Older

DAN DEACON LINKS:

MySpace - www.myspace.com/dandeacon

Twitter - twitter.com/ebaynetflix

Press Materials - www.carparkrecords.com/bromstpresspage.html