We Are The Willows are headed out once again. This time, for a little mini-tour that will take them pretty far west for a show at a ski resort... then back again.
03/11/10 - The Raw Deal - Menomonie, WI (solo)
03/12/10 - Infinitea - Eau Claire, WI (solo)
03/13/10 - Nutty's North - Sioux Falls, SD
03/16/10 - Trap Bar & Grill (Grand Targhee Ski Resort) - Alta, WY
03/21/10 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
03/26/10 - UW-River Falls - River Falls, WI
FromTwitter (@ambledown):
- Spending the afternoon listening to the final mixes of The Gentle Guest's new one.... mastering next week!
- DCW has been nominated for Alternative Artist of the Year by Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI): http://tinyurl.com/yax7x3x
The Daredevil Christopher Wright is headed to SXSW this year! We'll be there with 'em, reporting back as much as possible. They're making all kinds of stops on the way there and back as well... see tour dates below!
Oh, and the band just got a Twitter! Mmhm... follow 'em: @daredevilcw!
03/08/10 - The Basement - Nashville, TN
03/10/10 - Bobo Gallery - Asheville, NC
03/11/10 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
03/12/10 - Slim's - Raleigh, NC
03/13/10 - Flicker - Athens, GA 03/16/10 - SXSW @ Club De Ville - Austin, TX 03/18/10 - SXSW @ Dominican Joe - Austin, TX 03/19/10 - SXSW @ Space 12 - Austin, TX
03/21/10 - City Tavern - Dallas, TX
03/22/10 - The Deli - Norman, OK
03/23/10 - The Schoolhouse - Denton, TX
03/24/10 - The Replay Lounge - Lawrence, KS
03/25/10 - The Slowdown - Omaha, NE
03/26/10 - Huckleberry's - Rock Island, IL
03/27/10 - Ames Progressive - Ames, IA
03/31/10 - Mission Creek Festival @ The Mill - Iowa City, IA
04/24/10 - The House of Rock - Eau Claire, WI
Michael Perry and the Long Beds are hittin' the road in March to celebrate the release of Tiny Pilot! Yep, they've booked four dates in WI and MN. Each appearance will be a combination of words and music: with readings from Mike to proceed the Long Beds taking the stage.
If you're in or near any of these towns, be sure to catch the Long Beds...
03/16/10 - StageNorth - Washburn, WI
03/18/10 - The Gard Theatre - Spring Green, WI
03/19/10 - St. Cecilia's Theatre at Cotter High School - Winona, MN
03/20/10 - Mabel Tainter Theatre - Menomonie, WI For ticket information, please click here.
The Long Beds' new album, Tiny Pilot is now available for pre-order! Click here to get 'er. Order now and receive a free digital download of the album within the first 24 hours of purchase! CDs will ship on March 1st.
MICHAEL PERRY AND THE LONG BEDS photo by: Drew Kaiser.
Hey there, folks. We've got some exciting news for ya. Amble Down has teamed up with the talented Michael Perry and his band of Long Beds for the release of their long awaited second full-length album. Yep! How's that for exciting!?
The album's called Tiny Pilot, and it'll be released on March 16, 2010. Click here: you can listen to and download Tiny Pilot's first single, "Somewhere South of Sunday."
A bit more about Michael Perry and the Long Beds and their new release...
Like so many before him, Michael Perry learned to sing in church. Then a Waylon Jennings 8-track got him hooked on boogety-boogety. Perry began writing songs in the early 1990s during long nights when he was struggling to survive on prose (he is the author of four books: Population 485, Truck, Off Main Street, and Coop). The songs on Tiny Pilot range from boot-stomping country to roughneck folk ballads and are populated by characters drawn straight from rural and small-town America.
For more, visit Mike online. Listen to a couple more tracks on the band's MySpace, here.
DCW DOES DAYTROTTER illustartion by: Johnnie Cluney.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright took part in their second Daytrotter session a while back; the session's been posted today. The dudes recorded two great new arrangements plus some familiar favorites. Download or stream the four tracks here.
DCW is also proud to announce a new string of tour dates this winter. Go and see 'em. Tell your friends in each town...
01/01/10 - Grand Little Theater - Eau Claire, WI
01/22/10 - Der Rathskeller, UW-Madison - Madison, WI
01/30/10 - The Grand Little Theater - Eau Claire, WI
01/31/10 - The Kitty Cat Klub - Minneapolis, MN
02/06/10 - The Beachland Tavern - Cleaveland, OH
02/07/10 - The Shop - Ithaca, NY
02/09/10 - The Radio Bean - Burlington, VT
02/10/10 - Hogfarm Studios - Biddeford, ME
02/11/10 - The Starving Artist - Keene, NH
02/12/10 - AS220 - Providence, RI
02/13/10 - Glasslands - Brooklyn, NY
02/15/10 - Golden West Cafe - Baltimore, MD
02/16/10 - Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
02/17/10 - Wholly Craft - Columbus, OH
02/19/10 - Planet Home - Indianapolis, IN
02/20/10 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI
03/04/10 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
03/05/10 - Mike 'n Molly's - Champaign/Urbana, IL
03/06/10 - Lemp Arts Cente - St. Louis, MO
03/07/10 - Natasha's Bistro - Lexington, KY
03/08/10 - The Basement - Nashville, TN
03/10/10 - Bobo Gallery - Asheville, NC
TOUR INTO THE NEW YEAR!
Hey! We Are The Willows will be touring into 2010... in style? You all should come out to any one of the shows below if you're not too busy. Please!? Merry Christmas.
12/27/09 - The Frequency - Madison, WI
12/28/09 - The Memorial Building - Pella, IA
12/29/09 - Ames Progressive - Ames, IA
12/30/09 - Knickerbocker's - Lincoln, NE
01/02/10 - Paradigm Coffee - Sheboygan, WI
01/02/10 - The Green Room Pub - Sheboygan, WI
It's that time of year once again... family, friends, food, festivities. You know! Words that start with 'F'! No... it's Christmas! Yep, Christmas, which means all kinds of holiday music. And the good folks over at Volume One are hosting the lovely holiday tunes of Eau Claire's finest musicians. Paul Brandt of Cranes & Crows and Trevor Ives of Meridene have both contributed cute renditions of their favorite holiday songs.
