Compilation: Friends Records 2011

Friends Records has been collecting songs since the beginning of 2011, and the result is a 30 song compilation full of new and exclusive tracks from Baltimore, Maryland.


Friends Records 2011 is out tomorrow, a free digital and limited double-cassette release available Thanksgiving Day. Citypaper premiered the opening track, a new Celebration song called "Sure Shot" that was recorded in the band's own Night Worm Studios.



Mark at YVYNYL uncovered another preview last week, Weekends' "Basement Fuzz."



The compilation was mastered for cassette by Rob Giradi at Lord Baltimore, and the artwork for the double-tape packaging comes compliments of Will Pesta.



The track list of this annual affair boasts a hefty supply of Baltimore heroes, with an unreleased Future Islands song recorded for KEXP, a recently recorded Dan Deacon track, the debut of Jenn Wasner's (Wye Oak) Flock of Dimes, new explorations by Jason Urick, a stark reminder of the return of Oxes, a lost gem from Dustin Wong and Molly Siegel, a new-anything wonder from Matt Papich's Co La, and more.



It also sports an Arthur Russell cover by Soft Cat, fresh digs from Holy Ghost Party, a hearty dose of sugar by Will Pesta's Inflatable Mattress, a new live jam from Lands and Peoples, some exclusive hard-nosed tomfoolery from Witch Hat, another psychedelic gift from Secret Mountains, and a lot more. Check out the entire track list below.

Side A
Celebration - Sure Shot 4.37
Future Islands - Tomorrow (Live @ KEXP) 3:31
Weekends - Basement Fuzz 2:08
Microkingdom - God's Total Woman 5:28
Moss Of Aura - Post 4:22
Jason Urick - Woman (For Jah Shaka) 6:58

Side B
Oxes - Hiawatha (Live @ WNUR) 4:51
Witch Hat - Break Interstate Park 5:28
Violet Hour - Absence Of Limbs 5:47
Sri Aurobindo - No Coincidence 3:29
Lonnie Walker - Inside Factories 3:49
Height With Friends - Mustard Seed 2:08

Side C
Soft Cat - This Is How We Walk On The Moon 3:36
Lands and Peoples - Memo (Live) 3:35
Flock Of Dimes - Prison Bride 2:54
Beth Varden - I Can't Stand 5:59
Brian Adam Ant - Psychic Assassins 2:23
Secret Mountains - Weepy Little Fingers 6:18
Buhloones - Something Else Exchange 2:13
Holy Ghost Party - Breakfast 3:26
Beyond Say - Bowl Of Water Moccassins 3:37

Side D
Dan Deacon - The Token Circle High 1:23
Co La - Visions Of Excess (Wet Version) 6:26
Jake Lingan - Hair Trigger 3;42
Vlonde - Love Theme 4:55
Avocado Happy Hour - Tactic 4:19
Dustin Wong and Molly Siegel - Untitled 1:52
Chase O'Hara and Amy Reid - Love You In Summer 2:43
Inflatable Mattress - Fantasy Motorboat 2:22
Neal Reinalda - Sunset In Baltimore 5:10

Get the double-cassette or free digital download right here on Thanksgiving.

Video: Weekends - "Roommate / Raingirls"

It was really hot outside. I arrived at the Copycat early one Saturday to help out with a music video. The Copycat Theatre troupe, responsible for Rooms Play and other wonderment, had written and choreographed a short for our friends Weekends.



Guy Werner and Kevin Blackistone descended upon the space with a truck full of lights (hot lights) and the rest of their video gear. What ensued was a video for two songs off of Weekends' Strange Cultures. Brendan Sullivan and Adam Lempel  are invaded during a sweaty rendition of "Roommate" in their old practice space, and taken to the Copycat Theater's fantasy world for "Raingirls." Claymation animates the second half, a psychedelic whirlwind of clay, umbrellas, dancing, and Sam Shea in a bear costume.



The first half of this was recorded that hot Saturday, the daylong shoot ended with Weekends rushing over to a gig at Floristree. Brendan rode with me over to the H&H, and there's still red body paint from the video's abduction on my passenger seat.

Weekends are working on their next LP now, the first taste of which will be here.

Show: Japanther, Weekends, Beyond Say, Teenage Souls

Artwork by DJ Rice and Logan Terkelsen

Tonight: Zomes, Witch Hat, Weekends, Beyond Say

Tonight: Butt Stomach, Total Slacker, Weekends, Friends

Tonight: In Every Room, Weekends, Jabon, more

Celebrate America tonight at the H&H's 5th Dimension with In Every Room, Weekends, Jabon, and Dada Trash Collage.This will be In Every Room's first live show in over five months, and the band promises a re-worked set with all new songs. You likely already know that Weekends will aim to shred your face off, and Jabon is in fact the producer behind a handful of Animal Collective albums (Feels and Strawberry Jam).

