ON TOUR NOW: Great interview with Hosannas up at the Santa Barbera Independent

We couldn't agree more with what Aly Comingore says in this quote...

"It’s the kind of performance that gives you chills and sends you running to tell all your friends. It also gives credence to the claim that Hosannas might just be Portland’s newest darlings."

Visqueen melted faces last night in DC at the Black Cat

The Washington Post was there and Flotard & Co. brought everything they had. After an hour long set, the crowd was won over!

"Visqueen sounded like the great missing link between grunge and power pop." Patrick Foster, Washington Post

Loch Lomond shares a new song from the Night Bats EP!

Loch Lomond, in celebration of their upcoming West Coast tour, are sharing "Ghost Of An Earthroom" with you! If you've not heard this band before, you're in for a treat... The instrumentation is simply gorgeous and the lyrics, oh the lyrics!, imagine a world where a giant earthworm, hmm, on second thought... just give it a listen!

"Ghost Of An Earthworm"

Tour Dates:

06.10.10 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
06.11.10 - Eugene, OR @ Cosmic Pizza
06.12.10 - Davis, CA @ Sophia's
06.13.10 - San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah
06.14.10 - Santa Cruz, CA @ the Crepe Place
06.15.10 - Santa Barbera, CA @ Muddy Waters
06.17.10 - Los Angeles, CA @ the Bootleg Theater

Wonderful interview with Melanie Valera live at Advance Copy now!

The folks at Advance Copy had a chance to interview Melanie Valera from Tender Forever... her answers are wonderfully insightful. It's a stellar read, promise!

"It's a dark but straight forward series of songs. That's what and who I am." Melanie Valera on her new album, No Snare.

The Lights live on KEXP today at 1:30, starring in "Amplified Seattle" premiering at SIFF tomorrow!

Just wanted to alert you to the Lights upcoming performance today at 1:30 PST live on KEXP from a stage at Easy Street Records in West Seattle. How they deemed these three fit for live radio is beyond me, but I'm excited! Stream it live at kexp.org. Also, Seattle International Film Festival is debuting the documentary "Amplified Seattle" and it prominently features the Lights. It's being screened this weekend on May 22nd at 2 PM at the Neptune Theater and again on the 26th at 9:15 PM.   "The Lights are a band that are unhinged and connected. They are live, unfrayed, tilted, and more importantly they are able to get live and tilted with their shows." Trent Moorman

Awww. Look! New TLE store....video by Matthew Ross.

Soft Tags head out on US tour!

Have you heard Soft Tags yet? Sounding like college radio, one a.m. circa 1982 and tirelessly recording, and releasing as many as three records a year, this band is keeping the DIY, screenprinting and four track ethos alive from their home base of Portland, Oregon. Chances are that, in the next month and a half, you'll have a chance to catch them live! Until then, watch the amazing video for "Architect Song" off their newest album Mathematical Monsters:

Tour Dates:

05.27.10 - Portland, OR @ the Know

06.12.10 - San Francisco, CA @ the Hemlock Tavern
06.13.10 - Oakland, CA @ the Stork Club
06.15.10 - Los Angeles, CA @ the Silver Lake Lounge
06.16.10 - San Diego, CA @ the Radio Room
06.17.10 - Scottsdale, AZ @ the Rogue Bar
06.18.10 - Albuquerque, NM @ Burt's Tiki Lounge
06.19.10 - Dallas, TX @ the Cavern
06.20.10 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
06.21.10 - Kansas City, KS @ the Record Bar
06.22.10 - Lawrence, KS @ the Replay Lounge
06.23.10 - Iowa City, IA @ the Yacht Club
06.25.10 - Chicago, IL @ the Darkroom
06.26.10 - Columbus, OH @ Hal & Al's
06.27.10 - Manhattan, NY @ the Cake Shop
06.28.10 - Jersey City, NJ @ WFMU In-Studio Session, 9:00 PM
06.29.10 - Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio
06.30.10 - Brooklyn, NY @ the Bell House

07.01.10 - Cincinnati, OH @ May Day
07.03.10 - Lincoln, NB @ the Bourbon Theater
07.06.10 - Denver, CO @ the Hi-Dive
07.08.10 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
07.20.10 - Portland, OR @ the Doug Fir

Loch Lomond in Scotland!

Ritchie Young just checked in from the road... Loch Lomond is playing the UK this week and having a blast!

"After a really fun Glasgow show they rushed us over for post show tea and cake. In the US, we rush off and drink gas and dry hump. I like both!"

Patrick Bower & the World Without Magic premiers the video for "Something In Paris"

Click to watch the brand new video for "Something In Paris"... the band slyly performs the song under the eery glow of digital lights. It wonderfully crosses dark, brooding Americana against the sexuality of a European discotheque! If you haven't heard the Dark Lord (of Love) yet, please do get in touch! The band is about to start a month long residency in New York City so keep your eyes peeled for the news to come soon!

(((Eagle Winged Palace))) premiers the gorgeous video for "Timber"!

The ghostly, sun-kissed California folk outfit, (((Eagle Winged Palace))) sets the stage for it's debut LP, Where We're Coming From, with this amazing video for the lead single, "Timber". The album is out June 22nd on Western Crest Records!

Go rock out this weekend...

