I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START, EXCEPT TO SAY THANK YOU.

BOAT, Black Whales, Typhoon, Ritchie Young, Nathan Walker, Kat Gardiner, Dave Depper, Alicia Rose, Jeremy Hadley, Mississippi Studios staff, Lagunitas Brewery, people of PDX who went to Mississippi Studios last night, and the lady at Kinko's who helped me with the enlarger, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for making Holidang! sucha fucking crazy success. Not only was the house packed, not only did all the bands blow peoples' minds and get to all hang out, not only did the Riot Act DJ Wrecking Crew make asses oscillate, but upon emptying the donation boxes this morning, I learned the amazing news that right now, we get to to to the bank and cut the National MS Society a cashier's check for $495.61!!!!

The house was packed (making it a little tougher to get to those donation boxes), and times are tough, so truly and honestly, our minds are blown over here. Also, a quick story about Black Whales: at the end of the night, they said, "We don't need fucking gas money! Fuck you!" and stuffed bills, with great vigor, into the donation till. I mean, holy shit. Both they and BOAT (who were, in an act of Riot Act universe big-uppageing, sporting some Screaming Females shirt action) drove down from Seattle for the show--Ritchie Young, who also runs amazing PDX venue The Woods, had to go, you know, run his venue right after the set. And Typhoon, as many of them are underage, had to go hang out at the pizza shop next door for hours waiting to play, then they had to split afterwards, too (liquor laws must be followed, so they were). These are not small sacrifices.

SO--THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Riot Act Media has the most awesome bands and people of all time. And more wanted to be involved; we just had to cap the bill. THANK YOU. Did I say thank you yet?

Happy, happy, happy (and safe) New Year's Eve, friends. We here hope that each and every one of you can give 2009 a proper send-off and help usher in 2010, or as we call it, "Two Thousand and Win".

IN PDX TONIGHT: HOLIDANG! @ MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS

Don't miss it! BOAT, Black Whales, Typhoon, Ritchie Young (of Loch Lomond) and the Riot Act DJ Wrecking Crew are going to jingle yr jangle (what?) at Mississippi Studios TONIGHT. Get there early, as there's no cover--but donations are being taken at the door that'll go to Multiple Sclerosis research, thanks to our amazing, amazing, amazing bands. MERRY HAPPY, YOUSE GUYS.

GET READY FOR 2010!

Good Monday, everyone--and welcome to the FINAL MONDAY OF THE AUGHTS. Whether or not it's weighed more heavily on the tough or effortless side for you, I don't know one single person for whom 2009 hasn't been a pretty crazy year--and next year promises to be, perhaps, even more bonkers. Fortunately, it is already proving to be a year that brings us plenty in the way of MEGA JAMS, many of which we here at Riot Act are getting to tell you about first.

There's plenty to come in 2010 for Riot Act Media bands with just-out, forthcoming or on-the-horizon releases, so prepare to be hearing mucho from us on Ben Davis ("Charge It Up!" is out next Tuesday on Lovitt), Rauelsson ("La Siembra, La Espera Y La Cosecha" is out 1/12 on 180 gram colored vinyl on Hush), Shellshag ("Rumors In Disguise" is out 2/6 on Don Giovanni), Screaming Females (their "Singles" collection is out the same day on the same label), Blunt Mechanic ("World Record" is out this spring on Barsuk), Metroid Metal (who we can't wait to tell you about!), Boy Eats Drum Machine (Tender Loving Empire), Typhoon (Tender Loving Empire), Ape Cave (the Portland, OR band formerly known as Church, also TLE), Jared Mees & The Grown Children (also TLE), Murdocks (aka your new favorite band from Austin, TX), and more. And that's not even us touching on what's going on with Visqueen (holy crud, have you seen the amount of amazing love our bro Rachel is getting from Washington Post, NPR and more?), Black Whales, Finn Riggins, Loch Lomond and everyone else we're so lucky to work with.

Strap on that New Year's Baby diaper, folks--it's going to be an incredible year.

