Selective Listening: Notes from the Desk of the General Manager, April 2015

A Brief History of Tooting Our Own Horn

Though Bruce (here I mean Pavitt) had been using the title Subterranean Pop since sometime in ‘79 for fanzines, cassette compilations, radio shows, potent weed hybrids, and the like, somewhere along the line he and Jonathan (and here I mean Mr. Poneman, aka my boss) decided that April 1, 1988, the day they quit their jobs and rented a tiny office in the Terminal Sales Bldg., was the day the Sub Pop label was really born. No doubt the three of you still reading this possess the high-level math skills to quickly compute the following fact that will be the foundational excuse for the nonsense which follows: today, April 1, 2015, is the 27th birthday of Sub Pop Records, the record label most well-known (to me anyway…) for continuing to offer me employment. (You are, of course, free to have your own associations…).

And, what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a good party? We here at Seattle’s most loud-mouthed record label, have a long, expensive tradition of congratulating ourselves with self-indulgent parties just for continuing to exist for another year. 

Some “highlights,” then!

In 1998, to commemorate 10 whole years of record making and flirting indiscreetly with insolvency, we put together a party at The Showbox here in Seattle, with Rebecca Gates of The Spinanes, 10 Minute Warning, TAD, The Afghan Whigs, and surprise guests The Murder City Devils. The bands were all great and it was all an exceedingly good time. And… Around this same time the MTV show “The Real World” was filming a season here in Seattle. Several or maybe all of the cast members participated in the internship program at our local commercial alternative radio affiliate (to the best of my memory, they were referred to as something like “Regurgitators”) and came to the event early to conduct interviews with the bands for the station. During their interview with Tad Doyle (of TAD…), beneath a high school reunion-style banner reading “Welcome Alumni! Sub Pop 1988-1998”, Stacey or Donny or Puck or whoever it was, lost no time in diving into the tough questions: “So, what’s it like for The Afghan Whigs to play Sub Pop’s anniversary show?” Tad, known equally for visibly resembling no one so much as Tad, the guy from TAD, and also for being a genuine and affable guy, ran with it and gave an insightful and largely fictional interview on the subject.

No idea (or clear recollection) of what happened between anniversaries 10 and 20, really.

But, in July of 2008, for our 20th anniversary, we held a 2-day festival called SP20 out at Marymoor Park, preceded by a comedy show at the Moore Theatre that Friday night, and then we gave away all of the money we made. We also hosted a party at the Space Needle here in Seattle, painted its roof to look like a 7” label (with the words “Thank You Seattle. Love, Sub Pop”), and flew a giant Sub Pop flag from its very top. Of the fucking SPACE NEEDLE! There are photos to prove I am not making this up. This was a fantastic event – tons of old friends showed up, all of the bands played amazing sets AND got along, good vibes reigned throughout, and somehow, miraculously nothing went disastrously wrong. We did, inadvertently offend Girl Trouble by not thinking to invite them to play, but they wound up showing up and playing for free outside the front gate anyway, so even that worked out. (Strictly Sacred, the doc about Girl Trouble is very worth seeing, BTW.)

Our only possible regret: why didn’t we call the whole thing SPF20? That’s definitely a better name for a summer festival, right?

And then, in July of 2013, we hosted a free one-day event in Seattle’s gritty, colorful Georgetown neighborhood which we called The Sub Pop Records Silver Jubilee. As you might imagine there was live music, and an opening night comedy show, but this time there was also a record fair, poster fair, readings and panels, a historical art show at a pop-up Sub Pop Mega Mart, and as much merch as we could possibly make and sell. All told, somewhere around 40,000 people showed up, and I got to answer some questions from my kids (aged 10 and 6 at the time) about the full mod prim gent in a dusty Utilikilt and Thunderdome hairdo/beard design, who, on a roughly 4’ x 4’ scrabbly little ashtray of ground between two buildings, was offering passersby the chance to staple cash to his body… Stay in school, kids!

The Silver Jubilee was also an incredibly good time, an unbelievable gathering of some of our favorite people and music, and great throngs of well-meaning, happy and clearly intoxicated strangers (and also the guy with the stapler).

The one possible negative aspect: some grumbling that Soundgarden did not materialize as a surprise guest. To be clear, we never actually said that they would (though, the guy from The Afghan Whigs in this video seems to be saying something that MIGHT be confusing…).

Happily, in the end, our Yelp reviews were largely positive…

And, because we just can’t seem to keep our hands (or, in this case, bands) off of it, we somehow convinced the usually responsible people who operate the Space Needle to allow Mudhoney to perform on the actual roof of this very tall, very iconic building a few days before the Jubilee. Our friends at KEXP broadcast and recorded this monumentally historic event.

