spring forward

DZ16 is currently in production, but before I can spill the beans on that there are plenty of other fun things to cover! For all you lovely people in the DC area, there are some fun gigs coming up in the next week or so, click the flyers below for more details.

On Monday, March 16 at Comet Ping Pong we've got the record release show for local emo darlings Makeshift Shelters, who will be kicking off a tour to celebrate their new album 'Something So Personal' on Broken World Media. The show features support from karate chop punks Taking Meds from New York and DC sludge rockers Polyon.

Then on the following Monday, March 23 at the Beehive, we've got a homecoming show for Swings, who are on tour with Ohio cohorts BBC America. Boston-based Rye Pines and Something Sneaky will also be on the bill for their first times in DC, and the night will be capped off by this city's finest trio of space-traveling post-punks Two Inch Astronaut.

Those of you outside of the District's confines can still enjoy some new music here right from the comfort of your own warm computer c/o It Is Rain In My Face., who quietly put out yet another new album entitled 'The Sound of Us'.

Adam Torres is back home in Austin after playing a slew of shows out on the West Coast. The re-release of his 2006 cult classic 'Nosta Nova' is coming out in April on Misra Records, and to ramp up the excitement Stereogum was nice enough to showcase the track 'Dusty Wing Spirit'.



Decoder Magazine had some kind words for the new Romantic States album:

"The duo craft unwaveringly lighthearted pop tunes...the presentation makes me feel particularly nostalgic for the classic basement band setup — minimal guitar strokes atop steady rock beats, and an infectious youthful bounce as songs travel through their peaks and valleys, drive and rest. Romantic States’ stripped down formula allows space for the hooks to shine through, be it the breezy movement of instrumental interplay or the vulnerable, raw vocal leads. Their shimmery guitar work is particularly delectable during the prettier moments on the record, like the opening of “Fearless Kisses” before the tempo hastens into the soundtrack for a high school summer vacation. Romantic States succeed in deconstructing the superficial complexity that’s become commonplace in today’s candy-like pop music. Romantic States are songwriters with no compulsion to obscure their knack."

And lastly, we've got some fantastic photos from last weekend's Jobs Not War benefit show featuring Big Hush, who played alongside the very talented East Coast acts War On Women, Trophy Wife, and Priests.

Big Hush (courtesy of Andrade)

War On Women (courtesy of Schelldorf)

Trophy Wife (courtesy of Andrade)

Priests (courtesy of Andrade)

petrichor

Production on DZ14 has begun to wrap up, and a cassette release show in DC is in the works. Stay thirsty with this Big Hush video for one of their classic tracks "Where I End":

Meanwhile, Pool Holograph have been staying busy in Chicago, keeping warm with fiery science experiments, like this new track "Crazy Lane". I was lucky enough to catch the premiere in person and think you all should take a listen:

Folks in Atlanta should make sure to check out Easily Suede and Narrator play in the Social Synth public art installation built into a dumpster:

It Is Rain In My Face. plays live at the Palisades in Brooklyn on Monday, October 27:

In Austin, Adam Torres has a string of shows coming up in late October and early November:

Belgian blog Cutting Edge had some nice things to say in Dutch about Hazey Jane:

"Bij het horen van het krakerige (en naar het einde toe licht vervormde) 'Being in mint condition' en het treffend getitelde 'Outside it's good' waanden wij ons immers meteen in een zonovergoten parkje op een zorgeloze zomerdag: héérlijk gevoel."

Which loosely translates to:

"Upon hearing the crackling (and towards the end slightly distorted) 'Being in mint condition' and the aptly titled "Outside it's good" we thought we were, after all, once in a sunlit park on a carefree summer day: wonderful feeling."

