Members of Seattle bands Open Choir Fire, An Invitation to Love, and Rosyvelt sometimes make folk music, and when we do it's called Mississippi Painful. One Sunday in May we played ten songs at our bass player Brian's house, and recorded it live. No overdubs allowed! Except two, but we're not saying what they were. Then we had a cookout.

Note that No Recession is presented in CDR format inside screenprinted cardboard cases. You can buy your copy here for $6, or if you're quick and in town, get one for free by purchasing Dirt, Bathed and Quilted, the new Open Choir Fire album being released tonight (Saturday July 11, 2009) at the High Dive in Fremont, Seattle, WA.

1. My Old Ways / 2. I'm Gaining / 3. Dusty Shoes / 4. Moonshiner / 5. Leaky Pipes in the Ceiling / 6. Highwayman / 7. Someone to Call Me / 8. Floaty Things / 9. It's Good to See You / 10. My Henrietta

Brent Amaker and the Rodeo perform dusty, old fashioned, saddle-sore Country and Western with a winking sense of humor and expressive chops. Recorded in two days on an ancient four-track reel-to-reel tape deck in glorious mono, the Rodeo's self-titled debut full length has an authentic country sound to go with Brent Amaker's authentic songs.

"Whiskey, Women, & Wild times. The spirit of true country music lives on through Brent Amaker and the Rodeo. Raise your glass, take a shot, and watch your back. The Rodeo is here, and it's about time."
-Troy Nelson, DJ, KEXP 90.3FM Seattle.

"[Brent Amaker and the Rodeo] have a distinct, straightforward sound and a consistent look.... Their eponymous debut CD (available now at shows) is single-minded in its musical vision. The Rodeo play old-time country, with clip-clop rhythms underpinning Amaker's low-register growl. Think 'Tennessee Flattop Box' and you're right on the money."
-Kurt B. Reighley, the Stranger.

1. You're No Good / 2. I've Got a Little Hillbilly in Me / 3. Sissy New Age Cowboy / 4. Reno / 5. Bring Me the Whiskey / 6. I Guess You Wanna Die / 7. Cold Front / 8. Get the Hell Out / 9. You Call Me the Devil / 10. Babe

The latest in the graze's series of pre-album demos. May 2007 features 8 new original songs plus a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Bucket." Some of these songs will appear on the next album, some won't. The demo itself is a limited run of 50 hand-stamped and numbered CDRs in recycled jewel cases.

1. apartment / 2. exception / 3. sheep / 4. canyonland / 5. those people / 6. tiger nightmare / 7. trip song / 8. six years / 9. Bucket (Jeff Mangum cover)

First album from the graze.

"...praise should be lavished on the Graze, the one-man project of songwriter Louis O'Callaghan. The band's self-released debut, 'Iowa Anvil,' is full of tender-hearted laments and wrenching ballads. His tentative voice holds the perfect blend of agony and restraint."
- Tizzy Asher, Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

"...Iowa Anvil (J-shirt Records) is one of the most promising indie rock releases since Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and one of the most inspired since Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."
- Michael Henningsen, Alibi.

"Passionate, heartfelt songs inspired by Elliott Smith or Nick Drake but with his own original voice. Great songs with the right amount of production and subtle guitar arrangement. Great debut."
- John Richards, KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle

1. devices / 2. everything / 3. rely / 4. maudlin / 5. I am the little girl / 6. doubt / 7. nostalgia / 8. filler / 9. busy / 10. imbecile

Now available here in the Store as well as at several record shops in Seattle and Olympia, J-Shirt's brand-new second offering is Rosyvelt's first: Applied Science. From driving, new-wavy rock on songs like "Farmboy" and "Aurora," to country-flavored musings on songs like "Sue" and "County Lines," to the gorgeous balladry of "Dissection," the bombastic twee of "San Francisco," and the chamber-orchestral "Dancing by Numbers," Applied Science is diverse to say the least. The common thread of Jeffrey Henry's unique vision and unerring sense of melody pulls it all together.

1. Aurora / 2. Farmboy / 3. Rival Formula / 4. Sue / 5. Party / 6. Red Blood Cells / 7. Hook / 8. Dissection / 9. It Doesn't... / 10. San Francisco / 11. Dancing by Numbers / 12. County Lines

Audio Quarterly CD featuring the graze and 18 other bands, compiled by Levi Fuller (www.ballofwax.org).

