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Going for Gold XVII: Gold Fields, Golden Grrrls, and essence goldman

Read More Gold Fields You guys must be tired of hearing us talk about Gold Fields, since we talk about them so often. I have some updates on the Australian band, their debut album will be called Black Sun and it's set for release February 26th, 2013..…

GOLD FIELDS
goldfieldsmusic.com

Look like the Australian group Gold Fields will be heading back to Minneapolis this February 17th! I tried to warn these guys the last few times they were here to not tour here in the Winter, but … I guess we'll find out how they like the weather, haha.

Look for Gold Fields to make their debut television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! On February 27th, just a day after the release of their highly anticipated debut album Black Sun on Astralwerks.

MTV named Gold Fields as one of their 13 Artists to Watch in 2013, so check them out if they're playing near you:

2/4: Washington DC@ U Street Music Hall *
2/5: Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live *
2/6: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
2/7: Philadelphia, PA @ TLA *
2/8: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
2/9: Providence, RI @ The Met *
2/11: Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel *
2/12: Detroit, MI @ The Shelter *
2/13: Columbus, OH @ The Basement *
2/14: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
2/15: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
2/17: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
2/19: Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep * #
2/20: Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge * #
2/22: Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue * #
2/23: Missoula, MT @ Elks Live * #
2/24: Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café * #
2/25: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios * #
2/28: Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour * #
3/2: Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * #

* = w/ A Silent Film, # = w/ Royal Teeth

GOLDEN GRRRLS
goldengrrrls.tumblr.com

I previously mentioned Glasgow-based Golden Grrrls was releasing a self-titled debut album through Slumberland Records. The album is coming out next month, February 26th, 2013.

Their new single is called "Past Tense":



Today, the group announced a US and UK tour dates:

02/15 Brighton - West Hill Hall *
02/16 London - The Yard Theatre
02/17 Leamington Spa - Zephyr Lounge *
02/18 Sheffield - Audacious Art Experiment Space *^
02/19 Wigan - Atomic Vintage ^
02/20 York - The Basement #^
02/21 Newcastle - Morden Tower ^
02/22 Glasgow - Stereo (Album launch show) ^
02/23 Manchester - Kraak *^
03/20 Olympia, WA - Venue TBD +
03/21 Seattle, WA - Tractor %
03/22 Seattle, WA - Black Lodge
03/23 Portland, OR - Doug Fir %
03/26 San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop %
03/29 Los Angeles, CA - Echo %
03/30 San Diego, CA - Casbah %
04/01 Boston, MA - Charlie's
04/02 Easthampton, MA - Flywheel
04/03 New York, NY - Venue TBD
04/04 Philidelphia, PA - Vox Populi w/ Literature and Royal Shoals ¥
04/05 Arlington, VA - Comet Ping Pong ~
04/06 Baltimore, MD - The Bell Foundry

* = w/ Edible Arrangements, ^ = w/ Sex Hands, # = w/ Mazes, + = w/ Brilliant Colors, % = w/ Veronica Falls and Brilliant Colors, ¥ = w/Literature and Royal Shoals, ~ = w/ Lorlelei

ESSENCE GOLDMAN
essencemusic.com

Award-winning singer/songwriter essence goldman is releasing her debut children album A Dog Named Moo and His Friend Roo on January 29th, 2013, via myKaZoo Music/Universal Music Enterprises.

The story behind the album was the album began as a gift of love for her son. She had all these fun songs written that she decided to put it in an album to share with the world.

In addition to the A Dog Named Moo... album, she is releasing "T REXXXXX!" as a book; "Everybody Has a Butt" as a smart phone app; and three animated videos ("T REXXXXX!" in claymation, "Everybody Has a Butt" and "Yum Yum").

BRIEFLY:

MY GOLD MASK mygoldmask.com Gretta Rochelle and Jack Armondo are My Gold Mask, and their new album, Leave Me Midnight is coming out February 19th, 2013. Check out "Further It Gets" from the upcoming album: The band will be heading out on tour in support of Leave Me Midnight soon.

HAWKLION facebook.com Hawklion's debut EP Gold & Silver was released recently. No other details about the band were given, other than that they're from Dublin, Ireland. I believe the EP is out on Manazo Record and hopefully that's the correct cover artwork (the one on their soundcloud page is incorrect).

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Going for Gold XVI: Britt Nicole, Gold Fields, Sufjan Stevens, Xbox, Willy Mason

Read More Britt Nicole Ask anyone that's ever own an Xbox 360, and they'll tell you they've experienced the dreaded Red Ring of Death. In fact, they've probably had it several times in their console's life cycle....

Read more Going for Gold.

BRITT NICOLE
brittnicole.com

I briefly mentioned Britt Nicole a few years ago. She just premiered her title track for her album, Gold, today (November 29th) on Vevo. The Nashville-based Britt Nicole will be re-releasing Gold on February 26th via Capitol Records. The album is repackaged from her Sparrow Records release (originally in March and debuted at #41 on the Top 100 Billboard Charts.)

Apparently there is an anti-bullying message and belief in yourself on Gold, as Nicole explained, "The message of Gold is to remind those kids that are struggling that no matter what they have been told they are worth so much more than the words of another. Once you know that, no one can ever steal your shine."

