Happy New Year from Eclectone!

Martin, Scott and Co. wish you a a happy New Year and give a little update...

In case you missed it: Little Man on 'Local Show'

If you missed Little Man on the 'Local Show' last weekend -- or want to hear it again -- you can listen to the show from the Current's archieve in the player below. Thanks Chris Roberts and MPR!

Little Man--song of the week!

head over to the 89.3 The Current website at mpr.org for a free download of "Tarots and Arrows" as song of the week!

Eclectone YouTube channel playlist

Check it out!
http://it.youtube.com/profile?user=eclectonerecords&view=playlists

Little Man on iTunes!

Little Man's new album "Of Mind and Matter" is now available on iTunes! Please check it out and leave reviews!

Eclectone you tube page!

Hey everyone,
we're trying to get our you tube channel a little more active. If anyone out there has any video of eclectone artists that you'd be willing to share, please send them to us at martin@eclectone, info@eclectone, or dvds at our po box:
Eclectone Records
po box 14236
Minneapolis, MN 55414


http://www.youtube.com/user/eclectonerecords

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

From everyone at Eclectone, Happy Thanksgiving. We're thankful for everyone we've played with and for over the years. Take care, see ya soon!

"Of Mind and Matter"

The digital album is in Twin Cities record stores now! Look for it on iTunes soon! This is an experiment for Eclectone. The album is only available as a limited art print download card that gets you the whole album plus extra video and picture content. What we want to know is, what do you think? Do you miss the cd? Should we look into doing vinyl (this of course, is a cost concern)? Do you like the "going green" route? It by no means marks the end of cds on Eclectone, it just worked out this way this time. Please weigh in and let us know. Email martin@eclectone.com and info@eclectone.com or join our Facebook group and go to the discussion board.

Thanks!

Martin Devaney's November

The full band will be at the 331 Friday, Nov. 11--at the 331 Club opening for Rich Mattson's new band, The Tisdales. 9pm! Should be great!

Next week,
Jake and I will be playing at the Kitty Cat Klub in Dinkytown as our new duo act, The Porchlights. More on this soon.
Friday, Nov. 21
Kitty Cat Klub
w/ Rachel Ries
and Anais Mitchell

Sat., Nov. 22
331 Club
Benefit show for Andromeda Alexander, a relative of a friend of ours, Alexei Casselle (of Roma di Luna and Kill the Vultures). She is a new mother of twins who has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Come on down and show some support.
A Night In the Box
Martin Devaney (joined by Kate Murray)
Eliza Blue
Mary Everest

Finally, on Thanksgiving Eve, the full band is back headlining at the Turf Club!
Wed. Nov. 26
Turf Club
w/ Mayda
Aaron Rice band

The Get-Rites Get Write-Ups

Eclectone's latest -- Tin Roof Sky by The Get-Rites -- is a co-release with Magnolia Recording Co.

The album hit No. 21 this month on the Americana Charts in Europe. Here's what people are saying:

"Rich music mined from the depths of Americana. Feldmann’s probing lyrics and yearning growl will echo in your soul and lift you up." - Ben Kieffer, Iowa Public Radio

"There's a certain Midwestern feel on The Get-Rites album,Tin Roof Sky, intended as it may be, that captures the listener with a feeling of comfort and reflectiveness." - Phantom Tollbooth CD Review, Terry Roland

"It's a wonderful CD...Good songs, production too....Very Inspired...Very personal." - Jacques Spiry, reviewer/promoter, France

"A very excellent and inspirational album." - Eddie Russell, Country Eastern/Outlaw For Peace Radio Show

"A fantastic roots/country-rock album with the influences of spiritual music and a touch of the great names such as The Byrds,Poco and even Pearl Jam." - Sjaak Sekeris, A shake of Music, The Netherlands

"Frontman Tom Feldmann's gritty ballads are dramatically spiked with desperate spirituality, and he found an ace pedal-steel player in Jed Germond." - Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul

"A Minneapolis trio who write some of the most authentic, moving americana gospel I’ve ever heard. Group leader Tom Feldman has a heart for his savior, and the group’s musicianship would make both Johnny Cash and John Lee Hooker proud." - Greg Swan, Perfect Porridge

"Tin Roof Sky is a journey through the barren West, where tumbleweeds roll and a caravan of preachers and sideshow musicians are saving souls." - Adam Hammer, St. Cloud Times, MN

Dan Israel opens for Loudon Wainwright III!