Much love,

Joan, Nathan, Dave & Riot Act Media

Screaming Females Announce NYE Show at the Cake Shop in NYC!

You heard me right! 2009's break out band of the year is closing down the oughts at the Cake Shop in New York City... $15 gets you a free pbr and the shreddiest new year's eve party in the city. Not to be missed!

Visqueen and frontwoman, Rachel Flotard, capped off an amazing year last night opening for Vampire Weekend and Muse at Seattle's "Deck The Hall Ball!"

As you're reading this, Rachel Flotard from Visqueen is somewhere over the Pacific en route to Laos to deliver much needed aid to schoolchildren. This past couple weeks have been the icing on the cake for an amazing return to form for her and her band Visqueen!

On monday, she was interviewed by NPR's Ari Shapiro on Morning Edition. Later that same day, Stephen Thompson (NPR's Music Editor) on All Songs Considered named Visqueen's Message To Garcia 2009's Biggest Surprise of the Year! Tuesday rolls around and the band plays Seattle's Deck The Hall Ball to about 7000 people as the only local band on a lineup that included Muse and Vampire Weekend. Then this morning, she flew out on her aid trip to Laos with a few thousand dollars to pave the school's floors and twenty suitcases full of school and medical supplies for her return trip to Ban Na Mouang.

When she returns in a month, Visqueen plans to tour the entire US with stops at Noise Pop and SXSW...

All images copyright Curt Doughty

HOLIDANG!

BLACK WINE'S S/T FULL-LENGTH = OUT TOMORROW!

It is beyond fitting that Black Wine's self-titled debut is being released on Don Giovanni for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that, in many ways, Don Giovanni came about in order to put out early releases by Black Wine guitarist Jeff Schroeck's former band, New Jersey punk legends The Ergs. Throw in the fact that Black Wine's other members, Miranda Taylor and J. Nixon, comprised the rhythm section of another of Jersey's most explosive bands, Hunchback—and that Screaming Females frontwoman Marissa Paternoster (herself beyond influenced by The Ergs) helped record Black Wine's debut, and the familial nature of how Black Wine fits into the New Brunswick scene becomes even more clear.

Schroeck, Taylor and Nixon have lived the essence of what punk community should be about—different folks in different bands in the same community sharing ideas, making music together, supporting each other—for a decade now. With Black Wine, the trio is exploring a slightly poppier musicality, building upon the cult successes they've experienced in their other bands to achieve a heightened degree of songwriting prowess, steeped in grit and rich with experience. And boy have they ever had plenty of amazing experiences.

Both bands—Hunchback and The Ergs—broke up following a tour in early 2008; when they played one final show at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ on November 15th of that year, each member of each band playing that night got onstage and demolished every instrument in reach. There's something to be said for closure, because closure makes way for rebirth.

Cut to one year later, and not only did Black Wine find themselves having recorded some of the finest output of their careers, but Schroeck and Taylor are engaged to be married. Black Wine is the phoenix rising from the fire of The Ergs, and the fire sounds great. Think early SST drive; think early Sub Pop crunch, think forward.

RAUELSSON: "EL RIO DE LOS NUDOS" LIVE VIDEO, "DEBUTANTES" MP3!

You know Dr. Raul Pastor Medal, the Spanish musician/neuroscientist we've been telling you about? Well, here he is, playing "El Rio De Los Nudos" live here in PDX at the always great-sounding Mississippi Studios. Chad Crouch, Hush Records label head (Hush is putting out the "La Espera, La Siembra Y La Cosecha" full-length on 180g gatefold vinyl on 1/12/10) shot the video in HD. Aside from watching the video, please do check out Rauelsson's "Debutantes" EP, which is now available via donation or free at the Hush Shop, HERE.

About the "Debutantes" EP: While some are content to collect the cast-offs for extra album material, Raul saw fit to reserve two of the finest tracks ("Depredadores" and "Dsbocados") as a special gift for listeners, and offer them up for free (or your support). They are bundled with the album opener, "Debutantes", an almost a capella choral arrangement Spanish version of Loch Lomond's "Elephants and Little Girls" (here, translated as "Elephantes y Ninas"), and a haunting Chad Crouch remix of the album track "Palidez" entitled "Palicdeces".

