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| 03.18.05 |
Amateur Party's self-titled CD EP will be out this April, as a split release
between Cheap Art and Golden Brown Records. The EP includes six songs, most
of which should sound familiar to anyone who's seen us play a few times.
Congratulations to our friends in Del Cielo who recently just released their
second full-length, Us vs. Them, on the esteemed Lovitt Records label.
Playing their release show was loads of fun, as was Mike's attempt to DJ the
after party. About an hour of the after party involved wrestling and
swearing at the stubborn PA system until finally it began amplifying our
spins. Thanks to Joao Da Silva and Christopher Richards for joining the
fray.
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| 02.11.05 | Coalition Records has repressed Kill the Man Who Questions' "Sugar
Industry" album on CD. For more information, visit coalition-records.com.
This is the band's full-length album, and completely seperate from the
"Industry Document" collection CD on Cheap Art.
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| 01.21.05 |
Thursday, Jan. 20, George W. Bush was inaugurated for his second term as
president of the United States of America. While the overt and callous
opulence of his record-breaking bevy of balls and galas is exceptionally
difficult to swallow during wartime, Bush, per se, was never exactly the
issue, was he?
Those troubled by the state of the world might consider the notion of Empire
in more general terms, as it becomes ever more clear we are citizens (or, is
it subjects?) of one erected in our names, if not our interests.
If the pundits are calling for four more dark years, the only
acceptable--and a comfortingly optimistic--response is to say "Keep the
Pressure On."
Neither Red nor Blue, 2005 and on.
In other, more intimate matters, Amateur Party welcomes our new full-time drummer, Steve Roache. Steve used to drum in Saetia, and continues to play, tour and record with his other band of several years, Off Minor. A former ABC No Rio organizer, Steve moved to Philadelphia about 3 years ago and now runs a recording studio out of his home on the west side. Looking to track some songs? I'm sure he'd love to chat with you. He's already done work for Cat on Form (southern records), Fighting Dogs (ed walters records), and heaps of screamo bands. Jake Hockel, who'd played with us before, now concentrates on his electronic music, raiding dollar bins at used record shops and learning how to operate all sorts of technology we thought was reserved for RJD2. As both Jake and RJ are kind of short, have the same haircut, visit family in Ohio and snoop around the Hair Lounge barber and record shop on 47th Street, I suppose it makes perfect sense. Although Jake is awfully shy--and a rotten, tedious perfectionist--about his music, hopefully, we'll be able to post some samples of his music here soon. Meanwhile, Andrew's fresh home from his tour with his other band, Limpwrist, which went tremendously well. So, now that we're all back in the same city, we're hard at work at releasing a 6-Song CD EP, hopefully in time for the UPCOMING SHOWS we have listed. New songs are also being forged, and we've plans for a series of themed, limited run CD-R singles, so keep in touch.
Thanks to the always well-researched and written CLAMOR Magazine who ran a
handsome photo of Andrew's backside from our performance at the Different
Kind of Dude Fest in D.C. this past fall.
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| 10.22.04 |
We're very happy to announce that the Kill The Man Who Questions - industry document CD is finally out. You may notice that it took awhile, but hard work was done to make sure it looks pretty. Thanks to Chris Lawrence for layout and design, and to Andy Wheeler for the great video footage on the enhanced portion of the CD!
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| 09.10.04 |
So, good news, Sound of Failure is not breaking up, the previous news update was changed.
Also, the Kill The Man Who Questions discography CD is finally finished, and pre-orders are now being taken. We expect to have it in our hands in 4 weeks. Its $10 ppd in the US. Wholesale is also available to anyone, we deal direct, please email me andrew@cheap-art.com for details. |
| 08.10.04 |
Amateur Party will be releasing a CD EP this fall on the label. More info soon.
The band is also
playing a few shows: this Thursday, Aug 12 at Pointless Fest with Against Me,
1905, Del Cielo and
World Inferno Friendship Society. We're also playing Aug. 21st in Washington DC
with Q and Not U at
a themed fest raising consciousness about gender issues link here Cheap Art will be split releasing (yes, again) the vinyl-version of True If Destroyed's debut album. The band is one of our favorites around Philadelphia and we'll be releasing it along with a new label, Franklin Records, run by our friend Clint Woodside. (Visit TrueIfDestroyed.com for song samples, news, etc.) The record should be available Sept. 1st. The much delayed Kill The Man Who Questions CD discography will be available this September. Titled "Industry Document," the enhanced CD includes unreleased, out of print, vinyl-only and live songs as well as 15-minutes of video from the band's last show in April 2001.
Meanwhile, another band we've worked with, The Great Clearing Off, has announced
it will be
breaking up. A final show is in the works for mid-September. The band
has documented its
new songs on a self-released CD EP, however. If you're interested, just get in
touch.
