The Morning Benders

The Morning Benders have been steadily building things all around California over the past year and now they are bracing to talk through tin cans nationwide… +1 is ecstatic to announce that the morning benders will be doing their first national tour across the US this May/June as main support for The Kooks in support of their debut album, ‘talking through tin cans,’ out on May 6th on +1 Records.

They have just come off very warm receptions at Noisepop and SXSW where they hung with John Norris for MTV News, performed on Austin's NBC Noon News, recorded in Daytrotter's temporary SF studio and busked in a barbershop in the mission with blogoteque's Vincent Moon…They've also received props over the past few weeks from LA Times Buzz Bands, Spin.com, All Music, Rcrd Lbl, Metromix, Stereogum, Filter, Little Radio, LAist, SF Bay Guardian & many more.

Check out their SXSW, docmented for Imeem, here: http://themorningbenders.imeem.com/

Their first single, ‘waiting for a war,’ is out this week on +1 Records. +1 pressed a limited edition 7inch of ‘waiting for a war’ with b-side ‘a song,’ which will be available at the bands shows. In addition, the single is now live on iTunes along with ‘your dark side', an additional exclusive track.

The video for ‘waiting for a war,’ directed by Alexander Safdie, aka bigAL, and Ronald Schnetke, aka ronnieROYAL, has already been viewed over 30,000 times on YouTube over the past week and has been getting props all over the interweb. You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/themorningbenders

Stay tuned for more info on their special record release shows in Los Angeles on May 8th and in San Francisco on May 9th as well as additional shows around the country.

US Tour Dates
May 6 5:00P Virgin Megastore SF In-store! FREE! San Francisco, California
May 8 LA CD Release Show @ The Echo Los Angeles, California
May 9 SF CD Release Show @ 330 Ritch San Francisco, California
May 18 House Of Blues San Diego, California
May 19 The Wiltern Los Angeles, California
May 24 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, British Columbia
May 25 Sasquatch Festival Seattle, Washington
May 26 Wonder Ballroom Portland, Oregon
May 28 Avalon Theatre Salt Lake City, Utah
May 29 Ogden Theatre Denver, Colorado
May 31 Fine Line Music Cafe Minneapolis, Minnesota
June 1 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, Wisconsin
June 2 Vic Theatre Chicago, Illinois
June 4 Kool Haus Toronto, Ontario
June 5 The Fillmore @ TLA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 9 Paradise Rock Club SOLD OUT Boston, Massachusetts
June 10 Terminal 5 New York, New York
June 11 Terminal 5 SOLD OUT New York, New York

My Morning Jacket Sneak Peek!

We can get a sneak peek at some of the tracks from Evil Urges since Jim James & Co. performed loads of their new material for the first time (live) the other night. They've retained the sound that MMJ enthusiasts have grown to adore but have interjected a variety of new movements and energy that make for a sensational listen. If you want to hear Jim James squeal like he's been on a Prince binge or are looking for a band that's got originality/versatility reminiscent of the Talking Heads, then check out the new tune "Highly Suspicious" and try to stave off your excitement for a few more months.

[MP3] My Morning Jacket - Highly Suspicious (Live - 3/10/2008)
[MP3] My Morning Jacket - Wear Your Love Like Heaven (Donovan Cover)

NINE INCH NAILS GHOSTS I-IV FIRST WEEK FIGURES REVEALED

Nine Inch Nails' 36-track instrumental opus Ghosts I-IV, released March 2 via NIN.com, has amassed a first week total of 781,917 transactions (including free and paid downloads as well as orders for physical product), resulting in a take of $1,619,420 USD.

"These figures represent the most relevant and contemporary metric for measuring how Nine Inch Nails' music is reaching its fans," said NIN manager Jim Guerinot.

NIN's label The Null Corporation will not be releasing traditional sale figures to soundscan.

As previously reported, the $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition of Ghosts I-IV immediately sold out its run of 2500. The $5 Download, $10 2XCD set and $75 Limited Edition Deluxe versions are still available at NIN.com.

The $10 2XCD SET will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, April 8 in North America, and April 7 in the UK and most European territories. A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8.

Ghosts I-IV has been released under the Creative Commons license.
http://creativecommons.org/

White Rabbits Sign To TBD Records Alongside Radiohead and Tour Information!

White Rabbits sign to their new label, TBD Records, and become the sole label mates of Radiohead on the imprint. Not such bad company to be in we think! Look for a new album in early 2009. In the meantime, you can hear a new song or 3 as the boys will be doing one last hurrah this spring and take the show on the road in support of Spoon & The Walkmen, then to Europe as headliners.