Monday, November 17 at the Guthrie Theater.

working on that record label...

Little Man release a success!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Entry last Saturday for the Little Man release show. Look for the band in the First Ave. mainroom opening for the Ike Reilly Assassination on Thanksgiving Eve. Chris will also be joining Ike's band that night as a guitarist!

Little Man album release party Saturday

Saturday. November 8. 7th St. Entry. Little Man and Eclectone Records celebrate the release of "Of Mind and Matter." Come early for The Strange Lights and High On Stress.

Says Chris Perricelli: "It's going to be a very unique show. The new album, Of Mind And Matter, will be played in its entirety with back up singers, keyboards and rhythm guitar included. You'll hear many songs that will only be heard live at this particular show."

Dan Israel at work (at home) on solo disc

Dan Israel is keeping busy these days writing and recording new songs at home for an upcoming solo acoustic record, and presumably changing some diapers, too. It's been six years since Israel's last stripped-down release, so it seemed about time to try it again, Israel says. That said, being a busy parent doesn't leave much time -- or money -- for proper studio endeavors. We recently corresponded over e-mail with Dan about how things are going.

Q: How much of your decision to record a solo record at home was for artistic reasons versus practical ones?

Dan Israel: It's almost all for practical reasons right now...with a 3-year-old son, a two-month-old baby daughter, a day job, and even a few gigs to play, I don't have a spare moment to record anywhere else - or a spare dollar to SPEND on recording anywhere else. Nevertheless, I haven't made a real solo acoustic record since "Dan Who?" in 2000 and "Cedar Lake" in 2002, and my last several records have been rather highly produced, with full instrumentation, and, with the last one, "Turning," with tons of special guests. I wanted to strip it down anyway, and now, hey, it just so happens I have no CHOICE but to strip it down right now!

Q: What are you using to record? How's it going?

DI: I've had a 16-track Yamaha machine for about 5 years....have done at least some of every record since "Time I Get Home" on it. I don't use 90% of the features on it - I just pretty much set up a mic and record and keep it real basic, but it's great for that too. It has all kinds of bells and whistles that I never learned how to use anyway. I'm a techno-idiot. I was half-tempted to record this on an old-fashioned cassette tape recorder - no, not even a 4-track, a TAPE recorder. But I decided it would be nice if the audio quality was a tad better than that.

Q: How do you think having kids has affected your songwriting?

DI: It's made my songs shorter, because I don't have time to write long songs! No, only partly kidding there.... I think it's changed my outlook quite a bit. I think I write less about "my struggles in the music business" these days and am a bit more concerned with the day-to-day struggles of life - of joy and pain and trying to be a good parent while still trying to hang onto some of that rock and roll spirit that made me want to make music in the first place. A lot of the songs on "Turning" were about that tension.... I don't think I've resolved the dilemma, and perhaps I never will.

One of my main worries, actually, about doing an acoustic album right now is that my son Isaac will hate it - he only likes songs with drums on them. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except Isaac is perhaps my biggest fan in the entire world, and insists on my music being the only music that is ever played in the house or the car (I'm 100% serious - I've started to just put my foot down and demand that we listen to the radio....or silence....or something else, some of the time, because I'm so sick of hearing my own songs). Then again, maybe this is a clever move on my part, since I won't have to listen to this acoustic album in the car every time we get in the car. Hah!

Q: You've said your son Isaac is the world's biggest Dan Israel fan ever. What song does he want to hear most often lately?

