Empty's Tapes Presents IV: Hell's Kitchen Underground

Empty's Tapes Presents IV:

City on the Make
No Bird Sing
Guante

Hell's Kitchen
80 S 9th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402

10pm | $5 | 21+

$3 PBR tallboys
$4 taps/rails
$5 Jameson
$7 tall boy & choice of shot (Jameson/Jag)

"Late Nite" food menu.

Social Networking opportunity.

Party Like a Young Commie Tonight At The Triple Rock.

Big Quarters - Party Like A Young Commie CD Release Party
Friday, December 16
Triple Rock Social Club
Minneapolis, MN

Big Quarters
w/ Los Nativos and No Bird Sing

Hosted by: Crescent Moon of Kill the Vultures
On the decks: DJ Ren

9pm doors | 18+ | $8 advance $10 door

Pre-Order Album.

Theft of the Commons Tour: No Bird Sing, Kristoff Krane & Junkyard Empire

No Bird Sing
Kristoff Krane
Junkyard Empire

The below information was lifted from The Facespace. I highly recommend checking out this tour if it comes anywhere near your city.

--Thursday, September 22nd--
Blue Moose Tap House
Iowa City, IA
Support: Old Man's War, Purist, ION
Time: 8:00 PM
Cost: $5
Age: 19+

--Friday, September 23rd--
AF Ray's
Greeley, CO
Support: Rhythmic Fuzz
Time: 8:00 PM
Cost: $5/10
Age: 18+

--Sunday, September 25th--
Kava Lounge w/ Junkyard Empire
San Diego, CA
Support: Parker and the Numberman
Time: 8:00 PM
Cost: $5
Age:

--Tuesday, September 27th--
Brick and Mortar Music Hall w/ Junkyard Empire
San Francisco, CA
Support: Junkyard Empire
Time: 8:00 PM
Cost: $5/8
Age: 18+

--Wednesday, September 28th--
Ash Street Saloon w/ Junkyard Empire
Portland, OR
Support: Junkyard Empire, Hives Inquiry Squad, Dck Vnngt
Time: 9:00 PM
Cost: $5
Age: 18+

--Thursday, September 29th--
Chop Suey
Seattle, WA
Support: Sadistik, Sarx, Graves 33, The ILLusionists
Time: 8:30 PM
Cost:$8/10
Age: 21+

--Friday, September 30th--
The Palace Lounge
Missoula, MT
Support: Codependents
Time: 8:00p
Cost: $7 21+, $12 under 21
Age: 18+

Kristoff Krane and No Bird Sing will be playing together at the Turf Club in St. Paul, MN on Friday, October 21st with Red Pens and Rank Strangers.
Time: 9:00 PM
Cost: $7
Age: 21+

Coloring Time Presents: An Evening of Improvised Music & Art

A night of improvised music featuring the following musicians:

Peter Pisano (Peter Wolf Crier)
Brian Moen (Peter Wolf Crier, Laarks, The Shouting Matches)
Joe Horton (No Bird Sing)
Bobby Mulrennan (No Bird Sing, Chastity Brown Band)
Graham O'Brien (No Bird Sing)
Casey O'Brien (Face Candy, Carbon Carousel)
Alexie Caselle (Roma di Luna, Kill the Vultures)
Martin Dosh (Dosh, Andrew Bird)
Mike Rossetto (Spaghetti Western String Co., Pines)
JT Bates (Alpha Consumer, Pines)
David Huckfelt (Pines)
Benson Ramsey (Pines)
Jake Hanson ('Halloween, Alaska', Wishbook)
Jeremy Ylvisaker (Alpha Consumer, Guitar Party, Andrew Bird)
Maya Ylvisaker (Guitar Party)
Michelle Kenny (Jelloslave, Mississippi Peace)
Chris Cunningham (Mississippi Peace)
Chastity Brown (Chastity Brown Band)
Adam Svec (Adam Svec)

with live art performed by Michael Gaughan (Ice Rod) and Zach Koss

The Cedar Cultural Center
Thursday, August 11 · 8:00pm - 11:00pm
All Ages | $5 Advance | $10 Day of Show
Sponsored by Radio K

