DECEMBER: THE ACTION DON'T STOP.

Can you believe it's December tomorrow? Neither can we---but it's the true truth! Just because it's the month of weird record sales trends and treacherous road conditions doesn't mean that Riot Act artists are taking a break--quite to the contrary. Why, many of us are even throwing down holiday-style....most overtly, the amazing Portland Cello Project, who are kicking off a triad of Holiday Spectacular (tm) shows this Friday at Portland's Aladdin Theater (see below for Eugene & Seattle show details). Ben Davis, Black Wine, Blunt Mechanic, Church, Finn Riggins, Glorytellers, Screaming Females and Visqueen will all be jammin' some serious show action as well--WHOA!

AND, speaking of The Season of Giving and Visqueen, tomorrow in Seattle, Rachel Flotard is hosting and DJing an incredible benefit dancestravaganza featuring three of the Emerald City's finest DJs and named in typical Flotard-genius-style: FOOTLAOS: CUT LOOSE FOR LAOS. Y'see, Flotard is FLYING TO LAOS TO PUT A F'N FLOOR IN THE BAN NA MOUANG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THE MORNING AFTER playing the WaMu Theater in Sea-town with Metric, Muse and Vampire Weekend. Every rainy season, 340 pairs of feet get wet because the school lacks proper flooring. Quoth Rachel, "This outrages our inner Kevin Bacon." This is her second trip there--if you aren't in Seattle but want to help, please consider making a donation to the organizations below.

http://www.friends-international.org/
http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/typhoon/
http://seda-laos.org/welcome/

Soon, we'll be telling you some amazing news about our new and upcoming releases, new videos our bands have, and more re: Verbicide, Rauelsson, Loch Lomond, and the Don Giovanni family of bands. Not to mention the amazing amount of awesomeness going on over at Tender Loving Empire!

BEN DAVIS
12.16.09 - Chapel Hill, NC @ The Cave w/ 22FYI

BLACK WINE
12.04.09 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes

BLUNT MECHANIC
12.19.09 - Seattle, WA @ Vera Project w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage
01.15.09 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey

CHURCH
12.01.09 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
12.03.09 - Salem, OR @ Ike Box w/ the Madrigals and the Volks
12.04.09 - Bend, OR @ The Annex w/ Sweet Harlots
12.05.09 - Boise, ID @ Visual Arts Collective with ATTN:
12.07.09 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court with S.L.F.M. and silver antlers
12.09.09 - St. George, UT @ Mojo Underground
12.11.09 - Tempe, AZ @ Ye Olde Bike Saviours w/ French Quarter
12.13.09 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell with That Ghost
12.14.09 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
12.15.09 - La Jolla, CA @ Che Cafe
12.16.09 - Los Angeles, CA @ Historical Marker 157 w/ The Finches
12.17.09 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Church
12.29.09 - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
01.02.10 - Sebastopol, CA @ Aubergine
01.04.10 - Sacramento, CA @ The Press Club
01.05.10 - Redding, CA @ Downtown Eatery
01.06.09 - Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond's Garage
01.07.10 - Salem, OR @ The Space
01.09.09 - Portland, OR @ Slabtown w/ Wampire

FINN RIGGINS
12.02.09 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT @ Kilby Court (all ages) w/ The Continentals + Asher in the Rye + Mathematics Et Cetera
12.03.09 - GRAND JUNCTION, CO @ Le Giragge (all ages) w/ Dem Bones
12.04.09 - DENVER, CO @ Hi-Dive w/ Fissure Mystic + Vitamins
12.05.09 - NEDERLAND, CO @ First Street Pub
12.06.09 - BOULDER, CO @ The Laughing Goat (all ages)
12.09.09 - CRESTED BUTTE, CO @ The Eldo
12.10.09 - DURANGO, CO @ The Summit
12.11.09 - TELLURIDE, CO @ Fly Me To The Moon Saloon
12.17.09 - LA GRANDE, CO @ Mt. Emily Alehouse
12.18.09 - BOISE, ID @ The Linen Building (all ages) w/ Mere Cat + A Modern Balloonist
12.19.09 - HAILEY, ID @ Sun Valley Brewery (all ages)

