CLAIRECORDS NEWSLETTER JUNE 2005 Welcome to the 12th edition of the Clairecords newsletter, crafted amidst the baking heat of early summer. Pass us a tall cool one, OK? Before launching into our monthly e-bagatelle, we're compelled to extend sincere thanks to WVFS-FM (Florida State Univ), WUNH-FM (Univ. of New Hampshire), WTUL-FM (Louisiana State), WLUW-FM (Loyola University Chicago), WMBR-FM (MIT) and 3WK (3wk.com) for adding Silver Screen and Eau Claire to their fine playlists. (We'd also like to commend them on their excellent taste!) And keep your ears open for songs by Pia Fraus and Highspire in the new Discovery Channel series "Urban Explorer"! And now, on to: ** EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CLAIRECORDS ARTISTS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK ** AIRIEL Airiel's newest offering, The Airiel EP, is at long last available at tonevendor.com, and of course it rocks like nobody?s business. Live appearances are being booked faster than you can say winks and kisses (copies of which are still availabe through tonevendor.com, by the way), so stay tuned for updates-- especially if you're in the Midwest. http://www.airiel.com EAU CLAIRE The debut EP from Clairecords? newest (and only) XX-chromosomed twosome is barely out and the press is beating down the door to the Clairecords HQ in anticipation. Jack Rabid graciously included a tidbit about the Eau Claire EP in his Independents? Day column in the May '05 issue of ICE Magazine (the one with Alanis Morissette on the cover (it's OK, we're over that). We?d also like to extend some Texas-sized thanks to Audra Schroeder for her kind words about the EP in the Austin Chronicle! Read it here: http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-06-17/music_phases11.html http://www.eauclairemusic.com PIA FRAUS If you're going to be anywhere in the Latvia/Estonia area in July, Everyone's favorite Estonians will be performing at Fonofest and the Plink Plonk Festival on the 17th and 23rd, respectively. The band are also the focus of Sailing On a Grapefruit Lake, a fascinating compilation featuring remixed and previously-released cuts that was released by Vinyl Junkie Records earlier this spring. http://www.piafraus.com SCIFLYER Sciflyer's long-awaited mini-album, The Age of Lovely, Intimate Things, comes out Aug. 16 and boy is it a scorcher! One small step for band, another giant leap for bandkind! An LP's worth of tunes at a 45's price, to translate for the vinyl collectors among you. The group are booking live dates faster than you can say "global climate change," and you know better than to miss out on the happs if they venture anywhere close to your location. http://www.sciflyer.net SILVER SCREEN Radio loves Silver Screen with such passionate fervor that we?re about to bottle Cris Miller up and sell him! The folks at CKMS-FM (University of Waterloo, Ontario) and KEXP-FM (Univ. of Washington) are awfully nice for adding The Greatest Story Never Told to their rotation. Our best debut in recent memory also clocked in at #19 on WLUW-FM (Loyola University Chicago)'s last CMJ chart. Cris is a busy elf in his workshop hammering out new songs, so look for a new outing of some sort or another very soon! http://www.clairecords.com/artists/silverscreen.html TEST TONES VI Our famed quarterly compilation series is back and better than ever with Tycho, Lights Out Asia, Angie Heaton, thebrotherkite, Air Formation, Astral, Scenic, Anton Barbeau w/ the Bevis Frond and tons more exciting artists contributing new and previously-released tunes. Test Tones IV is now available at the indie record emporium nearest you (that'd be Tonevendor, dig?) for the astoundingly-low price of $4.00-- just in case that tax-refund check is still burning a hole in your pocket. http://www.tonevendor.com THEBROTHERKITE thebrotherkite are once again quitting the comfort of their Ocean State digs to bring you the epitome of rock 'n' roll hijinks as modern civilization knows it. Go see them if they play your hood, throw your underwear onstage and buy everything at the merch table. In fact, do that with every Clairecords band on tour right now. Lather, rinse, repeat. http://www.thebrotherkite.com ** ALL YOUR PRESS IS BELONG TO US ** EAU CLAIRE "The real strength in this EP, besides Rachel and Jessica being equally talented vocalists and song-writers, is Eau Claire's ability to harness mood so effectively." -Venus SILVER SCREEN "The sound exists in a well-defined territory between wistful Sarah jangle and Cocteau Twins shimmer. Miller has a real knack for vocal melodies and hooks." - angryrobot.net ** CLAIRECORDS BURNIN? UP THE HIGHWAY ** AIR FORMATION 07/30/05 London UK- The Windmill 08/05/05 Brighton UK- The Free Butt AIRIEL 07/09/05 Minneapolis, MN- The Hexagon w/ The Flavor Crystals 07/25/05 Chicago IL- Dark Rook w/ Brian Jonestown Massacre (Lollapalooza after party!) THE FRENCHMEN 07/06/05 Sacramento CA- The Distillery w/ Gregory Webster, Bunnygrunt, The Frenchmen, The Bright Ideas PIA FRAUS 07/16/05 Ce~sis, LATVIA-Fonofest 07/23/05 Tartu, ESTONIA- Plink Plonk Festival SCIFLYER 07/06/05 San Francisco CA- Hemlock Tavern 07/27/05 Los Angeles CA- Lava Lounge 07/28/05 Las Vegas, NV- Cooler Lounge w/ Bob Log III & Ape 07/29/05 Las Vegas NV- The Aristocrat 07/30/05 Hollywood CA- Spaceland w/ Man of the Year 08/03/05 Eugene, OR Cosmic Pizza w/ The Lawn 08/04/05 Portland OR-Tonic Lounge w/ The Lawn, Time Farmer 08/05/05 Bend OR- Players w/ The Lawn & Ginger Burn 08/06/05 Portland, OR- Slabtown w/ The Lawn 08/07/05 Arcata CA- The Alibi w/ Butch vs. Femme 08/26/05 Roseville CA- The Owl Club THEBROTHERKITE 07/22/05 Northampton MA- Milky Way Lounge & Lanes 08/01/05 Cambridge MA- Middle East (upstairs) w/ Left Handed Thieves + friends 08/02/05 Providence RI- The Call w/ Left Handed Thieves + friends 08/03/05 NYC NY- 169 Bar 08/06/05 Arlington VA- Diver City House (Make Out Party) 08/07/05 Baltimore MD- Mojo Room 08/11/05 New Haven CT- Rudy?s HEY, WHAT'S THAT YOU'RE EATING? EJ Hagen (Highspire): "Bangers and mash, couple pints of Fullers, then lager (Yuengling-Pennsylvanians beer of choice. We just call it 'lager' round here), then Advil and green tea pills." Questions? Comments? Want to book one of our bands? Need an advance copy of something? On-air and/or print interview requests? Or maybe just a hug? Email susan@clairecords.com or dan@tonevendor.com. We here at Clairecords and Tonevendor want you to have all the best when it comes to your independent music needs. Want to unsubscribe? Hit 'Reply' and wešll get you off.