One thing that’s been unmistakable, through all of this, is that none of it matters if you guys aren’t paying attention. And, a lot of times, more times than we’d have guessed, you have! We’re grateful, thank you.

While the rhetorical question up there at the beginning, about 6 who-gives-a-shits ago, asking what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a good party, sort of begs a less rhetorical question along the lines of, “Then, sweet, merciful Jesus Christ pose, why is this overlong blog post not full of details about a forthcoming anniversary party instead of all of this preening, laurel-resting poppycock??!” the answer is pretty simple: we’re not ready yet. We’re keeping our nose to the grungestone: putting out a bunch of incredible records, opening a shop at the airport, working on the 2nd Sub Pop Festival in Brazil, tightening up our Myspace profile, and scheming for the future. The next time we throw a party, you are all totally invited.

Happy our birthday to you,

Chris

You guys, we did it. We finally fucking did it. The Pittsburgh, PA band The Gotobeds have signed a worldwide recording contract with Sub Pop Records. As fans of The Gotobeds from their very first cassette release up through their excellent debut LP, Poor People Are Revolting, released in 2014 on Gerard Cosloy’s 12XU label, we here at Sub Pop couldn’t be happier to work with these fine young men. Keep your ears open for new music in the near future, and be sure to catch The Gotobeds on their upcoming tour with Hardly Art recording artists Protomartyr, which begins with a hometown show on April 8th at Gooski’s and ends April 18th in Athens, GA at Caledonia Lounge (dates below).
 
Who the heck are The Gotobeds, you ask? Well, here’s the deal, according to the band’s singer/guitarist Hazy Lazer (real name TBD):
 
Around March 2009, shortly after I lost my job, I bumped into my longtime friend Parryman at an all-night art gallery and we talked about finally making a band stick beyond a couple of drunken, hazy practices. Pittsburgh at the time had a nice, Thatcher-esque feel thanks to the housing bubble bursting, so I was keen to do something beyond getting up at noon and trying to hit my favorite brunch spot. But not toomuch more.
 
I had all of these songs sitting around that didn’t make sense for my other band, Kim Phuc. Parryman wasn’t really a drummer and I wasn’t really a singer so it seemed natural that we’d try our hand at those things. We made long lists of bands and strange sounds we wanted to try out. Being from a city that has great bands but is removed from most things gave us time to gestate, and if you’re intelligent enough to read between the lines you know I’m covering for the fact that we were initially pretty terrible.
 
Arid Plateau took on bass duties once he made the correct decision to move from Chicago to Pittsburgh despite only knowing a couple of people here. As far as guitar players go, we had several in our infancy, but each of them turned out to be simply experiencing a moment of transitional chaos before they resigned themselves to the rat race. COOL U, who drummed in Kim Phuc, eventually asked to play guitar with us, which completed our final lineup.
 
We kicked around for a few years to find our footing. It’s easy to form a band with an initial sound or look that is someone else’s, but that’s always the least interesting way to go about things. So we tried on a few hats to figure out that they didn’t fit or they wouldn’t get us laid. Most of what we agree on is stuff with guitars in it. I wanted to be the Swell Maps and just make a big bunch of classic songs with junk on top, but we ended up with a mish-mash of DIY/Punk/Post-Punk/Indie sounds ala The Fall, early Pavement, Wire, Wipers, Mission of Burma, Sonic Youth, Total Control, Tyvek, Protomartyr, etc.
 
We approached our first LP in the fashion of The Replacements’ Let It Be, what with the cheeky title and grab-bag of disparate strands of rock. Every band is trying to incorporate too much shit, so we just made sounds that we all loved, and lucked into recording all the songs in one day. “Secs Tape,” “Jenna Rations,” and “Fucking Machine” are all first takes. The ’90s are back! We’re waiting to cash our checks.
 
Important note: The Gotobeds is one word. It’s someone’s name. We’re a punk family like The Ramones or the Osmonds. We’re not going to bed anytime soon.
Jah Bless - Hazy Lazer 2014.
 
