Manual Dexterity Music Zine - Winter 2005

Bound Stems//The City on Film//Lovitt Records Turns 10//Six Q’s for Six Publicists

Chin Up Chin Up

The City on Film...........................06 Lovitt Records.............................12 Bound Stems...............................15 The American Analog Set..........22

Six Questions/Six Publicists.........30 Reviews.........................................37

On the Cover: Andrew Kenny of The American Analog Set. www.amanset.com Top 10 Albums of 2005 I listened to most: 1) Jackson United “Western Ballads” 2) The Narrator “Such Triumph” 3) Maritime “We, The Vehicles” 4) Death Cab for Cutie “Plans” 5) Nada Surf “The Weight is a Gift” 6) Criteria “When We Break” 7) The Jim Yoshii Pile Up “Picks Us Apart” 8) Portastatic “Bright Ideas” 9) The Aquabats “Charge” 10) MxPx “Panic”

Correspond:

subtitlespub@yahoo.com

© 2005 • Subtitles Publishing • Minneapolis

Subtitles Publishing: p.o.box 2076 • maple grove, mn 55311

After the break up of Hey Mercedes, why did you decide to move forward with your City on Film project and not start another full band project? ** Well, I wanted to take a break from the whole band dynamic for awhile. And I mean that on a few different levels. I wanted the immediate freedom to play when and wherever I could at a moment’s notice, and also to work at my own pace with writing, recording, what have you. I'm also trying to gain a little more confidence in front of crowds if that makes any sense at all. I haven't given up on bands though. In fact, I'm in the early stages of getting one together right now.

Is The City on Film a solo project or do you have a band that your working with? ** It is definitely a solo project, but I have done a few tours where I have taken bits and pieces of bands along with me. I like that situation because no one knows what the songs will sound like and most of the time, not even I will know. This next tour I do (opening for Spitalfield), I'm going to try and amass a wild band of keyboards and strings and percussion.

And if I can't do it in time, then I can always just go play the shows myself.

Are you shows on tour solo shows or do you have a full band playing with you? ** They vary. My friend Rachael has been doing most of them playing violin. I guess you really don't know what you're going to get.

You just toured England with Owen, how did that go? ** It was amazing. Way way better than any of us ever expected. There was only four of us in a minivan with our guitars, bags, and merch, so it was like a dream come true. No drums. Very laid back. And the shows were very well attended and the crowds were very respectful and attentive. It was the perfect situation. I may go back in February.

What is your history with Mike Kinsella and did it make it easier touring with someone you knew opposed to someone your not familiar with? ** Mike & I have known each other for at least 12 years. We met while he played drums for Cap'n Jazz and I played drums for Friction and now we both play acoustic guitar. Funny. Anyway, our history did help in that we knew all of the highs and lows and uncertainties about going on such a random tour and how each of us would react. Like I said, it was great. If the tour was a complete disaster, maybe I'd have a different answer.

How have the rising prices of gas affected your upcoming touring plans? How do you think the higher gas prices affect independent bands in general? ** They made me reconsider and eventually cancel a planned west coast tour. Instead I'm just going to be doing the midwest dates in November. It's brutal. Even on this last tour, opening for Minus The Bear, it was rough. All of our show money went straight into the gas tank and we still had to dip into the merch fund, so we barely stayed afloat. I think it's hurting independent bands tremendously. I know a few other bands that have cancelled tours as well. It's a vicious cycle as they say. It makes it hard to go on tour without guarantees but promoters can't promise anything because showgoers don't have the extra money to go to shows because of gas prices. And to echo my recent tourmate, Jeff Hanson, oil companies such as Halliburton have record profits every year.

Seriously, give us a break.

On the “In Formal Introduction” album, you re-recorded some songs that you had previously recorded on the “I’d Rather Be Wine Drunk” EP, why did you decide to re-record those songs? ** I wanted to make the full length a "catch-up" or a collection of everything up to this point. My original plan was just to have all of the original recordings of the early 7"s and splits that are now out of print but some of the stuff was just too hard to track down. So I just decided to re-record everything with a full band and give it the royal treatment so to speak. The "Wine Drunk" ep was recorded all acoustic in a hotel room, so I figured I could give those songs a better go.

Is playing as The City on Film easier than playing in Hey Mercedes or Braid? ** I think it's harder. All of the responsibility is on me and for the most part you can hear every little detail. It's nice but it's also a lot of pressure. I can't mumble through a verse if I forget the words or just hope that the other guitar will smooth over my shoddy playing. It's all right there.

What is the idea behind the photography for the “In Formal Introduction” album artwork? Have you ever considered playing a show where formal attire was strictly required? ** I wanted to have all of the photos come from a formal attire party full of all of my friends. I thought it would be a fun concept. It also went with the title. And of course I had to involve Chris Strong since he's the best photographer ever. And as for shows with formal attire... well, it may help to keep the rowdiness level down, but in my case, I'm pretty uncomfortable all dressed up, so I'd have to say no. I'd like to maintain the comfort zone.

You have a number of downloads online, of cover songs that you’ve recorded. You have 100 songs that you will eventually cover, how many have you done so far and when do you think you will eventually have them all done? ** I've done 53 so far. Most of them are pretty bad so I'm taking my time with the top 50. I hope to have them done by the end of next year, but there is no time frame in mind. I'll finish them when I feel the urge.

During shows, in between City on Film songs, you’ve been playing Braid songs, how has the crowd reacted to the Braid songs? ** Very well. I don't plan on playing them forever, but it's exciting to hear what comes out when I try to play "A Dozen Roses" with a new set of musicians. Who knows. Maybe The City On Film will forever play Braid songs. The most important aspect of this project is often spontaneity.

Are you working on any other musical projects in the future? Have you made any plans to play in a full band? ** Yep. I'm getting one together as we speak. I'll let you know how it turns out!

interview with brian lowit

turns 10

Lovitt Family 2003

When did you start the label? What was the driving force behind starting it? I actually started the label my second year at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, out of my dorm room. The first release was a 7� by the DC band Monorchid. I had been doing a small distro before starting the label which was fun but one day I thought it would be cool to actually release records and not just sell ones from other labels.

I had seen Monorchid play a few times and really liked them and was a fan of their previous bands. They did not have a record out at the time so I decided to call them and see if they would be interested in putting one out with me. I was not sure if they would do it or not but they say yes and now it is 10 years later and I’m still doing the label.

