Despite polarized histories (Matt Papich played in various noise and grindcore bands in Lancaster PA, while Dustin Wong became heavily involved in 8-bit music and the construction of spiritual kites in Tokyo), the sounds and melodies that the duo of ECSTATIC SUNSHINE create congeal to become a single (magical) force.

In 2004, after meeting in the conceptual artwork’s department at art school in Baltimore, Papich and Wong began to focus on composing deceptively intricate guitar battles for a NEW KIND OF IMAGINATION. Their thesis being - in part - that there are things to be done with sound besides just experience feelings all the time.

Witnesses to their frenetic live shows will attest that no recording has truly documented the intensity or peculiarity of this band. It is often said that seeing Ecstatic Sunshine perform is more like listening to a series of stories being told, than watching a band play a set of “songs”. Yet, such dreaminess is by no means entirely descriptive of their performance, which owes as much to BLACK FLAG as JOHN FAHEY.

Some might think of ECSTATIC SUNSHINE’s unique force as a kind of elementary arithmetic: cerebral and of course challenging, but also full of whimsy, exuberance, and curiosity.

Their sound has certainly been influenced by their surroundings – from Baltimore’s warehouse party scene and its youthful, sometimes naïve positivity, to Dustin’s time spent in Oakland, CA rummaging through infinite stacks of records, and Matt’s passion for deep sea fishing in the Atlantic are all somewhere in the cosmic mix….

Ecstatic Sunshine is a touring machine - their upcoming jaunt will find them opening for Tim Kinsella’s new band, Make Believe.

MP3: http://www.carparkrecords.com/esPOCKETKNIFE.mp3

ECSTATIC SUNSHINE

Sept 30th - Baltimore, MD The Depot
Oct 7th - Montreal, QC Carpark showcase at Pop Montreal @ O Patro Vys – 356 Mont-Royal Est
Oct 25th - Wichita, KS Electric Snake*
Oct 26th - Denver, CO Hi-Dive*
Oct 27th - Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge*
Oct 28th - Boise, ID Neurolux*
Oct 29th - Seattle, WA The Comet Tavern*
Oct 30th - Portland, OR Holocene*
Nov 1st - San Francisco, CA Hotel Utah*
Nov 3rd - Los Angeles, CA Spaceland*
Nov 4th - La Jolla, CA Che Cafe*
Nov 5th - Phoenix, AZ Modified*
Nov 7th - Austin, TX Emo’s*
Nov 8th - Houston, TX Walters*
Nov 10th - Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn*
Nov 11th - Charlotte, NC The Milestone*
Nov 12th - Baltimore, MD Floristree Space*
Nov 14th - Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar*
Nov 15th - Cambridge, MA The Middle East*
Nov 16th - Brooklyn, NY North Six*

* = w/ Make/Believe

www.carparkrecords.com

www.myspace.com/ecstaticsunshine

Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt are The Blow. They live in Portland, OR. Khaela used to live in Olympia and used to play with people like The Microphones and Mirah. Jona also records under the name YACHT and for the past few tours has been Devendra Banhart’s drummer. After 3 releases as The Blow, Khaela added Jona to the band and released the limited edition EP Poor Aim: Love Songs which found the band exploring a dramatically new and different direction. This new dance-friendly sound (some call it Indie R&B) has been expanded upon on the forthcoming album Paper Television, out Oct. 24 on K Records. It’s the Blow’s second album as a duo, but for many it will be the first introduction to the band, as they are also touring in support of the album with friends like Architecture in Helsinki and Jenny Lewis.

The strength of the Blow is built through juxtaposition. Jona’s percussive savvy bumps and trips under Khaela’s intimate, insistent vocals. No-wave and glitch-hop, club anthems and doo-wop, all party together in the architecture created by The Blow’s sound. Imagine a see-thru space station, floating in the dark, culling out via radio the most delicious flavors of planet earth’s pop music production (the Pharells, the Phil Spectors, the Quincy Joneses). In the hovering structure of Paper Television, these sounds bounce around and mingle, try new moves and brave courageous hairstyles, ultimately getting infused (knocked up) with The Blow’s vital lyrical content. Packed softly into hearty and buoyant vessels of songs, the words and beats are sent back out into the unknown, a transmission from the humans, for the humans, intended to spell out clearly in the night sky to all who come across them: “H-E-L-L-O! YOU ARE NOT ALONE: WE ARE HERE, AND WE ARE LISTENING.

The Blow - “Pile of Gold” MP3 - http://krecs.com/media/audio/TheBlow_KLP178_PileofGold_01.mp3

The Blow extended an open invitation to its fans to make their own video for the track “Pile of Gold” - see the results thus far here: http://www.youtube.com/group/theblow

The Blow - www.theblow.us

The Blow on Myspace - www.myspace.com/theblowus

The Blow press photos - http://krecs.com/html/press/pressphoto.php

Khaela’s blog - www.thetouchmefeeling.com

Jona’s blog - www.teamyacht.com

THE BLOW
Tue 09/19 - Austin TX @ Emo’s (Outside Stage)*
Wed 09/20 - Houston TX @ Warehouse Live*
Thu 09/21 - New Orleans LA @ Howlin’ Wolf*
Fri 09/22 - Athens GA @ 40 Watt Club*
Sat 09/23 - Nashville TN @ Exit In*
Sun 09/24 - Charlottesville, VA @ Satellite Ballroom*
Mon 09/25 - Washington DC @ Black Cat*
Tue 09/26 - New York, NY @ Sin-e
Wed 09/27 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street (Downstairs)*
Sun 10/15 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
Tue 10/17 - Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom #
Thu 10/19 - Tampa, FL Tampa Theatre #
Fri 10/20 - Orlando, FL The Club at Firestone #
Sat 10/21 - New Orleans, LA The Parish at HOB #
Mon 10/23 - Austin, TX Stubb’s BBQ #
Tue 10/24 - Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom #
Wed 10/25 - Ft. Worth, TX Ridglea Theater #
Fri 11/3 - New York, NY Irving Plaza (Force Field PR CMJ Showcase w/ AIH, Apples in Stereo, Shapes and Sizes)*

