“Since C.A.Y.A.” features dazzlingly funky bass licks by the magnificent Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner and was produced by Knife Knights (aka Ishmael Butler and Erik Blood), recorded and mixed by Blood at Protect and Exalt Labs: A Black Space in Seattle.
In this newly discovered excerpt from the renowned underground publication Purple Cliffs Quarterly,* The Palaceer reminisces to singer/writer Lou Monk about the epiphany he had at the C.A.Y.A. community center:
“In the era of Quazarz youth, The Central District of Seattle, Washington shone wildly vibrant and pulsed strong like the muscles of the heart. Brave Forerunners, from warm points south, had arrived settled and soon began to born and unleash dazzle of all sorts from this green remote. It was here on a sunny, July day over a free lunch at the C.A.Y.A. baseball field watching the Frontiersman smash an east side club to dust, that Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star – with confused terror then resolute determination – first looked his dreams in the eye. Thee rest as they say, is mystery. The Heritage House, Lowe’s Grocery and One Stop Burgers are gone; fact is, from that glorious epoch there remain few vestiges… I’m one of them.”
Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machineswill be released on July 14th on CD / LP / DL / CS and are now available for preorder from Sub Pop right over here. LP pre-orders for each album from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers, will receive the limited “Loser” edition on colored vinyl (…Jealous Machines on mashed-up purple; …Born on a Gangster Star on aluminum). Both albums can be purchased together as a special bundle, and there are also new T-shirt designs associated with each release (one for …Born on a Gangster Star and two for …vs. The Jealous Machines) (read more at Sub Pop).
[Photo Credit: Victoria Kovios]
Shabazz Palaces will support both Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines with North American tour dates that resumes July 13th-16th at Cascadia Festival in Granite Falls, Washington and run through September 15th-17th for Chicago’s Riot Fest. Additionally, support for these shows (August 16th-September 9th) will come from labelmate Porter Ray.
Jul. 13-16 - Granite Falls, WA - Cascadia Festival Aug. 16 - Portland, OR - The Star Theater* Aug. 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* Aug. 19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theatre* Aug. 20 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom* Aug. 21 - El Paso, TX - Lowbrow* Aug. 23 - Austin, TX - Mohawk (Outdoor Stage)* Aug. 24 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada* Aug. 25 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon* Aug. 26 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West* Aug. 27 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm* Aug. 28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle* Aug. 30 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups* Aug. 31 - Detroit, MI - El Club* Sep. 01 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace* Sep. 02 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount* Sep. 03 - Quebec City, QC - Le Cercle Sep. 05 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair* Sep. 06 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw* Sep. 07 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer* Sep. 08 - Washington, DC - Black Cat* Sep. 09 - Baltimore, DC - Ottobar* Sep. 11 - Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall Sep. 15 - 17 - Chicago, IL - Riot Fest at Douglas Park *w/ Porter Ray
In thisfirst episode of the dyn-o-mite third season, we answer that ages-old question no one is asking: “What is up with the Sub Pop invasion of Halifax?”
The new and third season of the Sub Pop Podcast begins on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017, with a new episode to follow every two weeks thereafter. Available through all of the very best podcast distribution points, the Sub Pop Podcast is made at the label’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington by long-time radio so-and-so and verifiable Sub Pop employee, Arwen Nicks, in collaboration with and sometimes overcoming the well-intentioned interference of a handful of other label staffers. Episodes present stories from inside, outside, and adjacent to Sub Pop, Seattle’s premier medium-sized record label. We focus on conversations with our artists past and present, people who work at/with/around Sub Pop, and anyone else willing or reckless enough to talk to us. And same goes for our sibling label Hardly Art.
The Sub Pop Podcast debuted in January of 2016 and its first two seasons featured celebrated artists like… Band of Horses, Chastity Belt, Mudhoney, Shearwater, Jenn Champion, Alex and Victoria from Beach House, Sam Beam from Iron and Wine, Tad from TAD, Benjamin Gibbard from both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, Kathleen Hanna, Father John Misty (2 episodes worth!), Jonah Ray, members of CSS and Clipping, and a whole more. We also talked to employees at both Sub Pop and Hardly Art, as well as Sub Pop label honchos Jonathan Poneman and Megan Jasper.
