Fighting With Wire Bones Of The Twilight Update

Hey everyone, sorry for keeping you all waiting but we want to make sure we have everything right and in place for this new record as the first one kind of took us by surprise. I can confirm that most of the album is recorded working title Bones of the Twilight we have 4 tracks left to do which we'll be starting first week of May in Nashville (shouldn't take too long) the whole thing should be mixed mastered and ready by the end of may start of June though we still have to set a release date.

SXSW was great we played mostly new material and loved it so did Rolling Stone I think: "FIGHTING WITH WIRE: Gnashing Irish crunch-pop terrorizes a pub. Like Foo Fighters for ugly people (and that’s a compliment)."

We're excited about touring again and can't wait to play these songs for you guys. In the meantime go and lend your support to our good friends Lafaro and ASIWYFA who will be touring like dirty beasts through May and into the summer festival madness.

Oh and check out this band American Fangs they kick ass and have a 7song EP on iTunes which I strongly recommend you go and buy.

Thanks for your patients

Cahir
x

New Illness Live Video - Hail! Kitty

Watch Illness performing Hail! Kitty live at the Prince Albert in Brighton last month. This track will be featured on their forthcoming Gifts From God EP, out in the summer from this here label.

Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea Introduced By Tom Robinson

Friends of STA Crooked Moutain, Crooked Sea were the guests of Tom Robinson on last night's BBC 6Music Introducing show, listen again here.

New Ice, Sea, Dead People T Shirts On Sale

Skibunny 7" Vinyl Nearly Sold Out

While having a clear-out, we just found 18 copies of our debut 7" vinyl "Aah Ooh" which we thought was completely sold out! Head to our SHOP to snap them up! Both 7" singles, "Aah Ooh" and "Remote Control" are now only £2.99 and include a free download card so you get the mp3s too. Both singles are backed with kick-ass remixes, from Japan's Handsomeboy Technique and Germany's DJ Supermarkt respectively.

Awesome new merchandise coming soon!

ASIWYFA/LaFaro Tour Diary Part 2

Well hello there. Sorry we haven't spoken in a few days, it seems we've been far too busy living the good life to catch up. I should explain.... When we last spoke, the eight-legged riff machine ( that's LaFaro ) had begun their day in Bradford after a night of sweaty giggage, altercations with the law and poor sleep. The mission was to get to York. So the story continues...... Our intrepid rockers arrived safely in York, met the lovely Andy and the charming Joff of Fibbers fame and swiftly set about finding the nearest guitar shops. Which were all closed. In what seemed like a fair substitute they instead opted for the Cornish Pasty shop. Omnomnomnom. Why doesn't Belfast have one of these?! Biggest and best pasties in the land. As showtime approached we were graced with te presence of one Sam LaFaro ( anyone who regularly checks our myspace will see Sams name about the place ). What a thoroughly lovely chap! The show was awesome, great crowd of folks and some familiar faces. Post-show 90s disco was a must ( Scatman?! Yes, have some ) then Sam and wife Becky were kind enough to put us up for the night and feed us millions of sausages the next morning. From York to Glasgow then where we managed to arrive at exactly the same time as the ASIWYFA lads despite our sat nav doing it's best to get us lost. The legendary John and Bruce of Firestorm always put in a good show and a great spread. Those boys look after us too well... Some lasagne sandwiches and copious amount of Irn Bru later and it was rock o'clock. Gig was great fun and the crowd were up for it (they don't all look like the cast of Trainspotting yknow...). ASIWYFA proceeded to literally rip the place apart with LaFaro thankfully on hand as techs to make sure the PA didn't fall over as Tony and Rory kept off it. Maniacs. We're too old for that shit. A few drinks later and it was back to Kirstys who was putting us up (treat) but not without somehow managing to acquire two fellas at a set of traffic lights. Jonny Black strikes again ("You boys lookin a wee dick?"). Sore heads the next morning for a short trip to Edinburgh where the ever-awesome folks at Bannermans were our hosts this time. Chris, Neil and Rob are a great bunch of lads alrite. Pre show Ghost Tour courtesy of our good chum Nadine combined with John Firestorms enciladas earlier in the evening ensured that the gig was a pure tense one. And if that wasn't enough to shake things up, Chris plied us with Whisky most of the night, what a gent. By the time ASIWYFA had started their set the walls were ACTUALLY dripping! Great show all round. Mucho mucho boozing in the upstairs apartment after a quick trip to Sneaky Petes for Jaegerbomb-ageddon led to the clippers coming out. Pics to follow folks... Complete with hangovers all round and brandishing new haircuts like they were offensive weapons, Belfasts favourite eejits made their way to Newcastle. Home to Jimmy Nail, Chris Rea and many other fmous folk with mockable accents. The O2 Academy was the venue this time and we arrived to see ASIWYFAs name in HUGE letters above the door. Neat! Quick soundcheck then a trip to Burger King complete with what seemed like a live Jeremy Kyle show outside as a group of soapdodgers aired their grievances in the street much to the amusement of the onlooking fast food noshers. Cue blows being dealt and the local rozzers arriving. Great entertainment.... Our good mates Knuckle Dragger were opening the show, great to see them as ever. They ripped the place a new one, we did our best riffage complete with banter including such classics as "Gum us off ya mucky slut" and "Telecaster for sale" then made way for Chris, Johnny, Rory and Tony. Another great show all round then back to Knuckle Dragger HQ for Buckfast all round! Manchester was next on the map so the red rocket made it's way there sharpish filled with some very tired heads. Quick soundcheck and an attempt to type this blog before not saving it and having to do it all again, then doors opened. Some old and new friends managed to make it along ( Ian Mac, The Helsinki lads, Hana, Sat Nav Sam and Sarah, Ben - all legends ). Odd crowd tho who seemed more intent on talking all night rather than listening to us or ASIWYFA. Mind you, this didn't stop either of us from trying to win 'em over. Loudly. After loadout it was back to our TM/Merchdude/Morale Manager DDs good mate Lauras flat for red wine and kip. In that order. Sold out show in London next then. Whatever will happen?! Stay tuned for more folks! LaFaro X

