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