1. Johanna Kunin "Blueberry" / 2. Joshua Morrison "Westport" / 3. Steven Kattenbraker "Fence Out" / 4. Toy Tractor "Stay Up" / 5. Chris Moore "See What it Brings Out" / 6. Ian Schuelke "Fallout" / 7. Arkade "Listen, Here" / 8. Land! Bravo "Kyoughn" / 9. I Am the Internet "Bullfight Champion" / 10. You May Die in the Desert "In Case I Should Die" / 11. Andrea Maxand "Anesthetize" / 12. The Way it Is "What Will We Do?" / 13. The Graze "Conditions" / 14. John Vecchiarelli "Train Song" / 15. Kelli Hanson "Risk Free" / 16. Smile Brigade "Improv with the Lashes" / 17. Levi Fuller "2 Wrights/2 Wrongs" / 18. David Karsten Daniels "Epilogue" / 19. The Maneuvers "Jungle Song"

The fourth in the Ball of Wax audio quarterly series, featuring the graze, Rosyvelt, and 14 other bands, all playing each other's songs. The Series is compiled by Levi Fuller (www.ballofwax.org).

1. Pufferfish Pt. Blank Texas (by Ian Schuelke) /  2. Amateur Radio Operator Rest Stop (by Pufferfish) /  3. David Bavas Water Shed (by Amateur Radio Operator) /  4. Andrea Maxand Sorry (by David Bavas) /  5. The Graze Here Comes the Revolution (by Andrea Maxand) /  6. Conrad Ford Tractor Beams of Love (by Levi Fuller) /  7. Levi Fuller 8th Grade (by the Way it Is) /  8. The Way It Is Forget the Dark (by Wesafari) /  9. Wesafari Wading Schematic (Wading and Schematic by Seth Howard) /  10. Seth Howard Mobius Waves (by Johanna Kunin) /  11. Johanna Kunin I Throw You Away (by Troubleshooting) /  12. Troubleshooting Skeleton Songs (by Conrad Ford) /  13. Smile Brigade Devices (by the Graze) /  14. Robert Deeble End of World Cartoon (by Smile Brigade) /  15. Rosyvelt Some Bartenders (by Robert Deeble) /  16. Ian Schuelke Dancing by Numbers (by Rosyvelt)

Audio Quarterly CD featuring the graze and 18 other bands, compiled by Levi Fuller (www.ballofwax.org).

1. K. Garrard "Resonate" / 2. Steven Kattenbraker "Summer Pond" / 3. History At Our Disposal "Letter Letter Written from the Bottom of the Sea" / 4. Wesafari "Anthem of Kapt. Koala & the Kinetic Krew" / 5. Affordable Boston? "So Hard to Leave the Believers Alone" / 6. I Am the Internet "First Blood" / 7. Vidooch "Inclined" / 8. Jon Garcia "One Night Stand with Myself" / 9. Christina Antipa "Love Me for the Things I Do" / 10. Andrea Maxand "The Third Time Is a Charm" / 11. The Way it Is "Dearborn & Manzanita" / 12. Golden Soldiers "I Fell for a Laugh" / 13. Origami Ghosts "Peace Smells Nice" / 14. Levi Fuller "Seaplanes" / 15. David Bavas "Crazy" / 16. The Graze "Sheep" / 17. Snowdrift "Dayside" / 18. Everything Is Fine "Devils" / 19. The Salt Sea "Sun Lost Something"

This is the last album from the late, great Seattle band Dorkweed, titled Sometimes Animals Die. In addition to being prolific (releasing five LPs, an EP, and a DVD between 1998 and 2004), Dorkweed was an energetic and extremely fun live act, and one of our favorite bands ever.

"Dorkweed are power pop with balls. And bite. And, um, creamed corn? As the name (and the song about creamed corn) suggests, Dorkweed have a slightly skewed view on life and how to react to it--which makes their highly infectious songs that much more satisfying to sing along to. And you will."
- Barbara Mitchell, the Stranger.

"On the Seattle band's sixth release Some Animals Die, [Brent Amacher's] cool coarseness melded with the high-powered pop melodies sniff of Pixies' crankiness and Weezer's tongue-in-cheek silliness."
- Three Imaginary Girls.

1. you are interesting / 2. i am dead / 3. do you in / 4. clouds / 5. forty eight / 6. rippin' my heart out / 7. jack rabbit / 8. cream corn / 9. oh yea / 10. leave me alone / 11. down by the marsh / 12. duck huntin'

Seattle based alt-rock band, Dorkweed releases their fifth record, Fluxivity Test Project (Shaky Records). Once again teaming up with Portland's notable producer, Jeff Saltzman (Stephen Malkmus, The Minders, Carmina Piranha, The Standard), this one is bigger, faster, harder, and perhaps a little more bent. FTP features fifteen tracks including early favorites, "Burn Baby Burn", "Beaver State", "It's Not Like I'm a Cat", and "Ten Miles High."

1. Fluxivity Test / 2. Oklahoma / 3. Beaver State / 4. Shitcan / 5. Burn Baby Burn / 6. It's Not Like I'm A Cat / 7. Lady Bug / 8. Ten Miles High / 9. This Is All I Got / 10. Monster Truck / 11. Green Room / 12. You're So Trailer Park / 13. Explodin' Head / 14. Airborne Virus / 15. Steve Austin

Dorkweed's third LP of indie Rock gone awry. Produced by the venerable Jeff Saltzman (formerly of Sunset Valley, producer for The Standard, Jackpot Recording Studio producer/engineer), this lyrically inventive release blends rowdy guitar-distorted alternative rock with moody and offbeat pop elements.