MEET YOUR NEW FAVORITE JAM OF 2010: SHELLSHAG'S "RESILIENT BASTARD"

Jesus Christmas, it was hard for everyone to pick a first song to share with everyone off Shellshag's upcoming "Rumors In Disguise"---you know why? THERE ARE SO MANY DAMNED JAMS that hit you so, so hard that selecting the right one to be the first one just seemed absurd. But, we did. And here it is: listen. Enjoy.

http://www.riotactmedia.com/mp3/shellshag_resiliant-bastard.mp3

SCREAMING FEMALES ARE ON THE ROAD WITH ARCTIC MONKEYS.

....and, don't forget! they're releasing a collection of singles (aptly called Singles) on 2.9.10, a few days after the what-is-to-be-mindblowing don giovanni showcase at bowery in nyc (2/6/10). they also just debuted a new song at asbury lanes! check out the brilliance:

PS--i got a text from them the other day at about 3 AM that said "we are driving next to insane clown posse's tour bus."

SCREAMING FEMALES ON TOUR:

12.07.09 - Milvale, PA @ Mr. Small's 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

Rachel Flotard's FOOTLAOS Raised Over $2400!

So last night's Footlaos, a benefit to raise money to pave a school in Laos, was a major success. With the sold out "Deck The Hall Ball", with Muse, Metric and Vampire Weekend, being Visqueen's last performance before Rachel flies east the following morning, we can safely say Rachel was overwhelmed with your support!

From Rachel:

"I can barely type today, my tears of joy have champagne bubbles in them.

WE RAISED OVER $2,400 LAST NIGHT.
Chris, Justin, and I are completely blown away.
Not only will the school have a new floor, but textbooks, supplies, and enough to go to 3 different other charities. Our first stop on 12/17 is in Cambodia. We'll be visiting the Angkor Children's hospital and the Savong school before our trek into Laos and into Vietnam.

WE NOW HAVE MORE GIFTS THAN WE THOUGHT POSSIBLE, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!"

DON GIOVANNI ANNOUNCES LABEL SHOWCASE—SCREAMING FEMALES RELEASE "SINGLES" EP (2/09/10), TOUR

DON GIOVANNI RECORDS ANNOUNCES LABEL SHOWCASE @ BOWERY BALLROOM, SAT., 2/6/10, NYC, NY: It’s been a heck of an ’09 for New Brunswick, NJ’s Don Giovanni Records, and it’ll be an even more amazing ’10 for the label and its family of extraordinary bands. Everyone is beyond excited to announce that this year’s Don Giovanni Showcase show will take place at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, February 6^th, 2010—tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the door, and the show starts at 6 PM. Get there early to see the Groucho Marxists, Black Wine, The Measure, Jeff the Brotherhood, Screaming Females, Forgetters and headliners Shellshag, whose incredible new record, Rumors in Disguise, is out the following Tuesday, February 9^th. Black Wine (ex-Ergs) will be playing from their debut self-titled full-length (out December 15^th), and the Females will play songs from their brand new Singles collection (also out the following Tuesday, February 9^th) as well as from ‘09’s Power Move! Don’t miss this amazing night.

SCREAMING FEMALES: SINGLES (DON GIOVANNI, 2/09/10): 2009 will go down as the year that everyone—EVERYONE—started to take notice of Screaming Females in the wake of the release of their third LP (and their first on a label of any kind), Power Move (Don Giovanni, April, 2009). From their first TV appearances (dancing with puppets on Chicago’s cult public access TV show, “Chic-a-Go-Go”, then making their national TV debut as a musical guest on MTV’s “It’s On! With Alexa Chung”), first multi-page national print media press and having lead Female Marissa Paternoster be named “Best Shredder in New York City 2009” by the Village Voice to being the band that everyone from Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, Dead Weather and Arctic Monkeys personally asked to tour with, 2009’s been quite the weird and exciting year for Screaming Females. After all, they’re doing exactly what they’ve done, the way they’ve always done it…organically, with friends. It’s just that now all of these people are noticing how amazing they are. And they can, y’know, quit their day jobs in lieu of touring all the time and recording new material with both their own band and their side projects because of it. Amen to that, right?

