CLAIRECORDS NEWSLETTER 2/06 Welcome to the 18th edition of the Clairecords newsletter, brought to you with a great big messy Valentine kiss. Lock up your liquor cabinets, stock up on earplugs and hide those distortion pedals, because everyone's favorite label, Clairecords, will be invading the Lone Star State for our very first appearance at the liquored-up, laquered-down, tinnitus-plagued bacchanalia that is the annual South By Southwest music festival. We'll kick the festivities off with a day party at End of an Ear Records and performances by Austin instrumentalists My Education (Thirty Ghosts), Rachel Goldstar (Eau Claire) and Tunng (Ace Fu/Static Caravan). Later that evening we'll be sharing Habana Calle 6 with Absolutely Kosher Records, who'll represent with such fine acts as Frog Eyes, Say Hi To Your Mom and Goblin Cock. The Brother Kite, Rachel Goldstar and Sciflyer will be on hand to kick out the C-Rec jams just for you, and My Education, Belong (currently on tour with Ariel Pink), and the Yokohama, Japan-based Luminous Orange. As with all things in life the lineup is subject to change, so stay tuned to clairecords.com and sxsw.com for the happs! AIRIEL Stop the presses! Yes, Chicago's best shoegazers have broken ground on what will eventually materialize as their first full-length record. If you've managed to catch any of Airiel's recent performances you've already had a taste of what it'll sound like, and with the adept assistance of David Golitko, who twiddled the knobs on each and every one of the Winks & Kisses EPs. In further news, the band has started up their very own street team; contact streetteam@airiel.com for the happs. There's big tour plans underway in the Airiel batcave right now, as a jaunt down to sunny Florida and a West Coast trip are in the works. http://www.airiel.com EAU CLAIRE SXSW wouldn't be complete without a performance by Rachel Goldstar (a.k.a. Staggs, of Experimental Aircraft and Eau Claire fame), and she promises to deliver a killer set of solo cuts, Eau Claire songs and Monster Movie tracks backed by former members of the Polyphonic Spree and The Swells. On, and WFMU-FM (NYC), KVRX-FM (Univ. of Texas- Austin) and WMRC-FM (Middlebury College) rule for giving the Eau Claire EP such generous airplay! http://www.eauclairemusic.com MONSTER MOVIE Among the selections on this round of shoegaze goodness are an "electronic folk song to the Moon with a bit of Simon & Garfunkel" and an "inept night-time piano ballad." Recorded in beautiful Western-Super-Mare, England (where Slowdive's landmark "Souvlaki" LP was created), All Lost also reunites Christian Savill and Sean Hewson with Martin Nichols, who engineered Monster Movie's first two outings. And those are indeed the dulcet tones of Eau Claire's Rachel Staggs you'll hear on a goodly bunch of the songs. All Lost will be released by the Graveface imprint and available for perusal and purchase through tonevendor.com in the second week of April. http://www.monster-movie.com SCIFLYER When Porcys.com got wind of The Age of Lovely, Intimate Things, the storm cleared, the thick dark clouds parted and brilliant rays of sunshine warmed the frigid earth. So smitten was Porcys.com that The Age of Lovely, Intimate Things made it to their "10 najlepszych plyt 2005," which we're assuming is the Polish version of their 10 favorite albums of 2005. Anyway, TAOLIT clocked in at #6 on their Top 10 list, ahead of Sufjan Stevens and M.I.A. In further happenings, the peeps at SXSW have been so gracious to offer Sciflyer an opportunity to perform next month, and the band have booked a Texas-sized tour of the great American Southwest to celebrate. Joining them on their rampage through the UFO Alley will be drummer Scott Christy, who you'll undoubtedly recognize if you've seen a band called Swirlhappy. 3…2…1…blastoff! http://www.sciflyer.net THE BROTHER KITE No, that droning noise you're hearing isn't a tornado siren. Now that The Brother Kite have conquered the East Coast in one fell swoop, they're heading out West to show the Lone Star State what time it is via their debut at SXSW in March. In the meantime, the band have secured a handful of East Coast appearances, and we're sure you know better than to miss out on that if they come to your vicinity. And yes, road manager/tour mascot Death Metal Oscar will be joining the band, and the best advice we can offer you is to not make him angry. http://www.thebrotherkite.com *** CLAIRECORDS MEETS THE PRESS *** SCIFLYER "On record a track like "Like an Ion" from 2003's Fair Weather Karma is as fuzzy and calming as Swervedriver after a massage session. Live, though, the band takes on some of the psychedelic snap of Pink Floyd and the bounce of the Stone Roses while still keeping true to its shoegazing roots. That means there might be occasions where people stare at the floor for a second or two. But usually it'll just be to make sure nothing comes untied." -Jeff Inman, Las Vegas City Life SILVER SCREEN "Songsmith's Cris Miller's one-man extravaganza definitely deserves a place on this list. With his soft, ethereal tones and skillfully crafted production elements, Cris masterfully blends dream-pop, shoegaze and traditional Britpop in a compact, 35 minute package." -BigYawn.net ** CLAIRECORDS LIVE AND IN STEREO! ** AIRIEL 2/13/06 Chicago, IL- Subterranean EAU CLAIRE (Rachel Goldstar solo performances) 03/15/06 Austin TX- End of an Ear Records (SXSW day party) w/ My Education, Tunng 03/15/06 Habana Calle 6 (SXSW evening showcase) w/ My Education, Belong, Luminous Orange + more MALORY 4/15/06 Kassel, DE- Studentischer Club K19 4/16/06 Leipzig, DE- UT Connewitz 4/18/06 Hamburg, DE- Astra Stube 4/19/06 Frankfurt, DE- Das Bett 4/20/06 München, DE- Salon Erna 4/22/06 Klatovy, DE- Music Club Strelnice SCIFLYER 3/10/06 Hollywood CA- Lava Lounge 3/11/06 Phoenix, AZ- Modified 3/13/06 Dallas TX- The Cavern 3/15/06 Austin TX- Habana Calle 6 (SXSW evening showcase) w/ My Education, Belong, Luminous Orange + more 3/17/06 Dallas, TX- Bar of Soap 3/18/06 Albuquerque NM- Atomic Cantina 3/19/06 Las Vegas NV- Divebar 3/24/06 San Francisco CA- The Knockout THE BROTHER KITE 2/24/06 Fairhaven MA- Bridge Street Station 3/10/06 Providence RI- Century Lounge 3/15/06 Austin TX- Habana Calle 6 (SXSW evening showcase) w/ My Education, Belong, Luminous Orange + more HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? (A peek into the sundry activities of your favorite Clairecords stars!) Juju Faith (PARK AVENUE MUSIC): "listening to: kronos quartet performs philip glass (nonesuch), which is from back in the day when jean jeanrenaud was still the cellist. i hearted her bigtime in high school. i remember when they came to our school and played a private concert for our orchestra. i sat front and center, in awe of her. they rocked their cover of 'purple haze', but i prefer their 20th century renditions..." Rachel Staggs (EAU CLAIRE) "wearing- my original unicorn necklace from 1980 (recently re-discovered). reading- brian eno: his music and the vertical color or sound"