Nicole will be doing two special "first-ever" Capitol Records debut performances in Los Angeles and New York City:

01/09/13 - The Roxy in L.A. at 7pm
01/16/13 - Canal Room in N.Y.C. at 7 p.m.

Look for new mixes of "Gold" (including a club mix) on the upcoming Gold EP (to be released digitally on December 18th).

Read More Gold Fields As for Gold Fields, it's only been two weeks since we last saw the Australian boys. They were in sunny Los Angeles last night, so it was a cold shock when they landed in Minneapolis. I hate to break this to them, but that wasn't cold what ....

GOLD FIELDS
goldfieldsmusic.com

You guys must be tired of hearing us talk about Gold Fields, since we talk about them so often.

I have some updates on the Australian band, their debut album will be called Black Sun and it's set for release February 26th, 2013. Currently you can only get Dark Again single, and possibly Treehouse, so it's slim picking if you want more music from Gold Fields.

We like these guys, having seen them twice this year, so check them out if they're playing near you:

11/30 Chicago, IL Twas The Night Before
12/04 New York, NY Webster Hall**
12/06 Philadelphia, PA The Barbary*
12/07 Cambridge, MA The Middle East*
12/08 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg*
12/10 Montreal QC Divan*
12/11 Toronto, ON The Drake*
12/13 Washington, D.C. U Street Music Hall*

*As special guests of St. Lucia
**As special guests of Diamond Rings

Read More Sufjan Stevens This really came out of nowhere for me. My bf will load up my library list and when I go pick up my junk I usually get little suprises like this. It's really a wonderful album and Sufjan Stevens has a haunting and lovely voice.....

SUFJAN STEVENS
sufjan.com

Singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens just released his 50+ Christmas five-disc album, Silver & Gold, collecting Songs for Christmas, Vol 6-10.

Stevens is currently on tour, I am assuming he'll be doing at least one or two xmas songs?

11/30/12 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
12/01/12 Austin, TX Emo's
12/03/12 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
12/04/12 Los Angeles, CA The Fonda
12/05/12 San Francisco, CA Great American Music
12/06/12 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
12/08/12 Seattle, WA The Neptune
12/09/12 Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre
12/12/12 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
12/13/12 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
12/14/12 Indianapolis, IN Deluxe
12/15/12 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
12/16/12 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
12/18/12 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall @ Babeville
12/19/12 Providence, RI Fete
12/20/12 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
12/21/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
12/22/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

Read More Xbox Ask anyone that's ever own an Xbox 360, and they'll tell you they've experienced the dreaded Red Ring of Death. In fact, they've probably had it several times in their console's life cycle....

XBOX GOLD
xbox.com

My number one complaint about the Xbox is Xbox Gold. I seriously don't understand why there are so many Xbox fanboys out there? They love paying for Xbox Gold, they don't think there's anything wrong with the service.

Just to be clear on my thoughts on this: Xbox Gold is a scam. Imagine this: you buy a computer and when you want to send an email*, or play an online game like World of Warcraft, or Netflix, or Twitter, or Facebook, and your computer prompt up a message that you need to buy a year of "Gold". That's exactly what Xbox Gold is to me.

Prices for Xbox Gold is $15 a month**. So do the math: if you want to stream Netflix, it's $8 for Netflix, plus $15 for Xbox Gold. On any other platform, PS3, computer, Roku, "Smart" Blu-Ray players, etc., there isn't a $15 extra fee.

Here's another scenario for you: You got a redemption code for a free Vudu movie. You launch Xbox and boo-hoo, you have to pay $15 to Xbox Gold just to watch a $3.99 movie. That's the kind of restriction I'm talking about.

What's heartbreaking is a free service like YouTube requires you to pay the $15 fee, which is unbelievable considering that YouTube is free everywhere else. Do you know of any other platform that asks you to pay for YouTube (we're talking about the free content here, not the paid movies YouTube sells.)

Sadly, my original first generation PlayStation 3 died. It was temporarily fixed, but as I figured, it eventually broke again. So I'm taking in my Xbox and selling it to get a new PS3. Goodbye Xbox and good riddance.

PS: Xbox Music, not worth it. You pay a subscription of $100 a year, plus $60 for Xbox Gold to access it on the Xbox, making it the world's most expensive music subscription model.

* This is a real complaint: "You need to have an Xbox LIVE Gold membership to send messages on Xbox.com."
** To be fair, most fanboys buys Xbox Gold as a discounted annual fee of $60 or whatever special offers they get.

WILLY MASON
willymason.net

Willy Mason is a singer-songwriter, who came into fame via mister Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst, signing him on his record label.

His upcoming release is Don't Stop Now EP, set for release on January 14th, 2013, via Communion Records (available digitally and limited 10"). The EP is a sampling of what's to come for his third studio album, also due out later in 2013.

You can enjoy his new single and video for "I Got Gold" on YouTube.

Mason will also begin his North American tour around the release of the EP, starting in Montreal on January 13th. Currently, Mason is enjoying a lot of sold out dates in the UK.