And finally, some photos from the last show at the Dougout, featuring Romantic States, Halfsour, Thee Lolitas, and Foul Swoops, all courtesy of Ron Akins:

Romantic States

Halfsour

Thee Lolitas

Foul Swoops

ballooning

From where you are things may seem quiet here at DZ, but the post-In It Together Fest hiatus is over and there are quite a few fun things in the works. Another batch of releases has been confirmed with the hopes of getting most of them out before the end of the year, but there will be more on that in the near future. The Sister Polygon Jamboree has come and gone, Fields Festival flew by in the blink of an eye, and now the next live event on the docket that's sure to be a sweat-soaked good time is coming up September 4 at The Dougout. Boston rockers Krill will be joined by Baltimore's Et Al. in addition to local favorites The Effects and Two Inch Astronaut. Click the flyer below for more details:

DZ alum have been hard at work lately creating a wide variety of new sounds for your listening pleasure. Find a comfy groove in your seat and take a look + listen at some of the cool things that've been coming out recently:

"Old Ways" single by Pool Holograph


"Bread & Silver Water" EP by It Is Rain In My Face.


"Forest Moon" EP by Seabright

Wondering Sound interviews Adam Torres on music sharing and the drudgery of self-promotion in independent music.

"The Wrong Way" music video by Terror Bird

in it together fest

Washington DC's first ever In It Together Feststarts TODAY, THURSDAY 7/31 to SUNDAY 8/3. If you're in the area you should check out all the sick events happening throughout the city. We've put a lot of hard work into making this weekend chock-full of awesome music, art, cycling, activism and other ways to encourage creativity, highlight the under-appreciated, and bring about positive change to our community, so I hope you can make it out to enjoy the fun!

Things I'm most excited for:

• Robot Butt comedy kicking everything off on Thursday night at Ft. Loko
• ARTSHOW_08 at Hole In The Sky and Pile at the Dougout on Friday night
• Saturday's All-Day Main Stage Event at St. Stephen's Church (also It Is Rain In My Face. performing at Bathtub Republic, although I will be unable to attend)
• Bridge Spot skate demo and ramen jump, Mannequin Pussy at Crack Rock Creek Church, and Playback The Tape's retrospective of DC DIY culture at Furthermore on Sunday

~

☆ tickets available here: http://infestdc.bigcartel.com/ ☆

★ JUST TEN BUCKS ($10) FOR ALL DAY 8/2 EVENT AT ST STEPHEN'S ★

☆ JUST FIVE BUCKS ($5) FOR PERKS AT (almost) ALL DIY VENUES ☆

~

~

◆ [7/31] In It Together Fest: DAY 1 – PRE-FEST ◆

○ (8pm - 12am) Robot Butt variety hour + music by Spoonboy, ACME, Paperhaus, Vunderbar, and Wanted Man at FT. LOKO

~

◆ [8/1] In It Together Fest: DAY 2 – NORTHEAST BY NIGHT ◆

○ (7pm – 11pm) ARTSHOW_08: Art, Bro at HOLE IN THE SKY DC

○ (7pm – 11pm) Incarcerated Masses: Artists Call for an End to Mass Incarceration, Deportation and Detention at 2B Artist Studios

○ (8pm – 12am) PILE / THE PUBLIC / TWO INCH ASTRONAUT / JAIL SOLIDARITY @ the Dougout

○ (8pm – 12am) Creative Music in DC - A Night of New Music, a Trio of Trios featuring Organix Trio, Trio OOO, and Garrett/Scheible/Tucker at Union Arts DC

○ (11pm – 3am) THE BOUNDARY STONES / FINLEY MARTIN @ Bardo Brewpub

~

◆ [8/2] In It Together Fest: DAY 3 – NORTHWEST + ALL-DAY SHOWCASE ◆

In It Together Fest Alleycat presented by DC Bike Party throughout the day hitting various spots including:

★ MAIN EVENT ★ (12pm – 10pm) at St. Stephen's Church featuring The Effects, State Lines, Hold Tight!, Loud Boyz, Meridian, The Public, Slow Animal, Cousin Brian, Entropy NY, Born Without Bones, Brightside, and Two Inch Astronaut + speakers/classes from Knowledge Commons DC, Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, and Positive Force DC + tables from Dischord Records, Cricket Cemetery, Say-10 Records, DC Zinefest, The Intentional, Food Not Bombs DC, and MORE! ★ $10 TICKET ONLINE OR AT THE DOOR ★

○ (10:30am – 3:30pm) The Beehive's INFEST Drone Brunch and other Creative Musics event featuring Sleepy Kitty, Nightmom, Br'er, and The Bowlegged Gorilla