Also, being the season of giving, stay posted, becuase starting Monday the 21st, we'll be running a daily holiday contest via Twitter. There will be prizes!
FromTwitter (@ambledown):
- Amble Down's releases are now available at Revival Records in Eau Claire - 2541 E. Clairemont Ave.!
- We Are The Willows climbs to No. 130 on CMJ Top 200 this week! They were No. 144 last week! It's the snow...
A COLLECTION OF SOUNDS: THE MUSICAL MAP created by: Emilie Robinson & Jeremiah Satterthwaite
Amble Down and We Are The Willows are proud to unveil A Collection Of Sounds, the musical map. Having musically captured the city in the recording of his debut, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague, Peter Miller and friends have visualized the concept with this hand-drawn map of Minneapolis that weaves together each of the locations where the album was recorded, painting a picture of Minneapolis' (and Miller's personal) sonic landscape.
Click here to view the musical map. We are offering the map free for a limited time at our web-store for anyone who orders the Willows' full-length! Order here.
If you missed We Are The Willows on WPR's Local Independence this past weekend, you can listen to the hilarious podcast here.
A COLLECTION OF SOUNDS AND SOMETHING LIKE THE PLAGUE
Today's release day for We Are The Willows! The debut full-length, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague is now ready and available! You can get it in physical form at our web-store here and at most regional independent record stores, or in digital form here, here, and here. For a limited time you can order from our web-store and receive an MP3 download of the album straight away.
Peter and company played three splendid release shows this past weekend! Check out the photos on our blog. They'll be hitting the road next week for a short tour through the Midwest (dates below). The Willows have also been getting some press as of late. Check out the kind words here, here, and here.
And if you haven't yet, be sure to download We Are The Willows' A Family. A Tree. E.P. for free or pay what you'd like. You can get it here.
WE ARE THE CD RELEASE SHOWS AND TOUR photo by: Jeremiah Satterthwaite
We Are The Willows will host three (yes, three!) CD release shows next month in celebration of the release of their debut full-length, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague! A week later, Peter and crew will hit the road for a short tour through the Midwest. See the dates below...
CD release shows...
11/20/09 - The Grand Little Theater - Eau Claire, WI
11/21/09 - The Beat - Minneapolis, MN
11/21/09 - 331 Club - Minneapolis, MN
Tour dates...
11/27/09 - Ed's No Name Bar - Winona, MN
11/28/09 - The Contented Cow - Northfield, MN
11/29/09 - Ronny's - Chicago, IL
11/30/09 - Ames Progressive - Ames, IA
12/01/09 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
12/02/09 - Project Lodge - Madison, WI
12/03/09 - 8th Notes Coffee (UWM) - Milwaukee, WI (early and late show!)
12/04/09 - Paradigm Coffee - Sheboygan, WI
12/04/09 - The Green Room Pub - Sheboygan, WI
12/05/09 - Beaner's - Duluth, MN Tour poster.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright left for their West Coast tour yesterday. Omaha last night, Denver tonight. See the dates below...
10/24/09 - Meadowlark - Denver, CO
10/26/09 - Kilby Court - Salt lake City, UT
10/28/09 - VaC - Garden City, ID
10/29/09 - Liquid Lyrics - La Grande, OR
10/30/09 - Empyrean - Spokane, WA
10/31/09 - Sunset Tavern - Seattle, WA
11/02/09 - The Green Frog - Bellingham, WA
11/06/09 - Luigi's Fun Garden - Sacramento, CA
11/10/09 - Silverlake Lounge - Los Angeles, CA
11/12/09 - Tin Can Alehouse - San Diego, CA
11/13/09 - Hotel Monte Vista - Flagstaff, AZ
11/15/09 - Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, AZ
11/17/09 - The Arbor - Oklahoma City, OK
11/20/09 - The Powerhouse - Oxford, MS
STREAM THE PRE-ORDER photo by: Jeremiah Satterthwaite
We Are The Willows' debut full-length, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague is now streaming exclusively on MySpace. Click here to get your first listen to all ten tracks.
With the stream, we are now taking pre-orders for A Collection Of Sounds... at our web-store here. And if ya pre-order now, we'll send you a MP3 download of the album straight away! You'll also get your physical copy before everyone else, as pre-ordered records will ship on November 10th.
We Are The Willows' releases A Family. A Tree. E.P. today! And you can pay what you'd like for the four-tracks or donwload them for free.
A Family. A Tree. includes the first single off of We Are The Willows' forthcoming full-length, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague, "A Funeral Dressed As A Birthday" plus three seperate unreleased tracks.
Click here to name your price or download the EP for free!
WE ARE THE WILLOWS photo by: Jeremiah Satterthwaite
It's fall and finally time to announce that We Are The Willows is officially apart of the Amble Down family! Yep, and we're super excited to tell you about it.
We Are The Willows is the project of singer/songwriter, Peter Michael Miller. Originally from Eau Claire, WI, Miller now resides in Minneapolis, MN. Well known for his involvement in well-established Minneapolis indie-rock band, Red Fox Grey Fox, Miller started We Are The Willows as a side-project - an outlet for his more stripped-down folk songs - but it has slowly become his main focus.
Amble Down will release We Are The Willows' debut full-length, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague on November 24, 2009. But wait! There's more: on top of the full-length, Amble Down will also release a four-song, digital-only EP on October 6th entitled, A Family. A Tree. The EP will feature the first single from A Collection of Sounds And Something Like The Plague as well as three separate, unreleased tracks. A Family. A Tree. will be available for download with a "name your own price" option.
Now, to the good stuff: please download the first single off of A Collection Of Sounds..., "A Funeral Dressed As A Birthday", here.
The very nice people at Forward Music Festival offered us a showcase at this year's festival. We couldn't be more excited! Forward Music Festival is a DIY music fest set in Wisconsin's capitol city of Madison. FMF spans almost all of the city's venues over the course of a weekend. The Festival's in its second year. Find more info on the line-up, tickets and more at FMF's website, here.