12/01 Glasgow - King Tuts 12/02 Manchester - Ruby Lounge 12/03 Birmingham - Glee Club 12/04 Bristol - Thekla 12/05 London - Rough Trade East 12/05 London - Scala 12/06 Boston - Converse Hall 01/13 Montreal, Divan Orange 01/15 Toronto, Rivoli 01/17 Chicago, Old Town 01/19 Minneapolis, Turf Club 01/22 Denver, Larimer Lounge 01/25 Vancouver, Media Club 01/26 Seattle, Columbia City Theater 01/27 Portland, Doug Fir 01/29 San Francisco, The Chapel

01/30 Los Angeles, Hotel Café 02/04 Nashville, High Watt 02/07 New York, Rockwood Theatre 02/08 Philadelphia, World Café 02/10 Washington DC, DC9 02/11 Boston, Café 939 03/03 Portsmouth - Wedgwood Rooms 03/04 Exeter - Phoenix 03/05 Cardiff - Glee Club 03/07 London - Koko 03/08 Leeds - The Wardrobe 03/09 Newcastle - Gateshead Old Town Hall 03/10 Glasgow - Oran Mor 03/12 Liverpool - The Kazimier 03/13 Nottingham - Rescue Rooms 03/14 Dublin, Ire - Whelans 03/15 Belfast - Limelight

BRIEFLY:

GOLDEN GRRRLS facebook.com Golden Grrrls are releasing a self-titled debut album on our favorite indie label, Slumberland Records on February 26th, 2013. Hear their song, "We've Got…", on Soundcloud: Already in love and want to know more about them? They're from Glasgow, Scotland, if you haven't figured out from their lovely accents. They are, I believe, two grrls and one boy: Eilidh Rodgers, Ruari MacLean and Rachel Aggs.

TERRAPLANE SUN terraplanesun.com Terraplane Sun is a five-piece "blues rock" band from California. The band semi-recently unveiled their video for "Get Me Golden" (from their EP Friends) featuring unfriendly violent puppets. Not interested in watching the video, you can hear the audio on Soundcloud: If you're in Cali, you can see them on tour this December: Dec 01 Hotel Utah San Francisco, CA Dec 03 Velvet Jones Santa Barbara, CA Dec 04 Constellation Room Santa Ana, CA

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Going for Gold XV

Read more Going for Gold.

Read More Solid Gold Solid Gold: I talked to: Zach, Matt, and Adam (not sure what happened to their drummer)......

SOLID GOLD
solidgoldband.com

Andrew brought this to my attention: former Solid Gold guitarist Paulie Heenan was killed. When I interviewed Solid Gold in 2009, Heenan was not with the band.

Anyway, in less depressing news, Solid Gold released their second album, Eat Your Young, on Totally Gross National Product.

Guitarist Matthew Locher talked about why it took so long (their debut album, Bodies of Water, came out in 2008) to produce the sophomore album, "We've never been motivated by making records. We're driven by making something beautiful—capturing a moment in our lives that can translate to any place or time."

It's good that the album is finally out. I did a search for it on Amazon and the result was for the artist "Mo Solid Gold." It's probably mislabeled, as there really is another band called Mo Solid Gold, which featured Rob Hague, the drummer from my favorite punk band S*M*A*S*H.

Also, as I've previously mentioned, Solid Gold is playing at First Avenue this December 7th. Wild Belle will be opening up.

Fri 12/07/12 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

TADDY PORTER
taddyporter.com

Stay Golden is the new album from Oklahoma's Taddy Porter. It's set for release on February 26th, 2013, via Primary Wave Music, but you can hear the lead single, "Fever" now on PasteMagazine.com.

The new album, co-produced by Dave Cobb and Mark Neill, is said to include eleven new lo-fi songs, with elements of "Motown soul, Southern blues and psychedelic pop."

Taddy Porter is doing a few dates in December.

12/01/12 Rock Bottom - Montgomery, AL
12/02/12 12th & Porter - Nashville, TN
12/07/12 The Lyric Oxford - Oxford, MS
12/08/12 The Lyric Oxford - Oxford, MS

GOLDSPOT
goldspot.net

New Jersey's Goldspot just released a charity single called "If the Hudson Overflows." All proceeds from the sale of the song will go to the American Red Cross' Superstorm Sandy Disaster Relief efforts.

Singer/songwriter Siddhartha Khosla had this to say about the sonng, "When I wrote this song, it was really just a love song for my wife. In the song, the Hudson overflowing was supposed to be a metaphor for tough times - I never envisioned that the Hudson would actually flood the streets around my home. My heart goes out to the victims of this disaster, not just in my hometown of Hoboken, but everywhere on the East Coast."

If you want to hear the song, which features backing vocals from Aimee Driver and David Nowakowski from Scars on 45, you can check it out on Soundcloud.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Going for Gold XIV

Read More Goldenboy Goldenboy is the nickname given to Shon Sullivan by Elliott Smith. The name obviously hold a special place in Sullivan's heart, so he kept it as a stagename.

With the Summer Olympic Games in full motion, here are some Going for Gold articles.

GOLDENBOY
goldenboyband.com

With Elliott Smith's birthday today, August 6th, you may want to check out Goldenboy. Smith gave Shon Sullivan the nickname 'goldenboy' so Sullivan used that gift with pride.

