The Songbook for Siftbam’s Sing-A-Long; Indianapolis tickets released
December 6th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
If you’re going to one of the remaining shows from The Sirfjam Stephanapolous Christmas Sing-A-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Spectacular Music Pageant Variety Show Disaster, you’ll need a songbook. Your entrance fee + ticket reservation accusation + online bandwidth transmission charge + emitted diode light security insurance fee entitles you to receive one at the show, but we know that some of you may wish to have them early so as to study, to color, to share.
Click here to download the songbook in PDF form. Print in B/W, fold in half.
EDIT: We just moved the show in Indianapolis on December 14th from the Old National Deluxe to the Old National Egyptian Room. The Wheel of Christmas is larger than the basement. Tickets available now – click here to get them for $20 + fees.
Finally Visible: Invisible Life from Helado Negro
November 29th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
From the room he grew up in, in South Florida, to his apartment in Savannah, and now in his current home in Brooklyn, Roberto Lange of Helado Negro has never not made music. Tones whittled out of these places, memories, time and all its impressions, Invisible Life is Helado Negro’s third full-length album. Like captured light, it is a reflection of Helado Negro’s refined love affair with synthesis, sampling, and his own strengthening voice.
Singing in Spanish, as well as English, Helado Negro is a bilingual tour guide into the transcendent zone of wavelength where music is mutually transacted bouncing between artist and listener. Assisting in this transaction are contributions from collaborators including Bear in Heaven’s Jon Philpot, Mouse on Mars’ Jan St. Werner, Devendra Barnhart, Matt Crum and Eduardo Alonso. Each help multiply the whispered dream of Helado Negro into a full-spectrum technicolor existence.
In the way of artists like Caetano Veloso, The Sea and Cake, and even Sade, Helado Negro floats beyond his own identity into that democratic forest of shape and color.
Helado Negro’s Invisible Life is out March 5th, 2013. Until then, please enjoy “Dance Ghost” on Pitchfork by clicking here.
New videos from Sheila Saputo & Sufjan Stevens
November 20th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Later this week, Sufjan Stevens begins his tour for Silver & Gold starts this week. If you’re going, there’s some homework. Listen to and memorize these songs, and then watch a few videos featuring Sheila Saptuo, who’s opening for Sufjan. The videos, directed and produced by Jeff Shoop, Rosie Thomas, and Deborah Johnson are featured on Pitchfork today. Click here to view all of them.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBaJHcnVAvg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
New Video for Sufjan’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
November 18th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
We Are Films talks about the production of Sufjan’s new video, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”
Read the Rest...Sufjan’s Silver & Gold Out Now
November 13th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Silver & Gold, the 5-EP compilation of Christmas music by Sufjan Stevens, is out now.
Continuing where Sufjan’s 2006 Songs for Christmas ended, Silver & Gold includes volumes 6 through 10. The CD boxset includes stickers, temporary tattoos, a paper ornament, song lyrics and chord charts, liner notes and essays, and of course five Christmas EPs.
Look to the right for purchasing options.
[bandcamp album=3123296626 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=186D9E size=grande]
On Friday, Sufjan released a video of “Justice Delivers Its Death,” which you can view below, and today we’re releasing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” as directed and produced by the Craig Brothers. Keep your eye on this YouTube playlist for more Silver & Gold related videos.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3cfUolJxYg&list=PL67VKSNJdY_XetkvIImJEMOiraVbQ_cvQ&index=3&feature=plpp_video[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNUbEDPWrvw&list=PL67VKSNJdY_XetkvIImJEMOiraVbQ_cvQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/youtube]
New EP from Denison Witmer: The Ones Who Wait Part 2
November 6th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
The Ones Who Wait—Part 2, a six-song EP by Denison Witmer, comes out today. Part 2 is a follow-up to Denison’s March 2012 full-length, The Ones Who Wait. Rather than a cohesive album, Part 2 is a collection of songs that form a concluding chapter to The Ones Who Wait, tying up loose ends in anticipation of the spring 2013 release of Denison’s tenth record. The EP features a handful of reinvented songs from The Ones Who Wait, previously unreleased material, and a spacious, patient cover of label-mate Sufjan Steven’s “Abraham.” The Ones Who Wait—Part 2 is available on Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon.
A Cold November; new video from Shannon Stephens
November 5th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
[vimeo width=”542″ height=”305″]http://vimeo.com/47125330[/vimeo]
Welcome to November. In Seattle, home of Shannon Stephens, this is a tough month; the vestiges of summer are gone entirely, the sun has disappeared behind clouds, and the rain falls sharp and cold. Shannon’s “Cold November” is a perfect respite. Video producer Fish & Crown captured it on film. DM Stith is on piano and Andrew Rudd on extra piano and bells.
