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.

ROBOT AND ITS CREATOR WIN CRYPTACIZE CONTEST

June 24th, 2008 , by



We have held contests before, but humans have always won. With our latest contest, in which Cryptacize offered up one of the songs from Dig That Treasure karaoke, it seems that a robot has finally proven worthy of an Asthmatic Kitty contest.

For the contest, Cryptacize released "Cosmic Sing-a-long" in karaoke form (you see the video here, or download the mp3 here). Entries came in from far and wide, but we had to choose someone. But it’s easy to see why Trusty Nick – aka Nick Yulman –  and his trusty Robot won. Click more to view the fabulous robo-aoke video, or you can also click here to go to YouTube, or here to visit Nick’s website.

While we send Trusty Nick his prize ($150, CD, and LP!), Cryptacize will wrap up a US tour and then prep for a UK tour by eating lots of curry. On Wednesday night they’re playing in LA at The Echo with Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Palms. You can view other tour dates here.

  "Cosmic Sing-a-long," Robo-aoked by Nick Yulman

CASTANETS SESSION UP WITH DAYTROTTER

June 23rd, 2008 , by


Illustration by Johnnie Cluney

We could go on and on (and on) about how terrific Daytrotter is, but we’ll just say that they’ve worked their writing and illustrative magic on Castanets once again. This time, they reached into their hat and wrangled out a couple of tunes from a still unannounced Castanets album due in October, as well as a Tom Petty cover track. Capturing the essence of Castanets is a rare skill. Not to be missed; read and listen here.

THE BENTS ROUGH IT

June 23rd, 2008 , by

"Untitled," by Zack Bent (click to enlarge)

Our good friends, Zack Bent, his wife Gala and their two children, will be taking part in an installation at the Crawl Space Gallery in Seattle. You know their work already as the artists who wowed us with their stellar DVD menus and packaging for the Encyclopedia Asthmatica.

Their show is called, “Home on the Range” and asks questions about roughing it, wilderness, pioneering, and family in the most confined of circumstances. For four days Zack tirelessly constructed a starting point  from which his wife and children joined him in "confinement" at the Crawl Space grounds. Together, they created an exhibition from scratch.

Click here for the gallery’s website for more information and visiting hours.

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