Season three will feature… More conversations with artists, Sub Pop’s “invasion” of Canada, a celebration of Hardly Art’s landmark 10th anniversary, mentions of the Russian mafia, car crashes, birthday parties, musicians who think they should be elected to office, drugs, depression, death, obsessed fans, and at least one cameo from at least one member of Guns and Roses.
Subpop.fm is available to provide you with a convenient means of listening to the new, first episode of this new season, as well as all of the episodes from both previous seasons. There, you can also subscribe to the Sub Pop Podcast, sign up for our email list and get in touch with us (at podcast@subpop.com).
Further persuasion in the form of reviews from listeners…
“Shockingly foul-mouthed and heart-warming at the same time, a great listen!” - someone on iTunes
“I really dig the watercolor art for each episode and I especially loved the two part episode with Josh Tillman; probably the best interview with him I’ve ever heard.” - Dave, who emailed us
“Everybody should listen to the Sub Pop Podcast” - Jonah Ray, host of MST3K and Hidden America
“The Sub Pop Podcast is everything.” - A nice guy named John on Twitter
National Tour Dates Incl. Pitchfork’s Northside Showcase, Riot Fest, House Of Vans, Made In America Festival.
Downtown Boys use their ferocious energy and powerhouse live shows to unite crowds in the struggle to smash racism, queerphobia, capitalism, fascism, boredom, and all things people use to try to close our minds, eyes and hearts. The Providence, RI band have announced their third album, Cost of Living, to be released (Preorder here now) August 11 on Sub Pop. The new album - the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed sophomore album, 2015’s Full Communism - is at once incendiary, cathartic, and fun, melding the band’s revolutionary ideals with boundless energy. Produced by Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, one of indie-rock’s most mythological figures (he also produced Blonde Redhead, The Gossip, and others), Cost of Living shows a sense of maturity without compromising the band’s righteous assault and captivating presence.
“… wild, bilingual, no-filler, can-still-throw-down punk rock.” - NPR
“Accompanied by production from Greg Norman and Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, Downtown Boys sound sharper than ever, their urgency tightened into a raging storm. The band understands that for a song to be political, it needs to be more than just than a temporary rebellion: It has to dig into the essence of an identity with relentless honesty.” - Pitchfork, Best New Track
“… Downtown Boys are a beam of radical energy” – Rookie
“ …the politically-minded Rhode Island punk crew Downtown Boys slam bullying hardcore guitars, X-Ray Spex-y horns and radical lyrical fury together into a moshpit utopia.” – Rolling Stone
Cost of Living is Downtown Boys’ first record for storied indie label Sub Pop, and the band is using this new platform as a megaphone for their protest music, amplifying and centering Chicana, queer, and Latino voices in the far-too-whitewashed world of rock. t Lyrically inspired by Assata Shakur’s poem “i believe in living,” album-opener “A Wall” rides the feel-good power that drove so many tunes by The Clash and Wire, calling out the idea that a wall could ever succeed in snuffing the humanity and spirit of those it’s designed to crush. “Promissory Note” is a bold self-introduction to the exclusive clubs that either ignore Downtown Boys’ existence, or worse, feign appreciation: “So what’s the matter, you don’t like what you see? / I can’t believe you’re even talking to me!” Ruiz shouts. “Tonta,” one of the three songs written and sung primarily in Spanish, is an introspective and emotional portrait of anguish which calls to mind the mighty scrum of Huasipungo at an ABC No Rio matinee.
The position of Downtown Boys has been clear since they started storming through basements and DIY spaces with their radically-minded, indefatigable rock music: they are here to topple the white-cis-het hegemony and draft a new history. This is how Downtown Boys began, and their resolve has only strengthened as both their sound and audience have grown. Like the socially conscious groups of years past, from Public Enemy to Rage Against the Machine, Downtown Boys harness powerful sloganeering, repetitive grooves, and earworm hooks to create one of the most necessary musical statements of today.