The Facebook

No Bird Sing - "Pretty Pocket Snatchers" Live at The Cedar

On Friday April 29th No Bird Sing released their new LP Theft of the Commons, the follow up to 2009's No Bird Sing. Kristoff Krane and Kill the Vultures supported. NBS has been one of my favorite bands since first catching them at The Uptown in October 2008 and I am glad they are receiving the attention they deserve. Graham O'Brien was kind enough to pass on his exclusive mix of "Pretty Pocket Snatchers" from The Cedar.

No Bird Sing - "Pretty Pocket Snatchers" (Live at The Cedar)

nobirdsing.org | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter

Rent Party @ The Turf Tonight!

"We are members of many Twin Cities bands, some of which you have heard before, others maybe not so much. Although we play somewhat disparate types of music, we all happen to share a single rehearsal space in Minneapolis. We're civilized like that.

As the air grows colder, our thoughts turn to the big-ass shared heating bills that await us in the months ahead. To help survive this costly seasonal menace, we dearly hope you'll join... us for our first (annual?) "RENT PARTY!" concert experience. In addition to familiar configurations, we will rotate through some more abnormal collaborations, covers and musical detours. Proceeds will go directly to keeping the lights and heat running in our shared sanctuary so that we may continue to make music and not traumatize our neighbors/spouses/children."

Set times will run something like this...

09:00 Quiet Client
09:25 Emot
09:50 Minor Kingdom
10:15 All Tomorrow's Petty
10:30 Love-cars
10:55 Haley Bonar
11:15 No Bird Sing
11:40 Halloween, Alaska
12:05 Gramma's Boyfriend
12:30 Alpha Consumer

Graham O'Brien Releases Debut Album

Graham O'Brien - Live Drums promo video from NOECHO Records on Vimeo.

Graham O'Brien's debut solo album Live Drums is now available for purchase or download through NOECHO Records. It is also available via iTunes. You may be familiar with Graham's work in No Bird Sing, Abzorbr or any number of other bands he's played in or done production for but Live Drums is some next level business. The album features appearances by Kristoff Krane, Adam Svec, Alicia Wiley as well as Eric Blair and Robert Mulrennan of No Bird Sing.

Graham's debut solo effort, Live Drums lies somewhere near the boundaries of the Instrumental Hip Hop genre. As the title suggests, each song on the album is shaped by Graham’s drum set performances - which are inventive and creatively recorded. The dark, contrasting layers of synthetic and sampled sounds make the record an engaging listen. Compositionally, this album is influenced by DJ Shadow, Portishead and The Gaslamp Killer, among others.

Kill The Vultures @ The Triple Rock '10

A .RAR file containing this recording can be downloaded here.

Kill the Vultures
The Triple Rock
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday September 25th 2010

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish (cm, º), right drink rail, 25' back, ~8' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Cards) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > razorlame > 320kbps]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 10 (compression + fade out)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Moonshine
02. Dirty Hands
03. 14th St. Ritual
04. The Big Sleep
05. Spare Parts
06. Walk On Water
07. a cappella
08. The Vultures
09. 7, 8, 9
10. Sick Days Are Upon Us
11. Beasts of Burden

DJ Anatomy - music
Crescent Moon - voice

Site | Myspace | Facebook

Welcome to night 3 of the 5 night run that I'm currently engaged in. No Bird Sing and Bouncer Fighter supported Kill the Vultures this evening. Alexei had just flown back from France on Friday but his vocals were top notch and he never missed a beat. Anatomy kept the set tight and moving. I don't believe I've been able to catch up with KTV since 11/14/09 so this will be the first and only 2010 recording that is released. Get it on ze ipod! Thanks to Kill the Vultures and The Triple Rock for allowing me to document this set.

The Old Man Goes On A 5 Night Run.

I didn't make it to Memory Lanes on Monday and I didn't make it to Nick and Eddie on Wednesday BUT I am exciting my 20's in style...