○ (12pm – 5pm) TEEN MOM / HARMONIC BLUE / REAL CLOTHES / EZRA MAE & THE GYPSY MOON @ Ezra Mae's

○ (12pm – 5pm) Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists ☢ Haybaby  Chimes ☮ The Adventures of the Silver Spaceman at Jamjar

○ (12pm – 5pm) Space is the Place! featuring sound installations, performance art, and dance exhibitions at Communiverse

○ (2pm – 5pm) JEBIOTTO (japan) / IT IS RAIN IN MY FACE. (ny) / THE NORTH COUNTRY (dc) / WARM & COMFY (md) - In It Together Fest at Bathtub Republic

★ AFTER PARTY ★ (11pm – 3am) at The Pinch featuring Cross Eyed, Growwing Pains, and The Rememberables ★ $5 COVER AT THE DOOR ★

~

◆ [8/3] In It Together Fest: DAY 4 – FINAL BLOWOUT ◆

○ (12pm – 6pm) Pree, Marian McLaughlin, Pony Bones, What Moon Things, BRNDA, and Meridian at Paperhaus

○ (3pm – 7pm) Shark Week, Mannequin Pussy, Crumms, Sun Young, and Cesspool at Crack Rock Creek Church

○ (4pm – 9pm) In It Together Fest Presents: Skate Demo @ Bridge Spot! featuring skating, grilling, video from Alley Bar, music from DC Vinyl Headz, a raffle sponsored by The DC Wheels, and a Ramen Jump by the Ryan Troy Ford Memorial Performance Arts Collective

○ (6pm – 10pm) Playback TheTape presents a Retrospective on DC DIY Culture at Furthermore

~

In It Together Fest 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. 

St. Stephen's has been hosting DIY punk shows for almost three decades now and is a respected space for progressive thought. Usage of the venue helps to support We Are Family, a charitable organization working to assist seniors, and Positive Force, an activist collective seeking radical social change, personal growth, and youth empowerment.

We also have two other organizations that we'd like to help raise awareness for: Casa Ruby is a multicultural non-profit community center working to provide food/shelter/resources in a safe space for everyone in the LGBT community. The Way Home Campaign is a working to end chronic homelessness by placing individuals in permanent supportive housing and ensuring they have the necessary foundation to remain there.

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

www.infestdc.org

frnds nd fmly

The finishing touches are being put on DZ13 in preparation for its release on June 21, but this month has already seen some great work being released from a few friends of the label.

Pregnant has composed personalized songs for over 65 people at this point, and the choice cuts are finally being released on cassette by staring at the ceiling. Check out the complete 'Your Song' compilation below, featuring songs written especially for some nice folks including the gang from Decoder Magazine, FMLY and yours truly (which just so happens to be track #1):



It Is Rain In My Face. has just released another brilliant folktronic set of songs on the 'Stolen Days' EP:



Adam Torres continues to add a new track to his 'Golden Children' demos each Monday. Check out the entire set on his bandcamp, and while you circle the bases on your home run trot take a listen to this week's little number "Moonshot":



Terror Bird is kicking off her European tour this week in support of her new release 'Clubs' on SVN SNS RECORDS:



The seasonal solstice is almost upon us, and very soon the next DZ release will see the light of day, albeit shrouded in haze, but until then I hope you enjoy the new music above as you soak up the summer sun, wade in the warm ocean water and work up your base tan. ☼

spring solstice

The Dougout has a few shows lined up for the upcoming months, but the one I'm most excited about is coming up on Saturday, March 29. As always, anybody who happens to be in the DC area is welcome to drop by and check out the music! All pertinent details can be found here, and stay tuned for a sick screenprinted show poster coming soon from Sean Berg. The lineup is as follows:

☯ WEEKENDS (noise rock from BALTIMORE)
☯ ☯ BEST WITCHES (post-punk from CHICAGO)
☯ ☯ ☯ BBAATBIFFFS (grindcore thrash from CHICAGO)
☯ ☯ ☯ ☯ CRUMMS (garage surf from DC)

Easily Suede tapes have begun to disseminate around the globe, and due to a slip up on my end a decent chunk of the orders were made with no charge for shipping. Thanks to everyone who's bought a copy thus far, and enjoy the free delivery on me!

