The boys from North Carolina are hitting the road next month.

Come out and enjoy what the CHICAGO READER calls "a filler-free collection of openhearted, empty-bottled country rock fueled by the bitterness and scalding wit in the indelible narratives of front man Dan McGee.”

• May 12 -

  The Cave- Chapel Hill, NC

• May 14 -

  Talking Head Club- Baltimore, MD

• May 15 -

  The Khyber- Philidelphia, PA

• May 16 -

  Trash- Brooklyn, NY

• May 17 -

  Silent Barn- Brooklyn, NY

• May 19 -

  123 Pleasant Street- Morgantown, WV

• May 20 -

  Now That's Class- Cleveland, OH

• May 21 -

  The Carabar- Columbus, OH

• May 22 -

  The Empty Bottle- Chicago, IL

• May 23 -

  Frank's Power Plant- Milwaukee, WI

• May 27 -

  Hailey's- Denton, TX

• May 28 -

  Beerland- Austin, TX

For all you Birdmen who will be in Austin for SXSW, please come down to Room 710--Saturday night---starting at 8pm--for our annual showcase. Details on the flyer below created by the magnificent Cameron Forsley--but please note: special guest Powell St John will be playing first and he will be featuring some numbers he wrote for the 13th Floor Elevators wayyyyy back in the day. Not to be missed.

Labels: Apache, Birdman Records, Greg Ashley, Howlin Rain, Lou Lou and the Guitarfish, Modey Lemon, Powell St John, Room 710, Spider Bags, SXSW

You guessed it. The Howlin Rain bros are on the path to destruction with a three month trek through North America and straight through Europe. Supporting its forthcoming long-player Magnificent Fiend (Birdman/American), the band will be headlining these dates so if you showed up a little too late to the Rain's shows supporting Black Mountain, now is your chance to experience the the new wave of good vibes and killer times. Oh, and if you can't wait until the boys get to your respective town, you can pre-order the album from Insound and get 10% off. Magnificent!

Tour Dates:
02/22 Big Sur, CA: Fernwood Resort
03/04 San Francisco, CA: Bottom of the Hill
03/05 Los Angeles, CA: Spaceland
03/06 Los Angeles, CA: Amoeba Hollywood
03/27 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
03/28 Pontiac, MI: Pike Room
03/29 Pittsburgh, PA: 31st Street Pub
03/30 Philadelphia, PA: Khyber
03/31 Allston, MA: Great Scott
04/02 New York, NY: Mercury Lounge
04/03 Washington DC: DC9
04/04 Chapel Hill, NC: Local 506
04/05 Atlanta, GA: Drunken Unicorn
04/06 Memphis, TN: Hi-Tone
04/07 Bloomington, IN: Buskirk-Chumley Theatre
05/01 Belfast, UK: Aunt Annies
05/02 Dublin, UK: Tower Records In Store
05/02 Dublin, UK: Whelans
05/03 Cork, UK: Pine Lodge
05/04 Manchester, UK: Kings Arms
05/05 Birmingham, UK: Custard Factory
05/07 Cornwall, UK: Miss Peabod's
05/08 Cradiff, UK: Clwb Ifor Bach
05/09 Camber Sands, UK: ATP
05/11 Brsitol, UK: The Croft
05/12 London, UK: Scala
06/23 Ardenal, UK: Hove Festival
08/16 Wales, UK: Green Man Festival

Photo By Hilary Hulteen

Labels: American Recordings, Birdman, Black Mountain, Howlin Rain, Magnificent Fiend

While many folks often attribute the term "ambient" to shitty chill rooms at raves in the '90s or compilations featuring obscure whale sounds and the like, it's important to note that there are still labels and artists that help define the genre as something more than a post-new age fad. Point in case, the forthcoming Ambient Not Not Ambient compilation. Released by the Portland-based imprint Audio Dregs, this 17-track escape into the subconscious is indicative of the spirit of punk, channeled through a haze of mescaline and trippy vibes.

Featuring trippers from Valet (a.k.a. Homney Owens), Chris Herbert, Lucky Dragons, Yellow Swans, White Rainbow, and way more, the collection travels through layer upon layer of delay, modulating pads, subtle noise, and the occasional vocal treatment. And even though you may not here the sounds of sludgy decay and avant-noise on many forthcoming Birdman releases, rest assured that every artist on this comp could satiate the apetite of any drunk garage enthusiast or psych warrior alike.