* = w/ Architecture in Helsinki
# = w/ Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins

The Worker’s Institute label is proud to announce the signing of
Austin, Texas’ Peter and the Wolf. After hearing a self-released
CD-R, the Los Angeles-based independent label tracked down the
band earlier this year. Lightness is slated to be released
in North America on October 31, and in the rest of the world on
November 6. This marks the first release for the label after its
successful Sigur Ros ep.

Peter and the Wolf will be previewing their album at shows around
Texas the week of October 9th before heading out on tour with
Califone and working their way towards the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC.

Peter and the Wolf’s first official release, Lightness, is a collection
of songs written and recorded by Brian Redding Hunter (who
goes by his nickname, Red) in bedrooms, living rooms, and hotels
around the country. Most of these songs were captured on a cassette
4-track or a borrowed computer during Peter and the Wolf’s most
recent tour. Heard as a whole, they paint the picture of a person
constantly traveling with the hope of getting free, trying to pay
back whatever he’s borrowed, or burdened by some lost love. On
Lightness, Hunter explores the dreamy mindstate of a
traveler looking for something; it’s a record for mornings or long drives.

Explains Hunter, “Lightness is a whole record about
that feeling when you wake up all sentimental from a dream and
you want to call your friends and ask How is your health, how’s
your dad, how’s travels? It is about those good mornings when
you’re just wishin’ everybody well.”

“Safe Travels,” A new song from Lightness is now available for
download here:
http://www.workersinstitute.com/music/Peter%20and%20the%20Wolf%20-%2003%20Safe%20Travels.mp3

Peter and the Wolf - Lightness track list:

01 midnight train
02 the ivy
03 safe travels
04 my grey overcoat
05 the hghway
06 the owl
07 anna maria
08 the bonsai tree
09 the apple tree
10 canada
11 dear old robyn
12 captain dan
13 black saltwater
14 holdy water
15 silent movies
16 lightness

PETER AND THE WOLF
Tue Oct 10: Austin, TX The Peacock
Wed Oct 11: Houston, TX Super Happy Fun Land
Thu Oct 12: Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
Sat Oct 14: Tucson, AZ Big Az Music Fest at Club Congress (Outside)
Tue Oct 17: Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge*
Wed Oct 18: Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
Thu Oct 19: Omaha, NE Sokol Underground*
Fri Oct 20: Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar*
Sat Oct 21: Chicago, IL Empty Bottle*
Sun Oct 22: Knoxville, TN The Pilot Light
Mon Oct 23: Atlanta, GA The Earl
Wed Oct 25: Charleston, SC The Map Room (FREE)
Thu Oct 26: Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 (w/ Swearing at Motorists, Hudson Bell)
Fri Oct 27: Winston Salem, NC The Garage
Sat Oct 28: Charlottesville, VA Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
Wed Nov 1: New York, NY Pianos (CMJ)
Sat Nov 4: Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place*
Sun Nov 5: Pittsburgh, PA Garfield Artworks (w/ Beach House, Over the Atlantic)

* = w/ Califone

www.theworkersinstitute.com

www.whiskeyandapples.com

LA-based artist Ariel Pink will be among the family of a dozen or so artists launching a new record label, Human Ear Music, with a showcase at Little Pedro’s in LA on Sun. Sept. 17. The show will feature Ariel Pink, Bubonic Plague, Vibe Central, Jason Creep and Black Powder.

Human Ear Music focuses on limited run releases and features hand-crafted cover art. Its primary form of distribution will be via direct mailorder on the label’s website. The label will serve as a new outlet for a community of LA based artists including Ariel Pink. The label will launch with no less than eight new releases, including Pre, a 2-disc/4-cassette anthology of early material from Ariel himself (before he added the “Pink” to his name), recorded as Ariel Rosenberg’s Thrash and Burn. Other releases are from Vibe Central, Bubonic Plague, Geneva Jacuzzi, Greg Gomberg, a 3-disc set from Jason Supercreep, a book by Andrew S.A. and a compilation of collaborative recordings composed by all of the above, and more.

www.humanearmusic.com

Sun. Sept. 17 @ Little Pedro’s, Downtown Los Angeles

A Human Ear Music showcase:

Black Powder
Jason Creep
Vibe Central
Bubonic Plague
Ariel Pink

The label has also made several MP3s available for free download:

Ariel Rosenberg’s Thrash and Burn - “I Disguise You”
http://humanearmusic.com/catalogue/samplemp3/thrash/2.mp3

Vibe Central - “A Flamingo”
http://humanearmusic.com/catalogue/samplemp3/hitsingles1/2.mp3

Bubonic Plague - “Dracula”
http://humanearmusic.com/catalogue/samplemp3/nobosses/1.mp3

Jason Supercreep - “Get Off of My Beach!”
http://humanearmusic.com/catalogue/samplemp3/126/1.mp3

“Human Ear is bigger than all of us, even bigger than me.” - Ariel Pink

“Human Ear Music is a very very fancy and exclusive social club.” - Jason Creep