The Amble Down Records Showcase will take place on the night of Friday, September 18th at the Overture Center (Rotunda Stage). Invite yourself and your friends, please, on Facebook. Hope to see you all there!
FromTwitter (@ambledown):
- http://twitpic.com/en4xj - Just announced: The Cloud Hymn at The Mabel Tainter, Sept. 5th (w/ We Are The Willows and Kristen Korkowski).
- DCW was featured in Milwaukee's daily magazine, OnMilwaukee, today: http://tinyurl.com/r8fz2t! Check it.
- The Gentle Guest playing new song, "Scatter The Ashes" at the House of Rock this past Saturday: http://tinyurl.com/r8fz2t!
DAREDEVIL HITS THE ROAD...AGAIN photo by: Jeremy Nelson
The Daredevil Christopher Wright hits the road today. They'll be gone until Thanksgiving - touring across the Midwest, the East and West Coasts. Should be fun. To celebrate, the boys held a backyard show/potluck a few nights ago at their current resting place of Amery, WI. Click here to see some sweet video of the farewell party.
MORE DCW TOUR DATES
It has been too long since our last update. This is true. The latest: The Daredevil Christopher Wright are touring like crazy. They've just posted more and more dates. Check 'em out...
07/26/09 - 7th St. Entry - Minneapolis, MN
08/07/09 - MORE Benefit @ Guardian Angels Church - Oakdale, MN
08/08/09 - Eau Claire Summerfest - Eau Claire, WI
08/09/09 - The Aquarium - Fargo, North Dakota
08/10/09 - Terrapin Station - Nevis, Minnesota
08/12/09 - Pizza Shoppe Collective - Omaha, NE
08/13/09 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
08/14/09 - TBA - Iowa City, IA
08/16/09 - Mack Glass Factory - Bloomington, IL
08/18/09 - Club Garibaldi - Milwaukee, WI
08/22/09 - UW - Madison Terrace, Madison, WI
08/23/09 - Cabooze Outdoor Theater - Minneapolis, MN
08/26/09 - The House Cafe - DeKalb, IL
08/28/09 - Criminal Records - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
08/28/09 - Delaware House - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
08/29/09 - Monkey House - Winooski, VT
08/31/09 - Piano's - New York, NY
09/01/09 - Lit Lounge - New York, NY
09/03/09 - Solly's - Washington DC
09/08/09 - The Basement, Nashville, TN
09/15/09 - The Mill - Iowa City, IA
09/17/09 - Ames Progressive - Ames, IA
09/18/09 - Forward Music Festival - Madison, WI
09/21/09 - Beaner's Central - Duluth, MN
09/24/09 - MidPoint Music Festival - Cincinnati, OH
NXNE & DCW The Daredevil Christopher Wright is headed to Toronto for NXNE. Their playing three shows (see below). If you can't make it to Canada, you should check out this great review of In Deference To A Broken Back in the Duluth Tribune, here.
06/19/09 - Criminal Records (in-store)
06/19/09 - C'est What
06/20/09 - NXPO Day Stage (hyatt regency)
DCW ON TOUR! The Daredevil Christopher Wright starts its summer tour today. The band is in Iowa City tonight! Spread the word if you're in any of the cities listed below...
06/02/09 - The Mill - Iowa City, IA ^
06/03/09 - Huckleberry's - Rock Island, IL ^
06/05/09 - The Summit - Columbus, OH ^
06/06/09 - Village Green Records - Muncie, IN ^
06/07/09 - Paradigm - Sheboygan, WI ^
06/09/09 - The Darkroom - Chicago, IL ^
06/10.09 - Cafe Montmartre - Madison, WI ^
06/11/09 - Planet Supply - St. Croix Falls, WI ^
06/12/09 - Beaner's Central - Duluth, MN ^
06/13/09 - Aquarium - Fargo, ND ^
06/14/09 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA ^
06/19/09 - NXNE Festival @ C'est What - Toronto Canada ^ with Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps
BAND OF THE WEEK! photo by: Jeremy Nelson (cd release show)
Exciting news: The Daredevil Christopher Wright is Paste's band of the week! Check it out here!
The band also recently did this thing called Phoning It In for radio station KDVS in Davis, CA; they interviewed and performed five songs over the phone. A cool concept. You can hear the static-y, semi-distorted, land-lined versions of songs like "The East Coast" and "We're Not Friends" here.
IN DEFERENCE TO A BROKEN BACK photo by: Coley Beekman
The long-awaited debut full-length from The Daredevil Christopher Wright is here! That's right, two years in the maiking, In Deference To A Broken Back is finally out and available. Order it at our web-store or on iTunes (also available on Amazon, eMusic, and most digital music stores). The record is also available in most record stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
We celebrated the release this past weekend with two release shows in Eau Claire and one in Minneapolis! Thanks to all who came out! We had a blast! Click here for photos.
Also, if you haven't seen yet, more lovely words about the band and their new release: here, here, here, and here!
People are starting to wear more shorts and short sleeves around here. That's a good thing in our book! Yes, it means summer is right around the corner, and with it, some awesome concerts that will be happening locally and elsewhere that we'd like to tell you about!
First off, coming up next month, we have The Cloud Hymn and The Wars of 1812 performing at the Twin Cities fifteenth annual Stone Arch Festival! For dates and times, look here. For more information on the festival, visit their website.
Also, happening in June, The Daredevil Christopher Wright will perform at Toronto's NXNE festival! That's Canada, folks! Go here for more on that.
And then we have Volume One'sSounds Like Summer concert series happening all summer long. Meridene, The Wars of 1812, and The Daredevil Christopher Wright will all be taking part! For a complete schedule, click here.
We should also note that DCW's In Deference To A Broken Back had a great start at college radio this week, debuting at No. 19 on CMJ Top 20.
DCW IN THE NEWS The Daredevil Christopher Wright has been getting some press as of late. Check it out here, here, here, and on eMusic's annual Mother's Day special, Indie Moms Sound Off, here (scroll down). And, DCW was featured on USA Today's pop culture podcast last week. Read nice words and download the podcast here!
The band is also streaming In Deference To A Broken Back on MySpace. Check it out...stream!