Sleepy Time Trio

When you started, what were your expectations for the label, did you think you'd make it ten years? I really had no expectations for how well it might do or how long it might last. I would have never guessed it would still be going strong after ten years. When I started it, I thought of it as more of a secondary thing and not something that would take up all of my time. I majored in political science in college with a concentration in environmental studies and I thought I would be doing something with that by this point in my life and not still doing the label.

I’m really proud that it has been going a lot longer than I ever imagined and that it has been able to keep running with out taking any money from majors or outside sources. The label fully runs off the money it makes and always had. This also means that we are able to make all decisions on how we want to do things, not how others want us to.

How many releases have you put out?

What have been the top selling albums on the label? We are now close to number 50 (which should be out in Feb or so). We have at least through 54-55 planned at the moment.

I believe our best selling record so far has been the Engine Down full length “Demure”. The Sleepytime Trio CD has done really well and might be a runner up and also Engine Down – To Bury Within the Sound is around there as well.

Sales are so hard to judge on newer stuff with money coming in from things like downloads, etc as that does not really count as a sale since people might just buy one or two songs.

Are there any releases that your the most proud of? I’m really proud to have worked with such amazing musicians and people over the years and have a special place in my heart for each release so that is a really tough question to answer.

How have your musical tastes changed in the last ten years? Like anyone, my tastes go through phases and evolve with time. I still listen to a lot of stuff I did 10 years ago but I have also learned to enjoy and appreciate music I would not have when I started the label. I think that probably just has more to do with getting older than from running the label.

How did the 10 year show on Sept 3rd do? I really could not have asked for the show to be any more perfect. All the bands played great.

We had an amazing turn out. It was wonderful to have everyone in one place. A lot of work went into pulling it off but it was well worth it in the end.

The show was filmed by BiFocal Media and some of the footage will appear on the next Lovitt Records DVD and some on the Engine Down DVD that is being worked on.

Engine Down has been on the label for 8 of the 10 years, and they recently broke

up, what's it like working for a band that long? I am interested in having long term relationships with people and having us all grow together. Engine Down and the label grew a lot over the 8 years and I’m really happy that we were able to work together for that long. Like any relationship in life that goes on that long, you have your ups and downs but Engine Down we had more ups and I’m sad that they broke up. I’m great friends with all four of them and will be working in the future with all of them in some way or another.

Lovitt has always released music from bands from the Richmond/DC area. What is it about this area that produces such good music? Have you released any music from bands from other regions?

Things seem to shift around where the Lovitt bands are located. The label really started with working with DC area bands and it stayed that way up to release number 7. Sleepytime Trio really changed that as they were mostly based out of Richmond and that led us to working with Engine Down, Rah Bras, Four Hundred Years who were all also from the Richmond area. Then for awhile, we had a decent amount of bands come from Chapel Hill, NC including Milemarker, Ben Davis and Fin Fang Foom. We seem to now be shifting back to where we started and working with a lot of DC bands including Navies, Del Cielo, Decahedron and now Haram. A lot of it turns out that way as we work with a lot of the same people so it depends on where they are living and who they are playing with. Also, our bands will tell us about other great bands from their cities and some times, we end up working with them. A prime example of that is Fin Fang Foom.

How do you feel about music downloading? Do music sharing programs or downloading of bands albums effect the sales of the albums? There is no doubt that downloading has effected the sales of independent records. For awhile, it seemed that everyone was just using sharing programs and getting their music that way but it seems to have leveled off some and a fair amount of people that might have downloaded that way are now buying stuff from sites like emusic and itunes. Even with that though, people are buying one or two songs from a record and not the whole record which maybe they would have before. I’m not really sure if this is all a negRah Bras ative or positive as even though less sales seem to be happening, bands are sometimes being listened to more as people can access/find their music more quickly. I guess only time will tell the real impact of this all.

I'm sure you get a bunch a demos a month, do you ever get demos for genres that you wouldn't release, like hip hop or country? I would say on average, we probably get at least 10 demos a week. Unfortunately, we do not have time to listen to Ben Davis them in a timely fashion. We do seem to get all genres as people seem to send out to every label no matter what they have put out in the past. After Sept 11, we got a decent amount of patriotic stuff including one from a 80 year old woman and her son singing and playing piano together. I guess nothing we get surprised me anymore.

What can you foresee for the next 10 years of Lovitt? I honestly have no idea and I guess that is part of the fun.

Del Cielo

The Navies

Fing Fang Foom

The Cassettes

Bound Stems I was in Seattle playing in Harvey Danger and doing design and writing for various magazines until the summer of 2002, when I moved out to Chicago. I met the other fellas immediately, we went through all the early steps of writing and performing together, and then decided to make a record of all-new material. After that the EP...

- Evan Sult

“The Logic of Building the Body Plan EP” was written and recorded after you had already finished writing and recording the full length “Appreciation Night,” why did you decide to release the EP, when you already had a full length done?

“Appreciation Night” was exactly the experience we wanted it to be. It was hard work, working together and on our own. Every song was a surprise. When we finished the record, we discovered that our hypothesis going in had been proven: we were a new band, with a whole new set of songs, new ways of writing, and more capabilities than any of us were expecting to discover. We were elated--but we were also a little too late finishing it to get our asses out the door and on tour, coz Bobby's a high school history teacher, so summer's when we tour. Flameshovel suggested the EP as a holdover. Still flushed, we went a little overboard putting the EP together: It's got 3 new songs, 2 songs from the album, and 2 intercolary songs Tim Sandusky and I built from Bound Stems song bits. How could we not? Writing and recording songs is the best way to spend time ever.

When is “Appreciation Night” set to release? Will it be released on Flameshovel also?

We're still figuring that out. We're really pleased to be working with Flameshovel with the EP. We're all ready to hit the road as soon as the last period bell rings at Bobby's school; that's the only thing we're sure of.

For “Appreciation Night,” instead of releasing the 12 songs on 1 disc, you're releasing 3 songs on 4 different EP discs. What’s the idea behind this? How did you decide which songs will go on which discs?

That solution was more a way for us to be able to hand out our record to people without waiting for the official release. The album was built with songs overflowing into other songs, so we didn't want to make a "best-of" sampler; I think my girlfriend Liz suggested breaking the album into parts. It's the whole album, in order, over 4 cds--only we kept the introductory song back for the full album.