Don't miss Boy Eats Drum Machine, Finn Riggins, Hosannas, People Eating People, Sea Of Bees or Visqueen this weekend! All stone-cold stunners, all over the country, all weekend long!

Birth Announcement: Riot Act is proud to welcome three new bands to family!

Our little family is growing and today we're bringing home triplets! We're so proud to announce that we're working with Portland's Soft Tags and, from Seattle, Triumph Of Lethargy Skinned Alive To Death and People Eating People.

Soft Tags is touring all over America over the next two months. People Eating People is heading to NYC in June and a new, s/t, album is out in July. Finally, Triumph Of Lethargy Skinned Alive To Death has its debut full-length album out in August! Catch the fever!

NEW VIDEO: TYPHOON: "STARTING OVER" (off Hunger and Thirst, dir. by Matthew Ross)

This video is simply brilliant. Warm, wonderful--a perfect f'n snapshot of an amazing band, all wrapped up in a storyline involving quantum mechanics and the Hadron Collider. Please do share, enjoy, and get in touch.



While you're watching, check out all of Tender Loving Empire's other amazing videos!!!

Tender Forever releases the stems from "Only The Sounds You Made" off of No Snare for a remix contest!

To celebrate the upcoming release of No Snare (out June 8th on K Records) Melanie Valera is giving away the tracks to the first single, "Only The Sounds You Made", to the world to let their minds run free with them. The best remixes will be featured on her website and her favorite two will get the loving 7" vinyl treatment! Want to rave it up, layer it in a sea of dub echo, give it a dirty south treatment... let your imagination run wild! Completed songs should be sent to onlythesoundsyoumade@gmail.com by June 2nd.

Download "Only The Sounds You Made" and feel free to share/post!

Download the stems for remixing "Only The Sounds You Made" and again, feel free to share/post!

Holy Hail sets national release date, Canada swoons...

Canada's Aux TV declares Holy Hail to be a NYC band that lives up to the hype! The Dying (After) Party out nationally on June 22nd... have you heard it yet?

"A mix of rock ‘n roll, hip-hop and electronic, the band continues to challenge both genre conventions and the stereotypical male-female vocal dynamic using their lyrics not to whisper sentiments, but to fearlessly mark their presence. An eclectic group of DJ’s, artists, writers and musicians, Holy Hail (consisting of Cat Hartwell, Mike Egan, Kevin Cooke and Jesse Sposato) seems to properly reflect the intensity and multi-dimensional qualities of today’s youth culture."

"Jason Sievers makes badass music videos!" - The People's Music

Well, we couldn't agree more Mr. Peter Grumbine! That's right, the fine folks at the People's Music showered Idaho's Jason Sievers with love for his amazing stop-motion animation work on videos for the Lights, Finn Riggins and Boy Eats Drum Machine.

Check it out!

TYPHOON PLAYS W.WEEK'S BEST NEW BAND SHOW TONIGHT, IS LIKED BY RYAN ADAMS

If you're in PDX, go check out Typhoon at W.Week's (free!) Best New Band show tonight at Berbati's! Also, LOOK:

"Ummm, hey look there goes a Ferrari!" New New is KEXP's Song Of The Day!

Free music is rad, free music from the Lights is amazing!! KEXP is offering up "New New" today off of the band's brand new Failed Graves. You might remember the song from this amazing video?

KEXP also sat down and chatted with the band for a great interview:

"Some things are just too pretty to die and this band happens to be one of them." PJ Rogalski, drummer from the Lights

Tender Forever weighs in on Europe, America, being queer and Phil Collins...

The New Gay sat down with Melanie Valera (she of Tender Forever fame) and chatted about a bunch of stuff including insights to the sound of the new record. Read more here!

"I had around two years of thinking about what I had done and I wanted to remember that in life I always think and live to the strong beat or the things that we actually hear, like your heartbeat." Melanie Valera

Congratulations to Typhoon and Hosannas!

Willamette Week just came out with it's feature on Portland's best new bands and Typhoon came in at #2!! Following close behind was Hosannas at #4. Not to be scoffed at, Boy Eats Drum Machine came in at #15!

Check out the full story here!

TYPHOON + TELEPATHIC LIBERATION ARMY: HAPPY RELEASE DAY!!

We could not possibly be more thrilled and honored to get to work with these incredible bands. It's a banner Tuesday here at Riot Act, indeed! CONGRATULATIONS to Typhoon, Tender Loving Empire, TLA and Don't Stop Believin' Records!

Paste gets to know Shellshag!

Liz Pelly from Paste sat down with Shellshag and talked. What ensued is an honest portrait of one of the most inspirational bands we've ever met!

"The album is kind of a collage. It’s kind of like our movie sound track, or the soundtrack to my life with Shell. There are old songs on there that we’re finally happy with, meshed with our new songs, that all together tell this story. I’m really proud of it, and I haven’t really ever said that in the 20 years I’ve been making music. I’ve always been happy with the things I’ve released but I think this is the most intimate, honest representation of who we are as people on this 15-year journey together." Shag

Verbicide Magazine premieres the new video from The Lights today!!



“New New” is the first single from Failed Graves, the third LP by Seattle’s The Lights, out now on Wäntage USA! The video is making its world premier here at the Verbicide Blog. It was created with very old rubdown font (Futura Demi Bold) and clip art purchased from Boise Blue.