Inflight At Night

I downloaded the new Jubilee single, In With The Out Crowd, yesterday morning before I went for a run based upon a tweet (Twitter message) from Travis Keller alerting his “followers” that the new single was up online and available to download through the band’s Topspin powered app.

I knew for a while the new single was coming (as is a full length), but found out its release was getting close last week when Topspin’s CEO Ian Rogers twittered that he was skating to and from the office listening to the new tracks.

What’s the point of these arbitrary Twitter/Jubilee details? Just the continued reinforcement that fans are using various web2.0socialnetworkingcommunity communication tools to share information about their interests. And that if you are a band or brand, you need to make your information available in many formats, so people can receive your message through their preferred medium. Personally I only check my MySpace every other day or so, Facebook once a week, but Twitter and email I am on all day.

For more info about Jubilee, check out what I wrote about the group back in February when they released their first single, Rebel Hiss, using Topsin, back when the company was still in “stealth mode”. Topspin out of stealth mode now, offers (in my opinion) some of the most consumer/user friendly downloading tools for bands. Jubilee, the Los Angeles based band, who still seem to be in “stealth mode” to us in the U.S. - having yet to play a show here - are set to play the Reading and Leeds UK festivals next month.

You can bet that if Scott and I weren’t both heading to the wedding of a close friend we grew up across the street from, we would be at the Getty this evening for the second installment of their Summer Sessions concert series tonight, featuring the white boy soul funk of Stanton Island, NY’s Budos Bands and Los Angeles’ afro-pop jammers, Fools Gold.

Check out Scott’s review of Budos Band’s sophomore album, simply titled The Budos Band II, released last year, which both he and I highly recommend picking up.

MP3: Budos Band - Chicago Falcon

Fools Gold are scheduled to open for Darker My Love (whose show last night was very good) next Friday at The Echo, though Fools Gold don’t have the show listed on their myspace page, which makes me a little suspicious as to whether or not they are still playing. If anyone knows, drop me a comment.

Sample: Fools Gold - Surprise Hotel

Budos Band & Fools Gold at The Getty Center (Museum Courtyard and Garden Terrace) TONIGHT 6pm | Free | All Ages

I don’t know if Hydra Head moved their offices next to the Relax Bar or what, but there has been a influx of their artists playing the bar lately (Torche & Clouds a couple weeks back and Harvey Milk next week), with Helms Alee being the next who will grace the bar’s tiny stage.

When it comes to Helms Alee, Brian Cook says it best when he asks, “Where’s the hip haircuts? Where’s the telling modern design elements? Without these digestible icons, their poor audience might actually have to develop their own opinions and judge the band on the merits of the sounds they create, not the lexicon they endorse“, only then to surmise, “Such factors guarantee that Helms Alee is destined to be unloved by the masses and revered by a small chosen few”.

Truer words couldn’t be spoken.

Helms Alee (the name has something to do with bringing the bow of a sea vessel into the wind) is Ben Verellen (Harkonen, These Arms Are Snakes, and Roy), Dana James (Your Enemies Friends) and Hozoji Matheson-Margullis (Lozen), who will release their debut - Matt Bayles produced - full length album Night Terror on Hydra Head Records on August 5th.

MP3: Helms Alee - Truly

Helms Alee w/Secret Fun Club, Queen Kwong, valentineomb, Room 101 @ Relax Bar (5511 Hollywood Blvd) this Saturday (7/19) | 8pm | 21+ | $10

I don’t know Virgil from Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective, but I feel like I do. If you are not aware of the Vinyl Collective, it is a both a vinyl only label and mail order vinyl distributor run by Virgil of Suburban Home Records, who even before the popularity of blogging took off has been more than open with his label’s customers when it comes to the goings on of the label. Even the stuff that is not so fun to broadcast to the world- see here, here and here. But what began with open letters regarding his label’s checkered financial history has given way to the Vinyl Collective blog where Virgil is more than open about all goings on of his new venture into vinyl, including both the fun and the frustrating parts of running the business.

Much has been made over blogging CEOs - mostly at the corporate level - in the last couple of years and how important it is for their business and the transparency its represents to both their brand’s consumers and employees alike. For Virgil and Vinyl Collective I believe that it is not only his impeccable timing in focusing on the vinyl distribution and mail order business, but the transparency of his blogging that has been paramount to the success of the Vinyl Collective. Take a scroll through the blog and between restock updates are pictures of newly arrived LPs taken out of their packaging for people to see what the vinyl color and gatefold art looks like, and Virgil’s open and honest thoughts on the VC’s successes and missteps. It all makes for a compelling read and it makes so that one can’t help but want to support Virgil, Vinyl Collective and the artists he distributes.

So here’s a tip to bands and labels who just got their new pressing of their ultra deluxe colored vinyl of their new album, take a damn picture of it, ALL OF IT, gatefold, insert and the vinyl itself, and post it up for your fans to see.

So everyone seems to be losing their collective shit over Harvey Milk’s new album, Life…The Best Game In Town, and rightfully so.

It fucking crushes!

Hit up Pitchfork to grab the opening track, “Death Goes to the Winner” that deceptively opens with a gentle Christmas ode before transforming into a pummeling slug stomp that reassembles The Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for My Man” and The Beatles “A Day in the Life”.

Stream Life…The Best Game In Town in its entirety here and pay special attention to track seven, “Motown”. Why? Cause it’s my favorite track on the album. That’s why.

Harvey Milk play Relax Bar (5511 Hollywood Blvd) on Saturday July 26

Whew! It’s been a while since I graced this page, sorry, I’m sure traffic here has slowed to a crawl. But I’m cool with that.

What you should be cool with, is the fine new tuneage from LA’s Golden Animals who released their new album Free Your Mind And Win A Pony digitally yesterday (CD & LP coming 8/25) and are set to play the Knitting Factory tomorrow (Thursday) with The Union Line. It’s been quite sometime since I last saw Golden Animals play, but they impressed me then and I’m sure they have only gotten better.

You can stream Free Your Mind And Win A Pony here and you can pick up the permanent files from iTunes.

MP3: Golden Animals - Try On Me

Golden Animals also play the Silverlake Lounge on July 28th with ((sounder)) and Princeton…that’s the show I will be at.