I really like the individual cds, actually, and that was a surprise. You know how sometimes you've listened to a record a dozen times, and then someone turns it on midway through and you're not expecting it and you say, "Hey, what is that? It sounds great," and it's music you thought you were really familiar with? This arrangement prevents that, because it offers so many entrance points into a record that's otherwise built to flow seamlessly from the first song into the last. Also, I could be wrong, but I feel like "Appreciation Night" is packed with parts: the songs have lots of sections, the sections have lots of folks doing lots of parts within parts...Offering the album in pieces is kind of like making a deal with the listener: You listen, and we won't crowd you. You promise to pay attention, and we promise not to t h r o w everything at you at once.

Everyone the

in

band

seems to have pretty serious day jobs, scientist, teacher, art

director,

etc..., Is it ever hard everyone

for to

take time off at the same time to tour or practice?

With all those serious jobs, why did you start playing music? How does playing in Bound Stems fit in your life, it is a hobby, outlet or a part time job?

The best thing about being in Bound Stems is that I can look all the way to the horizon, and only see more stuff for us to do that we haven't even got to yet. Take Janie Porche, our newest member: she plays violin, she whistles, she can attach a remote control to anything electric--we've just scratched the surface of what she brings to the band.

When I was in Harvey Danger we had 2 professional graphic designers in the band, and we hardly ever made t-shirts, posters, or other cool stuff. That stuff we did in our other life; in Harvey Danger, we made music. In Bound Stems I feel like I can do everything I want to do; I think we all feel that way.

I screenprint posters for every show, I help produce, I make tshirts. It'll get us around the country.

It'll get us to Europe, dammit. Bound Stems is where we get to do whatever the hell we want to do. It's something private, it's something for and with our friends, it's something public. It's professional in that we take it seriously; it's fun in that we have a great time doing it: writing, recording, playing, talking, planning. We're not asking for it to be a big deal to others, but it's unquestionably a big deal to us.

Our jobs are also important to us. Life's a big deal, yeah? I wouldn't have it any other way. Our solution to the problem of "How do we make time for this?" is pretty cool I think: we do whatever seems like the most enjoyable thing to do. To make the necessary space, we've learned to live without 2 things: TV, and drama.

We don't get involved in a bunch of social skullduggery, and neither do our friends. That saves a LOT of time and energy. We like each other, and we're honest with each other, and that's a pretty big help. Then no TV, and pretty soon you realize you've got time to practice-every night, if you want to.

Where did you find the Grandma sample for the song “Up All Night?�

That's my Grandma Jo. She's on the album too.

I interviewed her years ago, possibly to write about her. I grabbed a bunch of old tapes once to tape over during practice, and one of them was hers. I refused to tape over it, though, and when I realized it was gonna be right for the album I was ecstatic. She was ornery sometimes, but I loved her.

There are a lot of elements to your music, what influences or inspires the sound of Bound Stems?

The samples came in fairly late. I always meant to do that, and like I said before, Bound Stems is the place we do what we want. So I went around all winter with a minidisc recorder, catching the sound of the city, my friends, cab drivers... I'm not gonna lie: when I heard The Books, I felt awed and inspired. We're not trying to ape them, but damned if they don't impress the hell out of me.

Otherwise: Radz listens the widest, probably. We all find common ground in awesome bands like Les Savy Fav and Built to Spill and Broken Social Scene. Bobby and I wouldn't be who we are now without Pavement. The Fall may be my favorite band ever, and Paul Simon is close to the hearts of Janie and me. Whenever we find music that makes and breaks pop moments--that creates and destroys in the same song--it's an inspiration.

The “L.ogic EP� is one of a handful of albums that I have listened to constantly since I received it, and it never seems to get boring. What do you think makes your music so listenable?

It's a great time to be making music, for a lot of reasons. Artistically, there are so many bands who are comfortable crossing genres, messing with time signatures, and getting personally invested in doing music their own way. We wrote our album in 6-week batches, normally 3 songs per batch, and each song, each time, we got to a point where it was like, "I know my part, but I can't physically play it yet." We reached past our comfort level--and by the time we were done, we had moved our comfort level to a new place.

When you're writing that much, and practicing that much, and trying to wow the other guys, who are trying to wow you...a lot of cool parts get written. Very early in our process we realized we liked weird time signatures: fives against sixes, 7/4, stuff I don't know the names of. We have our own funny systems of counting beats. A lot of the time we had no idea what the melody or lyrics would be--so we'd make what seemed like impossible music to write vocals over, then trust that Bobby could smooth it out. The music is secretly almost impossible to count out--I love that it's complex, and also that the complexity doesn't hamper getting the song across.

Also we like it when the songs make intuitive sense. There's a great moment that happens writing, when the song--which doesn't exist yet--starts telling the musician what part comes next. That's a great feeling, and we got better at paying attention to it. Transitions are where pop happens--pop as in satisfying--and also where you can create more tension by knocking the pop for a loop.

There's a lot of information in each song--too much, I guess. But there's too much information in the 3 blocks between work and home, if you look at it right. Each song is a chance to put a lot of information in one place, and there's no reason not to, you know? Ain't nobody making these songs but us, so there's no reason for us to do anything but that which makes us happiest.

The American Analog Set interview with andrew kenny

Tiger Style went out of business in the beginning stages of "Set Free," was there ever any worry about how you were going to release it? How did the deal with Arts and Crafts come about?

I wasn't worried exactly. We had a few inquiries after the announcement that made us feel a little better. After our experience with Wall Of Sound in the UK, I knew that I wanted to complete the record before we went looking for a label though. It might be just as easy (or easier) to sell someone on the "idea" of a record as it is to sell someone the record itself, but there's no guarantee that they'll be as excited about it when they finally hear it.

I knew that I wanted "Set Free" to be a more complete and a more fully realized album than anything we'd attempted before so I was a little more worried about time. No matter how long it took, I'd have to tack on an extra six months or so to get someone excited about releasing it. The album was more or less written at this point. I didn't want the songs to be two plus years old when we started touring them.

The arrangement with Arts & Crafts came about for many reasons. I'd been in contact with Jeffrey for a while. I'm a big Broken Social Scene fan and I have a lot of respect for what A+C has done for them (and visa versa). We wanted to find a label that had been around long enough to be knowledgable but young enough to bend their own rules to fit each artist on the roster. But the number one reason was Kevin Drew. I'm a BSS fan sure, but I'm also a big fan of Kevin personally. He's been a friend for a while and he took it upon himself to make sure Jeffrey and Daniel and the rest of the Arts & Crafts team didn't forget about us between conversations. He was our guy.

"Set Free" was released in Japan, Europe and Australia before the US release and I've noticed that a lot of indie bands are doing the same. What is the reasoning behind this?

