CLAIRECORDS NEWSLETTER MARCH/APRIL ‘06 Welcome to the 19th edition of the Clairecords newsletter, brought to you by the letter P, the number 8, and some empty cans of Lone Star. With the winter’s thaw upon us (with the exception of certain areas still mired in a freeze), Clairecords bands are emerging from their chrysalides like so many Red Admirals, yawning and stretching as they awaken from their winter hibernations, and bringing the rock straight to you. So go see ‘em when they approach your vicinity, mmkay? Great. Thanks. On to the happs: AIR FORMATION Those of you who are hip to iTunes will be ecstatic to know that most of Air Formation’s back catalog is now available through this fine service. As Matt Bartram reports, “As I write we continue to move on with our new album. Things are progressing slower than usual, but that's because we're making things a little more interesting.” And look out below for live appearances! http://www.airformation.com AIRIEL Airiel recently appeared live and in-person on Q101-FM (Chicago) not too long ago. Click here for a listen: http://www.airiel.com/Airiel_Local_101_interview.mp3 Progress continues on new and exciting sounds, but if you’re simply unable to wait a moment longer, the group will appear on an upcoming 10-inch with several other bands who are also well worth your time. In fact, they’re having a very special show in April to celebrate. Scroll down for the happs! http://www.airiel.com CLAIRE'S ECHO Achtung, vinyl aficionados! Claire’s Echo, our new wax-only label has finally launched and begun bringing the rock straight to your turntable. Our first two Claire’s Echo releases, from Sacramento's St. Avalanche and Parisian dream-popsters Acetate Zero, are on their way to subscribers at this very moment and will be available to the public in several weeks. What? You haven’t subscribed yet? You can do that right here: http://www.tonevendor.com . Forthcoming issuances will feature melody makers like Sway, Destroyalldreamers, The Voices, Mahogany, Electro Group, The Tangles, Giardini Di Miro, and many, many more. www.clairecords.com/clairesecho/home.html EAU CLAIRE If you happened by our swingin’ daytime shindig at End of an Ear during SXSW, you were among those who marveled in the dulcet tones of Eau Claire’s Rachel Goldstar (nee Staggs)—and drank us all out of beer. Many thanks to the fine folks at End of an Ear for hosting our soiree, Twin Liquors and the liquor store down the street (can’t recall the name, sorry!) for supplying the beverages, Tunng, My Education and Rachel for kicking out the jams—and to the Austin Chronicle for running that swell review. To quote the esteemed paper, “Three cheers for beards.” We couldn’t agree more. http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2006-03-17/music_roundupb4.html http://www.eauclairemusic.com SCIFLYER Need a little more wonderfully-noisy, drony racket in your life? Of course you do! You’ll no doubt be ecstatic to know that Kim and Steve will be lending their rhythmic talents to forthcoming recordings by the legendary psychedelic/garage outfit Sky Saxon and the Seeds. Happs here: www.myspace.com/theseeds . And mark your calendars for what’s now being called the Shroomapalooza Tour, which kicks off in August. Booyah! http://www.sciflyer.net SILVER SCREEN Also burning up the airwaves is Silver Screen’s Cris Miller, who stopped by KXLU-FM in Los Angeles in the very recent past. “Yes it is true,” he reports “Brad and Jen split, Kevin is using Britney just for his own fame, and Silver Screen had a lovely time at KXLU radio on a rainy Monday afternoon. Lots of songs were played,even a few new ones. I am working on getting a Myspace for Silver Screen soon,and perhaps putting together a band for live. Maybe even getting a cell phone.Here is something else I thought fascinating...did you know the square is the only shape that doesn't appear in natural creation? So tell your friends to not be too L7, stay hip with Silver Screen.” http://www.clairecords.com/artists/silverscreen.html THE BROTHER KITE If you want to see pictures from The Brother Kite’s auspicious Austin debut, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43524395@N00/sets/72057594088891566/ You can also see more pictures and reviews of our badass showcase at Habana Calle 6, home to the best mojitos in town, here: http://www.popmatters.com/features/sxsw2006/sawyer-060317.shtml and here: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/features/live/festivals/sxsw06/ http://www.thebrotherkite.com *** WHAT ALL THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE ARE SAYING *** AIR FORMATION “Air Formation have crafted a piece of musical art that breathes new life into a once dying genre.” – Embo Blake, Hybrid Magazine AIRIEL “Keeping true to the shoegazer aesthetic of the ‘90s, Airiel create a sound that is both beautiful and shimmering with LED lights.” -Spektacle Magazine ** CLAIRECORDS LIVE AND IN YOUR FACE! ** AIR FORMATION 4/26/06 London, UK- Buffalo Bar w/ The People’s Revolutionary Choir, Nosferatu-D2 7/20/06 Brighton, UK- Hanbury Ballroom AIRIEL 4/19/06 Chicago, IL- Double Door 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 4/21/06 Dresden, DE- Az Conni 4/22/06 Klatovy, DE- Music Club Strelnice PAIK 4/19/06 Somerville, MA- P.A.'s Lounge w/ Landing 4/23/06 Providence, RI- AS 220 (Terrastock VI) w/ Damon & Naomi, Windy & Carl, Ghost, Charalambides + more 4/25/06 Cleveland, OH- Beachland Ballroom 4/26/06 Toledo, OH- Mickey Finn's PARK AVENUE MUSIC 5/5/06 Sacramento, CA- Fools Foundation PIA FRAUS 4/20/06 St. Petersburg, RU- Red Club (100% Indie Minifest) 5/19/06 Turku, FI-Les Yper Sound @ Dynamo 5/16/06 Helsinki, FI- Dubrovnik SCIFLYER 5/10/06 San Francisco, CA- The Rickshaw Stop w/ Holiday Life, LSD & the Search for God 6/14/06 San Francisco CA- Studio Z w/ artDamaged,Venus Beltran 8/17/06 Long Beach, CA- The Prospector w/ artDamaged, LSD & the Search for God 8/18/06 Los Angeles CA- Lava Lounge w/ artDamaged, LSD & the Search for God 8/19/06 Phoenix, AZ- Modified w/ artDamaged, LSD & the Search for God 8/20/06 Las Vegas NV- TBA w/ artDamaged, LSD & the Search for God THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW We know you’re on the edge of your seat waiting to hear all about SXSW, so here’s the good, the bad and the ugly of the world’s best independent record company’s inaugural experience at this landmark event: Ten (10) Things SUSAN (Publicity/Booking) dug at SXSW ‘06 1. Eating at Cisco’s, the Salt Lick BBQ, Magnolia Café, Zen and Amy’s 2. Our showcase and day party (toot!) 3. The Jesus maniacs on 6th Street Friday night 4. Great Lake Swimmers at Maggie Mae’s and Red Eyed Fly 5. The ‘owl’ building 6. Ariel Pink and the Mutts at Fox and Hound 7. Alejandro Escovedo at the Paste day party 8. Twin Liquors 9. Lisa Germano at Elemental 10. The Ecstatic Peace booklet Thurston Moore gave me Questions? Comments? Want to book one of our bands? Want to license a song or two for your movie or TV series? Need an advance copy of something? On-air and/or print interview requests? Or maybe just a hug? Email susan@clairecords.com or dans@clairecords.com .