Lefse Records Launch Way Slow Series

Way Slow Series launches October 12th!

With the popularity of digital music downloads increasing, labels have been inspired to come with up creative new ways to get us to buy actual physical albums from their inventory. 

The CD packaging of Montreal's last album Skeletal Lamping could be reconstructed into a monstrous creature type-thingy. Vinyl purchases almost always come with a mp3 download.

Now local label, Lefse Records, has gone super DIY and launched a new collection called the Way Slow Series. According to their announcement today on both Lefse's homepage and Pitchfork, "each release will be a unique creation from start to finish."  Artists participating [Ganglians, Tape Deck Mountain, Sonny Smith, to name a few] will release music you wouldn't expect to hear from them. Limited edition cassettes, CDs, and vinyl, along with digital downloads will all be available. 

• Listen to "Over There" by Banjo or Freakout from the first Way Slow Series release.

• Out October 12th :: Pre Order Now ::

And here's the real kicker: the "physical products will be hand wrapped/sewn/carved individually for each release and presented as a heartwarming package of beautiful sound."

I'm in!

YLOS: Phono Select Records

You LOVE our scene, and here's why:

Sacramento is getting a new record store!

Phono Select Records [located on 2312 K. Street - near Golden Bear and Sugar Plum Cafe] is opening their doors for the first time this Saturday at 11 AM.

There are a few reasons to be excited about and to support this new music shop: first off, it's only been a few years since Tower Records officially filed for bankruptcy and closed stores world wide. Not to mention, with digital music and a la carte download sale at an all time high,  physical album sales are inevitably down and the question of how do music consumers consume, and how will bands and labels be able to sell remains a constant debate.


Don't even get me started about opening a small business during this recession...

But here we have Phono Select opening a store (a RECORD STORE!!!), in a prime location I might add, despite the odds they have stacked against them.

Secondly, it was a community effort. Friends, and family of the shop owners/keepers volunteered to help unload lots and lots of boxes, price music, and inspect all the vinyl.

PLUS, they have already put together the first installment in the Phono Select Mix Series: Volume Control in where we get to peek into the collection of some of Phono Select's favorite audiophiles!

PHONO SELECT MIX SERIES VOL.1// VOLUME CONTROL by PHONO SELECT

After reading about them more I am super excited to check this place out on Saturday morning. Phono Select is bringing back the neighborhood record shop, with enthusiastic staff members who look forward to letting you know about the records they love.

Be sure to stop by at some point Saturday, and after they close head over to The Townhouse Lounge for the Phono Select Grand Opening Party and get your dance on at a FREE SHOW!

Find out more about Phono Select on Facebook and Twitter!

FYF Fest Recap

I have to admit, I hesitated posting my reactions to FYF Fest for a few days now, trying to find the best way to articulate my analysis of the overall event.

After reading Consequence of Sound's thorough, and I'd say pretty honest (while maintaining a sense of "benefit of the doubt") coverage, I finally felt inclined to give my take.

THE TUNES First off, let's start with the positive: the line up. Could it have been any more amazing, genre-bending, exciting, or fresh? From the opening bands all the way up to the headliners, every hour of my Saturday was filled with music I HAD to hear live. 

Abe Vigoda = Michael Vidal (lead vox, guitar), Juan
Velazquez (keyboard, vox, guitar), David Reichardt
(bass), Dane Chadwick (drums)

I started the day off with Abe Vigoda on the Oak Stage [1 PM].

Nick from Off Air: Smart Rock Radio listened to their newest album Crush (out Sept. 28th on PPM Records) and said it was definitely more melodic and entertaining than some of their first records.

Honestly, I hadn't heard anything by this young band of Los Angeles misfits until they stepped onto the stage and said "Hi. We're Abe Vigoda, and we're from ... here."

Michael Vidal

Abe Vigoda ended up being my cup of tea.

From Vidal's Robert Smithian vocals, to the energy of their tunes, I became a fan standing in that crowd.