Elliott Smith also sings backup on Goldenboy's latest re-issue of "Summertime," as explained by Sullivan: "That song came from one of the tours that we'd done in the fall of 2002. I had the guitar in the bus and I was working on it, so Elliott would be like, "What're you playing?" Then, when we were recording Blue Swan Orchestra, Elliott said, "Hey, I came up with this vocal harmony for that song, and if you want it it might be really cool." So he just went for it, and it was amazing."

The song is from Blue Swan Orchestra, which is being re-mastered and re-issued for October 9th, 2012, via Eenie Meenie Records.

He will be taking it on the road this Fall. We previously covered his show last year.

09/21 Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff, AZ 09/22 Lost Leaf, Phoenix, AZ 09/28 Melody Inn, Indianapolis, IN 09/29 Midpoint Festival, Cincinnati, OH 10/01 Daytrotter (time TBA) Rock Island, IL 10/02 Gas Lamp, Des Moines, IA 10/04 The Orpheum Theater, Hancock, MI

10/05 Upfront and Company, Marquette, MI 10/06 Cause Spirits, Minneapolis, MN 10/08 Double Doors, Chicago, IL 10/10 Mickey Finn's, Toledo, OH 10/18 The Space, Hamden, CT 10/19 Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 10/20 Green Room Music Source CMJ Showcase

SUCH GOLD
suchgold.com

We've previously written about Such Gold before:

They just announced that they've signed a deal with Razor & Tie Records, which will be coming out Spring 2012. We're so far from the release date that I don't actually have a cover artwork for the album.

Well, I have their cover artwork now. Their album is called Misadventures, and it will be out August 14th via Razor & Tie Records.

You can catch them on tour in the fall:

08/16 Millvale, PA Mr. Smalls Theatre * 08/17 Detroit, MI Shelter * 08/18 Chicago, IL The Bottom Lounge * 08/19 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop * 08/21 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place * 08/22 New York, NY The Studio at Webster Hall * 08/23 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church * 08/24 Worcester, MA Palladium Upstairs * 08/25 Montreal, Canada Corona Theatre * 08/26 Toronto, Canada The Annex Wreckroom * 09/05 Mesa, AZ Nile Theatre† 09/07 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit† 09/08 Austin, TX Red 7† 09/09 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock† 09/11 Penascola, TX Vinyl Music Hall† 09/12 Gainesville, FL High Dive† 09/13 St. Petersburg, FL The State Theatre† 09/14 Miami, FL Churchill's†

09/15 Orlando, FL The Social† 09/16 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live† 09/21 St. Louis, MO The Firebird† 09/22 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory† 09/23 Dallas, TX Trees† 09/25 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad† 09/26 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theatre† 09/27 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel† 09/28 San Diego, CA House of Blues† 09/29 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues† 09/30 Santa Barbara, CA Velvet Jones† 10/02 Bakersfield, CA B Ryder's† 10/03 San Francisco, CA Slim's† 10/04 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst Atrium† 10/05 Anaheim, CA House of Blues † ^ w/ Strung Out, Handguns * w/ Silverstein, Lions Lions † w/ Strung Out, The Swellers

BRIEFLY:

MATT GOLD soundcloud.com Could not find Matt Gold's website. He probably doesn't have one, the only detail I have is that he's offering some songs remasted on his Soundcloud page. He is currently putting on the final touches on his debut album, Drown Before You Swim, for this month, August 2012.

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER myspace.com Elephant Micah and Hiss Golden Messenger have teamed up to record a 7" split. The split is coming out September 4th. For a limited time, the 7" will come bundle with HGM's Poor Moon LP or EM's Louder Than Thou LP. The 7" will be available in a limited, hand-numbered edition of 500, featuring "kustom kudzu stamps." More details at paradiseofbachelors.com.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Going for Gold 13

Read more Going for Gold articles.

Read More Tori Amos You know I love Tori Amos. She is one of those artists that I'll still continue to buy her albums, despite getting review copies.

TORI AMOS
toriamos.com

You know I love Tori. Who doesn't?

She announced that she's gone back and hand-picking songs from her entire catalog and re-imagining those songs for her thirteenth studio album, Gold Dust (to be released for October 2012). Announcement is so far that I'm using her previous album, Night of Hunters, as the cover artwork.

I am expecting these "new" songs will be incredibly different, just like her previous re-working of classic Christmas songs and Classical Music.

Also, expect a bit of orchestra, as long-time collaborator John Philip Shenale will be on board with the renowned Metropole Orchestra (conducted by Jules Buckley).

Tori comments on the forthcoming album: "My relationship with all of these songs has changed over the years and they have changed my life. So it wasn’t just about capturing the past it was about realizing that the songs had a new narrative now - 10 or 20 years later than they did when I originally recorded them".

Be sure to see her on tour:

Oct 1 Rotterdam w/ Metropole Orkest Conducted by Jules Buckley
Oct 2 Brussels w/ Metropole Orkest Conducted by Jules Buckley
Oct 13 Warsaw (On-Sale Date 6/11)

Read More The Cribs The Cribs are an excellent three piece indie band of twin brothers Gary and Ryan Jarman and their little brother Ross Jarman.

THE CRIBS
thecribs.com

We like these guys, I was lucky enough to have caught these guys the last few times they toured through Minneapolis.

They premiered a video called "Glitters Like Gold" on Pitchfork in early June.