The show starts at 9:30, takes place at the 5th Dimension, and you can RSVP here.

Clusterfuck: Scapescape, Dope Body, Autograph Playhouse, Death Set, more

With the recent closure of the Hexagon, and the close call at Sonar, Baltimore should revel in any announcement of a new space for art to inhabit. The Showtime Theatre on 25th street is re-opening as the Autograph Playhouse this weekend.

The same B.R.O.S. that presented us with Grundlehammer are back with two new rock operas scheduled for the next three weekends, titled Amphion and The Terrible Secret of Lunastus. More details are here, and tickets are here.



Dope Body celebrates the release of Nupping Friday night at Floristree with a Baltimore heavy sound dream team that includes Double Dagger, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, and an all-too-rare appearance by Butt Stomach (Dan Deacon and Kevin O'Meara's noise outfit).




The big event this weekend is Scapescape, a festival that goes down all day Sunday at the G Spot and Ruintown. Festival organizer Dave Underhill was originally asked to have his band play the G Spot for what could be a final farewell to the space, but he ended up booking over 20 other bands to play as well. The result is a wide offering of some of Baltimore's best sounds with Dan Deacon, Celebration, Arbouretum, and Microkingdom all headlining the affair. RSVP and get more details right here.


And if all that weren't already enough, Approximate Infinite Daydream begins this Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Art. This show includes Comeback Ranch, Jared Paolini, and Vlond. The event is free and takes places during regular hours at the museum.


Lastly, the Death Set is back in town for the first time since dropping their new record. They play the Windup Space on Saturday night with Win Win and Future People.

Mixtape: Baltimore: Spring 2011

  art by Caleb Moore

This morning I posted a new seasonal mixtape on Impose, titled Baltimore: Spring 2011.


DOWNLOAD: [SIDE A] Baltimore: Spring 2011
1. Zomes - "Openings"
2. Weekends - "Home Alone (acoustic)"
3. Ken Seeno - "Cedilla in My Monogram"
4. Lands & Peoples - "Sexting"
5. White Life - "Real Things"
6. Eachothers - "Wild Yonder"
7. Microkingdom - "Aire Metal (Chopped and Screwed)"
8. Ponytail - "Honey Touches"
9. Adventure - "Feels Like Heaven"
10. Daytime - "Life / Afterlife (edit)"
11. Ecstatic Sunshine - "Hello Money"


DOWNLOAD: [SIDE B] Baltimore: Spring 2011
1. Celebration - "Only The Wicked (acoustic)"
2. Zu Shapes - "Olivia"
3. Moss of Aura - "Charter"
4. Winks - "Slap Me Choke Me Cum On You"
5. Dope Body - "The Shape of Grunge To Come"
6. Inflatable Mattress - "Green Tea Girlfriend"
7. Thank You - "Pathetic Magic (Dan Deacon remix)"
8. Avocado Happy Hour - "Daytime Television"
9. Gem Vision - "Untitled 1"

Photos: Weekends, White Fang, Run DMT

A few weeks ago Weekends played their Strange Cultures LP release party at Floristree. They were joined by Run DMT and Portland's White Fang, and it was a crazy good time.



Valerie was there to capture all the action, her shots are below and after the jump.

Clusterfuck: Future Islands, Wye Oak, Weekends, Run DMT, Lands and Peoples, Dope Body, Adventure, Ed Schrader, more

Today I present you with the first Clusterfuck post in awhile, as Saturday boasts an insane amount of quality music events in Baltimore. Here's what you should do tomorrow.



Tomorrow at Hopkins' Spring Fair, the Levering Quad offers a lineup lifted straight from our Soundcloud playlist as Future Islands, Dope Body, Weekends, Lands and Peoples, Adventure, and Raindeer all take the stage outside. Word is that the stage is covered, so this is probably rain or shine. Also, it's definitely free. The schedule is right here.



Immediately after the Spring Fair you'll need to coast down St. Paul to the 2640 Space where Wye Oak hosts a release party with their touring friends Callers. Get tickets for that here, and take a gander at their new video for "Fish" here. Also, it's Jenn's birthday.




After you leave the 2640 Space you'll need to head downtown to Floristree where you'll find and all-star cast of Weekends, Winks, White Fang, Run DMT, and Rapdragons.

And if that wasn't enough, the Talking Head has the Fan Death Records showcase with Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Locrian, Pleasure Leftists, Broken Water, and Heroin Sucks.