Ice, Sea, Dead People Pulling Teeth Tour Poster

Check out Zach Ellam's incredible poster for Ice, Sea, Dead People's in-progress Pulling Teeth tour!

Yes Cadets On TV

Recent STA Studio recordees, if that's the term, Yes Cadets were featured on RTE TV and have a free session mp3 available -

Hey Amigos

Check out The 11th Hour broadcast from last Friday on RTE Player. Alan and Lisa chat to Dave Fanning at 00:04:50 and play an acoustic version of Canada at 00:41:00. There's another track on this Friday too.

Also one of our newer tracks, Fall On Your Sword, recorded as part of our Icon K9 Session for Phantom FM, is available for download from Phantom's website at the link below.

K9 Session Download: Yes Cadets - Fall On Your Sword

peace and love

YC x

Ice, Sea, Dead People Track Declared An Artrocker Greatest

Ice, Sea, Dead People classic Hence Elvis gets an honourable mention in Artrocker's 100 Greatest Ever Artrock Tracks feature in their hundredth issue, out now in only the good newsagents or available as a PDF download.

Hence Elvis is included on ISDP's forthcoming Teeth Union album...pre-order details coming soon!

Poised...

ASIWYFA 27
Originally uploaded by ben_jamie

I found this amazing photo of an ASIWYFA foot (I think it's Rory's - can't be sure) on our Flickr Groupstream this afternoon.

I have to get off the internet now - I've been locked in a Posterous spiral of linking Blog to Flickr to Posterous to Twitter to ... you get me. Anyways - the best things come to those that stumble for long enough in the internet twilight I reckon.

I love this photo: it seems to sum up this band's last eighteen months: expectant, illuminated and loud as fuck.

Illness - 'New Song'

New Song by Illness  
Download now or listen on posterous

19 New Song.mp3 (4569 KB)

This track was recorded by Rory Bratwell (Test Icicles) @ Pallet, London. Check out Rory's Myspace if you want to hear more of the band's he has produced and if you like the sound of our new boys Illness you can communicate with them on Myspace or follow on Twitter.

Posted via email from Smalltown America Records

Cargo Collective April 2010

STA Newsletter - April 2010

Happy Easter from all at STA. Don't eat too much chocolate now, y'hear...

[1] Free MP3: Illness - 'New Song'

Beloved subscribers, last month we gave you a sneak peak at LaFaro's debut album, this month's free MP3 is from STA new boys Illness. For the uninitiated, Illness is an instrumental two-piece from Brighton with a unique line in math-rock guitar/drum jams. This track, entitled 'New Song', is an out-take from the recording sessions for their forthcoming Gifts From God EP. Download it right now and play it loud. Like what you hear? Tweet Spencer and Emilio on @Illnessband. The guys are planning a July tour with Shield Your Eyes, who are awesome too - we're excited!

[2] Free Postage on all UK Orders on New Store

After more than a few trusty years of service, we've finally retired version 2 of the STA site. Our new version is now live, extra features and content will be added steadily over coming months. The webstore is up and running and has had several improvements. Firstly, we can now take direct orders from our international customers. Secondly, we're offering free postage on all orders within the UK (including Northern Ireland). Check out the store and bag yourself a sweet deal.

[3] ASIWYFA/LaFaro Tour Of Power

THE Irish rock tour of the year. Currently running riot across the UK. And So I Watch You From Afar tackle their largest headlining run to date, fresh from the release of The Letters EP and ably assisted at all dates by LaFaro. Please note that the London Borderline on April 8th is completely sold out, and some of the others aren't far behind - so buy tickets in advance or get down to those venues early!

