Papercuts have been doing their thing in the Bay Area since the early 2000s, with numerous Noise Pop, Mission Creek, SXSW, and CMJ appearances under their belt. They’ve toured and recorded with the likes of Grizzly Bear, Beach House, and Deerhoof. Quever has also worked with some of the SF Bay Area’s most prominent bands and songwriters, including Vetiver, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Skygreen Leopards, Cass McCombs, and many more. Following the breakthrough release of Mockingbird, Papercuts released two albums for Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic’s label Gnomonsong before moving to Sub Pop and releasing the album Fading Parade in 2011.

Originally only released on CD back in 2004, AF is re-releasing Mockingbird on a limited edition blue vinyl LP (140 gram vinyl, limited to 500 copies) newly re-mastered by California vinyl auteur JJ Golden and including a bonus 7” of two previously unreleased tracks from the Mockingbird sessions; all 12 tracks are included as a free MP3 download with the LP.

The LP and new deluxe MP3 version (also w/ bonus tracks) are released to your favorite local record shop and iTunes on Valentine’s Day (2/14/12) but just between us, you can order your copy right now from the Antenna Farm store!

Check out Poor and Free, from Mockingbird:

Following up his critically acclaimed 2010 covers album Searching For Bart Davenport, this is a blast of power pop right out of 1980. A-side Someone2Dance channels equal parts Dwight Twilley and The Cars; a righteous affirmation of romantic liberation awash in reverb and complete with meltdown guitar solo. B-side Cheap Words deconstructs earlier pop versions of the song, with producer and longtime BD collaborator Sam Flax matching the dark lyric with a bed of minimal synthesizer and drum machine (PS…to check out some of Sam’s songs, which are killer in their own right, head over to his page at HigherColor.com).

But don’t take our word for it. Check out the A-side, Someone2Dance:

The Someone2Dance 7″ is a co-release with San Francisco’s Smile! Records, the new imprint from Bay Area svengali Neil Martinson. The vinyl is limited to a print run 500 copies, with covers hand-screened by Neil, and each copy comes with an MP3 download code. Pre-orders from the Antenna Farm Store will ship the first week of February, plenty of time to get you in the mood for our least favorite holiday. Click here for more info.

And for those of you in the Bay Area, Smile! is presenting the record release party on Friday, February 17th at San Francisco’s Cafe DuNord, with Sam Flax, Extra Classic, and of course, DJ Neil Martinson. Get tickets here.

But it’s not just any show. This gig will be a blowout as the Ribbons share the stage with fellow AF artists Social Studies, who are also about to head into the studio to record a follow up to their 2010 album Wind Up Wooden Heart. With engineer Eli Crews (who has recorded albums for the likes of Deerhoof and tUnE-yArDs) on the boards we’re looking forward to checking these tunes out!

Also on the bill will be a short solo set by Emily Jane White, a local singer songwriter who we’ve become quite enamored of over here at the AF HQ. More on her in a subsequent post.

Rounding out the bill are openers SunBears! a great indie pop duo out of Florida on their first west coast tour, the norcal retro poppers The Ian Fays, and DJ Zola. This bill is like a ginsu knife set, the hits keep coming!

So come on out, it’s only $5!

Friday, January 27th  (show starts early at 8pm!)

Agent Ribbons
Social Studies
The Ian Fays
Emily Jane White (solo)
Sunbears!

w/DJ Zola

The Uptown
1928 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA
(510) 451-8100
$5. 21+

For more info on this show and to RSVP, check out the Facebook Event Page, here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/248708531865871/ 

And of course, a quick reminder: Winfred E. Eye‘s new LP Today Was Another Day is out today! For more information see the previous post, and you can get your copy at the AF Store!

On that note, we are pleased to share a bit of news from our Oakland friends Winfred E. Eye. They have a new album out next week available on LP and at iTunes, called Today Was Another Day.

Punchy and warm, this release picks up where their 2009 release, Til I Prune, leaves off. Chief songwriter Aaron Calvert has hardly mellowed with age and the band now boasts a full 3 guitar lineup to drive things home. Regular readers here might have already seen the videos for Movin’ On or  Money In Bank released late last year, now is the time to check out the full experience.

And to celebrate, the boys in the band are hosting a record release show January 19th at one of our favorite Oakland watering holes, Bar 355. Details below:

Thursday January 19th

Winfred E. Eye celebrate the release of Today Was Another Day with a set of new and old songs.

At Bar 355 
355 19th St
Oakland, CA
Free 9pm 

See you there!!

And of course, you can get a copy of this CD at the Antenna Farm Store, don’t forget there is a 25% discount on all CDs and LPs through the end of the year, just use promo code ‘foxtails25‘. Yes, just because we might be getting mushy on the holiday season doesn’t mean we don’t know a deal when we see it.

But back to the point. Now Foxtails Brigade has released a video for one of our fave cuts on the disc, I’m Not Really In The Christmas Mood This Year. If this is the future of Christmas music, we might be able to get used to it. But it’s not just us; this vid has already gotten props from rad folks ranging from art-pop duo Pomplamoose to mega gaming site Kotaku.  Check it out below, you’ll dig this.
  