But before all that gets underway, the Rabbits will be playing a very special show in New York as a benefit for the Museum of Natural History. Tickets are still available for the Winter Dance if you'd like to support this worthy cause while foxtrotting to White Rabbits in your Sunday best: http://www.amnh.org/join/specials/winterdance

And don’t miss them in TX at the Big Shot Touring Showcase, Hot Freaks Party & Nylon Party.

US & European Tour Dates:

3/11: Museum of Natural History's Winter Dance, NYC
3/13: The Cavern, Dallas
3/14: SXSW,Club Deville, Bigshot Touring Showcase
3/15: SXSW, Club Deville, Hot Freaks Party
3/15: SXSW, 421 3rd St., Nylon Magazine Party
4/01: Mojos, Columbia
4/02: Uptown Theater, Kansas City*
4/03: Capitol Theater, Davenport*
4/04: Vic Theater, Chicago*
4/05: Bogarts, Cincinnati*
4/06: Emerald Theater, Detroit*
4/07: Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh*
4/10: WXPN Free Show, The Chameleon Club, Lancaster PA
4/11: Sonar, Baltimore*
4/12: Norva, Norfolk*
4/14: Centerstage, Atlanta*
4/16: Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale*
4/17: House of Blues, Myrtle Beach*
4/28: Night & Day, Manchester
4/29: The Borderline, London
4/30: Bodega Social, Nottingham
5/01: Thekla, Bristol
5/02: Nice N' Sleazy, Glasgow
5/03: The Faversham, Leeds
5/04: Academy, Birmingham
5:06: Paradiso, Amsterdam
5/08: Kleine Elserhalle, Munich +
5/09: Starclub, Dresden+
5/11: Baschkapp, Frankfurt+
5/12: Lido, Berlin+
5/13: U&G, Hamburg+
5/14: Saal Tepferdt, Haldern+
5/19: Cleveland
5/20: Schubas, Chicago
5/21: 400 Bar, Minneapolis
5/23: Caterina Winery, Spokane
5/24: Berbatis Pan, Portland
5/25: Sasquatch Festival, Seattle
5/27: Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco
5/28: The Echo, Los Angeles
5/29: The Beauty Bar, Las Vegas
5/30: Monks, Salt Lake City
5/31: The Bluebird, Denver
6/02: Saint Louis
6/04: Philadelphia
6/05: DC
6/06: Brooklyn
6/07: Boston

* = w/ Spoon , The Walkmen
+ = w/ Lonely Dear, Guilemotts, Soko

A new album for Earlimart!

Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart spent the fall furiously working away in their studio. The fruit of their labor is the band’s Hymn and Her, due out on Majordomo in July.

You are indeed correct!
This is NO lie!
Here comes a new Earlimart record that you didn’t have to wait years to hear!

In fact after 10 years of being in the band, Aaron and Ariana have made a vow! A vow to disrespect all of the “crumbling music industry rules and release at least one record every fiscal year for the next 10 years. Or, unless Aaron and Ari decide that they don’t want to.

“We recorded the new album (Hymn and Her) really quickly….we didn’t wanna wait another 3 years to make another record. We just wanna keep makin’ stuff” says Espinoza.

In fact, plans have already been put in place for the follow-up to Hymn and Her.

“Well we are in negotiations with a satellite and space research company. I can’t say who they are just yet…..but we’re gonna start releasing records via satellite. Space downloads. We’re light years ahead of Radiohead….gonna plant that sucker right on the roof of “The Ship” and start broadcasting” says Espinoza.

But let’s get back to the subject at hand:

Hymn and Her was written and produced by Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray at the band’s Ship Studio in Eagle Rock, CA. The making of the record was quick compared to the two years of work that went into Mentor Tormentor, and it proves to be more organic and diverse than anything the band has done before. The band has over the years metamorphosed into a two piece – an introspective songwriting team whose recordings have lush production quality.

This new offering will be Earlimart’s second on Majordomo, an imprint formed as a partnership between Earlimart and Shout! Factory, offering the band greater creative freedom. Majordomo will also sign and produce other like-minded artists.