Is the American Analog Set more popular in certain countries?

Well, I can't speak for other bands of course. I know for us it was more a matter of politeness. This is our sixth full length in North America, but it's our first album in Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and only or second album in Europe and the UK. We're not a huge band anywhere, of course, but we'v been around long enough to have a some kind of fanbase everywhere. Outside the US, though, they might be used to finding our records as imports and giving labels abroad the jump on imports is a bit of a gentleman's courtesy. And the music business is soooo gentlemanly.

Do the songs on the overseas versions of "Set Free" differ for the US version?

Not exactly. The Japanese version has four remixes, but otherwise it's the same record.

We finished "Set Free" before we shared it with anyone so there wasn't really any, "Well.. it's good but what if you went back and added a guitar solo and a tambourine to 'Born On The Cusp'.. I think we've got a shot at radio!!"

When it was done, it was done. There are much longer versions of "Cool Kids", "First Of Four", "The Green, Green Grass", and "Everything Ends In Spring" on the 12" tour ep though.

Your doing a lot of touring overseas to support "Set Free." How does a tour in Japan or Europe compare to touring across the United States? Does touring so much in such a little time ever take a toll on you?

It can get a little dark at times but this tour isn't so bad., Honestly, we've got a few breaks here and there that makes things seem a little brighter. This lesson was hard learned too. We spent 6 months on the road in the year following the release of "Know

By Heart" and that was in just two 3 month tours. Holy moly. The touring for "Promise Of Love" was a little better. Four months in a year spread over five tours. Make that much better. This tour is about 1/3 breaks and we're all thumbs up about it.

Touring in Europe is a little different because venues take a lot better care of you. It's common practice for a club to arrange accomodations, for instance. Dinner is usually provided by the venue and it's quite often a real meal. We've had some laughable meals thrown at us in the states over the years. [see the AmAnSet.com tour journal for Spring '04.. Northampton, MA] and that happens a lot less in Europe.

We've heard really good things about Japan, as well. This is our first tour in Japan, though. I'll have to let you know when we get back.

What do you think are some necessities for traveling overseas?

This probably isn't what you're asking but I inventoried my shoulder bag the other day. Ostende, Belgium to Munich is around 10 hours. I needed a project. How about this: Sunglasses, nail clippers, small photo album full of poloroids, matches, a book, one poloroid camera, headphones, tour book (day sheets, contracts..), change for merch, pin from two tours ago, two sharpies (fine point), set list from last night, two sharpies (ultra fine point), paint pen, business card from some guy starting a music publishing company, pencil (mechanical), three emergen-C vit C supplements (cranberry), magic tape, exacto knife, another pair of sunglasses, phone card for the US, a sandwich, phone card for Germany, boarding pass from flight overseas, phone card for Netherlands, phone card for France, envelopes, pin from.. like.. four tours ago, stamps, toothpaste, toothbrush, American flag patch that someone gave me, glide floss, charger for cell phone, lip balm, CD I got handed..

That's about it. Not all of this is necessary for traveling overseas, of course. Most of it's just gerneral touring stuff. I do recommend that if you're driving yourself in Europe, you should activate your cell phone overseas. It's expensive, but it saved us from many a frustrating situation.

Was there any difficulty recording "Set Free" with all the members in different states?

It was a nightmare. Scheduling was a fiasco and it made every recording session so very expensive. We couldn't all be there for every single session so it was a less collaborative effort than on past records. But we wanted to make a different record and this was the best and only way to do it.

The early recordings of "Set Free" were done at the house in Austin, TX, and the rest was done with Chris Michaels in Jackson, MS. What happened that forced you to not to be able to use the house anymore? How was it recording with Chris?

The little house in Austin where we recorded "Know By Heart" and "Promise.." was sold. It was a family house and my brother was the last person to live there. He didn't need it after he graduated from the university though. So after May, it wasn't an option anymore. We knew this was coming when the recording started in January so we made good use of the house in March and in May. Also, we'd visited the Labarotory in Jackson before Chris opened it as a studio. I thougt it had a really nice energy so we may've relocated regardless of our situation in Austin. The experience in Jackson was wonderful. I know I went on about this in the liner notes for the record, but it really was an eye opening experience. I imagine it was a lot more like how a normal band makes a record. I can't wait to go back.

How has American Analog Set's sound evolved from your early recordings? Has it become easier to write new material?

The live sound and the recorded sound have co-evolved, I think, over the years. The electric piano, vibraphone, and percussion have all been elements added at different times for the recording process that were then adopted by the band for performing live.

And they've all had a big impact on the way our band sounds live. On the other side of the coin, the songwriting has always grown along with what our band does well (or thinks it does well.. ha ha). And our experiences in recording have made us better at capturing these moments on tape.

Two of the songs from "Set Free" were released on a split EP with White Magic called "Songs of Hurt and Healing," which was put out by Ouch the website/Tylenol. How did that split EP come about?

We know someone that was involved in putting the "Ouch" series together for Tylenol.

She called me while we were in Jackson and asked if we had any songs that mentioned "hurt" or "hurting" and I was sitting AT the piano recording an alternate version of "Play Hurt". It seemed too perfect to pass up. "Immacualte Heart" was more or less done at that point too and I knew that the reprise would still be exclusive to the record. The longer version of "The Postman" was also appropriate and I'd been thinking about releasing that for a few years. It was just the thing to to.

Did you get any pain medication out of the deal?

Ha ha.. I did, actually. They sent a way-too-big box with a couple of first aid kits. Only instead of packing peanuts or paper they packed the box with the 2-fer travel sized Tylenols. I have no idea how many were in there. A thousand? Two? More? When I cut the box open, it went "poooof" like it was packed with so so many Tylenols. It was around X-mas so I think I took most of them to various New Year's Eve parties we attended. I was like Santa Claus but instead of presents, I brought the possible risk of stomach bleeding.

Happy hollies.

The open handcuff on the cover artwork for "Set Free" looks almost like 3/4s of a heart, which can be interpreted as being set free from love. How does the title of the new album relate to the songs and lyrics on it?

I really shouldn't comment on or take credit for the cover of "Set Free" because it was handled by our art director & electric piano player, Craig McCaffrey.

However, that is what much of the record is about. I felt like the stories on "Know By Heart" and "Promise.." were incomplete somehow and the stories deserved an ending.

