MERIDENE: ALL OVER | THE GENTLE GUEST IN NYC Photo taken by: Jacob Mengelkoch.
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 11.11.08.
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 for more Meridene news soon...
The band has also released the cover art for You're Not Pretty, You're Worse (see below). Click here for hi-res.
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
Eric Rykal of The Gentle Guest was interviewed on WPR's Local Independence. Listen here.
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 on VIRB. Read about the new release here.
For those of you in Eau Claire, you can pick up your copy at Borders or at the next Gentle Guest show!
HOLLERIN' 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 here on Volume One's breathtaking new website.
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 Minneapolis/St. Paul alt. weekly City Pages as the #4 best up-and-coming local (Twin Cities) band of this 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' here.
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 30th 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 25th. 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 Café (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.
