MBD PLAYS AMONG BALLOONS

August 1st, 2008 , by



When French indie music website Les Inrocks asked Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond to sit down and perform a session, Shara found the nearest sea of balloons she could. See her perform "Padam Padam" and "The Gentlest Gentleman" here.

SHANNON STEPHENS PERFORMS IN SEATTLE

July 23rd, 2008 , by



This is a rare event!  The last time Shannon Stephens played in front of a live audience was seven years ago!

But if you live in Seattle, you can catch her this rare event on Friday night (the 25th) at the Shafer-Baillie Mansion at 7:30pm as she opens for Jason Herrod. Admission is Radiohead-style; pay what you can at the door (aka "strongly suggested donations").

LAURA PARK ILLUSTRATES FOOD CARRYING DEVICE!

July 23rd, 2008 , by



Even though we signed her to our roster a few months ago, Laura Park has been at home here at Asthmatic Kitty for some time. In addition to drawing up some tour posters and advertisements, Laura has also designed several Asthmatic Kitty shirts and hoodies.

Now, Laura Park has outdone herself with a subtle and wonderful illustrated grocery tote bag. And right in time for the best of the farmers markets: harvest!

The bag is 100% organic cotton, large enough for everything you’d need for a delicious and complete dinner, and sturdy enough to carry milk and sugar (or even non-food items)!

And while supplies last, we are stuffing these bags with two lovingly created recipe zines, printed on 100% recycled paper. The first is an 22 page vegan zine from Adam Gnade, friend of Asthmatic Kitty, recent author of the superb Hymn California, and storyteller. The zine includes delicious recipes and helpful health advice from Adam and his broad and wide circle of friends.

The second 28-page zine gathers recipes from roster and non-Adam-Gnade friends, including My Brightest Diamond, the Schlarbs, Chris Eley of Indianapolis’ Goose the Market (who recently made the #1 sandwich in America!), David Sankey, Sara Billups, Jonathon Dueck, and of course Laura Park herself.

You can see all of Laura’s work for Asthmatic Kitty here (including a terrific mini comic for just $3), details and pictures of the bag here, or buy it right now for $22(+S&H) by clicking here.

WE ARE ROPECHAINED BY GRAMPALL JOOKABOX

July 21st, 2008 , by


Photo by Craig McCormick


David "Moose" Adamson started playing music in grade school by borrowing a four-track recorder. Years later, we are proud to be the ones announcing that we will be bringing one of the fruits of that fortuitous loaning to your ears. We have signed Grampall Jookabox.

And in November and in conjunction with Joyful Noise Recordings, we will release Ropechain, the second full length from Adamson’s Indianapolis-based Grampall Jookabox. This record is a dark forest trek into the paranormal, the omnimous, the schizophrenic, and the mytho-mysterious. Grampall’s rock-and-roll incorporates samples from folklore as often as it does other records, and we have loved every minute of this record. We think you will too.

Read Grampall Jookabox’s bio here, or about the record here.

  "The Girl Ain’t Preggers" (Download)

CHRIS SCHLARB HOPS FROM SAN FRAN TO AUSTIN

July 17th, 2008 , by



Adding fuel to the seething rumor that Chris Schlarb is actually a collective of clones and not just one man, he will be performing from Twilight & Ghost Stories on July 19th in San Francisco, and then in Austin, Texas on July 29th and 30th (the 29th is rehearsal but free!). Both cities see unique ensemble performing the piece and include members of Subtle, The Weird Weeds, ellul as well as artists Diane Cluck, Bill Baird and Kris Tiner.

You can print out a tour flyer by downloading the file located here, and we also have some MySpace ready graphics right here and here.

And if you can’t get enough Schlarb (we can’t!), you can wait even more expectantly for something from his jazz duo, I Heart Lung.

BENTS ROUGH IT, SURVIVE TO TELL TALE

July 15th, 2008 , by

Several weeks ago, Zack Bent, half of the husband-wife team that has designed a good deal of Asthmatic Kitty visuals (not the least of which is their outstanding work on the Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD), embarked on a journey he’s entitled Home on the Range.

A collaboration between Zack, his wife Gala, and their children, their work at Crawl Space in Seattle questioned the lines between art and the taming of wilderness. Replete with references to Daniel Boone, leisure camping, and survival, the Bents built a covered wagon, played with rope, and discovered a dead animal. Yuck?

If you missed it, that’s ok. You can view some videos (dead animal-free) from the exhibit here, or read some glowy reviews in The Stranger or the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

I HEART LUNG ON ECSTATIC JAZZ DUOS SERIES

July 1st, 2008 , by

In the realm of avant-jazz/free noise there are the amateurs, and the professionals. The musicians whose innovative and instinctive music delivers you to new dimensions of thought that would be impossible to reach otherwise. I Heart Lung is being recognized for having such super powers by being included on the Ecstatic Jazz Duos series.

Six of the most original avant-jazz/free noise duos will be on three LP splits to be released throughout the year. I Heart Lung will be included on the second release along side DWMTG. Other artists include Talibam!, the Wasteland Jazz Unit, Valerio Cosi & Ezno Frachini, and Jeramiah Cymerman & Matthew Welch. Only 100 enthusiasts will be able to subscribe.

The first LP will be available in July/August, and you can pre-order it here!

GONE GREEN

June 30th, 2008 , by

Photo by kk+

It’s not easy being green. But we of Asthmatic Kitty are pleased to announce that our website is officially 110% green! Our website will no longer leave a carbon-foot printed trail behind you. Our webhost, ServInt, has calculated the carbon emissions from the web server usage and invested in reforestation projects as an offset.

We’ve always been proud to have ServInt as our webhost. Their curstomer service is top-notch, and they generously provided sponsored bandwidth during the Great Sufjan Song Xmas Xchange.
For more details, you can read about it here.

NEW ALBUM FROM DIAMOND UP FOR FREE STREAM

June 27th, 2008 , by

Photo by Matt Wignall

Last week, My Brightest Diamond let loose their new album, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. It seems that many of you like it. Others though, have not yet heard it. We feel that everyone should have a chance to listen to this carefully crafted piece of music.

That’s why we’re going to stream it, for a limited time, right here this little piece of cyberspace we call home. Summer rains predicted this weekend? Sunny picnic? Either way, perfect. Load up the old laptop, fire up the stream, close your eyes, and please enjoy.

This stream will only be up a limited time, and there are some window sills and picnic areas that don’t yet have de-wired Internet, so you can order the CD here for $10 (+S&H). Click here to listen to the album.

CASTANETS EMERGE FROM MOTEL WITH NEW ALBUM

June 26th, 2008 , by



Several months ago, Ray Raposa exiled himself to a Nevada desert motel room for three weeks. Equipped with the barest of recording equipment, the frontman for Castanets proceeded to put to tape what would become City of Refuge, the band’s newest full length release.

Despite slight additions by a few friends of Castanets after the motel hole-up, the result is a sparse, isolated piece of music, one that evokes the landscape where Raposa recorded the album.

We will be proudly releasing City of Refuge on October 7, 2008. Click here to see the album’s info page.

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