who's smoking your spirit?

ICYMI: The new Big Hush EP is out now in a limited run of 100 gorgeous goldenrod cassettes! After all the pre-orders and tapes that were snatched up at the release show (which received some kind words in the Washington Post), there are less than 10 copies left in the merch store, though you can still get them directly from the band at all upcoming gigs. ✌

"Who's Smoking Your Spirit?" has already received some solid coverage from the likes of WAMU Bandwidth, Post-Trash [1] [2], Washington City Paper [1] [2], and DC Music Download [1] [2].

"[Who's Smoking Your Spirit?] exposes the band’s knack for infectious hooks. On “Cold Shoulder,” pulsing guitar and bass ride distortion to the front of the mix, while the dual vocals seem to exist on another plane entirely. Then, more than two-and-a-half minutes into the track’s gurgle and feedback, a pop song breaks out, with Ludwig momentarily winning a battle with the music, long enough to deliver the album’s catchiest refrain. It’s just a moment, of course. Big Hush still dabbles in shoegaze even when the drift and reverb seems to be holding a decent pop song’s head underwater." - Washington City Paper

"The EP’s five tracks, which merge together like ingredients in a murky stew, sound like an updated version of [My Bloody Valentine]" - WAMU Bandwidth

"Halfway between shoegaze and surf guitar is Big Hush, a DC band that makes a lot more noise than their name would suggest." - Black Cat 

"Mournful, sighing melodies sink deep as they play with surf and post-rock rhythms, while shoegaze feels more and more limited as a descriptor with every release." - Washington City Paper

Thanks to all the publications above and to everyone who has supported the release thus far! Stay tuned for more gigs in the near future, and don't miss these great lineups coming to the District:

Saturday, December 12 at Songbyrd Music House

Hemlines w/ The Effects, Wing Dam, and Wet Brain

(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, December 13 at Hole In The Sky

Escape From DC Brunch IX: Princess Reason, Go Cozy, and Airhead DC

(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, December 20 at Songbyrd Music House

Rick (from Pile), Snail Mail, Mattress Financial, and Charlie Down

(click flyer to RSVP)

And if all that weren't enough, there's one more bit of happy news coming out of Romantic States' camp. The band was able to raise enough money from fan purchases to adopt a manatee through the Save The Manatee Club! Margarito is an endangered West Indian manatee, known for being very curious, friendly, and social. He can be identified by a number of scars from watercraft strikes, and from his missing left flipper, which he lost after it was badly entangled in fishing line. Please dispose of your fishing line properly and be kind to animals!

cough

Surprise! Big Hush are back with a brand new EP called "Who's Smoking Your Spirit?" out on December 1. The first single "Cough" premiered yesterday on The FADER, who called the release a "fuzz-heavy, shoegaze pop whirlwind," and got some cryptic explanation of the track, dubbed by guitarist/vocalist Owen Wuerker as a song "about trying to remind yourself that you still have some control over the kind of person you are...you can nurse a cough for so long that you start to forget you're sick."



The release show will be November 30 at Black Cat with our friends Wildhoney and Cigarette. If you live in the District you may have seen these slick show posters on an electrical box near you, and a small run of screenprints will be available at the show c/o the wildly talented JD Deardourff. Don't miss this killer bill and your chance to snag one of these beauties and a copy of "Who's Smoking Your Spirit?" on pro-dubbed cassettes limited to 100 copies (click poster for details).

dead alive

And without skipping a beat, I'm happy to announce that DZ18 will be the first release for DC's Nice Breeze. The veteran three-piece stir up lo-fi, surf-tinged punk cuts that weave droning hooks with laconic, off-the-cuff vocals and take you for a buoyant ride on an ever-cresting wave inside the bonzai pipeline of your mind.

 

"Schroedinger's Cat's Grave" is out November 14, with the release show that night at Hot Tub House with manatee mommies BRNDA, the first-ever live performance from Scanners, as well as Vile Creature and Bakerman from up north. Don't miss this chance to grip the garish gold cassette before it ships - click here for details.

The week before on November 8 at Showtime, just as the need hot and hearty stews is picking up, the DC Rock'n'Roll Chili Cookbook will be released, featuring an awesome cassette compilation and chili recipes from some great local bands, including new additions to the DZ family Nice Breeze and Hemlines. All proceeds from the project go to benefit local non-profit Bread For The City, which aims to provide vulnerable residents of Washington, DC with comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.

