Transmissions :: Titus Andronicus

Join Glen Rock, NJ's punk titans, Titus Andronicus as they guide you on a six minute tour through The Garden State. According to fronter Patrick Stickles' introduction, this aint no Jersey Shore or Sopranos, this is the real New Jersey. The No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future, video was directed by WMFU's Tom Scharpling.

Sunday Afternoon All Ages Show :: Varsity Drag

Remember when you used to hang out at all ages shows? The good old days are back. Don't miss the titanic pop sounds of Varsity Drag featuring Ben Deily, co-founder of The Lemonheads at The Midway Cafe this Sunday!

Ryan Walsh on The Digital Return of The Stairs

Today's a pretty special day for fans of Boston's sorely missed pop treasures,The Stairs.

You see on this fine Tuesday in April the bands two full lengths, 2003's Miraculous Happens and 2005's On Sleep Lab our available for the first time in digital formats exclusively through Bandcamp. To honor this occasion we had the pleasure of corresponding with Ryan Walsh, founding member of The Stairs and current fronter of the always fantastic Hallelujah the Hills to get some insight on the reissues as well as his thoughts on the legacy of The Stairs. Thanks to Ryan for helping put this together and for being so gracious with his time.

Bryan Hamill: Can you tell us how the digital reissues of The Stairs two full length came about?

Ryan Walsh: I had an idea of what these sounded like in my head after years of not listening to them. Then someone very close to me made me play them one night. I liked the sound of them so I wanted to bring them back for people to hear.

Bryan: Are there any plans for a reunion show or to record any new material with your former band mates?

Ryan: No. The last show we ever played was so beautiful and out of control and special. I don't ever want to tarnish that with a reunion show.

Bryan: Was this the first time that you've revisited Miraculous Happens and On Sleep Lab , if so what was your reaction to these songs ?

Ryan: Surprise! Surprised at the naivety and surprised at the quality of most of the songs. You have to understand the ratio between "knowing what we were doing" and "the scope and quality of what we had promised to the grant committee" was so wide you could sail a planet through it.*

* we were given $10,0000 to record a community pop album. Read more here.

Bryan: Will this be the final chapter of The Stairs or do you have a secret lost album locked away somewhere?

Ryan: The truth is there are LOTS of Stairs albums! We were recording all the time. The quality of songwriting and recording I cannot speak for but I do have piles and piles of actual crafted albums with titles, cover art, and full track listings. I imagine some of these songs will end up on the "rarities" CD I've promised our Kickstarter backers though. I'm hoping those songs are still there. I've read some terrifying things about the degradation of CD-R quality over the last couple of years.

Bryan: If there's one thing we should know about The Stairs, it's___________________

Ryan: we had no idea what we were doing, we loved music and hanging out with each other, and we were just delusional enough to make it all kinda work.

In addition to the digital reissues hard copies of both albums can be ordered by contacting Ryan at band@hallelujahthehills.com. We recommend that you order yours in either format immediately. For more information on both the physical CD's, digital reissues, and everything you need to know about The Stairs, visit Mostly Accidental the bands recently launched Tumblr site.




Tumblr|Hallelujah The Hills|Bandcamp

Grass Widow, Doomstar!, & Major Stars| @O'Brien's| April 22

Reviewed :: Eldridge Rodriguez - You Are Released

You Are Released is the fourth solo outing from Eldridge Rodriguez, co- fronter of Boston's post-punk luminaries, The Beatings. The product of a very fertile time, the album was written between and during the recording of The Beatings 2009's high water mark, Late Season Kids. The album was tracked at Taunton's Liberty & Union Studios with Ray Jeffrey and carries on Rodriguez' tradition of deftly deconstructing pop songs with noisy orchestration, beats, and loops. I can only imagine ER creating a pristine pop song and then breaking it down and adding a bit of cacophony. A little like what Wilco did on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, only You Are Released hits a lot harder.

Normally I end up listening to an album I'm slated to review several times, usually more. But with You Are Released it was more like a month of solid listening. Not because I didn't get it on the very first spin, I did. The issue was that once I started listening I didn't stop. After nearly a month of daily listening I feel ready to share some thoughts on what has quickly become one of my favorite album of 2011.

From the charging opener, The Big Windup to the gorgeous duet with local Americana starlet, Sarah Borges on Miss Me When I'm Gone, to Disposable Stars, a track that could easily be mistaken for a long lost Silkworm song. You Are Released hits on all of ER's strengths with jarring post-punk, smart indie pop, and lovely acoustic strummed ballads. All the while delivering his best lyrical compositions to date with tales of neglected responsibilities, hard drinking, and giving up. Defeat has never sounded better. And it certainly doesn't hurt that You Are Released is an absolute triumph.

Eldridge Rodriguez will play the Middle East, upstairs on May 12th.



Midriff Records|The Beatings|ER Facebook

New Sounds Now :: Copy Haho

We are on the brink of what looks to be a superb weekend to get out and catch some live music in our fine city, at least on paper. I know, I know, over the last week we've all learned that sometimes things look better on paper than they actually are. Well trust us, this is not one of those cases. With Obits, Buffalo Tom, The Hush Now, The Rock and Roll Rumble Prelims, and WHRB's Record Hospital Fest all happening over the next couple of days. This might just make up for missing this years SXSW.