ASIWYFA will head solo to mainland Europe after the UK tour wraps up in Cardiff on April 11th:

3 Apr - Stereo GLASGOW
4 Apr - Bannerman’s EDINBURGH
5 Apr - Academy 2 NEWCASTLE
6 Apr - Ruby Lounge MANCHESTER
7 Apr - Rainbow BIRMINGHAM
8 Apr - Borderline LONDON
9 Apr - Cooler BRISTOL
10 Apr - Cavern EXETER
11 Apr - Barfly CARDIFF
12 Apr - Domino Festival BRUSSELS
14 Apr - La Fleche d’Or PARIS
16 Apr - Mod Club HASSELT
17 Apr - Vera GRONINGEN
18 Apr - Merleyn NIJMEGEN
19 Apr - O13 TILBURG
21 Apr - Underground KOLN
22 Apr - Kleine Frieheit OSNABRUCK
23 Apr - Gruner Jager HAMBURG
24 Apr - Paradiso / London Calling AMSTERDAM
25 Apr - Train AARHUS
26 Apr - Bla OSLO
28 Apr - Privat Club BERLIN
29 Apr - Druckluft OBERHAUSEN

[4] LaFaro Album, Tour & Launch Parties

LaFaro's debut album hits shops on May 10th. Can't wait for it? If you preorder the record directly from us (complete with an exclusive bonus CD of rare and unreleased material) you'll get it w/c April 26th - two weeks early.

Following the conclusion of their support slots with ASIWYFA (see above), the band embarks on a headline tour of the UK and Ireland, including a two-night album launch party in Belfast. The first show sold out so quickly we just had to add a second :)

17 Apr - Cellar Bar (IMRO Showcase) DRAPERSTOWN
26 Apr - Menagerie *SOLD OUT* BELFAST
27 Apr - The Menagerie BELFAST - Buy Tickets Now

[5] Ice, Sea, A Tour

Ice, Sea, Dead People head out on their first headlining tour this month. Their debut album, Teeth Union, will be released in July, catch them now they slay eardrums:

5 Apr - The Freebutt BRIGHTON
8 Apr - The Mother’s Ruin BRISTOL
9 Apr - The Cockpit LEEDS
11 Apr - The Firebug LEICESTER
13 Apr - The 13th Note GLASGOW
14 Apr - The Harley SHEFFIELD
15 Apr - New Slang Rm 2 (w/ Friendship) KINGSTON
17 Apr - The Cellar OXFORD

[6] Calories @ Camden Crawl

Calories head back to London on May 1st & 2nd to play 2010's Camden Crawl, alongside a shedload of other great bands. The full line-up can be found here - STA faves on the bill include: Best Coast; Dead Meadow; Gang of Four; Joe Gideon and The Shark; Pulled Apart By Horses; Slow Club; Teenage Fanclub; Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs; YACHT and about a squillion others.

[7] Let Our Enemies Beware - New Stuff

Let Our Enemies Beware recently unleashed a video of brand-new, lust-ballad '(Who Wants To Ride?) The Gay Horse'. You can check out the video on YouTube. They also got a rather nice live review this month from Rock Sound.

The band have a few dates coming up this month. You can catch them at the following venues:

10 Apr - Command House CHATHAM
24 Apr - The Unicorn LONDON

That's all for April. Thanks for reading and we'll see you next month.

Team STA

Store | Twitter | Blog

And So I Watch You From Afar: Seconds Before Detonation At SXSW

A great behind-the-scenes moment of And So I Watch You From Afar captured by BBC Radio Ulster's Stuart Bailie at SXSW - check out Stuart's blog for more photography and comment.

ASIWYFA/LaFaro Tour Diary Part 1

Hiya!

So we're on the road again for a jaunt with our good buddies And So I Watch You From Afar playing England, Scotland AND Wales! it's a short 10 date tour but we'll try to keep you postedwith our shenanigans and hilarious jams as we go...

DAY 1 then.

Ferry was at 7am so we had an early start which for anyone who knows us, does not agree with our well being...). Our good friend DD Ball is tour managing these shows with us so seeing his wee face at 5:30 made it all bearable! Got to the mecca that is larne to be told we had been booked at 10:30. Instant rage due to lost sleep. Got our ferry changed to 8:30 and hung about waiting for it.

A bumpy ferry ride, long drive from Cairnryan and quick stop at the friendliest shop EVER and we arrived in Liverpool. Cue much accent mockery ( Behhhhhrt Bacchhhhhaaaarackkkkkk! ) and load in. Imagine our surprise to find a bottle of Buckfast on the ASIWYFA rider...dirty boys...

The gig itself was great, we won a good few people over I think. After that we proceeded to work our way through our rider with promoter and all round nice guy Chris Wareing before leaving to stay with our friend Rob in Bradford. Which would have been a lot easier if we hadn't been stopped by the police as we left Liverpool......a panicky, sweaty 10 minutes later we were told by a very kind officer to get the people in the back without seatbelts to travel in another vehicle so ASIWYFA cam back to collect Alan, DD and Jonny before we set off again.

It turns out that Dave ,who was driving, should have been fined sixty quid and given 3 points on his licsence but he somehow managed to sweet talk the officer round to the fact that we are a struggling rock band trying to make a name for ourselves in the UK. It seems the officer took pity on this and changed his mind about charging us and decided to warn us instead. Old silver toungue Magee strikes again!

Anyway, we did make it to Bradford in the end and had a good night's sleep and here we are about to set sail for York for tonight's showw in Fibbers, should be fun! So we're all fine for now and we'll be in touch again soon.