Continuing further back in time, just earlier that day the eighth installment of the Escape From DC Brunch show will be going down at Hole In The Sky (click flyer for details). Come out to see WYDYDE, Great Smokey and Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists, then grab some chili down the road.

Since their own release show last month Hemlines have been staying busy, with progressive coverage in WAMU Bandwidth and another gig lined up for November 21 at Rock & Roll Hotel, the band continues its roll with relative ease.

Now that DZ HQ is up and running at HITS, I'm hoping to get more projects out on a consistent basis. Part of that hurdle is going to be catching up with the backlog of recordings from the monthy (anti-)Brunch shows. Thankfully, we've started picking up the pace, and I'm happy to share with you this video of Big Hush performing "Walk On" earlier this year:

Before signing off, I need to give thanks to the Washington City Paper for their recent shout-out, and to send some love to The Sweets and Pool Holograph, who have both released new full-length albums this month. Check out their new work below, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more goodies from DZ HQ in the very near future.

agenda

The time has come - I'm proud to introduce you to Hemlines, a four-piece feminist punk band from Washington, DC whose explosive rage manifests itself through ferociously conscious vocals and heavy, dynamic instrumentation. Their debut EP "All Your Homes" features five fiery tracks that unapologetically challenge patriarchal oppression with a focused anger, demanding respect and taking no prisoners.

The band has hit the ground running and after a fantastic collection of shows on the road, they're back in town tonight at the Black Cat for their EP release show with Homosuperior. Don't miss your first chance to grip your copy of the limited-edition, hand-dubbed-with-love, smokey-red cassette (click pic for details).

"[Hemlines] zigzags through a swath of the punk spectrum with observable skill... [they] weave pop-punk melodies around moments of raucous hardcore. Sonically, the effect is eye-opening...true vocal viciousness. Hemlines crosses a kind of line between empowerment and revenge fantasy...consider keeping your head on a swivel, Hemlines might be coming for you." - Washington City Paper

“[All Your Homes] explodes out of the gate... a no-fucks-given feminist machine. All Your Homes runs the gamut of the feminist feelings spectrum: at once fiery, inspiring, and heavy. Five energetic but concentrated tunes meld the anxieties many feel but don’t know quite how to express." - DCist

A few other DZ darlings have some fun things planned for the near future as well, don't sleep on these shows:

Sunday, October 4 at the Pinch

Big Hush w/ Warm Sun, Brief Candles, and Neiv

(click here to RSVP)

Saturday, October 10 at Everybody Hits in Philadelphia
Romantic States w/ Halfsour, Marge, and Fleabite
(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, October 11 at Hole In The Sky
Escape From DC Brunch VII: Nitemoves, CrushnPain, and Flash Frequency
(click flyer to RSVP)

Thursday, October 15 at Above The Bayou

Big Hush w/ The Goodbye Party, Missing Earth, and Collider

(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, October 18  at Ottobar in Baltimore

Romantic States w/ Wildhoney, Pity Sex, Spencer Radcliffe, and Blacksage

(click flyer to RSVP)

Plenty of good things in store, don't miss out on these gigs and get your ears ready for DZ18.

the next generation

Production for the next project is under way, and I'm proud to announce DZ17 will be the new Hemlines EP. The four-piece feminist punks are taking their show on the road for the first time and the tour will be bringing them around the mid-Atlantic and East Coast, starting down south in North Carolina, going up to New York, then back to the District on September 30 for the official cassette release show at the Black Cat with Homosuperior.

While everyone involved is super excited for what's to come, thankfully there's fun to be had between now and then...

Two of my favorite bands from anywhere are playing on tonight at 453 Florida as Big Hush and Two Inch Astronaut play host to New Yorkers ADVAETA (click flyer for details).

Then on Sunday September 13, the sixth installment of the Escape From DC Brunch series at (my new abode) Hole In The Sky showcases some groovy out-of-town talent with Mild High Club and Laser Background, featuring local support from BRNDA (click flyer for details).

Two more things to touch on here before closing out:

With In It Together Fest 2 in the rearview mirror, I'm proud to announce we raised over $7000 for DC Abortion Fund, Collective Action For Safe Spaces, and We Are Family DC.

And I want to send a big shout out and much love to tenley tapes for their contribution of a new(-to-me) Telex stereo cassette duplicator with which DZ will flourish in quite an imminent sense. Stay tuned for DZ17 and more releases before the end of 2015. ✌

windjammer

Now that In It Together Fest 2 is behind us (more on that later), it's time to look forward to more fun in the setting summer sun:

Beginning tomorrow Romantic States will be joining Beach House on tour around the Northeast to help celebrate the release of their new album Depression Cherry on Sub Pop, and will have a limited second run of yellow tour-only cassettes at the shows!

The final show of the tour is an all-day Windjammer at Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore with additional performances by Future Islands, Dan Deacon, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, and more. Best of all, the event is a benefit for Living Classrooms' Believe In Music program, serving to uplift Baltimore City students academically, culturally, and spiritually, while promoting self-expression and community awareness through music education. Tickets for that one are long gone, but check out the full tour schedule here for your chance to close out the summer with a bang.

Meanwhile back in DC, the second In It Together Fest was a wild success, and though we're still working to finalize the total amount of funds raised for our partner organizations, preliminary calculations suggest we'll more than double last year's numbers! Stay tuned for more details as things fall into place, but for now enjoy some of the moments that made the second In It Together Fest an incredible weekend of artistic expression, community building, and progressive action.

Two Inch Astronaut (courtesy of Echo Bay)

Bless (courtesy of Matt Dunn)

Cayetana (courtesy of Matt D. Cohen)

Wildhoney (courtesy of Andrade)

Thou (courtesy of Sharon)

RDGLDGRN (courtesy of Matt Dunn)

Chester Hawkins (courtesy of Matt D. Cohen)

Wing Dam (courtesy of Xaq)

June Gloom (courtesy of Sharon)

Mark Andersen of Positive Force with DC Councilman David Grosso

Until next time, keep a curious eye on things to come. DZ17 and other fun news is just around the corner...

in it together fest 2

There's some pretty cool news in the pipeline that I'm very excited to share, but today kicks off In It Together Fest 2 and with over 70 bands and 40 artists exhibiting at over 20 events around Washington DC, there's some things I've got to get to first...

~

◆ THURSDAY, JULY 30 ◆

[07:00p] Print Show #1 ft. Baby Bry Bry @ 69:30 Club

[07:00p] Blizzard Babies / Bless / Valencia @ 453 Florida

[07:30p] BRNDA Album Release Show ft. Wildhoney / Den-Mate @ Black Cat

[07:30p] Atoka Chase / Near Northeast / Laurel Rose / Pat Jones @ GlowHouse

[08:00p] Paint Branch / Norwegian Arms / Chief Scout / Wanted Man @ Paperhaus

◆ FRIDAY, JULY 31 ◆

[05:00p] ARTSHOW_13: Going Out Of Business @ Hole In The Sky

[07:00p] RDGLDGRN / Laughing Man / Concord America @ Babe City

[08:00p] Kal Marks / Lady Bones / How To Be Topp / Sealab @ The (Sea) Lab

[08:00p] Youth Crush / The Public / Möbius Strip / Heart Attack Man / Misled Youth @ The Dougout

◆ SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 ◆

[12:00p] Empower DC Benefit Show ft. Eshovo / Motherknuckle @ Lamont Street Collective

[12:00p] Vundabar / June Gloom / Ezra Mae And The Gypsy Moon / Reed Appleseed / Lunchbox @ Ezra Mae's

[01:00p] Leapling / More Humans / Really Big Pinecone / Mattress Financial / Teen Mom @ The Beehive

[01:00p] Wing Dam / Witch Coast / Shark Week / Dark Tunnels / Laurel Rose / Grey Gardens @ Crack Rock Creek Church

[03:00p] In It Together Short Film Screening @ The Lookout

[04:30p] ★ Official InFestDC Showcase ★ ft. Cayetana / Thou / Rozwell Kid / Pygmy Lush / Two Inch Astronaut / Soda Bomb / ORCA / Jail Solidarity / The Black Sparks / Meridian @ St. Stephen's

[11:00p] Hurry / Late Bloomer / Alright @ Black Cat

◆ SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 ◆

[11:00a] Drone Brunch ft. The Plums / Chester Hawkins / Obetrol / Jack On Fire @ Spacelab-A

[12:00p] Free Play Pinball Party @ Lyman's Tavern

[12:00p] ShowPony / Breakup Season / Default Handshake @ AlleyCatHouse

[02:30p] Lilac Daze / Big Moth / Glueboy / Rachel Kline @ Above The Bayou

[06:00p] Positive Force 30th Anniversary Celebration ft. Big Hush / Swings / Didi / Collider / Broken Grids @ St. Stephen's

~

If you're like me and just can't wait for IITF2, dive into the latest episode of In Yr Basement Radio to get a preview of the fun to come plus some unique insight behind the scenes with some of the people who helped put it together.

