gig bag

After an amazing few months, the summer is coming to a close. But not before we take a moment to shed some light on some of the things that have helped to make this the hottest season on record for us here at DZ HQ. And now without further adieu, your last day of summer camp update:

First up on the docket I am proud to announce the release of the latest work from the always entertaining (and sometimes bemusing), the one and only Sitcom from Baltimore.

Since its digital release earlier this year, "Gig Bag" has already received some kind press from the likes of Stereogum, Tiny Mix Tapes, and GoldFlakePaint, and is available now for the first time on professionally dubbed pink cassettes with five-page liner in a limited run of 100.

"those who keep a keen eye on the U.S bedroom-pop scene will probably be aware of Jake Lazovick’s talent; one of those precocious, prolific acts that the country seems to have an abundance of, now and forever... there’s certainly a buried strain of implacable magic to his work, the kind of half-buried feeling you’re unsure of where it came from, or where it belongs, but which constantly tugs at you from the very heart of his weirdly wonderful songs. The new record does this from the outset." - GoldFlakePaint 

"Jake Lazovick’s latest album under his Sitcom moniker sounds like both his loneliest and most accomplished to date. Gig Bag feels like a largely solitary endeavor — with only background vocals from Joanna Smith occasionally penetrating the fold — but it’s never alienating. In fact, most of these songs sound like they’re begging for connection, yearning and presumptively hopeful... Lazovick makes muted pop songs for small spaces, insular notes that appeal to the introvert in all of us." - Stereogum 

"What on this surface of his live shows looks like flailing sketch of 101 Things to Learn in Art School, Lazovick’s worked his way into downtempo and house-influenced dance jamz with an oblique awareness of the performative body, the manic space between smile and frown, the body as DIY punchline. I guess it’s appropriate that the project’s been known as “Sitcom;” Lazovick’s performance feels like the taut ethos of a Seinfeld or Friends episode without the laugh track, a hit or miss confidence that’s probably essential these days in performance. Like Phil Elverum’s more stream of conscious efforts turned Demetri Martin one-liners (with maybe a dash of the Wiggles), Lazovick combats the roaring chaos of punk with a fearless gesture, a wonky boom-bap, an uneasy chuckle from the back of the room." - Tiny Mix Tapes

Tapes will start shipping early next month and your first chance to pick one up in person will be on September 7 at The Crown in Baltimore when Sitcom plays with Outer Spaces and Gun Outfit (more info can be found here).

Moving along to some more news that gives me the windows-down breeze-in-your-hair feeling that could only come from a stretch on the old American highway system, both Big Hush and Wildhoney are prepping to hit the road and take the country by storm before the next ice age sends us the way of the mastodons.

  

Big Hush will be putting the pedal to the metal starting this weekend, so keep up with the band and find out where they're playing in your town by clicking the tour poster above.

And as if I weren't already the luckiest boy in the world, I'm thrilled to say that I will be accompanying Wildhoney on their trek in support of Cymbals Eat Guitars and Field Mouse starting mid-September! Needless to say, I'm overwhelmingly excited to join my friends on their nationwide tour, so check out the dates above and come chat me up at the merch booth, where I'll have the full DZ distro on display and freshly pressed copies of the band's new "Continental Drift" 4-way split vinyl with The Spook School, Mercury Girls, and Tigercats from Slumberland Records which premiered on BrooklynVegan earlier this week (listen here).

But before hopping in the van, there's three DZ gigs going down 24 hours prior to my departure:

Thursday, September 8 at The Lilly Trotter Tea Lounge

Donovan Wolfington, Caddywhompus, and Dove Lady

(click here to RSVP)

Saturday, September 17 at The Lilly Trotter Tea Lounge

Hovvdy, Yours Are The Only Ears, and Airhead DC

(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, September 18 at Hole In The Sky

Escape From DC Brunch XV: Yohuna, Cat Be Damned, and Slip Disco

(click flyer to RSVP)

Like there weren't already enough awesome things happening in this post, here's a brief recap of some of the more spectacular moments since the last update:

Half Waif was featured on the Best New Track section of Pitchfork, who had this to say about one of my favorite tracks from the record:

"Plunkett’s beautifully ornamented melodies—intricately woven, as if using harmonies to climb into the sky—recall Judee Sill’s flanged poise, or more so, the New Age webbings of Enya. Still, grounding the glassy “Turn Me Around” is a searing double-dutch beat that points square at pop radio. The music contains dark shadows as well as sugar—were you to text this Bandcamp link to a friend, the most appropriate emoji pairing might be a crystal ball and a lollipop." - Pitchfork

For more personal insight on the album, check out this recent interview Nandi did with The Village Voice, where she talks about blending analog atmospheres and digital recordings, her musical influences growing up, and more.

