ALL TITLES ARE SUBJECT TO AVAILABILTY!

Harvey Milk's final album, The Pleaser is a straight-up, riff-rock tour-de-force; replete with huge hooks, whiskey-and-cigarette vocals, wicked guitar solos, and all the swagger and conviction a true rock record should have. In a startling turn, following two of the most unique and challenging records of the 90's, this trio uncorked an indispensable collection of Big Rock Songs; the kind other bands work a lifetime to write but never do. Whereas Harvey Milk's first two outings showed the band creating their own twisted rock vision by harnessing the power of lush, noisy and painfully emotional heavy metal, The Pleaser finds the band channeling the spirits of Thin Lizzy, Kiss, and early ZZ Top to create a brutish, muscular canon of classic rock jams. And with this gem of a record (and it's accompanying live on the radio performance) Harvey Milk closed the door on the first, illustrious chapter in its legacy.

WIDESPREAD PANIC– Carbondale 2000
( street: 6/10/08)

This spring, fans of legendary touring band Widespread Panic will be able to fill the void between their Spring and Summer tours with the release of their new three disc archive album, Carbondale 2000, set for release June 10, 2008. Recorded live at Southern Illinois University Arena in Carbondale, IL on December 1, 2000, this very special multi-track recording features all original band members including late guitarist Michael Houser. The first archival release of their own independent record label, Widespread Records, the 3 disc set will be available at select independent record stores, Widespread Merchandise, and digitally from LiveWidesrpeadPanic.com. As the second release of Widespread Records in 2008, Carbondale 2000 is preceded by Free Somehow, which was released in February 2008 and is Widespread Panic’s 10th studio album and their first studio album with legendary guitarist Jimmy Herring.!

Weezer's sixth studio album will be its third self-titled affair, and it will arrive on cd and Delux cd June 17 via Geffen Records and on red vinyl via Junketboy on 6/24 "The album is meaty, crunchy and melodic like a good Weezer album should be," frontman Rivers Cuomo writes on the band's Web site.

Cuomo previously described the new songs, which were co-produced by Rick Rubin, as "dark and deep and beautiful," and "definitely more sophisticated and adventurous. You'll hear very long songs ... and non-traditional structures."

“There’s more to The Wombats than just knuckle-headed indie-by-numbers. By total accident they seem to have stumbled upon the perfect formula for the indie-rock disco anthem, and for this they should be lauded. We suggest you enjoy The Wombats – because they are sure as hell going to be around for a while yet.” -NME

Finnish freak-folk-rocker THE MATTOID returns with his 2nd full length album, The Glory Holy. Recorded at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco by engineer Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Erase Erata), and finished in The Mattoid’s current home base of Nashville, TN with members of Silver Jews, Clem Snide, Lambchop, and Bobby Bare Jr.’s Young Criminals Starvation League.

The Mattoid has done and will continue extensive touring opening for irreverent comedian Doug Stanhope in the past year and has continued to amuse, provoke, and entertain audiences in his home city of Nashville with his unique mix of music, comedy, and performance art.

Josh Ritter returns this spring with the “Small Town USA” tour in support of his highly praised 2007 release, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Sony BMG Music Entertainment/Victor). A new EP, Live at the 9:30 Club, will be released, featuring songs from the album. Originally broadcast by NPR’s All Songs Considered, the 8-song disc features recordings from Ritter’s sold out DC concert in October 2007. The limited edition EP will be available exclusively at select independent record stores nationwide.

Forsyth is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. He blends genres such as folk, rock and the more unorthodox styles of vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley into a sound that’s more Americana than anything else. As well as singing, he plays the guitar, ukelele, harmonica and singing saw (for which he won an Austin Music Award for Best Miscellaneous Instrument). Forsyth also has won an AMA for Best Male Vocalist. He is touring these days as a three-piece with Will Landin (bass/tuba) and Rob Hooper (drums/cajon).

With Broken Spindle’s latest and most personal releae, “Document Number One,” Petersen ventures into exciteing territory. For this album, Petersen composed for a 22-piece orchestra, and often lets the orchestral players dominate the songs.
The CD began as a score for an independent film, then Petersen expanded and changed the music to express his vision rather than be in service to the needs of a movie. The result is the all-instrumental “Document Number One” which breaks new ground while continuing the explorations of a musical innovator. As Peteresen says, “It is all instrumental, part mood, part ambience, part driving electronics.”
“Document Number One” is the first of a series of limited edition albums released by Petersen on his Kaput Pin label. Each cd cover was silk screened and then hand printed by Petersen.