[Photo Credit: Miguel Rosario]
The time is now for you to follow Downtown Boys everywhere over the known internets via Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp.
Cost of Living
Downtown Boys’ new album, Cost of Living, will be released on CD / LP / CASS / DL, and is available for pre-order here now. LP pre-orders in North America through the Sub Pop Mega Mart and select independent retailers will receive the Loser Edition on marbled gold vinyl while supplies last. Plus, a new T-shirt design will also be available.
Cost of Living :: Tracklist
1. A Wall 2. I’m Enough (I Want More) 3. Somos Chulas (No Somos Pendejas) 4. Promissory Note 5. Because You 6. Violent Complicity 7. It Can’t Wait 8. Tonta 9. Heroes (Interlude) 10. Lips That Bite 11. Clara Rancia 12. Bulletproof (Outro)
6/9: Brooklyn, NY @ Pitchfork Northside Fest Showcase @ St. Vitus 6/16: Ashfield, MA @ The Ashfield Lake House 6/17: Providence, RI @ Aurora 7/12: Brooklyn, NY @ House of Vans 8/19: Omaha, NE @ Maha Festival 9/2 - 9/3: Philadelphia, PA @ Made In America Festival 9/15 - 9/17: Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest 9/23: Los Angeles, CA @ Summer Happenings at The Broad 10/9: Leffinge, Belgium @ Cafe De Zwerver 10/10: Paris, France @ Le Point Ephemere 10/11: Brighton, UK @ The Haunt 10/12: Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club 10/13: Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s 10/14: Glasgow, UK @ Stereo 10/16: Dublin, Ireland @ The Workman’s Club 10/17: Liverpool, UK @ The Shipping Forecast 10/18: London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park 10/19: Sheffield, UK @ Picture House Social Club 10/20: Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute 10/21: Bristol, UK @ Simple Things Festival 10/22: Birmingham, UK @ All Years Leaving Festival 10/24: Munster, Germany @ Gleis 22 10/25: Berlin, Germany @ Urban Spree 10/26: Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
The time has come for us to celebrate another revolution
around this flaming coil of molten garbage for our number one favorite corporate sell-out,
the Sub Pop Airport Store. This May marks 3 years in Sea-Tac’s heavily populated
Central Terminal. Come for the Qdoba, stay for the moderately priced vinyl
records (sorry, they’re not calendars).
In simultaneous celebration of our anniversary and this month’s obscure internet holiday,
World Goth Day, I’ve created a Special Bonus Zine Page highlighting some of the
“Dark Music” of Sub Pop. As a dedicated night shift worker and
self-deprecating-20-something-nightcrawler (using this in place of “goth” to
avoid hate mail), I’ve forever been a fan of all things Sub Pop. However, I wanted
to specifically bring forth some of the label’s dark music of present and past.
From Sub Pop 100’s track list including Skinny Puppy’s “Church in Hell” and Scratch Acid’s “Greatest Gift” (drummer Rey Washam went on to play with Ministry and
Jello Biafra and Al Jourgensen’s Lard) to Birthday Party-influenced bands like The U-Men (infamous for setting the moat surrounding Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheater on fire
during a concert), there is a clear lineage of darker influences spanning
genres from post-punk to industrial and dark wave. There is still a vein of significant
contemporaries in bands like Hardly Art’s Grave Babies, Sub Pop alums A Frames,
Italian band His Electro Blue Voice, and dark electronic duo Handsome Furs.
If you see me at the airport store, please do ask me to discuss your favorite
Clock DVA album, please don’t lecture me on the bands I didn’t include in this
blog post (I know, I wasn’t born when you saw Nirvana play in your friend’s
basement).
Also, in lieu of apologizing profusely for not selling bottled water or
newspapers, please accept some Top 3 lists from the Airport Staff:
