Random notes
USA Today's pop blog mentioned What If It Works?, calling it "a terrific album by one of underground pop-rock's best-kept secrets." Let's hope the Loud Family isn't a "secret" much longer! I'm really excited by the response so far, and endlessly grateful to all of you who have pre-ordered it before the official July 11 release date. Keep 'em coming! I've also gotten some of Anton Barbeau's CDs back in stock, so if you've discovered his music through WIIW?, you might enjoy some of his earlier song stylings.
Anton tells me that he's recruited the band Pets to close the Hotel Utah CD release party on Aug. 2. Haven't heard of 'em, though Anton says they're excellent. Anyway, this means the Loud Family & Anton portion of the evening will start promptly at 9 PM, so don't be fashionably late!
I have had some cool Don Dixon posters printed up, mainly to advertise his upcoming shows. I know a lot of labels/artists have "street teams," something I've never quite been hip enough to try. But if you think you have a good public place to put up a Dixon poster, by all means let me know and I'll send you a couple. (His tour dates are posted on MySpace.)
International Pop Overthrow
The Loud Family (minus Anton -- he'll be in the UK) will be playing this year's San Francisco International Pop Overthrow festival on Aug. 19 at Thee Parkside. Don Dixon will be playing at the Seattle IPO the following week, thanks to Jim Huie of Paisley Pop. Jim has been a great friend to 125 Records over the years, from putting a Jill Olson song on one of his label's compilation CDs to helping us find a distributor. 125 will also have an ad in the IPO program. This is the type of event I've always felt we should be a part of, but have never quite managed to get in on, so I hope it's a big boost for the label's visibility!
I am now completely caught up on shipping out the Loud Family CDs, so if you ordered one, it should be reaching you any minute now.
Happy Bloomsday!
A lucky few people (mainly those living in a zip code close to 125 Records HQ) may be celebrating Bloomsday with a spankin' new Loud Family CD. I managed to mail out a large percentage of the pre-orders yesterday. If you ordered the LF CD along with the Dixon CD back in May, your disc is in the mail! I'll try to get the rest of the pre-orders out today and tomorrow.
I know one isn't supposed to pay much attention to those Amazon.com sales rankings, but I've been pleased to see Don Dixon's CD in the top 5,000 sellers. Jim Huie at Paisley Pop has been working on an official Dixon web site, but in the meantime, I've set up a MySpace page where you can stream a few tracks and get his latest tour dates. Please click on Add to Friends if you have a MySpace account!
Holy cannoli, people!
I got a message from the CD manufacturer today and the Loud Family/Anton CD will be shipping out tomorrow! That means I could start putting copies in the mail to everyone who's pre-ordered it as early as Bloomsday (June 16)! It's really going to be a special moment when the UPS guy pulls up with those boxes... like, omigosh, it's finally here at last!
We have an actual concert date to report too. Scott & Anton will be performing at the Fox & Goose in Sacramento on July 15. Get there early and have some deelish fish & chips before the show.
Billboard Online/All Music Guide loves Don Dixon's CD:
Anyone looking for smart, edgy pop songs sung with a soulful edge will be glad to know that Dixon can still deliver the goods with ease, but there's a sharper, more intellectual, and more introspective tone to The Entire Combustible World than on Romeo at Juilliard or Most of the Girls Like to Dance But Only Some of the Boys Like To... Dixon's singing is skillful and expressive on each track, while his skills as a producer and an instrumentalist are in great shape -- he plays most of the music himself through the magic of overdubbing, and the end product is clever without being pretentious, ambitious without overplaying its artier side... The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room shows he's only grown and improved with the passage of time; this is a striking and powerful work from a man who seemingly has more exciting things to say now than ever.
The CD is listed at Amazon.com so if you've heard it, you can post a review next Tuesday when the album is officially released.
Pre-order the Loud Family CD today!
I received an e-mail from the manufacturer stating that the Loud Family&Anton CD will be finished & ready to ship out on June 16. Since they're on the East Coast and I'm on the West, that means I should be receiving them around the 22nd. So if you pre-order it now, you should get your own personal copy during the week of June 26 (provided you live in the U.S. and the post office does an efficient job of delivery).
I had to price it a little higher than the Don Dixon CD because 125 paid so many of the recording costs for the LF disc, whereas we acquired the Dixon album as a finished product and only had to pick up the tab for the manufacturing. However, you can still get the LF album for the low, low price of ten bucks if you order both the Dixon & Loud CDs as a package.
Gig news: there should be at least three California shows (we're hoping to schedule dates in Sacramento, San Francisco and L.A.) in mid-July. Anton is heading for England in August but there's a possibility the LF may be doing some Midwest/East Coast dates in late September or October.