"Set Free" was meant to be that ending. Over the course of writing, it turned out that the stories didn't have happy endings after all, but they didn't have sad ones either. They had some other kind of ending that wasn't predicted in chapters one and two. If "Aaron and Maria" introduced the characters and "Come Home, Baby Julie" is what happened to them, then "Born On The Cusp" is how things turned out in the end and "Immaculate Heart" is why. Or maybe they stayed together? In which case "The Green, Green Grass" is a more fitting end. But it's still not a happy ending. It's something else.

(6)(6) estions u q

lic pub ists (1)

“...stop hanging up on me!” - David Lewis, Riot Act Media

)(2) martin steve

d lewis davi

“All their most recent records have leaked but their sales, attendance at their live shows have increased.”

- Steve Martin, Nasty Little Man

“you have to do it passionately with plently of heart & patience.”

- Celeste Tabora, Solid PR

)(4)

(3) este tabora cel

“It’s all about schmoozing.” - Pam Nashel-Leto, Girlie Action

nashel let am

“...getting some music leaked about a month from street date, can help create a nice buzz.”

-Brendan Brouke, Tag Team Media

)(6) kate cafaro

(5) n bourk enda e br

“Responses are always nice. Even if it is Dear Kate, please eat dirt...” -Kate Cafaro, Big Hassle

(1) d lewis davi riot act media Is PR like a standard 9-5 job, or is there more involved?

Well the office hours are pretty standard, but music PR involves a bit more late night revelry. Myself I work 24/7 but other PR folks do work the 9-5, then head out to shows, fests, etc.

Do you ever worry about the advanace copies of albums being leaked online or on file sharing programs?

That's a good question, bands and labels worry more about it more than I do, I guess it's not my job per se to worry about internet safety.

But with more and more digital distribution taking over I would imagine that all labels indie or not - will begin to come up with some kind of copy protection for their promo copies.

Much like the major labels are now with Dave Matthews, etc. Whereas you can't copy the CD more than 2 or 3 times. But in terms of PR I am more concerned with getting folks to talk about my bands and that requires promo...

Have you ever worked on a release that you weren’t fully behind, or thought wasn’t that good, how do you handle that?

I am incredibly lucky as I don't have to work anything I don't like; I love all my bands and believe that everyone else should do the same [wink]. If I didn't I would be hard pressed to convince people. When I worked at Hopper

PR I was not a huge fan of some of the electronic stuff, but we always had someone in the office who would be into whatever crazy shit Hopper was pushing. Now that I run my own company I decide what crazy shit my staff has to pimp.

Has there ever been bands that you have passed up working with, and then those bands go on to become very popular?

Nope. Well that's not true, I didn't get to work the Thrice record on Subcity. I wasn't a fan of their first few records. Now I love what they are doing and wish I was their PR-dude, but otherwise...nope.

What do you think are some neccessary qualifications for being a publicist?

You have to like booze, food, bling, making money, strip clubs. Okay, seriously it's a hard job. You have to be dedicated and persistent, have a realistic but positive vision for your clients....and drink heavily.

Name a couple of things magazine writers can do to make your job a little easier?

Send clips and copies of your magazines. Be accountable and responsive and stop hanging up on me!

(2) martin steve nasty little man Is PR like a standard 9-5 job, or is there more involved?

There's more involved, especially for me, as I own the company. Definitely a lot of after hours client relations from dinners, shows, occasional late night phone calls, not to mention frequent travel on behalf of bigger clients, to meet with potential clients, as well as doing bookkeeping and the like on weekends.

Do you ever worry about the advanace copies of albums being leaked online or on file sharing programs?

Yes I do worry about it but not out of financial concern. I make sure we respect the trust put in us by the labels, make sure all protected advances are signed for and so on. However, the flipside of that is that I don't believe that filesharing hurts the kind of artists I represent.

They're all artists who have built up real followings of fans who know that their full records are worth their money, not just 1 or 2 songs. AFI, Beck, Foo Fighters, Gorillaz, the Mars Volta, Radiohead... All their most recent records have leaked but their sales, attendance at their live shows have increased.

Have you ever worked on a release that you weren’t fully behind, or thought wasn’t that good, how do you handle that?

Nah I don't have that problem. I'm indie and I pick and choose my clients.

Has there ever been bands that you have passed up working with, and then those bands go one to become very popular?

Sure but so what? I don't so this for fame and riches. I do it for love of music and to turn people on to the music that excites me. If I take on something I don't like for fame and money, I'm doing everyone involved a disservice, myself included.

What do you think are some neccessary qualifications for being a publicist?

Knowing and loving music, reading the publications and watching the shows you're pitching. Know the editors' and bookers' tastes.

Know enough about music to discuss artists other than your own. Have realistic goals, appropriate for each artist. Know when to take a definitive NO and move on. We're not telemarketers.

Name a couple of things magazine writers can do to make your job a little easier?

Other than having the same incredibly good taste that I have? Kidding. I would say maintaining communication, courtesy. I'm guilty of this as well, but return calls. We all get busy and backed up, but return calls and e-mails.

Even if it takes a few days, a week. It's generic advice, I know, but treat people how you'd like to be treated.

Is PR like a standard 9-5 job, or is there more involved?

I suppose its relative. PR doesn't just extend to music... So I'm sure someone out there has a typical 9-5er having to do with PR. Relating to us, however... There are many nights where Derek & I will be working until the wee hours of the morning. Not to mention when we're attending one of our artists' shows or running an event - we often have to work as late as possible and then rush over to the venue. If we're lucky we can throw some food in our bellies in-between!

Do you ever worry about the advanace copies of albums being leaked online or on file sharing programs?

Yes, of course we do but we trust the people and organizations we send advances to! I think its a greater concern for major labels than indie PR firms like us. There are many things being developed these days against leakage like copy-protected compact discs. However, I think it's a temporary problem as technology is changing and evolving all the time.

Have you ever worked on a release that you weren’t fully behind, or thought wasn’t that good, how do you handle that?

We don't pick up artists we don't like. That's rule #1.

Has there ever been bands that you have passed up working with, and then those bands go one to become very popular?

(I think Derek should answer this one.)

(3) este tabora cel solid pr

“Honestly this hasn't been an experience of mine yet.

I try to help most of the people who come my way if I enjoy the music, and the band's and label's ethics.

I have turned down some records before but usually it's because I'm not a fan of the music or the attitude of the people approaching me. However, I try to never say "no" because I'm too "busy". Between myself and Celeste I believe we are able to take on a new client if we love them and their music. I actually hate the thought of deserving talent, who's nice enough to approach us, falling through the cracks because we are too busy. If it's good, we like to make the time and room for it on our roster. Trust me we are swamped to no end, but the idea of helping those we believe in is the reason the company was born in the first place.” Derek Meier

What do you think are some neccessary qualifications for being a publicist?

