Wisconsin isn't all cheese...

Like short, frenetic punk rock? Well you should. Wisconsin heroes Sleeping in the Aviary are making a few stops in MN as part of their current tour. What's not to love about these guys?










Make sure to catch them at the Triple Rock on May 10th, with Baby Gut's CD release party, and again on May 11th at the Pocketknife!



photos courtesy of www.sleepingintheaviary.com

Check out their myspace too! www.myspace.com/sleepingintheaviary

Download their latest single 'Another Girl' here:
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=2D07FF4473906315

Congratulations!

Crack open the latest City pages, and you'll see they've named Mouthful of Bees 'Best New Band' and Afternoon Records 'Best Local Records Label'! Congrats everyone!

Winner: Afternoon Records

"Ian Anderson, the overachieving Afternoon Records founder, Aneuretical guitarist, and One for the Team singer whose achievements will one day warrant him a newspaper write-up that doesn't include a reference to the Jethro Tull singer (but not today), began his little record label as something of a farm team for the local indie-rock scene. It was a relationship of convenience, really: Anderson was 18 when he launched Afternoon in 2003, so he naturally targeted the underage bands he met on the coffee-shops-and-basements circuit. The kid's got a keen ear for investments (he began the label with money earned from Intel stock, which he purchased at age 13 because he liked the jingle), and his faith in the underage underground is starting to pay dividends. Granted, his own post-rock combo Aneuretical and disco-punks Look Down are the only remaining bands from Anderson's original Afternoon roster. But the label's new talent is some of its best: Last year saw the release of One for the Team's Good Boys Don't Make Noise, the God Damn Doo Wop Band's Broken Hearts, and Haley Bonar's Lure the Fox, giving Afternoon a small monopoly on local critics' year-end lists. All told, Afternoon released 11 albums in 2006. Productivity like that will get you everywhere in the music biz. "
www.afternoonrecords.com

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Winner: Mouthful of Bees

"The power of great music often rests not with things as obvious as musical skill or crisp recordings, but rather with an ability to imply grandeur through sleight of hand. If Mouthful of Bees' debut album, The End, had been recorded a little better, if Katelyn Farstad's drumming were a little more tutored, if lead singer Chris Farstad's broken tenor were not half-drowned by cascades of overdrive—if the band were a little more polished, its music wouldn't be half as fascinating and seductive. You can hear the air in the room on quieter ballads like "Jessica," and you can feel it being vacuum-sucked out of the room by the towering intensity of "Under the Glacier." The album as a whole sounds like a staggering accident, fueled by adrenaline and heartbreak. But then chaos and happenstance were good enough to birth the universe, right? With a median age of 19—and a live show as explosive and shambolic as their record—Mouthful of Bees have already got what most bands never find: a conduit straight into the stuttering, bleeding heart of rock 'n' roll."
www.myspace.com/mouthfulofbees


-City Pages
(Read the rest here! http://bestof.citypages.com/2007/sex-drugs-rock-roll/ )

Mark your calendars...

Baby Guts, now cuter/more disgusting!

Okay MN folks, as much as we like our 'Cloud Cult' and 'Tapes 'n' Tapes', we can't hide our ears in twee indie pop for long... the Minneapolis punk scene is still alive and kicking...and punching...and screaming under monikers that reference disembowled infants. The hardcore scene has been going strong since the likes of Husker Du, but has recently regained a surge in popularity due to the strong DIY ethic of Mpls punks that are putting on cheap shows in their basements, a la The Pocketknife and Nobody's House.

To top it all off, Baby Guts, a purposefully anti-commercial hardcore punk band (see their latest demo tape, where they provided free plastic baggies and asked locals to politely contribute their pubic follicles to the making of the cover artwork) has been signed to Guilt Ridden Pop Records- home of musician extraordinaire, Mark Mallman, and the fantastic Maps of Norway. Now, are Guilt Ridden Pop Records just branching out? Or do they really see something new and interesting about to happen in the punk scene? Only time will tell. Right now, we can only wish Baby Guts the best of luck, and maybe some anti-itch cream to help sooth the making of that cover art.



**New Baby Guts EP "GASOLINE" is set to be released May 10th on Guilt Ridden Pop Records

Check out:

www.myspace.com/babyguts

www.guiltriddenpop.com

www.myspace.com/thepocketknifempls

Photos from Saturday, courtesy of Kate.

Afternoon Records 4-year Anniversary Show

Sponsored by 89.3 The Current, Afternoon Records hosted the long, dancy event at the Varsity Theatre, a crimson tinged theatre decorated with plenty of over-stuffed red chairs, disco balls and strings of lights.

Its success was mainly due to 22 year old band member, full time student, and Afternoon Records label creator, Ian Anderson. The indie kid wonder, (as he is endearingly known to Minneapolis natives) coordinated and advertised for the mighty 12 band roster, which played from about 3:00pm to 2:00am with little time for breath inbetween . The show drew in a large, diverse crowd, from 15 year old hipster wannabes, to the real thing, and finally, the older libral couples that only came for Haley Bonar, who played a rather sleepy last set.

Stand out acts include The Battle Royale, a new rave band that cast aside all ego and let their dancing audience do the talking, Mouthful of Bees, a indie pop, garage rock hybrid that wowed not only through great tunes, but stage presence. Sioux Fall's We All Have Hook's For Hands, a nine piece ensemble featuring a violinist, two trumpeters and dueling drummers played alongside lead vocalist Eli Show's honest and endearingly direct lyrics. Other notable acts include A Night In A Box, a prog-blues outfit of sorts that livened up the crowd in the later evening, with a dancing banjo player, a fiddler, and a lively bearded soul singer that would make even the Elwood brothers cry for mercy.

The show was a great success, and it was refreshing to see so many young, promising bands. Happy 4th birthday to the little record company with a big heart.

Check out:
www.afternoonrecords.com

www.varsitytheater.org

www.myspace.com/mouthfulofbees

www.myspace.com/weallhavehooksforhands

www.myspace.com/thebattleroyale

www.myspace.com/anightinthebox