Peace out blap

LaFaro

Ice, Sea, Dead People Pulling Teeth On The Road

Yo!

So we're going on our first tour, ever, between 5th-18th April. Time's been booked off work, essays have been finished uncharacteristically early, new merchandise has been ordered and thousands of emails discussing vans have been exchanged.

WE CAN'T FUCKING WAIT!!!

BUT! We have a few dates free where people have cancelled on us or venues have pulled out last minute. I promise you if we can't fill those then we'll upload the most boring videos of us talking about service station sandwiches to the internet. DON'T LET IT HAPPEN! If you can help us sort out a show then get in touch.

We've wanted to tour ever since we began and having days off will make us feel suicidal.

'PULLING TEETH' APRIL TOUR
5 - The Freebutt - Brighton
6 - FREE
7 - FREE
8 - Mother's Ruin - Bristol
9 - The Cockpit - Leeds
10 - FREE
11 - The Firebug - Leicester
12 - FREE
13 - The 13th Note - Glasgow
14 - The Harley - Sheffield
15 - New Slang - Kingston
16 - FREE
17 - The Cellar - Oxford
18 - FREE (or band Sunday roast?)

Ciao
xx

LaFaro To Support Foals In Dublin

We're pleased to announce that LaFaro have been invited to support Foals in Dublin on May 14th. More info to follow!

Skibunny To Play XFM Showcase In London

SKIBUNNY return to London to play at The Borderline on Saturday 8th May, at an XFM night as part of London's City Showcase. Stay tuned, more Skibunny shows coming soon!

Let Our Enemies Beware Live Videos

ASIWYFA Album #2 Feature In New Rock Sound

The April issue of Rock Sound magazine is already with subscribers and hits the newsagents any day - it contains a feature on the in-progress 2nd And So I Watch You From Afar album, see below!

Watch LaFaro's ATL Session

ATL doesn't like to play favourites, but we do have a rather large soft spot for the rawkus stylings of LaFaro. Voted ATL's local act of the year in both 2006 AND 2007, our admiration for the terrifying tearaways is obvious.

See why they make us go weak at the knees by taking in their splendid session recorded for ATL radio in March 2010, when the usual roar was toned down to a very lovely whisper. There is also frontman Jonny Black performing The Jolly Banker at Belfast's Oh Yeah Centre, or the band covering The Strokes' Juicebox at ATL's big Ulster Hall bash, or you can have a look at the video they made for the glorious Tupenny Nudger back on the third series of ATL TV.

You are then free to enjoy a less noisy sample of their wares in three acoustic session tracks broadcast on October 13th 2008. Frontman Jonny Black also runs us through a few of his personal firsts in a 60 Second Interview, and you can dip into our session archive for a cracking rendition of the Bangles' Walk Like An Egyptian among others.

Ice, Sea, Dead People On Vice Magazine Music Player

Ice, Sea, Dead People grace Vice's Music Player with Brrrrr nestling alongside tunes from Heavy Cream and The Spivs.

April Gig Listings

While our gig listings page is getting a glossy makeover, here's a round-up of April's live shows -

4 Or 5 Magicians
1 Apr The Windmill, Brixton w/ The Muscle Club - this is the final show for 4 Or 5 with their current line-up

And So I Watch You From Afar
26 Mar Andrews Lane Theatre w/ Bats, Jogging DUBLIN
27 Mar Nerve Centre DERRY
1 Apr Masque Liverpool
2 Apr Fibbers YORK
3 Apr Stereo GLASGOW
4 Apr Bannerman’s EDINBURGH
5 Apr Academy 2 NEWCASTLE
6 Apr Ruby Lounge MANCHESTER
7 Apr Rainbow BIRMINGHAM
8 Apr Borderline LONDON
9 Apr Cooler BRISTOL
10 Apr Cavern EXETER
11 Apr Barfly CARDIFF
12 Apr Domino Festival BRUSSELS
14 Apr La Fleche d’Or PARIS
16 Apr Mod Club HASSELT
17 Apr Vera GRONINGEN
18 Apr Merleyn NIJMEGEN
19 Apr O13 TILBURG
21 Apr Underground KOLN
22 Apr Kleine Frieheit OSNABRUCK
23 Apr Gruner Jager HAMBURG
24 Apr Paradiso / London Calling AMSTERDAM
25 Apr Train AARHUS
26 Apr Bla OSLO
28 Apr Privat Club BERLIN
29 Apr Druckluft OBERHAUSEN

Calories
1 May CAMDEN CRAWL LONDON
2 May CAMDEN CRAWL LONDON

Ice, Sea, Dead People
5 Apr The Freebutt Brighton
8 Apr The Mother’s Ruin Bristol
9 Apr The Cockpit Leeds
11 Apr The Firebug Leicester
13 Apr The 13th Note Glasgow
14 Apr The Harley Sheffield
15 Apr New Slang Rm 2 (w/ Friendship) Kingston, London
17 Apr The Cellar Oxford