There are other great shows going down as well (there always is) and those shows will be highlighted on the day they are happening...Friday is especially crazy with options. Oh yeah, I did not turn this into a shows calendar blog. There will be tapes on the way!

09-23 - The Funeral and the Twilight + The Great Confinement @ The Kitty Cat Klub

09-24 - Nowlikephotographs Presents Lights Out Asia + The Autumn Project + Nomia @ The Ritz Theater

09-25 - Kill the Vultures + No Bird Sing + Bouncer Fighter @ The Triple Rock

09-26 - Women + WHITESAND/BADLANDS @ The Triple Rock

09-27 - Paleo + inBoil + Crimes @ Sauce

09-30 - Sleeping in the Aviary + The Funeral And The Twilight @ The Kitty Cat Klub

Chastity Brown CD Release Show This Saturday

The Cedar
416 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis MN 55454
Saturday June 12th
Doors at 7pm with music at 8pm
Tickets $10 in advance and $12 day of show

Looking for a surefire good time at one of the city's best venues this Saturday? If you're a fan of legendary acoustics you may want to consider joining Chastity Brown at The Cedar for the release of her band's new album High Noon Teeth, the follow up to 2009's Sankofa and 2007's Do The Best You Can. Chastity's stellar vocal capabilities are worth the price of admission along but her band certainly packs a punch with Michael X. (percussion), Adam Wozniak (of Tarlton, upright bass) and Nikki Schultz (backing vocals) in the lineup. Leave it to Chas to round out the bill with some top shelf support in Roma di Luna (duo) and No Bird Sing (acoustic). Roma di Luna duo sets can be rather rare these days and are not to be missed. As many times as I've seen them I myself have yet to witness an acoustic No Bird Sing set. I'm not even certain this has publicly happened before but with it going down at The Cedar it's sure to be special. With all three of these acts sharing the same bill it's going to be difficult for folks in attendance to take their attention away from the stage.

City of Music: Chastity Brown from MPLS.TV on Vimeo.

MPLS.TV's weekly live performance series, "City of Music," featuring Chastity Brown
Produced by Dan Huiting and Chris Cloud
Shot/edited by Dan Huiting

Marathon Mile

Coming soon...

Ogre Smash Death Boom, Western Curses, Dawes, Bouncer Fighter, The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs, Truck Stops Across America, Heiruspecs, Lookbook, No Bird Sing, Kill The Vultures, City On The Make, The Pines, Peter Wolf Crier, Romantica, Jeremy Messersmith, Old Canes, Paragraphs, Zoo Animal and many more.

Music is being recorded...

...and the next time I'm in my apartment for longer than 70 minutes at a time new recordings will be uploaded. I swear. It's lookin' like another 5 night run and it started last night.

Wednesday: Drew's Birthday featuring Batmen + Marijuana Deathsquads @ Nick & Eddie

Thursday: Heiruspecs Scholarship show @ Central High Auditorium then maybe Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream + Kristoff Krane + A Million Dead Emo Kids @ Sauce

Friday: Too much going on but since Adam is only 7 months older than me and has booked a good show I'll probably be at the Turf.

Saturday: Kill the Vultures + Lookbook + No Bird Sing @ The Cedar and then to the Triple Rock for Songs of Zarathustra (Reunion) + Gay Witch Abortion + STNNNG

Sunday: Gastro Non-Grata at the Triple Rock w/ Unknown Prophets + Bitch N' Brown + Bella Koshka + Noise Noise Noise

Oofta!

Graham O' Brien to Release Solo Project

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to open an email containing a track off of Graham O' Brien's upcoming solo release. Wow. I'm currently breaking my "no music at work" rule. Over the course of the past few years I've enjoyed recording Graham's various musical incarnations. He's a monster. Like many of the best musicians the Twin Cities has to offer he's constantly in at least a half dozen bands at the same time and that's all while working on his own solo material. Graham mentioned that "the main idea behind this project is to explore some of the textures created by samples and live drumming and instrumentation." It's a commonly shared opinion around town that Graham leads the new generation of TC drummers. "Recycle Maker" features Kristoff Krane on vocals rekindling a musical partnership that has lasted the better part of a decade.

