Album release show on May 25th at Babyland with Positive No & Bat Zuppel.
On May 31st, The Gotobeds - Cary, TFP, Eli and Gavin - return to the fray with their third full lengther, Debt Begins at 30. The esprit de corps and anxiety-free joy that permeates their other LPs and EPs remains intact. The octane is high-test, the engine still has knocks and pings and the battery is overcharged. The Gotobeds - as Pittsburgh as it gets, the folk music of the Steel City - have more tar for us to swallow. Debt Begins at 30 is an old-fashioned blast furnace and the liquid iron flows.
The album’s first single, “Calquer the Hound,” features guest performances by Kim Phuc singer Rob Henry, and Evan Richards of The City Buses. (The album has guests on all eleven tracks - see the track list below for the details.) The song has euphony, a sly bridge, plenty of trademark bash, and a spacey outro. It’s a sanguine album opener, more Al Oliver than Starling Marte, to put it in Pittsburgh Pirates terms. Tune in to “Calquer the Hound” here and here (see also Brooklyn Vegan March 6th).
[Photo Credit: Shawn Brackbill]
The band has confirmed an album release show in their hometown of Pittsburgh, PA on May 25th at Babyland. Positive No & Bat Zuppel will open. They will also be opening for Mudhoney Oct 17th at Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh. More dates to be announced in the coming weeks.
Debt Begins at 30 is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart. Preorders of the LP through megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in the U.S., and select European and UK retailers will receive the limited, orange-vinyl Loser Edition while supplies last.
Debt Begins at 30 Tracklisting:
1. Calquer the Hound (with Evan Richards of The City Buses and Rob Henry of Kim Phuc) 2. Twin Cities (with Tracy Wilson of Positive No) 3. Slang Words (with Joe Casey of Protomartyr) 4. 2:15 (with Matt Barnhart of Tre Orsi/Mint Mile) 5. Poor People Are Revolting (with Pittsburgh poet Jason Baldinger and Gerard Cosloy of Air Traffic Controllers/Homestead Records/12XU Records) 6 .Debt Begins at 30 (with Mike Seamans of Mind Cure Records) and Bob Weston of Shellac/Mission of Burma) 7. On Loan (with Greg Ahee of Protomartyr) 8. Dross (with Bob Nastanovich of Pavement/Silver Jews) 9. Parallel (with Tim Midyett of Mint Mile/Silkworm) 10. Bleached Midnight (with Pittsburgh poet Scott MacIntyre) 11. Debt Begins at 30 (Alt version) (with Victoria Ruiz of Downtown Boys)
About The Gotobeds Debt Begins at 30: Give me a minute or three to extol the virtues of The Gotobeds, the modern rock-and-roll sensation that has always sounded like they love to play. Never maligned by having the world’s weight on their backs, The Gotobeds - Cary, TFP, Eli and Gavin - return to the fray with their third full lengther, Debt Begins at 30. The esprit de corps and anxiety-free joy that permeates their other LPs and EPs remains intact. The octane is high-test, the engine still has knocks and pings and the battery is overcharged. The Gotobeds - as Pittsburgh as it gets, the folk music of the Steel City - have more tar for us to swallow. Debt Begins at 30 is an old-fashioned blast furnace and the liquid iron flows. Debt Begins at 30 is not “pub sop” in any way or shape.
Though I never considered The Gotobeds a band that needed assistance from their peers, Debt Begins at 30 features outside contributors on every track. The album’s first single, “Calquer the Hound,” includes local buddy Evan Richards, and Rob Henry of Kim Phuc. “Calquer the Hound” has euphony, a sly bridge, plenty of trademark bash, and a spacey outro. It’s a sanguine album opener, more Al Oliver than Starling Marte.
On “Twin Cities,” the lads tap Tracy Wilson, formerly of Dahlia Seed and currently of Positive NO!, to share the vox, and the result is an exuberant pop song proving The Gotobeds benefit from women ruling the scene. “Twin Cities” is more Dakota Staton than Don Caballero. “Debt Begins at 30,” the title trackular, includes the wizardry of Mike Seamans and legend Bob Weston. It’s a brooding romp with tribal beats and slash-and-burn guitar, more Rocky Bleier than Le’Veon Bell.
Unsurprisingly, The Gotobeds called partners-in-rock-crime Protomartyr a coupla times, with Joe Casey bolstering “Slang Words” and hook-fiend Greg Ahee shredding on “On Loan.” “Slang Words” is a savory wrecking ball with a crunching bite, more of a soft shell crab sandwich from Wholey’s Market than a 4am slop feast at Primanti Brothers. “On Loan” is an anthemic jangle-fest with high-arcing fret work, more Karl Hendricks (rest his soul) than “Weird Paul” Petroskey.