You can download a similar version over on Noisetrade below.
Lee Hardcastle Sets Sufjan’s “Mr. Frosty Man” to Clay
October 24th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Halloween is just around the corner. How better to celebrate the ghoulish occasion than with a new Sufjan Stevens Christmas clay-mation video for “Mr. Frosty Man,” a fast and furious tableau featuring a renegade snowman’s battle against flesh eating zombies.
It’s a veritable Christmas bloodbath (made especially not for children) by the infamous clay-mation master Lee Hardcastle, displaying all the gore of a classic horror flick: zombies interrupt an otherwise normal family Christmas dinner but are thwarted by a rebel snowman wielding a chainsaw, a shotgun, and chip off his shoulder. Children (and spoilers) beware: Mommy gets mauled under the mistletoe and Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick gets a hard-knock lesson in weight loss, but, rest assured, Mr. Frosty Man doesn’t go down without a fight. He’s a real American Christmas hero!
Lee Hardcastle is the master animator behind such cult favorites as “Chainsaw Babe,” “Hamster Hell,” “The Exorcist (Done in 60 Seconds)” and “Pingu’s THE THING,” which reenacts John Carpenter’s horror masterpiece using Pingu characters. (For stateside readers, Pingu is sort of like the British version of Gumby, but as a penguin). Not for the faint of heart, Lee’s DIY animation is a gruesome sight to behold: unforgiving and unforgettable, heavy on gore and gags, and quick to the punch (his “Done in 60 seconds” series also tackles Hostel, Shaun of the Dead, and The Evil Dead).
Sufjan’s “Mr. Frosty Man” is a garage-rock parody appearing on the forthcoming Silver & Gold (from the “I Am Santa’s Helper” EP) about a disenchanted thug snowman, partly inspired by Coolio, Mister Softee, Frosty the Snowman, and Bruce Campbell.
Revel in the scene of carnage here.
PS: Tickets are still available for some of Sufjan’s upcoming Christmas shows. See availability and buy links here.
[youtube width=”542″ height=”305″]http://youtu.be/fDDAybCe1uI[/youtube]
Michael Kaufmann: Record Label Management as Performance Art
October 12th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
We catch up with outgoing A&R/Project Manager Michael Kaufmann to get his perspective on running a label, before he turns in his ID badge and heads out.
Read the Rest...Sufjan Stevens to Bring Christmas Tour to U.S.
October 9th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Sufjan Stevens will jingle-jangle his way across America, bringing yuletide cheer to your local music club, sharing reverent hymns and pop carols from his upcoming Christmas album Silver & Gold. “The Sirfjam Stephanapolous Christmas Sing-A-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Spectacular Music Pageant Variety Show Disaster” will be a tragic-comedic feast for the ears and eyes. Sufjan will be joined by a 5-piece band (including Rosie Thomas, Nedelle Torrisi, Casey Foubert, James McAlister, and Ben Lanz) playing all the hits from both Christmas box sets. Send us your song requests!
All Grinches be forewarned: the show will consist entirely of Christmas music, inviting audience participation. Be prepared to sing along with bawdy bravura! Song sheets will be provided. There should be plenty of low-production props and gags, dollar-store giveaways, inflatable unicorns, cheap confetti, make-shift costumes, and Gloria in excelsis deo. Wear a santa hat, bring a flask (and a friend) and join the Sufjan Christmas Spectacular Sing-a-long in drunken revelry.
Extra-special guest Sheila Saputo—the hottest ticket from Gary, Indiana—will be opening all dates with her indelible ice-breaking pizzazz.
Twenty-four dates in less than 30 days, including Saxapahaw (Home of the Christmas Market!), Chattanooga (Deck the Ruby Falls!), Oxford (Ride the Christmas Double Decker Bus!), Missoula (Mother Nature’s Christmas Tree!), Providence (See Santa arrive at Bowen’s Wharf Christmas Tree Lighting!), and New York City (SantaCon 2012!).
Check your venue for availability.
Note on Bowery show in NYC: Due to legalities with the State of New York, the Sufjan Stevens show will not go on-sale until December 19th, two days before the show. The goal was to stop scalpers from getting ahold of the tickets by making tickets available only through will call. Unfortunately, state law prohibits paperless shows and making this on-sale two days before the Sufjan show was the best solution. Thank you for understanding as we try to provide an equal buying opportunity for all fans. We are truly sorry for any inconvenience this has caused anyone.