"Recycle Maker" Featuring Kristoff Krane

(Right Click & Save Link As or Click-Operations)


Artwork: James Penfield

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May 2010 be better than 2009!

Live musics to follow from the likes of; The Good Life (holy shit?!), Old Canes, Where Astronauts Go to Hide, Face Candy, No Bird Sing, Kristoff Krane, Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream.

What I'm perhaps most excited about at the moment is NYE. Pretty sure I chose The Turf Club. Third Annual New Year's Eve Cover Night with Vampire Hands (Television), Leisure Birds (Monks), Daughters of the Sun (Jesus and Mary Chain), Marijuana Deathsquads (Brian Eno). Unfortunately Secret Language (Fleetwood Mac) was not recorded...it was however very Punk and uplifting. You missed out? It happens. Later on, at the dawn of the new year Finger Pressure's annual NYE set at Community Gardens was recorded into a little metal box. Let me just say that these 1s & 0s are far to good for the likes of MTV or top 40 radio. Be excited to check this out!

Closing out the year at The Turf Club...

I've spent many late nights at The Turf Club this year. I'm quite fond of the place and that's why I'm happy to say it looks like I'll be ending 2009 with back to back nights at The Turf.

Please join me at these two fine shows to ring in the new year...

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Kristoff Krane, No Bird Sing, Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream and Face Candy (first show in over a year)
Doors 9:00pm | $6 cover

Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Third Annual New Year's Eve Cover Night with Vampire Hands (Television), Leisure Birds (Monks), Daughters of the Sun (Jesus and Mary Chain), Marijuana Death Squads (Brian Eno)
with DJ's and Secret Language in the Clown Lounge
Doors 9:00pm | $10 cover

No Bird Sing @ The Turf Club (Dec. 09)

320kbps mp3 - Right Click > Save As or mac equivalent.
Please check back for FLACs.

No Bird Sing
The Turf Club
St. Paul, MN
Friday December 11th 2009

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish (cm, º), right drink rail, 25' back, ~10' ^
Source: Milab VM-44 (Link) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > TLH lvl 6 + Tested > FLAC]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 9 (normalize + fades)
TRT: 52:36

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Chopper
02. Legal Blood Money
03. Dead Leaves
04. Confession of the 40th Thief
05. Sparrows *
06. Devil Trombones
07. Neandersome
08. Land Mines
09. Plastic Lines
10. Night at Arms
11. ars poetica?
12. jam city ^

* w/ Kristoff Krane
^ w/ Kristoff Krane, Peter Pisano of Peter Wolf Crier, Impulse of Sector7G

Joe Horton - Voice/Keys
Robert Mulrennan - Guitar
Graham O'Brien - Drums/Electronics

Official | Myspace | Facebook | Twitter

So if you visit this site on the regular you're aware of the fact that I support the doings of NBS. My personal favorite local band to come out of 2009. Bethany Larsen, Peter Wolf Crier and Aby Wolf supported NBS. You can catch them in the Mainroom January 15th when Radio K presents First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2009 featuring; No Bird Sing, Leisure Birds, Moonstone, Peter Wolf Crier, Red Pens, Slapping Purses and Twilight Hours. First Avenue must read the site.

The action doesn't stop just because I'm leaving town.

10-22 - Alpha Consumer, Tarlton & Ghostband @ Uptown Bar
10-22 - Kill to Kill, Gospel Gossip & Red Pens @ Hexagon Ba
10-23 - A Whisper in the Noise @ Triple Rock
10-23 - Lucero @ The Varsity
10-23 - The Pines @ The Cedar
10-24 - P.O.S. @ First Avenue
10-25 - Saul Williams + No Bird Sing @ the Varsity
10-25 - Langhorne Slim @ the 400 Bar
10-26 - Chinese Stars + Vampire Hands @ The Turf
10-26 - E&A + P.O.S. + NBS + Kristoff Krane @ Mankato
10-26 - The Black Angels @ First Avenue

No Bird Sing CD Release @ The Triple Rock

V0 mp3 files are available here.
Lossless FLAC files are available here.