Down south, DZ alum Adam Torres has been prepping for the release of his upcoming album "Pearls To Swine" on Fat Possum Records, and the folks over at NPR have been keeping the new tracks on repeat. Just earlier this week, they featured "High Lonesome" on their Heavy Rotation feature, and last month they premiered the video for "Juniper Arms" which you can watch below:

Last month's half-decade celebration was a stellar success, featuring nine incredible bands playing to a packed crowd and enough free seltzer and ice cream to keep everyone sweet and bubbly the whole night through. The folks from Femchord used the chance to record an interview with Mal Devisa (which you can listen to here), Melted Magazine took some time to chat with Swings (which you can read here), and Julia Leiby took some intimate performance photos (some of which are below, the rest you can see here).

Mal Devisa

Dove Lady

Middle Part

Leapling

Before signing off, I want to send my love and gratitude to all the bands and friends who came together to make the anniversary show the most infinitely special time I've had all my years at the helm of this rinky-dink operation, and I'm impossibly grateful for all the support you all have shown me for the past five years. Cheers to ever-growing friendships and more marvelous music for many years to come~ ♥

cinco años

Funny how fast the time flies when you're having fun. Almost five years ago our first release came out, and now it's time to take a moment to look back and celebrate...

Saturday, July 9 at Hole In The Sky DC

DZ TAPES 5 year anniversary ft.

Big Hush, Wildhoney, Swings, Mal Devisa, Leapling, Two Inch Astronaut, Dove Lady, and Nox

(click flyer to RSVP or visit tiny.cc/dz5yr)

Special shout-out to everyone who's helped things progress to this point, and special thanks to Mike from Red Table Press for the absolutely gorgeous 5-layer glow-in-the-dark silkscreen poster design above - prints are limited to a small run of 10 and will only be available at the show, which will also be featuring a visual retrospective of photos and posters by Chris Suspect, Michael Andrade, Alex Schelldorf, LA Johnson, Sean Berg, JD Deardourff, and more.

~

Elsewhere in the DZ universe, Half Waif has kicked off their full national tour with Pinegrove (full list of shows can be found here) and is somehow still able to put out some quality content for the music community near and far. Just take the following examples:

- A dazzling new track exclusively appearing on the "afterthoughts" mixtape by minikin, a benefit for We Make Noise, an organization that makes music accessible for underprivileged youth in Brooklyn.



- A contribution to the "Forever Beautiful" compilation, serving to benefit the victims of the Pulse shooting as part of the OneOrlando Fund as a symbol of solidarity as the city rebuilds.


- A solo performance of "Overthrown" by Nandi captured on video by Chiu Productions.

Meanwhile, our old friend Adam Torres is gearing up for the release of his upcoming full-length album on Fat Possum Records, and has dropped two new singles recently. Check out "Outlands" on NPR's All Songs Considered and "High Lonesome" below, premiered by Stereogum:



We've also restocked both Big Hush releases by request, with second pressings available in limited quantities in the merch store:

Lastly, those of you in Tokyo can look forward to seeing some of our latest releases available to touch and feel with your hands and ears at Tape School. Many thanks to Gejio and the kind folks there for their continued support of our little operation and many others just like it~

levitation

Quite a few fun things to get to, number one being the next DZ release by the illustrious Half Waif, project of the incredibly talented Nandi Rose Plunkett. A lover of synthesizers and pop tunes, her music features richly layered compositions of various origins. Placeless, and yet the product of many places: the imaginative wilds of Northern Massachusetts; Ohio's stark fields; Brooklyn buzzing at night; and ancestral homes across the ocean. The resulting work brims over with sounds: underwater echoes of Celtic melodies; mossy, blinking electronic soundscapes; and the ultra-sad chord changes of 19th-century art music. A carefully crafted glass menagerie of song.