With any profession, I think to do it well you have to do it passionately with plently of heart & patience. Everyone has different motivational factors. For me, I love all my bands very much and view them as if they were my kids.

Their well-being and success are very important to me. I think that anyone can be trained to do any job, but it takes someone who loves their job to be successful at it.

Name a couple of things magazine writers can do to make your job a little easier?

Honestly, I can't generalize or lump in magazine writers stereotypically. Everyone is different and processes/handles everything differently. We are here to cater to how these people proceed in covering bands. So I guess the question should be - "What can we do to make things easier for magazines and writers?"

(4) m nashel le pa girlie action to

Is PR like a standard 9-5 job, or is there more involved?

Girlie Action hours are 11-7 - which to me are the ideal hours. Its for a few reasons, one being that we communicate a lot with the west coast so it makes sense to start late. Another being that most people in the music industry (me included) love to sleep late. But you also have to go out during the week anytime you have a band in town so hours vary. Sometimes I'll have bands who don’t go on until after midnight so I may be getting home at 3am on a weekday. The nice thing is we are allowed to come in later during those types of scenerios.

Do you ever worry about the advanace copies of albums being leaked online or on file sharing programs?

I dont worry about that. I leave that to the record companies who worry enough.

Have you ever worked on a release that you weren’t fully behind, or thought wasn’t that good, how do you handle that?

I dont necessarily have to dig the band for me to work it well or be fully behind it. Its definitely more of a challange, but as long as the band has a good story & I know a certain group of writers will like it, I'm confident I'll do just as well as if I really love an album to begin with.

Has there ever been bands that you have passed up working with, and then those bands go one to become very popular?

Yes. What do you think are some neccessary qualifications for being a publicist?

Social skills are definitely a plus. Not being afraid to call people you dont know on the phone. It’s all about schmoozing.

Name a couple of things magazine writers can do to make your job a little easier?

Answer their phones. Answer your emails even if its just to say they havent listened to the album yet, any response is better than no response. Send us tear sheet (aka clips) once the review has run.

(5) n bourk enda e r b tag team media

Is PR like a standard 9-5 job, or is there more involved?

Music PR is definitely not 9-5. Part of the job is going to see your artists when they come through town and spending time with them.

You need to be out at other events as well.

Very important to make yourself known, socialize with writers and editors. If you work for an independent company, labels that potentially may hire you, need to see you out and about as well. I tend to work from 9:30am til, on average, 8:30pm, Mon. - Fri., plus shows/parties 4-6 nights a week, and I usually put in about 6-10hrs. on the weekends as well.

In this day and age, everyone thinks you should be accessible 24/7.

Do you ever worry about the advanace copies of albums being leaked online or on file sharing programs?

We actually encourage at a certain point. You don't want it to be so early that people review the album well in advance of street date, but getting some music leaked about a month from street date, can help create a nice buzz.

Presuming people like what they hear.

Have you ever worked on a release that you weren’t fully behind, or thought wasn’t that good, how do you handle that?

I have in the past, before starting my own company. I have no qualms in doing so actually.

The important thing is finding something that

you can stand behind. Whether you like the artist on a personal level, respect them as a musician, like management, the folks at the label. Or to be honest, make it a mission, quite simply, to succeed.

Has there ever been bands that you have passed up working with, and then those bands go one to become very popular?

Many times. I have no qualm with this either.

Potential record sales rarely factors into my decision making as to what projects we take on as a company.

What do you think are some neccessary qualifications for being a publicist?

You have to be reasonably social.

Knowledgeable in the field that you publicize.

Have a great deal of patience. Not be phased by rejection. Be able to handle criticism.

Basically have a tough skin.

Name a couple of things magazine writers can do to make your job a little easier?

The main thing is getting some sort of response. If a writer/editor does not respond, that means that I have to continue to pitch them. Would save both parties a great deal of time for them to simply write back, "passing", "did not care for", "past our deadline", etc.

(6) kate cafaro big hassle Is PR like a standard 9-5 job, or is there more involved?

There is much more involved than 9-5. We usually work 10 - 7/8 and then go out to shows 2-3 nights a week, whether it be bands we are working who are in town or bands who we are checking out as potential clients or bands we just want to see for fun.

Do you ever worry about the advanace copies of albums being leaked online or on file sharing programs?

There is always the potential for music to leak early, but a lot of the bands I work with don't mind that their music gets out there, they are excited to have it heard. On the records where leakage could be an issue we usually try to offer at least a few songs online for streaming and/or downloading, to give kids a taste of the music and hopefully persuade them that the album is worth the wait.

Have you ever worked on a release that you weren’t fully behind, or thought wasn’t that good, how do you handle that?

The great thing about being an independent publicist is that you get to choose the bands that you work with, so no, I have never worked anything I wasn't 100% percent psyched about!

Has there ever been bands that you have passed up working with, and then those bands go on to become very popular?

Not yet!

What do you think are some neccessary qualifications for being a publicist?

A true love of music and the ability to talk about it. The ability to talk in general. A lot.

About everything. Persistence, tenacity and organization help too.

Name a couple of things magazine writers can do to make your job a little easier?

Responses are always nice. Even if it is Dear Kate, please eat dirt, I am not going to write about your band. love, . It is better than no response at all.

A Day in Black and White “Notes” If you’ve heard A Day in Black and White’s previous EP, then you are familier with its quiet/loud/quiet sound. On “Notes” however, they have mostly gotten rid of that formula and gone with a more post rock approach. Trust me when I say that “Notes” will be in your Ipod’s list of most played songs. (Level Plane)

Barr “Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case” This release could either be considered annoying trash or fucking genius. People with taste in music will go with the latter. Barr is Brendan Fowler talk/sing/rhyming over free jazz percussion and innocent beats.

Though other tracks like “Anx-Worth it” and “My List of Demands” come off as spoken word/poetry. I urge you to at least take a listen to it.

You won’t be dissapointed.