Yes, it’s the holidays. This can be a stressful time, dealing with presents for your picky friends and relatives and crappy Christmas music! Well, last week we let you know about a great new holiday themed CD, Time Is Passed, by Foxtails Brigade, and that alone has made the season almost bearable for us. But we wanted to do something more.

So we’re having a sale! For the entire month of December, you can take 25% off of every item in the Antenna Farm Store, just use the promo code ‘foxtails25′ at checkout, and you’re on your way to incredible savings!

Yes, your threat to aunt Josephine that she’d understand you if she only listened to Agent Ribbons, or your suspicion that your cousins would probably be a lot cooler if they checked out Sugar & Gold, or thoughts about how your mom probably would totally dig Bart Davenport? All of these theories are on the verge of being reality, because it’s Christmas time! And we’re here to help!

Antenna Farm has released some great records over the past few years, and now is the time to take advantage of a great deal and get your hands on some modern classics! Whether it’s the bands mentioned above, or great titles from Social Studies, Papercuts, The Dry Spells, Still Flyin’, The Botticellis, The Donkeys, Winfred E. Eye and more, this is your one-stop shop. And just between you and me, the best gifts are the ones you save for yourself!

So yes, be sure to visit the Antenna Farm Store during your holiday shopping and our worker elves (who are we kidding! It’s us!) will be turning orders around in record time. And be sure to take advantage of our 25% across the board discount by entering the promo code ‘foxtails25′. Support the musicians who you love year around and save yourself some bucks while doing it! This is one purchase that comes with no buyer’s remorse, friend.

Join us as we welcome Social Studies back for their first East Bay show in almost a year, and their first show in several months altogether. The band has been on a hiatus from live shows while drummer Michael has recovered from foot surgery earlier this year, but they haven’t been idle. They’ve taken the opportunity to lay down a whole new set of songs for their next album (coming in mid 2012!) and this is a great chance to check out some new material for the first time!

Joining Social Studies for this great show will be Oakland’s Dreamdate & Will Sprott of the Mumlers. 

Dreamdate singers Yea-Ming Chen and Anna Hillberg play stripped down pop arrangements reminiscent of the early 90s twee of groups like Cub and the Spinanes, anchored by the drum work of Joe Haener (most recently of the Dodos.).  Will Sprott is the frontman for the Mumlers, San Jose’s most exciting musical export since the Count Five. As a solo performer, Will Sprott is a bit more subdued than the Beefheart inflected New Orleans vibe of his full band, but no less complex, freed to try his skillful hand at capturing the raw essence of 75 years of collected American pop music.  

Finally, we should add a note about Vitus, the great new Oakland venue hosting this show.  Locals might remember this location as the home of the former Oakland Metro; Vitus has been completely renovated and re-opened by Damon Gallagher, one of the folks behind one of the East Bay’s most legendary underground venues, the Ghost Town Gallery. He’s gone legit now, and with his old friend and studio wiz Greg Ashley (the Gris Gris) handling sound, Vitus is a worthy addition to the newly thriving Oakland nightlife scene.

So if you’re in the Bay Area, do come out, this will be a fun night! Details below:

Friday December 9th

Social Studies
Dreamdate
Will Sprott (of the Mumlers)

Vitus, 201 Broadway (in Jack London), Oakland, CA 94607

And yes, you totally should RSVP on Facebook here.

To see what we’re talking about, stream I’m Not Really In The Christmas Mood This Year. One of our fave cuts from the CD and pretty much the theme we’re running with this year!

Foxtails Brigade – I’m Not Really in the Christmas Mood This Year

Have a listen and you’ll see that this CD is the perfect companion piece for the holiday season, a wonderful way to cope with the next month of forced cheer and fake retail smiles. The best part is that you can order a copy for friends and family (and yourself!) without having to pepper spray anyone at your local Wal-Mart, just head over to the Antenna Farm Store to grab a copy, no fuss no muss!

First, on Friday 12/2, Yip Deceiver (see photo) rolls into Oakland for a FREE show at the Uptown, part of the First Friday Art Murmur. The band features members of Sugar & Gold as well as of Montreal, and their live show is always a rocks off dance party. For more info on the show, check the Event page, here.

The same night in San Francisco (Friday, 12/2), chanteuse extraordinaire Laura Weinbach and her band Foxtails Brigade open a very special show for the one and only Jane Birkin at the Regency Ballroom. For information and advance tickets, click here. The following night, Saturday December 3rd, Foxtails Brigade head over to the Mission for an intimate show at Viracocha. Both shows will be the debut of the brand new Foxtails Brigade Christmas CD, so be sure to head out to one or both shows to pick up a copy! For more info on both shows, check the event page here.

Are we done yet? Not a chance! Also on Saturday, December 3rd, Papercuts headline a great lineup at the Rickshaw Stop! Noise Pop Presents Papercuts, with Dominant Legs and Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick. This is a rare SF performance for Papercuts, and with these great acts opening, this is not a show to miss. Advance tickets are recommended as this show will likely sell out. Get them here.

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the Agent Ribbons Brooklyn residency ALSO starts this Friday, with 5 shows in our fave NYC Borough, plus a quick run upstate for a show at Bard College. For the full itinerary, click here!