Here is what the directors, Andy Knowles and Stephen Agnew, had to say about the video: "We wanted to capture the look and feel of the videos we grew up loving, Vids by directors like David Marky (1991, The Year Punk Broke, Fuzz Gun '91) And Kevin Kerslake ('sliver') We loved the relaxed playful lo-fi feel of spots, and wanted to evoke the same love in a newer audience. Its also very relevant to the over all sound and feel of the track. However, we didn't want to simply wallow in our own selfish nostalgia, we also wanted to create something playful and interactive to run parallel to the linear video. So we arrived at the idea of creating an interactive fact driven video."

The band's currently on tour:

Jun 21 Club Quattro Osaka, Japan
Jun 23 Hostess Weekender, Ebisu Tokyo, Japan
Jul 06 T in The Park Balado, United Kingdom
Aug 24 Richfield Avenue Reading, United Kingdom
Aug 25 Leeds Festival 2012 Leeds, United Kingdom
Aug 26 Bramham Park Bramham, United Kingdom

TRISTAN PRETTYMAN
www.tristanprettyman.com

The California singer Tristan Prettyman will be returning to music after her four-year recording hiatus to unveil Cedar + Gold, coming out on September 25 via Capitol Records.

You can hear a sneak peek of "My Oh My" on Entertainment Weekly. The track will be available on July 10th to impact radio a few weeks later.

The track-listing for Cedar + Gold is as follows: Say Anything / I Was Gonna Marry You / My Oh My / Unconditionally / Quit You / Bad Drug / Come Clean / Glass Jar / When You Come Down / Deepest Ocean / Blue / Second Chance / Never Say Never / The Rebound (bonus track).

Since the album is announced so far in advance, we weren't given the cover artwork for it. Instead, I'll be using the cover from the last album, Hello, from 2008.

Be sure to catch Prettyman and Joshua Radin on their tour:

07/12 Napa, CA Uptown Theater 07/15 Boise, ID Knitting Factory 07/17 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot 07/18 Aspen, CO Belly Up 07/20 Des Moines, IA Wooly’s 07/22 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater 07/23 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theatre

07/25 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse 07/27 Huntington, NY Paramount 07/28 Cleveland, OH Cain Park 07/29 Annapolis, MD Ramshead Onstage 07/31 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts 08/02 Alexandria, VA Birchmere 08/03 Norfolk, VA NorVa

HOLLOWS
hollowschicago.com

eMusic recently premiered "Golden Chain," the first video from Hollows' sophomore LP, Vulture.

I did a quick search on the 'net for Hollows, they have to do something about their name - there are already a few bands called Hollows - including one from Brooklyn and one from Glasgow.

Anyroad, the Chicago band is heading out on tour:

June 26 - Tip Top - Grand Rapids, MI
June 27 - Painted Lady - Detroit, MI
June 28 - Parts & Labour - Toronto, ON *
June 29 - Capital Rehearsal Studios - Ottawa, ON *
June 30 - Barfly - Montreal, QC *
July 1 - WWTA - Boston, MA *
July 2 - Glasslands - Brooklyn, NY *
July 3 - Cake Shop - New York, NY
July 5 - TBA - Baltimore, MD *
July 6 - Gillie's - Blacksburg, VA
July 7 - Espresso News - Boone, NC
July 8 - Springwater - Nashville, TN
July 9 - The Exhange - Hot Springs, AR
July 10 - H&H Lounge - Shreveport, LA
July 11 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX &
July 12 - White House - Conway, AR
July 13 - The Pleasure Chest - Fayetteville, AR
July 14 - Replay Lounge - Lawrence, KS
July 15 - Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
July 16 - PK's - Carbondale, IL

w/ Boyhood *
w/ Bass Drum of Death &

BRIEFLY:

GRASS WIDOW grasswidow.org "Goldilocks Zone" is the new song from Grass Widow, which premiered on Pitchfork. The song is taken from their self-released record, available through Internal Logic.

BILLY & DOLLY billyanddolly.com San Francisco's Billy & Dolly has a second full-length album out now called Dally Bon Idyll. Check out their single for "Gold" on Soundcloud.

IAN MCGLYNN ianmcglynn.com Ian McGlynn has a new album called Now We're Golden, which just came out earlier this month, June 5th via Bailey Park Records. The album was recorded all over the place, including Paris, Amsterdam and "exotic" Somerville, NJ. Will the songs on the album reflect his environment? I guess you have to listen for yourself.

THE HAPPY HIPPO FAMILY thhf.se Swedish indie band, The Happy Hippo Family, tells me that they have a second single for 2012 called "Settle for Gold" (this is after their previous single "Mustache"). "Settle for Gold", I am told, is about the mythical dream of fame and stardom and getting there without settling for second best.

THE KNOCKS www.facebook.com Don't know anything about the Knocks, they didn't send in links or bio, just that they recently remixed Santigold's "The Keepers", you can hear it on soundcloud.

PATRICK GOLDEN twitter.com Patrick Golden followed us on Twitter, so I thought I'd say hi. According to his twitter biography @7StringSerenade, he's the lead guitarist for Vulture King and Bog Iron and loves old stuff.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Going for Gold 12

Please read more Going for Gold.

FOXES
www.iamfoxes.com

Neon Gold Records is releasing Foxes' Warrior EP on June 19th, 2012.

