LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN DEBUT DAY OF RELEASE!
“MOST MATES” GAME LIVE NOW AT MATESOFSTATE.COM, REARRANGEUS.COM
JUNE TOUR DATES ON SALE NOW

MATES OF STATE’s fifth full length studio album Re-Arrange Us will be out May 20 on Barsuk Records. Mates Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel will commemorate the release of the new record by making their network television debut that same night on LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN.

Elsewhere, Mates of State have just launched the “Most Mates” online game at Matesofstate.com and Rearrangeus.com. The rules are fairly self-explanatory: Create your own version of the already customizable Re-Arrange Us artwork with as many “Mates” as possible. The winning entry with the “Most Mates” will have his or her version featured on MatesofState.com, Mates of State’s myspace page and Barsuk Records’ homepage.

Finally, tickets for Mates of State’s June headline tour are on sale now. Headlights will be supporting for the entire tour with Black Joe Lewis & the Honey Bears also appearing on the Texas dates.

The full Mates of State North American itinerary is as follows:

05/16/2008
New Haven, CT
Toad’s Place

05/22/2008
San Francisco, CA
Slim’s

05/24/2008
Bend, OR
Les Schwab Amphitheater

05/25/2008
Sasquatch Festival, Washington
Gorge Amphitheater

05/28/2008
Los Angeles, CA
Henry Fonda Theater

06/06/2008
Lawrence, KS
Wakarusa Music Festival

06/07/2008
Omaha, NE
The Slowdown

06/08/2008
St. Louis, MO
The Bluebird

06/10/2008
Oklahoma City, OK
Bricktown Ballroom

06/11/2008
Dallas, TX
Granada Theatre

06/13/2008
Austin, TX
Emo’s Alternative Lounge

06/14/2008
Little Rock, AR
Rev Room

06/15/2008
Memphis, TN
Hi-Tone

06/17/2008
Newport, KY
Southgate House

06/18/2008
Pittsburgh, PA
Mr.Small’s Theatre

06/21/2008
Philadelphia, PA
Popped! Music Festival

07/25/2008
Pemberton, BC
Pemberton Festival

08/01/2008
Chicago, IL
Lollapalooza-Grant Park

08/08/2008
Liberty State Park, NJ
All Points West Festival

09/26/2008
Austin, TX
Austin City Limits Festival

For further information, please contact Steve Martin or Amy Grote. Email amy@nastylittleman.com, tel 212 343 0740

DELUXE EDITION OF BLEED AMERICAN IN STORES NOW

They say there’s no rest for the wicked, and evidently Jimmy Eat World qualifies. Despite only recently completing an extensive co-headline tour with Paramore, planning a European tour for June (having already toured Europe and Japan earlier this year), and with a special hometown show at Phoenix’s Dodge Theater on June 18th, the band has announced a new string of July tour dates in the US and Canada. All this globetrotting follows appearances on both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in support of their latest album Chase This Light, and the band continues to thrill with their live show, which the Boston Globe recently called “forceful, galvanizing, and exhilarating.”
Jimmy Eat World has also just released a new two-disc deluxe edition of their breakthrough album Bleed American. Originally released in 2001, the album features the smash hits “The Middle”, “Sweetness”, and “A Praise Chorus”. Bleed American catapulted the band to international stardom and is undoubtedly one of the decade’s landmark rock albums. The new deluxe edition features a wide range of b-sides and bonus tracks, as well “Your House 2007″, a new recording and re-imagining of the Bleed American track.

Tour dates listed below. All shows go on sale this weekend, check JimmyEatWorld.com for ticket info.

June 18th – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theater
July 1st – Montreal, QC – Le Medley
July 3rd – Kitchener, ON – Elements
July 4th – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
July 5th – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot
July 7th – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
July 8th – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
July 9th – Saskatoon, SK – Odeon Events Centre
July 11th – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Events Centre
July 12th – Calgary, AB – Flames Central
July 14th – Vancouver, BC – Croation Cultural Center
July 15th – Seattle, WA – Showbox
July 16th – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
July 18th – San Francisco, CA – Fillmore

BECK
DANGER MOUSE-PRODUCED NEW ALBUM OUT THIS SUMMER
SEPTEMBER 20 HOLLYWOOD BOWL SHOW WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SPOON & MGMT ON SALE MAY 10th

Beck has recorded a new album, produced with Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton, to be released this summer. The as yet untitled album contains 10 new songs.

Having met a few years ago, Beck and Danger Mouse had planned to work together at some point, finally convening last December to do a few songs. Encouraged by the results, they decided to make an entire record and over the next few months recorded extensively, with the goal of using only 10 pieces in the end.