DH Records is proud to announce the release of Magnetic Morning’s self-titled debut EP. No ordinary side project, Magnetic Morning represent one of the more inspired collaborations in recent memory. The new duo are an uncanny hand-in-glove pairing of two alternarock heavyweights: Swervedriver (and Toshack Highway) singer/guitarist/songwriter Adam Franklin and Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino. And beyond the sum of such impressive parts, their new debut five-song EP for their own DH Records is as mesmerizing as it is a different tack from their previous bodies of work. The EP will be in stores on April 19th, a date that hundreds of independently owned music stores in the U.S., and in Canada, celebrate "Record Store Day."

36 Crazyfists are a four-piece Metalcore band originating from Anchorage, Alaska. They are now based out of Portland, Oregon. The band's name comes from a Jackie Chan movie, The 36 Crazy Fists. They have released 4 albums, In the Skin, Bitterness the Star, A Snow Capped Romance and Rest Inside the Flames. The Tide and its Takers will be released on May 27, 2008 on Ferret Records. They have opened for such acts System of a Down, Primus, Blink-182, NOFX, Candiria, God Forbid, Chimaira, Diecast and Hotwire.

Josh Ritter's self-titled debut (recorded in 1999) has never been available for physical distribution. Therefore, this is an incredible opportunity for independent retail. In addition, the 22 upcoming U.S. shows are only a sketch of the visibility Josh will have in 2008. Josh's fanbase has only grown, as evidenced by his best selling release from last year - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. This is what Josh says about his self-titled debut: "This album was recorded during my senior year at Oberlin College. We worked in a tiny studio on campus, drank beer that I had just turned old enough to buy legally and began taking the first steps along the road I still walk today, eight years later. I'm still very proud of these songs and I hope you enjoy them." - Josh Ritter, February 2008

Recorded in 1988, these 19 tracks are the very first Buckethead recordings, predating all other releases by three years. For a Beatles fan, this would be the equivalent of discovering an album's worth of good recordings from 1959. All of the earmarks of Buckethead's stellar guitar style are present on these recordings. Original cover artwork by Buckethead. The CD booklet includes reproductions of the first Buckethead artist bio and Buckethead's handwritten titles on the 1988 demo tapes.

“It's all music recorded in 1988. Basically, Buckethead made me three demo tapes that year, and when I was searching for the tapes of what became Acoustic Shards I rediscovered these three demo cassettes in a box of interview tapes. They are his earliest recordings, aside from a rehearsal or two, but it's all there -- the astounding technique, the lyrical beauty, the incredible shredding and popping. He was working with one of those small portable multi-track recorders, and a drum machine, but his playing is so clearly head-and-shoulders above what others were doing in 1988.

As passionate as ever, but now with a little more polish, TV on the Radio’s second album, Return to Cookie Mountain, is their most satisfying work since they exploded onto the scene in 2003!

TV On The Radio have always been a band with a big, unapologetically ambitious sound, and on Return to Cookie Mountain, they give that sound room to breathe with a lush, expansive production. The sonic depth throughout the album is a sharp contrast with the density of their previous albums. However, Return to Cookie Mountain is hardly slick or dumbed-down for mass consumption. In fact, the opening track, “I Was a Lover,” is one of the band's most challenging songs yet, mixing a stuttering hip-hop beat with guitars of Loveless proportions and juxtaposing inviting vocal harmonies and horns with glitches and trippy sitars. “Playhouses” is only slightly less radical, with its wildly syncopated drumming and Tunde Adebimpe’s layered, impassioned singing.

At times, Return to Cookie Mountain threatens to become more impressive than likeable - a complaint that could also arguably be leveled against Desperate Youth as well - but fortunately, TV on the Radio reconnects with, and builds on, the intimacy and purity that made Young Liars so striking.

Atlantic recording artist JASON MRAZ has disclosed early details of his enormously anticipated new album, WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS. The collection – Mraz’s first set of all-new material in nearly three years – will arrives in stores and at online retailers on May 20th
WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS. will be heralded by a trio of individual EPs: “WE SING,” due March 18th; WE DANCE, out April 15th; and WE STEAL THINGS, which will be available as a digital bundle. The EPs will feature unique versions of various album tracks recorded during special intimate sessions.
WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS. follows Mraz’s two previous studio releases: 2002’s platinum debut WAITING FOR MY ROCKET TO COME, and 2005’s MR. A-Z, which debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. Mraz has also released a series of concert recordings, including 2004’s TONIGHT, NOT AGAIN: JASON MRAZ LIVE AT THE EAGLES BALLROOM and 2006’s digital-only release, SELECTIONS FOR FRIENDS.