It was new wave and post punk: super fun. It makes sense that they share a label with some of my other favorites like Mika Miko, No Age, and Wavves.

And it was at this performance that I witnessed the first mosh pit of the day - a random explosion of tween hipsters bursting out of nowhere during a particularly mellow A.V. track that kicked up a lot of dirt, and raised a whole bunch of unnecessary ruckus.

You could say I'm anti-mosh pit, or that I'm getting older. Both statements are true.

Perhaps I'm not completely anti-mosh, but I certainly think that there are appropriate times to jump around and push complete strangers into the dirt: 1.) ska shows in the mid 1990s; 2.) your first Blink 182 concert; 3.) weddings.

Strangely enough the one band's performance that I figured would garner the most mosh-pittery in fact had the nicest, calmest crowd: Screaming Females.

Screaming Females = Marissa Paternoster (lead vocals, guitar),Jarrett Dougherty (drums), and King Mike (bass)

This three piece punk band all the way from New Jersey seriously knocked my socks off. In fact, the only way I can figure that no one started to mosh at this show is that the crowd was too blown away. No one could move. 

Sure, I had listened to their third album Power Move during my volunteer days at Off Air (and loved it), BUT I had never seen them live, AND I had no idea what to expect out of lead singer (and one killer guitar player) Marissa Paternoster. 

Screaming Females in only five years have released four albums (their latest Castle Talk out Sept. 14th on Don Giovanni Records), toured nationally with major acts like the Throwing Muses and as far as I'm concerned stole the entire FYF Fest for me. I would have rather paid $25 to watch them all day long. Actually I would have paid more.

COMEDY AND THE CAVEAT The other part of FYF Fest I was super excited about was their comedy tent. In the style of many major festivals these days, not only is there music but a line up of alt comics that resemble if not embody the spirit of the event. However, as much as I was looking forward to catching some shade and having a few laughs, this is regrettably the point when my patience disintegrated and where many of my issues with this festival reared their ugly heads.

Photo by Nick Brunner

Janeane Garofalo, Matt Besser, David Koechner (right), Jen Kirkman - the list of comics was solid. But, the placement of their performance tent was ridiculous if not completely insulting.

Positioned between two VERY loud stages, on top of a piece of dirt and rock covered patch, the comics could barely be heard and my hope for a nice sit was crushed. Not to mention that none of the comics seemed to want to be there. One of the earlier stand-ups, revealed that comics didn't even get artist passes to the event - just all access passes.

Everyone, including the comics were hot and uncomfortable. And frankly it affected their performances. Koechner, known for his roles on Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy and the Office brought a bag full of schtick - a costume belonging to one of his characters: a 300 lb gay man who is "just the worst" and I happen to agree.

Photo by Nick Brunner

But there were of course some nice moments. I thought Brent Weinbach did a great job. He went up there did his thing, didn't complain and made a lot of us laugh.

And then there was Jen Kirkman [known for lending her voice to the popular Adult Swim cartoon  Home Movies, and recently her involvement with "Drunk History"] - a breath of fresh air to me. She was completely honest about her struggle to arrive at the festival, the rudeness she received from the FYF staff just trying to get onto the grounds to perform. "I don't want to be funny," Kirkman exclaimed toward the beginning of her act. "I'm sorry, but I don't."

Kirkman's honesty about not wanting to be funny actually made her funnier. She was real and fallible and it made me appreciate her as a stand up even more. I'd see her again for sure, but someplace air conditioned and easier to get to off the freeway.

After Kirkman and Koechner I was over it - not just the comedy tent but the entire festival. I was so dirty and tired and frustrated that I had no desire to stick around for the comedians and musical performances I had been looking forward to for weeks. 

Last picture taken before getting the heck
outta there = Titus Andronicus

Many noteworthy blogs, like Consequence of Sound, have already discussed and noted the obvious issues with this year's FYF Fest.

I think that the organizer's real fatal flaw here was that everything was too big for the space. There were too many people and not enough food vendors, security officers, volunteers directing people etc. They had three music stages (with lots of great acts performing on them) but not enough space in that "park" to give them enough room to play loud without sound bleeding over to other areas.