Show: Future Islands, Weekends, Dope Body, more

If you've been outside today, you are aware that spring time is here. To celebrate this year, Hopkins' Spring Fair has teamed up with the "Baltimore Curators" for an event.



On Saturday, April 16 both are proud to present an outdoor bill on the Levering Quad that's free to the public. The lineup reads like a week of post titles on this here blog, so naturally we're stoked. Bands include Future Islands, Weekends, Dope Body, Lands and Peoples, and Raindeer. Did we mention that this was free? Because it is.

The show runs from 4:45 until 10 PM, and the full schedule is below. RSVP right here.

4:45 - RAINDEER
5:30 - LANDS & PEOPLES
6:15 - WEEKENDS
7:00 - DOPE BODY
8:00 - ADVENTURE
9:00 - FUTURE ISLANDS

Weekends - "Roomate" & "Home Alone" (Acoustic)

First off, Weekends' debut 12" LP dubbed Strange Cultures is now in stores nationwide. It's been a long time coming, and I've had the pleasure of observing since it's inception.



Sitting in on the mixing of the record with Rob Girardi last year, I recall a feeling of uncharted experimentation felt collectively between the band, Friends Recs, and Rob. Specifically, I remember going over to Rob's studio for the first time and listening to "Roomate", salivating over the chance to share this joyous noise with the world.



Above is a brand new acoustic take on "Roomate", a preview of a short-run cassette due out soon that features a collection of stripped-down tunes by Weekends. This one highlights the slow building pop song underneath the drowning melodic fuzz of the original, but there's another new one that takes you straight to the campfire sing-a-long.



"Home Alone" features Amy Marco of Soft Cat on violin. The original electric version is the only "ballad" to be found on Strange Cultures. The acoustic take shines light on the quiet group-chant foot-stomper that rusts well with age yet features a heap of youthful exuberance. This gem will also be found on the forthcoming acoustic tape.

Look out for the acoustic release, and be sure to grip the 12" right here.

Photos: Raindeer, Winks, Weekends, Holy Ghost Party

A few weeks ago we presented a killer bill at the Golden West which included Raindeer, Weekends, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party. Some of our favorite younger bands from our fair city, the evening proved to live up to the hype by selling out and providing stellar aural pleasure for those who made it in to the Golden West before capacity was reached.



Valerie was there to capture all the action, including Raindeer's first ever Baltimore show which had kids dancing and singing along the words to tracks from their debut EP.

Strange Cultures Wax

Weekends' Strange Cultures has been over a year in the making, as production delays and learning the ropes of the record production industry has caused the LP to be delayed until this month. However, the wax for the record has just arrived in Baltimore, and for their shows tonight and tomorrow we'll be offering special super-limited copies of the LP.




These copies are without the proper jackets, but come with custom-painted jackets by the band and Friends Records. No two are alike, and there are only 15 of them in the whole wide world. Get yours tonight at the Hexagon, or tomorrow night in D.C. at their show with Lower Dens and Secret Mountains at Subterranean A.

Show: Truman Peyote, Birthdays, Weekends, Winks

Tomorrow night the Hexagon has a killer mid-week affair that sports some of our favorites paired with some of the many awesome members of FMLY coming to town.



February 22 the Hexagon features Truman Peyote, Weekends, Birthdays, Winks, and Ztarship Unicorn. A hefty bill indeed, this one should have your brainwaves properly fried and your dancing shoes adequately moving late into the evening.

Tomorrow night's show will start around 8 PM at the Hexagon.

Clusterfuck: Shark Tank, Weekends, Moss Of Aura, Winks, Arbouretum, Raindeer, Secret Mountains, Holy Ghost Party

 flyer by Patrick Byrd

I haven't done a Clusterfuck post in a while, but this weekend's abundance of shows is calling for it. I've already highlighted the majority of these shows, so we'll keep it short and sweet as a friendly reminder of what you can treat your ears to this weekend.



Tonight the Windup Space is where you should be, as Shark Tank will be rocking their record release show with Ed Schrader and Moss of Aura. More info right here.



Tomorrow night sports a bill curated in full by yours truly, as Weekends, Raindeer, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party take over the Golden West. These are some of my absolute favorite new bands from Baltimore, and I'm stoked to bring them all together for one bill. This one's just $5, more info on the affair can be found right here.





And last but not least, Sunday night's got a killer show as well, as everyone's favorite doom-folk outfit will be celebrating their new record upstairs at the Ottobar. For their record release show, Arbouretum will be joined by Secret Mountains, making this more than worth not paying for. Yup, this one's free, and it starts at 9 PM.