(5RC)

A Day in Black and White The American Analog Set “Set Free” “Set Free” follows the same ideas used in AmAnSet’s 2 previous works “Know By Heart” and “Promise of Love.” Quiet vocals, brushed drums, and vibraphones. Songs “Cool Kids Keep” and “Born on the Cusp” are instant favorites. (Arts & Crafts) Askeleton “(Happy) Album” I’ve been following Askeleton since day one. He started as a one man band hashing out beats on the computer. Over time though, he has brought in a full band to play his catchy, inventive pop songs. (Happy) Album may be his most ambitious work to date, but it’s missing danceable numbers like “Ghosts,” “Birdman,” and “Shapes” from 2004’s “Angry Album”. (Goodnight Recirds)

Baumer “Come On, Feel It” With all the unneccessary new wave bands out right now, it seems that Baumer is the only ones who are trying not to sound like kooks. A lot of the songs are catchy and danceable. (Astromagnetics)

The Blackout Pact “Hello Sailor” The Blackout Pact blend punk, hardcore, math rock and hand claps into one impressive debut album. Fans of Voice in the Wire and Hot Water Music take note. (Astromagnetics) Bouncing Souls “Live” Bouncing Souls are a live band to see.

They have been playing together for over 15 years. This live album is a 2 disc set that has 29 of their greatest songs. Both CD’s are good, but I find myself listening to disc 2 a bit more.

To make this compilation better, they could’ve added some DVD footage.

(Chunksaah) Bound Stems “The Logic of Building the Body Plan” “The Logic...” is one hell of an EP. All 7 songs are complex and beautiful. To explain their sound is impossible.

Each song has so many elements to it.

(Flameshovel)

Cave In “Perfect Pitch Black” After a dissapointing release on RCA, Cave In was dropped from the label and signed up with long time friends at Hydra Head. “Perfect Pitch Black” is a lot heavier than their last couple releases, which should please early fans. (Hydra Head) The City on Film “In Formal Introduction” Bob Nanna is back with a new musical project after the demise of Hey Mercedes. This time though, he has gone solo. “In formal Introduction” has a small amount of similarity to Hey Mercedes. Bob reworked some songs from the “I’d Rather Be Wine Drunk” EP, which sound a lot better now. “Forgiveness” stands out because of its melody and percussion.

(Grand Theft Autumn) Ester Drang “Rocinate” Naming the album after the Don Quixote’s horse, Rocinate is a multi intrumental journey that never fails to dissapoint. Bryce Chamber’s vocals James McAlister’s percussion, and Jeff Shoops’ guitar work weave you

Ester Drang along a 46 minute excursion, that will have you pushing the repeat album button over and over. (Jade Tree) Ex-Boyfriends “Dear John” The Ex-Boyfriends are 3 dudes that sing songs about breaking up with their girlfriends and boyfriends and

do it while playing catchy pop punk.

At times the lead singers voice sounds like the guy from Offspring.

(Absolutly Kosher) The Grey “S/T” The Grey is a rock band from Canada, and recently had some trouble trying to cross the US/Canada border which resulted in them not being able to enter the US for 5 Years. This 4 song EP is pretty good. It has some nice guitar work. (Lovitt) Head Like A Kite “Random Portraits of the Home Movie” Head Like A Kite is a new project from Sushirobo’s guitarist Dave Einmo and is inspired by his parents super 8 home movies from the 1970’s.

Einmo uses samples from the movies and intertwines them with beats and an indie rock sound. “Random Portraits...” also features guest musicians from Smoosh, Kinski, and Crooked Fingers. (Pattern 25) Holy Roman Empire “Lost in Landscapes” Holy Roman Empire features ex members of Shai Hulud, The Hope Conspiracy and Killing Tree, plus classically trained vocalist Emily Schambra. Holy Roman Empire could be catagorized as post rock. It is refreshing to hear a rock band with an original sound and a female singer, whose vocals compliment the music instead of working against each other.

(HeWhoCorrupts) Inquisition “Revolution...I think It’s Called Inspiration” Inquisition spawned other bands like River City High, Ann Berreta and vocalist Thomas Barnett went on to form Strike Anywhere. Inquisition was a very influental band inpirsing other acts like Avail, Ensign, and

Anti-Flag. Their sound is very similar to what Strike Anywhere sounds like, just less polished and more loose.

Barnett’s vocals are the biggest connection to both bands, considering he has such a recognizable voice.

Definitely worth picking up if you’re a fan of Strike Anywhere or good punk.

(A-F Records) Joan of Arc “Presents Guitar Duets” Some people may call this release unneccessary or unlistenable, which may be partly true. “Guitar Duets” features the guitar work of Bobby Burg/Nate Kinsella, Todd Mattei/ Matt Clark, Sam Zurick/Jeremy Boyle, and brothers Tim Kinsella/ Mike Kinsella, improvise jamming together. Some of the songs are kind of long while others just sound annoying, but it’s interesting to hear what these guy can can do with their guitars when they’re just jamming. (Record Label) Maritime Kiss Kiss “S/T” Naming your band Kiss Kiss is a pretty good marketing ploy, I mean you’ll be seated right after Kiss in the CD bins. Kiss Kiss has a sound that is simialar to Cursive’s sound on “Ugly Organ”, with its stringed instruments. The one problem I have with on this is the singer’s voice. On some parts of the songs he sings so loud that it almost sounds like he is honking like a goose and I don’t know if that is due to poor recording equipment or poor singing skills.

(Astromagnetics) Luke Doucet “Broken” Luke Doucet’s songwriting is exceptional on his latest release. The opening track on the CD, ”Brother” is a

slow rocker with many elements to it.

“Broken” draws similarities to Crooked Fingers. (Six Shooter) Maritime “We, The Vehicles” It is unfortunate that this has only been released over seas and that they haven’t found a label to release this in the states. If I owned a label, I would release this in a heartbeat. “We, the Vehicles” tops Maritime’s last effort “Glass Floor” by a big margin.

“Parade Of Punk Rock T-Shirts”, “German Engineering”, and “Twins” are favorites. (Flameshovel)

Mates of State “Bring It Back” The duo of Kori and Jason are back again with another beautifully hook laden album. “Bring It Back” is similar to what “Team Boo” was, but rocks just a little bit more. (Barsuk) The Mendoza Line “Full of Light and Full of Fire” The Mendoza Line are back with another great CD of folk tinged indie rock. Like previous releases, “Full of Light...” features politically and personal charged songs that are easy to listen to. (Misra)

Mercury Radio Theater “The Blue Eyed Model” This is probably the strangest band I’ve heard in quite a while.

Instrumental surf guitar influenced songs alternating with creepy narration about a lonely college grad named Gregor. Gregor builds his own girlfriend from body parts of others a la Frankenstein. You’ll have to buy the CD to find out what happens. The Illustrated CD booklet acts as a visual referance to the songs.