And don't sleep on picking up a copy of the InFestDC mixtape before they're all gone...

~

In It Together Fest (IITF, InFestDC, etc.) is a four-day celebration of underground art, music, and activism at all venues propagating independent culture throughout the District of Columbia. Empowered by the hope to build a community amongst disparate DIY spaces, we've come together to foster participation, encourage new ideas, and highlight the under-appreciated. IITF aims to challenge, embolden the marginalized among us, and help transform our creative community into one free of traditional boundaries and productive in its endeavors. All events associated with IITF are all ages, always.

The two main showcases will be hosted at St. Stephen's, a church that has hosted DIY benefit shows for three decades thanks to Positive Force DC, an activist collective seeking radical social change, personal growth, and youth empowerment. This year we'll be helping to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Positive Force and Revolution Summer with an awesome benefit show with a special endowment from the DC City Council.

Thanks to these progressive community stapes, we'll be able to raise funds for three amazing local non-profit organizations doing great work throughout the District:

• We Are Family DC ...bringing advocacy, services, organizing, and companionship into the homes of the elderly, while helping to build friendships across boundaries like race, class, religion, age, culture, and sexual orientation.

• DC Abortion Fund ...an all-volunteer nonprofit that makes grants to pregnant people in the D.C. area who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion.

• Collective Action for Safe Spaces ...empowering people in the DC metro area to end public sexual harassment and assault.

In It Together Fest is proud to uphold a safer spaces policy, vowing to make all venues involved welcoming, engaging, and supportive environments free of oppressive actions, behaviors, and language. Participants and attendees are asked to consider how their language and behavior impacts others in attendance. Racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated, in tabling material or at the Fest itself at any and all affiliated spaces and/or in materials promoting such events at said spaces.

~

For more information on In It Together Fest, please visit the website: 

www.infestdc.org

~

...but that's not all! The following weekend on Sunday August 9, don't miss the fifth installment of Escape From DC Brunch at Hole In The Sky, featuring Turnip King, Bless, and Teen Liver - click flyer for details.

influx

Of course In It Together Fest is right around the corner (June 30 - Aug 2 in DC), but there's plenty of fun to be had between now and then...

The next DZ gig is this Sunday at Hole In The Sky in Northeast DC as part of the Escape From DC Brunch series. Come out on July 12 and catch local favorites Big Hush, Foozle, and June Gloom. Click the flyers below for more details:

In Alexandria at The Lab, Rachel Kline will be having her EP release show on Friday, July 10 to benefit In It Together Fest. Click the flyers below for more details:

Finally, Romantic States have a string of Midwest dates lined up this week. Folks in Pittsburgh, Bloomington, Chicago, and Detroit should be sure to check out the shows:

Thursday, July 9 at City Grows in Pittsburgh w/ Unraveler
RSVP here

Friday, July 10 at Backwash in Bloomington w/ The Icks

RSVP here

Saturday, July 11 at Flood House in Chicago w/ BANAL ANML
(click flyer below for to RSVP)

Monday, July 13 at PJ's Lager House in Detroit w/ Juan Wauters
RSVP here

More exciting news coming soon, don't sleep~ ✌

swingin'

In It Together Fest planning is coming along well and we've got lots of fun in store for those of you lucky to be in DC from July 30 to August 2! So far we've got 15 different events planned throughout the city featuring over 40 bands and counting. Some new additions to the festivities include Leapling, Kal Marks, Vundabar, Wing Dam, Hurry, Clique, and Big Hush. More info will be announced later this week, so be sure to check out the facebook and twitter for more details.

In the meantime, there are two DZ artists playing shows tonight that you should check out if you're in DC or Baltimore. Click the flyers below for more details:

Big Hush w/ Nude Beach, Outer Spaces, and Chain Rank at Saint-Ex in DC

Romantic States w/ Alter, Blessin', and Retired at The Crown in Baltimore

Those of you searching for something new from these two bands, here's a sneak peak of one gorgeous new Big Hush track plus live archives from DC's show scene on the latest episode of In Yr Basement Radio and a brand new song from Romantic States on a compilation celebrating the now-defunct KEITH house in Baltimore.