Baltimore vs. Shea Stadium

Over the past several years some Orioles have been heading up north to play at Shea Stadium. And much to our excitement to find out, the venue has been documenting these along with many other outings that they've hosted. The space serves as both a recording studio and show venue, an ideal arrangement for this sort of thing. I recently stumbled upon live recordings from some Baltimore residents including sets from Double Dagger, Dustin Wong, Future Islands, Run DMT, Teeth Mountain, and Weekends.



I've posted a handful of live Dustin Wong recordings over the past year, but here's the first from out of town. Dustin hit this one straight up into the cosmos as usual.



A pretty full set from Double Dagger -- from last September so this one's a playoff game. Nolen, Bruce, and Denny were clearly all batting well over .400 for this one.



Future Islands were hosted after the All-Star break, and we certainly pushing their way to a pennant in 2010 when they played this one. Hear the full set for this right here.



Run DMT knocked three jams out of the park in a psychedelic whirlwind last October.



Weekends have stepped up to the plate a whole lot of times at Shea Stadium, but here's the venues favorite pitch of their hit "Raingirls", knocked home of course.

Check out Shea Stadium's entire archive right here.

Friends Records Update: February 2011 LPs from Microkingdom, Celebration, Weekends

Friends Records has had a busy start to 2011, so here's a status update on some things to let you know what we're up to. We have three full length records that will be out by the end of the month (one already is), and a healthy dose of awesome shows plotted.



Microkingdom's Three Compositions of No Jazz dropped a few weeks ago, and copies on white or black vinyl are beginning to trickle on to turntables as we speak. We pressed up 250 copies of each color, accompanied by packaging that features mind-numbing artwork by Chris Day of Open Space / Lost Ghosts Records / Bear & Pieces acclaim.

Microkingdom's next show is February 19 at Death by Audio in Brooklyn with Celebration.


Celebration's Hello Paradise will be officially unveiled this Thursday, February 3. The last song card to be dealt in the Hello Paradise portion of the Electric Tarot will be given out, coming in the form of "Kilamanjaro" which represents The Moon in the tarot deck.



The first few copies of the wax will be available in Baltimore stores only on Thursday, then up in Philly on Friday, February 4 at their show at The Ox with Sun Airway and Golden Ages. All pre-orders begin shipping next Monday, February 7.

Celebration play in Philly February 4, NYC February 19, and in Baltimore on March 5 for the LP release show with Future Islands and Arbouretum at the 2640 Space.



In a few weeks Friends Records will FINALLY be releasing the first album in our catalog - FR001: Weekends' Strange Cultures. This my friends, will be a happy occasion, as the release has been twisted and turned through production delays but will now see it's actual physical inception on vinyl. Look for more details on this in the coming weeks.



Weekends play Baltimore on February 12 at Golden West with Winks, Holy Ghost Party, and Raindeer. They also play DC February 23 with Lower Dens and Secret Mountains.

Show: Lower Dens, Secret Mountains, Weekends

 photo by Emily Wandres

We're pleased to help present a great show down in D.C. next month - as Lower Dens, Secret Mountains, and Weekends all bring Baltimore to it's neighboring beltway.







This offering of some of Baltimore's finest will take place at Subterranean A, a small and fantastic space that just got up and running last year. Weekends' drenching noise-pop sonics will blast your ears backwards while Secret Mountain's lush psychedelic swirls will capture your hearts as Lower Dens' undeniably amazing brand of rock will leave you breathless. Yeah, it'll be like that and you're not going to want to miss it.

This show takes place on February 23, which also happens to be my birthday. I would like to thank the bands in advance for the killer birthday present, and hope to see everyone down in D.C. in a month. The show costs $7 and will get going around 8 PM.

Click through below to after the jump for a couple videos from these folks.

Show: Weekends, Raindeer, Winks, Holy Ghost Party

 flyer by Patrick Byrd

Next month is looking pretty stacked in terms of shows to see in Baltimore, and we were stoked to add another to the batch by putting this bill together. On Saturday, February 12 the Golden West will host four of our absolute favorite newer local projects with Weekends, Raindeer, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party all rounding out the raucous lineup.

Tickets are just $5 and you can grab them in advance right here. Starts at 10 PM.



The duo of Holy Ghost Party contains 2/3 of Dope Body, but is a whole other entity in and of itself... a psychedelic blast of prog pop with just about everything in between.



Winks is Chase from INEVERYROOM and Adam from Weekends, and this is to be their first show of 2011. This will be your first chance to grib their new album, She's Done.



This will be Raindeer's first ever hometown show, the project of Charlie Hughes joined by Beau Cole of Lands & Peoples and Devin Byrnes. New material out soon via Gprecs.



Weekends continue their onslaught of free-form pop scuzz, with their first proper LP Strange Cultures dropping right around the time of this show on wax via Friends Records.