We have been fixing up an old house in San Francisco while having bad idea parties and blowing lots of fuses, working hard but updating the website little.
I just got back from having the best time ever and getting the strangest injuries at Insubordination Fest. I’ll tell you about that later, but for now I’ll finish this blog post originally started before leaving for tour two weeks ago. It’s 6:23pm on a Monday, I’m drinking spiced cider at the Borderland Café. My name is Avi and here is some news!
NEW HOUSE
The house we are re-building is at 1057 Valencia Street, poetically between an amazing record store and amazing bike shop. It will eventually be called THE FUTURE but for now it is better termed THE SINKING SHIP. LARRY AND HIS FLASK accidentally played our first impromptu basement show, and despite being acoustic, managed to blow a fuse. The house was built in 1880 and electricity was put in before anyone knew how electricity worked, so bumping into a chandelier while leaping off a stand-up bass was enough to cause a blinding explosion of sparks.
For our next show we had a Sunday afternoon BBQ and performances from THEE HEARTBEATS (brand new band from Johnny Dismal of The Teenage Harlets and Chreehos from The Phenomenauts), THE CUSTOM KICKS (SF punx, like THE BOYS with Kate Waste on vocals!) and one of our favorite bands in the world, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER. No explosions this time, just a few hundred Bocca Burgers and smiles. We will be having more shows once we are further along with fixing the place. A structure made of CD boxes keeps stray cats from jumping on our faces in our sleep until the walls get built.
The basement will eventually be the Silver Sprocket office and store-front, come visit!
RECENT FUN
FILTH just played some reunion shows around the Bay Area! I saw them at Gilman, it was incredibly fun despite being incredibly stinky. Crusty punx for days. After the show we had a “worse basketball player ever” contest with Daniella Sea, bass player from THE GRU’UPS and THORNS OF LIFE!
Going back a month, we barely survived Punk Rock Bowling!
THE PHENOMENAUTS were one of the #25 best teams (out of some 300!), with the #1 best cheer-leaders. I didn’t realize it was possible to get cut off at a bar in Vegas at 6:30am but we here at Silver Sprocket are truly capable of anything. I then made friends with an incredible band you have to check out called BLACK FAG and explored the Punk Rock Bowling hotel to pose for pictures with passed out drunk people. This event was lots of fun all around, many thanks to everyone at BYO for having us and I hope to play some more with all you wild and crazy kids out there next year!
THE PHENOMENAUTS just played one of our favorite festivals in the whole wide world, THE MAKER FAIRE! This is like a science fair for adults – well for kids and adults and everyone, but adults included! A nerd celebration! They are taking this thing on the road with events coming up in Detroit and New York and maybe some other places, I can’t recommend this event highly enough.
JASON WEBLEY has a new record out with AMANDA PALMER (from The Dresden Dolls) as the conjoined twins EVYLN EVYLN. I saw them perform a few weeks back and found myself the most entertained I’ve ever been at a concert. Go see them, find a way! The new album is amazing, and a comic book with Dark Horse comics is in the works.
This doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but GOOD LUCK just played in Tessa’s San Jose basement and is one of the best bands in the world right now. Get their self-released full length, “Into Lake Griffey,” I’ve already bought it three times to share with friends. My other favorite somewhat recent band discoveries in case you care: RVIVR, Dear Landlord and The Slow Death.
NEW RECORDS
On July 1st we will start selling the brand new split EP between THE PILLOWFIGHTS from San Jose and SMOKEJUMPER from Seattle! Chris from Smokejumper used to be in Dateless in case you know who they are (you should), and if you’re here, you already know how great The Pillowfights are. The pressing is limited to 500 copies with 100 on clear and 400 on what Danny calls “Ghostbuster Slime-Puke”. Comes with a download code so you can get MP3s of the whole thing plus a bonus digital-only song from The Pillowfights! That’s SIX WHOLE SONGS!! Pre-order a copy and I’ll give you some free Pillowfights and Smokejumper buttons!
Smokejumper and The Pillowfights just got back from an awesome tour together all over the east coast and to Insubordination Fest!