Foxes is the stage name for real-life foxy Louisa Rose Allen, who is catching the eyes and ears of music critics, including the Guardian who noted her music as simply "glorious."

Foxes first released Youth showcased her haunting vocals and had over 1 million combined Soundcloud and YouTube plays, which is a big deal to a debut release from an unknown artist. If you watch CW's "Gossip Girl", you might have caught her songs, "Youth" (April 16) and "Home" (April 23).

Look for select US tour dates this summer.


LIONESS
facebook.com/LionessLionessLioness

Lioness' album, The Golden Killer, is out May 8th, 2012 via New Romantic Records. The debut LP took four years in the making, but they'll agree that "timing is perfect".

Since singer Vanessa Fischer is skilled costume maker (she made the lion head on the cover artwork), I did read that their live shows are a bit of a dressup, including skull hats and fancy capes. As it were, they are on tour:

May 3 Brooklyn, NY - Cameo Gallery
May 4 New York, NY - Pianos
May 5 Cleveland, OH - Happy Dog
May 7 Chicago, IL - Township

You can currently download their song, "The Night", for a limited time, via soundcloud.com.

MUX MOOL
muxmool.com

Mux Mool's new video single, "Cash for Gold", can be seen on Pitchfork and YouTube. The video features live action and animation, and some "climactic special effects".

Mux Mool's album, Planet High School was released February 7th, 2012, via Ghostly International Records. He's currently wrapping up his tour:

May 4 - Sacramento, CA - Electronic Music Fest
May 5 - Cambridge, MA - MIT Steer Roast
July 6 - Belden Town, CA - Fractilized Fest
July 13 - Mariahville, NY - Camp Bisco

BLACK PISTOL FIRE
www.blackpistolfire.com

Black Pistol Fire is having a "Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt" for the Austin CD release this May 3rd (tomorrow). If you're one of the four lucky fans who bought a specially marked CD, you will win the following:

1 Free Gourmet Meal for 2 Purchased and Prepared by Black Pistol Fire (Dine in or delivery option available)
2 Tickets to Black Pistol Fire's CD Release @ Stubbs BBQ May 4th
1 Copy of Black Pistol Fire's New CD "Big Beat '59"
1 Garbage Bag of Wonka Candy
1 Black Pistol Fire T-Shirt
1 Hour of Yard Work by Black Pistol Fire

Hmmm, my lawn does need mowing… Winners, please email your name, phone number and redemption code to riflebirdbookings[a]gmail.com to claim your prize!

BRIEFLY:

BOBAN I MARKO MARKOVIC ORESTAR boban-and-marko-markovic.com Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar's "Best Of" will be released on a compilation called Golden Horns, coming out June 12th, 2012, via Piranha Musik. Described as "the funkiest expression of their Southern Serbian Roma roots", the album was designed with a dance crowd in mind. "Beatologist" (that's a thing!) DJ Robert Soko explains, "As a DJ, I’ve had nearly twenty years to see the reaction Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar get from the crowd. Tracks like ‘Khelipe e cheasa,’ ‘Od Srca,’ and ‘Mundo Chochek’ simply kick ass. They get people dancing like crazy."

DAWN GOLDEN & ROSY CROSSES dawngolden.tumblr.com Six producers remixes and re-imagines Dawn Golden & Rosy Crosses' Blow EP, the new remixes will be released under Blow Remixed. DNTEL, The Get, and Shlohmo tackles "Blacks", while Jaycek, Arrange, and Stenchman re-think "White Sun". You can get the six remixes via amazon.com. Look for Dawn Golden & Rosy Crosses' forthcoming debut album on Mad Decent sometime this year.

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Going for Gold 11

Keepin' it Gold, so I've been told.

>>>
AU
facebook.com/auband

AU's December single, "Solid Gold", was released on a very limited 7" record, via Hometapes.

With a massive upcoming tour dates, we find the Oregon-based duo AU (Luke Wyland and Dana Valatka) performing "Solid Gold" for Into The Woods.

The live performance shows off a full band, including vocalist Holland Andrews, alto sax player Reed Wallsmith, trombonist Nick Sweet and guitarist Dan Duval.

Their third full-length album, Both Lights, will be out April 3rd on Hometapes. UK peeps, look to The Leaf Label.

03/03 Portland, OR The Doug Fir 03/08 Santa Cruz, CA Crepe Place 03/09 Los Angeles, CA The Echo 03/10 Tucson, AZ Plush 03/11 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room 03/13 Santa Fe, NM SOL at Santa Fe Brewing 03/14 - 03/17 Austin, TX SXSW 03/18 Wichita, KS Rock Island Live 03/19 Lawrence, KS The Replay 03/20 Denver, CO The Hi Dive & 03/21 Boulder, CO The Cherryvale 03/22 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court 03/24 Boise, ID Treefort Music Festival 03/29 Brooklyn, NY Cameo Gallery 04/04 Zurich, CH Papiersaal 04/05 Faenza, IT Clandestino 04/06 Rome, IT Init 04/07 Terni, IT Palmetta