Earlimart will be performing new songs from Hymn and Her for the first time at this year’s SXSW:

Wed. March 12th - BLAZE TV 7pm - AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER (BAT STAGE)
Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 3, 500 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX 78701
*FREE TICKETS HANDED OUT BEFORE SHOW*

Thurs. March 13th - SPACELAND PARTY 2pm - ANTONE'S w/Daniel Lanois, Foreign Born, Castledoor, Airborne Toxic Event, Autolux. Antone’s - 213 W. Fifth St., Austin, TX 78701 *NO BADGE REQUIRED*

Fri. March 14th - PORCHLIGHT FEST 2pm - SALVAGE VANGUARD THEATER w/The Redwalls, Castledoor, Let's go Sailing, Rademacher. The Porchlight Pop Fest @ Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722 *NO BADGE REQUIRED*

Fri. March 14th - SXSW SHOWCASE 11pm - BUFFALO BILLIARDS w/Joseph Arthur, The Watson Twins, Castledoor. Buffalo Billiards - 201 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701 *BADGE REQUIRED*

Sat. March 15th - HOMESLICE PIZZA PARTY 6pm - HOMESLICE PIZZA w/The Submarines, OFFICE, Joseph Arthur. Homeslice Pizza - 1415 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704 *NO BADGE REQUIRED*

Press love for Earlimart:

"With its broad, sweeping string arrangements, Mentor Tormentor is much more grandiose then anything Earlimart has done before." – Filter

“Elegantly drifty Beatles atmospherics.” –Spin

“The thinking-mans’ Wilco...” – New York Times

Ambulance Ltd announce their first headlining dates in 2 years! (Their last official show was December 31st 2005!)

As Marcus Congleton (founder, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Ambulance Ltd) said:
“Ambulance has suffered some unwelcome reality doses in the past couple of years. Many songs have been written and recorded but legal battles, interpersonal dramas, and spiritual meltdowns have stilted our sophomore effort. If there's ever a “VH1: Behind The Music that's really good but not massively popular” I think our saga would be perfect. But the good news is we're back with a bag of new songs and a damn good record is beginning to take shape. I am delighted to be returning to the Stage.”

04/02/08 Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, Massachusetts
04/04/08 Maxwell's Hoboken, New Jersey
04/05/08 North Star Bar Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
04/06/08 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
04/07/08 Rock and Roll Hotel Washington, D.C.
04/11/08 Mercury Lounge New York City, NY
Wild Light & Bear Hands are the main support bands for this run.

Their current label TVT Records have just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owing the band a lot of money and leaving the release of the bands second album in limbo. The band have chosen to take their new songs to their fans via the road.

Ambulance Ltd is; Marcus Congleton; Ezra Oklan (drums); Ian Fenger (guitar); Xander McMahon (keyboards) and Jeremy Kay (bass).

Over the past eighteen months, Marcus lived in LA for 9 months, wrote and recorded songs with John Cale, Rick Parker and Mike Daly; wrote music for a DKNY ad campaign and had songs featured on NASCAR and Sprint TV commercials and many TV shows.

NINE INCH NAILS GHOSTS I-IV AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT NIN.COM

Ghosts I-IV was released 6:00 p.m. PST March 2, 2008 via NIN.com: a four volume collection of 36 untitled instrumental tracks, nearly two hours of music, recorded over a 10-week period last fall.

Ghosts I-IV was conceived as an experiment: Following the conclusion of 2007's Year Zero album, alternate reality game and touring campaign, Trent Reznor enlisted Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder with help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione to create spontaneous, impulsive soundtracks to daydreams with no agenda or release date, only a self-imposed 10-week time limit. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.

The end result is a wildly varied body of work released in its entirety with no label-imposed limitations--musical, physical or otherwise.

Ghosts I-IV is available in the following configurations:

FREE DOWNLOAD Ghosts I - The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as DRM-free MP3s (320kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged) including complete 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

$5 DOWNLOAD Ghosts I-IV - All 36 tracks in a variety of DRM-free digital formats (320 kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged; FLAC Lossless; Apple Lossless) including a 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc. This version is also available from the Amazon MP3 store.

$10 2XCD SET Ghosts I-IV - 2 audio CDs in a gatefold digipak package with a 16-page booklet. To be shipped TBD. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in same choice of formats as $5 Download option. Download will include the 40 page PDF and the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc. This configuration will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, and April 8 in North America, the UK and most European territories.

$75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE Ghosts I-IV - Hardcover book holding 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD of all 36 tracks in multi-track format (in .wav files readable by Mac and Windows), and Blu-ray disc featuring stereo recordings in high-definition 24 bit 96Khz with exclusive slide show. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. Also includes 48-page hardcover of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan. Discs and art book both housed in fabric slipcover.

$300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE Ghosts I-IV - Contains all elements from deluxe package, along with exclusive 4XLP 180-gram vinyl set, and two limited edition Giclee prints available exclusively in this package. Disc book, art book, and prints are all housed in a fabric slipcover. 4XLP vinyl set comes in its own fabric slipcover. INCLUDES immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above.

LIMITED TO 2500 PIECES, NUMBERED AND PERSONALLY SIGNED BY TRENT REZNOR.

A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8. The deluxe versions are available for pre-order from Artist in Residence (A+R) as well. http://www.ainr.com/

More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future.