Our good friend It Is Rain In My Face. continues to shine through the endless gray sky with yet another new EP entitled "Permanent Winter". Thanks to everyone who donated to Mat's recent kickstarter, he'll soon be making the trip down to Ardent Studios in Memphis to record yet another EP due out by the end of the year.

night running

Two quick bits of news here to keep you satisfied until a much bigger reveal later this week:

Pool Holograph have just released a stellar new single "Night Running" in anticipation of their next album due out later this year. Clear your schedule, dive into the song and lose track of time.



It Is Rain In My Face. has a kickstarter going to help him get to Ardent Studios in Memphis to record his next EP. Consider throwing a few duckets Mat's way to help get him back in the studio.

get gooey

The Sweets keep riding their rolling riptide here in early 2014. The band has been spread the love most recently with the Zing Zang EP, one half of a split cassette with fellow North Carolinians Petey, out now on Bleeding Gold Records. They've also got a new track appearing on the If You Fall I'll Fall With You compilation from Edils Recordings, and did an interview with Reverb Raccoon where they discuss all their recent and upcoming releases, including the Greatest Hits and a future project with Goodbye Boozy Records.

Additional news of note coming down the pipeline includes the imminent arrival of DZ12, which is in its final phases of production (more info on that to follow), and It Is Rain In My Face. self-titled cassettes, which are back in stock over on Mat's bandcamp page (along with a snug and stylish new silkscreened t-shirt).

Reservations for the Iron Chic show at The Dougout filled up within hours of going public, but that's not the only upcoming event in Northeast DC worth checking out. If you like pizza and live in the district, you should stop by Hole In The Sky on Saturday, January 22 for the fifth installment of their art show series in which they'll be cooking up a 6 ft. pizza and surrounding it with pizza-themed artworks of the visual, installation and performance persuasion. The gallery will showcase works by artists previously featured here including Sean Berg, Ryan Ford and Red Table Press (who designed the awesome poster below commemorating the event). Come inside from the cold and enjoy some warm and gooey goodness with us!

powder

Just as you thought things were wound down for the winter freeze, a few more acorns fall from the tree.

It Is Rain In My Face. further elevated his diverse repertoire of sounds with a new collection of songs on the "Bumrush Day EP",



Ghostandthesong snuck out the new track "Signs" (featuring Lindsey Motlow) behind your back,



and Chris Rehm released the third cassette in his Monthly Tape Series, an assortment of styles put together for the various works by his filmmaker friend Derek Beck.



A little closer to home, all four DZ tapes from this year were given superlative honors with placements on the "Best Tapes of 2013" from the folks at Myspace and Tabs Out. The recognition is certainly appreciated, y'all - see you next year.

flashback framer

With 2013 all but wrapped up, you may be thirsty for some new DZ goods, but for now I'm going to continue keeping things close to the chest. One thing I will say is that 2014 is already shaping up to be a good year for the label. With three releases lined up for early next year and a few more beyond that, you'd be wise to keep your eyes and ears peeled for what's coming down the pipeline.

For now, I invite you bask in the glory that is the newest full-length release from It Is Rain In My Face., the project of Mat Jones who last year unleashed his self-titled debut with DZ. "The Framer" is a masterful work featuring "stripped-down, rustic, and soaked in whiskey...his twangiest territory yet." The new album is out now on cassette from Chill Mega Chill and is limited to 25 copies, so be sure to pick up your copy before they're all gone.

Other DZ artists are also staying busy in their respective corners of the world. Across the pond in Berlin, Ghostandthesong recently put out another succulent single "Stuck", accompanied by an equally juicy video by Hypertrashwonderland.



Back home in the states, Chris Rehm, half of the mind-bending New Orleans duo Caddywhompus, has been putting a lot of heart into his new Monthly Tape Series. The project showcases his latest and greatest aural experiments dubbed with love. Take a listen to the latest entry below.