THE DAREDEVIL CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT AND THEIR RELEASE SHOWS photo by: Coley Beekman
Three dudes. The Daredevil Christopher Wright. They're going to play two shows in one day. One evening. May 15th. One for the kids and one for the non-kids. One at The Grand Little Theater for the all-ages-crowd at 6:00PM for $5.00, and another at The House of Rock for the twenty-one-plus-crowd at 10:00PM for $5.00. The new disc will be for sale. Three dudes plus a ton of friends and some family on stage playing with 'em. It's going to be awesome!
The band will also play an additional CD release show in Minneapolis, MN at the 400 Bar on May 16th.
Meridene ventured down to Madison yesterday for their television debut on Wisconsin Public Television's 30 Minute Music Hour! Their performance will air on PBS sometime in June (stay posted for a date and time). You can watch the band's killer set online right now, here.
I was there taking cell phone photos; you can check them out on our blog. And, it was Alyssa's birthday! Woo!
STREAMS AND LOW PRICES photo by: Jacob Mengelkoch.
Cranes & Crows have posted a full album stream of their 2008 release, Blame Winter on MySpace. Listen to it here.
We have also lowered the price of Blame Winter. You can now order Cranes & Crows debut for only $5.00(shipping included in price) at our web-store, here.
And just for fun, Meridene is streaming its latest, You're Not Pretty, You're Worse, on MySpace as well. Listen to it here. Oh! Meridene also just joined twitter! Woah! Follow 'em.
IN DEFERENCE TO AN ALBUM STREAM AND PRE-ORDER photo by: Jeremy Nelson.
Happy April Fools Day! Spring is trying really hard to come through in these parts, and we're trying really hard to impress (hence above title) all of you! So, on to our important news: today is the launch of two very important things, both having to do with the lovely boys of The Daredevil Christopher Wright and their forthcoming debut full-length, In Deference To A Broken Back (out May 19th!).
First, we've teamed up with Eau Claire's always trustworthy alt. weekly publication, Volume One, to bring you a full stream of In Deference To A Broken Back exclusively on their website, volumeone.org. Stream the album here. (the ad on the right).
Second, you can now pre-order In Deference To A Broken Back at our web-store here. And, hear us out: we'll be sending out a free digital download of the album to all who pre-order starting on April 15th! Physical copies will be shipped on May 1st.
KINDRED SPIRITS
Madison WI's alternative weekly, The Isthmus, ran a piece on Amble Down in this week's addition. Check it out here.
From the article:
"Today there is still a vital push-pull between the modest and the lofty in Eau Claire. Some there believe it's at the heart of what is transforming this solid Wisconsin city into one of the most fertile music spots in the country"...read more.
THE DAREDEVIL CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT photo by: Coley Beekman.
Here we are. This may already be common knowledge, but we feel that we must make an official announcement. So, hark! We are proud, honored, enamored? We're totally excited! We are thrilled to welcome the dudes of The Daredevil Christoper Wright to the ever growing Amble Down family. Yes!
Amble Down will release DCW's debut full-length, In Deference To A Broken Back on May 19, 2009. The eleven tracks (nine of which we're mixed by fellow Eau Claire musician, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver) convey a sound that is somewhere between the sunshine of The Beach Boys and the pep of a Sufjan orchestra. Some nice words have already been written here and here. Also noteworthy, The band is featured in this month's issue of Relevant Magazine, here, and recently took part in a Basement Tapes session. Check it out here.
Stay posted for tour, more press, and pre-order information, coming soon...
TWEET!
There comes a time every two years or so when you find yourself totally excited, completely turned-off, or kind of torn up about the idea of giving into the newest and biggest craze on the net...Well, we caved, and we're okay with it. So, follow us. We've got a new Twitter...hooray, Internet!!
BURST AND BLOOM The Cloud Hymn'sA Seed Buried In The Ground is bursting through the dirt and sprouting out into the air. We've seen some admirers pass by with their little pencils and notebooks, jotting things down. Curious. You can read what's been said...
CMJ posted a review today; read it here. Find more words from Volume Onehere. And, even more here, and here.
Today is the day! The Cloud Hymn's debut, A Seed Buried In The Ground is out and available for purchase at our web-store and on iTunes or any of your other favorite digital music outlets! Pick it up!
John and the crew have received a bit of online press as of late. Read some of it here and here. John also recently did an interview for Slowcoustic.com. Check it out here.
AMBLE DOWN 2-YEAR RECAP ruckusin'. photo by: Andy Immerman.
Thank you! Thank you is all we can say to everyone who came and showed their support on Saturday night! We had an amazing time! Each band gave it their all and more! Seriously, to see so many in attendance, and all in the spirit of supporting local music, was truly amazing!
It has now been two years since we started this little venture of ours. It's been two years of shows, recording, releases, new music, old music, friends, and family. It's been two years of bringing more light to the Chippewa Valley's music scene, and we couldn't be more proud.
The Leader-Telegram and Volume One had some words to say about Saturday's show. Read
them here and here.
ADR ON THE RADIO
If you're in Eau Claire tonight, be sure to tune in to Spectrum West on 88.3 WHWC at 5:00PM to hear an interview with me about the two-year party! Yeah...talking about myself again...
I also did an interview for the University of Eau Claire run, WPR affiliated, Local Independence, which aired this past Sunday. If you missed it, you can listen to the podcast here.
AMBLE DOWN IN V1 & ON FACEBOOK!
Hey! We're about a week away from our big celebration! Things are getting pretty exciting! Local alt. weekly, Volume One, did a story on Amble Down and on our fast approaching party in this week's issue. You can read it here. V1 is also sponsoring the event! And, this just in: we will have a free (secret) gift with admission for everyone attending the show! Yep!
Also, we wanted to officially announce that Amble Down is now on Facebook. Mmmhm...we've been there for a while now, so for those of you who didn't already know, now you do! Come be our fan?
AMBLE DOWN PRESS
Happy Friday the 13th, everybody! I did a short interview for Twin Cities music web zine, Rift Magazine; it was published yesterday. Check it out here.
THE GENTLE GUEST DOES DAYTROTTER illustartion by: Johnnie Cluney.