If you miss out of these gigs, don't sweat too hard - Big Hush will be playing with The Swirlies at Black Cat on July 6 (click flyer below for details) and Romantic States have some exciting show news to be announced in the very near future~ :)

it's coming

It's been a long time coming: In It Together Fest is taking place again in Washington DC this summer! The DIY fest's second iteration will be held from July 30 through August 2 at various spaces around the District, and we've got a top-notch assortment of acts already confirmed, including:

Cayetana / Rozwell Kid / Soda Bomb / Two Inch Astronaut / Jail Solidarity / Thou / and more

This year, we'll be working to support Collective Action For Safe Spaces, DC Abortion Fund, and We Are Family. For more information about the fest, click the graphic above. And if you haven't yet checked out the InFestDC mixtape, take a listen to the compilation below. If you like what you hear, make sure to pick up a copy before they're all gone - all proceeds from the cassette will be going back to the previously mentioned organizations! :) 

Tune in to In Yr Basement Radio on Radio CPR every other Wednesday from 6-7pm ET for more live cuts and upcoming show announcements. If you're in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of DC, you can turn your dial to 101.7 FM, but those of you outside of our range can still catch the show streaming online using this easy-to-remember link: tinyurl.com/radiocpr

I'll be skipping my next turn in the rotation, but you can catch me live on Wednesday June 24 or check out the back catalog here.

I got to record The Creature People last month, check out this beautifully hypnotizing, previously unreleased gem:

On the live show front, a couple of DZ denizens have some great gigs lined up for the near future in the DMV. Click the flyers below for more details:

Thursday, June 4 at The Windup Space in Baltimore

Romantic States w/ Cold Beat, Outer Spaces, and Boy Spit

Wednesday, June 10 at The Lilly Trotter Tea Lounge

Adam Torres w/ The Creature People, Poppy Patica, and The UVF Rays

Sunday, June 14 at Hole In The Sky

Escape From DC Brunch III: The Black Sparks, Rachel Kline, and The Sniffs

Sunday, June 14 at Above The Bayou

Romantic States w/ Beth Israel and Bless

Lastly, ICYMI the new music video for Adam Torres' "Dusty Wing Spirit" was premiered on Stereogum last week, but you can view it right here. And don't miss Adam on tour! For a full list of cities and dates, check out his website.

walking dogs

The InFestDC mixtape showcases 22 of the top live tracks from some of DC's best rising bands, but in case that wasn't enough, I've got a pleasant surprise in store for you. Thanks to Radio CPR, I've now got the chance to share even more audio archives from the city's underground show scene. Check out the first ever broadcast In Yr Basement Radio below for some great B-sides that didn't make the compilation, and don't miss next week's episode on Wednesday, May 13 from 6-7pm ET on 101.7FM in Mt. Pleasant or online here.

Many thanks to Ad Hoc, Washington City Paper, and DC Music Download for their coverage of the InFestDC mixtape, and to Decoder Magazine and DCist for their praises:

"The whole collection is a thrashing but articulate window into the various communities the Fest, and DZ Tapes itself, knit together through their projects." - Decoder Magazine 

"Combining live music with a sense of community organizing and charity are the perfect trio to describe ... the personality of D.C.’s own cultural history" - DCist

Up next on the live event front is the next Escape From DC Brunch show at Hole In The Sky this Sunday, May 10 featuring the public debut of a new project with members of Two Inch Astronaut and Young Rapids called Sloganeers, alongside Chris Taylor in The Creature People and HITS resident guitar wizard Justin Zami (click flyer for details).

In case you missed the last show, we captured the first ever performance by Green God here on VHS for your viewing pleasure:

In other DZ show news, Big Hush take the stage with Beach Fossils and Den-Mate at the Rock & Roll Hotel on Thursday, May 14 (click here for details).

Lastly, the yearly Nelsonville Music Festival in Nelsonville, OH will be taking place May 28-31 and will be hosting some spectacularly talented musicians, including DZ alum Adam Torres. Other acts along for the fun include The Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, Ryley Walker, Michael Hurley, and more.

Before signing off, I wanted to send my gratitude to the Baltimore City Paper for their graciously in-depth review of the Romantic States release, calling it "a seductive, cohesive whole [that] isn't merely impressive, it's quite often hypnotic," and to DC Music Download for including me in their recent piece on Record Store Day.

Until next time, stay sound...

infestdc mixtape

The long wait is finally here, and I'm proud to share with you the latest DZ project, the InFestDC mixtape. This 70-minute compilation features 22 choice cuts recorded live at DIY shows around the District, and showcases talent from DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and more.