It seems that in the future, either FYF Fest needs to be scaled down a touch, or they need to find a bigger space to hold the event. For $25, it was a great deal and I'm completely impressed by the work these guys and gals put into this year's festival to make it even better.

Unfortunately, once I had my ticket's worth of entertainment, I had to leave.

Next year I will be more prepared.

Check out more photos from FYF Fest 2010 at Paduta's Facebook.

Bizness Trippin' - Fuck Yeah! Edition

Paduta is heading out to cover yet another awesome festival: this time it's the Los Angeles music, comedy and arts 

festival FYF Fest (formerly "Fuck Yeah Fest" - hence our arguably abrasive title).

I couldn't be more excited. This year's line up is extremely diverse and band diversity is something the organizers strive for every year. From folk to indie pop, punk to electronica, and whatever Ariel Pink is ( . . . AMAZING!) I am impressed and THRILLED to have spent only $30 (that's right folks, and there are still tickets available) to attend this day long festival in the Los Angeles State Historic Park.

Above I've circled the bands on my list of "MUST-SEES" - and trust me, I MUST see them - but I'm most excited to see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and yep, broken record alert, Ariel Pink.

Here's why:

First of all, PAUL F. TOMPKINS - by far one of the funniest persons in my book of funny people. And you gotta love a punk band that doesn't take themselves too seriously.

Secondly, their latest release The Brutalist Bricks is on my list of favorite albums for 2010.

On to Ariel Pink: not only has he been recording and writing tracks since the age of ten, with over 500 songs recorded by 1996, but he was the second act to be signed to Animal Collective's label Paw Tracks. Though he says he used to get booed everywhere, his most recent collaborative creation, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, and more specifically their album Before Today, has received international attention and praise. 

Listen to Off Air's FYF Fest Playlist

I will make sure to frequently post photos, and tales from this year's FYF Fest on Paduta's Facebook and Twitter! Keep an eye out folks - this one is gonna be a doozy! 

Spreading the 'Video Love' | Terroreyes.tv

"Terroreyes is an experimental video platform for documenting things that we like - getting in the faces of people that we like, having our microphones blown out by people that we like, hearing stories from people that we like, etc. All we want to do is show you things you may never otherwise see UP CLOSE. Inspire you in whatever way possible to do something - anything, whatever it is you love."


Zach Hill "on blast" 2 from TERROREYES.TV on Vimeo.

Terroreyes.Tv was launched a little while ago and already they have collected an amazing bunch of videos. Take this filming of Zach Hill (whose new album Face Tat comes out Oct. 19th on Sargent House): twelve solid minutes of Hill going to town (awesome town) on those drums! Not to mention they have video performances of local bands Sea of Bees, Pregnant, and Ellie Fortune and far out folks like Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors, and Wavves.

From what I've been able to watch thus far (and trust me, I've only made a dent in their catalogue), Terroreyes is living up to their mission. I've been introduced to music and bands I've never heard of before, and watched extremely special videos of acts I already know and love.

Think La Blogotheque but in English, and in Sacramento.


WAVVES Live @Sol Collective 8.30.10 from TERROREYES.TV on Vimeo.

Recently, Terroreyes has branched out of the internet world and started to put on shows. Monday, for example, they co-presented Wavves, Ganglians, G. Green and Produce Produce with free form community radio station KDVS at the Sol Collective arts center. Judging by the footage above, the show was packed with excited fans.

Not only that, but T.E. is releasing their first 7'': Tera Melos' "Frozen Zoo" remixes from their full length album Patagonian Rats (Sargent House).

Only 500 pressings available and for only $7.50 it comes with a digital download code, and, according to T.E., a smile.

>> BUY NOW <<

Go take a little time and check out this website/label?/collector of video rarities out. Chances are you'll be introduced to something new and different that hopefully inspires you to do and see the things you love.

I'll be sure to keep you all apprised of future Terroreyes events!