GLORYTELLERS
12.07.09 - Chicago, IL @ Hideout
12.08.09 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom Tavern
12.09.09 - Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
12.10.09 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
12.11.09 - New York, NY @ Cake Shop
12.12.09 - Allston, MA @ O'Brien's Pub

THE PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT
12.04.09 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater# w/Portland Ukelele Project, The Robinsons (Kevin and Anita of Viva Voce and Blue Giant fame), Leviethan, Panther
12.05.09 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern# w/Portland Ukelele Project
12.12.09 - Eugene, OR @ Cozmic Pizza # Holiday Dance Party w/Brian Perez
# = HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR!

SCREAMING FEMALES
12.05.09 - Columbus, OH @ The Summit
12.06.09 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater*
12.07.09 - Milvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Funhouse*
12.08.09 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club*
12.10.09 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5*
12.11.09 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5* (SOLD OUT)
12.13.09 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues*
12.29.09 - Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony (Home for the Holidays!)#
* = w/ Arctic Monkeys
# = w/ Bouncing Souls

VISQUEEN
12.01.09 - Seattle, WA @ FOOTLAOS--EVERYBODY CUT LOOSE FOR LAOS! 8pm until John Lithgow's book burner shuts us down. Sole Repair/Capitol Hill (Behind Quinn's) MC QUEEN LUCKY, DJ DAREK MAZZONE, and DJ COLBY B.
12.15.09 - Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater - 107.7's Deck The Hall Ball w/ Vampire Weekend, Metric and Muse

THANKS, EVERYONE!

RAUELSSON: "'La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha' to be released in the US in 180 g clear vinyl limited edition and digital 1/12 (Hush Records)!

Adopted Oregonian Raúl Pastor Medall (a.k.a. Rauelsson) has been busy over the past seasons, not only flying the North pole skies back and forth between the Pacific Northwest, where he resides currently, and the lands of his native Spain, but also working on three different projects to be published in the near future: a score for a documentary film entitled 'From River to Sea', a collaboration with his admired friend, multinstrumentalist Peter Broderick, and his first full length album, 'La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha' to be released in the US in 180 g clear vinyl limited edition and digital formats in January 2010 via HUSH Records.

In 'La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha', Rauelsson expands his inviting sense of melody and arrangement yet the organic construct of its songs remains based on his willingness to work with a simple, though evocative, palette of acoustic ingredients. Produced by Portland's finest Adam Selzer (M.Ward, The Decemberists, Mirah, Laura Gibson, Loch Lomond, etc.) and co-produced by Dave Depper and Raúl, the album presents a noble collection of eleven songs which grandeur resides primarily on their well captured subtle sensibility. With emotive, dynamic transitions between austere to rich, sombre to bright territories, the production's prevailing mission was to respect the original conception of the album: a cohesive musical and thematic observation of the fragility of life and the immenseness of love as a response to such fragility. Since nature and its untamed energy provided a lyrical and sonic motif to the majority of these tracks, an organic, earthy sound corresponded.

The core of the album was recorded at Type Foundry, Portland, OR, during the fall/winter of 08/09, with Dave Depper (Jolie Holland, Loch Lomond, Norfolk and Western, etc.) and Rachel Blumberg (M.Ward, Jolie Holland, Mirah, Norfolk and Western, etc.) as the spine of this vertebrate ensemble. Without much rehearsal or pre-production, Dave and Rachel followed their intuition and tracked most of their material live to a 2" tape machine, layering pianos, bells, bass and percussion over Raúl's figerpicked nylon and acoustic guitars. Reel-to-reel magnetic tapes awaited for Raúl's return as, back in Spain, he retreated in the Mediterranean country side to concentrate on lyrics. Surrounded by a mountainous scenario, with a small recording equipment, he tracked most of his vocal parts in ancient stone-walled houses, searching for spaces where natural reverb could propel words and sounds and integrate with the music as another instrument. Returned to Portland, Raúl worked with Adam for a couple of weeks at Type Foundry on finishing and mixing these songs. During those days, the springtime blossoms brought friends/HUSH cohorts to the studio, and they contributed with vocals (Laura Gibson, Loch Lomond's Ritchie Young), strings (Amanda Lawrence, Heather W. Broderick) and other instrumentation that spooled together into a cohesive whole. 'La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha' also features cameos by singer-songwriter compatriots Santi Campos and Julio de la Rosa.

