I hear there's a heat wave-out there but you'd never know it if you were in Portland. My boss was going to have a BBQ but cancelled on account of a 80% chance of rain forcast. Fucking lame. He always has really good BBQs. Anyway, I'm staying inside and dubbing the upcoming 4-song Jovontaes tape. I honestly have not been this excited to release a tape since The Whines last year. I first heard them awhile back through the always awesome Eggy Records. Part of the increasingly killer Lexington, KY scene that's recently been pumping out killer stuff from killer people like Street Gnar (good name) and Trailblazer (who both put out excellent tapes on Eggy and more recently on the widely-admired Night People label). Jovo's Reid Small owns the now 15 year old Void Skateshop that's been a staple in the Lexington scene and where the band records a lot of their material.
Also we just posted up the equally exciting CCR Headcleaner tape, recorded by Adam Stonehouse from The Hospitals. Been looking forward to this for a long time. We've always been infatuated with the chill-dude vibes of Justin Flowers and Al Cargyle, but it's a whole 'nother pleasure getting to release their music ourselves. I don't expect to have it for long since those dudes have culled themselves quite the following from traveling so much and ruling it so hard. Get it now.
Also preparing for Young Prims demo collection with some beautiful tracks including sessions with Grave Babies and the Woodsist studio Rear House. Should have that one a little after Jovontaes.
We'll have the debut of sorts from the Portland by-way-of Long Island, NY dream rock band Grrrl Friend; the brainchild of stoner wanderer Duffy Rongiland who is also responsible for the awesome Portland video blog Indie Rock Sucks (http://www.indierocksucks.com/) and lives at choice Portland hangspot and house venue House of Preblon (the name was inspired after the tennants found a manifesto on the wall from the previous dwellers claiming their ethos for setting up shows there under the name "Preblon"). A hauntingly gorgeous album that blends pop, shoegaze and punk seemlessly and should be arriving in time for their set at:
GNIGHT OUT AT PREBLON block party on 7/30 w/ White Fang, BOOM!, Ghost Mom, Unnatural Helpers (Seattle/Sub Pop) and more.
We got a permit from the city to block off the road and call it ours! If you're in the region don't miss out on this wild all-day party!
A few days after that The Memories are having their San Francisco debut on 8/4 with Little Wings and Alex Bleeker & The Freaks. More details soon.
Speaking of which, there IS a forthcoming Little Wings tape that is sure to be one of our most popular and fastest-selling releases. Pre-order? I don't know. That might be stupid. We'll see.
UP NEXT!
- Campo Formio from Puerto Rico who have been planning their tape for almost 2 years now! First American release! Crazy ADD-as-fuck math-punk that packs the past 50 years of rock subgenres into a twisted, powerhouse garage-zoid sound en Espanol.
- Skinny Jesus, Izak Arida from BOOM!, new heavy grimed out solo rap project that will get fans of BOOM! very excited about the sheer quality of Izak's songwriting.
- The Whines WFMU session <3333333 with a possible reissue of their incredible demos collection that is on par with their excellent LP from last year, "Hell to Play", which is on par with The Wipers and Dead Moon for best first album by a Portland band.
- Timmy the Terror and the Winter Coats, Jimmy of White Fang's other band with former White Fang members Tyler Bristow and Thaddeus Pedisich (along with a whole host of freakish, awesome weirdos), sophomore tape that combines equal parts Captain Beefhart, Lightning Bolt and Daniel Johnston to create a truly unique and exciting brand of noise rock that is inspired directly from pop aesthetics and militant outsiderisms.
As always, that's just a little taste of what we got cooking for y'all over here at Gnar Tapes.
Drop a line or leave a comment.
- Erik