LaFaro
26 Mar Masons Derry
1 Apr MASQUE / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA Liverpool
2 Apr Fibbers/ UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA YORK
3 Apr STEREO/ UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA GLASGOW
4 Apr BANNERMANS/ UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA EDINBURGH
5 Apr ACADEMY2 / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA NEWCASTLE
6 Apr RUBY LOUNGE / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA MANCHESTER
8 Apr BORDERLINE / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA LONDON
9 Apr COOLER / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA BRISTOL
10 Apr CAVERN / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA EXETER
11 Apr BARFLY / UK TOUR WITH ASIWYFA CARDIFF
17 Apr Cellar Bar (IMRO Showcase) Draperstown
26 Apr Menagerie *SOLD OUT* Belfast, Northern Ireland
27 Apr The Menagerie Belfast, Northern Ireland

Let Our Enemies Beware
2 Apr Watershed, Wimbledon w/ CARS ON FIRE, MUNROE EFFECT, THE 9s
10 Apr Command House, Chatham w/ Up C Down C
24 Apr The Unicorn, London w/ Elephant vs Leopard, Djevara, Pigshackle

Skibunny
27 Mar DJ set @ The Stiff Kitten w/OPTIMO & NOT SQUARES BELFAST

Alan MX On Last Night's Belfast Show And Film Soundtrack

Alan MX showcased tracks from Warspichord and his forthcoming 2nd album Vaudevillan last night in Belfast and he basically killed it - great show/great response. Here's some photos and below are words from the man himself.



Darling, thank you so much for looking after me so well last night. I can't tell you how valuable this was to me as a musician. Working with Alan has got me so excited about the next album and what he will bring to it, and, as ever, the people of Ireland have bolstered me so much with their support. I think it went really well, and really, for the first time I felt like I was performing as an artist rather than a guy singing songs to a backing track. I think it's because beats are so important to me that working with a virtuoso like Alan really intrigued and inspired me. It was an experiment that far exceeded my expectations and I am ready to do it again NOW!

Thank you so much for your hospitality as well, I felt so welcome and comfortable with you both and I'm so grateful for the whole time. I can't wait to come back and see you again. Thank you so much.

The film is called Tears and is directed by John Lochland. There are some details on this page too. Basically I just lent vocals to the film, I didn't really write anything, but I'm going to be developing the track I sang on into a full song with James Loosemore who made the full soundtrack to the film and also remixed Green Tea for the single release (Metro Boulot Disco.

ARGH, I am so buzzed!! Thank you soooooooo much for these two days!!!!! You are a gorgeous person!!!!

xxxxx

Blip! Blip! Alan MX

More Bands For Truck 13

Some great bands join the line-up for STA's favourite farm-based festival:

Attention, TRUCKERS! we are ready to tell you about the first 13 Artists announced to play TRUCK 13. So, in register order (all favourites here), this bakers' dirty dozen - joining the already-announced MEW - consists of:

BATS + ESBEN AND THE WITCH + EGYPTIAN HIP HOP + FONDA 500 + FUTURE OF THE LEFT + GOOD SHOES + ISLET + LAU + LITTLE FISH + LOS CAMPESINOS! + STORNOWAY + THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS + DJ ZINC with MS DYNAMITE

Having outgrown the village pub tent, recent 4AD signings Stornoway will be playing a triumphant homecomeing set on the main stage (still on the back of a Truck, of course).

The rest are spread across our five stages – The Beat Hive, the new Last.fm stage (taking over our beloved village pub - the leg test still applies), the Market stage (hosted on the Sunday by Steventon local Whispering Bob Harris), and the Barn, where YMD! Presents take the reigns on Saturday followed by the Cowshed Rave, taking us through to the wee hours in the company of DJ Zinc and Ms Dynamite! That's without mentioning the fabulous Boxford Tune-iversity and our new spoken word/comedy stage...

You already know that The 13th TRUCK FESTIVAL takes place at Hill Farm, Steventon on July 24th & 25th 2010. To celebrate TRUCK becoming a teenager we have actually REDUCED the price for actual human teenagers; a TEEN TRUCKER ticket for those aged 13-17 is now £60. TRUCK is still free for those 12 and under (14-and-unders must be accompanied by a parent or guardian) so it's also great value for families. We are also introducing a £15 Friday ticket for those who want to camp a night early - there will be some bands and DJs as well as food and drink on the Friday evening. All tickets can be found HERE or in local shops- see our website.

Now might also be the time to bite the bullet and buy a ticket for WOOD: it's headlined by that Frank Turner fella, Tunng, Fionn Regan, Martin Simpson, The Unthanks, oh and (breathe) Peggy Sue and Cate Le Bon. Wow! Britain's greenest festival – it even has its own pub, the Hippy Arms.

Secure your place now at both TRUCK and WOOD Festivals in 2010 by purchasing a Supertrucker ticket, saving £30 in the process. You can get your Supertrucker, TRUCK 13 and WOOD tickets online from Gigantic.com, or visit the ticket page of our website to find your local shop outlet.

We have new shops in Reading (Hexagon theatre), Didcot (Cornerstone arts centre) and, for you London types, Rough Trade Shops (East and West) are selling tickets. If you reside in The People's Republic of East Oxford, head to Reign or Music Box on the Cowley Road.