Rauelsson's tone of reflective folk romanticism is also present in the evocative artwork of the album, featuring composite visuals based on fragments of a painting by nineteenth-century German landscapist Andreas Achenbach. The release of 'La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha' will be preceded by a free/support digital e.p. (Debutantes e.p., release date TBA) with alternative versions of some songs of the album and exclusive material not to be found elsewhere.

Tracklist:
1. Debutantes
2. El Río de los Nudos
3. La Calma
4. Cambio de Mar
5. Casi la Cosecha
6. El Desierto de las Palmas
7. Columpios
8. Palidez (un Aviso)
9. Raíces (otro Aviso)
10. Lápices sin Punta
11. Cosidos

ALL SMILES' "FALL NEVER FELL" EP, "THE COMPARISON BLOUSE" EP, AVAILABLE TOMORROW!

All Smiles' brand new five-song "Fall Never Fell" EP is available tomorrow through www.allsmilesmusic.com, all digital retailers, and at shows! Also--get this--between now and Dec. 25th, the digital version of All Smiles' mind-blowing full-length, "Oh For The Getting and Not Letting Go", will be available for only $5 if and only if you go to www.allsmilesmusic.com. While you're there, you can also grab "The Comparison Blouse" EP (also out tomorrow!), comprised of five demos from the OFTGANLG sessions, free of charge.

But, that's not all: tomorrow marks the first time that "Oh For The Getting And Not Letting Go" is available at retailers near you, thanks to the great folks at Burnside Distribution! As with All Smiles' full-length, both new EPs were recorded in Omaha, Nebraska and Los Angeles, California by co-producers Solon Bixler (Great Northern) and Nik Freitas (Mystic Valley Band). Both Freitas and Bixler lent their multi-instrumental talents to the record, along with drummer/percussionist Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse).

Jim Fairchild has had an incredibly busy and amazing year this year, what with the release of both his full-length and two EPs--he's also been on the road a good chunk of the year playing guitar in Modest Mouse, and he's relocated to San Francisco, CA.

"Fall Never Fell" EP Track Listing:

1. Dolly, Don't

2. Fall Never Fell

3. The Way That I Come And Go

4. Tired Jaws

5. Water or Whisper

"The Comparison Blouse" EP Track Listing:

1. The Ones I Want To Live (demo)

2. It Never Saves Me (demo)

3. I Was The One (demo)

4. Brightest Beyond (demo)

5. All You Are Is A Human, Sir (demo)

SHELLSHAG: "RUMORS IN DISGUISE" (DON GIOVANNI, 2/9) REVIEW COPIES NOW AVAILABLE!

In attempts to dance about Shellshag's architecture, they've been explained as an amalgam of The Breeders, Sonic Youth, The Ramones, DFA, David Byrne, Guided By Voices, Moldy Peaches and early Superchunk—and, because they're a male guitarist/female drummer duo, those touch points (Jack and Meg, Matt and Kim, Juicifer) get tossed around like so much confetti, too. They've played with everyone from Iggy Pop, The Slits, The Cramps, Lightning Bolt and J. Mascis to Evan Dando, Les Savy Fav, Shonen Knife and their label mates Screaming Females, and their first (and now out of print) Gary Young EP was recorded by Pavement's Gary Young in 2004. Together, Johnny "Shell" and Jen "Shag", have forged a legacy on both coasts over the course of this crazy thing we call life: as seminal members of the '90s DIY scene in San Francisco, they ran the now-legendary public arts space Starcleaners, the former home of the Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Residents and others, they launched their own label of the same name, releasing Destroy Me, I'm Yours in 2007, and they moved to Brooklyn, forming Shellshag and becoming integral members of the Jersey-based Don Giovanni family of artists and musicians.