No Bird Sing
s/t CD Release Show
The Triple Rock
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday September 12th 2009

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish (cm, º), right drink rail, 25' back, ~10' ^
Source: MBHO 603a KA200N > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > TLH lvl 6 + Tested > FLAC]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 9 (fades)
TRT: 57:25

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. ...Michael Larsen on the evil of corporations intro
02. Chopper
03. Dead Leaves
04. Prometheus
05. Ashen
06. Devil Trombones
07. ...thank you
08. Land Mines
09. ...please welcome Alicia Wiley & Kristoff Krane
10. Sparrows *
11. ...band intros
12. Plastic Lines +
13. El Oh Hell
14. Legal Blood Money
15. Night at Arms
16. ars poetica?

* Kristoff Krane (voice) Alicia Wiley (keys)
+ Alicia Wiley (keys & voice)

www.myspace.com/nobirdsing

Joe Horton - Voice/Keys
Robert Mulrennan - Guitar
Graham O'Brien - Drums/Electronics

There's a huge buzz about No Bird Sing around town and for good reason...they are the best new local band of 2009. This evening was a great time in general for being a gathering of friends in my favorite Minneapolis venue. Kristoff Krane and Black Blondie also lit the room up. Special guest DJ James Diers kept the party moving. No Bird Sing's self-titled debut album is available as a digital download on various sites (Amazon and iTunes for starters) as well as a limited CD run. The CDs were only being sold at the two release shows; Eclipse Records (9/11) and The Triple Rock (9/12). You should contact the band to inquire about remaining copies. While you're hitting the favorite online shop check out Kristoff Krane's "This Will Work For Now" and Black Blondie's "Do You Remember Who You Wanted to Be." Thanks to The Triple Rock for holding down Cedar Avenue.

This show was sponsored by 89.3 The Current and Culture Bully.

Tracks coming soon from...

So the virus that my pc contracted last week has slowed me down a bit (along with work & being a bleeding human). With that said, full sets and or individual tracks from your favorite local bands are on their way. We're talking some No Bird Sing, Junkyard Empire, Guante & Big Cats!, Samosa, Carnage, Ela (reunited w/ original members), Roma di Luna (duo), Building Better Bombs, Communist Daughter, Big Trouble, Black Blondie and Kristoff Krane.

Enjoy the weekend. See you on the West Bank.

Clapperclaw '09 Mixtape

V0 mp3s on emptystapes.com - email me for FLAC files.

Clapperclaw Festival 2009
(Outdoor Stage)
Intermedia Arts
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday September 5th 2009

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish (cm, º), FOB, DFC 30' back, ~9' ^
Source: MBHO 603a KA200N > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > TLH lvl 6 + Tested > FLAC]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 9 (omitted some between the tracks 1s & 0s)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. No Bird Sing - Land Mines
02. No Bird Sing - Night at Arms
03. No Bird Sing - ars poetica?
04. Guante - The Hero
05. Guante - One of These Mornings
06. City on the Make - Massive Project Engineering
07. City on the Make - You Got The Juice Now
08. City on the Make - Money Is My Friend
09. City on the Make - Chicks on Bikes
10. Kristoff Krane - Proud To Be An American > BeMeTooConfused
11. Kristoff Krane - Little Willy
12. Kristoff Krane - This Will Work For Now
13. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin 1
14. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin 2
15. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin 3
16. Free Energy 1 *
17. Free Energy 2 *

* sbd

A huge thank you to Matt Perkins and much respect to ALL of the people who help to put Clapperclaw together and keep it going year after year. Unfortunately this compilation does not include any of the music from the electronic stage. It does include tracks from; No Bird Sing, Guante, City on the Make, Kristoff Krane, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Free Energy. Please support the artists by purchasing the official releases. Please support Clapperclaw by coming out next year. The weather was perfect. It was one of the best Saturdays of the summer.