TRUCK 13 is dedicated to Alex Chilton (the singer of Big Star and composer of '13', who died last week); if you'd like to join us in appreciating his music, and live in Oxford, come and join Dusty & the Dreaming Spires tonight at the Rusty Bicycle pub on Magdalen Road where will be playing a selection of Big Star numbers (if I finish this mailout in time to learn them...)
so on that note, see you at the bar!

love from Robin, Joe & all the family TRUCK

Let Our Enemies Beware Preview New Song on YouTube

Noisecore behemoths Let Our Enemies Beware unveil their new, epic, unreleased lust-ballad (Who Wants To Ride) The Gay Horse in video form.

LaFaro Play Mason's This Friday!

LaFaro return to Masons venue for a headline performance on Friday 26th March. With constant airplay on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 evening show over the past fortnight, a debut album via Smalltown America in the can, a slot as the main support act on And So I Watch You From Afar's forthcoming UK tour, and two sold out album launch shows in Belfast next month, this is a great time to catch one of Northern Ireland's premier underground Rock bands on the ascendency.

Featuring Johnny Black on Lead Vocals & Guitar, Herb Magee on Bass & Vocals, Dave Magee on Guitar & Vocals and Alan Lynn on Drums, LaFaro are a hard rocking outfit with a brain. As heavy as The Cancer Bats, yet as cerebral as the Pixies, this is most certainly a show you cannot afford to miss.

Support on the evening comes from rising Belfast alt-rockers The Rupture Dogs and local upstarts No Mean City. Doors are at 10pm, with tunes being spun from 10, first band at 11. Admission is £4 with drink promos on the night.

New LaFaro Photos

Rupture Dogs Record At STA Studios

The Rupture Dogs are the latest band to record at STA's new studio set-up. Here's a pair of video diaries documenting the creation of their next EP. If you like what you see, the RDs support LaFaro at their 2nd album launch night next month.

Tanya Skibunny Guest Vocals For New Halfby Album

Our good friend HALFBY, awesome DJ and producer from Kyoto, Japan, releases his new album “The Island of Curiosity” on Second Royal Records on 19th May 2010. The album includes a track “North Marine Drive”, which features vocals by Tanya from Skibunny. We’re really pleased to be working again with Halfby, and have fond memories of our 2 Japanese tours together. Hopefully we’ll be back again soon!

We’ll try and get it streamed up here asap but in the meantime here is the gorgeous cover!

By Popular Demand - 2nd LaFaro Album Launch Added

The first show sold out in just over 2 hours.... so you have been warned - don't disappoint yourself, bag your pass to this incredibly intimate and unique night and grab a copy of the debut album before it hits the shops!!

Smalltown America Presents....
LaFaro
Debut Album Launch
100 tickets - only!
Tuesday 27th April 2010
The Menagerie Belfast
9pm / £5

10 tracks of the most gratifying scuzz-rock you will hear in 2010; fans of JESUS LIZARD, PIXIES, SONIC YOUTH, THE BRONX and CANCER BATS will be thrilled the rest of you will still get steamy for possibly the best debut album by an Irish rock band in the last decade. Scratch that - the best rock album of the last decade.

Support act to be announced.

Tickets Are Onsale Now.

Free Illness Show This Thursday

Illness play a free London show this Thursday with the incredible Pneu and future tourmates Shield Your Eyes.

LaFaro Spun on Zane Lowe

2nd Zane Lowe play of the week for Tupenny Nudger by LaFaro or if you'd prefer a little LaFaro on your pocket, the same track is one of Zane's Hottest Records on his weekly Radio 1 podcast.

Clone Quartet Preview New Album

A preview mix of new Clone Quartet album 'Broken Spectre' is available now on our player. It's finally finished and I'd love to know what you think of the new sound of Clone Quartet!

Full tracklisting:

CLOAK & DAGGER
MEET THE TEAM
JUGGERNAUT PART ONE
JUGGERNAUT PART TWO
THE OPERATOR
TIME TO TELL
LOST (WIRES CROSSED)
ROUGH DIAMOND
THAT’S WHAT’S GOIN’ ON
HIGH HOPES
CAN’T STOP
AMMONITE 2000

The LP was recorded in London and Belfast by Andy Henry from October 2007 – August 2009 and mixed with additional production from Gregory Ferguson (Jupiter Ace) at Osbyte Studios from December 2009 - March 2010.

Let the preparations to get the album out in Ireland, UK and Japan commence!

Zane First Spin For 'Tupenny Nudger'

Great start to the week last night with Zane Lowe spinning the first play of LaFaro's 'Tupenny Nudger' on R1. Big props from Zane about the whole label in fact, for which we are very grateful and we're also delighted with all the texts that were sent in about the tune. It's great when you all get behind on of our bands.

'Tupenny Nudger' will be released on a special TShirt/Download set - which we'll be announcing later this week - another new STA Store Exclusive!