04/09 Vienna, AT WUK ~ 04/10 Munich, DE Kranhalle at Feierwerk ~ 04/11 Berlin, DE Festsaal Kreuzberg ~ 04/12 Hamburg, DE Kampnagel ~ 04/14 Warsaw, PL Cafe Kulturalna 04/15 Wroclaw, PL Puzzle 04/17 Gent, BE Video 04/18 Liege, BE Le Fiacre 04/20 Metz, FR Les Trinitaires 04/22 Rotterdam, NL Worm 04/27 Paris, FR Keep Portland Weird Festival 04/28 Bergen, NO Bergen Kjott 04/29 Oslo, NO Revolver 05/02 Stockholm, SE Fritz's Corner 05/03 Copenhagen, DK Huset i Magstraede 05/05 Luxembourg, LU EXIT07 ~ = w/ Xiu Xiu

SAVOIR ADORE
savoiradore.com

Savoir Adore is another Brooklyn band. This one is about two BFF, Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro. They have a new single, Dreamers with the B-Side "Sea of Gold", out now. On the same EP, you'll also find "Dreamers" remixed by Golden Pony, which you can download for free via Brooklyn Vegan.

See New York Post's "10 Bands To Watch", Savoir Adore, on tour:

Mar 1 - New York, NY - Santos Party House - SOLD OUT
Mar 3 - Hartford, CT - The Mill at Trinity College
Mar 6 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
Mar 7 - Philadelphia, PA - The Blockley
Mar 8 - Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Festival
Mar 10 - Orlando, FL - The Social
Mar 11 - Atlanta, GA – Masquerade

Gold Fields: Treehouse Download "Treehouse" for free at goldfields.bandcamp.com

GOLD FIELDS
www.goldfieldsmusic.com

Gold Fields is a band out of Ballarat, Australia, their self-titled debut EP will be out March 13th via Astralwerks Records.

Never heard of these guys? Triple J has; putting their song "Treehouse" into their top 10. With only a year into their career and being on my favorite dancey label, Astralwerks, you should certainly keep an eye out for these guys.

Guitarist Vin Andanar had this to add about their debut EP, "From the beginning, we made it a big point to make every song sound different. We didn't want to be pigeonholed as part of any scene or specific sound."

Look for the band in the USA soon:

3/14-3/17 SXSW TBA
3/21 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
3/26 Hollywood, CA Bardot
3/27 San Diego, CA Soda Bar
3/28 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Bar

BRIEFLY:

BROTHERTIGER myspace.com/brothertiger Brothertiger is the stagename for John Jago. His debut album, Golden Years, is coming out March 27th, and is described as "a chilled-out" and "lo-fi dance" experience. Oh, it's chillwave, you say? As long as it's not dubstep, I'm okay with it.

TYLER LYLE tylerlyle.com Starting this week, if you live in the USA, Amazon is having a promotion for you to grab Tyler Lyle's song "The Golden Age and the Silver Girl" from the album of the same name. What's the album about? Lyle said, "All these songs deal with a girl. One girl. Every girl. It's a theme album. It's a break up album.".

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Going for Gold X

Yes, the 10th edition of Going for Gold, the series all about bands with the 'gold' theme.

CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS
facebook.com/choirofyoungbelievers

Coming out on Ghostly International Records on March 20th, 2012, is Choir of Young Believers' Rhine Gold.

Paste Magazine recently premiered "Nye Nummer Et" as a free download from Rhine Gold. And yes, the band will be doing several SXSW showcase:

03.09 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
03.12 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
03.13 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
03.14 - Austin, TX @ Club Deville
03.15 - Austin, TX @ Mellow Johnny’s (KEXP Session)
03.16 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
03.19 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

DANIEL ROSSEN
warp.net/records/daniel-rossen

Daniel Rossen is the singer/songwriter from that animal-band, Grizzly Bear, and that other-animal-band, Department of Eagles. Why his EP isn't animal-themed is beyond me, but it's called Silent Hour/Golden Mile, and it's being released on Warp Records on March 20th, 2012. It will be available in a variety of formats, including good old fashion vinyl, compact disc, and digital data files.

If you want to preview the lead song, you can listen to it via youtube.com.

Tracklisting
01. Up On High
02. Silent Song
03. Return To Form
04. Saint Nothing
05. Golden Mile

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Going for Gold 9

Read more Going for Gold (30+ "gold" bands!)

SANTIGOLD
santigold.com

Once upon a time, Santigold was called Santogold. That's all in the past, she is back in 2012, with Spin Magazine predicting her to be "one of 2012's pop queens".

Her take over began with a couple of sold-out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg, now she just released a new single, "Big Mouth" from her forthcoming album, Master of My Make Believe (out this Spring via Downtown Records/Atlantic Records).

What? You haven't heard the song yet? Download the song on her website. If you're too lazy, here is a link to the video.

Warning: crazy animation and dancing ahead.