The thing to get, though, is that, aside from the universal truth that all roads point to now, it's not their back story, tour history or the fishing lure mentions of the scads of played-withs and sounds-likes that is of import. What is of import is that, with Rumors In Disguise, Shellshag has not only made their most incredible, inspired, hooky, crunchy, distilled and concentrated record yet—they've made the record that will define what making music in the new decade should be like. Joyous, raw, engaging, innovative, personal, weird, loud, fucking communicative, inclusive, pure. You know, the kind of qualities that made the experience of digesting and living music magnetic to begin with. That's this record.

The record's heart-theme is made up of the stuff we all, as evolving humans, struggle with, as the band explains: "Most of the songs on the record are about hope and despair, love and survival, death and fear." From the grin-laced stubborn pride in Shell's vocals on "Resillient Bastard" to Jen Shag's tom-heavy heartbeat rhythms on crunchy duet "Means That Much", every inch put to tape is as real as it gets. Finding honesty and purity of creative expression in the vastness of what our musical landscape has evolved into is a more difficult task than ever before, and it takes a band like Shellshag and a record like Rumors in Disguise to answer that search. Now, listen.

LOCH LOMOND'S "NIGHT BATS" EP IS OUT TODAY!

AND, if you haven't already, listen to "Wax and Wire" via Largehearted Boy, check out an awesome interview with Ritchie Young on Oregon Music News and read what Pampelmoose had to say about the band---plus, look for the EP review in next month's SPIN! Paste says: "If you can't get enough of the spiritual children of Nick Drake (Iron and Wine, Bon Iver, Sun Kil Moon, Alexi Murdoch), Portland Oregon's Loch Lomond is your new favorite band."

Loch Lomond continue to pound the pavement this week on the West Coast!

November 10 The Woods Portland, Or

November 11 EMU Univ. of Oregon Eugene, Or

November 12 Hotel Utah San Francisco, Ca

November 13 Luigi's Fungarden Sacramento, Ca

November 14 Historic Brookdale Lodge Santa Cruz, Ca+

November 15 Muddy Waters Santa Barbara, Ca+

November 16 The Loft @ UCSD La Jolla, Ca *

November 17 The Bootleg Theater Los Angeles, Ca*

* w/ Horse Feathers

+ w/ The Generationals

LOCH LOMOND'S OPBmusic Studio SESSION--JAM IT! "NIGHT BATS" OUT TOMORROW, TOUR KICKING OFF!

If you haven't yet, we implore you to head to OPBmusic, here to take in the splendor of Loch Lomond's recent, rad session, wherein they play new material from their "Night Bats" EP, out tomorrow on Hush Records!

From the OPBmusic site: "Recording engineer: Steven Kray, with technical assistance from Randy Layton

The Portland sextet makes a second stop by our studios at the end of a busy year, capped off next week by the release of their Night Bats EP. They talk music videos (specifically, this one), Bee Gees covers and the name change that wasn’t, and shed some light on the full-length they’re prepping for a 2010 release, Little Me Will Start a Storm.

Look for three Oregon dates from the band surrounding the Night Batsrelease: Nov. 9th at the Pendleton Center for the Arts in Pendelton; Nov. 10th at The Woods in Portland; and Nov. 11th at the Univ. of Oregon in Eugene. They then begin a string of dates down the California coast at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco on Nov. 12th. Plus, don’t miss Loch Lomond on an upcoming edition of OPB-TV’s Art Beat, including footage shot during our session.

"

Visqueen - NPR Song Of The Day and Huffington Post!

The past two days have been big days for Rachel Flotard and Visqueen. Yesterday an amazing article came out in Huffington Post on her, the band, her new label, her new record and more... Read it here!

Then, this morning, the fine folks at NPR named "Hand Me Down" the Song of the Day. Yeah!