Atlantic recording artist JASON MRAZ has disclosed early details of his enormously anticipated new album, WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS. The collection – Mraz’s first set of all-new material in nearly three years – will arrives in stores and at online retailers on May 20th
WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS. will be heralded by a trio of individual EPs: “WE SING,” due March 18th; WE DANCE, out April 15th; and WE STEAL THINGS, which will be available as a digital bundle. The EPs will feature unique versions of various album tracks recorded during special intimate sessions.
WE SING. WE DANCE. WE STEAL THINGS. follows Mraz’s two previous studio releases: 2002’s platinum debut WAITING FOR MY ROCKET TO COME, and 2005’s MR. A-Z, which debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. Mraz has also released a series of concert recordings, including 2004’s TONIGHT, NOT AGAIN: JASON MRAZ LIVE AT THE EAGLES BALLROOM and 2006’s digital-only release, SELECTIONS FOR FRIENDS.

Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse have produced another album of super-catchy tunes that veer between retro-soul shakedowns, tricked-out psychedelic rock and trunk-rattling hip-hop. While nothing sounds as indelible as “Crazy,” the first two tracks that the pair are considering for a lead single are pretty ace: one is a funked-up organ groove complemented by French horns, a chorus of “la la la”s and Cee-Lo crooning in his throaty rasp, “Here it comes/Say it loud!” The other track, which we’re told is the duo’s favorite, is drastically different: a sinister ballad featuring intricately strummed acoustic guitar chords. Cee-Lo’s mood turns dark as he repeats over and over, “Who’s gonna save my soul?/I know I’m out of control.” It’s a stylish, spooky take on Robert Johnson’s delta blues—and even that suits them just fine.

This instore was recorded on 11.16.07 at Twist & Shout in Denver, CO.

Players: Jason Isbell (vocals/guitar) Jimbo Hart (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Derry deBorja (keys), Ryan Tillery (drums)

Producer: Jason Isbell and Gary Briggs

MY FAVORITE WASTE OF TIME, the new all-covers album by FREEDY JOHNSTON, is a rockin' sprint through ten classic love and love-esque songs by Marshall Crenshaw, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Matthew Sweet, and other deities. It was recorded in Nashville with legendary bassist Bob Babbitt, drummer Ed Greene, and a whole van-load of great guest musicians.

Village Voice review: Let's face it: Discs of cover tunes have had the stench of death about them lately, primarily a desperate cry from heritage acts starving for airplay. Poetic, story-oriented singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston, author of the certified classics Can You Fly and This Perfect World, sidesteps such muck. Firstly, he has another CD of original gems in the offing next year. And on My Favorite Waste of Time, he's carefully chosen tracks by some of his heroes, with results sunnier than Johnston's own dark, tricky songs: beautifully sung, unfussy, and fun, all done out of love. Johnston drains the excess sugar from Bacharach’s "Do You Know the Way to San José," adding a mocking pedal steel and turning it into a bittersweet cowboy song. Matthew Sweet's "I've Been Waiting" gets a band-like horn section, underscoring the original's warm spirits. Cole Porter's "Night and Day" is a summer breeze of a samba. Could Time have used one less McCartney song? Yep—a little whimsy goes a long way. But with definitive versions of Marshall Crenshaw's title tune and NRBQ's super-horny "I Want You Bad," surely that's just quibbling.

In an effort to get you lovely fans something fresh to listen to, the band and I created a makeshift studio aboard the cruise ship “Imagination,” home of The Rock Boat VIII. We knew it would be a tough task, but we got more than we bargained for. With electrical surges, hard drive crashes, high seas, vocal ailments and other Rock Boat shenanigans, we all had doubts about whether or not we’d be able to pull this off. Thankfully we didn’t give up and the band played on! I wasn’t able to record my vocals on the boat however. Instead I hopped into a studio immediately after landing in Amsterdam, while there performing on Dutch TV. Vocals were recorded, files were uploaded, songs were mixed and mastered. Not bad for 3 days work in the middle of the ocean, a foreign country, cross several states and through cyber space. Though it’s only a glimpse of what the future has in store, I think these 5 songs will make you dance and maybe even make you cry. I hope you enjoy!

Peace, love, & chicken grease,
Marc Broussard

"[Haale's] earnest blends of electric guitar, thoughtful lyrics, and vocal gymnastics borrow from both ancient song and the poetry of Persia. The surprise chestnut at the heart of the music is the dynamic, fiery delivery of Haale herself, whose voice is by turns deep and commanding, feather-light and breezy, and as rich and sensual as dark-chocolate fondue." -- FLAVORPILL

HAALE evokes both the spiritual and traditional culture of her parents' homeland of Iran, and the energy of psychedelic rock and roll from the sounds of New York City, where she was born. Her music and her message are formed by the powerful combination of these influences, invoking both a swaying trance and a rock sensibility she describes as "Psychedelic Sufi Trance Rock."