Ambient Not Not Ambient is out April 29 on Audio Dregs.

Labels: Ambient, Audio Dregs, Birdman Records, Honey Owens, Lucky Dragons, Valet, White Rainbow, Yellow Swans

As if it hasn't been long enough (almost 8 years, to be exact), we're proud to announce the return of Monkeywrench with a new studio album, Gabriel's Horn (Birdman). Featuring Mudhoney's Mark Arm and Steve Turner, plus The Big Boys' Tim Kerr, this supergroup's return has been long overdue. In honor of the album's February 25 release, we enlisted guitarist Kerr to bestow everyone with the top ten records that helped inspire the bounty that is Gabriel's Horn. Be on the lookout for more details and exclusive content soon.

John Coltrane–Impressions
I want this played at my funeral, actually this whole list and an Irish/oldtime wake would be reslly great!

John Martin–Spencer The Rover
Really great and really sad.

Aaron Copland–Piano Blues
Love his chords and fanfare for the Common Man as well,

Otha Turner–Sittin On Top Of The World
A joyful noise indeed!

James Keane– Foxhunters Reel
James has a really great story about this tune and he has become a great friend. If you ever get the chance to see him, go.

Vernacular–The Blood
This is Lawrence singing.He plays bass in This Moment In Black History. What an amazing voice!

Iris Dement–Pretty Saro
This version is off the SongCatcher soundtrack.

Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham–Sugarhill
We play this tune most Tuesdays at RioRitas and my friend Michael belts out the words...always makes me smile.

Sun Ra–Spaceways
I really like all the stuff with June Tyson singing.

Fugazi–Waiting Room
So dead on!

Labels: Birdman Records, Fugazi, John Coltrane, Mark Arm, Monkeywrench, Mudhoney, Sun Ra, The Big Boys, Tim Kerr

Thank you, Tristan Perich for finally using a CD jewel case in a way that will make me want to keep it in my collection, right next to my box sets and slabs of vinyl. This electronic composer has just released a record, 1 Bit Recordings (Cantaloupe), where the music comes from hand-assembled electronics that fit in the jewel case itself. You the listener just have to open it up, plug in some headphones, turn it on and start listening. There are even two knobs for right/left volume and a skip button. The music: bare bones minimalistic 1-bit celebrations—11 of them. Surprisingly, the primitive sounds are orchestrated with catchy melodies and climactic moments that you have to hear to believe. The audio encodings trip back to the ‘50s and ‘60s when the freaky electrified space hippies of Mills College decided to change the way we thought of “1”s and “O”s, taking a bite of the forbidden Silver Apple of the Moon’s aural Eden. True: the grooves here might be a little nails-on-the-chalk-board for some listeners, but here in the Birdman Offices, these are the sounds of the workingman. Also, hats off to Aquarius Records for shining a light on this fantastic jewel.

Tristan Parich "Certain Movement"

Labels: Aquarius Records, Cantaloupe Music, Tristan Perich

Besides having a copy of Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite SIGNED BY OLATUNJI sent to my home on a Saturday afternoon (thank you, Geoffery Weiss), nothing is finer than when a brandly new completed record shows up at the Birdman Offices from one of our bands. Wrapped up and ready for manufacture. Case in point: this week we received the new one from our Pittsburgh friends, The Modey Lemon. The name of the record (now it shall be revealed): SEASON OF SWEETS coming longgggggg off of the heals of 2006’s Curious City. For the lucky few who have seen them live over the last year, the new material is crushing: adding Krautrock into the mix of the grazy (great and crazy) fuzzy furry freak sounds already addressed (we all know the genius beats of Quattrone).

I was lucky enough to debut the song "MILK MOUSTACHE" yesterday on the fabulous PIRATE CAT RADIO. Great station. It all went down during Mister Odom’s Bottomless Pit and you can hear it right here (my part of the show starts half way in). Listen for debuts from Apache and R L Boyce too.

Labels: Apache, Birdman, Birdman Records, Curious City, Mister Odom’s Bottomless Pit, Modey Lemon, Pirate Cat Radio, R L Boyce, Season Of Sweets