BOAT and the "Fabulous Confetti Guys"

So, in case you didn't know this, BOAT has two fans in Portland that have came to every show the band has ever played in this town. The band isn't sure how, when or where they found out about their music but these two gentleman arrive at every show with a giant bag of homemade confetti and generally try to bring the party! Last night was another smashing success... BOAT is easily, one of the most fun bands in the entire world! East Coast folks, look out! They're headed your way.

Killer Interview w/ Ben Davis and the Jetts

Watch this video with our man Ben Davis and then fall in love! It's that easy...

BOAT LAST NIGHT IN PDX!

Nathan got a GREAT PHOTO of "The Confetti Dudes", which we'll share soon...

BOAT at The Woods, 11-05-09 from Riot Act Media on Vimeo.

PETER GRUMBINE OF CURRENT TV & CNN SAYS: "DEAR MAJOR LABELS: YOU'RE F*%KED"--AND FINN RIGGINS AND BLACK WHALES ARE DOING IT RIGHT!

RIOT ACT VIDEO ROUNDUP: BLACK WHALES, WEINLAND, LOCH LOMOND, FINN RIGGINS, CATHERINE FEENY, SOME DAYS and MORE!

Oh, there is so much video radness happening this Fall--from the Black Whales running through the forest wearing masks in their brand new "Diamond Divide" video to Finn Riggins puking rainbow-colored balls of fuzz in their new video for "Wake (Keep This Town Alive)" to Weinland battling mighty buffalo in their new video for "I'm Sure It Helps" to Loch Lomond playing the tremendous new "Ghost of an Earthworm" off their forthcoming Night Bats EP on The PennyJam, we are not wanting for visual glory!

AND, GUESS WHAT? So soon, we're going to have a great new video from the likes of BOAT, directed by D. Crane himself--and look out for video content from Ben Davis (whose new full-length, Charge It Up!, is out 1/5 on Lovitt Records) and Rauelsson (whose new full-length, La Siembra, La Espera Y La Cosecha, is out 1/12 on Hush Records).

And then, the movie trailers....in case you missed it, check out the trailer for Matt McCormick's debut feature film, "Some Days Are Better Than Others" (starring James Mercer, Carrie Brownstein, Renee Roman Nose and David Wodehouse--and we PROMISE that as soon as we have news for you re: screenings, release date, etc., we'll fill you in), as well as the trailer for "Remember Where You Are", a currently in-production documentary following the touring adventures of the amazing Catherine Feeny, who just got off the road a handful of days ago. WHOA.

Weinland: "I'm Sure It Helps":

Loch Lomond: "Ghost of an Earthworm" via The PennyJam:

Loch Lomond at the Ace Hotel from The Penny Jam on Vimeo.

Black Whales: "Diamond Divide"

Finn Riggins: "Wake (Keep This Town Alive)"

TRAILER: "Remember Where You Are" (feat. Catherine Feeny, Faction Films)

TRAILER: "Some Days Are Better Than Others" (Rodeo Film Co., release/screening dates TBA)

Some Days are Better than Others (trailer) from matt mccormick on Vimeo.

LOCH LOMOND'S "NIGHT BATS" EP IS OUT NEXT TUESDAY, 11/11!

If you didn't already know, Loch Lomond's "Night Bats" EP is out next Tuesday (pre-order a copy, and it'll arrive not only early, but signed by the whole band)--and it's crazy gorgeous. Listen to "Wax and Wire" here, and feel free to repost on yr blog/site. Here's a photo of the band practicing last night for their upcoming tour (dates below) at PDX's The Woods, an incredible funeral home-turned-venue co-run by Loch Lomond's Ritchie Young.

LOCH LOMOND

11.09.09 - Pendleton, OR @ Pendleton Center For The Arts
11.10.09 - Portland, OR @ The Woods
11.11.09 - Eugene, OR @ EMU Fish Bowl - University of Oregon
11.12.09 - San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah Saloon
11.14.09 - Brookdale, CA @ Historic Brookdale Lodge
11.15.09 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Muddy Waters
11.16.09 - San Diego, CA @ UCSD/The Loft (w/Horse Feathers)
11.17.09 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater (w/Horse Feathers)