The result is a tightly assembled group of songs that range in lyrical tone from introspection and social commentary to off the cuff wordplay and lighthearted humor. Musically, the album’s ten tracks vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse’s shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration.

The album’s diversity of tone is belied by an emphasis on songwriting and musical concision, with the album clocking in at a little over 30 minutes.

The album represents the first new Beck music since last year’s Grammy-nominated digital single “Timebomb.” The new songs also mark the first new material Beck has written since the prolific stretch that produced 2005’s platinum Guero and 2006’s universally acclaimed The Information.

On the live front, Beck will play his biggest hometown headline show to date September 20 at the Hollywood Bowl. The bill will also feature special guests Spoon and MGMT and is the first headline date announced on a U.S. itinerary that so far includes the Austin City Limits, Outside Lands and Bumbershoot festivals.

For more information on Beck’s new album and scheduled concert appearances, please contact Steve Martin or Eliot Wadsworth at Nasty Little Man.

Trent Reznor to Fans: “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years. This one’s on me.”

As of 12:01 a.m. PST May 5, Nine Inch Nails’ brand new full length album The Slip is available as free download at NIN.com.

Unlike NIN’s recently released Ghosts I-IV, there are NO paid options available for The Slip, nor are there any retail partners. At present, The Slip is available exclusively as a free download at NIN.com. A physical configuration on CD and vinyl is in the works for a July release.

The Slip marks the first time Nine Inch Nails–or any artist of NIN’s stature–has made its new album available completely and exclusively for free as a DRM-free digital download. The Slip is available as a high-quality MP3 or in a variety of lossless formats including, for the first time, a higher-than-CD quality 24 bit 96k version. All downloads include a PDF with credits and artwork.

Like the free single “Discipline” released last week to terrestrial radio stations and their websites and the track “Echoplex” appearing on iLike, The Slip is a classic straightforward NIN album, featuring Trent Reznor on vocals and various instruments as well as Josh Freese, Robin Finck and Alessandro Cortini. The record was produced by Reznor, Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder. Art direction by Rob Sheridan.

As with previous Nine Inch Nails releases Year Zero and Ghosts I-IV, the complete multi-track files to The Slip will be available free at launch, allowing anyone who wants to create his or her own remixes and reinterpretations of the songs. As always, the Remix.NIN.com community will provide a sire and infrastructure for fans to upload, share, stream and download these various remixes as well as the original masters, all free of charge or restrictions.

The Slip, like Ghosts I-IV, is being released under a Creative Commons license, allowing fans to distribute the songs and files freely and without fear of copyright infringement. More details regarding this license can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Don’t You Evah EP Debuts #1 on Billboard Singles Sales Chart

Following on a standing-room-only U.S. tour that culminated in the Don’t You Evah EP entering Billboard’s singles sales chart at #1, Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey and Rob Pope-collectively known as Spoon-have confirmed their final live engagements of 2008.

This last run of Spoon shows will be preceded by a May 3 Britt Daniel solo performance at the Belly Up in Solana Beach CA. From there, the full band will be headlining the KNRK Pet Aid Benefit in Troutdale OR, playing their biggest ever New York show July 15 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, appearing at the Mile High and Pitchfork festivals, making their debut at the Hollywood Bowl September 20 supporting Beck, and concluding with a three-night residency at the Fillmore Theater in San Francisco-the last dates of the tour and first Spoon SF headline engagement since the July 2007 release of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Tickets for the Fillmore shows go on sale to the general public May 11.

These dates will mark the close of more than a year’s worth of touring in support of Spoon’s sixth full-length studio album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which was Spoon’s first Top 10 album and most acclaimed release of their career. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’s U.S. sales are now approaching 300,000, the band’s biggest ever coverage has run in the likes of TIME and THE NEW YORKER, Best of 2007 placements have included NPR, GQ, NEW YORK, ROLLING STONE, PITCHFORK, BLENDER, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, SPIN THE ONION, PASTE and the WASHINGTON POST, and Oct. 6 marked the band’s debut appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

The full itinerary for the May-September dates is as follows:

Sat May 3rd
Solana Beach, CA
Belly Up (Britt Daniel solo)

Fri June 13th
Troutdale, OR
Edgefield Amphitheater (KNRK Pet Aid 2008)

Tue July 15th
Brooklyn, NY
Prospect Park

Sat July 19th
Denver, CO
Mile High Festival

Sun July 20th
Chicago, IL
Pitchfork Music Festival

Sat Sep 20th
Hollywood, CA
Hollywood Bowl

Mon Sep 22nd
San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Theatre

Tue Sep 23rd
San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Theatre

Wed Sep 24th
San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Theatre

For further information, contact Steve Martin or Laura Eldeiry at nasty little man tel 212 343 0740 e-mail laura@nastylittleman.com

Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett & Chen Shi-Zheng Present
MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST
U.S. PREMIERE MAY 22-JUNE 8
AT 2008 SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA IN CHARLESTON, SC

London Premiere July 23-26 At The Royal Opera House

Following sold-out runs in Manchester and Paris, Director Chen Shi-Zheng and GORILLAZ masterminds Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s adaptation of MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST will make its Stateside debut with a May 22 preview performance followed by 17 shows staged May 23 -June 8 all at the 2008 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. The show will open in London two months later at the Royal Opera House.

MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST was first staged June 28, 2007 in the UK at the inaugural Manchester International Festival, whose director Alex Poots suggested that world-renowned theatre, opera and film director Shi-Zheng enlist GORILLAZ co-creators Albarn and Hewlett to provide unique, modern musical and visual interpretations of the themes and characters of this most beloved work of Chinese folklore.

The result is a new opera for the 21st century based on an ancient Chinese legend reworked as a dazzling spectacle involving nearly 40 Chinese circus acrobats, martial artists and singers from China with an orchestra of Western and traditional Chinese instruments. Developed in Beijing, Paris, Berlin and London the show has had sell-out runs in Manchester and Paris.

MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST is performed in Mandarin with subtitles, its storyline chronicling the Monkey King’s journey to enlightenment as it takes him undersea, to decadent banquets in heaven, through encounters with Spider Maidens and Skeleton Demons, and eventually to paradise. Hewlett’s renditions of MONKEY’s cacophony of characters combine with Albarn’s debut opera score’s deft integration of western and traditional Chinese instrumentation to create a wholly engrossing new universe that reinvents a legend with a thrilling combination of music and action.

Chen Shi-Zheng’s previous credits range from Chinese opera and theatre to the Hollywood movie Dark Matter (starring Meryl Streep). Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett are the co-creators of award-winning virtual band Gorillaz, whose two albums Gorillaz and Demon Days have amassed global sales of over 10 million, the latter of which spawned the Demon Days Live extravaganza, a tribute to the animated group featuring guest performers ranging from Dennis Hopper to the late Ike Turner, performed a total of five times each at the Manchester Opera House and New York City’s Apollo Theater.

About Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA has firmly established itself as one of the world’s major arts festivals since its inception in 1977. For 17 days and nights each spring, Spoleto Festival USA fills Charleston, South Carolina’s historic theatres, churches and outdoor spaces with over 100 performances by renowned artists and emerging performers in disciplines ranging from opera, theater, music theater, dance, and chamber, symphonic, choral and jazz music, as well as the visual arts. For more information, please visit www.spoletousa.org.

Como Te Llama? is the new album from Albert Hammond, Jr. and cohorts Matt Romano, Marc Philippe Eskenazi and Josh Lattanzi, and will be released July 8th.

Following his feted 2007 solo debut Yours To Keep, Albert Hammond, Jr. and his merry men return with a new album Como Te Llama? (or “What’s Your Name?” if your Spanish is a little rusty). The title, rung out of casual conversation between Albert and Matt over some vino tinto, hints at the classic, summery music held within.

The record was recorded over 5 weeks at Electric Lady Studios and produced by Albert along with engineer Gus Oberg and drummer Romano. “I’m really proud of the power this record has,” says Albert. “I feel like my melodies and song arrangements have matured. Lyrically, I tried to have the words flow out more freely and not try to write one song but many. I would just sing and sing and then arrange the words afterwards.”

From the heavy riffage of “The Boss Americana”, the woozy charm of lilting instrumental “Spooky Couch” to the bright, reggae-bounce of “Borrowed Time”, it’s clear that Como Te Llama? is perhaps the boldest, most eclectic and ambitious record of Albert’s career. “My favorite songs would be ‘Borrowed Time’, ‘Victory At Monterey’ and ‘You Won’t Be Fooled By This’” says Albert. “I love the whole record, but they change day by day, it’s like deciding what you want to eat.” “GfC” will be the first single from the album.

Musically, Albert’s band played a much greater role in the creative process of the new record as he explains; “Every one of the band members brought his or her personality to the music. Even if they played a part I had written they made it their own, I’d get it back and arrange all these new ideas into a better song then we had before. Marc represents youth and curiosity. Josh represents age and wisdom and Matt is the best friend that helps me communicate the rhythm of the music. He’s the spark. I love sharing my music with these tasty motherfuckers!”

Additional personnel were added to the record in the form of Sean Lennon’s piano on “Spooky Couch” and the string quartet of Earl Maneein (violin), Matt Szemela (violin), Jon Weber (viola) and Jessie Reagen (cello) on multiple tracks. Also, the shadows of The Kinks, The Clash and Crazy Horse-era Neil Young were cast over Albert’s songwriting on the record; “Not so much that the album sounds like any of those bands, its just they gave me a new way to express my songwriting.”