PRINCE RAMA
princerama.com

Prince Rama are two sisters, Taraka and Nimai Larson. They seem like a really fun live band, with this written description: "Their often-unpredictable live shows graze the space between psychedelic ceremony, performance art and initiation rite." Sounds awesome, wish I could attend their live shows:

02/23 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands *
03/06 Charlottesville, VA Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
03/07 Knoxville, TN The Pilot Light
03/08 Savannah, GA Savannah Stopover Festival
03/13 - 03/17 Austin, TX SXSW
03/18 Dallas, TX Bro Fest 2012 @ Club Dada
03/19 Hot Springs, AR Valley of the Vapors Festival #
03/20 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall #
03/21 St. Louis, MO 2720 Cherokee #
03/22 Chicago, IL Hideout #
03/23 Cleveland, OH Happy Dog #
03/24 Pittsburgh, PA Assemble #
04/27 - 04/29 Austin, TX Austin Psych Fest

* = w/ Gary War, DJ set by Brian DeGraw (Gang Gang Dance)
# = w/ Psychic Ills

What does this have to do with 'gold'? You can hear Prince Rama's song, "Golden Silence (Mater Suspiria Vision Remix)" on visitation-rites.com. The song is from their EP, Trust Now, released last October.


BRIEFLY:

THE GOLDEN BEARS thegoldenbears.net The Golden Bears are Julianna Bright and Seth Lorinczi. Their sophomore album, Write It Like You Find It will be out March 21st (but their website lists January 2012). What I found interesting, reading about their album, is that the guest contributors includes Dave Depper from Ram Project, John Moen from the Decemberists, as well as Shelley Short, Sara Lund, and Kate Obrien-Clarke.

GOOD NIGHT GOLD DUST bandcamp.com I can't afford to fly into SXSW this year, but I did have an amazing time covering SXSW a few years ago. Good Night Gold Dust will be playing at SXSW this year, but I could not figure out their tour dates (it's not listed online). What I can tell you is that I think they're based out of Minneapolis, so maybe if they're playing around town, I'll send Lara to stalk them.

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Going for Gold 8

YES, Going for Gold is in its eighth installment.

Read More Goldfrapp I also picked up a few new CDs, including Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree, primarily for a decently priced ($17) deluxe package (includes extra DVD, handwritten lyric books, poster, postcards, etc).

GOLDFRAPP
www.goldfrapp.com

I've gone on record in the past, saying that I am a fan of Goldfrapp. I love them, even though I don't have their new album, I did pick up Seventh Tree.

So, their new release, The Singles, which comes out February 7th, 2012, via Astralwerks Records, is perfect for me - it collects all their big hits throughout the years. For hardcore fans, you'll want to pick this up because it also comes with two new songs, especially written and meant for this collection: "Yellow Halo" and "Melancholy Sky". The video for the former is available now on youtube.com. Tip: their videos have always been amazing, so do yourself a favor and watch it.

Anyway, watch out for the greatest hits/singles album to be out in February, below is the track listing:

1. Ooh La La
2. Number 1
3. Strict Machine (Single Mix)
4. Lovely Head
5. Utopia (Genetically Enriched)
6. A&E
7. Happiness (Single Version)
8. Train
9. Ride A White Horse (Single Version)
10. Rocket
11. Believer
12. Black Cherry
13. Yellow Halo
14. Melancholy Sky

GOLDEN CALVES
www.woodsist.com

Originally released in 1996, Golden Calves' Money Band LP and Century Band 12" are being re-issued on January 31st, 2012, as double LP from Woodsist Records. The record is limited to 1,000 copies, the digital version is infinite!

I've never heard of Golden Calves (or Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice), so I can't really understand the minimalist album cover approach. As a fan of cover artwork, I have to say, I don't like the white boring album artwork. Before you mention The Beatles' "White Album", I don't like that either - despite owning two different versions of that album.

I'll leave it to songwriter, James Jackson Toth, to explain his album (and his 'naïve art'):

"It was really all about The Godz, Jandek, The Shadow Ring, Strapping Fieldhands, Swell Maps and Tower Recordings. Beyond these, I had only heard the 'classic' and most available free jazz, krautrock and noise albums. I was a long way from, say, the second Comus album or Charles Gayle. But this music changed my life. It was a record store owner named Eric McCarthy and a man who needs no introduction to anyone reading these notes, Matt Valentine, who taught me that there was a world beyond Dischord, Vermiform and Ebullition. I went to college, met hip people, and got a job at both the local record store and the college radio station. I was taking drugs. I bought a four track and began emulating my heroes. I called the project Golden Calves. I was eighteen years old....

In hindsight, I like to think that the noise scene liked us and responded so positively to us because, in our own naïve way, we were subverting a very rigid paradigm. Touring with noise bands and moving in experimental circles but playing proper 'songs' is what made us weird. It was an exciting, unforgettable time.

These are not perfect records. Perhaps worse than so-called 'naïve art' is 'only-marginally-informed art' and that's what this is. I should have let my talents marinate for a while before rushing out records that now sound to me like thinly-veiled love letters to Siltbreeze. But f**k it, man. I was hopelessly arrogant then and remain so today. Why else would I greenlight this f**king thing?"

DIGGS DUKE
diggsduke.bandcamp.com

Diggs Duke tells me that his new release, Black Gold is available now via Bandcamp at any price (this means you can put in $0.00 and it will still let you download the EP).

There is a disclaimer on the website, which I'll change to lowercase, because it felt like he's screaming at you with the ALL CAPS.

*** When you purchase this EP, you aren't paying for the artist to buy a yacht. You really arn't even paying for the music herein. What you're doing is making a donation to support this artist's future musical endeavors. So, be assured that whever you donate is helping to revive quality music. If you want to hear more, give more.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M