Last November as The Gentle Guest cruised through the Midwest, they made a stop at Daytrotter to record four rip roarin' tunes - three of which appear on the group's latest, We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight, and one unreleased track called "Scatter The Ashes". Check out the full story and listen here. We're so proud!
A quote...
"There's no telling where [Eau Claire] - a former home to Ann Landers - will go from here, but in the last year it brought the world Bon Iver, one of the tender and endearing artists of 2008, and has two bands poised to continue making the place proud in The Daredevil Christopher Wright (packed with creative star power) and The Gentle Guest, the project of Eric Rykal that is for gravediggers, ghost story tellers and bootleggers of yesteryear."...read more.
THE CLOUD HYMN: PRE-ORDER | FULL-ALBUM STREAM photo by: Jacob Mengelkoch.
You can now pre-order The Cloud Hymn's simple and pretty debut, A Seed Buried In The Ground! Click here to pre-order (all pre-orders ship on 02.16.09).
If you'd like to test out this eleven-song snowy sentiment first, you can, on VIRB. Listen here.
Hey! We've announced our celebration; our birthday; our extravaganza! Yes! We're two years old and we want everyone to know about it! Can you tell that we're excited with all of the "!" going on?!!
So in honor of our big day, we're celebrating with an all-ages show at The Grand Little Theater in Eau Claire on February 28th. That's right, one month from today, nearly our entire active roster will hit the stage! Check out the poster. Or, commit to it here, on facebook. Please...? Bring a friend!
The Grand Little Theater is located at 102 West Grand Avenue in Eau Claire, WI.
Happy 2009, everybody! We've been busy, and we've got some big news...
Amble Down is proud to announce the signing of The Cloud Hymn and the release of its debut record, A Seed Buried In The Ground. The Cloud Hymn is the name given to the music of singer-songwriter, John Nielsen. Hailing originally from Milwaukee, WI, Nielsen found himself recording songs in his bedroom for the sake of feeling better while attending college in Eau Claire, WI a few seasons back. What started as a simple homemade project for a head strong boy and his worries, slowly morphed into a modest musical endeavor. Prompted by fellow Amble Down artist, Paul Brandt of Cranes & Crows (who also contributes his piano skills to the record) to bring his songs to some higher quality tape, Nielsen set out to record. Thus, the eleven songs that comprise his debut.
A Seed Buried In The Ground was recorded over the course of two days in Eau Claire, WI in late June 2008 in the attic of little blue house and will be released on March 3, 2009.
You can listen to The Cloud Hymn's first single off of A Seed Buried In The Ground, "Wide", here. For more music, check out MySpace. And, for more about The Cloud Hymn, click here.
THE WARS OF 1812: #10 BEST LOCAL ALBUM OF 2008! The Wars of 1812'sStatus Quo Ante Bellum has been selected as the 10th best local album to come out in 2008 by the Twin Cities alt. weekly, City Pages! Check it here!
Also, check out a recent in-studio performance that the band did for Cities 97's Studio C. Click here to listen to and watch three performed tracks, including a new, unreleased tune.
Happy release day, everybody! Today is the day that You're Not Pretty, You're Worse is officially released! The album has already made quite the regional splash and forced is way onto the CMJ top 20 last week; we're off to a good start, and now, Meridee's first full-length release can for yours! All yours, and just in time for the holidays!
Purchase it at our web-store here, and on Amazon here. Not yet, but soon: the album will be made available on iTunes. Check back.
The band played two successful CD release shows over the weekend, here in Eau Claire (see photo below). Volume One was there and has this to say about it. Click the image below for more photos from last Saturday's show.
The Meridene boys will hit the stage tonight at the House of Rock and tomorrow night at The Grand Little Theater in Eau Claire to celebrate the release of You're Not Pretty, You're Worse! Come, dance, it's going to be awesome!
The Gentle Guest have been tearing it up on the East Coast with A.A. Bondy the past few days. Prefixmag.com was at the Mercury Lounge show and took some killer photos (see below). And for more photos click here.
MERIDENE MAKES CMJ TOP 20 ADDS!
Big CMJ news for us today: Meridene'sYou're Not Pretty, You're Worse has charted at No. 11 on the CMJ top 20 adds for this week with 40 top 5 adds around the country. Awesome, boys!
Happy Friday, everyone! We've got some things to tell you about...
Pictured above: The Gentle Guest have wrapped up their Midwestern tour and are heading home for the weekend, only to head out again for the Eeast Coast where they'll be joining Mr. A.A. Bondy for short stint:
11/18/08 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
11/19/08 - New York, NY - The Mercury Lounge
11/20/08 - Brooklyn NY - Union Hall
11/21/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Tin Angel
Also, Minneapolis blog, MFR has given the first single off of Meridene'sYou're Not Pretty, You're Worse, "Kill The Memory" a "B"! Woot! Read their kind words here.
Meridene's CD release shows are next weekend. Don't miss 'em!
MERIDENE'S GOT GAME Meridene has been blogged, check it out here, here, and here.
You're Not Pretty, You're Worse is out on 11.25.08, which is just a little over a week away. Be sure to stream the entire album here, and come out to at least one of the CD release shows next weekend. Click for details.
It's starting to get cold here, which means the days are shorter, the blankets are heavier and the coffee tastes a bit richer in the morning. We think it's the perfect time for Meridene, and that's why we're now taking pre-orders for their new album, You're Not Pretty, You're Worse (out: 11.25.08). And, as a bonus, every pre-order will receive a free MP3 download of the record in its entirety, for free, the day the order is placed. Click here to order or check out the "featured" section to the right. All pre-orders ship on 11.25.08.
We have also posted a stream of the entire record on VIRB. Listen to all ten-tracks here.
THE GENTLE GUEST EXTENDS TOUR | ADDS DATES WITH A.A. BONDY The Gentle Guest has extended their November tour with some dates out east opening for the fabulous A.A. Bondy(see dates below).
11/07/08 - Duluth, MN - Beaner's Central 11/08/08 - Superior, WI - Thirsty Pagan Brewery 11/09/08 - Ames, IA - Bali Satay House 11/10/08 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews 11/11/08 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room 11/12/08 - Omaha, NE - The PS Collective 11/13/08 - Lincoln, NE - Box Awesome 11/18/08 - Boston, MA - Great Scott ^ 11/19/08 - New York, NY - The Mercury Lounge ^ 11/20/08 - Brooklyn NY - Union Hall ^ 11/21/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Tin Angel ^ ^ with A.A. Bondy
Also, check out a very kind review in Eau Clair's Spectator, here.