Until next time... stay sound and keep curious. ✌

it rains

DZ alum It Is Rain In My Face. has his sophomore full-length all but finished and Mat has bestowed upon the masses a sneak peak for our listening pleasure. Debuted earlier this week on Ad Hoc, "Raise Your Hands, Raise The Dead" is a stellar track, "brought to life with coiled riffs and frenetic yet melodic chanting," that will surely help you warm up to winter's glacial numbing with its hypnotically soothing resonance. "The Framer" will be available from Chill Mega Chill, who has been on fire with recent releases from friends of the label Born Gold and Orca Life. Check out the single below and look out for the new album dropping November 19.

reverse labatomy

The next DZ live event is coming up on October 12, and this time around features three relentlessly explosive acts from Murderland in Two Inch Astronaut, Hive Bent, and Scott Russell. This will most assuredly be a bitchin' loud time. Come out to the Dougout to catch these three hard acts and enjoy the crisp autumn evening with some friends and brews. Limited edition glow-in-the-dark screenprints have been specially concocted for the occasion by Mike O'Brien at Red Table Press and will be on sale at the show in addition to other gnarly band merch. Click the image below for more details about the show.

In other upcoming concert news, Birkwin Jersey will be supporting Small Black for their show on October 8 at Sticky Mike's in Brighton. Click here for the scoop.

Lastly, I've got some new It Is Rain In My Face. goodies to share with you. Mat's been working hard recently in preparations for an upcoming LP on Chill Mega Chill, but has still managed to put together some other new material in the meantime. Stream and purchase his new Untitled EP below:

Tomorrow Comes Today

It's been a long time coming but the latest DZ TAPES full-length release is out now, showcasing San Jose producer Justin Morales, better known as Seabright. "Tomorrow" features Justin conjuring up a blend of psychedelic pop music for digital dreams by fusing flourishing laptop production with multi-layered live analog manipulation. Many of the tracks are built on a foundation of layered guitars, looped vocals and harmonized synthesizers, then melded together with a collection of samples and noise to construct a brisk and revitalizing soundtrack for a serene summer day surfing circuits both inside and outside.

The album was premiered yesterday on Decoder and is now available for download. A limited run of 50 cassettes will start shipping later this month and can be ordered here.

"The shoegaze-pop jams of San Jose dreamer Justin Morales are just perfect for the mid-summer blues, when it’s almost too hot to go outside but much too pretty to stay inside. With 'Tomorrow' on the horizon we can slip into a cool, refreshing sound that turns sweat to lemonade and stings the eyes slightly before quenching the tongue." - Decoder

 

One more shout out goes to our friends at Ad Hoc for their write-up of the music video for It Is Rain In My Face.'s "Duck In A Row", which they say "offers a visual exploration of the rhythms and ambience dictated by the song, using rhythmic editing and a color palette lush with green. Delving into both artistic manipulation of perspective and our physical manipulation of the world-- or in this case, of snow-- the video is a cerebral backdrop for Jones' experimental pop."

narwhalmilk

The DYVNZMBR2 mixtape has at long last been released to the wild. The compilation contains 21 tracks, each uniquely voltaic and illustrative, from DZ homies near and far, spanning from east to west across the entirety of this new weird America that I call home, to the outskirts of distant mother Russia's electrowasteland, and a freckling of spots spaced out in between.

Available as a free stream and download below, the mixtape is also (naturally) available on cassette as part of a limited edition release of 50 professionally dubbed C75s housed in bumblebee-yellow shells. At the time of this posting, almost half of these tapes have already been spoken for, but you can still visit the shop to claim one for yourself.



We've also got something new to whet your appetite for ocular entertainment from DZ favorite It Is Rain In My Face., who has been busy this year having just recently released his new Languish In The Evening EP and is currently on tour with Tom Kitty Oliver to promote the release of their joint project Pressed And's latest release Stone Candles on Mush Records. Now we revist one of the singles from his self-titled full-length debut, "Duck In A Row", with a new video directed by Tobias Stretch. Check out the chilling scene below, and grab one of the last few copies of DZ06 at the shop if you're looking for something to keep you cool this summer.


"Duck In A Row" - It Is Rain In My Face. from Mat Jones.

Pagaul

The lovely crew over at Portals has been kind enough to premiere a brand new video for "Pagaul", the lead track from the It Is Rain In My Face. self-titled release. Check out the video below, and in case you missed it, head over to bandcamp for a full album stream. Limited number of tapes are still left in the shop, get it before it's gone!