Featuring live tracks by:

TWO INCH ASTRONAUT / SWINGS 

WILDHONEY / MANNEQUIN PUSSY / BIG UPS

NEONATES / ROMANTIC STATES / JAIL SOLIDARITY

WITCH COAST / THE OBSESSIVES / ET AL. / RADIATOR HOSPITAL

LAUGHING MAN /  TEEN LIVER / HEMLINES / SITCOM

POLYON / MATTRESS FINANCIAL / TRUNKWEED

PASSING PHASES / MERIDIAN / NICE BREEZE

In 2014, a group of DC musicians, artists, and other community members teamed up to throw the first In It Together Fest, a four-day celebration of DIY culture held at 17 venues around the city. The inaugural fest raised over $2500 for two amazing local non-profit organizations, We Are Family and Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center. This year, we're aiming to raise the bar quite a bit, and in preparation for the next In It Together Fest we've put together a mixtape, limited to 250 copies professionally dubbed on slime green cassettes, All proceeds from this tape and this year's In It Together Fest are going towards one or two local non-profit organizations To Be Announced.

We hope you'll take the time to check out this awesome archive of DC's vibrant DIY show culture, and mark your calendars for the next In It Together Fest, July 31 + August 1!

sneak peek

There's a lot of fun things coming up in the near future, and to kick things off here's a sneak peek of DZ16~

More about that later, but for now here's whats going on with the fam:

Big Hush are back at it this Friday, April 10 at 453 Florida Ave NW, playing alongside Wing Dam from Baltimore, Big No from Richmond, and a new project called Howling Void, featuring from members of Pygmy Lush and Sad Bones (click flyer for details).

On Sunday, April 12 at Hole In The Sky will be the first of a new installment of monthly anti-brunch shows featuring emerging local talent. Come out to the first gig and catch long-time favorites Two Inch Astronaut perform with supergroup Polyon, and be sure come on time to catch the first show by sludgy stoner fuzz rockers Green God (click flyer for details).

A little further down the line, and a bit north of here, Romantic States will be playing two different "last show" events at The Foxhole and KEITH in Baltimore. More recently, Gumshoe and Pop Perfect had some nice words for their self-titled release. Only a handful of copies are left in the store, so be sure to pick one up before they're all gone~

"[I] was immediately attracted to the way the music finds experimentation within it's lo-fi, stark song arrangements...It has become an album that I find myself continually returning to." – Gumshoe

Wednesday, April 22 at The Foxhole with Bellows, Sharpless, and Soft Cat (click flyer for details).

Saturday, May 9 at KEITH with Quitter, The Spirit Of The Beehive, and Soft Bats (click flyer for details).

Sitcom released a new collection of songs recorded live at a show earlier this year by yours truly. You can check out "Sock Draw" below:


And last but certainly not least we have Adam Torres performing "Voices From The Top Of The Mountain" live on The Trundle Sessions. The track is the first off the upcoming Nostra Nova re-release, due out on vinyl April 21 by Misra Records.

A full stream of the album can be found over at The A.V. Club. Enjoy the album and pitch in for a pre-order if you can! There will be more news from Adam in the coming months, so be sure to stay tuned for that and a big announcement from DZ HQ and the DC DIY show scene soon~ ✌

high ceiling

Big Hush are kicking off the weekend with a gig at American University on Saturday, March 28 featuring the newest Ian Svenonius project ESCAPE-ISM, Chris Moore and The Rememberables, and Video Love from Paris (click flyer for details).

On Sunday, Foozle bring their jangly pop-punk to the Pinch and join Brooklyn cyberpunk dreamers ONWE and bedroom pop shoegazers Nicholas Nicholas (click flyer for details).

Next weekend, the real fun begins at the 18th annual MACROCK independent music festival in Harrisonburg, VA. On April 3 and 4 a bunch of awesome bands will be shaking up this small college town - the list includes Spray Paint, Two Inch Astronaut, WEED, Swings, Elvis Depressedly, Crying, Rozwell Kid, and more.

DZ TAPES will be posting up at the label expo with the first sneak peek of our newest release, alongside other new goodies from In It Together Fest and Red Table Press. If you're in town for the festival, make sure to stop by our table for your chance to pick up a copy of DZ16 before it's public release. For more info on the label expo, click the image below.

Until then, I'd like to leave you with this beautiful live recording of "Shining Hour" by Adam Torres on KUTX Austin. Adam's got a lot more fantastic music in store, so stay tuned for additional greatness to come in the near future.