moving on

2014 is coming to an end, but not without a few more events to close out what's been a momentous year of music in the DC DIY scene. Check out the details below and click the flyers to RSVP.

First up is an In It Together Fest promotional event on Saturday, December 27 at The Pinch, featuring Meridian, Two Inch Astronaut, Polyon, Boardroom Heroes, and Collapser (playing their last show ever, purportedly). Join us for a brief retrospective and a look ahead to the fest's next iteration.

Then on Sunday, December 28, Big Hush will be joining Chain & The Gang and Qualms (first show!) at Comet Ping Pong. Come out to catch the good vibes, and peep this shining review of the Wholes EP by GoldFlakePaint to get you in the groovy mood.

"From full on shoegaze sustain to amplified campfire folk, Big Hush’s repertoire to date maps out a clear path of progression to their newest collection of songs...The four tracks featured on Wholes blend the delicate with the overwhelming. The soft-nurtured vocal expressions combined with guitar tones that can cry, sing and growl all at once make for the most affecting noise-pop you’re likely to hear any time soon." – GoldFlakePaint

And for those of you in Austin, Adam Torres is back home and playing one final show at Studium on Sunday, December 28 with Abram Shook.

Before I sign off, I'd like to say a quick thanks to Ground Floor Go for their shout out and inclusion of The Sweets Greatest Hits album as one of their Top 10 Cassettes of 2014! There's already a few things in the work for next year, so keep your eyes and ears open for more from DZ TAPES in 2015.

evil kenevil

The first ever In It Together Fest is in the rearview mirror, and I want to give a special thank you for all the love and support we received from everyone who came out, performed, volunteered, hosted and generally made the weekend one to remember - we couldn't have done it without you! There was some great documentation taken at most of the events, so here are some of the primo photos for your enjoyment plus a very special video featuring one very brave conceptual food artist from the Ryan Troy Ford Memorial Performance Arts Collective jumping over a 50 gallon bathtub of delicious homemade ramen noodles on a dirtbike at a skate park under a bridge (yes, you read that right).

The Effects (courtesy of Brazier)

Loud Boyz (courtesy of Andrade)

Loud Boyz (courtesy of Brazier)

 Pile (courtesy of Schelldorf)

Vundabar (courtesy of Andrade)

ACME (courtesy of Brazier)

Baby Bry Bry (courtesy of Andrade)

Jail Solidarity (courtesy of Brazier)

Jebiotto (courtesy of Bezruchko)

The Public (courtesy of Andrade)

State Lines (courtesy of Brazier)

Meridian (courtesy of Brazier)

BRNDA (courtesy of Andrade)

Mannequin Pussy (courtesy of Sharon)

Hold Tight! (courtesy of Brazier)

Pree (courtesy of Brazier)

Teen Mom (courtesy of Stephanie)

What Moon Things (courtesy of Andrade)

Ramen Jump (courtesy of Evan)

Ramen Jump (courtesy of Sharon)

Ramen Jump (courtesy of Denise)

Coming and Going

Within the past few weeks, the distro has been raided heavily and has practically sold out of almost every tape in store. In fact, the new Seabright tape was one of Bandcamp's top-selling cassettes of this past week! Thanks to everyone who's made a purchase for your love and support, you all are wind beneath this project's wings and I send my heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of you all around the world. 

With things moving at a slightly faster pace, I'm working hard to get the next few projects in production and I've got the ball rolling with a few other artists in hopes of building on top of what has become the most successful year of DZ TAPES thus far. Stay tuned for more updates on these future releases coming soon!

In live event news, here at the Dougout we quietly put on an acoustic show last week which featured friends old and new, so I wanted to let you in on the fun by checking out some pictures from the event below. Much love goes out to Infinity Crush, Meridian, Morgan Spaner, Ryan Ford, Alex Tebeleff, and Sunset Theme for putting on fantastic performances, and a big thanks as well to everyone who bought merch, donated, and came out to the show last week.

Infinity Crush

Meridian

Morgan Spaner

Ryan Ford (courtesy of Geoff)

Sunset Theme (courtesy of Geoff)