Track comes in at [1:25:05] listen again and feel free to tweet the show showing your respect for the LaFaro boys http://bit.ly/964hNP

LaFaro Album Launch Show - SOLD OUT

Hey - thanks to everyone that got up early/skived for five at work and purchased a LaFaro ticket for the Menagerie show next month, those are all sold out now. We really appreciate your support - and the band are delighted too! Have a great weekend...

FWW & ASIWYFA Do SXSW

At SXSW next week? Want to catch Fighting With Wire showcase tracks from their upcoming 2nd album Bones Of The Twilight? Want to see ASIWYFA shred Texan faces? Here's their schedules -

Fighting With Wire
17.03 Belfast Rocks - Lattitude 30 - 1:45 - 2:15pm
18.03 SXSW Official - Red 7 - 10:00 - 10:30pm
19.03 Full Irish Breakfast - BD Reilys - 5:00 - 5:45pm
19.03 InDeGoot Showcase - Creekside Lounge - 11:00 - 11:45pm

And So I Watch You From Afar
17.03 Belfast Rocks - Lattitude 30 - 1:00 - 1:30pm
17.03 MFI official showcase - Friends - Midnight
19.03 Full Irish Breakfast - BD Riely's - 4.30pm
21.03 Goods Bye South By - Red 7 - 5pm

LaFaro Album Tour Announced

Not one of the lucky 100 to get tickets for the ultra-intimate album launch? Fear not...

MON 26-April-10 IRE BELFAST 'ALBUM LAUNCH' @ THE MENAGERIE *SOLD OUT*
THU 6-May-10 IRE GALWAY STRANGE BREW CLUB @ Roisin Dubh
FRI 7-May-10 IRE WATERFORD ELECTRIC AVENUE
SUN 9-May-10 IRE CORK CYPRUS AVENUE
THU 13-May-10 IRE DUNDALK THE SPIRIT STORE
FRI 14-May-10 IRE DUBLIN THE ACADEMY
SAT 15-May-10 IRE WARRENPOINT THE INF
MON 17-May-10 UK BATH MOLES
TUE 18-May-10 UK CAMBRIDGE PORTLAND ARMS
WED 19-May-10 UK LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY FESTIVAL
THU 20-May-10 SCOT GLASGOW CAPTAINS REST
FRI 21-May-10 SCOT ARBROATH DEVITOS
SAT 22-May-10 SCOT DUNDEE HUSTLERS
SUN 23-May-10 SCOT EDINBURGH BANNERMANS
MON 24-May-10 UK YORK DUCHESS
TUE 25-May-10 UK LEEDS THE WELL
WED 26-May-10 UK BIRMINGHAM THE FLAPPER
THU 27-May-10 UK SOUTHAMPTON UNIT
SAT 29-May-10 UK TUNBRIDGE WELLS THE FORUM (all dayer)
MON 31-May-10 UK BRISTOL THE CROFT
TUE 1-Jun-10 UK CARDIFF BARFLY
THU 3-Jun-10 UK OXFORD THE JERICHO
FRI 4-Jun-10 UK MANCHESTER FEVER

Updated: LaFaro Album Launch Tickets Sold Out

Is 'onsale' one word or two, or hyphenated - I'm not sure anyway, thank christ it's Friday - I'm stressed to the max because I've haven't ironed my pants and socks yet for SXSW and we leave on Tuesday - is this enough time for so many pairs of pants?

So much uncertainty in my life - yet so much CLARITY over the news that the LaFaro album launch show tickets have gone on sale this morning at 9AM. Get them now people while there hot and whilst others sleep you can bag yourself a first listen to a band at MAXIMUMRAWPOWER playing 100cap show in their hometown.

Oh yes, it's going to be good - STA know how to host an album launch show that's for certain.

Here be the details:
Mon 26th Apr, 2010
Belfast, The Menagerie
Doors: 9:00pm
Price: £5.00

SOLD OUT, SORRY

The album is out on May 10th - but you can pre-order it from anywhere in the world with an exclusive bonus disc (of yet to be decided quantity and quality material - get the finger out boys) on the all shiny new STA Store. There is a dead duck on the front, you don't want to know how much bother that was to sort out.

Never work with children, or dead animals or bands.

And So I Watch You From Afar Tower Instore Photos

Great coverage including photos of ASIWYFA's recent Tower instore from Nay at Harmless Noise

Calories To Play Camden Crawl

Calories have been added to Camden Crawl line-up Saturday 1st/Sunday 2nd May. Tickets on sale now.

Top Secret LaFaro Album Launch - 100 Tickets Only!

Smalltown America Presents....
LaFaro (Album Launch)
The Menagerie, Belfast
£5
9pm
100 tickets - only!
Available from www.wegottickets.com at 9am Friday 12th March.

This will be the first chance to get your mitts on the long awaited LaFaro debut album...but when is it?

Let Our Enemies Beware Play Wimbledon April 2nd

Slagophiles - pivvy your wetsome sight-globes below-wardly...

Friday 2nd April - we said we were playing in Brixton. We lied. The gig is, in fact, at the Watershed in Wimbledon. The address is as follows:

Watershed:
267 THE BROADWAY WIMBLEDON LONDON SW19 1SD

You can get tickets here.