Prior to working with Don Giovanni, itself a staple of the New Brunswick, NJ scene, the band did everything themselves, the way you’re supposed to before it’s time for a label to step in and help facilitate things. This collection, Singles, is six songs from four now-rare Females 7”s, and comes with liner notes written by drummer Jarrett Dougherty and images of the original 7” artwork penned by Paternoster (did you know she does all the band’s artwork? It’s true. Bassist King Mike draws, too, but that’s another story for another day). If you are one of the many who have just this year been introduced to Screaming Females, Singles is here to take you to the School of Deep Cuts.

FEBRUARY 2010 SCREAMING FEMALES SINGLES TOUR W/JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD: The Females’ Singles tour kicks off with the Don Giovanni Label Showcase, and may be coming to a town near you! Many more details will be announced soon. So far:

Sat Feb 6 - Bowery Ballroom - Don Giovanni Showcase - NYC

Sun Feb 7 - Washington, DC

Mon Feb 8 - Asheville, NC

Tue Feb 9 - Athens, GA

Wed Feb 10 - Gainesville, FL

Thu Feb 11 - Tallahassee, FL

Fri Feb 12 - New Orleans, LA

Sat Feb 13 - Houston, TX

Sun Feb 14 - Austin, TX

Mon Feb 15 - Dallas, TX

Tue Feb 16 - Memphis, TN

Wed Feb 17 - Nashville, TN

Thu Feb 18 - Birmingham, AL

Fri Feb 19 - Atlanta, GA

Sat Feb 20 - Durham, NC

Sun Feb 21 - Baltimore, MD

Mon Feb 22 - Philadelphia, PA

PRESS QUOTES:

“Her name is Marissa Paternoster, and she is 2009’s answer to Sleater-Kinney’s 2006 breakup, using her throaty pipes and serious chops to channel that trio’s femme-shredder legacy to a new generation.”—Rolling Stone

“The last three “guitar heroes” I saw were women: Marnie Stern, Kaki King, and Marissa Paternoster of the the Screaming Females.”—Sasha Frere-Jones, New Yorker

“The Females recently toured with the Dead Weather; no idea how Jack White had the balls to even walk out onstage after Pasternoster was done with it, or how there was still a stage left at all. Call it Guitar Hero: Riot Grrrl. Bow down.”.”—Village Voice, named Marissa Paternoster NYC’s Best Guitar Shredder 2009

“Fuck the Dead Weather. Also Fuck P.J. Harvey, Karen O., Sleater-Kinney, Patti Smith and any other clever girl-rocker comparisons people have been making to Marissa Paternoster of the Screaming Females. And not just the guitar chicks. Fuck Jimi Hendrix. Fuck Jimmy Page. Fuck power trios that don't start with Screaming and end in Females (I'm looking at you Cream and Nirvana). Fuck Jack White. Fuck Meg White. Fuck the Queens of the Stone Age. Fuck the Kills. While we're at it, fuck people who hold up their iPhones to take five-minute videos of the Dead Weather. The Screaming Females killed last night at Terminal 5. The Dead Weather, eh. I could have done without.”—New York Press

TRACK LISTING:

SCREAMING FEMALES

SINGLES

(DON GIOVANNI, 2/9/10)

1. Arm over Arm

2. Zoo of Death

3. Cortez the Killer

4. No Being Disgusting

5. Pretty Okay

6. I Do

LINKS:

Bio, photos, cover art, MP3s, etc:

http://www.riotactmedia.com/artist_screamingfemales.php

Tour dates:

http://www.riotactmedia.com/tourdates.php

MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/screamingfemales

Don Giovanni Records:

http://www.dongiovannirecords.com