DI: Yes, it really is true. If I could clone Isaac, I would beat out Michael Jackson and Fleetwood Mac as the all-time biggest record seller in the world. His favorite song lately is "Windowsill" on "Time I Get Home" - he loves the build-up to when the the drums come in, and when they do come in, Zeppelin-style, he always exclaims "whoa!". Too cute.

Dan Israel plays a solo show on Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as part of the Acoustic Sunrise series. 11am. No cover. All-ages. Also: See Dan open for Loudon Wainwright III at the Guthrie Theater on Nov. 17.

Charlie Parr continues boot-stompin' summer touring schedule

Photo: Tin Angel

From the looks of his calendar, Charlie Parr is pounding the gas pedal this month as often as that bass-drum-pedal contraption of his. A whirlwind of shows in August have taken him from the Minnesota Zoo to festivals in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. All while not missing a week at his Wednesday residency at the Brewhouse in Duluth. This weekend, Parr brakes in the Twin Cities for a show Friday at the 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis. After a block party in Duluth with the Black-Eyed Snakes, it's off to the U.P. for another festival, the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival.

Here's a list of upcoming shows. Check Charlie's MySpace page for more info:


Aug. 14 - Hotel Donaldson - Fargo, N.D.
Aug. 15 - 331 Club - Minneapolis, Minn.
Aug. 16 - Arrowhead Center for the Arts - Grand Marais, Minn.
Aug. 20 - Brewhouse - Duluth, Minn.
Aug. 21 - Rock the Block - Duluth, Minn.
Aug. 22 - Porcupine Mountains Festival - Ontonagon, Mich.
Aug. 23 - Porcupine Mountains Festival - Ontonagon, Mich.
Aug. 27 - Brewhouse - Duluth, Minn.
Aug. 28 - Dusty’s - Minneapolis, Minn.
Aug. 29 - The Ritual - Des Moines, Iowa
Aug. 30 - The Replay Patio - Lawrence, Kan.
Aug. 31 - Duffy’s - Lincoln, Neb.

Little Man holes up in hunting lodge to record fourth album

Little Man is back from a second trip to the Chicago area, where Chris Perricelli and crew are working on the band's fourth album, tentatively due out by sometime this winter.

The sound will be "a bit fuller with more layered vocals and guitars," Perricelli said. They have 14 songs in the hopper for the yet-to-be-named new album.

The band is working again with producer/engineer Ed Tinley, who also produced Soulful Automatic. Most of the tracks were recorded in an old hunting lodge owned by Ike Reilly. ("It looks like a 'Lincoln Log' house," Perricelli said.)

On the most recent trip, the band finished overdubs and recorded string parts for a few of the new songs -- a first for the band, but something they've always wanted to do, Perricelli said. "We used tow musicians and multitracked cello and violin."

Read more about Little Man's Chicago trip and studio progress on Perricelli's blog.

John Ewing hits the road with Western Fifth

John Ewing is hitting the road this month, heading south with fellow locals Western Fifth. They'll start at the White Water Tavern in Little Rock, Arkansas, then head back through Dallas and Wichita before converging with a slew of other local bands at this year's North vs. South Music Festival.

Here are the dates and places:

8/19 - White Water Tavern - Little Rock, Arkansas
8/20 - The Barley House - Dallas, Texas
8/21 - Kirby’s Beer Store - Wichita, Kansas
8/22 - Davey's Uptown - Kansas City, MO
8/23 - Big Al’s Speakeasy - Kansas City, MO

Crossing Guards to release digital EP at Pizza Luce Block Party

Eclectone Records is representing again at this year's Pizza Luce Block Party. Crossing Guards will go on last at 9 o'clock. Get there early. The band is marking the occasion by releasing a brand new, three-song digital EP. They'll be giving away free download cards to the first 300 people who want one. The songs were recorded at Crossing Guard headquarters in Northeast Minneapolis and include a couple from the forthcoming LP, plus an exclusive B-side.

Here's the track listing:

1.) Pretty Little Problem
2.) 51 Weeks Ago
3.) See Ya Soon

And don't miss Charlie Parr, playing earlier in the afternoon around 2:40. See ya there!