SHARE A VERY SUFJAN XMAS!

November 24th, 2009 , by

Photo by Denny Renshaw

We’re not the kind to usually leapfrog to Christmas goose before we’ve turked our turkey. Still, what with shipping time, Friday being the first Christmas music day of the year, etc et al, we thought we’d let you know a few things about Sufjan Stevens’ wonderful Songs for Christmas.

We’ve dusted off our Christmas site for the season. It’s at xmas.asthmatickitty.com.There, you can stream the entire 5-CD boxset for free until Christmas day, play a videogame designed by up and coming animation superstar Tom DesLongchamp, download ringtones (now for iPhone!), watch videos, and download ornaments. The site is just like last year’s, but now with more tradition!

And we know some of you are thinking of giving Sufjan’s Songs for Christmas boxset to friends. We’d like to help! For the next few weeks you can buy one for just $15 (it’s normally $19), two for $25, or 3 for $30 (each additional boxset is just $10) – plus shipping & handling. Simply add the boxset to your cart by clicking here, change to appropriate quantity level, and away you go, merrily enjoying Christmas!

RAFA TORO CREATES NEW JOOKABOX VID

November 21st, 2009 , by


From Dead Zone Boys by Jookabox. Director, design, and animation:
Rafa Toro

NEW EP FROM DM STITH, T-SHIRT WITH MP3

November 17th, 2009 , by

DM Stith released his debut full length, Heavy Ghost, at the beginning of the year. Since then he’s been busy – not the least of which is putting together nearly an album’s worth of new material for a series of EPs. 
Eventually, there’ll be three. For now, two; the newest (appropriately in time, unless you’re Canadian) is Thanksgiving Moon. The EP includes the song that won our hearts, but also a rendition of “Pigs” by Bloomington, Indiana’s Jefferson Street Marching Band. On the EP, Stith also covers David Bryne, while Rafter, Dayna Kurtz, and Michna remix Stith. You can buy it exclusively on iTunes for just under $7 by clicking here.

And if wearing Stith-related material is more your thing, we have you covered (so to speak). DM Stith (who moonlights as a graphic designer) put together a rather nice smoke-colored American Apparel shirt based on the Heavy Ghost album cover. Did we say Stith has been making EPs? He’s so prolific, this t-shirt includes an exclusive digital down of Collarbells, a three-track-in-one 20 minute EP. You can buy it here.

“Pigs (feat. Jefferson St. Band)” (Download)

TO FILL, A HALF-HANDED CLOUD VIDEO

November 16th, 2009 , by


From Cut Me Down & Count My Rings. Edited by: Brandon Buckner, original footage: John Ringhofer and friends, animation by John Ringhofer.

HALF-HANDED CLOUD TOURING; NEW CD OUT NOW [FREE MP3]

November 15th, 2009 , by

Photo by Brandon Buckner
This week we were the lucky ones to have released Cut Me Down & Count My Rings, a 46-song compilation of singles, rarities, and b-sides. Putting this many songs together was not easy! If you have already collected all these in one place then you are either John Ringhofer himself, or a very dedicated Half-handed Cloud fan (thanks for being one!). It has a selection of fine Christmas songs at the end, plus collaborations with Sufjan Stevens and a 7-part cover of WHY? songs. You can buy the CD for $10 here or the in-house-sold MP3 version for $8 by clicking here.
Or, if you happen to be in Denver tonight, Salt Lake on Monday, Davis CA on Tuesday, or next Sunday in San Francisco, you can buy them from HHC himself. If you are at all those locations, you are either John Ringhofer or a very dedicated Half-handed Cloud fan! Details on those tourdates here.

“Once, Twice, Seven Times a Werewolf” Cut Me Down & Count My Rings (Download)

#WTDTW (WHAT TO DO THIS WEEKEND)

November 13th, 2009 , by

Via our Twitter account, what to do this weekend:
Fri: Half-handed Cloud @ Heaven Gallery #Chicago, Cryptacize @ Majestic Theater – Madison, @Jookabox @ Duke Coffeehouse – Durham
Sat: Half-handed Cloud @ Bridgeport Church – Kansas City, @HeladoNegro @ Savannah College of A&D, Cryptacize @ Turf Club – #StPaul, @Jookabox @ Go Bar #Athens
Sun: HHC @ T-House #Denver.

Details here.

DEAD ZONE BOYS FROM JOOKABOX NOW AWAKE

November 6th, 2009 , by

The above video, which at once evokes the Halloween spirit but also transcends it, is from the brand new album Dead Zone Boys. Jookabox has let it loose on the world today. You can buy the CD for $10 by clicking here, or the LP for $14 here. Did we say the corresponding t-shirt glows in the dark? It does.

NEXT TO LAST FESTIVAL

November 4th, 2009 , by

The Next to Last Festival, a charitable, independent music, film, and arts festival based in Athens, GA, is presenting a series of compilations featuring live and exclusive recordings by the likes of Daedelus, Themselves, Phosphorescent, Circulatory System, Diane Cluck, and Asthmatic Kitty’s Liz Janes, JOOKABOX and Chris Schlarb. These compilations are part of their effort to raise funds for their third fest currently slated for Halloween weekend 2010. To date, they have showcased over 30 unique musical acts from all over the country. They have also hosted independent film screenings, progressive speakers, performance art, a vendors market, a farmer’s market, and a community info center for creatures of all ages and species in the great North Georgia outdoors. You can support the festival and its promoters now by purchasing tickets for next year’s fest and compilations via kickstarter.com.

HALF-HANDED CLOUD TOURS, ALBUM OUT NEXT WEEK

October 29th, 2009 , by

Photo by Brandon Buckner
Next Tuesday we’re releasing Cut Me Down & Count My Rings, the 46-track rarity and b-side collection from Half-handed Cloud. It’s a real treat for anyone that’s a fan of HHC, but it will also make a nice introduction as well.
HHC, whom you may know rarely tours outside of homebase, is embarking on a frantic tour between tonight and Thanksgiving. He’ll start in California, move through Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Chicago, and then back again. You can see details of the tour here.

Sojourners has a short but sweet interview with John Ringhofer (HHC) and a terrific, exclusive MP3 from the album. Read and listen here.

SUFJAN STEVENS TO INTRODUCE SELECT SCREENINGS OF THE BQE

October 28th, 2009 , by

Photo by Denny Renshaw
If you didn’t already know, The BQE cinematic suite by Sufjan Stevens is out now. You can buy it here in myriad ways. Of course, we here at AK have been feverishly listening to and watching it non-stop, like vigilant commuters on the BQE. And just like the actual Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, there’s a whole lot of stuff to this project: a comic book, a film, a soundtrack, hula-hoops (which our First Lady apparently loves), a 3-D Viewmaster reel, etc, etc, et al, etc. We just might as well add some t-shirts to the mix. (Actually, that’s not a bad idea.) It’s dizzying, as in just-being-whalloped-by-a-Hooper-Hero-dizzying.
What to do?
Well, you could go to any number of American cities in the next few days and hear Sufjan introduce the film in person. He will not be playing any music (Osso and DM Stith make fine work of that), but he will be appearing in five select cities to introduce the film. This will occur in Minneapolis on October 29th, then in Madison on the 30th, Indianapolis on November 1st, and Cincinnati on November 3rd. He may also make it to Louisville on November 2nd. If you’re looking for details, you’ll find them on Osso’s tour dates right here.
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