MERIDENE | VOLUME ONE EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD | REVEAL COVER ART Photo taken by: Jacob Mengelkoch.
VolumeOne.org has posted an exclusive download of Meridene's first and newest single, "Kill The Memory", from their upcoming debut full-length, You're Not Pretty, You're Worse (out 11.25.08). Listen and download here. Check back fro more Meridene news soon...
The band has also released the cover art for You're Not Pretty, You're Worse. Click here to view.
The Gentle Guest has announced its first tour in support of We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight. This November the gentle crew will load up and thrash through the Midwest (see dates below)! Check out the tour poster here and the band's MySpace page for more details!
11/07/08 - Duluth, MN - Beaner's Central
11/08/08 - Superior, WI - Thirsty Pagan Brewery
11/09/08 - Ames, IA - Bali Satay House
11/10/08 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
11/11/08 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
11/12/08 - Omaha, NE - The PS Collective
11/13/08 - Lincoln, NE - Box Awesome
We've been talking about it for weeks; it hoots and hollers; it wails and yells; it's our most unique release to date! The Gentle Guest's debut full-length, We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight is finally out today, and we couldn't be more excited! You can order it exclusively from our web-store here, or purchase it digitally on iTunes, Amazon, or a number of your other favorite digital music stores. Listen to the entire record here.
For those of you in Eau Claire, you can pick up your copy at Borders or at the next Gentle Guest show!
HOLLARIN' IN A HOT ROOM The Gentle Guest played to a packed house of warm bodies last Saturday night. The show was fabulous. See the photos below for proof!
We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight will be officially released next Tuesday, September 30th and will be available digitally on iTunes and all of your other favorite digital music stores!
THE GENTLE PRESS | CD RELEASE SHOW
The latest issue of the Chippewa Valley's alt. weekly, Volume One has hit the streets and in it you'll find a fabulously written featured article on The Gentle Guest and the new album. You can read it all on Volume One's breathtaking new website here .
Also be sure to check out the giant yellow poster at the front of the site for The Gentle Guest's CD release show on September 20th at The Grand Little Theater (102 West Grand Ave.) in Eau Claire. It's going to be a party!
PICKED TO CLICK The Wars of 1812 have been selected by local Twin Citeis alt. weekly City Pages as the #4 best up incoming local band of the year. This is a serious achievement and we couldn't be more proud.
You can read the full-article here and check out the other Picks to Click.
THE GENTLE GUEST: PRE-ORDER | FULL-ALBUM STREAM
You can now pre-order The Gentle Guest's new full-length album, We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight (out: 09.30.08). Click here to order or check out the "featured" section to the right (all pre-orders ship on 09.15.08). We are also running a special with this: every third pre-order placed will receive a random record from our back catalog free of charge, so place your orders and get lucky!
It also should be noted that we are streaming the entire record, all 10-tracks, for free on VIRB. Listen here.
ILLEGAL USE OF JOE ZOPP
We couldn't be more proud of our friends over at Wut Wut Alma Moving Pictures! Tonight is the world premiere of their first feature film, Illegal Use of Joe Zopp, at Micon Cinemas in Chippewa Falls. The movie was filmed in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire and other various locations in our home state of Wisconsin, which is very cool!
We were rolling in the isles with laughter last night at the premiere for cast and crew and can guarantee that the this comedy of "ironic wit, suspense, awkward silences, and Eisenhower jokes" is well worth catching. It also features the music by a handful of Amble Down artsits, including Fine, Overred, Meridene and Cranes & Crows.
Zopp will be showing at Micon Cinemas throughout the entire week, so if you're in the Chippewa Valley, be sure to check it out. You can find Wut Wut Alma news updates, reviews, bios and more about the film at wutwutalma.com, or view the trailer here:
THE CAREFUL VISITOR Photo taken by: Nicholas Dahl.
The Gentle Guest has a new record coming out on September 30 called We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight and we're proud to announce the release of the first single, "Down At The Still". Listen and download here.
DCW ON DAYTROTTER: EAU CLAIRE NOTED ONCE AGAIN
It's not customary that we post things about the bands that we manage, but today is an exception. Eau Claire band, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, was featured on one of our favorite music websites today, Daytrotter.com. They awoke early one day last month, while on tour, and drove down to Rock Island, IL to serve up four of their own tunes in the DT studio - the result is what you'll hear by clicking here.
SUMMER VS. AUTUMN: RELEASE DATES & ALBUM TITLES The Gentle Guest. Photo taken by: Nicholas Dahl.
Hello there, it's been a while...
Well, for the most part summer's got us kind of down; not much is happening, release-wise, so instead of rockin' out in our chairs to new jams, we've been sitting at our desks in our flip-flops and tanks with our freckled-filled faces resting in our palms listening to "Oh! Lover" on repeat, but that's not to say there isn't anything to do. Oh no! We've got a solid release schedule coming up for the fall season and into 2009!
So, to go along with the coming of autumn, the cold, the colorful and everchanging leaves, your first weeks of homework, those glorious friday night lights, and weekend jaunts to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch will be the rebirth of The Gentle Guest with a brand new full-length to fill your ears with talk of "whiskey" and "dancing girls", " the devil" and "drunken sailors". The band, still led by Mr. Eric Rykal, has gone through somewhat of a transformation over this last year, and the result is absolute rowdiness and nothing more. We think you'll like it! It's so good in fact, that we feel confident in saying that, without any disapointment, this band would be the best candidate to host and bring the house down at every homecoming dance in the Eau Claire and Chippewa county area this season! The album is to be titled: We Are Bound To Save Some Souls Tonight and is scheduled to land on September 30th.
The boys of Meridene have also been busy with the recording of their new record, You're Not Pretty, You're Worse due out November 11th. Stay tuned...
