STRUMMERJAM CLASH/JOE STRUMMER LIVE BENEFIT FOR BOISE HIVE AUG. 4!

strummerjam-facebook-headerThe Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Boise) is honored to host StrummerJam Boise, a live Clash/Joe Strummer benefit for Boise Hive, at 6pm First Thursday, Aug. 4. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

BoiseHiveLgoClrOL_PThe event features live covers of Clash and Joe Strummer songs performed by Boise musicians. Guests will have an opportunity to donate directly to Boise Hive and purchase raffle tickets for a Clash prize pack, with proceeds from the raffle also going to Boise Hive.

Scheduled to perform:

Jimmy Sinn and the Bastard Kinn
Groggy Bikini
The Weary Times
Boise Rock School

StrummerJam Boise is part of StrummerJam – Rocking Locally, Acting Globally, a monthlong fundraising campaign in honor and memory of Joe Strummer to mobilize musicians, venues, promoters and music fans around the world to unite under a single banner and raise funds for local music nonprofit. StrummerJam runs Aug. 1- 31 (Joe’s birthday month). See all StrummerJam events on a global map HERE.

The objective of StrummerJam is, as Steve Mullen campaign coordinator and digital media manager for the Joe Strummer Foundation says, “…about keeping the spirit and memory of Joe Strummer alive and to mobilize the troops to unite under a single banner and raise funds for their local music nonprofits. We wanted to unite local music scenes, connect the dots, put venues, bands and local music nonprofits on the map for all to discover and explore.”

All funds collected for each event will be reported by the organizers and added to the StrummerJam Funds Barometer on the StrummerJam website to demonstrate the total results of the collective efforts of all the organizers. The global target has been set at £15,000 GBP.

ABOUT BOISE HIVE

The mission of Boise Hive, a nonprofit musicians resource center, is to provide a safe, all-ages, sober space for fostering a supportive, creative musicians community in Idaho. Boise Hive empowers musicians, and other artists, through access to mental health services, business tools and other resources to thrive. This donor-funded, volunteer-run community space aims to provide a facility where artists come to practice and hone their craft.

ABOUT THE JOE STRUMMER FOUNDATION

The Joe Strummer Foundation was formed by family and close friends a year after Joe’s passing. Their mission has always been to give opportunities to musicians and support to projects around the world that create empowerment through music.

94.9 FM THE RIVER PRESENTS JOHN PAUL WHITE (CIVIL WARS) LIVE AT THE RECORD EXCHANGE 7/30 – ONLY SHOW IN TOWN! MEET-AND-GREET/SIGNING TO FOLLOW!

John Paul White - Approved Press Photo94.9 FM The River presents John Paul White (The Civil Wars) live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St. in Downtown Boise) at 7:30pm Saturday, July 30. This is White’s only show in town! A meet-and-greet/signing with White follows the performance. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

White’s new album Beulah is out August 19 (CD and vinyl), and we’ll be taking preorders at the in-store. We’ll also have at the event an exclusive 7-inch featuring the single “Martyr” and non-album track “Maple Hill” for $2, and it includes a $2 off coupon for Beulah – purchase before the in-store and get a free VIP admission wristband!

ABOUT JOHN PAUL WHITE

418457541273Single Lock Records will release John Paul White’s solo album Beulah on August 19.

The highly anticipated release is the former Civil Wars member’s first solo work in nearly a decade and was produced by Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) and White, and recorded in Muscle Shoals at the renowned FAME Studios and at White’s own Single Lock Records.

Beulah—the title referring to a longtime family nickname and a reference to William Blake’s “place deep in the collective spiritual unconscious”—is a diverse collection of swampy southern rock, folk balladry and dark acoustic pop—songs that came unbidden to White, who wasn’t entirely welcoming of them at the time. “Honestly, I tried to avoid them, but then I realized the only way I was going to get rid of them was if I wrote them down. I got my phone out and I’d sing these little bits of melody, then put it away and move on. Eventually I got to a place where it was a roar in my head, and that pissed me off. Then one day I told my wife, ‘I think I’m going to go write a song.’ She was as surprised as I was. I went and wrote probably eight songs in three days. It was like turning on a faucet.”