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| 05.26.04 |
NEW RECORDING. Amateur Party is a new band comprising Cheap Art's Andrew
Martini and
Mike McKee, and their friend Jake Hockel. The band has played a handful of shows
around
Philadelphia and DC. This past weekend, the band recorded seven songs with
Steve Roche in a
basement in West Philadelphia.
We're not sure if these songs will turn into a formal record, or just something
we share with friends.
If you're interested in hearing a sample, we've set up an MP3 of a song called "A Sound! A Hall To House It!," which traditionally ends our live shows and deals with some of the troubles our town has had with maintaining "free," independent avenues for arts and music. To paraphrase Sun Ra, "[Media Conglomeration] is a motherfucker," and few cities know that better than Philadelphia. So we sing, "There'll be a new song in some heart but want for a hall to house it." |
| 07.09.03 |
We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our very first full-length release! The
Sound of Failure's debut
all-format full-length, "The Party is Over," is currently at the pressing plant.
The release is a
collaborative effort between Cheap Art and fellow Philadelphia label Ed Walters
Records (rambo, del
cielo, crucial unit,...) and When Humans Attack (an albatross, sound of
failure).
The CD-R has been a permanent fixture in Mike's CD player all week. If you
enjoyed the band's 7" or
its split 7" with The Great Clearing Off, you will not be disappointed. Everyone
says 'noisy hardcore a
la John Henry West' but I say 'Unwound and Unrest too!'
The estimate from the plant is two weeks. Pre-orders welcome.
Hoping to upset our timid coffers more completely, we have another full-length CD release in the works as well. After months of delay, the long-promised KTMWQ discography has been compiled and mastered. After a little attention to the artwork, it will be sent off to the good folks at Furnace Manufacturing. Expect a late summer release, but please no pre-orders yet. |
| 02.07.03 |
It looks as though Cheap Art will be working with Philadelphia mainstay Ed
Walters Records (Crucial
Unit, Rambo, Great Clearing Off,Sound of Failure, Del Cielo, Submission Hold,
1905, Delta Dart) for
the debut full-length from The Sound of Failure. The SOF is Joe Gough, also from
KTMWQ's and
easily one of the best punk groups in the city with 7"s out already through Ed
Walters and When
Humans Attack. The band goes into the studio in mid-February and we're all
shooting for a late Spring
release. Stay tuned for updates.
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| 02.04.03 |
The Great Clearing Off 7" continues to find sympathetic ears, as the band
prepares a revitalized
lineup to begin playing live again.
Lance from J Church/Honeybear Records sums the record out pretty well. You can
check out his
writeup (and other interesting rants).
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| 01.24.03 |
Andrew and Mike have begun remixing and sequencing the original KTMWQ recordings
destined for
compilation on the band's CD discography. We're still aiming for a late Spring
release.
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| 01.10.03 |
Got Photos of KTMWQ? The band and Cheap Art are interested in seeing any photos of the band you'd like share as we begin to compile materials for the upcoming KTMWQ CD discography. |
| 09.09.02 | Check out the September issue of Punk Planet to read an interview with Cheap Art Records' Andrew Martini. As a member of Limpwrist and the now defunct Kill the Man Who Questions, one of the main organizers of the Stalag 13 Warehouse and the 4040 venue in Philadelphia, Andrew discusses the notion of visibility and identity as a queer punk.
The September issue of Maximum Rock N Roll includes a large article written by Mike about the alarming predicament of all-ages, non-commercial show spaces in Philadelphia in the shadow of the Clear Channel Entertainment Corporation. |
| 09.01.02 | The Great Clearing Off "Within This Inch We Are Free" EP--our first official release--is out and now available through the label and through a handful of local-friendly, indie record shops in town.
Kill The Man Who Questions "Pigeon English" EP is now available again as well. Originally self-released by Andrew and Mike and the band in the summer of 2000, the 7" contains six songs unavailable elsewhere.
Thanks to Spaceboy Music, Repo Records and The Wooden Shoe Collective's Radical Book and Music Shop for carrying our releases.
Cheap Art releases will also be available through Ebullition distribution and Sound Idea distro/mailorder just as soon as the records arrive at their respective warehouses.
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| 08.15.02 | The mid-June release date for Cheap Art 001 has been pushed back to late August due to some unlicensed samples caught by the pressing plant, United Record Pressing (Nashville, TN). United, long patronized by small, indie labels, has recently become accredited by the International Recording Media Association, which requires the vinyl manufacturer to screen for uncleared (and essentially illegal) samples or sound clips on every record pressed.
For more information on how this new policy might effect bands and labels in your area, check out the August issue of Maximum Rock N Roll and peruse the Guest Column by Mike McKee. |