SIDE ONE: TRACK ONE THINKS WE'RE HIP
Our good friend Noah over in Seattle writes for a music blog called Side One: Track One and recently wrote-up a little piece about Amble Down, profiling the label a bit and highlighting some of our most recent releases. You can read it all here (scroll down some, you'll see it).
So, it's been a while. Sorry, we've all been put to sleep by this record that these two local dudes made in their dorm room over the course of last semester. Phil Grey and Paul Brandt of Cranes & Crows, better known as Wake Up Poland, It's Nine O'Clock, are the saints responsible for this jewel of a record. We didn't release it, but we hope to do something in the future with these two; we're kind of floored. We highly reccomend you listen.
You can download all fifteen tracks/chapters from the album, The Two A.M. Sessions, here.
AS IT IS AFTER THE WAR
Last Friday The Wars of 1812 played to a packed house at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis to comemorate the release of their
debut album, Status Quo Ante Bellum.
Thanks to all who came out and showed support! Check out some of the killer photos below, taken by
Jon Behm at HowWasTheShow.com. HowWasTheShow also posted a great review of the show; check it out here.
Also note, Status Quo is now available on iTunes!!
Update: our artitst's pages will be back up in two weeks at the latest. We apologize.
The Wars of 1812's nine-song debut, Status Quo Ante Bellum, is out today! You can order it online, here, or digitally on
Amazon for now; the record will be availale on iTunes in due time. Please feel free to stream the entire album on VIRB.
The Wars have received a good amount of press this week and last to go along with the album release, including posts and reviews on
Peer Validated,
Smother,
and The Late Greats.
Check out the band's artist page for a complete press list.
More good news: the band just launched their killer new webstie last week! Take a peek at www.thewarsof1812.com.
And, don't forget their CD release show on Friday, April 4th at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.
Also, a treat: our good friends over at Peer Validated have also posted some video they took of the The War's set last Friday at The Nucleus in Eau Claire. Watch, learn.
Cranes & Crows' debut full-length, Blame Winter is out today! You can order it from our store, here.
Or, get it digitially on iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic.
RELEASE DATES, RELEASE SHOWS Cranes & Crows is set to release Blame Winter, their debut full-length on March 11th, accompanied by a release show at The Nucleus in Eau Claire on Friday, March 7th with The Daredevil Christopher Wright.
For the time being, please visit VIRB to stream the album in full. Click here to stream.
Blame Winter will be available for mail order in our store and digitally on iTunes, etc. world-wide.
The Wars of 1812 will release their debut, nine-song, beaut of an album, Status Quo Ante Bellum, on March 18th. Listen here. Expect a full-album stream soon.
Status Quo will be available for mail order in our store or on afternoonrecords.com, in select stores throughout the mid-west, and digitally (iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, etc.) in due time.
The Wars will celebrate the release on Friday, April 4th at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis with Jeremy Messersmith, and Chris Koza.
All of us here at ADR are totally and utterly excited to present the newest addition to the Amble Down family, Saint Paul based,The Wars of 1812.
Amble Down will be co-releasing The War's debut record, Status Quo Ante Bellum, in early spring with our good buddies over at Afternoon Records in Minneapolis.
Expect more very soon...in the meantime, please take a listen on the band's MySpace page.
In other news, Meridene has begun work on their upcoming full-length, which is expected to be out sometime this summer. Stay tuned!
*HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY*
In the spirit of the season and all else that goes along with joyous holiday cheer, we're giving away (for free) all four records of the ADR '07 catalog!!
The way it works: today through Christmas Eve, every 25th person to email us at store@ambledown.com, with the word "snow" in the subject line, will be the recipient of all four records - sent directly, free of charge!
Also, if you're still in search of a gift for that awkward nephew, neice, or cousin with the weird haircut, we've been running our "Holiday Special", for about a week now and will be through New Years. Simply click here to order the complete ADR '07 catalog for he limited price of only *$15.00*.
We're running a "Holiday Special" for lack of a better, more creative name. Call it cliche, call it tacky, or even typical; regardless, we think it's pretty cool.
Simply click here to order the complete ADR '07 catalog for only $15.00, and we'll ship all four records to you, packaged nicely and just in time for cookies
at grandma's, tinsel and mistletoe, relatives and funny sweaters...yeah, you get it.
Or, if you're out of cash from too much holiday shopping already, hold tight, becuase we'll be having some sweet giveaways in the coming weeks!
Hello! It's been a while. The autumn season had kept us busy; so busy, in fact, that we are just now pulling the leaves from our hair and bundling up for the brisk winter season.
A few things are in need of announcing:
I'm very pleased to announce the addition of Cranes & Crows to the Amble Down roster. Cranes & Crows is the newest project of local Eau Claire singer/songwriter, Paul Brandt (formerly of past Amble Down band, Fine, and currently of Meridene).
We have set to release Cranes & Crows' debut full-length, which is to be called Blame Winter, in early 2008. More to come on this soon. For now, please visit MySpace for a few tracks from their upcoming release and details on upcoming shows.
Also, Meridene has set to begin work in the studio on their follow up to A Very Strange Bear early next month.
PRE-ORDER! PRE-ORDER!
ADR004, The Gentle Guest's Our Little Ruckus, is now available for pre-order before its official November 6th release date. Click here to pre-order.
"State of the Scene" . Discussion Panel | Saturday, Sept. 29th | 5:00 PM @ The Nucleus
A panel discussion about the current state of the the local music scene - what's currently being done and what should be done to improve it. I will be participating as a panelist.
Visit The Big Sh-Bang! website for the compte schedule: bigshbang.com.
I am very pleased to announce the addition of The Gentle Guest to the Amble Down roster.
The Gentle Guest is a new project of one singer/songwriter, Eric Rykal. Rykal is a regular player in the Northwestern Wisconsin music scene, as guitarist for Meridene, and one of the area's key recording engineers.
The Gentle Guest will be releasing a debut EP entitled, Our Little Ruckus, this coming fall. Listen to it in its entirety here.
Also, be sure to check out the artist page for more information and updates.
And of course, MySpace.
I received a press release today announcing a planned music festival to take place in Eau Claire this coming Fall. Read on....
* * *
Just Announced: Big Sh-Bang! Music Festival. A three-day music festival spanning a number of local venues to create awareness and appreciation of local music and the cultural character it provides in the Chippewa Valley. September 27, 28, 29.