(Lujo) Metal Hearts “Socialize” A delicate CD with male/female vocals, finger picking guitars, drum loops, and stringed accompaniments. It is quite a listen.

The sound is simple and minimal, but completely satisfying. (Suicide Squeeze) Milemarker “Ominosity” Milemarker’s debut CD on Eyeball Records follows the same formula that their previous album have; which is that the sound changes with each record. Some of the songs are better than others. The opening 3 minutes of the 1st song, “Killed on Public Transit”, are barley noticable, then bursts into a rousing ending. Part of

Milemarker track 6, “Landlord” is reminiscent of the Anniversary with its boy/girl vocals and synth pop sound and track 9, “Rivers of Blood” sounds like it was

taken off At the Drive In’s “Relationship of Command” CD. (Eyeball Records) Monkey “Cruel Tutelage” Monkey’s “Cruel Tutelage” is 3rd wave ska with elements of 2 tone and dub. Considering how unpopular ska is, this is an ambitious release and it it would be a welcome part of anyone’s ska collection. (Asian Man)

Nada Surf Nada Surf “The Weight is a Gift” To call Nada Surf one hit wonders based on the idea of their ‘95 hit “Popular” is their only good song, is completely ridiculous. 2003’s “Let Go” and more recently “ The Weight is a Gift” are 2 of the most enjoyable albums that I have heard by any band for some time. Their song writing rivals Death Cab for Cutie’s. “The Weight is a Gift” is a collecton of 11 great pop songs that outshine anything that “Popular” was. (Barsuk) New London Fire “A Wave Form” New London Fire is done by some of the same people that bring you Sleep Station. This release is an internet only release and can be downloaded free from the Eyeball Records site.

The sound of this EP is quite good and I can’t wait for the full length.

(Eyeball Records)

Nicotine “Session” Nicotine is a punk band from Japan.

The opener “Rock You All” will have you singing along in a heartbeat.

There is a lot of great punk bands coming from Japan, and Nicotine is one of them. (Asian Man) Rah Bras “WHOHM” I was extremely displeased with Rah Bras last release “EPS”. “WHOHM” is a lot better sounding. I don’t know how to describe this other than as dance, industrial, synth opera.

(Lovitt) Roy “Killed John Train” “Killed John Train” is the follow up to 2004’s “Big City Sin and Small Town Redemption”. “Killed John Train” blends genres like traditional rock with folk and indie. It’s one of those albums you’ll still listening too 5 years from now. (Lujo) The Red Note “Weatherman” The Red Note is a Latin influenced rock band from Seattle. It almost sounds like there is a marching band in the backround playing the horns, because they are so full. The song writing is quite good and I’m sure everyone would like this.

(Hypothetial) T. Duggins “Undone” T. Duggins is the lead singer for The Tossers. Before Tossers’ show, T. will go on and do a solo set. This album reflects what Mr. Duggins does before those Tossers’ shows. If you’re a fan of Irish folk/drinking songs then this will be right up your alley, if not a fan, then stay away. There are a couple of covers of Bob Dylan’s and The Pogues’ songs, plus a couple of originals by T. himself. (Thick)

Ten in the Swear Jar “Accordion Solo” Ten in the Swear Jar is Jamie Sterwart’s band before he went on to form Xiu Xiu. For a band that was around only a year and played less than 20 shows, I find no reason why this was released. It includes 22 tracks, some of which are from live shows. (Asian Man) True Love “Wings” True Love play some infectious power pop with 3 part harmonies. The songs are pretty good, but not real original.

A couple of the songs sound like almost direct rip offs of Weezer’s early sound. (Not Lame) We Are Wolves “Non Stop” Probably the most inventive release of the year. It’s like college dance rock. The track “Non Stop” has a thick bass line, hand claps, and that toy with the machine gun, lazer, and rocket launcher sounds. This is definitely something worth picking up.

(Fat Possum) We Are Wolves

Brian Costello “The Enchanters Vs. Sprawlburg Springs” I’ll be honest, I haven’t read the whole book yet. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that when you have a newborn and a toddler running around, the only quiet time you get is when you’re taking a squat. From what I’ve read, it is enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read. (Featherproof Books)

Barr

Bouncing Souls

Cave In

Photo Credits: (Pgs 4-5) Chin Up Chin Up - Martha Williams (Pgs 8-9) Bob Nanna - Sally Ryan (Pg 10) Bob Nanna - Unknown (Pg 11) Bob Nanna - Chris Strong (Pgs 12-14) Provided by Lovitt Records (Pgs 16, 21) Bound Stems - Liz Parrot (Pg 22-23,28-29) AmAnSet - Unknown (Pg 26-27) AmAnSet - Adam Sever (Pg 37) A Day in Black and White - Unknown (Pg 38) Ester Drang - Unknown (Pg 39) Maritime - Unknown (Pg 40) Milemarker - Unknown Nada Surf - Emily Wilson (Pg 41) We Are Wolves - Unknown (Pg 42) Barr - Ed Templeton Cave In - Unknown Bouncing Souls - Unknown Head Like A Kite - Unknown The Grey - Alex Cairncross Mercury Radio Theater - Unknown Thanks to Chris P. for finding the grammer mistakes.

Head Like A Kite

The Grey

Mercury Radio Theater

While I Was High Chris has never been drunk or high in his life, but he’s had plenty of friends who have been. While I was High is a collection of anonymous stories and comics about random peoples’ adventures while intoxicated and fucked up. Imagine smoking weed and getting busted by your elementary school D.A.R.E. Officer. While I Was High is a great collection of humorous short stories.

Manual Dexterity Manual Dexterity is like a CDep, short and to the point. Each issue has 3 independent bands, interesting articles and a ton of reviews. This issue features The Nein, Say Hi to Your Mom, and Chariots (America, North).

Available in print and PDF.

Swimmer’s Ear Back Issues #1 - #15 Get all the past issues of this long running zine featuring skateboarding, snowboarding and independent music. Tons of great photos, interviews, articles and other fun stuff.

Many issues available in print and PDF.

The Haunt of Swimmer’s Ear Jimi Nguyen combines extreme sports and terrifying stories in this Tales From the Crypt homage. Ever skate a cursed handrail before? It’s even harder than a regular handrail, what with the zombies chasing you and everything.

Full color comic!

Subtitles Publishing Buy * Spend * Consume subtitlespub@yahoo.com p.o. box 2076 * Maple Grove, MN 55311