MARISSA NADLER SOLO LIVE AT THE RECORD EXCHANGE THURSDAY, JULY 7

artists-marissanadler2016_largeMarissa Nadler will perform a special solo set live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St.) at 12:30pm Thursday, July 7. Nadler is performing with her full band at Neurolux on Wednesday, July 6 and we have tickets for sale at the store. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

ABOUT MARISSA NADLER

sbr148-marissanadler-300_1024x1024For more than 12 years, Marissa Nadler has perfected her own take on the exquisitely sculpted gothic American songform. On her seventh full-length, Strangers, she has shed any self-imposed restrictions her earlier albums adhered to, stepped through a looking glass, and created a truly monumental work.

In the two years since 2014’s elegiac, autobiographical July, Nadler has reconciled the heartbreak so often a catalyst for her songwriting. Turning her writing to more universal themes, Nadler dives deep into a surreal, apocalyptic dreamscape. Her lyrics touch upon the loneliness and despair of the characters that inhabit them. These muses are primal, fractured, disillusioned, delicate, and alone. They are the unified voice of this record, the titular “strangers.”

A.K.A. BELLE RELEASE PARTY JUNE 23; FREE PAYETTE BREWING CO. BEER!

I Hear It Now EP cover squareThe Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St.) is honored to host the a.k.a. Belle “I Hear It Now” Release Party at 6:30pm Thursday, June 23. “I Hear It Now” will be available for purchase at the party. Free Payette Brewing Co. will be served beginning at 6pm. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

In March, a.k.a. Belle released the “I Hear It Now” track “Mustangs” as a benefit single for Wild Love Preserve, a 501(C)3 nonprofit whose mission is to rescue, protect and preserve Idaho’s wild horses. “I Hear It Now” features a guest appearance from Snakes/Caustic Resin/Built to Spill/Earth guitarist and wizard Brett Netson.

ABOUT A.K.A. BELLE

Belle Treefort main pica.k.a. Belle ride fiercely in a no man’s land where intimate vocals sneak into bed with wild guitar serenades and wrestle with beats from a bygone era.

The seedlings of a.k.a. Belle began in a land far, far away called Los Angeles, where Sam and Catherine Crooks Merrick, Boise, Idaho, natives, found themselves sharing a flat in pursuit of musical greatness. They didn’t know it then, but their paths would cross many times over subsequent decades and eventually their lives would converge in a very personal and musically magical way. In 2008, after Catherine returned home to Boise from living and performing under the moniker of Belle of Les Bois in Manchester, England, she reunited with her former roomie (and soon to be husband). a.k.a. Belle was born.

Catherine grew up in Boise amongst some major musical talents. She played alongside Doug Martsch (Built to Spill) in Suiciety and in the B-sides with Curtis Stigers. Merrick’s overflowing with instrumental chops and is most often seen wailing on guitar or banjo, but it’s her voice that audiences find most captivating:

“… When you are blessed with a vocalist like Catherine Merrick, you’re light years ahead of the game. The singer and multi-instrumentalist for a.k.a. Belle has an alluring, lovely voice – the kind that stands out in any genre.” – Michael Deeds, The Idaho Statesman

Between L.A. and 2008, Sam was met with major musical success. He toured the US and Europe with The Leaving Trains (SST Records) and signed a multimillion dollar contract in blood with L.A. band The Nymphs (Geffen Records). He’s also played badass guitar and lent vocals to a variety of musical projects based in the US.

a.k.a. Belle’s eclectic sound is elevated by the creative musical minds of Johnny “Bongos” Townsend (percussion) and Shlomo Kostenko (standup bass), who hear and interpret Merrick’s songs intuitively.

The band have released two albums – Disappearing Night (2012) was in the Top Ten Best Selling Local Albums at independent record store The Record Exchange, coming in a sweet #6; and The Devil Loves You, released in February 2014, entered the Top Ten Best Sellers at #3 and remained in the top twenty several weeks after its release. Tracks from The Devil Loves You are particular favorites of local radio stations KRBX and KBSU (“Mess You Up,” “HG Wells is Alive and Well” and “Collecting Songbirds” being the most played).

The band are highly championed by DJ Tim Johnstone of 94.9FM The River, as well as being favorites of Carl Scheider, DJ at (NPR affiliated) KBSU. Living Room Radio, a Friday afternoon show on 89.9FM Radio Boise, listed Disappearing Night as one of their top albums of 2014.

a.k.a. Belle is a rock band that’s not afraid to play with different genres to get the desired effect in creating well-crafted, thoughtfully constructed songs. Collectively, these four musicians, playfully coined “The Magic Four,” have collaborated with and supported some big names in music, including: John Doe and Exene Cervenka from L.A. band X, Iggy Pop, Elizabeth Cook, Holly Golightly, Lydia Loveless, Curtis Stigers, Bill Kirchen, Doug Martsch from Built to Spill and many more.