IT IS RAIN IN MY FACE: PAGAUL from oodalalee films on Vimeo.

"The video takes all the rustic, country vocals and slick Nintendo beats on a nice, brisk jog around the block, which leads to a run-in with a very strange woman. Never in a million years does the lovely jogger in red think this hideous stranger would possess her heart with a mysterious stone, leaving her dreams trapped in a hazy, rainbow-bright purgatory." - Diamond Atlus / Portals

timeless tempests

Adam Torres has been on a roll recently, playing a variety of shows around the Austin area, all while working on some great new material. Check out this amazing video for his new alt-folk opus "Hatchet":

Adam Torres performing "Hatchet" on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TX (courtesy of Be Lie All)

* * *

It Is Rain In My Face. also continues to impress both on and off stage. Take a look at the live video below of Mat performing a new track "To Hide" earlier this week:

It Is Rain In My Face. performing "To Hide" at PIANOS in NYC (courtesy of BlackTRIN)

Press

DZ06 has been receiving great praise since it's release late last month. Check out what some of our favorite publications have been saying, and check out the album for free on bandcamp.

DZ Tapes recently released what may very well be my favorite album of the year, It Is Rain In My Face.'s self-titled LP - Portals & verb/re/verb

Jones rises to new challenges as a songwriter while fleshing out the charming vibe of his previous work. - Ad Hoc

Mat has cultivated the captivating interplay of vocals and production that he so expertly balanced on 'Small Prayer', made more textural and dynamic by the use of live instrumentation in determining the direction of songs on his self-titled debut full length. - Decoder Magazine 

With this self-titled release, It Is Rain In My Face. develops a musical vocabulary that includes soul, chillwave, folk, and electronica, and synthesizes it into a singular product that, with any luck, will live on in the public consciousness. - In Your Speakers

This stuff is really listenable and good for any hangout session. - Cassette Gods Reviews

The DZ TAPES cassette giveaway is coming to an end. For your chance to win a free cassette combo package, just head to the DZ TAPES Facebook page, click the  button, and post your favorite album from 2012 to be entered for a chance to win. In closing, thanks to Mondo Nation for the nice long-distance chat.

Shop Updates and Live Show

The new self-titled release from It Is Rain In My Face. is available now in the shop! There are also a handful of screen prints still available from the cassette release show, along with DZ TAPES buttons and stickers, as well as the last few remaining copies of the Adam Torres self-titled release.

All pre-orders have been shipped and each purchase comes with a complimentary digital download of the album. Check out the bandcamp page or the stream below to hear the full album for free.



The cassette release show was success, and despite our metro stop being down for the weekend, a decent good crowd turned out to see terrific sets by three talented acts. Thanks to everyone who came out, much love to the Washington City Paper for the shout-out, and my sincerest gratitude belongs to Pressed And, It Is Rain In My Face. and Romantic States for coming together to put on an awesome showcase earlier this month at the Dougout in Washington, DC.

Pressed And (courtesy of Audrey)

It Is Rain In My Face. (courtesy of Charity)

Romantic States (courtesy of Charity)

Fighter Pilot In A War

Our friends over at Ad Hoc were kind enough to premiere the next single "Fighter Pilot In A War" from the upcoming It Is Rain In My Face. release, due out next week on August 21.

If you're in Washington, DC this weekend we'll be putting on a cassette release showcase  at the Dougout featuring the likes of Pressed And and Romantic States; click the awesome screenprint by Sean Berg below for details.

It Is Rain In My Face.

I'm proud to announce the next tape coming out in August, featuring the budding electro-blues funneled from a Brooklyn bonfire, Mat Jones presents 12 new tracks from the new self-titled release from It Is Rain In My Face.

The glamorous group over at Decoder Magazine were kind enough to premiere the first single off the upcoming album entitled "Duck In A Row".




To kick off the cassette release, It Is Rain In My Face. will be playing a secret basement show with Pressed And and Romantic States on August 17 at the Dougout in Washington, DC.

Lastly, the free cassette giveaway is still going on. Simply  our Facebook page then post your 2012 album-of-the-year to be automatically signed up for a chance to win a tape prize package containing stickers, buttons, and copies of each of our first four releases.