1. Pipebomb / 2. Laundry Song / 3. Motor in My Head / 4. Really Big / 5. Dead Spot / 6. Harden Yourself / 7. Alanis / 8. Starfish / 9. Kill 5 Minutes / 10. You Are Here

Dorkweed provides a fresh mix of alternative rock, dance beats, and singer-songwriter lyrics. From light hearted digital tracks such as "Woodshop" to the more serious alt. rock sounds of "Fabricated", "Send these Shoes to Hell" is an offering that establishes a place for Dorkweed in the Seattle music scene.

1. Woodshop / 2. And the Devil is Glad / 3. Train Conductor / 4. Mechanical Man / 5. Snow / 6. Smart Enough / 7. Fabricated / 8. Italian Food / 9. Wildcat / 10. DJ / 11. My Further Obsession with Large Shoes / 12. Hardway / 13. Spot of Sunlight / 14. Suck My Face / 15. Obvious Choice / 16. All Beautiful Women / 17. Misunderstood

Gravity and Henry's epic Pisces album is now available here. This is the band's first album, before they released the equally epic Sputnik, Traveling Companion. Both albums have spent inordinate amounts of time in our audio appliances.

"I just developed an I-can't-possibly- take-you-out-of-my-cd-player crush"
- Katia Dunn, Portland Mercury

1. elephants / 2. breathe / 3. vitalsigns / 4. cameraobscura / 5. clausterphobe / 6. tadpoleangel / 7. somepaintthinner / 8. geranium / 9. bloom / 10. new evil

Heart-on-their-sleeve Seattle noise-poppers return with a 2nd album of fuzzed-out break-up anthems.

"The angry Peter Parker... spew their disappointments at you and make you check the dictionary... BUY THIS RECORD. It's amazing."
- Delayed Reaction, August, 2001

1. Fanfare For the Common Man / 2. Our Hearts Are Racing / 3. (Nevermind the) Astronauts / 4. Repetitive Stress Injury / 5. Live At Leeds / Radio Free Entercom / 6. Where I'm Calling From / 7. Paxil / 8. Exhuming Bukowski / 9. Braille / 10. Barcelona (Das Ist Alles) / 11. Fade W/O

"Imagine if the Fastbacks and the (old) Buzzcocks had a baby--it'd be pop-smart and savvy, and full of (s)punk. That pretty much describes Seattle's Peter Parker, which is a band, not a person. Like their progenitors, they most certainly have songs filled with hooks and guitars--the bonus being that they can all actually sing. Even when they kick down the tempo a little, as on "Hate for Hesitation," there's an odd jubilation in the sadness. This isn't pretty '60s pop--it owes as much to everything that's happened in the '90s as to what's gone before--but the choruses might as well be covered in Velcro in the way they stick to your brain."
- Chris Nickson, Amazon.com

"...short, leveling, and violently hummable power pop songs... breathless, dead-on, thoroughly satisfying."
- Audiogalaxy.com, April 2000

1. I Remain As Ever / 2. W.Y.W.H. / 3. Eliot / 4. The Aesthetic Of Dumb / 5. Bender / 6. Y.A.B.M.D. / 7. Goldenstate / 8. Meet The Beatles / 9. Guide Dogs & Love Songs / 10. Kickdrum / 11. Next Summer (Will Be My Last) / 12. Hate For Hesitation

Compilation CD featuring Rosyvelt and 18 other other Seattle bands, cooperatively released and awesome.

If you say you know about local music and you don't have Strength in Numbers, then you should: 1) Re-evaluate your record collection and 2) Scrape together the $7 to buy it. There's an excellent grab-bag of music here ranging from radio friendly to the esoteric.
Paul Groth, NadaMucho.com

1. Razrez "Snake" / 2. Razrez "Police" / 3. Razrez "Flame" / 4. the Jeunes "Sell out" / 5. the Jeunes "Who Do You Love" / 6. the Jeunes "Missing Person" / 7. Rosyvelt "Aurora" / 8. Rosyvelt "Red Blood Cells" / 9. Math and Physics Club "Sixteen and Pretty" / 10. Math and Physics Club "Nothing Really Happened" / 11. C'Est La Mort "Ashes, Ashes" / 12. C'Est La Mort "Collapse" / 13. Birds of Prey "Rejection Park" / 14. Birds of Prey "Jet-Pack Turnaround" / 15. Infomatik "Inside a Moment" / 16. Infomatik "The Mechanical Bride" / 17. Infomatik "Further Away" / 18. Bullet Club "Fist To My Mouth" / 19. Bullet Club "Automatic King"