Asthmatic Kitty News

SHANNON STEPHENS PERFORMS IN SEATTLE

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

This is a rare event! The last time Shannon Stephens played in front of a live audience was seven years ago!

But if you live in Seattle, you can catch her this rare event on Friday night (the 25th) at the Shafer-Baillie Mansion at 7:30pm as she opens for Jason Herrod. Admission is Radiohead-style; pay what you can at the door (aka "strongly suggested donations").

LAURA PARK ILLUSTRATES FOOD CARRYING DEVICE!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Even though we signed her to our roster a few months ago, Laura Park has been at home here at Asthmatic Kitty for some time. In addition to drawing up some tour posters and advertisements, Laura has also designed several Asthmatic Kitty shirts and hoodies.

Now, Laura Park has outdone herself with a subtle and wonderful illustrated grocery tote bag. And right in time for the best of the farmers markets: harvest!

The bag is 100% organic cotton, large enough for everything you'd need for a delicious and complete dinner, and sturdy enough to carry milk and sugar (or even non-food items)!

And while supplies last, we are stuffing these bags with two lovingly created recipe zines, printed on 100% recycled paper. The first is an 22 page vegan zine from Adam Gnade, friend of Asthmatic Kitty, recent author of the superb Hymn California, and storyteller. The zine includes delicious recipes and helpful health advice from Adam and his broad and wide circle of friends.

The second 28-page zine gathers recipes from roster and non-Adam-Gnade friends, including My Brightest Diamond, the Schlarbs, Chris Eley of Indianapolis' Goose the Market (who recently made the #1 sandwich in America!), David Sankey, Sara Billups, Jonathon Dueck, and of course Laura Park herself.

You can see all of Laura's work for Asthmatic Kitty here (including a terrific mini comic for just $3), details and pictures of the bag here, or buy it right now for $22(+S&H) by clicking here.

I HEART LUNG'S INTEROCEANS OUTSPREADS IN SEPTEMBER

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Last March we signed jazz duo I Heart Lung. Long before that though, drummer Tom Steck and guitarist Chris Schlarb (who already resides on our label) had entered their recording studio and come out two days later with an album that would see three years of meticulous and spontaneous revisions, remixing, and post-production.

In September, we will very proudly be releasing I Heart Lung's second album, Interoceans, a recording that immediately surprised us with its rare balance between improvisation and and composition.

You can read about I Heart Lung here. The band has also created a highly linked and useful description of the album, which you can explore here.
"IV" (Excerpt) (Download)

WE ARE ROPECHAINED BY GRAMPALL JOOKABOX

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

"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.

HHC AND LONDON PRINTMAKING EVENT

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

What happens when one progressively old-fashioned Asthmatic Kitty artist collaborates with a husband and wife independent book press? One very impressive performance! We are pleased to announce that on Thursday, June 26 our own Half-handed Cloud and London's Henningham Family Press is transforming the Foundry basement into a spinning 12-foot vinyl record which will be used to perform never before seen or heard art! This is an event that will bring live performances and formats to a whole new level.

Half-handed Cloud (John Ringhofer) has always been a fan of releasing his songs in less-used (some might say more 'antiquated') formats. His releases in vinyl and cassingles have one over our hearts, and ears. It follows that with the screen-printing and book-binding talents of David and Ping* Henningham a collaborative event that brings together the pressing of a vinyl record with the pressing of a book would take place.

This FREE event will take place at the Foundry (86th Great Eastern St.) in London on June 26th at 7:30 pm.

SHAPES AND SIZES BACK ON TOUR

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Illustration by Erik Osberg

Some albums are just so great they deserve more than one tour. We think so. Shapes and Sizes think so. You should think so too. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that the band will take Split Lips, Winning Hips, a Shiner back on the road for one last run before the they lock themselves up to write another album. So prepare yourself to become reacquainted with Calia’s stunning vibrato, Rory and Nathan’s fleeting and intense work on guitar and bass, and John’s ever-so-solid drumming. They will hypnotize you! They will mesmerize you! You will do cartwheels in the street in celebration!

They're kicking it off tonight in Brooklyn! Check out our tour page to see when they will be gracing a town near you, here.