UNUSUAL ANIMALS FIND NEW HUNTING GROUNDS ON AKRADIO
August 1st, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
This Friday night starting at 6pm, Indianapolis is host to the third Unusual Animals party (see details here). We’re kicking off our pre-show show today with some new Indianapolis-related sidebar entries, and some new additions to our growing Unusual Animals AKradio playlist. Click on akradio just below our banner to listen to tracks from Actuel /Paren, Bronze Float, More Animals of the Artic, and Pope Whiter.
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND ON COVER BINGE
July 29th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Shara Worden, of My Brightest Diamond, recently covered Radiohead. Next on what seems to be a list: Huey Lewis and the News. Her swooning cover of the classic "Naturally" will appear on the upcoming Huey Lewis tribute album, Are You Still With Me?! Click here to visit the album’s MySpace page and stream the track.
BELLTOWER APPEARS IN SAN FRANCISCO
July 25th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Our good friends Belltower will be playing at San Francisco’s The Makeout Room on Monday, July 30th. Frontwoman Bridget DeCook has played with Liz Janes, Castanets, sung on Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas, and toured in his Illinoisemakers. On Monday she’ll be singing and playing bells, various small percussive instruments, the accordion, and – if everyone is lucky, the banjo. Daniel Dixon will accompany on guitar. Belltower’s 2006 debut, Sweet Fruit, is available for ordering here.
"Two Divided by Zero," Belltower (Pet Shop Boys cover)
CASTANETS ON VINYL, IN REAL LIFE
July 24th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Never ones to pass up the Sunshine State, Castanets are spinning a quick tour of the Florida panhandle and its close neighbor, Georgia, with new Dead Oceans signees Phosphorescent. Future tour dates include Pensacola, Panama City, and Athens, Georgia. Then, just to keep everyone on their toes, Castanets will be in Brooklyn on August 11 with Calla. Click here for tour dates.
If you aren’t in Florida, Georgia, or Brooklyn, and if you’re one of the proud owners of a vinyl playing device (a record player), we have released Castanets’ first album, Cathedral, on beautiful vinyl. The album is available for order now, for $12.00, by clicking here.
"Three Days Four Nights" Castanets, Cathedral
TOM EATON AND LAURA PARK ILLU-REVIEW THE MOCCA ARTS FEST
July 23rd, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Back in June, artists Tom Eaton and Laura Park both attended the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art’s 2007 Art Festival. They saw many things – which they have decided to encapsulate in a collaborative four-part sidebar review of the festival!
Each day this week, starting with today, we’ll post one part of this four-part series. Then, on Friday, we’ll post the full, uncut illustration. View the first one here, the second one here, third here, and fourth here.
LIZ JANES PLAYS AT HAUNTED INN
July 19th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Liz Janes will be back on stage this Saturday night in Nashville, Indiana, at the Story Inn. The Inn doesn’t hold shows like this very often, but when they do, the shows are always sophisticated, energetic, and packed with good listeners.
Joining her will be Norman Oak, Bronze Float, and Daniel Paquette (of the Abner Trio). The show will start at 9PM.
If you live in the Midwest, we promise a good show worth the drive. You might even see the Blue Lady – one of the many ghosts that inhabit the Story Inn! See here for more Story Inn ghost stories.
TOM EATON BRINGS CHRISTMAS TO JULY
July 13th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
You’ll of course remember illustrator Tom Eaton’s marvelously animated video for Sufjan Stevens’, "Put the Lights on the Tree" (click here to refresh your memory).
Animation Block Party, which exhibits quality, independent art, is featuring Tom Eaton’s video at their yearly NYC block party. The video will air on the third night of the festival, July 29th, at the Galapagos Art Space.
Congratulations Tom!
See our sidebar for our own collection of Tom Eaton illustrations.
OK, MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND
July 12th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Once you get past the fact that it has really been a decade since you first borrowed Radiohead’s OK, Computer from your roommate and never gave it back, you should check out Stereogum’s brilliantly curated tribute, OKX. The revisit features a track-by-track cover of the album from artists like David Bazan, John Vanderslice, and Marissa Nadler Feat, as well as our very own My Brightest Diamond. Somewhere between tour stops with Rasputina (see here for details), Diamond lead Shara Worden managed to record her vision of "Lucky." In her notes on the track, Shara does tell, "We cannot commodify the value of being able to listen to this record for years and not tire of it . . . Yes, we gush and are unashamed of our love."
Click here to download the free album, and here for the artist notes.
UNUSUAL ANIMALS MIGRATE TO INDIANAPOLIS
July 6th, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
On August 3, 2007, we are proud to present the third Unusual Animals party at the Harrison Center for the Arts in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In the spirit of the two previous Unusual Animals parties, this event will also feature an Asthmatic Kitty artist, as well as highlight local risk-taking musicians and artists. Future Rapper, whose release, Land of a Thousand Rappers is due out on August 7, will curate the Indianapolis Unusual Animals party.
Click more for details.
Artists include Greg Ajamie, Elizabeth Sparrow Boring, Scott Grow, Cindy Hinant, Kyle Ragsdale, Casey Roberts, and SPPR. Future Rapper has chosen to feature pieces by these artists that emphasize bulbous abstraction and bold color, ones that draw out certain aspects of the visuals in such a way that unifies seemingly disparate forms of art.
Music will include Actuel /Paren (hip-hop/free jazz infused electronica), Bronze Float (nylon-stringed folk ballads), and Pope Whiter (fist-pumping drum-boxing).
Future Rapper will present a PowerPoint lecture on temporal collapse.
Taste Café will provide lemonade.
Admission is free. Doors open at 6pm, and music starts at 8:30pm.
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND TOURS WITH RASPUTINA
July 2nd, 2007 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Photo by Murat Eyuboglu After successfully traveling with The Decemberists as a three-piece, My Brightest Diamond will shear it down to just one: the indomitable Shara Worden donning her trusty guitar. She will open for the well-costumed trio Rasputina on their tour of the South and West, while they promote their freshly finished full-length, Oh […]
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