Then this August we will get with the times and put out our first digital-only release with “Electric Sheep: Electronic Extended Play” from THE PHENOMENAUTS! You’ve seen our explorers touring the world with new members Nick Wayzar on stand-up bass and the robot AR7 sharing the guitar and vocal duties, now hear their new songs! These four new tracks are some of the best ever from The Phenomenauts, drawing inspiration from 70’s punk and new-wave, think Elvis Costello with anthemic punk-rock sing-along’s. Be excited.
Then on August 10th we will be releasing a full length from SHANG-A-LANG that collects all of the songs from all of the band’s EPs, demo’s and other assorted recordings. Pop-punk that’s gritty and loud with clear East Bay and Minneapolis influences, these are some of my favorite songs from the past few years and an incredible listen all the way through. This band simply does not write bad songs and these EPs represent their very best. I can’t wait for you to check this out. It will be called “Collection” and has 22 tracks in just less than 40 minutes with Mitch Clem’s artwork and design all the way through.
Is this news to far into the future? Fuck it. On September 14th we will release “F”, the first full-length since the Bush administration from social satirists BOBBY JOE EBOLA AND THE CHILDREN MCNUGGETS!
I might not care about independent music today if it weren’t for how incredible Dan, Corbett and John Geek were ten and fifteen years ago playing awesome shows at shitty teen centers and for their inspirational efforts starting projects like Spam Records and Geekfest (now known to our Pyrate Punx brethren as Libertatia).
BJE are back and haven’t missed a beat, more relevant than ever and playing a ton these past few months alongside The Phenomenauts making the experience even more surreal. Dan and Corbett write the songs. Dan plays guitar. Then very strange things start to happen. The apocalypse, just like revolution, is not an event but a process, and it’s hilarious.
This record has guest-spots from a super long list of punk rock superstars, more news to follow!
The first pressing of the ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD / THE GUNSHY collaboration is almost sold out. There are maybe 10 or 15 left if you want one! A second pressing is in the works on “smashed pug” and “smashed slug” colored vinyl.
And because you jerks won’t leave us alone, we’re looking into making a second run of the sold-out Andrew Jackson Jihad pillowcases. I seriously don’t understand why you want to buy this, worse merch idea ever.
MORE NEW BANDS
Straight out of Minneapolis, THE SLOW DEATH is the latest shape-shift from JESSE THORSON AND THE FALLING ANGELS, featuring Jesse Thorson and whoever he can con into going on tour with him MIKEY ERG and other epically talented individuals. If you’re into whiskey soaked depressing as fuck punk rock sing-alongs ala Dillinger Four, Off With Their Heads or Lucero – or even if you think you aren’t into that sort of thing (you actually are, you just don’t know it yet), trust me on this one. I’ve been listening to Jesse Thorson’s records non-stop since seeing his last band live at THE FEST this past Halloween and trust that you’ll be just as blown away as I was.
The Slow Death’s first release for Silver Sprocket will be a 7″ much more exciting than your usual EP. I’m not telling you why just yet, but let me say that MITCH CLEM of NOTHING NICE TO SAY has heavy involvement making this a new kind of record.
The Slow Death also has another EP coming out soon from our big crushes at Paper And Plastic!
That’s not all, but it is plenty for now. Other new things are in the works with The Custom Kicks, Like Claws, Dillinger Four (yes, really, holyfuckiamexcited), Andrew Jackson Jihad, The Tigermilks, and maybe a re-issue from The Blank fight. And maybe THE HOSPITAL BOMBERS if my roommate’s and I and/or Eoin get our acts together on this Mountain Goats in the style of Screeching Weasel cover band.
NEW STUFF
Releases are listed in that column to the right of this here blog post! Buy stuff so we can afford to put out more rad records!
That’s it for now, thank you big time for caring about what we do and reading this far and having fun with us!
New SHANG-A-LANG shirts that MITCH CLEM drew!
We’re building The Future, a clubhouse in San Francisco on Valencia Street right between Aquarius Records and The Valencia Cyclery! 