That's right - tickets. We've hit the big time. Here endth the lesson.

Godspeed,

Sir Michael Edward Andrew Teddington

And So I Watch You From Afar Back On For USA

Hi guys

A minor miracle has occurred and we have recieved our Visas, just a little too late for our initial flights today! So instead we fly to Toronto for Canadian Music Week on Thursday with our lovely, sleek, dashing bedfellows Adebisi Shank at The Hideout on 11th March. THEN on Saturday 13th of March we'll be playing what we hope to be our first of many New York gigs, this one taking place at the Mercury Lounge as part of their yearly CraicFest.

Then the big one, SXSW! From Wednesday 16th until Monday 22nd we shall be playing a series of shows at the legendary festival in Austin, Texas. Please keep updated through here and our facebook twitter tec and through the main SXSW site.

Massive apologies for the earlier mix up, was a collossal mind fuck to all involved!

See you on the other side (of the atlantic!)

Over and Out

ASIWYFA

Ice Sea Dead People DJ Set at Catch, London

Saturday 6th March
GUM TAKES TOOTH + ETAI KESHIKI + the human RACE
Upstairs @ Catch, 22 Kingsland Road, E2 8DA
8pm-2am | FREE ENTRY

Gum Takes Tooth sound like an absolutely mental version of Health which decided to take all of Brainiac's synths which explains why so many people are rating this band very highly. Support comes from Leeds band Etai Keshiki who are making quite a name for themselves for their abrasive noise rock which is kind of like Black Flag crossed with Melt Banana. Opening are the human RACE put together such diverse influences as the Shadow Ring and Loop to make a very interesting noisy beautiful sound.

http://www.myspace.com/gumtakestooth
http://www.myspace.com/etaikeshiki
http://www.myspace.com/tthehumanRACE

Djing in between the bands is Craig from Ice, Sea, Dead People. As always Rajinder will be playing the following dancefloor hits until 2am:

Animal Collective, Battles, Big Black, Breeders, Can, Cure, Dan Deacon, Dead Kennedys, Deerhoof, Deerhunter, Dinosaur Jr, Duchess Says, Echo and the Bunneymen, Eighties Matchbox, Erase Errata, Errors, ESG, Faint, Fall, Foals, Fuck Buttons, Fugazi, Future of the Left, Gang of Four, Health, High Places, Holy Fuck, Horrors, Interpol, Jesus & Mary Chain, Jesus Lizard, Joy Division, KaitO, Klaxons, Kotki Dwa, LCD Soundsystem, Liars, Lightning Bolt, Long Blondes, Los Campesinos!, mclusky, Metronomy, M.I.A, Mudhoney, My Bloody Valentine, No Age, Oneida, Pavement, Pete & the Pirates, Pixies, a Place to Bury Strangers, Ramones, Shellac, Sonic Youth, These New Puritans, TV On The Radio, Unicorns, Pulp, Velvet Underground, Von Sudenfed, Wavves, Why?, XX, Yo La Tengo

LaFaro Album Now Available For Pre-order

LaFaro: Drive, Play, Drink, Sleep, Video, Ferry, Home, Repeat

So we made it home in one piece and after all my fretting about being detained for having no ID (my wallet left me in a McDonalds in Oxford) the customes folk in Stranraer didn't care about our ID at all.....they did buy a LaFaro CD though haha! Anyway, here we are in Belfast pondering our next move and lots of exciting things sit on the horizon for LaFaro in 2010. Not just us though, you can be involved too, just get in touch and ask how.

Anyway, next up for us is an acoustic thingy in the Oh Yeah centre on 9th March which is an exclusive kind of a thing so if you want to be there get in touch with the lovely folk at Oh Yeah and ask them how. Okay? Good.

Here's some more footage of us dicking about in England to keep you entertained until we come up with something better.............

Mucho Amore,

LaFarooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo x

Chris ASIWYFA Joins Choice Music Prize Debate

Sticksmith extraordinaire Chris Wee from ASIWYFA is among the names discussing next week's Choice Music Award in this piece from the Irish Independent.

ASIWYFA's self-titled debut is one of ten shortlisted albums vying for the prize - fingers crossed for tomorrow night's event in Dublin which sees live sets from 8 of the ten including ASIWYFA. Tickets are on sale however if you can't make it the show will also be broadcast live on the night by Paul McLoone on Today FM.

Yes Cadets In The Studio

Yes Cadets popped into Smalltown America studio at the weekend to cut their new single Lies.

Sounding like Cut Copy and Bat For Lashes on a first date - we love it!

Some photos by Chris STA

Fighting With Wire SXSW Warm-Up This Thursday

Hey one and all!

There are some shows in the states coming up for SXSW but we are happy to announce that the first show of the 2010 (and the first for AGES) will be a special, one off, SXSW warm up show at...

SANDINOS on THURSDAY 4TH MARCH! @ 10pm

Ticckets are just £5 and there'll be loads of old songs as well as loads of stuff from the forthcoming new album as well!

Exclusively show, limited tickets, get yourself onto here for more details!

Who's coming, should be BRUTAL!

Cheers

Sam FWW Team