Three singles have premiered in the lead up to the album's release on May 6, check them out below c/o Stereogum, The Line Of Best Fit, and Brightest Young Things:

"one of the more inventive indie acts rising up... a deceptively huge sound" - The Line Of Best Fit

"[a] bewitching Brooklyn-based trio that blend fluttery, glitchy beats with classical textures... 'Nest' blends strings and electronics together in a way akin to Bjork’s “Hyperballad” or some of Aphex Twin’s more lush tracks. Plunkett places a disarming level of emphasis on different syllables, as if she’s pressing buttons with her voice. She warps, twists and wraps her vocals around electronic instrumentation like it’s trapped deep in machinery, and the whole track seems to teeter between serene and hyper-robotic tones." - Stereogum 

"every so often, a song comes along that completely knocks the wind out of me because it just sounds really cool. Half Waif’s 'Nest' is one of those songs; it initiates with this slow, plodding beat, a single, crystalline voice. That sound continues to grow and multiply, until it becomes an orchestral, beat-inflicted but synth-driven song that’s atmospheric without fading into the background. There’s a universe inside of “Nest,” one that’s crafted out of small sounds made to look huge when they’re all pieced together. It’s the kind of single that I can listen to ten times over before I even think about its lyrics, the kind of song that makes me want to watch Half Waif’s creative process in action." - Stereogum

In addition to the kind words above, "Nest" was named one of Stereogum's 5 Best Songs Of The Week, "Overthrown" was track of the day on Elevtrtrax, and Nandi was featured in an interview segment on Alt-Philanthropy.

The release will be celebrated with a gig on May 12 at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn w/ Zula, Tigue, and twig twig, and more tour dates for the east coast and midwest can be found below:

~

Just down I-95 in the District, a couple great shows are lined up for the next few weeks:

Thursday, April 28 at Black Cat

Hemlines w/ Shellshag, Teenage Halloween, and Foster Carrots

(click here to RSVP)

Wednesday, May 4 at The Lilly Trotter Tea Lounge

Hellier Ulysses, Go Cozy, Time Toss, and Tall Friend

(click flyer to RSVP)

Friday, May 6 at Above The Bayou

Mal Devisa and Romantic States w/ Cold Foamers and Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists

(click here to RSVP)

Saturday, May 7 at Above The Bayou (R.I.P.)

Big Hush w/ LVL UP, Furnsss, and Paperhaus

(click here to RSVP)

Sunday, May 8 at Hole In The Sky

Escape From DC Brunch XIII: Pregnant, The UVF Rays, and Suffer Dragon

(click here to RSVP)

Previously on Escape From DC Brunch we hosted Philadelphia Collins, Snail Mail, and Dove Lady and our resident photographer Bang snapped some solid pics, check some of the choice cuts below:

Philadelphia Collins

Snail Mail

Dove Lady

Elsewhere around the DMV, number one stunnas Big Hush were featured on NPR Music's "All Songs Considered" for their cover of Nirvana's "Sifting" for the third tribute compilation by Robotic Empire celebrating the godfathers of grunge.

Stream the track below and take a listen to the rest of the album featuring covers by Thou, Beach Slang, Basement, Mean Jeans, Daughters, and more:


Big Hush were also given a little shout-out alongside Flasher, Priests, Bless, and more on the Bandcamp blog in a piece on DC's punk scene that's definitely worth the quick read, as is the kind write-up of "Who's Smoking Your Spirit?" by Sonic Masala.

Up in Baltimore Romantic States put on a show at the Mobtown Studios which you can see and hear in the video below:

And lastly, today I'll begin my road trip down to Levitation in Austin, TX. Can't wait to catch up with friends at stops in Atlanta and New Orleans, and beyond excited to see some incredible acts including Brian Wilson (performing Pet Sounds), Animal Collective, Flying Lotus, Shabazz Palaces, Oneohtrix Point Never, Ty Segall & The Muggers, Ween, Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts, Heron Oblivion, Boris, Royal Trux, and many more... if you'll be there feel free to hit me up~

in the pines

The limited copies of Shya's new album have come and gone almost as quickly as the month of March. And no surprise after the generous album premiere on The FADER, in addition to pleasantries from United Cassettes, Austin Town Hall, and Very Tiny Songs.