Silkworm guitarist Tim Midyett is tapped on “Parallel,” a grand song that enters a world of whimsy, melodic and uncomplicated, more Jaromir Jagr than Sidney Crosby. The likes of 12XU label boss Gerard Cosloy, Tre Orsi’s Matt Barnhart, the wonderful Victoria Ruiz of Downtown Boys, Pittsburgh wordsmiths Jason Baldinger and Scott MacIntyre, and yours truly strut stuff on other tracks. In my case, I just scream “dross” on “Dross” several times. Good judgment on the part of The Gotobeds to know that’s the best I can do, more Max Moroff than Andrew McCutchen.
Anyways, The Gotobeds have quickly reached the veteran stage, but, based upon Debt Begins at 30, their best days are ahead of them. It’s a pleasure to be associated with such an excellent band.
This November, Pittsburgh punks The Gotobeds will leave the warm comfort of their homes in Pittsburgh, PA to tour across North America and back again in support of their 2016 Sub Pop album, Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic.
The Cold November Rain Tour begins on November 2nd in Chicago, IL, with stops in Little Rock, Los Angeles, Seattle, and several other cities, finally ending November 21st in Milwaukee, WI. (see listing below) For the first eight of these shows, The Gotobeds will be accompanied by their close, personal friends in the very good band called Protomartyr.
In the bio for Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic (a bio, we should note, he was paid handsomely to write), Protomartyr’s Joe Casey offered the following endorsement of The Gotobeds’ live performances: “…the band’s live show is a testament to the cathartic nature of speed, skill, repetition, noise, and red stage lights.” And, The Gotobeds’ singer/guitarist Eli Kasan had this to say about the upcoming tour:
“The last time these two giants of rock met resulted in a near arrest for whatever you would call ‘intoxicated on psychedelic mushrooms, in a hotel, while watching sports bloopers at 5am.’ This time it’s PERSONAL, Best Western.”
Tour Dates + Ticket Links Nov. 02 - Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle * Nov. 03 - Columbia, MO - Cafe Berlin * Nov. 04 - Little Rock, AR - Stickyz Rock N Roll Chicken Shack * Nov. 08 - Las Vegas, NV - The Bunkhouse Saloon * Nov. 09 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar * Nov. 10 - West Hollywood, CA - The Roxy * Nov. 11 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s * Nov. 12 - Reno, NV - Holland Project * Nov. 14 - Portland, OR - Bunk Bar Nov. 15 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern Nov. 16. - Vancouver, BC - Fortune Sound Club Nov. 17 - Spokane, WA - The Observatory Nov. 18 - Missoula, MT - Palace Lounge Nov. 20 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry Nov. 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club * w/ Protomartyr
Southern gentlemen Arbor Labor Union share the stage with notorious knuckleheads The Gotobeds for the rest of this week (July 19-23), as they shred their way through the sultry South. What could go wrong?
Shows begin tonight, July 19th at Cats Cradle in Carrboro, NC and wrap Saturday, July 23rd in Nashville, TN at Foobar.
The Gotobeds fans can also catch them in the daylight hours; they’ve got TWO live in-store performances coming up 7/23 at Grimey’s in Nashville and 7/24 at Shake It Records in Cincinnati. And in that meantime, Arbor Labor Union continue on the road supporting the one and only Dinosaur Jr.!
Direct from our favorite Pittsburglars (!), The Gotobeds, comes the brand new video for “Cold Gold,” one of the many stand-out tracks from their album Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic, which just so happens to be available worldwide tomorrow, dba Friday, June 10th. Please note: Limited supplies of the Loser Edition vinyl LP of Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic (on “baby poop” yellow) remain available. FOR THE MOMENT… You should, of course, order yours now!
In a joint statement, the band members (and stars of the video) Eli Kasan, Gavin Jensen, Cary Belback, and “TFP” (who also directed the video) offered the following insight: “‘Cold Gold’ features four grown men performing a highly choreographed dance routine set to beautiful music.” [Sub Pop can confirm that the band has at least one out of three of those locked in.]
Also, these guys are going to be touring this summer and we know they would love to see some of their video dance moves performed by audience members. So! We encourage everyone to get limbered up, head out to see The Gotobeds and show them what you’ve got.
In the meantime, happy Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic (almost) release day to you, The Gotobeds!
Pittsburgh punks The Gotobeds just shared new track “Bodies,” taken from their upcoming album Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. The last song to be recorded from the album, “Bodies” was written after the band joked that it lacked a “hit”. Well… here that hit is! Now wrap yer ears around this infectious two and half minute anthem.