You're probably asking yourself what on gods green earth does any of this have to do with Copy Haho? And to that we humbly reply absolutely nothing, other than we wanted to remind you of the fantastic live music weekend that awaits you. Plus we've had too much coffee and now have a hankering to tell you about a new track from Scotland's indie pop phenoms. Dying Breed comes from the Copy Haho's self titled debut LP, which they recorded at Chemical Underground's Chem 19 studios with Jamie Savage (The Phantom Band). The album will be issued by the bands own, so new it doesn't have a web presence yet, Slow Learner Records on June 20th. Pre-orders and other inquires can be made via slowlearnermusic@gmail.com. You can also visit the bands site and grab this track at the cost of your electronic whereabouts.


Dying Breed by copyhaho

Copy Haho|Facebook|Twitter

Maritime :: The Ash Gray Proclamation Interview

After closing the book on the Milwaukee's seminal emo stalwarts, The Promise Ring in 2003, Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier along with Eric Alexson of the then recently disbanded The Dismemberment Plan formed In English. The bands first label passed on their J. Robbins produced debut, so a new label and a name change was in order and Maritime was born. Alexson exited in 2006 and was replaced by Justin Klug. What they have lacked in prolificacy, they more than made up for in quality, with three albums and an EP filled with sterling pop songs that have aged extremely well. The albums seemed to come in quick succession until the release of 2007's Heresy and The Hotel Choir and then Maritime went quiet. Their fourth longplayer was released earlier this week. Human Hearts, a record four years in the making is proving to be well worth the wait. Earlier this week the members of Maritime agreed to answer a few questions from us on the new album, their new label, and the legacy of The Promise Ring. A huge thank you goes to the members of Maritime for so being gracious with their time and to Dangerbird Records for supplying us with a copy of the album to give away. More on that at the end.

Bryan Hamill: It's been four years since you released Heresy and the Hotel Choir, whysuch the long wait between albums?

Davey von Bohlen: Life happened. As important as the band is, it is important to experience life outside of it too. It is has been an especially busy outside time.

Justin Klug: Yeah, In large part it's due to the fact that we all have families & jobs that keep us pretty busy. With music taking more of a backseat in that respect, we haven't really felt the urgency that we may have in the past.

BH: Was Human Hearts a product of four years of writing or are the 10 tracks on the album newer compositions?

Justin Klug: It was definitely a product of all four years. Looking back,we've played a handful of these songs for quite some time. Without having any sort of real deadline, we were able to work on individual tracks for longer periods. For better or worse, each song on Human Hearts has been the product of thorough vetting.

BH: I read somewhere that you recorded the bulk of the album on your own, was there a conscious decision within the band to record that way , instead of bringing in a producer?

Dan Didier: Well, for this record we had Billy Bush (not the Access Hollywood Host) as the Executive Producer and we produced it ourselves. We bounced ideas and sounds off of Billy throughout the process and recorded everything but the drums at our studio. It is something I always wanted to do and I feel weall enjoyed the freedom to set the recording schedules ourselves. In contrast, for Heresy we only had two weeks to record it all. Going into this record I certainly wanted to not do that again!

BH: Human Hearts was released earlier this week, the first for your new label. How did the signing to Dangerbird come about?

Davey von Bohlen: Jeff managed our old band, and we ran into one another at a benefit show for the organization (Pablove) Jeff runs with his wife. It was a right time right place thing.

BH: With families and jobs is it hard to get away on a full fledged tour these days?

Davey: Yes, to put a fine point on it. There are a lot of people to consider, most under 3 feet tall.

BH: How does this album differ from the bands past releases?

Dan Didier: I think it is a natural progression from We, the Vehicles to Heresy to this one. The difference, though, is most likely from the relaxed recording environment.

BH: What are the band plans for the rest of 2011?

Justin Klug: Well, we hope to get out and support the record with as many live shows as we can. Given that we really don't tour in the traditional sense much anymore, we have to be a bit more discerning with our time. We try to do as many regional shows as possible and then plan longer weekend-ish trips out to the coasts.

BH: The music and legacy of your former band, The Promise Ring, means a great deal to many, myself included. How do you look back on the time you spent with the band?

Davey von Bohlen: Fondly. The further away I get from it, the luckier I feel that I was part of it.

Dan Didier: Yeah, I agree. There are definitely worse ways to spend your twenties.

Contest/Giveaway: If you would like a copy of Human Hearts just send an e-mail to us at ashgrayproclamation@yahoo.com with Maritime in the subject line. We will pick and notify our winner on Friday at noon. Or you could do what we did and take chance out of the equation and order it from Dangerbird.

Maritime - Paraphernalia
Maritime Official | Myspace | Facebook

Forthcoming :: Get Help

We're thrilled to find that the new long player from Get Help, The Good Green Earth will be released by Midriff Records on May 10th. For the uninitiated, Get Help is Tony Skalicky from Boston's post punk giants, The Beatings and Mike Ingenthron from NYC's Microdot. Get Help, started as a collaboration project between Mike and Tony, often involving the trading of MP3's back in forth via e-mail while the two added various instrumentation to the tracks. Since their inception the band has made a few personnel changes but the line up was solidified shortly after the release of their exceptional debut, The End of The New Century with drummer Gene D'Avolio and bassist John Van Atta. The newish rhythm section brings a bit of muscle and confidence to the new material. The Good Green Earth was recorded with assistance from Ray Jeffrey between 2010 and the winter of 2011 at Liberty & Union Recording Co. in Taunton, MA.

Get Help celebrate the album release with a show The Trash Bar in Brooklyn on April 30th. We think and hope an announcement of a Boston release show is imminent.

This Just In: Tony has just informed us that Get Help will play PA's Lounge on May 26th, so make with the quickness and get on that.

Until then check the superbly crafted pop of You Should Be Home Now and It's Only Your Head from, from The Good Green Earth below.



Official|Bandcamp|Facebook|Midriff