A handful of local musicians, businesses, promoters, and local music enthusiasts have begun plans for a three-day local music festival to be held at a number
of venues across Eau Claire. The event will feature approximately 40-60 bands, solo musicians, ensembles, and DJs. Genres represented will include local
(and former local) performers of: rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass, metal, country, hip-hop, electronic, and more.
Music events spanning the three days will include festival parties, early shows, late shows, all ages shows, 21+ shows, smoke-free shows, matinees, and more.
In addition to bands, organizers also expect an element of discussion-based programming, covering topics such as promoting local music, show accessibility for all ages, and more.
For more information, visit the Big Sh-Bang! website: bigshbang.com
* * *
This is something very cool and exciting for the local scene. More will be posted as things develop.
AURAL FITNESS HEARTS THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY
A Minneapolis-based blog recently took the liberty of recognizing four bands that all call(ed) the Chippewa Valley home.
"Bands from Eau Claire, Wisconsin have started to develop one of those cool regional sounds. I'm sure there are plenty of other nowherevilles in America that are producing a lowfi folkpop sound, but Eau Claire seems to be doing it surprisingly well for having such a small population. Nay, they are doing it surprisingly well."
- Aural Fitness (06.07)
A VERY STRANGE BEAR
Meridene celebrated the relase of A Very Strange Bear, EP last Saturday at the Nucleus.
Thanks to all who came out and picked up the record.
If you didn't have a chance to pick up a copy at the show, the record is now avialable for purchase online through our webstore or you can pick it up locally
in the Chippewa Valley at any of the following establishments: Borbers Books, Benny Haha Art & Supply or Racy Dlenes. Also, the band will be celbrating the release again this Saturday at the House of Rock w/ The Nicotines for those 21 or older.
Here are a few photos from Saturday's show; again, compliments of Mr. Nicolas Dahl.
PRE-ORDER
Meridne's, A Very Strange Bear, EP will be available for pre-order Moday, May 7th through Friday, May 11th.
For any diehard fans, this is a great chance to get your hands on the record before the release show - May 19th at The Nucleus.
A PERMANENT SHOUT OUT
Last Friday, a band I have known and followed for quite some time, five very good friends of mine, played their last as final show to commemorate the release of
their debut and final record, The Ends Are Meeting Up Again. I'd just like to thank all who came out to the show, showed their support and bought the record.
I especially want to thank Fine: Mike, Brian, Paul, Dave and Hofer for everything.
Here are a few photos from the show, compliments of Mr. Nicolas Dahl.
New projects are in the works and will be posted as they develope. Paul recently recorded a slue of demos titled, Spring Sessions, which can be heard here:
www.myspace.com/neonkeys
NEW MERIDENE MP3'S
Meridene's new EP, A Very Strange Bear, is very close to being finished! More information pertaining to the the release date, pre-ordering, etc. will be posted soon. In the meantime, check out their MySpace page!
Also, Meridene was featured last month in the March 8th issue of Volume One. If you hadn't the chance to pick up a copy, you can download the article here:
Volume One Magazine (PDF).
There's also a brief on the label, check it out!
The band has a slue of shows coming up as well, check out the
shows page.
NEW WEBSITE!
Welcome to the new website! A lot of sweat has been put into this by our good friend, Ryan Mense; Thanks Ryan!
He does incredible work and can be reached at: fit602@hotmail.com.
Hit him up if you'd like more information about his services. Feel free to explore, we've got
a lot of new features; a fully functional store with more to be added soon; individual artist
pages with bios, photos and other goodies; a fully functional web board; and a bunch more!
Make your way around. Things are still a little rocky, but will be fixed and/or updated soon.
In other news, Overred's Theater, EP was officially released today. You can purchase
it by clicking on the image below, under "New Releases," or on our MySpace page.
Take a listen here.
A new record is in the works. Updates will be posted along with samples in the coming months.
Fine's CD release show has been confirmed and announced. Check out the flyer on the website's front page.
Meridene has a few shows coming up in Eau Claire, check out the
shows page.
PRESS PRESS PRESS
We had some words written about us, mainly the bands, this week in some local
publications! Meridene was featured in
Volume One and Overred
in the
Chippewa Herald. Check it out!
THE ENDS ARE MEETING UP AGAIN
Happy Tuesday everybody!
Fine's first and last record, The Ends Are Meeting Up Again, was released online today. Check out the store or the MySpace to purchase the record. This is in fact the first ever Amble Down release - the official launch of the label,
and I couldn't be more pleased with all that this record has lead up to. I'm so honored to be releasing it and can't wait to see what all of these guys pursue next. I'll be sure to post new projects as they arise.
The release show/reunion/farewell (whatever you want to call it) will be on Friday, April 20th at the Acoustic Cafe. 505 S. Barstow St. Eau Claire, WI. Show starts 8:00PM.
MERIDENE
I'm very pleased to announce the addition of my good friends Meridene to the Amble Down family and would like to welcome them with the biggest bear hug I can muster.
Their upcoming EP, A Very Strange Bear, will be released in late spring. Check back for more information on preordering the release.
WELCOME TO AMBLE DOWN
Hello. So, with this being the first post and all, I will try and stray away from the typical: "Welcome to AmbleDown.com, please be patient as we get everything up and running." No, I've got much more important things to share with you.
First. Fine's debut/farewell album, THE ENDS ARE MEETING UP AGAIN will be the first release on Amble Down. A release date is yet to be determined; I can tell you that it will be sometime within the next month or two, and we'll probably have a big release party at the Acoustic Caf? (505 S. Barstow St. Eau Claire, WI).
Second. Overred has completed an EP entitled: THEATER, and will be releasing it on the sixteenth of March at The Heyde Center for the Arts in Chippewa Falls (left). You can listen to two tracks from the EP by clicking HERE.
Third. Ordering information coming soon -- online distribution and web store coming in the near future.
Fourth. Overred will be playing the Chi-Hi Rock For Food on Friday, Feb. 2nd.
That's it for now. Please check back regularly as things will be coming and going on a daily basis.
photo by: Liz Felder.