NME had these fine words to say of the track: “Playing the kind of educated punk that Dead Kennedys and The Dead Boys helped push overground, their forthcoming Sub Pop record ‘Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic’ is an enthralling, engaging listen. Singer/guitarist Eli Kasan’s delivery is half-spoken, half-sung, but always with a keen sense of ‘kiss this’ nihilism in his tight-chested proclamations. He may snarl, but he’s never cartoon punk.”
Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic also features previously streamed tracks ”Real Maths/Too Much“ and ”Brash Not Rash’” and will be available on CD/LP/DL/CASS worldwide on June 10th. The album is now up for pre-order at Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Bandcamp, and at independent retailers near you. LP pre-orders will receive the limited “Loser” edition on baby poop yellow.
The follow-up to their 12XU debut Poor People Are Revolting, Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic masterfully balances raucous energy with intelligence and integrity. Having previously shared stages with the likes of The Replacements, Total Control and Protomartyr, The Gotobeds will tour the US and Canada in support of the album release in June and July. See a current list of tour dates right over here.
[Photo Credit: Shawn Brackbill]
More on The Gotobeds by Protomartyr’s Joe Casey: Hey, what’s this? Well that, my friend, is the newest album from The Gotobeds, entitled Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. It’s their second full-length LP and their first for Sub Pop. Whoa, whoa, please slow down. I’m already completely lost. What you just said sounded like a stream of complete gibberish. Okay, I’ll lay it out for you and if you have any questions could you yell them at me? SOUNDS GOOD. The Gotobeds formed vaguely around 2009 in Pittsburgh and play a mutant strain of rock music that is often filed under punk, indie rock, or 99-cent discount bin. WAIT, THE GOTOBEDS? I HEARD THEY WERE KNUCKLEHEADS! Only if the knuckle is the part of the human body that contains the brains. Much like their previous releases on underground stalwart labels like Mind Cure and 12XU, this new album artfully slips intelligence and experimentation into a dying art form. It’s a harder feat than you’d think [read at Sub Pop].
Noisey had this to say of “Brass Not Rash”:“A catchy post-punk gem that dips in and out of its own melody when it damn well sees fit. It comes off like a petulant nod to Les Savy Fav: shouty, affirmative and brainy (see track premiere April 27th).”
The Gotobeds have scheduled North American shows from April 28th through July 17th to support of Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. These dates will include stops in Detroit, Brooklyn, Toronto, Montreal, DC, Boston, and more. Additional live dates to be announced soon. (Tour dates below.)
The Gotobeds’ Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic will be available on CD/LP/DL/CASS worldwide June 10th through Sub Pop, and is available for preorder now at Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play,Bandcamp, and independent retailers near you. LP preorders will receive the limited “Loser” edition on baby poop yellow vinyl.
The 11-track album, featuring “Real Maths/Too Much” and the aforementioned “Brass Not Rash,” was produced by the band and Matt Schor in their friend My War Matt’s basement, and mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering.
More on The Gotobeds by Protomartyr’ Joe Casey: Hey, what’s this? Well that, my friend, is the newest album from The Gotobeds, entitled Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. It’s their second full-length LP and their first for Sub Pop. Whoa, whoa, please slow down. I’m already completely lost. What you just said sounded like a stream of complete gibberish. Okay, I’ll lay it out for you and if you have any questions could you yell them at me? SOUNDS GOOD. The Gotobeds formed vaguely around 2009 in Pittsburgh and play a mutant strain of rock music that is often filed under punk, indie rock, or 99-cent discount bin. WAIT, THE GOTOBEDS? I HEARD THEY WERE KNUCKLEHEADS! Only if the knuckle is the part of the human body that contains the brains. Much like their previous releases on underground stalwart labels like Mind Cure and 12XU, this new album artfully slips intelligence and experimentation into a dying art form. It’s a harder feat than you’d think. [read at Sub Pop].
Tour Dates Apr. 28 - Columbus, OH - Big Room Bar Apr. 29 - Detroit, MI - Donovan’s Pub Jun. 11 - Brooklyn, NY - Northside Festival Jun.18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox Jul. 06 - Bloomington, IN - the Bishop Bar Jul. 08 - Madison, WI - the Frequency Jul. 11 - Toronto, ON - Drake Hotel Jul. 12 - Montreal, QC - Le Divan Orange Jul. 13 - Allston, MA - Great Scott Jul. 14 - Portsmouth, NH - 3s Artspace Jul. 15 - Providence, RI - Aurora Jul. 17 - Washington, DC - DC9
