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.
Year of the Rabbit
October 8th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Many thanks to those who ventured uptown to the modernist caverns of Lincoln Center to partake of the new ballet Year of the Rabbit by Justin Peck. The Friday premiere had a fun and feisty vibe (six curtain calls). Mike Atkinson did some fierce wrangling with the orchestra. And the dancers were heroic. Congrats to all. There’s one more performance this Saturday, Oct. 13. Student rush tickets ($20) are available on the day of the show, while supplies last. See you there.
Choose Your Own Denison Witmer Cover
October 4th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Denison Witmer is wrapping up work on his tenth record, and he’s decided to ask for your vote on the album cover. He’s provided three choices – and it’s a tough one, although perhaps a little easier than voting for president or local school board official.
Vote by liking the cover of your choice on his Facebook page here.
Sufjan Stevens to Release New Christmas Boxset
October 2nd, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Happy Holidays! On November 13, 2012, Asthmatic Kitty will release (another!) Christmas box-set extravaganza by Sufjan Stevens—Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10, a compilation of 5 EPs recorded between 2006 and 2010.
Expanding on the tradition of the first box-set (Songs for Christmas, Vols. 1-5 from 2006), Silver & Gold is a generous document of five more years of holly-jolly jubilee undertaken by Sufjan and his various musical cohorts. Originally intended as gifts for family and friends, these musical snapshots have been re-mixed and re-assembled in an exquisitely-designed gift box containing all the Yuletide pleasures money can buy: Christmas stickers, temporary tattoos, lyric sheets and chord charts, a paper ornament, an apocalyptic pull-out poster, photos, illustrations, and extensive liner notes—a veritable Christmas feast for the eyes and ears.
The album features collaborations with a running line-up of friends and musical peers, including Aaron and Bryce Dessner (The National), Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Cat Martino (Sufjan’s right-hand woman on all things Age of Adz), Sebastian Krueger (Inlets), Gabriel Kahane, Vesper Stamper, and members of Danielson (Daniel, Elin, Lilly, and Ida). Sufjan’s indelible aesthetic maintains the album’s center of gravity, resulting in an abundant compilation (nearly 60 tracks) that investigates the canon of devotional hymns and holiday pop songs with reckless abandon (totaling nearly three hours of music).
Silver & Gold will be available in digital download, and as a CD box-set containing:
1. Five CD EPs (Gloria, I Am Santa’s Helper, Christmas Infinity Voyage, Let It Snow, Christmas Unicorn)
2. Christmas stickers
3. Temporary tattoos (non-toxic & safe for children)
4. A paper ornament (self-assembly with directions)
5. An apocalyptic pull-out poster
6. Song lyrics and chord charts (sing along with your friends and enemies)
7. Hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design (by Sufjan Stevens, drug-free since 1975)
8. Extensive liner notes (essays by Sufjan Stevens and Pastor Vito Aiuto)
Silver & Gold will be available in a big and beautiful, limited-edition LP gift-box containing the following (due to elaborate manufacturing, release date pending):
1. Five EPs on 6 vinyl discs
2. Christmas stickers
3. Temporary tattoos
4. A paper ornament
5. An apocalyptic pull-out poster
6. A 40-page Christmas songbook with vocal and piano reductions
7. A Christmas coloring book
8. Hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design
9. Extensive liner notes
Both the CD and vinyl boxset will be available at your local record store.
Read more info about the boxset here.
You can also preorder a special version of the Limited Edition Boxset, which will include some extra holiday gifts shipped before Christmas. Do that on Bandcamp here (available to US/Canada/EU subscribers only please).
Best Practices for Trying, with The Welcome Wagon
September 20th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned. And if you’re someone like Vito or Monique Auito of The Welcome Wagon, that’s a good thing.
Read the Rest...Sufjan’s Enjoy Your Rabbit Set to Ballet by Justin Peck
September 19th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Selections from Sufjan Stevens’ electronic album “Enjoy Your Rabbit” are featured in a new ballet by up-and-coming choreographer Justin Peck. “Year of the Rabbit” will premiere Oct. 5 at New York City Ballet, programmed with new works by Benjamin Millepied (“Black Swan”) and Christopher Wheeldon (The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet). Conductor and arranger Michael Atkinson has expanded the quartet adaptations of this music from Osso’s “Run Rabbit Run” for string orchestra. Selections for this non-narrative ballet for 18 dancers will include Year of the Ox, Rabbit, Tiger, Rooster, Dragon Boar, and The Lord. There will be two matinees on Oct. 6 & 7 and a final evening performance on Oct. 13. The ballet will also appear in the winter season next year (January 29 & 30 and February 1 & 2). Tickets are available from the NY City Ballet website.
Sufjan also joins Peck and Aktinson for the Guggenheim’s Works & Process series on Sept. 23 & 24 (at 7:30) in the Guggenheim Theater, where a string quartet will play excerpts from the ballet, with principal dancers performing. Participants will also discuss the odd evolution of Sufjan’s electronic hobby project- composed and recorded in an apartment closet- from the drum machine to the ballet theater. Tickets are no longer available for this event (the theater only seats 285) but the Guggenheim website has a link for live streaming.
You can read about Justin’s previous ballet “In Creases” from the New York Times review here, and learn more about this young dancer/choreographer’s work with the city ballet here has a link for live streaming.
New Album Out From Raymond Byron & The White Freighter
September 4th, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Raymond Raposa – aka Raymond Byron – can song-write. It shows in his latest project, entitled Little Death Shaker, from band Raymond Byron & the White Freighter. The record is out today.
You’ll remember Ray from Castanets, who carved out a rugged slice of American folk rock from independent music in the 2000s by releasing a series of records replete with some of the best-written songs we’ve ever heard.
Though under a different moniker, Little Death Shaker is no exception. The music sheds its avant-country for something a little more roadhouse blues ala Patrick Swayze. It’s the kind of music playing from an early 90s Chevy, staying late in the parking light of the bar, Bud Light blues and reds casting an eerie 3am glow on cracked pavement.
The record is available in a number of ways. Pick your poison here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGeY3033Qwk[/youtube]
Dots Will Echo’s New Album Out Now
August 21st, 2012 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Drunk is the New Sober/Stupid is the New Dumb, the latest recording from New Jersey duo Dots Will Echo, releases today. The fruit of three days’ labor, the 23-track album serves up a mix of garage rock, post-punk, and power pop-infused tracks. It features a smattering of instruments, from guitar to glockenspiel to autoharp.
For a brief Dots Will Echo history and interview with singer/songwriter Nick Berry, read the recent article on Ourstage.com.
Stream the album below, read their intriguing story (it involves both the divine and the absurd) then order a copy over here.