"catchy as hell... the beautiful thing about this album is that the ephemeral nature of Sher's musings seem to have been captured in a pure state... an anthem for acknowledging loneliness and the need for human connection" - The FADER

The band will be down in Harrisonburg, VA for MACROCK XIX tonight along with Mal Devisa, Hemlines, Bless, Dogs On Acid, Wolf Eyes, Container, and a bunch of other great bands for the first night of two awesome days of music.

Meanwhile in the DMV we've got a couple things to look forward to in the first week of April:

Sunday, April 3 at Hole In The Sky

Escape From DC Brunch XII: Philadelphia Collins, Snail Mail, and Dove Lady

(click flyer to RSVP)

Thursday, April 7 at The Crown in Baltimore

Jowe Head, Olivia Neutron John, Expert Alterations, and Nice Breeze

(click flyer to RSVP)

With the next release right around the corner, I'm immensely thrilled for what's to come, but for now I'd like to leave you with a look back to that time Laser Background played my house:

 

trying

First off, my apologies for totally slacking on the blog front. Things have shifted into the next gear and while it's great that there are plenty of fun things to share (see below), plastering them on the antiquated blogspot has fallen down my list of priorities. Now with that being said, here's a look at the goods...

[DZ21] Mal Devisa is the project of Deja Carr from Northampton, MA in which she conjures up a soulful mix of driving bass melodies, funk-laden chord progressions, and hypnotizing harmonies to create her own uniquely sincere and entrancing musical poetry. In conjunction with her phenomenal new full-length album Kiid, DZ TAPES is releasing this self-titled compilation cassette that collects her two 2014 EPs along with some previously unreleased tracks.

You can catch Mal Devisa at the Women’s Jazz Festival in New York, NY on 3/21 with Alicia Hall Moran, and at MACROCK XIX in Harrisonburg, VA on 4/1 with a slew of great acts including Shana Falana, Abdu Ali, Dogs On Acid, Container, The Obsessives, and more.

[DZ22] Shya is Nate Sher from Oberlin, OH, and his debut long play "Trying" is a mellow yet emotive slacker rock gem. This bedroom pop project is teeming with candid lyricism and luscious chord progressions that will surely rouse your heart from the doldrums of winter just in time to soak up the bittersweet sadness of springtime. The full album will be released later this month, but for now you can check out "Food Poisoning" which premiered on ThrdCoast just a few weeks ago.

Shya will be hitting the road to play a few out-of-town dates later this month, stay woke:

3/20 in Athens, OH w/ Yours Are The Only Ears, Frozen Lawn, and Wasted Champs
3/22 in Boston, MA w/ We Can All Be Sorry, Ricecrackers, and LINA
3/24 in Philadelphia, PA w/ Joy Again and Addie Pray
3/25 in Washington, DC w/ Swings, Long Beard, and Fraternal Twin
3/26 in Kenyon, OH w/ Food Court and Teddy Farkas

* * *

Big Hush are also busting out into the wild for a spell in March, touring the coast and going as far west as my alma mater in bobcat country.

3/11 in Baltimore, MD w/ Outer Spaces, Bless, and Which Magic
3/12 in Richmond, VA w/ Pinkwash, Mad Existence, Burn/Ward, and Conflation
3/13 in Athens, OH w/ Governess, Just Curry, and Pasture Weeds
3/16 in Brooklyn, NY w/ Teeth People, WVFRMS, and Adios Ghost
3/17 in Easthapmton, MA w/ Digital Prisoners Of War, Halfsour, and Temple Cats
3/18 in Philadelphia, PA w/ Marge, Hot Tears, and Lonesome Leash
3/20 in Washington, DC w/ Mercury Girls and Airhead DC
3/25 in Washington, DC w/ Wildhoney and Expert Alterations

* * *

And finally, here's a few more DC gigs coming up to close out the last couple weeks of winter. Check back soon for more goodies in the near future~

3/11 at St. Stephen's - Hemlines w/ Pinkwash, Valencia, and Mirror Motives
3/13 at Hole In The Sky - Escape From DC Brunch XI w/ Big Huge, Bleary Eyed, and Kid Claws
3/17 at The Lilly Trotter Tea Lounge - Beverly Tender, High Bloom, Foozle, and Golden Papi
3/19 at Songbyrd Music House - Nice Breeze w/ Puff Pieces and Jack On Fire