With a tour penciled for summer, the band are in exuberant spirits, as Albert reveals; “Our goal is to tour this album every where we can, get into those cracks and fill them up with music!”

Track listing for Como Te Llama? is below. For more information contact Steve Martin or Eliot Wadsworth at Nasty Little Man.

01 Bargain Of A Century
02 In My Room
03 Lisa
04 GfC
05 The Boss Americana
06 Rocket
07 Victory At Monterey
08 You Won’t Be Fooled By This
09 Spooky Couch
10 Borrowed Time
11 G Up
12 Miss Myrtle
13. Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Peter Sellers

UNIQUE TOUR FAN CLUB OFFERS Best Seats Available Exclusively via Limited NIN.com Personalized Pre-Sale

Nine Inch Nails has secured extremely limited allotments of the guaranteed best possible seats to every headlining show on the band’s upcoming tour and reserved them for pre-sale via NIN.com. Beginning roughly 72 hours prior to each general on-sale, Nine Inch Nails fans registering under their legal names at NIN.com will be offered exclusive advance access to these prime online slots tickets.

Additionally, in an initiative to protect NIN fans from scalpers and ticket brokers, every pre-sale ticket will be personalized with the purchaser’s legal name printed on the ticket. Tickets will not be available until night of show, at which point they will be waiting for the purchaser and his/her party at designated will calls at separate entrances to be used exclusively by NIN.com pre-sale ticket holders.

Government-issued ID matching the name printed on the ticket will be required for venue entry night of show. NO tickets will be mailed in advance.

Ticket quantities are extremely limited and available on a first come first served basis.

For further information regarding tour dates, pre-sales, on-sales and other major developments, keep checking back at NIN.com.

Autumn Fallin’ Out Now

“(Four stars)…the kind of surgical precision rarely seen since Bob Dylan’s wicked youth.”-SPIN

After months of touring the UK in support of her finally-available-in-the-U.S. debut Autumn Fallin’ -not to mention her recent television debut on LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN–JAYMAY has decided to make her first extensive trek beyond the coasts and grace the greater U.S. with her presence!

JAYMAY’s recent stint at South By Southwest bodes well for the tour, with her having been singled out by NPR at one of the “three most exciting artists” of the 1600 acts playing SXSW. But better to let live footage do the talking:

NPR performance of Grey or Blue:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88670991

Lonely Men Built Lonely Cities:

One May Die So Lonely
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrYU6ZpoGGM&feature=related

She’ll be doing another run of May dates in Europe with Jens Lekman, and then will be returning to her hometown NYC to kick off the U.S. tour.

With Jens Lekman:
May 12 – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
May 13 – Newcastle, UK – The Cluny
May 14 – Leeds, UK – Woodhouse Club
May 15 – Glasgow, UK – Oran Mor
May 19 – Manchester, UK – Academy 3
May 21 – Birmingham, UK – Glee Club
May 23 – Belfast, UK – The Black Box
May 24 – Galway, Ireland – Roisin Dubh
May 25 – Dublin, Ireland – The Village

With Fink:
June 10 – NEW YORK, NY – Bowery Ballroom
June 11 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Tin Angel
June 12 – ARLINGTON, VA – Iota
June 13 – CLEVELAND, OH – B-Side
June 14 – PITTSBURGH, PA – Club Cafe
June 16 – CHICAGO, IL – Schuba’s
June 18 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Troubadour
June 19 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Cafe du Nord
June 20 – PORTLAND, OR – Doug Fir
June 21 – SEATTLE, WA – Tractor Tavern

Dates and venues have been confirmed for the second leg of Radiohead’s upcoming North American tour. They are:

August 1 – Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL
August 3 – Verizon Wireless Music Center – Indianapolis, IN
August 4 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH
August 6 – Parc Jean Drapeau – Montreal, QC
August 8 – All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park – Jersey City, NJ
August 9 – All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park – Jersey City, NJ
August 12 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
August 13 – Tweeter Center For the Performing Arts – Mansfield, MA
August 15 – Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON
August 19 – Thunderbird Stadium – Vancouver, BC
August 20 – White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA
August 22 – Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival @ Golden Gate Park – San Francisco, CA
August 24 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
August 25 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
August 27 – Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA
August 28 – Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA

With the exception of the festivals (Lollapalooza, All Points West, Outside Lands), pre-sale for the above dates will begin April 9 with general on-sale following April 12.

Support for the headline dates will be Grizzly Bear August 3-15 and Liars August 19-28 (as well as the first run of U.S. dates in May).