On the 4th October 2007 PORCUPINE TREE arrived for an in-store performance and signing session at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida, with 200 fans also in attendance. Although it was originally planned that the full band would play, lack of space dictated that only the 2 guitarists / singers Steven Wilson and John Wesley deliver an impromptu performance, including many songs rarely (if ever) played by the band, making for a very special and intimate show. Fortunately this one-off performance was captured by Full Sail (with their remote recording facility) and the complete 8 song, 33 minute show is now being released in a digipak sleeve created by photographer Lasse Hoile and designer Carl Glover. Coming soon: LIGHTBULB SUN double CD deluxe re-issue.

Austrailian superstar MISSY HIGGINS is set to release her 2nd album, ON A CLEAR NIGHT, on Feb 26. Already 4x platinum in Australia, she built a strong base through touring on the strength of her 2005 debut. This EP features the single, a B-side, a Neil Finn cover, and a live track (“The Wrong Girl”).

The 23 year old singer/songwriter from Melbourne has enjoyed phenomenal success in her homeland in spite - or perhaps because - of shunning the usual synthetic packaging and tabloid tackiness. Instead she's adopted a more timeless approach, relying on her undeniable songs and unforgettable live performances to build a genuine and gimmick free connection with her audience.

CASSETTES WON’T LISTEN is the brainchild of New York-based multi-instrumentalist Jason Drake. What started as a bedroom project blossomed through friends and resulted in airplay on WOXY and KEXP, as well as high praise from Perez Hilton, Spin, and New York press. Get into CASSETTES WON’T LISTEN before they get picked up for some Volkswagen commercial -- we have been listening to this one and it reminds us of Postal Service BIGTIME!

About GRAND OLE PARTY: Since 2005, Kristin Gundred (vocals, drums) John Paul Labno (guitar) and Mike Krechnyak (bass) have been writing music, touring clubs and putting on live shows that make friends tell friends to get off the couch and into the club. San Diego is where they landed, and where they have gone on to cultivate a rabid following of fans devoted to their raucous live show.

Initial reaction from music fans and key press has been incredibly positive and exciting. Grand Ole Party just completed a sold out US tour with Rilo Kiley. They toured with Vampire Weekend in December 2007, and a new tour will be announced soon!

A collection of live recordings from 79-81, endorsed by the Roky Erickson Trust! Also available: YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME DVD / soundtrack.

NYC’s latest indie sensation – they’ve already been compared to Gang of Four and The Strokes, and have opened for Patti Smith in Paris. Get their EP now at select indie stores nationwide, so you can brag about knowing them back in the day, when their full-length comes out in 2008!

DAMIEN RICE -- Live At Fingerprints…Warts & All
(street: 10.23.07)

This 8-song EP was recorded live at indie store Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA! Tracklisting: Cannonball * Coconut Skins * Intro * Grey Room * Volcano * Intro * Rootless Tree * I Remember

A must for any Brandi Carlile fan – this 7-song CD was recorded live at Seattle indie store EASY STREET RECORDS in 2007. Also available: THE STORY.
Tracklisting: Closer To You * The Story * Have You Ever * Turpentine * Fall Apart Again * Downpour * Josephine

JOHN MAYER – as/is

JOHN MAYER has put together this 2-disc indies-only LIMITED EDITION CD package, which brings together live tracks recorded during his Summer 2004 American tour. These tracks on AS/IS are available on CD for the first time ever, and are ONLY available at a handful of indie record stores across the nation. You will not find this at any chain store – we have worked with John’s camp to make this fans-only CD set just for you.

The self-released indie disc that started it all -- not very long ago, Jason Mraz was a struggling musician playing coffeehouses across America. LIVE was recorded in his home away from home, Java Joe’s in Ocean Beach, CA.

In late April 2005, PEARL JAM played a surprise show at Easy Street Records in West Seattle on a Friday night in support of the 10th anniversary of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS). The result was a once in a lifetime performance that has been captured on an EP entitled LIVE FROM EASY STREET. This 7 song EP contains 3 never before released cover songs!

The 120 indie record store owners and managers who were in Seattle for the CIMS conference boarded a shuttle to attend what they were told was just “A party at Easy Street.” At about 9 PM Pearl Jam appeared on a tiny stage that had been built in the store that day, and played a sizzling 1 1⁄2 hr performance in front of 200 people!