What people have said about The Gotobeds:
“This is attitude-heavy, snarling, railing-against-everything punk-informed indie rock. If you dig Protomartyr and Parquet Courts or Pavement or The Fall (or Wire), this is pretty much essential listening.” - Brooklyn Vegan

“A rowdy, ramshackle party house of a band, built on the intersecting bedrock of post-punk and indie rock…The Gotobeds’ members paint a dirty, driven, vulgar portrait of Rust Belt restlessness.” [Poor People Are Revolting] - NPR Music 

“A noisy, raucous 41-minute post-punk assault…” [Poor People Are Revolting] - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

“A stellar debut from a band you should be excited about, especially if you’re young enough to not remember the times when indie-rock was actually the adventurous land of creative bands. Gotobeds (along with Protomartyr and some others) seem to be possibly making that happen again.” [Poor People Are Revolting] - Terminal Boredom

Tour Dates
Apr. 08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Gooski’s *
Apr. 09  - Ithaca, NY - Cornell University *
Apr. 11 - Providence, RI - AS220 *
Apr. 12 - Cambridge, MA - Club Bohemia *
Apr. 13 - Willimantic, CT - Willimantic Records
Apr. 14 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s *
Apr. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - The Wick *
Apr. 16 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall *
Apr. 17 - Winston-Salem, NC - The Garage *
Apr. 18 - Athens, GA - Caledonia *
* w/ Protomartyr

Sub Pop & Hardly Art at SxSW 2015 / March 15-22:
Danny Bland, Chastity Belt, King Tuff, La Luz, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Luluc, METZ, Rat Fist (Randy from No Age), & THEESatisfaction
 
Sub Pop & Hardly Art SXSW Rdio & Beats Playlists
Rdio: http://goo.gl/WvCPgq
Beats: http://goo.gl/a8wlr7

 
Sub Pop & Hardly Art artists Danny Bland, Chastity Belt, King Tuff, La Luz, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Luluc, METZ, and THEESatisfaction, along with our friends Rat Fist (feat. Randy from No Age), will appear at the 2015 edition of SXSW. Please find a complete schedule for each artist below.

Daughn Gibson’s Carnation will be available on CD / LP / DL June 1st in Europe, June 2nd in North America and June 8th in the UK from Sub Pop. The album, featuring the highlights “Shatter You Through,” “Bled to Death,” “It Wants Everything,” was co-produced by Gibson and Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Tim Hecker), recorded at Avast Studios in Seattle, Washington and mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering. The album features guest appearances from composer/violinist to Eyvind Kang (string arrangements), renowned studio drummer Matt Chamberlain, as well as Gibson’s long-standing musical conspirator, Jim Elkington. Additional contributions include: Steve Moore (Piano, Trombone, Keyboards and Synths); Milky Burgess, Paul Wegman, and Jer Rouse (Guitars); Skerik (Saxophone); and Jay Kardong (Pedal Steel). Carnation is the follow up to Me Moan, his Sub Pop debut.  Please find a complete tracklisting below.
 
You can now listen to the lead single, “Shatter You Through” via Stereogum, who says of the track: “As odd as anything he’s committed to tape, but it’s also his most instantly appealing single” (see premiere March 12th).”
 
Pre-orders of Carnation are available through Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. Fans who purchase the album from megamart.subpop.com will receive the Loser Edition on white, black and blue swirl colored vinyl (while supplies last).  There will also be new T-shirt design, available individually and as part of a bundle with purchase of Carnation.
 
About Daughn Gibson’s Carnation:
Daughn Gibson of Carlisle, PA is a singer, songwriter and musician possessed of a singular and strange vision. Carnation is the latest exhilarating and dark embodiment of that vision. It’s also his third album. It’s an album that’s more elegant and sophisticated than anything he’s done to date, and which sees the elements of country music, more prominent on his past records (the 2012 release All Hell on the White Denim label and Sub Pop’s 2013 release of Me Moan), undone by ambient textures and sounds to extraordinary effect.

Shot through with a deep sensuality, Carnation is a high-wire balancing act, at times sexual, emotionally intense and comforting. The album features Daughn’s strongest songwriting yet, with lyrical subject matter that shares a kinship with writers Raymond Carver and Donald Ray Pollack. The music here combines with those lyrics to widescreen effect, and Carnation feels filmic in its execution: It evokes, and in many ways pays homage to, the works of Tim Burton, Pier Paulo Pasolini, and John Waters.
 
Carnation’s most pervasive theme might best be described as the chaos of circumstance and the 11 tracks here tell related stories. In “Bled to Death,” Daughn passes away and laments the cruel hand dragging him back to earth.  On “Daddy I Cut My Hair,” a young man recently released from a mental health facility desperately searches for sexual intimacy. “A Rope Ain’t Enough” follows the story of an ambivalent man suddenly awaking to the disease of masculinity, and formulating a plan to eradicate it. “It Wants Everything” is written from the point of view of a drunk and belligerent “jester of circumstance”. Then there’s the addictive lead single, “Shatter You Through,” which happens to detail a moment of peaceful sleep broken by the alarm clock toll of dread and sadness, but proves to be one hell of an earworm (read more at Sub Pop).