NOTHING ACOUSTIC SET AND ALBUM SIGNING THURSDAY, JUNE 16 (5:30PM)

NOTHING_01Nothing will appear at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) for an acoustic set and album signing at 5:30pm Thursday, June 16. Nothing is performing later that evening at Neurolux and we have tickets for sale at the store. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages!

Pick up Nothing’s new album Tired of Tomorrow on a specially-priced $9.99 indie-only CD or indie-exclusive olive green vinyl!

ABOUT NOTHING

418457405154Nothing frontman Domenic “Nicky Money” Palermo got his start as the brains behind the late-90s/early-2000s hardcore/punk act Horror Show in the crime-riddled neighborhoods of Frankford and Kensington in North Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Horror Show’s existence was cut short in 2002 when Palermo was incarcerated for an aggravated assault charge (to which he pleaded self-defense) and subsequently served a 2-year prison sentence. After getting out of prison and working the next five years under watch of Pennsylvania parole board, Palermo took a lengthy hiatus from music, entering a period of personal reflection that led him through a maze of death, negativity and uncertainty. Nicky returned to music in 2010 and founded Nothing with the release of the demo Poshlost (named for an intense and quintessentially Russian form of spiritual banality). Following the release of Poshlost, Palermo met Brandon Setta, who would bring lush, rich soundscapes and a fresh approach to Palermo’s vision for Nothing and to the band’s next two EPs, Suns And Lovers (Big Love, 2011) and Downward Years To Come (A389, 2012).

Nothing then signed to Relapse for their debut 2014 full-length Guilty Of Everything, which was inspired by the events surrounding Palermo’s prison sentence. The album’s genuineness and widespread critical acclaim (from publications such as Rolling Stone, NPR, Stereogum, Spin, Noisey, and many others) seemed to forecast a new, more positive chapter for Nothing. The band toured Europe and North America extensively in support of Guilty and performed at festivals including Osheaga, Roadburn, Firefly, Budweiser Made In America and SXSW, but this period was unfortunately brief. In summer 2015, while on the eighth consecutive month of a non-stop tour that had seen the band performing with the likes of DIIV, Merchandise, Torche, Failure, Hum and more, Palermo was mugged and badly injured in Oakland. The assault ultimately left Palermo with a fractured skull and orbital, 19 staples and a drastically re-shaped perspective about his music and life in a larger sense.

That new mindset, which the band hadn’t been able to realize until Palermo’s injury, forced them to come up for air from the endless touring – “Like when you’re in a car going 100 miles per hour and connect with an oak tree and everything behind you comes smashing forward,” Palermo said. That was the basis for the band’s new record Tired Of Tomorrow, which was recorded over the course of a month at Studio 4 with Will Yip (Title Fight, Superheaven, Touche Amore, etc) this past October. Even since the completion of Tired Of Tomorrow, Nothing have faced new challenges and difficulties that would certainly have sunk a lesser band. As Nothing were gearing up to release Tired Of Tomorrow via Collect Records, the band discovered that the label had been funded by the now-infamous hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli. After Collect Records and their entire roster eventually dissolved under the weight of the controversy, Nothing were left adrift. Former partner Relapse Records got on board with releasing the new album, but Nothing were not finished with their trials – just this past November, Palermo’s father unexpectedly passed away in a tragic accident, heaping the band with further personal difficulties on top of their professional ones.

Yet throughout all this, the band has always managed to maintained a unique stoicism alongside its apathy, one that extends beyond mere riffs and reverb. All the band’s music, especially Tired of Tomorrow and Guilty Of Everything, have managed to work past, present and future simultaneously into their approach, both musically and thematically. Borrowing from personal memoir and external works alike, Nothing have worked the deepest influences of their youth and maturation into a package that’s ultimately at its most relevant in the present day. Case in point: Tired Of Tomorrow was written before the Shkreli debacle, but as Palermo sees it, those events only served to strengthen the sentiments and ideas behind Tired Of Tomorrow rather than confuse its message. It’s a mess to think about, but as always, the contradictions and paradoxes of the kind Nothing harnesses ultimately lead to the greatest revelations, and the band’s personal and tragic path has nonetheless led Nothing to produce deeply heartfelt and inspiring music. Whichever way you want to look at it, you can’t deny that Nothing feels good.

Nothing is:
Domenic Palermo
Brandon Setta
Nick Bassett
Kyle Kimball